Mirai awoke to two four year olds jumping up and down on his stomach. It wasn't a particularly pleasant way to start the morning, but it was better than ice water. He groaned and one of them landed hard. "I'm up." To prove this, he sat up.
He watched as the twins smiled happily at this but continued jumping on the bed. It was a lot easier waking him up than Gohan. Maybe he was scared we'd go get Trunks.
That was not, of course, the reason he awoke so easily. He actually wanted to get a good spar in before school...Damn, he growled in his head, today's the day they were visiting Capsule Corp. He checked the clock, 5:00. How do they get up so early? Sighing, he walked to his closet to get his training gi. "Guys, can you go tell Gohan to meet me in the gravity room for a spar?"
"Sure!" they chirped together. Mirai watched them go. Huh, they're not so bad when Trunks isn't around. Maybe he, that's to say I, is a bad influence on them.
~ # ~
Several minutes later, Mirai and Gohan walked out of the GR after their morning spar. They weren't beaten up because they had decided against going full-out. The Terrors walked out happily behind them. They had decided to spar too, and had followed their brothers' example and taken it easy.
They then went where all saiyans do after a spar, especially one they hadn't eaten before, the kitchen. They found a giant mountain of food waiting for them and attacked it immediately. Bulma, who had already eaten, watched the spectacle with slight amusement. No matter how much they ate, whenever food was in front of them it was as if they had never even seen food.
She stood and left to find Vegeta. She had decided to go over the rules for the day that they, that is to say she, decided on. It wasn't long after that the demi-saiyans heard the loud argument that had erupted the second Bulma mentioned rules.
"I WILL NOT BE SUBJECTED TO SUCH DISRESPECT, WOMAN!" he yelled, making the five that were enjoying their breakfast flinch slightly. Vegeta thought that a prince having rules was disrespectful and as much as Trunks tried to turn that mentality in his favor, it didn't work.
"YES YOU WILL! UNLESS OF COURSE YOU WANT ME TO BE COOKING YOUR DINNER AND HAVE ME DISMANTLE THE GRAVITY ROOM AND BE SLEEPING ON THE COUCH FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!" they all covered their ears as Bulma's screams seemed to be loud enough the whole world could hear.
"YOUR THREATS DON'T SCARE ME, WOMAN!" Vegeta yelled, but they knew it was just to soothe his pride. With all that, especially his food (Bulma was a horrible cook), riding on his behavior, he would be good. Well, as good as can be expected, I mean it is Vegeta we're talking about.
The quintet finished their meal and sat for a moment with satisfied faces. They decided they might as well go do what Bulma had instructed them to the night before as Bulma only had to threaten to cook once for all the saiyans to behave.
~ # ~
Videl stood, arms crossed, glaring at nothing in particular. She wanted answers from Mirai and Gohan and she was going to get them...The only problem was they hadn't turned in their permission slips and couldn't go. Videl was lost in her own thoughts so she didn't notice Erasa running up next to her.
"Videl! Videl! Videl!" she yelled.
"What is it, Erasa?"
"Well, Sharpie and I were talking and we think we might have figured something out!" she squealed.
Videl looked at Sharpner, who she now noticed was behind Erasa, and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, Videl. I think we may have figured out what's so familiar about their names."
Videl immediately perked up, that one mean one mystery at least partially solved. "Well then, tell me."
"Well, Mirai's name is Mirai Briefs. You know, like Bulma Briefs. And Mrs. Briefs just announced at an interview a few weeks ago that her eldest son, Mirai, who had gone to a boarding school to 'avoid being harassed by reporters', had returned and was living with them again. Of course, she still wouldn't talk about the three other kids that have been seen around her house." Erasa pouted a little. She thought the older boy was really cute, but had no idea who he was and had never even seen his face.
"Did you figure out why Gohan's name sounded familiar?"
"Well, no not his first name, but his last name." Sharpner replied. "His last name is Son, right? As in Goku Son, the famous martial artist. You know, the one that won the World Martial Arts Tournament before your dad. Considering the way nerd-boy fights, he might even be related to Goku."
"Goku? As in the man Dad calls a trickster all the time? That Goku Son? Why hadn't I thought of that?"
"Well, we didn't exactly think of it. We figured out they had the same name accidentally. See, Sharpie was watching an old martial arts video and I was talking to him about Gohan and Sharpie suddenly stopped the video and looked at me. And then he said, 'what's nerd-boy's last name?' so I told him it was Son and then he made the connection."
Videl shook her head at her friend as the teacher started doing the roll call for the field trip. A couple of minutes later, they were on the bus and headed to Capsule Corp.
Ten minutes later, the bus pulled up in front of Capsule Corp. All the students on the right side (facing the front; this side was facing CC) of the bus pushed closer to their windows to get a good look at the family.
Four people stood in front of the dome-shaped building that was Capsule Corp. Videl examined each person, starting from the left of the line. First was Mrs. Briefs (Bulma's mom), a tall, ditzy-looking blonde with a sweet smile and blue eyes. She wore a long, pink dress and white earrings. Next was Dr. Briefs. He's shorter than his wife with pale blue hair and a white mustache. He wore a long, white lab coat with a blue shirt and black pants underneath. Perched on his shoulder was a black cat with big eyes.
Next was Bulma Briefs. She had short, blue hair in a professional-looking cut and blue eyes. She had on a red dress that came almost to her knees and a yellow scarf tied around he neck. Gold hoop earrings hung from her ears as she smiled happily at the buses.
The last person on the lawn was Mr. Briefs. Videl studied this man even more closely because very little was known about him. And in that very little was that he' a temperamental maniac that would kill you as soon as look at you. He stood scowling at the buses with his arms were crossed over his chest. He had long, black hair that spiked up like fire but Videl couldn't see any hair gel reflecting in the sunlight. He was wearing a pair of black slacks and a white button-up shirt but looked uncomfortable in it, like he would rather be in a training gi or something similar.
