Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year.

And the seventh in three years, I forgot to mention that.

By P. Dizzle tha Grand Champion

Disclaimer Stuff: This story is an original concept, I own none of the characters except the Madri Scholar (though his appearance and a slight part of his name were inspired by the Madri Priests from X-men Legends II), no money is being made off of this, I'm tired of putting that on all my stories, etc.

Rating: T, as is everything else I've done, just for safety purposes.

NOTE: Another long chapter. Can I ever keep anything short and sleek these days?

Chapter 26: Things are Coming Together.

"The fusion of a cyborg and a machine mutant whose components, organic and otherwise, harmonize with each other perfectly, such as a cyborg Seventeen and a machine mutant Seventeen, would obviously result in an awesome conglomeration and multiplication of power the likes of which has probably never been seen before in the history of the universe," Washu stated, beginning her small science lesson as a screen appeared behind her showing silhouettes of the two Seventeens, one with yellow coding on the left side and the other next to it with yellow coding on the right.

"Um, excuse me?" a confused Mihoshi sounded off, after which everything stopped so that the GXP's (and the Masaki clan's) own version of the California dumb blonde could have the floor, however meaningless the statement for it may turn out to be. "Who are we talking about again?"

"Mihoshi, you idiot, they're talking about him!" Kiyone shot sharply in the blonde's direction as she pointed in the direction of the real Seventeen, who was actually standing beside Washu, on the side opposite from the screen with the silhouette models. As for Kiyone and Mihoshi? Well, once again, the utter denseness of her ditzy partner never ceasing to simultaneously amaze and shame her.

"Uh… who is he again?" Mihoshi asked once more, causing all of them to tumble down, crashing to the ground in disbelief, Washu and Seventeen included.

And I thought Kakarot was a complete idiot, Vegeta and Raditz both thought simultaneously as they picked themselves up and sorted themselves out after suffering the total randomness that is Mihoshi's lack of sense.

"Eighteen's brother, Seventeen. The one with the new superpower type form," Washu answered in ridiculous boredom, before restoring her upbeat tone in trying to explain this again. "Now, let me try this again. You put a perfect match of cyborg and machine mutant together, their powers'll go hand in hand like the pieces to a puzzle, causing it to not only combine, but also to multiply like crazy." While she said this, the two Seventeen silhouettes on the screen closed together into one Seventeen with both bodies' coding appearing on this one. A notable point to the sight of this is that the one Seventeen did not change body type at all, and all the coding from both of the Seventeens being in this one form seems to be abit clustered together.

"The reason there's initially no outer change involved is because Seventeen put more into the fusion due to entering it in much better condition. However, that compact cyber-fitted human base form is not fit to, will not, and cannot possibly be able to use the full power accomplished by the code completion between the two Seventeens," the most brilliant mind in the Muyo universe explained, as the places where the cybernetic fittings were made into Seventeen were flashing into clarity on the body map that was the screen silhouette of Seventeen. The silhouette flashed in white a little, before morphing into a silhouette of the taller, more mature-looking form that Seventeen had just gotten through fighting Cell and Kagato in not too long ago. "Hence the result of whenever he wants to tap into that power being the taller, leaner, stronger, Super Seventeen; right now estimated to be possibly the single most powerful force in the universe."

"While we're giving explanations and science lessons," Eighteen interrupted as she walked into the room and up to Seventeen and Washu, "could you tell us why is it if he's fused with a clone, that he can switch between his true body and its result whenever he wants?"

"Why, even I could tell you that," Seventeen spoke up, putting a major smirk on his face as he saw that Eighteen. "See, the thing is, because it - right now I refuse to call that clone mutant me a he - wasn't in any condition to put the same amount of energy into the merger as I was, it didn't merge with me. It merged into me. So I've got control over the power that it gives me. I can either leave it in a kind of rest mode inside me and keep my normal body intact as you see or tap into that power and become Super Seventeen. Washu already explained all that, but what she forgot to say is that my artificial clone is not only the source of the Super Seventeen power, it also serves as its pocket. Which I can put it right back into when I'm done with the power and no longer need it or the Super form. Either way, I own." As this was not part of Washu's short planned explanation for Super Seventeen, the graphic did not change to accommodate what the raven-haired cyborg was saying at all. Despite this, the majority of the group, finally understanding the full fact of how the Super Seventeen merger works, could be heard moaning impressed.

So he can become a completely new self and then turn right back to normal, just as if the physical change was as simple as a shift to Super Saiyan, Vegeta realized in astonishment, then in confidence, as evidenced by the smirk that suddenly overcame his face. The spoken word accompanying the new expression: "We need ultimate powers to defeat them. And this is our first one."

"I guess you have me to thank for that, don't you?" a certain familiar voice could be heard saying behind the Prince. He tuned around to find none other than that weird wizard priest that started this whole turn of events in the first place on a careless whim.

"Sorry, but I don't thank stalking freaks who cause a big giant mess," Vegeta retorted instead, his smirk growing even firmer and crueler as he saw the Madri Scholar jerk backwards in embarrassment. "But hey; if we survive this ordeal long enough to find a way to go into another realm, I might put in a good word for you."

"If we survive?" the Scholar asked in confusion.

