Author's Note (August 28): I'm no longer sick with Covid or busy with work and school stuff, so I can finally update my stories. Hurray :) Since I can post and write again, I'm going to try to be at least a little bit more consistent with updates, but I can't promise anything. Still, I'm really grateful for those of you who keep up with this story or give me super nice comments. I know it's sort of been a slow burn for this story for something incredibly different from cannon DBZ, but I hope you stick around and keep enjoying my story. I have a lot of things planned for this story.

Major Author's Note (October 22): I've made a major announcement about this story on the other sites I post on. It's about this story going on hiatus, chapters that will be rewritten, and addressing issues people have with this story, so go check it out.

Orion's Perspective

"C'mon! Videl! You've got this!" Gohan shouted from his spot as Videl rushed at me and threw multiple quick punches at me, to which I easily dodged while reading some Capsule Corp documents I had with me. I might not be working this week, but I still want to know how they're handling things.

"Haiya!" Videl shouted as she jumped up to try to hit my face, to which I just bent backwards, easily dodging it.

"Hey, Raditz. They're apparently trying to create their own Saiyan pods over at Capsule Corp." I told him.

"Really? Never thought I'd see those things again after everything that's happened." Raditz commented as he bounced Dina on his lap, easily pleasing the little girl.

"I know. They're trying to make their own spaceships, whether pod or something else, for space exploration." I continued as I sidestep another one of Videl's attacks. "They want to start gathering off planet resources. Maybe Earth will finally climb the ladder and become a powerful planet?"

"With us here, of course Earth is a powerful planet!" Raditz shouted back.

"Stop ignoring me!" Videl shouted as she sent a kick my way. I immediately caught it in my hands without taking my eyes off the documents. "Oh...crap baskets." I then threw her across the field about a yard or two. She landed with a heavy thud and groaned before getting back up.

"Never kick unless you're completely sure the opponent won't be able to grab your leg." I told her as I kept reading.

"Urgh! Why do I even have to fight you?" She moaned angrily.

"I told you. Ki is a part of your body, soul, and mind, which means that taking care of your body and training physically will help strengthen your ki, just like how meditation will help your focus and control. This is perfect physical training for you. Besides, I told you, didn't I? If you manage to land a clean hit on me that I don't dodge or block, we'll get back to learning how to fly and how to start using spiral ki, like I promised."

"Grr…! You better keep that promise! I'm going to hit you!" Videl declared as she sprinted at me and continued to try to land a hit on me, though I was still easily dodging all of her attacks. It had been a few days, and Videl's training had been going surprisingly well. She had learned at a rapid pace, quickly learning how to do rapid fire blasts, weak beams (Though they didn't last for long and were really weak), and sensing energy from others. Among the basics I was teaching her, she desperately wanted to get back to learning about spiral ki and flying. That's when I proposed the training we were doing right now. She might have come to me to learn about ki usage, but if I'm going to teach her, I'm going to teach her about everything she needs and tell her what to improve on, and that includes battle experience using these new techniques I'm showing her. And with better physical training, it'll make her ki training better and help her with future usages of ki.

"You're getting better." I told her as I effortlessly dodged her attacks and backed away from her. "But you still have a lot to learn."

"I'll show you!" Videl shouted as she stopped her flurry of attacks and got into her fighting stance. I couldn't help but laugh every time I saw it. She had started emulating my battle stance as well. It was so strange for me to see, I couldn't help but chuckle at it. As Videl got into her stance, I felt a surge in her power as a white aura engulfed her. I smirked as I saw that and looked back down at my documents.

"Finally using your full power. I wonder if you'll manage to hit me today with that, or if you'll just run out of steam faster like last time." I taunted her coyly. She smirked back as she got ready to rush at me.

"Oh just you wait! I'll show you what I'm REALLY capable of!" She claimed before she bolted at me, much faster than before. She was much faster now that she was fully using her ki, but still not fast enough. I continued to dodge her attacks like before, despite her power increase, but then she quickly went around to my side and laughed. "I've got you!" She yelled as she quickly tried to grab my tail. I sighed as I had my tail smack her away, causing her to skid across the ground before eventually coming to a stop.

"Why did you go for my tail of all things? Did you think I wouldn't be able to hit you with it?" I questioned her as she got up, rubbing the cheek my tail hit.

"Damn it...Gohan told me tails were the weak spot for you Saiyans!" She yelled.

"Is that right?" I asked as I turned to Gohan, who was now looking away whistling as he did his homework. "Well I suppose that makes sense. He had a tail back when he was just a baby, but he lost it soon after. I guess he wouldn't know a Saiyan could train themselves to negate that weakness."

