Chapter 7

The next couple weeks went by smoothly for Gohan. He went to school and did his best to stay under the radar during his classes. The only problems were when he fell asleep during a couple of lectures that covered material he had known for years. However much Gohan was enjoying his week at school, he couldn't help but feel bad for Videl.

Each day became worse than the one before as rumors started to grow. Reporters started out at her home ambushing her father every chance they got. Hercule's response was the same each time: that the whole thing was a lie and he had defeated Cell. Since the reporters couldn't get anything out of Hercule, they went after Videl.

It was then that the reporters started to show up at her school, trying to get comments about what happened. Although Videl was good at giving them the slip, their constant presence was beginning to wear on her. Everyone that knew Videl could see her patience slipping. One boy had the audacity to hit on her. Needless to say his voice wouldn't be dropping for a while longer.

The media had taken several angles on the events over the week. There were some that supported Hercule, while others supported Capsule Corp. At any time you could flick through channels and find a show looking at the life of Hercule, the Cell Games, or the press conference. Gohan had watched a program that tried to explain how the mystery fighters did all their tricks. He had to admit some of the explanations were hilarious.

The history assignment was moving along well. Gohan had found an article that made some very outlandish claims about the mystery fighters. Gohan hoped that this would help direct the research away from the truth. So far their searching had been leading them off to dead ends, and Gohan was happy about that. Although he had decided it was okay to reveal that Hercule hadn't defeated Cell, he still wasn't too keen on being discovered as the one who actually did it.

Despite Gohan's efforts to mislead their research, he was unaware that Videl had asked Sharpener to keep an eye out for the fighters while he looked into the world martial arts tournaments. So far he was still looking at the Twenty First Tournament, and hadn't seen anyone that looked like the guys in the pictures. Videl was feeling kind of discouraged about how her research was going. She had hoped to find a solid lead by this point, but still nothing seemed to click for her.

"Are you sure about this, Gohan? I find it hard to believe that the fighters we're looking at are actually actors."

"You said that we should try looking at where the tricks came from; and according to that special I watched the other day, the tricks are based in the Peking Opera. The only people that would know them then are related to actors from there." Gohan was glad he had watched that silly program because it gave him a plethora of false leads to explore.

"I know what you mean, but it still sounds ridiculous to me. And how are we supposed to get a good mark on this if we can't find any actual information on those crazy people?" Videl's response was a little on the loud side, considering how frustrated she had been lately – and her comment did not go unnoticed by their teacher.

"Gohan, Videl, would you two please come here for a moment," Mr. Smyth called from his desk at the front of the room.

"I know that this is a hard topic to cover," their teacher started when they got down to the front. "I understand that you're not having much luck with finding the answers you want, but I think I should remind you that even experts still don't know a solid thing about the mystery fighters. Keeping that in mind, I want you to focus your report on the areas you researched and why. I overheard Mr. Son mention the Peking Opera. If you wanted you could write your whole report on how you were led there and why it is a plausible area to research. I know you're under a lot of stress right now, Videl, and I don't want you to think that the only way to do well in my class is to unmask the mystery fighters. Okay guys, now go and search whatever crazy lead you find. There's a reason I asked you two to look into this topic."

With that little pep talk, they returned to their seats and started looking over what they had found so far. Videl was starting to notice that every direction they went seemed to lead to a dead end and was getting tired of it. She did her best to keep her cool, seeing how they already had more than enough material to complete a report based on what the teacher wanted. However, she wanted at least something solid to say about the fighters. Hoping to get some better news about research, Videl turned to Sharpener.

"Hey, how's the research coming along, Sharpener?"

"Not bad, I'm finding the twenty first tournaments to be really interesting. Did you know that second place of that tournament went to this twelve-year-old kid? He was younger than we are now and still made it to the finals."

"I heard about that once, apparently he finally won in the twenty-third tournament. Although my dad said he was just a trickster that didn't have any real strength."

