Poll ended in favor of referring to the elder Trunks as Future Trunks, that is all for the announcements here.

Chapter 17 - What Is Ki?

Mount Paozu - One Week Later

It was relatively early in the morning. Given that summer had ended some time prior, there was a light nip in the air at the hour, but nothing more than that. The air was fresh, the sky only sprinkled with a few sparse clouds, even still dark on the horizon, and nothing but the sounds of nature surrounding him.

Gohan sat outside, dressed in his indigo gi that he had worn for the World Martial Arts Tournament, tail laid across the ground behind him. In his hands, he was pouring over some last minute information in a rather delicate scroll.

The scroll itself, among a few others currently in Gohan's possession, were received from Roshi. While the old turtle hermit had mostly been outclassed by his students by this point, he was still knowledgeable, and given his age, had many old tomes on the art that he had mastered. While he had enough of a basic understanding of ki and mastery of it himself, that didn't necessarily translate to an innate knowledge of it.

"Who woulda thought that this would mean studying for me too?" he wondered amusedly.

While he was able to teach Lime the basics, that was mostly out of self defense, making sure that if anything came after her in these dangerous parts, she'd be safe. So his shallow and basic knowledge of the workings of the art were enough. Since Videl was likely going to put her learnings into practice daily, having a much more intimate and complete understanding of ki would be something helpful in the long run.

And Gohan would be lying if he said that much of what he was learning, he didn't find intriguing. While part of it was for study, he was re-reading it out of interest. Even the super advanced techniques not covered by the scrolls he had been lent could be connected back to what he was reading about here.

But more research on the subject would have to wait until later. It was relatively faint, but a very familiar energy source was flying his way. He carefully rolled up the scroll and put it back in its satchel, he hovered back over to his home, up to window and setting it inside on his desk. Gently closing his window as not to wake his brother up, he returned back to the field where he awaited Videl. It was only a short distance from the house, but it was relatively flat, good training grounds.

Truth be told, he was actually looking forward to this. It was a new experience, and to be honest, ever since Videl seemed to accept him for who he was, he felt a lot more comfortable with the idea.

"Of course I'm probably not going to get away from today without even a minor interrogation…" Gohan chuckled to himself. That's just who she was. And he didn't really have an issue being honest now that she was in the know. Well, with the obvious exceptions.

He took a nervous glance at his tail. He didn't really want to hide said appendage, but at the same time, he had a feeling it was far too soon for him to share his heritage. Being a warrior with the power to destroy the planet was one thing, but being an alien was a bit more of a bomb to drop. "I don't want to risk ruining this when it's just settled down…" he thought as he tucked it inside his gi. "Besides, she'll probably be too distracted by it to do what she has to do."

A distant whine in the air snapped him out of his thoughts, drawing his eyes to a jet copter on the horizon. He raised a hand into the air, sending out a wide energy blast. Low power, but flashy enough to catch the eyes of anyone for the surrounding few miles, at least. Sure enough, the aircraft began descending in his direction.

He stood up, straightening out his navy gi, watching as the vehicle touched down across the field. The hatch opened, and Videl hopped out, before quickly capsulizing the jet copter, and turning towards Gohan.

She was wearing an outfit that he hadn't seen on her before, a dark blue tank top with the words "FIGHT" imprinted on it in big red letters, and wearing a loose fitting long sleeved yellow shirt beneath it, and white jeans on under those.

He'd be lying if he said he didn't think she looked good, though she would probably try to kill him if he said it.

As she drew near, he also noticed that she wasn't wearing that scowl he had become so accustomed to seeing, or her natural guarded expression. Rather, she looked quite happy. It was at that moment that Gohan realized just how much she had wanted this training. He wondered if she would keep up her resolve when things started.

Flashback - Roshi's Island

"Oh, taking on a student of your own?"

Gohan nodded. "Yeah, and I was wondering if you could help me out a bit, Master Roshi. I mean, you trained my dad, and Krillin, and a bunch of others. I really want to do this right."

Roshi stroked his beard. "I see, well, I'll do what I can, I suppose" he said, shuffling upstairs. "Gimme just a minute here young man, I'll be right back down. I may have a few things to help you out."

