(A couple weeks later)
Things picked up for the Z-fighters over the next several days following Gohan's interesting excursion. His accomplishments in the school's swimming competition and grades out-of-the-way, everyone was feeling more positive and vibrant than ever. To commemorate this new season of festivities and peacetime, the gang decided to gather everyone together for another barbeque out at Kame House on Master Roshi's private island. Normally the place wouldn't play host to so many diverse individuals packed into one place, but seeing as how insistent Krillin, Android 18 and Bulma were in regards to the event, everyone found it impossible to turn down the invitation.
After all, they were celebrating Marron's 4th Birthday, so there was no way anyone would want to miss out.
The good thing about this particular day was that all of the Z-fighters were made available, including those who were normally too 'busy' to even care; with the main players being Vegeta and Paprika. Gohan also went the extra mile and brought along his school friends to partake in his gang's little gala, which presented the perfect opportunity for his family to get to know the new faces in his life.
It was a simple fête. Aside from a cook out on the beach, which Yamcha and Krillin were overseeing with a couple cans of Hetap in hand, everyone else had scattered themselves across the rest of the island, and were reveling in the events that were being provided. Chi-Chi, Bulma and blonde Launch, all of whom were dressed in some very eye-catching swim suits ranging one-piece purple to two-piece green, were working on their tans and gossiping about their lives back at home, while every once in a while making comments about each other's figures. Zangya, who was wearing a very beautiful yellow sundress and straw hat, was sitting at a wooden table with Tien, Vegeta, Hercule and Oolong, playing a specially customized version of Cards Against Humanity… which was ironic considering three out of the five of them actually opposed humanity at one point in their lives. However, it did make for some very interesting combinations in cards.
As of right now, it was Zangya who was dealing out everyone's responses to the topic question.
"What is Frieza's guilty pleasure?" the woman read, before setting down the four cards the other players had given her. "A: Ripping into a man's chest and pulling out his still-beating heart." She snorted and looked across the table, where she saw Oolong subtly adjust his singlet and smile. "B: Jerking off into a pool of children's tears… aauuooow. Now that one's totally uncalled for." She then threw a dirty look at the group in front of her, whom she saw snicker and Vegeta crack a smile. Despite her disgusted reaction, even the Hera couldn't help but grin a little, before looking down at the card next to her. "C: Powerful thighs." A quick glance in Hercule's direction saw the man with the afro clear his throat and rub his knuckles proudly against his chest. After shaking her head, Zangya then looked down at the last one. "And finally, D: Blowing some dudes in an alley." She rested her head against the edge of the table and, giving a few pained laughs, held up the last card. "Which one of you had this?"
"Right here," Tien answered, reaching over and claiming his card in victory, which had the rest of the people around the table groan.
"What! Oh, come on!" Vegeta practically shouted, raising a hand towards the woman in disbelief, "The swimming pool of children's tears was the obvious winner! By far!"
"Yeah. Even I'm surprised you didn't go for that one," Hercule also remarked, rubbing one of his big hands against his temple in surprise.
"I guess humor registers differently for other aliens," Oolong muttered, before then shrugging offhandedly towards his companions. "That… or she knew it was you who put it down and is just yanking your chain."
Giving a wide grin as the black card was tossed over to him, the three-eyed fighter glanced across at his miserable competitors seated alongside him. "It's the quality of one's responses that inevitably wins the battle. I think one of you was a little bit over-reaching in that regard." The answer he got from the Saiyan Prince was an immediate middle-finger, which had the man roll his eyes in amusement. "Whatever. Point is… this puts me ahead."
"By one point, tri-clops. But not for long," Vegeta growled, before turning to the snickering Hera and glaring at her, "Whose turn is it?"
"That would be me, sir," Hercule spoke up, dispersing the trash cards and reaching for the black pile. The moment he began to move, the rest of the group around the table did too, with everyone adding a few extra white cards to replace the ones that they'd thrown into the pile. Humming a cheerful tune as he decided which set to choose from, the Champ eventually drew one from the far left and looked at the question inscribed. "Alright… here we go." Reading it put a big grin on his face, "Blank: kid-tested, mother approved."
