A/N: GAH! I'm doing it again! Starting a new story! Damn my imagination!
Yes, this is yet another of my AU stories. This one came to me earlier while I was playing Budokai 2... I'll say no more than that. Just note that the powers of the first baddies to appear in the story have been reduced by a LOT compared to their counterparts for... obvious reasons. (The Z warriors wouldn't stand a snow-balls chance in the H.F.I.L. otherwise :p ) But, considering the time-frame of the story (start of DBZ) it's perfectly reasonable. This story could very easily be called a 'Slug Fest', you'll see why as it goes. About the only bad guys from the series that wont appear in this story are from the Buu Saga, so yeah, this will be a hell of a ride. XD
Also, you'll notice in my fics Chaotzu isn't around much (I can never write the little guy the well, and his power's never high enough after DB to be much help) and this story wont be any different, in fact, for reasons you'll read in this chapter, he wont be in this story at all.
Chapter One - Reunion
Chi-Chi looked up from the table as she set down the last plate. "Where are those two? They're usually storming in the front door before I'm even half finished with lunch." she wondered walking toward the door. "Goku! Gohan! Lunch is ready!" she called. Still nothing. "If you don't hurry up I'll give all your foo..." her threat trailed off as a spark of white light appeared just above the trees which soon became her husband. Riding on his back was their young son Gohan in a bright yellow outfit with red trim and a red cap atop which sat the four star Dragonball.
"Sorry Chi-Chi." Goku said grinning as he landed and set Gohan down on the ground. "Gohan and I wondered off pretty far while we were training..."
"I still don't like you training Gohan to be thug." she said turning around.
"Aw, but Chi-Chi! I'm not! He's really strong and..."
"And nothing, Gohan's going to be a scholar when he grows up. Not some jobless brute."
Goku grinned and scratched the back of his head. Chi-Chi had sent him out on several job interviews to places but they always turned him down. Usually after he broke something. "Yeah... well, there's another Budokai coming up in a couple of days. Now that the ring's fixed they've even upped the prize money. Now it's worth five million Zenni!"
"F-five million!" Chi-Chi asked turning around. "That's a lot of money Goku!"
"Yep! And Gohan and I are going to enter! Master Roshi already told me the others would be there too. He's even having a get together on his island before the tourname..."
"What's this about Gohan entering?" Chi-Chi interrupted with a raised eyebrow.
For once, however, Goku had a plan. He knew Chi-Chi would object to Gohan entering the tournament. At least at first, but he had the perfect way to get him in. "Second place is two and half million Zenni." Goku said grinning. "Gohan's a lot stronger than I was at his age, I think we could both make it to the finals!"
Chi-Chi just glared at him as he sat down and started eating. She still didn't like the idea of her son fighting, but... 7.5 million Zenni was a lot of money! She'd be able to get a car, build that addition to the house for Gohan's study room, and she wouldn't have to worry about the bills anymore! Maybe, just this once, it'd be okay....
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"Hello? Anyone here!?" Bulma called climbing out of her air copter.
"Hey Bulma!" Krillin called walking out of Kame House. Behind him came the old Turtle Hermit, Master Roshi. Hidden behind his dark sun glasses Roshi's eyes drifted up, and then back down, and then back up Bulma. Suddenly there was a loud crack and Roshi face planted from Bulma's hand smacking the top his head. Krillin just grinned. "You'd think he'd have learned his listen by now." he said shaking his head.
"Can't blame and old man for trying can you?" he asked sitting up and rubbing his head.
"A dirty old man I can." Bulma said hotly. "So, where are Goku and the others at?"
"They said they'd be here." Krillin said. "But no one else has shown yet. Besides, I thought Yamcha was going to come with you."
"Errr, that idiot! He's playing baseball for one of the pro teams in the city. But he made me so mad I told him he'd have to find his own way here today. I'm through with him! He took someone else out!" Bulma nearly screamed.
"Yamcha? Are you sure?" Krillin asked. "I mean, that don't really seem like hi..."
"Yes I'm sure!" Bulma yelled. "I found her things in his room at Capsule Corp so I kicked him out!"
Krillin stared at her for a moment. /Her things... oh man, could she mean...?/ "Ah Bulma... these things you found... were they by chance lingerie? Red, black, and dark purple?"
Bulma stared at him and blinked a few times. "Yeah... how'd you know? Do you know the girl?!"
"Uh, you could say that." Krillin replied. "They're yours."
"Wha-but, I don't ha..."
"Birthday presents." Krillin said. "Yamcha took me with him so he wouldn't be the only one embarrassed by being in that store." Krillin shivered as he remembered the eyes that had followed him and Yamcha around in the store.
