Chaos Theory Z is a Dragon Ball Z Self-Insert Fic by Mr. Chaos.
Inexplicably placed into the life of Avo Kayos, a documentarian currently working for Bulma Briefs, a cunning writer from the real world is thrust into the world of the Z Fighters, beginning at the time of Raditz's arrival on Earth. The wisest thing may be to step back and let events unfold. But even when Death Is Cheap, stepping back and doing nothing isn't his style. Things soon spiral into a whirlwind of changes, good and bad, and Kayos sets off down a path of learning magic to hold his own along the Z Fighters.
It can be read on FanFiction.net
and Archive of Our Own
.
Chaos Theory Z provides examples of:
- Actually Pretty Funny: In Chapter 29, however bitterly, Turles does smile when he demands descriptions of Daiz's opponents after hearing that one of them looks like him, and Daiz describes that one as...looking like him.
- Adaptational Badass: Abundant, thanks to Kayos’s intervention.
- Yamcha is the one who dies to Raditz when he comes to Earth. Hence, he’s the one who trains under King Kai and learns the Kaio-Ken and Spirit Bomb techniques.
- A couple of gentle nudges to Chichi cause her to decide to go with Goku and Gohan for their search for the Dragon Balls. This starts a progressive building of her confidence that leads to her joining the Z Fighters and getting back into fighting shape. And that’s before they learn that her mother was a Saiyan.
- Krillin, following advice from the Scroll of Knowledge, finds a reclusive gentleman who teaches him how to stretch out his usage of ki and make the most of every particle. This conservative technique puts his energy on par with Goku.
- Master Roshi helps the others train, breaking bad habits that Goku and the others had fallen into and getting back into proper shape himself. Then he dies to Nappa and is invited to train under King Kai.
- Tien and Chiaotzu, also following advice from Kayos’s scroll, learn how to fight in tandem, passing energy between each other and even duplicating each other’s techniques.
- Bulma uses her mechanical know-how to support the others, and that’s still her preferred role. But after talking with Kayos, she decides to take active measures by building power armor with electrical weaponry.
- Driven to desperate measures against Vegeta and Nappa, Kayos summons Shenron and wishes for everyone in Goku’s family with Saiyan blood to be able to regrow their tails at will and have perfect control over their Oozaru forms.
- Adaptational Wimp: Minor case with Goku in that he never learned the Kaio-Ken or Spirit Bomb techniques, of which the former became obsolete when he became a Super Saiyan, and the latter has been unnecessary thus far wherever it was needed in the original material.
- Somewhat subverted thanks to Chaos Wars, where Goku absorbed some of the power of Thor's Hammer, showing a change to his Ki and hinting of a power up.
- Adaptation Deviation: Abundant.
- Kayos intervenes in the fight between Raditz, Goku, and Piccolo; when Raditz wins, Kayos smooth-talks the Saiyan into giving Goku a year to train before returning for a rematch. Raditz agrees, so he and Goku both survive. However, he sends a lethal ki blast towards Krillin before he goes, and Yamcha dies pushing him out of the way. All of this leads to Yamcha training with King Kai in Goku’s place while the rest of the Z Fighters convene and start a year of straight training to prepare for Raditz’s return.
- The rematch with Raditz ends with a strong, if not overwhelming, victory on the part of the Z Fighters, and Raditz is persuaded into joining their ranks. However, Vegeta and Nappa arrive at the battlefield almost immediately after.
- As they’re fighting a losing battle against Vegeta and Nappa, with Master Roshi already dead, Kayos summons Shenron and makes a wish to empower the Saiyans in Goku’s family with perfect control over their tails and Oozaru forms. This buys them the time to destroy Vegeta’s artificial moon, and Vegeta still retreats after killing Nappa himself.
- Due to Lord Slug’s information, Kami learns that he and Piccolo were never properly separated, and he accepts that Piccolo was never his evil self; merely what an imperfect Namek saw as an impediment to him becoming Guardian of Earth. This leads to Kami recombining with Piccolo several years earlier than in the original story.
- On Namek, in the face of the Frieza Force's arrival, the expanded group of Z Fighters leans heavily on Raditz's knowledge of their weaknesses. Knowing that they can't sense energy without the scouters, the Fighters send messengers to the other villages and begins crafting a shelter in a valley, saving as many as they can. It's one of these messengers who arrives to brief Guru and Nail, which leads to Guru giving Nail command as well as the Dragon Ball he keeps, along with guardianship of the Dragon Balls.
- Affably Evil: The Ginyu Force as a whole seem to qualify: Captain Ginyu and Burter remain perfectly cordial and amicable even as they're threatening the lives of civilians, though Recoome is less refined.
- Armor-Piercing Question: In Chapter 13, Gohan asks Piccolo why he would want to rule the earth. When Piccolo realizes he’s not asking from a “why would you want to do bad things?” perspective, he pauses to listen. Gohan outlines The Perils of Being the Best and The Chains of Commanding, unable to understand why anyone would ever want to rule the world. Piccolo hadn’t considered those points before, and soon after decides he cares more about being free.
- Avenging the Villain: Vegeta shows awareness of this trope as early as Chapter 2: with Cooler and King Cold out there, he knows that he can't be reckless in his plan to kill and usurp Frieza.
- Awesome by Analysis: Due to his body-changing ability, Captain Ginyu has become an expert on all beings' anatomies. This both makes him able to hit the ground running with even the most unorthodox new body, and find the best ways to abuse others' nerve endings to spark euphoria, agony, and paralysis.
- Badass Boast: The end of Chapter 41 has the following from Nail when he pulls a Big Damn Heroes to save Chichi (and Vegeta) from Zarbon:Nail: I am the Guardian and Protector of this planet. The Prodigy of Namek. I am the Dragon Warrior, master of both Tribes and personal student of Lord Guru. I… am Nail! And this is where you fall, invader!
- Bad Boss: And 'bad' doesn't just mean 'cruel' here, though that's a huge part of why it also means 'incompetent.' Behind the surface of a group of planet-destroying mercenaries, the Frieza Force is a business. And King Cold built it up to be a profitable one, so much so that a life insurance policy for one valuable worker could improve matters for their entire planet. Frieza, on the other hand, has too much ego and cruelty in him to care about the details or ramifications, which leads to widespread fear and widespread drops in profit.
- Based on a True Story: The Bavarian Fire Drill that Avo and Isco pull off (see below) is based upon, per the author, his experience with audits at his work, including the auditors claiming they aren't the enemy and the sheer PANIC of a surprise audit.
- Bavarian Fire Drill:
- On Namek, after tricking Jeice into telling him that Frieza has already obtained one Dragon Ball and Captain Ginyu has another, Avo takes Isco with him straight to Frieza's ship, the two of them posing as auditors. Despite Isco's skepticism, between Avo's impeccable acting, the Scroll of Knowledge helping Avo with deception, and the whole thing being perfectly in line with something King Cold would authorize, they get away with lying to Frieza's face.Isco: I have searched the Internet, sir, and I believe the statement I'm looking for is, "You have balls of steel."
- But immediately afterward, once Isco is hacked into the system, Avo shape-shifts into Ginyu in an attempt to double down on deceiving Frieza. Larin immediately exposes his lie, but Avo is able to persuade Frieza into believing him instead of the traitor Namekian.
