Chapter 31: Legendary

"Okay. We've got seven days until the end of the world." Goku was speaking to the entire group, assembled outside Kame House. "I'm pretty sure Cell's got us all outmatched. I mean, it's not impossible that we'll win, but I'll be honest, it's looking unlikely."

"We should use the Hyperbolic Time Chamber again," Raditz suggested. "We can improve very quickly in there."

"Well, that's a good idea," Goku replied, "but I don't think Gohan and I can really benefit anymore by torturing ourselves for another year. It's going to provide diminishing returns—I'm pretty sure this is the full power of Super Saiyan."

"All right…" Raditz shrugged. "If you say so. But Break and I should go in for a second day, to see if we can get up to your level. And I imagine the others will want a chance."

"That's right," Krillin said. "I'm up for it!"

Break sat up straighter. "Okay, so that's sorted. And the rest of us, while we're not in the chamber?"

"This may surprise you, but we should just take it easy," Goku told them. "I mean, seven days isn't enough time to worry about training in normal time. Let's just try to relax, and enjoy what time we've got left. And Gohan, we should try and stay as Super Saiyans the whole time—except for when we're asleep, of course—to try and get as used to the form as possible."

"Well, I suppose that's all right," Chi-Chi said, smiling, "it's not like that hair's going to cause a fuss—he isn't going to school for a while anyway." She laughed despite herself. "You know, it's funny—it would take the end of the world for you to finally take a break and spend time with your family!"

"Haha!" Goku grinned. "I guess so. So, have I missed anything?"

"The Dragon Balls," Nail pointed out. "With Kami gone, they're useless. We could get a new guardian from New Namek?"

"No, not yet." Goku shook his head. "Even if they can recreate Earth's set, Cell still has one, and we've got no Dragon Radar."

Bulma raised her hand to draw attention to herself. "I'll work on it, but I think Cell's right—it'll take longer than a week to build. It's really complicated to build from scratch, for such a small device."

"In that case, don't bother. If we lose, it won't matter—and if we win, you'll have all the time in the world."

"All right then…" she leaned back in her chair. "You can't stop me from working completely though, you know. If you can retrieve some parts from those androids that got destroyed, I'll see if I can analyse them and find a way to weaken Cell, or just plain shut him down."

"You could do that?" Goku's face lit up.

"Won't know until I try!"

"I think that's everything." Goku clapped his hands. "So…who's first in the Chamber?"

"Let me," Break said, standing up. "I need to get over my anger when I transform. It's cost us too much already. I'll go in alone this time."

"Not like that, you don't!" Launch strode across the room, standing in front of Break while holding the warrior's younger self in her arms. Her blonde, aggressive personality tended to give her a very strong, if a little domineering, mothering instinct. "Look at you! Before you spend another year training, you need a change of clothes and a haircut, at the very least."

"How about this?" Bulma fished in her pockets, eventually finding a capsule containing the outfit she'd worn to Namek. Retrieving it, she held it up. "Knew I'd forgotten to take it out of my pockets. It's pretty practical—what do you think?"

"That's great, thanks." Break took it and folded it over her arm, to change into when inside the Chamber. "Oh, and don't worry about my hair—it's starting to look like Dad's. I like that."

"Are you sure about this?" Launch asked. "A year on your own?"

"I need to do this, okay?" In an instant, she was gone, soaring away through the sky.

"Raditz…" Launch, having given baby Break to Chi-Chi to babysit, walked over to the saiyan fighter, who was staring idly out to sea.

"Hmm? Oh. Hey, Launch. You wanted to talk?"

She nodded. "In private. I don't mind where."

"All right…" This sounds serious… He took her by the arm, spiriting them away with Instant Transmission. They appeared on a barren plain, with mountains visible in the distance. "This is where I fought Piccolo when I first arrived on this planet," he explained. "Is…something the matter? Are you all right I'm sorry, I'm not very good with all this, uh, sensitive stuff."

