Test 674-3(Extended Part 3)

Subject Matter: Dragon Ball(Original Anime)

Target: Pilaf(A.K.A. The Great King Pilaf or Emperor Pilaf)

Results:

We begin on Capsule Corps. HQ building, with Bulma, looking fit, sparing a bit with her husband. In so much as it can be called sparring anyway. Bulma knows nothing about fighting beyond a few basic punches and kicks, even if she is able to use ki in a few interesting ways. That said, Goku is obviously not going all out, and when she tags him with a bit of ice on his jumpsuit, he gives.

The view then expands into a party the pair are throwing, as it happens to be Raditz and Diego's two year anniversary today, with the narrator informing us it has been almost three years since the defeat of Frieza, and since then, the world has known peace and...well given Goku's presence not quiet, but at least peace, as the gang has started to branch out a bit from villains to simply criminals.

This was facilitated by Jeice, who, interestingly, formed a friendship with Krillin, the pair bonding over their shared love of learning, Jeice proving to be quite well read on various techniques of the galaxy himself, and willing to learn more from Krillin, while Krillin learned history from Jeice, including the formation of the Frost Empire, and the rise of the Galactic King in counterpoint.

It had been Bulla's idea, after the two had started working on poses, for the pair, and her, to start fighting crime. The first had been spur of the moment, watching some idiots rob a bank, that she'd blown the tires out of, and Jeice had stopped their car, but then the three of them had started looking for crimes to foil, including going into the countryside for 'patrols' to watch for bandits and the like.

She was also the one to make their costumes/morphing outfits. A hard helmet, with several built in scanners, including a scouter function for Power Level readings, as well as capes for all of them. Krillin had been reluctant at first, but Bulma had said it was okay, after all, no one on the planet could really hurt the three of them, and to be fair, they were doing good work that she approved of.

Meanwhile Nappa's garden had grown over the limits of his greenhouse, and he'd moved most of the stuff out to Mount Pauzu at Goku's urging. Soon, his green thumb had been able to get the whole area around the mountains blooming like never before, and the big guy took pride in how the trees, in just a few short years, were looking greener, and the flowers more stately.

And of course, there was Raditz' family. Not just Diego, but her brother in law too. As it turned out, Diego's sister, Miguel had married a fighter too, and she had tragically passed away due to a condition she'd been born with, leaving behind her husband and daughter. The husband, Mark 'Satan' Hercule, Master of the Satan Castle Dojo, actually turned out to be a good guy, especially once he met Krillin and Goku.

As it turned out, he was enamoured with the pair, and made sure to shake their hands, commenting on both of them being World Martial Arts Champions like himself, which revealed that, while they'd been busy domestically, another Budokai Tenkaiichi had taken place, with Hercule taking the title, and as it happened, the prize money, which made Krillin miffed.

That resulted in a few discussions, as Krillin had won the Twenty-Fourth himself, but with none of his friends competing, well, it had been a hollow victory. Goku, winner of the Twenty-Third, was actually impressed with Mr. Satan's skill, and when he found out his base power level was actually higher than Nappa's, he'd insisted on a spar, revealing that while he was good with basic martial arts, Hercule was better.

They offered, at one point, to help him unlock his ki, but Hercule declined, pointing out that, while it looked really cool, doing what they did, he wanted to get by on his own strength, though he did mention they might bring it up with the Tournament staff next time, maybe make two brackets, one for ki users specifically. After all, if they were just going to pummel everyone without, it really didn't seem fair, and after some thought, the two other champions could see the point.

All of this history was laid out, and eventually, Bulma went off to get Videl and Bulla, who were inside playing video games, so they could be there to raise a toast to Uncle Raditz, but as soon as she stepped outside with the girls, she knew something was wrong, as everyone was looking into the air, and she stretched her senses out, and realized what it was, as a power, like Frieza's, was hanging just above the city.

When the power got closer, it was revealed to be a huge ship, the size of the main Capsule Corp building, with a small opening in the side suddenly disgorging a whole host of troops that hovered in the air around it, as someone far larger came from within, looking a bit like Frieza with horns, and identified by Jeice as King Cold, Frieza's father, and former leader of the empire.

He slowly lowered himself down to the ground, smiling, and even laughing as he did so. He bowed, in a manner that told everyone present the gesture was meant as a mockery, before introducing himself, as his troops lowered down above him, the ship coming to cast a dark shadow on the gathered group, as the soldiers just floated there, doing nothing, but obviously waiting for the command to strike.

When they were all in position, King Cold asked if one of the power levels he had detected here was the one who killed his darling little boy, and at first Bulla was going to say she was the one, but Goku placed his hand on her shoulder, shaking his head, and then moving in front of her. Goku then declares he took the tyrant down on his own, that everyone else here hadn't been able to lay a finger on him.

That seemed to amuse Cold, who chuckled at the idea, and looked Goku up and down, identifying him as a Saiyan by his tail, and asking how it was a monkey, no matter how strong he seemed, had been able to overpower such a being as his son, and Goku smirked at him, before going Super Saiyan, his hair, both head and tail, going golden, as he stared into the face of his enemy.

This, at least, seemed to take King Cold back a bit, as he whispered the word 'Super Saiyan', not loud enough for anyone but those on the ground to hear, but seeing him back up, even a step, had the soldiers in the sky looking at each other nervously, realizing that, if their boss was afraid of this guy, then he could probably take all of them without even breaking a sweat.

As if to capitalize on this, Krillin made a motion with his finger, the tip glowing, before he touched it to his throat. When he spoke next, his voice was, strangely, amplified, and yet, sounding like it was right next to each of them...and everyone in the city, as he mentions not being able to aim this particular technique properly with so many people. Still, he quickly addresses the 'Cold Forces' he supposed.

He declared that he and his friends had taken down Frieza, and that, if they had to, they'd take every single one of them down too, but he was offering them an out. Go, get back on the ship, and leave. None of them would pursue them, and they could return to their own worlds in peace. Otherwise, well, he would hate to have to do it, but he would get rough with them, and they wouldn't like that.

Cold, for his part, seemed annoyed with the little man's stealing of his thunder, and rose up, declaring in a much louder voice that his minions had better hold their ground. They could die to these fools, maybe, or die to him, most certainly, their choice, which made all of them go still. One of the minions, after almost a minute, looking to Krillin, and then to King Cold, swore, and flew towards the ship, which caused a cascade of others abandoning their leader.

Cold, growling, held up a hand, and even as Krillin tried to stop him, the tyrant's father blasted a single orb of ki into the air, one that then 'pops' into a thousand shots, each of them impacting one of his soldiers, even those who hadn't started to move yet, and vaporized them, ashes raining down from the sky as he chuckles, and then slowly lowers back down, complaining about disloyalty needing to be punished.

The others seem disgusted with him, and Goku actually declares, the full rage of his Super Saiyan state taking over, that he won't allow Cold to leave this planet alive, after such a casual display of cruelty. And Cold, to his confusion, agrees. HE shall not be leaving. The planet though? That needs to depart this universe, lest it be allowed to corrupt anyone else, and then smiles as he holds up his hand, and curls in the fingers one by one.

The instant the last finger is down, everything starts shaking, and Cold lets out a laugh, pointing out that, being the distraction for this plan was a little galling, but it did let him see the look on the monkeys faces when they realized they were going to die. He then began to ascend back towards his ship, only to feel a tug on his cape, and spin around, to be blasted by Raditz in the face.