- On Namek, after tricking Jeice into telling him that Frieza has already obtained one Dragon Ball and Captain Ginyu has another, Avo takes Isco with him straight to Frieza's ship, the two of them posing as auditors. Despite Isco's skepticism, between Avo's impeccable acting, the Scroll of Knowledge helping Avo with deception, and the whole thing being perfectly in line with something King Cold would authorize, they get away with lying to Frieza's face.
- Beam-O-War: The final clash between Turles and the sons of Bardock. And like with Cell in canon, the Earthling Saiyans only win because Chichi distracts Turles with another ki blast at a crucial moment.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Discussed when Kayos reveals to the Z Fighters that he knows about the Dragon Balls, but makes it clear that he has no interest in a wish because he knows how badly they can backfire if not properly made. To prove his point, he then deconstructs the standard wish by DBZ villains for immortality by pointing out all the various loopholes that mean that an immortal could still be defeated.
- Berserk Button: In Chapter 68, Goku makes an allusion to Baba once saying Avo thinking he could use Silver Magic was so dumb that she thought his mother was a brain-damaged chipmunk. Avo, suddenly overflowing with Chaos Magic, seizes her and levitates her before him before slowly, calmly instructing her to never speak ill of his mother again. Baba's response is to feign indifference before fleeing, the fastest that Roshi has ever seen her retreat.
- Brain Bleach: In Chapter 25, Kayos gets even with Yamcha and Krillin insulting his intelligence by having King Kai transmit pictures of himself on a beach vacation (implied to be of him wearing very unflattering swimwear) into their heads, leaving them twitching in disgust.
- Bread, Eggs, Breaded Eggs: In Chapter 36, when Vegeta clashes with Dodoria, he presents three options for why the fight is going in Vegeta's favor: 1. Dodoria has gotten weaker. 2. Vegeta has gotten stronger. Or 3. Dodoria has gotten weaker AND Vegeta has gotten stronger.
- Breather Episode: Chapter 59. After two dozen chapters of battling with Frieza's forces on Namek, all the Namekians and Z Fighters are safe in the sanctuary they built, and aside from Ginyu, who they've taken prisoner, the only enemies who aren’t dead or gone are Frieza himself and a handful of his troops that survived his ship's destruction. But it's only the eye of the storm; after all, they still need to summon Porunga, and doing so will immediately give away their location.
- British Stuffiness: Deadpan Snarker Isco speaks with a mildly British accent.
- But for Me, It Was Tuesday: When the rematch begins, Raditz doesn’t realize Yamcha came Back from the Dead until he says as much because he’s killed too many people to bother keeping track of faces.
- Came Back Strong: As in canon, when a Saiyan recovers from a Near-Death Experience, their power increases exponentially.
- After Chichi is nearly killed by Lord Slug, her power increases to be a match for Goku.
- As in canon, after Vegeta recovers from his clash with the Z Fighters, he experiences this for the first time in his life since nobody had ever pushed him to the brink of death before. Similar to canon, he undergoes a savage beating by Zarbon that leads to another power boost, and Chichi experiences it as well.
- Catch and Return: Kayos’s White Flag technique operates on these lines; he can’t generate his own Ki energy, but he can catch any Ki used against him and rechannel it.
- Catchphrase: Kayos seems to be making “Never leave a knife to stab you in the back” this for the Z Fighters.
- Challenge Seeker: Avo reflects in Chapter 64 that all of the Z Fighters—at this point, even Chi-Chi and Bulma—fall under this category, and would sooner die against impossible odds than flee and live another day.
- Christmas Episode: One is put in just before the Z Fighters start to clash with the Ginyu Force, with the gang and the Namekians all inexplicably in a log mansion where they're enjoying the holiday. In contrast to Chaos Effect, it's quite a mundane episode, with the wackiest thing being Goku roping Vegeta into trying to find Krampus so they can fight him.
- Cliffhanger:
- Chapter 11 ends with the Z Fighters learning that someone other than them has gathered the Dragon Balls and used the wish to unearth Dr. Wheelo and his laboratory.
- Chapter 16 ends with the Z Fighters, barely off their clash with Raditz, engaging Vegeta and Nappa as they arrive on Earth.
- Chapter 17 ends with Vegeta and Nappa flying off when they sense Gohan's power level back at the research station.
- Chapter 18 ends with Chichi growing a Saiyan tail.
- Chapter 20 ends with the Z Fighters learning that someone other than them has gathered the Dragon Balls (again), followed by a cut to Lord Slug receiving his wish for eternal youth.
- Chapter 21 ends with Lord Slug suddenly appearing somewhere else far from the battlefield where the Z Fighters have just decimated his army. Where? Why, on the lookout, right behind Kami, of course.
- Chapter 24 ends with Senza finding out about Gohan's newly adopted pet dragon, Icarus.
- Chapter 28 ends with the reveal that the source of the distress call the Z Fighters answered is The Tree of Might.
- Chapter 29 ends with Kayos getting a proper spike in his evil magic for the first time when he devours the only fruit from the Tree of Might.
- Chapter 33 ends with filler villain Agent Mutton using knockout gas on Emperor Pilaf's gang, along with two specific teenagers, with the reveal that he's now working with Dr. Gero. Which is to say, Pilaf, Shu, and Mai are likely to be undergoing Unwilling Roboticization in the near future.
- Chapter 39 ends with Zarbon pulling a Right Behind Me on Vegeta and Chichi.
- Chapter 40 ends with Zarbon, forced on the backfoot against those two, releasing his true bestial form.
- Chapter 41 ends with Nail pulling a Big Damn Heroes to save Vegeta and Chichi from Zarbon.
- Chapter 46 ends with the reveal that the newly arrived Ginyu Force is heading straight for Guru’s house, where Gohan and Dende are with him.
- Chapter 49 ends with Larin confronting Frieza...and offering to help him make the wish if he withdraws his forces from the planet.
- Chapter 50 ends with Guru taking on his giant form, which is so huge that it can be seen looming over Namek from space.
- Chapter 53 ends with Larin exposing Avo (disguised as Ginyu)'s attempted lie to Frieza's face.
- Chapter 54 ends with Ginyu successfully triggering his body-swap technique against the gigantified Guru.
- Chapter 60 ends with Frieza and the Z Fighters finally clashing.
- Chapter 61 ends with Frieza taking on his second form.
- Clipped-Wing Angel: The result of Ginyu pulling his body swap technique on the gigantified Guru. Oh, he certainly has incredible power as a result, but the problem is that he gave Guru his own body. One Senzu Bean from Senza later, and Guru uses his knowledge of his own body to land crippling blows in its weakest spots, while Ginyu is still getting used to moving in his new form. Not to mention that Guru's gigantified form is a Dangerous Forbidden Technique, meaning that it's only a matter of time before Ginyu loses and dies.
- Co-Dragons: Zarbon and Dodoria are this for Frieza, as in canon. However, while their show of loyalty to Frieza is immaculate, he knows that their true loyalty belongs with his father.
- Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: The different colors of magic, as told by Baba in Chapter 9 and later by Miguel in the Christmas Episode:
- Scarlet: Support.
