Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Beneath the Surface ❯ Beginning the Hunt ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter 2: Beginning the Hunt

"It seems like there are too many holes in your story Kakarot," Vegeta said a few hours later after everyone had calmed down a bit and spread out. Since the battle with Buu eight years prior to the present,

it was known that Vegeta had admitted his inferiority to Goku's strength. Over the years since then, Vegeta had also become a bit more tolerable and a little easier to be around. His frown softened up (though it was still there) and he just appeared to be slightly less intimidating than before. Bulma noticed the change the most, and speculated that it might have been because Bra was born. Nevertheless though, Vegeta continued to train like there was no tomorrow. He even tried to get Trunks into the rhythm of training relentlessly , and for a while when Trunks was just a small boy, even a little after Buu was defeated, Trunks was with him everyday striving to get stronger and reach new heights in his strength and power level. Vegeta had grown rather proud of his son, though he never expressed it, it always made him happy to see his baby boy growing up to be like his father. But after some time passed, Trunks grew bored with training, and after practically dragging Trunks with him into his training sessions, Vegeta just stopped. He didn't need that ungrateful child to train with him. Trunks had been a disappointment after all. It seemed his whole life had been a big disappointment. Having to be ranked under a low class Saiyajin in strength was almost more than he could bear. Countless times, he was surpassed by Goku, countless times Vegeta had reached a new level, and Goku zipped by as if it were nothing. Countless times, he had failed…why would he expect more from his son? From that point on, Vegeta just kept to himself, ate, drank, slept, and trained. The only reason he seemed more tolerable was because he hardly spoke, well, and maybe his daughter too…

"Well I did shorten the story up a bit," Goku answered. "I was just trying to get the general idea of what our situation was looking like, I'll explain the rest to the others later but I'll tell you now. King Kai has contact with the other Kai's," Goku supplied as he settled himself in the sand near the small tidal waves that were rolling in from the sea. He looked up at Vegeta, who still stood rigid with his arms tightly folded across his chest, expecting him to take a seat too but Vegeta's scowl only grew larger.

"Look Kakarot," Vegeta declared, "just because I've accepted the fact that you are stronger than me does not mean we are friends, understand? I just came down here to get some information, otherwise I would have nothing to do with you, got it?"

Goku sighed and continued on. "The Kai's don't speak often, yes that is true, but when the quadrants cross like that it's the duty of the Kai's to notify each other of these happenings. Yeah I was wondering the same thing when King Kai was telling me this last night. I mean, how can you just cross over from quadrant to quadrant anyway right?"

Vegeta just nodded his head. "Well that is a good question though Kakarot, how did he do that?"

"Well this Lord Iriyoku is extremely intelligent. He is just unlike anyone we have ever matched up with before. He is actually the leader of the planet Jepido, because he created a vast network of technology that surpasses anything the earth could muster up. He would only offer up this network if the people of the whole planet would agree to succumb to his power. It included advanced modes of transportation, communications, medicine and more, I mean this guy is impressive! And he seems to have done it all himself, gave the people of his world a taste of how much their lives would change and improve, and they took him up on his offer.

"But his lust for power would not stop there, he craved it," Goku continued. "So he began his quest to develop advanced space travel technology, so that he could hop from planet to planet, taking over. First he would present his ideas to them, and promise a renovation of their lives if they would indeed turn over their power to him. Some were so astounded by his genius that they willingly gave it up to him, and he did supply them with what he promised, so those civilizations had no complaints. But, there were some, that of course resisted, saying that they weren't interested, and declined his offer. For those unfortunate souls Iriyoku had on hand an arsenal of the most talented soldiers in their universe to take care of them until they agreed to give up their freedom. They were educated in the most successive battle tactics and skilled in weaponry and the likes, of course courtesy of Iriyoku and his research. This guy is meticulous, he researches everything, gets as much information about what he needs as there is to get, and manipulates it to his liking."

"Hmph," Vegeta mumbled. "Reminds me a bit of Frieza, minus the brains."