"Speaking of strength, are you excited for the tournament in gym class today? I wonder if there's anyone that can beat you this year."

"What tournament?" Gohan asked, popping in on their conversation.

"That's right, you wouldn't know about it," Videl started. "Well, every year during the martial arts unit there is a tournament to see who the strongest in the school is. Today, each class competes to find their strongest three and tomorrow all the winners compete to see who the strongest is."

"Last year Videl came in first; nobody else in our grade came close to winning."

"Well looks like it's time to see if there is anyone that can give Videl a run for her money," Gohan said, pointing out that class was about to end.

XXXxxxXXX

"I think you might have a shot at winning this thing," Sharpener said to Gohan as they were changing for gym. "Like look at you, you're built like a tank. Even if you don't have any skill I bet you'll at least make the top three today."

"I don't know," Gohan wasn't sure he wanted to be known for his strength at school. "I think you've got a better shot at it than me," he replied politely.

The class lined up in gym and got started with some stretching and a light warm up of running and practice moves. They were then directed to a board that the teacher had already set up, showing the first round pairings for the tournament.

"Okay class, I've paired you up based on how you have been doing the last couple of days. I have set it so the people I think are most likely to make it the end won't meet until further along. Now let's get started."

The first rounds went by quickly, just as expected by the students. Gohan was surprised by how well the teacher set up the matches. Except for a few clearly mismatched pairings, most competitors were close to the same level. Along with the pairings being close in strength they were almost all boy-boy or girl-girl. The only one that wasn't was where Videl was fighting one of the jocks.

Gohan could tell from the first pairing that Mr. Richardson didn't think much about his ability. He wasn't surprised since he had practically tried to look bad in class. Gohan was up against a small and thin kid that would probably lose against most of the girls in their class. Although he had thought about losing, the little bit of Sayian pride he had wouldn't let him.

In the second round Gohan was up against a stockier opponent, but the outcome was the same. In this round, Videl was up against another girl and it was clear who the victor would be. In a couple of seconds Videl had her victim down on the ground, tapping out. Sharpener, on the other hand, was having a rough time in his match. It took a while and the class enjoyed watching it but in the end Sharpener crawled out on top.

The final rounds had some interesting match-ups as far as Gohan and the rest of the class were concerned. There was Videl going up against none other than Erase. Gohan had never thought of her as being physically strong and found himself quite impressed with how well she had done. Despite Erase's efforts, she found her way to the mat the same as all of Videl's other opponents.

Gohan was up against one of the big jocks (well, big for middle school). Up until now people thought that Gohan was just getting by on luck. This thought was squashed quickly as he won his match. Many of the girls were giving Gohan there scary lust eyes and he wanted nothing to do with it. In turn, the guys gave him a variety of dirty looks and a few gestures.

Last up was Sharpener. It was clear he was still a little tired from his last match, despite trying to hide it. He was up against a friend of his that trained at the same dojo. They had fought a few times before and the outcome could go either way. Each of them did their best but in the end fatigue won, and Sharpener lost. The final match ended on queue with the end of class, leaving Videl, Gohan and Max to go against the other finalists on Friday.

As Gohan made his way out of the school, he could hear the excitement of all the students who were ready to watch the tournament tomorrow. From what people were saying, Videl was the favourite, seeing how she won last year's tournament. Gohan was wishing his Sayian side hadn't taken over; he didn't want any attention and now tomorrow when he fought, he wasn't very well going to lose. By the end of the day tomorrow he was going to be known as the strongest kid in the school.

XXXxxxXXX

That evening, Bulma could tell something was bothering Gohan. She asked Chichi about it, but they were both at a loss. Over the last couple of years, the two women had noticed Gohan would get like this every now and then. Usually he would be fine after one of his mom's delicious meals, but even after dinner he was still looking down.

"What should we do?" Bulam asked while she was helping Chichi clean up after dinner. "Normally Gohan is happy as can be after one of your meals."

