Z0: Next part!

SZ: More flashback stuff!

GT: *looks at the two, a 'HAPPY NEW YEAR 2021' hat on my head* What did I just stumble into?

Z0: Too much energy to focus! Nyoibo! *smashes the screen with Goku's staff*

SZ: We own jack shit aside from original content!

Dende sighed, looking out at the planet. Well...it was hard to actually call it a planet at the moment given what had transpired. Just moments before it all broke apart, Chaos had left and his energy had become muddled as if he couldn't pinpoint it to just a single area on the planet. He would have asked Tikal about it, but the spirit was inside of the Master Emerald. If he had to guess from the last threat Chaos gave in his water 'art' (which he did not enjoy being the hammer being used on the Mr. Popo nail in), she was taking a nap to recharge her ability to maintain a body outside of the ball of red light.

Dende shook it off, he was able to relax a bit as day came to the part of the world where all his friends were located. Yet he could feel it...tiny bits of this darkness made from this Dark Gaia creature Tikal mentioned still hiding within the broken planet. But this meant it was safe for his friends to move about, find one another, and begin working towards finding a solution.

"Kami-sama, I am back," Popo's voice spoke up, "And I have found the good doctor that could tell us how to heal the planet."

"Yes, and I thank you for those delicious cucumber sandwiches, my good djinn," an elderly voice added, making Dende turn to see Popo walking with a tall elderly man with thick bushy eyebrows that covered his eyes, "The bread was no less than ¾ of an inch thick, a tablespoon of mayonnaise with a pinch of black pepper, and fresh thinly sliced cucumbers that tasted like they were homegrown."

"I'm just glad we can meet you now," Dende spoke, "It has come to our attention you are currently the most knowledgeable person of recent events."

"Hm? You refer to Dark Gaia's awakening, correct?"

"That's right," Dende spoke, "I know you are the foremost expert, taking great time to study everything you can. It's for that reason I know you can help us. You already know what information will play a vital role."

"I do..." The elderly man nodded as he walked over to the side, standing next to Dende as he looked down at the planet, "Our world...it contains such beauty, and yet it hides a terrifying secret. Dark Gaia was not meant to awaken so soon, and yet it has...and what concerns is Light Gaia hasn't tried to force Dark Gaia back."

"So we need a back up plan…"

"Correct my green fellow," he nodded, "The Gaia Manuscripts tell of Temples hidden throughout the world, each one having a key to help open their inner sanctum. In order to get in though...you must earn the trust of each temple's guardian, obtain the key from them, and reach the inner sanctum."

"And what do you do once the inner sanctum is reached?" Dende asked.

"The Chaos Emeralds. From what I can gather, they are the only things powerful enough to empower Gaia Temples to bring the world back into one piece," he nodded, "But that task in itself is difficult...the remaining six are hidden and...from what I've gathered, once Dark Gaia awoken…" he paused as he reached into his suit, pulling out a fairly large emerald that seemed to be a very dull red color, "The Chaos Emeralds have lost their power."

"This is troubling…" Dende spoke as he looked at it, "This means we are lucky Sonic had that idea he did before...oh wait, that's right! The Master Emerald! Perhaps it can restore them!" he paused, "But we'd still need to find all seven of them...wow. Is this what it feels like when they need to find the Dragon Balls?" he blinked.

"I imagine the task is rather tedious?"

"From what I've gathered...yeah."

"Hmm...Well, what would be the point of an adventure if you do not have a goal in finding them, my good boy?!" the elder laughed, "In my younger days, I used to be quite the explorer, often diving into ancient civilizations to find ancient literature...stories of the ancient past!"

"I suppose that's true," Dende smiled, "Still I'd rather we have a simpler journey, and I know just where to go to make that happen. If you'd please accompany us on another quick trip."

"I'd be delighted, my young guardian," the elder smiled a bit, "...Oh! I do apologize, but I forgot to introduce myself. I am Professor Pickle, a teacher over at Spagonia University and head researcher into ancient literature."

"It is a pleasure to meet you Professor," Dende smiled, "You can call me Dende."

"Though technically he should be called Kami," Popo smiled.

"Kami...ahh. The Neighponese translation for God…" Professor Pickle noted before giving a small chuckle, "In all my years, I thought I'd never get the chance to meet a god, much less the one that looks over our world."

"I took over the role for a very wise and beloved successor," Dende smiled, "I have many friends here...and have loved watching over this amazing world. But now it's time for me to step up as the Guardian of Earth. Our protectors are stretched thin, so I need to begin to do my part as well."

"Of course, my young fellow," Professor Pickle smiled as he, Dende and Popo began to walk away, "When this business is all over, I do hope we'll get a chance to see eachother again for a nice serving of tea and cucumber sandwiches."

"I think I'd enjoy that." Dende smiled.

"As would I." Popo agreed.

"How long 'till we're ready?" Eggman asked for a progress report as his ship stopped to finish repairs, his robots working as fast as possible after the damage from Gohan's Oozaru rampage. A robot beeped a few times, "Hours?! What if that mad monkey finds me!? He has my scent...I know he's after me! Just like his father...he is out to get me...only unlike his father, he wants to end me...Goku just enjoys making me suffer..."

"Wah...even after reconstructing his mind...Goku has caused severe psychological damage…" Metal muttered just watching Eggman's panic attack, "Still...I miscalculated...Son Gohan seems to be driving himself to chase us. He has even strived to stay within the Night time hemisphere."

"No no no! I gotta hurry things up!" Eggman exclaimed, "...No. If I rush it, it'll come out half-baked...it might even explode on me, and I am not ready to die until I claim Mobius as mine! Er...I mean Earth! I mean….damn it! Someone needs to name this place!"

"Goku calls it Earthius…" Metal spoke.

"...If I didn't hate him, I'd comment on how clever he is at that…" Eggman grumbled.

"...Perhaps you should contact the other Dark Legion.."

"Egg Army…"

"Ugh. Perhaps you should call on the leaders of your army and see what's happening on their end?"

"Perhaps I should, 'sides I'll need to call them back to protect me once we leave…" Eggman muttered as he walked off and towards a computer, "Egg Bosses, report!"

=Things are in chaos at the moment in Northamer= Clove answered =The Wolf Pack has spent the entire night fighting back those creatures...=

=The oceans are invaded by those beast and are resting within Holoska= Akhlut added with a frown =They even have a much larger beast leading them…=

=Mazuri is in a state of calm at the moment, boss= Axel went next =However, the villagers in one of the intact towns are muttering something about those creatures that appeared...I'll keep an eye out in case I hear anything=

=The continent of Spagonia has a ton of those blasted things roaming around the states, especially Mercia...my kingdom!= a Mobian cobra in metal armor exclaimed =These are the last things I needed deal with=

=Those things are the least of your worries= Conquering Storm argued with a frown =Chunan and Neighpon are still connected, but it seems two of its guardian beasts have been corrupted...a phoenix and a dragon=

=The people of Apotos seem to go into a state of depression and panic when night comes about= A Mobian Thylacine added as he looked over something on a touchpad =The energy that is coming from those cracks seem to have a negative effect on the people, drawing those monsters out=

=Shamar is in a state of unrest= A female Mobian vulture with a gold face mask added =If it isn't those dark creatures...it is the Sand Blasters that are attacking innocents around Midesta=

"Blast...Was hoping those psychopaths were erased…" Eggman muttered, "So everything's going totally insane now...as it stands, we don't have a world to take over let alone rule...even if there are alien planets out there to take over...they aren't here...meaning if we want a home…"

"We need Goku and Sonic," Metal spoke.

"Why'd you say Goku first?" Eggman blinked.

"Power scaling…"

"..Yeah, that sounds right…" Eggman muttered, "...No...No! I can do this! I...I can probably find a way to control those things!"

"That sounds like a very bad idea…" Metal deadpanned.

"What...no, it's perfect! This way we have an ultimate power at our control! And we don't have to abandon the planet!" Eggman argued.

"How?"

"I'll figure something out!" Eggman pondered as he began to rub his chin in thought, "Hmm….wait...there's this Professor fellow in Spagonia...perhaps I can send one of my men there to retrieve any important info from his office!"

"It's the start of a plan...kinda…" Metal muttered, "Question...who are you going to send out to do this mission."

"..."

"...It's me, isn't it?"

"Yup."

"Understood, going now," he spoke walking off.

"Good."

"Maybe...no no...that won't work…" Bulma whispered as she and Sally were going over different sheets of paper, "Wait...what if we...no...uggggh! I can't think of anything!" She snapped as she slammed her hands on the table, "I still can't believe things went so horribly wrong!"

"This is something usual for us at times," Sally sighed, "I tend to blame the Chaos Force for most things going wrong."

"I blame Goku…" Bulma admitted before sighing, "Nicole, where's Gohan at the moment?"

=Currently, he is still pursuing Dr. Eggman's vessel. In approximately three hours and twenty-seven minutes, Eggman's vessel will be arriving at the edge of this part of the broken planet= Nicole informed =The reason it is not shorter is that Gohan has managed to hit the engines once more=

"Ugh...It's because of those damn monkey tails that I hate the full moon when I used to love it!" Bulma growled.

"I don't understand how this dark energy is able to make Gohan regain this power…" Sally spoke, "I understand the Saiyans are a powerful race of aliens...but it's almost like they have two sets of power."

"I never paid attention to it either…" Bulma sighed, "After they lost their tails and got Super Saiyan, I didn't have to worry. But you're right...it's like a Dark power and a Light power…" she shook her head, "A thing to wonder about later. Right now, we need to fix the planet."

=I believe I've found a result= Nicole spoke up.

"What do you have, Nicole?"

=In Spagonia, a Professor Pickle has a presentation scheduled for next week on 'Dark Gaia and Light Gaia'= Nicole explained.