The tyrant, launched back down to the world, with cracks already forming around the city filled with molten stone, gave a growl of frustration, only to be dogpiled by the Saiyans, Raditz and Nappa holding him down, while Goku prepared to fire. Meanwhile Hercule was running to grab Videl, Diego, and Bulla, desperately trying to think of where to take them that would be safe.

Then an eruption from the earth consumes the four struggling figures, King Cold screaming out as the pillar of earth comes up around him, even as Nappa, Goku, and Raditz were tossed back, hair burned away, and clothing left in tatters. Unfortunately, Cold lives, though injured, and fires a shot at Nappa, right through his neck, causing the two other Saiyans to cry out his name, even as the world around them erupts.

Krillin, pulling himself out of a small tent that had been setup for the party, tells everyone to come to him, but Raditz and Goku just tell him to go, as they grapple with Cold, and as Hercule is hauling his charges over to the bald man, he feels the earth start to give way at his feet, and with a pained expression, he tells Krillin to catch, before tossing the three, one after the other towards him, just before he falls into the magma below.

Videl, teary eyed, cries for her father and rushes to the crack in the ground, but Jeice, Bulma, and everyone else, drag her to Krillin, who then places his fingers on his head. He gives a final glance at the Saiyans, Raditz, for the first time, going Super he notes, before he vanishes in an Instant Transmission, just as the group of combatants is consumed by a plume of fire once more, their struggling bodies being vaporized by it this time.

When the group reappears, it's in an unknown facility, with an alien, lizard-like with a large head and purple skin with green splotches over it, at a control panel. He seems surprised with their sudden appearance, but before he can question it, the chamber, actually the bridge of Cold's ship, rocks, and Krillin tells him to move, and without arguing, the alien uses the controls, the ship departing Earth.

The view shifts to an external one, and we witness the final moments of the planet, as firestorms and the like consume the world. The forest are oceans of flame, and the seas are boiling, as cracks continue to form, until, with a final violet flash, the world erupts, as the twinkling light of the ship zooms away. Almost unnoticed, a smaller, pink glow rises from the rubble of the planet, and vanishes as it strikes another nearby star.

Within the ship, as the next episode starts, the pilot of the vessel, who identifies himself as Appule, turns to the group, and asks where they're going, something that Krillin remarks on, pointing out that, shouldn't he, like, you know, be trying to kill them, as one of Cold's forces, and Appule waves it off. He worked for Frieza, not Cold, and he was an engineer first, warrior second. We'll work for whoever is strongest, and right now, that's this group.

Of course, that then leads to the question...where to go? The world is destroyed, and they have no home. Appule, when questioned by Jeice, whom he remembers, supplies that the Empire was fractured by Frieza's sudden disappearance. Cold had taken so long to take back control that the whole thing was in a state of chaos, meaning really, anywhere they wanted to go, they could.

This is when Bulma, looking out of the windows, mentions that she really wishes they had Dragon Balls. If they did, they could just 'wish' Earth back with them, or at least maybe have Shenron's help in figuring out where to go. It is at this point that Krillin remembers something. Nappa had said, Kami, the creator of the Dragon Balls, was a Namekian right? Why not go there and see if they had another set?

Diego and Videl seem confused by this, but the others quickly explain the Dragon Balls, and the young girl, who had been crying a little, starts asking if her daddy is coming back, and Bulla promises, if she can do it, she'll make certain he does, and the two hug, as Appule, at Jeice's urging, starts searching the database for a planet called Namek, a search that takes a bit, given the sheer size of the database.

As fortune had it, the planet existed, and it was even on the 'To Invade Later' list, meaning Frieza's forces...Cold's forces now he supposed, or Coolers maybe? Regardless, they hadn't touched down on that place yet. So they should be fine. The problem was the reason it was on the Invade Later list, however, and that was distance, the planet being on the outermost edge of the Empire's 'opposite' border from Earth.

At first Bulma is concerned, remembering Shenron saying if it's been more than a year, he can't bring someone back, but Appule is quick to assure her, getting to the planet will take a week, tops with the engines on Fri-Cold's personal craft. It was designed to be anywhere in the Empire at a moment's notice. No, the problem is the journey is going to consume a lot of fuel, and they've got less than half they'd need to make it there.

Jeice, at first suggests just stealing what they need for a depot somewhere along the way, but Bulla points out stealing is wrong, and before he can disagree, Diego agrees...and also mentions that they should probably avoid stealing stuff, when they want to be able to go home at the end of all this, and being on the bad side of the space law might interfere with that, something Jeice concedes.

That limits their options, but Appule points out that he knows an old junk planet, where the fleet, both Frieza's and the Galactic Patrol, likes to send the older model ships. That place should have fuel to spare, and a need for some manual labor. A few odd jobs there should get them the stuff they need, and when they put it to a vote, with Appule quite pleased to be included in it, they unanimously vote to go.

On the way, as it still took a full day, Appule and Jeice swap stories while the humans go to sleep, Jeice mentioning they do that almost as often as Saiyans, something Appule shakes his overly large head at, commenting on how some lifeforms just love to spend their time in comas like that. He'll never understand it, but Jeice just shrugs and says he got used to it after a while.

Still once Jeice is done with Earth, and the 'family' he'd been adopted into, Appule fills him in on the galaxy's situation. Frieza's disappearance, he supposed now confirmed death, should have been the biggest news ever, but before anyone could even notice that, planets, and entire populations that had been wiped out by the Frieza Force suddenly reappeared confused as heck as to how it happened, but ready to fight again.

With no leadership to take the helm, resisting them had been a chore, worse when the Galactic Patrol realized what was happening and took advantage of it. Heck, he wouldn't be surprised if the thousand soldiers with him, and that handful on the other ship weren't the last forces Cold had command of, while the rest of the Empire descended into infighting and the like.

Jeice is surprised by both there being a second ship at Earth, and by how fast things had gone to HFIL, but Appule explains it as it took almost a year for Cold to get off his high and mighty tuchus, believing Freiza would return any day now. In the end, he'd even been forced to revive his first son, Cooler, from suspension, just to try and stop the bleeding, and it had helped, if only a little.

The pair had then tried to find out what happened to Frieza, as it would take all three to rally the troops, as it were. The best info they had, however, was from Zarbon, something about defectors on Earth. Cooler, looking at the info, had suggested they forget it, since either the defectors had killed him, but never bothered expanding from Earth itself in all that time, or he'd 'gone native' himself.

King Cold insisted, however, and the pair had come up with the plan. Appule took Cold, along with most of his force to one side of the planet, to the largest gathering of the highest Power Levels. Then, Cooler would, if it proved beyond his father's power to win, launch an attack at the other side, blowing the planet away, and ending any defectors at a stroke, as they sailed off back to deal with the Empire.

Obviously, that had worked up to a point, but with Cold dead, and Appule having no idea where Cooler was, they figured it was best to help the Earthlings bring their world back, rather than joining the rest of the galactic chaos going on. A nice backwater world sounded like just the place to hang out for a century or two, and then, if they got bored, they could leave and see what had shaken loose in the meantime.

