Yo! Son Goku and friends!

by Lucky8ofspades

If you've ever found yourself wanting Yamcha, Krillin, Tien, or Piccolo to contribute in the latter half of Dragon Ball, then this is the story for you. There is but one simple goal in this story. It's not about fighting, it's about martial arts.

47. Who Are They?

Yo! Son Goku and friends! Cell Saga (Chapter 12)

Goku

The morning light shined in through the red window with a gridlike design to it. Goku, as always, woke up with a loud yawn that would have woken Chi-Chi had she not adapted to it. The Saiyan groaned a few more times as he stood up and stretched it out on the floor. He took on a few poses as he got low to the ground and limbered up. After his little morning routine he turned on the TV and blinked a few times.

"As of today we now have confirmation from several eyewitness accounts that most of Gingertown, West City has been turned into a ghost town."

"That's right, you heard it here, on ZTV."

A jingle for the news channel played as Goku checked the time which indicated 6 A.M. on the dot. Goku yawned a final time, walking out with a lackadaisical stride and opening up the fridge for a drink. He came back into the bedroom with a glass of water, chugging it down like this was the first drink of his existence.

"Tell us more about this mystifying tale, Jimmy."

"Sure thing. Reports indicate that late afternoon, two nights ago, Gingertown was overrun by some mysterious force. All local inhabitants… vanished. Without a trace."

"My gosh."

"And that's not the worst of it. Straight from the horse's mouth of the West City Police Department report that None, I repeat, None, of their on duty officers sent to investigate the crime scene came back and are all still missing."

"How terrible."

"And last but not least, not only are the officers of the WCPD missing, but the entire town was littered with carrots. Nothing but… carrots."

"That's just beyond belief. We'll have to shoot it over to commercial break but we'll be back in just a bit to cover more of The Mystery in Gingertown."

"Carrots?"

Goku looked over to Chi-Chi resting beautifully in the morning sun's light on the white bedsheets. He furrowed a brow and looked back over at the TV.

"I remember that from somewhere. Where did I see carrots?"

Goku sat at the edge of the bed, slightly tilting it down seeing as there was no frame on the front.

"I can't remember, but that feels important." Goku lamented as he crossed his arms and laid down determinately on the mattress.

Goku looked over to the slumbering mother to his children and he smiled.

"I'm going out." Goku just about whispered as he caressed her hair and kissed her on the cheek.

"Bye dear~"

He grinned like an idiot and squeezed her hand once on the way out.

Klm.

"Carrots~ Where do I remember carrots?" Goku posited to himself one more time as he walked with pep in his step towards Grandpa Gohan's hut.

He offered up a small prayer and picked up The Power Pole off the vanity with confidence, throwing it over his frame and strapping it in.

Snnt!

"Hmm. If I'm not smart enough to remember, might as well cheat." Goku stated plainly, raising his shoulders and giggling to himself like a kid. "Hey! King Kai!"

The morning breeze of Mount Paozu hit strongly, pulling a smirk out of the Saiyan as he closed his eyes and opened up for it.

"..."

"What? You know, all my time isn't reserved just for you, ya know?"

"I know, sorry about that, King Kai, honest. Huh-Hah!"

"Well?"

"Oh! Can you use your Telepathy on me and make me remember why carrots are important?"

"Goku. What the hell are you talking about?"

"Pretty please? It's important I promise!"

"Ehh~ You are, without a shadow of a doubt, the strangest person I know."

"..."

"And it's not even close."

"Uhh, thanks..?"

"..."

"... So are you uh-"

"Monster Carrot. Goes by Master Carrot now. You put him up on the moon over 20 years ago."

"... I did? Oh! You're right I did! Huh-Hah! Tss-HeeheeHaughHaughHaugh!"

"He's back out in Diablo Desert, about the same place as he was last time. Gathering troops, building resources, and spreading his influence."

FWUU!

A sharp pain shot through Goku's head like a blistering migraine.

"Dayayayahhh~" Goku groaned out as he just about fell over.

"Sorry."

"What was that for?"

"I was just putting your relevant memories in the forefront. You remember now?"

It was like Goku was walking into a different world. He was supposed to be at Mount Paozu, but now, he was in the desert, looking at a car while it siphoned gas from a hose, tall grey mushrooms in the distance.

"I remember."

"Of course you do, now go get your Nimbus. He'll take you there."

"Right. Thanks King Kai!"

"Hmm."

The line stopped and Goku looked up to the heavens with a smile.

"You're the best!"

"..."

"Nimbus!"

Vwerrt!

"Thanks for always being there for me, buddy." Goku hugged the cloud, his arms not long enough to wrap around the entirety of the orange helper. "Hup! Diablo Desert, Nimbus! We have to go get the carrot guy to turn the Gingertown people back to normal."

VYUUUUUUUuuuuuuuuu~

Goku soared over the sandy desertscape, noticing the tall mushrooms right away.

"Yeah! I remember these!" The man remarked as he cheerily felt on their stony outsides with his hand. "Huh-Hah!"

He started to slow his approach as the houses rolled in and he went low, hovering just above ground level. The town was a little quiet, but people were still there, wearing bunny ears on top of their heads, low energy all around.

"Hey! Uhh~"

Before Goku could really even say anything, the people of the town scattered and hurried away from the outsider. The Saiyan raised a brow at the event, before taking some time to himself. He crossed his legs and took on a thoughtful pose.

"Hmm~ He's gotten ahold of the whole town already? This could be trouble if he got a lot stronger."

Goku went full on detective mode, eyeing every little crevice of the humble village in the sand, looking down back alleys, hovering past the basketball courts, gazing in through shop windows. They all scurried out of sight in hopes of getting out of mind, but of course, that didn't work.

"Man! I don't want to frighten anybody but this is getting a little old. HELLO! I'm here to beat up The Carrot Guy! He's back to his old tricks and I'm gonna stop him! If you want me to help, you have to help me, ya know!?"

"Ya know~"

His voice echoed throughout the ghost town and he frowned.

"I was hopin' I was gonna get to fight today." Goku grunted out with a pouty face.

"Get ridda' this guy."

"You got it, Boss."

Ga-Chinnk~ KLOWW!

Goku sniped out not only the sniper round, but the chambering of the bullet just before the firing, weaving out of the way with a lazy lean backward on The Nimbus like he were in a bored classroom.

"...He-he got lucky, fire out another one." Master Carrot commanded from a tower, far away to the Saiyan's left side.

KLAMM! Fwuuu~

Wsst!

Goku eyed the smoke carefully, tracking its trajectory with a guess.

"Ahh! That way!"

"Don't tell me~"

"Boss! His hair's all whack! I think that is him!"

"Finally! Revenge shall be-"

KRONKKKLLE~

"Hey! Long time no see! Huh-Hah! How ya been?"

Goku broke right through the clay walls of the guard tower, waving with a goofy cadence as he sat criss-cross on The Nimbus.

"You! You know how much I've suffered!?"

"Uhh. No. Huh-Hah! Sorry."

"Sorry doesn't begin to cover it!" The Rabbit bellowed as he leaped all around the compound, attempting to attack from any angle with his hands.

Goku giggled like a child as he didn't even elect to dodge, The Nimbus perfectly covering him with sparse but effective movement as he laid on his back.

"Look-"

Fwuf! Whst!

"-I'm sorry that I put you guys on the moon but you were turning people into carrots so you deserved some sort of punishment for taking their freedom away."

Wsh!

"Are you buffoons going to help me or not!?"

"Sorry, Boss!"

"Yessuh!"

Wsst!

Goku sat up in a huff, crossing his arms as the trio went to town trying to grab the man.

"It doesn't really seem like you guys learned your lesson though."

"I'll maybe think about it when your ass is a carrot!"

"Really?"

"..."

The trio stopped as Master Carrot flapped his silky vest a single time.

"Shake on it?"

"Sure! Why not?"

"This guy's retarded." Master Carrot thought. "This guy must have forgotten the details."

"Sike! Huh-HahahahHeeHee-Haugh-Haugh!" Goku busted a gut laughing as he rolled onto his back from the ordeal.

"You little~"

"You thought I forgot, didn't you?"

"Rrrrr~"

"You tried to get me again." Goku relayed as he wiped a tear from his eyes. "So you definitely didn't learn your lesson. I'm gonna have to turn you into Krillin and let him and his friends at the police department deal with you."

Foosh-Ca-Clicc.

"Power Pole extend!"

WEHAMM! KROKK! Krunckle~

All three were dispatched in a single swipe of the red staff, slammed up against the wall with deathly precision.

"Now undo the carrots or I send you past the moon. I'll send you to the sun!"

"Anything but that!"

"Why not? You lived on the moon, didn't you?"

"NO! The sun's too hot, we'll be fried to death!"

"But I heard from Gohan that the moon is uhh, what is it called..? In-hab-it-uh-ble..?"

"Inhabitable?" The black man posited with a raised brow.

"Yeah! Inhabitable! So you guys should be just fine on the sun!"

"Yo, Boss, how did we survive on the moon now that I'm thinkin' about it?"

"How would I know, Chantenay? We were in a gag manga back then, I don't think it counted at that point."

"The Boss might be onto something."

"You guys don't make no sense."

"So are you gonna turn the people back to humans or not."

"Hehhh~" The Rabbit sighed big time. "I guess."

"Huh-Hah!"

Pof!

"Huh!? Krillin!?"

Fsht!

Krillin lunged forward with a right hand so fast The Nimbus couldn't even react, it was The New Turtle Grandmaster himself who stopped from attacking his turtle school partner.

"Huh? Goku? ..? Where..? Hey!"

"Relax buddy, I got em'."

"But I thought I got em'?"

"Uhh, I think he turned you into a carrot."

"I guess so." Krillin remarked as he scratched the top of his bald head. "Strange day."

