Chapter 103: Tomorrow's Heroes

Okay, I appreciate that people are now actually reviewing the story alongside the promoting other stories, but please, stop promoting other stories in the reviews. If you want to tell people about your story, there's nothing wrong with that, but that's not what reviews are for. I am trying to be nice about this, but this is starting to get old, okay?

I occasionally have to stop myself from making the characters use British slang. I almost had Launch saying 'bloody' here as a substitute for something ruder (in the end I just left out the expletive entirely). Which just sounds weird. Although come to think about it, it shouldn't sound any weirder than American-style dialogue, as that's only a translation…ah, I don't know.

I have come to the conclusion, after a combination of deep meditation and intense study, that the Super Saiyan chain of transformations has the potential for this 'demigod ki' (as Shenron has told me the state between mortal and divine is known), but in addition to the typical requirement of an emotional trigger, one must also have trained to an extremely high level—possibly not even a recently-transformed Super Saiyan 2, without some mastery of the form, would be capable of accomplishing this feat.

This 'demigod' level seems to have become my 'default' power level since my brief time in the Super Saiyan God form. Repeated tests reveal that I can now break lightspeed only in straight-line acceleration, whereas in melee combat I can but approach it—which is still more than the others, of course. I assume that in a time of need, my full divine ki, and perhaps even the actual God form, will likely reassert itself, as it did in those final desperate moments fighting against Bills, but what I have is more than enough for now.

To tell the truth, I pray the situation is never again grave enough to require the Super Saiyan God's power…

—Private journal of Son Gohan

Goku deflected a strike aimed at his head, using his other hand to knock Uub's guard away and bringing a knee up into his opponent's chin, sending him tumbling away. He's good! And he's learning quickly as we fight… He quickly charged a ki blast, throwing it after Uub, who righted himself and knocked it away before launching a stream of them back. Goku tensed up as they approached, letting out a kiai-infused yell and shattering the barrage of energy attacks.

"That's some intense fighting," Bulma commented.

"I suppose…" Launch replied, "but Goku's barely trying. Still, it's impressive for a kid that young."

"Eh…it's kinda boring," Trunks sighed, to a nod of agreement from Bra. "It just all looks the same after a while."

"Feh." Break sniffed. "Can't appreciate beauty in motion. Philistines."

"Ooh, bad move," Launch whispered to Trunks. "That had to hurt your chances, kiddo."

"Chances-!" Trunks hissed back. "What is your problem, lady?! I'm not interested in your daughter!"

In a flash, Launch had a hand around his throat, glaring into his eyes. "Leaving aside your laughable cover-up attempt, what's that supposed to mean, eh? You saying my little girl isn't good enough for you?!"

Trunks gulped, seeing his life flash before his eyes. "Er...that is to say..."

Meanwhile, Uub was staring at his hand, blinking slowly. "What did I just…?"

"Hah! Energy blasts, too!" Goku laughed. "You really do catch on quick!"

"Y-Yeah…I've never fought like this before…I really don't understand it…"

"Want me to teach you how?"

"W-What?"

"Forget this tournament, okay? You've got a lot more potential than you realise—I can train you, if you like."

"Sorry…I really have to win," Uub explained. "Everyone back home needs money for food…"

"Don't worry about it!" Goku waved as if to brush this intangible fear away. "I'm friends with one of the world's richest families—I'm sure I can get them to help! C'mon, don't you wanna get even stronger?"

"I…" Uub's eyes gleamed, and he gave a mock salute. "Yeah! Sure!"

"Um…you two…" The announcer asked. "Any chance we could finish the fight? Maybe have your chat afterwards?"

"Just a minute," Goku assured him, then looked back up at Uub. "All right then! Say, what if I come and live with you, so I can train—"

"Hold it!"

Goku paused. "Uh?"

"Are you stupid or something?" asked a familiar double voice—Gogeta, standing atop the main tournament building, arms folded and glaring up at Goku. Evidently, his between-fusion time had passed.

"The kids have a point!" Raditz shouted up. "You can't just take off!"

"Hey now," Goku said hastily, waving his hands defensively, "I'd come and visit from time to time—"

"Listen!" Gogeta snapped. "H-How'm I s'posed to have my rematch with you if you just up and leave, huh?! You have to stay and train with me—a-and then we'll fight again at the next tournament, okay? I promise I'll kick your ass next time!" He sniffed, trying to maintain his composure. "You can't go!"