"You can do what!?" Videl shouted.

"Yeah. I don't have that weakness anymore. I lost it when I was 7. Raditz and the other Saiyans with tails don't have that weakness anymore either, right bro?" I called over to him.

"He's right, girl. I haven't had that problem with my tail ever since I first came to this planet." Raditz agreed.

"How did you lose that weakness, Uncle Orion?" Gohan asked.

"I learned it during my week-long training after I joined Cooler's Squadron." I answered. I shuttered as I recalled the training I did back then. It only lasted a week, yet it was intense training that solidified my skills for the years to come, especially since I didn't have time to train after that since Cooler was sending all of us on missions on a daily basis. While it helped me in the long run, that training was pretty horrible to endure. That part in particular was pretty bad.

Many Years Ago…

"Get away, Salza! I'm warning you! Don't touch me!" I threatened as I backed away from Salza. I was already incredibly tired and injured from the training that day, so I could barely move as it was. Salza just sighed and shook his head.

"Lord Cooler wanted me to train you, so that is what I intend to do. All members of the Frieza Force know that if you grab a Saiyan's tail, they'll be unable to move, so we're going to get you to the point where that doesn't affect you anymore."

"Like I said, there's no need! I'm not going to let anyone touch my tail!" I yelled back. I only ever had one person who grabbed my tail in my life, and that was Gine whenever I did something to upset her, which rarely happened as it was. I never knew what it would feel like, but when it happened, it was easily one of the worst feelings I've experienced. Intense pains and chills would shoot through my body as soon as someone touched my tail, and all my body would lock up in place. It was like I suddenly was paralyzed. Not only that, Saiyan tails are super sensitive, so I would feel a constant ache when someone grabbed my tail, like they were pressing down on a really bad bruise. That aching feeling and pain running through my body as I was essentially paralyzed in place, that was horrifying and terrible for me. I never wanted to feel like that again. That feeling of paralysis still haunts me like a constant nightmare. To be unable to move while you were in pain and discomfort was horrible.

"You can't run away from this, Orion! If you're going to be even a little useful to us, you need to earn it! You've already gotten to a suitable power level, even if it's nothing compared to ours, and you're capable of handling anyone in a fight, even if somehow they're stronger than you, which is unlikely considering only Frieza Force members have power levels around yours." Salza continued. "The only thing that might hold you back now is that tail!"

"We don't have to do this! I can just hide my tail in my armor or something!" I again shouted, hiding my tail behind my back.

"Of for the love of-GIVE ME YOUR TAIL! OR I'LL CUT IT OFF!" Salza yelled as he lunged at me.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Present...

I suffered through that for almost an entire day. An entire day of being in pain and being unable to move. By the end of it, I had managed to work through the weakness and overcome it, but it was easily the worst part of the training by far. If that were to happen again, I'd… Urgh… Don't think about it, Orion. "Anyway, forget focusing on my tail. It won't help you any." I told Videl, who only sighed loudly as a response.

"This is so stupid…" She moaned. I chuckled as I put my documents away and walked towards her and offered her my hand.

"Don't worry about it. We still have a lot of time for you to improve. You'll get there." Videl stared at my hand for a bit before she smirked at me.

"Oh yeah. I'll get there." She told me as she quickly kicked me in the face. I stumbled backward as I clutched where she hit me. It wasn't as painful as hits I've taken before, but I obviously wasn't expecting to be kicked in the face after doing a kind gesture. Videl jumped back onto her feet and cheered happily as I rubbed where she kicked me. "Yes! I got you!"

"Cheap shot…" I mumbled.

"You never specified that I had to be fair in how I got my hit on you." Videl shot back. "Now teach me how to fly and use spiral ki!"

"Fine…" I grumbled. "Alright. We'll start with flying. Get back into the air like you did our first day of training. Once you start hovering, I start helping you get used to controlling your movement while in the air."

"Right!" Videl said as she began focusing her ki to begin flying. I once again chuckled at her excitement as I took my documents out for one last glance over everything. Just as I thought everything was going fine over at Capsule Corp during my week off, I saw something that almost made my eyes pop out of my skull.

"What the fu-!"

"Language in front of the kids, brother!" Raditz yelled at me.

"Sorry, sorry!" I apologized. "Gohan, can you help Videl out with flying right now? I need to make a call."

"Uh? Uh...sure, I don't mind." Gohan told me.

