OPENING THEME

Episode 14:

THE SURPRISE WELCOME: THE SEARCH FOR THE GREAT RULER BEGINS

Well-timed and skilled thrusts defined the beauty of Goku's moves as he swung his body from stance to stance. Smirking, he decided to quicken his pace and in a flurry of white light his entire being had brushed against every inch of the gravity room. Settling down, he collapsed on all fours, his heavy hands carrying the bulk of his weight in a rushed count off of push-ups. Deciding upon a mumbled number, he jumped to his feet and tightened the belt of his gi, "Finally, now I can start some training."

A screen appeared on the wall directly in front of him to which he noticed followed his movements as he turned his head from side to side.

"Hi, there Goku - a few quick tips before you have a go," greeted Bulma merrily but the sweet sound of her voice steadily developed into a strict tone, "The programming is in synch with you which means it will not go any higher than your body can withstand and trust me, it will know. Also, there's a snack bar on your left, just click on the lone button and a secret compartment will come out. And for goodness sake, do not leave your sweaty belongings all over the place. I've heard stories from Chi-Chi and I swear Goku, I will make you do laundry, do you hear me!"

Goku nodded and laughed nervously, "Yes, ma'am, I mean uh Bulma." Secretly, he thought, 'Sometimes when she yells like that, I forget which one she is.'

"Good. I have the timer set for lunch, so no excuses about training all day while starving yourself to death, got it?" she said sternly.

"Yup. Thanks, Bulma."

"Anything for you, Goku," she smiled, her beautiful face aglow and the screen dissolved to nothing.

"Wow, she's so scary one minute and then so sweet the next, must be the hormones - or must be plain ol' Bulma," he whispered to himself.

"I heard that!" yelled Bulma, reappearing before him.

Goku clutched at his chest and with deep breaths, he quickly changed the subject, "Hey, have you heard anything from Vegeta as yet?"

"Vegeta does not reach out to me whenever he's in space and especially since he's going out there to fight as opposed to train, I especially do not expect to hear a wink - he's focused-minded that way, that man! Besides, the boys talked to me and they arrived there yesterday and everything's OK, so far."

"Aw! They're there already and without me!" he complained and in a dreamy tone, he added, "I wonder what it's like!"

"You do know that this is not a pleasure trip, right?"

"Yeah, but..."

"No buts, Goku - you just don't understand - this is something important to Vegeta and I back him 100%. That Great Ruler guy really did him in and I can't wait till he gets a bashing!" She pumped her fists excitedly.

Goku laughed nervously, "Yup."

"Alright, so I'll leave you to it then."

"Bye, Bulma."

Goku pondered, 'Alright, I'm used to 10x earth's gravity from training on King Kai's planet simply because it's more familiar to me as a saiyan. OK, I'll start there.'

He set the dial to 10 and he smirked confidently, 'Learning from last time, I just can't jump to a level - so I'll take my time and up it every 10 on the hour, every hour until I reach 100 except of course when it's lunch break.' His stomach growled aggressively, 'Maybe I can have a snack now. No, Goku, focus - this is serious. Vegeta's son managed to surpass level 12. If he can, so can I.'

He continued his warm-up manoeuvres.

The purple rays of the sun bated down in an impressive glow over the beautiful landscape. Goten and Trunks spied around them in awe but their eyes seemed to be determinedly searching for something specific. Alighting before a set of houses, the boys followed Vegeta's every move. When his father suddenly stopped just before a particular home, Trunks could not hold back his curiousity.

"This was where she lived, huh, Dad?" Trunks asked.

"Yes, son."

"How old was she when you met her?"

"19."

"How long after you met her did you guys get married?"

"Damn it, boy. Shut up!" he yelled angrily, "You should have asked me questions before we came here."

Trunks laughed nervously, "Yeah, I guess I never thought about that. He-he."

Vegeta touched the smoothness of the plaster dome, a thoughtful expression on his face, "These buildings were constructed pretty recently - I would say about five years ago."

"How can you tell that?" Goten asked, his interest peaked.