Everyone unloaded the bus and Videl pushed her way to the front. She watched Mr. Briefs cautiously to make sure he didn't do anything he shouldn't. Bulma Briefs opened her arms in a welcoming gesture.
"Welcome to our home, everyone." She called out just loud enough for all the students to hear. "My name is Bulma Briefs, and this is most of my family. Starting over on your far left is my mother, Bunny (I read somewhere that this is her name) and beside her is my father, Dr. Briefs. To my right here is my husband Vegeta. He's not much of a social person so don't be offended if he ignores you. My sons, godsons, and goddaughter are in the house and I'll introduce you as we get to them. I've asked them to get ready for some demonstrations. Now, if you'll follow me we can begin the tour."
When she said that, Dr. and Mrs. Briefs left to go do whatever it is they do and Mr. Briefs (remember we are in Videl's head) stalked into the house. Bulma Briefs just shrugged and watched him go. Videl could have sworn she heard the scientist mutter, "At least he didn't kill anyone."
As they walked into the house, Bulma perked up and smiled brightly. "This is the front lobby, there's not much to see just a few door and a few paintings."
A robot rolled into the room and looked up at her. "Bulma," it said in a mechanical voice, "is there anything you need?"
"Tell the twins we'll be in there any minute, but nothing else." She instructed it. "And robots," she added, directed to the class. A couple of people snickered but there was no other response. "Now, follow me to the nature dome."
"Is that where we'll meet these twins?" asked a girl from somewhere along the front.
"No, sweety. The twins will be in the room after the nature dome." A few people sighed. Videl guessed that the guys were hoping these twins would be cute girls and the girls were hoping they'd be cute guys.
Bulma turned and led the group to the end of the hall where a massive door on the far wall. She typed a code into the computer and the door opened. They all walked in to a beautiful sight.
Videl stared in amazement at everything she could see. Lush, green grass and giant trees of all kinds. There was a stream going through the middle of the room that had clear blue water that flowed with a calming sound. The room was full of wonderful smells and Videl could even hear wind blowing and saw the trees move as if caught in a light wind. As Videl looked closer, she noticed several species of animals in the trees and fishes in the stream and insects. It was just like they had walked outside and to a forest just by stepping through the door.
"Now!" announced Bulma, bringing the attention back to her. "My father originally built this room to study several different types of wildlife. This is only one section of the whole room and, trust me on this, the room is so big that you will get lost if you come in here without someone who knows their way around. The weather is adjustable to see how certain creatures will react to each weather change. I'm not going to change it just now as my father is probably in here somewhere studying the creatures. Now, to the next room."
Bulma turned and walked back out of the room. When all the students had exited, the door closed behind them. Bulma continued down the hall and opened a blue door that said 'Mind Viewing'. Videl was confused, what in the world could that mean?
She nudged Sharpner and Erasa as they walked down a dark hallway that was on the other side of the door. "What do you think 'Mind Viewing' means?"
"What? Where did you see that?" Erasa asked, confused.
"It was on the door. What do you think it could mean?" Videl frowned, she didn't like not knowing.
"Probably something weird. I mean we are in Capsule Corp." Sharpner responded. Videl shot him a glare that he couldn't see but said nothing because they had arrived at the end of the hallway.
Bulma had stopped and turned around in front of the archway. "You are about to enter the Mind Viewing room. The twins are going to demonstrate how it works with a mind game their brother taught them. I will have them explain the game to you because I honestly don't know much about it. After they show you how it works, anyone who wants to try can."
She smiled and led us into a large room that looked like an i-max (?) movie theater. The seats were arranged facing the front of the room and the screen expanded along all of the walls and the ceiling. In the center of the room there were no seats, instead a large platform sat with two little kids standing on it. Videl couldn't discern any features on either child but they were facing each other and seemed to be arguing quietly.
"Goten! Gosen!" Bulma called to the two kids and they immediately jumped at the noise and turned.
"Hey Aunt Bulma!" two voices sang out. It sounded like a boy and a girl. They hopped off the platform and came running toward the group. Videl was impressed, these two were fast. "Hello!" Videl looked down at the two kids. They wore large, goofy grins and had laughter in their eyes.
As Videl examined them, she notice they were a boy and a girl. They looked familiar and it took a moment for Videl to place them. Goten and Gosen, Gohan's brother and sister. She noticed that both of their hairstyles were the same as they had been on Monday but they were dressed differently. Both wore orange gis with a symbol Videl could swear she had seen before, but had no idea where. They both wore long sleeved shirts that matched their wristbands, belts, and boots. The color was the only difference; Goten's were dark blue and Gosen's were dark purple. Both sets of boots had lines of orange along the sides.
"I'm Goten!" Goten sang.
"I'm Gosen!" Gosen sang.
"Okay you two, explain what you're about to do so we can get started."
"Okay!" Goten started and his sister sighed. "We're going to do image training!" Everyone waited for a moment for him to continue, but he didn't.
"Sorry about Goten." Gosen said in an exasperated voice, shooting a glare at her brother. "I don't think he understands what Aunt Bulma meant by explain." She turned to the group with a smile. "Like he said, we're going to do something called image training. It's a game that you have to have a strong mind link to play. That's why Aunt Bulma told us to show you." When everyone looked at her with confused faces, she looked to Bulma with one as well. "Aunt Bulma, why do they look so confused?"
Bulma turned to them and spoke in a calm voice, "They're twins so they were born with a very strong mental link."
The class nodded in understanding and looked back at Gosen. She smiled, "Yep, twins have a real strong mental link, but you don't have to have a twin to play. Or only play with your twin. Close family members usually work and so do really close friends." (this is something Gosen had made up because Bulma told her that normal people didn't believe in telepathic abilities. Meaning anyone in the DBZ universe can do it with anyone else that knew how.)
"Like Nii-chan and Mirai!" Goten sang.
"Nii-chan?" Erasa bubbled. "Is that your brother's name?"
Both kids looked at her like she was an idiot. Neither spoke up to explain, they just stared at Erasa as if shocked by her stupidity. Videl wasn't sure why they stared at Erasa like that, it was a valid question. Except she knew their brother was Gohan and Erasa did too but Erasa didn't seem to remember.