"Chances," Vegeta said, the point becoming clear to the Scholar through that one word. This was evident due to the restored calm in his posture, a sign that he understood and accorded.

"I'm heading over to the Other World. I've business to discuss with the Lord Kais," the Scholar then declared, suddenly disappearing. There wasn't even any kind of visual or sound effect to it: Vegeta simply saw that one moment he was there, the next he wasn't.

Meanwhile, on the sacred planet of the Supreme Kais, Kibitoshin and Rou Dai Kaioshin were looking carefully at the crystal ball once again, except it wasn't watching anything on the planet Earth, or on the dark planet of the Souja. Rather, this time it was scanning outer space, apparently looking out for something.

"Well? Have we found anything yet?" Tien asked while leaning against the big tree in their vicinity.

"No, not yet Tien," Kibitoshin informed him, gaze still intently kept on that ball. "But we haven't looked through much of outer space yet. There is still time to find it." Upon hearing that, Tien closed his eyes once again, the way in which he did so giving more of the impression that he was meditating as opposed to simply relaxing. Chiaotzu was out finding something to cook for food, which explains why the young emperor was not with Tien at the moment.

"Listen to me carefully, Tienshinhan," he suddenly heard from somewhere, apparently behind the tree. True to the fact that he was indeed meditating rather than going to sleep, Tien only calmly sounded off a "huh?" as he looked around the tree behind him to find the Madri Scholar.

"Oh, it's you, Madri Scholar. So, what's the new info?" Tien asked the wizard priest.

"I wouldn't say info as much as I would say an idea," the Scholar calmly corrected. "Let me ask you, what do you think about the idea of sending Other World warriors to attack the Emporium?"

"What?" Tien asked a little louder now, the surprise and some disagreement with the idea evident in his voice. "But how are you gonna convince Baba to…"

"Let me worry about that fortuneteller, when she comes running to me about the chaos," the Madri Scholar immediately replied, unfazed by the bass in Tien's questioning voice. "I'm not running this idea through her, because I won't actually be sending them to the living world. What I will really be doing is sending one of our enemies, alive and all, onto the Grand Kai's planet, where I will select five to do battle with the villain."

"And who do you have in mind? Are Krillin and Yamcha among them?" Tien inquired warily, wanting to know if they were really considering the plan.

"Well, last time they were there, Yamcha fought like a star. Without a life to abandon, he might be an even greater warrior than Pikkon," the Scholar replied, hinting especially towards a certain result despite no official confirmation in the statement. "I would've found a place for you on this team, but you are actually alive and more of a suspect risk. If you get completely destroyed rather than just killed, which can happen to you more easily since you are of the living, there's no guarantee you'll keep your body or even exist among the dead, consider where your death would've occurred."

"I don't care. If Krillin and Yamcha are gonna be put into this fight with their existence on the line," Tien solidly declared, causing the Scholar to be taken aback just a little bit, "then I don't want to just stand there and do nothing about it. It's about time I finally stepped in and took a part in this fight."

"I already have my army of five set. I'm sorry, but if you want to be a part of this fight, you'll have to find some other way," the wizard responded, making sure to let Tien know via his tone of voice that finding another way was exactly the open floor he wanted him to see. Understanding the underlying message, Tien nodded to the Scholar, before asking him a question.

"So, when are you gonna run this idea by the Kais?" Tien next asked, not bothering to tilt his head in the direction of the Supreme Kais overlooking outer space.

"I take it you know to be referring to the Lord Kais?" the Madri Scholar said, interpreting Tien's body language, or lack thereof. "We can go there right now. Being the gourmet cook that he is, Chiaotzu's search for food will probably take awhile, so the trip there and back shouldn't take long enough for him to be long back. As for the Supreme Kais," he continued, finally pointing to them, "we'll run it by them after we all get back here."

"Why is Seventeen staying in the lab? I thought he hated labs and experiments ever since Dr. Gero turned him into a cyborg," Eighteen asked questioningly, as she was standing in the living room of the Masaki house. Ayeka was sitting, and Ryoko leaning back, on opposite sides of the sofa.

"I don't know. Guess he must be explaining that to Washu as we speak," Ryoko guessed aimlessly, not really caring what Seventeen thought he had in mind. Knowing her mother's experimental tendencies all too well, she pitied the young cyborg, who obviously didn't know what he was getting himself into by staying in there with that crazy redhead. "Either way, we're gonna hear him get tortured by her gadgets and start begging for her to release him pretty soon. It's actually gonna be hilarious."

"It may be quite humorous to you the predicament he's in, but I personally take pity on him," Ayeka replied in wholehearted disagreement with the space pirate, partially for just that reason; the other part of her refusal to laugh at his misfortune at the moment was her remembering the moment they shared outside before he came into the house for the first time.

"Hey, I forgot to ask, what did happen between you two out there?" Ryoko asked, secretly smiling devilishly as the question formed.

"He proved himself a sympathetic gentleman," Ayeka proudly boasted, in Ryoko's internally spoken words, as if she were talking about a guy she trained to be that way. In immediate (mis)interpretation of what Ayeka meant or was implying by that statement, Eighteen slapped a hand on her forehead and exasperatedly pleaded for the princess to be kidding.

