"Nothing is easier than to denounce the evildoer; nothing is more difficult than to understand him."

-Fyodor Dostoevsky

"Can't this plane go any faster?"

Clutching her daughter tightly, Chi-Chi worried at her lip and stared out of the window. One year old Chiyo squirmed and made a grab for her red bracelets, but her bubbling laughter didn't make Chi-Chi smile or ease her worries at all.

Kamesen'nin, Bulma and Karin glanced uneasily at the young mother occasionally, but otherwise didn't speak. Chi-Chi could be truly frightening when she was angry, and no-one wanted to antagonize her any further.

Chi-Chi jingled her bracelets and smiled vaguely as Chiyo shrieked with laughter, waving fat fists in the air in an attempt to grab the jewellery.

"We'll see Daddy and big brother soon," she murmured, cuddling the baby.

"Ba-ba!"

"Yes, brother."

Bulma leaned forward and peered through the cockpit window.

"Hey," she said. "I think we've found them."

Chi-Chi jerked upright, startling Chiyo. "Gohan!" she cried, and ran to the cockpit window.

"Go-ha," Chiyo repeated. Chi-Chi didn't hear. She was frantically scanning the ground for signs of Gohan.

Please let my precious little boy be okay, she prayed.

Bulma began the descent. Chi-Chi leaned forward, pressing her nose against the glass. Where was he? It was all just bare rock and dust…

There!

Chi-Chi gave a little scream of delight. There was Goku, lying on the ground, and Kuririn, and Gohan - he was lying on the ground! He was battered and bruised, and naked!

"Oh!" she wailed. "What have they done to my baby?"

"I'm landing now," Bulma said. She leaned slightly away from Chi-Chi, as if the other woman's hysterics were somehow contagious. "We'll be there in just a second."

The plane landed, scattering dust and rock fragments in every direction.

"What are you waiting for?" Chi-Chi screamed hysterically. Chiyo began to wail. "Open that door! My baby needs me!"

"Which one?" Kamesen'nin said.

"Not this one!" Chi-Chi said, and handed her daughter to the turtle hermit. "Here, hold her for a second, will you?"

The plane door opened and Chi-Chi leapt out, crying, "I'm coming son! Mama'shere!"

"Bulma..." Kamesen'nin wheezed, holding the screaming baby at arms' length. "Help!"

"Oh here, give her to me," Bulma snapped. She turned the engine off and took Chiyo from the old man. "It's okay," she soothed, patting the baby's back. "There, there. Mommy's gone crazy, but it's okay."

They'd landed near the three figures they'd seen from the air - Kuririn, Goku and Gohan. But where were the others? Bulma thought Tenshinhan, Yamcha and Chaozu had fought as well…she knew what had happened from the TV (though she refused to give it any thought), but where were their…bodies?

The baby wriggled as if she wanted to get down, but Bulma knew better than to relinquish her grip. Chi-Chi was scary enough when it came to Gohan. At least he could walk by himself. She couldn't say she blamed her, though - Gohan was only five years old, after all.

Chiyo suddenly let out a cry and wriggled harder than ever. Bulma saw she was pointing at something a few feet away.

"What?" she said. "What is it?"

There was a body lying just metres away on a flat, raised part of rock. As they got closer Bulma recognized the wild mop of hair, and her heart leapt to her mouth.

"Son!" she said, and sank to her knees beside him.

Every inch of Goku was battered, bruised, cut and dirty. His dark eyes were half-closed as if he were sleepy. His face was covered in blood - most of it fresh.

"Hey, boy," Kamesen'nin said.

"We're here now," Bulma said anxiously. "You're gonna be okay."

"Sorry I can't g-get up to say hello," Goku said. His voice was faint, and a ghost of his familiar smile flickered across his face. The baby stared at him with big eyes, then tentatively reached out a hand and touched his arm. In the distance they could hear Chi-Chi wailing.

"...promise I'm never letting you out of my sight again! Oh, Gohan..."

Kuririn appeared, battered and bleeding like Goku, and walking with a limp. He came to a halt, sagging heavily, and sighed.

"Bulma, there's no easy way to say this," he said, looking at the ground. "But Yamcha...he didn't…didn't make it."

Bulma's lip trembled. She already knew, but having it voiced out loud hit her like a punch in the face.