"No, sweety," Bulma answered her. "Nii-chan means big brother. Their older brother's name is Gohan."
Whispers broke out among the students and Gosen tried to reclaim their attention for a moment. Her attempts failed miserably. She glared at them and Goten's eyes widened before he covered his ears. "HUSH! I AM TRYING TO FINISH EXPLAINING SO WE CAN SHOW YOU HOW IT WORKS!" She shouted at them. Videl, along with her classmates, covered her ears and flinched. Gosen sure could yell. She smiled happily up at them when they shut up. "Thank you. Now when we get on that platform over there," she pointed to the platform that they had been on when the class walked in, "and put on the monitors, we'll start the game. The monitors are metal headband-looking things with antennae on either side. They're what make the image in our heads appear on the screen. That's it." She smiled happily before turning around and skipping toward the platform.
Bulma smiled and shook her head. "Gosen can act just like Chichi sometimes even though she never met her."
"Who's Chichi?" Videl asked, walking next to Bulma.
"Chichi was their mother; she died giving birth to the twins. She was one of my closest friends." She smiled at the thought. "Sometimes it was like she had a little switch in her head that changed her emotions so fast you barely had time to adjust, but she was one of the nicest people you could ever meet." She sat down in one of the seats and Videl sat next to her.
"So who taught them how to fight? We've been doing a martial arts unit in gym and they're the best in the class."
She smiled sympathetically at Videl. "You'll have to get Gohan to tell you. It's not my business to share what he may consider a secret. Besides, it's time to watch the image training." Bulma tilted her chair back and looked up at the screen.
The next hour, Videl sat entranced by what she saw on the screen. She wondered if those kids could fight like that in real life, but she doubted it. There was no way two kids could fight that well and that long. She wondered how they did it, she wanted to know how to do image training because it looked fun. The fight seemed to be coming to a close and both seemed to be tiring out.
Goten jumped back after a long round of trading punches and kicks and landed several feet away, breathing heavily. "What? You're not getting tired already, are you Goten?" Gosen taunted, but Videl could see that she was just as exhausted.
"No!" he yelled back between pants. He moved into a stance that seemed vaguely familiar to Videl, like she'd seen it somewhere before. Gosen immediately moved into the same pose.
Their arms were held out straight in front of them, heels of their hands together with their palms facing their opponent and fingers bent a little like they were holding a ball. "KA...ME..." they pulled their arms back to their right side until their palms were facing behind them. Blue balls of light formed in their palms. "HA...ME..." the balls of light got bigger. "HA!" they thrust their arms forward and the blue balls turned to blue beams that collided in the middle of the screen. When they collided, an explosion resulted that was so bright Videl had to squint to continue watching.
The two beams fought back and forth but seemed equally matched. Gosen let out a powerful roar and her beam started moving closer to Goten. Goten let out a roar as well and pushed her beam back. Both kept pushing as much power as they could and soon Goten's was rapidly pushing Gosen's back. When Goten's beam had almost completely consumed Gosen's, she pulled back from it and tried to block off as much as possible. Within seconds, she was consumed by the blast. The second his beam had engulfed Gosen, Goten collapsed from exhaustion.
~ # ~
Back in the real world, Gosen fell backwards and caught herself with her arms. She was panting heavily and looked like she was barely able to hold herself up. Goten was panting but grinning broadly. "I...win...I...win...I...win," he panted.
"Don't...rub...itin," Gosen panted back.
Bulma walked up to them with a smile. "That was a good show guys. Mom should have a snack ready—" They took off, exhaustion gone at the mention of food. She sighed before addressing the group. "Okay everyone! If anyone wants to show something from their minds, feel free to step forward but remember to keep your concentration focused only on what you want to show, because the machine will show all objects of your focus." No one stepped forward. "No one? Oh well, I didn't really expect someone to step forward." She tapped a place on the platform and a dying beep sounded, indicating that it was being cut off.
Chapter 4
Trunks typed some codes into one of the many machines that lined the walls of the arcade-like room. His mother called it the Skills Lab. Each machine tested a certain skill at a specified level and gave ideas on how to improve each individual skill. All of the fighters in the house had their own, individual code so they knew what skills were their strengths and what skills were their weaknesses but there was also a guest code that was for any of the Z Warriors that wanted to stop by and train.
He just finished punching in his code and was about to finally start on his favorite machine (he had been training on the skills he actually needed work in) when Bulma walked through the door. He looked over at her and his lip pouted out. "You have awful timing, Mom," he whined.
Bulma smiled at him. "Sorry, Trunks." Then she turned to the class behind her. "Okay everyone! Welcome to the Skills Lab! All the machines along these walls test a different fighting skill and tell you ways to improve. The demonstration in here will be done by my youngest son, Trunks." She glanced at the test he stood in front of before walking to the controls. "He's going to start with the strength test." She upped the sensitivity almost as high as it would go. "Okay, honey. Give it a try."
Trunks pulled his fist back and hit the cushioned sensor in front of him. (the machine looks just like the one used to determine the finalists in the tournament before Buu but is adjustable in height and has computer-like controls) The number screen starts to climb rapidly upwards, beeping along the way. "Right arm, 135." A computer voice announced. Trunks hit the sensor with his other fist and again the machine beeped its way up rapidly. "Left arm, 133." Trunks delivered a roundhouse kick to the sensor and the numbers climbed a third time. "Right leg, 140." Trunks delivered his final blow to the sensor and the numbers shot up a fourth and final time. "Left leg, 139. Suggestions: weight on left arm two pounds heavier than right, weight on left leg one pound heavier than right."
"I guess I shouldn't have lowered the sensitivity so much," Bulma said calmly as she examined the numbers. "But the suggestions won't change. So, who's next? Any volunteers?"
Before Videl could raise her hand, Sharpner stepped forward. "I'll go next," he announced arrogantly.
