Deep in the dark depths of space…

*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*

Two large metallic doors slid open with a grinding vibration that would rattle the jaw of anyone standing within close proximity. Once the doors had fully opened and the shuddering stopped, a small yellow lizard-like alien burst through it. The creature ran in a comical fashion, bouncing from webbed foot to webbed foot.

"Lord F-F-Frieza!" He stammered. He tried and nearly failed to stop himself from sliding past his intended destination, bouncing several times on one leg before coming to a halt.

In the middle of the room was a floating chair. It hovered several meters in the air and contained a figure cloaked in shadow. The creature stared out into the vast emptiness of space. The only distinguishing features that were visible were a long muscular tail and deep, violent eyes that shined with an unnatural luminosity.

One could feel the emperor's annoyance and anger as the pressure in the air rose sharply. Everyone present gulped but none dared take a step back or flinch. Showing weakness meant automatic death before Lord Frieza.

The tyrant narrowed his eyes, turning slightly to look at the messenger who thought for sure he was dead. There was silence for several seconds before Frieza said.. "Well?? Out with it." His voice was cool but domineering. The reptile flinched before sighing in relief.

"Right sir! Umm it seems.. The Ginyu force have located the saiyans and their allies. Would you like to go after them sire!? If we leave now we can be there within a week. Your majesty's ship is far faster than the transport models…" He finished with a bow at the end. He wisely remained that way waiting for his Lord to speak.

The emperor spun slowly around with his levitating chair, the light of the ship revealing him in his unassuming first form. "Hmm..." Frieza thought out loud while tapping his chin methodically.

He threw one of his hands up and laughed, the other contained a glass of wine. "Well honestly there's really no reason to bother." He paused to swirl and sip his wine. "If captain Ginyu is on their tail they're as good as dead. He always has and always will be my most faithful dog. It's almost disgusting how devoted he is.." Frieza monologued.

The lizard being that delivered the news was beginning to feel a great amount of discomfort due to having been in that position for so long. His abs, hamstrings, calves and ankles were all getting a solid workout. He wondered if this was actually the key to the Ginyu forces' absurd strength.. maybe there was something about all that ridiculous posing and dancing they did that actually worked..

"One more thing, Camelon…" Frieza said in a soothing tone. "yes sire!" Camelon asked eagerly, bolting upright. His eyes widened as a pink beam of energy pierced his heart a moment later. He didn't even have time to register why he died.. or even really that he did. There was only pain and then darkness…

"I hate being kept waiting.."

Nearly 1000 light years away

"But mooom.. Dad says I have more power than I can understand and I should never go all out against my precious people." Gohan confessed to Bulma who had requested that, after lunch, her son fight her in a no holds barred sparring match. The boy's mother nodded in agreement with his protests.

"And your father is right, Gohan. You absolutely shouldn't go all out against your friends. Your power level is already in the tens of thousands and that's just insane for your age. No more weighted clothes and gravity watches for you!" She joked. "But I'm your mom and I can handle it, ok?" She said with a wink. "I've gotten a lot stronger since we left the Earth." She assured him.

Within the hour they had eaten and found a suitable training chamber. "Alright Gohan. Remember I want you to come at me with everything you've got, and even if it looks like I'm hurt don't worry I'll tell you if we need to stop. I'm not as strong as you but it won't take me long to catch up. You'll see what I mean." She said, adopting her old, familiar battle stance. It had been years since she fought in earnest. If she were being honest she was a little bit nervous but also excited.

"Ready son? Show me what you've got!" Bulma yelled as she charged at the child nearing the age of 6. 'I'm not sure what's weirder.. the fact that I'm fighting my six year old son or that, that same son is so much stronger than me?' She thought, feeling a great amount of internal dilemma.

As she drew closer to the boy she was afraid he would simply tremble in fear and refuse to fight back at all. Fortunately traveling with the Z-warriors and moreover the aggressive saiyans over the last 7 months, seemed to have brought out some of Gohan's warrior blood. The boy lost a good deal of his timid shyness, and he was eager for a good clean fight.

In this particular instance, he really just wanted to make his mother proud. He slid smoothly into a stance and grunted, a powerful colorless Ki aura flaring to life.

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He yelled out a battle cry and brought one leg up to his chest while kicking with the other straight out. 'So fast..!' Bulma cried within her mind. She was unable to react in time as her son's foot was implanted into her stomach. Bulma was sent flying to the opposite end of the chamber where she crashed into the wall, gasping and spasming in pain.

"Mom!?" Gohan yelled out in concern, taking several quick steps. However Bulma halted her son when she held out her hand and sent a Ki blast flying at him. He yelped in surprise and batted the thing away. Still panting and gasping, Bulma scrambled to her feet. "I'm fine! Remember what I said, don't you dare hold back!" She ordered her son.

The boy began to cry, still feeling regret at having hurt the woman but he nodded furiously and complied with his mother's wishes nonetheless. He wanted to be a good son. "Aaaaah!" The boy yelled. His aura flared up around him once more like a wild candle flame, only twice as large this time.

Bulma for her part winced as she finally managed to steady her breathing. 'Good job my boy.. such a very good child.' She couldn't help but smirk and close her eyes in pride at what she'd accomplished. As a scientist her greatest creation by far would forever be this lifeform before her.

She looked down and lifted her shirt to expose her midriff. It had a revolting purple and yellow bruise that was nearly a foot across. There was no denying the damage she'd sustained but...