Bulma just stared down at him dumbstruck. /Oh man! I didn't even let him try and explain either! Now I'll be lucky if he ever talks to me again! Bulma, you are such an idiot!/
Master Roshi turned his attention toward the north, the sun reflecting brightly across his glasses. "That would be Tien and Yamcha." he said.
Krillin turned and searched out their powers. "That's odd. I can't sense Chaotzu..."
Roshi shook his head slowly. "He died last year. I saw Launch a few months ago and she told me about it. Some really powerful virus."
"Oh..." Krillin said softly as Tien and Yamcha came into view.
Roshi nodded. "Don't say anything about it. According to Launch it's still a touchy matter with Tien."
"Right, no problem."
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The wind zipped past them at high speeds messing up their hair as they flew along on Nimbus. The little yellow cloud dipped down to water level and splashed the cold sparkling water up onto the laughing boy and his father. "Alright, I can see Master Roshi's island!" Goku cheered. The yellow cloud lifted up from the water a few feet as the island neared, and finally came to a stop just up on the beach.
"Hey guys!" Goku called hoping off Nimbus which then sped away as he set Gohan down on the ground.
"Goku!" Krillin and Bulma cheered turning to see him just setting down the little kid.
"Hey, long time no see Goku." Tien said. "So, who's the kid?"
"You babysitting Goku?" Yamcha asked.
Goku grinned and scratched the back of his head. "No. This is my son, Gohan!"
"Your... son?" Bulma asked surprised. Then she walked down and knelt in front of him. "Well hello there Gohan, aren't you the cute one? My name's Bulma. So, how old are you?"
Gohan beamed. "Hello." he said bowing lightly. Then, "Ummmm..." he held his hand up and counted on his fingers, finally holding his hand and showing all his fingers and his thumb. "This many!"
Krillin grinned at the beaming little boy. "So you named after your grandpa huh?" he asked Goku as he walked over to the boy as well.
"Yeah." Goku said scratching the back of his head again. "Chi-Chi kept coming up with names for him but he would always cry. Then, when he was about a month old, I was telling him about Grandpa Gohan and every time I said his name the little guy just smiled. He seemed to really like it."
"Well at least we know he's got good taste." Roshi said. "So, have you been training him any?"
"Chi-Chi normally wont let me train him, but I've snuck in some lessons here and there, and she's let us train the last few weeks for the tournament. Gohan's a little powerhouse, he's a lot stronger than I was at his age."
Yamcha's eyes suddenly widened. "Hey, he's got a tail!" At this news everyone else turned to look. Sure enough there was a furry brown appendage flipping about behind him.
"Yeah, he was born with it, just like me."
"Goku... has... anything, um, strange ever happened at night?" Bulma asked.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Well... has Gohan ever seen the full Moon?"
"No, I don't think so. He's usually asleep by the time the moon comes up. Why?"
"Nothing." Yamcha said shaking his head. "Just curious, right guys?" The others all nodded in agreement.
"Oh hey, that's the four star ball on Gohan's hat, isn't it?" Bulma asked.
"Yeah, I went out and found it after the last Budokai, Chi-Chi seemed to like seeing the world while we hunted it down. Now Gohan wants to go find them all so he can see the Dragon and make a wish."
Krillin bent down and picked up a rock, twirling it around in his hand for a moment before tossing it out across the water and skipping it for a couple hundred yards. "We sure had a lot of adventures tracking those down over the years." he said. "So what are you going to wish for when you get them all?"
Goku had watched Krillin's rock and was now holding his own. "That's a good question Krillin, I don't really know. I've got everything I need..." he said pitching it. The rock hit the water and skipped off into the horizon.
/I thought Goku's power would have gone down after he settled down.../ Roshi thought.
"Oh hey, Master Roshi, do you still have my old GI's here?" Goku asked turning around. "Gohan's going to need something for the tournament tomorrow."
"Yeah, I should have them somewhere."
Bulma grinned. "Yeah, and if they don't fit Krillin could led Gohan one of his."
"HEY!" Krillin cried.
Goku's eyes suddenly snapped open and he spun around to look west. "Man, something's coming!" he cried. The others all turned to look as Goku focused. "No way! It's... Piccolo!"
"What!" they all cried worried.
Sure enough, a moment the large green man pulled to a stop floating above the island. "Ah, Goku, I knew I'd sensed you all out here." he said with a smirk that revealed one of his fangs.
"What do you want Piccolo!" Goku called up to him.
"Just making sure you'll be at the Budokai tomorrow Goku. I've been waiting a long time for this, and I've been preparing. By the end of the Budokai you will be dead and I will be ruling this planet! So, you wont run away will you? You will be there?"
"You can count on it Piccolo, and you wont win!"
