Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Rebirth of Destruction ❯ The Celebration ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Space had always seemed cold and distant, millions of worlds together with a vast emptiness that separated them from each other. The universe was a huge void somewhere inside another void. This chain went on for eternity, mind-boggling when you gave it too much thought. Galaxies and stars were nothing, from dust they came and dust they would become if given enough time. Your existence could pass you by and before you knew it, you’d be no more. No one would remember you; no one would know the mark that you left in the nothingness of reality. She refused…

“We should arrive at Earth within the next twenty-four standard hours.”

Dalia tore herself from the sight of stars flying past them and focused on Coran. “It’s about time,” she commented, standing up and walking up to the control board. “I had never thought it would be so far from Glai’keel-sei.”

Glai’keel, the perpetually frozen home world of her masters, even though bathed in ice, had a unique and exotic beauty she found appealing. The flora and fauna had adapted to the harsh conditions of the planet. The Glai’keel-jin had even built a powerful civilization. One of the mayor reasons besides the incredible potential they had was that the people believed that their crowned rulers were descendants of their gods thus obeying them as if they were a deity. Proud of their planet, both Freeza and Koola, and all the kings before them had made sure nothing would come to harm it, them having always been an imperialistic race. Hence, its location was secret to the rest of the worlds. Holding a gathering like the one her masters had planned was extremely difficult. All the guest were directed to a chosen out-of-the-way planet, led around space for a while to loose direction, and from there, taken to the ice world itself. She idly wondered how it was turning out.

Coran chuckled and walked up to her. “You of all people should have known the planets are on opposite sides of the galaxy. Two weeks is good time, if you ask me.”

“Earth…” Dalia said softly pushing buttons on the screen before her. “Let’s see what the data banks say we’ll be facing once we arrive.”

Coran crossed his arms over his chest and nodded, following her progress. The black screen before them changed every time Dalia pushed one of the many options it held for her.

“You’ve kept your eye on Earth, I see.”

“Yes,” she replied without looking away from the screen. “Ever since Lord Koola was killed. . . It seemed impossible that both my lords died on the same place. King Kold said he’d pay a visit to Earth with Lord Freeza after the Namek incident, then Lord Koola went shortly afterwards. Neither returned. Ironic how they all died there.”

Coran raised an eyebrow. “You sent spies?”

“Just some probes,” Dalia replied. “They’d monitor ki activity. I should have a complete history of ki progress and growth for over the last ten years of Earth time.”

The screen changed once again to look like a bar graph. It contained about twenty or so columns glowing in different colors.

“These are the most outstanding ki since then. . . Interesting, many disappear after sometime or... combine? Look here,” she pointed at a two particular ki near the beginning. “These two are rather powerful, but then they undo themselves and combine with this other big one here. . . But they appear again later, see? The progresses of the graphs continue. They don’t grow much though.”

Coran furrowed his brow. “Can you tell their species from that?”

“I should,” Dalia said clicking on the three desired columns. She raised an eyebrow. “That’s strange. These two appear to be human but aren’t classified as that. It’s still the closest match, the third one… Well the third isn’t classified as anything we know, but it gives a few similarities with human, Saiyan, Namekian and Glai’keel-jin?” Dalia stared at the computer in confusion. “What kind of freak was this?”

“Well, forget that case. Its ki disappears soon afterwards anyway,” Coran said. He pointed at another. “What about this one? It’s marked twice as the same one.”

“This one’s Saiyan, or partially so,” Dalia said puzzled as she scrolled up the screen. “But from what I get it was a lot stronger at first, then disappeared, then appeared again weaker and has been growing in strength ever since.”

“How far back was that? Maybe we should check the ki for the last few years,” Coran suggested.

Dalia nodded and set to work. “Well… whoa! There are three huge ki marked here, and one just at their toes. The data is interrupted here… and then only two come back. The third must have been destroyed since his file ends there.” She pointed at the smallest of the stronger three. “This one disappeared for a time, then it goes normal again… and the larger one disappeared for a really long time, judging by this chart. Years, I’d say, then came back.”

Coran nodded. “What are they?”

“Two Saiyans and one unknown. That one increases in strength in almost the blink if an eye, but then disappears.”
“Saiyans…” Coran muttered. “One must be Son Goku, and the other Vegeta.” He walked up to the screen and backed out the original graph picture. “How many Saiyans?”

“Two pure ki. Well, three, but the third one existed only for a short time,” Dalia said after checking. “And three hybrid... and another two. One that only appears for a span of a few hours, and another extremely powerful hybrid that comes and goes.”

“The strongest,” Coran said selecting them in order of power. “Two of the brightest disappear forever… Saiyan, Namekian, humanoid, and unknown. . . and this one? What is this one here?”

Dalia looked at the referred ki. It had appeared a few years back and again in recent days. The life force was unlike any she had seen before. Alive but… different. Not as strong as the Saiyans but mighty in its own way.

