DBZR ½

Chapter 19: All kinds of things going on…

"Run? Are you crazy? Where are we going to run to-" Ryouga started to complain when Vegeta glared at him, his eyes slightly turning cyan. The teen gulped, and began to run around the rim of the Lookout, Shampoo following right behind him, her buxom body shifting greatly from her motions.

Vegeta glowered, and snorted. "Fools. Kakarott got the better students."

Cologne, serenely balanced on her cane performing another simple kata shrugged imperceptibly. "Don't be so sure. Given time, you'll find those two to be quite the willing student. It just takes a little...effort shall we say, to get through to Ryouga."

The Saiyan Prince turned to look at the old crone. "What kind of effort?"

"I used boulders on him."

Vegeta blinked, and then broke out laughing. "Excellent! That's my kind of training."

Cologne bowed gracefully. "Why thank you. I'm glad you approve."

Vegeta grinned, stowing that little tidbit of information away for future use against Ryouga as the two teens came around the curve of the Lookout, panting heavily. He had ordered them to start running to begin working on their stamina…after he had already forced them to do nearly a hundred pushups and two hundred situps. They were exhausted.

And his training only started less than an hour ago.

"They have a long ways to go. But I will beat Kakarott." Vegeta said aloud before floating up into the air, heading towards his students to provide them some extra 'incentive' to run faster.

"Speed up! You can't possibly be tired yet! We've just begun!" He boomed, his hands glowing with power before he began to throw some low powered blasts at them. Suddenly panicking, the two teens ran even faster as their trainer floated behind them, laughing and throwing out a low powered blast at them on occasion. The shots did no damage to anything they hit, but they certainly got their attention.

Cologne chuckled, and hopped away, looking for a bit of breakfast.

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Videl and Gohan watched the training idly, slightly amused at Vegeta's actions. Or rather, Gohan was amused as he watched. Videl was feeling a bit…ornery. She snuggled up against her boyfriend, lightly rubbing his thigh, and starting to think some other, darker, thoughts.

She caught herself when she saw where her hand was about to go and quickly moved it away. "It's starting to get to me again…I should tell him, so he could use that move on me…and soo many other moves…I mean, the submission move. Gah, this is bad. Only when I'm fighting do I seem to control it. Maybe if I offered to help train those new people with Vegeta or something.." She sighed, nuzzling Gohan's chest.

He wrapped an arm around her waist, and asked quietly, "Is it starting to get to you again Videl?"

She nodded. "Yea…but I want to try to control it first. I can't let my body distract me."

"You sure?"

"Yea, I'm sure. Maybe I'll help Vegeta train those two while your dad's with Akane and…what was the other guys name?" She looked up at him.

"Ranma. And that's a good idea. It'll help you get stronger too!" Gohan beamed at her.

She beamed back. "You really think so?"

"Sure! You have a Saiyan body now, there's no telling how strong you can become!" Gohan replied, rubbing her back lightly. Her tail was wrapped around his waist, stroking his stomach, almost as if it had a mind of its own.

"Thanks Gohan! I'll go ask Vegeta if I can help later."

He looked puzzled at her. "Why later?"

She blushed. "Cause I want you now…" She said slyly, and then suddenly shook her head. "Gah…I'm sorry. It slipped out…" She sighed, and then bent her head forward. "I don't think I can control it, and I can't train anyone at that rate."

Gohan nodded, and quickly applied the hold where her neck and head connected. Instantly, she stiffened, and then relaxed, feeling more herself. "Thanks." She said, leaning against him.

"You're welcome." He responded, holding her close, while more soft explosions filled the air, along with the surprised screams of Vegeta's charges and his wild, almost happy laughter.

A rather strange love scene indeed.

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Far away from the Lookout…

Students, dressed in plain yet still tasteful school uniforms, milled about, moving to lockers or classrooms as the ambient sound of hundreds of voices filled the air inside the drab, rectangular building. The lighter tones of laughter between friends would sometimes appear, cresting over the ambient conversations before fading away.

