Lightning slowly flashed, as a dark, shadowy figure soared over Yunzabitt plain. His keen eyes scanned the landscape as flashes of ki and lightning illuminated the barren, frost covered ground… He glanced around for a few more minutes before realizing it was too dark to see anything, as the lightning had already stopped. Cursing to himself, he reached into his cloak pocket and pulled out a capsule. Flinging it to the ground in a puff of smoke it revealed a… sun lamp. Cackling evilly, the figure soared up to 1000 feet above the ground and clicked the on switch. Brilliant light flooded the area for over a mile. Spying a glint of orange amid the rocks below, the figure swooped down and collected the sphere. This was the first of the seven keys to his ultimate revenge. Laughing once more, the figure sped into the clouds in an explosion of Ki.

The sun rose over the landscape gracefully as the wildlife continued sleeping. Well, all except for two people. Dende, wearing his standard Nameksei-jin robes and vest and flanked by two enormous suitcases, stood in front of a sleepy-eyed Son Goku, who was not looking incredibly happy at being awakened. It was about 5:30 in the morning.

"…so anyway, do you think I can stay with you for a few days until this blows over?" Dende asked, looking at the half-asleep Saiya-jin towering over him.

Still dazed, Goku mumbled, "Come inside. Need coffee." Turning around, he walked through the door into the kitchen. Dende followed, dragging his two suitcases into the living room and leaving them there. Upon arriving, Goku reached into a cabinet and pulled out a gallon of pre-made coffee. Draining it in one gulp, he perked up noticeably, exploded into Super Saiya-jin form, then reverted back to his normal form and sat down at the table. He gestured for Dende to have a seat. Dende nodded and sat down.

"So anyway Dende, what’s going on?" He began. Dende muttered something under his breath and glanced up at Goku. Despite the fact that they were both sitting, Dende’s short stature made it difficult for him to look Goku in the eye..

"Hang on a minute, Goku, I have to get something." Goku watched confused, as Dende reached under his sink and pulled out three telephone books. He stacked them on his chair and sat back down, now at eye level with Goku. Goku scratched his head. "Please continue." Dende said impatiently, trying to conceal his awkwardness.

"So anyways…" Goku started again, "Piccolo and Mr. Popo kicked you out after promising not to again because they say you wrecked the lookout and drank half a billion zeni worth of water. Is that your story?" Dende scowled and nodded.

"Yeah. Have you ever heard anything so impossible? I mean, look how small I am compared to you guys, and I’m not even a fighter Namek. How could I wreck something? And besides, if I drank all that water I’d really have… to… go…" Dende froze for a moment as his eyes grew wide, talking slower and slower with each word, as if trying to hold something back.

"Dende? What’s wrong? Are you sick? Is it gas? Do you need a drink? Yeah, that’s it I’d bet, well don’t worry, we have tons of water…" Dende’s face fell as he clenched his teeth, his face suddenly twisting awkwardly. Goku hardly noticed, unaware that his comments were only making life all the harder for Dende. "It’s imported from the biggest waterfall around, Yunzabitt falls. Want me to get you some?" There was an awkward silence as Dende stared at Goku. Finally, he spoke, in one crisp, strained sentence, as if he was employing all of his willpower in not allowing something awful to happen.

"G…Goku? Where’s your bathroom?" The Namek asked urgently.

Goku blinked and tilted his head towards the entryway. "Oh, go down the hall, turn left, and it’s right there." Without even nodding in thanks, Dende soared at top speed towards the bathroom, flying with his legs crossed. (Ok, I’ve probably made a bunch of people wonder HOW everyone’s favorite race of green aliens take care of business. Well, Akira Toriyama never explained it, and there certainly aren’t any pictures of Piccolo on the *cough * can. I’m certainly not going to make any theories. Just trust your imagination. In my defense however, Kami’s Lookout does have toilets, all that water (and food, if any, yes Namek’s can eat, I’ve determined this) has to go somewhere…). The silence that followed for the next few moments was awkward, as the rapid shuffling of clothing could be heard, along with faint mutterings from the hallway. As the mutterings continued, Goku finally broke his composure and burst into hysterical laughter.

"Blast it! Why is this outfit so hard to get off?! What was I thinking when I designed these clothes! No wonder half the Namek’s I know just wear a vest and pants!" When this muttering finally stopped, Goku heard a huge whoosh of running water. His eyes bugged out because he had never heard the like, it was as if a huge rainstorm was nearby. Turning around, he saw that the nearby dam had broken, the sound didn’t come from Dende as Goku had previously thought. He began wondering why the dam had broken when he was interrupted from these thoughts by three sharp high-pitched screams in unison. Goku jumped up with a start. Moments later Chi-chi and Son Gohan appeared from around the corner, dressed in two morning robes, with their faces beet red. Goku grinned sheepishly. He certainly wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he could guess what had happened. The dam had stopped gushing water, but a faint "tinkling" noise could still be heard in the background… Goku didn’t need to guess… not with evidence like that.