"Y-yeah," she said, forcing her expression into a smile. "I know. I saw it on TV."

"The Saiyan was unbelievably strong," Kuririn said wearily. "They killed everyone, except for four of us."

"It's okay," Bulma replied, and tried to smile. "In a year we can use the Dragon Balls and bring everyone back to life."

There was a pause, in which Kuririn lowered his head. The others avoided her gaze.

"What?" Bulma said. "What is it?"

"Piccolo's dead," Goku said softly. "And because he didn't survive, neither did Kami-sama. So the Dragon Balls are gone."

"Th-that's a joke, right?" the woman looked from him to Kuririn, and laughed weakly. "You said there were four survivors. Piccolo has to be - "

"Sorry I'm alive!" shouted Yajirobe, jumping in front of Bulma. She screamed and fell backwards, prompting an indignant squeal from the baby.

"Are you saying…" Bulma gulped back the sob in her throat. "I'll never see him again…never?"

Her friends' silence confirmed it for her.

Yamcha is dead, her traitorous brain said. He's dead, and you'll never see him again.

"Waaahhhhhh!" Bulma wailed, and sat down hard. "Noooooo!"

"I thought Piccolo was alive," Kamesen'nin said gravely, over the sound of Bulma's crying.

"What, you'd rather have Piccolo alive than me?" Yajirobe yelled. "If it wasn't for me, these three would be dead!"

"I'm really sorry," Kuririn said. He put a hand on Bulma's shoulder. "Here, let me take the kid."

Crying wildly, Bulma relinquished hold of the baby, who began to whimper.

"Hey, don't you start," Kuririn said, and bounced the baby until she quieted. "Who is this kid? I've never seen her before."

"She's mine," Goku said faintly.

"Huh? Well, I guess she kinda looks like you." Kuririn laughed. "When d'you get the time to have 'em? This time last year you only had one."

Goku let out a wheeze of laughter, then began to cough.

"Don't make me laugh," he said after a moment. "It hurts too much. Where's Gohan?"

"Chi-Chi brought him onto the plane," Karin said. "We need to get you medical attention. I've run out of senzu beans."

"Gohan! You're awake!"

Kuririn glanced back at Chi-Chi, who until a few moments ago was hugging her unconscious son tightly. Now Gohan was sitting up in her lap, looking bewildered.

"Oh my poor baby," Chi-Chi wailed. "You must have been terrified. Don't worry, Mama's here!"

Gohan didn't look terrified, just confused. He drew the blanket around himself tighter and blinked at Kuririn, who leaned over the seat in front.

"You really got the Saiyan good," he said.

"What happened to him?"

"He ran away." Kuririn shrugged. "But we beat him up badly. Maybe he won't come back."

"Doubt it," Yajirobe muttered.

"Where's Dad?" Gohan asked, glancing around.

"I'm here," came Goku's voice from the back of the plane. "Thanks to you!"

Gohan clambered off his mother's lap and looked over the seat. Goku was lying on a mattress in the back with Yajirobe and Karin standing nearby. A black-haired baby played next to the mattress, completely oblivious to everything around her.

Yajirobe leaned in towards Chi-Chi. "Aren't you Goku's wife? Why aren't you taking care of him?"

"Him?" Chi-Chi snapped. "It's because of him that my son was hurt in the first place!"

"But Dad didn't - "

"My children's future is more important than the Earth!" Chi-Chi interrupted.

"Jeez, Goku…she give you lip like that at home?"

"Kuririn," Bulma interrupted. "Tell us how we can bring our friends back to life."

There was a pause, then everyone's gaze focused on Kuririn. The small fighter looked uncomfortable for a minute, then he looked down.

"The Saiyans learned of the Dragon Balls through Raditz, and this was why they came to Earth," he said. "When they saw Piccolo they said he was a Namekian…which means both Piccolo and Kami-sama were aliens."

"No kidding," Yajirobe muttered.

"More importantly, they said that some Namekians can use magic…and that they would go to Planet Namek next and get the Dragon Balls there."

"That's right!" Gohan interrupted. "They said the Nameks had Dragon Balls of their own!"

Kuririn nodded. "If we go to Namek, we can use their Dragon Balls."

"Then we can bring back the others," Karin said thoughtfully.