"Huh-Hah. I'll say. I got your criminals right here, Krillin, for whenever you wanna take em' in."

"Heh~ Thanks, Goku. I can always count on you."

The pair shared a laugh as Krillin got out more handcuffs from a capsule at his belt.

"Oh! Neat."

"Yeah. Standard procedure now. Just so that we don't have to carry around a lot of extra stuff. Honestly really impressive Bulma's dad was not only able to make a storage device, but one that doesn't actually possess the weight of all the items inside it."

"Really?"

"Yeah. These things are pretty magical in their own way."

Clicc. Snapp. Cla-Click.

"There. All done. Goku?"

"What's up?" Goku asked with a chipper tone as he floated above his comrade.

"Could you help me escort these gentlemen back to the station? Don't want these boys running loose if something goes awry."

"Sure thing, buddy."

"Thanks, Goku."

Goku smiled which in turn, ushered another fit of laughter out of both of the men.

Cell

"The Tenkaichi Budokai." Cell said to himself as he stood at the edge of the hallway, waiting for something to happen.

The low lights and whirring of machinery were the only things that punctuated the silence.

"Oh! They're dead." He stated matter-of-factly. "Can't open the shutters without them."

Cell furrowed his brow at the metal doors and reared back his hand.

"... Wellll~ Maybe I shouldn't. If I break it open, It's not like I could put it back together."

"..."

"And it's not like I can go over to Vinnie's house." Cell turned around and gazed back down the hallway. "I guess I can live here for a little while." The Free Man commented as he shrugged and subsequently brushed the back of his black dome.

"..."

"But The Budokai… I want to learn more about it. There's got to be TV coverage of it, right..? I mean if it's still Going anyway."

Cell sharpened his focus and dashed down the hallway with sickening speed, reaching the back lab in a hurry, coming to a clean and concise stop on the metal grating, a slight squeal playing out in response.

"Wheelo?"

"..." Kulululu~ "You're still here?"

"Well I don't want to destroy everything just for the sake of it. I don't know how to open the shutters."

"Hah. That's a laugh. Should be on a console somewhere. There might be a password."

"Uhh." Cell thought for a moment. "I don't know any passwords." He concluded out loud.

"..." Bubblululu~ "If Kochin or Gero made any failsafes, there might be some place or compartment to hook up my brain to."

"Hmm?"

"There should be a device to plug myself into, do you see the slots at the back of this jar?"

Cell rounded to where Wheelo directed him, seeing several nodes that jutted out the backsides.

"Oh. I see."

"Yes. There should be some matching place here in Kochin's facility if he made backup plans."

"Okay." Cell said as he shrugged. "But why would I help you?"

"If Kochin made a compartment like that~" Kulululu~ "That means that I'll be plugged into a computer. If so, I should be able to control the terminal myself."

"You can do that?"

"It's a simpler matter. Gero and Kochin are brilliant minds. Now I don't care if you do, or don't but make your decision. It's unbear~" Kulululu~ "Not knowing what's going to happen to me."

Cell kind of agreed with a nod of his head.

"Alright. Fine. Hmm-Mmm!" He replied, clearing his throat, grabbing the jar, and scouting the premises.

"..." Bulululu~

"I think this matches..?"

Call~Llicc. Cla-Clicc.

"Ahh, there we go. Much better."

There was indeed a spot, in fact the spot was so obvious it was right in the middle of the main terminal facing the large glassy node.

"So? Password."

"... Right."

The buttons on the screen clicked over and over again until a password screen came up, and that too was blazed past as Wheelo worked his brain.

"Interesting. What is all this stuff?"

"... Coding."

"Coding?"

"It's all programmed responses. You build a program, and then you type in what you programmed. Simple stuff."

"Doesn't look very simple to me."

"You are new to this planet. Aren't you?"

"Yes. I think… 4 days old?"

"Yes. I see."

KZHHHHHHHHHHKKUH!

"The shutters are open. You are free to leave."

"Thanks." Cell responded with a smile, slapping the top of the jar and forcing the tiniest fracture into the glass.

Slatt!

"Don't do that again."

"Why not?"

"You are supposed to be the strongest being on Earth. If you slap my container recklessly, it's going to break."

"Oh. Hmm. That would have been unfortunate." Cell didn't apologise, just turning back and walking over the busted scrap that was previously Kochin and Gero.

With a heavy breath, it finally hit Cell as he ascended the metal steps. He shot a longing gaze at Kochin and Gero, breathing out in one extended exhale.

"...What am I doing worrying about lesser creatures..? They're beyond you now, Cell." He said to himself, attempting to calm himself down by taking in some more breaths.

He took one last inhale through his nose and exhaled harshly out his mouth before clearing the hallway in one skidding dash, leaving a blazing black trail on the metal floor in his wake.

FOOSHH! Skweeeee~ Tup. Tmp. Dmp. Dm. Tp. Tmp.

The wind blew softly as the morning sun's rays shined down. Cell took another look around the desert climate, taking in natural air this time.

"Now where would I find information about The Budokai? Maybe I can go back to that old man's house. Did he have a TV?"

Cell looked skyward and lost himself in the sauce of the sky blues and beautiful cloud shapes.

Krillin

"That was wild."

"Sure was."

The police department was gabbing up a storm, the background noise was somewhat deafening, forcing Krillin to enter the locker room to stay sane.

"Yo! Amigo!"

"..?"

"Who was that guy, anyway? I mean someone who could just turn people into carrots? That's wild."

Krillin said nothing in response, just nodding his head lazily as he fiddled with the items in his locker.

Klm.

Lapis closed it on him and stared into The Detective's eyes with his own gem-like blues.

"You're a little quiet on me, Superman."

"Heh~"

Lapis crossed his arms, and showed his pearly whites with that shiteating grin he always had.

"Can't hide anything from you, can I?"

"Body language. Perks of having a twin sister your whole life." Lapis shitted out with a wide smile as he elbowed Krillin's shoulder. "What's up?"

"Couldn't protect the peace. I'm way stronger than that guy and he still pulled a fast one on me."

"Now you know what it's like for the little guys."

"I've known what it's like for a long time, Lapis. If you don't know about The Budokai, I know a bunch of people stronger than me."

"So what?" Lapis hounded him as they left the locker room and ascended the steps on the side. "The whole PD got gassed. You're not to blame, the fucking guy is. Besides, unless you want to tell the press, they think You got him."

"I joined the police department to make sure that West City stayed safe under my watch. So that they didn't have to fear guns, or gangs nearly as much. We were never bad guys, but it's not like me and my friends ever went out for vigilante justice. This is my chance to make sure the streets stay safe… and I blew it."

"You're way too hard on yourself amigo."

The door to the top opened and they were out on the yard, officers talking and training all the same as some ran track and some worked out on the equipment.

"Lapis."

"I'm sorry bro, but as your partner, I'm trying to set you straight. I know you'd beat my ass, but unlike these other officers I'm not going to kiss your ass, and I'm Not afraid of you. Maybe you made some mistakes, so what? Everyone does. We got bailed out this time, just try to learn from this one and move on. We're golden."

"Ehh~ You're right, but the thing is."

Lapis rolled his eyes and put his hands on his hips with an air of sass about him.

"I'm going to tell you something you don't know about me."

"Sure."

"..." Krillin averted his gaze to the ground, shaking his head ever so slightly before meeting up with his partner's eye line. "I've been killed before."

Lapis didn't make fun or prod at the situation.

"I got killed, in one hit. A single attack that I simply wasn't ready for. And I died. I'm lucky that we live in a world where I didn't have to permanently suffer the consequences."

"Look dude, I know there's some weird stuff in this world. But how the heck did you come back to life?"

"The Dragon Balls."

"Oh. Those things you were talking about over at the mansion?"

Krillin nodded.

"They resurrect people?"

"No. That's not their function. When all 7 are gathered, they make a wish. It just so happens that you Can wish someone back to life."

"I see."

"I know what it's like. Personally. This world is dangerous." The wind hit as Krillin looked across the courtyard, Lapis' sleek black mane of perfectly parted hair shifted with grace at the event. "And as far as I'm concerned, I could have died again. To One Hit. I don't know. You're probably right but… I want to make sure that something like this doesn't ever happen again."

Lapis took a moment to respond, gathering his thoughts as Krillin looked to the clouds.

"I've got something."

"What?"

"You train the entire department in how to use your magic or whatever."

"The entire department?"

Lapis just nodded.

"Ahh~ I couldn't actually do my job, I've been the student And the master. Learning how to use ki is a serious time commitment."

"So?"

"..."

"You're thinking too small this time, amigo. Too focused. You're losing out on the big picture. Big time."

Krillin adjusted his tie and locked eyes with his partner.

"Maybe You can't fight crime. But your way is far too inefficient for your goals. Sure enough you're the only person in the world you can totally rely on, but you're in this profession to help people. Even if every single person in the WCPD ends up being super shitty and can barely do anything with… ki. Then that means that they'll still be above all the criminals who can't."

Krillin was taken aback, not necessarily at the idea itself, but the fact that it was so obvious. He was so stupid for not thinking of it earlier, but sometimes the most obvious things slip by because they are so obvious.

"You're right."

"Hey."

"..?"

"We can start with me. And if whatever the result is, you take that and use it to inform your decision for the rest of the police department, deal?"

Krillin looked at the outstretched hand and smiled.

"Deal."

"Sick. I always wanted to shoot fireballs like Mario."

Krillin just shook his head as Lapis laughed like a crack addict.

Cell

"Internet Cafe? I think that was uhh… something. In Explosions 4." Cell stated as he pointed at said establishment. "I think people come here to look up stuff."

The Free Man smiled wide as he comically strutted into the cozy little abode. Young adults and professional-looking individuals went about their business as they typed onto monitors and checked websites. Everything was a clinical white or grey, punctuated by grey carpet all around, the only thing that really accentuated the place were the sometimes frilly rugs and of course the interesting mish-mash of regular humans, animal-hybrids, a lady with an alligator on a leash.

