DISCLAIMER:

Vetyga: It is all Rath's fault for such a long update! I mean how could she just forget about this story like that? If I had it my way, there would be a new chapter every 5.1 seconds!

Rath: (Hiding around the corner rolling her eyes. She keeps her voice to a whisper) She's so delusional! It should be every 5.29 seconds... Every 5.1 seconds is unreasonable. That's way too fast! Hmmph! And did I mention I don't own DBZ?

[Chapter edited: 5Jan2014]

WITHIN THE PRESENT WORLD:

Everything appeared hazy and dark as Gohan slowly sat up. He uttered a slight groan as the earth appeared to swirl quickly around in his vision. He placed a sore hand up against the faintly throbbing pain in the back of his neck.

'What happened?' his mind wondered subconsciously, until memory of the recent events suddenly cascaded through his mind.

"The tornado!" Gohan exclaimed in a panic as he looked around at the devastation that was once his home. He desperately began calling out the names of his wife and mom over and over again, hoping to get some sort of response. "Videl?! Mom?!"

Gohan looked towards where the closet once stood. It was now just a pile of rubble. He began shoving away the debris until he at last located the still form of his mother.

"No.." he whispered fearfully. "M-Mom..."

For a moment he thought she was dead as the silence lingered on for several minutes. However, after a while, Chichi began to stir. She weakly mumbled, "G-Gohan?"

"Shhh... Save your strength," Gohan said gently as he helped her out of the fallen wood and dust.

"Is Pan...?" Chichi worried. "Is she... Is she...?!" She choked back a sob as if it would be too much for her to continue the train of thought. She couldn't bare the thought of her only grandchild being deprived of life before it had barely even begun.

"I don't know," Gohan tried to remain calm as he set her down in the grass a little ways away from where their house once stood. "But I've got to leave you here while I go find them.

"H-Hurry, Gohan!" she murmured as Gohan rushed back towards the ruins of their home.

Gohan tried to locate Videl's ki, but it was to no avail.

'She must be really hurt,' Gohan muttered in dismay.

"Videl!" he called out as he continued to shuffle through the shattered ruins. Still, there was no answer. His breathing quickened and his heart raced through his chest in a panic. Despair etched deep into his features as he at last came across the face-down body of his wife buried almost completely under the dirt.

"VIDEL?" Gohan called out again to see if he could elicit some sort of response. There was none. He knelt down beside her and carefully attempted to dig her out. That's when he heard a soft cry from down below... Pan! She was alright! Gohan quickened his pace to free Videl and discovered to an even greater relief that Videl was still breathing. She was just unconscious. As he pulled her out of the ground, he noticed his little Pan relatively unscathed within a small crevice in the floor.

'Videl must have been using her own body as a shield to protect Pan from harm,' Gohan realized as he gathered Pan into his arms and held her in a tight embrace.

Suddenly, realizing her daddy was there, Pan began to smile and laugh. She cooed, "Daddy! Daddy!"

Gohan returned her grin as he told her, "Yes, Pan, it's 'Daddy'!"

'Amazing,' he thought. 'It's as if she didn't know anything had ever happened!'

"Mommy?" Pan asked, stretching her small chubby arms out as if expecting her mother to hug her as well. "Mommy?"

"Mommy's going to be just fine," Gohan replied as he awkwardly knelt down to gather up Videl into his other arm and headed back over to Chichi.

'Now, how am I going to get them all to a safe location?' Gohan started to wonder. 'It's awkward enough with just two people in my arms, let alone THREE! Both Videl and Chichi need help immediately, but there's no way I can leave Pan here all alone... So now what?'

MEANWHILE, ELSEWHERE WITHIN THE PRESENT WORLD:

As Vegeta was flying towards Dende's Lookout, he suddenly became aware of a couple of fluctuating ki's. He recognized immediately which direction they were coming from.

"That's near Kakarrot's house," he said to himself as he decided to deviate off course to go investigate. "Perhaps he knows what's going on."

It didn't take long for him to come across the leftover path of destruction from the tornado. He followed the path for less than a quarter of a mile before it ended abruptly at Kakarrot's house... Or to put it bluntly, it ended where Kakarrot's house used to be. All that was left of it was a pile of scattered wood. There was something that was strange about the nature of the devastation as a whole. Something that he couldn't quite put his finger on...