"We shall see Goku, we shall see."
Yes, this is yet another of my AU stories. This one came to me earlier while I was playing Budokai 2... I'll say no more than that. Just note that the powers of the first baddies to appear in the story have been reduced by a LOT compared to their counterparts for... obvious reasons. (The Z warriors wouldn't stand a snow-balls chance in the H.F.I.L. otherwise :p ) But, considering the time-frame of the story (start of DBZ) it's perfectly reasonable. This story could very easily be called a 'Slug Fest', you'll see why as it goes. About the only bad guys from the series that wont appear in this story are from the Buu Saga, so yeah, this will be a hell of a ride. XD
Also, you'll notice in my fics Chaotzu isn't around much (I can never write the little guy the well, and his power's never high enough after DB to be much help) and this story wont be any different, in fact, for reasons you'll read in this chapter, he wont be in this story at all.
Chapter One - Reunion
Chi-Chi looked up from the table as she set down the last plate. "Where are those two? They're usually storming in the front door before I'm even half finished with lunch." she wondered walking toward the door. "Goku! Gohan! Lunch is ready!" she called. Still nothing. "If you don't hurry up I'll give all your foo..." her threat trailed off as a spark of white light appeared just above the trees which soon became her husband. Riding on his back was their young son Gohan in a bright yellow outfit with red trim and a red cap atop which sat the four star Dragonball.
"Sorry Chi-Chi." Goku said grinning as he landed and set Gohan down on the ground. "Gohan and I wondered off pretty far while we were training..."
"I still don't like you training Gohan to be thug." she said turning around.
"Aw, but Chi-Chi! I'm not! He's really strong and..."
"And nothing, Gohan's going to be a scholar when he grows up. Not some jobless brute."
Goku grinned and scratched the back of his head. Chi-Chi had sent him out on several job interviews to places but they always turned him down. Usually after he broke something. "Yeah... well, there's another Budokai coming up in a couple of days. Now that the ring's fixed they've even upped the prize money. Now it's worth five million Zenni!"
"F-five million!" Chi-Chi asked turning around. "That's a lot of money Goku!"
"Yep! And Gohan and I are going to enter! Master Roshi already told me the others would be there too. He's even having a get together on his island before the tourname..."
"What's this about Gohan entering?" Chi-Chi interrupted with a raised eyebrow.
For once, however, Goku had a plan. He knew Chi-Chi would object to Gohan entering the tournament. At least at first, but he had the perfect way to get him in. "Second place is two and half million Zenni." Goku said grinning. "Gohan's a lot stronger than I was at his age, I think we could both make it to the finals!"
Chi-Chi just glared at him as he sat down and started eating. She still didn't like the idea of her son fighting, but... 7.5 million Zenni was a lot of money! She'd be able to get a car, build that addition to the house for Gohan's study room, and she wouldn't have to worry about the bills anymore! Maybe, just this once, it'd be okay....
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
"Hello? Anyone here!?" Bulma called climbing out of her air copter.
"Hey Bulma!" Krillin called walking out of Kame House. Behind him came the old Turtle Hermit, Master Roshi. Hidden behind his dark sun glasses Roshi's eyes drifted up, and then back down, and then back up Bulma. Suddenly there was a loud crack and Roshi face planted from Bulma's hand smacking the top his head. Krillin just grinned. "You'd think he'd have learned his listen by now." he said shaking his head.
"Can't blame and old man for trying can you?" he asked sitting up and rubbing his head.
"A dirty old man I can." Bulma said hotly. "So, where are Goku and the others at?"
"They said they'd be here." Krillin said. "But no one else has shown yet. Besides, I thought Yamcha was going to come with you."
"Errr, that idiot! He's playing baseball for one of the pro teams in the city. But he made me so mad I told him he'd have to find his own way here today. I'm through with him! He took someone else out!" Bulma nearly screamed.
"Yamcha? Are you sure?" Krillin asked. "I mean, that don't really seem like hi..."
"Yes I'm sure!" Bulma yelled. "I found her things in his room at Capsule Corp so I kicked him out!"
Krillin stared at her for a moment. /Her things... oh man, could she mean...?/ "Ah Bulma... these things you found... were they by chance lingerie? Red, black, and dark purple?"
Bulma stared at him and blinked a few times. "Yeah... how'd you know? Do you know the girl?!"
"Uh, you could say that." Krillin replied. "They're yours."
"Wha-but, I don't ha..."
"Birthday presents." Krillin said. "Yamcha took me with him so he wouldn't be the only one embarrassed by being in that store." Krillin shivered as he remembered the eyes that had followed him and Yamcha around in the store.