"Hello!" A chipper woman at a counter on the left side beckoned to Cell. "You look confused. Can I help you?"

"Ahh~ Yes you can." Cell replied with a wide smile. "I'm looking for information on The Tenkaichi Budokai."

"Well." She responded all smiles. "You can look up anything on the internet. Do you need help with how to sign up for a membership or use a guest pass?"

"..." Cell had hyped up duck lips at the tail end of the proposition. "Guest pass?"

"Yes! We offer guest passes to those who don't need a membership. But if you don't intend on using our membership, your internet privileges are restricted to only 30 minutes a day from 10 A.M. to 3 P.M."

"What time is it?"

"It would be 10:11, sir, we just opened."

"Well." He gestured a bit with his hands. "Thirty minutes should be enough."

"Great. Let me get that pass for you. Could you go ahead and sign your name for me?"

"What?"

"Your name."

"No… sign?"

"... Sir?"

"I just need to know what sign means."

"All I need is for you to write your name." She responded, leaning in close and passing him a clipboard.

The two stared at each other for a while as the lady handed him a pen as well.

"What am I supposed to do with this?"

"You're serious..?"

Clicc.

"How fascinating."

Cla-Clicc.

"I really like that sound."

Clicc-Clicc-Clicc-Clicc-

"Do you really not know..?"

"Know what?"

"Oh dear."

After a long while and some finagling with the pen, Cell waved off the nice lady at the counter with a guest pass hung around his neck like a necklace. He chose the appropriate cubicle as denoted by his pass and sat down.

"Okay."

"..."

Clicc. Clicc. Tptptp. Clicc.

"How do I do this?" Cell thought to himself as he sat there smiling like a dumbass. "Ma'am!?"

"Shhh."

Cell looked over his shoulder and gave a face that just screamed 'Bitch'. After a while, the lady from the counter marched over to him with determined steps.

"What can I help you with, sir?" She asked through clenched teeth.

"How do I..?"

Clicc-Clack-Click.

She didn't even answer. She just sighed.

"It's gonna be a long day." The woman thought as she leaned over the desk.

"..." Cell sat there patiently as the woman guided him through the keyboard and commands on the console.

Soon enough she left and Cell was doing it all by himself.

"Ten-Kai-Ichi Bu-Do-Kai."

Clicc-Clicc-Click. Clacc-Clacc-Clack.

Clack!

"Ooh~"

Cell put his hand leisurely on the mouse and clicked on the relevant information on the search results.

"Hmm."

"..."

The already quiet nature of the facility died down a bit as The Free Man tuned in 100% to all the facts laid out on the screen.

"21st, 24th, 25th. This thing has been going on for a long time. What year is it?"

"..."

Clicc-Clicc.

"768..? That means that the next tournament is only a year away huh? Okay. That's not long at all."

"Shhh."

Cell just made a shooing motion with his hand, forcing a gasp out of the elderly lady.

Clicc. Clicc.

"Video?"

"HuuuuuuuAGHHHH!"

WHOKK!

"Whoa! What a hit!"

"Sir. I'm going to have to ask you to put in some headphones or mute the volume."

"Hmm?"

Another employee of the establishment breathed out a sigh before grabbing the headphones at the side and attempting to put them on before realising:

"How would this guy even wear them? Like that I guess?" He pondered as he put them on and let the top bar hang off the back of his head.

Cell turned his focus back to the video in question, a bald man squaring off with a young looking individual in an orange gi.

"Fascinating."

"Dodon Ray!"

Cell stood up in a commotion as The Three Eyed Man shot out a beam attack similar to what Cell did on the bus.

"Remarkable! He's just like me!"

"The athleticism from both competitors is just insane! That attack was going to land clean had Goku not dodged it!"

Cell grabbed the chair off the floor and sat back down in it, eyes stalwart on the computer monitor.

"Not to mention that Tien fired that beam while upside down!"

"KAIOOO-Ken!"

"They move so fast." Cell reiterated as the camera simply displayed blurry images in between each big moment of the engagement.

Cell finally winded down, watching the advertised tournament footage with a close eye until:

"Sir?"

Cell didn't respond, too enthralled.

Clicc-Clicc.

"Your guest pass has expired for today."

The Free Man was a bit spaced out over the ordeal, just leaning back in his chair as he stared at the sky.

"Whoa~ What if they are good enough to beat me? That'd be awesome."

Vinnie

"Fuck it. I'm gonna do it." Vinnie chanted like a mantra as he summoned up the courage to pick up the home phone near his leopard print bedside.

"Hnn~ ~Hah~."

Be. Buu. Bop. Bee. Be. Bu. Boo.

Vinnie waited with bated breath, tapping his foot rhythmically on the red velvet carpet.

"Hello?"

"Don'thangup."

"..."

"..."

"Vincent~"

"I just wanna see our little girl again."

"..."

"I just realised how much things can change on a dime and… I want to see her again."

"..."

"Fuck." Vinnie mimed the words with his lips as he cringed and fell back onto the bed.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I know she wants to see me. And I've really done her dirty by not visiting or anything like that."

"Vince."

"I know. Lot to ask coming from me."

"Why now? You never took our relationship seriously before."

"Some things came up and… I guess I just realised how little time we have on this Earth. I don't want to waste it not giving my daughter the world."

"Vincent. I-Hah. I'm sorry but. I just don't know. You were so~ I hesitate to call it dangerous, but you were definitely reckless. Our daughter's Tw-"

"Twelve now, I know. I've kept track the whole time."

Vinnie looked down at a picture of a happy couple and a newborn girl with bright blonde hair and blue eyes. A trickle of a tear ran down his face as he flexed his jaw muscles and tried to keep it together.

"I just. Hah~ I know she had a good time when we went out last. You're too strict with her." He let out a laugh.

"Well that's just because You're too carefree. I want to make sure that I do what's best for my child."

"That's the thing though, you can't make all of life's decisions by planning it out. Doing the research is fine but you gotta take your chances when they show up."

"..."

"I know, didn't work out. But that's still My daughter as much as yours. When can I see her?"

"..."

"..."

"Tomorrow?"

"Really?"

"Why not?"

Vinnie laughed from the heart as he looked up at the ceiling.

"Vince."

"Thank you."

"Vinnie?"

Vinnie's heart skipped a beat, almost as if at gunpoint.

"I waited."

Klm.

The hangup was immediate, as if the caller on the other end took a risk with what she said, leaving Vinnie paralysed on the silky leopard print sheets.

Lapis

"5 A.M? You've gotta be shitting me. I got up that early for this?"

"Yep. Now you're going to deliver that milk and like it."

"What? Why?"

"It's not the milk delivering that's important, it's building endurance by performing a task with that large weight on your back."

"Bruh, I can barely lift this thing. Let alone~ Fuckin'-"

WHOMPP!

"Damn." Lapis got out as he turtled on the dirt, clutching onto the milk carrying case as it just about fell over.

"Hyah-haha!"

Lapis let out some goofy chuckles of his own as he laid with his eyes on the sky.

"Maybe I shouldn't have signed up for this."

"Your go, amigo."

"Stealin' my lines and shit." Lapis still giggled as he got to his feet and powered forward through the clearing.

"Remember to zig-zag through the trees!"

"Mother fu-"

Hercule

The morning light peaked beautifully through the clouds as flitters of sun speckled onto the well-kept white gravestones. A tall muscular man and a little girl held hands as they looked down at a particularly lovingly crafter headpiece of what looked like an angel.

Miguel Satan

Loved to sing

Loved to live

Loved to love

"Why do we come back every week, dad?"

"Sometimes it's good to feel the hurt. If you can feel pain from it, that just means it was worth experiencing."

The girl looked down with a pain in her eyes as she read the words over and over again.

"Are you okay, Sweet Pea?"

She wiped the tears away and he picked her up, hugging her tight.

"It just seems so stupid. We're supposed to go to the amusement parks but we always do this first. Why don't we do this after?"

"We're having fun for her." Hercule replied as he sat his daughter down, brushing her pigtails as he squatted down to her level. "If we went after, it wouldn't be the same. You always take your downers before your uppers."

He kissed her forehead and she smiled a bit.

"That way you can focus on the good things."

Hercule put out his big hairy hand and she grabbed on tight and they walked through the dewey grass of the morning as the sun finally triumphed through the clouds.

Vinnie

"Dream Land, huh? Fair enough. A neutral location like West City makes sense."

Vinnie dressed appropriately, putting on some khaki shorts and a dad polo.

Vincent was a young father but 12 years had still passed since then.

"Okay, Vinnie, be cool." He assured himself as he stepped out the door.

He checked his watch: 6 A.M.

"Should be enough time to get down the mountain and rent a car to West City."

He breathed out a long solemn breath as he looked to the clouds.

"I can't afford to mess this up."

In a flash, Vinnie was already outside Dream Land, waiting in the parking lot as he looked at the dash, banging the back of his knuckles against it. He turned his head and sure enough, a familiar white car pulled into the lot. Vinnie hyped himself up, ejecting the key and slamming the car door with ferocity.

"Let's go." He whispered under his breath as he fixed his hair.

The passenger side door was thrust open with gusto as a rambunctious little girl rocketed out of the seat.

"Da-hahad!"

"Hey!" Vinnie called back as he spread his wingspan out wide, snatching her up and swinging her around. "Dang, you got heavier!"

"You too!" She joked back, grabbing onto his nose. "I missed you…"

"Missed you too." He replied as they hugged it out tight.

The mother of the child leaned against the car door with arms crossed as she examined him.

"Damn it. I want to hate him." She thought, tongue in cheek. "But he just has a way with kids for some reason."

Her little girl smiled so bright that day, forcing a smile out of her as well.