Bulma laughed in triumph as her body healed rapidly, the discoloration being replaced by healthy pink skin before her eyes. She dropped her shirt, concealing the remainder of the process. She looked up at a determined looking Gohan and wasted no time taking the initiative once more. She blasted forward with all her might just a tiny bit faster than before…

Of course to Gohan the change was imperceivable as his power grew at a ridiculous pace in tandem with his rising emotions. To him, his mother seemed somehow slower than before as she charged valiantly at him despite the vast difference in their strength.

He sighed. 'Is this really the best way?..' As his mother got within arm's reach of the boy he reflexively snapped out a knee, crushing his mother's solar plexus.

Her eyes bulged and she fought to retain her consciencness through the pain. After a few moments Bulma's open palms clenched into fists. "Sorry son, you know mommy would never hurt you.. But I'm showing you why I'm still the boss no matter how strong you become!"

Her clenched fists began to glow a vibrant emerald green similar to healing magic but denser. She planted her right foot and raised her left heel. 'You may not know this son… But your father has mastered over 100 different forms of martial arts. He's the most skilled fighter in the entire universe, and I am that man's wife.' She hummed proudly to herself.

"Study closely, Gohan. This is a mixture of Wing Chun and Aikido. Your grandfather, the one from which your name is derived, taught your father this." The blue haired woman looked into her son's widening eyes. She placed her hands out in front of her as if to receive a newborn child. She then placed the side of her right hand against her son's sternum. Simultaneously her left hand cupped her elbow.

Feeling intimidated and confused, the boy was unsure how to proceed. The Green energy didn't hurt as it came into contact with his body, but clearly his mother was up to something.

In a panic Gohan lashed out. "Rahhh!" He yelled as he began throwing a flurry of punches and kicks. However instead of completely overwhelming his mother like he originally thought he would, only a few of his attacks were actually getting through.

What was even more surprising though, was the fact that she even managed to land a few unusually painful counter strikes of her own. It wasn't just the green energy which enveloped her palms, although that certainly played a part, but moreover it was the techniques she was using.

Wing Chun and Aikido mostly involved defensive skills requiring fluid thoughts and body movements.

The art heavily emphasized interpreting and redirecting the flow of an opponent's actions and Ki. Before her son had even reared back his tiny fist for the first punch, Bulma was analyzing his muscle movement and Ki structure. She planned several punches ahead every second.

At first she had the advantage as near precognitive abilities kept her one step ahead of her son. Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on how you looked at it, the boy was simply too strong and he eventually began to land a few meaningful blows on the woman.

Each one probably would have felled a lesser human but Bulma was something more now. She pushed through the pain, knowing her body would heal and remained focused.

With each attack she took, she gave one right back with a fair amount of borrowed and redirected momentum from her son's very own punches and kicks.

After every strike that hit her she sucked in a breath and the green energy in her hands grew just a little sharper and more dense. This was the new style that only Bulma would be able to effectively use. She called it the art of limitless evolution.

At first it appeared as if the two would go on forever. Bulma's strange DNA healed the worst kinds of wounds and her strange, slowly improving techniques kept her power relevant enough to defend against Gohan's onslaught. But it soon became apparent something was wrong..

Bulma's breathing became more and more ragged. Her forehead began to glisten with sweat and she seemed to tremble slightly every few seconds.

They broke apart panting. Wiping away sweat and spit, Gohan eyed his mom warily. The boy had blood dripping from his face and nose but seemed relatively unharmed overall. His mom on the other hand..

"You don't look so good.. We should stop mom.." Gohan pleaded. Bulma looked at him through a partially swollen eye. She was still healing, steam rolling off of her wounds but her body was littered in so many gashes and bruises that it was taking a minute for her enhanced regenerations to catch up to all the damage she'd sustained.

There was no question now that there was certainly a limit to her new abilities, desplite what the name would imply.

She nodded tiredly and the energy in her hands fizzled out. She looked at the boy who was eyeing her wounds, pale and clearly upset with himself. "I'm so sorry I put you through that Gohan.. I needed to know.." She trailed off regretfully. Gohan hugged his mother who winced in pain but embraced her son back, rubbing his head. "Did I do good..?" He asked, looking up at her.

She smiled down at the boy before kissing his head. "Of course you did. I'm so very proud of you. You're definitely going to be the strongest one day, son." She said sincerely. The boy beamed with pride and giggled. "Whatever mom! We all know dad is the strongest! But he better be careful or you might just catch up!" He said with wide eyes. His mother quirked her brow and tilted her head.

Never in all her life did she think the boy would compare her to his father in terms of power.. But then what the boy said next only seemed to reiterate and further cement his beliefs. "There towards the end your punches really started to hurt. If we had kept going at that level you would have gotten stronger than me in no time!" He said with awe.

"Ha. Once you grow up, I doubt anyone will ever catch up to you, son." She said with a roll of her eyes and a wink. Even still she couldn't deny that internally she was rather over the top with herself at the moment. 'Has my genius truly put me in the same league as the saiyans?.. God I really am amazing!' She chirped to herself.

After she had recovered from the worst of her injuries she sighed and cracked her back. "Let go eat, ok Gohan? I know I burned a lot of calories just now, so you must have too. Seems my new body kind of behaves like a saiyan's, probably because of my healing. My metabolism must be off the charts." She laughed at her smiling son.

He nodded vigorously and yelled, "Yeah!" Punching his hand up into the air in excitement. She held her energetic son's hand and they went to go get food and spend some quality time together that didn't involve punching each other in the face. saiyan families were weird indeed…

End of chapter 26.

Gohan's power level

Relaxed: 3000

First Ki flare: 20,000

Second Ki flare: 40,000

End of fight: 36,000

Bulma's power level

Relaxed: 5000

Post first healing: 12,000

Limitless evolution peak: 30,000

End of fight somewhat healed: 20k~