II. Dark Passions

*~* Chapter 35 *~*

Journey to Shin's Planet or

The Body Snatchers J

It was late in the afternoon before Mirai Trunks and Videl had finally convinced the others that Shin's newest plan was worth considering, and they all regrouped in the living room of Capsule Corp. Most of them didn't want to be there, and it had taken the convincing of the ever so wise Goku to get them to stay.

Bulma was no where to be found, but Chichi happily graced the group with 'brain food', consisting of a batch of cookies and tall glasses of lemonade for all. When she left the room, they got down to business.

Videl explained, once again, the details of the plan, or at least what little she knew. The specifics were a bit unclear, but at least they could make decision as to what to do next.

She was hoping that they would agree with the plan, and didn't see an area where they might disagree. It wouldn't be putting any of them, OR their families, into any type of danger at all.

"Will someone please tell me," Vegeta said with a speck of irritation in his voice, "why the Supreme Kai thinks that a mere girl would posses enough energy to make the tinniest bit difference in the boy's power level? Why use her, when any one of us more qualified men could easily do the job?"

Juuhachi chose to ignore his 'men' remark. "Have you forgotten the pure and love energy? That must be it."

"Maybe I don't believe in any of that crap. It's easy to see that there's nothing special about her at all."

Videl looked slightly offended. "Oh, yeah? Well, Rattai's already got SOME of my energy and he's probably preparing it right now! Would you like to wait and see if it affects him at all before we take action?"

Everyone was quiet until Krillin faked a cough. "Er . . . she's got a point. If we don't take advantage of this opportunity NOW, we definitely won't get it again, and it's better to be safe than sorry."

Vegeta crossed the room and stood before the group. "Fine, whatever. If you insist on using this plan, then I have a few suggestions to make it better."

Videl almost groaned out loud. She hadn't thought that THIS would happen. In fact, they all looked a little weary, but Goku, being the fair and just person that he was, said, "Go on. We're listening."

"I say, instead of using the brat here to get the energy, why not use it in someone stronger, like me, for instance? Or maybe even Kakkarot?" Vegeta said with a grin. "That way, we'll get the maximum usage of what little this girl has to offer."

Videl gagged and almost fainted out of disgust. "Oh, HELL no!! Nothing of MINE is going into the Ego-Queen over there!!"

Laughter was forced back as everyone tried to focus. It was clear, by the look on some of the Z-Fighter's faces, that they were actually . . . considering Vegeta's idea.

"Now wait just a minute!" Gohan protested, noticing the looks. "I CAN do this, okay? You can't take Videl's energy!"

"And why not?" Vegeta sneered. "We've all got something at stake here, boy, not just you."

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but, I think we should think Vegeta's idea out a little more," Piccolo said. "What's best for earth is our main focus."

"You all seem to be forgetting that this is MY energy we're talking about here," said Videl sternly, "and therefore, I should get to decide what gets done with it. And I say Gohan is the one."

Vegeta scowled. "You're just saying that because he's your mate!"

"No, not at all." Okay . . . just a little bit. "When Shin told me his plan, he said GOHAN, not Vegeta, or Goku or anyone else. Gohan. If you've got a problem, then take it up with Shin, not me."

POP! At that moment, the Supreme Kai chose to enter the room from thin air. He hadn't been expected a welcoming party, and was a little confused as to why everyone was standing there, staring at him. "Um, hello. Has Videl told you . . .?"

Goku nodded. "But we're having a . . . debate of sorts. Vegeta wants to know if Gohan HAS to be the one to get Videl's energy, or if someone else-"

"No, no, that won't work," Shin said quickly and firmly. "Gohan MUST receive the energy, if we desire the best results."

Vegeta frowned. "And why is that?"

"Because love and purity go hand in hand. True, genuine love is pure. You can't have one without the other."

There were a few muffled snickers and blank stares. Gohan turned a bright shade of red for no good reason and looked away. Shin just smiled. "Never mind that. Kibito and Pikkon are back on my planet, ensuring that everything is ready for what must be done.

"Upon hearing of the Saiyan's actions on earth, I immediately launched the creation of a device that would draw out a person's energy without causing harm to him or her. It is completely safe and would take no more than a few hours to complete. And the good thing is, this device will give us an edge up on the Saiyans."

"How so?" asked Gohan. Bulma slipped into the room, curious about this new technology.