"It's not fair." She reiterated with a bated laugh as Vinnie patted the girl's back and motioned over to the car.

"You ready, Erasa?"

"Yeah!"

"You're paying for this, right?"

"I Meaaan." Vinnie joked with bright whites. "I'm paying for me and my daughter, I didn't know we were gonna have guests."

"You're such a piece of shit, Vince." She kept to herself with an almost-laughing smile.

"Yeah, I got it."

"Thanks."

"It's good to see you."

The woman nodded and averted her gaze from the father of her child.

"She missed you, Vince."

"I know. I'm glad I'm here today." He replied, looking down at Erasa who was just kind of skipping and jumping through the parking lot.

"Come back here, Erasa!"

"Let her live, sheesh."

"She's gonna get ran over if you just let her loose like that!"

"What the heck are you talking about, I don't see no cars."

"This is why we broke up."

"This is why she's having a blast and we're not even there yet."

"Hurry up!" She bellowed from the top steps, waiting in front of the elevator.

Vinnie and his ex climbed into the elevator and with a bit of awkwardness from the adults and an abundance of energy from Erasa the trio exited to the ticket counter.

"Three day passes."

"How old is she, sir?"

"Twelve."

The man across the counter raised a brow but just shrugged his shoulders.

12 and under Discount

60 and older Discount

"If he lyin', I guess he need the money, who am I to judge?" The ticketer kept to himself.

"Thank you."

"You wrap it around your wrist like that, and I have to stamp it when you're done sir."

"I can do it myself, dad!" Erasa practically yelled with a chipper demeanor.

"Alright, alright. You did some growing up on me since last time."

As Vinnie checked his daughter's proficiency, a man with a curly afro and a thin girl walked up to the ticket booth.

"Two day passes."

"How old is she sir?"

"Twelve."

"... Sure thing, boss. Here you go."

"Thanks."

"Gosh, you don't need to baby me all the time, dad, I can do it myself."

"Sorry, Hon, I just forget how much you've grown."

"You're embarrassing me." She replied with red rosy cheeks, her big bushy pigtails doing the lion's share of the work to hide her embarrassment.

Erasa sniped out the little girl across the way, the crowd around them disappearing into a blur almost before she felt a tug on her wrist.

"Come on, Erasa. Let's go hit up some rides." Her mother goaded, dragging her through the spinning metal blockade thing.

Erasa couldn't take her eyes off the girl, she had these piercing blue eyes that just stood out from the crowd. As she left, the girl looked back at her, she waved.

"Who's that?" The little girl thought to herself as the blonde kid walked off into the crowd.

"Come on, Hon, let's get going."

"Kay." Hercule's daughter responded before being drug into the obscurity of the crowd.

The trio rode every ride under the sun, save for those with a height requirement.

"Sorry, Erasa, can't ride these."

"That's stupid! These ones look way cooler, and people scream on these ones the most! I wanna scream."

"We can scream on the lame ones. The rides are only as fun as you make it." Vinnie shot back with a dumb grin.

Erasa laughed as Vinnie handed her an ice cream cone.

"Vince~"

"What's up?"

"I gotta go use the restroom, can I trust you to go wait by that fountain over there?"

"..?" Vinnie sniped the fountain in question, answering back with a goofy head nod and bright smile.

"Hehhh~" The mother breathed out. "Thanks."

"You bet! Come on, Erasa."

On their way there, Erasa sniped the little girl again from across the way, standing on the other side of the fountain. She practically dropped everything she was doing to chase down the girl.

"Erasa? Hey, slow down just a little, okay!?"

Vinnie worked his way through the crowd as little Erasa ducked, dipped, and dodged around the many pedestrians.

"..?"

"Hi!"

"Who are you?"

"I'm Erasa!" The blonde girl proclaimed with a bright smile and outstretched hand.

The thin pale girl laughed a bit, showing a bit of hesitancy.

"Shake her hand, Videl. She's not gonna bite."

"I'm Videl."

"You want some of my ice cream?"

"... Sure." Videl answered with a smile.

"Whoa, they're already sharing ice cream, that's like friends for life. How are you sir? Name's Vincent, call me Vinnie."

"Well met."

"This guy's shake is fuckin' firm." Vinnie kept to himself as the burly man met his hand with an iron grip. Vinnie could just tell that whoever this guy was, meant business.

"Hercule."

"Nice to meet you, Hercule."

"..." Hercule didn't answer for a moment, looking down at the girls as they gabbed near their left at the edge of the fountain. "Your girl's got great manners, good job."

"Oh well uhh~"

"Not yours?"

"No it's not that."

"So… what..?"

"Me and the missus are separated."

"Oh."

"Yeah~"

"Sorry."

"No no, nothing to be sorry about. Just… didn't work out. Happens to the best of us."

"There a reason?"

"Yeah."

"Good reason?"

Vinnie looked up at the sky, crossing his arms and looking up at the great statue at the apex of the establishment.

"Yeah, more or less. Not as… compatible as we thought."

"Aren't opposites supposed to attract?"

"See that was what I thought, man." Vinnie answered back right away.

Hercule kept a sharp eye on the girls as he maintained the conversation.

"Heh-Hah. Sorry, I'm just some stranger and I'm asking some pretty personal questions."

"I don't mind at all man, my philosophy has always been to spend time with those who kept it real, whether that means knowing someone for 10 years or 10 minutes. All the same to me, guy." He replied, putting his hands in his khaki pockets.

"... But she's the mother of your child, right?"

"Yeah."

"Don't you want things to work?"

"More than anything. I made some mistakes though and it's like, can we live those down?"

"I'm not gonna act like I know your situation, but what I do know is this:"

Vinnie looked over at the burly man with an air of seriousness about him.

"You don't know how much time you'll have with the people in your life, you should spend as much time with them as you can."

"Amen to that."

"Erasa, I see you made a new friend, who is this?"

Vinnie and Hercule looked over to the blonde woman who held all smiles.

"This is Videl, mom!"

"Hi."

"Aren't you just the cutest?"

"Do you want to let that go?" Hercule posited with his deep voice.

Vinnie looked over at the woman and a wave of nostalgia poured over him.

"Maybe I can give it one more chance."

"Being a single parent is hard, I know."

"..."

"No child wants to have to Choose a parent."

"..."

The vengeant spray of the water fountain gushed as the girls walked over to the pair, all three of them holding a smile.

Lapis

"Damn~Hahh~" Lapis let out sharp exhales as he unlatched from the backbreaking turtle shell and fell onto the grass.

"Not bad, not bad."

"Hah-hah. Keep sittin' on your high horse, amigo. I'm gonna get so sick and so nasty so fast you're gonna want to stop training me."

"Well that's the point, isn't it?"

"..?"

"If you're not as good as, or better than me, what's the point?"

"Relax~" Lapis wheezed out as he looked at the stars. "I was jokin'."

"I'm not. If you train with me, I want to make you the best you can be."

"You're a real goody two-shoes, you know that?"

"You're a fuckin' cop too, idiot." Krillin remarked with some sass, shaking his head at the comment. "We chose this profession for a reason."

"So."

"So?"

"Weekends then?"

"I guess so. Not much time off to train other than if you want to gas it and waste valuable rest time."

"Nah, that's not me." Lapis said as he put his hands up to the stars. "Weekends it is."

Krillin nodded his head.

"Yo, amigo."

"..?"

"You care if I bring my sister?"

"The attorney?" He shot back like it offended him, rubbing the top of his bald head in genuine confusion.

The air of the mountain crept in as Lapis held a wide shit-eating smile as always.

"Yeah."

"Why would she want to learn martial arts?"

"She's already pretty damn good. I'd bet money she's been dying to learn Ki. She's always been too stubborn to ask anyone for help, that's just how she is."

"Yeah. I've already trained two women, so… I have the experience."

"Right on."

Yulin

Dull machinery hummed with a boring drone that could lull someone to sleep, unfortunately, there sat two women, bags under their eyes and boredom sinking in.

"Wea' going to die out hea'."

"It hasn't been looking good."

"We only have a yea's worth of food left, are you sure wea' going to survive?"

"I mean, I guess that means we have at least one year's worth of finding someplace to land."

"Are we still following the original route?"

"I mean I thought so but… We're not there yet so..? Who knows." Yulin answered while cradling her head lazily in her left hand as she stared out into the vast expanse of swirling gazes and twinkling light in the black beyond.

"..."

Dwerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr~

Pao laid her head to rest on the console with dreary eyes until she fell asleep.

"Hmm?" As soon as her consciousness faded, it was pulled back sharply, her head body jerking violently in one swift motion.

"Oh My God." Yulin got out between sassy breaths. "I think we are finally, finally here."

"Namek!?" Pao shot up like she didn't just wake up from REM sleep, a miraculous flip-flop as if the mere sight was a straight shot of adrenaline.

"Yesss." Yulin answered with a sigh of relief, putting her hand over her chest dramatically as she almost fell out of the pilot seat.

"We don't want to crash!" Pao giggled as she manhandled the controls away from her sister.

"Hey! Hands off! What happened last time you tried to pilot, huh!?"

"Shut up!" Pao fought back with bickering laughs as they neared the giant green orb.

"Wow."

"Two yearhs."

"Two years." Yulin reiterated, shaking her head as the planet came closer and closer into view.

"We reary should have read more of those pilot manuals before reaving." She laughed out equal parts goofball and crazy eyes.

"You think I was just finna wait around and Not go as soon as possible? Bulma was nice enough to just Hand us a ship. I'll take what I can get."

"I'm so excited!" Pao practically shouted as she hopped up and down, shaking her fists.

"Was Namek always out so far? I know we made some missteps, but two years? I don't think so."

"Rememba to dress right, there are three suns."

Yulin wagged her finger in agreeance, a sort of: 'you right' kind of way. Pao exited the cockpit as her sister maintained a focused stare with the blue grass in front of her, shifting her head with calculated precision, touching on the landing gear in a logical, linear pattern. She finally grabbed onto a lever and pulled it down with a determined nod of her head to follow the path of action.