"No, and it's not what you think, Eighteen. Your brother promised that he would do everything in his power to rescue Sasami should he get a second chance," Ayeka replied, taking the other two by surprise and having their attention. She then stood up and came over to Eighteen, putting a hand on her shoulder. "It's because he imagined you in Sasami's shoes that he truly feels the guilt over failing the first time, or the responsibility of atonement. You should be proud of how your brother cares for you."

"Thanks, but I think we all know at least ¾ of the time what he cares about more," Eighteen stated with a chuckle and a smile, both of which Ryoko shared in. Meanwhile, outside, while Tenchi was doing a little sweeping around the house, Goku, Vegeta, and Raditz were hovering over the waters in front of the house.

"So, guys; how about a little triple threat sparring session?" Goku then suggested to the other Saiyans, causing Vegeta to get a little riled up.

"Triple threat spar? Are you out of your mind, Kakarot!?" Vegeta yelled in immediate dislike of the idea. "You're more likely to destroy the house than to get any training out of that!"

"Ha! You're just afraid we'll both focus on attacking you," Raditz burst in suspicion, smirking at the foul-faced Prince as he did so.

"No, but now that you mention it, that's what I'd expect from two low-level clowns," Vegeta quickly countered, his typical tirade scowl on tight as he further protested Goku's plan. "Besides, I'm sure the Masakis would appreciate their latest addition and two friendly visitors blowing their house up, considering that blonde girl who's even more of an idiot than this dustbowl (points to Goku) almost gets the job done!"

"Did you just say you guys are about to spar all at once except you're afraid of blowing the house up!?" a voice called to the Saiyans from outside. As the trio would find out when they looked down towards the house, it was Washu, who had apparently just begun walking out.

"Hey, Washu! It's your business if you want your house and all the alternate dimensions you want inside it blown to smithereens, but I won't have each and every fool inside here either dead or trying to kill me just because of it!" Vegeta shouted right back down at her as if she was an enemy, again putting up the position that he cares about the safety of the house. "Especially if it'll happen because of a couple of low-level clowns in the Saiyan hierarchy ganging up on their prince because they can't beat him fair and square!"

"Will you shut up!? Everybody here knows you care more about the latter than the former. It's your business if you want to let Raditz surpass you in power without even going Super Saiyan 2, but if you don't, wouldn't you be better off taking that double team beating and getting right back up?" Washu reminded Vegeta, as well as appealed to his pride, with a quick quip typical of the witty redhead genius. "If I got my Saiyan sciences correct, you guys have something in your blood that takes your power level every time you come near death and makes it a living representation of the expression that whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right!? So the person who takes the biggest beat down here should have the greatest increase in power! A lesson in humility that doesn't take your life actually benefits you further!"

"She's right! So it's basically either you win or you win, Vegeta. There's no need to start worrying about getting ganged up on," Goku stated to Vegeta in realization of the fact, prodding him on to accept his proposal of a triple threat spar.

"Ha! Fine, whatever. She is right. Bring it on, reject brothers!" Vegeta cockily dared Raditz and Goku, having now changed his tune after now remembering the "Seikan power" healing factor within his own blood. He then signaled with his hand towards himself for the two brothers to bring it, and they happily obliged, both coming after Vegeta, who rocketed up higher as they both lunged to hit him. Raditz' punch was a wild swing that, because there was air where Vegeta would've been, end up coming straight into Goku! Vegeta, being an opportunist here, took advantage with a diving kick to the stomach of Goku, sending him tumbling down towards the waters. Raditz saw his own opportunity and hurried towards Vegeta, who had just barely turned around before a hard right hand connected straight with his forehead and sent him flying away. Raditz then charged up ki within his hands and shot a continuous short barrage of energy waves the prince's way, causing Vegeta to suffer their damage as soon as he backed himself. Goku suddenly got up and appeared behind Raditz, following which the older brother turned around and ended up being victim to a furious combo of punches and kicks, quickly followed up with a leg lariat which knocked Raditz back a couple of touchdowns in the air. Suddenly, Vegeta and Raditz both came towards Goku, who quickly flew upwards even further to avoid the two of them. However, the two didn't lunge for an attack; seeing this development coming, they both turned around in opposite directions, and Vegeta clasped both of his hands together, and a familiar spark of purple ki began to form in his hands.

"Gallic Gun!" he shouted out, before lunging his arms in the direction of Goku, sending the powerful wave straight his way. Goku, in preparation, quickly charged up a Kamehameha wave in order to counter its power.

"Kaaaa… meeee… haaaa… meeee… HAAAA!" the destined champion screamed out, lunging his arms Vegeta's way in order for his Kamehameha to intercept the Gallic Gun. The problem with that idea was, Vegeta had charged a bit more power into his Gallic Gun due to Goku needing to blast quickly with his Kamehameha, so Vegeta ended up knocking Goku's wave back so that he was even closer to being hit, before Goku let out some more energy with a deafening roar and ended up taking it into even keel. Raditz, rather than standing there like an impressed fool, actually smirked, seeing a perfect opportunity to attack. He then charged up both of his hands with yellow ki energy, which he channeled further and further while Goku and Vegeta struggled to gain the upper hand on one another with this beam struggle of theirs.