"I'm not sure. This usually happens around the anniversary of Goku's death, but that's not for a couple more months. Do you know anything that might cheer him up?"

"I think I might know something that will cheer him up but I'm not sure."

"What do you have in mind Bulma?"

Bulma went on to explain how she knew about the tournament at Gohan's school. Each year the school would contact Capsule Corp about getting a tour of their sports research facility for the finalists in the tournament. Bulma would always turn them down because she knew they only did the tournament because of Hercule.

"But, Bulma, doesn't Gohan know everything about Capsule Corp already?"

"He is aware of everything that we do but I don't think he has spent much time in the sports facility. Plus it gives him a break from school. I'm sure he's still getting used to it and could use a change in routine."

"And you're sure he is in the group that will be going?"

"Chichi, your son is probably the strongest person in the entire universe. His Sayian pride wouldn't let him lose. I should know: look who I married." With that, Bulma went off to make a few calls to set things up.

XXXxxxXXX

Videl was watching the news that night while looking over her history notes. She was trying to figure out a new direction for her research. After spending most of the week looking through pictures of Peking Opera performers, she had found no one that even closely resembled one of the mystery fighters. Only after looking into the tricks that the Peking Opera did, was Videl sure that there were no connections with what the strange fighters did.

She pulled herself away from her books when the news made mention of the bank robbery over the weekend. The event had been labeled The Heist Gone Wrong by the media, which was a stupid name if you asked Videl. The report talked about how the robbery was stopped by some unknown person who incapacitated the robbers and left the scene before anyone could see them.

"I guess looking back I can see how Gohan made the top three in our class. At the start, even I thought he would be out in the first round based on the way he acted in the class. I completely forgot how skilled he was." Videl's mind carried on thinking about Gohan's ability to change personas so quickly. "At one moment he looks like a little twig that couldn't even stand up to a light breeze and then he takes down a group of professional thugs without even breaking a sweat. I think he might actually be my biggest challenge in the tournament tomorrow."

With that thought in mind, she turned off the TV and made her way down to the gym to get some extra practice in before bed. Not that it would make much of a difference at this point.

Videl had been working hard for about an hour when her mom came into the gym. "Hey honey, you're really going at it there. Getting all ready for tomorrow?"

"Yep, can't let some dumb jock take my title, now can I?" she responded while giving the punching bag a final hit before turning her full attention to her mom.

"I guess not," her mother agreed sweetly. "Are there any challenges that really stand a chance? Unless I'm mistaken, you made your way though it with ease last year."

"Well there might be this one guy that could get in my way. It's hard to tell with him. At one moment he seems like the weakest person in the universe, and then he goes and makes it to the top three in our class."

"This guy must be pretty special for you to be so worked up over him." Videl's mother gave her a cheeky smile, implying that there was more to it than Gohan being a good fighter.

As if on cue, Videl's face did a very convincing imitation of a tomato. Her mother continued to look right at her, seeing just how long she could keep her little girl flustered like this. Videl, on the other hand, had only been thinking about Gohan in terms of a fighter until now. She didn't put much thought into boys as most of the ones she dealt with were arrogant asses; no surprise as they came from her dad's dojo.

She had enjoyed her little chats with Gohan here and there, not to mention he had saved her life more than once, if she included the incident at the bank. Despite being a good fighter and an overall intelligent person, he never held it over someone else; he never tried to act better than anyone. Videl was taken aback as she realized that he was the definition of humble.

Throughout her rambling thoughts her face had come back to a normal colour and her mother had changed he expression. "So who is this special boy you want to pound so badly?" Despite her mother's innocent face, Videl rolled her eyes at the less-than-subtle pun.

"If you must know, his name is Gohan; he's the same guy that pushed me out of the way when that satellite came crashing down."

Her mom's eyes lit up with recognition. "That's the boy I made your father give the free gym membership to. Your father mentioned that he was a scrawny kid but in your dad's eyes everyone not bulging with muscles is scrawny."