"You do just fine," she said, hugging him. "But it's about what you and Break were talking about."

"Oh…You heard?"

"Uh-huh." She took a deep breath. "Look, I'm not the 'nice' me right now, so I'll say it plain: you're wrong about yourself, Raditz. You're a good person." He opened his mouth to protest, but she cut him off. "No, I know, I know, don't start about how many people you've killed. Okay, we know. You were a bad person. You were an awful person. But you were never entirely evil, were you?"

"What, you think I had redeeming qualities back then?"

"Compared to Vegeta? Frieza? Yes."

"You've never met them. You don't know what you're talking about—"

"I know enough!" she snapped, rounding on him. "Stop being so self-pitying and move on! You can't change the past! What you've done, that's happened! But this life you've got now—you, personally, have saved the lives of billions of people. Three times now, if you include the Namekians, and I do."

"That's nothing compared to how many I—"

"Shut! Up!" She commanded, and he did. "How about this? You became the Super Saiyan. Not a Super Saiyan. The Super Saiyan. The first for thousands of years. How did you do that? Righteous anger! You were upset that your brother died! You couldn't have achieved all that without a good cause!"

"Vegeta's a Super Saiyan, I wouldn't call that righteous—" Yet again, he didn't get to finish his sentence.

"Do I look…like I give a crap…what Vegeta did?!"

"I…guess not…"

"Listen." She stepped closer, pointing her finger right in his face. "If you were so bad, you wouldn't even care about all those people you killed! The fact that you go on and on about it is proof that you've changed! Sure, you might still have urges to kill now and then, but you resist them, don't you?"

"I…hadn't really thought about it like that…" He was beginning to come around to her point of view, but his hesitation annoyed her.

"Aargh! You're infuriating!" She unslung a pistol from her waistband and emptied it into his face in annoyance. It didn't hurt him, of course, but it was a great stress reliever for her.

For the first time in the conversation, he smiled. "I love it when you do that."

"Shoot you?"

"Yeah. Well, get violent in general. You know, saiyan women were found attractive largely because of a propensity for violence, and fierce independence. Sound familiar?"

She grinned. "That explains a lot. But…the other me?"

"I guess…" he scratched the back of his head. "I guess saiyans aren't perfect. Maybe there's room for gentler feeling. I mean, I live here, right? I don't know…There's something about humans."

She laughed, stepping closer. "C'mere, and I'll show you a thing or two about humans…"

Several minutes later, they lay a few feet apart, panting. The grass was scorched and burned away for a metre or so around them-small fires still burned on the edge of the blackened circle. Launch rolled over to face Raditz. "So, you were saying about violence…physicality…"

He laughed softly. "Sometimes I wonder if you're just a saiyan in a human body…"

"Though I wish…" she trailed off.

"Wish what?"

"Ah, never mind."

"No, what was it?"

"Well…you know, I'm always tackle-hugging you, shooting you, all that, but you have to be so gentle with me…" she pouted. "'Cause I'm just a fragile little human."

"Hey, now don't talk like that!" he propped himself up on one elbow. "I happen to like being gentle occasionally. I spend the rest of my life fighting, I need a break every now and then."

"That's a lie." This was a simple statement, not a question.

He sighed. "Okay, yes. Fighting—action—I never get tired of it. Sometimes I wish you were a little…tougher." He realised the potentially offensive implications of what he'd said. "Well, not like—I mean, in a sense you're tougher than me, as in character, but…you know, physically…" he finished lamely.

She nodded slowly. "It's okay. I wish that too." Then, struck by an idea, she sat up. "Okay. I'm gonna get stronger, then."

"Huh?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah! We know plenty of tough humans! Tien, Krillin, Yamcha, plus a few others. There's no reason I can't be every bit as strong as those guys."

"You still wouldn't be on an equal footing with me…" He sat up next to her, looking with admiration into her eyes. "It's just biological. I'm from a race of alien warriors."

