Seven years had passed since the defeat of Cell, the Bio-Android that would have destroyed the entire world if he had won the battle that had raged on during his modified tournament, which he had dubbed as the Cell Games. The Z Warriors, the ones who had ensured the defeat of the Bio-Android, weren't ones to take the spotlight and let all of the fame go towards the World Champion, a man called Mr. Satan. They had all seen what the man could do against Cell, as his attacks had done no damage to his opponent, but they were all sure that if his opponent had been human, and not someone like Goku or Applejack, he could have potentially beaten them in battle, unless it was Krillin he was fighting. Krillin had been quick to point out that he was technically the strongest man on the planet, as everyone else in the group was something other than a human.
Gohan, who was now eighteen years old, had been studying at home and learning everything that his mother could provide him with, as she was happy that he was serious about his studies and was quick to becoming a scholar. Chi Chi was also a little displeased that her firstborn son was spending even one day, usually Sunday, training with the Saiyans in Asgard, but she only let it slide because he was spending time with his father and grandparents. Goten, who was only seven at the moment, wasn't ready to fight five to ten dead Saiyan soldiers like his brother or father could, which meant that when he went to Asgard he either spent time with Gine, his grandmother, or spent his time playing around with Trunks and Gale. One of the things that Gine had told the family was that Goten looked like Goku when he was younger, with the messy and unkempt hair that resembled Goku's own hair.
Trunks, who was now eight years old, appeared to be a perfect mix of both Vegeta and Bulma's sides of the family, as he had his grandfather's lavender hair color and Bulma's blue colored eyes, while at the same time possessing the same eye shape and facial features as Vegeta. Trunks generally wore a dark green gi, which was accompanied by an orange belt, a pair of orange wristbands, and a set of golden boots that made the Z Warriors think of Future Trunks, which made sense considering that they would be the same person one day... though with different experiences thanks to the Future Trunks. Most of the Z Warriors assumed that he might have adapted a cocky attitude or something, which Vegeta warned them, as some Saiyan children had that attitude at least once before reaching their teen years, but oddly enough that attitude never surfaced in Trunks, though in it's place as the need to be mischievous.
Gale Wind, the third member of their little group, was also eight years old now, though technically she was about a month behind Trunks thanks to the information that her older sisters and her mother told her. She closely resembled Rainbow Dash, in terms of how she styled her hair and tail, while at the same time her body seemed to resemble Applejack a little bit more. Gale chose to wear a dark green gi, because she liked the color and not because she was copying what Trunks was wearing, for the times when she was training, though she also wore a casual set of clothing when she was relaxing around the house or spending time with her friends. She was also fascinated by her own incredible abilities, so when she was actually training she spent a good deal of time trying to master her elemental affinity... and generally had to ask her older sisters for assistance.
For a while Trunks had pointed out to Gale how odd it was for her to have teal colored skin, though eventually he stopped when his mother told him that the race the three pony girls belonged to were supposed to look like that.
Rainbow and Applejack had also grown up quite a bit during the last seven years, as they were now both twenty years old and their bodies had fully matured during the time of peace that had come after Cell's defeat. Now they both stood at the same height as Bulma and Chi Chi, though they both adapted to the changes their body had gone through quite well. Bulma had told them that if they had been born as humans, instead of a mix between human and pony, they would easily resemble any of the young adult females that she had seen around the city. Rainbow wasn't too keen on the small mounds on her chest, where's Applejack's were about the same size, but they were told that this was a part of growing up... to which they accepted it and went on with their lives.
Chronoa, who had also helped her daughters as they matured into adults, had insisted that they wear more than the gi she had gotten them, and constantly changed every year as their bodies continued to mature, to which she started providing them with new articles of clothing for them to try out. Rainbow had taken to wearing the same outfit as someone who ran around a track all the time, as she actually like the feeling of the wind on her body, though she kept her gi in her room for when she trained. Applejack also kept her gi around, in the off chance that something happened, though now she wore casual clothing that made it look like she was going to one of the nearby schools... while in addition having a set of clothing set aside for when she worked out in the apple orchid.
