Satan City, 12:57, Weekend; Satan Residence, District 666

A world returning to normal. No matter how much chaos spreads, in the end, everything returns to the established status quo. And the world keeps moving. At least, this is how it was to the Earthlings. It had been a decent week and a half since the events of concerning Majin Bū had been resolved, and the Tenkaichi Budōkai had concluded. To the majority of Earthlings, it was all a blur; the events of the Tenkaichi Budōkai were barely registered thoughts in their minds, though "Kuririn" had gone down as the Champion for that particular Budōkai.

Due to unfortunate events of which the Earthlings knew nothing, Kuririn had passed on, the money had been passed to his next of kin, and so his wife, the mysterious No. 18, had been to Papaya Island recently to claim the prize money. But the Championship title, however, was another story entirely. With the passing of the Champion, the title did not go to the one who was second place — Tenshinhan, who most likely wouldn't have shown up for summons regardless — but to the previous Champion, the famous Mr. Satan.

And thus, the world clamoured around its 'Champion', where cheers of "SATAN" could be heard around the famous martial artist's residence as he was covered with crowds of reporters. Every single one of them wanted details from the man himself about the Tenkaichi Budōkai, the details they knew he could provide; the final match, how he'd won, everything they couldn't remember. And Mr. Satan knew one thing — he couldn't possibly tell them the truth. Being the man who harbored Majin Bū, he was exempt from the wish that erased the memories of the Earthlings; but he'd also been informed that he couldn't possibly tell them.

Furthermore, who would believe such a wild story as that?

So Mr. Satan regaled them with a tale of his exploits, one that would surely grow with every subsequent retelling. It was a cock-and-bull story that the media practically jumped on, as the world simply loved hearing of Mr. Satan's exploits. As he told the tall tale, they listened enraptured, and when Mr. Satan concluded, he had beaten the second place runner up only to have barely lost out to Kuririn — as even he had more standards than to speak ill of the deceased — but due to the latter's unfortunate demise, Mr. Satan had once again been called upon to be the Tenkaichi Budōkai champion.

The reporters were enthralled by Mr. Satan's nobility, and left with a positive image of the World's Champion in mind. Once all the reporters had cleared out, Mr. Satan heaved a sigh of relief. For the Champion — real name 'Mark' — this was hard work, repeatedly fooling the masses. But they've come to expect a certain level of skill from him, to be impressed, and it was how he'd built his life.

Stepping back into his mansion, Mr. Satan felt himself relax, back in his own element.

"You think you should have done that?" a voice, familiar, but also slightly cold, came off from the side. Mr. Satan turned to see his daughter standing in a corner, a headband wrapped around her head, and dressed in a simple white gi. "Your lies will catch up to you sooner or later, Dad."

"Um, well..." He wasn't used to being confronted by his daughter in this way, and stumbled over a response. Videl, however, didn't waste time. Her expression was stern, but it had a sympathetic edge to it. Or was it pity?

"Dad, you're too old for me to actually stop you, but wouldn't a bit of honesty do you better?" She walked past him towards the door, opening it and stepping out into the front yard. "I don't think Mom fell for an actor."

"V-Videl, wait!"

But Videl paid no heed, her aura flaring up, and rushing out of the home. Her form disappeared into the sky, leaving Mr. Satan flabbergasted. Videl had been going out and staying out late frequently, and even though she went out in gi — telling Mr. Satan obviously that she was training out of the house — he still couldn't help but worry. They used to be so close when she was little, but as she'd gotten older, she seemed to be drifting away from him. Satan frowned, walking through his house towards a previously unoccupied room.

Sitting in that room, on a large bed, was the form of Majin Bū, surrounded by sweets. "Satan!" called out Bū. "Where Satan been? Bū bored!"

"S-Sorry, Bū, I was busy talking to reporters!"

"Re-Poh-Turs?" Repeatedly Bū slowly. "Bū don't know what that word means! Sounds confusing!"

"They're people who tell a story for everyone else to hear," replied Mr. Satan, figuring it was the easiest way for Majin Bū to understand what a 'reporter' was.

"Bū still not follow," replied the Djinn, placing a gloved hand to his chin in irritation. Wafting smoke began to drift from his skull, and Mr. Satan immediately waved the conversation away, urging Bū not to think quite so hard. Steam from Majin Bū's head didn't bring back pleasant memories for him, and in truth, it'd be better if he never saw that again.

