AN: In case anyone is curious, because this was implied but can't ever be outright confirmed in the fic, yes, Krillin and Goku were a little bit stronger after training with Roshi and being inspired by Sakura than canon. Compare their performance against the rock in canon versus how they did in the story.

On an unrelated note, did you know how much Yamcha's power level and skillz jump up in Dragonball Z? Someone didn't need his potential unlocked to be awesome.

The hardest part about Pu'ar is deciding whether to say 'he' or 'she'

The Next Dimension Over

Chapter Thirty-eight

A part of him wondered whether he should have swapped roles with Goku, and been the one to go after the encampment. Or, at least Sakura. The other part of him hastened to remind him that any attempt to split up in a form that would leave him with that girl instead of his girlfriend would only end badly for him. Mostly, though...he suspected Goku and she would have more than sufficient power to deal with the army.

Besides that...there was no telling just what kind of a dangerous person they sent after the dragonball. If Bulma was going there, the only way he was going to feel at peace about it was if he were there himself to watch out for her. That was pretty much the best way he could give back for all the things she'd done for him since coming to Capsule Corporation, after all. Maybe it was an excuse to feel a little like he did before he ended up in Capsule Corporation, too. Everything was so comfortable, everything so easily provided to him...

He wasn't exactly nostalgic for fighting to save his life, but most of him was still used to doing that.

He really hoped he was right to expect to win this time.

"I don't know why I didn't think the Red Ribbon Army would want the dragonballs." Bulma shook her head as he ran and she linked an arm around his neck to keep from slipping out of his grip.

"Well...there wasn't any reason to think they knew what those were." After all, it wasn't exactly common knowledge. And it should have been even less believed than it was known.

"What do you think they meant by having dealt with one like this before?" Pu'ar said, hovering next to him and keeping pace with almost embarrassing ease.

"Well..."

"It means they conveniently forgot to mention the damn Red Ribbon Army broke my radar!"

(*)

Dust and dirt still floated through the air from her initial attack, but for a brief moment nothing else moved. The surviving army stood frozen around the crater she'd created, and the three inside simply stared at each other in a silent battle of wills.

Unsurprisingly, Goku broke the stillness first, charging at the blonde man with a furious expression. The practice he'd had trying to get the bell from her benefited him well. His movement was even quicker than before, and he crashed into the man in only a moment. To the credit of their attacker - who it seemed was the murderer of Upa's father - his response was equally fast, and he brought up his arm to deflect Goku's attack. When he attempted to counter Goku with a punch in response, though, Goku simply bounced away to the ground.

"Can you deal with the other guys?" Goku glanced up at her, expression determined. "I just wanna fight this guy."

She glanced between the tall blonde and Goku a moment. "...Just be careful."

"Don't worry! I'll be fine."

The blonde sneered down at them both, and shifted his stance slightly. "Fools. Just for insulting me, I'll ensure that I kill you both."

(*)

Fortunately (if it was actually fortunate...) the dragonball hadn't been all that far from the camp anyway, so they didn't have far to run. He set Bulma down a short distance from where the radar read the moving ball, and started warily in the direction of the footsteps in the forest ahead. Next to him was probably safer than trying to hide her in a random tree, but he'd need his hands free in case the military force ahead of them attempted to strike without warning. A middle ground would simply have to be walking slightly ahead of her and trusting Pu'ar to help hide her should it come to it.

"It's over..." Bulma's voice trailed off as a tall figure appeared in the trees ahead of them, marching with determination, but watching the ground instead of them. She nodded, and took a step back.

No one immediately appeared with the man walking...but that meant they were either well hidden, or this man was dangerous. The emblem of the Red Ribbon Army on his shirt ruled out the possibility of him being some sort of third party participant, and that meant the encampment that burned down a village to find a dragonball trusted one person to find and retrieve that dragonball.

If he was alone.

But, really, what were the chances he would be easy from the start?

He shook his head, and walked purposefully toward the man, setting his jaw. Maybe it would be best just to strike without warning, fall back into the trees while they'd yet to be noticed and then strike from the shadows and take the guy out before he was ready.

Maybe he'd been infected by Goku's reckless behavior.

He sighed, and shook his head again. Really. "...Hey."

The man turned a calm gaze up at him and stopped in his tracks, settling his hands in the pockets of an over sized and open coat. "I was beginning to wonder if you were going to do anything."

Ah...well. The guy was good, then.

"I guess that depends." He planted his hands on his hips, waiting for the man's attack. "Are you gonna hand over the dragonball you've got on you, or are you gonna make me do something?"

"Something?" The man watched him for a few moments, and then cracked his knuckles. "Showing me something would be a change of pace from what I've seen of anyone for a while."

There was no telling how dangerous this guy was - other than that he logically wouldn't be much worse from the people he'd seen in the tournament - but the blood that started pumping stronger through his limbs in anticipation of a fight was kind of...great.

Honestly, he'd never say anything against the life Bulma wanted for him, but he'd missed fighting a little bit. Maybe a lot.