"Ooh… I've got just the perfect card," Oolong laughed, sorting through his hand and picking out which one he wanted to use next. He then said in a singing voice, "You four are gonna love this o~ne."
His little giggle drew a smirk from the orange haired woman sitting alongside him, "Bring it on, pig. I'll beat it down with both hands behind my back." She then pulled out a card from her hand and offered it to the Champ, who took it and laid it face down on the table.
This then had Tien look across at her in amusement, "I swear to Kai, if you pick anymore dick ones, I'm leaving this table."
"Come on, Tien. Don't be a pussy," Oolong whispered, looking overly excited as he handed his card over to the Champ.
As the boys and girls at the table mucked around, everywhere else across the island, a lot of other events were taking place. Android 18 had found herself wrapped up in a very stimulating conversation with her brother's wife, Ami, whose stomach was notably larger than it was when she last saw her, indicating that she was pregnant. Adorned in a lovely summer dress and hat to protect her from the beating rays, the dark-skinned woman spent the majority of her time speaking with her sister-in-law, enjoying the topics that came their way and giggling when she made mention of how much the brother and sister looked alike.
"Honestly, if you dyed your hair black, I bet you'd look exactly like him," Ami remarked, gesturing towards the twin's blonde hair.
Bringing her hand up and running it through her golden locks, the female android shrugged, "Me and my brother had our disagreements. While we were traveling on the road not too long ago, he claimed that he could pull off the blonde look better than I could and I told him he could eat it. Of course, looking in the mirror, if our hair colors were the same… obviously one of us might end up looking better than the other."
"Heh. That remains to be seen," Ami giggled, placing her hand over her lips to stifle her laugh. She could definitely see the subtle competitive natures between the identical pair. Even though they weren't fighting in the conventional sense, it was still a contest of sibling superiority, which was commonplace in any family.
As the two women talked, they were also keeping a close watch on Goten, Trunks and Marron, all three of whom were playing close to the water. With all three of the kids dressed in their respective swimming attires, the trio of misfits was currently building what could only be described as the world's largest sandcastle on top of a sleeping Master Roshi. While the old man snored away, the youngsters giggled incessantly as they added more and more beach-themed ornaments to their Japanese-slash-European castle. Sea shells being the main element, the structure also consisted of miniature flags, palm trees, plants, and even a pool on top of it, showing the amount of architectural care the youngsters had put behind it.
The one who was helping them assembling all of these aspects together was none other than the resident Turtle, who also had Puar perched comfortably on his head.
"Looking good, kids. Looking good," the old sea turtle chirped, nodding his head in approval as Goten added yet another tower to the majestic piece.
"Yeah. It's really coming along nicely," the floating cat of the group also chirped, marveling at the sheer size of the structure Trunks was now patting down with his shovel.
Stepping back with his fingers forming a frame in the air, the now uncharacteristically cautious lavender haired demi-Saiyan sighed and looked across at his two closest friends, "Alright. Just a few more towers and I think we're good."
Putting down her plastic crab, the cheerful looking Marron smiled at the prince's son, "What do you think we should add this time?" She then picked up the two sand-castle buckets she had with her. "The boxy one or the cone shaped one?"
Rubbing his chin, Trunks then grinned and pointed at the one on her left, "Let's go with the boxy one and build a massive wall around the castle." He added to this suggestion by drawing a line in the sand around Master Roshi's position, "A defense around the building to stop the tide from coming in."
"Yeah. Yeah. Let's build a giant moat as well. Make it super defensive," Goten chirped from his side, poking his head around from his side of the mountain.
Feeling giddy, Marron raised her hands in the air and cheered, "We're going to make this the best sand castle ever!"