"Guys…" Goku groaned. "I can't just ignore this chance…Uub might be a great successor—he might even save the Earth someday, but I need to—"

Chi-Chi's voice joined the chorus of disagreement. I'm glad those guys stalled him for a while…if he'd gotten some momentum going, I don't think I'd have been able to stop him… "Goku! You're not going anywhere, d'you hear? Do you want Goten and me to spend who knows how long without you?!"

"Aww…Chi-Chi, I can't say no to you, but you gotta understand…"

"…but," she continued with a wry grin, "if you want to do what normal martial arts masters do, and arrange training times with your young friend here, then that's your business!"

Goku smiled broadly. "Yes, ma'am!"

"So…" The announcer was trying to follow all this, and failing. "Is the match continuing, or not?"

"Yes!" Uub announced stridently. "If you're going to be my teacher, then you've already paid me a great kindness, Mr. Goku…I don't think I can take your friends' money, as well!" He pointed straight at Goku, determination rising behind his eyes. "I'm going to win, and earn that money for myself!"

What a dilemma…Raditz thought. Goku can't wait to fight this guy, I can tell…but if he goes all-out, he'll win easy, and that money…even if one of us wins and gives it to Uub, he won't take it well...

"Yeah. I think you will." Goku nodded. "I forfeit."

The announcer raised his microphone. "Oh! Contestant Son Goku, after a heated debate with his family and friends, has thrown in the towel!"

Goku floated to the ground, the bewildered Uub following shortly. "Of course, you'll still have to win two fights, but—"

Raditz clapped his hand on his younger brother's shoulder. "You know that won't happen if I even transform once."

"Well—"

"Which is why I forfeit too!" Raditz grinned broadly, looking very similar to his brother for an instant. "And so do the girls…don't you?"

"Aww…" Pan kicked at the dirt, tail twitching. "I wanna fight!"

"I know you do. Me too. But Uub and his village need the prize money a lot more than we do…you understand? This will help a lot of people who really need it right now."

Uub was stunned. "You…you guys…" Tears welled at the corners of his eyes. "Th-Thank you so much!"

"I, uh…" The announcer paused for a moment, scanning the area. "So…ladies and gentlemen, it seems…in an unprecedented turn of events…four of our five remaining competitors have chosen to forfeit! Which leaves, I suppose, young Uub as the world martial arts champion! It may be an unorthodox victory, but he's still come a long way and fought many hard battles to get here, so—a big hand for our winner, please! Let's hear it!"

"I'm getting better at flying, dad, really!" Marron protested.

"Yes, darling, but we live a long way away," Krillin reminded her, then turned to his wife. "So…you want to carry her or shall I?"

"You two go on ahead," Eighteen said, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'll be a few minutes, okay?" Once they'd taken off, she strolled over into a nearby bar, spied Launch at a table in the corner, and sat down opposite her. "So…what was it you wanted to ask about?"

"Does Krillin know?" Launch asked bluntly.

"Know what?"

"You know what I mean. Since your 'upgrade'. Nothing feels the same, does it? It's eating at your mind..."

Eighteen paused. "How did you—"

"Got Bulma drunk. She told me all about it." Launch slid a drink over towards Eighteen. "Figured I'd do the same with you, find out how you're dealing with it."

Eighteen shrugged, took a swig. "Thanks, but my threat-detection system classes it as a toxin, so no luck." She leaned back in her chair. "…yeah, he knows."

"You told him, or he found out?"

"Ten years is a long time," Eighteen explained. "Hell, two years is a long time. Not long after all that god crap…I broke down, blurted it all out." She smiled sadly. "'Course, even by then Bulma was working on fixes, gods bless her." The matter of personal religious belief had become rather confused after meeting actual physical gods. "So I had some feeling back. You know what he did? He didn't get upset, or ask why I hadn't told him, or say I shouldn't have gone through with it in the first place. He just…asked where I could feel, and…" She downed the rest of the drink, knowing full well the minimal effect it would have on her enhanced immune system. "Y'know, people ask me, 'why Krillin?' Not in a mean way. Just curious. Because, you know, there are guys out there…"

"Who come up to your shoulders at least, and, uh, have noses?" Launch guessed. "Don't mind me, just what came to mind. I know he's lovely an' all."

"…I guess that's about it, yeah. And to be honest, I never used to know why him. I mean, you said it, he's lovely. He's a nice guy. But there's never really been one thing I could put my finger on—'till that moment. Because there's nice, and then there's him."

"And I used to think he was the lucky one," Launch grinned, the contents of her glass having vanished in an instant.

"Oh, he's lucky. More'n we guessed." Eighteen gave a sly look. "If you didn't know me, how old would you say I was?"

"Uh…huh." Launch blinked. "Wow…like, twenties. I hadn't even noticed, I've known you so long."