“I know not,” she replied frankly.

Coran looked thoughtful for a few minutes. “Dalia,” he said finally. “How strong have you become? We look to be having our hands quite full with this.”

“Most of them shouldn’t be a problem,” Dalia said pointing at some of the bars. “Yet this one, Saiyan and human union that appears at random intervals out of nowhere, and the two pure Saiyans… I’d prefer to avoid them.”

Coran looked away from the screen and out the port windshield. “Best we be careful while looking for the Dragonballs. I’d lower my ki from now if I where you, better not give them a warning that we are coming.”

Dalia nodded. “Coran,” she started. “How will we find our master’s opposites? Bodies are easy enough with the Dragonballs, but what about their celestial halves?”

Coran grinned. “I was thinking about looking for a non-living ki. I’m assuming the beings we seek were rewarded in Heaven, hence keeping their essence.”

Dalia raised an eyebrow. “How would we do that?”

“For starters, I checked back to when we summoned Lord Freeza and Lord Koola. I looked for an identical energy surge of when the portal opened somewhere else. You’d be surprised at what I found.”

Dalia narrowed her eyes. What had he found?

“The portal seemed to have opened on Earth itself; hence, the ones we are looking for will be there.”

Dalia’s jaw dropped. “Why Earth? Why there of all planets?”
“I’m not sure,” Coran replied. “I’m inclined to believe they appeared in the place they last had the most influence.”

“So they are human?”

“Not necessarily.” He went back to the screen and backtracked the last month. “It must be here, but maybe hidden because they aren’t alive…”

“I’ll check and reprogram to find a dead ki, if that’s possible. At least a different one. . .”

It took Dalia a few minutes before her search was over. She smiled, satisfied. “Well,” she said looking at Coran. “This one is definitely different, but recent. I found a few others like it but years back,” Dalia said pointing at a ki that had suddenly appeared in the list of forces. “Very strong, yet elusive. Makes me think it wasn’t supposed to be there.” She checked the data files for dates. “And it didn’t come alone. First time it appeared was three weeks ago, when our lords were summoned. It was accompanied by…”

She stared at the screen.

“Coran,” Dalia spoke. “This one, the strange one, reappeared at that same time. But… It’s alive, in a bizarre way, definitely not dead.”

Coran stared at the screen. “Last appeared some years ago, when the strongest of all the life forces came together… Yes, this could be one. But what is it? Its living energy is different from all the others—”

Coran’s jaw dropped as thoughts raced into his head. The portal opened to let a being from Heaven out. This creature was very much alive, but with the strangest ki either of them had ever seen. Could it be possible? Could it be one of believed kais?

“Coran! What is it?” Dalia exclaimed.

“I think…” he stuttered slightly. “I think we got more than what we bargained for.” He smiled in disbelief and awe. Damn. His masters had to be strong to claim a god from its Heaven.

“What do you mean?”

“I think we got a kai,” he responded turning his face to her and smiling.

Dalia blinked.

“I’d get ready if I were you,” Coran told her. “Do everything that involves your ki now, before we arrive. It seems all we look for has come together on its own.
Dalia stared at her reflection of one of the windows before her. Kai? A kai! She smiled.
“Guess I better change,” she told Coran looking at herself. “We’ve got quite a bit of work to do and I don’t think blue is the going color where we are going.”

~oOo~

It was already sunset by the time the wedding party reached their destination. Gohan and Videl’s wedding ceremony had been beautiful and surprisingly uneventful, a rare occurrence among the Z fighters. The couple and their guests were now headed toward the bride’s father’s house, where the reception was to be held.

The fading sun left a swirl of orange and pink in the now darkening sky that matched the romantic mood of the occasion. Mr. Satan’s backyard, thoroughly decorated for the reception, was covered with white, round tables fit for holding ten to twelve people, each decorated with elaborate flower arrangements. Running down the center of the yard between the tables was a long white carpet runner. In case of rain, a large tent been set up over the tables. The lights it was lined with gave it an appropriate sense of elegance. Expensive statues and figurines decorated the outer skirts of Mr. Satan’s backyard.

An orchestra played on a stage towards the end of the yard. Behind them, there was a cement walkway that gave way to a large beautifully lit pool. The steady sounds of a waterfall gave the entire ambiance a soothing effect. On both corners of the yard there had been buffets tables set up and guests were already lining up, eager to get some food. At the end of one of the buffets sat a five-story vanilla wedding cake, also with a view to the pool.

“I’m so glad you could make it.”

“My pleasure, it was a beautiful wedding!”

“Congratulations…”

Vide l’s cheeks felt like they were about to crack as she once again plastered a smile on her face. “Thank you,” she replied politely.

“Look at you!” the tall, dark-haired man who stepped up next cried happily. “You’re all grown up now. I remember when you were a little girl this big.” To that, he placed his flat palm, face down, just below his hip. He then turned to Gohan and bowed respectfully. “You better take care of her,” he told him with a warning tone.

