Universe Saga Chapter 30: Hello From the Other Side, a dragon ball z fanfic

OPENING THEME:

Episode 29:

HELLO FROM THE OTHER SIDE: A SURPRISE AWAITS

Piccolo was deep in a meditation state, his feet planted against the ridge of the roof. His taut frown intensified as a gentle breeze swept aside his cape and even as it grew into a furious storm he was not perturbed. However, it was the spike of a power reading that awakened him from his internal trance. He went into an instant panic and like a sharp shooter, his eyes found the culprit in full view some thousands of feet above him. He trembled. He knew that something like this was bound to happen. After all, trouble always has a way of following him. Taking a glance below him, he feared the worst for the unsuspecting guests of the Capsule Corporation.

The impending doom, however, was not entirely missed by the others. Using her hand as a shield from the sun, little Marron broke into a fit of tears as her eyes followed the approaching figure moving at warp speed. Sensing danger, Gohan was forced to interrupt play with Pan and she stopped splashing around on her float toy, eyeing her father with a curious stare. He gulped as the shadow hovered over them, growing bigger by the second.

"This can't be good," he muttered.

From the other side of the pool, 18 recognised the situation and in awesome speed she pounced forward. She used her back as cover to protect little Marron as the missile made impact saving her from a mountainous upsurge of water.

With hardly any time to spare, Gohan turned his back to take on the full onslaught of the tidal wave, holding Pan as close to him as possible. The water divided in two and lashed out to the other sides of the expanse of the pool but Master Roshi, who was blissfully reading his magazines, was thrown off of his inflatable turtle without a moment's notice. Realising that his favourite reading material was slowly crumbling away, he ignored the realisation of grave danger and he darted after what he could. However, his desperate grips furthered damage and they were reduced to nothing.

As the waters settled, Gohan's fist tightened. He could not believe the audacity of the newcomers and their maniacal laughter worsened his worries.

Goten and Trunks were rocking with joy, wearing grins of satisfaction.

"Yeah, good one!" Goten said, giving Trunks a thumbs-up.

A beautiful girl swung her feet in delight as she held on tight to the handrails at the edge of the pool. Laughing, she praised their efforts with a thumbs-up although her attention was on Master Roshi.

"Goten, teach your little girlfriend some respect for the elderly!" Master Roshi bellowed angrily.

"But Jika is not my girlfriend," Goten said, "My Mom says I'm not allowed to date."

"She was the same age you are when she met Goku," Master Roshi said, "Seems double standard, if you ask me."

Jika blushed and locked eyes with Goten for a brief moment before looking away.

"Humph." The grunt startled the group as Piccolo alighted before them. "Damn kids." He was soaked from head to toe.

"Hey, sorry Piccolo," Trunks said, closing his eyes and scratching his head in pretense.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Goten added.

Growling, Piccolo charged his ki about him and in an instant he was dried. To their surprise, he gave them a friendly smirk which erased Gohan's fury. He laughed nervously as he admired the odd spectacle but Pan was clapping for joy. Even 18's scowl settled into a warm smile upon seeing this. Now visibly embarrassed, Piccolo knew he needed a clever escape. "I smell food," he said and without any warning he made his way over to the others in the distance.

Under several tents, activity was bustling. Tien and Chiaotzu, adorned in matching "Kiss the Cook" aprons, were at the helm of the barbecuing. Topping off a massive tray, Tien passed on the goodies to Bulma's mother to which she obediently kissed him on the cheek. Caught off guard, his cheeks reddened and he seemed both surprised and excited. Chiaotzu was quick to laugh at his friend but without warning, Mrs. Brief bent over and kissed him as well.

Next in line was Hercules who was now laughing proudly and puffing his chest high. He darted over to Chiaotzu and made a grab at him. "Hey, come on - give me one of 'em aprons."

Flattered by the intention, Mrs. Brief closed her eyes and exclaimed, "Oh my."

Hercules blushed in response and paused like a criminal caught in the act and finally released Chiaotzu's apron. Looking on, Videl slapped her forehead and shook her head. "Oh, Dad."

At a nearby table, Dr. Brief broke away from his canned beer to speak but Buu was more interested in the several pudding cups in front of him.

"Oh that woman!" he said with a chuckle.

Puar and Dende were next to be served after the Ox King went away with a helping just as large as himself. Making their way to the patio, Puar decided to hide his tray behind his back with one hand as they neared Oolong, sipping nonchalantly on lemonade. The table alike several others, happily greeted with an assortment of drinks and large pitchers of ice.

Dende boldly displayed his portion as he rested the ceramic platter down. There were spare ribs, bacon strips, BLTs and pork steak and he sunk his teeth into some of everything as he took up a seat. Puar joined in with his free hand, making mischievous glances over to Oolong as he did so. Oolong almost choked on his drink as he stared on in awe.