Chronoa was pleased with her daughters, as they both seemed to have an interest in something other than fighting, though she also had to take the time to tell Rainbow to stop trying to achieve the Avatar state she had used when she had fought Cell... but she already knew, without looking at the time stream, Rainbow still practiced trying to harness the power that had beaten the Bio-Android. She could already tell that the effects that had nearly destroyed Rainbow seven years ago had faded, as her body was mature enough to handle the energy and she had the knowledge to use correctly use it, but that didn't stop Chronoa from cautioning Rainbow not to push herself too far. She really didn't want to have to call Beerus back down to Earth and have him stop the near destruction of Rainbow again, like they had done after Cell's defeat... but thinking of Beerus reminded her that Shin and Kibito were searching the Earth, looking for the sphere that housed the fearsome Majin Buu.
She already knew that it was a matter of time until that sphere was opened and the dangerous Majin was released... and she also knew that time was running out before that event happened.
Rainbow and Applejack were hanging with Vegeta in the Capsule Corp building, while at the same time Gale and Trunks were talking to each other at the other table in the room, when Gohan entered the room. They noticed that he was wearing some sort of green gi, with a black under piece that covered the majority of his body, with a white pair of gloves that covered his hands and a red cape that was attached to his gi. He was holding some sort of helmet that reminded the girls of the person they had seen in the news lately, the man called the 'Great Saiyaman', though while Rainbow really didn't care what Gohan did in his spare time, when he wasn't training or studying, Applejack guessed at what they were seeing at the moment.
Vegeta, on the other hand, knew that there had to be some reason for Gohan to come here, practically dressed in his superhero persona, though he had a nagging feeling that he had been discovered and was trying to correct what had happened so it didn't occur in the future.
"It is nice to see you again Gohan," Vegeta said, knowing that it had been a few days since he and Gohan had gone to Asgard, but he was curious as to what the young man wanted, "Is there something we can help you with?"
"I'm looking for Bulma." Gohan replied, gesturing to the helmet he was carrying, making Vegeta wonder if his thoughts had been correct, "Something has happened and I need to speak with her."
"Follow me then," Vegeta said, to which he got out of his seat and beckoned for Gohan to follow him, while at the same time noticing that both of his friends were curious as to what was going on, as they, Trunks, and Gale followed after him and Gohan.
Vegeta knew that he had last seen Bulma working in the garage, on one of the vehicles that she was making a modification to in order to either increase it's speed or improve the safety. She had been a little busy lately, with her family's business and teaching Trunks about all the machines that were in both the house and the workshop, but she would be glad to have a visitor that wasn't a family member or the pony girls. A few minutes passed before Vegeta opened the door to the garage that Bulma was working in, though it appeared that she was working on a speed function for the vehicle she was sitting on... and she only stopped working once she noticed that the door was open.
Bulma glanced over the group for a moment, as if she was wondering why they were in here, before she noticed Gohan and his helmet, to which she decided that it would be best to get through what he was here for... to which she set her tools down and turned towards the group.
"What's up Gohan?" Bulma asked, though as she asked the question she knew that the others would not have all come along with the young man, which meant that they all assumed something had happened and were eager to hear what he had to say.
"Not much actually," Gohan replied, to which he gestured to the helmet, though whether he was going to refer to his superhero persona or the helmet itself no one knew, "I'm going to enter the next Tenkaichi Budokai... or the next World Martial Arts Tournament."
Bulma knew why Gohan had bothered to say both names of the tournament, because despite the fact that Rainbow and Applejack had been on Earth for a good number of years, seven of which were spent raising their younger sister Gale, neither of the pony girls knew what the tournament was if they used the first name... hence Gohan also used the second name. She glanced over at the helmet that Gohan was holding and knew, with that one glance, that it wouldn't be allowed inside the tournament, which meant that he might be asking for a way to hide his identity for when he was inside the arena. There was likely more to this than what she was seeing at the moment, as nothing was ever straightforward with Gohan and his family, so she let out a sigh and looked at Gohan.
"Gohan, I know you well enough to know that you aren't entering the tournament to prove yourself," Bulma said, which caused the young man to rub the back of his head for a moment, though that told her a lot more than what she was expecting, "so what's going on?"
"Well, one of my classmates from Orange Star High School managed to figure out I was the Great Saiyaman when I saved her," Gohan replied, feeling embarrassed that he couldn't keep his identity hidden for a lot longer than he had, though at the same time he found Bulma nodding at him, "and she happened to see me fly a few times... so she's decided that, seeing how I would like to keep my identity a secret, I must attend the tournament, and teach her how to fly, otherwise she'll tell everyone who the Great Saiyaman is."
"It has been a long time since I heard anything related to blackmailing," Vegeta commented, causing the group to turn towards him, where he waved his hand in a dismissing manner, "No, the Saiyans never blackmailed anyone into submission or anything like that."