"Thank you." I said as I put away my documents and brought out my phone. I quickly dialed Bulma's number and moved away from everyone for the call. Thankfully, she picked up soon after.

"Orion, how are you? How's your week off been?"

"Fine but I need to ask you something." I started off. "I have documents here on our future projects and other stuff, and-"

"I thought I told you not to worry about anything work related."

"You did, but listen! I just read something about how Capsule Corp is sponsoring a tournament and giving them ALL SEVEN DRAGON BALLS as the prize! What are you thinking!? We can't let just anyone use them! Who knows what the winner might wish for!"

"Oh that? That's no big deal." Bulma told me. "Let me explain. This tournament is being hosted by Mister X.S. Cash for his son's birthday party. X.S. Cash is the world's richest man, blowing me out of the water with how much he has, and he wants this tournament to be special since it's something his son specifically asked for. He's using his funding to even get Capsule Corp and Mister Satan on board with this tournament. With our involvement, we'll be able to get enough funds to cover all of our projects for the next decade and guarantee that the world government allows us to start our space exploration program, and that's important considering we need to get out there for those alloys these inventions need."

"Okay, I understand that, but why give them the Dragon Balls as a reward?"

"That was a little cherry on top to butter X.S Cash up more so that he's more willing to help us with future projects. I didn't tell him all the details, but I told him that whoever wins the tournament will be able to get one wish granted by Capsule Corp within a limit, so no immortality and such." Bulma explained. "And I have a backup plan just to make sure we don't get someone sketchy getting their wish granted."

"And that would be…?"

"Well...let me just say that I'm really glad you called about this." Bulma coyly said.

"...No." I deadpanned.

"I don't think you have a choice on this, considering I'm your boss."

"Oh come on. Your ingenious plan is to have me enter the tournament? I don't know about that." I sighed. "Can't you ask anyone else? This sounds like a job for Vegeta."

"Vegeta isn't exactly a good face for Capsule Corp." Bulma nervously chuckled. "You, on the other hand, make for the perfect Capsule Corp representative for this tournament, especially since people are more familiar with you from the interview you had with Mister Satan. Your winning might bring more attention for the usage of ki and Capsule Corps in general! So what do you say? You can't tell me that you aren't interested in getting a wish granted. I didn't tell X.S. Cash about how the Dragon Balls grant three wishes, but since you know, you could get three wishes granted if you win. Doesn't that sound interesting?"

I paused when she mentioned the Dragon Balls again. A wish granted. No, three potential wishes. It's funny, but I've never thought about a wish I might want even after being brought to this world. I never considered gathering the Dragon Balls for myself. But now that the possibility is in front of me, I can't help but be enticed by it. There is something I want, more than anything, and three wishes is exactly what I need to do it. This tournament could help me in getting this. "...Okay. I'll do it." I sighed.

"Wonderful! Thanks for this!"

"Don't go thanking me before I've even won the tournament." I chuckled. "It's going to be a bit boring though if there's no one else in the tournament on my level."

"Then maybe we can ask if the others are interested in participating."

"Good idea. I'll ask Raditz and Gohan if they're interested. You can probably get in touch with Yamcha and Nappa, and you can ask Vegeta too since he's not going to be your 'rep'."

"Yep! I'll ask around. Enjoy the rest of your week off!" Bulma ended the call then and I sighed. Didn't think I'd be fighting again for a while. Oh well. If the others join, it might be fun. It'd be a good way to see how much I'm improving. With that in mind, I made my way back to where the others were. To my surprise, Videl was making good progress with her flight training. She was higher in the air now, and she had started practicing moving around. Unfortunately…

"Gohan! How do I slow down and land!?" Videl screamed as she started flying straight towards the ground at extreme speeds. Before Gohan could come up with a good answer, Videl crashed into the ground, skidding across the ground as her momentum slowed. I stared at Videl with a blank stare as I watched that go down. At least I wasn't the only one who had trouble figuring that part out at first. Videl groaned in pain as she slowly got up.

"Ow...flying hurts." She grunted as she clutched a bruise on her arm.

"At least you're improving. With more training, you'll be a natural born flier."

"Oh, Mister Orion!" Videl said as she saw me. "Did you finish making that call?"

"Yep. I've got everything sorted out now." I chuckled as I scratched the back of my head.

"What was so important that you needed to make a call?" Gohan asked me.

"Well...Capsule Corps is actually going to sponsor a tournament soon. A tournament hosted by Mister X.S. Cash."

"Oh! That's the same guy my dad has been working with recently!" Videl exclaimed.