"Who said anything about equal?" She asked mockingly. "I just want to get a bit closer to where you are! So you could accidentally tap me without taking my head off, for instance."

He weighed this up in his head. "All right…sure. I'll train you if you want, toughen you up. But let's wait until after Cell's beaten…if he's beaten. We might only have a few days left—let's just enjoy them, okay?"

When Break emerged from the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Raditz was waiting for her, alone and wearing a fresh combat outfit (the previous one had gone through a years' training, as well as the battle with Cell). He noted with growing interest that she was a Super Saiyan—it looked like her transformation had undergone the same change as Goku and Gohan's, although occasionally there was a small flicker of power and a tiny golden flash from her otherwise-invisible aura, implying that there was still unchecked power within that she was just barely keeping a lid on. Bulma's lent outfit was in tatters, despite the supposedly less harsh nature of training to achieve this 'form', and there were slowly-healing scratches dotting her body, like some kind of animal had clawed her—had she done this to herself? What had she put herself through in there? "Break?" he asked. "Are you…"

She smiled, though it seemed somewhat strained. "I'm fine."

"You have full control?"

She narrowed her eyes. "I said I'm fine! I've...tamed the beast. It wasn't easy. If you're going next, uh, there's a bit of damage to the living area." She walked over to him. "Compared to 'calming down', the rest was easy. Heh…my hair really does look like yours now."

"It looks good," he said. "Now…like you guessed, I'm going in next. I need to get this over with."

"You sure about going in alone? I mean, you asked me the same thing, but…"

"Anything three other saiyans can do, I can. Don't worry. It's figuring out the trick that's the hardest part—and my brother did that for me. I'll manage it." He headed for the door.

"Good luck!" she called after her father.

"Wow," he muttered, shaking his head as he looked around the Chamber, "she wasn't kidding about making a mess of the place! Girl had some serious anger-management issues…" He kicked some rubble out of his way. "Well, no time like the present."

Krillin, talking to Bulma on the phone, groaned. "I'm sorry, please say that again. I must have heard you wrong, because it sounded like you said that Cell is on television." There was a chatter from the other end of the line, and the other occupants of Kame House's main room strained to listen as Krillin answered. "Oh. Oh. And he's giving…an exclusive…interview. To ZTV news. Of course. For a second there, I was expecting the world to actually make sense. How silly of me." He hung up, turning to Master Roshi. "Roshi…turn on the TV."

"But what—"

"Turn on the damn TV!"

"All right, all right…" Roshi hopped over to the television set, switching it on. Bulma had been telling the truth. Cell—the Cell, the ultimate creation of Dr. Gero, the self-prophesised terror of mankind, was giving ZTV news an exclusive interview.

"So, Mr. Cell—"

"Just Cell, thank you," the bio-android corrected. The scene was surreal—the otherworldly Cell was standing in the familiar daily news studio, talking to the familiar daily news anchor. There was a crumbling, smoking Cell-sized hole in the opposite wall.

The interviewer continued speaking. "Er, Cell—you displayed some kind of superhuman strength getting in here. Can you explain that to our audience?"

Cell smiled. "Hmm. Typical of the masses of humanity—to not understand even the most basic form of energy control. You could all do it, if you knew how—though, of course, not nearly to the extent that I can…"

"And you say you're here to challenge the human race?"

"That's right." Cell nodded. "I hereby declare war on humanity! He stood up. "Send your war machines, send your armies, send your greatest fighters, and I will face them all! The time of battle will be in five days. I throw down the gauntlet to your world! Don't disappoint me. If you fail to defeat me, I'll destroy this entire planet. I'm not too attached to it." He vanished, flying away with speed far faster than the human eye could follow, or the cameras could record.

"Well…that was unique…" the anchor said slowly, when he had calmed down. "I've got nothing to add, really. Uh…here's Ann with the weather."