The group arrived on the junk planet the next day, finding it...well a planet covered with junk. Luckily, other than one gang trying to take their ship, which Jeice and Krillin easily fended off, the group was able to make their way to a shop that Appule claimed he knew the owner off. The place, looking like the biggest junkyard in the galaxy(And had a sign proclaiming that fact), proved to be run by a large green alien, with human features save the color of his skin. Even his orange hair would not have been too out of place.

He was introduced by Appule as Sir-Cuit, or just Cuit(Pronounced Kit), and was supposedly one of the best 'macgyver types' in the galaxy. He blushed at the compliment, then got down to business, finding out what they were there for, and admitting he had a few drums of Hyperfuel laying about, but that stuff was starting to fetch a premium on the market, and he had to think about his business here.

Luckily, Bulma was a businesswoman herself, and quickly ironed out a deal with him, Bulla, Jeice, and Krillin hauling around stuff for him, while Appule and Bulma helped in the shop, which, he admitted, he needed with his backlog, both of junk and orders. It still took some time, of course, a full week, but after that, Cuit was good as his word, and thanked the group for the help, even throwing in a new engine modulator he claimed would give them that much more use of the fuel they had.

During this time, Diego and Videl, feeling left out, given their more human origin, sought Bulma's aid, and with her and Krillin's instruction, the two unlocked their ki. Not a lot, obviously, but enough to start training, using the gravity room in the ship(Actually a 'guest hall' for those who liked lower or higher gravity, but easily converted into a training room), and making copious use of the ships 'healing pods' to basically keep training the whole time.

By the time they leave the junk planet, Diego and Videl, thanks to the Limiters and gravity room are actually sporting power levels in the one-thousand range, which impresses Appule, who was only at six-thousand himself. He didn't join them training, mind, though he eagerly accepted a pair of Limiters himself, feeling that, as a pilot and engineer, his brain was more important than his brawn.

Oddly, throughout this whole part of the saga, which covers around five episodes and eight in-universe days, reports begin to trickle in as they work. Planets disappearing, or forces being annihilated. Some are saying it's a Cold Force weapon, Appule, however, takes a while to look into the path, and realizes the first planet to vanish was the closest outpost to Earth, an old Galactic Patrol base.

Cooler, making his mark on the galaxy at large, is what Jeice thinks it is, and they make all haste to Namek's position, only, about halfway there, a sudden shock brings them out of 'warp space' and back into the real world, in orbit of a strange planet putting out energy readings that Appule can't even begin to make heads or tails of, even as they're drawn down towards the surface of it.

Once down, the ship is attacked, not by biological people, but by robots, identifying themselves as units of the Machine Empire, under Governor General Rilldo, appointed personally by King Mondo. Not knowing any of these names, the gang tells them they're on an important journey, and will not be delayed, and if they don't let them go, they'll be forced to treat them as enemies.

The Machine units laugh at this, but are then surprised as Krillin, Jeice, and Bulla literally smash most of them up, Bulma and Appule keeping Videl and Diego back, as they simply aren't strong enough to help yet. Still, the help doesn't seem needed, as the group of around one-hundred machines is reduced to so much spare parts in moments by the three warriors, and Bulla even gloats a bit.

That comes back to bite her, as the pieces of destroyed machines 'melt' into a silver liquid, that then recombines together into only about ten machines, each looking far, far deadlier than the ones they'd been fighting, and forcing the three to fight again, ripping them apart this time, and even having Krillin literally shred a few with twin Destructo Disks held in both hands and pressed together.

It didn't take, however, and the machines combined again, this time into three units...each one looking unique this time, rather than the drones that had been. They engaged them, but found that, strangely, the combined machines seemed to counter their moves now. Even Jeice's ki-based weapons did nothing, instead bouncing off them, and they seemed to take each blow easily.

Then, as suddenly as the fight had begun, the machines backed up, and a fourth unit approached, a blue skinned humanoid wearing yellow armor. He identified himself as Rilldo, and that, seeing as they ventured close to his world, granted to him by his King, their ship was now his property, as was the crew, and before they could ask what he meant, the three bots that had been fighting turned into silver gunk again, and flowed forward.

They leapt at Bulla, Jeice, and Krillin, the liquid going into every cut on their bodies, and soon, worming into them, building circuit patterns on their skin, while the three cried out, obviously in pain. Bulma, rushing forward, tried to pull her daughter back to her, but was instead struck, as Bulla told her to run, she could literally feel the thing taking over. Jeice and Krillin said likewise, and then did something unexpected.

Jeice tackled Bulla, the two barreling into Krillin, and the bald warrior making an odd hand sign, before shouting something in an unknown language. A moment later, the trio were encased in golden colored crystals, while Bulma, Videl, and Diego just stared, stunned at them. It was then that Appule grabbed Bulma's hand, and told her to run, the group shooting away, as Rilldo seemed to still be processing what happened.

They fled into the mountains around the city the ship had been landed in, and soon dove into a cave, Appule revealing he'd gotten them to run due to the robots somehow messing with the ship's computers, so he didn't trust it not to open all the doors when they hit space and kill them that way. It was still not a happy group, however, that went over what had happened, and realized how bad it all was.

As luck had it, however, they were not alone in their cavern, as they ran into more robots...not of Rilldo's army, but the 'Resistance', led by a smaller bot named Giru, who claimed to be a data storage bot. Rilldos' claims of this Machine Empire that conquered galaxies was some kind of corruption in his memory module, one that had led the advanced 'Machine Mutant' as he was dubbed, to consume all the metallic life on their planet, and turn it into drone vessels of his will.

He converted bio material as well, and that was likely what he planned to do with their friends. That being the case, Bulma says they'll help however they can to take this jerk machine down. The plan became, to make some members of their group stronger, and though Bulma was the strongest, given her lack of real fighting experience, mostly just being punching and kicking wildly, along with blasts, they opted for Diego and Videl.

It took them seven days, over which time Rilldo is seen trying to drill into the crystal, but Videl and Diego grew strong, quickly. Using a similar technique to Rilldo's possession, some of the machines got under the skin of the woman and her niece, and with Appule building a gravity chamber with the help of the machines, and Bulma making her best Limiters yet, they did nothing but train and grow strong.

When the seven days were over, they declared they were as ready as they were going to be...though still far weaker than the others. Their advantage, however, was knowledge, and a few tech gadgets that Bulma and Appule had whipped up after studying the Machines of this world, including a secret weapon they hoped would not need to be used, but was prepared just in case.

Giru and the group, leaving the rest of his machine cohorts behind, stormed Rilldo's fortress, a silver looking building in the middle of the city. The two fighters, with a little support fire from Bulma and Appule using their devices, were able to make short work of any sentries, and storm directly into the fortress itself, blowing away a position. This interrupted Rilldo just before he could crack the crystal, annoying him greatly.

Anger turned into amusement however, as he came to see his assailants had brought his 'annoying little pest' with them, and he actually thanked them for it...right up until Videl blew his head off, the machine mutant rebuilding it quickly, but not quickly enough, as the group rushed past him, and into the area where the others were still sealed in the crystal, which Bulma quickly stuck something into, and then told them to buy her time.

And they did just that, fending off waves of machine drones, and even some of the more advanced models like what had beaten Krillin and the others, melting them to slag with a variety of weapons that the Resistance had helped them build. Even Appule, nervous at first, turned into almost an action hero like figure as he ducked, dove, and blasted through the enemy forces...right up until Rilldo himself decided to end this.

