Gosan

Sucks about your computer Xyex, hope a new one comes your way soon. But good for us readers though that you've done a good few chapters ahead of what you've posted already, selfishly speaking XD. I’ll defiantly be keeping track of this fiction again now it's back, always been one of my favourites.

I had to read back a bit to get familiar with the original characters (mainly their names, I went blank after reading some of them when I first read XD. Shows how long it's been since the last time I read Altered History, but I'm glad it's back and yet I've still haven't figured out the mystery man =/.

The saga itself is freaking awesome, and the Otherworld Tournament hasn’t even started yet! There's at least one twist in every chapter with the transformations, appearances, power comparisons etc. Lots of new stuff to keep track of, looking forward to see how much Hotaru and Vegeta have grown.

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ultra_blade

Wow, thats all i can say. I've just finished reading your other saga's and they were amazing but this saga is really good. Cant wait to see Hotaru get owned by Vegeta for some reason i think he's a super saiyanin 2 now

Blazing Hyuuga

Awesome transformations. Awesome Kids. Awesome Chapter. Awesome Fic.

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Xyex

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the start of my favorite fight this entire saga so far (and I'm currently up to Chapter 30).

Chapter Fourteen - Battle Royal

Hotaru came to a stop and turned to face Vegeta. A span of about twenty yards separated the two of them as they readied for the fight. The Tanarian took a slightly sidewise stance, slid her right foot back, held her left arm out toward Vegeta, and put her right arm back and to her side right level with her head.

Across the way Vegeta mirrored her efforts taking his own fighting stance. He turned to his side as she had, slid back his own right foot, and held out his left arm toward her. His knees bent and he bent at his waist slightly as he leaned forward. His right arm moved back and he held it straight out behind him. Those watching could see the similarities in their styles through their stances.

The match was called to start but neither fighter moved. Both stood, sizing up the other and gauging how this battle would go. They looked to see if the other was out just for the win or up for the battle. As their eyes met they both smirked, reading in the other's eyes the same thoughts going through their own head. There was a crack and a flash of purple as Vegeta launched and another of orange came as Hotaru transformed and surged in as well.

The Sai-jin's eyes widened and he just barely slipped around Hotaru's punch. As he did he brought his knee up and smashed it into her stomach. It didn't have as much effect as he'd hoped and she slammed her elbow into the side of his head knocking him into the ground. He rebounded out of the way as she loosed an energy blast obliterating the spot where he'd landed.

He landed with a soft tap, only his right foot touching the ground, and then shoved off again. Hotaru pulled back and to the right dodging his punch and then went the other way around a second fist. Her eyes widened and she went to move back as she realized, but it was too late, his knee shot up and cracked into her jaw snapping her head back. The blow launched her into the air ten feet before she started to come back down.

Vegeta was ready and his fist snapped out as she passed, the punch slamming into her chest with a crack and knocking her back and down. She slid nearly twenty yards before coming to a stop. She grimaced as she rolled over and climbed back to her feet. She hadn't expected those blows to hurt so much. As things stood she was stronger than Vegeta. Enough to tip the scales in her favor. But, despite all of her skill, he was more skilled.

Turning she looked toward him again and saw him smiling and back in his fighting stance. Reaching up with one arm she brushed a trickle of blood off her chin and then resumed her own stance. She could hear the roar of the crowd all around her. Chants of her name and of Vegeta's mixed in with hoots and hollers, calls and cries, thumping feet and clapping hands. The battle hadn't even truly started yet and the audience was loving every minute of it.

But then, why wouldn't they? It was a clash not of just two fighters but of two royals. Two races. Two warrior races that both claimed the title of greatest warrior race. For the Sai-jins and Tanarians in the crowd, and there were plenty of both, this was a chance for them to show the rest of the galaxy just what their people were capable of, just what kind of fighters they all were.

Hotaru let out a long sigh and then, once it was gone, shot in toward the Sai-jin royal. She swerved around a punch and came up behind him. Spinning around she snapped out a kick and slammed a foot into his back knocking him forward. In a burst of orange she shot after him. As she reached him he turned around and just managed to block her punch. She threw another and he barely slipped it and countered with his own.