KSHHHHKK! GWANN!

"Let's go!" Yulin shouted as she got up from her chair, ship having landed safely. "Nice!"

"Hey! Open up the door!"

"Yeah, yeah!"

Yulin slammed her fist onto a large red button on the console, forcing the large mechanical bridge to lower onto the grass.

"Thank you~"

Yulin rolled her eyes, smiling a bit as she rounded the corner out of the control room and over to grab some clothes. After acquiring her standard green gi top and skirt she quickly skipped along the metal of the ship and jumped out into the land.

"Mnnn~" She breathed in sharply through her nose as the blue grass twinkled ever so slightly. "This is-"

"Arot betta. Way betta."

"Yeah."

Namekians of all kinds came out of their huts and raised brows at the non-natives.

"Hey! We were hea' not too rong ago! How ya been?"

The green skinned people welcomed them with open arms and large smiles.

Cooler

In the deep wellspring of a damp cave system, the two brothers sparred under a green waterfall.

Wshshashasha!

"Ahh." Cooler remarked with a sly smile.

"You got lucky." Frieza challenged as he wiped away the paper thin line of blood from his face with his tail, locking his hands behind his back diplomatically.

Cooler raised a brow as his brother turned around and waltzed towards the water.

"Do you feel that?"

"What?"

Cooler said nothing, just nodding towards the ceiling. Frieza closed his eyes, sending out a pulse of Ki Sensing.

"Hmm."

"Not too strong but, that's definitely strong enough to pose a threat to Namek."

"Sure."

Slllllllashhh!

The two brothers broke right through, the cave itself had no exit other than right back through the waterfall.

"Another ship."

"I can see that." Frieza offered sassily with a raise of his left hand to his chin, flicking away the remaining water on his frame with a whip of his tail.

"But this aura feels familiar."

"Does it? You remember all the randoms?"

"I try."

Frieza laughed coyly as they tore across the planet, flying across the green water, blue grass, rolling plains and thin trees.

FYUUUUUUUUU!

"The design looks similar. Is it those boys from Earth?"

"... Perhaps. I hope not, that one Saiyan was particularly excited to fight me. Would be a pity if this power I'm sensing is all he had to offer."

"If it is, it's still impressively more powerful than last time."

"Impressively more powerful than last time is like… 10 times. When they show up with their power having increased 10 fold, maybe I'll sign off on that being impressive."

"You're so negative." Cooler joked with a smirk.

"Hmm."

Cooler and Frieza reached the premises, touching down just outside the field of small blue bushes, seeing the girls gab with the Namekians.

"It Is the Earthlings. Hello!"

"Hey! Coola!"

"Pao, nice to see you again." Cooler bowed with a regal disposition, forcing a cheery smile and return of the favour from the sister.

"You too!"

"Oh!" Cooler was a bit surprised at the formal nature of the hug. "Hah!"

Pao giggled a bit as she backed off, looking over at Frieza with a more suspicious glance.

"Hmm."

Yulin nodded her head, letting out a harsh breath as she eyed the pair next to her sister from across the way.

"Okay. We came all this way, if we figure out that they don't take students, I'm gonna cry."

"Hello~ I didn't get to speak with you much, last time, was it..?" The Eldest looked to Pao for confirmation.

"Yurin."

"Yurin!"

"Can it with the formalities!" Yulin barked back with a pointed finger and focused disposition.

"Oh?"

"Hnn-hn-hn." Frieza let out with a chuckle into his hand.

"Me and my sister are here to take on the best training Namek has to offer! We're gonna become so sick, no one can ignore us!"

"..."

The brothers just blinked once in tandem and looked at each other.

"Well that's certainly not what I expected."

"Huh." Frieza hummed as he made eye contact with his brother.

"So when's the grind begin!?" It was less of a question and more of a declaration as Yulin stared them down and pointed her accusatory finger at both brothers.

Cooler and Frieza laughed it up, forcing a flicker of embarrassment to cross Yulin before they spoke up.

"We'd be delighted to take you on as our pupil. We do mass training sessions three times a week with the Namekian populace. Namek is a large place so, Frieza, Nail, and I tour around the globe and train in different spots each time, pulling the natives and training with them, practicing our form and technique."

"Form? I'm trying to learn how to kick ass! I already spent a lot of time learning katas." Yulin relayed as she mimed rustic style karate chops. "Krillin didn't skyrocket my growth the way I wanted him to."

"False." Cooler challenged the absolute millisecond it came out of her mouth.

"False? Whatdoyoumea-"

"I can tell your aura has changed since meeting him."

"Huh..? How? You didn't even know me until After I was his student."

"When you become as 'strong'-" He made sure to emphasise with air quotes. "-as I, you can deduce these things very easily. You have a great will, something not everybody possesses. Yulin, you should be proud of that, but you shouldn't be looking to eliminate all of the other things life has to offer other than power."

Yulin stared him down from across the tilled land as he took a long moment to think.

"Namekian martial arts is about learning rhythm. If you cannot establish your own rhythm each fight, you are doomed to fighting against the currents and your own instincts, meaning you face three opponents, not one."

Yulin raised a brow.

"These katas, and sure enough, those katas Krillin taught you are not useless, for even something as simple as they, have a purpose."

Yulin nodded her head, crossing her arms in the process.

"Sorry, sir. Been cramped up in that ship for a long time."

"No offence taken." Cooler offered up a handshake which Yulin gracefully accepted.

"As a token of our appreciation, why don't we start our rounds today? You have a problem with that, Frieza?"

Frieza wasn't looking, just gazing up at the ethereal green aether up above with arms crossed.

"Frieza?"

"Hmm?"

"We're going to make our rounds today, instead of tomorrow. I'm going to fetch Nail, do you mind waiting here for the ladies?"

"... Sure."

"Thanks."

Pao took careful strides towards the man, standing next to him in a line. Frieza paid no mind, only continuing his focused gaze to the swirling sky up above.

"We didn't reary get to meet rast time, my name is Pao-Pao."

"Pleasure."

It definitely didn't feel like it.

Pao just let out a faint chuckle and backed away a bit.

Cell

"Wheelo?" Cell asked the dirt as night rolled in. Wisps of sand made contact with his green shell as a yawn forced out of his mouth. "Ehhhh~huhhh..?" He blinked a few times in confusion.

KZHHHHHHH~

"...Thank you."

Cell walked down the steps with a plodding disposition, the fatigue kind of hitting him as if the stairs were a barrier of sorts and his continued march marked his body with more and more diminishment.

"Whoa~" He let out as the dizziness hit him. "I… Whew~"

The giant rotating door at the end of the hall started to slide open on its own, revealing the lab from across the way. Cell's feet were heavy and hard to move.

"What..? Why am I? Am I dying?"

Cell could not complete the task, simply collapsing in the hallway, falling asleep effective immediately.

Cell had taken rests, but never even a nap, just taken it easy. In over 121 hours, he had not slept once, and it all came crashing down in one brutal blow.

"Zzzzzz~"

"..." Bulululu~

Krillin

The department was back in full swing as the morning sun shined brightly on the litany of squad cars parked out back. Krillin landed in front of the building, fixing his tie and hat as the gusts bellowed off of him. A car door slammed to his right.

Klm.

"When am I gonna learn to do that, bro?"

"You don't even know how to use Ki yet, flight's a long way off."

"Damn. You're just living this shit up, huh?"

"Wha-hat?"

"You were smiling." Lapis joked as he pinched The Detective's cheeks. "Can't fool me, bruh."

"Okay maybe I was, but this stuff takes a while, that's all."

"Ohh, okay."

Krillin shook his head and Lapis let out some goofy laughs as they walked the steps up the precinct.

"Detective."

"Hmm?"

"They're doing a special on that perp in…" The desk lady looked up at the clock on the wall. "-Thirty seconds."

"What perp?"

"That last one you left for."

"..?"

"Draconic Mansion Murderer."

"Right."

"Apparently it's a big deal."

Krillin nodded, filing through all the officers to get to the break room, the characteristic news jingle causing the cops to groove a bit in their seats as they drank their morning poisons.

"Welcome back to ZTV. Our top story this morning involves someone who was just on our program a few days ago."

"That's right, Jimmy, we are here to make another report on the Draconic Mansion Murderer, in a strange turn of events it would appear that the murderer is also some kind of vigilante."

"A bringer of justice these people of The Royal Academy of Science would like to report."

"Ve Vere about to die, I saw Collie get dragged off into the tomb and I just yelled, I mean screamed really. Good thing that bug guy was there or ve vere gonners for sure."

"Not to mention, the stopping of a busjacking carrying innocent civilians in Orange Star City."

"This is what a teenage boy named, Sharpner, had to say about the ordeal."

"He was awesome! He came in right through the door and then bamm!" The kid mimed an epic maneuver with his stubby little leg. "He beat up the bad guy with no sweat! And that's not even the coolest part! A kid my age fought off the bad guys with him! If he can do it that means I can too! I'm gonna train really hard once I'm old enough for my dad to get me a gym membership!"

"That's not just a little kid's active imagination either, here is what an elderly woman accounts of the same event."

"He saved my life. I was right there in the jaws of death." The elderly chocolate skinned woman recounted with authority and charisma. "I said 'If it's my time, it's my time, thank you for the life I've lived, Lord.' But it wasn't my time for The Lord sent me an angel that day. Not only did he save my life, he cast a spell on that poor devil. I couldn't believe it."

"Other accounts report that The Draconic Mansion Murderer shot some sort of 'Energy Beam' from his hand. Not something you see every day."

"That's right, Jane, people have been skeptical of The Tenkaichi Budokai series, especially one X.S. Cash of IWL fame, claiming that all those supernatural happenings are nothing but lightshows and tricks of the trade."