"Okay then. Let me fix the sensitivity to someone your age..." A few moments later she had changed from Trunks to Guest, set the sensitivity to something more suited for a normal human teenager, and rose the sensor so he could reach it better. "Okay, all set. Whenever you're ready."
Sharpner smirked. "What's the record on this thing?"
Bulma smiled. "I highly doubt you'll come anywhere near them but I'll let you know."
Just before Sharpner hit the sensor, a sweating Gohan in an orange gi walked into the room. "Oops, didn't know you guys were in here." He said, attracting everyone's attention. Most everyone gawked at him. They had seen him in a fighting gi in PE but he had a shirt on under it, now he didn't. The gi was a different on from his gym clothes as well, showing off much more of his chest. (I'd rather not describe it; it's the one identical to Piccolo's) Another surprising thing was the fact Gohan was covered in sweat; he had never sweated in PE.
"What are you doing in here, Gohan?" Trunks asked.
"I, uh, came to mark the tally board," he answered sheepishly.
Bulma glared at him. "Again?"
Gohan continued to smile sheepishly and shifted his weight. "Yeah."
Bulma sighed. "Go ahead then."
He walked over to one of the two whiteboards and picked up a black marker. Across the top it had the names Gohan, Gosen, Goten, Mirai, Trunks, Vegeta and down the left-hand side it said: SM, GR, Plates, Windows, RT. I wonder what all those letters mean, Videl thought as she examined the board. Gohan erased the number under his name and beside GR.
"I swear I'll fix it, Bulma." Gohan turned to her.
"Yeah, whatever. But you get to tell Vegeta that we have to use the other one."
Gohan's eyes widened slightly. Then he nodded. "Fair enough. Bye everyone!"
"Wait, nerd-boy!"
Gohan sighed. "What is it, Sharpner?"
"Let's see how well you score on this thing."
Gohan pointed to the other whiteboard. "My scores are on there."
"Yep, Gohan and Dad are neck and neck but Gohan goes easy on the machines since he broke so many." Trunks smiled evilly. Gohan glared at the boy.
"You better not tell your dad that. He's mad enough that I can keep up already." Then he turned and left the room, a decidedly evil grin on his face. I just found my way out of trouble, Trunks thought.
~ # ~
Gohan walked cautiously towards the main GR, Vegeta's GR. Hesitantly, he pushed the open button and waited for the light to turn green, signaling the gravity had returned to normal so the door would open. "WHAT DO YOU WANT KAKA-BRAT?" Vegeta yelled when the door had opened.
"I accidentally broke the other gravity room and Bulma was intending to use it for a demonstration."
Vegeta glared. "And?"
"And she said that since the other one was broken we would have to use this one." Vegeta glared dangerously at him.
"We're going to have a nice, long spar this evening, Kaka-brat. And I think I'll bring my brat into it as well." Vegeta walked out of the GR and toward his room, probably going to take a shower.
Gohan smiled. "Well," he told the air, "that went better than I'd hoped." He turned around happily and went to go tell Mirai the news.
~ # ~
Both boys stood, leaning against the gravity room. They didn't want to risk blowing this one up too and having Bulma furious and Videl asking questions...well, Gohan was worried about Videl asking questions.
Anyway, they stood against the gravity room, waiting. They could hear and sense the group of teenagers coming toward them. They sighed in unison. "Might as well get this over with." Gohan walked over and entered his code into the door but Mirai didn't move.
The door slid open without a noise and the lights in side flashed on. Gohan stepped in and walked to stand beside the controls as the door slid closed behind him. He could hear Bulma's voice sounding as she addressed the group. "Okay, here we are. This is my oldest son, Mirai, and he's going to tell you what's about to happen."
Mirai sighed and pushed off the GR. "This big thing behind me is called a gravity room. Though this is a bit redundant to say, it's a room that alters gravity." A hand shot up from the middle of a group of cheerleaders. "Yes?"
"What does redundant mean?" (A/N: sorry about the stereotype)
"Predictable. Now, Gohan is already inside as I lost and so got the unfortunate job of explaining this. What—"
"Lost what?" a voice shouted from somewhere in the crowd of teenagers.
"Paper, rock, scissors," he answered simply. "I want a show of hands of the people that want to experience advanced gravity." Several hands shot up. "Be warned, this can be dangerous because even 2 times Earth's gravity will put an enormous strain on an untrained body."
A few hands lowered, now only the bigger jocks (among them is Sharpner) and Videl still had their hands in the air. Mirai nodded, they had been warned. He walked to the keypad, typed in his code, and stood aside for the students with their hands raised to enter before walking in behind them.
"Okay!" Mirai addressed the group again. "Everyone lay down on your stomachs!" Everyone stared at him for a moment, not moving. He sighed. "I want you on your stomachs when the gravity is altered because Mom said that I had to make sure we had a low casualty count and when the gravity increases, most f you will hit the ground, hard. So, everyone on your stomach or out the door. Now!" All of them slowly laid down on their stomachs, most of them complaining.
Videl looked up at the two half-humans suspiciously. "Aren't you two going to lay down as well?"
"No." Gohan answered. "We're used to the immediate change in gravity, unlike all of you."
"Right," agreed Mirai. "Everyone, heads on the ground." The teenagers complied. "If you can't take the gravity, give us a shout and we'll get you out." Mirai chuckled slightly, an amused grin appearing on his face.
"Don't even, Mirai," Gohan scolded, shaking his head before increasing the gravity to 2gs.
"What? I was just—" Mirai cut off under Gohan's glare. "All right, I won't. Jeez Gohan."
Both teens turned their attention to the slightly panicky jocks that could hardly lift their heads off the floor. Smirking, they walked over to them and carried them from the room. Most of them were dragged out; only four remained (not counting the demis): Videl, Sharpner, Ricky, and Josh (Ricky and Josh are Sharpner's friends and in the Boxing Club). Mirai and Gohan watched in amusement as Ricky and Josh managed to get their torsos up before slamming into the ground and calling it quits.