Yet, from down the hall the voices slowly began to fade completely as a new presence made itself felt. This presence moved with graceful purpose up the halls as students would clear a path for it. Presently, completely clear path down the halls formed, and this new being could be seen, a towering young woman with slender, long, lithe legs walking forward, one foot in front of the other, causing the hips to sway provocatively, and the mid-length skirt to swish gently.

Voices hushed as she walked by, books in one well toned yet still supple arm, while the other would swing back and forth beside her. Her blouse, no different from any other students, seemed to cling to her ample curves slightly, as did her skirt. Her long, golden red tresses, tied into a thick ponytail behind her, swayed in time with her hip motions, while a smirk played on her full lips.

Every male who saw her was instantly transfixed, and so were many females as well. She was drop dead gorgeous; her powerful green eyes smoked slightly it seemed as she walked, her heels clicking on the tile delicately. Yet it wasn't her beauty that captured them so completely; it was the hidden strength that seemed to radiate from her form, almost as if it was a second person walking beside her. There was power, grace, intellect, and an attitude that seemed almost to look down upon all others as being weaker, not worthy of being in her presence as she walked.

All this drew everyone to her, including many a professor; yet at the same time, it kept them well at bay. Nearly everyone she encountered, for her looks, her intellect, or her strength desired her. But none approached her.

None, except for the local clique; the group of the hottest girls in the school, brought together specifically because they were the hottest, and everyone knew it. They controlled many with the barest of flickers of their eyelashes, using their looks to get everything they wanted. Not necessarily the most academically bright, as they managed to slide by on their looks, and were insanely jealous of anyone who made them feel inferior in any way.

Their favorite target to vent their frustrations was "The Shrimp." One of the most intelligent girls in the school, yet the most undeveloped one, and the weakest. She was sixteen, yet looked twelve, and was very easy pickings for bullying. Not that The Shrimp never fought back; she fought back every time, either with words or her fists. And she lost every time as well.

Now…now there was a hot new girl who appeared on the scene, and she didn't seem to be inclined to join them. This was not acceptable to the clique. Even now they were gathering together indignantly, and were walking down the hall from the opposite end. Students cleared away from them as well; although, their attention was focused mostly on the new girl.

The clique stopped in the middle of the hall, smiling sweetly at the girl who was nearly a foot taller than all of them, and built better as well. She stopped in front of them, one leg slightly cocked forward, as if she was paused in mid-step and ready to keep walking, the slight smile still on her lips. Their leader, who was the hottest of the group, a short-haired, skinny, busty girl walked forward a step, looking up at the taller woman. "Hi, we're the Kirei Suteki-dan and we'd like to welcome you to our school. And since you're so new…" She took another step in an attempt to show dominance…and failing quite badly in all departments. Looks, height, physical presence; she was dwarfed by this other girl. That didn't stop her from trying to take the other girl down a notch.

"…we'll ignore your ignorance on what goes on here. The girls and I are the premiere club on campus, and we want to extend to you an invitation to observe us in our meetings, and around school." In short, she was letting the new girl know that she was welcome to hang with them, but not participate yet. To be a 'groupie' at best.

The girl smiled upwards sweetly, that sweetness covering up a veneer of ugly jealousy, jealousy of this new girl coming in and stealing all, especially her, attention.

The taller girl raised her free hand to her small, smiling lips, her shoulders quivering slightly, her green eyes flashing in mirth as she suppressed a giggle.

The rest of the group glanced at each other in shock. Was this new girl laughing at them? The leader's own smile faded for but a brief moment, and, without looking down, she innocently placed the heel of her one of her pumps upon the foot of the taller girl, and pressed down hard. "We understand each other don't we?" She smiled again, batting her eye lashes.

The taller girl's shoulder shuddered even more, and her giggles could be heard clearly by all around, even as the leader of the group started to grind her foot on hers.

This unnerved and angered the girls and they began to hiss at her. "What's so funny?"

"We're going really easy on you!"

"You'll show us respect!"

Finally, the other girl burst out laughing, long and loud, even though the leader of the club was now clearly grinding her pumps against the other girl: there was absolutely no pain response to it. The rest of the school body that was watching was in shock at this.