"Dad was actually right on this one. You look at this guy and the first word that pops into your mind is twig. But what do you mean by "made" dad give him the gym membership?"

"Well, you know how your dad is. If it wasn't for the fact that Gohan saved your life, your dad would have gone after him for touching you, let alone giving him a reward. However, that's not what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Oh, so trying to get into my "love life" was just an accident," Videl said with an indignant look.

"I prefer to think of it as a little extra sharing," Videl's mom said with a happy smirk on her face. "Anyways as I was trying to say I have some exciting news for you. You know how each year the finalists of your school's tournament get to go out on a special outing. Well this year, you will be going somewhere different."

"You mean we aren't going to spend the day at dad's gym?" Videl's question was answered by the smile on her mom's face. "Then where are we going this year?" She asked with excitement in her voice.

"For years now your school has been trying to get Capsule Corp to give the finalists a tour of their sports research facility. While I was at a parents' meeting this evening, your principle came in and informed us that they finally agreed to give the tour."

Videl was ecstatic, she had heard about the facility and some of the things they did there. It was said that their training equipment was the best in the world. Every major sports team used their equipment, and a lot of famous athletes would go there for training. One thing that Videl always thought was weird was that her dad could never get their equipment. As far as she knew, that was the only reason people went to other gyms than her dad's.

"Well you have a good night sweetie, and try to get to bed soon; you have an exciting day ahead of you tomorrow." With that, Videl's mom left her to her training. Videl spent a little more time working off the extra energy she got from hearing the good news.

XXXxxxXXX

The next morning Gohan still seemed a bit down . . . and he was. He was mad at his Sayian side for taking over the way it had the day before. He knew that the need to fight and the pride was part of being a Sayian, but he hadn't wanted to end up in the finals of the tournament. All he wanted was to make his mom happy by going to school and making some friends. However, now he was going to be known for his strength.

As Gohan walked into the kitchen for breakfast, he noticed that Bulma looked more tired than usual, but assumed it was just little Trunks keeping her up. His mom brought him a plate of food and he quickly devoured it before heading off the balcony to school.

Gohan landed at the usual place by the train station and walked over to the school. Heading past the front gate Gohan noticed one of Capsule Corps' guest vehicles sitting in the parking lot. He was a little curious about it but put it out of his mind as he walked into the school. He was sitting in homeroom waiting for school to start when Sharpener came running up to him.

"What are you doing here?" Sharpener asked as though Gohan was breaking the law by sitting there.

"What are you talking about? It's a school day, why wouldn't I be here?"

"I guess no one told you. Every year the finalists of the tournament get to go on a special field trip. Last year they got to go to one of Mr. Satan's gyms."

"So where should I be then?"

"All the finalists should be meeting outside the main office. You better hurry up or they might leave without you."

Without another word, Gohan was out of his chair and on his way to the main office. As he ran, he thought about where they were going. He really didn't like the idea of spending most of the day at one of Hercule's gyms. He wouldn't have anything to do except smile and look interested.

He came around the corner leading to the office and found the rest of the finalists already standing there waiting. Gohan quickly made his way over to where Videl was standing. He was hoping she would know what was going to be happening throughout the day since she had been in the finals last year.

"Hey Videl," Gohan said as he approached her. "So do you know what's going to be happening today?"

"How should I know? I should be asking you what's going to happen today." Videl replied, assuming that Gohan already knew where they were headed.

"Why wouldn't you know? Sharpener said that we were going to one of your dad's gyms?"

"That was last year. This year we're going to Capsule Corps' sports research facility. I figured you would have known since . . . well you know." Videl caught herself before saying out loud that Gohan knew Bulma. "My mom told me last night. The school has been trying for years to get a tour of it for the finalists. I figured you knew."