"I mentioned before that it takes three days to prepare the energy for injection into another person, but this new machine is able to do this in only two days. This leaves more time for Gohan to get used to the new power inside of him, and to make any preparations that he wants."

"Where exactly is this machine?" Bulma questioned eagerly. She could only imagine how advanced it must be, and she wanted to get her hands on it, not to mention the other stuff the Supreme Kai was sure to have. There was no way she was going to miss out on this one.

Shin smiled brightly. "On my planet. Videl and Gohan, we'll leave bright and early tomorrow morning."

Bulma recognized her chance. "Can I come?"

The Supreme Kai looked a little startled that this woman that he was barely familiar with would want to accompany them, but said, "Umm, sure. Why not?"

Vegeta scowled. "Then I'm coming, too."

Goku jumped up. "Me too, me too!!"

It became clear that the others also wanted to join them, and Shin sighed. "Fine, everyone can come. How does that sound?"

"Does that mean us too?" piped Goten as he and Trunks slipped into the room. They had been eavesdropping on the conversation, and did not want to be left behind, afraid that they would miss some action.

" . . . sure. I . . . guess . . ." I hope I won't regret this decision later . . . Shin eyed the large group. "If you're not here by five tomorrow morning sharp, then you'll be left behind."

*~*

The next morning, everyone gathered in the living room, with Chichi as a new addition to the group. Trunks and Goten were practically falling over each other from exhaustion and had to pinch themselves to stay awake.

At five on the dot, Shin popped into the room. He was surprised that they all had actually showed up. Oh well. "Okay, everyone hold hands and I'll get us there," he said.

Easier said than done.

Bulma anxiously jumped up front and as Yamcha moved to take her hand, Vegeta gave him his best Death Glare. Yamcha wisely backed down and the Saiyan Prince took his wife's hand, grumbling under his breath. No one wanted to hold hands with Vegeta, not even his own son who whispered to Goten that he didn't want to look like a wimp, and they all stood around for a while.

Seeing that no one was about to move, Krillin, as he giggled to himself under his breath, pushed Videl forward and forced her hand into Vegeta's. She yelped and wrinkled her nose in disgust, looking down to where her palm was intertwined with Vegeta's. "Eww . . ."

Vegeta glared down at her. "Well, onna, I didn't know you were so anxious to hold hands with me. Am I that hard to resist?"

Gohan placed himself between them before Videl could reply, shaking his head at Krillin's antics, then began to protest when Yamcha tried to hold hands with Videl because the older man couldn't seem to keep his eyes from wandering down the front of her shirt. Juuhachi shoved him out of the way and took his place. Soon after that, a chain was formed, with Yamcha and the two little boys brining up the rear.

Trunk turned to Goten and stage whispered, "I wonder why no one likes Mr. Yamcha."

"Probably because he sucks at fighting," Goten said back truthfully. "I bet that's why."

Yamcha turned red and laughed along with everyone else.

Shin decided not to comment and grasped Bulma's hand in his. "Okay . . . and we're off!"

With a pop, the rope of fighters vanished.

*~*

THUMP!!

A bundle of arms and legs crashed onto the ground as the group reappeared on Shin's planet. The Supreme Kai, however, was the only one still on his feet, eyeing the pile of people before him with mild amusement. One by one, they began picking themselves up, pausing to massage sore muscles and to shoot glares at whoever had landed on top of them.

Shin cleared his throat. "Are we ready? My place is just over that hill," he said, pointing a little off in the distance. "Come along now, and try to keep up." He didn't want any of them straying and getting lost.

Videl stayed close to Gohan, eyeing her surroundings curiously. Gohan didn't seem to think anything about the unusual color of the sky, or the weird plant life, but probably because he was used to those sort of things and all.

Along the way, they came across a tick patch of rose-like flowers, except they were void of thorns and their petals were a weird blue color. Goten and Trunks 'ooh-ed' and 'ahh-ed' at everything, stopping momentarily to poke at an animal that resembled a cross between a squirrel and a bird that sat partially hidden in a bush before ogling the two suns in the sky and hypothesizing on why the sky was a pinkish color instead of blue.

As they approached the hill, Shin began to walk backwards so that he could address the group. "You'll find many different peoples here at my place, so do not be surprised at their outward appearances," he said, giving Bulma, Videl and the little ones a look. "All of them have some sort of task here, which they perform with efficiency. They all take their jobs very seriously, despite my attempts to lighten their moods. Some things can't be helped, I guess . . ."