"Double Kikouha!" he shouted, in the midst of all this, now focusing himself. Goku was gaining the upper hand in the beam struggle on Vegeta, until the Saiyan Prince, in utter refusal to be beaten in the same manner as he had been during his first fight with Goku, immediately released even more energy and made the struggle even. Tenchi and Washu were both watching this earth-shaking battle of ki waves, standing impressed at how powerful these Saiyans were even at their base strength. Washu was holding a remote control device with a white bright button, which she quickly pressed, generating a force field around the house. Tenchi noticed it and smiled at the super genius in thanks before getting back to watching the battle. However, no sooner did he re-fix his eyes in its direction than he saw Raditz finally thrust both arms forward at once and launch his Double Kikouha energy wave straight in the direction of Goku!

Whoa! Tenchi thought as he watched on in utter shock. I didn't even see Raditz preparing to blast him! But how did I miss that?

Goku also finally noticed the Double Kikouha skyrocketing towards him and became distracted, which gave Vegeta's Gallic Gun a distinct opportunity to get an advantage in. However, in a quick show of masterful battle instinct, he used his Instantaneous Transmission ability in order to dodge the damage, as well as send both opponents' waves crashing right into each other, causing a huge explosion which temporarily blinded Tenchi and Washu with how much it illuminated the area. Once it finally cleared, there was a big puff smoke covering Goku, but it wasn't thick enough to completely cloud one's full sight of him.

"Looks like we're all closely fit if not even, aren't we?" Goku asked the other two Saiyans, his competitive voice kicking in as he exchanged smirks with the two of them.

"Seems like we are," Vegeta replied simply. "So, how about we go it another round? And this time, I want both of you foolish clowns to come at me."

"What?" Goku and Raditz both sounded off, stunned at the predicament Vegeta was daring them to place him into.

"But why would he ask them both to come after him?" Tenchi wondered aloud, the action not being very far away from him.

"I wonder, could he be trying to take a beat down from those two on purpose?" Washu also wondered aloud, her speculation catching Tenchi's attention and causing him to mouth off a shocked "What!?" of his own, prompting her to continue: "Remember, the healing Seikan factor in his Saiyan blood kicks in by not only allowing him to heal much faster and more efficiently than a human being, but also by adapting his body to make it less susceptible, and in most cases immune, to the threat that nearly causes it, which is most commonly a stronger fighting force. He could be trying to use their combined powers to give him enough of a beating that his Seikan kicks in exceptionally well as a non-Super Saiyan, in the idea that his Super Saiyan states in themselves also grow exponentially in power."

"So, you're saying, that what doesn't kill a Saiyan actually does make him stronger, the increase depending on how close it comes to killing him?" Tenchi asked, receiving an "mm-hmm" and a chipper-mooded nod from Washu. "And Vegeta's counting on making Goku and Raditz do that to him so he can try to become much stronger than before?" he continued on, once again receiving a nod and "mm-hmm" for his efforts. His final question: "Is he really that insanely bent on becoming stronger!?" And yet again Washu nodded an "mm-hmm"-ed him!

Meanwhile, Goku and Raditz were both staring intently at Vegeta, to which he thought; Perfect. It's all going according to plan. Sure enough, they did both come after Vegeta at once, but ended up both receiving a major swerve when he suddenly pushed them back by outstretching his body and exploding his energy in a huge sphere around him. The both of them ended up blown back all the way down into separate parts of the water, Raditz only a couple of feet in front of the ground that Tenchi and Washu were standing and observing the scene from. Even more shocking, while within this super explosive barrier, Vegeta transformed into a Super Saiyan, giving Washu yet another Vegeta-Briefs-related miscalculation to lament! Once the two brothers rose up to the surface once again, Raditz and Goku looked up to see the prince of their race in golden glowing glory.

Using himself as the nexus to a huge explosion… I should've known he would try something like that! Raditz thought, berating himself somewhat while at the same time recognizing and remembering from what he knew of the prince when they used to work together in the Cold Military that Vegeta was a master tactician in battle.

"So, you want to go Super Saiyan, huh!?" Goku could be heard shouting above at Vegeta within seconds.

"Well, let me show you what that's about!" Raditz interjected, getting himself into the discussion just as well.

Hah. Fools. Now they're both about to turn Super Saiyan, and then they'll try to double team me again, Vegeta thought expectantly as his smirk exuded more confidence now than at any previous point in this battle. Raditz and Goku both turned into Super Saiyans with ease, then Raditz flew up in the direction of Vegeta while Goku focused in with two fingers on his forehead. When Raditz was only a good 25 yards away from Vegeta, Goku teleported using Instant Transmission right behind the Prince. Vegeta suddenly came shocked, as one of Bardock's sons was behind him, the other in front of him, and both ready to give him Super Saiyan punches. But as soon as they went for the attack, he proved that that was only saving face in anticipation of their movements, leaving a Zanzoken after-image where both of them punched for, letting them hit each other right in the cheek. He then swooped down from above them to strike Goku down with a double axe handle to the back of the head, then to rear his right arm back while quickly charging ki into his hand.

