Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball, Dragonball Z, Dragonball GT, or any movies, media, or merchandise associated with said franchise.

Author Apologies(s): PLEASE, read ANY AND ALL of the following BOLDED text! Wow. Well, first of all, it has been a long time. I am so very sorry for the ridiculously-late response/update. I was caught-up with real-life, for a while (Baseball, Track-And-Field, Graduation, College Finalizations, Etc.), and my FIRST thought was to keep-track-of, and respond to any and all of the outstanding message-conversations that I have on this here site—and update any and all of my existing FanFictions. However, just as I got back on this site, I realized something: I have been reviewing/revising/re-writing my FanFictions, BEFORE I upload/update them, but it was NEVER ANYWHERE CLOSE to how much I NEEDED To review/revise/re-write them! ...So, I STARTED reviewing, revising, and rewriting ANY AND ALL of my FanFictions, and just when I was about HALF-WAY through doing that (I Have OVER 200,00 WORDS Published/Posted On This Godforsaken Site! Do You Know How LOOOOOONG That Takes To Review/Revise/Rewrite?! VERY LONG!), and about to respond to any and all of my messages, when my life fell apart—literally.

Between psychotic breaks, episodic events, and metal crazes, (All Of Which Were Caused By My Life, That Just Happened To Turn Super-Sucky), I was, well, incapacitated.

You don't need an excuse. But, you do deserve one.

The good news (For EVERYONE) is the following. Writing my OWN ORIGINAL Books-Series (There Are FOUR, SEPARATE, UN-Related, Book-Series, And Hopefully, I Will Have A Literary Agent/Publishing-Deal, In A Year, OR Two! …On The SLIM Chances That Is DOES Actually Occur, Or Happen…), looking for agents, looking-into-querying, and FAN-FICTION have become my outlet! ...So, my depressing life will make for AWESOME FanFiction, with HAPPY undertones (But, My Stories/FanFictions Will STILL Have Character-Deaths [Well, SOME], Gore, Blood [NOT TOO Much, Though], Romance, And NO OOC-Ness, OR Mary-Sues, Mind-You!).

I have JUST finished-up reviewing/revising/rewriting my CURRENTLY-POSTED chapters of any and all Fan Fictions, and today is the day that I shall be updating ANY AND ALL of my FanFictions. And, also, today is also the day, that I will-be starting three NEW FanFictions, and they will be the LAST FanFictions that I will EVER start—unless, I decide to do a cross-over, between my DC-Comics-FanFiction, and my MARVEL-Comics-FanFiction (BOTH, The MARVEL-FanFiction, AND, The DC-Fan Fiction, Features A Teenage, Next-Gen-Hero-Team, So Having Them Team-Up In A Cross-Over Would Be Kind-Of Cool. …But, IF I Do That Cross-Over, Then That Definitely Would Be The LAST Fan Fiction That I EVER START!)! For a timeline of future updates you should know this: "I Will NOT Cancel ANY Of My FanFictions!" I WILL FINISH THEM ALL! …If you wish to have a better idea of how often updates will be coming, though, I have FOUR FanFictions that take precedent over my others, and as such, those four will probably be updated faster than others. You should all note, however, that I WILL be updating ANY AND ALL of my FanFictions! However, I am unsure, as to how long each update will take, so PLEASE HAVE PATIENCE! So, to keep-up with the updates, PLEASE, subscribe to me/my-story, favorite me/my-story, or message me and ask me to personally message you whenever I DO update, and I will HAPPILY do so!

Author Advertisement(s): That's right. Ads. I have TWELVE—Count-'Em, TWELVE—FanFictions On here, that will ALL end-up, being OVER 100K-Words, and they will ALL be updated REGULARLY—HOPEFULLY—from this point-on. …So, if you happen to read in any of the OTHER FanFic FanDoms, that I write for, then, PLEASE, by all means, do NOT hesitate to check-out some of my OTHER FanFictions! Check-out my profile for more information (And Some Awesome Quotes, As Well!), and MESSAGE ME, if you have ANY questions, or just want to chat! I, contrary to popular belief, LOVE to hear from fellow FanFiction-Readers, as-well-as, my own readers! …Also, it should be noted, that ANY AND ALL of my Comic-Based-FanFictions, are VERY EASY to understand, and they are MADE for EVEN a NOVICE/NON-Comics-Reader, to be able to understand VERY EASILY, and things are explained VERY clearly in these above-mentioned Comic-Based-FanFictions, of my own creation.

Important Information: This story takes place AFTER the CONCLUSION/CLOSING to the "DragonBall GT Series," and although "DBGT" was NOT TECHNICALLY cannon, it will serve as such for this story, and you should know that ANYTHING/EVERYTHING that happened in ANY/ALL three series ("DragonBall," "DragonBall Z," and "DragonBall GT") has ALREADY happened here. But, the MOST, INTRINSICALLY IMPORTANT, piece of information, about this FanFic, is the fact that it takes-place a while (not TOO long, but, still a while), AFTER the END of "DragonBall GT," and the characters will-have/are/did grow-up/change, as a result of ALL that has happened, and the time that has passed. Also, when possible, I will be using the ORIGINAL MANGA written by Akira Toriyama, that these three shows were originally based-on, INSTEAD of the shows/anime, for information, such as: power-levels, character-traits, and fun-facts, so PLEASE NOTE THAT, and note that a great deal of "research" has been put into this, before it was published/posted! ENJOY!