After a few moments, the redheaded woman lowered her slender hand and planted it on her shapely hip, her smile still present. However, when she spoke there was undeniable steel in her soft, light voice. "First, I am not new to this school. Second, I won't respect any of you, not for all that you've done to me. Third, you will remove your foot from mine, or I'll do it for you." Her lips were still smiling, but her eyes were burning with pent up rage.

The leader stepped back without thought, in shock at how they were being talked to. "Wha…who…who do you think you are you little slut!"

The instant she said it, the redheaded girl's free hand shot forward and upwards in a powerful slap, so fast none saw the blow connect. The crack of the blow filled the hall, and the shorter girl fell to the floor, landing just well enough to keep her decency, her skirt pooling around her legs as she held her self up off her side, the side of her face a bright red in the shape of the taller woman's hand.

She gazed down at the other girl, her hand on her hip once again as she smiled demurely. "Never call me that again, or you'll find that slap a mere tickle. Also, never call me The Shrimp ever again."

The whole group's eyes widened. "What…you can't be…."

"Yes, it is. I am Shiaku. And you will treat ME with respect from now on. Now get out of my way." She said, before stepping over the fallen girl. In their shock, the other girls simply cleared a path, a couple of them moving quickly aside to avoid possibly being struck while Shiaku sauntered down the hall, once again hips swaying provocatively.

A few girls helped their friend up, making cooing noises of support, and mutterings of how that girl was any number of bad things. But one thing was certain. None of them wanted to face her direct like that again any time soon. They would have to find another avenue of approach, but that would wait for a later time. The leader looked around, and nearly screeched, "What are you all looking at? Get out of here!"

The rest of the student body, just in as much shock as them, quickly cleared out, heading to their classes while passing the rumor around; little Shiaku had grown up and out! And she wasn't putting up with any funny business.

Down the hall, Shiaku was smiling softly to herself. After she had been struck by that power bolt, she found herself a completely changed person, and not just physically. Her body tingled with power, and her mind was filled with the knowledge on how to use it. Not only to tease boys, but how to fight with it, to defend herself and punish those who had wronged her. And there wasn't a thing anyone could do about it.

She intended to get used to her new body for the time being before she moved to crush those girls. Her lips opened in a wider, pretty smile at the thought, while her posterior continued to entrance those she passed on the way to her first class.

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Within the Hyperbolic Time Chamber…

"Well, here we are!" Goku exclaimed, gesturing to the Spartan accommodations. He pointed out the kitchen, the bath house, and the sleeping quarters, and supply room. All the while, the two Nerima teens gawked at everything. Even though small, everything had a polished sheen, from the golden trim, to the blue tile.

Ranma stepped out onto the foyer that lead out into the rest of the chamber and cried out in surprise. As far as the eye could see, was nothing but a sea of white. No horizon that he could tell, no alternating colors. Pure white. "What…what's this? There's nothing out there! Are we like floatin or something?"

Goku walked out, and then laughed slightly. "Oh no, we're well grounded." He said as he stepped off the final tile step. His boots tapping on what could now be noticed as a slightly off white 'ground' beneath him. He turned and faced Ranma and Akane as she joined him in wide eyed amazement. "See? Careful when you take your first step though. The gravity can change really quickly in here, and so does the temperature."

Ranma blinked and scratched the back of his head while Akane screwed up her courage. "Oh it can't be that bad!" She exclaimed and walked forward.

The instant she stepped off the last step, she found herself planted on the ground, her body struggling mightily to keep from being flattened. She cried out in pain as she tried to push herself up to her knees and hands, veins bulging greatly.

"Akane!" Ranma cried, leaping forward…

And joining her in being planted to the ground with a loud squawk of surprise. Goku simply watched as the two teens struggled, rubbing his chin in thought. "Guess we'll need to work on that bit by bit before you're ready to walk out here for the hard training." He mused aloud as Ranma managed to get up to his knees and hands, his whole body quivering.