"Gee, hi honey, hi son. Uh… what's up?" He murmured, trying to cut through the silence.

Gohan and Chi-chi just fell backwards with their legs up in the air. After a few moments, Gohan finally managed to speak. The sound of water still had not stopped.

"M… mother…" Gohan began, stuttering. "Woke me up because she thought there was a burglar in the house… we went to check the bathroom because… because," Gohan paused for a moment, then decided that he couldn’t figure out any very tasteful ways to explain it and just blurted the fact out. "Did you know Dende’s sitting on our… and… having a… a… relieving experience in our bathroom, dad?" Gohan finished, still red. As if to drive the point home, and much too loudly in Gohan’s opinion, a faint cry of "Ahhhh, I feel ten pounds lighter!" was heard down the hallway as the "tinkling" of water finally stopped. Goku broke down and started laughing again when a flush was heard and a few moments later Dende slowly walked in. His face was purple, as he was blushing, both at being discovered, and maybe just a little about his explanation at the end, but he couldn’t think of any other way to put it. He managed to convey a strange look of embarrassment/unpleasantness/and relief in the same expression.

"Hi everyone…" He said, waving. Chi-Chi and Gohan stared at him as he tried to blunder his way out of the subject before it began. "Uh… so how’s the local… um… sports team doing… heh heh." Gohan, Chi-chi, and Goku groaned in unison. Chi-chi’s eyes began to glow with an intense fire as she stood back up. Goku and Gohan both winced. Sweat began dripping down Dende’s face. Chi-chi pointed at Dende.

"GOKU! MY ROOM. NOW!" She promptly grabbed Goku’s left arm. "And just how did he get here in this hou-…" Dende overheard Chi-chi saying as Goku was dragged away. Gohan scratched his head and stared at the door. Dende hung his head, still embarrassed, and now worried he was going to be a problem. He glanced behind him as Gohan placed a hand on Dende’s shoulder, grinning.

"Well Dende, I broke some pretty amazing records when I was forced to survive half a year in the wilderness, but you beat em all!"

Dende groaned. "Uh, thanks, I think."

Five minutes later, Gohan and Dende were still sitting at the table. The din of Chi-chi’s tirade at Goku could still easily be heard. Dende’s keen ears could pick out a few words and sentences like "He should learn to lock a door!" and "He might wreck Gohan’s studies!"

"Gee…" Dende said sadly while glancing at a picture of Chi-chi, Goku, Goten, and Gohan all smiling happily. "Maybe I should go stay with Kuririn instead. I don’t think your mom likes me much." Gohan smiled at Dende, understanding how Dende was feeling.

He chuckled, hoping to cheer his friend up by letting him know his mother’s hatred wasn’t directed solely at him. "Don’t worry about it Dende, mother always gets like this when she doesn’t know someone’s coming over. You should have seen her last week when Goku said Trunks could stay over with Goten for a night." Dende thought about that a moment, and then grinned.

"Was that day Tuesday?" He asked, remembering one of the things that had made him roll his eyes and burst into hysterical laughter when he was doing his daily check of the Earth from his vantage point at the lookout.

"Yeah, why?" Gohan peered at him, confused.

"No reason. I thought it was odd to see your house on fire when I was looking down at the Earth. The best thing about being god of a planet is that you can spy- er, watch out for everyone on your planet." Dende grinned innocently, trying to conceal his little slip-up. "So," He gestured at the two suitcases in the living room. "Where am I staying?" He asked, hoping against hope he wouldn’t have to sleep in the living room on the sofa. Gohan shrugged.

"In my room, I guess. Goten’s room is too small, and there are two beds in my room." Dende glanced at Gohan.

"Why’s there another bed, not that I’m complaining since I don’t want to use a sleeping bag." Dende’s eyes suddenly widened as another thought came into his head. "Is… is Chi-chi expecting ANOTHER kid?!" Gohan blushed.

"No, but she occasionally gets angry enough at father to push him out of the bed… and since dad can’t sleep on a sofa, he needed another bed, and my room’s the only one big enough."

"Oh. That’s a relief. I still haven’t figured out where you human’s hide those eggs yet, but I’d imagine it’s a pretty good place…" Dende replied. Gohan rolled his eyes when Dende wasn’t looking, wondering if anyone was ever going to give the Nameksei-jin the "talk". He decided he’d better change the subject before Dende commented on it again.

"How’d you manage to carry these here?" Gohan wondered out loud, amazed at the heftiness of the two suitcases. Dende grinned and flexed his arm. Surprisingly a faint lump could be seen under his sleeve.

