The man's charge came to a sudden halt as he pulled to a stop. "How do you know that!?" he demanded.
"So, you are their father..." Videl said in disbelief.
"Answer me!" Autoro yelled.
"They told us." replied Gohan, crossing his arms. "Or rather, Mijima did, seven years ago." He was about to say more when he felt another power graze his senses and looked up to see Piccolo floating down to join them.
"Felt your powers shoot up, thought I'd see what was up since I was in the area." he said landing. "What's going on?"
"Apparently Mijima's father's kept up his old tricks, and he's gotten some upgrades." Videl informed the Namek.
Piccolo snorted. "So he's the cause of this then? Well, no time for pleasantries." He thrust an arm forward and a gust of wind surged, blasting Autoro five blocks down the road where then he was met with a green fist to the back of his head that knocked him out. As the two teens powered down, Piccolo picked the unconscious man up and carried him back over to the EDF van.
"You know, we could have handled that." Videl said smirking.
Piccolo grinned but said nothing as the three of them left Autoro in the care of the EDF and lifted into the air rejoining Goten. "I wonder where he got that arm from." Gohan said thoughtfully. "I've been seeing cybernetics cropping up like that here and there."
Piccolo nodded. "Not just here on Earth, either. Apparently someone's opened up a galaxy wide black-market on cybernetic enhancements. It's not that big of a concern, though. Likely just a fad inspired by Gero." He turned his gaze toward Gohan. "I'm looking forward to seeing how much you've improved over the last seven years Gohan."
"I want to know how much Videl's improved." Gohan said, looking back at her. "She's refused to train with me for the last year now and hasn't shown me her full power in just as long. Ever since the tournament was announced."
Videl chuckled. "A girl has to have some secrets, you know. I just hope you've taken your training seriously Gohan, I'd like a challenge at the tournament."
"Gohan will win for sure!" Goten said happily. "He's the best! But Trunks and I aren't going to lose easily either!"
"Hey Piccolo, any idea on how strong Vegeta's gotten?" Gohan asked. "I've not even seen him since he took the title of King two years ago."
The Namek shook his head. "I've not seen him fight or train in any of my trips to Planet Vegeta. I don't know how strong he is. But Bulma's told me he trains any chance he gets, which hasn't been nearly as often as he'd like. With the Sai-jin Empire's dissolution and the formation of the Sennari he's had his hands full the last 2 years."
"How is that coming along, anyway?" Videl asked. "Last I heard there were still some disputes over leadership?"
"The Sai-jins are being typically Sai-jin." Piccolo grunted. "Most of them don't want to follow anyone other than a Sai-jin. And there are a few dozen worlds that don't like the idea of Sai-jin rule. But Vegeta and his father both want as many worlds in the Sennari as they can get. A single, solid, galaxy wide government.
"His father was right, the galaxy is far too large a place for a single, simple, Empire to rule over. It's why the Cold Family divided it up between them. And leaving control in the hands of a single race would mean dissention in the government and allow favoritism of the laws and regulations toward that race.
"Right now they're trying to negotiate out a deal for elections. Though, there's debating over that too. The Sai-jins and a number of other races think that the elections should be limited to royal blood, that only those of royalty on their worlds should be given the chance to head the Sennari. Of course, worlds where there isn't true royal blood, like here on Earth, are against that because it removes them from leadership possibilities."
The Namek sighed. "I still don't know how I let Bulma talk me into helping them with this nonsense. We spent six hours in conference last week and didn't make any progress at all. Still, once the Sennari is up and running, things should be a lot smoother in the galaxy. It's just getting there that's going to take some time."
By now they'd reached the Embassy and made their descent landing just outside the loading bays. Chi-Chi, Hercule, Roshi, Krillin, and Mijima were already there waiting for them. "Hey guys." Gohan said waving as his feet touched the ground. "Sorry we're late, we had a little... delay along the way." He figured it'd be best to inform Mijima about Autoro later, after they'd gotten back from planet Vegeta. "So, decided if you're entering yet Krillin?"