Ann shrugged. "I was kind of excited about this one. Perfect sunny week, tidal wave up North. But, you know what, nobody cares now. An evil bug robot just declared war on humanity. You've got me beat. In fact, if the world is going to end, I quit. Bye." She walked off of the screen, much to the bemusement of the television station, and Roshi turned the TV off.

"This is bad," he said. "Anybody who had a chance against Cell already knew."

"The world's nations are gonna send their armies in," Launch observed, "and they're gonna get slaughtered."

Krillin sighed. "Hopefully they'll at least wait five days…"

Raditz too managed to master the Super Saiyan form completely, or so it seemed. It would be impossible to tell to quite what extent the four saiyans had perfected the form to until the actual battle with Cell, when they could all power up and cut loose. Maintaining it during training was one thing—in battle was quite another. As soon as he left the Chamber, Nail entered. The days began to pass uneventfully, and they noted Nail had emerged significantly stronger—around the level of Cell's second form, perhaps a little more. It was shortly after Zarbon and Krillin had begun their turn inside the mystical room that the next notable event occurred.

The entire group met almost every day now, usually at Capsule Corp. One of these gatherings was underway, when an enormous noise was heard overhead. All heads turned to the sky, to see a large spaceship arcing down towards them. Bulma tapped a button on her scouter, activating its communication function. "Hey, Dad, you in the lab?"

"Of course," Dr. Brief replied, "I'm just helping along that anti-Cell project you're working on."

"Ah, you're the best! But some kind of ship is about to land, didn't it show up on the scanners?"

"No…" Within the building, the scientist peered out of the window. "Well, I'll be damned. Right on our doorstep, without so much as a beep from our sensors. Must be very well shielded—I designed those sensors myself, you know."

They all turned to face the ship as it landed, its impressive propulsion system not even so much as rippling the grass. The hatch slid open, folding down and forming a ramp down which several military-looking types, clad head-to-toe in obscuring body armour, marched. They didn't carry weapons, and with good reason—they had power levels comparable to that of Frieza and Cooler's elite soldiers. The fighters tensed, hoping they were ready for anything.

The soldiers formed two lines on the ramp, and between them descended a man who appeared to be their leader. He was of average height, with untidy black hair and a thick moustache. There was a scar running over one of his eyes, and he wore a heavily-personalised, dark green version of the armour Frieza's soldiers used to wear—so customised it almost looked to Raditz like the ridiculous outfits the inhabitants of Yardrat had worn, accompanied by a white cape slung over one shoulder. His power was slightly higher than the soldiers', but his ki signature was unmistakeable.

"He's a saiyan," Goku muttered. As he said this, they noticed the tail curled belt-style around his waist.

"Greetings," the saiyan said. "It has taken me a long time to find you—does anyone know where I might find…I…where…wha…" his eloquent speech broke down into a halting stutter.

"Uh…hello?" Goku stepped over to him and waved a hand in his face. "Are you okay?" This simple movement raised the ire of the ever-alert soldiers, who instantly moved to surround Goku, each raising a hand and forming a threatening ball of energy around it, all of them pointing at the fighter's head.

"Okay, put 'em down," Raditz warned. "You do not want to start this. Not with him."

The soldiers remained silent and stationary, until the mysterious saiyan came out of his trance. "Uh…at ease, men! Right now!" The soldiers withdrew, resuming their previous positions. "You're blind if you think you'd stand a chance against someone like him, even all together!" He wiped his brow nervously. "I apologise. My name is Paragus. Greetings, my fellow saiyans."

"I didn't think any more of us survived planet Vegeta's explosion," Goku said.

"Indeed—I myself thought I was the only survivor," Paragus told them, "until I heard word that the entire Cold family had fallen—at the hands of a mighty golden warrior, a Super Saiyan. This was truly amazing news, so I followed up any and all leads I could find—my search was a long one, and almost completely fruitless. Finally, I followed King Cold's path to his demise—to a planet called Earth. I expected to find only traces of your passing, but it seems you've elected to stay here."