There was a yipping bark, and a small puppy ran through the open door of Majin Bū's room; he jumped onto the bed, and Bū picked him up. Bē — the name Bū had given the puppy — licked the Djinn's face enthusiastically. Majin Bū giggled like a child, and Mr. Satan's face broke into a warm smile. He was more grateful to Gohan than he could probably say for letting Majin Bū — for letting his friend — live.

"Not so bored now, are you, Bū?" inquired the martial arts champion.

"Nope! Bū not bored now because Bū with friends!" The formerly evil Djinn replied, a toothy smile of his own as he looked at Mr. Satan over Bē's repeated licking of his face. "But, Bū is still lonely. Bū watches humans walk around with their really close people; Bū wants that too!"

"Oh?" Mr. Satan caught on quick. "You want a girlfriend, Bū? Well, I'm not sure what we can do about that; not many regular humans are content to marry...well, outside of their species. Though I suppose I could look around," he added half-heartedly when he saw Bū's crestfallen face. "Tell you what, I'll go see what I can do, while you sit here and play with Bē!"

"Okay!" replied Majin Bū innocently, and Mr. Satan left the room. Majin Bū looked around his room, and saw books — something he'd become more recently familiar with as Mr. Satan had been teaching him how to read — and telekinetically called one of the tomes over to him. Picking up the hardcover, Bū started at it, reading the book's title slowly out loud. "Bob...and...Margaret's...Forbidden Games... Bū think this sound fun! Bū read this one!"

Earth's Skies

Videl was flying away from Satan City at full speed, having crossed well over a wasteland above the planet. Her destination was simple; the Palace of God, to continue her training with her new teacher. She never missed a day of it now — weekday or weekend — and she had to admit her schoolwork was be taking a backseat as training took a dangerous sort of precedence.

"And yet, that in itself is kind of a reward," she thought. "Sensei is...harsh, but his training works." Even if it was doing a number on her body, she was surprised to find out that her senses of pain had really dulled. She was able to take far more punishment than someone of her combat strength-level should be, and Piccolo abused that immensely. He'd been granted similar endurance levels, she'd noticed, and Piccolo had surmised their durability was due to the mark. "I knew I'd felt strange. I wonder what other changes to my body this damn thing causes?"

Regardless, it had been ages since she'd been able to vent this much stress. Training — or perhaps the physical exercises she was putting her body through — were turning into a great stress reliever. With Piccolo's guidance, Videl was becoming stronger in body and mind, and she felt better for it. She wasn't becoming kinder — she was not unaware of her frosty attitude towards her father and friends — but her thoughts were less cloudy. Training under Piccolo had been a great choice she'd made.

"If anything, I'm more surprised at how ridiculously strong those boys are," she flashed back to a particular flashy moment of their training where one of the boys — Trunks? The lavender-haired one. — had thrown her off of the Palace of God in its entirely, and couldn't believe such small children could pack that kind of strength. "Is that what being half...what was it again, Saiyan?...does for you? It almost isn't fair; sort of like a cheat code. Then again, Erasa's looking pretty ridiculous herself with that sort of power."

Meanwhile, while she busted her ass training, Gohan and Erasa seemed to be doing nothing but relaxing. She'd noticed that, over the course of the past week, they'd certainly seemed off; and not in a bad way, at least not the kind of "off" she'd loved to have seen not too long ago. No, instead they were sort of shy and awkward now; she'd never seen them avert glances the way they did, but even then, there was some kind of sickening sweetness to it.

"It isn't aversion or some falling out, I know that much," she thought to herself, her intuition towards her best friend kicking in.

With her face set in a frowned, Videl took off her headband as she approached the Palace. She could sense Piccolo's ki, and a signature that belonged to the boys' as well. Training begins anew.

Palace of God; Same Time

"Oh! I can feel Videl's ki!" shouted Trunks excited. The boy looked off the side of the Palace, and sure enough, could make out Videl's form moving towards them as fast as she could fly. "She's almost here, guys!"

Goten chuckled, walking over to his friend with his arms casually behind his head. "You must really like her."

"Well, she's kind of cool, and I think she's a fun training partner," replied the half-Saiyan quietly, scratching his cheek. "I didn't really think she'd do much, she's a girl and all."

"Enough banter," Piccolo said sternly. "She's here!"

Videl landed onto the tiled floor of the Palace, her shoes clacking onto the surface as she touched down. Walking over to Piccolo, she looked up at him with the determined expression he'd come to expect out of her, and the girl made a respectful bow. "Sensei! I'm ready to begin!"