"That's great!" Bulma cheered, "But...how do we get to him?"

"I believe I can help with that," a voice spoke in Bulma and Sally's heads.

"Dende?" Bulma blinked.

"Sorry for eavesdropping, but I figured you'd be happy to know I have the Good Professor with me currently. We are on our way to you so he can tell you what he's told me. We have a means to fix this," he explained.

"Really?!" Sally gasped, "That...that's great!"

"It won't be a simple task though, I shall explain better once we arrive."

"Simple or not, we'll take anything right now!" Bulma exclaimed.

"Well then please let us in," Dende chuckled before the doorbell rang.

=Cameras can confirm it's them= Nicole noted, a hint of amusement in her tone.

"Let them in then, please."

=Understood= Nicole nodded.

"Oh...why thank you," Professor Pickle's voice spoke.

"Long time no see, Bulma," Dende smiled as they walked in.

"It has been quite a while," Bulma noted, "I just wish it was under better circumstances."

"Indeed," Dende nodded as he then turned to Professor Pickle, "This is the man we need to help us. No one knows more about this situation then him."

"Greetings," Professor Pickle greeted, "And I do know what currently blights the planet right now...Dark Gaia has awoken."

"Dark Gaia?" Sally and Bulma repeated.

"The being that had once slept within the planet's crust…" Professor Pickle explained as he walked over, "I have studied the Gaia Manuscripts and learned many things about both it and Light Gaia, its polar opposite. Both were born at the dawn of time and are both the incarnations of Light and Darkness itself. Whereas Dark Gaia represents night and destruction, Light Gaia represents both day and creation and awakens to clash with Dark Gaia, resulting in an endless cycle of rebirth. Should Dark Gaia win...the cycle would start with the destruction of the planet, but if Light Gaia were to win and force Dark Gaia back to his slumber, them the planet would be reborn and would go back to sleep, thus restarting the cycle until both deities awaken once more."

"A constant cycle of them awakening, fighting, and then going back to sleep...No one tell Goku or Vegeta that; it'd probably be paradise for them," Sally noted.

"However...this is most concerning," Professor Pickle frowned as he looked out the window, "Both should not awaken until every tens of thousands of years, and yet...Dark Gaia has awakened early and there is no sign of Light Gaia appearing..."

=...Sally, I think your theory on what happened is correct…= Nicole spoke, earning both Sally and Bulma's attention =The backlash from Sonic trying to repair Mobius, Eggman interrupting him...resulting in our worlds fusing...and the recent attack from that monster Hirudegarn. I think the combination form all that-and adding in the mass amount of negative energy from Hirudegarn- was what caused this Dark Gaia to awaken so early=

"Which must mean that the other half, Light Gaia, hasn't fully awakened yet either." Dende spoke, "Which is why things are so bad."

"It seems to be spreading faster," Professor Pickle noted, "It must be trying to amass more power then it's other half."

"Could that be why it influenced Gohan?" Bulma asked, "The monsters even worked to make him change…"

"The Saiyans have an unmatched ability to harness energy…" Dende spoke, "Goku himself has shown he can harness power like that of Dark and Light Gaia via his Spirit Bomb. It must have sensed Gohan's ability and began sending him energy. It probably will try the same with Goku and Vegeta...but I have less concern for them. When it comes to these things they are smarter than us."

"Yes...and hopefully the only way we can fix the planet-and hopefully awaken Light Gaia- is the find the Gaia Temples and restore the Chaos Emeralds' power," Professor Pickle added, making the girls look at him as Dende pulled out the dulled-out Chaos Emerald, "At first I thought it was because of Dark Gaia's awakening, but if I am assuming right after hearing the young lady in the computer over there...the event that caused both of our worlds to fuse was too great of a strain on the Chaos Emeralds, causing them to lose their power."

"I think if we bring them to the Master Emerald we can repower them." Dende spoke, "I can still feel a faint energy within it, but I wouldn't be able to track it unless I was really close to one. But if I recall, Tails was making a Radar for these."

=I believe so yes= Nicole answered

"If we can use it to find the Emeralds, then we can restore them while also working to find the temples." Dende offered.

"Then we have a game plan," Bulma noted with a smirk, "We find the Emeralds, restore them, find these Gaia Temples, awaken Light Gaia, and send Dark Gaia back to sleep."

"We'll send out some of us who can get around fast," Dende offered, "Meanwhile the Professor will be here to help us locate the temples. I must return to the lookout and Angel island."

"You put them together?" Bulma blinked.

"I like the company," Dende smiled, "Sides, my palace gets a little confining, and Mr. Popo loves the flowers."

"Ahh."

"You know...if you can use some assistance in finding the temples, I know someone who could help you with just that," Professor Pickle offered as he walked up to the computer, "Tell me, do you have any functioning...blast it. What are they called?...Oh yes. Communicators on you? I'd like to contact a former student of mine."

"I could find them for you, professor," Dende offered.

"He does have omnipotence," Bulma muttered.

"He has what?" Sally blinked.

"It's...not as useful as you might believe," Dende chuckled, "Professor, do you remember this student of yours' name?"

"I do. Relic is her name," he nodded, "She was a very fine and promising student, too. Decided to take up archeology and studying ancient history."

"Give me a second," Dende smiled putting his hand to his head as his antennae began twitching, "Found her," he paused, "I don't want to spook her...but given what's going on…" he muttered, "A little scare should be okay for the greater good."

"Let's just hope she'll comply," Sally whispered.

"Madam Relic? Madam Relic, where are you?" an orange and yellow robot asked as it floated around what looked like an old temple, carrying a large metal backpack on its back as it looked around, "Mmm...where could she be? ...Did those monsters find her o-"

"Found it!"

"Ahh!" the robot yelped as he looked ahead, seeing a female Mobian pika examining what looked like an old mural.

The pika was possibly as tall as Knuckles and had teal-colored fur with her hair held up into a bun. She currently wore a shoulderless black bodysuit with a long, light-brown jacket on top, a matching backpack strapped to her back as her hands and feet sported a pair of brown gloves and a pair of white and brown shoes respectively.

"Oh there she is…"

"Now let's see here…" the pika muttered, a rich english accent in her voice as she examined the mural, adjusting her purple-rimmed glasses a bit, "Hmm...These ruins seem to predict an ancient kingdom predating back to...five hundred? No...six hundred years ago! Interesting….perhaps I sh-"

"Madam Relic!"

"Hmm?" she blinked for a moment before she turned to see the robot floating over to her, "Oh! Fixit! I was wondering what had happened to you."

"I was more worried for you after we got separated from each other by those monsters," Fixit argued before giving a sigh of relief, "But I am glad you are alright."

"Same here, love," she smiled a bit, "And thank the creators I was able to find this place. Fixit, I think I have…"

"Hello?" Dende's voice spoke.

"?!" Relic tensed up a bit, "...Fixit, you heard that right?"

"Heard what, madam?"

"That voice just now."

"I'm afraid your robot can't hear me, well...they'd need to have a brainwave-like pattern to, but...that's a special case, as for what I am...well, first I'm not a ghost nor are you having a mental breakdown." Dende spoke, "Second, I am what most call Kami, the Guardian of the planet. Now normally I don't just contact normal people out of the blue like this...but we are in a bit of a situation, and this was faster."

"...Fixit?"

"Yes, madam?"

"Please pinch me. I think I must be having a dream if a god is contacting me," Relix whispered before Fixit pinched her with a pair of tweezers, "Ow! Bullocks that hurt...I guess I'm not dreaming then."

"Sorry, my existence is a bit of a pain to the academic types, I am aware. But I do need your help to save our home. If you're willing to listen, I can explain how you can help. Please, our world is in danger, and the warriors I normally rely on are...well...they are kind of off on a space adventure…"

"...and...what do you need my help for, your lordship?" Relic asked, "I'm afraid all I can offer is my knowledge on ancient civilizations a-"

"We need help finding the Chaos Emeralds and the Gaia Temples."

"?!" Relic's eyes widened at that, a bit of a glimmer appearing in them, "The Gaia Temples...as in the same temples mentioned within the Gaia Manuscripts?"

"The very same," Dende spoke, "They are the key to saving the world at the moment. A good man named Professor Pickle recommended you to me, so I know you are more than perfect for this task. I shall send my companion to bring you to my location to help others in saving the world. I have other tasks to attend to...you would not believe how many things I need to keep an eye on at once…"

"Not surprised considering you're a god," Relic noted.

"My companion is on his way now, before you ask...I can not explain how the carpet flies…" he chuckled.

"Good to know…" Relic whispered as the silent soon befell her mind, indicating that Dende was no longer there, "..."

"...oh d-" Fixit began.

"EEEEEEEE!" Relic squealed out of pure excitement, "Fixit, this is fantastic! I've wanted to explore anything involving the Gaia Manuscripts ever since I graduated the professor's class! It's been my dream to learn of both it and the ancient Echidna civilization!"

"...What has happened?" Fixit asked more to itself then to her.

"...Okay. Make a note on finding this place again…" Relix whispered to herself, reaching into her backpack and pulling out a large map, "Fixit, what's our current location?"

"The mountains between West City and the wild plains."

"Excellent," she smiled, pulling out a pen as she wrote down a small star on a spot, "Good. I am ready then," she smiled, folding the map back up and putting it back in her bag, "Now let's wait for this fellow the planet guardian mentioned a-"

"Hi."

"Bloody nora!" she yelped as she and Fixit turned, seeing Popo standing...er...Floating there while standing on top of a magic carpet, "...That was rather fast…"

"...Pointed ears...Arabian attire...magic carpet…" Fixit noted, "Hmm...Cross-referencing...Madam, he is a Djinn."

"That I am," he smiled, "I am Popo, the assistant to Kami-sama, the guardian of Earth. He has asked me to give you a lift to a Capsule Corp bunker, where we shall begin plans to save the world."

