Chapter 46: Lion's Den

If anybody can spot where I got the title from (and no, I mean besides the obvious they're-going-into-the-lion's-den-as-in-a-dangerous-situation thing), I'll be impressed. Not that you're stupid or anything if you don't get it; it's kind of obscure.

Hmm, new info on the Bulma's-family-name front. From a link given to me by Storm107 (original post on the Kanzenshuu site by 'Herms'):

"This comes up every now and then, so it'd probably be good to have a go-to post explaining the matter. In the Funi dub and English fandom in general, it's common for the name of Bulma's father, Briefs, to be treated as a family name, making Bulma "Bulma Briefs", her mother "Mrs Briefs", and so on with Trunks, Bra, and sometimes even Vegeta. However, "Briefs" is never used this way in the original manga, anime, or any other Japanese sources. There, "Briefs" is simply used as the name for Bulma's father, and never applied to any other member of the family (with the somewhat sad result that Bulma's mother is only ever called "Bulma's mother", though in DB Forever Toriyama says that if he had ever bothered naming her, he would have gone with "Pantchy" or some other panties pun).

Videl states that it's pretty rare for people to have family names these days, and notes how odd it is that Gohan has one. Toriyama reaffirms this in the Super Exciting Guide: Character Volume, saying that Videl and her father Mark have none ("Mister Satan" being merely a stagename). So there's no reason to assume a character has a family name unless it's explicitly stated. Note that the West City policeman's computer lists Bulma simply as "Bulma", and the policeman himself never asks Goku for Bulma's family name, more signs that people on DB Earth typically don't have them. I guess it is a bit confusing with Bulma's dad being called "Doctor Briefs", but of course if Videl went to med school she'd end up as "Doctor Videl".

There's likewise no reason to think that "Gero" is anything but a given name, or for that matter that the same isn't true for Red, Black, Blue, or the rest of the Red Ribbon Army staff. Maybe later I'll take a more in-depth look at family names in DB, but this should do for now."

What do you guys think of that? It's ultimately up to you whether I continue to use family names or go by this, pretty convincing (to me), interpretation.

(But at least we've established that, in whatever capacity it's used in, it's 'Briefs' not 'Brief'. Well, one thing cleared up, anyway.)

Gohan gazed around him. On the whole, the city was not entirely unlike some he'd visited on Earth—the only noticeable differences being that the technology was generally of a higher standard, and the blend of species gave the crowds a strange and varied appearance. This in particular was a good thing—Gohan had initially wondered that his orange uniform and Kuriza's disguise (long grey robes and Arcos-pattern face-concealing mask, which made his eyes look like eerie red dots of light under his hood—any relative of Frieza's would be sure to make a scene just by showing their face) would make them stand out, but they weren't the strangest sights on the street, not by a long shot.

"So...is it always this busy?" Videl asked, as a small lizardlike creature pushed its way between her and Gohan.

"Eh...it's a bit quiet, actually," Zarbon replied, ducking under a low-flying jetbike.

"I beg to differ," Gohan muttered.

"You say that..." Zarbon gestured around them. "I don't mean there's less people. Just look...everyone's just trying to get from A to B as quickly as possible. Heads down, shuffling, almost no talking. Last time I was here, there were street vendors on every corner, flashing news screens overhead, shouted conversations halfway down the street. Everyone just seems so...dull. Depressed, even. More so, even, than under Frieza."

"Huh. I would've thought living in Frieza's empire would be pretty depressing."

"You'd think so...and in most places, yes. But he rarely ever came here, or sent any kind of serious garrison to occupy it or defend it. That low military presence is actually why it became such a cultural nexus in the first place. Is this saiyan ruler really that much worse, I wonder?"

"Not worse," Kuriza chipped in. "Just closer, more obvious. What I wonder is if the Namekian ruler on the other side of the planet is as bad as this..."