"It is one of the finest worlds in this galaxy," Raditz answered levelly. "I would not trade it for Frieza's entire empire."

"I see…" Paragus ignored this. "I apologise again for my earlier amazement, but your appearance..." The Super Saiyans were all, of course, transformed. "I was under the impression that there was only one Super Saiyan. Which of you destroyed the Cold family?"

"Er…" Goku scratched his head. "Well, it's kind of complicated. Cooler killed Frieza, then Raditz killed Cooler, then Cooler came back with King Cold, and Break killed both of them, and then Frieza came back, and Raditz killed him, and then Kuriza came along, and I fought him, but I guess I sort of…reformed him." All throughout this explanation, he was pointing at Raditz, Break, Kuriza and himself. He was going to start explaining the whole alternate timeline and the android situation, when Paragus interrupted.

"The spawn of Frieza lives?" he growled, noticing Kuriza. I'll kill it quickly, before it transforms! He prepared to hurl a quick-charging green energy beam. "This is for our race, you monster!"

However, Goku caught his arm before he could launch the attack, holding it in an unbreakable grip with no effort at all. "Let's get something straight," he said in a low, unusually menacing voice. "These people are my friends. No matter what race they are, or what they've done in the past, or who they're related to." He put a tiny bit of energy into his hold, and it felt to Paragus like his arm was being crushed between planets. "If you harm any of them, there will be no escape for you. I will hunt you to the end of the universe. Are we clear?"

Paragus nodded, letting out a small whimper. Goku smiled. "Good." He noticed that the soldiers were again threatening him. Loyal, but stupid, I guess. An invisible wave of force, precisely targeted so as not to touch Goku, Paragus or the ship, knocked each soldier senseless individually, their armoured bodies clattering as they dropped to the ground. Goku looked around in annoyance. "That wasn't necessary! They were no threat!"

Raditz shrugged. "What? They were getting on my nerves!"

A few minutes later, things had calmed down a bit. The soldiers were piled up inside the ship, and Paragus was sitting opposite them, massaging his arm and sipping a glass of juice Mrs. Brief had forced into his hands. "Do any of you know where I would find Prince Vegeta?"

Raditz's nose wrinkled. "Vegeta? Left him on some planet in the middle of nowhere a couple of years ago, after we fought on new Namek. Haven't seen him since." He sighed. "He's probably training to get stronger than us…"

Paragus' face registered a brief moment of shock, but he immediately covered it up "You…fought with the Prince?" He hesitated, but his warrior's instinct compelled him to ask. "Who won?"

"Ah, so you are a true saiyan after all!" Raditz grinned. "It looked like an even match—he was slightly superior in strength, and I had some unique techniques—but Frieza interrupted our battle, and I was forced to knock Vegeta out during the events that followed. That was the last time I saw him."

Paragus nodded. "Well, let me tell you a little bit about my mission. I have discovered a planet I have declared the New Planet Vegeta. It is the perfect place to begin a new saiyan empire! Just picture it!"

"I don't see what's so—" Goku began, but Raditz elbowed him in the ribs, telepathically growling at him, Play along! You're a saiyan! Act like one! "—uh, that sounds great!" He forced a smile.

"Exactly. With Frieza and his forces gone, the former empire in disarray, now is the perfect time for us to seize power! And with the might of the Super Saiyans, none can stand before us!" He paused, with just a touch of dramatic flair. "Well…almost no-one. There is a great and powerful force in the universe. It has already devastated many star systems, and is moving towards my new planet Vegeta."

All four of the other saiyans and half-saiyans leaned a bit closer, eager to hear of this powerful force—even, not entirely consciously, Gohan. "What is it?" Break asked, a smile creeping onto her face.