"That's right. Capsule Corps is also going to work with him. And apparently, along with helping make the tournament, Capsule Corps is also providing the Dragon Balls as the prize for winning." I told them.

"What!?" Gohan shouted. Raditz, who was a bit farther away, immediately shot up with Dina in his arms and turned to me.

"Did I hear you right, brother!? Did you say the Dragon Balls!?"

"What are Dragon Balls?" Videl asked.

"They're very important artifacts in the world that can grant wishes when gathered together." I explained to her.

"Really!? So whoever wins the tournament will get their wishes granted!?"

"Essentially, yes."

"What is Bulma thinking!? She can't seriously believe that this is a good idea." Raditz shouted.

"Well, she didn't give Cash all the details, so we shouldn't have to worry about a dangerous wish being granted, and Bulma had a backup plan, which would be having me enter the tournament. So, as someone who's going to be participating, what do you guys think about entering too? The prize is all 7 Dragon Balls and making wishes with them."

"Well if you're going to participate, then I will too!" Raditz proclaimed. "This is a chance to test myself against you in a real match, and the Dragon Balls are an enticing prize."

"I want to join too!" Videl added. "I was already interested in the tournament before, but now I have to enter! And with the training I'm doing, I can show my dad how far I'm coming! Gohan, you're going to enter too, right?"

"I don't know…" Gohan began. "I don't really like fighting, and I'm pretty sure my Mom wouldn't want me entering."

"I think it would be a wonderful idea if you entered the tournament." Chi Chi said as she walked towards us, holding Goten in her arms.

"Mom?"

"You've been focusing on your studies like we wanted, and I'm happy about that, but it would be good for you to get some exercise every once in a while. Entering the tournament might be good for you. And while you don't like fighting for fighting's sake like your father did, you still enjoyed getting stronger with everyone and sparring against them, right? So if you want to enter, I won't stop you. And this isn't like the previous fights you've been in. You won't be in danger this time. It will just be a nice tournament, like the ones your father entered when he was your age."

"Your mother's right." I told him. "If you don't want to join, that's okay. You aren't going to be forced into this fight like with the fights we've had with the Saiyans, Frieza, or the Androids. This is your choice." Gohan thought about it for a bit before giving us a smile.

"Alright. I'll enter. It might be fun."

"Alright!" Videl cheered. "Just you wait! Even if you beat Cell, I'll still show you how strong I am if we fight!"

"Sure. It'll be a fun match." Gohan agreed.

"If that's the case, you'll both want to train as hard as you can before the tournament." I told them. "With that in mind, how about we get back to training. You can join us too, Gohan. You're probably rusty, yeah? Some training with your uncle might get you up to par."

"It's been a while since I trained under you, Uncle Orion." Gohan smiled.

"Then let's see how far you've grown since those days." I responded happily. And so, we began training for the tournament for the rest of the week, along with the training I promised Videl. After many days, our training came to an end, and the tournament was before us. It was a much bigger event than I thought it would be. This Mister Cash guy made an entire man-made island for the tournament. He really is rich. No wonder Bulma wants to make a good impression. But even stranger was the 'gimmick' of this tournament, if you will.

"We are live at the Intergalactic World Tournament presented by Capsule Corp!" Jimmy Firecracker exclaimed on the tv that was playing in the waiting area. "This tournament, sponsored by The Richest Man in the world and Capsule Corp in a joint effort, is the largest tournament the world has ever seen! In this tournament, participants, regardless of age, gender, nationality, race, pro or amateur status, can duke it out against each other, the most powerful combat sportsmen this world has to offer! And the prize being offered? Any wish the winner can think of will be granted courtesy of Capsule Corps, as well as the chance to fight against the World's Champion, Mister Satan! To this end, even warriors across the galaxy have been invited as special guest fighters for the competitors to fight in the finals!"

"An intergalactic tournament, huh?" I mumbled as I listened to the announcer. "Not only Saiyans and Namekians, but also new galactic fighters? Earth sure has become a hot spot for aliens."

"It's very interesting. I didn't know there were other off worlders here on Earth." I turn to see Nappa walk towards me, wearing a normal white t-shirt and jeans. I raised my hand to him and smiled.

"Yo. Glad you could make it, Nappa."

"Of course! I wouldn't miss an opportunity to experience some good brawls!" Nappa smirked while cracking his knuckles.

"I figured as much." I chuckled. "Hey, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure. What's up?"