"As always, you're too formal," replied Piccolo gruffly, though he couldn't deny that the term had a nice ring to it, regardless. "Alright, we'll be operating a bit differently today! Normally, I would have you practise against me — a sufficiently more dangerous sparring partner — but you won't always be fighting someone of my constitution! Instead, you two boys will spar with Videl; consider it practise on fighting multiple opponents, Videl!"

"R-right!" She nodded, and Piccolo ordered the trio to move a certain amount of spaces from each other. Each of them clasped their left hand over their right fist — the signal of a sparring match — and on Piccolo's instruction, the match began. Goten and Trunks rushed Videl, who hadn't bothered to make the first move; she knew from experience she was both slower and weaker. Being the one to open the match against a stronger opponent wouldn't do her much in the way of favours; granted, she didn't much favour being a sitting duck either.

She couldn't read their movements; the duo moved too fast for that. But her eyes were useless in a fight like this, and thus she had to rely on her outer-senses. And she could sense their ki; Goten was attempting to rush her from the side, while Trunks was attempting a forward rush. Videl stepped in with her left foot, and thrust forward with left fist. There was the sound of collision, as her fist struck home at Trunks' collarbone; however, she had launched a second blow toward his abdomen with her free arm, actually taking the young Saiyan off-guard.

Yet Videl's guard had also been lowered at the confidence of landing this strike, and Goten landed a powerful strike from his knee to her ribs. The blow was crushing, and she was sent skidding towards the edge of the Palace. Despite the pain, it was numbed quickly, and Videl realised it was the boons of the emblem on her forehead at work; in fact, that strike should have shattered her ribs entirely, if not more.

Goten and Trunks didn't let up, and Videl was forced into action again. Goten formed a kikōha sphere, and lobbed it towards Videl. This was followed by several addition spheres, and Videl could do not more than block; for only being basic kikōdan, they were still stronger than the spheres she could use, so countering them was impossible. Enduring the rain of ki, Videl didn't notice as Trunks barreled through the spheres, weaving in and out of them without gauging their location, as he and Goten worked flawlessly off each other, and he appeared beneath Videl.

The ki rain ceased, but the sudden appearance of Trunks took Videl by surprise. His expression was apologetic, and he struck her hard in the chin. The blow sent Videl careening into the air. She was spiraling out of control, and she had to exert more ki than necessary to right herself again. She felt dizzy, stunned even, and blood was dripping from her mouth.

"Damn...that strike made me bite my tongue..." She noted that it wasn't the pain, but the warmth of the blood pooling from her mouth which was her first cue. Shaking her head, blood fell down towards the Palace, and she spit out still more. The dark red liquid descended to the Palace like rain, and her hair bristled with focused ki.

Watching from the ground, Piccolo kept his senses tuned to the sparring match. He knew that Videl couldn't win, but he wanted to see how she fought a hopeless battle regardless. "It isentirely possible for strategy to counter a lack of raw power...but what can you come up with against these two brats, Videl?" While he was lost in thoughts, Dende approached him, the click of the cane against tile giving him away.

"Don't you think you're being just a little harsh?" inquired the God of Earth, looking from his mentor figure to Videl, who was attempting to fend off the two feisty half-Saiyans. Her needles were proving ineffective, and a crushing return to the Palace — damaging several tiles — reminded her that these boys weren't going to fall for these tricks. "She's still young, as far as fighting goes, and for an Earthling, Videl's very strong. Shouldn't you relax the pace just a bit?"

"No such thing," replied Piccolo simply. "You may not see it yet, but I have — this girl has a strange kind of potential. She doesn't progress quickly, but she has the talent for taking the basics to the logical extreme. In fact, I think ki control might be her strongest suit. She wants to become strong enough to contend with Gohan and the others, and she won't realise that dream with halfhearted training. So I'm going to kill her — several times over — until I see those abilities reach their peak. I think she's a good influence for these boys, too."

Dende disapproved. He could see Piccolo was getting quite involved in the idea of training these three, especially Videl, but he was a gentle soul. With a resigned sigh, he knew his healing abilities would be on call today as well.

"Watch."

At Piccolo's stern instruction, Dende turned his attention towards the match again. And he saw something that stunned him; a brief overturn of a hopeless situation, and the young God clenched his cane. He watched as Trunks and Goten staggered back, and kept his mind on coherent thought. "No...perhaps Piccolo is right after all..."