Gohan snapped out of his reverie as Videl drew near. "Hey Videl" Gohan said cheerfully, waving.

"Hey Gohan" Videl greeted back, matching Gohan's happy tone.

"So, I take it you're ready to get started?" he asked.

Videl smirked. "I was born ready, trust me" she said.

"Well she's certainly spirited" Gohan thought amusedly. "We'll see" he said aloud.

The smirk on Videl's face was unwavering. "So what's first then, I'm ready to start right now" she said.

"First?" Gohan asked, reaching up to pop his neck. He smoothly lowered his arms and settled into a fighting stance. "First, Videl, you're going to be sparing with me."

"Fight her?" Gohan asked.

"Her?" Roshi asked, shooting up. "It's a girl? How does she look, what's her-"

"She's 17, Roshi" Gohan said firmly.

"Oh, hehe, sorry there, got carried away" Roshi said, rubbing the back of his head and sitting back down.

"Anyways, you were saying?" Gohan asked. "Why would I fight her right off the bat when she doesn't have a single spark of ki control?"

"That's exactly why and when you want to do this, sonny" Roshi said. "I'm sure you've got something akin to a taste for the difficulty of honing your skill, but from what I can tell, all you Saiyans have it easy. Mastering the art isn't an easy task in the slightest."

"I get that, but that doesn't answer why-"

"Of course it answers why" Roshi cut him off. "Think about it, no one goes on a journey for the hell of it. To get them on their way…"

"Give them a mountain to climb" Gohan thought as he saw Videl's confidence shake slightly.

"Fighting their master right at the beginning will weed out the worthy pupils" Roshi said, bulking up for emphasis. "I'm not saying land them at Yemma's doorstep, or the hospital, but show them the gap in power, young man."

Gohan's gears were turning. "I think I get it" he said. "By fighting me, it will give her a goal to surpass, to work for. And if it overwhelms her right at the beginning, she probably isn't going to get very far anyways. Is that what you're saying?"

"Dead on, my boy."

"Wait, fight you? Already?" Videl asked. Her posture was shaken a bit, but she didn't seem afraid, more confused than anything. "Shouldn't there be training before that?"

Gohan shook his head. "I've got my reasons for this, Videl" he said. "So, are you willing?"

Videl blinked, uncertain for a moment, before sinking into her own fighting stance, a familiar scowl adorning her face. "Of course I am, have you forgotten who I am already?" she asked.

Gohan cracked a small smirk of his own. "I'm just making sure" he said simply. "Come at me whenever you're ready."

He didn't twitch, and neither did the pigtailed crime fighter. The brisk wind washed across the field, the small gap between them.

Videl lunged forward, sending out a quick strike, quick by human standards anyways. Gohan leaned ever so slightly, allowing the attack to miss. Not an unexperienced fighter herself, however, she recovered and swung around with a roundhouse kick as her first blow missed. Gohan jumped back, letting her hit nothing but air.

He glided slightly, putting a few extra feet of distance between them again. He settled into the exact same stance they began with as Videl rushed him again.

Instead of single blows, aimed for individual damage, Videl got close to him and began sending out rapid attacks, aiming for the purpose of overwhelming him with speed. Her technique was great, but Gohan blocked and deflected every single one. She feinted an attack at his side, before ducking and rolling around behind him, but her followup was blocked just as easily as the rest.

Catching the attack with one hand, he raised his other hand below the guard, open palm pointed at Videl, and launched an extremely weak kiai attack. The wave of force wasn't designed to inflict any damage, but it was strong enough that Videl was pushed into the air, yelping in surprise, and crashed to the ground ten feet away.

He winced, not having expected it to have had that much effect. Videl groaned a bit and sat up, but she was obviously worse for wear after that blast. He decided that, short as it was, that would be enough. "Videl, are you okay?" he asked, floating over.

Videl rubbed her back. "Well, I'm gonna feel that one tonight, but yeah" she said, groaning lightly. "Kami, it's one thing to see your powers, but it's a whole other deal to be on the receiving end of them."

"Sorry, that was a bit stronger than I meant for it to be" Gohan apologized. "I only meant to push you over, not blow you through the air like that" he said as he extended a hand down to her.