Videl was anxious to have a look-see at this place and, when she reached the top of the hill, it wasn't like anything she expected. "His place? Did he mean palace?" she muttered to herself.

Shin's home was gigantic and stretched back many, many miles. Strange enough, it looked like an average human mansion and she was very startled to see several shiny late model cars sitting in a semi-circular driveway, complete with a gushing fountain. There was no one to be found in the area. Where were all the people?

Shin led them up to the huge front door and pushed it open, gesturing for them to go in before him. They cautiously entered, not sure of what to expect. The second the Supreme Kai entered his home, several people dressed in long white lab coats come out of no where and lined up before him.

"Ahh, these fine people here," said Shin with a hint of pride in his voice, "are the ones who came up with the machine we are about to use. Everything is running smoothly?"

"Of course, sir! The final preparations have been made, and everything is ready," replied a man (or maybe it was a woman . . .) with dark purple skin.

"Great! Come along to the lab, then, and let's get this underway."

There was no walking to be done, much to everyone's relief, when they were informed that the laboratory was located in the waaaaay back of the house. Instead, they stood on some sort of conveyor belt that took them throughout the house.

The lab was nothing more than a big open space packed full of gadgets and machines, not to mention people. Bulma stopped to inspect several objects as they walked along to the rear of the lab, and Vegeta had to grab her arm and drag her along so that she would not be left behind.

In the very back was a machine that looked much like the kind used to heal a fighter after a hard battle. Videl shifted her feet nervously. THAT was the thing she was going to get in? She wasn't claustrophobic . . . not really . . . okay, maybe just a little bit.

"Umm . . . how long am I going to have to be in there?" she asked.

"Just four or five hours," replied shin smoothly.

"F-four . . . five HOURS?!"

Gohan frowned. "What's wrong, Videl?"

"Ahhh . . ." She couldn't tell him that tight spaces made her uncomfortable. Especially not when Vegeta was looking on. She wasn't going to give him anything that he could tease her about later. Not wanting to look like a wimp, Videl raised her chin and said, "I just don't think I'll be able to sit still for that long, that's all."

Shin didn't seem to buy it. A mysterious smile appeared on his face. "Don't worry. You'll be unconscious."

Oh, THAT made her feel a lot better. "So you're gonna knock me out or something?"

"No. You'll be given an injection. Then the chamber will fill up with liquid-"

"How am I going to breathe?"

Vegeta sighed in exasperation. "Stop your stalling, girl, and get your ass in there so we can go!"

Videl glared. "Excuse me if I'm worried about my own safety! Besides, you didn't HAVE to come, so don't bitch to me about -"

Goku had to step between the two to prevent an all out war from breaking out. "Now, now, you two. No fighting. Videl, it'll be fine. I've been in something like this before. You'll be out before you know it!"

Videl trusted Goku, so . . . "Alright. What do I have to do?"

*~*

Within minutes, Videl was unconscious, floating in blue goo while her energy was slowly drained. Bulma wandered off with a scientist, leaving Vegeta to follow behind her while she talked a mile a minute and pointed at this and that object. Shin parted with them all, saying that he had other business to attend to while they waited.

Goku had to drag Gohan away from the machine in which Videl was floating, and told him that she wasn't going to go anywhere. The rest of the group ventured outside to do some exploring, but quickly formed groups to spar in when an argument between Goten and Chibi Trunks dissolved into a fist fight. With a little coercion from Goku, they ganged up on Gohan, with three alternating fighters.

Chichi, needless to say, was furious. When Gohan crashed into the ground after a hard hit to the face from Goku, she marched over to her husband once his feet had touched the ground and proceeded to threaten him on the top of his lungs. It took a while to calm her down, but by then, the two boys were long gone . . .

*~*

"Wait . . . wait . . . NOW!! Go, go, go!!" hissed Trunks as he and Goten darted across a hallway, trying not to get caught by two big, nasty looking men that were patrolling the hall with mean looking laser guns. "There's a lot of guards here," Trunks said, "so something good must be nearby."

"Trunks . . . maybe we should just leave it alone. I'm sure if we ask Mr. Shin, he'll let us see whatever it is they're hiding," whined Goten. He could only imagine the trouble he'd be in if his mother found out that he was sneaking into someone's private areas . . .