"Hold up." Zarbon put his arm out to stop them. "Don't get any closer, but something's happening up there." He indicated a spot, a hundred yards or so up the street, where a commotion was occuring. A armoured figure was dragging a pair of civilians down the road, one held by the neck in each hand. "Looks like we're about to see how this saiyan runs his territory first-hand..."

The tall, swaggering humanoid soldier, sporting dark grey armour and a long ponytail of muted green hair, threw the pair of citizens—a couple of blue fish-like individuals—to the ground in front of him. His jewellery clinked as he tossed his hair over his shoulder, smiling down at them. "Now," he said as if talking to a small child, "are you aware of the law? That thing standing between order and chaos?" He was answered by silent, terrified nods. "Then why," he whispered, though the street was so quiet—one collective held breath—that it was impossible not to hear him, "did you feel that you were exempt from it? You know the tax rates, yet you openly, brazenly did business without giving the government its cut...honestly." He shook his head, looking disappointed. "We run half the planet, protect you from harm, organise everything, and this is how you repay us? By cheating us of our hard-earned money?"

"Please!" one of the unfortunate victims squeaked. "We can't afford the tax, it keeps increasing...we'll starve!"

"Then work harder!" the soldier growled, kicking the protester in the ribs to an audible crunch—he had a fairly sizeable ki. "All of you...you're only alive thanks to the good graces of Lord Turles...in his infinite kindness, he has elected to let you live for the time being. You are, each and every one of you, in debt to him: to wit, one life." He placed his foot on his second victim's head, applying the slightest bit of force and receiving a terrified whimper. "If he demands all your money, all your property, you give it up and be happy! Happy that you're still breathing, that you can earn some more to give to him tomorrow! Understand?!" Another whimper. "I said do you—"

"STOP IT!"

Silence fell. The soldier's head turned. "Who said that?!" he demanded, stepping off his victim and stalking forwards as the crowd parted before him. "Come forwards! Or I'll start blasting this crowd." There was no need for threats—a second parting appeared as Gohan stormed up to him.

"You leave these people alone!"

"Huh..." the soldier sniffed. "What's it to you, kid?"

"Just stop hurting them!" The half-breed's eyes narrowed. "Now leave before I have to do this the hard way."

"Heh. Heheheh..." the man, easily twice Gohan's height, rolled his eyes. "You're threatening me. This is actually...you are actually threatening me...that's good." He grinned. "That's real good, kid. I don't know, maybe you aren't completely crazy, standing up to me...maybe you're some super-strong mutant or warrior species...but you're looking at Lord Turles' right-hand man. The name's Daiz...you may have heard of me. Lone survivor of the Kabocha massacre...trust me. You don't want any of what I got."

Gohan's expression didn't change. "You can't beat me. Don't make me prove it. I don't want to start a fight...just leave."

Daiz seemed to lose interest in Gohan—possibly due to the repetitive nature of his threats. "Hey." He pointed at the pair of cowering fish-people he'd been menacing a minute ago. "You know what their problem is? They can't afford to eat. Too many mouths to feed..." without warning, a red energy beam shot from his pointing finger, vapourising one of the aliens. "See? Problem solved—aaack!"

"YOU—!" Gohan, in the space of a second, had cannoned into Daiz, grabbing him by the shoulders and slamming him into the wall behind him, cracking the concrete. "They weren't doing anything to you! They were totally defenseless! How could you do that to them?!"

"Ugh...what the...hell...?" Daiz struggled to pull out of Gohan's grip, but his efforts were futile. He threw a kick into the child's stomach, but his foot rebounded painfully with no effect. What's going on?! He reached a hand up and managed to tap his scouter—but, unable to cope with Gohan's massive power level, even the newer, reinforced model exploded. "No way! These things top out in the two hundred thousands! But...th-that's...that means..." He went pale, trying harder to pull away. "You're a monster! How can a kid be so strong?!"

