"Why that no good, two timing JACKASS!" Bulma screamed in absolute rage as she stormed down the streets of West City to Capsule Corp. The blue haired genius billionaire was practically glowing in rage causing everyone to clear a path for her. Everyone sensed that messing with her would not be a good idea. A few people wondered just who had enraged Bulma so and an even smaller subset wanted to know when the poor fool's funeral was scheduled.

Bulma didn't care about the scene she was raising. She didn't care that her 'rampage' back to Capsule Corp was being filmed and would be the star attraction of Celebrity Rage TV that night. All that mattered to Bulma was the scene she had witnessed back at the West City Kame Dojo ten minutes ago.

Things had been going so well for Bulma ever since the 23 Tenkaichi Budokai. True, she had been worried when Goku mysteriously disappeared, but that ended when Goku showed up a week later with his new wife and fellow deity Annin. Who could have imagined that the little kid she met all those years ago would become the god of the planet? Shock aside, Bulma was happy for Goku and how things were going for the saiyan. Little three year old Gohan was such a cutie.

Capsule Corp. had been making out like a bandit in the past couple of years thanks to Goku. The product endorsements the now three-time world champion occasionally gave were extremely helpful. However, the real help Goku provided was the technology he gave to Bulma. Most of it wasn't economically viable yet, but some parts were extremely helpful allowing CC Lunar Ring Mining to become a major success.

As far as Bulma had been concern, her father's business success had been the icing on top of a wonderful cake. She had been able to pursue her studies into Ki when she wasn't needed to help with a side project dealing in Saiyan technology. Her last two papers on Ki and its properties were shaking up the scientific establishment. Academics had been scratching their heads to explain King Piccolo and the feats recorded at the Tenkaichi Budokais until she started to explain things in ways they couldn't deny.

However, none of that mattered to Bulma after what she had just seen mere minutes ago. She had left her lab early to go meet up with Yamcha for a surprise date. The two of them hadn't had much time together in the past month. Between her science conferences and his new classes at the dojo they had barely gotten the chance to talk with each other. Bulma had figured that the two of them could go out tonight as a surprise treat to celebrate how well the dojo was doing.

Unfortunately, the surprise was on her when she spotted Yamcha kissing one of his students. Bulma had watched for a few seconds praying to Goku and Annin that it had been the student kissing Yamcha and not the other way around. The divine couple wasn't able to answer Bulma's prayer as Yamcha quickly resumed the kiss after the duo paused to breath.

Bulma had finally reached Capsule Corp and quickly headed towards her suit. Once Bulma got there, she quickly flung herself onto her bed and cried. Why the hell was this happening to her? Wasn't she smart, beautiful (voted sexiest unmarried woman in the world three times in a row), and understanding? So what the hell was running through Yamcha's apparently brain dead mind?

It took Bulma over an hour of crying and constantly asking what had gone wrong before she was able to calm down enough to think. Once she did that, the genius quickly decided that she needed to get out of West City. Being here and constantly reminded about what she had seen would drive her crazy. But, where could she go?

Suddenly, the proverbial light bulb turned on. Bulma quickly pulled out her phone and selected one of her contacts. The phone rang for a few times until it was picked up. Bulma then heard a now familiar voice come across the phone. "Hello, this is the Son residence with Annin Son speaking. Will you please state who you are and why you are calling?"

Very quickly, the genius responded. "Hi Annin, its Bulma something just happened with Yamcha and I need to talk with you."

"Oh no, is everything okay?"

"Nothing's okay Annin, I saw the jackass cheating on me an hour ago with one of his students!"

Annin's voice got an edge to it as she growled out her response. "I can't believe that he went and cheated on you. Yamcha always seemed like such a decent guy. Should I send Goku to go 'spar' with Yamcha, blow up his apartment, or throw him into an underground gay SM bar?"

In spite of the situation, a small smirk appeared on Bulma's face. "As tempting as the offer sounds Annin, I was wondering if it would be okay if I visited you guys. Right now, I just need to get out of here and clear my head."

Barely giving it a thought, Annin gave Bulma her answer. "Of course you can come over. I'll have Goku get you at Korin's. Its better you be with friends right now than on your own. Besides, Gohan wants to see you anyway."

Out in the wastelands, Piccolo was floating by a waterfall meditating. His mind returned to the events of the 24 Tenkaichi Budokai almost a year ago. Once again, Piccolo had entered the tournament hoping to fight Goku and prove that he was stronger. This time, almost none of Goku's associates had entered which actually made the tournament rather boring. He and Goku were simply in a league of their own; fitting really since he was the Prince of Demons and Goku was Earth's new god.

