IMPORTANT-ISH: The special should be released this Tuesday. The problem is that I'm not entirely confident with it currently. I'm going to ask around and see if anyone can edit/check it (and if anyone reading this wants to, by all means PM me and tell me, I'd be grateful for the help). If I can get all that done by Tuesday, hooray. If not, I'll re-evaluate my special-writing schedule and tell you all what's happening next normal chapter this Sunday. So, to sum up...there'll probably be a special update this Tuesday. Probably.
Chapter 64: World War Z
No, I haven't seen the movie. Read the chapter, and you'll understand the title.
Also, a quick (ish) clarification on Gohan's power level post-timeskip here. In canon, Vegeta said that Gohan must have been slacking off and not training since his power had dropped. But it must have been a serious amount of slacking, since Vegeta said that even discounting training, Gohan's power should have increased simply as a result of becoming (more or less) an adult. Yet it still went down! So in BTtL, Videl's influence caused Gohan to train a little. A little. Not enough to increase his power through training, certainly, nothing intense. He's still peaceful by nature, and rather focused on finishing his book. But enough to stop him from getting, ki-wise, 'out of shape'. So his power (after the timeskip partway through the chapter) will have increased significantly, but only because of his growing up and having an adult body, and not nearly as much as he could have increased it if he'd been training like Goku the whole time. I think this level is about where canon Gohan after training with the Z-sword was, by the way.
"I just can't understand it," Tien said, scratching his head. Launch stood opposite him—the two had just finished sparring. "The rate you're improving at—it isn't just incredible, it should be impossible."
Launch shrugged. "That's a good thing, isn't it?"
"Yeah, but…it's just weird. It shouldn't be possible for somebody to increase their ki this much with two years' training." He frowned. "Sorry, but this is something that's been on my mind a lot recently." He sat down on the rocky ground, patting the earth in front of him. "Could you sit here, please? I need to know."
She sat facing him, puzzled. "What are you going to do?"
"Just meditating," he replied, his voice unnaturally flat. His two normal eyes were closed, but the third on his forehead remained open. He took in slow, deep breaths, easily slipping into a meditative trance. "Relax…" he instructed her. "Don't power up, exactly…just let your energy be there, flowing through you." She nodded, attempting this, and he felt out around him with his mind. Launch's ki washed over him in waves. Yes, there is something strange about it…I can't quite put my finger on it, though…
Launch gulped. She'd known the martial artist a while, but the way his third eye glared at her as he sat in silence was eerie in the extreme. She shut her eyes, focusing on keeping the flow of her energy steady.
There… Tien nodded. "I've got it," he said quietly. "Your energy…it feels like two people's…sort of. They're connected, feeding off each other…"
Launch sat back, stretching, though Tien didn't move. "So you think when I was two people for a long time…?" she left the question unfinished.
"I think you were right when you said you were probably originally one person," Tien replied. "Being split, having that fluke in your DNA activated by whatever trauma it was that usually causes multiple personalities…for you, the split was much deeper. I think your soul was split in two."
Launch smiled. "You think souls exist?"
"Of course they do. I've seen them." His eyes opened. "I've been dead, remember?"
"Oh, uh, right."
"Anyway," he continued, "I'd guess that being split for so many years forced both fragments to exist on their own…eventually, they healed. Each grew into a full soul, and one inhabited your body at a time."
She shuffled slightly closer, intrigued. "So when I rejoined…"
"Most of the elements of ki are tied to the soul—you don't see rocks throwing beam attacks," he said. "And within you, two full souls fused into…something. Something, I think…greater than the sum of its parts. You're certainly not just twice as strong as I'd expect. It's much greater than that."
"You've said before that you feel like you're getting closer and closer to human limits," she remembered, "and as you get stronger, you improve slower. Do you think I'll have the same limits or not?"
"I don't know," he admitted. "You, my friend, are something new."
"I see…" Krillin and Eighteen had met in the morning with the other inhabitants of Kame House—Master Roshi and Oolong—and with some difficulty (eventually involving calling Goku to send a telepathic signal up to the Lookout), Dende had been summoned as resident expert on the Dragon Balls. He was currently speaking. "…sounds like you've had a rough time of it, Eighteen. So, what is it you wanted?"
"The thing is, with the time machine destroyed there's no way to get back to the future to help," Eighteen explained. "Maybe if Break couldn't beat this new android, Goku or somebody here could!" She sniffed. "I…I was under a lot of stress when I got back here. I'm sure if I was thinking clearly, I wouldn't have destroyed the time machine…I'm sorry…"
"I've spoken to Bulma recently," Krillin added, "and she says we're still nowhere close to developing our own time travel. So we're stuck without any link to the future."