"These buildings are a completely different make and structure from how I remembered - and there is very little wear and tear which indicates that they haven't been standing for very long."

"Wow, cool, Mr. Vegeta," Goten said, impressed that he was so sure with such little information.

Vegeta huffed.

"We've searched all last night for what felt like countries and countries and we haven't seen a single person," Goten continued, "Why have shiny new buildings and no one to live in them?"

"Even that Great Ruler guy's castle had no servants or anything in it, how freaky," added Trunks.

"Hmm..." started Vegeta but his eye caught sight of a steadily approaching figure, the same time a sharp sensation alerted of its life force. With a heavy punch, he caught the side of the creature's face which was more than enough to seal the deal.

Following Vegeta's lead, the boys were prepared in battle-ready stances but with a casual wave of his arm, they reluctantly settled. The two boys looked on with envy as Vegeta made quick work of the several creatures that stormed in. With the last settled on top of a hefty pile-up, Vegeta grabbed the creature by the collar and pulled him forward.

"What the hell are you people!" he asked furiously.

"We're - We're the last surviving Elmorites," stammered the creature, his toad-like face flushed, his green skin making sucking noises as he inhaled anxiously on every breath.

"My son wiped all of you out seven years ago or so he said," he smirked.

"Y-Your son?" the creature shivered, "P-Please do not hurt us."

"I won't hurt you, I just want answers. Have your people destroyed the Mezorans?"

"No, the Mezorans are hiding underground and come out when we go in at noon for we cannot stand the full blast of the purple sun - it does no good for our health."

"Why the hell are you still terrorizing them!" he barked, "Have you no common sense? Are you not afraid that whom have defeated you will return and finish off the job?"

"It's - it's orders. Orders from the Great Ruler. It has always been orders from the Great Ruler."

"What?" Vegeta yelled. He thought a while and finally released his hold, "Please, lead me to this Great Ruler, why don't you? I will very much love to say hello."

"Yes, yes of course." The creature was about to press a button on a device he carried but he was stopped with a firm hand.

"No, we want to surprise him, you see," Vegeta smirked.

"S-Surprise him?"

"Um...for his birthday," added Goten, studying the ordeal with wide, curious eyes.

Vegeta grumbled, "Yes, yes, for his birthday. Of course, what else?"

Goten laughed nervously to which Trunks slapped his face in embarrassment. Leave it to Goten to come up with such a brilliant response.

"O-OK. Just as long as your son isn't with you." The fear in the creature's voice indicated that he suspected that the man would jump out of nowhere and harass them.

"Don't worry, he isn't here, right now," Vegeta's voice lingered mischievously.

Shaking violently, the creature backed away and stumbled over the pile of the fallen who were now groaning in agony trying to shake off the pain of the experience. Looking up with a sorrowful and embarrassed expression, he waved a clawed arm determinedly, "This way."

Vegeta stared at the man, narrowing his eyes, an obvious indication of his intensifying anger. The creature gulped and turned away immediately.

"Humph," he said and faced the suggested direction, "Lead the way."

END THEME:

PREVIEW OF NEXT EPISODE

Trunks and Goten's golden auras flare about them, the spiky length of their hair dancing behind them in the aftermath of their energy.

"Son Goku here! So I've come to terms with not being on Mezora but that's OK because my boy and Trunks are doing a heck of a job on their own."

A flurry of images are passing by, seemingly in reverse. Purple mist about an unknown man dissipates to nothing as he draws nearer to Vegeta, his cat-like ears twitching excitedly.

"Is this the Great Ruler guy after all? Now I'm getting worried. See you NEXT TIME ON DRAGONBALL SUPER: A LESSON ON POWER: EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED"

END CREDITS : Author/Creator of the DBZ series and characters: Akira Toriyama

Author/Creator of this Story/Series; Creator of a gravity room that comes with everything (because food is everything to a saiyan); and a typical father's reaction from Vegeta to Trunks' pesky questions (seriously, he had two weeks beforehand to ask these things :D) : Chrissi B (c) November 2015