"T-the U-u-ultimate Kai?" Gotenks stammered.  Gotenks's mind raced.  "What should I do?  Bow? Kneel?  That's it, I'll kneel!" Gotenks dropped to one knee, his head bowed.  "Sir! Forgive me, I didn't know who you were."


In truth, Gotenks still wasn't fully aware of who the being before him was.  He was aware of the hierarchy of Kais, but had not really thought about if there was a power beyond that of the Supreme Kai.  But it did make sense that there was.

"Of course it makes sense!" The Ultimate Kai said.

"You read thoughts too!" Gotenks said.  "If you don't mind my asking, how'd I get here?"

"You broke a law Gotenks!" The Kai looked angry.  "Gotenks shrunk back as if struck.

The Ultimate Kai smiled broadly. "A law of physics!" he yelled then chuckled at his own joke.

"You would get along well with King Kai" Gotenks smirked

"Seriously though, I designed the universe with certain failsafes.  One of those failsafes is what brought you here.  It basically states that no single being may obtain ½ of my own power.  If they do, the mortal realm and the other world will reject them." The Ultimate Kai explained. 'If they are evil, then they float around in the realm of lost souls, that area of blackness you passed through, until their power is leached away enough to have them reincarnated.  If they are good, then they come here.  The failsafe is designed to keep a being with enough power to wipe out the universe with a thought, or wave of a hand, from existing."

"I see…  Sort of.." Gotenks scratched the back of his head. "So how do I get back?"

"Well, normally you wouldn't.  But since your power is the result of your fusion, once your fusion is over you will be able to go back." The Ultimate Kai smiled.   "If you choose to."

"What other choice is there?" Gotenks asked, genuinely curious.

The Ultimate Kai rose up from his throne and took a step towards Gotenks.  From Gotenks's perspective the huge Kai shrank until he was looking the Kai straight in the eyes.

"Well, since you are the first good person to reach me in almost four million years, and I am aware of the plight that you and your comrades face, I am prepared to offer you the very special Ultimate Kai training." The Ultimate Kai said smiling broadly.

"How long does that take?" Gotenks asked.

"Oh..  About one hundred and thirty thousand years." The Ultimate Kai said.

"ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY THOUSAND YEARS??!?!"  Gotenks mouth dropped to the floor.  "I-I'm afraid I don't have quite that long sir."

"You're thinking in straight lines Gotenks.  Way too linear.  You can stay here for millions, even billions of years, and return to the exact same time and place as you left, or any time and place for that matter.

The Ultimate Ki reached over and thumped Gotenks in the head like a housewife thumps a melon to check for ripeness.  Gotenks's Fusion immediately ended and Trunks and Goten fell to the ground rubbing their heads.  They were both at Super Saiyan Five  "Ah..  That's better then." 

"Ouch! What was that for!" Trunka and Goten echoed.

"Well, you have to make some decisions soon, and they have to be individual decisions." The Ultimate Kai answered.  "Follow me."

Goten looked briefly at Trunks, then they both followed the Kai.

The Ultimate Kai eventually came to the edge of a large pond that bordered the far side of the flower garden, and waved his hand towards the water.  The pond took on the look of space itself.   Whole galaxies came into view.  "This is your universe, in the Mortal Realm as it appears in what you call present time. You see these seven galaxies?  In a short while they will align and unleash a great amount of energy..  Normally, this doesn't present much of a problem.  The people barely even notice other than the more advanced beings marking it as a scientific oddity.   However, this time, a very unique event will occur.  The energy will rip a hole in the fabric of space and time and give the Demon Realm a four-hour window of opportunity to enter the mortal realm, open a permanent conduit, and subjugate your worlds.  If Cordell can establish a permanent conduit between the Mortal Realm and the Demon Realm, the Mortal Realm will become as the Demon Realm and life as you know it will cease to be.

"I want to know something.  You're the Ultimate Kai…  Why can't you just stop Cordell?" Goten asked.

"I could, but I won't." The Ultimate Kai looked sad. "I found out years ago that my interference in the day to day lives of mortals only served to make things worse.  No matter how good my intentions, my children had to find their own way.   Look here"

Trunks and Goten both followed the Kai's finger and the planet Earth came closer, until they were seeing images of their own lives.   Goten was happily bouncing a baby boy off his knee, Trunks was working on some model rockets with Trunks Jr.'s children.  Everyone seemed happy and content.

"That is the image of your lives 20 years hence, IF you succeed against Cordell." The Ultimate Kai's eyes glowed for a second, then the image changed.  Goten and Trunks bodies had been turned to demons, and they were bowing before a tall man with a beard, all about them was darkness and cold.  "This is your fate if you fail."

