Chapter 4

Videl was sleeping more peacefully than she had in a long time. The tournament started up tomorrow and she was determined to get a great night of rest.

She had trained her senses well over the past couple weeks and she could now sense the power of the strongest fighters in the world. She was overwhelmed by the battle power of these people, but then she felt a new sense of determination and began training herself to push her limits.

In her sleep, she could feel a presence in her room. As it moved quietly, as if it were floating above the ground, she could feel a reserve of power that shocked her awake. Her eyes shot open, but she remained still, so as not to alert the intruder.

It was the same cloaked figure as before, the presence of their foreign energy proved the figure was real. It moved back to the picture of her mother and picked it up quietly.

Videl took a good look at the figure, it was tall like a man, but the shoulders seemed abnormally wide. The cloak was billowy below the shoulders so it was difficult to get a good image of the figure's body type.

"I didn't mean to wake you child." The figure spoke, startling Videl, the voice obviously deep, like a male, but gravelly as though he were older.

The figure turned, his face still covered by the hood of the cloak. A greying beard visible against the pale moonlight. "I know I shouldn't enter without permission young one. It's quite rude of me." he stated as he turned back to the picture, "But there are so few places where I can see her face again." melancholy laced his voice as Videl rose from her bed. This was possibly the worst night for this to happen considering the tournament tomorrow.

Still, this man speaks as if he knew her mother. She wanted to get to the bottom of it as soon as possible. She reached out her senses to try and feel the man's intent. From what she could tell, it wasn't malicious, but more sad.

"How did you know my mother?" Videl asked as the man looked back to the young girl and gave a melancholic smile.

"Oh, I knew her from a young age. She lived in the village near my home in the ice plains." The man recalled as he sat in the chair and saw Videl inch cautiously toward him. "No need to mistrust. I mean no harm. I'm an old man, near his deathbed. Yearning for better days."

Videl scowled suspiciously, "An old man with a very above above average power level and the ability to manipulate Ki." Videl accused, "Youre not as harmless as you might look."

The old man chortled, "So you learned to sense ki. I was wondering how I woke you." The elder thought for a moment, "That boy who appeared shortly after you last caught me. He's the one who taught you I presume." the man observed as Videl blushed, unable to stop her mind from wandering to the spiky-haired boy.

"His name is Gohan, not that it's any of your business. And yeah, he did teach me. He taught me a few things as a matter of fact!" Videl exclaimed as she dropped into a stance, now that she could sense ki, she knew he was holding back, and she knew she should be cautious instead of running headlong into a fight.

The man waved his hands, "Now now, we don't need any of that. I've seen the boy fight, if he was your teacher, I know I don't stand much of a chance at my age." the man stood and smirked, "But I appreciate that fire in you. So much like Helena." he said as Videl quirked and eyebrow, he explained how he knew her mother, and it checks out because Videl knew her mother lived in the ice plains as a young girl. But now he knows her name too.

"I've had enough! Who are you!" Videl demanded loudly enough to intimidate but not loud enough to wake her father. She also took care to keep her ki level so as to not concern Gohan.

The elder raised his hands to his hood and removed it, his full facial features apparent in the moonlight. Four scars ran across his left eye, as if he'd been clawed at by an animal, a full beard, greying on the front but black on the sides. Black spiky hair, with whisps of grey hairs here and there, rose from his head, defying gravity.

"My name is Celero, I'm a refugee per se. I was exiled from my home planet for becoming a pacifist. Especially after my daughter was born. Worry from the king that my pacifist blood would taint our race, he exiled me and my family off world." Celero explained as Videl tensed up slightly at the word daughter.

"Still, my people rarely allow pacifist blood to live, and we worried we would be tracked down. To keep my daughter safe, my mate and I made the difficult decision to give her up for adoption on our new home planet." Celero continued as he looked once more at the picture of Videl's mother. "I leave you to make conclusions Videl. I'll be rooting for you at the tournament." Celero smiled gently as he disappeared out of sight.

Videl scanned the room, searching for his ki signature. This guy, Celero, comes in, claims to be an alien, and on top of all that, heavily implies that he was her grandfather! No, she would not let this stand!

But he was gone.

Gohan and the Z Fighters touched down on Papaya Island, prepared for the world martial arts tournament. Vegeta came down from the top of the air bus that they all came in. He was rather insistent that he didn't want to sit in the machine with the rest of the fighters.

Roshi was leading the pack as his sister, Fortuneteller Baba, was quite explicit on where she and Goku would appear from Otherworld.

Gohan was excited to see his father again, especially because his little brother would be getting to meet him for the first time. Gohan spent the last two weeks training with Goten, he felt bad because he had spent so much time training Videl that he felt like he was neglecting his brother.