In a way, Gohan knew about the request, since he would see one every now and then as he helped Bulma out. She always took care of it, so really he didn't know what happened with them. However, he had a feeling that his school only got to go because of him being there. Everyone, well at least the Z fighters, knew that Bulma treated Gohan like a son.

"I didn't hear anything about it. I guess it was supposed to be a surprise?" Gohan said back to Videl.

"So do you have any idea about what we might be doing there?" Videl asked in hopes that Gohan would have some inside knowledge.

"I have a general idea of what goes on there but I have never actually been there."

Thinking on it, Gohan was surprised that he hadn't taken the time to get to know the Capsule Corp facility. He decided to make up for that lack of knowledge soon. He felt that he might actually get to enjoy his trip more than he thought he was going to a few minutes ago.

The teens mulled around the main office for a few more minutes until there gym teacher, Mr. Richardson, showed up, followed by a young woman. He quickly got their attention and got them to gather around him.

"Okay everyone, this is Ms. Swan; she is from the sports research facility of Capsule Corp." There was a large cheer as the students realised where they were going. "She is going to be showing us around their facility as well as letting us try out some of their latest training equipment." Once more the teens cheered, hearing this. "Now then, if you will all follow Ms. Swan to the vehicle outside."

The excited students quickly followed the instructions, wanting to get there as quick as possible. They all filed out the doors behind Ms. Swan, who lead them to the vehicle that Gohan had noticed earlier. It was a cross between a bus and a super stretch limo. The students were able to easily fit into the comfortable seats and were impressed with how nice the car was. Once the last person was seated the car took off to Capsule Corp and Ms. Swan started going over some of the facilitie's background story.

"This facility was started by Bulma Briefs, as a new part of the corporation. As most of you know, the main Capsule Corp facility was started by Dr. Briefs with the creation of the Capsule. Anyways, back to the sport facility: can anyone tell me why Mrs. Briefs started the facility?" There was a pause as no one answered the question. Even Gohan didn't know why it was started.

"Well, the reason this facility was started is because at the time Yamcha Bandit was starting his career as a baseball player. Before baseball, Yamcha was an accomplished martial artist but decided on a change of carrier due to financial issues. It was thanks to Yamcha and his amazing skill with baseball that helped to get this division of Capsule Corp really going. Every major player that saw Yamcha play came to Capsule Corp so they could get as good as him. It's clear now that a lot of Yamcha's success came from his own natural talent seeing how no one else has reached his level. However, the training provided at our facility showed enough improvement in sports overall that people who played other sports were coming to Capsule Corp for help. From there, this part of the company has flourished as one of the most highly regarded sports centers in the world."

Ms. Swan could see a mix of interest and boredom from the students and decided to share a few little facts that were sure to catch them all off guard. "As I'm sure you all know, our sports facility is based in Satan City; however it is interesting that none of the gyms or dojo's run by Mr. Satan use equipment from Capsule Corp; does anyone know why this is?"

Once more there was silence as none of the students volunteered an answer, but it was clear they were all playing attention. This time Gohan knew a few reasons why this was, but decided to keep his head low.

"There is no official reason for this except that whenever the Satan Gyms try to purchase equipment, the request always gets denied from the people up top." Gohan had to hide a smile, as he had on more than one occasion been the person to deny the request.

"Unofficially however, it is rumored that Mrs. Briefs was good friends with the last world Champion, Goku Son, and ever since Hercule started to call him a fraud Capsule Corp has shut its doors to Mr. Satan." Gohan also thought that Hercule's inappropriate flirting was a major factor in that decision as well.

Videl let out a little gasp after Ms. Swan mentioned the former world champion, Goku Son. She realized that there must be a connection between Gohan Son and him. That would explain how Gohan was so good at fighting. Ms. Swan, on the other hand, mistook Videl's sudden breath as an indication that she had been insulted.

"As I said, this is just an unofficial rumor on the subject, and could be completely wrong." Ms. Swan was hoping that this would smooth over any hurt feelings on the subject. At this point, the limo pulled up to the facility and the teens were eager to get out and look around.

