Chapter 12: The Time is Close

Noca returned home to Gohan, Videl and Pan a few days after his intense battle with Vegeta. It was a great sight for him to be with Pan again and when Videl saw how her daughter had reacted to his return, she couldn't help but speculate on how close the two had become. Pan was so happy when she finally got to see Noca again after a month. Noca had big things on his mind however. He couldn't understand why Vegeta didn't ask him about his Saiyan heritage, but decided that it was for the best.

Noca's training wasn't going to stop here, he knew he would need to get better if he was going to have a chance against them in the tournament. Now he was just excited about getting the chance to fight against the two Saiyan's and not have to worry about showing his full power and his true heritage. Pan had offered to train with Noca, but he didn't think they would be even. Pan didn't like being told she wasn't strong enough to train with him, but she was the first person to witness him transform into a Super Saiyan and even she could admit it was pure power.

Noca continued to train alone, stating that he shouldn't need the help of people he will fight against. That would just be ridiculous because then they would probably have an advantage and vice-versa. Pan agreed that he shouldn't really train with his opponents, but she really wanted to spend some time with him. Noca promised that it wouldn't affect the amount of time they spent together.

Saturday 9th June Age 792

A whole month passed by and life had returned to normal for the family. Aside from the fact that Noca wasn't attending school. It was now June and that meant there was only 1 month remaining until the tournament and the Z-fighters were getting impatient. They were all looking forward to the opportunity to compete once again as it had been 18 years since the attack by Majin Buu and 8 years since the last tournament, but even that had to be cancelled.

Noca was in the middle of a meditation session out in the fields whilst Pan was training not too far from him. She was just trying to stay as close to him as possible and was interested by his concentration during meditation. It was only when a small jet landed that both of their attentions were grasped. Noca opened his eyes and stood up whilst Pan stopped throwing punches.

Out of the jet stood Chi-Chi and Goten, but the teens didn't have a clue that the two of them were visiting today.

"Grandma! Goten!" Pan called out in a happy tone.

"Hello there Pan," Chi-Chi replied.

Pan ran over to them to say hello whilst Noca walked over.

"You still training then Noca?" Goten asked, glad that would be receiving a challenge.

"Of course, I need to have some sort of chance against you guys," Noca said with a slight laugh.

"Haha, you won't have a chance against us Super Saiyans!" Goten said confidently.

"Well, you'll see…"

The two of them smiled at each other and followed Chi-Chi and Pan into the house.

"So why have you come round today?" Pan asked. They didn't visit that often so it was a little bit of a surprised.

"It was actually your father that invited us," Chi-Chi replied, looking just as confused as her granddaughter.

"Really? Wonder why?" Pan asked as she looked to the doorway, hoping her parents would walk in.

"He didn't say anything except that he had some news…we were hoping you would have an idea…" Goten explained, shrugging his shoulders.

"No…no idea," Pan replied, shaking her head.

The four of them stood confused until Gohan and Videl came to greet their guests.

"Hi Mom," Gohan said in a cheerful tone, similar to his father.

"Ok Gohan, tell me, what is it you have to tell us. What are you doing now?" Chi-Chi charged up to her son, bombarding him with questions. She never liked secrets. Gohan simply backed away and waved his hands in front of him.

"Huh? Nothing Mom…it's just that…well…Videl and I have some news for all 4 of you…" Gohan replied, hesitantly. He seemed to be rather happy.

"We decided to tell you guys first, especially before everyone else. Family comes first," Videl told them all with a smile as wide as her husbands.

Noca's attention turned to the two people who had become like parents to him. Did they really consider him part of their family? Noca knew that everyone here was nice, but for them to actually accept him as part of their family…well…it managed to bring a tear to his eye. He made sure none of them noticed though.

Pan noticed that Noca was feeling upset about something, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She was going to ask him after they received this news.

"Gohan, you announce this one, I announced the last one…" Videl told her husband. The rest of them didn't understand why they both seemed so happy. Gohan turned to his wife and smiled as he put his arm around her.

"Ok. Mom, Goten, Pan, Noca…" Gohan stopped and looked down to the ground for a second. Everyone was eagerly anticipating what this big reveal would be. "We're going to have another baby."

Everything fell silent for a couple of seconds and then a loud squeal escaped from Chi-Chi.

"YAY ANOTHER GRANDCHILD!" Chi-Chi shouted whilst jumping up into the air.

Goten flinched as Chi-Chi leapt out of her seat and started to jump up and down. Pan had a huge smile on her face. She was excited to be getting a younger sibling whilst Noca just smiled at the two parental figures.