Gohan smiled respectfully and bowed in return. “Yes, sir.”

With a large grin that suddenly made him resemble Mr. Satan in a very uncanny way, the man continued to make his way to the buffet. His smile unwavering, Gohan leaned over to Videl and whispered in her ear, “Who was that?”

“No idea,” said Videl with an equally unwavering smile.
Gohan turned back to the line of guests that they were greeting, wondering idly where the end of it was. He glanced over to the buffet, watching the people laughing and talking as they served themselves the mouth-watering gourmet food that could be smelled a mile away. To his great dismay, he suddenly realized that even if the line of guests were to be over right now, they still needed to go with the professional photographers to take pictures. It could be hours before he could finally settle down to eat. And by then, the food could already be gone… especially with his father, his brother, Vegeta, and Trunks there!

His stomach grumbled, as if in protest to the thought. So much for his wonderful Saiyan genes.

~oOo~

“…And this is their idea of fun?”

Freeza made his way around the crowded room and looked at his brother in mild discomfort. The sea of people around them parted rapidly as they approached and bowed respectively before them. The Grand Ballroom was one of the largest rooms of the palace. The hexagonal room looked even bigger thanks to the dozens of mirrors that lined its walls up to the domed glass ceiling showing a view of the almost omnipresent aurora in the starry sky above. Suspended from what looked to be thin air, a giant chandelier lamp lit the stance, shining thousands of lights down into the room below, bouncing off the mirrors and giving the entire place an air of grandeur and magic. Glass pillars and archways coming from the dome led the specter to the back wall that opened down into a large marble staircase leading to one of the many inner gardens adorned with statues and even whole gazebos carved out of blue ice.

The corners of Koola’s lips curled. “This is your arena. I should think you’d know how to entertain these people.”

Freeza chuckled. “Oh come now, what would Papa say? Surely you have not forgotten your manners? We’ll get our fun later.”

Koola watched his younger brother with interest. The strange glint in his eyes would have made anyone else’s blood in the room run cold. He simply smirked. It was very interesting to see all the kings and nobles there kis up to them after years upon years of absence. If something hadn’t changed, it was the fact that they were still the big hypocrites they had always been. But today, the weed would be separated from the wheat. Throughout the entire evening, they had gotten nothing but friendly conversations, complements, and thoughts of happiness for their return. Endless numbers of aristocrats and highborn folk had come speak with them for short conversations that barely lasted a few minutes. What was funny about this was that most of them had been the same people Dalia had told them had separated first after Koola had gone.

Freeza toyed absentmindedly with one of the planks clinging down from the necklace that held up the black velvety cape he had chosen for the occasion. Neither of them ever liked to dress up much for anything, but on this event, both had made an exception. Too bad Dalia wasn’t here. She had always been such a great hostess, almost did their jobs for them.

“Lord Koola, Lord Freeza,” someone called from behind them. Turning, they found the king of Atinú, one of the more powerful outer rim worlds, taking a bow.

Freeza expression was almost unreadable as he raised an eyebrow and nodded.

“We are happy to see you back, my lords,” King Atinú spoke. “I must say, we were beginning to think you’d permanently left us.”

Freeza chuckled. “I’m glad to hear that Atinú,” he replied. Especially when Dalia told me what a particularly big pain you are. “You’re service has always been flawless.”

The other raised an eyebrow, but bowed. “An honor, as always.”

Koola chose this moment to enter the conversation. “Interesting, don’t you think?  I always thought our subjects might have been a bit more reluctant to return to us.”

King Atinú laughed. “Nonsense! Though I must say some worlds have been somewhat distant for a few years.”

“Your world exports metals, does it not?” Freeza said recalling things from the past.

“Yes, Lord Freeza. One of the largest mines of silver existing is located in our greater moon, as many smaller ones of aluminum and other minor ores,” he said proudly. Almost gloating over it, Freeza thought.

Freeza turned his head sideways to look around the other guests and grinned. “I recall a power struggle between you and your neighbor world for that some time before my leave.”

“Yes,” King Atinú said barely noticeably shifting his weight from foot to foot with some discomfort. “But it has been resolved.”

There was a moment of silence between them.

“Well then,” the King said. “I leave you to your other guests…?”

Koola nodded. Interesting how people bought time. “It was a pleasure speaking with you, after such a long time.”

“The honor is all mine, my lords,” he said while bowing.
They both nodded.

“What do you think?” Freeza asked after he was out of hearing range.

Koola was about to say something, then thought better of it. “Has he seen you like that before?” he asked.

“What do you mean, Brother?”

“Well,” Koola continued, “You’ve told me yourself that you’d rather preserve energy in the past, so you kept a lower form. Yet King Atinú didn’t seem to notice.”

“You think he thinks this a hoax?” That would be interesting.

Koola still looked thoughtful. “Perhaps, or maybe he’s up to something.”