"And all of us are here to make sure that happens," a new voice cut in from the sidelines. When the kids turned, they immediately saw Paprika, dressed in a surprisingly tasteful skirt and vest, kneel down beside the castle with another bucket of shells and seaweed. Laying them out across the sand, the white haired woman with horns then beamed up at the kids with a very motherly smile in play. "I think you guys could use a little more shells along your wall." Her words earned a playful laugh from Goten and Marron as the two crawled over to see what other goodies their teenage friend had managed to grab.
Obviously the Makyan was having a blast searching the island for all the trinkets to give to the kids. It was her way of partaking in their little game.
As the youngsters got down to constructing the castle wall around the still unconscious Master Roshi, following the small beach around the remainder of the island, the rest of the gang could be seen having fun in their own respective ways. While Piccolo was standing beside the house and chatting with Android 17, on another part of the beach, Gohan and his friends were having an exciting game of volleyball.
Wanting to satisfy their personal rivalries with one another, the teens had been divided up according to everyone's desires to beat the other person down. On one side, you had Gohan, Erasa, Touya and Lime, and on the other, you had Videl, Sharpener, Sena, and Yukie, all eight of whom were wrapped up in what seemed like your everyday volleyball game between friends. There was really nothing out of the ordinary going on between them that would call for any sort of attention. They were just out there having fun knocking the ball over the net… and becoming quite competitive with one another as to how quickly the game was progressing.
All of them adorned in fashionable swimsuits that suited each of their characters, the gang of eight zigzagged left and right at great speeds, trying to keep the ball in play. Laughter and banter rang out loudly between them as Videl hit the ball up high, setting it up for Sena to leap and spike it over the net.
"Whoa!" Lime shouted, diving to the side and knocking the ball into the air just before it hit the sand. Landing on her front, the girl in the two-piece yellow and red striped bikini looked up with a grin, "Touya!"
"Mine!" the boy with the glasses and white trunks shouted, cupping his hands together and digging the fast-moving object into the air.
Seeing the ball flying towards her, Erasa grinned and sprinted forward, heading towards the area where it was going to pass. As it turns out, it was right where her crush and school's top student was now standing, with his back turned towards the ditzy player. "Gohan!"
Without needing to be told twice, the grinning demi-Saiyan dropped to his knee and braced for impact, a split second before he felt Erasa's foot land against his back and the girl leap high into the air above him. Intercepting the ball the instant it was flying past, the lithe blonde smacked the inflated sphere and sent it shooting over the net and straight towards the opposing team's boundary.
Reacting in alarm, Sharpener attempted to hit it, only for it to blow past his spike and towards the ground. Yukie attempted to dive for it, successfully managing to intercept it just before it hit the floor. However, with the angle it bounced off of her hand, not only did it fly out of bounds, it also ended up striking the water on the way out. The moment it splashed, the winners of the long volley made their victory known to the world.
"YES!" Touya shouted, hands shooting up into the air as he and Lime shared a high-ten. "Eight-to-six, baby!"
"Woo! Yes!" Erasa cheered, shrieking with laughter as she found herself straddling Gohan's shoulders and being lifted into the air. As the blonde in the green string bikini and thong shook her hands in the air victoriously, the Saiyan that was holding her, with his tail hidden comfortably underneath his blue shorts, did a miniature lap of their space and bounced the girl up and down, allowing her to properly acknowledge their score. "Now that's what I call teamwork!" She then leaned forward and grinned down at the boy she was piggy-backing. "Thanks for the setup, hot-stuff."
"Anytime," the demi-Saiyan chuckled, earning an affectionate poke in the nose from the blonde.
Once she'd said her thanks, the girl looked back up and jabbed across at the others. "In your face, Videl and Sharpener!"
Shaking her head at her best friend's antics, Videl, wearing a tasteful sky-blue, two-piece swimsuit, then pointed back at the blonde, who was using her boyfriend as a victory platform. "You'd better watch yourself, Erasa, because my next spike is heading right for your head." She said this all with a competitive grin in play.