"Hmm…" Dende rubbed his chin. He'd seemed more mature recently; and though he had grown considerably taller, it wasn't just physical. Ever since the Dr. Wheelo incident, when his timely intervention had given the others the strength they needed to win, he'd been much more sure of himself—or perhaps it was the way that as soon as he'd started thinking that the Earth was fine without him, another catastrophe had arisen, reminding him that danger was never far away, and anyone might be called upon to make a crucial difference. "…so I'm guessing you want to know if the Dragon Balls, or any other kind of magical help I can provide, can help?"
"That's about the long and short of it," Roshi agreed.
"Too much of the long, not enough of the short, if you ask me," Oolong chipped in. "What kind of time do you call this? I've barely gotten ten hours' sleep."
"Hush now," Roshi tutted, lightly shoving the sarcastic pig away. "If sleeping means that much to you, go back to bed."
"And miss everything that's going on? No, sir!"
"Well, that's very noble of you. I'm sure we all want to help this poor girl out…" he slyly raised a hand over towards Eighteen's back, then tried to slide it lower. "…provide comfort in a difficult…" she casually punched him to the floor, shaking her head.
"Ahem…" Dende tried to set the conversation back on course. "Anyway…I'm afraid I don't think I can help you there. I've studied this a lot, actually, and I think the only reason Porunga was able to make a wish affecting another timeline at all was because we had a time machine with us to act as a link…there may even have been some adverse side effects in any case, it's extremely unlikely that it worked perfectly…"
"So you're saying the Dragon Balls can't help us get to the other timeline?" Krillin asked.
"I'm afraid so," Dende said morosely. "I'm sorry."
"And there's no other kind of Namekian magic that can…"
"I assure you, Krillin, if we could travel through time you'd know about it by now. It simply isn't possible by any means we have. Um, Eighteen, I guess you'll have to stay in this time…there aren't really any other options."
"I understand," the android replied, softly.
"I can search the planet for a good place for you to live, if you like," the young Namekian offered.
"No thank you," she said, taking a step closer to Krillin. "I'm happy here, for now. Maybe soon I'll start thinking about my future, but I'm still trying to get over everything that's happened. I don't really think I can make any long-term decisions and…it's quiet here. Peaceful." She gazed around the small island, her field of vision finally settling on the small fighter beside her. "I think it's about the best place for me right now."
Time passed. Too quickly for some.
Gohan's nightmares—visions—came and went. He knew it would make sense to talk to somebody about them, but somehow he couldn't. And he could never make out anything coherent, nothing more than a vague sense of danger. The 'signs' came and went. One day, he woke up to find tiny 'M's drawn on the foreheads of every person on every poster on his walls. He threw them all away, told his mother he wanted to redecorate his room. Another time, he'd awakened to find that a book he'd had since he was a small child—'my little book of monsters'—was lying open his floor. Every monster within had been coloured pink, and their eyes had been filled in with pen, becoming solid, haunting black slits. That went in the trash too, though in that case he'd been meaning to get rid of it for ages.
The 'signal', it seemed, had passed from Bulma to him, and his spiritually-aware mind was certainly more receptive to it than hers had been. Which was not necessarily a good thing.
Bulma, for her part, was busy as ever. She did have a 'main' project going. She'd had it going for years now. And, of course, she told herself, she would finish it. Eventually…once she'd taken another look at the time machine drive prototype (if that wasn't too strong a word—she had no idea if they'd ever manage time travel), helped her father with his genetically modified miniature dinosaurs, re-worked the blueprints for the new model capsules, supposed to be able to hold ever larger objects in the same tiny container (they were currently working, without much success, on an entire block of flats)…and so on. Actually, it was very rare these days that she ever thought about that project she'd started a year ago. Wait, wasn't it two years? Or more?
One day, she looked up and realised it was six years. She knew this for a fact because she'd circled, every year on her calendars, the day that would have signalled the numbers (which she didn't write anymore, since the incident with Goku's mind-reading) dropping lower.
Today 2 would have changed to 1. She didn't have time to worry about this, however, before her mother walked in. "Bulma, honey, you really need to see this."
"Not now, Mom, I'm kind of—"
"Just—just quickly go look at the TV, dear, will you?"