"The Legendary Super Saiyan, a being of enormous power, and bloodthirsty madness to match," Paragus answered. "Having heard vague stories of his rampage, and seen somewhat shaky (due to being transmitted through half-broken scouters) footage of the Cold family's demise, most believe him to be the very same that wiped them out. Of course, you're all living a relatively peaceful life here—"

"I'd dispute that," Bulma muttered. "We've got troubles here on Earth too, you know."

"—a relatively isolated life, then," Paragus continued with a hint of irritation, but since Goku's warning he had been trying his best to remain civil towards them, "so this monster cannot be any of you."

"Vegeta?" Nail suggested.

"I'm afraid not," Paragus replied. "You see, a very few manage to survive and escape this saiyan's rampages, and an even smaller number catch a glimpse of the beast himself. I have met with some of these, and from their description I can assure you that he is not Vegeta. In fact, I first thought it was he who'd destroyed the frost demons, and was hoping for his aid—but obviously I was wrong."

"I see…let me guess." Raditz stood up. "You said this Legendary Super Saiyan's path is taking him towards your new home planet. You want us to defend it."

"That's about right. Will you?" He gave a pleading look. "Think of the future of our race! This raging monster is a disgrace to our line of proud warriors—we, the true saiyans, must emerge victorious."

"Hmm…" Goku came to a decision. "All right! Let's do it!" The lure of a true challenge was irresistible.

"Wait, what?" Nail looked incredulous. "You can't be serious."

"Sure I can! There's still time to heal after this before the battle with Cell, don't worry. Plus, this'll be a good test of our new power, right?"

"I guess…" Gohan clearly wasn't sure. "But who should go?"

"How about just the fighters we've got here?" Goku indicated the group. "Us four Super Saiyans, and Nail."

"Hey, what about me?" Kuriza asked, pouting.

Goku patted the young frost demon on the shoulder. "Well, no offence, but if this guy really is a Super Saiyan, then he's way out of your league. I mean, you've come a long way, but you're still not even at your father's level."

"Aww, okay…" Kuriza shuffled off.

"All right, then it's decided!" Goku marched up the boarding ramp, followed by Raditz, Break, Gohan and Nail. "Hey, I wonder if there's a fridge around here somewhere…"

"Hey!" Came a familiar voice. Chi-Chi was stomping up to the ship, venting anger. "Hold it right there! You can't just go running off to have a battle in space now—especially not with my baby boy!" Just as she was about to board the ship and drag Gohan out by his ear, the hatch slammed shut and the ship took off with explosive force. "One day, Goku!" she yelled after it. "One day you'll learn that life isn't all about having adventures!"

Roshi shook his head. "No...I don't think he will."

Goku looked over at Raditz. "You flickered for a second there. Did you—"

"Run at full speed into the cockpit and instruct the ship to take off early? Yes, but don't tell your wife."

Goku laughed out loud. "Don't worry! We're going to be in enough trouble as it is…" He looked around, one way and then the other. But I could have sworn I heard…no, never mind. Distracted by Chi-Chi as they were, they'd failed to notice a small white-and-red blur zipping into the ship at the last second.

"The journey will take a few hours, my noble companions," Paragus said, bowing deeply and turning to head up to the ship's bridge. "Please, make yourself welcome, there are adequate facilities."

"All right!" Goku rubbed his hands together, skipping off towards the canteen. "Hey, chef!"

"Eh?" The chef, a light brown creature with eight arms of varying length and thickness, looked with a disinterested eye at the excited saiyan, who licked his lips at the sight of the exquisite array of food on offer.

"I'd like some of that…no, wait, that looks nice…ooh, is that…hmm…" Goku snapped his fingers. "I know! I'll just have one of everything. Or maybe two of everything…yeah, that'll do—for a first course, anyway…"

Raditz shook his head. Some things never change.He walked off to inspect the ship, and Break and Nail trailed after him, leaving Gohan on his own. Sort of. There was a bump behind a wall, and he peered through a wall-mounted grille, only to see Kuriza, curled up in a ball and hiding in the ventilation shaft. "Kuriza? You snuck on?"

