It was then the pair approached three familiar figures waiting for them up ahead. Videl recognized one of them immediately and smiled at his presence.
"Good morning, Piccolo."
The Namekian warrior smiled back, "Hey, runt."
Grinning, the raven haired girl then turned her attention to the other two people standing beside the caped fighter. One of them was a black skinned man in a vest, turban, baggy pants and pointy shoes, while the other was another, much younger Namekian, about the same age as her, adorned in white robes, a blue scarf, and carrying a wooden staff.
Noticing her looking at the new pair, Gohan gestured towards them, "Videl, this is Dende; the friend I told you about from Namek, the new guardian of earth and the inheritor of our planet's dragon balls."
Jerking upright at realizing exactly who she was addressing, the girl then bowed respectfully to the two people in front of her, "H-Hello. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."
"And hello to you too," Dende exclaimed with a friendly smile. "Gohan has told me a lot about you, Videl."
"And he's told me about you as well," the raven haired martial artist replied, grinning across at the young overseer of the planet. "Is it true that he saved you from Frieza and his men back on your home planet?"
"Yes. It's true," the boy replied with a slight laugh, "He and his friends were really brave, and they fought so hard too. Even though that monster got me in the end, we were all able to turn it around and get him back for everything he did to us."
"So I heard," Videl giggled, before then turning to Mr. Popo to see him smiling at her as well. His appearance earned a bow from the child as well, "Good day, sir."
The guardian's advisor nodded in return. "Good day."
Gulping, the girl glanced back at her trainer. "So Gohan… what happens now? Am I going to have to go through some sort of trial or… exam or something?"
Smiling brightly, the demi-Saiyan then turned to his alien friend. "You heard what we were talking about before, right?"
Dende immediately nodded at his question, "Yes, I did. You wish to try and unlock your friend's potential in the same way that Guru was able to unlock yours?"
"Yeah. That's kind of what this whole trip is about," Gohan replied nervously and with a hopeful look in his eyes. "Do you… think you'll be able to do it? I know it's asking a lot from you and everything, but…"
The young Namek nodded his head confidently, "Lord Guru passed onto me the ability to heal as well as a few of our other race's techniques. Though I'm not as proficient at them as he was, I'm certain I'll be able to bring something to the table. Mr. Popo has been getting me to work really hard and I've had plenty of time to practice my skills as the new guardian of earth."
Gohan's face lit up at the news, "That's great. Awesome." He then turned his attention to Videl and nodded her towards his friend. "He says he'll give it his best shot."
"O-Okay," the girl gulped, stepping forward and watching Dende move forward as well. Appearing anxious, Videl knelt down in front of the Namekian boy and closed her eyes, allowing the watcher of earth to lift his hands up and hold them above her head. Her position allowed the young guardian to feel out her ki a lot easier than from his previous position and, in a matter of moments, he started to work his magic.
Moving to stand beside Piccolo, Gohan and the others watched on as Dende tightened his face in concentration, at the same time Videl firmly held her position. With a few words of encouragement, the gutsy fighter relaxed, making the worker's job that much easier.
For the next few minutes everyone remained as they were and silence prevailed over the area. The butterflies danced over the flowers and the wind blew over them like a veil. It was only after a certain amount of time had passed that Dende finally found what he was looking for and, opening his eyes in surprise, a smile quickly pulled across his face. He then looked down upon the girl kneeling in front of him.
"Wow. You have a lot of power sleeping inside of you. It's incredible." He saw Videl peek up at him with one eye. "You must have been training really hard to have this much potential energy stored up."
"A-Are you sure?" the girl asked, not really knowing what to make of this information. "I've already pushed myself to my absolute limits. I'm actually amazed I was able to make it this far."
"And you can push yourself even further still," Dende said softly, beaming at the girl in a comforting manner. "With this much potential energy, you have the ability to go as far as any one of the Z-fighters." His expression then became serious and, once again, he began to focus. "Now… hold still for a moment."
At first batting her eyes in confusion, Videl and everyone else then became aware of a strange humming sound filling the air. Accompanying it, the girl saw the Namekian's hands begin to pulse with a bright, yellow light, moments before the glow vanished back into his palms. Then, without warning, the girl suddenly felt a surge of energy swell up inside of her and explode from her body in a flash of light, engulfing her in a burning white aura. The energy blazed around her like a flame and, as if feeling a massive weight lift clear from her shoulders, she felt her body lighten and her power soar.