Accolades/Appreciation: Thanks for ANY/ALL of the reviews! I really appreciate them, and I take them all into account. Don't stop now, though! ONWARD!

IV. The Next Level

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Gohan screamed as his energy shot to new heights. Slain smirked.

Gohan's hair began to grow, and his eyebrows began to vanish, as his face took-on a newfound look of extremely severe sternness.

Finally, Gohan powerfully pushed all of his newfound energy to the surface, beginning the lengthy transformation that would turn him into a Super Saiyan 3.

The powerful process continued for a few minutes, causing noticeable earthquakes all over the area. Gohan had managed to control his transformation, though. He had slightly more experience, while being in the form of a Super Saiyan 3, than his father had when he had first transformed to fight Majin Buu. And, since this was the case, Gohan did not cause a global windstorm and an enormous earthquake when he transformed. But, he still did cause quite a bit of chaos. It was unavoidable. A warrior, such as Gohan, had to cause chaos, once that level of power had been attained.

Gohan's form filled-out, and became more furious as the process continued, and his power continued to grow.

Slain waited. And the fact that he waited, so patiently, worried Vegeta.

Shin stopped. The boy turned his head to the side, sensing something very wrong…or perhaps, it was something very right.

Shin swiftly snapped his hand up to block the fist that was aimed at his head. Annie sighed.

"Shin, seriously. Why do you even need me? If you're going to treat me like an actual opponent, please don't humor me, by holding back." Annie said seriously.

Shin Oriama was a young protégé, a trainee, and young member of the Human Honor League. Shin was not like the small percentage of the members of the League that tried to surpass the Z-Fighters. Shin respected them—immensely. The boy had even trained with Majuub for a period of time. Shin was a great fighter. He was one of the strongest, swiftest, and smartest humans that had ever lived. And he had earned every part of that distinction.

Shin was born, and grew-up in, the "Shinjuku District," of Tokyo, Japan—a very rough neighborhood. He knew just how rough it was from experience, because he was bullied—a lot. Broken ribs, black eyes, broken legs, and blood-loss were all usual things for the young boy. He lived with his father, after his mother had passed away at a very young age.

His father was a well-known—and somewhat low-rate—boxer in the that area, and after teaching Shin multiple martial arts, Shin began to fight back against his bullies, but never to out-show, outdo, or humiliate, them; he just fought enough to show them that he was not weak.

Then a true tragedy befell the boy. Shin's father was approached by a local mob bosses, and asked—or, rather, commanded—to throw a fight, for the purposes of their own profit. Shin's father, Maru Oriama, refused.

After he won the fight, hit-men visited his house, and Maru was killed, where Shin watched every single second of it. In Maru's dying words, he told his son that there was no reason the cry, because those men were, simply speaking, bullies—and bullies always lost, as Shin knew that personally. Maru had said that—while he had any breath left—bullies were weak, and the weak always lost, because the strong always beat them.

Shin then asked his father why he hadn't beaten the hit-men, himself; he had asked this question, because Shin saw his father as strong. Maru had smiled at his son, and he had told him, that while he was strong, Shin was stronger, and he would have to be the one to decide who would win, and who would lose—many, many, times in the future. Maru was dying, but Shin would keep him alive, and they were both sure of that. Shin took the words to heart. The seven-year-old tracked-down the men responsible, and he stalked them. For months. He planned. Then, he pounced—and the men were defeated.

Shin, at this point, had now needed money, though. So, he competed—and won—in a few local martial arts tournaments. It was at one of these tournaments that a local master was impressed and caught his eye. He took the boy in, and with his help and money, Shin would then do what he was destined to do next. He then traveled the world, and for eight years, Shin learned, taught, trained, and tempered himself—and mastered almost any and all of the martial arts of the world.

After the formation of the Human Honor League, he had petitioned to be a member, but he was far too young—three years too young. But, the fifteen-year-old, had defeated any opponent that the league had decided to throw at him to test his mettle. He was young, but he was not inexperienced. Using the new information that the world now knew, Shin brutally pushed himself to—and beyond—his limits, and he quickly elevated his power-levels. His power and energy shot straight up—almost overnight.

The boy never stopped training. Through intense training, teaching, and tempering, he had managed to tap into his internal empirical energies, and he brought them all to the surface. After a day of training, he mastered the art of flight. After a week, he had a perfectly powerful energy blast formed in his hand.

He was still a minor, though, and as such, he was not permitted to fight in true battles—at least, not by himself. That was why he had Annie. She was his mentor, his trainer, and his…friend.