Freeza sneered. “Oh, I’d love to see him try.”

~oOo~

All the guests had been greeted and Gohan and Videl were off by the pool with the photographers, posing for pictures while everyone else had settled in to eat. Friendly conversations echoed throughout the vicinity. Near the middle of the room the Z fighters and their families plus Mr. Satan sat around the largest table.

Typical Saiyans that they were, Goku and Vegeta were devouring their food as if it had been months since their last meal, when in fact they had eaten lunch just several hours earlier. Albeit, Vegeta devoured a bit more mannerly than Goku did. Since their friends were long used to Saiyan eating habits, they paid little attention as they carried on their individual conversations and commented on the lovely scenery.

From their places on either side of Vegeta and Goku, Bulma and Chichi were savoring the success of their planning.

“It was a beautiful service, Chichi,” Bulma was saying in between mouthfuls. “Wasn’t it perfect how it was all over right as the sun was setting? How romantic!”

Chichi nodded excitedly. “Only the best for my Gohan,” she replied.

“Especially since you paid for nothing,” Vegeta muttered, promptly earning himself an elbow on the side from his wife that he barely felt.

“I knew it from the start,” Chichi continued as if she hadn’t heard Vegeta. “Videl will make an excellent wife for my boy.”
“Annff shesh ‘urt, ‘oo,” Goku added with a mouthful of rice. Chichi and Bulma stared at him in confusion. Goku swallowed his food and barely got in a, “…and she’s cute, too!” before resuming his meal.

“Do they know where they’re going to live after the honeymoon?” Bulma asked.

“I’m not sure yet,” Chichi answered. “They were checking out some houses not long ago, but I’m not sure which one they finally decided on.”

“I’m glad they waited until after they graduated college to get married,” Bulma commented.

“Of course!” Chichi said adamantly. “I wanted Gohan to get a full education first! Studies are the most important thing after all…”

“Only you, Chichi,” Bulma told her with a smile.

Chichi returned the smile before turning back to her food. She caught sight of Bulma’s protruding belly. “Speaking of children,” she began, “it won’t be long until you finally get a new addition to the family.”

Bulma grinned. Whenever she hadn’t been having morning sickness, mood swings, or bizarre midnight cravings, she had actually been on cloud nine since she had found out that she was pregnant once again. Even more so, after the doctors had revealed that it was a girl. Vegeta, on the other hand, hadn’t shared her enthusiasm. He had complained that he had enough with one child and that he didn’t need another brat to run around the house and annoy him. Regardless, he hadn’t run away from his responsibilities as a father, and that was a lot to say about Vegeta. Now, even though he was still touchy about the fact that it would be a female, he had warmed to the idea. Bulma secretly thought that he actually even liked it.

“Only two more months,” Bulma replied. “The room’s all ready, and she’s got a supply of toys and clothes to last her a lifetime. Or at least until she’s one.”

“And she won’t stop buying,” Vegeta added in between bites.

“Oh, be quiet, Vegeta,” Bulma hissed. “Let me enjoy it.”

“Have you thought of a name?” Chichi asked.

That was a sore point for the odd couple. Bulma pursed her lips and turned a glare on Vegeta. “We’ve tried, but Mr. I’m-so-high-and-mighty over here doesn’t like any of the names I picked.”

“You want to name our daughter after undergarments,” Vegeta argued. “You’ve already wrecked my son’s name, at least let my daughter have a decent one.”
“You’re one to talk, Vegeta,” Bulma said, emphasizing his own name.

Vegeta growled low in his throat and set his chopsticks down, turning to set his eternal glare on her. “Are you mocking my ancestry?”

“Yes! I am mocking your ancestry, Your Royal Pain in the Ass!” Bulma shot back. “I refuse to name my daughter after a vegetable!”

“I refuse to name my daughter after an undergarment!”

Chichi could recognize the beginnings of a fight when she saw one, and she knew how distressed Bulma got when she got angry, especially when she got angry with Vegeta. The last thing Bulma needed so close to her delivery date was stress.

“I’m sure that whatever name you pick will be wonderful, guys,” Chichi soothed.

“What the hell would you know?” Vegeta said, turning to Chichi. Chichi released a sound of indignation and got prepared to give him a piece of her mind. Before the fight could continue, however, another voice interrupted them.

“I remember her first word.”

Vegeta turned his attention back to his food, while both Bulma and Chichi stopped what they were doing to look in the direction of the new voice. A teary-eyed Mr. Satan was staring down at his still untouched food. He had been quiet during the entire service and even after they had gathered around the table to eat.

“‘Papa,’ she said,” he mumbled. “She was such a smart little girl. Strong as hell, too…”

Chichi smiled sympathetically, suddenly feeling a slight burning behind her own eyes as she patted Mr. Satan’s arm. “Gohan picked his own name, you know,” she told him. “We named him after Goku’s grandfather, at Gohan’s insistence.” She laughed. “He hated all the other names we wanted for him and I guess he just liked that one the most. It fits him, doesn’t it?”