However, the result was the same as last time: Goku pulled out a victory after being slightly stronger. Where had Goku learned that Kaio-Ken technique he used on that last reversal? Goku claimed it was a wedding present from King Kai, but that didn't make any sense. None of the Afterlife spirits he had contacted at great expense knew about King Kai using such a powerful technique. About the only solid lead he did have was that one ogre who claimed that King Kai had supposedly created the Kaio-Ken technique, but had never been able to use it himself. That made no sense because what kind of joker would give someone a technique which they can't use themselves?

Piccolo's brow scrunched up as he once again tried to grabble with the central issue of his short life: beating Goku. He had stopped trying to avenge his father after the 23 Tenkaichi Budokai, but he still wanted to beat Goku. Why had he been excited at the prospect of fighting Goku again at the tournament, but only at the tournament? What made the thought of simply beating Goku in a private duel leave a bitter taste in his mouth? These were the questions Piccolo was trying to answer.

Being so deep in thought, Piccolo was almost completely ignoring his surroundings. This normally wasn't a problem since humans always avoided the 'devil plains' as his usual stomping ground was known in the nearest settlements. Without warning, a ki blast came out of nowhere and slammed into Piccolo's side. Before Piccolo could brace himself for the first blast, a second blast came from the opposite side and hit Piccolo.

Piccolo crawled out of the explosion covered in his purple blood. The namekian quickly tried to power up; quite a tricky thing given the damage the unsuspected preemptive strike caused him. However, Piccolo was shocked when he sensed two powers near his own. It didn't make any sense. The only people with this kind of power were Goku and Annin. But, it couldn't be them because Annin wasn't that strong and neither would attack him like this.

This momentary confusion gave Piccolo's unnamed attackers the chance to get behind the Namek and kick his head. Piccolo fell to the ground unconscious leaving the two figures standing over him smirking in triumph.

One of the figures leaned down and slammed his fist into Piccolo's back. The attacker darkly chuckled and replied, "That was for all my cousins you killed Escar! You know what they say, payback is a bitch and she'll beat you when you least expect it."

While the speaker was grinding Piccolo's face into the ground with his boot, the other attacker leaned in to exam Piccolo better. This attacker blinked his eyes and then looked at his companion. "Hey Vinegar, I think we got the wrong guy."

Vinegar turned his head and shouted, "Are you out of your mind Spice? This clearly is Escar. In case you've forgotten after being sealed for so long, the only being on this planet that is green, has antennas, and bleeds purple is Escar. Thus, this person has to be the damned bastard who sealed us and Master Garlic away."

Spice replied, "Used your brain for once Vinegar. Escar should be a shriveled up and wrinkly old slug by now. It has been over three hundred years since we were imprisoned. This guy's simply too young to be Escar."

Vinegar glanced at the commander of the Spice Boys and scratched his head. "Uh yah, I see what you're saying now. What are we going to do about this freak then? Master Garlic told us to bring back Escar's bloody and broken body so he could kill the slug himself."

Without much of a care, Spice first kicked Piccolo into the air and then kicked him into a nearby mountain. The blue warrior quickly launched four beams of energy which promptly pierced Piccolo's limbs and then turned into spears embedded in the mountain. Spice smirked at his handy work. "It's simple Vinegar; we'll leave Escar's lookalike here to die. He's probably connected to the old slug in some way and the sight of him like this ought to throw Escar off his game. Now, let's continue to scout things out to see what opposition awaits us as Master Garlic becomes the supreme ruler of this planet."

Gohan was in a meadow looking down at a fox hole trying to see if any foxes were in the hole. "Come out, come out little foxy. I just want to see you."

A raven haired girl walked over to the infant god and shook her head. "Are you sure you've got the right fox hole Gohan? I haven't seen any fox for a while."

Gohan pouted and replied, "I'm sure that there's a fox here Videl. The fox feels like its close by and we did see it around here yesterday."

Videl sighed and kicked a rock. Why wouldn't the fox just show up? She quickly grew bored with just standing in the field and wanted to do something. Unfortunately, Gohan was the only kid here at the training camp and he was bound and determined to see the fox. Sure, she could go play by herself, but that wasn't a lot of fun. It looked like it was time to pull out her trump card. "Hey Gohan, lets go get something to eat."