"I’m not that weak when it comes to the lifting department Gohan. I live with a short fat guy and a nut who wears a heavy turban and mantle all the time. If a desk or pillar or something ever fell on me I’d be dead meat since Piccolo has chronic back pain from that stupid turban and Mr. Popo is basically just short and fat. It’s all about survival. So I take a drink from my magic elixir now and then, and voila!"

"What’s it do? Help you train? Give you eternal youth?" Gohan asked. Dende looked awkward.

"Well… let me think, it came from a place on the old Namek planet… what would you earthlings call this stuff… umm… uh… steroids! That’s it!"

Gohan adopted a look of concern as he admonished his friend. "Now Dende, those are bad for you."

"Nah, they don’t hurt Namekians, Gohan. Neru drank the magic water all the time."

"Really?" Gohan asked. Dende rolled his eyes.

"Oh come on now. Do you really think he followed some ancient training to become a good fighter? The only training he did was drink the magic water and fly around the planet now and then. He showed me the magic pond once he saw me struggling to lift up an Ajissan plant. The Saichoro said I should wait until I was older when he saw me with the elixir, but I ignored him. He really must not have known what he was talking about. Look at me, does it look like there’s anything wrong? I’m in perfect health!" Dende flexed again and laughed. Gohan gulped.

"Um… Dende? What about the fact that you’re only up to here," Gohan turned his hand sideways and put it a little above his waist. "On me, and you’re about my age?"

"How long did it take Piccolo to get tall?" Dende pondered out loud. "On Nameksei, it varies a lot, but…"

"Uh, lets see… three or four years." Gohan replied. Dende gulped. With the exception of his first few years of life, he realized he had hardly grown at all.

"You mean I’m gonna be short for the rest of my life?! Destined always to look up even at Mr. Popo?! WAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" Dende screamed, panicking and running around Gohan in circles. Gohan smiled and stuck his hand into the tornado around him, extracting Dende by the collar and setting him back down to the ground. .

"Don’t worry about it Dende, just stop drinking your magic water and start training like the rest of us do if you need muscles." Gohan smiled at Dende, who by now was sweating profusely, already out of breath. When he could finally speak again, he rose to his feet and stared.

"Well… okay Gohan, I guess I could start lifting or something. But anyway, lets get these suitcases to the room, okay?" Gohan nodded and lifted up a suitcase, still marveling at the weight. Dende followed suit, and the two of them began marching to Gohan’s room.

As they crept past Goku and Chi-chi’s room, they could still hear Chi-chi’s yelling. They paused in front of it a moment, listening. This time he could hear quite clearly, and it sounded as if she was now berating Goku about the cleanliness of the house, how he had only held a job for a day, and now why he had invited that "pointy eared green midget monster" into the house without asking. They both chuckled, despite Chi-chi’s insult towards Dende.

Dende nudged Gohan with his elbow, prompting the Saiya-jin to bend down near Dende’s mouth. "Gohan," Dende whispered, "It’s highly unlikely since I’m a Namek and asexual, but if I ever fall in love with someone and wanna get married, shoot me, okay?" Gohan chuckled and nodded. Suddenly, a series of thumps were heard and the door swung open, sending Dende and Gohan flying. Chi-chi and Goku stormed out. Both were smiling, although Chi-chi’s was obviously forced. Chi-chi noticed the suitcases in Dende and Gohan’s hands. Her jaw dropped, and her smile rapidly contorted back into a frown.

"JUST WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING BRINGING YOUR STUFF IN THIS HOUSE BEFORE GETTING PERMISSION TO STAY?!" She bellowed. Dende gulped, picking himself up as beads of sweat trickled down his forehead.

"Uh… um… that is…" Dende stammered, gulping. Fortunately before Chi-chi could question further, Gohan came to the rescue. After all, he had experiencing dealing with these "Explosive" situations.

"Mother! Dende’s just trying to prove he can help around the house a bit! These suitcases are full of Goten’s toys he left outside!" He yelled urgently. Chi-chi’s face softened a bit.

"Oh, well I guess I was wrong about you. Thanks a lot." She said to Dende. Dende just wiped his forehead off and sighed in relief. "Anyway," She continued, "Goku and I talked a bit, and you can stay here for a week or two. There’s one small condition though." Chi-chi smiled warmly at Dende, who smiled back.

"Wow, thanks! I’ll be happy to do some chores and errands!" Dende said.

"It’s not like that…" Chi-chi said softly. "I’m so sorry for you. Goku said you lived on another planet with no schools. I feel sorry for you, so you’re going to attend school with Gohan. Isn’t that wonderful?" Chi-chi beamed. "You’re getting a real education!" Dende cringed in shock.

Outside the Son family’s home, the wildlife scattered as an incredibly high pitched scream echoed from the house. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Followed by the faint thump of a Nameksei-jin falling to the ground.