With monumental effort he pushed himself off the ground bit by bit, heading back for the step. First he managed to get a hand on the normal gravity area, and with that, began to pull himself up on it, his legs still stuck to the ground as he grunted, sweat completely soaking his red silk shirt.

Akane had barely managed to raise herself up, and was now trying to get to the step, tears of pain and agony flowing down her face. She would not give up! She had to do this for herself!

Finally, Ranma managed to get his whole body onto the tile, his body drained completely as he sprawled out on his back, arms stretched out as he panted heavily.

It was several long minutes before Akane had managed to do the same, her gi completely soaked, all her muscles aching from the effort, her chest moving up and down rapidly with her heavy breathing. "That…that was horrible…" She coughed out.

"Yea…no kidding…" Ranma replied, still on his back, his heart still racing.

Goku calmly walked up so that he was in their sight and looked at them weakly. "I told you guys it wouldn't be easy. We'll work on getting you strong enough to stand out here first, having you practice what you already know before we try to add different techniques. That way you can teach me some of your techniques first."

"I dun wanna go out there…." Ranma gasped weakly, a sentiment Akane was too happy to agree with.

Goku's face hardened. "I know how you guys feel, but if you want to become stronger, you'll have to come out here. Training starts now, so come on. Get up, get some water, and then come back here. We'll work on each body part first, having you extend your arms and legs out over the step to build up your strength." He clapped his hands, urging them up.

Already exhausted, the two teens wearily managed to sit up, and then stand shakily before heading for the kitchen for water. As the two shuffled to the kitchen, they glanced at each other, their eyes saying the same thing.

This was going to be the most hellish training they'd ever do.

The following excerpts are from the journals of Akane Tendo, and Ranma Saotome.

"Hey journal.

It has been a week now since we first walked in here. I can't believe only a week has passed already, it seems so much longer. Every day we're up early…at least, I think so. There's no day time or night time in here, and it's so white. It's hard on the eyes. Sometimes I think I see things out there.

Anyways, everyday we're up early to train. Goku takes this so seriously but he's honest. It's a rather welcome change from the tricks of Cologne and all her attempts to get me to wed Shampoo. I wonder how Shampoo and Ryouga are doing…oh yea, I forgot. Only a day will pass out there while a year passes in here. I forget that a lot it seems, at least when I have a chance to think about it. Master Goku doesn't give us much time to think about other things, he's all about the training.

This whole week we've been putting our arms and legs out, and then leaning out over the step, trying to make our bodies stronger, while doing pushups and situps and other exercises. He also has us practice our katas over and over on the step. It's helping, I'm already noticing how much faster my punches and kicks are, even though I'm dog tired.

Akane is feeling it a lot. I guess that power transfer thing of Goten's is fading away, cause she's not taking the gravity changes too well, but she's getting stronger too. She's definitely determined to improve. All this training will probably do her some good.

We get a couple hour break for lunch, and again for dinner. Master Goku says that after a month the breaks will get shorter. Oh man…I hope not. I'm in such pain now…and Akane's probably worse. She stays in her own little room, and I think I've heard her cry in pain at bedtime. I can't say as I blame her…I've nearly cried from it, manly man or not. Around 9 or so we're let go to clean up and have some personal time. I think Goku goes to train himself during that time; I swear I've heard him screaming attacks out there, but I've been too tired to go look. I might have heard Akane out there too, but that's crazy.

Master Goku thinks we'll be able to stand outside the step in another week. He's going to give us tomorrow off so our bodies can recover before we try the next day. I'm going to get some sleep now…god my body aches. It better be worth it."

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"Dear Diary,

A week has passed…I've never felt so incredibly tired. I've never trained so hard as I have beside Ranma. Master Goku is tireless, always pushing. It ticks me off sometimes…but I know why he does it.

I'm already noticing it working though. I'm feeling stronger than ever, and I know I held my arms out over the step longer than Ranma today. I almost couldn't lift them now to write in this, but I felt I had to. It felt so good to beat him at something! I know he wasn't faking when he finally dropped his arms first. I dropped mine right after him, but I still outlasted him!