"He created training camps that specifically taught his forces all the tactics he wanted them to know, which includes our martial arts."

"Wait a minute," Vegeta interrupted. "This doesn't make sense. This sounds like it has taken place over the course of several years, 10-20 give or take a few. If he taught his soldiers our martial arts, how the hell long has he know about us?"

"A very long time Vegeta, probably more than 20 years. It is unknown to King Kai how long he has known, or how long he has been planning to attack. Lord Iriyoku knows all about us too Vegeta, he knows about Planet Vegeta and how Frieza destroyed it, and how I destroyed Frieza, and all the other battles we have been faced with. He even knows about the dragon balls, but it is unclear whether he is coming for them or not. Since he wants to resurrect Brolli, I'm pretty sure he'll need them unless he has some other way. He wants to take out Earth first thing because we have the strongest defense, but really Vegeta, his army is just about tough enough without Brolli and his children."

"Well if they can take us out as we are, why does he need those kids?" Vegeta inquired.

"He doesn't," Goku stated. "Not to take out Earth anyway. Though I think with enough intense training we could give them a pretty good fight, he just might not want to risk losing. But since he has so much knowledge of the galaxy, there may be stronger planets out there that we are not aware of, or he may just be lusting for the power. Those kids have the potential to surpass even me Vegeta, well at least one does for sure. The others may not be able to ascend past the level of SSJ3, but that doesn't mean that they can't actually achieve that level of a SSJ3. If he weren't coming for them, we would need them to help us fight against Iriyoku anyway. But now it is crucial that we find them immediately, Iriyoku is set on retrieving them and will not stop until we eliminate him. We can't just merely defeat his army. If we do manage to stop him from getting those kids and defeating Earth in the first blow, he will move to another planet and defeat it, then come back to ours and try again, with a new tactic, thus a never ending war with this guy until one of us ultimately wins."

"I still don't understand how he found out about us," Vegeta declared. "Can the quadrants cross over like that, where he can just pick a space in some other quadrant, which has to be millions of light-years apart, and just have a look?"

"I asked the same thing," Goku said. "King Kai says he was told by I believe it was the South Kai that Lord Iriyoku just had the smarts. He studied the depth of the black holes located in his galaxy, and developed space probes that could survive the gravitational pull of the black holes without falling apart, and just studied the information that was sent back. Going through black holes I suppose shortens the distance between quadrants quite a bit, but you can't just jump into one or you'll more than likely be crushed to death or lost if you do survive. Of course Iriyoku knew this. Then he had to time the black holes because they didn't last forever and he needed to know which holes to go in and which to come out. Like I said, he did his homework very well."

"You sound so intelligent repeating this information Kakarot, do you have any idea what you're talking about though?"

"Not a clue, ha," Goku replied, smiling for the first time in weeks it seemed.

"Idiot," Vegeta thought to himself. "What about if we fuse? Do you still have the earrings?"

"No, I left them with the Supreme Kai. If you really want to fuse I still remember the dance for the

fu-"

"No way Kakarot," Vegeta cut in. "You won't catch me doing that idiotic fusion technique even if it is to save the world. Only if you get the earrings back or something, otherwise forget I even mentioned it."

Goku sighed again, and looked out over the ocean. It had turned out to be such a nice day, despite all the troubling times they were about to faced with. "Hope we can salvage this," Goku thought sadly. "It's getting to that point…"

"Well," Vegeta said after a pause, "since the guy goes around offering his plan to the planets before he decides to destroy them, how come we get left out? Why is he attacking us straight up?"

"Well he knows all about our history," Goku answered. "He already knows we will resist."

*****

Goten and Trunks had wondered off by an area with a few trees clumped together behind Master Roshi's house to get some fresh air and think about all the information Goku and Piccolo had supplied them.

"This is just too weird," Trunks exclaimed as he plopped down in a soft patch of grass located in a small clearing. Goten settled himself opposite of Trunks and started pulling at small flowers and blades of grass.

