Chapter 6
Capsule Corp
They all had by now heard the details of the tale the time-traveller named Bra had told them.
With the exception of Tien and Chaozu of course, who they were not in contact with currently. But when the fighting would start, they would for sure sense it anyway.
The real question was, how to continue from here on?
By what Bra had told them, one of the enemy´s fighters, the Demon Lord Dabura would probably be too powerful even for Son Goku and Vegeta. So the obvious thing to do was to train some more for now.
The question was how strong exactly was this Dabura?
And then how much more powerful than even that would this creature named Buu be this Wizard Babidi was trying to revive? Reviving him however was something they would need energy from other beings for and from what Bra knew he and his followers would try to take this energy from any strong fighters they could find.
Something that he would need energy for that he and his followers were planning to absorb from powerful fighters.
By what Bra had told them, the Demon´s egg - that his creator the Wizard Babidi´s father had sealed the Demon in many thousands of years ago (or maybe even longer, she didn´t knew the exact date) - had been somewhere on Earth the entire time.
But she didn´t know where?
She had also told them that Babidi and his servants were most likely already here and that his space-ship should be hidden somewhere on the planet.
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In the future Babidi had originally first come to Earth around this time. At a time when the Androids were still reigning this world.
With nearly all fighters dead and the planet devastated, there was simply not enough energy to find to resurrect Buu. So Babidi and his followers returned to space to find this energy somewhere else.
But they returned many years later to finish what they had started. Ultimately, as Bra had told them, this had led to the end of the world.
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In this timeline however, there was more than enough energy on the planet to fulfill their goal. That meant in this reality Babidi had no reason to leave and would try to collect the energy right here on Earth.
And that meant they would most likely have to confront them very soon.
So they worked together to come up with a plan to find their enemy and take them out.
Or at least with the groundwork of one.
As part of it most of them would be taking part in the now 25th Budokai, that would be taking place in a week.
Since Babidi needed the energy of strong fighters, they were pretty confident that he and his followers would use this event as a chance to try to collect some.
So they would take part and wait for them to make their move.
Until then, Goku and Vegeta were training nearly nonstop. So was Piccolo and also Gohan now spend a good part of his time training.
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As Gohan found out, his classmate and friend Videl was also taking part in the tournament.
She was after all a skilled martial artist and the daughter of the last World Champion who had trained her since she was little.
Even if Mister Satan had been pretty much publicy disgraced through his own actions, he was still the current holder of the title.
So it was only natural that she would want to take part.
She was also not the only one of their class who would be there. Their classmates Sharpner and Erasa, who were friends of them both, had already announced that they would be in the audience.
Gohan was not sure how to feel about that. Normally he would just wish her good luck and be happy for Videl.
But with Babidi´s followers probably being there and threatening the fighters? That was something completely different.
Gohan had tried subtly once or twice to convince them to stay away from the tournament. But Videl was quite stubborn and there were not really any concrete reasons he could bring u without telling his friends more about himself than he wanted.
He tried to bring up what had happened to her father, but that only caused Videl to respond that this encouraged her even more to go.
As she had said in her own words:
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Orange Highschool - one day earlier
"I will show the world that the name Mister Satan stands for more than `incompetent fighter and braggart´."
"I am sure you will Videl," Erasa said.
"You are by far the best fighter in this town after all," Sharpner pointed out... while Gohan was standing right next to him.
He had no way to even know how wrong his assassement was and that was Gohan´s own fault.
He had just wanted to be treated normal when he had come to this school. But now it was exactly this secrecy that hindered him from properly warning his friends of the possible danger.
Maybe this was what he got for keeping secrets about himself from his friends, Gohan thought.
In the end he admitted to them that he was actually the son of the former World Champion Son Goku - something that was met with some disbelieve, until he actually demonstrated a few fighting moves - and told them that his father had heard rumors that some shady and dangerous individuals might be at the tournament.
Of course even that had once again no success.
"Don´t worry Gohan - I have experience in dealing with such people," Videl told him confidently
Of course, he thought. After all she was sometimes helping out the police.
"But maybe at least Erasa and Sharpner should stay at home if it could become dangerous," Gohan suggested.
"Hey - I know how to fight as well," Sharpner countered.
"Maybe I should," Erasa however admitted.
"I will just protect you if something dangerous happens," Sharpner pointed out. "Besides, hundreds of people will be at the Tournement. How dangerous exactly could it be for us?"
`You have no idea,´ Gohan thought.
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Now
There was however also another question.
How much could Bra´s information even be trusted? There timelines had separated now more than ten years ago. The mass destruction caused by the Androids had never happened. The entire world was now in a completely different state from how it had been in the other future.