He had long ago surpassed the furious female warrior, but that didn't stop the two from sparring. Although Annie often wondered why he humored her, and why he even bothered to train with someone so much weaker than him. Annie pushed herself, too—just as every member of the League did. But, Shin simply pushed himself further.

Annie Kaplan was an interesting girl. Blind since a young age, she was not one to take anything for granted. She was born in America, and like Shin, had lost her parents at a young age. But, now, she had found a family again—albeit a very strange one, but a family, nonetheless. She was not related to Shin by legality or blood, but he was her brother by every sense of the word.

Annie was born into a world light—and then plunged into a world of eternal darkness. Annie, as very young girl, had come down with a furious fever, and then illness had ensued. Soon, her body fought the illness and the fever off, but at a great cost. She was now blind. But, there was a tradeoff, as well, and any and all of her other senses had been heightened beyond recognition. When she recovered, Annie learned to use that to her advantage, and he turned her weakness into a strength.

Annie's father, Aaron, was a politician in America, and he was well-liked. But, that wasn't a gift. It was a curse. At the age of five, in her fever-induced state, Annie had seen men brutally murder her mother—the same men that promised her that they would return for her father. Her father was the target of the murderers, but thankfully—or, perhaps not—he was not home at the time. No one was ever able to correctly discern who the assassins were sent by.

The day after the men had visited her home, Annie had gone completely blind. She didn't mind, though. She never wanted to see again, not after the last scene she had witnessed. After that, Annie's father told her to disregard emotion, and follow only logic, because that would keep her alive, and he desperately wanted—and needed—her to live. He then hired a master to train her in many martial arts. She son mastered all that the master knew.

At the age of eight years, Annie was taken by her master—a man that she had come to regard as a second father—around the world, to learn and master any and all of the martial arts that she could, after the assassins had come back for her father—and succeeded in killing him. Annie saw no logical choice, but to follow her master and train. Her master would later die of old age, and she would be the only one present at his funeral, but she was the only one that mattered.

Annie then took her father's words to heart, and she followed only logic, and held no emotion in her mind. Logically, she had a debt to her parents, as it was the only reason that she was still living, and logically, she wanted to keep living, and keep her parents alive by doing so. So, she became better, so she could live better.

The girl never stopped training, and soon, she joined the Human Honor League at the age of eighteen years. Through intense training, teaching, and tempering, she had managed to tap into her internal empirical energies, and she had succeeded in bringing them all to the surface. After a day of training, she mastered the art of flight. After a week, she had a perfectly formed energy blast in her hand.

Now, the nineteen-year-old Annie, and the sixteen-year-old Shin were as close as any siblings could get—and as powerful as any human could become. Shin and Annie even had Krillin and 18 beat, in terms of raw power.

But, sill, they continued to train, and still, they felt that something was missing.

Shin was the only person that Annie showed any emotion to—him and that stupid Half-Saiyan idiot that she, somehow, had managed to find charming.

Now, though, as the two were sparing in one of the dojos of the Human Honor League in Tokyo, they stopped for second, as Shin held his hand up to his mentor.

Annie frowned. "You're holding your hand up to me again, aren't you? Hey, idiot! You know I'm blind, right?!" she screamed in annoyance.

"Shhh. Do you sense that? …That immense power-level? …It's…" Shin said, trailing off, his brash blue eyes focusing on the source of the immense raw power.

Annie's eyes went wide—under the shielded shadow shades that she had on over her eyes.

"Whoa. That's…that's…that's INCREDIBLE! That kind of power could…could—" Annie started, but Shin cut her off.

"—Could destroy a planet. Easily." he finished her thought.

Annie shook her head, and Shin turned to look at her oddly. "No, Shin. That could destroy an entire solar system. Easily. Holy crap! That's got be one of the Saiyans! No way it's a Human! You know what that means, right? There's a fight!" Annie exclaimed excitedly.

Shin smirked at the mention of the Saiyans. "Maybe it's your precious boyfriend transforming to lure you to him." he teased her.

Annie wasn't fazed. "Yeah. Stop talking now, and I won't tell Pan about the fact that she's your password for your…well, everything, really." she replied, smiling smugly.

Shin went red in the face. "I do not have her name as my pass— Hey! You're blind! You can't see when I type on the computer!" Shin said suddenly.

Annie smirked. "Nope. I was just fishing. And now I know that you really do have her name as your password." she replied, smiling triumphantly.

"Fine. Ill shut up." he replied uneasily.

She smiled. "Good. Now, let's go see this fight! I've heard so many legends about the Saiyans and their battles! I'm not missing this!" she said, getting ready to take flight.

Shin sighed. "Annie, once again…you're blind. You wouldn't be able to see the fight." he replied. That was actually a lie. She was blind, but she could easily sense the fight, without a serious need for her nonexistent eyesight. Her blindness wasn't a weakness; it was strength. They both knew that, but it didn't stop Shin from teasing her about it.

"That's why you're coming with me, genius! To tell me what's going on!" Annie said swiftly, snatching Shin by the arm and blasting into air—in the direction of the ensuing fight. The two took flight, her brown hair warily whipping around as she did so, while Shin's dark black, short-cropped, hair stayed comfortably in place.