Mr. Satan sniffled slightly as he listened to Chichi’s story. “Videl learned how to fight before she could walk,” he said. “I remember how I used to take her to the gym when she was a little girl. She was fighting and winning tournaments by the time she was six.”

“My Gohan was fighting Saiyan invaders at about that age,” she commented absently. Vegeta raised his eyes, fixing a hard glare on her. It didn’t take a genius to recognize the veiled shot at him. She continued, choosing to ignore him. “I never wanted him to train, but I suppose we can’t deny what’s in his blood, now can we?”

“Let them do what they have to do, I say,” Mr. Satan said. “Let them…” he let out a sob, “… let them… grow… up.”
By now, they were sniffling together while Bulma watched in morbid fascination. She certainly hoped that Vegeta would snap her out of it if she ever acted like this when Trunks got married.

Her thoughts were reaffirmed, when she heard Vegeta clearly say: “Pathetic.”

Goku finished his latest bowl of food and glanced up in time to see his wife and new daughter-in-law’s father begin their bawling. He blinked in confusion and looked over to Mr. Satan’s still filled-up plate.

“Hey, are you gonna eat that?”

----------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------

The two-hour prelude to their little get-together was finally coming to a close. Now all the guests were making their way to the dinning hall were their dinner awaited them. Koola stoically watched the crowd slip through the ancient doorway on the far end of the lobby below. Freeza had left a few minutes before to attend some minor incident they had been informed of, but now returned looking somewhat annoyed.

“What happened?”

Freeza stood next to his brother and watched the crowd below them. “One of the prisoners has escaped. The clumsy fools down in the dungeon cells where taking a nap apparently. I made sure that it would be a permanent one.”

“So he has been recovered?” Koola inquired.

“No. He’s a slippery one, but I’ve got a team on it. Can’t be bothered with something so minor, can we?”

Koola shook his head. “Any idea of who it might have been?”

Freeza crossed his arms over his chest. “He had no record, rather recent by what the guards down there say. It’s intriguing, why would anyone refuse to write a record for a prisoner?”

“Let’s not dwell on that thought much,” Koola proposed. “We’ll get him back sooner or later. Right now I think we have more pressing matters to worry about.”

Freeza nodded and continued to watch the moving crowd like a hawk ready to pounce on some unsuspecting vermin. His eyes narrowed. The dinning hall was quickly filling up with nobles, many of them who had openly denied their allegiance to them and had showed up tonight with a big smiled plastered on their faces pretending the past was nonexistent.  His dark lips curled. Tonight they’d learn a lesson he’d be sure no one would forget.
“Let’s not keep our guests waiting,” Koola told him. “We better get this show on the road.”

Freeza nodded and followed his brother down to the dinning room.

~oOo~

Trunks set down his chopsticks and leaned back in his chair, placing his hands over his belly and sighing in satisfaction. Beside him, Goten was still wolfing down his food as if there were no tomorrow. Several chairs away, he saw his parents arguing about something. Names again, probably, he thought. That had been a touchy subject between the couple and Trunks knew better than to interfere when his parents voiced their disagreements. Goten’s mother looked to be trying to calm them down, while Son Goku was too involved in his food to notice the proceedings.

He turned away from the sight, having seen it quite often in his twelve years, and inspected the rest of the table. Krillin and Yamcha were laughing about something unknown to everyone else, guessing by the looks on the faces of Puaru, Tenshinhan, Chouzu, Juuhachigou, and Marron. To Chouzu’s right sat Master Roshi and Oolong, who were not surprisingly, Trunks had learned, ogling beautiful women on other tables. Between Master Roshi and Mr. Satan sat the newest addition to the Z gang: Majin Buu.

The fat blob of pink, as Vegeta so fondly referred to him, was happily shoving food down his throat, occasionally glancing up to smile at his companions and getting up for more food.

Bored, Trunks turned his attention to the buffet, which was now devoid of people. For the first time since he had gotten there, he noticed the giant five-story cake sitting very soundly and very uneaten near the pool. Trunks could feel his mouth watering as he spotted the delicious-looking, frosting-covered pastry left unattended.

“Hey, Goten.”

Goten remained oblivious, attention focused completely on his food.

“Goten,” Trunks called softly, nudging his friend gently on the side.

Nothing.

“Goten!”

“Huh?& #8221; Goten looked up at Trunks curiously. He finished chewing the food he had just shoveled into his mouth before speaking again. “What is it, Trunks?”

Trunks grinned and nodded toward the cake. “You ready for dessert?” he asked mischievously.
Goten frowned and cocked his head to the side. “But I’m not even finished with dinner yet,” he replied.

Trunks had to roll his eyes. For all the strength he had, Goten had always seemed to lack a bit in the brain department. “Look over there,” he said.