"Yeah, we kicked Brolly's toxic ass not too long ago," Goten replied. "And now we gotta deal with it again times three."

"Well if we find them before that Iriyoku bastard does, at least we'll have a little edge on getting them to side with us," Trunks said. "Your dad actually looked a little worried. This Iriyoku guy must be pretty tough."

"He must be something, 'cause my dad has been actin' so weird lately that it was driving me nuts. Its like his worrying is a contagious disease, 'cause I was worried for along time without actually knowing why."

"Well," Trunks countered, "my dad and I were both on edge for the past week or so. I think we all felt it just didn't know what the hell was goin' on."

The two boys sat in silence for a few minutes, musing to themselves. "Why would Brolli want to have kids anyway?" Trunks muttered under his breath. Brolli always seemed too absorbed in his need to pulverize Goku to want to have attachments.

Goten looked up and a silly grin was plastered on his face. "He didn't want kids dumb ass," Goten told Trunks, "he just wanted to get some, hehehe." Trunks replied with his middle finger, then the two went back to pondering to themselves until Goten broke the silence.

"How do you think we'll find 'em Trunks?" he asked sincerely. "I mean since Piccolo said they may not generate any ki, and we don't know their names or where they live, how are we supposed to be able to sense them? The ki is the only thing we have to work with."

"Yeah I know," Trunks said gravely. "How the hell are we supposed to find them when we don't even know their names? Are they little kids or grown? I mean really. Well, this Iriyoku guy may not know exactly where they are either," Trunks said, thinking aloud. "So really it's a race to see who can detect them first, right?" Goten just shrugged. Trunks thought some more for a while then spoke aloud.

"Ok this just doesn't make any sense. The guy knows all about Brolli's kids, yet doesn't know where they are? I mean if the guy is smart enough to find a way to discover our history, all our battles, even duplicate Babidi's ability to mind control, I'm sure he knows exactly where they are. Hell he probably knows our names too, and where we live, he has to know where Brolli's kids are," Trunks exclaimed. "I don't see how Goku or this King Kai dude haven't seen this, or maybe King Kai didn't tell Goku, but Iriyoku has to know."

Goten and Trunks sat in silence again for sometime, then got up and started heading back to Master Roshi's house, taking a path near the beach. They stopped when they spotted Goku and Vegeta talking and eavesdropped in on their conversation which included more detailed information about how Iriyoku discovered the earth. Trunks was paying very close attention to what was being said and pondered on it for quite some time, while Goten's expression gathered a more confused look. "What the hell is my dad talking about?" he thought to himself. "I didn't even know he knew those words."

Trunks expression too, displayed confusion, but for different reasons than Goten's "Somethin' doesn't add up. C'mon Goten, this guy has done a lot of researching us, time for us to dig a little ourselves. If we're gonna do this we might as well start now."

Goten looked at Trunks with his already confused expression.

"But where?"

*****

Gohan and Videl were seated in some lawn chairs located on the patio of Master Roshi's house. Pan was playing near the area where Goku and Vegeta were having a deep discussion.

"I wanna come with you," Videl said, breaking into Gohan's concentration. Gohan had been listening in on Goku and Vegeta's conversation, of course Videl wouldn't have known, since they were much too far away for her to hear, or fathom that Gohan could hear.

"That's not a good idea Videl," Gohan said. "You haven't fought in a few years, not since Pan was born. I don't want to risk anything with you."

"Well I know that fighting isn't a good idea," Videl agreed, "but I don't want to just sit back during a time like this. I wanna help in at least finding the kids, that's harmless right?"

Gohan thought for a few minutes before he answered. "We might cross paths with these guys in the process of trying to find them," he replied after the wait. "We don't know how close they are or far away. And the way Dad is making it sound, this army won't be a piece of cake. He doesn't use the word 'elite' unless they are truly that powerful."

"Well," Videl said after she spent her moment of silence, "if they do show up in the middle of our search I will head home right away ok?" Gohan thought for a while again, and Videl rested her hand over his. "Please Gohan," she pleaded, "I promise I will leave if it gets dangerous. Pan can stay with Chichi, or even Bulma and play with Bra, she'll be fine if that's what you're worried about."