Mount Bùzhō, Earth

A secluded mountain range at the furthest reaches of the main continent. Rising high into the clouds, covered in misty forests, this sequestered summit wasn't a complete unknown; it was, however, considered an impractical mountain to climb. It was the highest mountain on Earth — exceeding even Mount Huāguǒ to the east — and was said by many to be the mountain where the Earth and the Heavens touch. It had been the sources of legend and stories by many of the old peoples.

And it was here that Tenshinhan had chosen to erect what would become his life's work — the New Crane School. As much as the Crane Hermit had fallen from grace years ago — and in truth, Tenshinhan had not seen his former teacher since the incident with him and Tao Pai Pai at the Tenkaichi Budōkai. Not only that, but Tao Pai Pai had returned in the latest Tenkaichi Budōkai, and tarnished the name of the Crane School still further.

Tenshinhan saw this as a chance to reinvigorate his old school's teachings. He couldn't count on the blessings of his former masters, but both Chaozu and Lunch had accompanied him in this venture, and he'd taken the time to try and get the school's name out over the past week. It hadn't been easy; recovering from the effects of the Chōshinsui, Lunch — in her sweet state — had refused to let him leave their farm for half a week. It would have been longer if he hadn't managed to convince her that he was fine. And even then, she'd made him drink a tonic he was ninety-percent sure would have killed the average Earthling.

Sitting on the steps of the dōjō, Tenshinhan reflected about what led him here. He had been utterly crushed by Majin Bū, and had been treated to death for the second time in his life. Coming back from that twice was neither a privilege many could boast, but also not one many would care for, and despite the Dragon Balls, he would be content if he never died until it was his time. Coming back from death didn't make it bearable.

When he had returned from the dead, he'd been informed of everything that had happened after his passing. How the two youngest of their group had merged to fight against Majin Bū. Erasa and Gohan's stunning power boosts after consuming the Chōshinsui. Vegeta and Kuririn's noble sacrifices to protect everyone against Majin Bū. He clenched a fist, the muscles of the arm resting on his shoulder tightening.

"I never saw eye to eye with you, Vegeta...but to think that you'd go out like that, to protect us," his thoughts were accompanied by a morose sense of loss. "Kuririn...you always werebrave. I've known you for a long time, and you always came through when it counted...but I didn't expect you to die like this!" They'd suffered a great loss from this, a loss the Dragon Balls could not mend. Earth's Dragon Balls had already revived Kuririn and Vegeta before, and the latter had seemed to acquire a kind of closure in death he never found in life, and refused the idea even if it could happen.

"With Goku gone as well, it would seem the world is going to place its hopes in you, Gohan," the three-eyed man thought. "But you won't bear it alone; I'll be there, with the results of the Chōshinsui, and my training! You stay strong, kid!" As his thoughts drifted from Gohan, they arrived at Yamcha. His comrade had begun training again as well; the loss of Kuririn had hit him hard. The former Turtle School Student had gone back to Muten Rōshi to be taught from the basics up, and had professed an interest in mimicking Tenshinhan; the New Turtle School, as Yamcha had called it. "Is the world changing? It looks like it. And I think it's for the better."

Footsteps on the polished wood behind him caught his attention, but he had sensed the presence well before she'd made it to the exist of the dōjō. Lunch stood behind him, dressed in a green qípáo, styled with a flower print. Her hair was a dark blue, as she was still in her sweet form, and placed a hand on Tenshinhan's shoulder.

"Are you worrying again?"

"I suppose," he replied. When she spoke, he felt the weight of the world lift from his shoulders. He hadn't expected to be involved with someone to the extent he was with Lunch — the term 'girlfriend' wasn't one he used, but it couldn't be argued that this was their relationship — and had it not been for Lunch's persistence, he would be here alone. Regardless, her presence made everything bearable; pride as a warrior only took a man so far. Placing a hand on her's, he felt himself smile properly for the first time since the end of the Majin Bū debacle. "It'll just take some time. But now isn't the time to be lost in my thoughts; I feel ki. It looks like someone passed the test of Mount Bùzhō.

Royal Nature Park, Earth

The Royal Nature Park was the world's foremost wildlife preserve; the planet didn't stand out in the galaxy for much, but it did have its share of unique creatures, and these fauna were protected within the Royal Nature Park. Lesser parks possessed a vast array of rangers and guards, but the Royal Nature Park needed no such groups with false gallantry.