As it turned out, the building, the city, most of the surface of the planet really, was Rilldo. He was his army, each unit drawn from his processor, spread as a silver goop over everything, and so, even as Bulma freed the others, the goo from their wounds was torn free, flowing into Rilldo, who began to grow into a monolithic lifeform, towering so high you could actually see him from space.

That was when the other shoe dropped, however, as Giru, thanking Bulma, flew into Rilldo as his body assembled itself, the flowing liquid devouring him swiftly, making the General laugh at what an idiot he was, until the very moment his new body started to decay. Bits of it literally rotting as they watched, turning into nothing more than dust, as the liquid metal dissolved before their eyes.

Bulma and the others had a tear in their eyes as Rilldo quickly shrank down, his form getting smaller and smaller, until he was nothing but a head, shouting about how Mondo would destroy them for this, that no one had ever defeated them in all their history, and once he had dealt with those Rang-he died mid word, his head turning into dust, and blowing away before their eyes.

When it was over, the other three, coming out of the crystal, one of Krillin's techniques for surviving...well anything in a sort of hibernation state. Still, they were shocked to see the gains the two humans had made while they'd been out of it. They at first thought a long time had passed, but Bulma assured them it had only been a week, and they still had plenty of time to find Namek.

Luckily, their ship was still untouched, as Rilldo's focus had been on the three, and after saying goodbye to the other Resistance members they were leaving behind, they set off once more, Appule commenting on how strange life was to have brought them here, but then simply chuckling, as Videl and Bulla were sparring in the gravity room, the two girls not quite evenly matched, but far closer than they had been.

The rest of the trip to Namek proved fast, but when they arrived, many loud words were had, mostly to the effect of 'where was Namek?' as the planet seemed to have vanished. Luckily, by this point, no one doubted Appule was on their side, and Krillin, when it was proven beyond a doubt that Namek should be here, hit on the idea of asking King Kai where it was, contacting the blue bug man via telepathy.

Luckily for them, King Kai had been waiting for the call, having sensed the destruction of Earth, and the sudden 'dark presence' that it had allowed into the galaxy. Krillin had it suggested that this was Cooler staking his claim, but the Kai told them it was far, far worse than that, and after providing some coordinates for them, suggested they revisit that robot planet they had been on a few days ago to see just how bad it was.

They oblige, as it is on the course they set to Namek, and find...at first they're unsure as to what, as the star seems to have gone out, only for Bulma to find it with a scanner as a solid mass of...ice cream? Like, it was the star, no doubt about it, but it had been transformed completely into ice cream, and some strange avocado and ash flavored stuff at that, which she was curious why the sensors provided that info.

(Pursuant to File CODE NAME: The Truth, this document has been scanned for other related information. No other similarities have been found to the returned flight logs of the expedition, though this test has been placed on the list for monitored documentation. Please ignore this information for anyone below Level 4 Clearance. Secure, Contain, Protect)

Landing on the planet provided even more of a strange sight, as the twinkling starlight showed a world converted into various kinds of junk foods and the like, and was completely absent the robots that they had met, at first. A thorough search, and a ping via sensors, eventually found a small group of the Resistance, huddled in a dessert desert, made of chocolate cake.

Their story was of a demon of some kind, a creature that descended from the sky, and made their world tremble at his coming. He seemed perturbed with them when they asked what he wanted, and he transformed the one who'd gone upto him into chocolate, before biting into them, and then spitting them back out, declaring them unfit for a meal, and flying back off, after converting the world into this candy land nightmare.

Bulma tried to get the group of machines to come with them, at least off this planet, but they refused, stating that, for now at least, the monster would not return to their world. They even encouraged the gang to stay with them, but Bulma couldn't, as they had somewhere to be themselves, and so they departed into space, the world below looking peaceful and serene, despite all the chaos that wracked it, as they sped off into the stars once more.

During this time, Bulla, Videl, and Jeice were being taught a new move by Krillin, something he was reluctant to teach them, especially Jeice given he was a bit taller than Krillin, but he felt it necessary now more than ever, as it was a fast way to increase power. They also kept up with their own training, ramping up the intensity to the point that the healing pod had trouble keeping up with their exhaustion.

Still, by the time they arrived at King Kai's given coordinates, they were prepared, with Videl and Diego both at power levels at least comparable to Bulma's, and the four ready to pull out their new move, if it came down to it, as they slowly came down into the largest collection of power levels on the planet, only around three dozen, a small village by any measure, but a metropolis by this planet's standard.

Luckily, the Namekians, led by Elder Moori, had been contacted by King Kai, and greeted them as friends. They were, regretfully, unable to let them use their Dragon Balls right away, as they had used them to bring their planet to this location, hidden from 'The Great Destroyer' who was currently traveling the galaxy, but in nine months, they would be happy to let them use them.

That time limit was cutting it close, as they had wasted a full month and a half on their journey, but the group decided it was still their best shot, and so they settled in, offering their best to help with the Namekians' lives. Krillin trained some of their warriors in his various techniques along with Jeice, while Appule and Bulma helped them to build things, and the two girls and Diego helped on the various farms.

They had almost put together a grand hall, at which would be held a festival celebrating all the good work when the first visitors arrived. This first group, mostly children, were from a world that had once been abandoned when Frieza's forces invaded, but, upon hearing of his defeat, had returned, only to have their world devastated by 'the Demon' as it was called, a being of unrepentant cruelty and terror.

It had been going from planet to planet, destroying everyone it came across. No demands were made, no orders given. At least Frieza and his people had REASONS for what they did. Evil ones, but still. This creature simply destroyed for the love of destruction itself. There was no way to mollify it, and no weapon yet found could do lasting damage to it, as it seemed to bounce back from every injury.

The Earth group and Namekians did their best to accommodate the newcomers, but this was only the first group, a month gone, and not one, but three more ships full of people showed up, with the same story, and this time, with a more clear picture as to why they were here. The demon was 'herding' them, trying to find something it could not approach itself, and that made Moori nervous.

Obviously, the wish was working to keep the creature at bay, and somehow continued to hide their world from it, but how long could such protections sustain? They made peace with the fact that they might have to run, but the gang, taking as many warrior clan members and fighters from the newcomers as possible, began to train all out, their power growing rapidly, thanks in part to the Namekians.

As it turned out, Namekian Elders learned a trick to help their people grow stronger. Moori said it was 'drawing out their potential' though as Bulma noted, the fact that they could still grow stronger meant it wasn't all of that potential. He countered, saying it was more like...optimizing the gains they had made, refining them until they were at their peak, and she agreed with the analogy.

It was five months into getting to know the various newcomers, which had become an almost daily occurrence on Namek, that something changed. A ship arrived not of refugees, but of conquers. The Zarbon Force, so named for their leader, the last of Frieza's great warriors, came not to merely flee the Destroyer, but to conquer this sanctuary, and turn it into a base that they might use to plan counter offenses against the monster.

Dealing with him was not hard at all, even his transformed state being easily dealt with, but when his minions surrendered, begging to be allowed to stay, it increased the size of their defensive force by an order of magnitude. Such a gain in numbers soon resulting in an equal gain in growth, as Bulma did her best to construct gear, Appule helping her, and becoming a friend to the Brief's widow.

By the time the day the Dragon Balls would become active had arrived, they were ready. Moori, as the Grand Elder, had a power not unlike Roshi's, and could sense the coming of the Demon, and so they were prepared. The girls, Videl and Bulla, would rush around with the Dragon Radar, and quickly gather the Balls, while the rest of the force would keep the Demon busy, hopefully buying the time they needed to make the wish.