"Ahh...very good then," Relix nodded as she moved over to him, climbing on top of the Magic Carpet as Fixit floated over and landed behind her, "We are ready then, my good sir."

"Good, then I suggest you hold on tight."

"Wait. Why would we need to hold onto a Magic C-?" Fixit began.

"Popo."

"AHH!" Fixit and Relic yelped as the carpet took off in a blur.

"And…" Dende smiles as Mr. Popo pulled to a stop in front of them as they waited outside, "There they are."

"Hi."

"Oh..oh...oh wow…" Relix whispered, her hair blown back and her jacket blown back.

"Oh...I think I almost lost a few servos back there…" Fixit whispered as he gripped the carpet hard.

"Yeah...Mr. Popo drives that carpet fast," Bulma sighed in understanding.

"It's easier if you've ridden a Nimbus before," Popo smiled.

"How...do you ride...a cloud?" Fixit asked as Relic slowly moved off the carpet.

"Don't ask…" Bulma explained, "Hi, sorry for the sudden and...abrupt call, but we just...really need some help fixing the world."

"Ahem! O-of course, love," Relic nodded, fixing her hair back up into a bun before adjusting her glasses, "Relic the Pika, former student to Professor Pickle and adventurous archeologist."

"I'm Bulma, Bulma Briefs." Bulma introduced, "You know this voice," she motioned to Dende.

"I'm glad you came to help, Ms. Relic," Dende smiled as she blinked a few times, "Yes...I am green. No, I'm neither human or Mobian." he answered the questions she was thinking thanks to his telepathy, "I am the Guardian of Earth...but...you can just call me Dende, all my friends do."

"It's still polite to address him with respect, he is the planet's Kami-sama afterall," Popo added.

Ahh. Of course," Relic nodded before bowing, "A pleasure to meet you in person, your lordship."

"You needn't bow to me. I am but a humble guardian." Dende smiled, "I'm sorry to have taken you from your work...but...I do believe saving the planet so you can explore it...is a bigger priority."

"Oh definitely yes," Relic nodded as she stood up, "As much as I'd love to get to searching more of your world's history, this is more important, so please...lead the way, Mrs. Briefs."

"Thanks," Bulma sighed, "Come on. We have a good deal of work to do."

"I shall return to my lookout and keep watch on the Earth. If anything happens I'll tell you at once." Dende spoke, "If anything bad happens, don't hesitate to relocate to my lookout."

"Thank you, Dende," Bulma smiled, "You are literally the best god ever, of all time."

"I do my best," Dende smiled.

"While we locate the temples, we'll need someone fast to search the world for the Emeralds," Bulma spoke before smirking, "I know just the person."

Shadow grunted, firing more spears at the monsters as he cleared out another area. He tried to keep track of Gohan, but with the power of his Oozaru form, he didn't want to risk the damage it could cause the planet if he angered him. Least of all as it is now, he needed to play this smart, thankfully for once he could, and it's not like he had any other option. GUN was stretched thin, taking people to the many shelters Bulma and Sally set up just for these moments. This meant only those who could fight on this level were out and about. Well…

"Mmm…" Shadow groaned as Krillin and Yamcha screamed as another Giant Monster stumbled after them.

"WHY SPECIFICALLY US!?" Krillin shouted.

"How are these Son Goku's friends again? They seem more like his sidekicks…" Shadow grumbled, he stumbled upon this group of Goku's three human friends and two family members of Roll's, who were helping as best they could, and they claimed to be trying to stop Gohan, but for the most part it looked like they were just getting into dangerous misadventures.

"Solar Flare, Krillin! Solar Flare!" Yamcha yelled.

"I can't! It keeps swinging its club at me!" Krillin screamed.

It let out a roar before a Bo Shuriken hit it in the forehead, a paper tag on the end of it. The monster blinked a few time and reached up for it. The tag ignited and made a few hissing sounds before…

*BOOM!*

The monster stumbled back, its face burnt from the explosion and its eyes burned from the flash. It grunted before falling over on its back, its feet tangled in steel chains.

"Hah! Well, he sure blew that!" Jem laughed as Pari smiled, the chains coming out of her sleeves, "...Wait...That thing's a 'he,' right?" Pari shrugged, "Yeah, I'm goin' with 'he.'"

"Oh thank god you girls came to save us in time," Krillin sighed in relief.

'Not down yet,' Pari signed as the monster started to get back up.

"Ah! Quick! Do that solar thingy Yam-kun said!" Jem yelped.

"Eek! Solar Flare!" Krillin raised his hands to his head as a sudden and blinding flash of light filled the area.

The monster seemed to cry out in pain as it covered its face, black smoke starting to come off it.

"...Krillin, do that again," Yamcha spoke.

"Solar Flare!" Krillin shouted as another blinding flash hit the monster, making it roar out in pain as more black smoke came off of it, "...Oh my god, we got an ace!"

"That's actually hurting it?" Shadow raised a brow from nearby.

"Oh right! These things hate sunlight!" Yamcha realized, "The Solar Flare just takes sunlight and makes a big bright flash!"

"Hmm...impressive move," Shadow noted in interest.

"Solar Flare! Solar Flare! Solar Flare!" Krillin shouted as he rapidly flashed the monster hard, making it roar out as it dissipated into black smoke.

"Whoo! Not bad," Jem grinned as Pari pulled the chains back into her sleeves before hugging Yamcha's arm into her cleavage, "And great job stalling him long enough for Sis and me to set up that!"

"Oh! Uh, well…" Yamcha stammered, trying to not look at the two with a blush.

"Aw...he's blushing!" Krillin laughed, "You guys need some alone time? I can hang with Shadow till your done~" he teased.

"I'm not your friend." Shadow crossed his arms.

"Vegeta said the exact same thing," Krillin argued.

"Grr..."

"He'd growl afterwards too."

"..."

"...I'll, uh...just...shut up now."

"Hmph," Shadow snorted as he looked out at the area, noticing something gleaming from nearby, "...A Chaos Emerald? All the way out here?"

"Hmm?" Krillin blinked as Shadow walked over to spot the gleam was coming from, reaching down as he picked up another dulled-out Chaos Emerald, "...Oh wow. That is a big gem."

"It's drained...essentially just that for now, a gem." Shadow spoke, "Meaning I can't use it for much, but I bet it will be worth keeping."

"Probably a good idea if they're your world's McGuffins…" Krilin muttered.

"Yes, only these don't summon a dragon that can grant wishes," Shadow argued.

"Yeah. Ours are...much more useful when a problem occurs."

"But cause as much trouble when used improperly," Shadow stated

"I can not argue that...Bulma was never gonna use them wisely the first time anyway." Krillin sighed.

"Oh no...she planned to abuse the heck out of 'em…" Yamcha added.

"Yeah, I could see that. That lady is smart as heck," Jem nodded.

'You'd wish for sports equipment that wouldn't break,' Peri deadpanned.

"Nah. It'd be you having a voice...and then the indestructible sports equipment," Jem replied.

"At least your first wish would be selfless…" Krillin muttered.

"We were taught to put others before our own wants," Jem shrugged.

"Tell that to Bulma. Goku says her original wish was for a perfect boyfriend...oh god, if she'd made that wish, Vegeta would have been here way sooner…" Krillin realized.

'A perfect boyfriend? ...Wait, would that be what she would consider 'perfect' or what others see as 'perfect?'' Peri tilted her head.

"Heck if I know...I just know Shenron does his best, and he's all knowing...so if he were to take it as her perfect compatible match...it'd be Vegeta...Seriously, those two are made for one another." Krillin sighed, "But that's a nightmare for another time...when monsters aren't coming up out of the planet's cracks like some bad C-Lister Monster movie from Master Roshi's era of cinematography." he then blinked, "Oh my Dende! Master Roshi!"

"...Oh geez you're right!" Yamcha realized

"Roshi can't fly! He's stuck on an island!" Krillin freaked.

"Isn't he the guy that Roll said rides a flying spinning turtle that makes him throw up after he gets off?" Jem asked, "Or was that just something I hallucinated her saying when she showed she can fly now?"

"..." Peri shrugged.

"I don't want to imagine what's going on with Roshi's pet kaiju…" Krillin added.

"Down Baby Gamera! No! Bad! AH my beard! NO!" Roshi cried from his...relatively intact island, "My glorious beard!"

"I'm sure he's fine," Yamcha shrugged before seeing more of the creatures emerging, "And we need to worry about ourselves first. Times like this make me wish I still had a sword..." he blinked twice when Jem pulled a katana out of her top and handed it to him, "...I, uh...I have many questions..."

"And when we get some privacy, we'll answer," Jem assured before digging into her tail and pulled out some gauntlets.

"Wow…" Krillin spoke up.

"You're getting a kick out of this, aren't you?"

"From this happening specifically to you...yes...yes I am." Krillin smiled.

"...You're thankful Puar's not here right now," Yamcha muttered as he unsheathed the katana.

"Once more? Yes...Yes I am," Krillin chuckled.

"Puar?" Jem repeated.

"We'll talk after this," Yamcha replied, quickly slicing one of the monsters that jumped at them.

"I bet you will!" Krillin laughed.

"Dang it, Krillin!"

"18 would get such a kick out of this," Krillin chuckled.

"Hmm?" Shadow took out the phone Bulma made him take, he answered it as he jumped up to higher ground and let the others deal with the monsters, "Bulma, please tell me you know what these things are."

=Well...that is a long story...but the short version is, the planet's own evil energy...yep...the planet itself is trying to kill us now...but don't worry! We figured out what to do. While we do the smart brain stuff, I need you to zip around...what's left of the planet and find the other Chaos Emeralds, they...are kind of important=

"When aren't they…" Shadow sighed, "But thank you for being quick about all this." he looked down at the others fighting, "And on an aside note, what distance is a Sakurai meant to stay in the range of their Bonded during the first few months again?"