The young demi-saiyan's reaction was immediate as Gohan looked up from the fox hole. "That's a great idea Videl." Gohan quickly grabbed Videl's hand and practically dragged her away from the meadow like a rag doll as he raced for the snack table.

Gohan quickly reached the snack table and hurriedly grabbed a marshmallow the size of his head and stuck in on his tail. The little deity quickly positioned his tail over a campfire and grinned as the marshmallow started to warm up. There was a pole rising out of the bonfire Gohan was warming up his marshmallow with and one of Goku's new students was on the pole doing one finger pushups.

Mark Satan, better known by his stage name of Hercule, paused at his 1,000th pushup to shake his head. It was almost unbelievable that the little carefree kid below him was at least twice a strong as he was. Hell, he wouldn't have believed it himself if it wasn't for his emerging ki senses going nuts at the power sleeping in the boy.

Last year, Hercule had entered the 24 Tenkaichi Budokai hoping to win the tournament since he had been blazing through regional tournaments. However, his ambitions had stopped dead in their tracks when Goku made his surprising return to defend his championship title. Everyone in the martial arts world had thought that Goku had gone into retirement since really, what could a man do after he's beaten an ancient demon that seized control of the planet and became the first consecutive winner of the tournament?

Goku didn't really have his eye on the championship belt during the tournament. It had been for the contestants that Goku had gone. He had been observing the other contestants observing their skill and how they acted. At the end of the tournament, Earth's new deity had selected the 32 fighters with the best mix of skill and mentality to have the option of studying under him. Like most of the contestants, Hercule had eagerly accepted once Goku said he could bring his family with him.

Hercule thought that things had gone great since he accepted Goku's offer. He was learning skills that he had never thought were possible before. His wife Dominique was happy to be staying in one place where she could open up her shop and raise Videl. As for Videl, well, his little girl was having loads of fun with her playmate Gohan. Hercule then watched as Gohan walked away with the roasted marshmallow to quickly make a smoore. The little deity then broke the smoore in half giving one half to Videl.

As the two preschoolers ate their snack, Hercule resumed his exercise and Bulma pulled up in her airplane. Bulma stepped out of her airplane and quickly put it back in the capsule. She then walked over to Gohan who was finishing up the last bite of his smoore. "Hey kiddo, it's great to see you again."

Gohan blinked his eyes for a second and then his face broke out into a giant smile. "Auntie Bulma, you came for a visit!" Gohan shot up and rushed at Bulma to go into a tackle hug. Naturally, the force of Gohan's hug knocked Bulma to the ground.

"Easy there Gohan, I'm not as strong as you." Bulma cheerfully said as she returned Gohan's hug. After a minute or so of hugging Gohan, Bulma gently coaxed him off of her lap. She then stood up and said, "Hey Gohan. Could you be a big boy and let your parents know that I've come over for a visit?"

The three year old half saiyan nodded his head and then rushed off to Korin's Tower. Before Bulma had a chance to blink, her eyes caught a tiny blur zooming up the tower like a bullet from a gun. "Wow," Bulma muttered as she watched Gohan run out of sight. "The kid's really gotten fast!"

A few minutes later, Goku flew down from sky with Gohan riding his back. Goku did a few rolls for Gohan's enjoyment and then landed next to Bulma. The blue haired genius watched with a bit of jealousy as Goku let Gohan down and then told him about some rabbits in a nearby meadow that the little boy could watch. Seeing Goku and his son having a tender moment only rubbed in her relationship problems.

Once Gohan left to see the rabbits, Goku turned and looked at Bulma with a more serious and concerned face. "What's wrong Bulma? Annin told me that you were coming over because you needed to be with some friends because something came up."

Bulma's face darkened as she clenched her fists. "What's wrong Goku? I'll tell you what's wrong, what's wrong is that I go to Yamcha's dojo hoping to go on a surprise date only to find him having a make-out session with one of his students! I had everything set! I rearrange three different meetings so I could have the evening off, booked the best restaurant in West City, and he goes and cheats on me."

Goku quickly gave Bulma a hug as she started crying. Unseen by Bulma, Goku's eyes narrowed and his face hardened. At Goku's command, a cloud above West City darkened and launched a massive thunderbolt. The thunderbolt hit Yamcha and shocked him until Bulma stopped crying a few minutes later. Once Bulma stopped crying, Goku picked her up and flew her to the Lookout so that she could spend some time with him and Annin.

Kami was sitting in front of his side temple sipping some tea as Goku and Bulma came to the lookout. The former god of Earth watched as his successor lead the genius into the main temple where Annin was currently at preparing Gohan's afternoon snack. It wasn't that odd to see a mortal up on the lookout these days. Goku usually brought a few of his disciples up here every couple of days for some individual training.