The two humans sped towards the power-source that would have struck fear into the mind of anyone else.

"Hmmm…" Piccolo said, trailing off.

"Oh my god! If you try that suspense crap one more time, I'm go—" Bulma started, but Marron calmly cut her off.

"It's okay, Bulma. Just, take it easy. You wouldn't want Vegeta to come back and find you dead from a heart attack, right?" she asked, trying to get the woman to lose her temper.

"Actually, that might make him rather happy." Trunks whispered in her ear. Marron tried to stifle her laughter. She failed. All of the Z-Fighters turned towards her.

"Sorry." Marron said apologetically. They all nodded and returned their attention to Piccolo.

She elbowed Trunks in the side. "You idiot. That wasn't funny." she hissed.

"Right. That's why you laughed." he replied. She glared at him.

"…You know, you look kind of cute when you're mad." he added. Her angry expression was soon replaced by a confused one. Then she blushed. Trunks smirked and turned his head back to Piccolo.

"You were saying, Piccolo?" he urged the Namekian on.

"Well, as any of you can sense—those of you that have that ability, anyway—Gohan is obviously transforming." Piccolo started.

"To a Super Saiyan 3?" Videl asked curiously.

Piccolo nodded.

"Alright dad!" Pan said happily. Then her happiness turned to confusion when she saw her mother blushing slightly. "…Um, mom? …Why are you…um…blushing?" she questioned quizzically.

Videl looked shocked as all eyes turned to her. She panicked.

Bulma saved her. "I'll tell you why. She's blushing, because she's picturing her husband as a Super Saiyan 3. Trust me, its reason enough." Bulma explained.

Pan looked like she wanted to throw up. "Oh god. That is…aren't you two too old for that? Oh, I'm think I'm going to be sick…" Pan said, trailing off.

Videl looked at her daughter with a stern expression. "Did you just call me old?" she asked seriously.

"Um, no. You misheard. I called Bulma old." Pan said in defense.

"Bad idea. Very bad idea." Bulla muttered to herself, shaking her head as she did so.

"YOU WHAT?!" Bulma cried in anger, as she started charging at Pan. Trunks was barely able to restrain his mother, before the murderous woman reached the young teenager.

Trunks was thrown to ground, as an enraged Bulma continued to charge Pan. Bulla barely caught her mother before the woman mauled the teenager. Pan was too scared to move.

Marron laughed, harder than before. After Trunks got his feet, and was able to calm his mother down, he glared at her. "What? Now, that was funny!" she answered his look.

"No. It. Was. Not." Trunks ground out.

Marron smirked at him. "Oh, it most certainly was." she replied

His glared deepened in severity.

"You know what? You look kind of cute when you're angry." she responded smugly. He stopped glaring and looked somewhat confused. Then he blushed.

She smiled smugly at him.

"Ahem." Piccolo cleared his voice loudly, trying to reign everybody in. Bulma stopped trying to kill Pan for second, and Bulla stopped trying to restrain her mother. They all turned to Piccolo.

"Anyways…. As I was saying, Gohan is now transforming into a Super Saiyan 3." Piccolo began, shaking his head slightly. He still couldn't believe that one mortal could have all that power. It boggled his mind slightly—even after all these years and all of these adventures—to feel one person emit that much power. The scary part, though, was that the power was necessary to defeat another force—an evil force.

All of the Z-Fighters nodded in response.

"Well, what I'm about to tell you may not be easy to swallow." Piccolo continued.

They nodded, urging him on.

"Well, from what I can gather, anyways, Vegeta and Gohan may need some…help to defeat this creature." Piccolo said uneasily. They stared at him blankly. Then, they erupted into laughter.

"Okay, that was a good one, man! But, seriously, what's the bad news." Yamcha commented. Piccolo just looked at him. Yamcha's eyes went wide.

"…No." Trunks and Goten said in unison.

"Unfortunately, yes." Piccolo replied to their shocked expressions.

"That makes no sense! If they have to, they would become a fused Super Saiyan 4! Are you saying that might not be enough to beat this thing!" Bulma asked incredulously.

"Well, I think that the creature may very well be hiding an important piece of information. And, if I'm right, then this one piece of information could mean the world of difference to Gohan and Vegeta." Piccolo said, uneasily.

"What piece of information?!" Chi Chi asked exasperatedly.

"He can transform." Piccolo said.

"HE CAN WHAT?!" everyone yelled at once. Piccolo shook his head, asking them all to calm down. After a moment, they complied.

"Listen, and I am going to explain this as best I can." he said, and once again, they all nodded—slowly. "Any being that is alive has empirical energy running through them. Humans call it 'chi,' or 'ki.' Saiyans call it 'power.' Regardless, though, it is the same thing. Moreover, when an individual learns to tap into this source of empirical energy, and bring it to the surface of his or her body, then they merge that energy with his or her own body. And, since the universe, itself, is comprised of matter—which is simply solid energy—this control of their internal energy allows them to alter their environment in certain ways, and perform certain abilities." Piccolo explained.