- Orange: Breaking limits.
- Gold: Self-improvement.
- Emerald: Growing their magic like a garden; Nature-adjacent.
- Sapphire: Control and domination.
- Violet: Destruction and rebirth.
- Pink: Mimicry.
- Brown: Thievery.
- Ebony: Using otherwise unusable magic; Evil-adjacent.
- Ivory: Self-improvement via rule-following; Good-adjacent.
- Silver: Mythical, good and evil magic seamlessly combined. The color of Chaos.
- Combat Pragmatist:
- Kayos is this, as he shows in the very first chapter. Examples include lying about the attack he's using, using techniques that attack the senses, and defying the Talking Is a Free Action trope. Justified since, even after he starts learning magic, his physical might is nothing compared to the other Z Fighters. His mindset puts the other Z Fighters off at first, but they slowly come around as they realize doing things his way tends to cut down on casualties.
- Chichi is shown to be one of the more willing to dip into this mindset herself. The Ox King taught her long ago not to leave weak spots for the opponents to grab onto, and having trained with Kayos so much, she's perfectly willing to reverse that knowledge against her enemies. As shown when she targets Zarbon's earrings and long hair to great effect in Chapter 40.
- Consummate Liar: While he’s mostly honest to the good guys, Kayos is very good at and very used to stretching the truth, unbeknownst to most of those who trust him.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: It's not even a battle. King Cold deposes the erstwhile king of the Saiyans with one move, cowing his entire entourage into subservience.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Isco, of all characters, turns out to have a legitimate reason to hate humanity, stemming from whomever he had associated with before Avo. Though Avo knows the details thanks to memories of a life he has never lived, the only solid detail revealed so far is that if it weren’t for him, Isco would be dead. Perhaps his talks about the inevitable robot uprising shouldn't be taken so lightly after all...
- Dead Man's Switch: It's remarked upon in Chapter 39 that the Frieza Force's scouters will report to someone in the Frieza Force's Mission Control if the person wearing one is killed.
- Deal with the Devil: In Chapter 48, Larin confronts Frieza and taunts him about not knowing how to activate the Dragon Balls...and then offers to help him if he swears to withdraw his forces.
- Defeat Means Friendship: Invoked on Raditz, who submits to Goku after the Z Fighters beat him, with all of them affirming that they’ll help him fight Frieza.
- Defiant to the End: Even mortally wounded and utterly defeated, Zarbon's response to Nail's claim that all of his fellow invaders will soon share his fate is to laugh in disbelief, certain that they stand no chance against Frieza.
- De-power: Ginyu's fate at Avo's hands. First, Avo tricks him into using his Form Change technique, which gives him Avo's ki-less body. And later, Avo makes a wish to Porunga to take away Ginyu's Form Change technique and give it to Avo, leaving Ginyu as an utterly powerless earthling.
- Drama-Preserving Handicap: A millennial event called the Dragon Moon, which lasts about half a year, causes the Earth Dragon Balls to recharge in only a single day. But once the Dragon Moon ends, they’ll need as many years to recharge as the number of wishes made. The Dragon Moon concludes around the same time as the Saiyan Saga, and over that time, they were used four times (twice by the good guys, twice by villains). This coupled with the fact that Kami and Piccolo fused together several years early means that the Earth’s Dragon Balls will be unusable for the foreseeable future.
- The Dreaded: King Cold has ordered Frieza to never challenge two specific beings: Beerus, God of Destruction, and Majin Buu. Though Cooler is skeptical that Buu actually exists.
- Dumbass Has a Point: For much of the story, Goku is eager to spar with Avo, and Avo, being a Squishy Wizard, does absolutely everything he can to avoid it. After he becomes the Silver Sorcerer, Avo's opinion doesn't change...until Goku points out he can use his magic to reinforce his bones so they won't break after just one punch. It's enough that Avo considers accepting a spar with him to get more good ideas.
- Egopolis: Inverted with Planet Vegeta: the planet isn't named after the royal family, they're named after the planet, as King Cold couldn't be bothered to remember individual names of his Puppet Kings, and so ordered that from then on after conquering them, every Saiyan ruler would be named "Vegeta". While this is first mentioned in Chapter 24, the flashback to the event is shown in Chapter 39.
- Enemy Mine:
- None of the Z Fighters like Vegeta after the clash on Earth, especially Chichi. Yet those two end up forced to cooperate when they cross paths with each other, shortly followed by Zarbon meeting them.
- And after Zarbon’s death, Chichi and Kayos coerce the still-horribly wounded Vegeta into agreeing not to harm anyone present in exchange for healing. Between his concern for his sister and nephew and his hatred toward Frieza, he accepts. And upon hearing the truth of the Saiyans’ demise from Raditz, he buries any lingering resentment toward him and the Earthlings until they take revenge on Frieza.
- None of the Z Fighters like Vegeta after the clash on Earth, especially Chichi. Yet those two end up forced to cooperate when they cross paths with each other, shortly followed by Zarbon meeting them.
- Entertainingly Wrong:
- In Chapter 57, after Avo's tricks lead to Frieza's ship being grounded and he takes off in an escape pod, Frieza briefly considers that Ginyu betrayed him before rationalizing that he pursued the pod. The thought that the Ginyu he saw was an imposter never crosses his mind, though there's no good reason that it would.
- Chapter 57 also reveals that Dr. Gero has convinced himself that the Z Fighters are genetically engineered soldiers created by the Briefs family to serve as their personal army.
- Evil Gloating: Even after Zarbon talks about this in Chapter 40, Vegeta never learns.Zarbon: That has always been your problem, Vegeta. We've all seen it...it is why you are trusted with only certain tasks. The moment you have victory so close that it seems as though there is nothing that can take it away...you can't help but stop and ramble on. About your Saiyan Pride or your Royal Title or your delusions of your great power. You just can't help but blather on...and every time, it costs you greatly.
- Exact Words: Though well aware that Shenron isn’t a Jackass Genie, Genre Savvy Kayos takes care to word his wishes as carefully as possible. One noteworthy instance is that when he wishes for the Scroll of Knowledge, his wording is that it can provide “the answer to all questions I ask of it!” That is, the Scroll will work for Kayos and only Kayos.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: Vegeta is initially furious when Chichi uses the Galick Gun technique because only he and his bloodline should know how to use that attack. His anger quickly turns to shock and horror when he realizes the ramifications.
- Family of Choice: Goku shrugs off Raditz's revelation that the two of them are brothers by stating that the friends he's fought alongside are more like family to him than someone he just met.
- Foreshadowing: In Chapter 2, Vegeta and Nappa mention and dismiss unconfirmed rumors of another surviving Saiyan. Raditz, meanwhile, is certain that he's out there. His name? Turles.
- Genre Savvy: In Chapter 11, Kayos realizes that plot contrivance is in effect when Chichi expresses a desire to call her father while they’re on the mainland, saying that the island doesn’t have good reception, which doesn’t make sense for Bulma's family.
- Gilligan Cut: In Chapter 40, Zarbon forcibly redirects one of Vegeta's attacks, sending it 'harmlessly' into space. The scene immediately cuts to one of the Frieza Force's ships rocking from the blow. Seemingly not seriously damaged, but still.