So aside from the fact that here was still an intact human society and many strong fighters, how much else might be different from the future timeline?
Beside possible changes in the timeline however, there were also other things at least a few of them had their doubts about.
A few were not just having doubts about the message, but also the messenger herself...
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Capsule Corp
Like they were often doing it, Bulma and Chichi were currently sitting in one of the CC Building´s living together and were having one of their usual talks.
Right now they were drinking some tea and on the table between them was standing a plate with biscuits.
Sometimes Bulma´s mother was accompanying them for this meeting. Sometimes even Krillin´s wife Marron, who they both were still not going along with well, but better than they used to.
This time however their little round had different third member.
Bulma´s new `daughter´ Bra, who came from the same future like Trunks once did.
Who however seemed to be all but happy to be there.
"So Bra - why don´t you tell us more about your father," Bulma said. "How was future-me´s and his relationship exactly?"
For a short moment the girl was only looking at her awkwardly. As if she had never expected the question.
"Ah - Aeh," she said. "I am not quite sure... how to say that."
"How can you not sure? You had to know that, right?" Chichi questioned. "I mean your father was around, wasn´t he?" She considered that her father might had been alive, but spending the entire time away from Earth, if he was an alien.
"Yes - yes he was. And your relationship with him was good. You never really had a real disageement with him. (You could not have one, she thought.)"
"Well - that is good to know," Bulma commented.
"What kind of race was he anyway?" Chichi asked curiously.
Bra was looking even more grimly at this question.
"Like I said, he was from a race that had been nearly wiped out."
"Like the saiyans?" Chichi pointed out.
"Yes - quite similar," she replied with an unhappy face. "They too were destroyed by a race of cosmic destroyers."
"Were they looking quite similar to humans?" Chichi asked. "With small differences I mean."
"You mean like this," Bra stated.
She lifted her hand and showed a small slit in her palm.
"Yes - I certainly got this from my father. But otherwise his race normally looked quite human," she said. "Sorry mother, but I don´t really want to talk about this. Bad memories - you understand?"
"Of course I do," Bulma answered.
"Then I will leave now."
"Okay - go and have some fun by yourself," Bulma told her.
Bra didn´t reply. She however seemed to stiffen for a moment at Bulma´s words.
Fun? she thought, as if the entire concept of the word was strange.
Both women were looking after her for a short moment when she had left the room.
"This girl is more than strange," Chichi said.
"Why do you say that?" Bulma asked a bit defensive.
"How saw how she just acted?" Chichi questioned.
"Well - that is because she come from a terrible time. Her world has been destroyed and everyone she knew is dead."
"That was not much different from Trunks and he never acted like this," Chichi countered.
"Well - her father was an alien."
"And she refuses to even tell us from what race."
"Trunks had also not told us that he is my and Vegeta´s son at first."
"That was because he feared you guys would freak and he would never be born in his time. But here this is not even an issue since you are already married to Vegeta anyway," Chichi explained.
"Beside that, Trunks at least showed sadness, anger and grief about what had happened in his time. But this girl? She just seems, well - numb."
"Maybe she is under shock," Bulma suggested.
"Maybe."
"Are you talking about me?" a voice asked from the door.
It was the eight year old Trunks, who was standing at the door with Goten close behind him.
"Not really my dear - we were talking about Bra," Bulma replied.
"But you said my name."
"You see..."
"You are not the first time-traveller we met," Chichi simply told him. "There was an elder you we met years ago who fought with us against the Androids."
"What?" Trunks said surprised.
"By the way Trunks," Chichi asked him, "what do you think about Bra?"
"I don´t trust her," Trunks simply replied.
"And why?" Bulma asked.
"She always acts as if she doesn´t want to talk to us. She always refuse to answer questions and makes excuses. I don´t think she even really likes us."
"Maybe it is just hard for her Trunks," Bulma said.
"There is also this strange damage on her time-machine," he replied.
"That´s something I wanted to bring up too," Chichi said. "There are scorch marks all over the machine, but the only actually important system that is damaged just happens to be the display of the date she started from? Don´t you think that at least a bit suspicious?"
"I-... I am sure this is just a coincidance," she responded, sounding a bit insecure now."
"We will go back to playing, okay?" Trunks asked them.
"Of course darling," Bulma said.
"Lets go Goten," Trunks told him.
"Okay."
"Gohan and Piccolo found it strange as well," Chichi continued as the two children left. "We have no way to check what time she really came from. We can not be sure that she is even your daughter."
This caused even Bulma to be at loss of words for a few moments.