"Like launching an energy blast." Goten said.

"Or flying." Videl input.

Piccolo nodded.

"Yes, exactly like those two tactics. However, once a being taps into this energy, and learns these tactics, his or her own body becomes amazing more resilient, and durable. And, at this point, the body begins to use the energy of the universe, to feed or power his or her own body—although this happens subconsciously. A transformation occurs, when there comes a time when a being can no longer physically handle the energy that the body needs to survive—such as when Goku needed more energy to defeat Frieza, and to survive. When a being reaches this point, his or her current body cannot sustain the life force that is needed to keep the being alive, so…the being develops a new body." Piccolo said.

"Oh! I get it! That's why Frieza, and Cell, and even Majin Buu all transformed, right? Because once they reached certain power-levels, their bodies couldn't handle that level of power, so they transformed into a new body, to be able to channel that power properly! That makes sense! That's why Vegeta first transformed the way he did! On that planet, during the asteroid shower, he needed more energy to destroy that asteroid, to survive, and his basic form wasn't able to channel enough energy to get the job done. So, Vegeta subconsciously pushed his mind, and his body just…transformed. Right?" Bulma asked aptly.

"That is exactly right." Piccolo said, tankful that Bulma had explained what he could not.

"So what? So this guy can transform! From what you're saying, every single being in the entire universe, has the potential to be able to transform. All that they need to be able to transform, is the right push, the right training, and the right need to survive. Right?" Goten said in response.

"That is correct. Every being does have that potential." Piccolo replied.

"Wait. Does that mean that humans have that same potential?" Pan asked.

Piccolo nodded.

"Whoa. I wonder what a transformed human would look like!" Bulla said excitedly.

"What would we call it, though? A 'Super Human?' Sounds too cliché." Pan replied to her friend.

"…How about a 'Hyper Human?' It has a nice ring to it. And, it has the alliteration that we all seem to love!" Goten suggested. The girls seemed to like the idea.

"That sounds wicked, Uncle Goten!" Pan agreed.

"Ahem!" Piccolo refocused their attentions on him.

"I still don't get the big deal, Piccolo. So the guy can transform. I mean, don't get me wrong, because I really appreciate the explanation. I mean, it makes way more sense now. But, still, we've fought guys that transform before. And we beat them. So, what's so different about this guy?" Goten asked cockily.

Piccolo stared angrily at the young man. "Think about this Goten. Majin Buu was in his sixth form, when he fought your father, as a Super Saiyan 3. That means that it took six separate transformations to allow Buu to be able to keep-up with a Super Saiyan 3. The creature that Gohan is about to fight, however, is in his base form. He hasn't even transformed once yet! And, here, in his base form he can go toe-to-toe with a Super Saiyan 3! Got that picture?! Good! Now, picture him as a transformed creature! Imagine how much power he would have! And, I don't even know if he only has one form beyond his current one—or multiple!" Piccolo explained the problem angrily.

"…Oh." was all Goten could reply with.

"Yes. Oh, indeed." Piccolo responded uneasily. Everyone went silent.

"So, what do you suggest we do?" Trunks asked wisely.

"Trunks, Goten, I think it may be time to show this new enemy why Earth was not a nice place to visit. You two will probably have to go down there and assist Vegeta and Gohan if this gets bad." Piccolo suggested. "You two remember the fusion technique, right?" he asked the two boys.

Trunks and Goten looked at each other, uneasily.

"Um…yeah. We do, but…" they both said, trailing off in unison.

"But? But, what?!" Piccolo responded.

"But… We're not exactly on the level of my father or Gohan…yet, anyways." Trunks added.

Piccolo nodded. "I realize that you're both not Super Saiyan 4s, but two Super Saiyan 3s should give enough advantage to Vegeta and Gohan, should they end up needing it." Piccolo said, reassuring the boys.

"Oh no. Um, Piccolo, I don't think that you understand. We can't go past Super Saiyan 2." Goten clarified Trunks's comment.

Piccolo deadpanned. "WHAT?!" he boomed angrily.

"Sorry, okay! We can become a fused Super Saiyan 3, once we're one person, as Gotenks, but separately, we can't achieve that form." Trunks said. "And, honestly, the fused form has a lot more power in it, if the two people go into the fusion, already as a Super Saiyan 3. I don't know if one fused, non-powered-up Super Saiyan 3 would be enough to help out dad and Gohan. Besides it would only last for thirty minutes. I mean, Goten and I will step up, and we'll go down there right now. But it just won't do any good." Trunks said, finishing his explanation.

Piccolo slapped his hand to his forehead. "You've got to be kidding me. You two have had years to train! You became Super Saiyans, before you were ten! How could not have achieved Super Saiyan 3, by now?!" Piccolo asked, astounded.

Goten and Trunks looked at other, guiltily. "…Um… We haven't exactly been…um…training." they said, in uneasy unison.