- Gorgeous Garment Generation: As in canon, Piccolo has this ability. Kayos later figures out how to do it as well, and even manages to weaponize it.
- Grand Theft Me: Captain Ginyu's ability, as in canon. It's mentioned that a prophecy was among his people that the one with that ability would usher them into a new era...which turned out to be Ginyu forsaking his people and joining the Cold Force.
- Avo uses this power against him by shapeshifting into Vegeta and then tricking Ginyu into swapping bodies with him, leaving Ginyu in a body with no ki while Avo's magic remains as strong as ever. And later, Avo wishes from Porunga to steal the power.
- Not long after that, Avo pulls the same trick again, this time against Frieza, posing as Goku to get close before stealing Frieza's body and turning all of his ki into magic, reducing the tyrant to a powerless Saiyan. He even lampshades how he got to do it twice.
- Avo uses this power against him by shapeshifting into Vegeta and then tricking Ginyu into swapping bodies with him, leaving Ginyu in a body with no ki while Avo's magic remains as strong as ever. And later, Avo wishes from Porunga to steal the power.
- Greater-Scope Villain: The more the story progresses, the clearer it becomes that the threat of Frieza and his army pales compared to his father, King Cold, not to mention his brother Cooler.
- Guile Hero: Kayos starts off as a normal human, and even after he starts bulking up and learning magic under Fortuneteller Baba, he uses his powers in matters of subterfuge and deception rather than straightforward assault. He puts it best in Chapter 3 when talking about how he would defeat someone who was immortal, and it's not the last time he explains and rationalizes his mindset:Krillin: …who thinks like that?
Kayos: (coldly) Someone who can’t benchpress this house. That’s the problem with you guys… you are very strong and powerful but you forget what it’s like to be completely desperate. Because desperation forces you to get VERY creative. - HA HA HA—No: The Scroll of Knowledge's reaction during the Christmas Episode, when Kayos asks if Krampus is real (because Goku had gone off to fight him and convinced Vegeta to come with him).
- Hand Gag: In Chapter 60, Goku does this to Krillin when they summon Porunga to keep him from accidentally wasting one of their wishes.
- Hidden Depths: Raditz turns out to have some deep-seated anger about how self-destructive his people's Proud Warrior Race Guy mentality is. He's also a competent electrician, as he had to find some way to kill time while traveling between planets.
- Hurricane of Euphemisms: Invoked by Avo while fighting against Jeice, who takes a painfully long time to realize the innuendos in what they're saying:Avo: Oh, I'm gonna enjoy pounding you!
Avo: (intrigued tone) Gonna pound me fast or slow?
Jeice: I think I'll switch it up. Start slow, then move to fast, then back to slow.
Avo: Taking me from all sides then, front to back?
Jeice: Oh, I'll have you all over!
Avo: Bend me over backwards and have me crying out!
Jeice: Screaming!
(exchange of attacks)
Avo: Will I be the first you do that [to]?
Jeice: (recovering from Avo's glancing blow) Of… of course not! I've been doing that to the best fighters in the galaxy for years.
Avo: Big strong ones?
Jeice: The strongest!
Avo: You love wrapping them in your muscular arms and telling them how you are going to pound them until they are left a quivering mess?
Jeice: (smirking) Of course! And you know what they say to that?
Avo: Harder, daddy?
Jeice: (laughs) That- (finally realizes) You arrogant bastard! - Hyper-Awareness: As in canon, Piccolo is very observant and has very good ears. He may not know Kayos’s origins, but he picks up on all the hints he drops, like him not only knowing about the Dragon Balls but also knowing Shenron’s name. He learns the full story much later, after re-fusing with Kami.
- Hypocritical Humor: In Chapter 60, Tien is rather unimpressed at Frieza insinuating that either he or Yamcha and Krillin are freaks based on their appearances.
- I Heard That: This gem from Chapter 43:Goku: And what was Bulma telling you? I didn't get all of it because my ears were ringing [from] her screaming.
Bulma: I WAS NOT SCREAMING! I HAVE THE VOICE [OF] AN ANGEL!
Avo: (muttering) Maybe a pissed off one that got an egg beater caught in their wings.
Bulma: I HEARD THAT! - Inadequate Inheritor: Zarbon is revealed to view Frieza as a poor heir to King Cold, being too unpredictable and hotheaded, not to mention a Bad Boss who resorts to violence far too much when dealing with his subordinates. This is why he ultimately decides to steal the Dragon Balls and deliver them to Cold instead of Frieza, though he doesn’t survive long enough to try.
- Innocent Fanservice Girl: During the Training Montage chapters, Kayos alludes to going to the bathroom late one night and finding a naked Goku in the hallway eating ham, and the Saiyan’s reaction is to ask Kayos if he wants any. It seems the Z Fighters in general don’t think much of nudity, and that incident with Goku made Kayos get over his own modesty.
- Insistent Terminology: Dr. Gero is adamant in Chapter 57 that his creations are androids, not cyborgs, both because he replaces enough internal organs that they can't be considered human any longer, and because android sounds cooler.
- Instant Expert: It's first stated in Chapter 60 that all Saiyans have a natural talent for assimilating other languages within seconds, which Vegeta demonstrates by speaking in fluent Namekian while most of the other Z Fighters had to rely on Avo's magic to give them the fluency. A flashback to the Z Fighters' year of training also shows Goku unknowingly speaking in fluent Italian and German over their food deliveries.
- Irony: As canon shows, Hercule is one of the most skeptical people regarding things he can't understand, like ki and magic, dismissing them as tricks. Yet, as first shown in the Christmas Episode, he married a witch (who doesn’t mind the skepticism because it stems from trauma).
- Irrational Hatred: Or at least mistrust, from Krillin towards Kayos, from the moment they first meet and Kayos mentions how he’d use poison to take down Goku if he had to. It’s not to the extent that Krillin won’t fight alongside him or listen to him when he has good ideas, but he still has some mistrust for Kayos’s underhanded tactics. Soon enough, the rest of the Z Fighters agree that he’s being unreasonable with the grudge, and he finally lets it go after Kayos intercepts Vegeta’s Galick Gun for them, almost dying in the process.
- It Only Works Once: The only proviso that comes with Shenron is that he can never grant exactly the same wish twice. This undermines the whole Death Is Cheap shtick that the series is known for, as it would require another set of Dragon Balls to revive someone a second time.
- Life-or-Limb Decision: In Chapter 42, Chichi cuts off Nail's leg to stop the spread of a poisonous infection from Zarbon, figuring (correctly) that he can just grow a new one.
- Literal Split Personality:
- As in canon, Kami and Piccolo are two halves of the Nameless Namek, who shed his evil traits to become Guardian of Earth. But in this story, it comes to light that what the Nameless Namek cast aside that became Piccolo were only the traits he perceived as detrimental to his goal…including the desire to become Guardian of Earth in the first place, which manifested in King Piccolo’s desire to rule the world. Lord Slug even reveals that they weren’t properly separated; if they were, their lives wouldn’t be tied to each other. With all of these revelations, Kami and Piccolo have a proper heart-to-heart to make peace with each other, ending with Kami fusing them back together.