We've shown Master Goku our style and katas, and he just eats it up! He practices them with us like he had been doing them for years. It's annoying, but he does them so well and has managed to polish them so quickly he's shown me where I've been doing my own moves wrong. He hasn't taught us anything yet, saying he'll start that once we can stand off the step.

But I have a secret for you Diary. When Ranma goes to bed…I go out to train some more. Goku trains himself during that time, and it's inspiring to watch him work while I keep putting my body out over the step. He just stands out there, completely focused as he moves. He knows I'm out there, but we just do our own thing. It's the only thing that's allowing me to catch up to Ranma in strength…

And my body…god my body hurts so much. It's so much stronger and I know I'm getting better, but the pain sometimes gets to me, and I've cried myself to sleep from it.

Tomorrow we're getting the day off. I plan to rest in hot water most of the day. Dr. Tofu told me to do that once after a bad training session where I hurt myself from bad technique. I wish he was here now, those pressure point tricks of his would be handy.

I'm going to bed Diary. I hope I don't forget to write in here."

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In the Ranma universe…

Trunks and Goten flew over the city of Tokyo, gazing down at all the denizens of Japan curiously before they landed on the top of Tokyo Tower. Other than the excitement of the fight with Miss Hinako, they really didn't have a whole lot to do.

"I'm bored." Trunks muttered.

"Yea. I wish Ranma and the others were here."

Trunks nodded, kicking his feet over the edge of the tower. "There's got to be something to do. Someone should be strong enough to fight or something."

Goten put his hands to the back of his head as he leaned back against the metal of the tower. "But what? We can't fight each other, that Akuma guy might show up or something."

"Yea, I know. Maybe we can see if we can go to a movie or something."

"Yea! That would be great!" Goten said as he jumped up easily. "Come one, I'll race ya!"

Trunks grinned as he floated upwards. "You're on!"

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Miles away…

Deep in the mountainous jungles of Thailand, buried underneath tons of rock and fake Buddhist statuary, pulsed one of the most technologically advanced scientific and communication bases on the planet. Men and women in white lab coats strutted about, clipboards in hand as they checked various instruments in their lab. An eerie greenish glow filled the air, giving everything an almost evil, dark cast to it.

Test tubes were on tables everywhere, instruments hummed along to themselves as they ran innumerable calculations. The source of the greenish glow was a large tank, filled with a greenish, glowing fluid. A small body floated within, a face mask attached to the face. It was a young boy, legs curled up towards his stomach. His hair floated gently in the fluid, with two purple streaks up along the sides.

Across the way was an identical tank, but this one didn't have anything in it currently. It was being prepared for future use.

An emblem was present on everything within this base, from being pinned on coats, to being painted on the floors. A winged skull.

The symbol of Shadowloo. The worldwide criminal organization.

The being floating in the tank was a clone of Gotenks, created from the bloody swab used to treat the fused child's wounds at the nightclub.

Bison gazed at the work impassively as the head scientist approached. "The advanced growth process is working remarkably well, but we are noting a distinct lack of potential power in this body. The normal process will have to be used to get you the soldier you want my Lord."

Bison grunted as he walked forward. "This will be a good prototype then. You're certain that everything this one learns it can be passed onto the permanent version?"

"Absolutely sir." The older, thin man said without pause. "We had excellent success with the Dolls, and we have since improved the process."

"Good." Bison said, gazing at the young child in the tank. "Then we'll arrange for a tournament. Only the best fighters in the world can compete, and we'll enter our own fighter. Gotenks." His face opened widely as he laughed to himself.

Within the tank, the fluid bubbled slightly, and the childs eyes tightened briefly as it clenched its fists before relaxing again, deep in slumber.

To Be Continued….

This was fun to write. Only one more chapter to go before I met the bet I made with AnTyep! Yes yes, I know. I'm slow. But come on…I'm still writing right!

Tune in next time as we check up on the progress of our trainees, and see the sinister actions of Bison at work. And what of this new girl of the great beauty? What could she be up to? We'll find out!

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