"SHUT UP!" Gohan smacked the babbling soldier across the face with the back of his hand, the sharp blow instantly knocking him out. "I'm so tired of people who break down as soon as they aren't the strongest person around!" Easily carrying Daiz over his shoulder, he walked back out into the centre of the street, dumping the unconscious oppressor on the ground. "Does this happen often?" he asked the assembled crowd. "This violence...this killing?" Nervous silence. "Answer me! Is it normally like this?" Nods, murmured assent. "All right." He left in a burst of super-speed, appearing in a back alley next to Zarbon, Kuriza and Videl.

"Idiot," Zarbon muttered. "You drew too much attention to yourself. We should be keeping a low profile."

"What was I going to do, let them die?!"

"I don't know. Maybe. It might have been better to take these guys on once we have a better idea of the situation. Don't act rashly, it always leads to trouble...you can't save everybody."

"Zarbon." It was Videl speaking. The alien turned, surprised to see the harshness on the girl's face. "Don't talk like that! At that moment, those people were being hurt. Killed. That's a very serious matter...don't abstract it."

"Yeah," Kuriza nodded. "It's simple. You stop bad things from happening."

"Heroes!" Zarbon groaned. "I'm surrounded by altruists and bloody heroes! Why me?"

"Sir!" Amond, Turles' third-in-command, entered the throne room, saluting formally. "Daiz is down."

"Dead?" Turles assumed, barely concerned at the loss of his most trusted subordinate. He had seemed somewhat...detached, recently—an effect that increased every time he ate a fruit from the Tree. He swung between jaded and uncaring, and violent anger. But, whatever the side effects, there was no arguing with the results. True to his original aim, Turles was now undoubtedly more powerful than Frieza (whose full power level of 120 million units was made public knowledge after certain documents were unearthed in the chaos following the fall of the frost demon dynasty*).

(*Author's note: Another piece of data uncovered was an approximation of King Cold's full power. It was between two and three times Frieza's. It was not anything like 10 billion. Bujin is an idiot.)

"Don't know at this point, sir. However, before his scouter overloaded, it was trying to read a power level that it couldn't record—and those models can handle over two hundred thousand units! We've got a serious threat here, sir."

"Mm-hmm." Turles shrugged. "I guess so. Play the footage." He watched impassively as Daiz's scouter's video feed replayed Gohan's furious assault on his huge wall-mounted monitor, right up until Daiz had tried to get an exact fix on his opponent's power level. "Hmph. A saiyan..."

"Are you sure?" Amond asked sceptically. "There are many similar-looking species to saiyans in the universe..." Plus, I thought Turles was the only surviving saiyan...

"Trust me. I know my race when I see them," the renegade saiyan said quietly. I wonder if I could recruit this one...hold on a second. "Rewind." Amond did so, almost reaching the beginning of the footage. "Keep going...keep going...there. Look. Back left, ducking into the alley. Zoom in."

"Sir? Who is it?" Amond asked, perplexed—the muscular brute of Turles' squad, he was not accustomed to thinking too much (that was usually Daiz's role).

"Not sure. But he's familiar..." Turles tapped his forehead. "Run a face-match or something. See if it's somebody on file."

"Uh..." Amond tentatively tried a button on the console, and by luck more than anything else activated the face-match software, running the image by the planet's database.

Twelve seconds later, blinking red letters appeared on-screen as a file from the database opened. FACIAL RECOGNITION CONFIRMED: 95% MATCH.

Turles smiled. "Ah, Zarbon...you didn't die in that Namek debacle, then...the famous Zarbon and some mysterious saiyan, running around on my planet. This just got interesting." Right as the Tree is about to ripen again, no less...

"You're really doing this."

"Yes." Gohan nodded.

"You're actually going to—"

"Zarbon! This 'government' isn't fit to rule. You've seen that already."

"You're ridiculous. We haven't been here an hour—"

"Just follow my lead. Or wait back at the ship. Up to you..."