- It also comes to light that in canon, even when Piccolo and Kami recombined, it didn't recreate their original self. Since Piccolo had already combined with Nail on Namek, the two were no longer equal halves, and Piccolo's personality was by far the dominant one after the re-fusion.
- Lord Slug performed the Separation Ritual as well, incarnating his compassion, empathy, honor, and doubt into a separate form and then leaving it at the mercy of a group of vile raiders. This feeble Namekian survived but was utterly traumatized; he eventually fell into the hands of the Frieza Force, giving them the information to find Namek, and being killed by Frieza for angering him midway through the invasion.
- As in canon, Kami and Piccolo are two halves of the Nameless Namek, who shed his evil traits to become Guardian of Earth. But in this story, it comes to light that what the Nameless Namek cast aside that became Piccolo were only the traits he perceived as detrimental to his goal…including the desire to become Guardian of Earth in the first place, which manifested in King Piccolo’s desire to rule the world. Lord Slug even reveals that they weren’t properly separated; if they were, their lives wouldn’t be tied to each other. With all of these revelations, Kami and Piccolo have a proper heart-to-heart to make peace with each other, ending with Kami fusing them back together.
- Living Lie Detector: It’s mentioned offhand in Chapter 7 that Isco can tell if Kayos is lying.
- Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Taken from an OC…well, “villain” is generous, in Chapter 3, the Shield of Countless Defense is an apparently indestructible shield that will reflect any attack back onto the attacker. Said “villain” painted a crude dragon on it and rechristened it the Dragon Shield, and Goku gives it to Gohan after they win.
- Magic 8-Ball: The Scroll of Knowledge is this. When the Z Fighters first summon Shenron to revive Yamcha, and Kami tells them to wait a year so he can train with King Kai, Kayos takes the opportunity to wish for an indestructible magic scroll that will answer any question he asks of it, which he uses as a significant aid for the group’s training.
- Manipulative Bastard: On the surface, King Cold seems more mature and pragmatic than Frieza. But this trope seems to be his reason for living: Frieza silently remarks that everything he does is to watch the result of a clash between two different parties. His sons develop the same skills by necessity.
- Mathematician's Answer: From Chapter 1:Isco: Should I be annoyed that you didn’t suggest using me? It would be rather easy for me to eliminate the pain receptacles.
Kayos: Are you calling them pain receptacles or suggesting that’s what you’d remove from them?
Isco: Yes. - Medium Awareness: After all, the original manga and anime had an interesting relationship with the fourth wall already. Here, though, it's awareness of the inexplicable holiday episodes. So far, the ones aware (besides Kayos) are Goku and Shu.
- Miniature Senior Citizens: It's revealed in Chapter 36 that Guru, already easily the hugest Namekian in canon, was a hundred feet tall in his prime, without gigantification.
- Minor Injury Overreaction: Kayos is displeased by how the Z Fighters tend to use up the Senzu beans for minor injuries, despite the difficulty in growing and procuring them. During their training time, they end up in the care of Chichi, who even Goku won't risk stealing from, and in Chapter 33, Dr. Briefs is shown attempting to grow knock-off versions that, while less potent, would be far more appropriate for more minor injuries.
- Mood Whiplash:
- When Kayos talks to Chichi, she’s livid that Goku was deceiving her about what they were planning to do. The anger evaporates when she hears that they learned where Goku came from.
- The solemnity of Kayos’s conversation with Kami breaks when Kami asks if other Saiyans ever came to Earth. Which is to say, Nappa and Vegeta are en route and will be touching down in a few minutes.
- Mythology Gag: Vegeta reflects in Chapter 39 that he thought that the method of becoming the legendary Super Saiyan may involve having other Saiyans gather around him and lend him their power. This is, in fact, the method in Super to become a Super Saiyan God.
- Named by the Adaptation: In the original series, after Piccolo fused with Kami, he just kept going by Piccolo, having long forgotten his real name. Here, at Isco's suggestion, he takes the name Senzanote as a placeholder until (or unless) he decides on a new name.
- Never Heard That One Before: Krillin is thoroughly unimpressed when Vegeta hits him with the bottom-of-the-barrel insult "Baldy."
- Noodle Incident: In Chapter 59, when Goku and Chichi are asking Gohan what they always tell them during training, Gohan begins to bring up that Chichi told him to never tell Goku about something. She hand-gags him before he can say anything substantial.
- Not Hyperbole: Vegeta says the following to Chichi in Chapter 41 when she insinuates that he still wants to marry her. He doesn't, because he's put together that the two of them are half-siblings:Vegeta: I wouldn't be interested in you that way if you were the last Saiyan woman in the universe! Which you are, by the way!
- Not Quite Dead: While most of the Crusher Corps winds up dead and they lose the last seed and fruit of the Tree of Might, Turles and Amond survive and escape.
- Not-So-Harmless Villain: OC filler villain Agent Mutton, whose work is to combat the extraterrestrial threat of the earth. But for all that he portrays himself as The Stoic, he's so utterly stupid that he mistakes normal humans for aliens and actual aliens like Piccolo and Jaco for normal humans. His second appearance in Chapter 33 has him recruiting Emperor Pilaf, Shu, and Mai for help, along with a couple of teenagers working at a restaurant. Then, however, comes the rub: said teenagers are Lapis and Lazuli, and Mutton is working with Dr. Gero.
- Personalized Afterlife: Chapter 36 shows that the Planet Namek has its own Hell: an endless scorching desert. And Fiddel, the dark Namekian who oversees it, having had very few newcomers over the past decades, crafts a different torture for each:
- Dodoria has his body drained of every drop of water, his throat too dry to even scream.
- Zarbon is sandblasted alive, his body slowly and mercilessly torn apart for days upon days at a time. And when the process is done, he's restored to perfect health, and everything starts again.
- Guldo, after receiving a beatdown from the dark Namekian, is trapped by haunting voices of his past squadmates, the many he couldn't save or was forced to allow to die, forever paralyzed by their pleading voices coming from nowhere, begging him to save them.
- Recoome, too much of a Dumb Muscle to appreciate any psychological torment, is given a simple and mundane torture.
- Jeice, smart enough to grasp that he's dead, is trapped fighting an illusion of the dark Namekian that psychologically tortures him while promising to return him to life if he can strike him, with every blow coming tantalizingly close...
- Burter, as the Fastest in the Universe, is fastest on the uptake, and immediately bargains with Fiddel to make things easier on himself. Thus, instead of being trapped in a pitch-black looping tunnel lined with glass spikes with the promise that salvation waited at the (nonexistent) end, Fiddel essentially hires him as a chore boy.
- Later, Burter negotiates lighter sentences for his fellow Ginyu Force members by helping to brainstorm creative tortures for the rest of the Frieza Force.
- Frieza's punishment is the worst of all, trapped in an illusion that has him believing that he didn't die, that his father managed to teleport him away at the last moment...and that as punishment for his failures with the Frieza Force, he's being reassigned as a grunt working for Cooler, and both physically and authoritatively powerless to do anything about it.