"That went well," Goku whispered to Gohan, and he nodded in agreement, even as Chi-chi dashed off to get some smelling salts.

When Dende came to, he noticed three people standing over him, Chi-chi, Gohan, and Goku. Gohan extended a hand down, which Dende grasped.

"Are you okay, Dende?" Gohan said, pulling the Namek to his feet.

"Uh… I’m fine, I think. Phew, it must have been some awful dream. I thought I was going to school." Chi-chi smiled at him, a twinge of confusion etching onto her face.

"But you are, dear." Dende’s eyes widened as he stepped backwards. He looked at the trio assembled in front of him, Chi-chi smiling reassuringly, Gohan and Goku grinning half-heartedly. His eyes traced to the two of them, practically begging for support, or a voice of reason, but the look on their faces showed Dende he would get no help from this quarter. Gohan liked school, and Goku had learned long ago that there was nothing he could do to stop his wife on matters of education. Dende groaned. It was up to him and him alone. He formulated a ridiculous plan, especially since Piccolo’s means of teaching him to be the god of Earth so long ago basically just entailed him being handed a book titled, "So you want to be Kami".

"Uh, the truth is ma’am, I’m being privately taught already by a man named… uh… Mr. Piccolo! Yeah, he’s the greatest teacher I know!" Chi-chi’s face exploded in rage as she seemed to rise up even higher then before, making Dende feel like he was two inches tall… well, okay, one inch tall.

"THE SAME MR. PICCOLO THAT KIDNAPPED MY SON?!" She shrieked. Dende gulped and loosened his collar, getting scared and trying desperately to think of a response.

"Uh, what I mean to say is, um… his name’s Mr. Roshi!"

"THE SAME MR. ROSHI THAT HAS 60 MISDEAMENORS FOR SEXUAL HARASSMENT?"

His mind racing frantically, Dende searched for his final card.

"Um… you see… I’ve already had an education!" He said hastily. "I’m uh… a graduate from the Namek school of medicine! And I’m Bilingual! So you see… I don’t need another education! I have my own!" Dende smiled, trying to look like a cute and well-educated Namek. Chi-chi groaned.

"But I’ve already enrolled you at Orange Star High School! You’ll have to attend for a day so you can drop out!" Dende’s jaw dropped and he crumpled to the floor, a broken Nameksei-jin, if not in body, then in mind and resolve. Gohan pulled him back up and smiled reassuringly.

"Don’t worry Dende! What can happen in one day? Besides, school’s fun! Nothing bad’s ever happened to me." Unfortunately, having been put through hell the previous day, Dende wasn’t very enthusiastic. The fact that Gohan, who had supposedly thought of himself as "fine", thought of himself as a super-hero didn’t help much either. He sighed and motioned towards the hallway where Gohan’s room was. Despondent, he picked up his suitcases and walked to Gohan’s room quietly. Gohan glanced at his still beaming mother and daydreaming father, and turned to follow his friend.

A few minutes later, Dende had returned to his normal self, after Gohan had gotten him some water. Actually, it was Zima, but Dende didn’t need to know that. All Gohan knew was he had to get his friend perked up somehow, and his experiences at the hands of Garlic Jr. so many years ago had shown him one way to get someone in a good mood. Booze. Dende finished his clear, alcoholic beverage, (Gohan had only risked giving him a small glass,) and grinned. He seemed a little disoriented, but otherwise fine, with a faint, dizzy looking smile on his face.

"Gee, you have some weird water around here Gohan, the water at the Lookout tastes nothing like this. Are you sure you didn’t give me something other than water?"

"Uh, don’t worry about it, it’s fine." Gohan replied hastily. "So um… what‘s the combination number on this suitcase anyway?" Dende shrugged.

"Beats me, I packed in my sleep. These are Mr. Popo’s anyway." He replied. Dende struggled with his own suitcase. Frustrated at his inability to open it, he jumped on top of it and bounced into the air. The Namek grinned. "I bet I can bounce it open! This is great! I’ve always wanted to bounce on my bed at the Lookout but Mr. Popo won’t let me!" Dende started bouncing repeatedly, going higher and higher. Gohan gulped. "Uh, Dende, maybe you shouldn’t…

Dende laughed gleefully, cutting his friend off. "Whee! Ha ha ha ha ha! This is fun! Whee! WHE-" Suddenly the suitcase lid, unable to handle the stress, whipped open at breakneck speed sending Dende crashing into a wall.

"Dende! Are you alright?!" Gohan said frantically, running to his fallen friend. Dende groaned. He had, after all, in the past two days been crushed, ignited, and now put through a wall. Rising weakly to his feet, Dende nodded at the suitcase.

"Well, at least we got one open." He said, rubbing his sore back and regretting the fact that he couldn’t make himself feel better. Son Goten walked into the room, clad in a pair of blue pajamas, since he had just awakened from the loud noise. He grinned at the two of them. Gohan and Dende smiled back at him.