Hotaru deflected the incoming fist and then fired off kick which was blocked. Dodged a punch, threw a blocked punch of her own, dodged a kick, dodged an elbow, blocked a knee, and then slammed an open palm into Vegeta's chest knocking him into the barrier around the stadium. As he bounced off of it she shot in, dove down, and then came up with a rising kick into his jaw knocking him higher.

Shooting up after him she grabbed his foot, moved back away from the barrier, and then started spinning. After building up decent speed she let go of him tossing him up into the air. As he flew up she pulled her fists back to her sides and the air around them shimmered slightly, like heat waves drifting up in the distance and distorting the horizon. Then she watched as Vegeta slowed and started to get control again.

The Sai-jin was just about to come to a stop when Hotaru thrust one arm up and out like a punch and called out. "Inryoku Chikara Rendan!" Suddenly Vegeta's eyes snapped open and he doubled over like someone had punched him in the stomach. Hotaru punched with the other fist and Vegeta's head snapped to the side like he'd been hit with a left hook. Quickly her arms became a blur of motion as she fired off punch after punch and Vegeta jerked about in the sky from the blows, despite the sixty yards that separated the two fighters.

After the hundredth attack she finally stopped and lowered her arms again, panting slightly. It hadn't worn her out that much, but using the attack so long was a bit tiring. She watched as Vegeta fell from the sky and spent the time catching her breath. He finally hit the ground fifteen seconds later with a dull thud and the count started. As it reached five she started to smirk but by seven he was moving and the count stopped at eight as he started to stand.

"You had me worried there." Hotaru called. "I thought you might not get back up."

The Sai-jin King turned to face her again, a scowl on his face. His eyes told her differently, though. He was enjoying this immensely. And she had to admit, so was she. The strongest person she had to train with was Yamcha and, while he was powerful, she couldn't even transform without outclassing him. Letting out a long breath she took her fighting stance again.

"It feels good, getting back to my people's roots." she said. "I think it's time to find out which warrior race is the better fighter." To this Vegeta replied with a smirk and the two shot in at each other once more. As they flew gold light exploded around the Sai-jin and the Tanarian's orange aura flared up brighter as she transformed to the second level. Almost instantly the orange vanished as silver burst out around her in tune with her voice. "Sanjuu Kinryoku!"

Orange lightning like energy crackled around the silver Kinryoku aura as the two warriors met, their fists crashing into each other in a thunderous explosion that shook the stadium and sent dust blowing out from the ground forty yards below. The two of them floated there, grinning at each other. And then her solid pink eyes flashed and the Sai-jin was flung backwards.

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Galactic Games Arena, V.I.P. Box

The V.I.P. Box was now rather crowded as many of those who had competed in this round were currently there. "This should be a good match." Bulma said as Hotaru and Vegeta turned to face each other. "I doubt Vegeta will just go straight for the win. He and Hotaru have traded small taunts more than once at Sennari meetings."

"Makes sense." Videl said. "Both are royalty, leaders of their people, and both claim their race is the greatest warrior race to ever live."

"Yeah, and both have egos the size of the galaxy when it comes their race." Yamcha laughed. "But I'll bet anyone here a thousand Zennie that Hotaru wins."

"I'll take that bet." Raditz said, glancing over to the Human. "She's good, but there's no way she's stronger than King Vegeta."

"Dad knows something." Sakura said, leaning in toward the other kids. "He knows something and he's not telling."

"What do you mean?" Cheri asked.

"Well, it was shortly after the plague hit." Sakura said, thinking back. "Mom was still sad because grandma died and she was training all the time. And then, one day... I don't know. It was weird. The whole palace shook and the gravity room mom had been using was destroyed. They just said she'd over done it but, I don't think that was it."

"I remember!" Akemi cried, eyes wide. "Barely, but I remember. It was scary. She was sleeping for two whole weeks after that, and I couldn't touch her without getting a shock."

Sakura nodded. "Yeah. Something definitely happened that they didn't want to tell us about."

"You think it's why your dad is so sure your mom will win?" asked Goten.