What wish was still being debated, especially with the revelation that the Namekian dragon, Porunga, could not revive the peoples of an entire world, it could only be used on one individual at a time. Still, the plan was that they'd figure out the wish based on what the Demon actually turned out to be capable of. What would come after? Well, they'd see.

And then the moment came, the Balls returned to their luster, and as if a chime had gone off, the stars trembled. One by one, many had fallen, but as the people of Namek looked up nervously, one began to shine, pink in color, and growing brighter and brighter, until the three suns were dim by comparison. When it arrived, the world literally shook at the beings presence, and everyone, everywhere on the planet, could feel it.

Jeice was the first to ask what the HFIL it was, but Appule, who was watching via a video device, identified it as...something like Cooler's Fifth form. That info, not having been shared beforehand, took them aback, but he then advised the Cooler had discovered a way to refine his power beyond the 'final form' of Frieza or his father. And yet, the armored upper body was the only thing that resembled it, looking like bone had grown over the skin.

Outside of the armor? The being was pink, wearing pants that Bulma thought looked like Mr. Popo's, but with pink skin showing at the waist and ankles, which shone in the light of the suns. The being was faceless, at the moment, a boney mask over which only its eyes could be seen, but it was obviously smiling, as its dark, deep chuckle could be heard, even as it faced the forces arrayed against it.

The girls were already off, both quickly gathering the Dragon Balls, which were larger than their Earth counterparts, being almost as large as the girls' own torsos, but they didn't stop, instead snatching them up, even as the fight had begun. We don't see much of that, only the opening move, as Krillin and Jeice use a technique known as 'Fusion' hinted at many times during their training, to combine into one being.

This being, declaring itself to be Krice(Pronounced Crais), stood against the Demon, as others, Diego included, provided cover fire, all of them laying into the thing, and even destroying it, briefly, several times. Krice even used a technique to seal the thing into a solid ki construct, and fill it with power, vaporizing the creature completely, only for it to simply reform from pink smoke, and seemingly without injury.

While this was going on, Videl and Bulla gathered the last ball, and rushed back to Bulma, Appule, and Elder Moori, who would act as the summoner and translator for them. Meanwhile the world shook, and the horizon was lit bright enough to dim the sky overhead, bolts of multicolored ki continuing to rain upwards into the heavens, as the cries of distress over the comms made both girls wince and growl in frustration.

The moment they dropped the Balls off, they tried to leave, to go join the battle, but Appule insisted they stay, pointing out that two more warriors, no matter how strong, weren't going to make a difference in that fight, and Bulma reinforced this, even as Moori summoned Porunga, and they began to think out-loud about how to phrase a wish. Only, their thoughts were interrupted as silence, deafening horrible silence, descended on them.

The five figures turned to the horizon, and noticed, possibly for the first time in almost half an hour, there was no fighting going on, and as they watched, horrified, the Demon came. No longer as he had been, his body was altered. Jeice's hair had joined the bone spikes of Cooler, and the head tail that seemed to be part of the creature. Worse, he now had the dots that were on Krillin's forehead poking through his helmet.

Bulma, seeing this, ordered Moori and the girls to make the wish, and fast, as she fired a blast out of her palm, nothing strong, the Demon easily batting it aside, but also drawing it into a chase as she shot off to the opposite horizon, and the Demon, looking up at Porunga once, shrugged and shot off after her, as if declaring in that moment that the dragon meant nothing to it.

Worse, their first wish,for the being to be sent away, or sealed, proved beyond the power of the Dragon, who apologized for his his weakness in this matter, and while they did offer other suggestions, like summoning someone with enough power to fight the Demon, the Dragon knew of only one such being, and even were he brought here, he was resting, and would be of little help.

That was when Videl wondered, and asked Appule if he was certain the Demon came from Earth somehow, and when he confirmed the human asked if the Dragon's power could send them back in time to perhaps stop the destruction of the planet that seemed to be the start of all this. While Porunga admitted that would indeed stop the Demon, he lacked the power to send anyone into the past directly.

What about merging us with ourselves in the past then? Appule's question did cause some pause in the Dragon, who seemed about to say something, but then a spectral form of Shenron, with a woman riding on his muzzle, appeared, and she whispered something in the larger Dragon's ear, before Shenron vanished, and the group on the ground seemed to either not notice, or just to ignore it.

(It should be noted the D-Class had no idea who the character was, but upon description of her, it was suggested she was Chrona, the Supreme Kai of Time, a deity of sorts in the Dragon Ball narrative. This is also notable as, like Mr. Popo did once previously, the character seemed to see the D-Class at one point, and even give her a 'thumbs-up' gesture, before vanishing.)

Porunga declared it could, using each wish, send three individuals back to a moment in time no more than one year previous. As they were discussing who to send at that pronouncement, the Demon, now having a bit of Bulma in its looks, appeared again, smirking at them, and Appule just said to send the three of them, as anyone else risked bringing the Demon back with them, and the girls agreed, Moori making the wish, even as the Demon grabbed him, the episode ending abruptly.

The next episode finds the girls, looking as they had on Namek, their clothing being variations on Saiyan/Frieza Force armor, while their faces were slightly scuffed and bruised. And yet, they were back on Earth, everyone looking up into the sky, as a ship slowly descended, and then, without waiting, disgorged a thousand-and-one figures into the air, King Cold and his men.

This kept the focus on the sky long enough for the two girls, Videl and Bulla to perform the Fusion Dance technique, which caused a bright flash of light, making Cold pause his speech, and stare at the two, as everyone else turned around to do so as well. The combined being, standing there, tells the group that she will explain later, but for now, Vella(Vee-Lah), as she calls herself, had business.

She shouted up to Appule, who acknowledged that the engines were already warmed up, and they just needed to get in, and he'd take them to the other side of the planet. Before Cold could protest this, the fusion zips in front of him, and without a word, vaporizes the tyrant, and tells his men to play nice with her elders as she shoots past them into the ship, which then vanishes into the sky.

The scene then shifts to Cooler, who was standing on his own ship, a small one person craft not unlike the one Frieza had arrived in, and was muttering to himself. Apparently, this had been his plan, destroying the planet, but as he noted to himself, it was such a waste. The planet was pristine, a little light on the gravity sure, but a beautiful place. Better, the people had somehow corrupted several Saiyans, as Zarbon had explained it, taming them, and killing another.

That sort of power growth, and the readings they were getting spoke of a world that was unusual, and that was a resource. His father and brother were fools. Things like this were to be exploited, not wasted. The Empire had stagnated far too long because they were only conquerors, only takers of things, but he knew they could be so much more, if only his father would just listen to him.

But no, he refused to see it. Giving up part of the galaxy to the 'Galactic King' had been the last straw. One thousand years ago that was, and still his father refused to see that, in that time alone, the Galactic Patrol had grown into a force, more numerous by far, if a bit weaker by average, than the Cold Force had ever been. And their worlds were thriving, not merely being used for things, but actually growing on their own.

He'd wanted that for the Cooler Empire, he'd wanted to place the Galactic King on the throne to administrate while he became the power behind it. But Cold was too prideful, too desiring conquest to see it that way. He'd spent a few centuries allowing the experiment, before stuffing Cooler in a pod and growing a replacement, a crazed lunatic that only enjoyed himself when he was blowing up planets.