Bulma sighed. "All right, all right, but if it's another cute baby animal on a wildlife…" she trailed off.
A worried-looking reporter was looking into the camera. "…with terror in the streets! I repeat, these reports are coming in from all over the world! It seems this invasion has struck everywhere at once! The military's response is expected soon, but it appears these attackers—thousands of them—are using the same 'ki' powers as Cell! If anyone who can help is listening…the people who saved Earth before…we need you now! I—" There was a bright flash behind him, then the camera feed cut out in a burst of static. The TV cut back to the news studio.
"Mr. Firecracker!" the presenter shouted, alarmed. "Jimmy! Is he…I'm sorry!" he rushed out of his seat, fleeing the studio. "I've got to go home to my family!" The camera wobbled and tilted, then the channel went dead.
Bulma grabbed her mother by the shoulders. "Nail! Yamcha! Zarbon! Kuriza! Where are they?"
"Well, Nail's already gone—he said he 'felt' something—and he took Kuriza with him. The other two are asleep."
"Well, wake them up and get their asses out there!" Bulma ran out of the room, down the corridor. Trunks, her seven-year-old son, peeked his head out of the door. "Mom? Is everything all right? What's—"
"Shh." She crouched down, hugging him close. "Yes, it's fine. Your Dad'll be out for a while. It's fine." What the hell is going on here?
Earlier that day…
"Look, are you sure I shouldn't hide my tail?" Gohan was asking Videl as they approached the school gates. "I mean, I've done it before, it's no big deal." Time had changed the young pair—not just in height and physical appearance, but in bearing too. Gohan had always seemed awkward and unsure of himself as a child—at eighteen, he had a newfound confidence, though there was always the sense of something withdrawn, lurking beneath the surface. Videl had lost her sense of separation from the other fighters, the feeling of being from a different world; it had been replaced by an easy comradeship.
"Look, it's fine," she was saying. "Over the last few decades, the world's woken up to the fact that there's a lot of weirdness going on and we're just going to have to accept it. Not even counting the aliens, your friends include a pig, a cat and a guy with three eyes. Our king is a dog. And I'm pretty sure one boy in our class is a werewolf. A little thing like a tail isn't going to bother anybody." She shrugged. "People might mention it, but no more than they'd notice a new hairstyle."
"All right, if you say so…"
"Besides, I like it." She ruffled his untidy hair. "It's part of what makes you, y'know, you. It wouldn't be fair to hide that, eh?"
"I guess…" Gohan wiped his forehead. "Of all the things I've faced in my life…I don't think any of them have frightened me nearly as much as high school…"
"You'll be fine," she reassured him, laughing. "You may have been home-schooled, but it's not like you never experienced any social activity before. You'll get used to it."
"I hope so…"
Gohan shyly made his way from the door to the teacher's desk.
"Now, class, I'd like you all to meet our new student, Go…" she glanced back at the register, noticed the somewhat archaic family name. "…Son Gohan. Please make him feel welcome."
"Uh…hi, everybody, I…" A sudden ki spike registered on his senses, as if he'd just been hit with a sledgehammer. He looked up at Videl, sitting in the middle of the classroom—she looked tense and on edge. She saw him looking, nodded slightly. She'd sensed it too. "…I, uh…" he stammered. "…I forgot something, sorry! I'll be right back." He rushed out of the classroom. Videl appeared next to him in the corridor, having left in a burst of super-speed while everyone's attention was on Gohan.
"What's going on? I'm sensing hundreds of power levels!" she hissed.
"I don't know!" he said as they left the building, lifting off. "But a group of them are headed straight for us! Hold on…" He took out a capsule containing his orange fighting uniform, surrounding himself in a solid energy wall. Inside, he opened the capsule, changed at super-speed, put his school uniform back in the capsule, pocketed it, then lowered the capsule. All this happened so fast as to be a quick flash of light to Videl. "…Right. Shall we?"
"Shall we what?" she asked, folding her arms. He didn't have an answer. They hovered silently over the city for a minute or two, following the approaching ki signals as they came closer.
"Hey, guys!" called a voice.
Gohan turned, smiling. "Dad! Good to see you."
"Hey, Goku." Videl waved.
The spiky-haired saiyan laughed, descending through the air to meet them. "I'm glad you're both all right. I felt all these weird powers appear all of a sudden and figured I'd come see if you were okay." They turned their eyes up to the sky, watching the incoming wave of flying figures.
"Just who are they?" Videl wondered.
Gohan scowled. "I don't know, but there sure are a lot of them."