"Hi brother! Hi Dende!" The little half Saiya-jin said cheerfully. "What’s going on?" Dende grinned and explained the suitcase dilemma to Goten. Goten smiled and nodded to Dende. Goten liked Dende, particularly because whenever Gohan and Goten came to visit the lookout Piccolo had always stuck with Gohan, leaving Dende the hefty task of producing a meal for the child. Actually, he had always wondered where Mr. Popo was at those times, but there was nothing wrong with being god, a healer, and a good cook. He only regretted the fact that he hadn’t yet had the guts to taste anything of his own making, since he didn’t like or need to eat. Goten glanced at the suitcase and smiled. Gohan scratched his head, he knew that look, it was the exact same look when Goten had thrown rocks at him to help his reflexes.

"I’ll help, brother!" Goten yelled as he took on a familiar stance, which looked even weirder in blue pajamas. Gohan gulped. He recognized that stance. Dende just stared, unsure of what was happening. He wasn’t so dense that he couldn’t recognize the familiar stance for Son Goku’s signature attack, the Kame Hame Ha, but he had never watched Goten perform it. The child wasn’t wearing his orange gi, which played another plague on Dende’s senses, for all he knew Goten was preparing to scratch his back, wolf down five hundred pancakes, or dash off to the restroom.

"Kame…" Goten began. Now Dende’s eyes widened in shock as he realized what the child was about to do.

"Uh, Goten, we don’t need the suitcase open that bad-" He said hastily, stepping in front of Goten.

Goten cut him off as he continued. "Kame…" Dende froze like a deer staring at headlights, as Gohan grabbed the paralyzed Namek by the collar and dived with him to the other side of the bed, ducking.

"Ha!" Goten finished as his ki blasted into the suitcase, which exploded instantly. Goten looked around confused, as charred versions of Dende’s standard outfit slowly drifted down to the floor. Gohan and Dende stood up from under the bed. The destroyer scratched his head.

"Gee Dende, is this all you wear?" He asked. Dende sighed, trying to keep from lashing out at the child. He was obviously a bit angry.

"Well, it was all I wore. Now what do I have to wear while I’m living here? I can’t just make clothes out of thin air like Piccolo can." Dende complained. Goten glanced at Dende, which made him think of food. He turned around and left the same way he had come in. And a moment after he was out of earshot Dende jumped up and down, and started throwing a temper tantrum.

"Don’t worry Dende, we’ll go to the lookout and pick you up some new clothes tomorrow. And if not you can wear some of my old clothes!" Gohan said, walking past the first bed and pulling a broom out of his closet, beginning to sweep the charred remains up.

"But… your clothes are so… tight." Dende sighed, sitting on the bed. Nameksei-jin liked larger, billowy clothes.

"Well, maybe you packed some clothes in your other suitcase. Let’s check!" Gohan began rummaging around Dende’s remaining suitcase as the Namek watched. He lifted a black box out of the suitcase and was about to toss it on his desk.

"Be careful with that!" Dende shrieked, jumping off the bed and catching it before it landed. He put it down gently on the desk. Gohan walked over and read the bright lettering on it. He glanced at Dende.

"You’ve got to be kidding me. Make your own dragonball kit?" Gohan asked. Dende grinned and nodded.

"My motto is be prepared. You never know when Son Gok- er, some idiot is going to accidentally break one of the balls." He said smugly.

Gohan looked perturbed. "You mean all you need to make dragonballs is one of these kits? Just like that?" Dende nodded, giving him a "duh" look, and after thinking and pondering this new knowledge for a moment, Gohan grinned. Dende knew what he was thinking.

"You still need a member of the Dragon race to make the dragon of the balls, so you can’t just get a cheap and easy wish maker. Sorry Gohan, you’re gonna have to put up with Shenlon for your wishing needs!" Dende said brightly. Gohan sighed. Unexpectedly, Dende frowned.

"Hmm? What’s the matter, Dende?" Gohan requested, glad he didn’t have to endure a lecture about ethics and that there should only be one dragon, the way he was expecting. He had been pretty sure that’s what Kami would have done. Dende’s voice sounded embarrassed, as if he was confessing to a crime.

"Oh nothing important. I was just remembering how disappointed I was when I found out I had to stick with Shenlon when powering up the Dragonballs. My dragon would’ve had two, no three heads! And he would have twenty arms! And um… he’d be different shades of purple and yellow, not green! Porunga’s green, I wanted to have color coded dragons. And he would have a personality! And um… say something different then that boring ol’ Fare Thee Well!" Dende had begun grinning as he had been thinking out loud, and his grin now stretched over the whole lower half of his face. "What do you say Gohan? Let’s make our own dragon! It’d be great!" Dende exclaimed.