"He's entering." Mijima said with a smirk.
Krillin slumped his shoulders a little and sighed. "I don't know how much good it'll do. Not with all the Sai-jins that are going to be there. Not to mention Piccolo and Hotaru, and Tien's going to be entering too!" He groaned and looked up at the sky next. "And Mijima said she's gong to enter too... there's no way I'm going to win."
"You never know, you could get lucky." Videl said laughing. "Really, how far anyone makes it is going to depend on luck to start. You could get lucky and make it all the way to the finals."
"Yeah, I suppose." Krillin said, running a hand through his thick black hair as they all turned and entered the building. "But then I'd have to fight against Gohan..."
"You know, Gohan might not make it to the finals." Videl said, glancing back at him and smirking.
"Like that would happen." Krillin said, not noticing her look.
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Otherworld - Grand Kai's Planet
Goku ducked under the leg that had been aimed for his head, swerved around behind his father, and lashed out with a kick of his own. His attack missed as well as Bardock vanished only to reappear above him and throwing a hard punch down toward his son's head. This missed too as Goku now vanished and reappeared beside him, his leg shooting out and connecting with Bardock's raised forearm with a loud crack.
The two Sai-jins were, as they often were, in the midst of a light spar. Well, light by their standards. Their powers had climbed rapidly and considerably since their arrival seven years ago and there were now only two others on the planet who they couldn't beat without at least using the Kaio Ken. Those were the powerful Human warrior Olibu and the amazing Pikkon. Though, when transformed, not even the great Grand Kai was their equal.
The two broke apart and dropped down landing a few dozen feet apart. Neither was breathing heavy, neither was showing signs of any real exertion from their work out, and both were grinning. Appla had to admit, they'd kept things lighter than usual. They'd not even powered up the Kaio ken, simply stuck to basics. But then, that's what they'd said they wanted to work on today. Both felt that they were slipping with their basics, their style and technique. This was a chance to sharpen their form more than their power.
"Hey, Goku, Bardock!" King Kai yelled as he walked toward the two warriors. "Have you guys heard yet?"
Goku blinked and relaxed his stance a bit, Bardock doing the same. "What is it King Kai? Is something up?"
"Remember you saying you were curious how Gohan and the others were progressing back in the Mortal Plane?" the short Kai asked to which the Sai-jin nodded. "Well, it seems we'll be finding out shortly. They're holding a big tournament for the entire North Galaxy to celebrate the passed seven years of peace and the formation of the Sennari."
"Senairy?" Goku asked blinking.
King Kai hung his head as Bardock smacked his forehead. "Sennari. Remember? The new ruling body for the galaxy?" his father said.
"Oh, yeah, that!" Goku cried grinning. "I remember now! So, wait, they're having a tournament?"
King Kai nodded. "Yep! And, apparently, everyone is going to be competing. It's going to be huge! I figured we may as well enjoy the show here so I talked to the Grand Kai about setting up a way for everyone to watch."
The four heard chuckling from behind the blue Kai and looked to find the Grand Kai walking toward them. "I decided on something even better than that. I think it's high time we have our own tournament again here. So not only are we going to watch the mortal tournament but once it ends we're going to have our own. See if Pikkon can hold on to that narrow victory from last time."
"Yeah! Alright!" Goku cried, pumping a fist into the air.
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May 5th
Planet Vegeta
"Now arriving at Terminal 105, Flight 97 from Earth." a female voice sounded, echoing through the large space port and easily discernable even over the loud din of the crowd. "Now arriving at Terminal 105, Flight 97 from Earth. Now arriving at Terminal 238, Flight 33 from Tanaria. Now arriving at Terminal 238, Flight 33 from Tanaria."
"Hmm, early." Bulma said, glancing down at her watch. "The ship from Tanaria wasn't supposed to be here for another half an hour."
"Toma and the others were already over there waiting." Vadora said. "So it's not like there wont be anyone to greet Yamcha and Hotaru."