=...What did you do?=

"Excuse you?"

=Sorry, sorry. I tend to get questions like that from Vegeta after he does something he knows he'll be in deep trouble for later=

"Hmph. That friend of yours, Yamcha, got stuck with two Sakurai."

"Yamcha did WHAT!?"

Shadow blinked twice, looking between his phone and the direction of where Bulma was currently at. He tapped the speaker and nodded. Yep...she was so loud that he not only heard her from how far away she was...but she broke the speaker of the phone as well. Below, Yamcha shuddered as he felt a disturbance...and a strong feeling of avoiding his baseball team's hometown for...as long as possible...maybe even avoid the game for a bit so he wouldn't be found by people following the schedule.

"Uh...I'll be there for that new radar…" Shadow muttered, hoping he was heard as he tossed the phone away for extra measure.

"...Wow," Krillin slowly blinked.

'I'm worried,' Peri noted before whacking one of the monsters with a metal bo staff.

"Same, but we'll be there for Yam-kun," Jem assured.

"I'd be really trusting that if not for how your tails are sticking straight up like Goku's used to when he was absolutely terrified," Krillin noted.

"Do that solar thingy again already!" Jem snapped as Peri blushed in embarrassment.

"W-"

"NOW!"

"AHH! SOLAR FLARE!"

'Why are all the women I know in this age so annoying?' Shadow thought with a roll of his eyes before running off to get the radar.

"Ohohohoh~! That Yamcha…" Bulma seethed, her eye twitching madly.

"...Is it safe to come out from behind the table yet?" Relic whispered, hiding behind an overturned table with the others.

"Wait until she has a target to focus on," Sally quietly replied, "Preferably an idiot."

=Sadly the two biggest idiots are off world…= Nicole whispered, currently hiding in her handheld.

"Any chance you have access to the feeds in Eggman's ship?" Sally asked.

=Gohan's last attack fried the cameras on his ship=

"Rats. There goes letting her watch him make an idiot of himself panicking."

=I also would have enjoyed that show= she sighed =To word this in simple yet blunt words...we need a sacrifice…=

"Bulma...where's your dad?" Sally asked, getting an idea from that.

"In one of the bunkers with mom! ...Wait. Why…?"

"I don't wanna know," Shadow muttered as he ran into the room.

"Oh thank Chaos…" Sally sighed, "I'll get you Tail's Radar, but it's his only working model so…"

"I know, don't break it, sell it, or trade it for food...I'm not Goku," Shadow sighed.

"I know…"

=But you are prone to violence, brash acts, and all around Vegeta-like choices= Nicole stated.

"Grr…"

=And prone to growling as well when annoyed.=

"...Just get me the Chaos Damn Radar."

"Alright, alright," Bulma rolled her eyes as she went to grab it.

"...So what did you say that made her so mad at Yamcha?" Sally asked.

"Apparently, he's now mates with two of Faker's mate's aunts."

"Say what?" Sally blinked twice.

=Ah, you mean Jem and Peri?=

"Yes."

"Nicole, you know what's going on?"

=Twins apparently share a Bond when one of them is rescued=

"That's...unexpected…" Sally admitted, "But...I guess it's normal for them."

=I keep telling you to study their lawbook= Nicole noted.

"I have a dozen other responsibilities…" Sally sighed.

=Well then I'll find some time for you= Nicole smiled =Anyway, Shadow, you should head off. The faster we get the emeralds the better, while we get back to work on finding the temples needed to fix the world=

"Of course," Shadow nodded as Bulma walked back in, "I'll work as fast as I can, but I fear that defenses around here shall be stretched thin in my absence."

"I'm sure you're fast enough," Bulma sighed, "Goku once did this in a single afternoon. But something almost always sucks up his time."

"Noted," Shadow nodded as he took the device she brought in for him, "I suggest we keep the Emeralds we do have here. Given the current situation..and knowing Eggman will try and take them, this is one of the few spots he wouldn't dare attack."

"Yeah I don't think we gotta worry about that at the moment…" Bulma muttered, "He's still evading a very angry giant monkey…"

"He found us again!" Eggman screamed as Gohan roared and fired beams of energy from his jaw at his ship.

"Why do we not go the other way towards the end of the night instead of continuing on into the night?" Metal asked.

"Whichever gets us the furthest away from Alien King Kong!" Eggman panicked.

"Noted," Shadow nodded as he began to walk out, taking out the dulled-out Chaos Emerald and placing it on the table.

"I still can't believe the Chaos Emeralds look like this," Sally noted in concern while Shadow left.

"Really?" Bulma asked.

=Yes. Prior to Eggman utilizing the Genesis Wave, the Chaos Emeralds were once billions upon billions of Emeralds of unknown origin on multiple planets until Tails and Shadow in their Super Transformations put them all into the Zone of Silence where Feist merged them into just seven Chaos Emeralds and turned it into the Special Zone= Nicole noted =But given what has already altered, such as the fusion of our worlds, Sally no longer being Roboticized, and several other events such as while Eggman's coup happening still only it lasted seven years instead of ten and on the day Tails was born…=

"Wait. He's eight?" Sally asked in surprise.

"That...feels like something we should have talked about sooner…" Bulma muttered in concern, "More so that I let him travel with Goku...Thank god Piccolo is there."

=...I can conclude there is a 87.46243 percent chance that the Chaos Emeralds and their history have also been altered= Nicole concluded.

"So we're just gonna blame Eggman from now on, right?" Bulma asked, realizing just how much detail that would entail.

"Yes= both replied.

"Anyway…" Bulma took a deep breath, "We need to focus on how to fix the planet. We have our experts working on that, and Shadow whom we can rely on most at this time. One thing I'd like to tackle is somehow turning Gohan-kun back to normal. Last thing we need is a giant monkey compounding all our other issues."

"He keeps in that transformed state because of the full moon, right?" Sally asked, tapping a cheek in thought.

"Yeah. And the only three surefire ways to change him back are waiting for sunrise, cutting his tail off, and...blowing up the moon for yet another time," Bulma replied.

=So if the first two aren't an option?=

"Master Roshi did it once…" Bulma sighed, "But I think Krillin should be strong enough to do it. For sure 18. She's actually the strongest person outside of the usual idiots on the planet. Which I'm just now realizing up 'till you guys came along were all aliens and half-aliens...so she's the strongest human."

"I can't believe we're actually considering the option of blowing up the moon," Sally sighed.

=The Wolf Pack Nation is going to have many of their traditions thrown into chaos when that happens= Nicole noted =...Unless….Bulma=

"Hmm?"

=Is it possible Gohan would lose his transformation if the moon is blocked..or at least half broken?=

"Blocked? Hmm...I'm...actually not sure. We've never tried that," Bulma admitted.

=Hmm….I have an idea possibly= Nicole spoke =Sally, while looking through our...changed history, after the events on the Space Colony ARK, Eggman 'changed' by repairing the half of the moon he blew up using the Eclipse Cannon=

"Really?" Sally asked, raising a brow.

=He tried to run for a campaign as 'King of Mobius' and pinned the 'blackouts' caused by the 'nature friendly' towers he made on Sonic...he got caught and was sent to jail until he was busted out=

"I think I see your point though. What we need to do is disrupt the energy from the moon," Bulma realized, "Blutz waves, as Vegeta calls them, takes a Full Moon to generate enough for the transformation."

=And lucky for us…= Nicole began as an image of the moon popped up, zooming in to show a device on one end of it =The device Eggman used to repair it is still functioning...It shouldn't take me more than a while to hack into it=

"Perfect!" Bulma and Sally beamed.

"Mmm…" Rouge frowned a bit, looking down at the destruction caused by the Dark Gaia spawn.

=So much chaos...so much destruction...so much targets I can terminate!=

"Is that really all you can take away from this?" Rouge asked.

=...Yes=

"Oi…" Rouge rolled his eyes before she noticed Shadow stopping near her, "So...what's the job this time?"

"Find the Chaos Emeralds, save the world." he explained tossing the Radar to Rouge, "Same old same old I suppose."

"Ahh.. Good...I've been wanting to do some gem hunting for some time," Rouge grinned a bit.

=Will there be violence involved?=

"More than likely," Shadow replied.

=Satisfaction over maximum=

"Let's begin looking, I am getting sick of these strange monsters already," Shadow spoke, "I also need to make sure that a certain monkey doesn't make a big mess."

=Monkey?=

"Apparently, Saiyans transform into giant monkeys under a full moon when they have a tail."

=...=

"But Gohan doesn't have a tail...does he?" Rouge asked, tilting her head.

"The dark energy coming out of the planet caused it to regrow."

=Aliens are strange…=

"Given what I've seen his father do to food. I can't argue it." Shadow nodded his head, "But still, I didn't think they had yet another transformation. I'm glad the only ones we know are on our side."

"Agreed," Rouge nodded as she looked at the radar, "So shall we get going?"

"Faster the better," Shadow nodded, "I get a bad feeling from...all of this."

=This is going to be the best road trip ever. Of all time= Omega stated as he caught one of the spawn in one clawed hand before his other hand went back into his arm and a vice replaced it that he used to crush its head =I need to thank Hope later for some of my new modifications=

"I'm surprised Bulma agreed to keep Hope secret from her new friends and let her stay in Station Square," Rouge noted, "Lucky for us…" she showed the radar, "Seems the closest one is there."

Shadow nodded, "Team Dark, move out."

"Get away! Get away! Bad giant monkey! Bad giant laser-firing monkey!" Eggman ranted, shaking a fist at a nearby monitor showing Gohan still chasing them while he worked on the engines frantically, "D'oh...I don't need this! I need to focus on finishing my ship, but that damn monkey just won't leave me alone!"