XXXxxxXXX

At the same time, across town, less than enjoyable plans were being brought out into action. Mercenary Tao was meeting with a group of local thugs to help with the hostage situation he was planning. The group consisted of about twenty men. None of them had much experience beyond your basic convenience store robbery or drive-by shooting.

The lack of experience didn't bother Tao, since he could probably handle the whole thing on his own; he just liked having the extra eyes to keep hostages in line. As well, the gang offered their services cheap, seeing how they would be working with the legendary Tao.

This was like a dream job for Tao. Although he was not at the Cell Games he knew for sure that Hercule didn't have a chance of winning. He could tell that Gero had lost his mind, when he couldn't put two and two together, but since he was getting paid, Tao opted not to correct Gero.

Tao went over the plan one last time with the thugs' leader and headed off to do his own preparations. They had agreed on the time and how things would go down. Tao had made it very clear to the thugs what would happen if any of them strayed from the plan; how he loved the look of fear in their eyes.

XXXxxxXXX

The group at Capsule Corp were having a blast. Inside the building they could see several of the different areas where scientists were putting some very well-known athletes through their paces. Sharpener's friend, Max, saw his favorite soccer player there and almost had a heart attack.

"As you can see, everyone," Ms. Swan started once the teens had had a chance to take in the whole area, "At any given time we play host to some of today's best athletes. Just last week Yamcha was here helping to work on some of our latest training gear. Now if you follow me over here we're going to let all of you go though some of our training exercises."

The group followed eagerly, wanting to see what it was like to be a real athlete. They spent the next couple of hours going through different tests used to assess their physical abilities. There wasn't time for them to all go through a complete set of tests so each person got to try a couple of them.

Videl got to try out the latest punching machine. After hitting it a few times they compared her hits with the others on record and found that she was on par with some pro fighters near her weight class. It seemed that despite her small frame, she could deliver a wallop of a hit.

Around the room, some students were running on treadmills, while others were breathing into tubes to check lung capacity, and some were trying out weights and force gauges. Gohan happened to be trying out one of the force gages when all of a sudden an alarm attached to the machine went off. Gohan let go as fast as he could and hoped he hadn't broken anything. The rest of the group heard the alarm go off and they all looked over at him as one of the scientists went over to find out what that alarm had been. Looking at the computer screen the lab technician found that the gauge had reached the highest level on record. While reading the screen the scientist was saying it out loud causing the whole group to look at Gohan with shocked expressions.

"I must have done it wrong," Gohan said trying to get everyone's attention away from him.

"I don't know, that's a fairly simple device there," the lab technician said. "Why don't you give it another try?"

Gohan nodded sheepishly and went back up to the gauge and tried it again only this time he didn't really try. Letting go once again the lab tech took another look and said that it fell right in the normal range. The rest of the class turned away figuring the whole thing was an accident, but Videl wasn't so easily convinced. She took this little bit of information and tucked it away with the rest of her info on Gohan.

They wrapped up with the testing equipment a short while later and headed off to the cafeteria for lunch. The group of teens had been very impressed with the facility so far. During lunch Gohan ended up sitting with Videl and Max. They were enjoying the delicious food the chefs had made that day – apparently the cafeteria only served five-star foods.

"This is way better than last year," Max said, striking up a conversation as he finished his meal. "Not that your dad's gym was bad or anything." He said this, afraid of insulting Videl.

"My dad's gym was horrible and don't even try to deny it." Videl retorted, bringing a smile to Max's face.

"So what happened at your dad's gym?" Gohan asked, wondering what could have been so bad.

"Well for the first couple of hours, we just walked around being told what the different workout machines were and what kind of exercise could be done. We didn't get to try any of the equipment or exercises they were talking about. The rest of the time was spent watching old footage of my dad's fights and some of the Cell Games. They didn't even give us lunch. I know I won't be here next year but I hope they get the chance to come here." Videl said the last part with almost a shudder at the thought of other students having to go to one of her dad's gyms.