She grasped it and pulled herself up. "I don't think it really mattered" she huffed. "I didn't get much in the way of any attacks on you, although you probably expected that." She gave him an annoyed look. "Fastest take down I've ever been a part of. What was the point?"

"It was for you to get a look" Gohan said. "This training is going to be really tough, there's no guarantee you'll even see results anytime soon." He took a step back. "You see the difference between us, and after experiencing it, and seeing how far you have to go, I need to know. You still up for it?"

"You kidding?" Videl huffed. "How am I ever going to be able to kick your ass for this if I don't?"

"Heh heh, right…" Gohan chuckled nervously. "Well, in that case, I guess we should start with the basics."

Videl crossed her arms. "Well, lay it on me" she said. "I'm ready to go."

Chuckling, Gohan sat down, motioning for Videl to do the same. "Before we can do anything, you've got to learn exactly what it is we're dealing with here. So to start, I'm going to teach you about ki."

Videl frowned as she sat down. "I'm pretty sure your friend covered that already, Gohan" she said. "It's spiritual energy that you can use with training, right?"

"That's… about the very least you can possibly tell someone about it" Gohan said, holding his hand out. "I'm guessing she gave you the little explanation about cultures, right? She was really interested in that aspect of it."

Videl nodded. "Yeah, like how things like chakra or mana were really just other names for it, right?"

Gohan nodded. "That's pretty much it. You see, while various cultures have practiced it in different ways, and had different names and understandings about it, it's more or less all the same. Ki, or by any other name, is life energy that flows through all living things. Humans, animals, the trees and grass, even the sun and the Earth have their own energies." With his hand extended, he willed a small orb to congeal above his palm, a soft yellow ball. "This energy is more than some fuel to be harnessed, it's what gives and supports life, flowing through us just as importantly as our blood."

Videl became entranced by the small pocket of ki that Gohan was holding. It was faint in the early morning light, but unlike anything she had ever seen. It was far different from Lime's example even. "Uh huh…" she murmured.

Gohan pulled his hand back. "But you should never underestimate it either" he said. "Ki is dangerous as a tool, as a weapon, for both the person using it-" he said has he raised his hand, pointing at a nearby boulder, "-and for whoever is on the receiving end."

He punctuated his point by releasing the ball as a blast, darting through the air before detonating against the rock, blowing it to pieces instantly. He turned back to Videl with a stern face. "I'm not going to sugarcoat it Videl, just getting the power is a huge challenge in of itself, but getting a fine control for it is harder. If you're not careful, your techniques can backfire and injure yourself, or worse, kill someone you didn't mean to." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I wasn't exaggerating at all before, when I said that my power could destroy the planet. So imagine what you could do to someone if your strength slipped. I'm stronger than most people, but that doesn't change the effect here."

"This is going to be tough training, but we're going to stay on something until you have a good control over it before we move on to anything past that, which means this could take a while." He grinned nervously. "I know you're… a little on the impatient side-"

"Hey!"

"-but you're going to have to bear it, this isn't something you can mess around with if you plan on actively using it. Even Lime, who only uses her ki as a last resort, had to go through a lot of training."

He could practically see the wheels in Videl's head turning as she processed what had been said. He knew it was a lot that he had dumped on her all at once, but it couldn't be avoided. He remembered what his power had done when he was younger, and he was going against people who could destroy planets. He didn't doubt that Videl was going to be facing more common crooks than universal emperors or biodroids from the future.

He clapped his hands together to snap her out of her thoughts. "Just wanted to make sure you knew ahead of time. Now, are you ready to get started?" he asked.

Videl blinked. "Wh- already? I thought you were going to lecture a lot more than that" she said.

Gohan smirked. "Well, I told you the basics of what you're getting into. There's going to be more going into each training exercise we do, but we can't get there until we can get your own ki out."

"My own… Yeah, alright" Videl said.

With a nod, Gohan held out his hand and created another ball of ki. "To start, I'm going to have you go for something easy" he said. "You're going to be trying to draw out your own energy, just enough so that it's visible. You don't need to be trying to make any blasts right away, just focus on drawing some outside of your body."