Overall, Kami was enjoying the past four years since he started retirement. Goku was doing a wonderful job as Earth's god just like he thought the Saiyan would do. The new deity's marriage to Annin was going great which meant that Kami didn't have to hear any arguments. Finally, Gohan was such a joy to be around and it was great to just be 'Grandpa K' to the little guy.

Mr. Popo came around with a fresh teapot and a smile a few minutes after Goku and Bulma entered the main temple. "Would you like me to refresh your drink Kami?"

The old god smiled and said, "Certainly Mr. Popo." He then held out his cup to be refilled. Just before Mr. Popo could refill the cup, Kami dropped his cup and clutched his chest in pain.

The ancient genie's eyes widened in fear as Kami cringed in pain. "Oh no Kami, what is wrong?"

With labored breath Kami replied, "Something's wrong Mr. Popo. I think Piccolo's near death."

Mr. Popo immediately left Kami and raced for the main temple. If Kami was hurt because of his link with Piccolo than there was nothing he could do. However, there might be something that Goku or Annin could do. The genie quickly located Goku who was in the kitchen chatting with Bulma and Annin as the goddess put the finishing touches on Gohan's snack. "Goku," Mr. Popo cried out, "Kami's hurt. He says it's because Piccolo is close to death!"

Goku quickly turned to Annin and said, "I'll go check on Piccolo in the viewing fountain. If he's seriously hurt I'll bring him to Korin's for healing." With that, Goku left to check on his rival.

Bulma turned to Annin and asked, "Why is Goku so concerned about Piccolo? I mean, he seems more concerned about Piccolo's health than he is about the average person and Goku is concerned about almost everyone he meets."

Putting down the apple slicer in her hand, Annin smiled at Bulma. "Piccolo is important for many reasons. First, his life is linked with Kami so if one dies both die. If Kami dies, then the dragonballs are lost. Also, Piccolo has an important role to play in keeping everything in balance."

Bulma blinked her eyes in confusion. "Excuse me, Piccolo keeps everything balanced? I can understand why you'd want him around because of the dragonballs, but what does he have to do with balance? His father might have been a balance to Goku in that King Piccolo was a complete monster who slaughtered without a thought. The opposite of everything Goku is, but Piccolo just stays in his desert and challenges Goku at the Tenkaichi Budokai"

Picking up the tray with the snack on it Annin replied, "Piccolo brings balance as the 'hell champion' of Earth. He naturally brings order to the darker aspects of life such as crime, war, and the evil in men's hearts. That's not to say he causes people to be evil, but rather he provides limits on the amount of negative influences in an area. Without the hell champion, the balance between good and evil would be broken. Random areas would become cesspools of corruption with possible gateways into Hell itself. Other areas would become peaceful paradises as all 'evil' leaves these spots. Only, those areas would quickly be destroyed by the beings that would reside in the corrupted zones. Even if Goku and I dedicated all our efforts to regulating the negative energies, we still couldn't do as good a job as Piccolo naturally does."

It was all rather fascinating to Bulma for her to hear the workings of the cosmos explained by Annin. However, something really bugged her. "You mean to tell me that Earth needs a Devil to have life as well as a God?"

Annin turned to Mr. Popo and said, "Would you please go get Gohan so he can have his snack? I'll be giving it to him in the nursery." She then turned to Bulma and said, "Walk with me and I'll explain." The two women then left the kitchen while Annin continued her conversation. "Earth does not need a 'devil' Bulma. The cycles that maintain life are handled just find by the planetary deity. However, sentient life adds an enormous amount of complexity to the systems that my husband maintains simply by being in his position. Having such vast numbers of people with so many different outlooks like the Earth has makes things even more complicated. As a whole, Earth's systems are so complex that errors can occur even with a good deity. The hell champion acts as an extra regulator to help maintain some systems so that the whole web of cycles is in better condition."

"Unlike a planetary deity, hell champions don't have to have a pure heart. They also aren't associated with any pantheon or grouping as they are typically loners. In fact, the name 'hell champion' came about because they typically come from the darker sides of society due to their position. Some have been complete monsters, but there is a wide spectrum of hell champions. Some have even been considered heroes, but not nearly as clean as most heroes are."

Annin finished her explanation just as they reached the nursery. Bulma opened the door for Annin who then walked over to Gohan's desk and set the tray down. Mr. Popo then came into the nursery with the little god at his side. Gohan quickly gave his mother a hug and then sat down for his snack.