"Well I'm glad I got to come here," Gohan said a happy glint in his eyes. "I knew about some of the things that happened but had no idea about half of the stuff here. I must say this is definitely one of the best things I've done in a while." Gohan's comments were from his point of view as both a student and a head of the corporation.

Lunch soon ended and the students got a tour of the research and development labs where they made the latest training equipment. There were all types of equipment from large weight machines to weighted clothing. One thing that the students were very impressed with was the new gravity floor that allowed the person to increases the gravity up to five times normal.

This was one of the few things Gohan knew about since he had helped Bulma with making the gravity field of the Gravity Room smaller. The floors were a lot more sensitive in that the gravity could be increased a lot more slowly than in the actual Gravity Room.

To demonstrate the flooring, all the students got to stand on it while it was turned up to .02% of normal gravity. Each time a student stood on there you could tell the instant the floor was turned on. Their breath would become heavier and you could see them working harder to just stay standing. Even Videl was having a bit of trouble with the slight increase of gravity. Despite the difficulty Videl picked up one of the light weights on the rack in the area and tried a couple lifts. What normally would have been an easy task for her was very hard, not just from the slight increase of the weight she had picked but also from the overall strain on her body. Her turn soon ended and Gohan was up.

He on the other had only known the thing was on because he had seen the technician turn it on. He tried to look like he was struggling a bit but there was one that could see it as an act. Once more Videl added this bit of information into her mental reserve of facts on Gohan.

Once everyone had finished their turn on the gravity floor, it was time to head back to school for the tournament. In all the excitement of Capsule Corp, a few of the students had completely forgotten about the tournament and were a little disappointed to have to leave. Ms. Swan showed up again and led the group back to the main entrance of the building, where she asked them if they enjoyed their visit. There was a unanimous node of heads and quick answers that everyone had enjoyed the trip.

"Unfortunately it's time for you to leave, but there is one more surprise before you go." The group had no idea of what else could happen that day. They had already seen so much and gotten to try so many things; what more could there be?

"Last night our facility had a surprise visit from Mrs. Briefs," Ms. Swan continued. "She came here to make some finishing touches to a set of new capsules. In short, each of you will be leaving with one of our new gravity floor gym capsules."

There was stunned silence. None of the students could believe this; not even Gohan.

"Are you kidding?" one boy called out in complete disbelief.

"Not at all. Mrs. Briefs came by and dropped them off last night, leaving instructions to give them to you. Now let me just go get them from the back room." Ms. Swan left the group as she walked to the back. The students were still lost as to how to react. This was tuning out to be one of the best days of their lives.

Ms. Swan soon came back with a less-than-excited look on her face. "Sorry guys but it looks like Mrs. Briefs accidently changed the security settings for the back room and I don't have access, so I will have to get those capsules to you at a later time."

Gohan could see the disappointed looks on his fellow students' faces and felt sorry that they would have to wait. Sure, he could go back there and open the back door but that would completely defeat his attempt at keeping a low profile; not that that would last long with the quickly approaching tournament.

Coming up with a better idea, Gohan asked where the bathroom was just before the group was to leave. Once out of sight, he call up Bulma's assistant and explained the situation. Just as he was walking back to the main lobby there was call at the front desk. The attendant answered it but quickly called over for Ms. Swan.

"Excuse me Ms. Swan, there's a call from head office. Something about an accidental security update." Ms. Swan grabbed the phone from the attendant. As the conversation only lasted a moment but Ms. Swan seemed much happier when she hung up.

"Good news everyone, head office just noticed the problem and have reset the system. Why don't all of you head out to the car and I'll be there in a moment with the capsules.

The group walked outside and piled into the roomy Capsule Corp car. Ms. Swan soon joined them and passed out the capsules. At this point the students were on their way back to the school to hold the tournament.