"Alright, but how do I do that?" she asked, slightly annoyed at his tone. "I can't exactly do that without the faintest clue how."

"Oh, right" Gohan said. He thought for a minute, before letting out a breath. "Alright, this is probably going to be one of the trickiest parts of it." He crossed his leg in front of him. "You're sorta going to be meditating, but not quite. You need to close your eyes and clear your mind, and just focus on feeling your own body."

He cupped his hands in front of him. "Everyone has ki inside them, but one of the hardest parts is learning how to call on it to begin with" he explained. "Your focus should be to calm yourself to the point where you can feel your entire body, and search in the center of your being for your energy. Once you find it, you need to grab it, to channel it out." He waved his hands a bit. "The easiest place for ki to be channeled to, for most people, is their hands, so draw it out, and then pull it out and hold it in your hands."

"This sounds like a lot of religious crap" Videl said bluntly. "'Center of my being'? 'Feel my entire body'? Could you be any more vague?"

Gohan raised his hands placatingly. "Sorry Videl, but that's the best way to describe it, I swear" he said. "I know it sounds kind of weird, but once you get it, it's going to be second nature, so trust me."

Her eyes softened and she let out a sigh. "Well, I'll trust you, but I still don't really understand how to 'pull my energy out' and all that stuff you were talking about."

"Really, it comes down to feeling it, Videl" Gohan said. "When you feel it, you'll know how to pull it out. Just follow your instincts."

"I'll try…"

"Hey, it's going to be easier than you think" he said supportively. "It's going to be tricky the first time, sure, but you've grown up doing martial arts, so you're already more in tune with your body than you probably even realize."

Videl let out a long breath. "Right" she said, fire reigniting in her eyes before she closed them. "Close eyes, empty mind, feel my entire being…" she murmured.

Her breathing began slowing, and her body relaxed. "That's one advantage of this area" he thought with a smile. "Mt. Paozu is nice and calm, at least here since my dad scared away all the troublemakers in the area…"

"GOOOOOOOOOOHAAAAAAAAAAAAN!"

Gohan flinched as Videl's eyes shot open with a growl. He facepalmed. "Except one…"

Goten ran across the field, arms out beside him as he ran. "There you are Gohan, I was wondering where you were when you weren't in bed when I woke up and then you weren't anywhere inside so I tried to look for your energy and I felt you outside and-"

"Whoa, whoa, easy there squirt" Gohan said, torn between chuckling and whispering.

Goten's head turned to the side, noticing Videl for the first time. "Who's she, Gohan? She's pretty, is she your girlfriend?"

Gohan's face erupted into a fiery shade of red. "GOTEN!" he shouted, a spark of energy crackling across his torso in reaction. "What are you doing up this early?"

He cocked his head to the side. "What's wrong big brother?" he asked.

A low growl sounded from behind Gohan. "G-Goten, please, just go back inside for now" he said quietly. "Just until later, alright?"

Goten looked down. "Okay, but when can I come back out Gohan?" he asked.

"Just… wait… for me… later" Gohan said through his teeth.

Face contorting into a pout, Goten turned around. "Fine, Gohan…" he said dejectedly, hopping up and flying back to the house.

Gohan let out a breath. He loved Goten, but his curiosity could be a bit… overwhelming on occasion. "Sorry about that Videl" he said as he turned back around. "I… Videl?"

"Your brother… he was flying" she said in disbelief.

Gohan raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, what about it?" he asked. "What's the issue, she knows that flight is possible with this."

She sent a pointed look in Gohan's direction. "I thought this stuff was supposed to be hard to learn" she huffed. "But your brother can't be more than eight, and he's doing it."

"He's seven" Gohan said.

"Not helping!"

Gohan raised his hands. "Settle down, alright" he said soothingly. "Look at it this way Videl, you would have trouble learning a foreign language, wouldn't you? Well, someone who grows up speaking that language would have it easy right from the beginning. It's the same thing, Goten's been learning this stuff ever since he was old enough to walk, so he's going to have it down even though he's younger than you."

Videl huffed again, but didn't argue. Gohan had a feeling it had just been a small blow to her pride, knowing that someone less than half her age had known how to do this while she had no idea. "L-Let's get back to it" he said, sitting down himself. "Just clear your mind and focus on finding your core."