Gohan glanced warily at the "Make your own Dragonballs" kit, spinning the idea around and around in his mind. "Well," he admitted, "It would be good to have another set of wishes every time I wanted mother to give permission to go to Videl’s hou-… er, um… I mean every time Kuririn dies! Yeah, that’s it!" Gohan said, concealing his original intent nicely, in his opinion.

Dende jumped up and down in excitement, looking for all the world like a kid that had just found out he was the sole inheritor of fifty million zeni. "Then it’s settled! I’ll work on making the dragon, you can work on making the Dragonballs! Remember that they should be Pink and Green, Nameksei-jin colors, not Bright ugly orange! And sign each one with our names! I want people to look at these and say, WOW! Dende and Gohan made these!"

Gohan couldn’t help but roll his eyes as Dende ran to his suitcase and began digging for other materials. Gohan snatched up the make your own Dragonball kit. He started reading the instructions. It said the more complex the balls looked the longer it would take. He groaned. It was going to take some work.

Six hours later, he had finally finished the one and two star Dragonballs. Beside him were seven rejected Dragonballs. He heard another curse from the other side of the room. He had been hearing a lot of those since the ordeal had begun. Picking up the two complete Dragonballs, he crossed the room to where Dende was diligently working. Dende scowled as a hand reached in behind him and grabbed some of the materials he had been using.

"Um… Dende? Why are you using Play-doh?" Gohan requested awkwardly, examining the contents of one of the containers.

"Shut up Gohan, if you want color you have to use it. It’s in the rule book." Dende grumbled. Gohan peeked over the Namek’s shoulder and nearly laughed out loud. The fruits of Dende’s labor for six hours certainly didn’t look much like a dragon. Instead, it resembled a yellow and purple glob of play-doh with three round balls on top as heads and twenty toothpicks sticking out of the base for arms. Dende fiddled with the blob a few more moments before yawning.

"Hey Gohan, I’m pretty tired, I didn’t sleep much last night. Let’s turn in and we can finish this stuff tomorrow morning." Gohan shook his head.

"You have school tomorrow, remember Dende?" Gohan replied. Dende scowled and muttered a curse in Nameksei-jin.

"Guess I’d better get ready for bed then." Dende covered the dragon up and left the room. When he returned, Gohan’s eyes widened in shock. Dende was dressed in a familiar Green and Black outfit that was a bit big for him. He looked awkward, but he was smiling slightly.

"Gohan, this is great! I found something that’s loose and billowy, just like Nameksei-jin clothes!" Gohan’s jaw dropped.

"Dende! You can’t wear that to bed! That’s my great Saiyaman costume!" He shrieked. Dende glanced down at his clothes, confused.

"Well I’ll be. I thought they were pajamas or something. Great Saiyaman? I knew you were a super hero, but I always thought you were just break dancing or something. Those fighting poses and phrases certainly didn’t instill fear in me when I saw them." Dende grinned. Gohan gritted his teeth and went Super Saiya-jin at the mention of an insult to his beloved costume and hard thought poses. Dende gulped, and took a step back.

"Now, what was that about my costume and poses?" The Saiya-jin said, raising a glowing fist to Dende’s eye level. Sweat began pouring down Dende’s face as he backed into the wall.

"Uh… this? This costume is great! It’s so loose and colorful! And those fighting poses are so graceful and fear instilling that even I want to do them. And man, those phrases, they have criminals shaking in their boots. Heh heh." Dende said meekly. Gohan smiled. He had trapped Dende.

"Show me." Was all Gohan said. Dende gulped. He quite obviously had no idea what to do. Smiling halfheartedly, Dende got down on his tiptoes and raised his arms high over head in a V.

"Uh… to protect the world from domination…" He began. Gohan smiled.

"Wrong. Try again." He said. By this time Goten, Goku, and Kuririn had sensed Gohan’s SSJ explosion and entered the room, and the four of them were now watching Dende and trying not to laugh. Dende began sweating even more, plainly embarrassed now that even more of his friends were observing the spectacle. This time Dende raised his left hand to the air and stood at his full height.

"Um… it’s morphin time!" He yelled. Gohan grinned even wider, and Goku, Goten, and Kuririn put their hands over their mouths. This time, Dende put one outstretched arm in front of him, palm up, and raised his left arm overhead in a "we’re number one pose."

"As long as injustice exists, The Great Saiyaman will keep you safe!" He bellowed, praying he was correct this time. Goku, Goten, and Kuririn all fell down clutching their sides from laughing too hard. Gohan tried very hard to hold on to his anger, but began chuckling, until it erupted into a full fledged bellow of laughter at Dende’s antics. The look on the Nameksei-jin’s face was priceless. Slowly as he laughed even harder with the rest of the group, his hair returned to it’s normal hue. Dende sighed and glared, his eyes burning into Gohan, seeming to say "Why did you do this to me?"