Bulma just stared down at him dumbstruck. /Oh man! I didn't even let him try and explain either! Now I'll be lucky if he ever talks to me again! Bulma, you are such an idiot!/
Master Roshi turned his attention toward the north, the sun reflecting brightly across his glasses. "That would be Tien and Yamcha." he said.
Krillin turned and searched out their powers. "That's odd. I can't sense Chaotzu..."
Roshi shook his head slowly. "He died last year. I saw Launch a few months ago and she told me about it. Some really powerful virus."
"Oh..." Krillin said softly as Tien and Yamcha came into view.
Roshi nodded. "Don't say anything about it. According to Launch it's still a touchy matter with Tien."
"Right, no problem."
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The wind zipped past them at high speeds messing up their hair as they flew along on Nimbus. The little yellow cloud dipped down to water level and splashed the cold sparkling water up onto the laughing boy and his father. "Alright, I can see Master Roshi's island!" Goku cheered. The yellow cloud lifted up from the water a few feet as the island neared, and finally came to a stop just up on the beach.
"Hey guys!" Goku called hoping off Nimbus which then sped away as he set Gohan down on the ground.
"Goku!" Krillin and Bulma cheered turning to see him just setting down the little kid.
"Hey, long time no see Goku." Tien said. "So, who's the kid?"
"You babysitting Goku?" Yamcha asked.
Goku grinned and scratched the back of his head. "No. This is my son, Gohan!"
"Your... son?" Bulma asked surprised. Then she walked down and knelt in front of him. "Well hello there Gohan, aren't you the cute one? My name's Bulma. So, how old are you?"
Gohan beamed. "Hello." he said bowing lightly. Then, "Ummmm..." he held his hand up and counted on his fingers, finally holding his hand and showing all his fingers and his thumb. "This many!"
Krillin grinned at the beaming little boy. "So you named after your grandpa huh?" he asked Goku as he walked over to the boy as well.
"Yeah." Goku said scratching the back of his head again. "Chi-Chi kept coming up with names for him but he would always cry. Then, when he was about a month old, I was telling him about Grandpa Gohan and every time I said his name the little guy just smiled. He seemed to really like it."
"Well at least we know he's got good taste." Roshi said. "So, have you been training him any?"
"Chi-Chi normally wont let me train him, but I've snuck in some lessons here and there, and she's let us train the last few weeks for the tournament. Gohan's a little powerhouse, he's a lot stronger than I was at his age."
Yamcha's eyes suddenly widened. "Hey, he's got a tail!" At this news everyone else turned to look. Sure enough there was a furry brown appendage flipping about behind him.
"Yeah, he was born with it, just like me."
"Goku... has... anything, um, strange ever happened at night?" Bulma asked.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Well... has Gohan ever seen the full Moon?"
"No, I don't think so. He's usually asleep by the time the moon comes up. Why?"
"Nothing." Yamcha said shaking his head. "Just curious, right guys?" The others all nodded in agreement.
"Oh hey, that's the four star ball on Gohan's hat, isn't it?" Bulma asked.
"Yeah, I went out and found it after the last Budokai, Chi-Chi seemed to like seeing the world while we hunted it down. Now Gohan wants to go find them all so he can see the Dragon and make a wish."
Krillin bent down and picked up a rock, twirling it around in his hand for a moment before tossing it out across the water and skipping it for a couple hundred yards. "We sure had a lot of adventures tracking those down over the years." he said. "So what are you going to wish for when you get them all?"
Goku had watched Krillin's rock and was now holding his own. "That's a good question Krillin, I don't really know. I've got everything I need..." he said pitching it. The rock hit the water and skipped off into the horizon.
/I thought Goku's power would have gone down after he settled down.../ Roshi thought.
"Oh hey, Master Roshi, do you still have my old GI's here?" Goku asked turning around. "Gohan's going to need something for the tournament tomorrow."
"Yeah, I should have them somewhere."
Bulma grinned. "Yeah, and if they don't fit Krillin could led Gohan one of his."
"HEY!" Krillin cried.
Goku's eyes suddenly snapped open and he spun around to look west. "Man, something's coming!" he cried. The others all turned to look as Goku focused. "No way! It's... Piccolo!"
"What!" they all cried worried.
Sure enough, a moment the large green man pulled to a stop floating above the island. "Ah, Goku, I knew I'd sensed you all out here." he said with a smirk that revealed one of his fangs.
"What do you want Piccolo!" Goku called up to him.
"Just making sure you'll be at the Budokai tomorrow Goku. I've been waiting a long time for this, and I've been preparing. By the end of the Budokai you will be dead and I will be ruling this planet! So, you wont run away will you? You will be there?"
"You can count on it Piccolo, and you wont win!"
"We shall see Goku, we shall see."