"You people really are cruel," he lamented, "And you don't even eat or do you just enjoy torturing me?"

Chuckling, Dende explained, "When human food smells this good, who can refuse?"

Disguising his glee, Puar pulled out the tray from behind him and genuinely smiled as he watched Oolong's sour face stretch into a wide grin. This platter was filled with sandwiches and other tasty finger food. With a sigh, Oolong gratefully ate to which Dende giggled.

Further off, Bulma and Chi-Chi were consumed in conversation.

"You sure do eat like a saiyan when you're pregnant, don't you!" Chi-Chi remarked.

"Yeah, six months and I look like I'm carrying twins!" Bulma said, rubbing her large stomach.

"Don't be silly, you look like a woman that's about to pop."

"My point exactly."

"So have you guys started thinking about names yet?"

"I have," bragged Bulma, her voice escalating a few tones higher, "Vegeta stinks with names. He wanted to name Trunks, Boxer. Just because he discovered the sport. Could you imagine?"

Chi-Chi eyed her suspiciously but nodded nonetheless. There was no way that she could imagine the unfortunate name the boy would have to bear if it were so. She shuddered just by thinking about it.

"Hiya, ladies!" a cheery voice greeted and Goku appeared suddenly a second later.

"Oh, so now look who's decided to make an appearance? And why are you wearing that?" Chi-Chi asked in disgust.

Goku laughed nervously as he cradled the back of his head with one hand, his eyes closed to avoid his wife's stern gaze, "I just figured since I have to be here, I could best as well have a sparring round with Vegeta."

"Since you have to be here!" scoffed Bulma, her arms folded, "Humph. You've got some nerve, Goku!"

Goku waved his hands wildly and tried his best to get her to calm down, "Well, well, no, no - I mean... um..."

"Fighting! That's all you men ever do!" wailed Chi-Chi.

"The key is to let them train as much they like," Bulma said proudly, "Then they'll be so happy and dog-tired they'll do whatever you ask of them afterwards."

"Sounds great, but Goku's absolutely impossible. I even installed a training room at home but he refuses to even go near it, claiming he prefers the outdoors."

"Wow, Goku," Bulma said, "It seems like you're even more stubborn than Vegeta by a mile!"

"What?" Goku asked, baffled by her statement, "Me! I'm more stubborn than Vegeta! But at least I'm the one that's here."

He was about to go into further detail to prove that Vegeta was indeed the more stubborn one but a commotion behind him interrupted. They looked up to see Yamcha dashing to and fro in finesse from one fighting pose to the next as he was seemingly in a battle with an invisible foe. However, those closest to him were fortunate to see the whole thing.

With his stiffened arms slicing through large chunks of frozen meat, Yamcha was swiftly cutting off perfect-sized slabs which sizzled off one by one. Chiaotzu was hurriedly collecting the falling pieces as they fell onto a giant platter, keeping in perfect time with Yamcha's movements. His immediate audience applauded but Piccolo shook his head in disdain.

"Thank you, thank you," Yamcha said, bending over in not-so-humble bowing, "Separated and completely thawed and ready for some grilling. A whole new meaning to karate chops, am I right!"

Everyone blushed as they gawked at him. In return, he laughed nervously and looked away but he already knew that the damage had already been done. Luckily for him, Krillin pulled him away from the spotlight and over to a secluded corner.

"Wow, that was impressive! Not the joke, I mean the cool moves back there," Krillin said excitedly.

"Well, I'm a sensei now, y'know," Yamcha said, raising his eyebrows in a vain manner.

"What?" Krillin asked, "You are? But how, but when?"

"I'm teaching people of all ages how to use their ki now."

"Whoa, that's great, pal!"

"I had no clue what to do with myself as a retired athlete and the lovely Ms. Bulma gave me the idea and backed by her husband, of course. They strongly believe that humans should know how to take care of themselves, sometimes."

"Scary how similar-minded those two are, huh?"

"Yeah, whatever," Yamcha said bitterly.

"Hey, don't be like that - we'll get you a wife soon enough! Wasn't it always your dream to get married - what happened, pal?"

"Ha! Simple - I grew up," he admitted smugly, "Or else I might've ended up like that poor sucker over there."

"Huh," Krillin said as he looked in the direction his friend was suggesting. He caught sight of a tall, muscular teen now being served by Tien, "You can't always use Nigiri as a crutch like that, y'know."

"From wife to divorce in a heartbeat and then one night got you a sudden baby to come back home to after being dead - too much drama. There's a reason why I've always been scared of women - I like my freedom. The poor kid had to become emancipated from his momster to be able to spend time with his old man. I don't know how Tien's handling the look-alike."