Zarbon rolled his eyes. "I don't believe this. I've worked for Frieza, I know about irrational decisions, but you're right up there with him!"

"So you're coming?"

"Yes." He sighed. "I can't let you run off alone. The things I do for that infernal woman...more trouble than she's worth."

"You don't really think that," Kuriza said.

"I don't really think that," Zarbon admitted.

"Turles! Lord Turles!" Amond skidded into the throne room. "He's—they're here! The saiyan kid, Zarbon, and a couple others!"

"Already?" Turles shook his head, clearing his thoughts. "Shame...it's too early to go out, really."

"It's...almost evening, sir."

"Right." Turles almost didn't seem to hear him. "Well. Get Cacao. And...Rasin...Lakasei, was that their names?"

"Sorry, sir..." Amond stammered, not having realised Turles would forget so easily. "We lost Rasin and Lakasei...remember, sir? The incident on Ikonda?"

"Right, right. In that case...meet them. Get Cacao. I'll be out soon." He stood up, stretching. So much work...it's all so much...work.

Gohan threw Daiz's body on the ground in front of him, smashing open the great stone gates with a wave of his hand. Turles' palace lay beyond—originally constructed in anticipation of a visit from Frieza, back in his day, it was a labrynthian, Gothic construction, towering spires and gargoyles adorning every crevice. Gohan indicated the unconscious soldier. "Is this yours?" he called out.

"Not any more." Twin blasts of energy shot from the right and left, and Gohan jumped to intercept as they sped straight for Daiz's prone form. This time, the half-saiyan was prepared for treachery, and he caught both beams, deflecting them harmlessly. "You can come out now," he said. "I knew you were low, but that was despicable. He's your own comrade!"

"Being defeated like that? He might as well already be dead. You should have killed him when you beat him," said the soldier approaching from Gohan's left. Amond was thick-set, red-skinned, and bore a scar down the left side of his face. His armour was heavily customised, adorned with baggy sashes and flashes of colour.

"I won't murder someone just because they're weaker than me," Gohan insisted.

"Logic error," the soldier to Gohan's right whirred. "Basic strategy indicates a dead enemy cannot recover and counter-attack. Yet you spared him. This was an incorrect action. Perhaps your cogitation system is faulty." Cacao was a large, intimidating construct of gleaming metal, seemingly moulded from great smooth plates of a steel-like substance, with little evidence on the surface of wiring or internal mechanisms.

"Where's Turles?" Gohan asked calmly, but no response came. "So let me guess. We have to go through you first..."

"That's about it," Amond replied, cracking his knuckles.

"Don't bother with that—you go find Turles. I'll take the big guy," Kuriza declared.

"I'll get the robot, then." Zarbon entered a fighting stance. "Go on ahead, Gohan. We've got this."

"Right! Thanks, guys. Uh, Videl..."

She nodded. "I'll watch your back."

"All right." Gohan turned to face the entrace. "Let's go."

Raditz lay in the afterlife's long grass, idly chewing a stalk of it. He liked coming out here sometimes, to be alone—in the middle of this peaceful train of thought, King Kai came hopping up, shattering the silence.

"Hey, Raditz! Raditz! Guess what?"

Raditz sighed, standing up in a leisurely fashion, before stretching and yawning like a disturbed cat. "Whaaaat."

"You've got an audience with the Grand Kai! He says he'll see you! Do you know what this means? He's the greatest fighting master in the afterlife! Finally, somebody who can keep up with you!"

"Huh?" Raditz, rubbing his eyes, began to pay attention. "Oh yeah, I remember. That's good. Well...I can sense five Kai energies around here...I guess that'll be the four Kais like you and the Grand one. He'll be the biggest power, right?"

"Well, yes, but don't just go Instant Transmission off and leave me here—" The northern Kai's words were wasted, however, as Raditz did exactly that.