"Yeah, we're too cool to do something like that!" Trunks said, agreeing with his father, though at the same time he didn't know everything about the Saiyan race and knew that agreeing was the best course of action.
"Anyway, I came here for two reasons," Gohan continued, to which he turned back to Bulma and held up the helmet he was carrying, where she turned her attention to it for a moment, "the first is that I would like to modify this with some sort of voice changing device, to make myself sound differently so no one else can determine who the Great Saiyaman is."
"That's easy enough to do, once you tell me how you want to sound." Bulma said, to which she took the helmet from Gohan and set it on the table, where she made a note of what he wanted and stuck it to the helmet, before she turned back to him, "What's the second reason you came here for?"
"I wanted your opinion on what to wear in place of my helmet," Gohan replied, to which the entire group nodded their understanding, as he still wanted to protect his identity while he was at the tournament, just in case anyone realized that he was one of the people that had fought Cell seven years ago, "Seeing how helmets aren't allowed in the tournament, or any sort of protective gear, I was trying to come up with something to replace it... and since I was coming here to make a modification to the helmet I figured I could ask one of you what I might be able to wear instead."
"Why not just wear a large bandana over your hair and completely cover it up?" Applejack asked, causing the pair to turn towards her, though at the same time Bulma seemed to understand what she was saying, "And, seeing how you'll want to cover your eyes as well, why not wear a pair of black sunglasses?"
Gohan admitted that he had never thought of that and Bulma immediately moved away to collect the two items, though it didn't take her long to return to where they were all standing. A few minutes later Gohan was wearing a large white bandana over his hair, completely covering all of it up, and had a black pair of sunglasses placed over his eyes. It wasn't as great as the helmet that he had been wearing before all of this, but now he would be able to hide his identity from almost everyone... unless someone else figured out that it was him and broke his cover. While Gohan was happy to have something to cover his most identifiable features with, and made it possible for him to go into the tournament without having to risk everyone recognizing him, he was caught off guard by something.
"I'll enter the tournament as well," Vegeta commented, causing the group to look at him for a moment, though none of them were exactly shocked by what he was saying, "It will be a good way to burn through a day or two and fight other people... though something tells me that the two of us won't be the only ones entering the tournament."
I'll enter the World Martial Arts Tournament as well, a voice said, though everyone smiled when they heard the voice speak, because they knew it so well at this point.
"It is good to hear from you again father." Gohan said, though even as he spoke he knew that the day of the tournament was going to be an exciting one, as he was sure that his father and Vegeta would be hoping for a match with each other, "And it is good to hear that you are planning on entering the tournament as well."
Unfortunately there is more to this tournament than what your eyes see, Goku replied, causing the group to sigh for a moment, as they were hoping for a peaceful day, Vegeta, your father asked me to tell you something important; he wants you, Rainbow, Applejack, and I to meet him in Asgard when you have the time to come back here. Something has happened in the last seven years and he wants us to be made aware of what is going on.
"Understood. Tell my father that we'll be there soon." Vegeta said, to which he reached for the medallion he always wore and held it in front of him, though when Trunks and Gale walked over to him and the girls he stopped them, "Sorry, but this isn't going to be a social visit like the last time we went to Asgard... though to make it up to you we can go do something fun when we come back."
Trunks and Gale didn't seem to like being left out of what was clearly an important mission, given to the group by the king of the Saiyan race, but they nodded their understanding and backed away from the trio for a moment. At the same time Goku told Gohan that he was more than welcome to announce, to the rest of the Z Warriors, that he would be returning to the Earth for a day and compete in the tournament. Once Gohan had an idea of what was going on, and was eager to get underway to tell the others the news, Goku cut off the connection between them, which was the sign that Vegtea and the girls were waiting for.
The moment Goku was done talking, and his voice had disappeared from the room, the girls put their arms on Vegeta's shoulders before he tapped the button in the middle of the medallion, to which the three of them vanished and began the journey to the Other World.
When Vegeta and the girls appeared in the Other World, and started walking towards the gates of Asgard, they all sensed that something big must have happened. There was no way that King Vegeta would contact them over something minor, especially when he had the entirety of Asgard backing him, so that meant that this had to be on the level of Cell. When they entered the Saiyan afterlife, and started walking towards the palace, they all noticed that the Saiyans that were walking around seemed to be happy, though at the same time they seemed to have their guards up, as if an attack on Asgard was imminent. Even those that didn't fight, such as Gine, seemed to be concerned for their safety, which told the trio that something terrible must have happened recently... which made them hurry to the palace.