"Well, I was told he shaved his head just simply for that reason - to follow in his father's footsteps. This kid's serious about fighting, I'm telling you. If Tien had his way with him all along - he might have entered the last World Martial Arts Tournament but he's been making a name for himself as of late, y'know."

"Well, it's good that's he's finally come out of hiding and kicking it with us for a change. Humph. I'll be the best uncle he'll ever have and teach him the ropes. Women - they're all the same. Beautiful, but to love only for a moment unless certain people suddenly show up and mess up your game." As he said this, his eyes caught sight of Bulma and a slight blush crept on his cheeks.

'Hot damn. She still looks the same as back then. And not to mention she's all filled out too. Oh yeah! But wait...she's not single. Damn! Wait. What's wrong with me? I can't seriously still be...'

"You can't seriously still be jealous after all of these years?" Krillin gasped at the incredulous idea.

"Jealous? Me! Of course not, we've become the best of friends every single time we were ever broken up and I'm going to prove just how good a friend I am! Don't believe me, just watch." He puffed up his chest and glided over to Bulma with a curious Krillin tailing behind.

"Somehow, I smell trouble," Krillin said, sighing.

"Hey there, ladies," Yamcha said as he pulled up a seat, "Well, you're especially gorgeous today, Bulma." He smiled guiltily as his eyes diverted to her chest for a second too long.

Bulma smiled and accepted the compliment in earnest but the icy words that left her mouth were meant for someone else, "Well, thank you for noticing. Goku sure didn't."

"Well, I - uh," Goku started.

"Ever thought about what it would be like if we had children?" Yamcha asked, his tone sweet and songlike.

"Oh, boy," Krillin murmured, "Here it comes."

A wild wind intercepted and with a shriek, Bulma found herself perched atop her husband's lap.

"Stop flirting with my wife," Vegeta coolly said after he took a sip of his beer. He grabbed hold of Bulma's chin and he caressed it lovingly to which Bulma blushed a furious red.

"I don't think I've ever seen them like this, you guys," Krillin remarked, looking on in awe.

"Trust me, I've seen way too much," Yamcha said with disgust, turning his head away and crossing his arms like an annoyed child.

"Are your parents always like this?" asked Jika, studying the situation before her as she dried her long, black hair with a towel. She, Goten and Trunks were making their way over.

"It's either this or they're fighting," Trunks admitted as he made gagging faces.

"Which do you prefe.."

"Fighting," Trunks said in a frank tone, interrupting her.

"Wanna spar, Vegeta?" Goku asked excitedly, already in the process of a quick warm up.

"Do I look I'm here to spar, Kakarot? I'm here to spend time with my beautiful wife, if you don't mind," he said proudly.

Everyone within earshot was at a loss for words and stared wide-eyed at the man. Even Bulma could not believe it although her smile and red cheeks intensified.

"Wow, Vegeta!" Krillin remarked, "You seem, ah, different."

"So what?" Vegeta snapped, facing him with a death stare as he gulped down some beer.

"Well, not that different," Krillin quickly realised, gulping nervously.

"Yeah, I've been noticing that myself," Goku said, his tone serious, "Ever since he came back from his trip to Planet Mezora." However, his typical happy-go-lucky nature slipped back in and he slapped a hand on the man's shoulder and with a giddy grin, he added, "So buddy, tell me already. What happened, huh?"

Vegeta growled as he clenched the can with such a grasp that some of his beer spilled. He gave a more intense stare than the one he gave Krillin and it was evident that Goku was becoming increasingly uncomfortable.

"He wouldn't even tell me! You really think he's going to tell you," Bulma said, "All that matters is that it changed him for the better. He's grown into the man I always knew he could be!"

"Have I grown into the man you hoped I'd be, huh?" asked Yamcha slyly, his eyes dancing up and down.

She ignored him thus prompting him to continue in rage.

"So what am I, chopped liver? At least that's what I became as soon as Vegeta came into the picture."

"That is so not true!" she yelled.

"Really!" he said, not believing her.

"For your information, Vegeta was the one who approached me, not the other way around!" she said with a commanding fist.

Everyone's shocked glances reappeared.

"Really, with a girl with your record you would think that you..." Oolong started.

"You would think that I what?" she said menacingly. And with that he said no more.

"Can somebody please change the subject!" Trunks interjected as he took up a handful of goodies, passing on some to Goten and Jika, "Or I'll go get the dragon to wish I never walked in to hear in on this convo."

"Trunks!" Bulma yelled angrily, "You promised no talk about dragonballs or flying or any of that junk. Jika is only our guest because you insisted for Goten's sake."

"Oh, yeah, oops," he said, wearing a guilty grin, "But we just kinda dropped from like a thousand feet into the pool a few seconds ago."