"Yeah, but I was hoping to be there..." Bulma said with a sigh. "It's been so long since I've had a chance to get away from the palace and just hang out with my friends. I never knew being a Queen was so... tiring."
Vadora chuckled as she noted the power readings taking shape on her scouter. As Bulma's personal body guard, a position she'd only just attained the previous month, she had to always be on the lookout for threats. Not that she really expected any. Bulma was a bit of a standout amidst a crowd of Sai-jins but here at the Space Port she blended in with the throngs of aliens pretty easily. And since neither she or Vadora were in uniform, or even formal wear, they were easily overlooked.
In fact, Vadora doubted that half the people in the terminal would recognize Bulma even if she were in her formal armor. Part of that was due to the fact that the Sai-jin Queen hadn't been seen much by the rest of the galaxy yet, having only gone to a small amount of formal affairs so far. The other part was due to her somewhat drastic change in appearance over the last several months.
She'd had her hair cut short again, it had been down passed her shoulders a few months ago. And, on top of that, she'd stopped dying it. Apparently blue-green hadn't been her natural hair color. Purple was. And she had yet to be seen in public, formally, with her new look. "Ah, that must be them." Vadora said as several powers of exactly one thousand appeared on her scouter with a few much smaller readings.
Sure enough, a moment later, Gohan, Piccolo, Videl, and the rest emerged from the docking hall that had attached to the ship out on the landing pad. Vadora raised her arm and waved soon catching the attention of Piccolo, the only one who could see over most of the heads in the crowd. With the Namek in the lead they pushed their way through the throngs of people, most of them parting to let the imposing green man through, and soon reached the two waiting women.
"Bulma?" Gohan asked blinking. "Is that you?"
"Yep! So, what do you think?" she asked running a hand across her hair. "Decided to go with my natural hair color."
"I didn't know you'd been dying it."
"Yeah, since I was fourteen actually. But with as hectic as things are here it's just too much hassle to deal with it." she said as they started moving through the Space Port toward terminal 238. "Wow, you two have really grown."
Videl laughed. "Well, it has been what, two, three years?" she said.
"Oh, I don't even remember anymore." Bulma said, shaking her head. "One day bleeds into the next lately. So, how are things holding together at Capsule Corp.?" she asked with a glance toward Krillin and Mijima.
Mijima shrugged. "The only problem we've had is at the North City plant, for some reason the reactor isn't pumping power into the plant. It's working and running, and we've restarted it several times, but the power just isn't getting to the systems. Other than that, pretty well, actually."
Krillin grinned. "That's because Mijima here has them all scared so they're working double time. I've never seen anyone move so fast as when she walks into a room." The others cracked up laughing as well for a moment. "But, it's not easy." the short man continued, after catching his breath. "I never realized how much work was involved in running a company. Even just part time like this..."
"Yeah, but it's fun." Bulma said smiling. "I'm just glad you guys are there to help out dad. He never was that good at running the place on his own."
They carried on their conversation as they continued walking. The crowds thinned a bit after a few more minutes and then suddenly a loud cry sounded from around the corner and the ground shook. Roshi, Hercule, and Chi-Chi fell over from the vibrations and Vadora instinctively reached up to her scouter and scanned everything.
"That's Toma and Tangerie's power readings." she said as the numbers took shape. Before she could say more, the wall at the corner shattered apart and collapsed as a very large blue skinned alien was smashed through it. Floating only a few feet from the damage was a little ten year old girl with a pulsing red aura and a not so happy expression on her face. She had shoulder length silver hair, black eyes, and was wearing a pair of black pants and a white t-shirt.
"Sakura, don't destroy the place!" a familiar voice called. A second later Hotaru ran around the corner and stopped beside the girl.
"Sorry mom..." the ten year old said relaxing as Yamcha walked up behind her scratching the back of his head and looking at the damage. Toma and Tangerie then walked up as well.
"What happened?" Gohan asked stepping passed the unconscious alien.