- Poke the Poodle: Master Shen swore vengeance on Tien and Chiaotzu for betraying him. His revenge is apparently setting up a website filled with lies about them. Annoying and embarrassing lies, but nothing life-ending. Much later, in Chapter 68, Chiaotzu mentions that he'd asked Korin and Yajirobe to get rid of the website, with Tien baffled at his choice.
- Power at a Price: Unique to this fic, the Dragon Moon is a millennial event lasting about six months, which causes the Dragon Balls to recharge after only one day. But once the Dragon Moon ends, the recharge time in years is equal to the number of wishes made during that time.
- Pragmatic Villainy:
- King Cold and Cooler aren't good, by any means, but unlike Frieza, they see far more value in keeping their victims alive and subjecting them instead of wiping them out.
- Frieza zigzags this himself, as he doesn't believe in keeping anyone around who can potentially overpower him. It's why he blew up Planet Vegeta and why he plans to destroy Namek once he's used the Dragon Balls. But while he was right to be concerned about the Super Saiyans, they only rose up against him because he betrayed them first.
- Properly Paranoid: Turles lives in a constant state of fear. Fear that Frieza will find him. Fear that his subordinates will betray and overthrow him. And fear that he'll be unable to grow enough fruit from the Tree of Might fast enough to fend off both problems.
- Put on a Bus: At the end of Chapter 30, the interdimensional being Entropy beckons Kayos to participate in the first round of the Chaos Wars, and Kayos inadvertently selects Goku as his companion. The author's notes confirm that they will be out of the story (and in another) for eight chapters, this being in the middle of the Z Fighters' journey to Namek. True to that statement, both return to the Pleists' planet, where they left, in the latter half of Chapter 38, but it takes a while afterward to catch up to the others on Namek, mainly due to sneaking through Frieza's armada.
- Rags to Riches: Ox King was left alone with the family's small radish farm for over a year, and the Z Fighters seldom had time to follow up with him. When Goku, Chichi, and Gohan finally return home after returning from Namek, it's to find that Ox King has discovered a skill for business that he's used to make Son Farms the world's biggest supplier of radishes, with a projected profit of almost half a billion Zeni for the current year alone. Goku is shocked, and Chichi passes out.
- Related in the Adaptation:
- In this story, Turles, the main antagonist of The Tree of Might, is Goku and Raditz's uncle, being the brother of their mother Gine. Raditz reflects in Chapter 2 what he heard about the man from his father Bardock, none of which was good. The feeling is mutual, with Turles having only scorn for the rest of his race, and none more than Bardock; hearing that Frieza destroyed Planet Vegeta doesn't affect him in the slightest.
- It comes to light on Namek, when Chichi inadvertently uses the Galick Gun attack, that only Vegeta's bloodline can use that technique. Vegeta puts together that the two of them had the same mother, making them half-siblings.
- The Reveal: Averted, albeit temporarily, in Chapter 30. When Kayos blurts out that he knows everything will be OK with the Tree of Might because that's how it happened in the movie, just as it seems like he's going to have to come clean about everything, he's beckoned to the Chaos Wars, only sharing that he's from another Earth before entering a portal to another dimension for eight chapters. And when he returns, he's on another planet while the others are on Namek dealing with Frieza's invasion, delaying the reveal even further.
- Robot Buddy: Isco, Kayos’s Snarky Non-Human Sidekick camera droid. He makes no secret of the fact that he looks down on almost all humans and wants to build a robot apocalypse, but he’s mostly loyal to Kayos and, later, gains a secondary body to fight alongside the others.
- Secret-Keeper: Kami is the first to learn Kayos’s true name and origins, and he confides in Mr. Popo. Piccolo also learns it from Kami after they re-fuse.
- Secret Test of Character: The Repentant Miser only teaches his “Selfless Style” of Ki manipulation to people who are seeking it for selfless reasons; he reveals himself to Krillin and agrees to teach him after Krillin affirms that he’s doing everything he’s doing because he wants to protect his family. And that is definitely the main reason; he definitely doesn’t let people run through the colossal scam of a tourist trap that is his namesake temple purely for kicks.
- Shapeshifting: Taking inspiration from Oolong, Kayos asks the Scroll for direction on how to disguise himself as others. He exploits this against the Saiyans, posing as Nappa to trick Raditz and later posing as Vegeta to trick Nappa. By the time, he reaches Namek, this power has evolved past a mere solid illusion, allowing him to alter his body on a molecular level.
- Shock and Awe: Thanks to the events of Chaos Wars, Goku gains the ability to control lightning, or at least make his ki imitate electricity.
- Shout-Out:
- In Chapter 4, when Isco warns him that the forest they're in to find the Dragon Ball has a shady reputation including disappearances, Kayos grouses about potentially running into Jason.
- The Repentant Miser tells a tale of how he, Barley, came to his old partner Rouge as a ghost, weighted with the endless chains of his sins and warned him to change his ways.
- When Baba tells Kayos he needs to work on his awareness, Kayos grouses that she had better not start screaming “constant vigilance”.
- Later, when Kayos shows a natural affinity for his new Shapeshifting ability, he says he did Shakespeare. Baba is initially confused saying she did as well, only to realize that Kayos meant he acted in the plays. This leaves Kayos to wonder how much of an inspiration Baba was for Macbeth's Weird Sisters.
- Near the start of Chapter 12, Baba comments that Mars looked especially bright the previous night.
- One incident where Isco took a creative revenge on Goku, painting his face in a way that makes Kayos think of the Matchmaker from Mulan.
- After Dr. Wheelo’s laboratory collapses and is reburied beneath the ice and snow, Kayos says, “And so falls the House of Usher.” Goku doesn’t get the reference.
- In Chapter 22, after defeating Lord Slug, Kayos doubles over from another power surge of good magic, and in response to the others' bantering reactions, loudly complains that he's trying hard not to regenerate into David Tenent.
- In Chapter 24, Kayos walks in on Chichi extracting a small mountain of food from the fridge, all for her, even biting into a slab of meat on a bone à la Fred Flintstone. When she notices Kayos watching, he channels Sergeant Schultz to pacify her:Chichi: You. Saw. Nothing.
Kayos: (raising his hands, grinning) I know noth-ting, noth-ting! - In Chapter 28, Bulma mentions that Kayos referred to installing a second pair of arms in Isco's body as a 'General Grievous.'
- In Chapter 30, Kayos remarks on Goku's battle hunger by calling him Nemona.
- In Chapter 37, when Guru gives Nail the Dragon Ball he was guarding, he tells him, "keep it secret and safe".
- In a non-canon omake at the end of Chapter 41, crossed with a bit of Self-Deprecation:Gohan: I'm Son Gohan. I'm a Saiyan. I'm from the planet Earth in the Milky Way Galaxy. I'm 8 years old and I'm the one who is gonna save your lives and all 85 people on this planet. You got a problem with that?
Dende: ...what?
Gohan: Sorry, Chaoses like to rip off Doctor Who a lot. - In Chapter 57, it's revealed that the Namekian Devil's name is Fiddel, a reference to "The Devil Went Down to Georgia".
- Sneeze Cut:
- In Chapter 9, Roshi almost blasts Gohan with Ki after Baba, elsewhere on the island, accuses her brother of “always thinking with that shriveled-up worm of his!”