He glanced back toward Bulma; Pu'ar led her safely back a short distance, shielding her protectively.

"There's no need to worry for her." The man said, voice as calm and reasonable as it had been since he started. "If she doesn't involve herself, I have no reason to hurt her."

He scoffed as he settled into a fighting stance. "That's big talk from a guy who's about to be on the ground."

He didn't blink, but for a moment, he almost thought he did. He almost got kicked in the face in that moment, so worrying about just how fast the guy in front of him had to be to pull that off had to wait until another time. He threw himself backward just in time to avoid the impact, but the rush of air that accompanied the near miss made the force of the kick perfectly clear.

Not just dangerous. If he didn't take this guy completely seriously he might just end up dead.

The words of that woman, Ino, came to mind. He brushed them aside immediately. Coaching from a weird quitter didn't have any impact on his decision to use his Wolf Fang Fist immediately. Those were two different situations. Entirely.

Wind howled through the forest with much more ferocity than what the man's blow generated, and the man's calm expression finally broke into one of surprise as his barrage of blows began to knock the man backward again. No matter how fast the guy might be, no one (almost no one) could out-speed the Wolf Fang Fist. And he hit much harder than it might look like he did.

When the man's guard slipped slightly, misinterpreting his action for a different strike, he landed a solid blow to the man's jaw, and red hair and muscle vanished back into the trees.

He dropped to the grass again in another ready stance and allowed himself a bit of a grin. "See what I mean? On the ground."

"Oh wow!" Bulma shouted from behind him. "That was really awesome!"

He gave a slight nod and smiled to himself. Maybe it was easy to forget, living in West City, just what kind of a life he lived before he moved in with her. "See? It's no big deal-"

"Where the hell was that in the tournament?"

He trailed off with a sigh. Really? Didn't she see the Wolf Fang Fist? It was totally there! He misfired it, sure, but it was there!

"Well, if you were looking for a fight..." The voice of the man drifted out of the forest as his figure slowly reappeared, stripping off his ruined jacket and shirt. "It was your bad luck to have chosen to challenge Colonel Silver."

"Oh..." Bulma gasped. "He looks incredible! He's just my type!"

Wait-what?

He turned toward her in confusion. "Bulma?"

Silver's fist connected with his head, and the impact sent a spiral of stars through his vision, knocking him stumbling back several steps. "Gah-"

She gave a shriek of surprise, completely at odds with her previous exclamation of enthusiasm. "Yamcha!"

He grit his teeth in irritation and punched the man in the elbow when the Colonel attempted another strike. "What, now you remember I'm here?"

"Oh come on!" She shouted, as he slammed the man in the stomach with his elbow, knocking the large man back. "I can't help the things I like."

He glanced over at her, frustration and irritation bubbling over much more easily with the heat and intensity of the battle already on him, "What do you mean your type, anyway? He looks nothing like me!"

"Ignoring me..." The man growled, as he stumbled to his feet, "is the best way to make me angry. And that...is a terrible idea!"

It was a bit disconcerting to hear Bulma and Pu'ar both scream in tandem. "Yamcha look out!"

(*)

Cleaning up the rest of the men in the Red Ribbon Army camp wasn't particularly difficult. Most of them had been incapacitated by her initial attack, and the rest were either too distracted or too terrified to fight back properly. She didn't really make any attempt to defeat them using nonlethal methods. They made no attempt to disable Upa's village nonlethally, she had no obligation to give them such an allowance.

Blood and dirt covered her outfit, ground into her clothes deeply enough that she'd probably have to replace it. She flexed her fingers as she looked down at the last man she'd found. Perhaps she'd have rethought her decision if he'd asked her to, but this one was defiant. He'd emptied his gun pointlessly, he'd attacked her pointlessly. Now he simply glared at her against the tree he'd bumped into while backing up.

"Trash like you will be the lowest when the Red Ribbon Army has the world."

Really, that seemed like a rather weak threat, coming from a man who wouldn't even be alive for it if it happened. She didn't even bother coming up with a response to something like that. She clenched her hand into a fist and struck.

Only for something to seize her wrist like iron and flip her onto the ground without warning.

Once her vision caught up with the violent spin and reoriented herself, she saw the blonde man standing over her, fist raining down. She kicked his arm out of the way, and rolled away from him, climbing to her feet again.

"You don't expect I'd allow you to simply decimate my men without interruption, do you?" The man glared down at her, and brushed away blood from a freshly cut lip.

Goku...

She glanced over in the pit where the battle had raged without her supervision.

"Oh...no." The man straightened slightly, and worked at a kink in his shoulder, before starting toward her. A cruel smirk curled across his lips, marring what would otherwise be attractive and fine features for a soldier. "Don't worry about the dead. You'll be able to ask him all about the fate you sent him to in a moment."

Dead?

"...No."

Goku...Goku was young, small, inexperienced. But he wasn't so easily killed. He absolutely wasn't dead. She wouldn't accept it.

It couldn't be.

The man lunged forward with lightning speed. "Now goodbye!"