"But sometimes, Truth is stranger than fiction. We'll be back, after these messages."

"Whoa. Puts things into perspective I guess. Maybe it was just a misunderstanding?"

"Nah. That guy wanted The Dragon Balls. He would do anything to get them. I don't have a shred of sympathy for him."

"Sheesh." Lapis commented as Krillin weaved through the department. "Hey! Where we goin'?"

"I gotta go back and pick up the radar, left it in my locker."

"So are we going after him?"

"Yeah. Maybe he did make a wrong move and didn't mean to kill that guy but witnesses say that he sucked the life out of him, that's not something you do Accidentally."

Lapis nodded his head to the side like: 'true'.

"He was gonna get The Dragon Balls no matter the cost, I have to make sure that he hasn't already summoned The Eternal Dragon and made a wish, that could spell disaster."

"Disaster?"

"You can wish for anything. Anything. Eternal life, resurrection, maybe even world domination. Who knows? All I do know is that Goku told me that anything can be wished for as long as it's within the dragon's power. I unfortunately don't-"

Whum. Klm. Ga-chuik.

"-know what that entails..? Huh? What the… Oh no."

"What?" Lapis questioned as he put his back against the locker and crossed his arms.

"The Dragon Balls…"

"What about em'?"

"He already made the wish."

"..?"

"Ahh, damn!"

WONGG!

"..?"

"He made the wish while I was a carrot! That or… damn, I should have checked the radar yesterday because now it's up in the air. He could have made the wish After." Krillin furrowed his brow and sat on the bench with a worried look about him.

"What now?"

"We have no proper leads, but I have an idea."

"And?"

"We're gonna go someplace I'm probably not allowed to take you."

"Oh, sweet." Lapis answered back with a bright grin. "Where to?"

"The Lookout."

Kami

"Kami."

"Krillin."

Ting-tel-ling! Wsht!

"Wow." Kami remarked with a smile. "You actually went through the trouble."

Krillin shot back a sly smile and a finger gun.

"You didn't need to do that, I know you young ones have Earth's best interest at heart."

"Who is this guy?"

"This is Kami, The Guardian of Earth."

"Real?"

Krillin nodded.

"Oh shit, my bad." Lapis answered with a bow, tipping his police hat down and still grinning like an idiot as he did it.

"Heh-Heh. No need for that, young..?"

"Lapis."

"Lapis, nice to meet you, sir."

"Nice to meet you too, Guardian."

"Hah! I like this one."

"He's alright."

Lapis and Krillin shot competitive but ultimately friendly glances at each other. The light breeze littering The Lookout pushed into Lapis' frame as he brushed back the silky hair getting in his face from the oncoming winds.

"So what can I do for you, Krillin?"

"I need to know, can you tell when The Dragon Balls are being used?"

"... Yes. I can."

"Good. I need to know if they wuh-"

"They were. The night before last."

"What happened?"

"I'm not sure, I can't tell you who made it or why it was granted, for Shenron is an entity all his own, I cannot control him, or manipulate him in any way."

"Hmm."

"I can do this however."

"Do what?"

Kami closed his eyes as the wind pelted them from behind in a cold wave.

"Shit, it's actually really cold up here."

"Yeah." Krillin answered half-heartedly. "I guess this is why Tien trained against the elements. I don't feel a thing. Is this a byproduct of getting stronger?" Krillin kept to himself as he let the wind hit his hand.

"The wish."

"..?"

"I can recall What was wished upon the dragon."

"You can? Alright!" Krillin just about shouted.

"Hmm. Let me see…"

"..." The cold wind hit harshly as the pair of officers waited patiently for the green God's response.

"The wish before last was made to resurrect a fallen brother. A ninja named Murasaki. The wish made two days ago was… To unfreeze a glacier in Tsurumai-Tsuburi Mountains? What?" Kami himself even laughed at the strangeness of the wish. "Huh. I guess you can never predict these things, then again, the first wish made this century was for some women's underwear."

"HAHHAHHAH! What!?" Lapis just about fell on the floor laughing. "You guys are wild!"

"Who made that?"

"I cannot tell you, for I do not know. I can recall the wishes made, but I have no idea who could have made it."

"Sounds like something Master Roshi would do."

"No doubt. Heh-Heh."

"Well thanks anyway, Kami. Appreciate the clues."

"No problem, Young Krillin."

"This place is nice, Guardian. I like the palm trees."

"Thank you, Young Lapis. You can thank Mr. Popo for those, he does an excellent job with the gardening."

"Yo, Lapis, we gotta go!"

"See you later, Guardian!"

Kami smiled as Krillin put the officer on like a backpack and soared beyond the clouds below.

"Interesting. Why would anyone want to unfreeze a glacier? What would that accomplish? Hmm."

"Kami?"

"Yes, Mr. Popo?"

"Are you going to work on The Room of Spirit and Time today?"

"You are right. I should continue my work on that." He let out with a harsh breath. "I have let it sit there too long."

Popo walked up and looked to assist Kami on his way to the palace but The Guardian of Earth persisted.

"It is quite alright, I can make it there."

Krillin

"What's the move now, amigo? We ain't go no leads!" Lapis shouted under the wild winds and puffy clouds as the pair rode on the air.

"We should have some, right!?"

"As in!?"

"Don't you remember the broadcast!?"

"No-hot particularly!" Lapis chuckled in response.

"They said shots fired, so, if there were that means residue and if we're lucky, we'll actually find the bullets!"

Snapp!

"You're right! Let's get on that!"

FWUUUUUUUUU~

"Lapis!"

"What!?"

"We're never gonna get any of your Ki training in if we only practice on days off! Visualise yourself flying!"

"You're capping right now." Lapis fired back with a dumb smile. "You're capping."

"Nah, I'm not, the first step is visualisation. Goku did it, Yamcha did it, and I did it. That's the first key!"

"So you just had me running those errands for your shits and gigs!?"

"No no~" Krillin smiled coyly. "You build a stronger body with the weights!"

"But the energy!"

"Yeah, that's not related to the energy, visualisation comes first!"

"Well alright, how do I visualise!?"

"I can't use your imagination for you, what does flying look like to you!? Gotta get creative!"

"Hmm. Fair enough, I guess."

FWUUUUUUUUU~

Cell

"You're awake."

"Hnn..?" Cell answered, face in a pool of slobber on the metal floor. "How..?"

"What a mess."

"Hnn?"

"Get up."

"..." Cell responded, pushing up from the ground and standing up groggily, almost toppling over.

"Are you well rested?"

"Hnn..?"

"Great. It's okay, take your time."

"..." Cell stood there for a minute, barely able to deduce up from down. "..!"

"I see. Took you long enough."

"Huh!? I thought you couldn't see me."

"I had no eyes before, now I do. This facility has cameras, Cell. I use those as my eyes now."

Kzzzztt. Zhhhhtt.

"What are cameras?"

"Devices that record movement, but I'm not here to play Your 20 questions. What of The Budokai?"

"..? Oh! I learned that they may be powerful fighters after all. My only problem is that I have no idea how to join."

"I see."

"Hmm. Can I use the internet here?"

"I was just about to say. It has been 50 years. Technology advanced faster than I had anticipated. We could have just learned about The World Tournament here. I found out during your 24 hour nap."

"24 hours..?"

"Yes. You crashed hard."

"Huh."

"I could have searched this up without you, but I kind of wanted to see what your reaction would be. And… I think it would have been less fun for the both of us."

"... Okay, I can dig it."

"Yes. Dig it."

Twwert.

A popup appeared over the glass, cluing in Cell on that fact.

"Ahh."

"Let's see."

Wheelo pulled up relevant information on his own, opening and closing windows at a breakneck pace.

"Slow down, I can't…"

"Keep up? I forget, you're not wired into the machine."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"It would appear that the only restrictions are that you have to apply, and unless you are in The Top 4, you have to pass a preliminary round to place in the actual competition. They have recently added an addendum however, seems to have been made this year."

"..?"

"If you have won the previous tournament, you are allowed to slot in a spot for your bracket forgoing the preliminary round of eliminations, they claim it is to speed up the process since by that point the competitor had proven themselves not only once, but twice."

"So The Top 4 would be The Top 3?"

"..."

"Well?"

"You can't just join The Top 4."

"Why not?"

"The Top 4 is apparently only reserved for those who have tested. This is also an addendum. You would have to wait till next year to sign up for the tournament."

"What!?" There was a bit of vitriol in Cell's voice.

A growing narcissism. Cell didn't even consider the other brackets. There was no need, Cell had never lost so why would he?

"It's not that you aren't powerful enough, it says so here on their website."

Clicc. Dwerrt.

"Due to multiple violations of the rulings by tournament goers, you are now obligated to show a full history of criminal charges, undergo a psychiatric evaluation, and sign a form to comply to bodily harm sustained in the event one wants to compete in The 26th Tenkaichi Budokai and onward. We are Not accepting any new entrants for The Top 4 until the 27th and new entrants Must test at the preceding tournament in order to be valid."

"Preceding tournament?"

"It means that if you intend on fighting in The 27th Budokai, you have to register during the 26th. If you attempt to sign up for The Top 4 after, it will not be considered for review until the 27th and you will only be valid for the 28th if approved."

"But…"

"It says right here 'We have committed to rules changes to make this sport more safe for our fighters, our spectators and our sponsors. We did not come to this decision lightly so entrants for The Top 4 are subject to evaluation before the first round of The Non-Supernatural Division begins'."

"..."

"So, you'll have to wait four years, not one."

"No."

"No? Do you not comprehend basic language?"

"I'm not going to wait, I'm a perfectly valid fighter. You said it was strongest under the heavens, right!?"

"Sure."

"Then I should be able to prove that claim! I'm the strongest! I've - Never - lost! Why would they dismiss a chance like mine!?"