"Actually that is sorta what I'm worried about," Gohan answered. "It is possible that these characters know who we actually are, since according to Dad they know about all of our battles (and he had overheard Goku tell Vegeta this). Who's to say that they don't know where we live? Who's to say they won't specifically target us, meaning my dad, Vegeta, us Saiyajins. That is all they would have to do Videl. Then the Earth would be defenseless. And if both of us are gone when they do finally make it here, they will more than likely make tracks toward our homes, and destroy everyone in there."

"Well Gohan," Videl said with a sigh, "you think me staying will make a difference on whether everyone gets killed if they attack our homes while you guys are out? I would just die too, I'd die fighting yes, but I wouldn't stand a chance alone. Well your mother might have a little fight left in her but still, we couldn't do much. Lets have them all go to Kami's. They would be safe there eh? And if I am out with you guys and they attack us I can make way for Kami's as well. Ok?" Gohan gave Videl a sideways glance. He really didn't want her to go, but then, he couldn't blame her for wanting to. She had been so active before they had Pan, and now she spent a lot of her time at home, she probably missed being so involved. "It's not as if she's asking to fight," he thought to himself, "she just wants to help search for the kids."

"Hmm," Gohan murmured out loud. "They all will definitely have to be moved to Kami's while we are away, whether you join us or not on the search. And I know how much you miss the action." Videl smiled brightly at Gohan. "Wow she's happy," Gohan thought.

"Great!" Videl exclaimed, jumping about 10 feet out of her lawn chair. "When do we start?"

Gohan paused a moment, and the replied, "When we figure out where to start."

*****

Krillin had left Android 18 and his daughter in the kitchen of Master Roshi's home to find Goku and see what he was up to. Tien and Yamcha decided to do the same. They all met up with Goku and Vegeta located at the beach, still in deep discussion.

"So…" Krillin said as he reached the two during a pause in their dialogue, "have you two figured out how exactly we are going to start looking for these kids yet?"

"Not yet," Goku answered. "Vegeta and I were just discussing some things he didn't understand about where the lord comes from and how he found us. As I told him, Iriyoku knows all about us, the

Z-fighters that is. He is coming to specifically attack us, since we are the earth's best defense."

"Why is it that this situation seems to get worse and worse as we talk more about it?" Krillin asked impatiently. "He's coming after us! Do you know how long its been since we've fought Goku? That was back with Buu, over eight years ago. I'm rusty as hell. Why can't we just have peace for crying out loud!"

"We need to split up," Goku said. "We need to really comb every corner of this planet, trying to sense abnormal levels of ki and it has to be in two girls and one boy. I do know that they are around Goten's and Trunk's ages. No older than 20, no younger than 12 is what King Kai said. Sorry if I keep bringing this stuff up in pieces, King Kai gave me a lot of information last night, kinda hard to remember all of it at once."

"Well that narrows it down a bit," Yamcha supplied, "but still, this is going to be hard. We need to divide up in our groups and start searching tomorrow. We have no time to waste. This is going to take several days, weeks, maybe even months."

"Not to mention," Tien added, "since these kids don't train, the other humans that do practice martial arts will generate higher ki than they do, and that will only confuse us. We need to find a better way to narrow it down."

"Well," Goku said after a bit, "their auras are gonna resemble Brolli's. If you can remember what Brolli's energy pattern felt like, then you can start searching for patterns that resemble that. You know, like how you always know I'm Goku even if you're not looking at me and I'm approaching you, because you know how I feel."

"Hmm," Tien murmured. "That was a long time ago Goku, though that was a fight to remember. I bet I'd recognize it if I felt it, though I can't exactly remember it right now huh?"

"You should be able to," Goku said. " Hopefully…its just that their patterns will be much weaker than his, so it is going to be difficult to detect, but right now, that's all we have to go with. So today we need to get our plans and groups in order, and get rested up, for we are now on a race against time. King Kai should be able to tell me if this guy starts getting close, I don't think he is very near right now, just on his way."