Goten turned around to look in the direction Trunks had pointed in. That was when he, too, saw the luscious, insanely tempting cake. “Wow…”

“Isn’t that the biggest cake you’ve ever seen?” Trunks asked. He had had some elaborate birthday parties often in his short life, being the son of the richest woman in the world, but even his birthday cakes paled in comparison to this one.

Goten nodded wordlessly, the plate of food in front of him suddenly forgotten as he was entranced by the sight of something way bigger and better.

“Let’s go for it,” Trunks suggested.

Goten tore his eyes from the cake to look at Trunks curiously. “To do what?”

Sighing with exasperation, Trunks curled his lips downward and crossed his arms over his chest. “What do you think?” Trunks said. “We’re going to eat it, of course.”

“But,” Goten protested, even as Trunks started to slide off his chair, “won’t we get in trouble?”

Trunks looked again over to the adults. His parents had stopped arguing now and the sight that greeted him made his eyebrows shoot up. Goten’s mother and Videl’s father were crying together, while his mother looked on in disbelief and his and Goten’s fathers ate. On the other side of the table, the rest of the adults were involved in their own conversations and jokes. He was sure nobody would miss them.

“That cake was made to be eaten,” Trunks pointed out, “not to be looked at.”

“True,” Goten conceded doubtfully. “But it’s for everyone in the party…”

“Can you wait that long?” Trunks asked pointedly. At Goten’s hesitant silence, he continued, “Fine. You stay here and be a chicken, while I go enjoy the five-story vanilla-frosting cake all by myself.”

With one last look around the table to make sure no one was looking at him, Trunks slid off his chair and walked casually toward the general direction of the wedding cake. Goten, still in his chair, bit his lower lip as he inspected the cake longingly. He watched as Trunks walked inconspicuously through the tables for a while longer, before finally making up his mind and jumping off his chair as well.
Trunks grinned when he saw his best friend trailing rapidly behind him. “So you gave in after all.”

“No way was I going to let you eat that big cake by yourself,” Goten stated firmly.

Together, they crept over to the buffet and picked up plates, as if they were going to serve themselves food. When they were sure no one was looking, they made their move. Trunks spotted a pool-house not far away from the pool area and crept over to it. He opened the door and stood next to it to keep it from shutting.

Goten jumped up and flew at the cake, grabbing it as he was passing through and speeding into the pool-house milliseconds before Trunks shut the door and leaving behind him only a breeze. Their absence and that of the cake went unknown.

~oOo~

“I just can’t believe that my little girl is all grown up and married,” Mr. Satan was saying.

Chichi nodded in agreement, wiping tears from her eyes with a napkin. “I wanted Gohan to get himself a nice girl to marry and I’m glad he married Videl,” she told him. “But that seemed like so far away at the time. He’s always been my little boy…”

Bulma’s eyes rolled to the ceiling of the tent. She was leaning against her chair with her hands on top of her swollen belly, having finished eating long ago. Listening to Chichi and Mr. Satan sob over their grown children had gotten really old really quick, but she didn’t want to be rude and leave the table. Not to mention that her seven-month pregnant belly barely allowed her free movement and she was getting incredibly tired these days. She’d had Trunks so long ago that she had almost forgotten what being pregnant was really like.

Beside her, Vegeta was just finishing his last plate, his Saiyan appetite finally sated. Last bite eaten, Vegeta mimicked Bulma’s position and rested against his chair. Bulma turned to look at him and raised a questioning eyebrow. “That was quicker than usual,” she teased.

A corner of his mouth lifted in what passed for a smile for Vegeta. “Kakarot is still eating,” he pointed out.

Bulma lifted her head just enough to see that Goku was indeed still shoving down food. She shook her head and returned to her former position. “I don’t know how you Saiyans do it. Not even pregnant women eat that much in an entire day.”

“The difference is that a pregnant woman gets fat,” he replied nonchalantly.

Bulma’s hand shot out automatically to smack his shoulder. She winced and cradled her hand, suddenly remembering that hitting Vegeta was like smacking a brick wall. Vegeta chuckled as he reached out to grab her hand to massage it gently and discreetly. After all the years of living on Earth around the people he would only refer to as friends in his thoughts, Vegeta had learned that none of them particularly cared whether or not he showed emotion. All the years of living with Bulma had softened him just enough that he didn’t try to push away from her or their son anymore. He had settled comfortably into a daily routine with his family and had even gone as far as to create another child with her. Being a man of action and not words, Vegeta opted more often than not to show rather than tell his family that he cared for them.

And even that was in the privacy of their home, for Vegeta was a very private man.

Bulma smiled slightly at his show of public affection, choosing to enjoy the rarity of the event.  As she turned her head toward the other side of the table, she suddenly noticed the two empty chairs. She sat forward and furrowed her brow, scanning the area around them briefly in search of her son and his best friend.

“Vegeta, did you see where Trunks went?”