"Maximum Flasher!" he screamed out, thrusting his arm forward and letting the fast yet powerful ray of energy strike Raditz. Goku, while plummeting down towards the waters, stopped himself and recovered his balance partly in mid-air (he was underwater up to his calves). Meanwhile, Raditz fell all the way in with a splash before quickly bursting upward in anger, and then stopping himself.

"Ha ha ha ha ha! I played you both into taking the exact course of action I was prepared for!" Vegeta boasted proudly, laughing in the mdst of this. "Now you both know that if we have the same power level, there's no way I can be beaten by either of you!"

"But… Vegeta…!" Washu barely was able to manage. "Why in the world would you… I thought you would…"

"Leave myself up on a silver platter because of my Saiyan healing factor!? Ha! You apparently don't know me very well!" Vegeta continued, this time directing his ego towards Washu while at the same time cutting her off and finishing her statement. In a deafening roar, he then transformed into a Super Saiyan 2. "I am the royal Prince of the Saiyan race! And had Vegetasei not been destroy before I was able to succeed my father at the throne, I would be the King of all Saiyans! I have too much pride in my place among my people to throw a battle, even in preparation for the next, especially to third-class warriors like Raditz and Kakarot!"

"Hold on! Kakarot may have been a third-class warrior, but I was a near-elite!" Raditz shouted in objection.

"Near-elite?" Vegeta repeated questioningly, before bursting in laughter once again, which irritated Raditz. "You were obliterated by that weakling Namek Piccolo, not to mention your own nephew, your four-year-old completely untrained nephew, gave you significant damage! You call that even close to elite? I call that low-level clown!"

"Hold on a second, you egocentric prince! I just realized something!" Raditz cut off Vegeta's tirade right there, apparently trying to change the subject and receiving a hostile "What!?" from the prince before being able to do so. "Washu is out here with a shield over the house. That means either she's done with the cyborg or she's left him in that lab all by himself!"

"Good job, Raditz! I was waiting for somebody to figure it out!" Washu called out to Raditz in that cheery teacher-child-like manner typical of her eccentricity.

Over on the Grand Kai's planet, where the West and North Kaiosamas were meeting with their immediate superior outside his mansion once again, flanked by Pikkon, Olibu, Krillin, and Yamcha as usual, there suddenly appeared Tien and the Madri Scholar, teleporting right behind them in the soundless blink of an eye.

"I think I have a little plan in order, as far as dealing with this Emporium," the Madri Scholar stated, startling the Kais and catching the attention of their warriors.

"Hey, stalker freak, don't cha know not to come up on people like that!?" the Grand Kai immediately shouted in his shock once he turned towards the Scholar, before noticing the three-eyed Crane-trained warrior before him. "And, uh… who's he?"

"He would be Tien, another strong warrior I've trained before. He died bravely fighting for the planet Earth when Vegeta and Nappa came looking for the Dragon Balls so they could wish for immortality," North Kai informed the great one, telling the story with pride. "Like the others that died, he was wished back from that battle too, and he hasn't been killed since."

"That's because he spent all his time hiding like a coward, huh!?" West Kai taunted, intentionally mocking Tien to get on his northern counterpart's nerves, which successfully worked, as was hinted by the North Kai grabbing him up by the shirt.

"Tien is not a coward! He's never stopped stepping up to help with fights against villains who had him completely outclassed! He sacrificed himself to keep Cell from being complete even at the expense of his own life force! And he saved the Guardian of the Earth from the Majin entity Super Buu!" North Kai exclaimed while having West Kai in this precarious position, completely defeating the purple dwarf's purpose in showing his ego.

"Okay, okay! I get it! Now put me down!" a panicked West Kai exclaimed, after which North Kai finally did what he asked. They were all soon interrupted by the Madri Scholar clearing his throat.

"Stop arguing like a couple of idiot children and listen carefully," the Scholar finally continued. "I have a plan that might just work on one of the Emporium. How about, we force any one of them to battle against five warriors of the dead?"

"Sounds interesting," the Grand Kai bemused, which actually surprised the dead fighters a little bit. "Go on…"

"Well, look what we have here. If it isn't the super-jinzo'ningen after all," Yugi was saying to Sakuya as they were walking over to Seventeen. He was currently left trapped and stranded in mid-air, stretched out and held in place by robotic arms just waiting for Washu to get back in here.

"I take it you're the ones that got the house all in a mess a ways back?" Seventeen asked upon noticing who was there.

"Don't remind me. I'm trying to be able to say that I've stepped beyond that," Yugi then told him, a touch of somberness entering her voice as she said this. Sakuya, understanding her feelings since she was borne of the chaos that Yugi fights daily to repent from inside, looked at her and also felt the pain of the memories a little.

"Trust me, I know the feeling," Seventeen stated in response, indeed understanding the art of repentance. He used to want to try to fight and kill Goku, as part of a game, because Sixteen's programmed mission to do just that was the only thing he had to do. But ever since fighting Cell, treating the world as one's playground began to have a more orderly and respectful tone to it for him, to say the least. For one, destroying someone when they're sick because some crazy old man never let you really think about doing anything else, didn't seem so appealing to him anymore. But enough about that, he decided, opting to try and get to know these two a little bit better while he waited for the scientist kid.