Goku rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Some of them…their ki feels familiar, almost like…no, it couldn't be."
"What?"
"Never mind."
Videl pointed away from the city. "I'm sensing another group—only a few, but each pretty strong—heading towards South City, but none of our people are there to intercept."
"Got it." Goku faced south, lighting up his aura. "Can you guys handle it here? I'll cover it."
"Yeah, we're okay." Gohan watched his father go, then turned back to the approaching group. "They've almost reached the city. Ready?"
"I don't know…" Videl gulped, squeezing his hand. "There are some pretty big power levels in there…"
"Just stay behind me, and don't take on anybody you can't handle. Now, let's go!" They quickly flew down to a nearby office block, landing on the roof. The first few attackers got close enough to see. "Hold on…Dad was right!" His eyes widened in disbelief. "Am I dreaming, or is that…"
Five figures landed opposite them, striking flamboyant poses. Out of the many enemies Gohan had encountered throughout his fighting career, these ones had a way of sticking in the memory.
"Sound off, men!"
"Recoome!"
"Guldo!"
"Jeice!"
"Burter!"
"Captain Ginyu! And together we are…"
"…THE ALL-CONQUERING GINYU FORCE!" They chorused.
Videl rubbed her eyes. "Are they for real?"
Gohan sighed. "Afraid so."
"Right, men!" Captain Ginyu ordered. "Spread out! Time to claim this planet in the name of Lord Frieza!"
"Yeah, about that." Gohan stepped forwards. "You probably don't remember me—I look completely different, for one thing—but I fought you on Namek. How the hell did you get here?"
"Nice choice of words—Hell's open, mate! Water's fine!" Jeice laughed. "It's a bloody free-for-all!"
"In which case, we've got more to worry about than these idiots." Before the Ginyu Force could react to the insult, he threw his arms out to both sides. "HYAAA!" His kiai spread out in front of him and to his sides, blasting the Ginyu Force clean off of the building, but leaving Videl, behind him, untouched. "If all our past enemies are going to show up, many of them will be too much for you," he said to Videl. "I don't think it's safe here."
"It's not safe anywhere, Gohan," she pointed out. "All Hell's broken loose."
"Right…" he spotted a squadron of fighter planes swooping towards the city from the east. Tanks rolled in underneath. "Hey…is that the Red Ribbon Army?" He noticed the 'RR' insignia on one of the planes. "So it is. My dad stopped them when he was a kid. You want to go take care of them?"
"Okay." She took off, heading east. "I think I can handle a few guns."
Which leaves me free to go all-out without having to protect her… Gohan thought, as the main swarm of flying underworld-escapees closed in on the city. "Well, here goes!"
Goku made it to South City just in time—an energy beam from the first attacker sliced the top twenty stories off an office building. He flew up to intercept, catching it, slowing its descent and setting it down on the street. "You know…" he said, his usual carefree nature leaving him. "…I was going to try talking to you. But I don't tolerate attacking innocent people—so if you've come looking for a fight, I'm right here."
Three figures, one tall, one short, and one massive, landed behind him.
"Tch!" Came a familiar voice. "Leave it to a saiyan to spoil my fun."
"Wait…" Goku turned to face them. "Frieza?!" The long-dead frost demon stood in front of him, flanked by his brother and father.
"Calm down, Frieza, we're not here to play around," Cooler said, shaking his head.
"I've had about enough of you!" Frieza snapped.
"Children!" Cold warned. "Quiet. We're ignoring our friend here, it's very rude."
"All right, what do you want here?" Goku demanded, then stopped. "Wait, no. I don't care." He sped forwards, elbowing Cooler in the face and kicking Frieza in the stomach. Both collapsed instantly, gasping with shock.
"I see…" Cold nodded. "You have quite an impressive power. Are you one of these 'Super Saiyans'?"
Goku grinned. "I guess you could say that."
"Well, I dare say I'd be no match for you…in this, my second, form, anyway. Do you know, not once in my life have I ever had the opportunity to use my full power? Many tried to guess at its magnitude. They were all wrong."
"Okay," Goku said. "Let's see it."
General Ripper lowered his binoculars. "I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it myself…Commander!"
"Yessir?" Ripper's fellow officer sidled up to him, climbing up onto the General's command tank.
"Take a look." He handed her the binoculars. "Now, is that or is that not the Dictator?"
Commander Coriander blinked a couple of times, rubbed her eyes, looked back into the binoculars. "Er…flag, yes…moustache, yes…army, several thousand strong, with equipment over fifty years old…I'd say it is."