Videl and Shapner, on the other hand, had made it to their knees, panting. Sharpner bent forward on to all fours and tried to catch his breath but Videl continued trying to stand. She lifted one of her knees and placed the bottom of her foot on the ground before moving her weight to that foot and pushing herself up. Sharpner, having caught his breath, decided to do the same.
Gohan moved closer to Videl, within arms length, as she started throwing a few punched at an imaginary opponent. Gohan examined her stance, it wasn't the one he'd seen at school the past two days. He wondered idly if one of the Terrors had adjusted it for her. Even so, there were still a few holes in her guard. He moved closer and corrected them gently.
Videl glared as Gohan corrected her stance. She hated the thought that he could be so much better than in her in both technique and strength. Technique was evident by how much more guarded she felt when he adjusted her movements, strength because it looked like he couldn't even feel this insane gravity.
"You're stance is different than it was at school." Not a question, a statement, but Videl felt the need to respond.
"Someone corrected it for me."
"Which one?"
Videl frowned, he seemed to have a good idea as to who fixed her stance. She found it a little embarrassing but answered. "The little girl...Gosen." Gohan merely nodded, as if it made perfect sense.
Flashback
The two kids from the first room ran in the room and straight to Bulma. "Perfect timing. Trunks doesn't want to demonstrate the speed test, would one of you care to?"
"I will!" the little girl cheered, jumping up and down with her hand in the air.
Bulma laughed at the girl's antics but the little lavender haired boy called Trunks rolled his eyes. Before the boy could say the insult that was sure to follow, Bulma spoke up. "Go ahead sweety."
The little girl beamed before jumping in front of the machine and landing in a stance that looked too perfect to belong to a four year old. Videl figured she probably couldn't use the stance to its obvious potential but boy was she wrong. She watched as the machine shot out so many balls, she couldn't count them. Each of the balls beeped to give away its location and probably confuse the tester too. Videl couldn't differentiate where which ball was, it sounded like a bunch of off-time beeps, but the girl obviously could. Her hands shot toward each of the balls, not missing a single one and, when the machine told her to switch to using her feet, she did the same.
When the girl finished the computer told her, "Even speed, 100% on both, no balls missed."
"Okay," announced Bulma, seemingly unsurprised by the little girl's show. "Anyone else want to give it a shot?"
Videl stepped forward confidently and dropped into her stance. "You're off balance," a young, obnoxious voice informed her.
She turned to see the purple haired Trunks looking at her with contempt. "Am not."
He just rolled his eyes, but the other boy, Goten, smiled sweetly. "Yes you are." he sang.
Videl glared at him but felt a pull on her leg before she could respond. Gosen had repositioned her front foot slightly. "Now move your back foot back an inch and slightly to the left, your left." Videl did as she was asked, knowing she could just move it back when the girl turned around. She was surprised when she found herself quite a bit more balanced. "Now lean forward on the balls of your feet, you get more speed that way." Again, Videl complied looking at the girl in suspicion. "Now move your right hand up slightly and bend your elbow in. Move your back hand down and in, ready to strike..." Gosen paused as she watched Videl follow her instructions. "There! Now twist your upper body slightly, like this," the girl put her hand on Videl's side and pushed in. "There!" she repeated, beaming proudly. "All better." For some reason, Videl trusted the four year old's judgment and didn't move back.
End of Flashback
Videl snapped herself out of her thoughts to find Sharpner had given up. Gohan smiled at her before turning off the gravity. As the gravity was lifted off her body, Videl felt as light as a feather. She jumped a little and heard a soft chuckle. She shot a glare at Gohan and Mirai.
Gohan walked over, a grin plastered on his face, "Like walking on a cloud, aye Videl?" Videl only nodded and followed them out. "Is it time for lunch Bulma?"
Bulma looked at her watch, "It's eleven thirty, I guess having lunch a little early won't hurt anything." All the half-saiyans cheered happily and ran off toward the kitchen. Bulma laughed. "Okay everyone! Follow me to where you will be eating." Bulma turned and walked off into the maze that was CC.
It wasn't long before they stepped into the beautiful serenity of the nature dome. They could see Dr. Briefs riding around on a black scooter with the same black cat as before perched on his shoulder. In the middle of the clearing they had stepped into were several picnic tables that hadn't been there before.
"Eat up everyone! After lunch we're going to go look at a few labs." She turned and walked toward the door. She stopped when she reached it and turned around. "And stay in this room. I can't have you getting lost."
"Where are you going, Mrs. Briefs?" called one teenager.
"It's Bulma, hon, Mrs. Briefs is my mother. I'm going to get my lunch and maybe talk some of my family into coming to eat with all of you." She smiled before turning and walking out.
Chatter immediately erupted as people raced to the picnic tables. "Oh my God!" (normal people probably wouldn't use Kami as they didn't know he was god and Kami translates to god...well kamisama does but still) Erasa babbled to her friends as they sat down. "Who would have guessed that Gohan was that hot boy the press could never get a good picture of? I knew he was a cutie but !" she squealed something unintelligible.
Both martial artists flinched and covered her ears. "Are you sure you squealed loud enough Erasa? I think some people on the other side of the world didn't hear you."
Erasa smiled apologetically at her friends. "Sorry, I just got so excited. Anyway what—"
"I WILL NOT WOMAN!" the angry yell came from somewhere outside the room.
"YES YOU WILL, VEGETA! OR I WILL DESTROY YOUR GRAVITY ROOM AND YOU WILL SLEEP ON THE COUCH FOR A MONTH!" a feminine voice that sounded an awful lot like Bulma Briefs yelled back.
"YOUR THREATHS DON'T SCARE ME WOMAN!"
"WILL YOU TWO STOP YELLING! I THINK I'VE LOST MY HEARING THANKS TO YOUR BICKERING!" another voice yelled, this one sounding like Gohan. The yelling stopped and they could hear no more of the conversation.
Videl frowned at the door. "I wonder what that was about."
"OH CRAP! WHERE ARE THE TERRORS?" came another shout, Mirai.