"I didn't forget that already..." Videl muttered as she closed her eyes again, breathing slowing gradually. Intentional or not, Gohan could feel her ki signature slowly mellowing, becoming calmer as she meditated.

"This may take a while" Gohan thought. "She doesn't have the advantage of Saiyan blood to help her out. And I don't think throwing her at a mountain is going to help in this case" he shuddered as he recalled his early training. Piccolo sure knew how to get results, but the path there was brutal.

He almost wanted to try and get in contact with Piccolo, to see if King Kai couldn't let them talk, but he doubted that his old mentor's teaching style would be as efficient for Videl. He got enough basics from Roshi that he should be able to make due. Maybe once the Dragon Balls had been restored and Piccolo and his dad were back, he could get some extra tips or training from them.

"Eyes on the target, not the horizon" Gohan thought. Getting her to have a firm grasp would be a mission all in itself. Hopefully by the time school started back up in a couple weeks after the school itself was repaired, he could have her working on techniques. But whether or not that was happening was still to be seen.

Gohan crossed his legs in front of him and cupped his hands as he closed his eyes as well. Videl would likely be at this for a long while. "No problem getting some meditation of my own done."

He let the world around him fade out as he fell into a trance.

Kami's Lookout

Dende fell to the floor, panting. His eyes had never wanted to slam shut as much as they did in that moment, but an immense feeling of relief flowed through him.

"Are you alright, Dende?" Mr. Popo said, running over to check on the young guardian.

He didn't answer right away, catching his breath. A moment passed, and he felt like he could answer. "Better than alright" he sighed, laying flat. Even the cold, hard tile of the Lookout felt inviting at the moment. "It's done, finally done…"

He had been up, without break, for literal weeks, focusing on nothing but holding the Earth's energy fields together after that hellish monster had ripped the dimensions asunder. Hence his exhaustion, now that he had stabilized the damage to the Earth.

Passing out on the precipice of the floating temple didn't even sound like a particularly bad idea at the moment, though he was shifted as something softer slid under him, and he was risen into the air.

"Excellent work Dende" Popo praised. "Carpet, please take him to his room, the young guardian needs his rest."

"Thanks Popo…" Dende muttered. "Hopefully the Earth can go without needing me for a week, I think that's about how long I'm going to sleep for…" he trailed off as his consciousness began to fade.

"The Earth should be just fine" Popo said kindly as his flying carpet carried Dende away. "I've had to watch over this planet for brief periods between the arrivals of previous Kamis, you rest as long as you require."

The young Namekian didn't respond, having already lost any wisp of consciousness he may have had, leaving the permanent denizen of the Lookout by himself. He smiled, feeling some amount of pride in how far Dende had progressed as the Earth's new guardian in his short seven years. After all, repairing the planet's energy in such a manner was no small task.

"One can hope that the damage was contained" Mr. Popo thought aloud as he overlooked the planet below. "It was a superb job merely fixing it here, however, I would hate to imagine what would happen if such a distortion had spread elsewhere…"

Capsule Corp - Later

"So he's just sitting out there with some girl?" Trunks asked.

"Mmhmm, yeah, they've been out there for hours" Goten answered on the other end. "I dunno what they're doing, seems really boring though."

"Huh, weird" Trunks shrugged as he walked around with the phone. "Never really thought your brother hung out with girls. That's a little cooler than I thought he would be."

"Gohan's the coolest! What do you mean?!" Goten huffed.

Trunks sniggered. "That geeky costume begs to differ" he said.

"I bet you're just jealous of Saiyaman" Goten shot back.

"As if, if I needed a disguise, I'd just go Super Saiyan. None of those regular humans would ever put it together."

"That's not fair, you know Gohan can't go Super Saiyan anymore" Goten said.

"Not my fault" Trunks said as he walked around the corner. "Whoa!" he exclaimed, coming to a stop as he nearly ran into someone. "S-sorry" he said, looking up. "Oh, hey future me!"

Future Trunks looked down. "Hey there" he said.