"Yeah, right. Don't be a weenie, Goten." He peered around the corner. "There's a door down there. Let's go for it on the count of three."

"I don't know . . ."

"One . . . twothreelet'sgo!!!!" Trunks grabbed his friend's arm and pulled him over to the door, threw it open, and darted inside. They waited for a while, and sighed in relief when on one came in after them.

"Where are we, Trunks?" asked Goten softly. The room was filled with gizmos and gadgets standing on pedestals, some in cases, some not.

"I don't know . . ." Trunks walked up to a pedestal and peered at a long gun type thing. "Looks like a bunch of weapons to me."

"Maybe we should go . . ."

"Ohhhhh . . . what's that?" The older boy walked off, leaving Goten standing at the door.

Goten cautiously stepped into the room and looked around until a simple blue cube caught his eye. That doesn't look dangerous . . . maybe it's one of those puzzle things . . . He went over to it and carefully took it down, fiddling with it. Ah, what does this do?? Man, this is sooo boring . . . I wonder how Videl is doing in that chamber . . .

"AHHHHH!!!!!! GOTEN, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!!!!"

Goten was snapped out of his thoughts and looked up and the cube fell from his hands. A beam of light flew from the cube and hit Trunks directly in the chest. The lavender haired boy fell to the ground and began twitching on the ground as the light over took his body and then filled the room. Goten fell to his knees, moaning, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it," over and over again until the light was gone.

"Wha . . . what happened?!" demanded a feminine, shrill voice.

Goten opened his eyes. "T-TRUNKS?!!!! You . . . you . . . you . . ."

Trunks picked himself up off the floor. "I what? And why do I sound like this?!"

"YOU'RE A GIRL!!!!! YOU LOOK LIKE VIDEL!!!"

"WHAT?!" shrieked Trunks in Videl's voice. He . . . or maybe it was she, stamped over to a pedestal and peered at himself in the shiny metal. Trunks let out a squeak. He WAS Videl, dressed in the clothes she had been in that morning and everything!! He whirled on his friend. "You JERK!! What did you do?!"

"I don't know, I don't know, I don't know!!!!"

Trunks began trying out his new body, punching and kicking and so forth, but something wasn't right. He looked down at himself and frowned. He didn't like this one bit. How in the world did she fight with her chest poking out in the way and everything? Trunks placed his hands on his boobs and tried to mash them in.

Goten gasped in horror. "What are you doing?!! You can't touch those!! They're not yours!!!"

Trunks glared. "YOU put them on me, so YEAH, they're mine!!" He stuck his hand up his shirt and fiddled with the contraption that was keeping his chest in place. "This stupid BRA THING is sooo annoying!! What is WRONG with women?!"

"Ohhhh . . . if Videl found out you stuck your hand up her shirt, she'd flatten you."

"How's she gonna find out, huh? Look, just change me back!! Now!! I don't like being a girl!"

". . . I don't know how."

" . . . . . . . WHAT?!!!!!! You . . . I'm gonna beat you up, Goten!!! You better fix this!!"

"This is YOUR fault!! YOU wanted to come in here, not me!!"

"But YOU were the one who messed with that stupid block!!"

Goten picked up the cube and bounced it around in his hands. "Let me see . . . I was thinkin' to myself how boring this was, and how stupid this block was, then I wondered how Videl was . . ."

"That's it!" cried Trunks. "Now think of me, and I'll change back."

Goten did as he was told and . . . it worked!! Trunks was back to his old self. "That was close."

"You're tellin' me. Hey, I wonder why Gohan likes her so much . . . must be the boobs or something."

Goten giggled. "Oh, oh, oh, I wanna be Gohan!!"

But Trunks had a MUCH better idea. He grinned mischievously. I'm a genius. This is gonna be sooo cool!! "Give me that thing." Trunks snatched the cube away from his friend and held it close to his body. "Do you know what we could DO with this thing?! Why turn into Gohan who got his butt kicked when we could . . ."

Before Goten could ask what he was up to, Trunks had turned himself into Vegeta, big forehead, pointy hair, spandex and all. Trunks looked down at his new body, then clenched his fists in triumph. He felt stronger already. "Now THIS is more like it!!" Trunks tossed back his head, raised his fists in the air and laughed evilly. "Bwahahahaha!!!!!"

Goten shrank away. Man . . . he's good. Not wanting to be left out, he took the cube from Trunks and turned himself into a copy of Goku, then stuck out his tongue. "You're still short, you loser."