"Oh, I see. Goku and Vegeta, the two greatest warriors of any time, each had a son. And they hoped, beyond hope, that these two boys would be able to defend the Earth, the universe, and goodness in general, should they have to. These two boys were prodigies, having ascended to a transformed state that it took grown men decades to achieve—before they were ten. They were master martial artists at age thirteen. They perfected fusion at eight. They fought Majin Buu, at eight!" Piccolo ranted.

"Um, actually, Trunks was eight. I was seven." Goten corrected Piccolo.

The vein in Piccolo's head throbbed dangerously. "Oh! I am so sorry! You were seven! SEVEN! Even more of an accomplishment! And, what do these two prodigies do?! How do they use their gifts? To train? To defend goodness? NO! They sit on their asses and watch girls in miniskirts ALL DAY LONG!" Piccolo finally finished his furious rant.

Goten and Trunks cringed slightly.

Marron glared at Trunks. "What girls?" she asked quickly.

"What? Oh, um, Piccolo was just giving an example. He didn't mean that—" Trunks started, but Piccolo cut him off.

"Yes. I. Did. I meant what I said! I have spent all day, every day, in Hell! I know what you two little demons do! I just thought that you'd be training too!" Piccolo erupted at the two.

Marron looked even more angry. "So you like girls in skirts? With or without panties?!" she asked angrily.

Trunks turned to her. "Why do you even care?!" he asked, upset as well.

"I…I don't. Excuse me. Mom, c'mon, let's go train in the interior of the tower." Marron said, gesturing for her mother to follow her inside the training room of the Lookout. 18 and Krillin followed Marron faithfully, Krillin shooting Trunks a dirty look as he passed.

Trunks looked to everyone else. Half of them looked upon him with pity. That was the male half. The other half looked upon him with disgust. That was the female half.

"WHAT?! What did I do?!" Trunks asked them, exasperatedly.

Goten patted his friend on the shoulder. "…Just let it go, man." Goten said sincerely. Trunks huffed.

Piccolo rolled his eyes and sapped his head again. "Ughhhhh. This is going to be a long day. Okay, well, a fused Super Saiyan 3, although not ideal, is going to have to work." Piccolo said, a lot calmer than before. He was angry that this was all that they had to work with. But Piccolo was not complainer. He would make it work. They all would.

Goten and Trunks looked to each other, and they nodded, ready to go into battle.

Pan and Bulla looed to each other, rolled their eyes, and shook their heads. "Hold on you guys." they both said in unison.

Everyone stopped and looked at the two teenage girls.

"You don't have to go. We'll go." Bulla said, not a trace of cynicism in her features.

Goten and Trunks looked to each, and then back to the two girls.

"Um, guys, we love you and all…but, please don't go and die for us." Goten said, unsure as to what the girls were actually suggesting.

"Yeah, you two can't even ascend to the first level of a Super Saiyan, yet. I meant no offense, and I'm sure with a little training, you'll both be there in no time…but, until then, you better let us handle this." Trunks said, agreeing with Goten.

"No, you idiots. What the girl is trying to say, is you guys have two Super Saiyan 3s, right here!" Pan said, slightly annoyed.

Everyone looked at them in shock. Except Piccolo.

Piccolo narrowed his eyes at the two girls. "I thought that I sensed some hidden energy inside of you two." he said, smiling slightly as he did so.

Goten and Trunks deadpanned. They looked at each other in shock. "…Dude. When did your baby sister, and my niece surpass us in…everything?" Goten asked his friend.

"I don't know. I really don't know. …Great. Now dad has another reason to make her his favorite." Trunks said unhappily.

The two boys hung their heads in shame. "That's what happens when you spend all of your time looking up little girls' skirts, instead of training!" Bulla said, laughing playfully as she did so.

A loud explosion could be heard from the inside of the training room, as Marron blasted both of her parents through a wall. Apparently, she had heard that comment as well.

Piccolo suddenly went wide-eyed.

"What?" Pan and Bulla asked him in unison.

His eyes narrowed. "Gohan is almost done powering up. …And, two more fighters are approaching the battle." Piccolo said suddenly.

"What? Who?" Bulma asked quickly.

Piccolo focused—hard. "…I…don't know. I don't recognize their energy signatures. It seems that—" Piccolo started, but he was cut off, as Dende came running out of the center of the lookout, with Mr. Popo in tow.

"Okay! Who angered Marron?! Because that girl is wrecking the whole training complex!" Dende said exasperatedly. Everyone pointed at Trunks.

"What did I do?!" he asked again. Again, no one answered him.

"Oh, it will take so long to fix." Mr. Popo complained, grievingly.

"…Heh. Um, would a check from Capsule Corp. take care of it?" Trunks asked uneasily.

"Oh! If you're paying, then I want new furniture! Oh, this will be so exciting! I haven't redecorated since the fifth century!" Mr. Popo exclaimed excitedly.

"Yeah. Sure." Trunks said, sounding more defeated than ever.

Goten couldn't hold in his laughter.

"Anyways… Who did you say was approaching the fight?" Pan asked Piccolo.