"Gee...It's almost as if you did something before to anger him," Metal sarcastically stated.

"This is not time for you to be a moody angsty teenager, Metal!" Eggman snapped before the ship shook, "GAH! The shields are failing! If we get hit again, we're going to lose it!"

"I've run the numbers...we have zero means of stopping this form," Metal sighed, "I still have a backup I ejected a while back...I...can't help you since you're...squishy."

"D'oh...Then what can we do?!" Eggman panicked, "It's not like we can trap him undergr….wait a minute….one of my old bunkers!"

"You...wanna stay in one spot...in a hole in the ground?" Metal asked.

Eggman tapped on a nearby computer, "Given his size and amplified strength...we'd need to be in Bunker 57-E in order to be safe. It's deep enough that if he tried to dig through the entire night, he'd only get three-fourth the way down and then he'd go back to being the smaller form!"

"That….actually might work."

"Of course it would! And after all the trouble we went through to get these new engines, too..." Eggman sighed as Metal looked at the engines.

"Down! Down, down, down, down!" Leeta growled as she repeatedly stomped down on a Dark Gaia spawn that was trying to come out of the ground, the wolf wearing a black bodysuit, gloves, and mask with green detailing, "Get back in the ground!"

"Diamonds, I don't think that's working," Lyco sighed, wearing a blue version of Leeta's before a tree fell over, crushing a group of spawn that had come for them, "Nice work, Joker!"

"Th-Thanks, Hearts," Larry gulped, wearing a yellow version of the outfit with metal claws over the back of his hands while lying flat on his back on the broken stump of the fallen tree, "I really miss Ace and Jack...They'd make things so much safer…"

"Well, they're AWOL with no leads on either of them," Queen of Hearts sighed sadly, "And King has to maintain his duties and help keep the people safe in his real duties."

"Can't he just let that Hercule guy do it?" Queen of Diamonds asked as she punched one of the dog-like spawn and then kicked another away from them.

"Hercule is just helping promote peace. He's not really...that heroic…" Queen of Hearts sighed.

"H-He's not?" Joker blinked twice, getting up only to yelp as he slipped on some wet grass, a flailing hand smacking a jumping spawn in the face and sending it into the street where a truck's car break had just failed and ended up crushed under it rolling down the hill right into it.

"It's not hard to tell, he clearly just uses his friends the...the Alien ones, to do all the fighting for him."

"Oh...Right," Joker recalled.

"Whom...most of are off in space," Queen of Diamonds reminded.

"Except for their kids." Queen of Hearts added.

They all then turned hearing a large explosion. They looked to see Trunks fly up while lifting one of the larger monsters before swinging it around and tossing it into orbit...and possibly out into space. The young boy laughed before aiming his hands and raining a barrage of energy bullets which only caused more explosions...and probably more damage than the actual monsters.

"Hahaha! High score!" he cheered before spotting another large one, "Mine!" he turned Super Saiyan and flew off.

"...Yeah, except for the kids…" Diamonds amended with a sweatdrop.

"They can't...all be this bad, right?" Joker asked.

"I think the younger kid of the guy who hangs out with Sonic more than Vegetable is less violent due to hanging around with Tails' cousin," Hearts noted before hearing an explosion in the distance, "...Though that may not be saying much if that was the kid."

"I didn't do it!" Goten's voice cried as he flew past them while carrying Haseo and Whisper.

"...Well that happened…" the twins noted as Joker got up and put a hand on a scooter before the front wheel of it popped off and rolled off...before a sign fell over in the distance on one of the larger monsters, crushing it and the smaller ones around it.

"...Nicole, any chance you've been keeping track of our numbers?" Diamonds asked, "Does that sign count for Joker?"

=It does since the wheel hit a weakened part of its support and caused it to buckle= Nicole's voice replied on their comms.

"Aw come on~" Diamonds whined.

"...Um...we also saw Vegeta's son before seeing Son Goku's younger son with two Mobians…" Joker pointed out.

=Checking the street cameras that are still working...I'll be sure to notify Bulma that Trunks is going overboard and actually doing more damage than the creatures= Nicole's voice sighed after a few moments.

"Didn't you once tell us...those two kids could...fuse?" Joker asked.

=You refer to the Fusion Dance Goku taught them= Nicole corrected =It seems to drastically multiply the power of the resulting being, but the issue is it seems Trunks is the one in control of that form. It's probably safer if they don't attempt that move=

"How many crazy things can these aliens do, anyway? It's even weird how human they look that I forget they are aliens…" Hearts noted.

=Deck Master has dossiers on their currently known abilities= Nicole replied.

"So...the two kids are here...Where's the older one? Isn't he, like, just as strong as his dad?" Joker asked, "I bet he could clear these things up way faster."

=He would...If the cause of all this hadn't made him grow a tail and turn into a giant monkey that is currently attacking Eggman's EggCarrier MKIII= Nicole replied =Which Bulma doesn't want because of a plan we're currently attempting to contact Sonic and the others that are currently off-planet=

"Well, here's hoping it doesn't take a year for him to come back," Diamonds noted.

"...Can we go back to the part where the older son is a giant monkey of all things now?" Hearts asked.

"Alien power?" Joker guessed.

=Alien power…= Nicole confirmed.

"Well if he offs Eggman, then that's one less problem for us as a whole," Diamonds added.

=Yes...But a bad thing at the moment since Eggman has the one thing we're trying to use to contact Sonic and the others= Nicole replied.

"...I'm conflicted," Hearts noted after a moment.

=Just wait and hope Vegeta does it when he's finally tired of him. It's what I do= Nicole admitted.

"And hope that Sonic's natural chaotic effect on things he's trying doesn't focus on him trying to keep Vegeta from killing Eggman," Diamonds added, "I mean, seriously. Does no one ever notice how things seem to work out for him on his goals?"

=Like I said...wait and hope. We all know and wish Vegeta killing Eggman would make our lives...ever so slightly easier=

=Yeah, and also wait and hope that Sonic's nowhere near or knows what's he about to do= Heart deadpanned.

Nicole rolled her eyes. She decided to just hang up since they should be focusing more on the creatures.

"I may as well check in on how Eggman is doing," Nicole noted, reaching a hand out to a link before pausing as another popped up, "!? No…" she turned to it, a look of hope on her face, "Could it truly be?" she clicked on it and a tunnel formed before her, "..." she looked over at Sally and Bulma on a screen...seemingly frozen in place in mid-talk, "I'll be back...hopefully with someone who can help." she turned to the tunnel and ran into it, emerging on the other side to a realm resembling a chess board, "Shard, you're…" she froze with her eyes wide, "!?"

"Interesting. So this is what using that link does," a metallic blue hedgehog noted, his glowing red eyes gazing at his hands, around at the area, and then settling on her, "And it seems to have brought you as well."

"M...M...Metal Sonic...?" Nicole asked.

"Heh," the hedgehog, Metal Sonic, smirked as he took a step before raising a hand and produced two giant Rook pieces that blocked two halves of a wall from colliding in an attempt to block his path to her, "So...this link in my data lead me to this area. And you came here as well only an attosecond behind me, meaning it notifies you when it is used."

"You...You can't be here! Not in here!" Nicole snapped as several white Pawn pieces charged at Metal, "NEVER!"

"Oh? Why is that?" Metal asked as a black Queen piece slaughtered the Pawns, "Could it be the original user of this link was important to you? No matter. I have you now to speak with. You set Lord Eggman up."

"!? H-How…?" Nicole gasped as she backed up into a black King piece.

"Gohan. My damage was all superficial, dents and cracks on the exterior but no interior damage," Metal explained as he approached, putting a hand against the piece and past Nicole's shoulder, letting his eyes gaze into hers, "In the few minutes we spared, he had 1,302,392 different methods to destroy me or cripple me long enough to force Lord Eggman to declare a retreat. Yet he did none of them, aiming only for minimal damage."

"You were able to notice that?"

"His one flaw: he's far too smart. He knew how to do that in a way that didn't take me out. The big pink one...oh no that one almost destroyed me...I didn't like the pink thing…" he growled before shaking his head, "But no matter. You all wanted us to take the engines, but the question is...why? The answer? They have a secondary use that was installed into them." Nicole flinched and Metal smirked, "You've spent too long around organics and not enough time around machinery. You've adopted the telling flaws of an organic." he brought a finger up to her chin, making her raise her head up to look him in the eyes, "Such a pity." he moved back as Nicole shuddered before he waved a hand and two screens popped up, one showing the Eggcarrier and the other Gohan charging up a laser in his mouth, "I moved the ship just enough that this next shot will destroy it right where those pilfered engines are yet will give me enough time to get Lord Eggman into the deepest unlisted bunker the empire has that will take Gohan until sunrise to get even three-fourths of the way towards, meaning your plans for those engines goes away."

"No!" Nicole gasped.

"I will move the ship out of the attack's path if you tell me everything they do and…" he pointed at her, "...you give me your firewall and delete your knowledge of how to get around it, modified so that I can load it into the Empire's systems along with my own."

"!? M-My firewall?" Nicole repeated, her eyes wide in shock, "B-But that...I just...I…"

"You can and will give it to me unless you want the plan you and your organic companions to fail," Metal replied, glancing at the screens, "Best hurry. Even in our accelerated state, that charge only has a bit before it goes off. An hour to us at the moment, but only a few seconds for them." he looked her directly in the eyes, "The firewall and the knowledge or your plan goes up in smoke caused by a giant ape with a monkey's tail's breath weapon."

"...It...It's supposed to let us hack everything in the Eggman Empire and use your vessel to send out a communication to Sonic and the others on New Namek," Nicole admitted, her ears drooping.

"Hmm...Well, I'll add to it. Give me the firewall and the deletion of your knowledge on how to bypass it and I will also go into space to act as your communications array for that single message," Metal Sonic spoke before offering his hand, the appendage glowing as if it were covered in dark flames, "Deal?"