Trunks snorted in a very Vegeta like manner. "Ha!! I may be short, but I can kick the REAL Goku's booty anytime, anyplace!!"

"Oh yeah?!"

"Yeah!!"

Faster than light, they darted out of the room and went in search of their adversaries. Goten remembered Vegeta being somewhere in the lab and headed there while Trunks went out to the front of the mansion where the real Goku, Mirai Trunks, and Krillin were all fighting Gohan at the same time. Trunks waited for his chance, then flew into the battle scene, punching Goku right in the face, sending him flying.

"Hey!" shouted Gohan, "what was THAT for?"

Okay . . . now, I gotta act like dad, or this won't work . . . better choose my words carefully. "None of your business, brat!! This is between me and Gakkorat- I mean Kakkarot!!!" Stupid, stupid, stupid . . .

Goku got up off the ground and shook his head. "Really, Vegeta, of all places to pick a fight-"

I KNEW Goten's dad was a wuss. "Enough talk! Let's fight!!" He flew forward and forced Goku to fight him. The others could do nothing but watch.

Meanwhile, Goten was wandering around the lab, in search of Vegeta. So far, he hadn't seen anyone, not even Bulma. Maybe I can't see him because all these machines are taller than he is. I'd better ask. He poked a green person on the shoulder. "Excuse me, have you seen a guy about this high, with a huge forehead and spiky black hair? He was wearing some ugly blue spandex stuff . . ."

"I'm right here, you idiot."

Goten turned around. There was the real Vegeta standing behind him, leaning on a filing cabinet with his arms crossed over his chest. He looked bored, with an angry scowl on his face. Next to him, Bulma was bent over something, poking at it with her finger. "Oi! There you are, Vegeta." Goten lowered himself into a fighting stance. "Fight me."

Vegeta raised an eyebrow. "What's this? Kakkarot wanting to fight me?" It was a little suspicious, but Vegeta was absolutely bored. Besides, he wasn't going to pass up his chance to beat him. "Fine, let's go."

"WAIT JUST A MINUTE!!!" cried Bulma. "Goku, Chichi would be ashamed of you, picking a fight with Vegeta. And you two are NOT going to fight in here with all of this stuff!!"

"Fine, WOMAN!! We'll take it outside!" With that, Vegeta grabbed Goten by the back of his gi and dragged him towards the nearest exit.

Bulma's mouth fell slack. I can't believe Chichi let Goku come and pick a fight with Vegeta!! She and I are going to have a little talk. Now. Bulma marched angrily after them and around the side of the house. Before she could try to stop them from fighting, they'd taken to the air and were punching the crap out of each other.

So she went back into the lab, rode on the conveyor belt and went out to the front of the house where the fighters were standing around, talking to each other in hushed tones and watching the sky. Bulma didn't see a thing and went directly over to Chichi, who looked just as furious as Bulma felt. "What do you think you're doing?" she demanded.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Your husband just forced Vegeta into a fight!"

Chichi looked shocked. "Excuse me? Goku? Force Vegeta to fight? Number one, no one has to force Vegeta to fight, and, number two, YOUR husband just came out HERE and punched Goku in the face for no good reason!! You better get control of him before they blow something up!"

Now Bulma saw why everyone was looking at the sky. Goku and Vegeta were fighting. "What? How did they . . . they were just over there!" She pointed to the side of the house.

"No, they were here the whole time."

"Impossible!! Goku came into the lab-"

"He was here with Gohan the whole time! Maybe you were hit with some sort of ray in that lab or something, because you have absolutely NO idea what you're talking a-"

"AAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! LOOKOUT, LOOKOUT, LOOKOUT!!!!! I CAN'T STOP!!!!!"

Goku and the Vegeta who was really Trunks stopped in mid punch. Suddenly, another Goku came flying out of no where, eyes wide and arms waving. Both were too stunned to move, and Goten crashed into his father and Trunks. All three of them fell to the ground with a crash. Dust filled the air.

The real Vegeta flew in and landed on the ground, looking disappointed. He waved a hand in front of his face. "What's wrong, Kakkarot? Lost your touch? You should've seen that punch coming, you . . ." Suddenly the dust cleared. "WHAT THE HELL?!! WHO ARE YOU?!!!!" He pointed to the copycat Vegeta. "There is one and ONLY one Vegeta, Prince of all Saiyans and that is ME!!!!"