"I don't know. But, they're both humans—distinctly human—one male, and the other female. They're strong for humans—very strong. They're power might even be on-par with the strongest power-level that a base-level Saiyan can achieve—right before they transform." Piccolo said.

"Shin? Shin is going into that deathtrap?!" Pan asked, worriedly.

"Why do you care so much, Pan?" Bulla asked her, teasingly, smirking as she did so.

"I…don't. I just don't want to have to clean up his blood…" Pan said, trailing off.

"Right." Bulla said, dropping the subject—for now.

"Wait. You said that there were two humans heading towards the fight, right?" Goten asked. Piccolo nodded. "…And, that one was a female?" he inquired intricately. Piccolo nodded again.

Goten grunted angrily. "Why does that damn girl always have risk her life for no reason! If that's Shin down there, then that has to be Annie following him. For a smart girl, she does some stupid things sometimes. I'm going too." Goten said angrily.

Pan gave her uncle a look, but he disregarded it.

"No, you're not. You two would be a distraction—a liability. If you're needed, then you would be able to sense how the fight is going, and then come and help. That won't happen, though. I promise you that." Bulla said, sure of herself.

"Don't worry, uncle Goten. Annie will be fine." Pan whispered to him, and Goten dropped his anger and stared at his niece.

"I…I wasn't worried about…her. I…I…I was just…angry. That's all." he replied.

"And, of course you are. Why wouldn't you be? You have every reason to be angry—especially when the girl you love is putting her life in danger." Pan responded with a smirk. Goten went red in the face.

"Aright you two. Enough talk. Get down there. Now. Gohan is almost fully transformed and ready to fight. If this creature decides to take it up a level, then Vegeta and Gohan may need some time to stall, while they prepare their fusion. That time will be given to them by you two." Piccolo said. Pan and Bulla looked to each other, and they nodded.

"Hey, do you two know how to perform a successful fusion? You might need it." Trunks asked them.

"Of course we do." they replied in unison.

"Alright then. It is advised that you two fuse before you reach the battle, that way you won't have to worry about the creature interfering with the fusion process." Piccolo said, the two girls nodded. "Also, it is recommended that you two fuse, while you are both Super Saiyan 3s, so that when you enter your fused state, the base form of the fused being will have the look and power of a Super Saiyan 3. That way, when you power-up to a full-power Super Saiyan 3 in the fused state, the power will only be compounded." Piccolo finished his explanation.

"How much compounded power, exactly, are we talking about?" Pan asked in return.

"You will become far stronger than Goku was, at his best, as a Super Saiyan 3. You two, in your fused state—after fusing while you are both Super Saiyan 3s, and then powering-up to a full-power Super Saiyan 3 again, while fused—would be immensely powerful. But, you would still be just short of the power level of a Super Saiyan 4." Piccolo explained.

"If that is the case, then, in our fused Super Saiyan 3—if we fused, while we were both Super Saiyan 3s, and then powered-up again, when we fused—would we be able to contend with a Super Saiyan 4, even though we would be below one, in terms of raw power?" Bulla questioned the Namekian.

Piccolo nodded. "In that form, your power would be below a Super Saiyan 4—but not by much. It is likely to conceive, that if you two were fighting a Super Saiyan 4, and while fused—and if you two were smarter than that Super Saiyan 4—then even though he was stronger, you could very well win. That is how close the power-levels would be." Piccolo said, elaborating on his comment.

Pan and Bulla looked to each other, and they nodded. "Got it." they said in unison, as they both prepared to take flight.

"And, remember, the fusion will only last for thirty minutes! So, use it wisely!" Piccolo called out to the two girls, as they carefully left the ground.

"More time than we'll need." they said in unison, both smirking. The two girls took flight, and they soon broke the sound barrier, as they headed towards the location of their fathers, ready to fight.

Gohan's energy exploded, as the ground rocked, and the floor of the forest split apart.

Waves from the nearby body of water surged, striking violently against the shore. Trees and mountains moaned as they were toppled.

Gohan finally finished his transformation. The Super Saiyan 3 looked his enemy directly in his eyes, as Gohan's flowing brutal blond hair stayed silently still.

Slain yawned. "Wow. That was…long. If your enemy isn't willing to wait for your transformation to complete itself, then it's pretty useless, isn't it?" Slain asked condescendingly.

Gohan narrowed his eyes at the creature. "I have had little reason to use this from in the past—aside from training. The more that I use this form—or any of my forms—the more acclimated my body becomes, and the easier it becomes to transform into said form. I just never had to go past Super Saiyan 2 to beat an enemy. That, Slain, wasn't only a long transformation, but a rare one. What you just witnessed was a transformation that very few ever get to sense, let alone see. And, you should count yourself lucky. Because it is the last thing that you will see." Gohan answered the beast.

Slain chuckled. "Oh kid. I am really liking your banter. It's quite amusing to me. It's one of the few reasons that I've restrained from killing you thus far." Slain said, solemn seriousness crossing his features. There was no sign of insincerity. He wasn't joking.