"Congratulations you two," Noca said in a pleased tone. He wasn't sure how to feel, but he was happy for the two of them.

"Thank you Noca," Gohan replied with a little nod.

"How long? How long have you known and not told me?" Chi-Chi shouted in an interrogating tone.

"Huh? Not long. Honestly Mom. It hasn't been long…" Gohan responded frantically, as well as laughing awkwardly.

"I'm only one month along Chi-Chi," Videl explained to her mother-in-law.

"Ok…but still, it's so exciting!" She practically sung as she danced around the room.

"Yeah, congrats Bro…" Goten said. It seemed he still hadn't grown up quite enough to know how to react properly.

"Thank you Goten," Gohan replied as he patted his little brother on the back.

"So what do you think, Pan?" Videl asked her daughter. She wanted to hear what Pan had to say because it was her life that would change with a young sibling. Pan was old enough to understand that a baby would receive a lot more attention than her. Videl could clearly see that the girl had a wide smile on her face.

"I can't believe it. I'm so happy. I'll finally have a younger brother or sister!" Pan exclaimed. She was absolutely over the moon to hear of a baby coming into their lives.

"I'm so glad that you're happy," Videl replied with a little laugh.

"We both are. Thanks for all your support you guys. We just have to tell everyone else now," Gohan said, sounding as if he was a little worried.

"It's not like it's gonna be hard Gohan," Videl assured her husband.

Gohan and Videl hugged each other whilst Noca, Pan and Chi-Chi watched on. Pan still saw some emotion in Noca's eyes and reached out to grab his hand. She moved closer to him as well. Noca acknowledged her by giving her a weak smile. Pan was beginning to feel concerned about him now.

"If only Dad were here…" Goten muttered quietly.

Gohan gave his brother a serious look and nodded. No matter how old they were, they certainly missed their father. He had been the one they had trained with and the one they had watched save the world. They would love to see him again soon, but the way Goku was, it was unlikely he would walk in through the door right now.

…

Ok, he won't walk in, but it was worth trying to wait.

About an hour later, Noca was up in his bedroom looking at the photograph of him and his mother. He let a few tears come to his eyes, but he didn't want to be sad. They missed their father, but he always thought at least they knew he was alive. Noca's mother died in front of him and he had never met his father.

Pan soon came up to see Noca. She knocked lightly on the door before pushing inside a little. Noca looked over to the doorway, but he kept hold of the photo in his hands. Pan could clearly see he was sad and could see a tear rolling down his cheek.

"Noca, what's wrong?" Pan was concerned about the boy and she rushed over to be next to him.

"Nothing…it's nothing…" He replied, shaking his head. He tried to make it look as if he wasn't upset and turned to face away from her.

Pan sighed. He was never going to feel comfortable with her when it came to his emotions if he didn't let her in.

"Noca, please tell me," She pleaded.

"I…I guess today has really got me thinking about my mother…I mean…I'm happy for you guys, I really am, it's just…" Noca stopped and look down to the floor. Pan really wanted to know why he was acting like this, but she didn't want to push him. Especially considering that it was such a sensitive topic. "Well…I feel like I have really been accepted into this family, but…why?"

"What do you mean why?" Pan asked feeling really shocked that he had really felt this way.

"I don't understand why I've been accepted into this family. You guys all hardly know me so why have I been accepted so quickly?" Noca asked her whilst staring into space.

"What has made you think about all this?" Pan asked.

"Today. When your Mom and Dad felt that I was close enough to the family to be told the news first with you, Chi-Chi and Goten…" Noca explained, turning to look at Pan.

"But, it shouldn't be hard to understand why they accept you, that's just the kind of people they all are…come on, they accepted Piccolo into the group after he had tried to kill my grandpa, the same with Vegeta and even with Android 18 and Majin Buu!"

"But ever since my Mother died, I felt like I would never be accepted somewhere again…" Noca explained to the raven-haired girl next to him. He was hardly accepted in his village, so the fact that he could live life with these people as if he was normal…it just…felt strange.

"Hey, there's no need to think like that, when you've already become a member of this family. My mom is going to have another baby and we'll be there for it. I'll be the older sister and you'll be the older brother. We'll help raise it." Pan explained to the boy looking him in the eyes. Noca looked back into her eyes and seemed to find peace in this position. "How does that sound?"

Noca smirked and put his arms around Pan in a hug. She accepted the embrace and tightened her own arms around him.

"Thank you Pan," He muttered quietly.

He pulled away from her and returned the picture to the bedside table. If felt nice to really feel accepted as if he was meant to be a Z-fighter and to hear that he would also have the chance to act as an older brother. That just made him feel even more settled. Pan had definitely tried to make up for all the hostility that she had shown towards him in the beginning. She wanted to show that Noca was important to them all and that he had to feel comfortable around the Z-fighters.