The Grand Kai was not what you'd expect from the ruler of the gods of all four galaxies. He wore blue jeans and a faded denim jacket, topped off with square-lensed sunglasses that contrasted his extravagant white beard and moustache combination. As Raditz arrived, he was crouched over his boombox, trying to repair it. "Aaagh...this damn thing..."

"Uh..." Raditz looked around what appeared to be the supreme deity's residence, an ornate palace quite at odds with its occupant. "Grand...Kai?"

"Huh?" The Grand Kai looked up, overcoming his surprise at his suddenly-appearing visitor. "Oh yeah, that's me. Who's asking?"

"I'm Raditz," the saiyan replied. "King Kai...uh, I mean, North Kai...told me you'd agreed to train me when you heard I'd beaten Pikkon, and, well, I've kind of run out of challenging sparring partners and teachers, haha!" Casual laughter hadn't always been like him, but the afterlife had lightened him up, giving him a more easy-going view on life (death?).

"Oh, yeah...I remember now." Grand Kai nodded. "Well...all right. This thing," he kicked the faulty boombox for emphasis, "isn't behavin', so I guess there's no time like the present, eh?"

"Sounds good to me."

"All right, son..." Grand Kai and Raditz stood hovering in the air in a huge round chamber, hundreds of miles across, which had been enchanted to hold dozens of miniature star systems, complete with house-sized stars and car-sized planets. "It's been a while since I've done some serious trainin' or fightin', so let's just see what you've got, to start off with." I haven't been paying as much attention as I should've, I think...I wish I at least remembered how strong Pikkon was, so I'd have some kind of expectation of what this one would be like...who knows, maybe he almost measures up to me...

"Okay." Raditz took in a deep breath. "So just power up to maximum?"

"That's about it. Go ahead and transform if you can—I need to see your best."

"Right. Hhhhh...kkkkkhhhh..." his breathing became ragged as his power shot up in huge bursts. "HAAAAAA!" The air burned gold as he turned Super Saiyan. He closed his eyes and reached within, bringing his true power to the surface as he ascended to Super Saiyan 2. "Huh...hah...hhh..." he smiled, his power surging around him. "All right...how's this?"

"Woah...what the...?!" Grand Kai was half a mile away, having been bowled over and sent flying by the force of Raditz's ki. Slowly, he righted himself and floated back over. "You're that strong...? You've gotta be kidding me..."

"What?" Raditz looked faintly disappointed as he powered down. "Don't tell me I'm even more powerful than you..."

"I'm afraid so," Grand Kai replied sheepishly. "Wow...you're really something. Sorry, I don't think there's anything left for me to teach ya!"

"Oh." Raditz seemed downcast for a moment, but then brightened up. "Well, I'll bet Pikkon's training harder than ever to catch up with me...yeah, I'm sure he'll be a more challenging opponent next time." He nodded. "And even if not, I can always try fighting him in a lower form...although that might just be as easy a win for him as it is for me at full power...well, whatever." He flew over towards the exit, waving to Grand Kai. "See you! Thanks anyway!"

An hour or so later...

Grand Kai sat in his chambers. That guy...I've never felt a power like that in my life, and I've been around over 50,000 years... Thoughtfully, he padded over to a large crystal set in one wall, placing one hand on it—a direct line to the world above, the Sacred World of the Kais, where even he was not permitted to set foot. "Hey, up there...anybody home?"

I am here, a soft-toned voice answered. Is there something you wish to bring to my attention, young one?

"Yeah, actually." He paused. "You know Pikkon? West Galaxy, strongest fighter in Otherworld?"

I am aware of this one, yes.

"Somebody beat him."

And this is relevant how? Champions come and go. The afterlife is not static.

"Well...this guy...this saiyan, I believe...he's a lot stronger than Frieza ever was. I'm nothing compared to him. I'm telling you, I've never seen anything as powerful as this, in all my millenia. Plus...he was a hero in his life, I'm told."

How so?

"Reformed genocide, strange as that sounds. Turned his whole life around, saved more people than he ever killed. Went out saving his brother, and his adopted planet."