While grousing to himself, waiting for his father's signal, Cooler suddenly realized an alarm was going off in his ship, and then spotted his father's ship approaching, something that confused him. Had the plan failed? Or perhaps the people on the planet had gotten his father to see reason? Oh he did hope for the latter, as this would allow him to show just how much of a benefit being a negotiator could be to him.

What happened, however, was Vella coming out of the ship, after Appule extended the shield to give her some air, and the fusion being, wearing armor to mark her as such, floated in front of Cooler, and declared that he had two options, surrender or die. Obviously, she was already starting to prepare for battle, but was then shocked as Cooler, curiously, looked at her, at the world, and then back to her.

He then put out his arms, held his wrists together, and bowed his head, declaring he surrendered. That...well it caught everyone off guard, enough so that Vella just sort of stared at him, before ordering him to come along with them, Appule saying he'd bring the ship into the bay, while the fusion and Cooler went aboard the normal way, making their way to the bridge, as Appule brought them back to Capsule Corps.

By the time they arrived, the 'fight', such as it was, was long over. Only a few of Cold's minions, loyal as they actually were, had decided to fight back, not after Vella had so casually ended their master. They did look expectantly to Cooler, as if anticipating an order to attack, but the alien simply waved them off, informing them he'd given his parole to the being escorting him, and he had no intention of violating that.

The next episode was mostly clips of the prior arc, as Bulla and Videl, now unfused, along with Appule explained what had happened to the group, including a few of Cold's soldiers and some curious citizens who sat in as the trio laid out their path through the stars, and the Demon that had been plucking them from the sky. Most questions tended to be about the planets they'd visited, and from Krillin, the techniques they'd learned.

When it was all done, they explained that, with no idea where the Demon had come from, they wanted to get stronger, not as quickly as possible, just keep gaining, until the thing was dealt with, and the others agreed...most of the others. Diego, on hearing just how strong she had become, and still not been of any help in that final battle, decided it was beyond her, and bowed out, Raditz going with her, despite Bulla assuring him he'd gone Super Saiyan during the fight on Earth.

The two...wanted normalcy. They wanted to settle down and have a good life together, and even though Raditz was Goku's brother, he wasn't the same kind of warrior. He was happy to help with training, sure, but he was no hero, and whatever this Demon was, it sounded like something he would never directly be able to fight. Until it came, he wanted to have as much time to enjoy his happily ever after with his wife as possible.

Hercule, interestingly, agreed that he would be of little help. Oh, he was strong, but he didn't have ki, and unlocking it now would still leave him at the low end of things. He'd still love to help them, maybe train up their base levels with them, but beyond that? He was useless, and he was fine admitting that. Seeing his 'baby girl's' gains though? He was so proud of her, and encouraged her to do whatever she thought best.

This left, of course, what to do with Cooler, who said, bluntly, that he had given his Parole to the two girls, and thus, he would follow their instructions, however, given the Empire's...current state of affairs, he did have suggestions for them, which he laid out. Mostly it involved getting forces to stand down, or just eliminating the leadership in the various factions that had grown out of scattered bits of the Cold Force.

When it was a bit calmer, he would gladly hand over most of their territory to some kind of administration, perhaps the Galactic King and his Patrol could take over that duty. He was sure the King would enjoy that, and when Kami and Roshi both admitted they couldn't sense any deceit in his soul at that, a fact that shocked most of those from his father's forces, they decided to do just that.

The next arc saw the gang, in Cold's Ship, rechristened the Guiding Star by the girls, with Appule's full approval as her commanding officer, going around and trying their best to quell the various conflicts in the galaxy. From ending Zarbon, who refused to stand down, to destroying General Rilldo, and giving the world back to Giru and the other Resistance machines, they made things peaceful as possible.

When they finally meet the Galactic King, offering to allow him to administrate the worlds they had, and even recruit from the former Cold Forces members for the Galactic Patrol, the being, something akin to a large jellyfish, was overjoyed, and thanked the Earthlings, and Cooler, profusely. It would still take time, and a lot of effort, but with the worst belligerent elements dealt with, he just knew he could forge a galaxy everyone would be proud of.

And he was good as his word, quickly working out not only economic theories between worlds, but starting trade up again. Including a small backwater called Earth, which, while it lacked most resources, was a perfect getaway destination, and with plenty of culture to it that impressed everyone. Within three years, the sight of aliens on the streets of Earth cities garnered no more attention than the occasional anthropomorphic.

At the same time, the Budokai Tenkaichi, Strongest Under Heavens as it is translated, got a revamp, and was delayed one year, transforming into the Strongest In All the Heavens tournament instead, welcoming contenders not just from Earth, but from anywhere at all in the galaxy and beyond, and with the reputation of some of Earth's warriors as the strongest in the galaxy, they had more than a few visitors come to watch, and more importantly, participate.

The next arc's opening image showed three familiar silhouettes in the sky over the Tournament grounds, as Androids 16, 17, and 18 menacingly stood above them, with the gang excitedly making their way into the arena. Luckily, as had been suggested, there were multiple types of combat to be had now. From weapons, to martial arts, to ki based, with the various members of the team dividing up into groups to enjoy themselves.

The martial arts division saw Goku, interestingly, using his Limiters to compete in the pure skill tournament, while Videl, Bulla, and Krillin decided on ki based, and after some discussion, Jeice was entered into the weapons division, given that, while his weapons were ki based, they still considered them as coming from out of his body, and thus as separate equipment from his inbuilt biology.

Cooler refused to participate, and instead joined the family and friends in the stands, while complimenting the 'brood' that Raditz and Diego had seemingly started, the three years seeing three children, a pair of twin boys and a single, slightly older girl, none of which, he noticed, had tails. Raditz, unsure of why himself, just figured it was related to his own desire not to fight, and the others just accepted it, as there wasn't really a better explanation.

Then the tournament began, the Martial division first, as the preliminaries involved over a hundred simultaneous fights, broadcast on a big screen overhead, showing off each fight in turn, as Goku and Hercule tore through almost all the competition, their skills in combat simply unbeatable, or so it seemed, as the fighters were whittled down from over two hundred, to just the top eight, and then finally, just the two of them.

It seemed easy, though as noted by Cooler, it only seemed that way due to the two there knowing more about not only the rules, but having time to prepare. Almost half their competition were offworlds who'd joined for a laugh, and barely cared about winning or losing, and even when it had gotten down to the main matches, only those two were so driven as to really push themselves to their limit.

But oh what a limit it was, as blocks, kicks, and punches echoed over the speakers, the breathing of the two fighters growing more and more rapid as they quickly gained bruises, and then worse, as Hercule slipped on a block, and his arm cracked, obviously broken, and hanging useless at his side. Yet he did not yield, instead, powering through the pain with gritted teeth, as Goku pushed him harder and harder.

Finally, when his back was to the edge of the arena, a million and more eyes upon him, Hercule gave ground, just enough that as Goku surged at him, the two went flying backwards, off the ring, with Hercule using his longer legs to give the pair a spin in the air. This resulted, fortunately for him, landing atop Goku, gaining the win. The two were actually laughing a minute later, as Goku helped Hercule to his feet, and the two were then led off for some healing.