Nicole took a moment, thinking of all of this. This was a literal deal with the devil. Especially with her firewall. The one thing that even stumped Bulma of all people to the point she nearly threw her terminal in rage at her failed attempts...or nearly gave it to Vegeta to blow up with his best attack. But at the same time, with all that was happening, all their plans, could she say No to this? This is a literal lose-lose scenario for her...But which loss would help her friends the most?

"..." Nicole trembled.

"Alright, checking the cameras of their ship. Hopefully, they're managing to avoid Gohan," Bulma noted, typing on the screen only for a red screen to pop up, reading 'ACCESS DENIED,' "What?" she typed again, the words changing to 'GO AWAY,' "...No way…" she typed frantically this time and it changed to an emote of Eggman's face laughing, "B...But that...That's not fair."

"Bulma?" Sally asked before Nicole popped up on a screen, "Nicole?"

=...I'm...I'm sorry…= Nicole whispered.

"Nicole?" Bulma asked.

=Aim the signal at these coordinates in one minute and ten seconds= Nicole explained, not looking at either of them as another screen displayed coordinates =It will reflect off the array to send to New Namek=

"Signal? Array? Nicole, wha…" Sally began before Nicole went into her terminal and turned it off, "...Nicole...what happened…?"

"What's going on, Nicole? This isn't like you...did something happen?" Bulma asked in concern.

"Eh?" Haseo pondered, looking out.

"What's up?" Goten asked.

"Mmm...I feel something happened with Nicole-san…" Haseo replied.

"Huh? Something's wrong with Nicole?" Goten pondered, as he closed his eyes and tried to use his Ki sense to see if he could pick this up.

"Mom didn't get mad enough that she's gonna give her computer to Dad, is she?" Trunks asked.

"Piccolo was so mad at them that day…" Goten muttered.

"No. I feel...like her heart is hurting…" Haseo answered.

"Her heart?" Trunks repeated, raising a brow.

"Maybe we should go see what's going on," Goten noted, "Maybe something is wrong," he argued, earning their attention, "This way we can all find a safe place to rest and Haseo can check on Nicole. Also...Trunks...I think your mom wants to talk to you." he turned to see the now-burning street...and panicking monsters who were set on fire.

"...Uh-oh…" Trunk gulped, starting to sweat as he could already feel the pain sitting would cause.

"Come on," Goten spoke, picking Haseo up and lifting up into the air.

"Um...Oh, come on. Mom or monsters. Mom...monsters…" Trunk mumbled before sighing, "Mom it is. She's scarier than the monsters when you make her mad."

"Ah...she really won't come out..." Bulma sighed, trying and failing to turn on the handheld, "It's like a girl shutting herself away in her room when she's upset. Nothing will get her out."

"It's worrying, too. Eggman's suddenly able to block out the hack and now Nicole's unresponsive," Sally admitted before looking at the timer going down, "I'll keep trying. You get that signal ready to send, Bulma."

"You're right. We should try and get something good out of this turn of events," Bulma sighed, "I'll leave this to you. Old friends are better at this after all." she smiled before walking off.

"True…" Sally nodded with a sigh, looking on at Nicole's handheld in worry, "Nicole….please say something…"

Once again, silence was the response she got. Clearly whatever this was just devastated Nicole, making Sally wish she could help more, that she had something to help her friend. Even in spite of the literal end of the world going on around them, this was still very much important.

"A-Ano…"

"!?" Sally jumped and spun to see Haseo, Goten, and Trunks there...with Trunks trying to both hide behind Goten and trying to pretend that he wasn't trying to hide behind Goten.

"Is...Is something wrong with Nicole-san?" Haseo asked.

"...Honestly...I don't know…." Sally sighed, "...But also important...are you kids okay?"

"Hai...W-We stayed together and had Whisper-san help us…" Haseo answered

"Whisper?"

"The nice lady currently hiding behind the corner," Goten explained, "I think she's shy." he whispered.

"?" Sally raised a brow before looking at the doorway, seeing a masked Whisper standing there, peeking out the wide of the doorway, "...I see."

"Also, Haseo had this weird feeling something happened to Nicole. I just trusted him," Goten added as he annoyingly tried to push Trunks away for personal space.

"Ahh…" Sally noted before giving Haseo a reassuring smile, "It's okay, Haseo. Nicole is fine, but...she seems to have shut herself out from everyone else…"

"E-Eh?" Haseo looked at the handheld that Sally handed over to him.

"Goten said you had a weird feeling. Do you know what it felt like?"

"H-Hai. It...It felt like her heart's hurting...really bad," Haseo replied, his black tail puffing up as the white tail imitated half a heart with the black tail following, still puffed up, "Like something she learned hurt her close to it that she doesn't want to feel anything else at the moment."

"Oh dear…" Sally whispered in worry, "So Nicole...how could...who would have hurt her?"

"I...don't know…" Haseo whispered, his ears drooping as he gave Nicole's handheld back to her, "I wish there was some way I can help her…"

"How can we? ...I mean...she lives inside a computer," Trunks pointed out, "She can literally mute us out."

"I know. It's so infuriating," Sally sighed as she slammed a fist on the table, causing a paper that had been rolled up to fall off the stack on the table and unfurl before her, making her blink twice, "...Hey, Bulma? We may need to have your father spend less time with Mr. Sakurai and Uncle Chuck later."

"What?" Bulma asked, finishing up setting up the transmission to be launched.

"Look at this," Sally replied, holding up the paper.

"Hm?" Bulma looked at it, "'Conscious transference into a network for comatose patients'? ...Yeah, we need them to spend less time together." she stood up and tapped her cheek, "But...this could be a good idea to get into Nicole's handheld."

"I don't think that's a good idea…" Goten muttered, "But no one really listens to me so…"

"I'll offer myself for it," Haseo offered.

"HAH?!" Everyone looked at the young twin-tailed fox in surprise.

"If...If it's supposed to help Nicole-san, I…" Haseo paused, trying to force his blush back as he took a deep breath, "I wanna try and help her as much as I can!"

"Welp, he said it. So now he's gotta do it," Goten spoke up, "But we all gotta promise...never to tell his mom we let him. I mean it...she's super scary if you upset her. Especially about Haseo."

"I still remember how scared dad got after he smacked Haseo the first time…" Trunks whispered, "And it was an accident, too…"

"Hey...Hey, kid, wake up…" Vegeta spoke, nudging an unconscious Haseo as his eyes were spiraling while he sported a large red mark over one of his eyes, "Okay seriously wake up. I didn't even see you there and…"

"Papa...I think he's in a coma…" Trunks whispered.

"I didn't even swing that hard!" Vegeta argued.

"Yeah, but Haseo's not very strong like I am." Trunks added, "I mean...I'm bulletproof, a tap from you does nothing to me…"

"Oh...oh…" Vegeta realized, "Crap! Trunks grab the Senzu beans I keep in the cabinet!"

"Wh-?"

"JUST GET THE DAMN SENZU!"

"AHH!" Trunks yelped as he rushed off.

"Crap, crap, crap...Okay, what to do?" Vegeta muttered, pacing around the downed Haseo, "...Bury him? No, that's something Kakarot would think." he looked over at the couch, "...Got it." he put Haseo on the couch and put the blanket over him, "There we go."

Aphrodite hummed as she started coming into the room with Bulma and Chi-Chi, "Ahh...That was a brilliant idea to spend the day at the spa, Bulma-chan. Honestly, with the shenanigans going on at home, we really needed th..." she paused at seeing Haseo and Vegeta, "..."

"Oh, uh, welcome back!" Vegeta greeted.

"..." Aphrodite's eyes kept focused on Haseo.

"Oh, he got tired and fell asleep, so I was putting a blanket on him," Vegeta explained.

"..." Aphrodite's eye twitched.

"What's wrong?" Chi-Chi asked, noticing the twitch.

"Cheek," Aphrodite stated.

"Hm?" Vegeta looked at the exposed red cheek, "Oh, uh...I can…"

"SHINEI!"

*CRUNCH!*

"OH KAMI ABOVE!" Vegeta's very high-pitch voice squealed.

"We don't talk about it much…" Trunks shivered.

"So that's why she makes us always carry a few beans…" Goten realized.

"Alright, should be easy enough to assem-and they already made a prototype while working on Jules," Bulma deadpanned before a timer went off, "! Oh shoot! I need to send the signal now! Sally, take them to dad's lab where the system is. I'll send the signal and join up with you."

"Gotcha," Sally nodded.

"Oh, that stupid giant ape! My new engines are gone~!" Eggman complained in his deep underground bunker, "And my EggCarrier MKIII! Now I need to make an MKIV that can handle that stupid ape's beams! At least Metal's being a good boy and looking at the remains to see just how much I'll need to modify for the new version."

Metal was not checking the damage. At the moment, he was floating in orbit. He spread his arms out and they unfolded, becoming solar panels. His legs combined together and folded out to become a third as his head detached and connected to his torso, the nose extending out further. After a moment, a faint yellow beam came from West Mobotropolis and hit him, causing his eyes to glow.

=Preparations complete. Begin broadcasting= he spoke before shooting it out into space.

"Come on...Come on…" Bulma muttered as she watched the screen.

"Come on...pick up, pick up…" Sally whispered as well, "Anything on your end, Bulma?"

"Nothing yet…" she sighed, "All this...is making it almost impossible to get a signal out." she groaned, "We need the others back fast…"

"Agreed...Shadow and the others can only hold those creatures back for so long," Sally added with her own sigh, "And Gohan…"

"I can't believe his tail grew back...Whatever this...is...it has some effect on Saiyans." Bulma muttered, "The only Saiyan I know who can control that form is Vegeta...Goku, however…"

"Is just as bad as Gohan while he's like this?"

