(Thanks to Marshmellow Dragon for my first ever review!)

Chapter 2

"Okay! Now you just stand there, Gohan!" Goten pushed his brother to a spot on the wide green field and pointed to a large rock formation. "Keep your eye on that!"

The little boy then yelled as he transformed into a super saiyan. His hair was now golden and stood up on end. His eyes had turned a bluish-green and his entire body was surrounded by a golden aura. He took off into the air and flew towards the huge structure.

Frankly, Gohan was surprised that there were any rocks still standing near their home, considering they were often used for target practice by the Son boys.

As Goten approached the large rock, he put his arms by his sides and started spinning at a high speed. Gohan's eyes widened as his little brother became a spinning blur of golden energy. From inside the cyclone, Goten's voice cried out,

TORNADO CHARGE!

He crashed into the rock face and the whole structure exploded with a deafening boom! Gohan had to brace himself against the shockwave that the impact caused. When he lowered his arms, he saw that the entire rock formation had disappeared and a sizable crater had taken its' place.

"Wow. Goten, that was amazing!" He stood with a huge grin on his face, but then he noticed that he couldn't see Goten anymore. "Goten?" He called out, but there was no answer.

"Oh boy…" He took off through the air towards the crater, and saw a long groove was cut into the earth. At the end of it lay Goten face down, on the ground. Gohan landed beside him and turned him over. His hair had returned to normal and there were spirals in his eyes. Gohan started shaking him gently.

"Hey Goten. Are you alright?"

Goten's eyes suddenly snapped back to normal. He sat up and shook his head, partly to clear his vision, but mostly to get rid of the Shenrons flying in front of his eyes.

"Yeah. I still haven't gotten used to the landings!"

(scene change)

Vegeta usually hated sneaking around. As a saiyan warrior, he believed in standing your ground and facing your enemies. But the various battles he'd fought in over the years had taught him that there were some enemies that best be handled with stealth. And this was the strategy he was employing now. He moved swiftly but silently across the ground. The object of his unease currently had its' back to him and he only had a few meters left to go. He was nearly home-free.

Suddenly, an object on the ground was knocked over by his foot. He looked down. It was one of Trunks' action figures. Vegeta prayed that the sound it made wasn't enough to attract its' attention, but alas, it was.

"Oh Vegeta, dear! There you are! Could you help with taking the plates out to the backyard? There's so much food to carry, what with you and Trunks, and Goku and his boys, and Buu. Oh, and afterwards, I want to show you these darling shirts I found. I think they would look perfect on you!"

Vegeta's posture visibly slumped. Of all the opponents he'd fought, of all the dangers he'd faced, none of them even matched up to the seemingly tireless Mrs. Brief!

Women had always been an enigma to him, but she was something else altogether! She perpetually had her eyes closed, yet she never stumbled nor bumped into anything. And, was it just him, or had she not aged at all since he first met her thirteen years ago!

As Vegeta dejectedly followed his mother-in-law into the Capsule Corporation building, around the back, the first of Bulma's visitors were arriving.

"Krillin! 18! It's great to see you guys again!" Bulma beamed as she greeted the former monk and his blonde-haired wife. 18 held their four-year old daughter, Marron, in her arms.

"Hi, Sweetie! Wow, you're getting big!" Bulma smiled at the little girl. "You guys are the first to arrive. The others should be here soon."

It only took a little time for all the food to be taken out to the backyard and for everyone to have settled down.

"I'm surprised Roshi didn't come with you guys." Bulma said to Krillin as they sat around a small white table.

"Err… He was going to, but then he got one of his problems!" Krillin answered awkwardly. Bulma decided not to pursue the matter any further.

"Anyway, where's Yamcha?" Krillin asked.

"Oh, he, Puar and Oolong have gone on one of their drives across the desert. You know, to get away from the city for a while."

"In his car?" Krillin exclaimed, wide-eyed.

"I know. I keep telling him to get a new one. One that actually has to hit something before it bursts into flames!"

"Hey, Mom." Trunks suddenly appeared at the table. "When's Gohan and Goten gonna get here? I'm bored!"

"Looking for a little excitement, kid?"

Everyone looked up to see four figures hovering above them. The one who'd spoken was white-skinned, bald and had a strange-looking case strapped to his back. He smiled and spoke again,

"You should be careful what you wish for!"

And with that, he and his three comrades raised their hands and fired energy waves down into the garden!

Everyone who could fly quickly grabbed someone who couldn't and took off into the air, before the blasts hit. Vegeta had Mrs. Brief, Trunks had Dr. Brief, Krillin had Bulma and 18 had Marron. They watched the four attackers hovering in front of them. Each of them wearing the typical 'evil henchmen' grin.

Krillin sighed,

"You'd think we'd have learnt our lesson by now, and stopped having get-togethers!"