"What!" Bulma squealed but sighed realising that it was useless at this point to continue into a rant. In quick succession, she added in a delighted tone, "Well, then, Goten you will have to fill in your girlfriend with the details of our special group now, won't you?"

"She's not my girlfriend, I swear, I swear," Goten said, the embarrassment evident in his voice as he raised his hands in an effort to quiet her down as he caught sight of his mother's wrath bearing down on him.

"So, Trunks, you looking forward to being a big bro?" asked Yamcha with a huge grin.

Trunks' face lit up and he eagerly responded, "Are you kidding me! I can't wait!"

"We always wanted another baby. We've been trying for so long but then gave up and now this," Bulma shared gleefully.

"Ditto. We've been trying for so long too," Goten said as he motioned over to Jika.

The shock and horror on everyone's faces was greatly exaggerated. Vegeta gulped down his beer and closed his eyes, knowing that trouble was on the horizon.

"You what!" Chi-Chi said and dashed over to the boy and pulled on his ear.

"I don't see what the big deal is," Goten said.

"You don't see the big deal!" his mother yelled.

"I mean, yeah, we got in trouble for destroying the labs by accident, you know that! We've had to stay back after school and clean and stuff to build back up credit before we could finally start our egg project!"

His mother was stiff with embarrassment and reluctantly released her hold. "Do you even realise what you were saying, young man?" his mother asked calmly.

Goten was still at a loss and showed it. Realising this, Trunks whispered in his friend's ear and after several confused expressions and then finally a wide-eyed realisation, Goten now understood.

"That explanation was too long, young man!" Bulma said angrily.

Trunks blushed much to everyone's laughter.

"Now back to the topic at hand. Soon you guys will be having a little princess all your own," Krillin said as he admired his daughter by the pool, safe in the arms of his wife.

"Oh, yeah and literally too. After all her daddy's the prince of all saiyans!" Goku said before he pulled up a seat and immediately started wolfing down food.

Vegeta's countenance hardened and he shook with frustration, desperately trying his best to calm himself but unfortunately the beer can was reduced to fine bits.

"Never address me by that title ever again! I might even change my damn name!"

"Oh, can't you ever learn to behave! You didn't have to say it like that!" Bulma said.

The shocked faces returned. Just how many surprises could come from one man? And this was the biggest surprise of them all. Vegeta never failed to address himself as the Prince of all saiyans especially in battle and now he was denouncing it?

"Now I really need to know what happened on that planet," Goku begged, "Hey boys, you'll tell me right!"

Goten and Trunks shook their heads in unison.

"Nothing that concerns you," Vegeta said before either could respond.

"Oh, come on," Goku pleaded.

"Well, if you must know, it was a trip of self-discovery," he said in a stern tone.

"Self-discovery, huh," Goku said as he lowered his head, his fist against his brow, deep in thought.

"I mean he had a secret son, a secret wife, what else could he possibly be hiding? A secret girlfriend?" asked Oolong deviously.

"Not possible. He's way too loyal for that," Bulma said.

Yamcha chimed in, wearing a victorious grin, "Don't get so comfortable. He's still a man, y'know. I heard he and Chi-Chi made out!"

The boys' face fell but Goten seemed the closest to being sick once he caught sight of Jika's curious glare. There was no way that this was being revealed in front of her.

Enraged, Chi-Chi grabbed Yamcha by the shirt and with fire in her eyes, she yelled, "Never speak of it!"

Yamcha nodded his head, white with fear but in no time, he brushed it off and continued in his cool tone, "So what about that ex-wife, huh? Heard about that one too."

"Everyone deserves a free pass, Yamcha," Bulma said.

"So am I your free pass, Bulma!" Yamcha pleaded with lust in his eyes as he drew closer to her.

"Please," she said bluntly thus leaving Yamcha with a bruised ego as he slowly retreated.

"Whoa, Dad was right. All you guys are in one place."

This new voice drew stares from all as they looked up at the stranger behind Bulma. She had stiffened upon recognising it and when she turned around, she was already in tears as she leapt into the arms of the newcomer.

"Son?" Vegeta said as he choked back emotion, admiring the man before him. He greeted him with a hug as the others looked on in awe but soon their gasps transformed into smiles.

END THEME:

PREVIEW OF NEXT EPISODE

"Son Goku here! Wowwee, is that who I think it is!"

Trunks stares on wide-eyed at the older version of himself as they hold hands.

"Whoa! They look so alike yet so different, huh!"

Two broken four-star balls tilt over to each other and collide.

"Huh! What the heck was that all about! Or maybe I might be seeing doubles or something! See you NEXT TIME ON DRAGONBALL SUPER: THE MERGER OF THE TWO WORLDS: THE PROMISE OF TROUBLE TO COME"

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