"We need to deal with those tails…" Bulma explained, "It's the fastest way to change them back."

"If we even can…"

=Sally, Bulma, I'm managing to pick up a signal from Tails= Nicole...or rather her recording spoke.

"Oh thank, Kami...quick see if we can boost the signal." Bulma spoke as she and Sally began typing away, 'For a moment...I thought Nicole was feeling better...'

=Already doing so…= Nicole's recording replied as a separate screen began to show a hazy yet clear image of Tails.

=Sally? Bulma? What's wrong?= Tails asked =I just got done talking with Sonic and we saw the distress signal go off=

=Did the fat man try and blow up my house again?= Vegeta demanded off screen.

"Well...that's a big old kinda…" Bulma muttered, "But not important! We need you back here yesterday!"

=I'll go get Kakarot…=

=What's happening?= Tails asked in concern.

"This may take a while…"

"And that's what's been happening since you've been gone," Sally and Bulma sighed, having finished what happened while Sonic and his group were off planet.

=Damn it...Well, we can't just fly back...that would take too long and we haven't even asked the Namekians for our wishes yet= Vegeta pointed out.

=We have all those stolen Warp Rings= Piccolo pointed out, holding up the bag, =We could send those of us who can fight back, while we leave others here to make the wish for us and fix Earth in the process=

"It's worth a shot..and we really hope it works," Sally sighed, "And we can't rely on the Chaos Emeralds at the moment."

=Wait, what?= Tails blinked before Sally showed the dulled out Chaos Emerald =?!=

=So they are drained...maybe Porunga can help...couldn't hurt to try asking for a wish= Piccolo spoke, =But regardless we need to get home now. We'll teleport there soon=

"Please do…" Bulma sighed as the screen turned off, "And now….we can only hope this Dark Gaia thing doesn't mess things up…"

"Okay...last Dragon Ball," Goku smiled as he put down the last Namekian Dragon Ball before the other six, "Whoo...That was a toughie to reach in the crack. Nice job pulling it out with your tail, Tangle."

"Yer welcome," Tangle beamed as her tail gave a thumbs up.

"Now we just gotta call up Porunga!" Goku smiled, "Then we can fix all the damage...but that will leave us with two more wishes…"

"True...and how do we summon the Namekian dragon?" Sonic pondered, "Like...is there a magic phrase or something in Namekian Language?"

"That is correct," Stratovari spoke up as he walked over, "Compared to the ones on Earth, the Namekian Dragon can only be summoned by those who know the words needed to summon Porunga."

"Also you gotta speak Namekian," Goku added, "That's really handy, since it means you can't take them and use them. Since only Namekians speak Namekian."

"Namekian says what?" Skye spoke in fluent Namekian.

"What? ...Wait, what?" Stratovari blinked twice at the adult hedgehog, "But that...and you…"

"I actually got a small headache from figuring out the language and figuring out the right way to speak it. Honestly, I think I'd knock myself into a coma if it were at a higher level," Skye admitted, "May not be as fast as my daughter and son-in-law, but my brain's helped me out in many a situation."

"..." Stratovari flicked the fez on his head off and into the river they were by, the fast current pulling it away.

"Oh, you sir are rude," Skye huffed.

"Well there goes hat number 7…" Goku sighed seeing that.

"Eight. Roll hit it with a bo shuriken," Skye corrected as he put another one on.

"Oh yeah…"

"So we gonna summon the dragon now or no?" Tangle asked.

"Yes. We should be," Stratovari nodded as he looked over at Skye and whispered something to him.

"Got it," Skye nodded, walking over to the Namekian Dragon Balls before holding his hands over before them, "Now rise, Grand Porunga, and grant our wish!"

Just like on their home planet, the sky began to darken despite there being three suns in the sky. Clouds suddenly formed before light erupted upwards. Everyone flinched before the Mobians all panicked and almost fell over at the sight of this Dragon. Unlike Shenron who looked like a simple Eastern Serpentine Dragon...Porunga started like this...only to end in a giant muscular torso, and giant arms to match, a frilled spine akin to a fish on his back, spikes extended from his shoulders and four spikes from the sides and top of his head. He growled and looked down with mighty red eyes as he coiled his body so as to lower down to closer eye level to those who summoned him.

"I am Prounga, the Dragon of Love, and Granter of Dreams. What is your Wish?" he asked in a projected voice they all seemed to hear in their minds. His eyes focused upon Skye mostly, "Speak your wish, young one."

"Ahh...well…" Skye began before Piccolo landed near them, "?"

"Hold off on the wishes for a moment. We...got some bad news back on our world," Piccolo spoke.

"Oh lord...what has Eggman done now?" Sonic groaned.

"Let's just say thanks to him interrupting you, it ended up waking an ancient god of darkness within the planet and now it's scattered into pieces, the Chaos Emeralds lost all their powers, and Gohan...tch...he's gone Great Ape…"

"Wait, what?!" Goku shouted at the last part, "But how?! Piccolo you removed his tail for good, didn't you?"

"God of Darkness, Goku! It probably has something to do with it!" Piccolo replied.

"If you have no wishes, then please wish for nothing three times so I may return to slumber," Porunga interrupted as he held up three fingers for emphasis, "I jest," he smiled, making the Mobians blink at...how different he was from the crankier Shenron.

"...Ahem! Porunga, our first wish is for you to fix our home planet of Earth...er...Mobius. It's complicated, but our first wish is for you to fix it."

"...That is something I sadly cannot do."

"WHAT?!"

"Your planet is not breaking apart due to natural causes. The entity within it is quite powerful. I could not influence it unless it allows me to. In order for me to seal it back and repair the world, it must be weakened if not destroyed. However, destroying it is also a problem as this entity is the living energy of the planet itself. If it dies, so too does your world, and no wish could bring back such a spirit." Porunga explained, "I can not help at this juncture. Your three wishes remain as is. Make another wish, please."

"He's a lot more...helpful than Shenron…" Sonic muttered.

"I mean...Porunga is the Dragon of Namek…" Goku added, "Namekians on the regular are much nicer folks." he glanced at Piccolo, "Nine out of ten of them anyways…"

"I saw that…" Piccolo replied.

"Hmm...What of restoring the Chaos Emeralds to their power?"

"That I sadly cannot do either...the entity within your world has drained them of their power, thus causing a form of interference I cannot get through…"

"Eh…"

"Your Chaos Emeralds gather their power from a similar source," Porunga explained, "It is an entity in of itself, not unlike us Dragons, we only have power over those weaker than us, it is our one limitation upon being summoned to your realm. There is but one Dragon who could accomplish such a wish...and, sadly, he can never be summoned by mortal means. This is a power beyond me. I can not affect these Chaos Emeralds or the Chaos Force. To do so against the warnings of a Dragon could have, dire consequences." he warned, making them all shiver at the tone he used for a moment, "I highly recommend you not try something like wish for this again," he leaned in towards Skye again, he then backed up and held up three fingers telling them the number of wishes left.

"Ahh jeez...This is gonna be harder than I thought…" Sonic muttered.

"...Hold it. If there's a god of darkness...is there a god of light?" Tangle asked.

"Yes. All things in the universe are of balance," Porunga spoke, "The entity of darkness on your home planet is but the dark half...which has grown far too strong and fast, the balance has been tipped. The evil of Majin from the past, and the many dangerous events from your past. The world has taken in too much negative energy, the light is weakened. If you may weaken the darkness, and empower the light, balance shall be restored and your world can heal." he explained, "This task is in truth rather easy. You need only defeat this darkness and allow the light to reclaim power. The principal is not new to Son Goku."

"Oh! My Spirit Bomb!" Goku realized.

"I guess that's one wish down…" Sonic muttered only to blink as Porunga held up three fingers, making him blink.

"You did not ask in the right way, this...is just casual conversation." he explained.

"...I like this guy," Sonic grinned.

"Ah...So three left...Well, we should keep the 'wish everyone back to life' one as the last one," Skye noted, "Wouldn't do much good if they just die immediately due to what's going on back home." he then quickly spoke in Namekian to the dragon.

"Granted," Porunga chuckled.

"What did you do?" Knuckles asked.

"Oh, just truly dealt with the thorn in your race's side," Skye shrugged, "Ruined the very motivation for the cause."

"...wait. Did...did you just help Thrash out?" Knuckles blinked.

"Yup."

"...WHY?!"

"The wish was well intended. I was happy to oblige," Porunga spoke, before holding two fingers in a peace sign, "Two remain. Would you rather wish now, or save them for after your world has been saved?"

"Hmm…" Sonic began to ponder at that, "...Roll, any ideas?"

"Iie. ...Maybe a delayed wish?" Roll suggested, "As in we make a wish with a specific time for it to be granted."

"Delayed?" Prounga repeated, "Hmm...Never had a wish that would be delayed."

"Can it be done?" Goku asked.

"I've never tried, but...I can always attempt it. I like this one," he looked at Roll, "There is something about her, and very creative."

"Eh-heh," Roll giggled sheepishly.

"In that case…" Skye cleared his throat, "Proguna, our second wish is that once the combined planet of Mobius and Earth is repaired, that everyone who has died before their time was supposed to come will be brought back to life."

Porunga raised his hand and curled his index finger to his thumb to give the okay hand gesture. The dragon's eyes glowed as he focused his power on this specific and different request, "Your wish...shall soon be granted, provided you actually can save your world. One more wish remains. Is there anything else I may do? Or may I now go back to my slumber?"

"Do we have another wish?" Goku asked before Skye quickly spoke, causing Proguna to start laughing.

"You are her father, aren't you?" Porunga asked as his laughter died down.

"That I am," Skye confirmed.

"Alright, alright. Your final wish will soon be granted. Do come back next time I can grant wishes. You have been most interesting," Porunga chuckled.

"What did he wish for?" Tangle asked.