"Yeah!" Kuriza grinned. "Soon as I learnt to control energy, I practiced real hard! Nobody can sense me if I don't want 'em to!" He suddenly looked nervous. "You won't tell that I'm here, will you? I don't want to get in trouble…"

Gohan gave a conspiratorial wink. "Don't worry. I won't say a word—I wouldn't do that to my best friend." He hesitated. "I've got to go. If someone sees me talking to the wall, that'll look kinda suspicious. Just…be careful. This guy might be really strong, okay?"

"Okay!" Kuriza crawled away, disappearing into the blackness of the tunnel as he headed off to explore the rest of the ship. Gohan stood up straight and strolled off to join his father—partly to see if he'd left any food at all for the rest of them. He could tell the others weren't afraid, but he was deeply worried-this mysterious, unkown enemy was out there somewhere. Another Super Saiyan. Gohan could almost feel his presence in their future, looming like a shadow over the voyage. He didn't know why, he simply had a terrible feeling of foreboding about the coming battle.

Paragus stood on the bridge, a cunning smile crossing his face. This has been somewhat unexpected. Instead of my intended target, I've encountered a group of renegades…traitors, even. Fighting other saiyans, letting their enemies live, harbouring the son of Frieza, living in harmony with the lower creatures…however, they're all Super Saiyans. That could prove troublesome. No matter. There's no way their power can exceed his. He'll deal with them—and then no-one will stand between me and my ultimate revenge on Vegeta…

Okay, you all know what's happening, but I think we can agree that the circumstances are a little different. Vegeta had a major role to play in the Broly movie's story, and his absence has certainly affected things (as has the fact that they're all Super Saiyans, like they're supposed to be, given that it's the run-up to the battle with Cell-**** movie continuity errors). But how will the rest of this mini-arc go? How do the characters here compare to their canon equivalents? Are Goku and Gohan as strong as in canon? How about Raditz compared to Vegeta? Break as opposed to Trunks? Nail and Piccolo? And what the hell is Kuriza doing? I can safely tell you that I have the answers to a whole two of those questions. The rest, I'm still deciding. Feel free to make suggestions. I can't promise I'll agree with them, but I will at least consider them.

Q: Perfect chapter. You hit every point, explained every detail, and changed things up: I never liked it when Goku was so confident waiting for Cell. Good work.

A: "Perfect chapter"...did you do that on purpose? (Actually, I already asked this through PM. They did.) And yeah, a little dramatic tension never hurt a story.

Q: It seems Goku and Gohan BROKE THROUGH THE LIMIT that Raditz and Break couldn't!(HA!) I'm a bit disappointed that Yamcha didn't have that scene with Eighteen; it would've been interesting to see it. I'm more of a fan of non-canon couples just for the hell of it. If you don't mind me adding, I think the whole confrontation with Cell was a little too rushed(more Cell's 1st form and the battle in his Perfect Form.) Overall, great work, and I can't wait to see what happens next on Wednesday/Thursday.

A: Ba-dumm tsss, title drop. SOMEBODY noticed. Okay, I kid, plenty of you probably noticed but just didn't mention it. I often notice something halfway through a chapter, but forget about it by the time I write a review (and obviously, many readers don't leave reviews, otherwise I would have many thousands of reviews). I apologise for rushed-ness. I shall attempt to make the battle against Perfect Cell last longer.

Q: Quite a dilemma that the good fighters are having. I like the subtle changes to make the same events happen. However I wonder if, lacking confidence, Goku will enter the chamber with Raditz this time? After all, Gohan, while intelligent, may not be able to handle a second year. It is supposed to be a difficult and ardurous place to even consider entering.