"It's not up to me. I don't run the tournament."

"But. You said Kochin and Father made me the perfect lifeform, right!?"

"That was the goal, yes."

"A perfect lifeform shouldn't have to abide by these silly rules! I'm showing up to the tournament!"

"Sure, but what will you do if they defeat you?"

"But I was made for this!"

"Cell."

"What?" He answered back with a firm resolve.

"Even if you are the perfect lifeform, and fittest competitor, there are still six of them."

"Six who? It's The Top Four."

"The tournament hosts four competitors, but Son Goku, a fan favourite almost always shows up with his entire family of martial artists. They defeated the break-out competitor that attempted to do the same thing last year. In a 5 on 1 contest, the better fighter can still lose."

"I don't believe it."

"..."

Wheelo pulled up footage of National Geographic, displaying violent struggles of animalistic endeavors.

"Oh my god, he got destroyed." Cell commented as the Elephant stomped a hole through a Lion.

"The Lion has earned the moniker 'The King of The Jungle' by humans. If an apex predator like it can be beaten when outnumbered, you can too."

"But…"

"Crash the party all you want, but what if you waste the effort?"

"..."

"What if your perfection hasn't reached its peak - Yet?"

Something about the way he said it hit home, reinforced when he:

"Have you gotten stronger since you were born, Cell?"

"Yes."

"More powerful?"

"Yes."

"That's because you hadn't unlocked your full potential yet. Kochin, Gero, and I all discussed this matter many years ago. You might prove me wrong and still be stronger than these incompetent fools at The Budokai but riddle me this;"

"..."

"If you are indeed perfect, you perform a plan of attack, you don't just go in swinging. And when shit hits the fan, unlike others, you don't panic and are able to go off script. All I am suggesting is that you realise that you are outnumbered, and I hope you don't throw away my colleague's work for nothing. That is all."

"Why are you so sure they are stronger than I?"

"They have had years to practice their martial arts and magic. How long have you had?"

Cell stared back with a glazed look over his eyes.

"Like 5 days..? 6 I think?"

"Exactly. 6 martial artists who dedicate their whole lives to this vs one man. In fact, count it 7 VS 1 since Sapa now has a guaranteed spot in The 26th Budokai."

"..."

"That's what we planned all those years ago. Unlike those people who attended The Budokai, Kochin, Gero, nor I expected to win an all-out brawl, but a single elimination bracket? We might be able to take that with the best body known to man. I'm not you, but I wouldn't want to waste the opportunity."

"I'm not going to waste it, and I'm not going to wait!"

"So be it."

"..."

"Well? Are you going to leave?"

"I can't, The 26th tournament doesn't even start until next year. Where would I go?"

"I see. But how will you do it when you get there? How will you compete and show the world that you are the strongest under the heavens? It won't count unless you beat them in a fair contest."

"..."

"And by forcibly entering the bracket, how are you even going to place?"

"..?" Cell just sat down, running the numbers with razor sharp devotion.

"Well?"

"You want me to place so bad? Help me figure it out!"

"Hah-Hah-Hah! That's good. I thought you were perfect."

"You don't get to say that to me, you're just a brain in a jair."

"..."

"..."

"Fair enough."

King Kai

There was no wind, as per usual in Other World. The clouds crept by of their own volition, almost as if living entities. King Kai sat on a lawn chair, lazily admiring said clouds until:

"Wow. I didn't expect you here. Well… I expected you to call in at some point, but uhh, I didn't expect another in-person visit."

"Over the phone isn't my style." Tien answered with a stoic disposition.

"So how's the wife?"

"We're not going to get married, too much hassle, and too much work on Krillin's part to try and keep her criminal history a secret. She's a known name too, so it's just not worth it."

"What are you here for then?"

"Well it is about the wife."

"I thought you said Launch wasn-"

"A wife is a mindset, fuck the government."

King Kai nodded and took a sip from his tea, electing to stay seated as Tien walked forward with assurance in his strides.

"And?"

"You aren't as cracked up as a Telepath as I was led to believe."

"Hmm. I'm not so sure. That's quite a bold claim you're making there, Tienshinhan."

"It's the truth. I don't call out people for no reason, Master."

"..."

"She reverted. Fully."

"Fully?"

"Yup. Over the few years since you eradicated the calm persona she'd been steadily gaining it back bit by bit, now, she doesn't even remember the other half again. It could have been a lot more awkward if she didn't remember me. That's my biggest fear. Goku has been better than me for a long time, so I'm not gonna be all that butthurt if I never surpass him but… waking up one day and I'm just a stranger…"

The once in a lifetime wind blew across the Kai's small green orb, increasing the potency of Tien's words.

"That'd be tough to swallow."

"I see."

"..." Tien averted his previously strong gaze to the grass sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his pale bald head.

"What are your questions?"

"Well, I don't even know to be honest. If I just ask you to do a memory wipe I don't even know if it'll stick."

King Kai fixed his teashade glasses and finally stood up, meeting opposite of Tien with his posture.

"I can erase the whole thing, but that would mean that none of these skills either Launch had developed, moot. The reason she reverted is probably because I erased one of the personalities but kept most of the tendencies and skills she had acquired over the years."

"I think I've moved past that."

"..?"

"I guess I'm mostly just here to ask for advice rather than a solution because I know what the biggest problem is."

"And?"

"They both want kids, It's not that I don't want any but that I'd rather have more time to focus on my training. The thing is though, both versions want the kid, the real problem isn't me, it's like… what's gonna happen whenever the other one changes? Does that persona have a claim over the kid..? Are they both gonna remember..? Is it gonna be some three eyed bipolar abomination? Like, I don't know."

"You signed up for this didn't you?"

"... Yeah."

"Then find a way to solve it yourself, I gave you a free pass, it's honestly a miracle that she managed to revert like that, never seen anything like it in my life. If I did it once, she'd just revert a second time if given the chance."

"Yeah." Tien answered as he looked over the salmon sky and orange clouds passing overhead.

"Tell ya what?"

"..?"

"I didn't pull through with my end of the bargain, your kid's on me. I'll babysit if I ever need to."

"Really?"

"Why not? Gets lonely up here sometimes, you guys are my only company."

"Hah. I know someone a bit like you back on Earth."

"That fool Roshi?"

"Yeah."

The Kai smiled, looking into the pink beyond himself.

"Tien?"

"What's up?"

"The challenges aren't always physical, sometimes the challenges are all about the mindset you have. You have focus and determination, perhaps more so than anyone in your group, but you have to learn to go with the flow whenever the need arises."

"..."

"You consider Goku to be your greatest rival, right?"

"Yes sir."

"Would Goku even ask any questions?"

"..?"

"Or would he love his wife and child unconditionally?"

"Heh. Low blow."

"Just a thought."

Tien nodded as he placed heavy hands on his hips.

"Fair enough."

Cooler

"Your first test is to catch me."

"Really?"

"Dat's it?"

Cooler answered only with a solemn nod.

"It's a Namekian custom passed down from the elders. In order for Warrior Clan members to become adults they must first catch their clan leader's scarf and take it off of them." Cooler relayed as he tugged at the white cloth on his neck.

Swuffff~

"These things actually come off quite easily, but that's the point."

Fwof.

Cooler tied it back on in a neat fluffy circle around his neck.

"Now then. Are you ready?"

"How long do you think it'll take us?"

"Well. Heheheh~ Nail still has yet to take my scarf. And it's been well over 10 years."

"Ohhh crap." Yulin let out with a defeated sigh.

Pao gazed over at Nail tilling the fields instead.

"Are you coming?" She shouted.

"No. I have my own training to attend to. He's too strong for me to try and take the scarf. I've tried for over 13 years, you know. It's just not a good use of my time at the moment."

"..?" Pao raised a brow, and then subsequently raised her hand. Cooler laughed at the offer.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh." She blushed a bit, chuckling. "It's an Earth custom I guess. In schooru you raise youa' hand to ask questions."

"I see. What's your question?"

"Are my sista and I going to take the test togetha, I mean… at the same time?"

"Yes."

Pao looked over at Nail and started walking his way. Cooler crossed his arms behind his back, very Namekian style and smiled wide.

"Nairu?"

"What?" He asked gruffly as he stood to full height.

"We want you to come train with us."

"I mean I didn't ask. I couldn't care less." Yulin made sure to interject from across the field.

"Why would I?"

"If you don't, youa' neva' going to surpass Coola. The only way is by taking training under him, no?"

"Yeah, but-"

"But what?"

"I've trained for years. I got better, sure. But what's the point? To get continually outshined by another race performing our culture? It's just too much. There's a boiling point, you know? I have my own pride to consider."

"There's arways someone stronger though, you reary don't want to even try?"

"..."

"..." Pao looked up at him earnestly with her sharp eyes that said a lot separate from what she already did.

"Fine. This once. Only because I haven't had my workout yet."

"Yes." Pao whispered lowly and pumped her fist, stepping into position opposite her teacher.

Cooler stood in front of the trio with the sharpest smile known to man.

"Let's. Begin."

Tien

The door to the cabin closed with the characteristic thump of the cold wind. Launch was already there waiting for him.

"Where'd you go?"

"Other World."

"Why, you went to go see tha' blue man up there or somethin'?"

"Yeah."

Launch furrowed her brow before taking a sip of her drink while deeply reclined in a leather chair in the living room.

"Hey."

"What is it, Sweetheart? You look heavy."

"I finally decided what we're gonna do."

"Do what?" Tien's words kind of forced her awake, she was clearly a bit tired but kind of forcing herself awake, that grogginess all but disappearing as he picked her off the chair.

"We're gonna have a kid."

Launch's eyes widened and her face ran red.

"We can't do as much as you'd like to because of your history so… this is the only thing that makes sense to me. We get to spend that off time working on something else."

Launch couldn't help but laugh loudly in her accent, her voice echoing throughout the house.