"Bring it on, girlfriend," the blonde teenager replied, upper-cutting the air and clapping her bicep at the same time. "I'll send it right back at you, tenfold."
"Not if I get to it first," Sharpener shot back in support of his team, looking on as Sena returned with the volleyball and passed it back over to Lime on the other side. The jock then cracked his knuckles and slid into a battle ready stance, throwing a nod towards the players on the other side. "I'm coming for you, Touya!"
"Bring it on, blondie!" the glasses wearing teen hollered, throwing his hands out in a showy manner before slapping his hands against his pectorals like a primate. "You can't touch this!"
"But I sure as hell can," the boy's girlfriend, Yukie, returned competitively, cracking her neck as the doe girl then shook her hands out. "I think it's time to redeem myself for my slipup."
"You said it, babe," Sena chuckled, giving the girl behind her a high-five before placing her hands on her knees and smirking. "Let's do this."
"Hear that, guys?" Lime asked the teenagers on her side of the net, "These posers think they have what it takes to take us on. What do you think we should do with them?"
It didn't take long for one of them to come up with an answer. "Destroy them. That's what we're going to do," Gohan answered, shooting a grin across at Videl, who returned his competitive air in kind. When he looked up at Erasa on top of his shoulders, the half-Saiyan boy grinned and patted her thigh, "Are you with me on this?"
"You bet your sweet ass, I am," Erasa replied, sliding off of the teen to get back into position. When she high-fived her crush and best friend in appreciation, the blonde and the rest of her troop quickly rotated and changed spots, with Touya taking the lead at the front.
Once Lime passed Gohan the ball, the teen with the glasses grinned at his compatriots, "Alright, boy and girls. Let's bring another win back for team four-star! Who's with me?" When all of them answered in their own individual manners, Touya shook his head in a disappointed manner, "Oh, I think I heard a tumbleweed blow across a dry wasteland several miles away from here. I said WHO'S WITH ME!" This earned an even louder, more aggressive cheer from his three teammates, which drew an impressed nod from the sportsman. "Now that's more like it! Bring it in, guys!" He then placed his hands on his hips and felt all three of them take a step towards him and give him a good, old slap on the ass one after the other. "Yes. We got this. Yep. We got this. We got this. Get in there. Get in there."
"Quit slapping each other's asses and let's start the next round already!" Sharpener practically yelled, though it was clear from all four kids on the other side of the net that they were thoroughly amused by the idiot quadruples' stupidity.
Once all the kissing and bro-hugging was done and dusted, Gohan got the game restarted and soon enough, the band of eight troublemakers were at it again. The ball was soon flying over the net in a white, spherical blur as both teams began trying to decimate the other by putting in the hardest hits possible. It soon began changing hands so many times that their volleys lasted for several full minutes at a time, which didn't bother any of them in the slightest.
Their little content though soon drew the attention of the other guests at the party. Piccolo, Krillin, Chiaotzu, Launch and Android 18, retiring from their previous conversations, soon wandered over to watch the teenagers conduct their little exercise in futility and sat off to the side as their only invested audience. While the Namekian stood under the nearby palm tree with his arms folded alongside his human companions, Launch and Android 18 had taken to lying out on benches underneath the shade, enjoying the cool breeze of the ocean and the hilarious banter between the kids.
As an additional note, both women were dressed in two-piece swimsuits, with the android sporting a hot green number with string-ties and the other a white bikini with red flames.
Watching Gohan spike a shot over the net, only to be effectively intercepted by Videl, Krillin gave a hearty chuckle as the teens continued screaming at each other for more action. "Man. They're really going at it."
"Do you think they'll stop anytime soon?" Chiaotzu asked, while at the same time sipping on a mango smoothie that he'd made for himself inside the house.
The former monk chuckled at the little mime's inquiry, "With Gohan and Videl on their teams, that doesn't seem very likely."