"Oh, Gohan!" Hotaru cried happily. "Wow, you've gotten big!"
"Hey Gohan!" Sakura cheered. Then she spied Goten. "Goten!" With that the three kids, Goten, Sakura, and her five year old sister Akemi, moved off to the side away from the others to talk.
"So, who's the oaf?" Krillin asked thumbing back to the downed man.
"Some would be thief. Tried to steal some lady's purse right in front of us. Leave it to Sakura to go after the guy, even with Toma and Tangerie right beside us." Yamcha said shaking his head. "She takes after her mother. Sometimes a little too much." This, in turn, got him an elbow in his side from Hotaru.
"So, the gang together again." Krillin said after a moment. "Well, almost. Where's Tien at anyway?"
"Looking after Cheri and Marron." Vadora answered. "Or, more likely, training with Raditz while Chaotzu looks after Cheri and Marron." she sighed and shook her head and Bulma laughed.
"Vegeta's the same way. When it's his turn to look after Trunks he always ropes someone else into it and then goes off to train."
"Oh, I know what that's like." Chi-Chi added with a shake of her head. "Goku did that all the time when Gohan was younger. And these days it's Gohan that's doing it with Goten."
"Yamcha's the same." Hotaru said as the women started walking away from the group. "He usually gets Kavar to look after the girls, or lately has Sakura look after Akemi, and then goes and does his own thing."
Gohan blinked and looked over to Yamcha. "Why am I getting the feeling that nothing good can come of this conversation?"
Yamcha sighed, slumped his shoulders, and stuck his hands in his pockets. "Because nothing good ever comes about when women start talking about men."
"Aint that the truth." Roshi said with a sage nod.
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Sai-jin Palace
The adults had all gone off to do their own things. Some were heading off to do some last minute training, some wanted to get some rest and relaxation, and some had work that needed to be done. But it all had the same result, the kids were left in the care of Chaotzu. Or, had been. However, Chaotzu was currently sound asleep on the living room floor of his palace suite courtesy of a little sleeping powder mixed in with his water at dinner. That had been Trunks' idea.
Now they were creeping down the halls toward the main kitchen, that was Goten's idea. Their goal...? "Operation Rocky Road proceeding as planned." Sakura said softly into one of the scouters Cheri had nabbed from her mother's closet.
"Coast is clear on this end too." Came Trunks voice through the speaker in the device. The kids had divided up into two groups. Trunks, Goten, and Marron had taken the west hall. Sakura, Akemi, and Cheri the east.
"What about inside?" Sakura asked.
"I don't sense anybody..." Trunks replied after a moment. "But I can't be sure..."
Sakura was quiet for a moment as she thought. "Only one way to find out." she said at last. "I'm going in." She took a deep breath and slipped around the corner moving quickly for the large double doors into the kitchen. Reaching out she gripped the handle and pulled the door open slowly and peeked in. Not seeing anyone she opened it further and slipped inside. "It's empty, come on in." she said grinning and motioning out the door for Akemi and Cheri to follow her.
A second later the other door burst open as Goten and Trunks charged in. Both moved quickly making a beeline for the freezer. Yanking the door open the two grinned and drooled. "What'd I tell ya!" Trunks cried, grinning from ear to ear. "Stocked full of ice cream!"
"I've never seen so much ice cream before!" Goten said, wide-eyed.
Sakura chuckled as she walked up behind the two boys. "This is nothing, you should see the freezer in the cellar of the palace on Tanaria. It's got three times this much."
"Three times!?" Goten cried, his eyes going wider. "Wow!"
"Talk later, ice cream now!" Trunks said grabbing a few of the tubs. "Chocolate, Rocky Road, Vanilla, Strawberry, Butterscotch, Mint..." he read off the labels as he pulled them out and stacked them up. "There we go, one of each flavor. Let's get a place to sit."
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A/N: I know Autoro's segment seems short and quickly forgotten. But it's a set-up stuff later. MUCH later. But later just the same.