Trunks turned back to the phone. "Hey Goten, wanna say hi to the future me?" he asked. "He makes Gohan look booooooooring, he's so cool."

"Liar, Gohan's cooler" Goten said before Trunks put him on speaker.

"Oh, um, hey there" Future Trunks said.

"Hello Trunks from the future" Goten chirped. "Trunks says you're really cool, are you?"

He chuckled at the straightforwardness of Goku's youngest son. "Well, he keeps telling me I am" he said. "Though personally, I think Gohan's got me beat there."

"Traitor! Who are me and what have you done with me!" Trunks exclaimed.

Blinking, Future Trunks looked down at the younger version of himself. "I feel like you only said that so you could use the 'me' jokes" he said.

"Maybe…" Trunks muttered bashfully.

"Hah, see Trunks, even the future you thinks Gohan is cooler!" Goten said triumphantly.

"Well, I've also got a bit of bias" Future Trunks admitted. "In my timeline, Gohan was actually my master. He did a lot for me, for everyone, really." He then looked down at his younger self. "I also don't think you saw Gohan at the Cell Games, he came through for all of us, in a big way."

"And now Gohan's got a girl over too" Goten said.

"A girl?" Future Trunks asked. "Oh, that's probably the Videl girl he was mentioning."

"Videl?" "Videl?"

"One of his classmates, he said he was going to teach her how to use ki" Future Trunks said. "I guess that he's starting with her today."

"Oh, that's why Gohan didn't want me around" Goten realized. "When I was learning, it was really hard. It's probably really hard for her too."

Trunks looked up. "Hey, future me, why don't you teach Mai ki too?" he asked. "If Gohan's girlfriend can learn it, can't yours?"

Future Trunks blinked twice. "She's not my… Never mind. I guess we just never really had the chance to teach her."

"Why not do it now?" Trunks asked.

"Yeah, maybe you can come do it with Gohan" Goten added in.

He sighed, scratching his head. "Maybe sometime soon" he said. "But not right now." Given the fact that his companion had barely said a word, or even moved, in the weeks since they arrived in the past, she probably wasn't in a good place to learn… "I've actually got to go for now" he decided aloud.

"Oh, okay, it was nice meeting you, Trunks from the future" Goten said.

"Goten, I don't think it's a meeting if you aren't actually here" Trunks pointed out.

"You know what I meant!"

Future Trunks didn't know that it was possible to hear pouting over a phone until that moment. "I'll probably come to visit you guys at some point" he said. "Don't worry."

He turned around to walk back down the hall as his younger self and Goten resumed their conversation. "Teaching her how to use ki…" he'd be lying if he said the idea didn't sound good. He hadn't known Mai for very long before it all happened. And there hadn't been much reason to fight until that thing had shown up and torn their world apart. The few times she tried to fight it, she used some weaponry his mom had produced, not much of her own strength at all.

"I want to believe that there wouldn't be a reason for her to have to learn it, but I know that's just wistful thinking" he thought. There was every chance that history could repeat itself, that the monster that had destroyed his own world could still appear sometime down this timeline. Having her be more prepared when that happened, or when any other enemy appeared.

He sighed, pushing the thoughts from his mind. "First thing's first" he said, stopping outside of a door, before gently pushing it open. "Hey Mai" he greeted. "Want to talk?"

Mt. Paozu

The sun was dipping low in the sky by the time Videl's jet copter had made a reappearance. It's occupant was significantly less jovial this time, however.

"It takes time to find your ki, Videl, don't worry about it" Gohan said placatingly. Though perhaps placating was the wrong word, Videl wasn't mad, she just seemed, well, down. "Finding it on your first day would have been nearly impossible anyways. I know you'll get it, it'll just take some time."

"I guess" Videl huffed, less than happy. "I was hoping to notice something though…"

Gohan sent her a smile. "I'm sure you'll have it down before you know it" he promised her. "When you get home, you can keep trying if you want, just be careful if you do manage to find it. Accidentally blowing something up wouldn't be one of the goals here."

Videl snorted at Gohan's feeble joke, which made them both feel a little better. "Alright, Gohan" she said. "I can come back tomorrow, right?"