"Well - of course she is. She is just as beautiful as me after all." She laughed a bit awkwardly. "Exactly like me actually."
"Just because she looks exactly like us doesn´t mean she is who she claims to be," Chichi responded. "She could be a clone or something. I mean we had more crazy things in the past, right?"
Demon King Piccolo, Aliens, Androids... right.
"I am just saying we should not blindly trust her."
Bulma admitted she had a point. Even if she also admitted she had often wished she had a daughter.
xxx
As Trunks and Goten were running down the corridor, they nearly run into Bra who was standing around the corner.
They were both surprised to see her standing there.
"So you don´t trust me little brother," she said.
"Hey - it is impolite to listen in to other people´s talks," Goten exclaimed. "Mom said so."
"Well - lets not disagree with your mother," Bra commented. "It might be impolite, but it can be useful, right? You can for example find out how someone is thinking about you." She smiled.
Trunks crossed his arms and looked at her sternly.
"Your behavior is not exactly helping me to trust you," he said.
"Come on - give me a chance," she told him friendly. "How about a sparring match? Vegeta has gone training with Goku, right? So the gravity room should be free."
xxx
A few minutes later they were both standing together inside the chamber. For their match they had set the gravity at 10 G.
Trunks was used to it.
Bra seemed to be a bit distracted, but was dealing with it through sheer power.
They were exchanging the first blows, with Trunks making the first move.
"You are really strong," he commented after they had exchanged a few strikes.
"Thanks - you are not bad either," she replied.
Then she suddenly rushed forward and moved her hand to Trunks throat.
Suddenly he felt a sharp pain where Bra´s hand had been, like something had stung him.
Then she punched him in the gut and send him falling down on the floor.
"Not bad..." her smile suddenly turned sinister, "... for a filthy saiyan."
Her last comment made him angry. So he pushed himself up again and transformed himself into Super Saiyan right away.
But what he saw then shocked him completely.
Raging out of the slit in her hand was now something that looked like a long tentacle with a sharp spike at it´s end. And oozing out from this spike was some kind of slimy grey liquid.
Was it that what had stung him earlier? he asked himself.
"So this is what you are truly capable of," she stated.
"What? What kind of race are you? Who...?" he stammered.
"You will find out soon enough," she said. "But first, why don´t you power up fully? I am curious what your energy tastes like."
Trunks expression suddenly became empty and his eyes filled with a light red colored glow.
"Yes," he said.
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A couple minutes later
"Oh yess - this is wonderful," Bra said in a nearly dreamy voice, as Trunks was still standing before her in his Super Saiyan form and she was absorbing more and more of his energy.
Finally the young half-saiyan was at his limit and sank to his knees. While Bra was still standing, several times stronger than before.
"I was wrong about you. You are great Big Sister Bra," Trunks said in a flat voice and with an empty smile.
"Thank you little brother - I truly appreciate it," she replied smiling.
"Why don´t you bring Goten? I would like to `talk´ to him too."
xxxxxxx
One week later
The day of the Tournament had begun and the Z-fighters and their families had just arrived at the entrance of the stadion.
The group of them consisted of Goku, Gohan, Chichi, Vegeta, Bulma, Trunks and Goten, Krillin and his wife Maron, Piccolo and Bra.
They saw the table with the entrance registery and the line of participants in front of them.
Under the fighters in the line, Gohan also saw a well known face.
"Videl," he called out.
But she would not be the only interesting fighter on the Tournament.
Two of them they would recognize anywhere... Android Seventeen and Eighteen.
The preliminary round would start soon.
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Far away, inside the rooms of a burried space-ship, two very different, but equally alien looking, figures were standing in front of a large device designed for the single purpose to collect life-energy and transfer it to the Demon Buu.
One of them was the tall red-skinned figure of the Demon King Dabura, the other was the small harmless looking Babidi.
"I just got a message from our agents," Babidi stated. "It seems that this Tournament event is just starting."
"That is very good Master," Dabura replied.
This chapter has now finally some very clear hints about the true identity of Bra´s mysterious father. And also a few other (probably surprising) revelations about her.
Aside from that, this stories version of the 25th Budokai and te Buu Arc is now fully starting.
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Power-levels:
Goku: 26.000.000 - SSJ (mastered) 1.3 Billion
Vegeta: 26.000.000 - SSJ 1.3 Billion
Gohan: 10.000.000 - SSJ 500.000.000
Piccolo: 900.000.000
Kid Trunks: 240.000 - SSJ 12.000.000
Goten: 230.000 - SSJ 11.500.000
`Bra´: 4.000.000 - 9.000.000 (After "sparring" with Trunks)
Dabura: 3,2 Billion