After a moment, Gohan finally managed to bring his laughter under control, grinning at his friend as he said, "Well Dende, I don’t recall ever saying that or using that pose, but it looked so good I’ll have to incorporate it next time I fight crime. You can stop now." Managing to finish that difficult to control comment, Gohan burst into laughter once more as Dende glanced at the ground. Slowly, Dende began to laugh despite his embarrassment, after all, there were far worse things then being embarrassed in front of your friends, and as we all know, laughter is highly contagious.

Unfortunately, the laughter came to an end as Goten grabbed onto a nearby table mat (I know it’s lame but I can’t remember what they’re called.) on the desk, upon which an expensive looking Ming vase was perched. Goten yanked on the mat as he laughed, unaware that the vase was there, and it stood for a moment, teetering between disaster and solid ground, before finally giving in to gravity and falling to the ground, shattering into hundreds of pieces with a loud CRASH. They immediately stopped laughing, and stared at the broken vase for a moment as a strange thumping noise from outside, steadily getting closer and louder. Thump, Thump thumpthumpthumpthump. Goku shrieked, sensing a familiar ki, and grabbed Kuririn, using his instantaneous movement (or transmission, groan) to teleport the two of them into the living room, leaving Dende, Gohan, and Goten to shrink back in horror as Chi-chi burst into the room, her face frozen in a frown. The three looked at the angry housewife/mother, glanced at each other, and gulped simultaneously as their eyes grew wide. Chi-chi pointed at the vase, her eyes scanning the trio for any evidence.

"WHO DID THIS?!" She screamed. Dende pointed at Goten, Goten pointed at Gohan, and Gohan pointed at Dende.

"He did it, ma’am." Dende replied hastily.

"Gohan did it, mother, he threw a book at it. I’m hungry." Goten said innocently.

"He did it mother, you can’t trust gods, they’re always making a mess of things." Gohan stammered. Chi-chi sighed. This was going to take awhile.

While Chi-chi was playing detective, the narrowly escaping Goku had stopped to get some refreshments for himself and his guest. He plopped down onto the couch, arms laden with popcorn, pretzels, and other assorted snacks. Kuririn sat down next to him and flipped on the TV.

Kuririn began flipping through the channels before glancing to the right, smiling at his friend. "Thanks for inviting me over to watch your favorite show, Goku. I just need to get out of the house once in awhile, and since Marron and No. 18 are away I’ve had nothing to do." Goku nodded, stuffing his face with a bowl of popcorn. Kuririn reached for some then withdrew his hand when Goku turned and snarled at him. He thought Goku might have been joking, but then, if he caught his hand in there, Goku might grab it and eat it with all the other things he had. He decided to change the subject quickly. "So, what’s this show called, anyway?" Goku dumped a box of pork rinds in the now empty bowl before answering, smiling as he recited his new number one goal in life.

"Yeah, it’s called Who wants to weigh a million pounds! I’m trying to become a contestant! It’s such a great show!" Goku explained, now shoving a box of cookies down his gullet. On the TV screen, a rail thin man appeared, flanked by two enormous piles of food. He was grinning a bright, polished smile, as Kuririn watched, wondering why Goku was so obsessed with a game show. Goku stared, eyes transfixed on the man in the suit, who was beginning to speak.

"Hi! I’m Plegis Dilbin, the host of Who wants to weigh a million pounds! Let’s meet our contestants! Our first contestant has been the champion since the show began, you know him, you love him, say hello to…. MR. BUU!" From behind the curtain, Mr. Buu stepped out, waving at the crowd. Several admiring fans threw boxes of cookies at him, which he readily devoured. Plegis raised his hands, calming the crowd down, as he tilted his head in the direction of the other curtain. "And now, the challenger, who’s being selected from hundreds of ticket holders, say hello to… MR.VEGETA!" From behind the other curtain, everyone’s favorite spiky haired Saiya-jin prince stepped out, grinning broadly. He was pumping his arms up and down in victory, and wearing his pink T-shirt.

"Yes! I made it! Whoo-hoo! I…" Vegeta stopped as he glanced at the game show host. "What the hell… you’re not Alex Trebec! This isn’t Jeopardy! Where am I?" He demanded, confusion etched in his face.

A bead of sweat appeared on Plegis’ face, as he wondered which corner of the world they had found THIS idiot from. "Well sir, you’re on Who wants to be a million pounds! It’s everybody’s favorite game where you attempt to clear your pile of food before your opponent does!"

Vegeta glared at him, mouth agape in shock. "That’s the stupidest idea for a game show I ever heard! I wanted to beat up all those geniuses on the show and take the money! How’d I get here?" The prince said, exploding into Super Saiya-jin 2 and looking ready to go AWOL on the crowd. He paused for a moment, and grinned. "Wait, this might not be so bad after all. What can I win?" He asked.