As the two men made comments, a shadow soon fell over the women seated underneath the palm. When both tanners looked across to see who it was, they spotted Zangya, still decked out in her sun dress, setting up a chair alongside their position. When she noticed the two blondes staring at her, the fair-skinned Hera grinned, "Hey. Mind if I join you guys?"
The curly haired Launch smiled and waved, "Knock yourself out. It's a free space."
"Thanks," Zangya chirped, straightening up and slowly removing her dress. Sliding the bands off of her shoulders carefully, she then lifted it over her head and tossed it aside. Once that was done, she then slid into the chair she'd positioned alongside Launch and made herself comfortable. "So… what's the score?"
The former bandit shrugged, "I don't know. I lost count about seven volleys ago."
Willing to fill in that part, Android 18 glanced across at her friend from outer space and answered, "I believe the score is tied at fourteen to-ugh." She then stopped dead when she suddenly noticed the outfit Zangya was wearing, a reaction that also drew Launch's attention over to the newcomer.
When Tien's wife noticed the issue for herself, the woman's eyes widened just as much as her fellow blonde's.
Sensing the eyes of the women burrowing into her temple, the orange haired woman looked across at them oddly, "Something wrong?"
Clearing her throat, the startled android smiled back nervously. "N-No. It's just…" She then took a moment to look her friend over. Smooth skin and curvaceous figure being the foundational traits, the woman's outfit wasn't exactly something she would expect the Hera to be wearing. Figuring it was something new, the android drank in the purple, one-piece swimsuit, which not only had a strap design that made it resemble something a little more erotic, it also had strings crisscrossing the front part and tying it together like a shoe or a corset. Needless to say, it was quite the eye catcher of an ensemble, something that Eighteen felt she needed to acknowledge. "Your swimsuit is… pretty daring…"
"Eh?" Blinking, Zangya then blushed and looked down at her purple one-piece, "I-Is it?"
Both Android 18 and Launch nodded in perfect sync, with the bandit also giving a nervous grin, "Damn girl. Who are you trying to impress with that… Gohan?" When she saw the Hera look away with an even deeper shade of scarlet appearing across her face, the mercenary slowly sat up in surprise and her grin widened enthusiastically. "Oh, seriously? Woo! Check out the stones on thisgirl!"
The incredibly flushed Hera then glared back at her and hissed, "Shut up, Launch." Honestly, having her suit pointed out by the raucous woman was bad enough. She didn't need to rest of the island catching on to her motives.
Either way, the party at Kame House turned out to be a real blast for everyone. The teenagers' game of volleyball lasted all the way up to the point the food on the barbeque was all done and, as soon as the plates had been dealt out, everybody wasted no time in digging in.
OOO
(Two weeks later)
Another many days came and went, and peace and prosperity continued to grip the entire population of planet earth. With no otherworldly calamities befalling them in the wake of the chaos that'd recently been dealt to West City, the human and animal races of the world continued to live out their days as per the usual routine. But despite the warm summer days of plenty and the serene atmosphere that continued to bathe most of the parts making up the super continent, the people of the tiny world couldn't help but feel that something else was going to happen.
Something big…
With the string of random events that'd taken place following the seven years after Cell's threat upon the world, entire populations found themselves bracing for the next oncoming storm. As to what this storm would be however, they had no idea. However, after their most recent experiences with giant alien monsters and mechs invading the planet, the earth's united military force was on permanent stand-by, holding their breaths for the next big cataclysm to march in.
Whatever disaster was to befall them next, the government and their defenders were ready. Their success all depended on how much their weapons had improved over the last several months and how early they were able to act.
As for the Z-fighters, their timetables hadn't shifted in the least. Vegeta was still killing himself in the Gravity Room, Gohan had been training even harder than before to master his new assets while simultaneously attending school his friends, Bulma introduced a new line of capsules to the market, Goten and Trunks were still lively as always, and the humans who made up the rest of the team were still chilling out as always. Even the guardians up on the highest tower of earth were finding their days had become pretty mundane.