The guards were expecting their arrival, as the moment they walked up to the palace entrance the pair of guards opened the doors and ushered them inside, to which they closed the doors and resumed their duties... though on the other side Vegeta and the girls noticed King Vegeta and Queen Mizuna sitting at a table, along with Goku and King Kai.
"We came as fast as we could," Vegeta said, taking the briefest of moments to embrace his parents before they all faced the table, "What could have happened that would have made all of us gather here?"
"Allow me to show you," King Kai replied, though at the same time he pulled out a black crystal and tapped one of the walls, which opened a direct passage to Hell, before he turned back to look at them, "Time is of the essence... so I suggest that you follow me."
Vegeta and the girls, including Goku, King Vegeta, and Mizuna, followed King Kai through the passage and found themselves in the realm where the evil doers were sent, such as Cell and Frieza. Once all of them were through King Kai closed the passage and beckoned for them to follow him, to which he led them towards a clearing that had a rock wall that was twice the size of Vegeta resting in the middle of it. The group noticed that there were bits and pieces of black chains scattered everywhere, which meant that someone had been chained up in this area and left to serve his or her fate in Hell... and yet whoever had been sentenced to this area was nowhere to be seen.
Just seeing this area made Vegeta wonder who had been sentenced to live in this spot for the rest of eternity... and, more importantly, it made him wonder why wasn't that person still chained up to the wall.
"Son, I hope that you will forgive me for keeping this from you for an entire year, but I wanted you to enjoy the peace you fought so hard for when Cell threatened Earth." King Vegeta commented, looking around the area and remembering who had been sentenced to live in this area, before he let out a sigh and faced the group, "This is where the four Kais, backed by the Grand Kai himself, sentenced the traitor to live and serve his eternal punishment... up until a year ago, when someone wished for him to be revived with the Dragon Balls. Nappa, the evil Saiyan that sold out our entire race and helped bring about the destruction of so many innocent planets, has been released from Hell."
The moment Vegeta heard Nappa's name, the one name he chose to forget to the best of his ability, a flood of memories came rushed back from the depths he had buried them in. Nappa had done more than sell out his entire race and a large number of innocent planets, he was the one responsible for weakening the Saiyan army whenever they tried to prepare for battle with Frieza's forces. If that wasn't enough he was the one that had killed Gorlik, the Saiyan that tended to the Training Yard in the afterlife, and took over his position as his father's general. From that position he ensured the deaths of many of their warriors, long before the day they were supposed to die, and was constantly trying to make sure that Vegeta never developed the skills he needed to one day take on Frieza.
Yet Nappa's most damning deed, besides ensuring the complete destruction of Planet Vegeta and the death of his entire race, save for a select few, as that he had orchestrated the death of his mother all those years ago... which he had only learned about thanks to Zarbon and Dodoria tell him what they had done.
"God... dammit... NAPPA!" Vegeta screamed, though at the same time his immense anger towards the bald Saiyan returned in full force, igniting his aura and pushing him right into his Super Saiyan 2 form, causing the ground around them to quake as the wind was pushed away from where he was standing.
Everyone stood their ground as Vegeta vented his anger out of his body, for the moment anyway, and marveled at the damage that his energy was causing to the area around them. They all knew that Super Saiyan 2 was a powerful state for the Saiyans to use, as they had seen during the last seven years of training they had gone through, but this further cemented that knowledge in their minds. A few seconds passed before Vegeta stopped screaming, though it took some time for him to eventually power down to the original Super Saiyan form and then back to his normal state, where he panted for a few seconds... to which he looked up at his father.
Despite the fact that they were shocked about the news they had just received, which had pissed off their best friend, Rainbow and Applejack weren't as verbal about it, as they were thinking about what King Vegeta had said. Vegeta's father made it sound like he and Mizuna had known that Nappa had escaped from Hell, and happened to be somewhere on Earth, without bothering to tell any of them such an important piece of news... though at the same time they knew that he had his reasons for keeping this from them, to which they sighed and waited for the king to explain himself.