"So, would you rather a Brother or Sister?" Noca asked her, trying to find a new topic of conversation.

"I really don't know…probably a younger brother…but I wouldn't be disappointed if it was a girl." Pan replied as she turned and looked to the side with a slight smirk. "What about you?"

"Well…it shouldn't matter what I'd prefer, but I really don't know…" Noca contemplated it for a second and thought back over all the people in his life. "I mean I had a close friend that was like a sister…and I guess Bra and Kiera are like sisters…so…probably a boy as well…"

"It would certainly be interesting to see what happens, but we still have until next year," Pan nodded to Pan and then the two of them were called by Videl to come downstairs for their dinner.

Monday 9th July Age 792

This was the day that all the Z-fighters had eagerly been awaiting. It was the day they would all be going to Papaya Island to sign up for the World's Martial Arts Tournament. Noca couldn't wait for his opportunity to finally fight against the best fighters. He knew that this tournament would be the ideal time for him to reveal his Saiyan heritage to the rest of the group. He would need to if he were to come across Gohan or Vegeta.

He was standing in his room packing the things that he would need to take with him. He had some clothes for when he wasn't fighting and he made sure that it was something comfortable. He then turned to the Gi that his village elder had given him, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to wear it during this tournament.

It was then that Pan walked in and saw him standing holding the Gi and looking at it in some concern.

"Hey, what's that?" She asked. It was a stupid question because it was clearly a fighting Gi, but she wanted to know why it seemed important to him.

"It was my grandfather's…"

"Are you gonna wear it?" Pan asked, believe that was the point behind it. He was going to wear it as some sort of honour towards his grandfather.

"I'm honestly not sure…it means a lot to me so I don't particularly want it damaged, but even if I did wear it, it doesn't fit well…" Noca explained to her as he set it down once more and turned around to face the girl.

"Well I'm sure my dad can do something about that…he never tells anyone, but he has Piccolo's power of making clothes form around your body and I'm sure he could just make you a replica…" Pan suggested, shrugging her shoulders at the same time.

"That would be awesome…" Noca said to her as a smile formed across his face.

"He won't say no," Pan told him as she started to walk out of the room.

Noca followed Pan out of the room, grabbing the Gi first. They walked into the living room to see that Gohan and Videl were just giving instructions to one of Hercule's butlers as he had agreed to watch over the house for them whilst they were gone. Pan went straight to her father after being able to tell that he was growing bored. The two walked back over to Noca.

"So Pan says you want to have a replica of your Gi made…" Gohan questioned.

"Yes please…" Noca replied politely.

"Let me see it, hmm…Green, Black belt and wristbands…looks good…ok let me just concentrate…I'll have to put it on you so that the size is correct…" Gohan explained to the boy and then he focused his energy towards Noca.

There was a flash around Noca and then he was suddenly wearing the green Gi and it fit perfectly. Noca threw a few punches and was making sure that it didn't stretch, but it appeared to be the perfect Gi.

"Thanks Gohan, it's great." Noca smiled up at his master and was about to walk away, but Gohan stopped him.

"Hold on…" The Demi-Saiyan said as he pondered something and then walked upstairs.

He walked into his bedroom and went to get something out of the draw. He lifted it up and checked to see if it wasn't damaged. It was a black shirt that Gohan intended for Noca to wear. Gohan returned downstairs and held the shirt out for Noca.

"You are going to wear this during the tournament, after your gravity training with Vegeta it shouldn't be too hard for you," Gohan explained as he held the shirt out for Noca to take.

"What is it?" Noca asked as he took a hold of the shirt and felt a little bit of strain on his arm. He was confused. The black shirt weighed far too much to be normal.

"It's a weighted shirt that fighters like to wear. I'll be wearing one during the tournament as well." Gohan informed him.

"Uh…it's heavy, but I'm sure it'll be fine."

Gohan smiled at is student and returned to his wife's side. Noca went back to Pan and the two returned upstairs to continue packing. Pan didn't really have much that she needed to pack as she would be fighting in the tournament, but she still packed some comfortable clothes as well. She would be wearing a red Gi that looked like a dress except she had a black belt tightened around her waist. She also wore a pair of black leggings with some black and white shoes. She also had a black hairband that she would wear during the fight. She knew she would need it to keep the hair out of her face when she was fighting.

Once the 4 of them were ready they prepared to head to West City to meet with the others and they were all going to make their way to Papaya Island together. Gohan flew the Capsule jet with Videl sitting next to him whilst Pan and Noca decided to fly alongside it.

