Disclaimer: It's in chapter... 2.

Yerg. Reading it a few days after I posted it, a good deal of chapter two looks like crap to me... especially since I didn't get to show a transition of time without proper paragraphs. Curse you, website!

There was a large fight among the families over who should go and who should stay. The Saiya-jin men, of course, were disallowed by the women in their lives to do such a thing, but Kuririn and #18 couldn't possibly go by themselves (especially with Marron). However, it was agreed that someone should go.

"I know Piccolo-san the best out of the group," Gohan said, keeping a firm voice to cover the fear of his mother and girlfriend yelling at him, "so I have to go. He was acting weird when I last saw him, so I feel obligated."

Goku nodded. "Something very strange has been happening. If we want to see him again, we'll have to go across that Red Stream thing."

"Really," Bulma sighed. "I don't see why you have to leave just to do something like that. Why don't you just gather the Dragonballs and ask Shenlong to bring him back?"

"We asked Dende before we called everyone together," Gohan said, "He said that neither Shenlong nor Porunga are able to extend their powers past the ionic storms of the stream."

A growl came from Chi-chi. "You're not going alone, and I will not allow you both to leave again!"

Goten looked up to his mother. "Can I go with him, okaa-san? Please?"

She huffed. "What is with you men; always going off to fight, leaving us behind like we're nothing to be concerned with!? I've been alone or a widow for so many years, worrying about my husband and my children all of the time. You're not leaving me behind!" Chi-chi stood and put her hands to her hips in an authoritarian manner. "This time, I'm going with you!"

"I am, too!" Videl stood with her.

Gohan and Goku had mirror faces of their uncomfortable grins and were about to reason with them when Arufuredo interrupted.

"We can fit and sustain up to eight of you guys... maybe ten or more if we're thrifty. We could also allow you to stay in more secure areas when we reach the other side. Chances are, we can afford several of you coming, so, discuss matters of time away from your homes rather than from each other."

----- !! # !! -----

Satan stood beside his punching bag in dead air before-- "What?! Why would you need to leave from Earth?! You told me that they're military men, but you're too strong to join any old army, alien or not! And the barracks is no place for a young woman like yourself, especially with those rowdy men, away from their wives and always thinking about their own deaths. I will not allow my daughter to be subjected to that kind of environment!"

Videl hurried to express the real means of the case. "Father, I'm not joining their army... at least, not really. But Gohan is going to search for someone, and I won't let him go alone!"

"Gohan?" It took a moment for him to remember who that was. "Who would he be looking for that joining an alien army is so important? Are you sure that you want to follow a guy like that?"

"He's going so that he might find that green guy that you say looks like that demon king--" (Satan shuddered to these words) "-They're best friends. He trained Gohan to fight, and he was apparently acting really weird before he left, so Gohan's worried about him. I don't know him that well, but I want to be with Gohan incase something happens."

"The last place that I want you to be is a dangerous place where that boy might fail! You haven't thought this through! You might get killed while helping to get that creepy Demon guy. Your life is not worth retrieving that weird alien, and I won't allow you to go."

"But--"

"No 'but's!"

"Father! You're not being reasonable! I want to go because Gohan might die over there! It doesn't have to do with me getting his friend back; it has to do with me being able to help him and to not just watch him leave and never see him again."

"What does that matter? Don't they have those 'dragonpearls' or whatever that can give wishes? Isn't that how everyone came back to life? If that isn't how, then I'd really like to know." He was quite serious; he never really understood what happened.

"I don't know. They said that they can't grant wishes that far, and if Gohan dies over there... I--" Her voice suddenly became softer. "I can't do anything about it..."

Satan looked upon his daughter solemnly for a moment then lowered his head and spoke in an equally as soft voice. "Very well. It's not like I can stop you anymore. You've become a grown woman, so..." He turned from her towards the dojo wall. "At least promise me that you'll be careful." He thought for a moment. "Perhaps you should take Buu with you?" Turning his head towards her, he saw her discontent with his last comment broadly displayed on her face.

"It's a bit too long of a journey to let him hang around, Father..." Her brow twitched slightly.

----- !! # !! -----

It was a difficult week. Goten and Trunks begged to the point of being grand annoyances to go, and Vegita was only interested in going for training purposes (but he would not be convinced to stay, and Bulma would not be convinced to let him go). Marron would certainly be left behind if #18 and Kuririn chose to go. And, of course, someone had to stay behind to protect their home while they were gone. But, amazingly, everyone came to a conclusion before the week was over.

They decided on 7 people to go: Goku, Gohan, Vegita, Videl, Chi-chi, Bulma, and Kuririn. The Saiya-jin kids were to be left under the care of their grandparents, and #18 would stay behind with Marron. The other fighters (Yamcha, Buu, Tenshinhan, Chouzu) were informed and asked to help hold down the fort. This was all revealed in a little get-together they had before shoving their luggage into the cargo. Goodbyes were said before they went into the ship and lifted off, nothing too unusual for the group, but the knowledge of what may come gave the valedictions a more of a sad tone than usual.

----- !! # !! -----

Twenty minutes after leaving the solar system, Vegita and Bulma were still staring each other down.

"You should have stayed home," Vegita said for the fifteenth time.

"Like I'm about to let you skip around another universe by yourself? It's my obligation as a scientist to go and observe it. You, however, only want to go because you think there are strong people there."

"So? Can I help it if Earth is boring? It's still a better reason than going to 'observe it.'"

"I have more than one reason, unlike you."

"Oh? Enlighten me on them. You didn't mention them before."

"You didn't ask before. You just kept telling me that I should go home because I'm weak. Baka."

"Hurry and spit it out!"

Her eyes rolled. "How do you think Piccolo got to their universe, hmm? Do you think that he used some magic Namekku-sei-jin thingy to teleport himself there?"

"Well, how else would he get there? It's not like he has a spaceship of his own."

She stood and pulled out her PDA from her pocket, then connected some odd little chip to the bottom of it and began to tap on the screen on the pen.

"Now what are you doing?"

She tapped and dragged some digital image across the screen. "I'm taking a look to see if the homing device can still send signals past that Red Stream."

"Homing device?" This seemed to wake Gohan up, who had resolved that studying would be more beneficial than listening to the couple.

"Piccolo actually does have a ship of his own, a Capsule Corp. one at that. He bought the best model from me several months ago. Payed in cash and everything."

This gained several responses from those who knew Piccolo:

"You gave him a ship?"

"He owns money?"

"Why the Hell did you agree to that?!"

"Was he acting really odd at the time?"

"Did you notice anything strange about him?"

"Where did he manage to get that money? Did he rob a bank or something?!"

It continued thusly until Bulma hushed them and asked if she could finally check on the homing device. When there wasn't a complaint, she worked with the screen again and blinked. "I have a signal. It's not very strong or definite, but it's definitely there."

"That means that you know where he is, right?" Goku looked over her shoulder.

"Wait a sec... I need to check something..." The device beeped a few times. "Most of the ship's information isn't coming in, but it looks like the ship might be damaged and has been inactive for a while. There's a good chance that it was in too much disrepair and that he abandoned it."

Kuririn pulled back his shoulders in a tension. "So, he's stuck in that universe?"

"I'm not sure..." she said, "the lack of information might be due to the interference of the ionic storms." She turned off the PDA and put it back in her pocket. "I'll check it again after we cross."

I think that the pictures on the OC art site are broken right now; I'm too lazy to check and/or fix them right now. Plus, work. Behind on Latin: only on chapter 40, class is at 47. Lovely.
Oh, and about the OC art, don't expect anymore for a while for the same reason. I've barely drawn at all since I came to college.