Seconds after he yelled this, the three kids ran into the room looking around frantically. "I told you we shouldn't do that, Trunks! Uncle Veggie will kill us when he finds out!" Gosen yelled a considerable amount quieter than the others.
"There! We can hide with Nii-chan's friends!" Goten announced before running straight toward Videl and company. Trunks and Gosen followed behind, hoping to find a better hiding place soon.
"Aren't you three going to eat?" Erasa asked them in a sweet, condescending voice. The kind of voice one uses when talking to a little kid or a complete idiot.
"Don't talk to me in that condescending voice!" Gosen snapped angrily.
"We already ate!" answered Trunks in an annoyed voice.
"But we've only been at lunch for, like, ten minutes!"
"So?" Trunks spoke in an obnoxious voice.
Just then, Gohan walked in. He was looking around like he was looking for something, or someone. Gosen and Trunks dove under the table. It took them a moment to realize Goten hadn't followed. They reached up to yank him under with them but were too late as Gohan had spotted them and raised his power level once sharply to signal just that.
"Goten you idiot!" Trunks yelled at his friend. "Why didn't you hide when Gohan walked in?"
"Nii-chan's here?" he asked looking behind him before smiling broadly. "Nii-chan!" he cheered.
"We're supposed to be hiding from them, Goten!"
"Oh yeah. I forgot." Both of the kids that actually had a fully operational brain facepalmed.
Gohan crossed his arms and glared at them. "What did you three do?"
Gosen formed her best innocent face, as did the other two. Goten's was nearly as adorable and innocent as Gosen's but Trunks's was no where near as good as theirs. "We didn't do anything, Nii-chan, hone—"
"BRATS! WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU I'M GONNA—" he cut himself off with a roar of anger, preferring to let them guess as to what their punishment would be. All three of their faces turned as white as snow.
"What did you three do to get him that mad?" The Terrors didn't answer, they just turned and ran as fast as their legs would carry them. Their destination, as far away from Vegeta as possible.
Gohan watched them run off with a sympathetic expression. "Aren't you going to help them?" Videl asked.
Gohan turned his head to look at her. "And get in the way of Vegeta?" He shook his head. "Besides, Vegeta won't hurt them too bad. They'll probably just get a few hours in the gravity room by themselves since Gosen's with them."
Before Videl could ask what Gosen being with them had to do with anything, Vegeta came running into the room looking absolutely furious. "WHERE ARE THEY?" Gohan pointed in the direction they had gone and Vegeta took off. Not long after Vegeta was gone, Mirai walked in, shaking with barely contained laughter.
He walked up to Gohan. "What did they do?"
Mirai opened his mouth to answer but all that came out was loud laughter. He laughed so hard tears came to his eyes. "They..." he attempted speech but couldn't get more than on word out. "They..." He took a deep breath and steadied himself. "You should have seen Dad's face! It was priceless. I wish I could have gotten a picture, it would have made whatever he does to them worthwhile."
"What did they do?"
"Mom sent Dad's training clothes to the wash and the Terrors put..." he couldn't finish as he started laughing again.
"They put...?" Gohan asked.
"Pink dye in with them!" he choked out between laughs. A mental picture of Vegeta in a pink spandex training suit formed in Gohan's mind and he was overcome with the same uncontrollable laughter as Mirai.
Half an hour later, when Bulma entered the room, the two teenaged demi-saiyans were on the ground rolling in uncontrolled laughter. "Will you two stop laughing! That's getting annoying!"
They took twin deep breaths and looked at her, laughter still present in their eyes, Gohan was about to say something to Videl but Bulma walked up. "What were you two laughing about?"
Mirai looked up at Bulma, "The Terrors' prank."
Bulma looked slightly interested. "I was wondering what they did to make him so mad. What was it?"
"You know how you sent Dad's training clothes to get washed?" he asked. When Bulma nodded, he continued. "They put pink dye in the wash with them. Now all his training clothes are pink." Bulma covered her mouth, trying to hide her laughter. "What did he do to them?"
"He locked them in the gravity room and left. He said he didn't want to ruin his one good fighting suit. I guess now I know why." She giggled.
"You're going to force him to wear them, aren't you?" Gohan asked, watching his godmother with amused eyes.
"You bet I am. I'll get pictures too. Send them out as invitation to the next reunion." At the thought of what Krillin and Yamcha would say when they saw him in pink spandex, the three erupted into more laughter.
Gohan grinned. "Remember the last one? When The Terrors and Maron were convinced Roshi's mustache was fake?"
Bulma nodded. "Or the first one after I married Vegeta, when he hit on me and Vegeta nearly killed him?"
Gohan shook his head. "I still can't believe Roshi did that."
Bulma smiled. "We'll have to do more reminiscing later. Right now we're going to go to Lab 212."
"WHAT? BULMA/MOM YOU PROMISED!" the boys shouted together. (Gohan shouted Bulma and Mirai shouted Mom)
Bulma ignored them, instead addressing the group. "Everybody finish up! We're about to go down to the labs!" Excited chatter started up as everyone started throwing away their garbage and left overs. They formed a large group in front of Bulma and she smiled before turning and leaving the room.
Bulma opened one of the doors in the front lobby with a code and stepped inside. When the room was full, the door closed and a mechanical sound could be heard. Gohan typed in a code and followed the same procedure as the scientist. Videl and company went with him. Then Mirai copied the two. Mirai's group consisted of the last few people that hadn't fit in the first two trips.
When Mirai's group stepped out of the elevator (that is what the room was by the way), Bulma spoke again, "Is this everyone?" Mirai nodded and she continued. "Okay, there are a few rules of these labs. You will follow all of them or you will be escorted off the premises and not allowed to return. Rule one, touch nothing. Rule two, listen to and obey the scientists as the know what they're doing. Rule three, do whatever Gohan, Mirai, or I tell you to. Rule four, pay attention and stay with your group. You will not see any secret inventions but rule five is still whatever you see you speak nothing of to no one. Everyone understand?" The class murmured their yeses. "Good, now our first stop is Lab 212. It's one of the personal labs, or labs for specific people to work on ideas and blue prints for future projects so they're more like offices."