"So, the infamous Kumashiro Kid. I wonder why Tenchi chose you, instead of one of the others," he next spoke, referring to her, rather than one of the alien super girls who had loyally stuck to Tenchi for a long time, becoming the part-Jurian's choice for love.

"And what does that mean?" Yugi lashed out, annoyed by Seventeen's comment as she took up for Sakuya.

"Is it supposed to mean anything? Can't I make a statement for the sake of wonder?" Seventeen asked - more like wondered aloud, at least for the sake of the pun - in his own defense, before a closet door suddenly appeared and opened, following which Washu came in through it and it disappeared. Upon entering the room, Washu immediately stepped in front of Yugi and Sakuya and stood to face Seventeen, smiling and with one hand placed on her hip. It was clear to her unlucky subject that she was planning on enjoying this. But then again, his mind contended, so am I.

"Well, Artificial Human Number Seventeen, shall we begin with the experiment?" the scientist asked, only receiving a chuckle and an open-mouthed smile from the black-haired Red Ribbon rebel. Well, he seems cocky enough, was the thought that entered her head in response. Time to give him the shock treatment and see what happens next!

And with that, the chipper scientist snapped her fingers, and the robotic arms that held him in mid-air against his will were actually shooting electricity through them into Seventeen's entire body! Seeing him scream out in pain at the electric surge attacking him from the inside, Washu simply smiled in pleasure at her creative genius while Yugi and Sakuya - moreso the latter than the former - squirmed at the sight of the teenage-looking victim in his great pickle of a situation. Seventeen struggled to move free, his head turning every which way, trying to build enough power into his arms and legs so that he could break free of the restraints. But try as he might, he had absolutely no success at it. This took the attention of the girls inside the main living room of the house, which by now also included Kiyone and Mihoshi in addition to Ryoko's trio.

"What's happening over there? Is Washu making some kind of experiment?" Mihoshi asked, looking in the direction of the closet where the one-dimensional lab lay.

"Well, duh Mihoshi," Ryoko responded nonchalantly, springing up to her feet with little effort and walking over to the officer girls. "But allow me to let you in on a little secret."

"What is it?"

"The person she's experimenting on? He's Seventeen," Ryoko told her, speaking slyly into her ear in order to make Mihoshi think this was some huge secret.

"Oh, you mean Washu kidnapped some poor seventeen-year-old boy and decided to take him into her supposedly top secret lab and start seducing him for no good reason?" Mihoshi squealed out immediately once she figured she got it. Kiyone slapped a hand over her forehead while Ryoko and Ayeka crashed to the ground, agreeing on something for what seemed to be the first time in years as they were all rendered speechless at Mihoshi's ineptitude, both at keeping secrets (though this wasn't really one) and at gathering information correctly.

"No, you total klutz! She means the cyborg Seventeen, my twin brother, is in that lab getting experimented on and tortured by Washu's gadgets for her own comical enjoyment!" Eighteen shot at Mihoshi, not in anger due to the fact she had to yell out, but because Mihoshi's conception strayed so far from that fact that it was ridiculous and even upsetting to her pride.

"Whoa! What happened to you?" Kiyone and Mihoshi both asked, simultaneously quivering.

"What happened is Mihoshi needs to start getting the facts straight," Eighteen said sharply as she pointed to Mihoshi while facing (and evidently talking directly to) Kiyone. "Especially when it comes to my twin brother. Your friend here couldn't even figure out that Seventeen was a part of this. Is she really that dense?"

"Didn't you live here for a couple of days? You should already know that by now," Ryoko reminded her casually, which Eighteen responded to with an annoyed slap of the forehead.

"Oh my god, you're right," the exasperated blonde groaned as Mihoshi and Kiyone, having a moment, immediately shook off their momentary shock.

"Kiyone, let's go see what's happening over there!" Mihoshi then chirped enthusiastically, before dragging Kiyone against her will out of the living room in the direction of Washu's lab. Right when they got to the door, they saw Tenchi and his father Nobuyuki entering the house. After exchanging hellos, the ladies entered the closet and then entered the lab, immediately becoming a little shocked at what they saw.

"Washu, what are you doing to Seventeen!?" Kiyone instantly demanded, the sight of Seventeen squirming and struggling to break free of the robotic arms being a little much for her to handle in one instant.

"I'm experimenting on him a little bit. He said he was up for it, so I decided to torture him and see what happens," Washu responded casually as if there was nothing ethically wrong with what she was doing, even though in the eyes of many there obviously would be. But then, something happened out of nowhere. Seventeen stopped screaming in pain and actually snickered a little bit, before screaming out once more. The same bright golden light which had flashed and then fully radiated all over him back during the battle with Cell and Kagato at the Lookout came again, and the change in his body structure that resulted in the Super Jinzo'ningen Seventeen came right along with it. The light broke away from him into thousands of little fragments that caused many small explosions which actually damaged a bit of the fabric of Washu's dimension. (Outside, the Saiyans and Katsuhito, who was decided to walk down from the shrine a while ago, heard this commotion and it took their attention, so they decided to go check it out.) Upon seeing him in his new form, all the members were amazed, wide-eyed and open-jawed. And that even included Washu herself, though to a much lesser extent than the others.