"It doesn't matter what happened." Trunks said. "No one can beat my dad."

Sakura frowned and looked back at him. "Don't be so sure about that. Tanarian's are a warrior race too. My future self was stronger than your dad. Stronger than your future counterpart too, at the Cell Games, don't forget."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever. That was then." Trunks said waving it off.

"I don't know, Trunks..." Goten said, watching the fight. Hotaru had just started her Inryoku Chikara Rendan. "Her mom's doing pretty good out there."

"Dad's not even transformed yet..." the boy started but his protest was cut short as Vegeta fell to the ground and the count started.

Krillin whistled. "Man, she's really laying into him out there."

"Has to." Vadora said. "Once he transforms it's all over, she needs to try and beat him now."

"I don't think she is." Piccolo started. By now Vegeta was back on his feet. "She's being serious but she's not going straight for the win. If she was she'd have gone straight to her full power...." Just as he finished both of the warriors transformed and resumed the battle.

Nova stared at the power readings for the two of them in complete shock. The Tanarian's power had climbed up to 168 million while the Sai-jin's power had leapt to 178 million. "A-amazing. Their power..."

"Vegeta's holding back." Piccolo said, narrowing his eyes a little. "He was stronger at the Cell Games, there's no way he'd have left his Super Sai-jin power decline over the last seven years."

"Probably thinks he can win." Yamcha said with a shrug. "Even holding back. What he doesn't know is that Hotaru's still warming up."

/Warming up? Holding back?/ Nova wondered, looking over the others in the room with her. /Surely they can't be that much stronger than this?/

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Otherworld, Grand Kai's Planet

"That's... wow." the South Kai said slowly.

"Oh, this is nothing." King Kai said. "Vegeta's not at full power yet, he can't be."

"What do you mean?" The West Kai demanded. "How come he can't be at full power yet?"

"Because." King Kai explained. "He's been training for the last seven years and he was stronger than this seven years ago. I expect Hotaru's holding back as well, as much as she's trained since the end of the Cell Games."

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Galactic Games Arena, Battle Pit

Hotaru shot after her opponent quickly. "I see being King hasn't given you much time to train." she said as he deflected her kick. "You were stronger at the Cell Games."

"I'm holding back." Vegeta smirked as he threw a punch at her head but she slipped around it, grabbed his arm, and flung him down toward the ground. She sent a barrage of silver energy blasts surging down after him. They impacted the ground and exploded showering dust and debris into the air. The dust cloud was blasted apart a second later as a stream of golden energy surged up into the sky.

Hotaru let out a cry and slammed a fist into it with a crack. The energy stream bent and diverted away from her speeding harmlessly off into space. The Sai-jin surged up at her in a flash of gold and she placed her fingers to her temples. "Kuro Omoi Seichuu!" she cried, eyes flashing. Suddenly Vegeta froze mid flight and Hotaru smirked. "Super Sai-jin is super susceptible to that." she said, charging down at him and landing a hard right hook across his jaw.

The blow knocked him down into the ground hard smashing out a large crater. Hotaru looked up from the impact point and around at the sky about her judging the room she had. She was a good mile from the barrier now, definitely enough room. In a blast of silver she surged up higher into the sky until she was a good six hundred feet up. Stopping she looked down again, the dust only now settling, and pointed her palms down toward where Vegeta had hit.

Her aura flared up around her and then vanished, the sky around her growing brighter than normal. Suddenly she flashed bright white and then the sky went dark for a second. The darkness shrank away as light spread out from Hotaru's hands and the Tanarian grinned. "Taiyou Inmetsu Hirameki!" she cried.

Suddenly the air between her and the ground, for nearly two hundred yards around her body, flashed blindingly bright. And then the ground in that area exploded, dust and rocks flying up into the sky, passed even where Hotaru floated. "Got him." she said, still grinning.

There was silence for nearly a minute as the crowd watched on to see if the match was over. And then a loud crack and flash of silver came from inside the dust cloud. Another came a moment later from another point. Then a third one of gold, a fourth of silver, and a fifth and sixth of gold. The sixth crack and flash was accompanied by a burst of force that blew the dust away and revealed the two warriors exchanging blows close range once more.