"Definitely" Gohan nodded. "I'm sure my mom won't mind either. She seemed to like you."

"Eventually…" Videl muttered.

Gohan winced. "Well, after that… whole deal went down, you guys seemed to get along."

"I guess" Videl agreed. "Anyways, thanks again, Gohan."

"No problem, have a safe flight home, Videl" Gohan said.

Videl nodded as she shut the door to the aircraft, as it began rising into the air. Giving her a quick wave as she began flying away, Gohan turned back towards his house, ready for dinner.

"She's moving fast" Gohan thought as he floated back. She may not have gotten any sort of release today, but Gohan definitely noticed a faint spark of energy within her. Whether she noticed or not, she came close. "As long as she can keep it up, I think she's going to be a quick learner." The thought actually made him feel quite happy. He was actually feeling kind of excited about the idea of being able to teach her more about her energy. It was a new experience.

He let a smile creep onto his face. "I can't wait for tomorrow" he said.

?

The distant sound of blaring alarms slowly began to work their way past her ringing ears. Disoriented, barely conscious, but her mind was already working a mile a minute as reality slowly faded in around her. She groped around in the dark, trying to find her staff to help her to her feet. "Where is it, damnit…" she muttered.

Footsteps approached, and she felt it be placed into her searching hand. "Here you are, my dear" a more gruff voice said.

She pushed herself to her feet, leaning on the staff. "Thank you. What's the situation. One moment we were trying to launch, the next everything's gone pear shaped."

The figure nearby walked away a bit, and the alarms stopped. "I think you may want to see this" he said.

She rubbed her eyes to clear the last of her vision. It was nearly pitch black around her, only faint lights on along the walls. Walking over, she looked at the console. "What am I looking at."

"These readings, they aren't familiar, they are quite different from home" he said.

Eyes darting across the readout, she began to piece it together. "So, we made it…" she muttered. "That dimensional distortion our instruments picked up must have made a hole just large enough for us to make it through, even if the ship didn't appreciate the fit."

She walked across the console, taking in more information. "We're off our mark, by a wide margin from the looks of it" she continued. "His last location was close to the center of Universe 7, but from what I can see here, we're more around the space between 9 and 6." She slammed the console. "Damnit, that's going to take ages to travel, and we can't jump through the dimensions again, that's been depleted."

Her companion walked up beside her. "Four, maybe five months" he said. "If we can keep the engine fueled, it should take approximately that long to reach that position."

She took a deep breath, dispelling her anger. "We didn't escape our fallen world just to give up at the first major malfunction" she sighed. "It will have been worthless if we can't bring him back."

A few lights popped up along the screen. "I've set the coordinates in the main computer" he said. "Beginning the course now."

A dull thrum rang out from deep within the ship as they began to shift. "Good" she said, sitting down. "It's better to be late than to never arrive, after all. We have time, time enough to travel to Earth, and we'll tear them apart looking if we have to. The fate of our world depends on it."

Another chapter down, and the first installment in the training arc. Being more of an introductory chapter, there wasn't a whole lot going on, though as you may have noticed, Videl hasn't even found her ki yet. Yeah, I know she was flying day one before, but that's just one of a myriad of changes coming your way in this arc.

I decided to throw in some filler content for you guys so it wasn't 3,000 words of Gohan's internal dialogue as they meditated (pretty sure that wouldn't have been interesting). As well as one big teaser at the end (although knowing myself, everyone's about to know exactly what it is, yay…).

Anyways, lemme check myself before I wreck myself.

Kaithelonechampion - I'm glad you're liking it, that's all I can really hope for as an author. There's more to come with the training, but yeah, it's going to be ANYTHING but short this time around.

Guest - Uh, Kaioken is just a little far out, since King Kai is really the only person who knows how to teach it

Iwik - Always happy to hear I get the desired effect out there!

inFamousSlyMonkey - yup, but you just gotta know that it's in Gohan's character to worry, after all. Big brain and big heart.

Nauq - I'm extremely pleased to hear you're loving the story so much. I'm trying my best to do a lot of things and the feedback that it's coming out well is music to my ears.

Anyways, that's about all for now. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and feel free to drop a review with your thoughts on the way out. And I will see you all next time!