"Then Piccolo will come back!"

Chi-Chi's head snapped up at the mention of Piccolo's name. "Gohan, what are you talking about?"

"Then Kami-sama will too!" Kuririn said, ignoring Chi-Chi. "And so will the Dragon Balls!"

"Don't be naïve."

Gohan and Kuririn looked at Bulma, who was still flying the plane.

"Do you even know where the Planet Namek is?" she continued.

"Oh…yeah…"

"Ask the Lord of Worlds!"

Gohan looked over the back of the chair to where Goku was lying. His father grinned at him.

"You heard us, right, Lord?" he continued. "Can you tell us where Planet Namek is?"

"Of course I can!"

Chi-Chi let out a frightened squeak at the sudden sound of the Lord of Worlds' voice. The baby stared up at the ceiling with a puzzled look on her face.

"Please tell us, we're listening," Goku said.

"First, you did a wonderful job. When Goku was hurt I thought it was all over."

"I lost," Goku admitted. "Even the kaio-ken didn't work on him."

"I underestimated Vegeta's power," the Lord of Worlds said. "I didn't think he was so strong."

"Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to let him go."

"Perhaps not."

Kamesen'nin frowned. "You didn't-"

"I'll explain later," Kuririn interrupted.

There was a long silence broken only by the Lord of Worlds' muttering, which echoed oddly in the plane.

"Let's see…Planet Namek…take SU83 then 9045YX…"

"Take the controls, Kamesen'nin," Bulma said. "I'll do some calculations."

The old hermit sat down in the cockpit and Bulma went to the back, where she took a small calculator from her pocket and began to tap away.

"Namek was once a planet teeming with life, but a few hundred years ago there was some catastrophe with the weather," the Lord of Worlds said. "I don't know if there were any survivors."

"So there's no Dragon Balls?" Yajirobe asked.

"Not so fast. Let me see…"

"So that's why Kami-sama left Namek for Earth," Karin said. "Either he lost his memory, or he was too young to remember at all."

Yajirobe looked confused. "But if the Dragon Balls grant any wish, why couldn't the Nameks wish for normal weather?"

"Shen Long can't grant wishes that are beyond their creator's power," Kamesen'nin called from the cockpit. "Hence why he couldn't kill the Saiyans."

"I found it!" the Lord of Worlds exclaimed. "The Nameks are alive. There's no more than a hundred or so, but the population is increasing."

"Urrghh." Yajirobe shuddered. "A hundred like Piccolo Diamou?"

"You don't have to worry. Namekians are gentle in nature like your Kami-sama. When your guardian came to Earth he was probably affected by the evil and hate in humans before he became Kami-sama. And the evil in him became the demon Piccolo."

"Yay!" Gohan cheered. "We can go to Namek!"

"We can bring back everyone!"

"And Piccolo!"

"Optimistic!" Bulma snapped, shaking her head. "You're all too optimistic!"

A surprised silence fell over the plane. Gohan and Kuririn exchanged puzzled glanced with each other.

"There is a Planet Namek," she said, "with Nameks. But how do we get there?"

"In a space ship, of course!" Kuririn said derisively.

"Like I was saying…too optimistic! I calculated the trip time using my dad's space ship, which is the fastest on Earth. Any idea how long it would take? Four thousand, three hundred and thirty nine years. And three months."

"Four thousand thirty nine years…" Gohan repeated in disbelief.

"Lord," Goku said faintly. "What do we do now?"

"How am I meant to know?"

Kuririn suddenly jumped up.

"I have an idea!" he shouted. "We can use the Saiyans' space ship!"

"I thought Vegeta used it to get away," Kamesen'nin said.

"Yeah, I saw Vegeta's and it was only big enough for one person," Kuririn said. "There's another one for the other guy."

"And Raditz's," Goku said. "No, wait, Gohan destroyed it."

Gohan grinned sheepishly as his mother gave him a withering look.

"But there's still one more left," Bulma said.

"It's probably in the city where the Saiyans landed."

"That's where I come in!" Kuririn said. He reached into his shirt and pulled out a small square device that looked like a remote control. "Here - I saw Vegeta use it and his ship came to him. It's probably some type of remote control."

"Then…" Bulma began to look hopeful. "Then we have a chance!"

"Yes! To Namek!"