The happy-go-lucky Goten forgave quickly, claimed he was training with Trunks, as they intended to fight in the tournament as well. They stopped at on the outskirts of a square, to avoid unwanted attention and they stayed there for a few moments.

Gohan sensed movement nearby and looked towards a palm tree, and smiled. "Piccolo, it's good to see ya!" Gohan exclaimed as he bowed to his former master.

"Good to see you too kid. I see you've kept up with your training." Piccolo stated with a smile, "Youre more powerful than you were when you fought Cell."

Gohan faltered at that, he still had regrets about his fight with Cell. But Gohan knew his father had no regrets and was proud of him. He may not have trained as arduously as he did when his father was alive, but he ensured that he would not let his father down in protecting this world.

The group, minus Vegeta, all started catching up, it had been awhile since they were all in one place together. Krillin, a former monk, had cut his hair short so as not be caught in a hold, was talking with his wife, Android 18, known simply as 18, and Yamcha, a long-haired man with a scar across his cheek.

Tien Shinhan, a bald triclops caught up with Master Roshi, inquiring if he would be entering the tournament once again, despite long being outclassed by his students.

Soon though, an energy permeated throughout the area as a man with wild spiky hair and a country-mile wide smile appeared next to a short woman with pink hair that sat atop a crystal ball.

"Hey guys! Didja miss me?" Goku laughed as the group all stared in awe at the man who disappeared to Otherworld seven years ago. It took a second for his friends and first born son to tackle him in laughter as they couldn't believe he was really here.

As they all dispersed, Chi-chi stood with a smile as she stared at her husband, motioning to the young boy, hiding behind her legs.

Goku smiled as he looked at him, he marvelled at how much the boy looked like him at a younger age. It felt like he was seeing him for the first time, despite having looking in on his family from Otherworld from time to time.

He battled constantly on whether he made the right decision to stay dead after the fight with Cell, and right now, he was having trouble with that decision, knowing his young son has never met him, despite being seven years old.

Goku knelt down and looked Goten dead in the eyes as he held his arms out. "Come here Goten. I promise I won't bite." Goku laughed as Goten started shuffling slowly towards his father, looking cautiously up to his mother, who merely nodded in reassurance. Goten turned back to Goku and went full speed to his dad's arms, knocking Goku to his back as they embraced in a long overdue hug.

Videl and her father touched down in a large airbus with his face plastered on the side. She felt an overwhelming embarassment as the media swarmed the vehicle.

The door opened and the annoyance that covered her face was obvious. This was the one downside to being the champ. Everyone wanted a piece of you, and her father was more than happy to oblige them.

She listened as the reporters asked a myriad of questions that presumed Hercule's uninterrupted reign as champ. She heard her name being called and glared at the reporter.

"Videl, what would you do in the very likely chance you had to fight your father in the championship round?" The reporter asked with an odd excitement as Videl shrugged.

"I don't know, I guess I'll punch him." Videl said flatly as the reporter withdrew.

Hercule simply laughed boisterously at her response as she slipped away from the crowd. Videl reached out her senses, there was only one person she was looking forward to seeing today. She turned her head in his general direction, 'And there he is.' Videl thought as she started jogging towards Gohan and his group of friends.

A few yards behind her, Celero, completely covered in his cloak, watched her run towards the Earth's mightiest warriors before he disappeared with the crowd.

Videl stopped in the general area she felt Gohan's ki and looked around. He was keeping it low to conserve energy she had to guess, but it was frustrating her now. On top of that, she thought she kept sensing Celero's energy in the crowd, as if he were following her.

She started walking without looking and ran into a giant bald man who seemed to be seething at the sight of her. "I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention." She apologized kindly, taking in the man's features.

He was pale and his veins were pushing against his skin. He had a black 'M' tattooed on his forehead. She could swear she had seen him before. "Spopovich, come. You can settle things later." A calmer man with similar features called out as Videl gasped in shock. This was Spopovich, the same fighter her father beat in the last tournament for the championship, he looked awful.

Before another word could be spoken, the men walked away, Spopovich still seething impotently.

"Are you alright Videl?" Gohan's voice broke through her stare.

"Yeah, it's just those guys, something seems... off." Videl stated as Gohan looked to the pair of bald men. His senses naturally reaching out to feel their energy.

He felt anger and rage pouring from the two men. But more than that, their ki felt unnatural, forced. "If you come up against either of them in the tournament, be careful. They won't go down easily." Gohan commented seriously before turning to her with a smile. "C'mon, there's someone I want you to meet." he said eagerly as he took her hand, causing her to blush as he basically pulled her through the crowded streets.

Goku and the Z Fighters were in the process of signing up for the tournament when they were informed that Trunks and Goten would have to sign up for the Junior division due to their age.