Vegeta frowned, releasing her hand and looking at the empty chairs. Stretching out his mind he felt for his son’s ki and found it not far away at all. “He’s here, don’t worry.”

“Oh, they’re here all right,” Bulma said dryly, balling a fist and placing it on her hip. “Neither of them would ever leave food on a plate…”

“Who left food on a plate?” Chichi asked in surprise, as if the concept was totally alien to her. She wiped at her eyes and glanced at the space previously occupied by the pair of demi-Saiyans. “Hey, where did Goten go?”

She automatically looked over to the buffet, instinctively knowing that the only reason a Saiyans would leave a table of food would be to find more food. Frowning when she didn’t find them, Chichi stood up and looked around to the rest of the room.

“Maybe they just went to the bathroom…” Mr. Satan suggested.

Both Bulma and Chichi were already shaking their heads before Mr. Satan had even finished the sentence. “Together? No way,” Chichi answered. “There is food on that plate. The world could be about blow up around them and they wouldn’t notice if there’s still a plate filled with food in front of them.”

Bulma nodded in agreement. “They’re definitely up to something.”

Chichi glanced at the buffet once again, half-expecting to see them there after all. It was then when she noticed the absence of the wedding cake. Her eyes went wide and her hand went to her mouth, but not before uttering a loud gasp that stopped all conversation around their particular table. All eyes followed hers and several more gasps were uttered when they noticed the now missing cake.
The gigantic pastry that had been adorned by the beautiful scenery of the pool behind it was now gone, thoroughly becoming a memory to be regarded only in pictures.

Amazingly enough, the gasps of surprise had stirred Goku from his food-ridden, one-track mind. He glanced up to see what had caused the sudden commotion, gaping when he realized what by now everyone else had. “Damn,” he said. “And it looked really good, too!”

“When I find Trunks, he is going to be grounded for the rest of his life!” Bulma cried, knocking her chair back as she stood angrily, her pregnant state suddenly forgotten.

“Goten won’t even be able to come out of his room in the afterlife!” Chichi added.

Mr. Satan stood up and placed a calming hand on Chichi’s arm, preventing her and Bulma, who had clenched her hands into fists and was stalking forward with death written all over her face. “Well, you don’t know that they did it…” he pointed out, trying desperately to be the voice of logic.

“Who else would steal a wedding cake?!” Bulma cried.

“Well…”

The sound of someone clearing their throat loudly made them all start. They all turned to find an amused Vegeta holding two very sheepish hybrid Saiyans each by the arm. Their faces were covered in vanilla frosting.

~oOo~

The dining room had been made to accommodate the crowd being hosted, a rectangular room with wide glass windows showing the rare view of an eternally frosted ocean. Beneath the thick layer of ice, a frenzy of sea creatures lived. Most, if not all, had adapted brilliantly to life with barely or no sun underneath the glacier. The only thing you could see of the cornucopia outside was the bioluminescence they had developed in such eternal darkness. Anemones, giant sea fans, ice pillars overgrown with cold-loving coral, and infinity of fish shone their colorful night-lights to all the viewers inside. As if not to steal from the light show outside, dim candles and torches that gave off an ominous light decorated some of the remaining walls. A single table that occupied most of the living space had been set to seat the hundreds of guests present that night and had been garlanded fancily.

Moving to opposite ends of the table, both Koola and Freeza took their seats, quickly hinting for all others to also do so. A group of servants brought in the starting course according to each of the represented species and placed them before their designated owner.
“Before you enjoy your meal,” Koola said standing up before his guests and quickly hushing the small conversations throughout the table, “I wanted to have a word.” He looked across him to his brother before continuing.

Freeza nodded.

“It has been a long time since we last could see each other. No one could have predicted our time of absence as no one could have known for certainty the time of our return. But time is of no importance. Many of us enjoy a life span on hundreds of years, years in which we intend to grow and learn as much as we possibly can; time where we choose who our friends are and who we designate as our enemies.” He took a quick look around the table before continuing. His eyes stopped on king Atinú long enough to see him lean back into his chair and drum his fingers nervously on the handholds before moving on. He grinned inwardly. This will teach you not to play with fire, old fool.

“No one can see what lies in a person’s heart so no one can tell what others are thinking, yet actions speak louder than words. What we do can say a lot about who we are and what we want…”

Freeza listened to his brother’s speech with mild enthusiasm.  He already knew what Koola had to say so instead he took this chance to look at the different reactions of the people around the table. Seated a few chairs to his right was the Ambassador of Noiku-sei, a water world. He listened attentively and shifted in his seat from time to time at Koola’s disguised threats. Farther down the table was Queen Shua’ree, Dalia’s older sister and almost exact replica of her except for the fact that her eyes were periwinkle and Dalia’s a mint green. Sheera-jin royalty had the knack to look like each other; many thought it a birthright and only amongst their more trusted circles did they know better.