"I love you, you big three eyed freak!"

"Sheesh." Tien laughed back as she iron gripped around his throat with her arms. "Love you too."

"HyaHyaHya!"

Krillin

Krillin and Lapis stood in a white room devoid of much else but lab equipment and testing tools. There was another man running rigorous tests and had a few things pulled up on the side of a monitor.

"Yeah at first glance I thought these were strange but when I really look at em', these aren't a bullet that's on the market."

"Excuse me?" Lapis questioned with a low hanging disposition.

"Yep. Whoever made these purchased them from black market gunsmith or made them himself. These are pretty wild. From what it looks like though, these are still rounds you would typically fire from a machine gun, which does match up with the interviews given by the civilians at the mansion."

"I guess if they're off the market, the better lead would just be to go ask them, see what they saw."

"Hmm." Krillin stopped for a moment to think.

"What's up?" Lapis raised a brow at his partner.

"I don't know. I have one more lead. I saw The Dragon Balls at someone's house a while back, so anyone who owned them is a suspect as far as I'm concerned. He even had two of them so… time to get to work."

"Nice! But what are you thinking?"

"I don't care all that much about the dude that had The Dragon Balls, what I care about was whoever was taking a shower."

"Pause."

"Oh. Yeah I could have chose some better words there couldn't I?"

"I'll say."

"What I was going to say is… whoever was in the shower that day, had Ki."

"Are you serious?"

Krillin only nodded back.

In a flash, Vinnie was already in the interrogation room, under harsh lights and questioning. Krillin sat with stoicism opposite the man in the orange button up.

"I could do a lot more to you than I am doing, Vincent." He spoke softly, taking off his coat. "But we have standards and practices. That and, I have super powers that could fry you in an instant. I want to help find this killer and I need you to be honest with me."

Vinnie shifted in his seat, cool as could be.

"I felt a presence in your bathroom that didn't ring quite right to me. Now at the time it was for a different reason."

Vinnie laughed a bit.

"But now I know something is up."

Vinnie stopped laughing immediately.

"This your daughter?" Krillin asked as he slid a photograph across the table.

"How did you-"

"You Were married Vincent, not anymore. You've been divorced for a while now. So who was in the shower?"

"..."

"I know that DMM was looking for The Dragon Balls. I know that DMM fought against someone who had powers and I know that someone was in your house while you had something he was looking for."

"..."

"Don't make this harder than it has to be, Vinnie."

"..."

"..."

Klm!

"Are you serious?" Lapis raised his voice as he and Krillin entered the hallway, leaving the man by his lonesome. "He really didn't talk? I thought you had him for sure there."

"He knows something, but I can't definitively prove it. I could maybe see if I could get prints on The Dragon Balls but I doubt they'd stick seeing as they become stones after they're used."

"What?"

"The Dragon Balls have to take a year to reset whenever a wish is made. That's how they recharge the wish I guess. I'm not gonna pretend I know all the details."

"Wild."

"Yep. Until I can somehow prove for sure that DMM is the one who made a wish, I can't do anything with Vincent unless he talks."

Lapis and Krillin stood in the hallway with a lamenting posture until Lapis broke the silence.

"So what are we gonna do?"

"..." Krillin shifted his tongue around his mouth, glaring through the one-way window. "We drop the case for now."

"Drop it? Real?"

"We have an entire city to save, hoodlums had a full day and a half to do whatever they wanted when Master Carrot turned the whole WCPD to carrots. There's quite a few things to do. Until we get something more, I want to make sure that all the little guys are taken care of too."

Lapis stared back through the window.

"Maybe there's some truth to all those witnesses when they said DMM saved their lives. Perhaps we can rest on our laurels until there's a better clue."

"I hope you're right." Krillin responded as he shifted his own gaze to that of Vinnie, staring back at the picture of his daughter.

Cell

"Okay, Wheelo said these are good to go as long as I can place them covertly."

Cell walked around the empty stadium as the bright sun shined on the empty arena. The Free Man used his Telekinesis to shift the grass and earth into plates like the ring, segmenting the ground and maneuvering them like building blocks.

Skfff~ Fwof. Cloncc.

"Oh! That's the tournament scanner." Cell remarked with a giggle. "I wonder what my power looks like."

The Free Man waltzed over to the large mechanical hallway and sure enough:

Battle Power

1,168

"Only 1,000? Maybe Wheelo was right. I still have a whole year to train but if I remember correctly, they were way weaker at The 24th and that's still… 8..? Times..? My power right now."

"..."

"Wait…"

"..."

"If this can scan my power, and I can scan for things…"

Cell activated his Scanning, combing through the entire arena.

"Then these aren't going to work. And I have another idea."

Cell went to work, placing the upheaved earth back into the right spot before standing still and closing his eyes.

Vshhh~

Instead of additive, he went for a reductive method, trying his damndest to pull in and let breathe all of his Ki. He stood there for a while, leaking his energy out into the wild.

"If they can search like me, then I don't want any interruptions."

Cell proceeded to walk back into the hall, and set up the runway again. With a deep breath and focused stare, he eyed the scanner another time.

Battle Power

5

Cell smiled wickedly and vanished like the wind.

Cell had just learned Ki Cloaking all his own, marking two skills none of The Z Fighters possessed. Now even if they knew what his Ki felt like, there was no point in searching for they could no longer find him.

Before long, Cell was back at the base, the sandy dirt segmenting and revealing the metal hallway.

Fsh!

"I have an addendum of my own."

"And that is?"

"We can't do Ki-laced. If I can sense it, they can sense it too." Cell reprimanded as he wiggled then threw the packets of explosives onto the metal table filled with documents and blueprints alike. A design of a cybernetic humanoid with a particular mound of a mohawk and large shoulders stood out among the charts, something clearly standing taller than 6 feet.

"So what do you suggest?"

"This is your expertise but figure something out that only has to do with the Activation of my Ki."

"Hmm… A tall order."

"It must be perfect. I have a few ideas of my own."

"..."

"I also realised you were right."

"Hah!"

"I'm not strong enough, Yet."

"Do tell."

"But by the time the tournament rolls around, I'll be more than enough with the right preparations. Besides, numbers are just that, numbers."

"..."

"I'm going to prove that I am the strongest, under the heavens."

Puar

Puar sat on the atrium tiles with Scratch, looking out the window to reveal a beautiful moonlight that shined onto the various creatures. Strange noises permeated the space all around as animals hooted and hollered under the brush. Tall trees blocked out some of the light but not most of it as the Brief's had designed it in such a way to make sure natural light would always funnel in. Scratched mewed lowly.

"Rrow~"

"Don't say things like that, Scratch. I never thought of you like that."

"Row~" He responded, licking his paw and rubbing it over his eye. His black fur had a lot of grey in it now, revealed by the blue moonlight coming in from above. "Meweow~"

"I can fly, yeah, but all animals are different. Some are meant to, and some aren't."

"Row~"

Puar floated down next to Scratch, putting his little blue arm around him.

"I'm not a cat like you, Scratch. I'm something else. It's not fair to compare yourself to me like that."

"Row." Scratch replied, putting his own paw over Puar's shoulder in a comforting way.

"I think all of us wish we were born with something we didn't have, but that's just a part of life. You have to deal with what you're given."

"..." Scratch licked himself one more time before he looked up at the stars above.

"I used to think like that too, ya know?"

Scratch looked over with surprise in his already large dot eyes.

"I wanted to help Yamcha be the best bandit, but all I could really do is steal stuff when people weren't looking and Shapeshift."

Bom!

"It's cool."

Bom!

"But I can't really help Yamcha in a fight. And I want to do that more than anything else. I'm not strong, and I'm not brave-"

"Rrrow!"

"... Thanks, Scratch."

The two cats held onto each other as the moon held high in the sky, its crescent shape shining particularly bright that night.

Tien

One month later.

Tien looked himself in the mirror, he had grown a burly black beard and an unkempt messy hairdo that was receding pretty clearly.

"Heh. I can't believe I let it grow this long." He said as he combed his fingers through the whiskers and then subsequently the rough patch up top. "I guess I never grow my hair out for a reason but damn… my hairline sucks. Ha-Ha."

The Three Eyed Man eyed himself in the mirror for a little longer until:

"Tch. Nope. I look like garbage. It's gotta go." Tien cackled to himself as he brought out an electronic razor and trimmed off the top. He made sure to clamp shut his third eye so as not to make any grievous errors.

Zzzzk! Zhhhhh! Zzzzzz~ Clicc.

He ran his hand along his head another time, glaring from as many angles as he could.

"Yep."

Clicc. Zzzzzzzz~ Clicc.

"Fuckin'."

Clicc. Zzzzzt! Clicc.

"There we go."

Tien made some faces in the mirror.

"Okay. Hold on."

He made some fuckboy poses with his hands in the mirror as he caressed his black beard.

Clicc. Zzzzzzz~ Zzzzz~ Zzt! Clicc.

"I might have just done something."

It was pretty impressively maintained, like something out of a barber shop. Tien had trimmed it down considerably but the beard framed his face well, giving him the appearance of a modelesque jawline.

"Yeah. I kind of like this."

Age was showing just a little bit. His hair was youthful but the sleek black hairs had many a grey one sticking out in their place. More than he would have liked. Not just his face either, his veins showed clearly and his skin was a bit less youthful as well. He was still very capable, but something struck him as odd as he gazed into his reflection.

"Have I always looked this old?"

"Honey?"

"Yes, Princess?"

Blue walked into the room with a pregnancy test and a solemn look about her.

"Really?"

"Mmhmm." Blue just put the device on the counter and hugged his big frame tight, not really caring about all the hair that was just recently shaved and sticking to her face somewhat.

Negative.

"But. That's like-"

"..."

"-all we've been doing."

"..."

"How? That's three different brands now."

That was the first thing The Tri-Beam took.