The next set of challenges, the equipment/weapon fights, actually went by in a flash, as there were far, far fewer combatants, as this sort of fighting was brand new to the competition, and so only had twelve users sign up in the first place. Still, everyone, wielding weapon, armor, or using a part of their body to create such, proved to be skilled, as matches in this type went on for longer.

Jeice, as it happened, proved victorious in the end only because of his versatility, as the strength advantage he had been anticipating wasn't there, with his foes having Power Levels, it not equal to his own, then at least some way of countering it, the worst being some club wielding shark like figure, who's blade, made of scales, seemed to sap at his own energy, before he was able to slash the sword itself dead with a giant scissor created via his ki.

And finally, as Jeice walked off to be healed, the combatants for the ki competition were allowed to the arena floor. This division, with almost twice the entrants, was quick to be dominated by only a few, as Videl, Krillin, and Bulla literally blew their competition away, some opponents forfeiting when they got up to them, knowing it would be pointless to even try to fight such power on their own.

However, not everyone was so impressed, and as the competitors were reduced in number, a set of three others emerged from the pack to rival these three. A woman and man, obviously related, named Lapis and Lazuli, as well as a hulking giant of a man who seemed connected to them named Gedo. All wearing jackets with the Red Ribbon insignia on them, an organization Bulma claimed to be defunct, having been absorbed into the Royal Guard, and now the Galactic Patrol, as Earth's status had gone up.

When it came time for the eight finalists to fight, Videl was the first, going up against Gedo, and as the pair clashed, their blows actually straining a defensive shield around the arena that contained their destructive power, she asked him about his origin, and he gladly told her, explaining that he and his companions were 'Enhanced Humans', the last of their kind made by his father.

As it turned out, Dr. Gero, lead roboticist of the Red Ribbon Army had been obsessed with Goku and his friends, studying them for most of their lives, trying always to design a set of enhancements to surpass him, only to constantly be outdone by the fighter's own growth. It was in his twilight years that he finally overcame that barrier, equipping his two protroges and his son with what he called an 'Infinity Engine'.

He demonstrated the effectiveness of the technology by powering up, and then powering up some more, seemingly going far beyond what he had shown before, and impressing Videl, who nodded, and then used a burst of Kaio-Ken to match him, her body glowing with a magenta aura as she surged forward, and the clashing blows finally managed to force the pair into the final safety measure, the defensive field giving way as they were transported from Earth, to its satellite, the transmission showing them continuing to go at it.

And it was a spectacular fight. Raw strength surging through the two, as Videl used everything she'd learned, firing bolts of a variety of energy types, creating clones of herself to overwhelm, and even using Instant Transmission in the middle of the fight to get inside Gedo's guard, hammering the Enhanced human hard, each blow seemingly enough to break the moon in half as they floated above its surface.

Then, as if a switch had been flipped, Videl powered down, her body simply giving out, as she had pushed it as far as it could be pushed. Gedo, smiling, caught her, and apologized to her for stealing her victory, as they were transported back to Earth, and he passed her unconscious form to the tournament staff, while moving back into the building to wait for the next round.

Krillin and the woman, Lazuli, came next, the balding warrior, obviously having been chatting with her, getting the blonde to laugh at something as they approached the stage, and then vanished, the tournament organizers deciding it best not to endanger anyone, and just let the pair duke it out where they wouldn't risk damaging anyway. If they noticed at all, neither said anything, as the match began.

Their fight was just as brutal as Videl and Gedo's had been. Perhaps more, as they held nothing back from the word go. Krillin's magenta aura, sustained rather than bursting like Videl's, allowing him to go toe to toe with the blonde woman in terms of raw power, and while she herself was slightly weaker than the red haired giant of a man, she made up for it with her agility, able to almost dance around the arena floor.

The duo did all sorts of amazing things, as Lazuli's design was directly designed for offense, in the same way, she claimed, her brother was designed for defense. Her brother could produce a ki based field that could block world shattering blows, and her body could produce blasts of ki able to pierce them, if only barely. She demonstrated this by firing a fast series of blasts, usually weak due to the speed of each shot, hers hit with the force of an exploding bomb, creating craters on the moon deep enough to worry the tournament staff.

Krillin didn't seem concerned though, and dodged or redirected every shot that came near him, seeming to join her in her dance as the two jumped, twisted, and flew around the arena space. It soon became clear that Lazuli had little in the way of combat experience, but so much power and stamina that it made up for it, actually creating an interesting parallel to Krillin's final bout against Goku in their last Tournament.

The match kept going, and it was clear after a few minutes that Lazuli's plan was to simply outlast the smaller man, who was indeed slowing down the longer the match went on. But he wasn't one to just give up, and the very instant she gave him an opening, he went for it, using some strange technique to grow his body to something that towered over her, before punching her with a fist as large as her whole body.

The impact was enough to clear the moondust around the arena, and Lazuli, trying to push herself back into the ring, found a much smaller Krillin, the size of her own fist, slam into her head, pushing her down into the ground, before leaping off back to the arena itself, gasping, sweating, but returning to normal and giving a V for victory sign, as the pair were returned to Earth.

Lazuli, patting some moondust from her clothing, stood up, walked into the arena, and then looked down at the monk, making him quite nervous for a moment, before she smiled at him, and patted his shoulder, complimenting his skill, as the pair walked off the arena floor, and her brother, passing them with his own opponent, made kissing noises, which then forced him to generate a barrier as she shot at him with a ki blast.

Lapis and Bulla then took the stage, the young woman, her tail twitching, seemed excited, and the pair, having spent several scenes commenting on Lazuli and Krillin's fight, dove head first at each other the moment the match started, showing quickly that, while Lazuli depended on her infinite well of power and stamina, Lapis had actually trained a bit as well, as he executed decent blocks and punches, in addition to ki blasts and shields.

Of course, those shields were the big thing he was doing, and Bulla, strong as she was, found them to be quite the annoyance, as Lapis proved able to generate them at seemingly random locations, limited only by line of sight, or so he claimed, until he started making some behind him when she was able to get there, forcing him to admit he had no idea what the range was or how they worked, just how they felt.

It didn't help that his barriers could not only appear anywhere around him, but came in a variety of shapes and sizes. She constantly found herself buffeted by ones as small as fists, and even trapped in ones larger than she was tall. Not for long, of course, the barriers were strong, but by going into her Super Saiyan state, she was able to surge her ki enough to break through any of them, before resuming fighting with her more powerful Kaio-Ken abilities, which let her boost far beyond that, for brief periods.

It was actually luck, more than anything else, that decided the fight, as one of Lapis' barriers just so happened to appear beneath her foot, just as she was about to launch a ki blast. Even the enhanced human seemed startled by it, as she fell forward, and then blew a whole chunk out of the arena floor, dropping her right onto the ground beneath it, and causing her to be declared out of bounds.

Bulla punched a fist into the ground as the two returned to Earth, but when Lapis walked over to her, she accepted the hand up, and two stood, held up their arms to show there were no hard feeling, and then walked off to the cheers of the crowd, as the next set of combatants took the stage. The only pair of non-Earth based warriors, being a Namekian named Nail and a Heran named Bojack.

The fight between the two was swift, but brutal, as they too were transported to the moon, and both combatants fired blasts at each other from the moment they arrived. While neither's shots were as rapid as Lazuli's, they were still fast and furious enough that one of the Tournament organizers was being chewed out for it, especially as cracks started to form in the lunar surface from the pair's battle.