"This blows! I wanted to fight my father!" Trunks exclaimed as he pounded at his open palm.

"I understand young man, but it's the rules unfortunately." The official at the sign-in table explained as Vegeta stepped up behind Trunks.

"Is that so? Surely we can find an exception for my progeny." Vegeta stated, malice in his voice to imply a threat.

The tournament official hid behind his clipboard, "I apologize sir, but these rules are final. Nobody can make an exception except the champion." he stated as he held his clipboard out like a shield.

"Hey, what if someone was a former champion? Could they make an exception for someone?" Goku asked as he stepped in.

The official shook his head and stood upright, feeling less threatened by this slightly more polite fighter, "Due to the trickery committed by previous champions, only the current champ may make the exception. Now please, if you have already signed up for the tournament, I must ask you to move along."

Vegeta stepped around Goku, annoyed, as he tried to grab the official, just at that moment, Gohan and Videl reached the sign-in table. Videl's eyes turned to anger as she watched this brutish thug trying to assault an official.

"Hey, who do you think you are!?" Videl asked in a declaring tone, as Gohan tried to stop her. The official and Vegeta turned to the source of the voice as the official breathed a sigh of relief.

Vegeta stopped and turned towards the girl and Gohan and smirked, "I'm the Prince of all Saiyans, and you must be the brats mate." Gohan blushed deeply as Videl's eyes widened, enraged by the implication.

"I'm nobody's mate, and with that level of disrespect, maybe you arent ready to fight in a tournament this big!" Videl declared as she reached out her senses to feel this man's energy.

"She's a bold one Gohan. She'd certainly give you a decent challenge." Goku stated, again trying to defuse the tension between Vegeta and the world. "I apologize for Vegeta, he can be a real hot head sometimes. We were just hoping an exception could be made for the boys to enter the adult division." Goku explained the situation to Videl as he pointed to Goten and Trunks.

Videl looked them up and down, "Sir, don't you think theyre a little young for the adult division?" Videl asked as Goku quirked an eyebrow.

"Sir?" He asked, confused.

Gohan stepped forward, "That's what I was trying to tell you Videl. These are friends of mine." He stated, pointing at the Z Fighters ending with his dad, "and this is my father, Son Goku."

"Your father?" Videl looked the man up and down and then back to Gohan, "I thought you told me you dad was dead." Videl stated as Gohan nodded and pointed above Goku.

"Yeah, he is. Don't you see the halo above his head?" Gohan asked as Videl followed his finger to the obvious halo floating above Goku.

Videl floated upward to get a better look at it, she couldn't believe what she was seeing. "It's real, I assure you of that." Goku said with a laugh as Videl landed. She didn't know what to expect from Gohan and his family anymore.

She looked at the two little boys that want to enter the adult division, then back to Goku, "If he's your dad, then that must make that boy your brother, right? He's the spitting image of your dad after all." Videl deduced as Gohan nodded in confirmation.

Videl walked over to the official, "It'll be fine with my father if these boys enter the adult division." Videl approved, knowing what Gohan is capable of, she thought these two boys he was vouching for would make a great challenge.

"But Ms. Satan, we need confirmation with your father, you cannot vouch for them." The official stated as Videl scowled at the pudgy man.

"Excuse you, am I not the champion in my own right? I won the junior division in the last tournament. Not to mention, my father trusts me implicitly with protecting Satan City. I think that more than qualifies me to make these decisions on his behalf!" Videl declared in a fake angry tone. She couldn't care less if they didn't do what she asked, but she was committing to the role.

"Yes Ms. Satan, we're sorry." The man stated as he proceeded to sign the boys up in the adult division.

The group began making their way to the preliminary stage, most of them who had fought in the tournament before were expecting a series of stages to fight against other opponents for the chance to be in the main tournament. But there was still just a single stage and a crowd of fighters.

It wasn't long before they wheeled out an odd contraption that looked like it had a giant punching bag attached to the front.

A middle aged man with blonde hair and sunglasses stepped forward and began explaining. These were punching machines, capable of measuring the strength of an individual's punch. Fifteen people with the strongest punches would be moving on to the main tournament.

Videl, having seen this before at the last tournament, was shocked when Goku let out a whine. "Man, I thought there'd be more fighting. There's no strategy at all to a punching bag."

Before she could respond, the large green man, Piccolo she recalled, replied, "There's more to fighting than just physical strength. They have to know this is a joke, right?"

She couldn't deny that they both had a point, but there were hundreds of fighters here today, "It's a good way to weed out weaker fighters and get to the main fights quicker, isn't it?" Videl asked semi-rhetorically.

Gohan nudged her lightly, in a hushed voice he pointed to the crowd, "Feel out everyone's energy here. You can probably guess who the 15 fighters will be based on power level alone." Gohan pointed out as Videl confirmed that the majority of the tournament would consist of the group she stood alongside now.