"Do those 'galactic fighters' look...familiar?" I asked while looking at the tv. The galactic fighters for the tournament were being shown, and they were certainly aliens if the blue skin and orange hair were any indication. There were 5 of them, each of them the same race seemingly. One was short and wearing a turban, another had spiky hair and a purple bandana around his forehead, the third had a mohawk and a horseshoe mustache, the 4th was a woman with long hair wearing a purple sash, and the 5th one looked like the leader of sorts who wore a blue jacket and a black bandana over his head and had an 'X' shaped scar on his face. I've never seen them before, but they still looked familiar. Have I heard of them before? There were records in the Frieza Force archives that I read, but that was back when I was still under Cooler, so I can't recall clearly.

"Hmm...no. I've never seen them before, yet…" Nappa began. "They do seem familiar. Maybe I've seen their race before."

"I have the same feeling, but I can't place my finger on it." I nodded as I pondered about it for a bit longer. The tv then cut back to Jimmy, the announcer.

"There are exactly 200 contestants here from all over the world, ready to fight in this grand competition! The preliminaries are about to begin, so let me explain the rules once more for those watching! Multiple different fights will be held across many different platforms. Each stage will have 20 contestants fighting it out in a battle Royale format, and only the last remaining fighter from each will advance to the semifinals! Any contestant who falls from the battle stage into the sea below, gets knocked out, or gives up, are eliminated. However, one cannot, of course, kill another opponent. This isn't the barbaric Cell Games, after all! The Make-A-Wish Foundation is staying within the borders or morality today! Also, the use of weapons is grounds for disqualification. After the 10 fighters who will move on from the preliminaries are chosen, the fighters will fight another one of the fighters that have moved onto the semifinals in one on one matches, leaving only 5 contestants left for the finals. The rules for the finals will be explained then!"

"Pretty basic rules. Shouldn't be anything too different from other tournaments." I sighed as I stretched my arms. "This will be a piece of cake, though I hope the other contestants can hold out longer than just a few hits."

"You sound pretty confident." Nappa told me.

"Of course. I haven't been slacking off. I didn't get a chance to really let loose against Cell back then either, so this might be a good chance to show the results of my training back then. I had a few moves I never got to show off."

"I see. I look forward to seeing your power first hand." Nappa smirked. "By the way, what's with the new get up?"

"Oh this?" I asked while looking down at the blue and black Capsule Corp shirt and jacket I was wearing. "I'm Bulma's Capsule Corp rep. I'm fighting to represent Capsule Corp, since they're helping sponsor this event."

"I see. I would have thought Vegeta would have been sacked with that duty."

"You and I both, but he's still not much of a people person." I sighed. "Oh well. Doesn't really bother me. This just means another bonus I get to look forward to later." I then put my hand on my chin as I thought. "I wonder who else is in the tournament. I know Raditz and Gohan are participating, and you're here too. I wonder if anyone else has joined."

"I did see Triclops, pintsized, and the lady killer here earlier, so they'll probably be participating." Nappa told me.

"Tien, Krillin, and Yamcha? That's quite interesting."

"I'm pretty sure I saw the Namekian too, and I bet Vegeta is here somewhere."

"Looks like we're in for a good time then." I chuckled. "If only Kakarot and Trunks were here, then it would be a party with the whole gang."

"Well, we'll just have to live it up for them since they ain't here." Nappa exclaimed before bellowing. "But with all of us entering the tournament, it pretty much guarantees that no one else is going to win. Sucks for those guys, but it looks like that wish is going to one of us!"

"You have a wish?"

"Not really, but the missus has one that she wants me to win for her." Nappa sighed. "That woman, I swear." I could only laugh nervously in response.

"You have my sympathy. I wish you the best of luck with that." I told him.

"What's with that tone? Is that pity I hear?" Nappa shot back before shaking his head. "You're lucky. You're the only one of us Saiyans who's still a bachelor. Enjoy it while you can."

"Yeah, yeah." I waved my hand at him in a 'yeah, yeah' motion.

"Contestants! We are about to begin! Please head to your designated battle platform!" A voice said over the speakers.

"Looks like we're starting." I said with a smile before turning to Nappa. "I'll see you in the finals, if you even make it that far."

"Don't get cocky. I might knock you out before you even get a chance to see the semifinals!" Nappa chuckled before we fist bumped. And so we made our way to our battle platforms that were assigned to. The Intergalactic Tournament was about to begin, and I was starting to feel a little excited, which isn't really like me. I've never really been excited for a fight, but right now, I was feeling chills of excitement. I'm ready for this. So with a bounce in my step, this battle I found myself in had begun.