Not that either seemed to care, as the two aliens just laughed, obviously enjoying this type of combat. No need to hold back, able to finally go all out, and they reveled in it. Luckily for the nervous Tournament staff, the battle ended when Nail, using a technique that lengthened his arms, shot them through the arena floor, grabbing Bojack as he charged one of his attacks, and then pointing his hands at his own face just as he released.

The two seemed just as pleased with the outcome as anyone else, Bojack promising to get the Namekian drunk after the finals, which Nail protests saying he only drinks water, while Bojack says he only NEEDS to drink water, not that he can't have other things. The pair are passed by Gedo and Krillin, who enter the arena once more, and are shocked as a new barrier goes up around them, obscuring their view of the outside world completely.

The black barrier, called a Dimensional Gate, turns out to be what it sounds like. The arena floor now exists in a pocket universe, something Bulma and Appule working together with some Galactic Patrol flunkies had whipped up for them. It was the basis of several Galactic Patrol Prisons, and worked to contain some fairly strong individuals. Supposedly, it would keep them from doing any more damage, while allowing them to still go all out.

Gedo and Krillin's match was still seen outside the black barrier, and it was...not quite as incredible as one might hope. Gedo's specific niche was endurance and stamina. Krillin's sheer variety of skills and attacks soon showed that playing defensively against him was simply not a good option, as he seemed to bounce the larger man around the arena, before finally using a sort of ki made cage to hold him down until the count of ten, less than a minute after the match had started.

The two seemed in good spirits despite the ease of the match, and Gedo was chatting amicably with his foe as the two made their way back to the rest area, while Nail and Lapis took the stage next, this pair not quite so chatty, as the Namekian seemed to be focusing, and the enhanced human decided to let him. After all, he was sure it wouldn't help him much in the arena.

To his credit, though, Nail was prepared for everything the young looking man had. His attack, a sort of spiral of energy fired from his fingertips, pierced through every one of the barriers Lapis placed in front of it the moment the match started. It even created a flare of light inside the pocket dimension as it struck the side of it, the concussive force of the impact driving both of them to the very edge of the arena.

Neither fell though, and within a moment, Nail was on him, closing the gap, and forcing him into a straight melee fight, as Lapis' barriers were impossible to use offensively at this range, or so it seemed. He used them for padding, and to blunt Nail's attacks, but for more than a minute, he did actually attack with any of them, at least until he suddenly grabbed the Namekian in a bear hug, and winked at him.

Suddenly, with a glistening sheen effect, orbs of energy appeared around the two, shield orbs like what Lapis could back, but, as he explained, with their lights shifted into the ultraviolet range, so they were invisible. He'd been leaving them all over the arena while the pair had been fighting, and now, he figured there were enough to end this, as he smirked, and then made a motion with his head.

Instantly, the orbs shot forward, and while Nail tried to break the black haired man's hold, the things slammed into his back, continuously, each blow hitting with enough force that the Namekian's skin began to bruise, and finally, when a group of orbs spun together, creating a sort of spiral in the air, a mockery of his own shot that had started the match, Nail was placed in too much pain, and passed out.

When the barrier dropped, a medic team ran out, revealing the presence of a Yadratian on it, who placed her hands on the Namekian's chest, and within moments, he was healed back to consciousness, grousing about having fallen for so simple a trick, but smiling as Lapis offered him a hand up, and the two made a hand in hand pose for the crowd to show the camaraderie that came from the competition, even as Nail exited the arena, and Krillin entered.

The smaller man eyed him up, and then, out of the blue, decided to say he and the man's sister had a date on the coming Saturday, and that he had agreed not to go easy on her brother, so he should come at him with everything he had from the start. Lapis, a bit taken aback by the pronouncement, actually had a smirk on his face as he flicked his nose, and then got into a combat stance, promising to make him work for that date.

The moment the match began, Krillin did the same thing Nail had done, closing the distance, and keeping it closed, each strike forcing Lapis to block and take it, rather than giving him the chance to move away. Worse, Krillin was the one leaving presents behind, as orbs of ki spilled out form his back every time he moved forward, the things impacting the invisible shields that Lapis tried to leave behind, buffeting the pair, but doing more to keep Lapis off balance than Krillin.

When they were almost to the edge of the arena, seeing defeat coming, Lapis pulled a desperation move out, projecting a shield outward from his whole body, forcing Krillin back, even as it devastated the arena beneath them. Krillin, watching it expand, caused a glow to cover his hands, and with a slashing motion, 'cut' the barrier as it neared him, flying inside, only for Lapis to start making more barriers between them.

The pair were then kept apart, flying in the pocket dimension, as Krillin tried to catch Lapis, only for the other man to counter him with spheres, plates, and other shaped shields, even managing to capture him in one a time or two, only for the bald man to escape, every time in a unique way. Finally thought, he promised to end this, and fired a shot, ricocheting it off one of Lapis' own shields, right towards him.

That, however, was a bad call, as Lapis' eyes lit up, seeing that, and quickly bounced the attack back towards Krillin, who was able to easily dodge it, only for Lapis to fire his own shots, two of them, no where near Krillin, but refracting them off his barriers to come at Krillin from odd angles. And then he fired another pair, keeping the first in play, via his shields, forcing Krillin to dodge four bolts flying around him.

The audience ate it up, as Lapis added more and more blasts to the dance, finally making it twenty, before Krillin at last seemed to find an opening, using Instant Transmission to appear right in front of Lapis...only for the shots to suddenly rebound against him, smashing into him from above, and knocking him down towards the ground that had once been the arena floor, ending the match in a final ring out.

Krillin, picking himself up off the grass, spit out a bit of sod, and then smashed his fist into the dirt, before hopping back onto his feet, and giving the other guy a thumbs up, the pair soon joined by the other eight Finalists, giving them one final bow for their competition, and then joined by the sixteen from the other two brackets, The three champions lifted up on podiums, and given belts to signify their wins.

A few episodes of filler followed the end of the tournament, mostly showing Gedo asking the two what they wanted to do, as he was retiring to an island to take care of some animals, something he'd always wanted to do. They, together, decided to hang out with Krillin, who had to ask Bulma for some spare rooms at her place, and the woman agreeing...once she got the pair to promise to let her study their tech.

Krillin and Lazuli's relationship, as it turned out, was strong, and one episode in particular showed the two on a fancy date, that turned wrong because neither was really into that scene, and the restaurant staff made them feel uncomfortable, which then led to movies and a pizza back at the Capsule Corps. HQ, along with Videl, Bulla, and Lapis, who shared an odd moment with the Brief's girl, before they went back to enjoying the movie.

Meanwhile Bulma and Goku's marriage was demonstrated, as Goku, after a few hours of training, and with their girl hanging out with friends, took Bulma onto the ship, and the two went on a romantic starlight cruise, Appule driving the Guiding Star out, so the pair could literally dance amongst the heavens in a viewing chamber...and then forcing the alien to blush as he turned off the monitora as they got more intimate than he had expected.

The final episode of the arc, seeing Bulla and Videl off to High School to earn their degrees, as the narrator promised even more adventures awaited the pair, as the 'Demon' was roused, and the Higher Realms finally made themselves known, the silhouettes of Babidi, Debora, Buu(The Demon), as well as Supreme Kai 'Shin', and his attendant Kabito, all five standing together, menacingly over the group, as they waved the girls off.