"Right. I mean, we don't know exactly when Gero got his hands on Seventeen and me, but I must be thirties, forty, something like that." She tapped on the table. "Bulma says it works out to about a quarter normal speed."

Launch laughed. "Funny, that. You ever think I'm looking pretty good for my age too?"

"Oh, a modest one," Eighteen joked. "But yeah, I guess. What, did having a saiyan kid growing in you for nine months, I dunno, leak some DNA or something—"

"Nah, nothing like that." Launch waved to the bartender, who nodded.

"Yeah, another two of the same," Eighteen requested.

"Right, and one for her too," Launch added. Eighteen rolled her eyes. "As I was saying," Launch continued, "I must've told you my whole two-souls-merged dealie at some point?"

"Yeah. One of Bulma's parties."

"She does love those." Launch stretched, yawning. "Thing is…it boosted my power a lot, but it turns out it went deeper than that. I hadn't realised what the whole physical change between personalities actually meant."

"Right, your hair…"

"Yeah. It was like two bodies, sharing one space." She attempted to illustrate this with some finger-waving, not an easy task while holding two full glasses and endeavouring to transform them into empty glasses. "Two separate lifespans, now merged into one. So I'm aging pretty slowly, too. Hell, I might even keep up with Raditz at this rate."

"Hah…" Eighteen scratched her head. "Yeah, between us and the saiyans, we're gonna be around for a while, huh?"

"Not to mention Kuriza. He's still barely in his teens, and he's been around for ages."

"Where was he today, anyway? He usually loves hanging out with the other kids."

Launch stifled a bellow of laughter. "Yeah…turns out he's been in hiding most of the day; he's part of Break's plan to ambush her dad when—" The building rumbled in response to a distant explosion. "Yeah, that'd be them."

Raditz slumped onto the couch, back home. Crashes echoed in from outside; Break and Kuriza were still 'playing', and their energy seemed endless. Launch was still out, not that he minded; restlessness was in her nature. After the kids' ambush, he was just about ready to sleep for the rest of the day—

"Raditz."

"Mm…bleagh…" Reluctantly, the saiyan rolled over, facing upwards and seeing a familiar metallic face staring down at him. "Baby? What are you doing on my ceiling?"

"I was actually on the couch, but then you almost collapsed on me," the Tuffle cyborg replied, jumping down. "I thought you'd notice, but you must be pretty beaten up."

"Nah, just tired. My kid can really give me a workout…I'm gonna have to start training harder…" He sighed. "New question: What were you doing on my couch?"

"Most of the other powerful fighters around are preoccupied. I just figured I'd deliver a friendly warning to someone, at least."

"Warning?" Raditz sat up. "What's up?"

"Well…it's no big deal. I mean, it's the same old story; in two years an evil presence will arrive, threaten earth, and so on and so forth."

"So, what…we should train to prepare for it? What is it?"

"I wouldn't worry." Baby waved a dismissive hand. "It's really not much of a threat at your current level. Honestly, I'll probably end up killing it myself; I just thought I'd let you know as insurance, I guess. So…if you sense a battle like that in a couple years, and it's not going my way, help would be appreciated. But odds are you'll never hear anything about it again, so I won't bother you with the details." He turned and headed out the door.

"Er…Baby!" Raditz called after the scientist. "How do you know this? Isn't this the kind of thing Dende, or someone, would hear about first?"

"He'll probably detect it sooner to its arrival. I know because when people tell me about the battles they've fought in the past…I pay attention. Close attention." With this unhelpful comment, he was gone.

"Uh…" Raditz stared blankly out the open doorway. "I don't get that guy at all sometimes…"

Pretty short chapter, I know. But I wanted to make the next thing that happens its own chapter rather than lumping the beginning of it on the end of this chapter.

Q: [assortment of questions regarding Gogeta's hearing]

A: The kids still have one functioning ear each when unfused. The damage is permanent, but technological fixes are possible. However, these are kind of fragile for the kind of fighting they do, but they've got a solution of their own—this will be addressed later on.

Q: [Uub's power]

A: Uub is stronger than canon, due to his uncle's training using techniques from Groundbreaking Science, but Kid Buu's extra power isn't a factor, since that was an extra absorbed power, as it were; it didn't apply to his reincarnated soul.

Q: Do you plan to do anything important with Uub? what they did with him in GT was was among my largest problems with said series, so I'm hoping for a better showing this time around.

A: Definitely!

Q: [Gohan]

A: Still training in case a threat comes along, doesn't enter tournaments because it'd be unfair on the others, plus he's not really interested in casual fights like that.