Ripper pounded his tank with his fist. "In that case, our objective is clear! War Directive no. 27: The complete obliteration of the Dictator and all his fighting forces!"
"But, sir…that was decades ago…shouldn't we wait for orders?"
"Decades ago?" Ripper snorted. "So? If that lot are over there, our mission is not complete and the war is not over!" He spoke into his radio. "All right, troops, we are now at war! Or...still at war...anyway. Enemy equipment is fifty years out of date; we will not be at war for long! Royal Army—fire at will!"
It was, indeed, a short battle. The Dictator's army was woefully outmatched by the modern military, and was utterly decimated by artillery bombardment and massed tank charges before most of its weapons were even in range. Battle became rout became annihilation.
However, there seemed to be some disruption at the end of the Royal Army's battle-line. A small figure was leaping from squadron to squadron, hurling tanks into the air, smashing gun mounts, and firing energy beams that wiped out whole squads at a time. Small arms fire had no effect, and larger ordnance was dodged effortlessly. "What the hell is that thing?" Coriander muttered.
"Looks like one of those ki monsters!" Ripper decided. "Retreat! Full retreat!"
The creature skidded to a halt in front of him, chittering and hissing. It was only a couple of feet tall, with green scaly skin, and a brain-like pattern on its head. Tiny claws clacked together on the end of its stubby limbs. It raised its arm, building energy—
—and was promptly interrupted by six feet of afro, ego and mano a mano. "Yeah!" Hercule shouted, dancing around the confused Saibaman. "How'd you like my Dynamic Mess 'Em Up Punch? New—and—improved!" He somersaulted away, striking a movie-kung-fu pose. "All right, you want some? Leave those soldiers alone and try taking on a real fighter!"
"…" The Saibaman just stared.
"Strong, silent type, huh?" Hercule bellowed. "Well, you're gonna pay for what you've done! Prepare for my ultimate technique!" Really gotta thank Videl for all this someday… He swept his hands around dramatically. "Ka, me, ha, me…HA!" A bright blue energy beam burst forth from his palms, lancing straight at the Saibaman...which swung a hand around, deflecting the beam effortlessly.
Hercule gaped. "W…What just…"
Grinning, the Saibaman leaned forwards, its head splitting open and launching a stream of acid. Hercule was only saved by Nail appearing between them, quickly throwing up a ki shield and letting the acid deflect harmlessly off of it. He fired a small energy beam from two fingers, disintegrating the Saibaman without giving it a chance to self-destruct. "Hey, don't feel too bad, champ," he said, smiling at Hercule. "That thing was far more powerful than, say, King Piccolo." Without another word, the warrior Namek took off, heading for the closest evil ki signal.
"But if…" Hercule tried to make sense of things. "…then how in the world did that guy kill it so easy? And just who was that, anyway?"
Videl was having a harder time than she'd imagined. True, she could at this point dodge incoming gunfire pretty handily, but the Red Ribbon Army was fairly large, and trying to keep up with all their lines of attack, by land and air, and stop any of them getting into the city to wreak havoc—that wasn't easy. She kicked through the glass cockpit of a plane, pulling the eject lever and sending the pilot flying, then flew down, blasting the treads off a tank. A muscular, blond officer leapt at her, but she deflected him with a quick punch to the face. Hey, was that General Blue? Goku mentioned him… A few soldiers were almost at the city outskirts, and she raced off to intercept. "Had to happen today, didn't it?"
Goku lowered his hands from in front of his face, at the same time relaxing the ki shield he'd been using the protect the surrounding city from the waves of ki rolling out of King Cold's body. The frost demon tyrant now stood fully revealed in his fourth form, blank-white skin dotted with gleaming dark purple diamond-like 'highlights'. "Well, primate?" Cold said gleefully. Over three metres tall, he towered above his saiyan opponent. "What do you think of my final form—my true power?"
"Impressive, Goku said, nodding. "In fact—" Cold's fist crashed into his chest, launching him back through a nearby house, collapsing it on top of him.
"Heh. As I thought," Cold said, grinning. "Can't handle a real opponent." Barely had the words left his mouth, when something stirred in the rubble.
"Hey," Goku said, levitating the wreckage off of him and carrying the two occupants of the house from the ruin, one under each arm, "I was complimenting you. That was pretty low." He set the shell-shocked couple down, turning back to Cold. "My turn now."