"Is that Cordell then?" Trunks asked.

"That is he." The Ultimate Kai said.

"So what is this training?" Goten asked.

"For your special mission.  You see, the only way that Cordell can be stopped from creating a permanent conduit between the dimensions is from the inside of the Demon Realm.  However, inside the Demon Realm, the realm's evil will want to transform you into a demon, as it has Cordell." The Ultimate Kai said.

"But he looked like a normal human to me." Trunks said.

"Make no mistake, Cordell is a demon from the blackest depths of the realm.  He has just learned to hold his human shape." The Ultimate Kai stated.  "Your training, among other things, will condition your body, mind, and soul against the evil and transformation.  So this won't increase your power or strength any further, but it will make you capable of going into, and surviving the demon realm, at least long enough to do the job."

"Ok, sounds like a plan then. Where do we start?" Trunks said.

The Ultimate Kai smiled.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"Remember what I said about the next level Vegeta?"  Goku was trying to console his friend.

"Yes, that it may be pure energy, or something on a higher plane altogether." Vegeta looked hopeful.

"Exactly.  If Trunks and Goten pushed past Super Saiyan Five, then chances are good that they are still alive, but in another plane of existence, or another form of energy altogether."  Goku said.

"Can we fuse and bring them back?" Vegeta asked hopeful.

"We might, or we might get stuck wherever they are as well." Goku said,  "They also might reappear when their fusion wears off.  Let's wait thirty minutes at least before doing anything we might regret."

"Their fusion won't last thirty minutes at that power level will it?  Remember we couldn't maintain our fusion that long at Super Saiyan Four. " Vegeta observed.

"True, but remember at Super Saiyan Five we have control right down to the molecular structure of our bodies.   I think that if we fused that we could maintain it indefinitely if we wanted." Goku answered. "This is getting terribly complicated.

"What is so complicated about it?" A disembodied voice from everywhere all at once said.

"Who are you?" Vegeta asked visibly perturbed.

"Never mind who I am.  I have contacted you to tell you that Trunks and Goten are perfectly safe and unharmed and will be returned to you when the time is right."  The Ultimate Kai said.

Goku stretched out his senses, but couldn't get a read on who this may be.  Neither could Vegeta or anyone else except The Supreme Kai whose eyes bugged out of his head, he was struck speechless.

"Why have you taken them?" Kirillin demanded.

"I didn't take them, they came to me.  In actuality, I was expecting Goku and Vegeta there to be the first, but Trunks and Goten will do." The Ultimate Kai said.

"Do for what?" Robia said.

"For the mission of course, that's all you need to know for now." The Ultimate Kai answered.

"When will we see our sons again?" Goku asked.

"If all goes well, you will be reunited during the final conflict.  If not, then it won't matter much anymore." The Ultimate Kai said.

The Supreme Kai spoke up. "I-is t-that you All-Father?"

"Yes, it is I, faithful one." The Ultimate Kai answered.

The Supreme Kai fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face. " It is he!  He has come during our time of need to help!  Everyone down on your knees for The Ultimate Kai!"

Everyone looked at Vegeta and Goku to see what they were going to do.   Saiyans weren't well known to go down on bended knee even if it is God.   Vegeta and Goku looked at each other for a brief moment, and in that moment of unspoken communication, decided to at least humor their friend The Supreme Kai.   Everyone followed the lead of Vegeta and Goku.

"Please, everyone rise.  This is not necessary!" The Ultimate Kai was reminded of how easily morals were swayed but Gods.  One of the main reasons he withdrew from the Mortal Realm was that every time he had contact with a race or species of mortals, with the intention of teaching them better ways of getting along, he would check back in a millennia or two to find them busily killing each other in his name.  And it still goes on today!!

"Look, I want to make this as simple as possible.  Trunks and Goten will remain here with me to undergo training for a special mission related to your current predicament.   They will be safe and cared for until Cordell and his minions attack the Mortal Realm."  The Ultimate Kai said.  "Here, I'll let them speak to you.

"Dad?" Goten called.

"Father?" Trunks called.

"Sons!" The two warriors said in unison.

"Are you guys alright?" Goku continued.

"We're fine." Goten said.  "The Ultimate Kai said we have a mission to complete that is important to the survival of the universe.  Tell Mom and Gohan I will see when this is all over"

"Same here Father, tell Bura and Mother that I will miss them, and will see them in a year or so." Trunks said.