"It's been a while," Hotaru began, smiling. "Since I've been able to get this serious."

Vegeta smirked. "Too bad it's not enough to beat me."

"I didn't say I was completely serious." she replied, smirking back.

Vegeta raised an eyebrow but stayed focused on the fighting. As he slipped around another punch he saw an opening in her defenses and took advantage of it smashing his fist into her stomach. She doubled over his arm, eyes and mouth wide in pain. The Sai-jin then drifted back a little before slamming his fist into her face. The blow sent her flying away at high velocity until her decent slammed her head first into the ground.

The ground around her impact point exploded in a flash of silver and she floated back up onto her feet. As she landed she spat blood down into the grass and then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. She stared at the blood on her hand for a moment before looking up at Vegeta and then shifting her stance, cupping her hands at her side.

"Kaaaaaaaaaaaaa..." Her silver aura flared up around her swirling madly like a tornado. "Meeeeeeeeeeeee..." Blue energy flared to life between her palms. "Ryoooooooooooo..." The blue energy flashed and shifted to silver as it grew larger. "Kuuuuuuuuuu... Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" She thrust her arms up into the sky, the ground under her feet shattered and exploded as the silver stream of energy tore free and surged at Vegeta.

The Sai-jin had been expecting a strong attack but not one this powerful. He thrust his arms down quickly and fired off a stream of golden energy to counter. However, it was soon evident he didn't have the power needed to hold off the attack, let alone deflect it. With a cry his golden aura flared up brighter and his power began to climb. As his strength increased the effects of his counter grew until the two beams stale-mated. And then he began to push her attack back at her.

Suddenly the Kameryokuha ended and Vegeta's attack surged down at the ground. It impacted where Hotaru had been standing a moment later and exploded showering dirt and rock into the sky. The Sai-jin tensed a bit. He wasn't sure how well Hotaru could have taken a hit like that and he was worried she could be dead. Suddenly the dust cloud was blasted apart by a rush of energy and a flash of orange. Hotaru's cries echoed through the stadium as her aura swelled and pulsed rapidly.

Her eyes started to glow as the ground began to shake. Her screams grew louder as a flash of blue lightning sparked around her aura. And then the aura flared out into a dome shape, orange and blue lightning sparking across its surface. Hotaru's cries faded away into the roar of her energy and then the dome shrank down and down and down until it vanished. And with it so had Hotaru.

"What the!?" Vegeta cried. Before he could start to look for her, though, a blinding flash of orange came from where she'd been standing. A ball of energy appeared and grew, slowly taking shape and creating the form of a person. Once the full body was formed the energy flashed and Hotaru stood there once more, orange aura licking across her body, orange and blue lightning dancing about it.

The added blue lightning wasn't the only difference. Her physical appearance had changed some as well. The previously orange tiger like stripes had changed color to red and had grown more numerous. They were on her face, her arms, her legs, and hidden under clothes across her entire body. Her sky blue hair had darkened several shades and was now a deep blue streaked with silver. And her previously solid pink eyes now had whites to them again, amid which floated pink irises.

Hotaru looked up at Vegeta and smiled as she took a deep breath. "Sorry to keep you waiting. I've only done that five times before." she said. "Still haven't completely gotten the hang of it." She raised a hand and clenched it into a fist, her smile growing as she looked at it. "Pretty impressive though, don't you think? I'm only one step away now. One more transformation and I'll be back to my origins, I'll be back to my true form."

She lowered her arm again and looked back up at Vegeta. "This is proof, Vegeta. We Tanarians were and are the greatest warrior race. My true power is double what I'm at now. That's without transformations, without power boosting skills, without any aid at all. My true form is stronger than you are as a Super Sai-jin."

Vegeta was silent for a moment as a breeze blew through the arena. He was contemplating what she'd said and what he felt. She was just about half of his power. He couldn't tell how close exactly, but close enough that he knew her words could hold some truth to them. Still, her natural form may be exceedingly powerful compared to other races but the Sai-jin ability to transform into Super Sai-jins compensated more than enough for that.