This is surreal, Gohan thought. All these old enemies… He'd already taken out several dozen of Frieza's soldiers, some demonic-looking creatures he hadn't been able to identify, some of Turles' henchmen, a few Saibamen, and even a couple of the mutant Namekian spawn that the original King Piccolo had created.
Finally, there seemed to be just one left—unmoving, waiting for him high above the city. Quite a high power level, too. Warily, Gohan rose up above the lowest level of clouds, spotting a familiar figure. I thought I recognised the energy. "Turles. I knew you'd show up sooner or later, but all the way up here?" He smirked. "I guess scum always rises to the top."
"Funny," Turles sneered. "You've grown up, little boy, but I know it's you. You're going to pay for what you did to me!"
"Why don't you make me," Gohan turned Super Saiyan, charging in and punching straight at the centre of Turles' face, but the evil saiyan caught it, a strange change beginning to come over his ki. An eerily familiar light flashed into his eyes. "You may have beaten me before…but I'd like to see you try…NOW!" On that word, a golden aura burst to life around him.
Gohan gasped, the wave of power throwing him back. "How…what…"
"Surprised?" Turles asked, grinning. "Don't be. All those fruit from the Tree of Might…especially that last one, before you killed me. Even I was surprised when it gave me the power to beat your Super Saiyan form. Turns out, thanks to the fruit…I was already in the early stages of transforming myself!" He raised his fists. "So, now we're both Super Saiyans…only I've eaten of the Tree of Might's fruit. So I'd say the advantage is mine."
"Not quite." Gohan grinned right back at Turles. "You may have unnaturally boosted your power—by a huge amount—but you're still only in the first, unrefined stage of Super Saiyan. I've trained this form, mastered it. I'm a lot stronger than when I first transformed."
They both powered up, whipping up the clouds around them into a storm. Their auras expanded to several hundred feet in diameter, clashing together between them and throwing out uncontrolled sparks of energy "All right," Turles said. "You've got me interested." He cracked his knuckles. "Let's see who's stronger."
The afterlife…
Pikkon approached the top of the mountain, where the one he sought was meditating. "Hello?" he said hesitantly.
"I'm here," came a voice in the mists.
"There's a—"
"I know," came the reply. "I've seen the problem…a rift between Hell and Earth…"
"It's not just Earth," Pikkon told him. "It's every planet, everywhere. Earth's only under attack by the villains that have a grudge against it. People like Bojack are rampaging through the stars as we speak."
"Can't have that. What can we do about it?"
Pikkon smiled grimly. "We're in luck there. The Kais have isolated the source of the breach—it's down in Hell. They want us to go check it out, see if there's anybody causing this that needs taking care of."
"Excellent. Let's go." A figure stirred in the mist.
"You don't think we should gather some more fighters first?" Pikkon asked. "Olibu or someone?"
"No, I'm sure we can handle it."
"We're confident today, aren't we?"
Raditz emerged, replacing the Z-Sword into the scabbard on his back. "Why not? I haven't had a good fight in years."
If anyone spotted Garlic Jr. in this chapter, well done.
Q: Okay, so Gohan drew the Majin symbol on his forehead, just like it was tattooed on Majin Vegeta in canon DBZ... does that suggest that there will be a Majin Gohan in the Buu Saga instead of Majin Vegeta, or is it just a general warning about the impending threat because it's Babidi's symbol?
A: One of those things, almost certainly.
Q: Nice try hombre, but I knew you were talking about Buu the second you mentioned it was counting down years! Seven of them. And were is there a 7 years timeskip? The Buu Saga!
A: A lot of people didn't get it until more recently, so well done. I mainly wanted to make Buu more threatening and more of a big deal. I mean, it is the be-all and end-all of DBZ, pretty much.
Q: Another Android? Really? Just when you thought that future couldn't possibly get any more screwed. Or is it actually something else and Break just thinks it an Android? Something like a reality warping demon maybe? *dun dun dun* either that or Hatchiyak, and we just got a whole Saga of redemption for the Tuffles.
A: We shall see.
Q: I sense foreshadowing. Raditz will be the one to take Cell off planet (Maybe King Kais, maybe not) and die. He'll return some day in the same fashion as Goku, just in time for the Buu saga.
[chapter 27 review]
A: Close!
Q: This is amazing, and i told all my friends to read it. only on problem, vegeta is worth 15 of raditz, but until later in the series you dont know what vegetas power level is and it never says what raditzs power level is, but you can work out that raditzs power level is actually 1200 as oppose to 1500, but other than that flawless as the original series.