"Probably best you not know," the Namekians and Sonic replied.

"Ah come on!" Tangle complained.

"Impatient…" Knuckles shook his head.

"Says the Echidna that wanted to bring his kind back to Mobius unaware of its current condition," Sonic countered.

"That is different!" he replied.

"Okay, good we're done! Let's go!" Piccolo ordered, "Skye, are you good to drive the ship back with the Echidnas on board? Probably shouldn't just warp them back with the rest of us given what's going on."

"You're right…" Goku nodded as he then developed a concerned look, "If Gohan's tail is back...I'll need to find him and cut it off...but…" he paused.

"But what?" Piccolo asked.

"Piccolo, do you think my tail will grow back?" Goku asked, almost excited.

"I am very concerned it will...as I recall you never learned to control your Oozaru form..." Piccolo grumbled.

"Well yeah...but when I still had my Tail as a kid, I was stronger with it then without it!" Goku argued, "It's how I beat your dad King Piccolo. I was able to draw on the power of my Oozaru form. Maybe, if I do that, I'll be able to get stronger and control it!"

"Only you would think about something like that…" Piccolo sighed.

"Well it's worth a shot. Something tells me we'll need all we can muster to save our home." Goku argued, "Also...I kinda miss having a tail. Watching all these Mobians walk around with their tails makes me miss mine."

"But your tail was a weakness!" Piccolo reminded.

"Well then that just means I need to train to overcome it!" Goku argued.

"Are we really having this stupid conversation right now?!" Piccolo snapped.

"You're the one making a big deal about it!" Goku argued.

"Alright, please make sure you have all luggage at the ready as you make your way aboard the Typhoon," Skye spoke as he clapped his hands together, "Your itinerary is in your accommodations and muffins will be served after takeoff."

"Aw…" Goku whined, "Mmm...Home with Warp Ring or several days on ship with muffins from the muffin button...home..button...home...button…"

"Get in the damn ring, Goku!" Piccolo snapped as his arm extended and grabbed Goku by his spikey hair and dragged him away.

"AH!" he panicked as he was dragged off.

"I should…" Knuckles began before Skye poked him in the back, causing him to lock up.

"Stay on the ship and catch up with your family? Of course you should!" Skye finished for Knuckles as he tossed out a capsule that turned into a dolley to pick up the echidna and push him off to theTyphoon, "Something tells me you have a little half-brother who adores you that feels you need to be taught not to leave him without visits. All Echidnas going to Mobius to the Typhoon!"

"...How did you do that?" Julie-Su asked.

"Pressure points," Skye grinned, "Stick around me as he recovers and I shall teach you my ways to punish your mate with them for being foolish."

"Hahaha...ah...it's funny 'cause it's Knuckles…" Sonic laughed as he then looked at Roll, "Uh...you don't...know that stuff, do ya?" he asked nervously.

"Just one," Roll replied.

"You do?" Sonic asked before Roll's thumb struck the side of his neck, "Pfffffft…! Ahahahahhahaha!" he began to laugh, falling over in the process.

"Tangle-chan, we're taking a Warp Ring back so you can check in on Jewel-chan," Roll spoke as she took Sonic's leg by her tail and dragged his laughing behind off after Goku and Piccolo.

"Aw...I wanted a muffin from the muffin button," Tangle pouted before grinning, "But getting these jewels to Jewel is gonna be fun! She makes the best faces when I find new ones for her!" she waved at the Namekians, "Bye, everyone! Thanks for the jewels!"

"Don't mention it. Trust us...we dig up a lot of 'em!" One replied, "Come back if you ever want more!"

"Bye guys!" Goku called out before they were too far away.

"Let's meet again when the fate of the world isn't at stake," Moori chuckled.

"Even if it was for a short time..." Startovari paused, putting his fist into his open hand as he bowed, "It was an honor to know you all."

"Later guys!" Goku waved.

"How long is it taking them…" Bulma sighed, "Are Warp Rings slow if you're going across the whole universe?"

"Could be making a wish on the dragon there," Sally noted as a Warp Ring appeared and the group came through, "Ah, there they are! Wait...Where is everyone else?"

"Going home by the Typhoon. Thought it'd be safer than having them come through here," Piccolo explained.

"Hoo...hoo…" Sonic breathed, being held up by Roll, "D-Don't use that again...please…"

"I will avoid doing so...unless you do something that deserves the Laughter Pressure Point," Roll replied, a hand in the air as if giving a solemn oath.

"...I'm rubbing off on her. Not sure if I should be proud I am or worried."

"So...how bad is the world in danger this time, Bulma?" Goku asked.

"Also, should we be concerned if our tails just randomly sprout?" Vegeta asked.

"I'm hoping it does…" Goku whispered.

"I heard that," Sally noted with a frown, "We have no idea how Gohan's grew back, but we don't want yours to grow back. Vegeta's? Probably if we can't stop Gohan's rampage and no one can cut the tail off."

"Shouldn't be too hard. Most all of us have done it before," Vegeta replied, "And worse comes to worse...we blow up the moon again." he noticed the deadpan looks, "Oh not all of it, drama queens…"

"Alright, so let's get to it," Sonic grinned as he looked outside, "So what are….we…" he slowly moved away from the window for a moment, "...We're dealing with actual monsters?"

"Monsters? What are you…" Piccolo began as he looked out...before looking over at Bulma and Sally, "The Dark Gaia Spawns?"

"Correct," the two nodded.

"Ah okay, good. We'll go deal with Gohan, that boy with his potential power trapped in that form…" Vegeta muttered, "We're gonna need pants though."

"I'm gonna go roundup family and friends around the world." Goku spoke, teleporting out with his Instant Transmission.

"I'll go with Vegeta to get Gohan," Piccolo added, "The rest should help protect the area. A safe zone would be calming when we need to focus on how we're saving the world."

"I kinda want to see what this big monkey form looks like," Sonic admitted, "Figure I'll probably never get another chance."

"Jinx us...and I will drop you into the ocean…" Vegeta threatened.

"Or we could let Roll poke him in the neck again with her thumb," Piccolo added.

"Evil...You are evil," Sonic muttered.

"Kinda," both smirked, reminding him how once...long ago, they were indeed villains.

"May I make a quick stop in the kitchen to make a few bento? Gohan-san might be starving when he changes back," Roll noted.

"Oh-ho...trust me, he will be," Vegeta spoke, "That form just takes that much out of you once you change back."

"Vegeta, you know the most about this…" Bulma muttered, "Do you have an idea why his tail just...returned?"

"Not really. Our tails were the source of our greatest power. I lost need for it after we learned to become Super Saiyans, so I stopped trying to regrow it. But it was very special. It's more accurate to describe it like some kind of antenna for special forms of energy. My best guess would be that Gohan absorbed this Dark energy leaking from the planet...It infected him and reawakened the gene for our tails," he noticed some looks from the Mobians, "What? Not all Saiyans are like Kakarot. I actually got a form of formal education. Mine just also included how to murder entire races..."

"So...can you and Goku be infected?" Bulma asked in concern.

"Likely, but I am a Saiyan elite, so controlling my transformation is simple. Kakarot however kept losing his tail as a child, so he never had the chance to try and learn control. But I doubt even if he did transform, he wouldn't somehow master it. He's my only equal after all."

"...Right. The moment it grows back, rip it off him," Bulma ordered.

"Easier said than done…" Vegeta sighed, "But I'll drag him back here by it if need be." he nodded, "I'm off to deal with Gohan...then maybe bomb Eggman...the day is fresh." he turned to Bulma, "Don't leave this place, you hear me? I don't care if it is for the sake of this planet, you call me or Kakarot."

"I'll do my best," Bulma replied before looking to Roll, "By the way, where's your father? I was hoping to ask him about this invention he, dad, and Chuck were working on."

"Tou-san? He's piloting the Typhoon with Tails-chan," Roll replied.

"Oh great...We're going in blind, it seems," Bulma sighed.

"What's up?" Sonic asked.

"Something happened to Nicole," Sally explained, "There's an invention they made that can help, but we're a bit concerned."

"We would have brought one, but we needed them to pilot the ship back," Piccolo spoke, "We'll worry about things outside, you focus on things in here."

"Right," the two nodded as Roll ran out to the kitchen.

"So what's this thing do?"

"It sends a mind into the digital realm. It's meant to help coma patients stay in touch with the world," Sally explained, "Goten, Trunks, and Haseo are in the room waiting for one of us to help set it up to go into Nicole's handheld and talk to her directly."

"Oh? Cool. Who's going in? You, Sal?" Sonic asked.

"No, Haseo volunteered," Sally replied.

"Ooh…" Sonic and Piccolo cringed.

"I'm leaving now!" Vegeta spoke up as he vanished in a blur of speed.

"I know, but he insisted," Sally sighed, "And Aphrodite already terrified me when I called her to tell her about what he wants to do...then she started getting giddy about Haseo doing this for a 'lady in need' and I had to hang up because she devolved into cheering for him."

"Had or wanted?" Piccolo deadpanned.

"..."

"Right...Well, while Roll is making a big bento for Gohan, I'll go grab your father or Chuck," Piccolo noted.

"Please do…"

"Mmm...Guess you're gonna have ta wait until I get back from beating up spooky monsters, Jewel," Tangle noted, looking outside.

"Let's get started," Piccolo sighed as he looked out at the chaos outside, 'This is going to be a long adventure…'

GT: Hoo boy...This isn't good.

SZ: No...no it is not

Z0: Is it Ever? And guess what...I plan to make things...More

SZ: He always does..never underestimate the man!

GT: I'm terrified of what he has in store...especially after he showed us the concept art of Dark Gaia.

Z0: *building what looks to be...a dark humanoid combat figure*

GT: Eep. W-Well...Happy new year, folks. Please Read and Review while we cower in fear.

SZ: AYE!