"Perhaps." Vegeta said. "But you can not ignore transformations in such a debate either. Super Sai-jin, and even more so the second level of it, compensates for any deficiencies and counters them."

"If you wish to include transformations..." Hotaru began. "Then you must also include power boosting techniques, in which I would then be your superior by an even greater amount. Even were you at the second level." Her smile widened more. "Though luckily for you the Kinryoku doesn't function at high levels in this form, perhaps due to the magic binding it. But... that doesn't mean it doesn't work at all. Nibai Kinryoku!"

Her orange aura vanished in a rush of silver as her muscles expanded slightly. Orange and blue lightning continued to crackle around her as she stood there, silver aura pulsing. In the sky Vegeta frowned slightly. She was, just barely, stronger than him. No matter, it simply made things more interesting. "Well then, round two I suppose?" he asked.

"Ready whenever you are." she replied.

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AH Saga 6:

Read Altered History: Saga I Saga II Saga III Saga IV Saga V

ultra_blade

AW damn, I was expecting Vegeta to go Super Saiyan 2, o well. That was one of the best chapters ever, the more I read the more it reminded me of the older chapters, it just felt as if I was in the crowed watching it great description. Can't wait for the next chapter and plz don't make us wait too long.

Xyex

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AH Saga 6:

Read Altered History: Saga I Saga II Saga III Saga IV Saga V

Blazing Hyuuga

Noo Vegeta is losing. But dang Hotaru is just killing it she may be weaker but she is certinally smarter then him.

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Gosan

Lol, I got reminded of a Genjutsu (Naruto) moment in the last chapter XD.

Anyways, the action in both chapters are awesome, especially the new moves.

Sucks to see Vegeta getting owned but then again, Hotaru is pure win.

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ultra_blade

Yeah me too, I still say Vegeta will win his just pure ownage compared to her!!! Great chapter I liked it very much! I can't wait to see who wins, i also can't wait to know what Videl means by Gohan can't win or something like that, did she like find out a weakness to him or something??

Xyex

Only a small part of this one is the fight, I had other matters I needed to cover before the end of their match~

Chapter Sixteen - The Past, Present, and Future

"Oh, wow, look at them go!" Goku cried as he watched the match. "Hotaru's amazing! She's improved so much since the Cell games."

Bardock nodded. "I have to admit, I'm impressed. She's made almost as much improvement as us, without the benefit of being dead."

"It's because of the Cell games." Sora said as she watched her daughter. Hotaru had just teleported and caught Vegeta by surprise from behind.

"What do you mean?" Appla asked.

The Tanarian pursed her lips for a moment before answering. "Hotaru had always had a drive for improving. Pride in her heritage that demanded she make our ancestors proud of her. That surfaced, prior to her awakening, as a resourcefulness in creating new techniques. She developed several Shika-Shidou techniques I saw her use during spars against Sango that she never used again, apparently not finding them useful enough for her tastes.

"She even worked at creating variations of existing moves, such as the Shika-Shidou Bakufuu which was eventually transformed into her Inryoku Chikara. The Shika-Shidou moves Kyoujaku and Iryoku were the basis for her development of the Kinryoku. Another Shika-Shidou technique lead her to the creation of the Kuro Omoi Seichuu.

"Then, as her Awakening drew closer, she began to focus on physical training more and more. She spent days working out, only resting when her body refused to continue, preparing for when she'd be able to start making real gains in power. Once her Awakening came she pushed even harder, determined to catch up to Sango, Akira, and myself."

"Sango's not that much older than her, though." Appla said, interrupting.

"True, only three years difference." Sora replied. "But her Awakening brought about tremendous power in comparison to most. My power climbed to around 4,000 on my Awakening. Hotaru's to only around 750. Sango's, on the other hand, climbed to over 3,000. And I'm not talking about after training during the months when it's easiest. I mean at the exact moment of Awakening. It's not unheard of. Even before the binding of our powers there were those born with powers beyond the normal.