"Whose lab is it?" Videl couldn't help herself, she had to ask.
Bulma smile deviously. "Mirai and Gohan." Her smile turned to a smirk as all eyes moved to the two boys she named. They were glaring at her as if to say, 'you'll pay for this'. "Now come on." She turned and walked down the hallway until she arrived at the door that had a sign above it reading Lab 212 and the door read Mirai and Gohan.
Bulma twisted the doorknob and a computer voice spoke. "Identity?"
"Bulma Briefs." Bulma responded calmly.
"Scanning voice...Voice confirmed as authentic. Retina scan..." A bright red beam flashed into Bulma's eye. "Identity confirmed. Welcome Bulma."
"Computer I have some guests with me."
"No guests allowed without owner's code. My apologies."
Gohan stepped forward with a smirk as Bulma glared at the screen that had appeared on the door. "Hating you added that little feature aren't you Bulma? Computer allow these guests. You have owner's authorization."
"Scanning voice...Voice confirmed as authentic. Retina scan..." The same red beam examined Gohan's eye before the computer spoke again. "Identity confirmed. Welcome Gohan. Welcome Guests." With that the door opened and Gohan walked casually through.
"I am so uninstalling the no guests feature! I can't believe that stupid machine!"
Gohan laughed. "It's only on our lab and you can't blame the computer. That's what it was programed to do." Bulma muttered something under her breath and Gohan laughed again.
Videl stepped in the room and looked around, slightly amazed. The room was a large, two-person office. Large, twin, wooden desks sat facing each other but with most of the room in between. There was dark-wood flooring. The walls were painted half and half, the top was burgundy and the bottom was a nice cream color. A long, horizontal, wooden pole divide the two colors, it was made of the same dark, nearly black, wood of the twin desks. The room felt extremely professional despite the scatterings of papers that covered either desk. A large picture hung from the wall opposite the door.
"There isn't much to show off in the personal labs but you can look around. Just remember not to touch anything."
Videl walked closer to the large picture. "Bulma, who are these people? And why do they look familiar?" She asked.
Bulma looked up at the picture and smiled. "Gather round everyone and I'll tell you about this picture."
"Hey! That's The Bandit! The best baseball player ever!"
"Yep. Did you know that almost everyone in this picture is famous in one way or another? Anybody else recognize someone in the picture?"
"That's Mr. Lancer!" came another shout.
"Mr. who?"
"Lancer, Bulma. They're talking about Krillin. He's our gym teacher, remember?"
"Oh, yeah, I forgot about that."
"That's Tien Shinhan!" came another voice. "Former World Champion!"
"Yep, good ol' Tien."
"There's your husband, Bulma! And you! But I don't see Mirai or Trunks anywhere."
"Mirai's not in this picture and Trunks isn't born yet. But Gohan is there and so are his parents. Anyone recognize them?" She asked as she pointed to a kid that could be no older than eight with black hair and eyes that stood in front of two people, a man and a woman.
"They look like older versions of Goten and Gosen." Erasa answered.
"Yes, they do. But both of those people are slightly famous, or were a long time ago. Can anyone guess who they are?"
Videl leaned forward and examined the two people more closely. "The late Goku and Chichi Son." came the quiet, pained answer. Videl looked over and noticed it was Gohan who answered, pain evident in his features.
Goku is his father?...Wait, did he say the late Goku and Chichi Son? Does that mean... Videl felt a twinge of shame and guilt, her father had been speaking against Goku publicly for the past few days. Wait, Bulma said that they were both slightly famous. "So, we all know who Goku is, he's a former world champion. But what did Chichi do?"
"Princess Chichi of the Ox Kingdom is the only woman to ever make it past the preliminaries in the World Martial Arts Tournament," answered a voice from beside Gohan. "She was known as the strongest woman in the world, but I think her daughter would give her a run for her money."
"Who are the other—" Videl started but Erasa cut her off.
"Did you say Princess Chichi? Wouldn't that make Gohan a prince?"
"In a way but Grandpa has sold most of his kingdom to the villagers. They still call him their king though and everyone knows him as the Ox King, in fact I think that's actually his name..." Gohan got a far off, thoughtful look as he pondered his grandfather's name.
"Huh. You know, I've never heard anyone call him anything except Ox King or Ox,..." Bulma seemed to get a similar look as Gohan but snapped out of it quickly. "Anyway, the rest of the people in the picture. In the front row, sitting from left to right, we have Puar, Yamcha, me, Chichi, Goku, Gohan, Oolong and Krillin. Then behind them, from right to left, we have Piccolo, Master Roshi, Chiaotzu, Tien, and Launch, then over on the edge of the picture, leaning against a tree you can't see, is my husband Vegeta. Puar is the floating cat, Oolong is the pig, Chiaotzu is really floating, Tien does have three eyes, and Piccolo is really green." (Is that the whole Z gang? I think I got everyone but I'm not sure. Let me know in a review if you think I missed someone.)
Videl re-examined the picture now that she had everyone's name. (Picture takes place about a week after Mirai appears to warn them about the androids. All were dressed as they normally did then) Puar was floating above Yamcha's right shoulder on the far left of the picture. Yamcha sat with his arm around Bulma and looked like he was laughing. Bulma's head was turned, glaring at Master Roshi. Chichi was snuggled close to Goku and and glaring at Master Roshi. Goku had an arm around Chichi while his other arm behind his head an oblivious smile on his face. Gohan was sitting, leaned on both his arms and laughing out right. The pig, Oolong, leaned over to talk to Gohan, a mischievous glint in his eye. Mr. Lancer, Krillin, was holding his stomach and laughing hard. Piccolo stood behind Gohan, arms crossed and glaring hatefully at the camera. Videl refused to believe he was really green. Master Roshi was holding his face in pain. Chiaotzu floated between Tien and Roshi, and unreadable expression on his child-like face. Tien had an arm loosely around a blonde Launch, both blushing ever so slightly, having no idea what just happened. Vegeta leaned against something unseen in the picture, a tree according to Bulma, his side faced the camera and his arms were crossed. He wore a glare on his face that, even in picture form, scared the living daylights out of Videl and directed it at the camera.