"Now, if we weren't competing today, can you confirm that the 15 strongest of these people here are also the best fighters? Fighting takes more than strength, you have to be aware of your surroundings and aware of your opponents weaknesses." He turned to the two youngest boys, "Goten is seven years old, he has a tendency to get distracted easily. Trunks can be a little arrogant at times. Both of them have a considerable size difference as well. But they aren't opponents that any of these other fighters could handle based on strength alone." Gohan explained as Videl nodded along.

As they stood in line for their turn at the punching machine, Videl sized up the group she was in, Goku was excitable like a child, but his energy felt bottomless. Vegeta was egotistical and had a horrible mean streak. It wouldn't be difficult to anger him, but that doesn't mean he would make mistakes because of it, he seemed to know how to use his anger to his advantage.

Piccolo was large, and stoic, but his ears were huge. He probably didn't enjoy high-pitched noises.

Krillin was short, but a seasoned fighter. 18 was incredibly difficult to read. She couldn't get anything from her energy either, like it wasn't there.

Gohan already pointed out the boys flaws, but she could sense their energy as well and knew they weren't to be trifled with. Speaking of whom, Gohan, what was his weakness?

He obviously wasn't thrilled about fighting, but he was seemingly flawless in his technique. He was built like a brick wall despite his skinny outward appearance. Aside from that he was a little socially awkward. She had one ace up her sleeve to exploit that, but she wouldn't feel right exploiting that just to win. Especially because she didn't know her own feelings yet.

Finally, it was Videl's turn to punch the machine, before she stepped forward, Gohan put a hand on her shoulder, "Use 25% of your strength. You don't want to break the machine." Gohan stated as Videl quirked an eyebrow before shrugging.

She walked up and cocked her fist back, aiming to get to 25% before releasing and striking the pad. The number overtop the machine popped up at a strong 304. She blinked in surprise as she looked at her fist.

She stepped to the side, curious what Gohan would get as she felt incredibly proud of her '304'. Gohan got into a stance and put one hand up with very little clearance between him and the mat. With barely a movement, he tapped the bag and the number popped up at '295'.

Videl blinked, astonished as each of the Z fighters took turns, hardly tapping the machine and getting in range of her 25% power punch. Vegeta was last in line, even more curious, she saw him step back there earlier, as if he planned to go last.

With a confident punch, he sent the machine flying into the far wall. She couldn't tell if he was holding back any, or just having fun as he smirked and walked away.

"That muscleheaded brute almost exposed us because he couldn't keep himself calm." Babidi stated in anger as he turned to Bardock, "What did you teach them?" he asked accusingly.

Bardock scoffed, "I taught them to fight like Saiyans. Youre the one that used the evil in their heart and their deepest desire to turn them into freaks." Bardock responded as Babidi turned back to his crystal ball.

"No matter, they're back on task. One of these fighters is going to relinquish the energy we need to free Buu." Babidi stated gleefully as he looked over the fighters only to land on two men.

A tall, red skinned man with flowing white hair accompanied by a shorter man with light purple skin and a white mohawk.

"That wretched Kai! What's he doing there?" Babidi asked incredulously as he grit his teeth.

"He must suspect our plans Master Babidi. He may be there for the same reason we sent Spopovich and Yamu." Dabura deduced as Babidi slammed his fist on his chair.

"There's no way he could know! Regardless, we are still hidden so he can't know where we are yet." Babidi stated as he scowled deeply at the pair.

He turned to his Saiyan and glared, "You know the drill. You'll be waiting on level Two, in the event of incursion. Now go prepare yourself, you never know what will happen." Babidi ordered as Bardock rolled his eyes and retreated to his room to prepare for a fight he had no desire for.

"If only he were distracted, I could slip out of this blasted ship and work on freeing myself from his control." Bardock lamented as he stretched and watched the tournament that was basically on every wall of the ship.

"At least I'll finally see my boy fight." he thought aloud to himself as he watched his son interact with the Kais.

End Chapter

I apologize for the time frame of this chapter and the last. I have been crazy busy with work and haven't had much time to proofread or edit, but I'm finally ready to release this chapter.

Okay, so this chapter ended up being longer than I planned it to be. I wanted to imply that Videl was a half-saiyan as well. So I introduced the shrouded character as my common OC, Celero. I've said before, I like the stories where Videl is discovered to be a Saiyan, or at least part Saiyan. I feel I may have revealed it too soon, but I'm actually quite proud of this chapter, because of that reveal. So, no shame here.

I'm going to get started on the next chapter, I cannot remember if there was anything else in this chapter that I wanted to take note of, to try and clear up any plotholes, so if you're curious about something, DM me or, as always, Read and Review.