It was a gigantic park, and yet the park ranger in its employ was only one man — Lapis, though he preferred to go by his designation of No. 17 — and he covered the entirety of the area flawlessly, performing an admirable job that others could only aspire to. No. 17 rarely took a day off, but today was one of those rare days, as he'd had a guest over the past week.

Landed neatly next to ranger station, the artificial human opened the door. Walking inside, he embraced the cooler interior of the wooden structure. It was homey, with a brick fireplace in the center. Hung on the wall were framed pictures that showed 17 himself with a rare smile, and some of them showed a bespectacled, freckled woman, a doll-like child, and two other children who bore no resemblance to the couple. A map of the entire park was plastered on the other wall. His work desk was in another corner, also made of wood; sitting on a plush chair was a woman who was identical to him in all but hair colour, with eyes as blank as his. In her lap sat a small child.

Striding over to his desk, No. 17 took a seat, turning around to face is sister with as warm a smile as someone like he could muster. "Hi."

"Hi." was the identical reply.

An awkward silence hung in the air between the two, and No. 17 spoke again. "It isn't often you visit."

"Not often you visit either."

"I did visit two years ago," said No. 17 pointedly. "You and the dwarf — what was his name again?"

"Kuririn," replied No. 18, her tone suddenly cold. She exhaled; it wasn't her brother's fault. He didn't know yet.

"Where is he anyway? I would have thought a family visit would have included your husband."

The silence became still more pronounced, and when No. 18 spoke again, her voice was cracked. "Kuririn...he's dead, 17." Her eyes were dry, but she had mourned Kuririn enough over the past week. No. 18 explained to her twin about the entire Majin Bū debacle, and he sat there wide-eyed as she explained. He wasn't amazed — they weren't natural themselves, being Artificial Humans, but it wasn't every day that one heard about a magical monster which arrived to terrorise Earth.

No. 17 offered his condolences, but his sister waved them off.

"I didn't come here for sympathy, 17," she replied. "For once, I'm here to just so we can meet."

"I see," replied the twin brother with a small smile. "Then why don't you come back to my house? I'm sure my wife would love to see you again."

"Yes, let's."

Capsule Corporation, Earth

The crackling sound of a welding torch could be heard within the deeper chambers of the Capsule Corporation laboratory. Bulma was wearing a face shield, the brilliant light of the flame illuminating her form. Her creation was moderately obscured by both a blanket and darkness, but it was a pale hue, whatever it was; and she was hard at work welding a part of it together.

She was so into her work, that she didn't hear the footsteps of her father as the man descended into the basement. He was smoking a cigarette, and his hands were tucked neatly into the pockets of his lab coat. He didn't need to squint through the darkness; he could see his daughter's form by the light of the torch.

"Sweetie!" He called out. "The analysis on SZ-05 has been completed!"

The torch ceased, and Bulma removed the face shield. There was still a dim illumination that kept the father-and-daughter duo from being plunged into total darkness, and the lavender-tressed woman smiled. "I was wondering why it would taking so long; regardless, if the scan's been completed, I can begin synthetic production! How is the progress on SG-01?"

Dr. Brief pushed is glasses up the bridge of his nose, and replied, "SG-01 has been pushed to SG-02, but the analysis isn't coming along as well as you might want, Bulma."

Bulma frowned, placing a gloved finger to her chin. "The issue could be in the sample. I might be in need of a purer sample." She frowned. A pure sample was impossible right now. The woman leaned against the table. "Alright, Dad. Tell the staff we're shifting our focus to the generators! Our work isn't done yet!" She placed the shield back over her face, and her father left the basement as the welding torch ignited.

It was going to be a long road.

A/N: And here it is, Chapter 57! This one is a bit different in my opinion, as it is one of the few chapters without Gohan and Erasa in it at all; being only mentioned rather than shown. This chapter wasn't originally going to focus on almost everyone but it did. And I like the way it turned out, surprisingly. Despite some bumps along the way emotionally — it's a long story, and I question the nature of my actual story now — I managed to get this chapter out. I hope you all enjoy it, I genuinely do.

Now for a few name explanations; Mount Bùzhō and Mount Huāguǒ. The former is based on a mountain of the same name in Chinese mythology, which is said to have supported the heavens. The latter is more commonly known in English as the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, the mountain where Sun Wukong lived.

As always, let's thank Demod20 for proofreading this monstrosity! I will see you all soon in the next exciting Chapter of the Erased Chronicles!