"So, you looking forward to your first tournament?" Pan asked, knowing that this was one of the big reasons that Noca had stayed with them.

"Yeah! It's gonna be amazing," Noca replied, smiling at her and then focusing his attention forward again.

"It's my second time, but I know I can do well…oh and if we have to fight each other, don't expect me to go easy on you," Pan said as she clenched a fist and wore a determined expression.

Noca smiled at Pan as the girl winked at him. He continued to watch her fly alongside him as her hair blew back with the wind. He noticed that the two of them had maintained eye contact for a very long time and the two looked straight ahead and blushed. Neither of them wanted an awkward silence to follow though, so Pan tried to strike up a new conversation.

"Uh…so…are you gonna use your true power?" She asked him.

"I will. This is the perfect time for everyone else to know…and with Vegeta knowing then he'll just hate it if I didn't use my power."

Pan nodded in agreement. She knew what Vegeta was like when it came to a Saiyan's true power, but he had never been that way towards Bra or herself. Pan just figured Vegeta considered them weak, but that couldn't be true because there were women in the Saiyan Army. Noca wondered what Pan was thinking as he watched her again, but what he didn't notice was that the jet in front of them had slowed down to begin its descent into the city and he banged into the back of it. Pan turned in surprise as she saw Noca rubbing his head.

She laughed at the sight and Noca just smirked as they too began to descend. Once on the ground they noticed that everyone else had arrived. Bulma, #18, Chi-Chi, Valese, Marron, Bra, Erasa and Kiera were standing together whilst Krillin, Goten and Trunks were talking with each other and Vegeta was standing alone as usual.

"Hey Guys! So you're coming to watch us then Krillin?" Gohan greeted.

"Of course. I'm not gonna miss this tournament for anything, but I sure as hell won't be able to fight against you guys…" He started off speaking enthusiastically, but was disappointed that he couldn't compete anymore.

"Well, let's not waste any more time. You guys need to get signed up on time!" Bulma exclaimed, getting everyone's attention.

Everyone except for Vegeta piled into Bulma's huge jet to make their way to the Island. Everyone on-board was very excited, especially the Saiyans. The journey would be somewhat long in the big jet and they wouldn't reach the island until around 5pm so they really didn't want to waste any time.

"Are you sure about that costume Goku?" Piccolo asked. He had to close his eyes. It didn't seem right for Goku to disguise himself like this.

Goku was standing in front of the Namekian wearing something different from what he was used to. He had on a complete white training Gi with a black belt, and black wristbands and on his head he wore a black mask that looked as if it was impossible to see out of. But thanks to Piccolo the mask was safe for Goku to be wearing. He could see through it as clear as if he wasn't wearing a mask and he could breathe through it just fine.

"Its fine Piccolo…stop being worried…" Goku laughed as he turned away from the Namekian.

"I'm not worried Goku, it just isn't right to be deceitful to your family like that…" Piccolo explained to the Saiyan. He had left them so often that it really seemed unfair to the rest of them.

"Don't worry, I'll show myself when the time is right, but I want to get the most out of everyone if I come against them…especially Uub or Noca."

"Speaking of which, where is Uub?" Piccolo asked, opening his eyes and looking around the area.

"I sent him over there a while ago now. You should go before me as well."

Piccolo just nodded in agreement and flew away from Goku towards the famous tournament island.

"This will be one great tournament…I can feel it!"

The group that departed from Capsule Corp. were just landing at the Papaya Island airport as Bulma was explaining their accommodation arrangements whilst they were there. Apparently Bulma had a temporary Capsule Corp. hotel set up on the island, just for the fighters to stay at. This worked well for everyone. At least they could ensure they'll all be together and have comforts around them.

Out of all the competitors in the group that were excited, Noca was one that was nervous rather than excited. He had never really had a competitive fight with everyone as every fight he had was for training purposes, except for his fights with Delta. He was looking forward to seeing the match-ups and getting a chance to see who he would fighting. He knew that 16 people would be in the main tournament and 6 of them were part of their group so finding out who those other 10 were going to be was something to anticipate.

The group left the plane and they headed for their next stop…the sign up desk.

Meanwhile somewhere down a dark alley in the city a small man in a grey suit, but with a shadowed face was giving instruction to a surprisingly larger man who was also completely hidden in the shadows.

"You know what to do. Just follow the rules of the tournament all the way until the end…but then…you take it up a notch and make sure…nothing is left."

The large man just nodded before walking away from the smaller man.

"Don't fail me!"

Who is this unfamiliar man? What harm will he bring to the tournament? And why? Find out next time on DragonBall AG: The Tournament Terror!