To his far left was king Atinú. He was a sight. The fool, did he really think he’d get away with trying to drive a quarter of his empire away from him? He remembered Dalia’s words: opened resistance and betrayal.  He had been surprised at the fact that he had shown up at all. A sudden movement to his right caught his eye. Sitting opposite to king Atinú was someone he did not recognize. The dark-hair male slipped his hand under the table and slowly brought out what seemed to be a weapon of some sort. Freeza’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

Game time.

Out of the blue, the being stood up, brought out his gun and shot Koola hitting him square in the chest with a large explosion. Screaming soon followed as the crowd realized what had happened and looked to see what was left of their host. The smoke cloud around Koola soon settled revealing him to be still standing the way he had been before and unharmed, his tail swaying slightly behind him.

“If that had been a few thousand times stronger,” Koola told the hit man in a dangerously low tone, “I might have felt it.” A smirk crawled into Koola’s previously cold expression.
The now panicking sniper briskly pulled himself together and shot again. A sudden flash of red light illuminated the chamber. This was quickly followed by the hit man dropping his gun and placing a hand over his smoking chest as he staggered backwards away from the table. People around him screamed as they saw the blood begin to ooze out from inside his clasped palm and his collapsing onto the floor.

Freeza stood pointing a finger at the dying man, his eyes narrowed dangerously and his lips slightly curled. From across him and next to king Atinú, another man stood shouting in outrage and shot repeatedly at the Glai’keel-jin warlord.

Now it was Koola’s turn to attack. Raising the palm of his hand before him, he gathered an energy ball and shot it at his brother’s attacker. The other had barely enough time to scream in agony as he was quickly devoured by a ball of flames. Rising into the air, Freeza looked left and right for the ones Dalia said had turned against them. None of them would leave this room alive. The next few seconds were full of screaming, frenzy, and havoc as both Koola and Freeza attacked their powerless opponents from above with energy blasts leaving their corpses to burn were they stood.

Freeza landed soundlessly next to a terrified king Atinú. “My lord!” the other exclaimed. “What are you doing?!”

Freeza smiled devilishly. “Getting rid of the trash,” he responded. King Atinú only had time to open his eyes wide in horror and let out a startled cry as he felt something sharp go through his chest.

Freeza raised his tail and the foreign king hanging from it. “I’ll make sure your world knows why its king died… And that it has a merciful ruler if I decide we need it. Otherwise. . .” His eyes had a murderous glint as the corner of his lips curled slightly.

Blood was now coming out of the corners of the dying king’s lips and oozing down Freeza’s ivory tail from the open wound in the king’s chest as Freeza threw him into the air blasted him down to King Enma.

A minute later, it was all over.

The room went deadly quiet as both brothers walked back to their chairs and sat down. Around them, a dozen fires burned feeding from the dead cadavers of the fallen.

“Please,” Koola said signaling to the petrified guests and taking his seat once again. “Sit down and enjoy your meal.”

~oOo~

On the far wall next to the pool cast by shadows, leaned a tall figure. Arms crossed over his chest, Piccolo watched over the ongoing events stoically. It seemed hard to believe that Heaven and Hell were in uproar and here, in now peaceful little Earth, the biggest of its protectors’ worries was a missing cake. He watched with mild amusement as both Goten and Trunks managed to free themselves from Vegeta’s grasp and were now being chased around the yard by their temperamental mothers. Piccolo was surprised that Bulma, even being pregnant, had managed to catch up to Chichi and was yelling at her eldest son just as intensely. Neither of the older Saiyans gave a shit, but a frustrated “Goten! Trunks!” from the other side of the pool proved Gohan wasn’t as unmindful. He looked away, but not after seeing Gohan take flight and chase after the mischievous younger demi-Saiyans.

Piccolo clenched his fists as he thought back at the series of events that had happened for the last three weeks. First Dende had been recruited by the panicked kais and he, having been there at the moment, had learned of the escaped Freeza and Koola. Things had complicated afterwards with the arrival of Kaio-shin and the stoic Paikuhan a few minutes later. They had managed to somewhat calm the kais, but Kaio-shin’s impediment of not being able to teleport back had them all in frenzy.

“Fu….sion… ha!”

Piccolo looked up just in time to see Gotenks turn and laugh at all his pursuers then take off in a sudden burst of power, leaving behind him startled screams from the specters. No one in the yard thought it worth to transform and go after them for the cake that was forever lost.

Piccolo turned his attention away once again. His jaw tightened in frustration knowing that two of the biggest tyrants ever to be born were once again free to rain down terror once again and neither he, nor anyone else knew where they were or what they were up to. Kaio-shin had told him not to inform the others until they were sure of exactly what they were walking into. He had reluctantly agreed realizing now that there was no use worrying them until something concrete could be done. Besides, he didn’t want to spoil the merry occasion for his first pupil and friend. All they could do now was wait. Freeza would eventually make his move and they’d finally know how to react.