Just then, Eighteen came into the room and saw the new body of Seventeen being hung up in the air by robotic arms. Having never seen his Super form before, she didn't completely recognize just who it was right away. While somewhat mesmerized at the strong-looking specimen Washu had here, she looked carefully at him and, upon seeing the golden Red Ribbon belt, knew he was linked to her somehow, and it was right there but she wasn't seeing it. Then she noticed two key things: the cut at the thigh/knee area of his jeans, and the orange foulard on his neck. And instantly, she remembered what her brother had told her before.

When he came back today, he was talking to me about a Super form. I know that's it, that has to be it! Eighteen's mind screamed to her, before she actually screamed out his name. Upon hearing his sister's voice, he snickered a little as well, before Washu snapped her fingers again and the robotic arms went right back into electric mode, as that had been stopped by the mid-impact transformation that he somehow managed to make. He screamed out in pain once more, but this time it only actually lasted for about ten seconds, for the Super Jinzo'ningen was able to focus himself on something, and this time his scream was one that indicated some kind of charge or focusing of his power into something. Moments later, all the muscles in his entire body with the exception of his head - which means arms, legs, chest, and all - bulged up at such a fast, strong, and sudden rate that the robotic arms which had each wrapped themselves around him multiple times all broke, stunning everyone in the area even after his muscle size reverted to its usual in the very next moment. Now both Eighteen and Washu were gaping wide just like the other four that were in the room with them.

You've gotta be kidding me! I'm the greatest scientific genius in the universe! The grip of these arms is supposed to be unbreakable! How could he do that!? Washu's mind went on, scrambling for an answer as to how that awesome feat of power was possible.

"He… he just ripped it apart like it was nothing," Eighteen stated, being in near-complete silence as she was barely able to utter the fact. No sooner did she say this than did the Saiyans come in, followed by every member of the Masaki household.

"He ripped what apart? Like what was nothing?" Vegeta instantly demanded, having overheard something.

"The… the robotic arms. Washu's unbreakable robotic arms," the still-stunned Kiyone responded, though obviously not completely believing it herself.

"Say what!?!?" Tenchi screamed out in representation of the shock of every person there except for Goku. Seventeen merely looked over and grinned at him, informing them all that he can absorb energy in this body. His voice told everyone who it was, which only made the moment better.

Meanwhile, as we head over to the Other World…

With the Kais watching to the side, Krillin, Yamcha, Pikkon, and the Greek legend warrior Olibu, were all standing side by side in front of Tien and the Madri Scholar. Standing with the four, however, was a militant-looking soldier in some kind of navy blue and green Saiyan-looking armor with a face that looked exactly like Goku except for a notable X-shaped scar on his left cheek. He also had a red headband on under his hair, as well as a green scouter over his left eye.

"So, you're Goku's father. Bardock, huh? I can see the resemblance," Tien said with a smile and a touch of respect.

"Thanks. I like to think I gave way to a very brave and powerful son," Bardock replied, accepting the compliment cordially. "Especially since I came here having a vision that Kakarot would face him. But, why do you call him Goku? His name's Kakarot."

"The original Son Gohan, the man who found him when he first got here and took him into his home as an adopted grandson, gave him the name of Son Goku," Krillin explained. "And that's what he's been known as by every non-Saiyan person ever since."

"But Vegeta and my other son still both call him Kakarot, right?" Bardock inquired sternly, hoping on all honor that his son's Saiyan heritage was not forgotten.

"Yep. No need to worry about that one, man," Krillin charismatically assured him. "But hey, I've got a question: what were you doing in limbo?"

"Well, for one, I was a Saiyan responsible for plundering hundreds of planets. But then, after Frieza killed all my comrades and I went into battle against his entire army, apparently I started growing in favor with King Yemma. But I hadn't grown enough to be granted a complete pass to heaven by the time I died, so when he saw me, he had me packed on a plane into limbo and took my body away for safekeeping rather than for good. Apparently he saw the chance I might be needed for something like this," Bardock explained, which Krillin understood despite it being a little long winded.

"And I saw fit to declare this just the right time," the Madri Scholar cut in, taking the group's attention. "Even though you can't go Super, you are an extremely powerful Saiyan with an honorable fighting spirit. Which makes you perfect for fighting the Emporium… or whichever member of it we decide to bring here. Now, shall the message be delivered to the others?"

"I can do it," the Northern King Kai chimed in, to which his smaller purple counterpart was slightly annoyed, before concentrating himself on finding the place where most of the others were. Once he finally sensed the Masaki house was the place fullest of allies…

"Goku! Goku, can you hear me?" he called out to the group, addressing the most familiar member, though they all noticed his voice and looked up. The Masaki house residents didn't know who this was to recognize the voice, so they were a little wary.

"Huh? Who is that, Goku? Who's calling you?" Ayeka asked as the uncertainty started to make her get panicky.

"It's King Kai, one of the most important people in Other World. He's the one who taught me the Kaio-ken Fist and the Spirit Bomb," Goku turned around to inform her, relieving her nerves and to a lesser extent those of her housemates. "So, King Kai, what is it?" he then asked his second mystical teacher.