A: I'm glad you like it. About Raditz's PL...Team Four Star came up with the whole 15 Raditz's thing, I assume by dividing 18,000 by 1,200. Probably because one guidebook gave his PL as 1200. But another said it was 1500. It was never actually stated in canon, but it must be between 400 and 1800 (looking at how he beat up Goku and Piccolo easily, but Tien at 1830 beat a Raditz-level Saibaman easily).
Q: Eighteen showing up was a huge surprise. this subplot seems very interesting. How could Break leave that message for Eighteen just moments after busting in to save her? She had just witnessed 17's head get blown up, there wouldn't be enough time.
A: She wrote it on the way there. I'll elaborate in the special.
Q: Great chapter. What's dragon ball absalon?
A: A fan animation series, a GT sequel. I talked a bit about it recently at the start of a chapter...it has some decent voice acting and, in places, amazing animation. Plus the music, especially the opening theme (which I believe was originally from Bleach?) is amazing.
Q: I enjoyed this chapter very much, until it came to the 18xKrillin part. The dialogue just seemed to jumbled, the paragraphs rushed and Krillin was taking it all way too well.
But I did still enjoy the rest of the chapter.
A: Uh...Sorry. I tried to make it a little jumbled and rushed, as you say, as Eighteen was still shell-shocked. I guess it didn't work so well, huh?
Q: Another great one! But i have to ask; Majin Gohan. Will that unlock SSj3 for him, as Vegeta was given a power boost to SSj2?
A: Majin Gohan? Who said anything about Majin Gohan? Well, other than all the DBM commenters who wanted XXI to be Majin Gohan...
Q: And what of Hercule? He was used as a joke throughout the series. They even went so far as having him go head to head with Kid Buu and LAND BLOWS! accidently or not. You have him working hard to perfect the Kamehameha. Was he the voice? And he challenged Raditz for ruining his fame?
A: Interesting theory.
Q: Damn awesome chapter man. However, gotta ask. what was in bulma's mind about Vegeta?
A: Let me put it this way: This is a T-rated story. So, I leave it to your imagination.
Q: Why would you even mention the joke if you were never going to tell us? It makes me want to scream in your face to tell us the joke.
A: Because...I thought it might be funny to mention it...?
Q: Eventful but it seemed like a short read. But it was still good no one cares about humans! The story is basically about the saiyans.(Raditz Goku) and why is there a GT charecter in this when there is like a 20 year gap between Myuu and the saiyans.
A: Well...a lot of reviewers have actually said they do care about the humans, and enjoyed them having a chance to shine. Also, Myuu is there because GT is non-canon and I reserve the right to ignore non-canon stuff or use it in new way to make a more interesting story.
Q: You pulled that rhetorical question/rhetorical answer joke from TFS, didn't you?
A: Well, I modified it somewhat, but yeah, nice catch of that reference.
Q: bwhahahahahaha! Lunch Break! ha!
Q: Launch Break! I can't believe I hadn't thought about that until now.
A: Wow. That was totally unintentional. It's weird. I just chose 'Break' because it sounded cool and it was an action word, like Launch. But, it turns out, not only that:
1. It fits her character.
2. It's in the title of the story.
3. Lunch. Breakfast.
4. Lunch Break.
How did I not notice any of this when I came up with the name?! I'm so happy I picked it. Thanks, everybody, for pointing all these significant things out to me!
Q: Now i have some theories:
one Raditz comes back due to old Kai lifeforce transfer thing.
two: If chichi has her way, and she probably will, Gohan's book makes so much money, he is able to go to college and get Doctorates in every field of study. He then creates Kiology and is a professor at the most prodigious university teaching that subject
three: Goku, raditz, and gohan master SSJ2 like they did with super saiyan.
four: Myuu enhances eighteen to super saiyan levels
five: Babidi and Hoi team up
six: Majin Nail or Majin Piccolo make an appearance
A: Some of those are right. Some of those are wrong. Some are partly, nearly, or a little bit right. Interesting ideas.
Note: The following BTtL Kai was originally an attempt to get the plot back on track and kill Raditz, then continue with the Countdown saga. Due to the way I write Kai (whatever random crap comes to my mind as I'm writing)…this failed, disastrously. Instead, we got…uh…this.
Break Through the Limit Kai: Let's Do the Timewarp Again…and Again…and Again…
Goku: Hehe…
Raditz: Wow, really?
Gohan: Where'd Super 17 come from?!