I see. Why are you telling me this?

"Well...that Z-Sword of yours?"

What of it?

"You told me only a truly heroic individual could wield it? And no-one's yet been strong enough, not even you?"

You're not suggesting this mortal is superior to me, surely.

"I don't know! I've never seen you at full power. Just...take my word for it. This one's different, all right?"

I'll consider it. For now, I must depart. Duty calls.

"You still on that witch-hunt?"

Wizard, actually. But yes. I must find Babidi soon. He must not succeed.

"I understand. Good luck." The connection broke, and Grand Kai ambled back over to his bed, slumping on it lazily. Well, I had been thinkin' recently that I wanted somethin' interesting to happen around here...I guess I got what I asked for. What are we gonna do with you, Raditz?

My plans for the rest of the Countdown Saga are coming together nicely in my head. I was a little vague on how it'd all turn out at first, but I think I've pretty much got it figured out now.

Also, to the people who subtle humour is lost on: YES, IT IS LORD SLUG. I WAS BEING SARCASTIC. Uh...no offense. I'm sure you were tired or not thinking too hard or busy or something. (Note: Simgr101, I'm not talking about you. I acknowledge that you were also being sarcastic. Just to make sure that's clear.)

Q: Also, I'm not sure if this is a mistake or I just missed something, but when did the humans on Namek find out Frieza's name?

A: Uh...er...wait, I know. Through the same magical plot device that stopped Kibito Kai from teleporting over to let Dende heal Goku at the end of canon DBZ (what's this, he's out of energy? From two, maybe three teleportations? Normal Kibito, with less energy, could manage that without tiring out, what's wrong with Kibito Kai all of a sudden? Also, he can bloody HEAL PEOPLE HIMSELF. Physician! Thyself! Heal! And if he can't for some reason, WHAT ABOUT DENDE?! The conversation literally goes like this: Dende: "Take me to Goku so I can RESTORE HIS ENERGY." Kibito Kai: "I can't, I'm OUT OF ENERGY." The hell?!)

Q: On the subject on the Shadow Dragons and Seven Deadly Sins, don't the dragons already represent them?

A: Um...no, I don't think so.

Q: 1. Is Vegeta ever gonna get some lovin? Maybe a new prince or princess?

A: WE SHALL SEE (seriously though, I don't know yet...wait, "prince or princess"? I...I don't think I like what you're implying about Vegeta...)

Q: 2. When Raditz goes SSJ where does his hair go (all up? all out?)? And what will a SSJ3 Raditz look like (other than maybe a golden Cousin It)?

A: Um...good question. I think it just sort of goes a bit more rigid and stays more or less where it is. Purely because if it went all upwards I just couldn't take him seriously. And SSJ3 Raditz would just be a giant ball of hair. He'd be like Buu rolling up into a ball and bouncing into you. But seriously, I don't know what the SSJ3 version of hair that's already SSJ3 length would be. And "will"? Who says Raditz has to unlock SSJ3?

Q: 4. We ever gonna see the future again? If not, spinoff maybe? And will Krillin ever get some lovin either?

A: Yes, and maybe.

Q: 5. Zen Launch...Blond with Blue streaks? Or Blue with Blond streaks?

A: Blue with one kinda central blonde streak. I think I already said this somewhere. Did I not?

Q: I wonder if you keep eating from the tree of might do you keep getting endless power boosts? Is it always the same power boost, or does it depend on your current power? I suspect you will answer both questions in the upcoming chapters.

A: Um...possibly?

Q: So,are you including The World's Strongest?

[Can't italicize this question for the Q&A FOR SOME REASON]

A: Probably not. But I'm not ruling it out. I just have no plans for it. If I think of something, I'll go with it (I've used up 3/4 of the main DBZ series, any extra material is a good thing!).

Q: And about Zarbon...huh...

A: Huh? What do you mean by 'huh', just out of curiousity?