"Listen, everyone. The Madri Scholar and Tien have assembled an army of five Other World warriors ready to go into combat with any of the Emporium," King Kai went on to announce. "The warriors, who we don't expect to kill the Emporium member so much as send a serious message that we are getting it together, who will represent the dead are Krillin, Yamcha, two great warriors Goku knows very well called Pikkon and Olibu, and a powerful and brave Saiyan warrior named Bardock."

"Bardock!? But how!?" Raditz instantly screamed out, as if he had just heard the name of a long lost ghost.

"Wait, hold on a second. Who's Bardock?" Ryoko then asked her boyfriend, only to get ignored yet answered at the same time as he turned to Goku.

"Kakarot, if what you hear next goes in one ear and out the other, I will kill you for disgracing our entire family," Raditz warned his brother, sounding none too facetious. "Bardock is the first Saiyan who willingly and knowingly resisted Frieza to the very bitter end. When you were a baby, before you were sent to Earth, Bardock was an incredible warrior. Originally classed as a low-level Saiyan, he became extremely powerful to the point where Frieza feared the possibilities of what his power could become. When Bardock and his team plundered one more planet, one of those they destroyed gave him a gift of precognition, through which he saw the planet Vegeta-sei getting destroyed by Frieza. After that vision, and the attack from Frieza's henchmen that killed his team, he valiantly took up the fight to stop Frieza from betraying and ending our race. No one would believe him when he tried to forewarn them because he was low-level, but even so, he kept on himself. In the end, Frieza destroyed our planet using his Death Ball, killing Bardock in the process."

"Wait, he doesn't sound like someone that would be sent to hell. So if he's been dead on the opposite side from you all this time, and I haven't seen him anywhere when I was dead, how do you know all this about him?" a curious Goku asked.

"I know all this, little brother, because he was and is of great importance to me, and should be to you once you know this," Raditz answered, getting a little cryptic to prepare Goku for the final answer: "Kakarot; Bardock is our father."

"What!?" Goku's screamed out in complete shock. "He's our… father!? You mean to tell me that my father's been in heaven all this time and I didn't even know anything about him!?"

"Didn't you hear anything I told you when you came to fight Frieza on Planet Namek? I clearly remember informing you that he killed both of our fathers and destroyed our home planet!" Vegeta reminded him.

"Wait a minute, I do remember. In fact, I remember the three of you speaking to me, you and two men who I'm assuming are both of our fathers because each of them looked like one of us, in some strange kind of vision back during that very fight," Goku finally recalled. "But how come I never saw him in Other World?"

"Because, Goku, he's only been put into heaven now. He was actually in limbo all this time," King Kai replied, which could have but somehow didn't result in more questions than answers being produced. "The point is, the battle happens in two days. So while we've still got the rest of today, actually tonight, and tomorrow, I'd like you all to try to inform the rest of your family and friends."

Just to be sure he did see what he says he saw, Vegeta thought as he analyzed the alleged vision of Goku, I think I can afford to get a little skeptical, if only for a moment. "Okay, Kakarot. How did they look? The two other than myself speaking in that vision you claim you saw when you were fighting Frieza? The ones that looked like us?" he then asked the Dragon Ball realm's resident heroic idiot.

"Well, the one that looked like you had a beard, the reddish brown in his hair was clearly visible, and I think he was wearing a Saiyan armor suit like your original one except with a cape. The one that looked like me had a clearly visible battle scar, and I think he wore a red headband along with his Saiyan battle outfit. It was more like our current rits, except dark and sleeveless. Other than that, they looked exactly like us," Goku replied, the memory coming into him even further as the Masaki residents listened in with increasing interest. "I think the three of you were telling me to destroy Frieza for the entire Saiyan race because I have the power within me."

"That's them," Raditz confirmed with a smirk, in clear and proud remembrance of the fact that Bardock and King Vegeta shared his and Prince Vegeta's pride in being Saiyan warriors. "Now, when exactly is this fight happening again?"

"In two days," King Kai answered. "I've gotta get them all ready with a little training right now, though. Goodbye, everyone!" With that, and following everyone's return goodbyes, he stopped exerting his telepathic presence, and the entire house's current membership was able to take in the information that was just given to them into the rest of tonight…

END OF CHAPTER, PREVIEW OF THE NEXT

-Madri Scholar: "Well, we still have to make a choice, as to which opponent the squadron of five is going to face. But that's a different story for another day. The most important thing is that you tell everyone."

-Goku: "Why is that the most important thing?"

-Madri Scholar: "We all have to know how the Emporium deals with this battle. It could be very vital to our mission."

-Vegeta: "So, basically we're using our dead warriors to do the same thing to the Emporium that they were using themselves to do to us?"

-Krillin: "I guess so, Vegeta. On the next chapter of Shift of Hearts, the first Dragon Ball Z / Tenchi Muyo! crossover posted here in about a year, we only have one day to do one more thing before someone from the Emporium faces me and my team of five from the Other World. That one more thing is Chapter 27: Choose and Prepare."

-Washu: "Oh yeah, and thanks to a little information from my good friend the Super Jinzo'ningen, I think I can order a replacement for somebody on that team…"