A: Raditz didn't want to get 'left behind', so decided to go it alone, and Goku still doesn't consider a second year to be worthwhile. But Krillin and Zarbon are taking a turn, which shows they're somewhat less confident of their situation. I think the lowest-level fighter to enter in-canon was Piccolo. But I'd assume these two could handle it. I mean, kid Goku did, right? (Was that just anime filler? I don't know. He seemed to know about the room, I assume he went in for a bit during his training with Kami.)

Q: ...After reading the Kai version of the Mecha Cooler and the beginning of the Android saga I am now picturing Dr. Gero dancing to the song. "U can't touch this." That would be worth paying to see.

A: I don't have an answer to this. It's not really a question. But I just had to put it here for you all to see. The mental image is just too funny.

Q: So break is turning abit into the vegeta arch type. letting the bad guy get stronger.

the super saiyan and ascended saiyan transformation must realy be bad for her mental state.

A: I hear she's working on it...

Q: raditz has a form above, so he has ultra super saiyan (the big bulky, slow making form) suprising for him to consider that form usefull.

A: Well, if he knows how and when to use it (*cough*DBMUniverse12Trunks*cough*, although he mastered it to a much greater extent that Raditz here, having had more time to practice).

Q: hmm... the points that felt rushed were Gohan going SSJ (actually a bit sudden) and Goku powering up. I think it would've been better for if Launch said she wanted to talk to Raditz in the next chapter and done it a bit more forcefully.

A: I know, I know. I sped up a bit in that last chapter. Did I pace this one okay? Or was it like, BAM, Paragus? I hope not. I couldn't think of much more to put in the intervening time between his arrival and the HTC training.

Q: Nice, so I guess Goku has an incentive to go back inside the RoSaT this time. That could produce some interesting results, perhaps discovering SSJ2 early and having more of a focus on Super Perfect Cell this time... I guess Goku and Raditz will go in together, then Gohan and Kuriza, then Nail and Break (if anyone can help her rage issues, it's Nail and Kami, I suppose).

A: Afraid not-Goku knows constantly pushing himself won't help him any more than it already has, just like in canon. And Break opted to go in alone-though, given the result, perhaps Nail being in there with her would have helped. But she's all tough and independent from a life on the run, and doesn't like depending on others.

Q: Surprised Vegeta hasn't shown up yet. It will certainly be interesting to see how far he progressed when he does. Goku/Raditz learned Instant Transmission from just one planet. With the whole universe out there, the possibilities for him are virtually endless.

A: Vegeta will be much improved from his last appearance. But when? That's a very good question. And, of course, why hasn't he re-appeared sooner? He knows where Earth is.

Q: Soooo it seems gohan's going to surprise everyone including goku now, gohan sounds calm enough though.

A: It's certainly a possibility, he hasn't expressed too much worry-though maybe he's just got to thinking that Goku and Raditz can handle anything the world can throw at them?

Q: You certainly covered a lot of ground here. I'm wondering why Kuriza has been the last few chapters? I don't remember him so much as being mentioned since he and Goku fought. To be honest I feel that you're really rushing the heck out of this story all of a sudden. Not so much the story itself, but the character development, specifically between Raditz and Break and Raditz's personal development could be further explored than how you're going about it. On another note I really liked how Raditz at least tried to get creative with the power weighted SSJ form. He's far more tactical and not as blinded by fury like Vegeta was in his place in canon. It's that sort of thing that I've come to really enjoy in this story.

A: Well, this chapter had quite a bit of character development (I think? Not much fighting, anyway.), so hopefully that's better than the last couple in that sense. Kuriza has been hanging around with Roshi, Bulma, Chi-Chi, Chiaotzu, that group. He's become a bit more prominent in this chapter. And yeah, I like having the characters use all these different tactics and abilities intelligently. There are a lot of combinations and strategies they can pull off that make the fight scenes really fun to write. Am I getting too technical? I don't think so.

Well, as I said, you all know what's coming-so prepare for one hell of a beatdown this Sunday.