Videl looked at the building they stood in front of. It was a fairly small, light pink building that had the word KAME HOUSE was written near the red roof in a darker pink. Double windows were on the facing wall beside a small porch with an awning over it that led to the green door. It looked like the place was located on a beach what with all the sound.
"Bulma?" Videl asked.
"Yes, Videl?"
"What does came house mean? And why is it spelled with a k?"
Bulma laughed softly. "Not came house, hon. Kame House." Bulma pronounced 'kame' with the e accented. "Kame means turtle."
"So it says turtle house? Why?"
"Because it's the home of the Turtle Hermit, Master Roshi. The legendary martial arts teacher. He liked kame better than turtle so he named his home, and the technique he created, with kame rather than turtle. So it's Kame House and Kamehameha instead of Turtle House and Turtle Destruction Wave."
"Kamehameha? Turtle Destruction Wave? What are you talking about?"
"That's a question for Gohan. He could explain it better than I could anyway." Bulma walked away and Videl turned to glare at the picture.
"How do all these people know each other anyway?" Videl asked the air.
"That's a story that involves several true fairy tales."
Videl jumped at Gohan's voice. "What fairy tales? And what do you mean true fairy tales? Fairy tales aren't true!"
Gohan shook his head. "Until you open your mind, you won't understand or believe any of the truths I can tell you. Until you understand and believe, I can only give you an unusual and cryptic answer. Those people are the Z Warriors and their families and close friends. The story behind the Z Warriors is one I cannot tell you, at least not yet."
Gohan walked away and not long after, the class left the room to visit another. For the rest of her time at CC, Videl was trying to figure who the Z Warriors were. She had never heard of them, but they all looked familiar in one way or another. Other than the way they were introduced on the picture. She wondered what part those people played in the world and how they knew each other. It was driving her crazy. As the buses pulled away from CC she resolved to search the internet for the Z Warriors and then each one individually.
Gohan and Mirai sighed as the bus pulled away. "That could have gone a lot worse," Mirai announced.
"Yes, it could have. Hey, want to call everyone up for a free for all outside the city?"
"Let's ask Dad and the Terrors first, and give Krillin enough time to get home."
~ # ~
An hour later, all the Z Warriors gathered a ways away from any city. The perfect place for a free for all. "Hey, anyone have any ideas for concealing our identities? I mean, I kind of like living in seclusion and not getting followed around by paparazzi." Tien announced to everyone.
"What if we go as Cell Games fighters?" asked Gosen. "And wear something over our faces so nobody recognizes us?"
"That would restrict vision," Yamcha inserted. "And I'll need all the help I can get with you guys competing."
"I bet Aunt Bulma could make masks that wouldn't restrict our vision!" Gosen countered.
"You know, I can't find another fault with her reasoning, at least not for us super saiyans. But you three can't go super." Gohan said.
"Yes we can!" Three voices announced proudly.
Everyone looked at the Terrors in disbelief. "Prove it brats!" Vegeta ordered. The Terrors complied, all glaring for a moment before their hair turned yellow and their eyes teal. "When was the super elite of the saiyan race reduced to a child's toy!" Vegeta shouted angrily.
"A few weeks ago when we were stuck in the gravity room after a prank," was Goten's reply.
"Let's get this damn spar started then!" Vegeta then went super, Mirai and Gohan following his lead as to not get the snot beaten out of them.
"Wait a second guys!" came a voice from the sky. Everyone stopped and looked up, except the Terrors who were frantically searching for the source of the voice.
"King Kai, is that you?" Gohan asked.
"Yes, it most certainly is, Gohan. I'm just calling to let you know that your parents will be joining all of you at the Tournament."
"Really? That's awesome!"
"Yes, it is. Both Goku and Chichi will be allowed to visit Earth for twenty-four hours. But, they have been given an extremely rare opportunity. This opportunity is one only given to two people at a time, no more, no less. Both of them must train on Grand Kai's planet as well as be married with no chance of separation, they must also have pure hearts and both has to have been dead for less than five years but more than three. Needless to say that such an occasion hasn't happened in several millennia. But the opportunity is not the trip to the living as I'm sure you've guessed. Many people get that chance. This opportunity is a test with an unbelievable reward."
"What reward, King Kai?" Yamcha asked.
"I was getting to that, Yamcha." the kai snapped. "As I was saying before I was interrupted, an opportunity with an unbelievable reward, should the pair pass. Yes, the opportunity is a test. And should it be passed, the testers are returned to land of the living until the day come that they die again. Goku and Chichi are taking the test now so they could not tell you. They will know whether they have passed or failed when their day with the living has ended."
Gohan smiled happily and looked at the twins. "Hear that, you two? You're going to meet Mom and Dad at the Tournament!" They smiled happily. "Hey, King Kai! Can you tell Dad we're going to enter as the Cell Games fighters?" He looked at everyone. "We're agreed on that, right?" They nodded their consent.
"Sure Gohan, I'll tell them. But how's your mom going to fit in with the group? She's competing too."
"Mom's gonna compete?" Gohan asked in utter astonishment. "Well, I guess she can wear a mask like the others. Oh, and come up with an alias."
"Okay, bye." King Kai's voice disappeared.
"First one knocked out buys dinner!" Mirai yelled before punching Gohan. The full blooded humans paled (yes, 18 is with them but she's not technically in the group that paled) but jumped into the fray. Just a little info, in case you were wondering, Yamcha was the first one out, but, luckily for him, they decided to go to CC to eat as it had robots and a large amount quickly fixed, edible food (the robots are programed with Chichi's recipes and have the advanced technology of CC). Soon after dinner, everyone that didn't live there left and Gohan told Bulma about Goku and Chichi returning for a day and maybe longer.