Gohan wondered how Slain could possibly think that he could kill him, when he had another form up his sleeve. Gohan's eyes widened in realization, just Vegeta realized the same thing that Gohan did.

He could handle a Super Saiyan 3 in his current form—in his base form. And, if he knew that he could take a Super Saiyan 4 as well, then it meant one thing. He could transform. The momentary flash of panic in Gohan's eyes vanished as quickly as it had registered. It was a twitch of the face, and it was not present on his face long enough for anyone to see. But Slain had seen it.

"Ah. Finally figured out my special secret, have you? Well, don't worry. We both have one more form up our sleeves, right? Like you said, Gohan, I will throw the first punch, and you will throw the last. I will only need one punch, though." Slain said smugly, smirking as he did so.

Gohan narrowed his eyes at his opponent. Slain was right. Both he and Gohan had one more transformation beyond their current form. But Gohan was no idiot. If Slain's base form was as powerful as a Super Saiyan 3, then his next transformation could…easily kill Gohan. Perhaps the fusion wasn't such a bad idea.

Vegeta's mind was quick at work. He knew that this creature was only using one percent of his power, and he also knew that Slain was only in his base form. If he powered-up to his full power, then he would be equal to Gohan, as a Super Saiyan 3. That only meant that his transformed state would be immensely more powerful than Gohan's next form—the form of a Super Saiyan 4.

The only chance that they had of winning this fight was to use the fusion. The only way that they could begin to equal Slain's true power—in his transformed state—was if they both fused as Super Saiyan 4s, and then powered-up again, after they had fused.

But the fusion technique took time to properly perform. Vegeta mentally swore. Slain would not be one to give them that time. They would have to earn it.

Slain smirked as he opened his mouth and began to scream. His red eyes glowed as his power increased exponentially.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Slain screamed soundly.

In the next second, a boisterous boom was heard, as an aura or pure energy exploded from Slain, wrapping him in a dark red glow—which contrasted highly with Gohan's golden aura.

Slain was still in his base form, but his power was now evenly matched with Gohan's energy.

The creature's smirk grew.

"Want me to take the first shot again, golden boy?" Slain asked menacingly.

Before Gohan could answer him, though, two figures appeared at the edge of the clearing.

Annie Kaplan and Shin Oriama skillfully stopped themselves in midair, as they both sensed the battlefield before them.

Vegeta recognized Annie as one of the few human females that he did not detest—aside from his daughter and Pan.

Gohan recognized Shin as that annoying boy that was always hanging around his girl. Gohan made a mental note to keep Annie out of harm's way. He also made a mental note to see how well Shin could dodge an energy blast.

"Why are you here, Earthlings?! This is a private matter!" Vegeta roared, annoyed at their presence immediately.

"With all due respect, sir, we simply could not miss watching two legendary warriors in action. We will not engage—unless asked to do so. We simply wish to see history be made." Shin replied to an angry Vegeta respectfully.

Vegeta couldn't argue with the boy's logic.

"That is a valid point, except for one thing. She is blind. She cannot see." Vegeta replied calmly.

Annie sighed. Why did everyone have to act like she was deaf, too?

"I'm blind, and even I can see that you're an ass, 'oh great prince.' Great warrior, or not, these are public lands. We have every right to be here. And, so we will stay." Annie retorted.

Vegeta fumed, but a quick look from Gohan reminded him that the girl was not their enemy. Slain was.

"Very well. But, stay out of it! And, stay very far out of it!" Vegeta yelled.

"Fine by us." Shin and Annie responded unison. They had some sense, after all. The power that they were sensing—especially at this range—was enormous. Gohan's power, alone, was enough to level an entire solar system. And Slain's energy matched Gohan's power, exactly.

The immense strain that these massive power-levels were putting on Shin and Annie actually gave them both a headache. But, they showed no sign of it. Pain was something that they were very good at dealing with.

"Oh, goodie! Now we have some spectators! What a fight this is turning out to be, eh Gohan?" Slain asked mockingly.

"Just shut up and fight." Gohan said seriously.

Slain's smile diminished. He narrowed his eyes at the Super Saiyan 3. He launched himself—with all of his power, speed, strength, and stamina—right at Gohan.

Gohan didn't dare try avoid the attack. He did the opposite. He flew forward furiously, as he charged his enemy, hoping that he could end this fight—before Slain could transform.

Although, Gohan's hopes always seemed to fall short of reality.

A/N: Well, I hope that you all enjoyed that chapter. On a side-note, any and all of you, wonderful readers/reviewers, should surely check-out my profile, and see what other of my publicly posted FanFics might interest you! There may be a few. If you have read a book, then the chances are that I have read it as well, and if I have read it, then I'd love to talk about it! Message me, if any of you guys have any questions, or just want to chat, about ANYTHING. I'd love to hear from you! Well, stay tuned for the next update, and please click that subscribe/alert button, if you want the alerts for updates on this story, or simply message me, and ask me to message you every time I update, as I would be HAPPY to do so! So, please R&R, and stay tuned for the next update!