Q: Other question! Do you think the boys could 'train away' the weaknesses of fusion? Mainly the delay between fusings? It just seems to me like a limit that is quite arbitrary, especially considering it was an extraterrestrial technique, and the chances of an hour there being an hour on ZEarth are slim to none.
(Also... yugioh reference?)

A: Quite possibly, and yes.

Q: Hey Space!
It's been awhile since I last reviewed, so I'll try to make up for that as much as I can.
First off, the ending to the Buu saga was just amazing. I can't express that enough, not only was it a greatly epic battle, everyone got their time to shine. Goku fighting against Kid Buu was quite possibly my favorite scene in any fic I have read thus far. No matter the scientific plausibility of it, Goku making the super nova was genius and I truly thought it worked! Then you outdid yourself yet again by giving Tien his moment to shine as well as a great character moment for Goku! Just Bravo!
The Hirudegarn saga was very good as well and I'm looking forward to seeing Tapion show up later (hopefully)! The introduction of Vegeta Jr was handled well and I am very glad to see that he and Goten have formed a friendship. Them fusing into Gogeta was a fantastic scene, though sadly they weren't all too effective. I'm not going to comment on Battle of the Gods because it was just too awesome other than Gohan was a phenomenal choice.
This chapter was also really a joy to read and Goku quoting the Frenchman in Holy Grail had me on the floor. The insight into each character's relations to one another was very interesting to see. I am really looking forward to seeing Trunks and Break's relationship develop, whether friendship or more. I really can't wait to see how Vegeta Jr relates to other characters, he seems kind of reserved.
The allusions to future enemies and the short clips of Kais and Hakais are very well done. They really leave me waiting to read more. I'm super pumped about the comic as well. You sure have a few irons in the fire!
Anyways, you are spinning a great story so far, don't let any criticism get to you!
Keep it up, Cap'n!
treeger

A: Hey, thanks very much!

Q: "your father smelt of elderberries" Monty Python much? XD
i cracked up at goku's insult fails...one thing i don't get though, why would he wear the GT outfit? i always thought the colors are weird.

A: Yup. And I just wanted to show the progression of time, I guess. Since he's been in the blue outfit since the Buu saga…

Q: No big deal, and I'm certainly not asking you to change anything, but a kiai is the explosive yell a martial artist uses. The term kiai roughly translates to 'spirit shout.' In real life martial artists use kiais to add power to strikes and blocks. The sudden violent shout also serves to unnerve the opponent. In Dragon Ball Tenshinhan used a kiai to neutralize the cyborg Toapaipai's super dodon-pa in the 23rd Tenka'ichi Budokai. I don't know if the move you refer to as a 'kiai' has a name or not. Like I said, no big deal. I just thought I'd point it out.

A: The manga tends to call any invisible ki blast the characters use a 'kiai'. (Goku, firing a wave of power from his eyes at Frieza, sees him dodge it and says, "He got out of my kiai!", for instance.) So I go by that.

Q: 1. saiyan tails. i assume that saiyan tails follow mendelian genetics. the tail gene(s) are dominant. so, assuming all full blooded saiyans have 2 copies of the gene, all half bloods have 1 copy, and therefore have a tail at birth (it is implied in the manga that baby trunks' tail was removed by bulma, but never specified outright). therefore, any saiyan hybrid born with a tail would have a 50% chance of passing the tail gene(s) on. so all the halfbloods were born with tails, but had them removed at some point (gohan's just got cut off a couple times, the others were surgically removed so they wouldn't grow back). which leads me to my next point.

2. it seems to be a combination of high blutz waves and stress that causes the tail to regrow. except for the one off panel time goku's tail regrew, every time a saiyan's tail grew back, it was either on the day of the full moon, or otherwise exposed to blutz waves (vegeta's moon ball), and during a battle. this would explain why vegeta was confident his tail would regrow, since he probably knew the conditions to trigger it. but of course, he never actually needed the oozaru form after that, since ssj was discovered shortly after.

3. the generation rule. in anime in general, and dragonball in particular, a particularly powerful character will have children born significantly more powerful than normal. luckily, dragonball gives us a fairly easy to find explanation for why this is. we know from cell that each individual cell of a being contains ki. this would naturally include sperm and egg cells. so when goku (pl several tens of millions) and chichi have goten, goten inherits a significant portion of goku's ki at birth. so much ki, in fact, that he is born powerful enough to transform into an ssj. which explains why his first transformation was so long ago he didn't remember it, and why he and trunks had mastered the form like goku and gohan by the start of the buu arc. they'd had years of practicing and playing with the form to get used to it, something that only took gohan a few months of concerted effort.