"Anyway, when she came back to Tanaria after the events on Namek she seemed to have found what she'd been looking for. She knew there were others out there, greater than her, but she had surpassed all of us and in less than two years time. I think... she saw that her goal, her dream, wasn't impossible after all. Especially after she transformed against Recoome.

"But then... the Androids. And right from the start she felt like she was being left behind. Like everyone else was making progress, becoming stronger, but she wasn't. She saw what her daughter could do and, though it made her proud, it made her feel like she wasn't good enough too."

"I know that feeling..." Appla said softly.

Sora nodded and continued. "Even after three years of training she didn't come close to comparing to the Androids. And so she used her training in the Room of Spirit and Time to push herself even more. To make herself ready to face them, and to an extent, she did."

"Her attack against Super 13 to help out Sakura and Trunks." Appla said.

"Right. She was able to help them, just a little. But only through the use of the Iryoku and Kameryokuha. Moves created by other people and thus, in her mind, not her own strength."

"I get it." Bardock said. "So after the Cell Games she went back to coming up with new skills?"

"As well as pushing herself harder than I'd ever seen her." the Tanarian replied. "She'd spend an entire day training and practicing, practicing and training." She stopped and laughed a little. "Akemi is actually, in a way, the end result of her finally mastering the creation of the Ikioi Reikon Kougeki."

"Huh?" Goku asked, scratching the back of his head as Bardock and Appla laughed. "I don't get it...." This only made the two Sai-jins laugh harder.

Sora just returned her full focus back to the match. By now Hotaru had used her Konmei and had just stopped in her upward flight. "Well, speak of the devil." she said as she saw energy gathering in Hotaru's hand.

"What is it?" Bardock asked.

"She's preparing the move I told you about." she replied. "The Ikioi Reikon Kougeki."

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Galactic Games Arena, Battle Pit

The Tanarian royal charged in again, her right arm held across her chest ready for another slice. Vegeta was still recovering from the last attack, it felt like his leg muscle was trying to cramp up which was making it hard to focus. He did his best to push the pain aside as he saw her coming. At the last second he dodged her swipe, the edge of the blade slicing a couple centimeters of hair off the top of his head as he slipped under her reach.

As he came up he launched an uppercut with his left arm using the momentum of his rise to add to the force of the blow. It slammed into her abdomen with a loud crack and she froze, eyes wide in pain. The Sai-jin capitalized on the moment by drifting back a little and then launching up into the air jamming his knee into her jaw.

The blow snapped her head back, lifted her into the air for a moment, and then dropped her onto her back. She rolled to her right and Vegeta's energy blast impacted the ground just missing her. Standing back up she spat some of the blood in her mouth onto the ground before facing the other royal again.

The light around her right hand faded slightly and she put her hands together and did another set of motions with them. "Shika-Shidou... Yaiba!" she cried holding out her left arm. A blade of energy formed around that hand as well as the one on her right returned. In a flash of silver she shot in at Vegeta again and launched another swing.

Vegeta dodged around her right arm, deflected her left at her elbow being careful not to touch the blade, and then countered with a kick toward her stomach. She thrust her left arm down and smacked her palm into his ankle deflecting it. The Sai-jin cried out in pain and pulled back. It felt like his ankle had just been crushed but the pain was fading already, faster than that in his leg.

His eyes snapped wide as he dodged backwards just barely avoiding another slice from her energy blades. He started swerving left and right, up and down, backward and forward, dodging around her swings as quickly as he could. Meanwhile his mind worked on a way of countering this move. Attacking her was out of the question, if she blocked or took a swipe at his outstretched limb she could easily do more damage than him.

Blocking her was definitely out of the question as well. Any kind of contact with those blades did damage and hurt like hell. That didn't leave him many options. And then a thought hit him. What if he blocked WITHOUT touching her or the blades? As he swerved around another swipe he smirked and then brought his arms up in an x across his body. Golden energy flared up around them a second before her blades hit.

There was an odd snapping sound as the energies came in contact with each other, as well as a flash of light, but no pain. Vegeta grinned more as he lowered his arms and the energy along them turned into energy blades of his own. Hotaru scowled at him and took another swing. His left arm came up and blade met blade, stalemating. They pulled back and swung again, blades clashing and deflecting each other.