"I will Son.   This is very brave of you Trunks.  I'm very proud." Vegeta said.

Goku looked at Vegeta knowing how hard those words came to him. "I'm also proud of you Goten."

"Ok, The Ultimate Kai says that it's about time we start our training, and we will not be able to communicate with you when we start. "  Trunks said.  "So this is so-long for now."

Everyone in the group said their goodbyes and stood silently for a few minutes.

"Ok, all you slackers get back to training!" Piccolo said.

"Take us back to Earth, Kakkarot." Vegeta said.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Raditz was bored.  Not just bored enough to turn on some mindless channel hoping for a half hour or so of mindless entertainment, but completely bored stiff.   He had channel surfed every channel.  "Argh!  How can a device have so many damned channels with nothing good to watch!! There is no one here to train with!"  Raditz threw himself off of the couch and out of the front door of Capsule Corporation's living quarters.  He flew out to the front street and landed.  This earned him more than a few stares from the passers by.   Luckily, they were pretty used to seeing such sights from the largest corporation on the planet.  Most of them didn' t  think too much about it.  Raditz started walking in a random direction.  City Hall's bell had just started to chime Three O'Clock.   Raditz was a bit curious.  He had witnessed that the Earth's children ritually gather at various street corners and after awhile a large yellow vehicle of some sort comes and picks them up and takes them away.  Right about this time in the afternoon, the yellow vehicle comes again and drops the same kids back off  There were markings on the bus that Raditz had never been close enough to read before.  Today Raditz decided to go and see what the hub-bub was all about.  As he approached the street corner he noticed about half a dozen adults were giving him the evil eye.  He turned to one of the closest women, who also happened to be quite attractive.

"What is this place?" Raditz asked.

"It's the corner of Capsule and Hercule avenues."  The woman was eyeing the Saiyan warrior critically.

"Whoa!  This guy is HOT with a capital OT!" The woman thought.

"Yes, I know it's a street corner, but what is it they do here?  What do those big yellow conveyances do here?" Raditz asked.

The woman was taken aback a bit by Raditz's apparent cluelessness."  "You mean the school busses?    Well, they transport the children from here to the school, and then back in the afternoon."

"Is school a place of training?" Raditz asked.  "Do they train to fight?"

"Well, yes it is a place of training, and no, they do not train to fight except maybe in gym class." The woman said.

Right then, the school bus pulled up and a set of double doors opened towards the front revealing a rather rotund but definitely jovial man behind the wheel.  "Ok, bus stop 17A people it's time to get off!"

Raditz watched as ten or so children stood up and started to separate themselves from the other kids as they made their way towards the front of the bus, and the exit.

The woman Raditz had talked to kept an eye on him.  She had a good sense of people usually, and the big man next to her didn't seem to pose her any threat.   Of course, keeping an eye on such a God was not a hard task either she inwardly chuckled.  Still, it wouldn't do to let her guard down where her daughter was concerned, Adonis nor no Adonis.   Speaking of which, there her little red headed, freckled faced darling was now!

"Mommy!" A cute little waif bounded off the last step of the school bus and straight towards the woman he had been talking to just moments before.  Raditz watched as the woman embraced the child.   Jessica she called her.  Raditz had a moment of melancholy as he remembered all the lives that he had ended.  All the mothers, the children…  Especially the children.

"Are you ok mister?" Little Jessica smiled up at him. "You looked really sad for a minute."

"I was.  But seeing your face has cheered me right up!" Raditz smiled and gently gave the girl's nose a tweak.

"You're funny mister.  I like your long hair.  Mommy does too!" Jessica smiled.

Raditz looked at the woman who was blushing a deep shade of red.

"Come along Jessica, you'll be late for piano lessons.  It was good to meet you Mr..??"  The woman faulted.

"Just call me Raditz." Raditz smiled.

"It's good to meet you Raditz.  My name is Abigail." Abigail offered her hand.

Raditz wasn't entirely sure what to do, but he had seen people shake hands on TV.  So he grasped her hand as gently as he could and gave it a shake.

"My what a strong grip!" Abigail winced.

"Have I hurt you?  I'm sorry." Raditz sweat dropped.

"It's ok, you need to learn your own strength though." Abigail smiled and took Jessica by the hand. "Goodbye Raditz."

"Goodbye Abigail." Raditz answered.

Raditz stood on the street corner for a few minutes wondering what he should do next.   He watched as the parents escorted their kids to their various destinations.  He also noticed an enticing sway to Abigail's posterior as she walked away, and rounded the corner of the next intersection, out of sight behind a building.   Raditz could still smell her, Saiyan senses being what they are, and he liked the smell.  Most importantly, Abigail could not go anywhere that Raditz couldn't track her down, if he so desired.  