"Hey Vegeta," Yamcha said, trying to be friendly, "Roshi has that movie on if you want to go check it out….."

"I WAS KIDDING FOOL!" Vegeta retorted, "do you honestly think I would want to fry my brain watching that garbage!" With that Vegeta made an about-face turn and walked off along the beach to be alone.

"I didn't think Vegeta even knew what a joke was," Yamcha finally said after everyone gathered themselves from that abrupt burst of anger from Vegeta. "If I would have know it was a joke I wouldn't have said anything, jeez." Yamcha hung his head and headed back in the direction of Kame's House. Tien put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him for a brief moment.

"Vegeta is just hard to deal with," Tien told Yamcha, trying to cheer him up a bit. "I know you were just trying to be nice. I honestly thought that he liked the flick too, though I haven't seen it yet."

"It's really dumb, but how was I supposed to know," Yamcha said with a shrug, then sighed. "Oh well I tried." Krillin , Yamcha, and Tien all started making their way towards the house, the aroma of dinner in the making began to fill the air.

"Coming Goku?" Krillin asked, somewhat disturbed that the smell hadn't made Goku so much as flinch. He just continued to sit and stare out into the unknown.

"Yeah…yeah," Goku replied absentmindedly. He clearly had other things on his mind.

Later that evening, they all had a nice dinner, but it was mainly spent discussing in detail the information Goku shared with Vegeta earlier, so that everyone else would have a better idea of what was going on. Next Piccolo and Goku began grouping the search parties together. During the dinner though, no one had noticed that Goten and Trunks were missing. Piccolo, Gohan, and Videl were in one group. Goku, Vegeta, and Krillin were placed in another. Tien and Yamcha were paired up together.

"Wait a minute!" Vegeta exclaimed. "I'm not pairing up with anyone, I don't need a partner, especially Kakarot!" Goku just rolled his eyes and shook his head. He had no words for Vegeta. "I just can't understand why he can't let he past be and move on," Goku mused. "this is getting ridiculous."

"Vegeta would you just cooperate for once?" Piccolo said, the irritation creeping into his facial expression. "We are safer if we are in groups, just in case." He glanced over in Goku's direction and noticed that Goku actually looked hurt. "What's with him?" Piccolo thought.

"Well I most certainly do not need Kakarot to hold my hand. If we have to have groups then my partner will be….." Vegeta paused and looked around the living room area that everyone had gathered in.

"Where is Trunks?" Vegeta asked when they noticed they were short handed.

"Yeah, and Goten," Chichi added. "Those boys are always everywhere but where they are needed."

"Well that just pisses me off!" Vegeta barked. "Those two brats are slowing us down!"

"Now calm down Vegeta," Goku said. "We'll just pair those two up when they return, wherever they are." Goku was genuinely upset with the two boys as well for not being there but he knew that they would turn up eventually. "That will make four groups, two groups of three and two groups of two. Do you guys think we need five groups? If so then Piccolo and Krillin can pair up."

"And that leaves me and you Kakarot," Vegeta hissed. "No way, you go with your kid, I'll go with mine."

"Thank you thank you thank you…." Krillin said to himself over and over, grateful that he was not paired up with Vegeta alone.

"Fine then," Goku replied solemnly.

"It might be better that way, we will cover more ground," Piccolo replied to Goku's suggestion of five groups. "The only pitfall is the chance of running into a little trouble. If we are doubled up it might not work in our favor, depending on our opponents."

"That's true," Goku said, rubbing his chin. "I think that is a chance we will have to take," he said after a while. "We have a good chance of finding them quicker if we are more spread out. Like I said earlier, King Kai hasn't told me that any of them are here yet, and I'm sure he will if they start getting close."

"And if he doesn't?" Vegeta asked.

"Then we have to hope we get lucky." Goku said. "There isn't much we can do otherwise."