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Galactic Games Arena, V.I.P. Box

"Oh, wow, look at them go." Krillin said as the two began racing through the sky swinging and dodging. "This is... amazing. Either one of them could give Cell a real run for his money if they fought him now."

Gohan nodded. "Even his stronger form, after Sakura's self-destruct attack." he said. "They'd be out classed power wise but their form and skill is great enough it could balance it out. Fighting them both at once, Cell wouldn't have had a chance. Hotaru's really improved..."

"That happens when you spend nearly every waking moment training." Yamcha said. "I've done more of the business of running Tanaria in the last seven years than her. She's focused on her training almost exclusively, verging on obsession really. She hated how much she'd fallen behind leading up to the Cell Games and was determined to catch up and surpass everyone else again. Her pride demanded it."

Raditz laughed. "And here I'd thought Sai-jin pride was the only one that could border on the fanatical."

Nova was still in a mild state of shock at the powers she was seeing. Hearing mention again of Cell drew her attention. She'd heard that name several times now, in connection to past events that were related to their current powers. "How did... everyone get so powerful?" she asked, looking toward the others. "And just who is this Cell I keep hearing about?"

"He was a creation of a man named Dr. Gero." Mijima said, her face still pointed toward the window but her eyes turned toward the Changeling. "About ten years ago two time travelers came back from the future to warn Goku and the others about the return of the Red Ribbon Army..."

"Goku? Red Ribbon Army?"

It was Roshi that picked up from there. "Goku was the one who defeated Frieza while the Red Ribbon Army was once a military power on Earth that he took out as a boy. Dr. Gero was one of their scientists and he became obsessed with defeating Goku after that. He set about creating powerful Androids and Cyborgs..."

"Including my sister and I." Gainin interrupted.

Roshi nodded. "Yes. And then they took over the entire galaxy. Trunks and Sakura were the last of us left to fight them and they came back to warn us about them. Thanks to that warning we had three years to prepare for them."

"Only things didn't go as planned." Bulma said with a shake of her head. "Goku was still out matched, as was everyone. So we retreated to the Earth's lookout..." seeing the confusion on Nova's face she explained. "It's the place from which each planet's Guardian oversees their world."

"Ah. I know of such a place on my world." she said. "But it has been abandoned for thousands of years."

Piccolo nodded. "My... counterpart had been Guardian of Earth for a few hundred years, and then another Namek took over after he and I merged."

"Namekian Fusion." the Changeling said in understanding. "I've heard of it. I just had no idea it produced such impressive results."

"Piccolo's fused twice." Gohan explained. "And he's not your typical Namek anyway. Long story best told later and not important to the question at hand anyway."

Nova nodded. "So, you retreated to the lookout?"

"Yes." Bulma said. "And used a room there were a year passes in a single day for training. Vegeta, Trunks, Hotaru, and Sakura went in first. While they were in there Cell appeared. He, like Trunks and Sakura, was from the future. But not the same future, a completely different future where the Sai-jin Empire didn't exist since Frieza had wiped out almost all Sai-jins decades ago."

To Bulma's surprise the Changeling Queen didn't seem too surprised or confused about this so she pressed on. "He was designed to absorb Gainin and Mijima here to become stronger. Eventually he absorbed them both."

"So your power now was in response to the threat of this Cell." she said in understanding.

"Partly." Videl said. "We're all a lot stronger now than we were then."

"Mainly because there is another threat waiting out there." Piccolo said.

"Another threat? You got another warning?" asked Nova.

"Not exactly." the Namek replied. "We've known for a long time, since around the time Zarbon came to Earth, that there is a conspiracy out there. Someone has been preparing for an invasion of the entire galaxy for a long time, someone with the ability to boost the powers of their soldiers. The only name we have to go with this so far is..."

"Raven." Nova said, eyes widening a bit.

"You know of her?" Gohan asked, shocked.