Piccolo, Gohan and Mr. Popo actually blinked in surprise at the amount of energy they suddenly felt appear from the girl. The sight of her now radiant form brought an eager smile to the demi-Saiyan's face and a nod seconds later. Then, upon seeing Dende step away, they watched the young martial artist rise to her feet and look down at her glowing hands in astonishment.
"Whoa," Videl gasped, clenching and unclenching her fingers. "I-Is this my power?"
"Yes," Dende replied with an affirmative gesture, "The power that's been lying dormant inside of you. How do you feel?"
"I… I feel…" Stammering at first, the pigtailed fighter then grinned joyously and threw her hands into the air in triumph, "I feel fantastic! WOW!" Laughing happily, Videl bounced on her toes and sprang into the air, allowing her aura to blast around her freely while performing an aerial flip. Coming back down to ground level after her expression of delight, she landed with a light tap and threw a series of swift punches, all of which she unleashed at blurring speeds. "Oh man! This is great! Thank you so much!" Powering down, Videl quickly rushed up to Dende and took his hands in hers, shaking them gratefully. "H-How can I repay you for this?"
The young Namekian blushed under the girl's brilliant smile and shook his head. "It's alright. Just keep working hard like you were before and don't stop training…" He then glanced across at Gohan, who too was smiling. "Am I right?"
"Yeah. She wants to become as strong as all of us one day. I'm sure that after this, she's one step closer to achieving that goal," the youngster replied, strolling forward and moving up to his two friends, both of whom turned to face him. Thanking Dende just as Videl had, the demi-Saiyan then focused his attention on his student. "Well… what do you think?"
A giggle soon followed as Videl raised a determined fist, "This is better than I ever imagined. Thank you, Gohan." She then stepped up to him and gave him a hug, one that the boy accepted gladly before seeing her spring off of him and turn away with a blush. "I… I mean… I really appreciate it."
"I'm glad to hear that," the boy chuckled, looking her over once more before then giving her an expression of intent. "Because I think it's time I gave you your first real test to see how far you've come." When he saw her look at him in surprise, Gohan then nodded towards her and continued, "You're entering the World Martial Arts Tournament coming up in the next couple days, right?" This question immediately had the group's collective attention, especially Piccolo's.
"Yeah. The officials have recently shortened the time and dates between each of the events, so now they're hosting the 25th Tenkaichi Budokai for this year." Videl's eyes then widened in sudden realization and she looked across at the boy in awe, "Y-You're going to enter it as well?"
"Of course. But since I'm under age I'm going to have to enter the Junior Division lineup they've included in the schedule, so I can't quite go for the World Championship belt just yet," the demi-Saiyan chuckled while rubbing his head in his characteristic manner. "I think this will be a great way to see what fighting in the arena is really like. Even though I've already got a part time job, now that I have a little brother to look after, I want to make sure that my mum has enough money to feed and take care of him for the next few years. The prize money from the Junior Division will be a really big help."
"Oh. I see," Videl gave the boy an understanding look and smiled. "I'm sure that will make Chi-Chi very happy."
"I want it to be a surprise too, so I'm only going by myself. I'll invite the others next time," Gohan replied, a smile pulling across his lips before he then glanced up at his mentor, whom he could see was looking at him seriously. "You can come and watch me too if you like, Piccolo."
The Namekian warrior smiled and nodded, "Sure thing, kid. Sounds like it'll be a lot of fun."
Gohan then turned his attention to the others, "Dende? Mr. Popo?"
His eager inquiry drew a light chuckle from the guardian of the planet, "Maybe next time, Gohan. I've still got a lot of work to catch up on. But I'll be sure to support you from afar."
Acknowledging the young Namekian's response, the spirited fighter once again focused his attention on his student, whom he could see was staring at him with great intensity and excitement. "A fight between us in the final round would be an awesome way to test your new fighting skills." He then raised an eyebrow and gave her a competitive grin. "Not to mention it'll be a real pleasure to fight with last year's Junior Division Champion." This remark earned a smirk from the raven haired girl, who balled her fists in response. "So… what do you say, Videl?"
Not one to back down from a challenge as she too has been known to give them out, Videl raised a fist and held it up towards her friend and full-time trainer, "You're on, Gohan-kun."
And with that, the two of them bumped knuckles, sealing the agreement.