"Well, you can have anything in the world, sir! As long as it’s an object and not a person’s life!" The host explained. Vegeta nodded, grinning evilly as he formulated his next question.

"Even a Super Saiya-jin turbo electric backscratcher?" Vegeta asked. The host nodded, adjusting his tie.

"I don’t know what that is, but if it exists we’ll get you one!" He said hastily, noting that this person was much stronger looking then he was.

Vegeta began chuckling, and then burst into cruel, evil laughter. "YES! Kakarotto doesn’t have one of those! I can finally defeat him at something! Ahahahahaha! Quick, let’s get this over with." The host ushered Vegeta over to his food pile. Buu was already at his.

"3…2…1… BEGIN!" The host yelled. Vegeta and Buu began shoveling food into their mouths. Buu and Vegeta were nearly even, but at the last second Buu pulled out a bit of extra effort, and finished the last of the food. Vegeta stood there defeated, staring at the last vegetable on his plate. It was a carrot.

"Well, it looks like you didn’t win, sorry Mr. Vegeta!" The host said, trying to sound depressed. Vegeta didn’t say anything, his eyes growing wide as he picked up the carrot. He stared. It had it’s familiar orange hue, but instead of the top being green, it was blue, and for a brief moment Vegeta’s imagination transfixed Son Goku’s face on it. He sobbed.

"DEFEATED BY KAKAROTTO AGAIN! WHYYYYYYYYY!" The host gulped as Vegeta advanced, ready to tear Plegis Dilbin’s face off. But before he did, Buu reached up behind Vegeta, grabbed him securely around the waist, and tossed him into his mouth, swallowing him whole. Plegis stared at Buu as the large, pink person smiled politely at him. He looked sickened, but finally regained his composure and turned back towards the camera.

"Well, it looks like our challenger didn’t win again. Be sure to tune in tomorrow, for night #26 of "Who wants to weigh a million pounds!" Good night, Satan City!" Plegis said hastily, motioning for the credits. A moment later, the credits rolled up so quickly that not even the trained eyes of Goku or Kuririn could detect their movements, and the show went off the air.

Goku stared, a tear welling up in his eye. Kuririn eyed him warily, a little disgusted by the spectacle himself.

"G…Goku… are you sad because Buu ate Vegeta? Don’t worry… Buu’ll spit him out, he did swallow him whole… I can still sense his ki, he’s not dead…" Kuririn mumbled, saddened at the forlorn look on his friend’s face. A moment later Goku burst into tears. Kuririn put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. "There there, Goku… like I said, he’ll be out of Buu in a day… Mr. Satan will find a way to get him out, I’ll go over to his house and get him to help… Vegeta’s fine, after all." Goku gazed at Kuririn, still overcome by emotion.

"He… he… he ate him." Goku said mournfully.

"Goku… like I said, he’s fine, I can sense his ki…" Goku sobbed even harder.

"But… but…" He pulled out a handkerchief and blew into it. "I wanted to eat him!" Goku screamed, even as Kuririn fell off the couch.

Chi-chi walked in behind the group, having put Dende, Gohan, and Goten to bed early as punishment. She surveyed Kuririn lying on the ground, frozen in shock, and Goku, who by now was pounding a fist on the couch in despair, still wiping at his ever-streaming eyes.

She bent down near Kuririn’s ear, whispering. "Hey Kuririn, what’s wrong with my husband? Why’s he so sad…?" Kuririn stared up at Chi-chi.

"He… he’s depressed because Buu just ate Vegeta and he wanted to eat Vegeta, I think…" Chi-chi smiled.

"Don’t worry about it Kuririn, I’ll take care of everything. Thanks for telling me, it looks like he didn’t take his medicine today." Kuririn blinked, relaxing slightly.

"Medicine? What ailment does Goku have?" Kuririn asked. Chi-chi smiled brightly, speaking as if Goku merely suffered from a cold.

"Well, he has a few cannibalistic tendencies driven by a chemical imbalance in his brain… his medicine corrects that and makes him just like a normal, sane, person… he must’ve forgotten to take it today. It’s my entire fault, I forgot to cook him some Vege-" Kuririn’s eyes widened in shock as he took a step back, suddenly wondering if the Son family was a bunch of cannibals. "-tarian soup today, it’s the only thing he’ll take his medicine with. I guess he already used the leftovers yesterday." Chi-chi finished. Kuririn breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, that makes sense… well, I’d better go, will you need any help?" He asked, wanting to leave as soon as possible so that he could rescue Vegeta. Chi-chi shook her head, smiling.

"No, don’t worry about it, I’ll have everything under control. Good night, Kuririn!"

Kuririn waved goodbye to the two of them, told Goku that he’d be okay, and flew off into the air at a brisk speed.