While Gohan was blissfully having his snack, Goku was flying towards Korin Tower with Piccolo slung over his shoulder. It was a good thing that Goku always had a senzu on hand just in case or Piccolo would be dead by now. The god's eyes darkened as he thought of the condition he had found Piccolo in. Whoever had attacked Piccolo had a sadistic side that Goku hadn't seen in a long time. That was not what he needed: some new powerful person who obviously wasn't up to any good.

Coming in sight of the tower, Goku flew up to Korin's hermitage where Korin and Upa were waiting for him. He quickly moved through the hermitage's large windows and gently set Piccolo down on the ground. Korin rushed over and examined the downed Prince of Demons. "Well, I never thought I'd see the day when I'd have Piccolo resting in my house."

Goku chuckled at Korin's remark. "Sorry, but I thought it would be better to bring Piccolo here then back to the lookout. Even given the situation, I don't think Kami and Annin would want him there; especially since Gohan's getting ready for his nap."

Upa got a small smirk on his face when Goku said that. "You're right, it probably is better for you to have brought Piccolo here. I'll go inform the students about our unexpected guest. Is there anything else I should inform them about?"

Goku closed his eyes for a second as he thought about the situation. "Tell them all to go to the tribe's village and keep watch. They're not to engage any powerful challengers that might come, but are to focus on keeping the villagers safe. Tell them to prepare the village for evacuation just in case. Someone out there nearly killed Piccolo; none of them are ready for a threat like that yet."

The young man nodded his head and then flew out of the building. Korin then turned to Goku and said, "I don't like the looks of this. If Piccolo was truly beaten as bad as you say, then I fear this new enemy could be stronger than you, Goku. I can only hope that Piccolo can and will be willing to reveal some trick by which he was overpowered."

Trying to reassure his friend and teacher, Goku smiled at Korin. "Hey, don't forget that I have the Kaio-Ken. With it I can become twice a powerful as I usually am and I'm already a little stronger than Piccolo. If that fails, I still have my Oozaru state as a backup."

Korin relaxed a bit when he heard Goku bring those facts up. "Yes, you're right that Piccolo's defeat doesn't mean were out for the count yet."

Goku just smiled at Korin and replied, "True, but it is good that you're looking into the seriousness of this situation. At least one of us needs to look at the worse case scenario so that we all know what could happen. I just wish we could have some information on what this threat is after."

The white cat nodded his head, "As do I Goku, as do I."

On a lonely island was a small cave which led to a massive stone chamber underneath the water. The chamber was ornamented with scenes of brutality and demonic looking figures. In the middle of it all, was a black stone throne which Garlic Jr. sat on looking at his surviving minions the spice boys. Spice and Vinegar were returning from their mission while Mustard and Salt were standing on both sides of the throne. Spice and Vinegar bowed to Garlic and Spice said, "Master Garlic, we've returned from scouting Earth."

Garlic nodded his head and replied, "Report on what you found Spice."

Spice stood up and gave his report. "We detected several individuals with a great deal of power, although their powers were only a fraction of ours. These individuals were surrounded by many individuals with minor amounts of power. No doubt these individuals are students or servants of the ones with greater power. The minor powered humans are no threat to us, but might provide good sport compared to the regular weaklings."

"Vinegar and I did find one individual whose power rivaled our own. We used a surprise attack to eliminate him as a possible threat. He bore a great deal of resemblance to Escar so I pinned his body up as a warning to the old slug. As we didn't detect Escar, I can only assume that he is currently hiding in your future palace Master Garlic."

A scowl crossed Garlic Jr.'s face as he muttered, "Escar. I've waited so long to kill that damned slug for what he did to me. He took everything from me, my lands, my empire, my army, and my rightful position as master of this planet! He took all that from me and then trapped me in that accursed tomb to rub my defeat in my face for all eternity. Well, I've shown him by escaping. That fool must have never found out about the Makyo Star and the power that it grants us."

Garlic Jr. stood up and hopped off of his throne and onto the floor. "Spice Boys, come with me. It's time we started setting this planet into its proper order, my order. We're going to take the Lookout which is rightfully mine. Once that is done, this planet will be covered in darkness as I use the Makyo Star's power to breech dimensions and allow our kin to return to Earth from Hell!"

Author's notes: I actually was able to find my muse for this story and convinced, read groveled at her feet, her to return. For the foreseeable future, I'll be alternating between this story and my newest one Heirs of Earth.