All except for Piccolo, who was right now floating above the tiled surface of Kami's Lookout and was deeply engrossed in meditation. As he hovered there, completely ignoring the butterflies fluttering around him, Mr. Popo had taken to his usual chore of watering the flowers in the garden and Dende, sticking to his responsibilities like a pro, was looking down upon the earth and keeping tabs on the population. With his fingers wrapped securely around his staff for support, the young Namekian played his part, contemplating over the events taking place around him, while simultaneously offering his support to those people who needed it most.
Though he didn't often use his far-reaching telekinesis, whenever Dende did hear of a person in desperate need, he would help them out however he could, using his influence to come to a reasonable arrangement.
Times were pretty much the same for the guardians up on the floating castle and as the night rode on into morning, it seemed as though they were in for another, long, ordinary day.
However, just as Mr. Popo was about to water his collection of tulips on the next patch, a distant rumble on the horizon suddenly drew his attention upwards. A second later, the entire lookout unexpectedly shook. It was this tremor in the atmosphere and ground that caused Dende to look up with a start and Piccolo to open his eyes, effectively cutting him off from his training.
Blinking, the young guardian quickly looked behind him. "Hey… did you guys hear that?"
His senior, frowning deeply, dropped down from his position and landed with a grunt, "I felt that." The man then quickly marched over to the edge of the lookout, determined to figure out where that sound had come from.
Before he could reach his fellow Namekian, another shockwave suddenly rang out. This one being even louder than the first, the thunderclap caused both the lookout and even the earth to tremble, as Piccolo was nearly knocked stumbling forward from the violent quiver the floating castle experienced. The trio's eyes widening in shock, the band of protectors quickly regained their balance and held their positions, their brains mentally counting down to what they predicted to be the next shockwave.
Their prophecies were right on the mark. Just as they anticipated, another loud thunderclap rang out, with this one rattling the lookout and drawing cries of shock from both Mr. Popo and Dende, the latter of whom had to throw his body onto the tiled floor to stop from falling off of the platform.
Amidst the shaking and the undulating of the tiles, the teenage Namekian looked up with terrified yell, "By the Kais… what is happening, Mr. Popo?"
"I… I don't know," the guardian's attended replied, before giving another yelp of shock when repeated thunderclaps suddenly started to echo across the sky.
Baffled by the invisible tremors engulfing their space, Piccolo gritted his teeth and stretched out his senses, despite to figure out what was causing this anomaly.
Eventually, the source of the outrageous shockwaves soon pinged on the man's radar and, when he eventually honed in on it with his full and undivided attention, the man's eyes widened in horror. The same thing happened to Dende as well who, along with his mentor and fellow Namekian, turned their attention towards the skies. Once all three people on the courtyard looked towards the heavens, they watched in utter bewilderment as a large black hole suddenly opened up in the space above the planet.
Initially terrified, thinking that this mass of gravity-defying energy was going to suck the entire earth into oblivion, the two guardians were then caught completely by surprise when, from out of the slip space rupture, they saw an entire planet shimmer into view. Looking to be roughly the same size as the earth, the large terrestrial world with the glowing atmosphere had a large, green nebula-like cloud surrounding it, which hugged against its surface like a ring and had multiple spiral arms wafting out from it. This gave it an overall galaxy like appearance, with the earthen world at the center of its mass.
The moment the forested object completely materialized into view and the black hole closed up, it then sat there, falling into orbit of the earth and, by extension, the rest of the Solar System.
Piccolo, Dende, Mr. Popo, and no doubt the entire portion of the earth facing the planet, were dumbstruck.
Eyes wide with sweat pouring down his face in a stream, the current guardian of earth could only ask one thing, "Wha-… What is that?"
Piccolo, being the most rational-minded and calmest on the balcony, gulped nervously and, with beads of sweat trickling down his face, uttered a single, irrefutable answer.
"Trouble."
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