The Changeling nodded. "I do. The name has come up several times on multiple worlds. It appears in records as far back as Tundra's rule more than fifteen hundred years ago. We'd find worlds where the name would appear on occasion, including one world that claimed its destruction was her doing. And on several occasions mention was made of her being from the future and that she was creating herself a new empire here in our time."

She furrowed her brow a bit in thought as she tried to remember something. "There were two terms that came up in connection with her. The world that was destroyed said it had been attacked for its resources...."

"Tanaria and Earth were as well." Yamcha said. "Between Frieza's defeat and the warning about the Androids. Only we managed to drive them off."

Nova nodded. "They said the resources were for... for...."

"A Tree of Might?" Piccolo asked, remembering Bardock's explanation of Sanil's sudden power increase during their battle.

"Yes. That was it." she said. "The other term that came up was... Shugotenshi."

"Never heard of that before." Gohan said.

"We should tell Vegeta about this after his match." said Bulma.

"Yeah." Gohan agreed. "Man, over fifteen hundred years ago? Are you sure?" he asked the Changeling. She nodded. "So then, why are they not just attacking? Why have they just been doing things from behind the scenes all this time?"

"I don't know." said Piccolo, scowling. "But I don't like it. They must be waiting for something or preparing for something specific. Being that they're from the future they undoubtedly have knowledge of things to come."

"But if they've been around and interacting with us for the last fifteen hundred years..." Videl began. "Surely things are different between our times now. Enough that things wouldn't match up."

"Don't be so sure." said Bulma. "Don't forget what Cell said. He knew of Goku and the rest of us, save for Hotaru and Sakura. And even his timeline had seen a Trunks from the future as well. Our time and his share some pretty strong similarities and his timeline wasn't affected by Raven."

"How can you be so sure of that?" asked Nova.

"Well..." Bulma began. "The differences between our time and his start much further back than he or Trunks and Sakura could have caused. And obviously, the Trunks who appeared in his time couldn't have altered the past of either time-line causing the differences either."

"Ah, I see." Nova said. "So you think it is the presence of Raven that has allowed the Sai-jin empire to remain and flourish?"

"Most likely. I can't say if it was intentional or not. Considering that her people warned other worlds of the Sai-jins, even threatened them into not siding with them, I don't think it was entirely intentional. Then again, I don't know if those warnings were for the benefit of the Sai-jin people somehow either. It's hard to call."

"It's pretty remarkable when you think about it." Krillin said. "The similarities, I mean. Think about it. They've been altering things for fifteen hundred years, at least. And yet we all still exist here and now. Their changes didn't stop us from being pretty much the same as without them...."

Piccolo suddenly got a sinking feeling, a tight knot in his gut, as a thought came to him that he didn't like the implications to. "Damn..." he whispered.

"What is it Piccolo?" Gohan asked.

"A thought." he said, turning to face the others. "An unpleasant one. What if Raven and her mate have manipulated the course of time to their own ends but have made sure to keep us here?"

"What? But why would they do that?" Yamcha asked. "Why would they want us to be here? I mean, if they're out to take over wouldn't we be their biggest threats?"

"Or they're using us." Piccolo said, turning to face the battle pit again. "Think about it. Frieza, Cold, Cooler, and the Androids and Cell. Even Slug and Recoome."

"But... Zarbon, Slug, and Recoome, they attacked us!" Krillin cried.

Piccolo nodded. "Yes, they did. But look at the big picture. Zarbon forced us to become stronger and pushed us on to Namek where we defeated Frieza and gained even more power. Slug and Recoome gave us even greater power. Frieza's defeat on Namek lead to the downfall of his entire family."

Gohan swallowed as Piccolo's picture fell into place in his mind. "Zarbon, Frieza, Slug, Recoome... all for the purpose of making us more powerful... to fight the Androids."

"But Trunks and Sakura had to come back to warn us, to help us." Yamcha said.

"Yes." Piccolo said with a nod. "But then, Raven would have known that already, wouldn't she?"

Yamcha's eyes widened. "Oh man..."

"They want us here for something." Piccolo said. "They gave Slug and I our power for a reason, they preserved the Nameks when Frigid came for a reason. They've kept the Sai-jin Empire around for a reason. They've made sure we came into existe