"Hmph," Vegeta muttered.

"So me and Piccolo are a group now?" Krillin asked.

"Yes," Piccolo answered.

"Well if I talk to 18, she might want to come," Krillin volunteered. "Then we could have three groups of three and a group of two, Vegeta and Trunks. That way our odds against anyone trying to stand in our way go up a little."

"Ask her," Piccolo said. "If she agrees, then we go back to four groups, we'll cover less ground, but then we'll be safer and that is important too."

Krillin found Android 18 in one of Master Roshi's guest rooms taking a nap. "18," he said, gently shaking her awake. "Hey hon, wake up I need to ask you something."

"What," she snapped, still groggy from her interrupted nap. "What is it?" Krillin taken aback from her irritable mood almost forgot what he was asking as it was silent for a brief moment.

"Oh yeah," he finally said, "The gang and I were wondering if you would like to help us try and locate Brolly's kids. We could really use your help."

"What about Marron?" she asked.

"Well," Krillin said. He hadn't really thought of that. "We can't take her with us huh."

"No way," Android 18 replied.

"She can stay with Bulma!" Krillin decided. "They should get along just fine for a while. Plus Vegeta won't be around to get on her nerves." Android 18 chuckled at that remark.

"Well I don't really see why you all need me, I don't think I would be much help. I heard how you guys are trying to detect Brolli's energy patterns, well I don't remember what his vibes feel like, I wasn't paying that much attention when he attacked us."

"Sure you would hon," Krillin said. "We need your strength, in case we run into a little trouble along the way."

"Oh I see," she murmured. "Well in that case I'll take that as a compliment. You sure Bulma wouldn't mind watching over Marron while we are away?"

"I'm positive. She may need the company," Krillin replied. "Well Chichi would be able to visit some too, but then she might get on Marron's nerves, ha ha. Naw they should all be fine, really."

"Ok then," Android 18 said as she yawned. "Go tell them I'm in, but I'm getting back to my nap now." She rested her head back on her pillow and commensed going back to sleep. Krillin left and notified the others of 18's decision, and asked Bulma's permission that their daughter stay with her for the duration of the hunt. Of course Bulma was more than happy to oblige.

"So the groups now are myself, Videl, and Gohan," Piccolo listed off, "Goku, Goten, and Yamcha, then Krillin, 18 and Tien, with Vegeta and Trunks doubled up." Everyone nodded and seemed to agree, except Vegeta, who just stood stiff as a statue, arms crossed, stare cold as ice.

"I think," Gohan stated, as Piccolo finished up, "that we should send our families to stay at Kami's Lookout until we get back. I think that is safe incase those guys show up while we are in the middle of our search. As we discussed during dinner, they are coming for us, and the most likely places they will look first is our homes."

"Gohan is right," Vegeta agreed, for once. "That's a good idea. They won't think to look there, not for a while anyway," he added. "And if they do start heading for you guys, you can hide in the hyperbolic time chamber or something."

"Only for two days though Vegeta," Bulma said. "That may not be long enough." Worry lines began to etch there way along the lines of Bulma's face.

"Let's just hope we find the kids before they even arrive," Goku said. "Let's think positive here guys."

"We have to be realistic Goku," Bulma exclaimed. "It could happen so we have to be prepared. We know virtually nothing about them except the fact that they are heading for us. Since they know about our history, they will know about Kami's place."

"It's not that easy to find though," Goku said. "Plus they won't look there first. Just don't worry, we'll take care of you guys." Bulma gave Goku and unconvincing smile, but let the subject drop.

"We're gonna have to start gathering dragon balls now," Yamcha said. "We are definitely going to need them."

"Well we can do that during our search," Piccolo answered. "Kill two birds with one stone, 'cause you're right Yamcha, we are going to need them."

"Well what I want to know is, where the hell is my son," Vegeta said after a brief moment of silence. "He and Kakarot Jr. should have been back by now."

"Yes they should have," Chichi agreed, toting a sleepy Pan on her hip. "Where are those two?"