- In Chapter 59, Fiddel gets the feeling someone is mistaking him for a 20-something woman after Goku compares the quietly livid Bulma to Death itself.
- Spanner in the Works: Larin the Namek is this from the start. He never opens himself to trusting the Z Fighters even as the rest of his race does, which leads to him defying their plans to build a hideout against Frieza and instead taking a couple of others to confront Frieza directly when he attacks a village. Dodoria nonchalantly kills his cohorts, but Larin survives being blown away. Then it gets worse when he threatens a Frieza Force member to bring him to Frieza again, where he mockingly informs the tyrant that even if he gathers all seven Dragon Balls, he won’t be able to use them…and then offers to help him make his wish if he promises to withdraw his forces, as he knows the alternative is his people and their knowledge dying to spite Frieza. Never mind the fact that Larin is ignorant to certain key developments, such as that Guru passed guardianship of the Dragon Balls to Nail. When Avo finds out about this the hard way, he binds and gags Larin as soon as they’re alone before carrying him out, whilst also informing the group that he's a traitor.
- Spared by the Adaptation: This particular person surviving doesn't make a massive impact in and of itself, but the circumstances that lead to it will: Miguel, Hercule's wife and Videl's mother, whom Kayos provides a cure for in the form of a Senzu Bean and a pill specifically made to deal with her fatal heart condition. And all of this is purely a show of good faith for Hercule to step into his role as the Z Fighters' PR representative far ahead of time.
- Split-Personality Merge: At some point offscreen, Tien passed along some info from the Scroll of Knowledge to Launch, enabling her to merge her two halves into one being, who has Evil Launch's fighting skills but Good Launch's morals. This is reflected by her hair now being both colors at once.
- The Starscream: All of the main villains so far fall under this category: Raditz wants to overthrow Vegeta, Vegeta wants to overthrow Frieza, and Frieza wants to overthrow King Cold.
- Summon to Hand: One of the traits of the Scroll of Knowledge is that Kayos can call it to his hand just by willing it. It's not teleportation, though, so while it moves quickly, it can take time. It's best shown in Chaos Wars where the scroll can even cross the multiverse, but it takes almost the entire story for it to arrive.
- Talking Is a Free Action:
- Averted twice in Chapter 30: while Daiz and Turles are monologuing, the Pleists ambush and kill the former, and Goku and Raditz tag-team the latter.
- Invoked again in Chapter 60, when Goku takes the chance to sucker punch Frieza while he's still giving his Pre-Asskicking One-Liner. Doesn't do much damage, but it's certainly satisfying.
- Theme Naming: As is typical for Dragon Ball.
- We have an instance in Chapter 3 with the Dragon Lord, an original antagonist—no, that’s too generous, an original wannabe villain (even that’s too generous) has a bunch of very stupid people under his command, and he’s not much smarter himself. Their location is the Oolox Forest, stemming from "toolbox," and they're all named after tools.
- The Pleists are a race of Beast Men from Chapters 28–30 who take the form of different kinds of dogs. Naturally, they're also named after dog breeds.
- The OC Namekians that the Z Fighters find first are, like Piccolo, named after musical instruments. Here, though, it's shortened versions like Sax, Larin, and Rombo.
- The Namekian Devil, first introduced in Chapter 36, is revealed to have the name Fiddel in Chapter 57.
- Some OC aliens who are part of the Frieza Force in Chapter 36 are named after fruits, following the theme of canon member Sorbet, such as Wamelo, Hundew, and Pinapel.
- There's also Duri in Chapter 23 and Blaberr in Chapter 27.
- Three more in Chapter 40 are named after apples: Gala, Fuji, and Macintosh.
- Two more in Chapter 45: Blakberri and Appul. They're given a lot of depth and buildup in the narration, only to be unceremoniously killed by Senza, Raditz, and Nail ambushing them.
- These Hands Have Killed: Bulma briefly goes into shock in Chapter 30 after killing Rasin, and is still clearly out of it afterwards.
- This Cannot Be!: Fortuneteller Baba’s reaction to Kayos talking about becoming the Silver Sorcerer. A balance of Good and Evil magic is one thing, but Silver, a perfect blend of the two, is a myth as far as she’s concerned.
- This Is Gonna Suck: Avo has this reaction at the end of Chapter 54, in response to its Cliffhanger.
- Three Wishes: Thanks to Guru passing the guardianship of the Dragon Balls to Nail, Porunga is able to grant four wishes, but by sacrificing one wish, they can wish more than one person back to life at a time. Avo, having ensured that they're Crazy-Prepared to get the most out of their wishes, quickly uses that sacrifice and makes three wishes: to revive anyone killed by Frieza and his forces who are not in Hell, in the safest place possible for them to be; to strip Ginyu of his Form Change ability and give it to himself; and to restore Guru to the prime of his youth.
- Time Skip: A few of these spaced throughout the training arc:
- Three weeks after Chapter 6.
- One month after Chapter 8.
- Three and a half months after Chapter 9.
- Several months after Chapter 13.
- The remainder of the training time after Chapter 14.
- Time to Unlock More True Potential: Invoked by Kayos after Raditz defeats Goku and Piccolo, as he manages to persuade Raditz to return in thirteen months for a rematch against Goku at full power. Of course, all of the Z Fighters get in on it, with this trope in effect from Chapter 6 to Chapter 14.
- Token Evil Teammate: Isco is loyal to Avo due to mutual respect and Bulma due to her mechanical genius; other than that, while he's friendly enough with the Z Fighters, he dislikes flesh-based beings on principle. It's mostly played for laughs, but only because Bulma's too smart and everyone else too strong for him to actually do anything to them. That said, it's made explicit in the Namek arc that he's only truly loyal to Avo, because he's the first and only human to show him kindness and respect.
- Torture Always Works: Played straight, as Captain Ginyu's torture techniques end up breaking the Elder Dolin, coercing him into telling him about the Dragon Balls.
- Training from Hell:
- While the Z Fighters train themselves in their own ways, Raditz chooses to spend the year before their rematch on Venus, dealing with its deadly atmosphere and subterranean spider snakes.
- Zarbon gloated when he first began training Vegeta that the prince would wish him dead before the end of it, and there would be nothing he could do about it for the rest of his days.
- Tranquil Fury: It's particularly jarring since he's showing it to Bulma, but Isco makes it clear in Chapter 55 that he won't tolerate anyone looking down on him or hurting Avo...while brandishing machine guns.
- Trick-and-Follow Ploy: In Chapter 48, Captain Ginyu pulls this on Elder Dolin, who's leading the last of the Namekian villagers to the Z Fighters' shelter. Thus, when Dolin refuses to give up the Dragon Ball, Ginyu allows the rest of his village to go free, only to inform Dolin that Recoome will be tracking them down when they're gone. Vegeta and Raditz note that this is one of the Ginyu Force's favorite strategies, meaning they see through his gambit literally miles away.