The train of thought escaped his mind, however, when he noticed Kakarrot's eldest brat below talking to his annoying harpy of a mother, who was lying on the ground.

"What happened here?" Vegeta demanded as he landed beside Gohan.

"Vegeta!" Gohan exclaimed in surprise. He had been so preoccupied that he had not sensed Vegeta's approach.

"Vegge! Vegge!" Pan repeated happily.

"Well? What happened here, brat?" Vegeta questioned.

"There was a bad storm," Gohan replied. By now he was used to Vegeta's favorite term for anyone born of the next generation. He supposed it was better than 'Spawn of Kakarrot' or something... Gohan gestured around them. "A tornado destroyed everything we have. Mom and Videl need help as soon as possible, but I'm not sure how to carry them all at once without causing them further injuries."

"I'm on my way to Dende's Lookout anyway," Vegeta replied nonchalantly.

Gohan smiled. Even though Vegeta didn't directly say it, he was offering to help Gohan out.

"Thanks, Vegeta!" Gohan said, not expecting to get a 'you're welcome' in return. "Alright, then you can get my mom, while I carry Videl and Pan."

"Hold on, Gohan!" Chichi exclaimed. Up until now, she had been silently listening to Gohan and Vegeta's exchange, but now she had to speak up. "I refuse to let that 'beast' come anywhere near me! Forget it, Gohan! He is not carrying me!"

"But Mom," Gohan tried to reason. He took a quick glance towards Vegeta. He hoped Chichi's comment hadn't offended him. Vegeta was known to be rather short-tempered. Surprisingly and perhaps luckily enough, Vegeta seemed to be completely un-phased by Chichi's rude outburst.

"Fine with me," Vegeta remarked. "She can stay here and rot for all I care."

"Mom, please?" Gohan pleaded. "You know that Vegeta would never do anything to harm anyone anymore. He's a good guy, now."

"Forget it, Gohan!" Chichi refused stubbornly. She still hadn't quite forgiven Vegeta for what he had done as 'Majin Vegeta' during the terror of Buu. To think he had willingly let Babidi get a hold of his mind and had purposely harmed all those people... It was inexcusable! Did he care nothing at all for Bulma and Trunks? Was it still just an act on his part?

Gohan sighed in defeat as he told Vegeta, "Then I suppose that leaves you with Videl, while I take my mom and Pan..."

"Whatever," Vegeta shrugged with his arms folded.

With that finally settled, Gohan and Vegeta carefully gathered up the injured and took flight. Vegeta continued to survey the area. He mused out loud, "Isn't it interesting that the damage inflicted around here only seems to have affected your area..."

"Hmmm? What was that, Vegeta?" Gohan asked as he glanced back.

"I'm saying that the only area that is completely devastated is the area immediately surrounding YOUR house," Vegeta repeated. "Everything else is relatively in tact."

Now that it was brought to Gohan's attention, he began to notice that what Vegeta said was true... In fact, there was not a single toppled tree after a fourth mile radius from where his home once stood. This was strange considering how big and powerful the storm had been. Even stranger yet was that all of the trees that had been toppled down were all lined up facing the same direction. They were all perfectly parallel, pointing in the direction where his home once stood... It was almost as if it had all been done on purpose... As a warning or an omen!

"My goodness!" Chichi gasped quietly. "How on Earth did that happen?!"

"It must all be a coincidence or something," Gohan reasoned.

"That's one HELL of a big coincidence then, Gohan" Vegeta remarked.

"You mean you think there's more to it?" Gohan asked doubtfully.

"I'm not sure what I think," Vegeta replied as he glared off into the distant horizon. "But I get the feeling Dende will know exactly what is going on..."

WITHIN THE PAST WORLD:

Bulma had quickly adapted to the alien technology and understood precisely what she was expected to do. Since she was new and therefore not fully trusted, she was given the rather menial task of sorting out files with certain symbols and entering them into their corresponding databases... A sort of alien filing, if you will. The only problem was that she had no knowledge of the alien language it was written in. She had no ability to start researching the coordinates of the Schreetept Quadrant. The clock was ticking fast. They only had about two weeks to both locate and make their way through the rift before it closed, trapping them in the Past World forever. What she needed was a translator... Vegeta!

"That's it!" she exclaimed, drawing several strange looks from those around her. She ducked her head shyly as she said, "Um, sorry!"

She then continued to think to herself, 'Yes, I can get Vegeta to translate it for me. Perfect! Now, all I have to do is find the little squirt...'