"I expected this reaction, because both your mother and I felt the same way when we discovered what had happened," King Vegeta commented, knowing that his son really hated Nappa, though that was the case with literally every Saiyan that was resting in Asgard at the moment, "What we know is that someone on Earth gathered the Dragon Balls and wished for the Eternal Dragon to bring Nappa back, though we know that none of you or your friends would willingly bring him back to life. He has been on the Earth for the last year, doing nothing but bide his time until something important happens... and we believe that he'll be making his move soon, at the World Martial Arts Tournament."
"Aw, and here I was hoping it would be a fun day to relax and spend time with my family." Goku said, as thanks to Gohan's study habits he didn't get to see his sons and wife as much as Vegeta and Trunks got to see the King and Queen, though he grew serious not a few seconds later, "So, what is so special about this tournament that would make Nappa come out of hiding? I doubt he would enter it for the money, and we would easily recognize him if he wanted to fight against one of us."
"None of us here are exactly sure what his motives are this time around," Mizuna replied, though at the same time she glanced over to King Kai, who nodded to her, before she turned her attention back to the group, "though we have heard that one of your old friends is going to be participating in the tournament on the hunch that something might happen. All we know is that you have to prepare yourselves, and your friends and family, for whatever evil Nappa is bringing to the World Martial Arts Tournament."
"Understood." Vegeta said, though even as he spoke everyone could tell that he was containing his anger, because Nappa had done so much to him that he would never be able to forget any of it, "When I find Nappa, as I'm sure that he'll be gunning for me when the tournament starts, I'll be sure to put him back in the ground and deliver him back to the afterlife for the punishment he believes he has escaped from."
"We expect nothing less of you," King Vegeta said, though at the same time the group knew that there was more that they needed to be told, "However, if you can hold back your urge to bring justice to the Saiyan that betrayed us, it would be beneficial if you figured out what he was planning... and maybe stop him in the process."
"Maybe this time I can use my lance to kill him in one shot," Rainbow commented, to which she turned one hand into a fist, imagining the joy she would feel once they found Nappa and put him back in the ground, "provided his body can last that long against Vegeta's punches."
"Guys, we really shouldn't underestimate Nappa at this point," Applejack said, knowing that both her sister and her best friend wanted Nappa dead, but they had to be smart about approaching the evil Saiyan, "You have to remember that he was able to orchestrate the downfall of the Saiyan race from within their own ranks, without being discovered I might add, and purposely made himself look like an idiot at times to prevent people from catching on. He's shown no remorse or compassion towards anyone he's killed, choosing to fake it in front of everyone that might suspect him of being on the side of evil. He's even brought about the destruction of an unknown number of planets, ensuring that Frieza was the one to destroy them... so just because he is biding his time doesn't mean he isn't planning anything."
"She's right you know." King Kai commented, causing the group to turn back towards him for a moment, to which he looked up at the sky for a few seconds, "Nappa is no doubt planning his revenge against those that defeated him all those years ago, and I have the feeling that whatever he is planning will result in the destruction of Earth if he isn't stopped."
"Which means that the lot of you need to prepare yourselves for the coming battle," King Vegeta said, to which the group nodded their agreement, which caused King Kai to reopen the passage back to the palace and close it once they were all back in Asgard, "We will watch Earth from here and ask the occupants of Hell, those that spoke with Nappa anyway, if he ever spoke about his plans if he were to escape his prison. With luck we should have some information for you before the start of the tournament... though if we don't contact you then know that we will be watching and praying for his defeat."
Rainbow, Applejack, and Vegeta looked at each other for a moment, as they had never expected Nappa to be revived with the Dragon Balls and be brought back to Earth, but it seems that he had a part to play in the coming tournament. All three of them were sure that Nappa's revival meant ill for the planet that they called home, as he had brought about Planet Vegeta's destruction all those years ago. They planned on heading back to Earth and telling their friends the bad news, which would no doubt piss many of them off like it had Vegeta, and hope that they could prepare themselves well enough for what was coming their way.
As they left Asgard, however, both Rainbow and Applejack knew one thing that Vegeta might have missed; Mizuna had mentioned an old friends was coming to help them, but she was looking at them when she said it. Shin was the only old friend they had, excluding Vegeta anyway, which meant that they could finally meet the God of Creation after so many years of being asleep and helping the Z Warriors out. As they used the medallion to go back to Earth they had to wonder if Shin had any news on their father, as their mother had said nothing other than he was sleeping soundly every time she checked up on him.
In the end, however, they knew that they needed to focus on finding Nappa and stopping whatever he had planned... which they would start doing after they told everyone the bad news.