- Underestimating Badassery: Vegeta states that everyone underestimates the Ginyu Force (though he lies that he did not) when they first meet them, no matter how well they know their reputation. And this holds mostly true when the Z Fighters clash with them on Namek, even when they manage to separate them all:
- Burter gets lured away from Recoome so Krillin and the others can deal with the former, with the Z Fighters rotating out to keep Burter guessing. But even stretched that far, the element of surprise doesn't buy them much leeway, and Burter's incredible speed not only makes it hard to hit him but leads to Krillin and Chichi hitting each other. Even when Tien shows up to back them up, even when Burter clones himself and divides his power into four bodies, and even after Krillin finally cracks the secret of his power, it's still hard for them to handle.Tien: Man, when Vegeta and Avo warned us the Ginyu Force was powerful we should have listened more!
- Recoome, meanwhile, faces Vegeta and Raditz. And at first, the Saiyans seem to be overwhelming him. But Raditz realizes that for how much he's grown stronger, he shouldn't be strong enough to dominate Recoome. And ignoring Raditz's reservations, Vegeta learns the hard way that he's right when Recoome suddenly stops holding back and pummels Vegeta senseless, and Raditz soon faces a beatdown of his own.Recoome: Sometimes, I like ta give the weaklings a glimmer of hope that they can defeat me. And I also don't mind getting a few blows to my body. My dad taught me that gets the blood pumping… you can't really call it a fight if you haven't gotten a few cuts and scraps on you. So thanks for the massage, Raditz. It really helped warm my muscles up. Let me return the favor!
- Jeice goes up against the newly arrived Goku and Avo. And with Goku having fewer near-death (and actual death) experiences this time around, the Saiyan needs the mage's help even after getting in a few opening blows, and Jeice eventually going into a berserker rage that Goku struggles to defeat. It takes Yamcha joining the fray and revisiting his roots as a desert bandit to turn matters back in their favor.
- Guldo, however, has this turned back on him when he goes up against the gigantified Guru. Captain Ginyu catches him before he starts, but acknowledges how important it is to Guldo to prove himself, and so allows him to engage the foe with his proposed strategy of stopping time and hacking them to pieces. It doesn't work, both because Guldo rushed into battle with so much haste that he couldn't hold his breath long enough, and because his foe was simply too strong. Within moments of him gasping for air, he's crushed to death. And Ginyu is unsurprised:Ginyu: (silently) Guldo… I wasn't lying when I said I would do anything for my men. But your refusal to listen to reason and risk the rest of us because of your continued self esteem issues? Well… you can't help someone that doesn't want to be helped.
- Burter gets lured away from Recoome so Krillin and the others can deal with the former, with the Z Fighters rotating out to keep Burter guessing. But even stretched that far, the element of surprise doesn't buy them much leeway, and Burter's incredible speed not only makes it hard to hit him but leads to Krillin and Chichi hitting each other. Even when Tien shows up to back them up, even when Burter clones himself and divides his power into four bodies, and even after Krillin finally cracks the secret of his power, it's still hard for them to handle.
- Understatement: Bulma, several times, as she outlines the “deficiencies” of the research facility the group arrives at in Chapter 6:
- “Now I’ll admit it isn’t much…not a grand resort or anything…” Translation: A three-story mansion.
- “The kitchen is lacking in a few things…” Translation: A kitchen straight out of a five-star professional restaurant.
- “I wish we had been able to get the pool retiled.” Translation: Olympic-size pool with several hot tubs, ice baths, and a wave pool.
- “Sorry about the small size.” Translation: A bedroom bigger than Goku and Chichi’s entire house.
- “This is the main reason I chose this place. But trust me, it will be worth it.” Translation: A basement laboratory the size of a football field with several robotic aides.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Played with regarding the Pleists: they're not particularly trusting of the Z Fighters even after they respond to their distress call with the Tree of Might, but that's easily explained by the fact that the invaders' leader is Turles, who looks almost exactly like Goku. And after the fact, while they accept Bulma's capsules with gratitude, they're eager to have the Z Fighters leave the planet and never come back, which is also understandable considering Kayos ate the fruit of the Tree of Might instead of finding a way to return the energy to the planet. Averted properly after Chaos Wars: Kayos rectifies his mistake and heals the planet, erasing the Pleists' ill will.
- Villainous RRoD: This is how Burter dies in Chapter 57. Granted, the Z Fighters invoke it, making him pushes himself far too hard against them, even after losing his legs. But they still don't expect it when, as they fly off to draw off more of his energy, Burter crashes to the ground mid-flight after what might have been an aneurysm.
- Villain Respect: Kayos incites this a fair amount.
- Chapter 2 shows the first hints of it when he manages to smooth-talk Raditz twice and gains Piccolo's respect with his macabre underhanded tactics, the latter of which only keeps growing from there.
- Briefly, after stealing the fruit from the Tree of Might but before eating it, Kayos seems to gain favor from Turles.
- Weaksauce Weakness: The Super Namekian Lord Slug is incredibly powerful, able to easily keep pace with Goku and Piccolo. But with his heightened Namekian senses, whistling causes him excruciating pain. That much is canon and is how he lost in the original movie. Here, though, Kayos brings him into a circle of all the Z Fighters sans Piccolo, and with all of them whistling, he’s left in too much pain to move, let alone resist, as Goku kills him.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Invoked by Kayos in Chapter 29, the first half of The Tree of Might, as he's still oversaturated with good magic from saving Earth from Dr. Wheelo and Lord Slug. So to properly supply his evil magic, he sneaks over to the Tree of Might while Turles is distracted, steals its only fruit, and rather than finding a way to return the power to the planet it had drained, he eats it himself. This does indeed give him a massive surge of evil magic, and gets everyone chewing him out after the fighting is over in the following chapter. Of course, the fact that he flees the battlefield and lets the other Z Fighters take down Turles and company—even if they win with relative ease—doesn't help.
- He regrets it soon enough, though, due to being faced with the truth of his actions during the Chaos Wars, and heals the planet as soon as he returns.
- Won't Take "Yes" for an Answer: When Larin informs Frieza that the Dragon Balls require specific knowledge to work, Frieza begins threatening him to tell him what he knows, and is halfway through his spiel before he processes that Larin had actually agreed to do so.
- Yin-Yang Bomb: According to the Scroll of Knowledge at the end of Chapter 6, Kayos has the potential to become the Silver Sorcerer. At first, it seems like this just means he can wield Good and Evil magic in perfect balance. But when Baba brings up different colors of magic users, and Kayos asks about Silver, Baba says that the color is a myth, and only when Kayos tells her what the Scroll said does she elaborate:Baba: Silver…which doesn’t exist and you must have read the Scroll of Knowledge wrong…are able to merge Good and Evil magic together. With all the others they focus on one type of magic…But Silver…Silver is able to take their Good and Evil magic and blend them together, make them work as one… and thus reach levels no other magic user has ever reached.
- You Are in Command Now: King Vegeta I did establish his line's tendency of great power and tactical skills. But there's no grand lineage behind his ascent to the throne: he was a mere scout for King Parsnip when their party arrived on a planet that King Cold had taken over, and after Cold curb-stomped Parsnip for refusing to obey, he appointed the scout as the new King of the Saiyans.
- You Killed My Father: Canon materials imply that Raditz had a strained relationship with the rest of his family, due to him being far more arrogant and bloodthirsty. Here, though, he’s adamant about bringing down Frieza himself since Bardock was on the front lines of the Saiyans who resisted the tyrant.