A: Interesting thoughts, and some good explanations for various things left unanswered in the series.

Q: Ok there is something that has always bugged me about the DBZ series, when Piccolo blew up the moon, he doomed Earth, with out the Moon to balance out the earth, the earth would spin in to the sun, so how is that fixed any way, and I know this is Anime but it still bugs me, well any way great job on the story, its not your fault that DBZ messed up.

A: Kami's magic, maybe? I don't know. As you said, anime logic.

Q: This chapter is great. The story is well written. All the characters are getting the time in the spot light. It is really long. It is all good. No. It is great! But. The suspence is enormous! Litterilly! Can you go back to updating twice a week? If possible? I live in australia and get up early on your Sunday afternoon/my Monday morninghh early to check for an update. Great work! One of the best fan fics ever! You have done great! Keep it up! Also, when is The Bringer Of Death going to update? If you know? Great story! By.

A: Thanks very much! I wish I could update twice a week. Unfortunately, I no longer have time to do two chapters a week without a serious drop in quality. And I believe Bringer of Death updated a few days ago.

Q: Captain Space, are you going to create the Future Buu Saga of Future Break's Timeline. Because I want the Future Buu Saga to incorporate elements from Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai Another Road and have a Future Videl subplot. Also, make Future Pan exist in Future Break's Timeline.

A: That's the thing…I kind of like where I left the future timeline, and I'm really not sure if I have any more good stories to tell with it. It's open-ended, it's upbeat, and frankly the later aspects of DBZ just seem to tonally clash with the future timeline to me. Sorry.

As for your suggestions…it's entirely possible that those things still happened! As Akira Toriyama once said, from now on you'll have to see into their world with your own eyes…but maybe that will be even more fun.

(Wow, that might have been my weirdest Q&A answer to date.)

Q: How can bttl gogeta be inbetween canon gitenks and canon gogeta pl wise if bttl gogeta cant turn super saiyan 3?

A: His fusees are a lot stronger, in the same way that SSJ1 Vegetto is stronger than SSJ3 Gotenks. Vegeta Jr. and Goten can both go SSJ2 on their own (due to Goten getting Piccolo's training and Vegeta always aiming to keep up with or overtake Goten), which canon Goten and Trunks couldn't.

Q: Nice chapter! i guess with vegeta jr staying on earth it was the only option for goten to keep training right? and i m glad that break kept training too , i like that they are all grown up. Pan as a nine year old with a tail is just awesome, you think videl and gohan could have an other child , it is lonlely with maron only , plus it could enharite gohan's hidden powers?

A: Pretty much, Vegeta wouldn't let him slack off. Don't worry, you'll find Pan is already the heir to those hidden powers as we go on. (Yup, she's another character I hope to do more with than GT did…)

Q: Man... BTtl used to be so stupid (in a good way).
Currently re-reading.

A: Stupid in a good way…?

Q: Also, regarding SSJG Gohan. My only problem with your choice of Gohan isn't that becoming SSJG makes him seem too overpowered (that part's fine), but my belief that he should have gotten Super Saiyan 4, not Super Saiyan God. I mean, think about it; he's had his tail the entire story, which means that there wouldn't have to be some sort of BS occurrence for him to attain the transformation, as there would be for, say, Raditz - who I'm assuming will now be the one to unlock SSJ4, because the EFB previews so far have portrayed him as being a LOT stronger than Goku, when it's currently the other way around - to attain SSJ4.

The only way for Raditz to reach that form would be for his tail to somehow regrow as an adult, which is not something that's known to be possible; Saiyans have only been shown to have the ability to regrow their tails when they're very young. Even if it is possible for adult Saiyans to regrow their tails, it smacks of plot convenience. It would have made so much more sense for either Goku or Raditz to have become the Super Saiyan God, and then have Gohan acquire SSJ4, as all he would need to reach that level would be to look at a full moon while in any form of Super Saiyan.

I do like SSJG Gohan, and think he's an extremely awesome and badass character, but I just think it would have been more sensible to have the only Super Saiyan, apart from Pan (and maybe Vegeta Jr.), who actually has a tail, be the one to get the transformation that requires a tail. I genuinely apologize if my perspective seems unreasonable, but that's been a pet peeve of mine for a couple of chapters, and I just wanted to voice my opinion. I do love what you've done with Gohan, though, and I eagerly await how you'll be developing his character in the future! :)

A: Fear not, my loquacious friend! Those previews are extremely outdated (bold so other people can see this fairly important thing), and your very specific fear will not come to pass.