Break: This is ridiculous.
Nail: …What are you guys doing?
Gohan: Oh, we're just reading the original draft/version of the story. It's pretty funny.
Break: Hey, did you see the Even Further Beyond previews? What happened to Deus Shenron?
Goku: I guess he got replaced by Omega.
Raditz: No, Deus is Omega's final form.
Gohan: Maybe it's the other way around, and Deus becomes Omega?
Nail: No, Deus is clearly going to be the 8th secret Shadow Dragon.
DBM commenters: DEUS SHENRON IS MAJIN MUTHAFUDGING GOHAN! And/or Tapion.
Krillin: He is neither Deus nor Omega, he is the one who will destroy you?
Zarbon: He's the Shadow Dragon Even Further Beyond deserves, but not the one it needs right now?
Goku: Pretty sure we already did that joke.
(Capsule Corp time machine appears)
Future Trunks: Guys! Guys! In three years, androids…wait…
Goku: Uh, we've already had the androids. Who are you?
Trunks: I'm, uh, Trunks. You know? Super Saiyan from the future? Son of Vegeta and Bulma?
Zarbon: Don't be silly. Trunks is my son.
Trunks: What.
Raditz: I think there's been a mix-up.
Trunks: Gah! Raditz is back from the dead! Don't worry, guys, I'll get him!
(Attacks Raditz)
Raditz: Bitch please, I got that Full-Power Super Saiyan swagger.
(kills Trunks)
Raditz: Oops. I think I just killed canon Future Trunks. Would explain why he thought I was evil.
Break: God, you're an idiot. What do we do now? Dragon Balls?
Gohan: No good. Fanfic Dragon Balls won't work on a canon character.
Goku: Well, we can't alter the canon timeline. We have to make sure their Trunks gets to the right timeline—he never comes here, and never dies. But we can't go appearing in canon, that'd screw the whole show up big time.
Nail: Right. I have a plan. Hey, Bulma!
Bulma (appearing): Wasn't I dead?
Nail: Eh. Dragon Balls.
Bulma: Fair enough.
Nail: Can you program this time machine to go to any timeline we want?
Bulma: Sure.
Break: As the most experienced time traveller here, I volunteer to pilot it.
Bulma: You're the only time traveller here, aside from the one dead guy.
Break: My point still stands. Right, I have to get to the canon future timeline, and somehow change things so Trunks goes to the right past, all without anybody there noticing me. No big deal.
(Time machine takes off, immediately crashes into the TARDIS in the timestream)
Break: What the hell?!
The Doctor (Matt Smith, if you must know): Hey! You damaged the TARDIS!
Break: Damaged? Screw damaged, look at my time machine! It's completely smashed to pieces!
Doctor: Where and when did we crash-land, anyway?
Hal Jordan: This is the Green Lantern of sector 2814! You're under arrest for property damage and timestream interference! Throw down your weapons and surrender!
Break: Oh, you've got to be kidding me…
(Meanwhile, Hill Valley, 1955)
Doc Emmet Brown: Marty! If we want to stop you from disappearing from existence, we've got to get your parents to that dance—and get you back to the future!
(Another time-travelling DeLorean appears)
Doc Brown: What the deuce?!
T-800 model 101 (the Arnie one): Marty McFly?
Marty: Yeah?
The Terminator: Come with me if you want to live.
(He does so.)
(Meanwhile, DBZ canon timeline…sort of…)
Mecha-Frieza: Finally, we've arrived on Earth.
King Cold: Yes, and now I can finally see this Super Saiyan you keep whining about.
Frieza: Why shouldn't I whine?! He cut me into three pieces!
Goku: Did somebody say 'Super Saiyan'?
Frieza: Your comic timing's off, that would've been funnier right after he said—oh crap oh God oh no—
Goku: YAAAH!
(Kills Frieza and Cold)
Goku: Well, that was fun. But I can't help feeling that somebody else should have handled that. Like…something's missing…
(T-1000 appears in a bolt of lightning)
T-1000: Son Goku?
Goku: Yuh-huh?
(DeLorean appears, smashes into T-1000 and liquefies it)
Marty: Goku! Come with me if you want to live!
T-800: You said I could say it!
Goku: What the heck is going on…?
(BTtL timeline)
Goku: So…how d'you think Break is doing?
Raditz: Oh, fine. I'm sure she's fine. What could go wrong?
(Ominous thunderclap)
Krillin: We're all gonna die, aren't we?
Goku: I'm getting that feeling, yeah.