"I wonder if she's mated?" Raditz pondered as he started walking to what appeared to be a resturant on the next block.

Raditz had no sooner reached the resturant door when he heard Abigail scream.   The distance between Abigail and Raditz was already too great for a human to have heard it over the noise of the city, much less identify who it came from, but Saiyan hearing was different.   Once a Saiyan hears someone talk, they know the frequency of that voice for as long as they care to remember.  And Raditz was motivated to remember her voice.   Using super speed, so no one could see him, Raditz closed the gap between himself and Abigail in less than a second, appearing right behind her.

"What's wrong Abigail?  Where's Jessica?   I heard you scream." Raditz was alarmed.

"They took her!  They kidnapped her!"  Abigail pointed to a rapidly retreating hover sedan.

Raditz looked and his acute vision clearly saw Jessica trying to keep away from her captors in the back seat, only to be subdued by a male passenger's large fist.

Raditz blood boiled.  He no longer cared who saw him.  He went Super Saiyan and flew off towards the escaping felons.

"How can these assholes take Jessica away from her mother!" Then another wave of guilt hit him as he thought of his own past. "I'm not like that anymore!  Hang on Jessica, I'm coming!"  Raditz doubled his speed and landed on top of the car in mere milliseconds.

"Stop this car now!" Raditz bellowed.

The driver started swerving the car in an effort to dislodge Raditz, to no avail.

"Ok, so you want to do this the hard way then?"  Raditz reached and ripped the roof completely off the car.  "I said stop this car now!!"

The thug in the back seat drew a .45 Magnum and shot Raditz between the eyes at point blank range.   The bullet bounced harmlessly off of Raditz's skull.   The next instant, Raditz is crushing the gun in his massive hands.

Raditz decided to take no further chances with Jessica sitting in the car, so he scooped her up and flew back to Abigail and handed Jessica to her.  "Be right back."

Abigail was struck speechless.

One burst of super speed later and Raditz was in front of the get-away car.  "I SAID STOP!!" 

Raditz let a small ki ball destroy the entire front end of the car.   The engine and everything forward of the back of the engine compartment was slag, but the passenger compartment was mostly untouched.   Raditz then flew up, grabbed the occupants of the car and flew them to the street.

"There was a time when I would have no difficulty killing vermin like you.  Truth is, I would still sleep well tonight if  I vaporized both of you.  But I will not have your lives on my hands  Neither of you are worth it."

About that time the police arrived and took the felons into custody.

"Can you come down to the station later, we'll need a statement from you and the girls mother." The officer asks.

"Anything to keep them off the street." Raditz said as he walked back towards Abigail.

"Are you ok Abigail?" Raditz asked genuinely concerned.  "What about you Jessica?"

"I don't know Raditz, I'm pretty shook up.  My knees feel like they are made of rubber right now." Abigail struggled to remain standing.

"I'm okay Raditz" Jessica smiled broadly at him.  "You're a hero!  You saved me!  And you're one of those Gold Fighters too!"

Over the years since Mr. Satan and the Z-Warriors and all the events leading up to the defeat of Evil Shenlon, the Gold Fighters had attained a legendary/mythological status with the people.  To this very day people argued whether or not they were real, entire documentaries and history books had been devoted to the Gold Fighters.

"You were in trouble, I couldn't let anything happen to you kiddo." Raditz smiled. "Should I call your husband or someone Abigail?"

"I haven't seen that deadbeat since..  Well I haven't seen him in awhile, and my parents are dead." Abigail said leaning heavily against Raditz., her voice still quavered.

"Okay then, if you don't mind we can go back to where I'm staying and have some tea until you get your strength back." Raditz offered.

"Yes!  Let's go mommy!" Jessica exclaimed.

"Well, if it's no imposition." Abigail started.

"No, none at all.  If you don't mind traveling my way." Raditz smiled.

"Ummm… Ok…" Abigail looked pensive.

Raditz unwrapped his tail from around his waist and encircled Jessica's waist, lifting her up and close to Radtiz's side.

"You have a tail!!  Yippee!  Mr. Raditz has a tail!!" Jessica exclaimed.  Abigail looked a bit stunned.  She had noticed the appendage but thought it was a belt.

Raditz then wrapped his right arm around Abigail's slender waist and said. "Ready?"

"Okay." Abigail answered.

"Here we go!" Raditz lifted off the ground and flew straight to Capsule Corporation.