Trunks gulped. They were dead now. And it was all Goten's fault!!

Gohan frowned. There were two Goku's on the ground, sprawled out on top of each other. Two Vegeta's (oh the horrors), two Goku's . . . what a mess.

The real Vegeta snarled and jumped at the imposter's throat. Trunks yelped and danced away, holing up his hands. "Wait! Wait, let me explain!!" he cried. Too late. The real Vegeta had caught Trunks in a chokehold and was threatening to blow his head off if he didn't tell him who he really was.

Goku got up off the ground and dusted himself off, then eyed his other self sitting on the ground. He helped him up and grinned. "Hey, pretty good!! You look just like me!!"

There was mass confusion. The two Vegeta's were involved in a fistfight, and no one was sure who was the real one. The Goku's circled each other, and now the two were mixed up. So who was real, and who was the fake?

"Ohh, can I have the extra Goku?" asked a familiar voice with a hint of laughter.

Gohan turned around and grinned. "Videl!" Had it been four hours already?

"Yep, I'm back. But that was a serious question." She walked over to the pair of Goku's and grabbed the one on the left. "This one's mine."

Gohan pouted. "Now wait just a minute-"

Chichi gasped. "Oh, no you don't!! He could be the real one!! Give me him right now!!"

The other Goku began to pout too. "Hey, doesn't anyone want me?"

Piccolo, who'd watched everything with exasperation, was getting a headache and a muscle in his left cheek was beginning to twitch. He stepped forward and let out a shrill whistle. Everyone froze and turned to look at him. "ENOUGH!! You two Goku's line up right there, and you Vegeta's over there so we can get to the bottom of this mess."

The Goku's obediently did as they were told, but the two Vegeta's replied at the same time, "Don't tell me what to do, Namek!"

When Piccolo growled and stepped forward, one of them moved back. "Aha! You're the fake! Don't let him escape!"

Suddenly one of the Goku's shouted, "Run, Trunks, run!!"

Bulma's eyes narrowed. "Trunks? Oh, I see what's going on. Don't you dare run, Trunks Briefs, or you'll be on punishment for the rest of your life!"

Trunks was caught. It was all over. Well, he could always try to salvage what was left of his life before he was banished to his room for all eternity. He fell to his knees and began to cry. "Please, Ma, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, PLEASE don't . . ."

Videl burst out laughing. "Hahahahaha!! This is too good! Vegeta on his knees, begging and crying! I never thought I'd see . . ." She dissolved into a fit of giggles.

Mirai Trunks laughed behind his hands and Krillin snickered. "Anyone got a camera?"

*~*

After a tearful confession from the boys, they were led back up to the room and switched back into their usual selves by Shin. The Supreme Kai did not seem angry. He only smiled at them and explained that the devices that they'd been toying with in the room had been confiscated from some of the most dangerous villains in the universe and were there so that they would not fall into the wrong hands.

"I'll have to beef up security, if two little boys were able to get in . . ." mused Shin. He then turned to Videl and took her hand. "Thank you for your cooperation today. I'm sure we can win, now that we have your energy."

"No problem. How about we get back now? I'm a little tired."

"Of course. Now, everyone hold hands . . ."

This time, they got themselves in order faster than they had earlier that day. Once they were all back at Capsule Corp, Shin said goodbye and popped back to his planet. Goten and Trunks were locked up in separate rooms for the rest of the day as their punishment, and the others went their separate ways.

Gohan took Videl up to bed, gave her a kiss on her forehead, then left her to sleep. On his way to the kitchen for a snack, Bulma pulled him aside and grinned.

"Let's go into town so we can speak to those people I was telling you about," she said eagerly.

"Now?" he whined. "But I'm hungry . . ."

"GOHAN!! What is more important, your belly or-"

"Okay, okay, okay!! Let me change first, and I'll meet you out front. Jeeze, I just wanted a sandwich . . ." He walked away, shoulders slumped.

Chichi came around the corner and stopped Bulma. Why was her son conspiring with Bulma and not his own mother? "What was that all about?" she demanded.

"Hmmm . . . what? Oh, nothing, nothing at all, don't worry about it . . ." Bulma quickly escaped Chichi's grasp and took off down the hall.

Chichi leaned against the wall and glared at Bulma's retreating back. You two are up to something . . . and I want to know what it is.

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