Since Vegeta was nowhere in sight, she had to devise a plan to gain access to the rest of the ship without gaining any suspicions in the process. Many of the technicians actually seemed somewhat friendly towards her. However, there were several more that were already suspicious of her antics... Especially one of the lower technicians by the name of Khamrii.

Khamrii silently glared at Bulma from her workstation. Bulma had been there not even a day and already everyone seemed to welcome her with open arms... As if she had been there all along! She was an intruder! So what if she was a fast learner? Something wasn't right about her. In fact, even Frieza himself didn't even know where she came from or how she and the other intruders got aboard his ship. They could only be up to no good! Khamrii decided to make it her personal mission to unveil Bulma's trickery...

"Wow, I really have to go to the restroom," Bulma said urgently.

"Hmph, too bad you can only take a break when Frieza says so," Khamrii stated smugly. She tossed her long dark red flowing locks of hair behind one of her three earthy green antennas.

Bulma looked towards Khamrii wondering how to reply back to that statement, when Sugo (one of the head technicians) interrupted, "Back down, Khamrii. You have no say in what the newcomer can and cannot do. Should you step out of line again, I will be forced to report you to Frieza. Is that clear?"

Khamrii's eyes widened as she said, "Forgive me. It will not happen again!" She then thought snidely, 'At least, not in the open...!'

Sugo then turned to stare into Bulma's surprised eyes.

"Um, thanks," Bulma said as she stared up into his brilliantly distinguished yellow eyes in which handsomely offset his brazen skin and raven black hair and narrow features.

'Hello, Bulma!' Bulma screamed in her mind. 'You're a married woman! You can't be looking at other men... No matter how handsome they appear to be!'

She couldn't help but smile as she remembered Vegeta's expression when she had asked him to marry her the human way. It was what he referred to as 'a primitive joining ceremony'. His philosophy couldn't comprehend the meaning behind a wedding. "A mate is for life," he had told her. "Those silly papers don't last forever. They are easily broken and therefore can not compare with what we really share..."

It had been one of those rare moments when Vegeta could be so open and sweet towards her, rather than the egotistical annoying bastard he usually was. He often took great pleasure in pushing her buttons to the breaking point. She remembered it as if it were yesterday. The only reason Vegeta had finally given in and went through with the ceremony was because it had meant so much to her. How she missed him...

Unfortunately, Sugo seemed to take her smiling the wrong way. Words could not describe the beauty he saw within Bulma, but to see her smiling at him like that!? It was true love!

"You may go," Sugo said, breaking Bulma out of her train of thought.

"Huh?" Bulma asked.

"The restroom... I said you may go. Now, if you so choose," Sugo repeated. "Just come back quickly, okay?"

"Yeah, uh, sure," Bulma said, starting to feel uncomfortable as Sugo continued to stare at her with eerie unblinking eyes. "I-I'm going to go right now then," Bulma replied. "Uh, to the restroom, that is!"

She then quickly excited the room. As soon as she figured she was a safe enough distance away from T-1, she bolted for the nearest stairwell. She had to find Vegeta quickly! As she was speeding through the corridors, she began to notice that she was drawing several questioning looks from those passing by. She paced herself a bit slower. The last thing she wanted was for anyone to get suspicious and inform Frieza about her...

How was she to know that she and the others were setting in motion a most terrible fate to be etched in stone?

Vetyga: (Sighs) You know, I'm starting to miss Rath. I miss doing all the little disclaimer thingies with her and being better than her... Oh, wait, I'm still better, but perhaps I should make a treaty? Mmmm, speaking of treaties, I have a wonderful little treaty with me right now! Mmmmm! It's perfect with milk! Yum yum!

Rath: (Can't help but laugh out loud, thus revealing her hidden location) You brat! That's not what a 'treaty' is!

Vetyga: (Finally notices Rath around the corner) Ah haa! My plan worked! You fool! Now you are all MINE! Ah ha ha ha ha...! (Runs towards Rath, but ends up running into a wall instead)

Rath: (Laughs) Ha! You didn't think I would get captured so easily, did you?! (Prepares to do a super duper powerful fighting finishing move)

Vetyga: (Doesn't move, is unconscious)

Rath: (Sweatdrops as she freezes mid-stance) Uhhh, I guess I'll have to wait UNIL NEXT TIME! Please R/R!

Sawatdee!