Train. Get stronger. Train. Never rest. Rest was for the weak. He was not weak. No. He was a prince. He was . . .

"Vegeta!" Bulma shouted. "Are you going to stay in that gravity room for another year or do I have to use a Dragon Ball wish to get you out?!"

Curse that woman! Didn't she know that telling him to leave his training was tantamount to ordering the sun not to rise? Vegeta's irritation spiked at that moment, causing something in the room to shatter. Probably of little consequence, anyway. Getting stronger was all that mattered. Strong enough to beat Kakarrot. Breathing in, Vegeta was about to resume his concentrative efforts when his Saiyan hearing picked up some conversation outside the gravity room.

". . . two doing back so early?" Bulma asked.

"What's wrong with Goku?" Chi-Chi asked.

" . . . dad fell . . . hurt . . . "

Vegeta held back a snort of laughter despite the obvious worry he heard in Goten's voice. Ah, that fool Kakarrot. The idiot probably tripped on his way to an all-you-can-eat buffet. Oh yes, Kakarrot could take some of the strongest attacks from some of the strongest enemies in existence and come out of it with nothing more than an infuriating grin on his face. But a smashed nose or bump on the head, well, that was too much. And needles . . . what a warrior. What a Saiyan.

What a joke.

" . . . now he's unconscious," Trunks said.

The Saiyan inside Vegeta awoke and looked up in interest and intrigue. Now this was something of consequence. An injury was of little importance, but to be knocked out? Not even Kakarrot was foolish enough to knock himself unconscious. Vegeta was already imagining the situation, and his Saiyan blood rushed at the thought. A warrior of immense strength was somewhere. This villain had already taken down Kakarrot and his feeble attempts. Now it was up to Vegeta, the only one strong enough, to defeat him. He was ready. Oh, yes, Vegeta was ready, had been ready, for such a momentous occasion. Now the world would truly know who the strongest Saiyan was.

Vegeta exited the gravity room, glowing with both pride and anticipation. Where was this warrior? Why couldn't he sense his strength? Vegeta focused completely on locating this new villain, oblivious to the presence of several more people who'd already arrived at the Capsule Corp. The flood of several voices broke Vegeta's concentration, however, and his irritation once again manifested itself in a cracked picture on the wall. Bulma glared at him, but he ignored her.

"Well, I can tell that Vegeta's still the same sunny personality," Krillin said with a casual glance toward the broken picture. "How long have you been in the gravity room, anyway? Seems like about three years if you—"

"Be quiet!" Vegeta snapped. "Now, where is he?"

"Where's who?" Krillin asked.

Vegeta's eyes flicked side to side, trying to locate something that should've been so obvious to find. Why was he only sensing low, weak power levels? "Where is the warrior who knocked Kakarrot unconscious?"

Krillin laughed, and Vegeta instinctively clenched his fists. How dare Krillin laugh at him!

"If you're talking about that rock, it's outside. Go for it; I think it's up for a battle."

"What are you talking about?" Vegeta asked.

"Man, Goku didn't get knocked out by a villain. He fell out of a tree."

Vegeta's eyes widened, then he spat bitterly and folded his arms. Of course Kakarrot was that stupid. Why did it surprise him at all?

"He was supposed to be home for supper an hour ago," Chi-Chi growled from a nearby corner, and Vegeta was distinctly aware that her own power level was rising. "But no, it's always about training . . . "

Vegeta blocked out Chi-Chi's rant and noticed that Piccolo, in another corner of the room, was looking at Kakarrot's unconscious body with what seemed to be concern. "What's wrong?" Vegeta asked Piccolo. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

Piccolo glanced at Vegeta for several seconds, then looked away and said nothing.

"Goku takes training more seriously than anyone I've ever met. Well, except for that ray of sunshine over there," Krillin said, jerking his head toward Vegeta. "It's no wonder he knocked himself out."

"My brother says that Piccolo trains a lot, too," Goten said. "He says that Piccolo's tough training was a big reason that he was able to take down Cell."

"I can imagine that," Krillin said. "In fact, Cell was almost as scary as Piccolo used to be. I can't imagine how Gohan did it."

Vegeta looked again at Kakarrot before spitting in disdain and turning to go back into the gravity room. There was no reason for him to stay here.

"Hey! Dad's waking up!" Goten said.

Vegeta paused. Not because he cared to see Kakarrot's conscious state, but because he was aware of a small shiver of apprehension coming from somewhere in the room. He turned, and his eyes fell again on Piccolo. What was making the green one so worried?

Goku opened his eyes; right away Krillin was pounding him on the back.

"You're awake, Dad!" Goten said, running over to him and hugging him.

"No pile of rocks is going to get the better of you!" Krillin laughed.

Vegeta watched Kakarrot carefully, distinctly aware that Piccolo's apprehension was rising.

"W-where am I?" Goku asked, rubbing his head.

"Where do you think?" Krillin asked. "Capsule Corp! You fell off a tree and—"

Without any warning, Goku roughly pushed Krillin away and stood up, then noticed that Goten was still clinging to him and pushed him off as well.

"What was that for?" Krillin asked, rubbing the spot where Goku had hit him.

"Where am I?" Goku repeated.

"Goku, what's wrong?" Chi-Chi asked, a look of concern on her face.

"I just said, Capsule Corp," Krillin said angrily. "Now, what was that punch—"

"I said, where am I?" Goku asked. "What planet?"

Everyone was stunned into silence by this statement. Vegeta, gravity room forgotten, looked on with intrigue. Had Kakarrot for some reason forgotten where he was? If so, why? And what did that mean for all those present?

"You're on Earth, Goku," Piccolo said.

"Goku?" Goku asked. "Who's Goku?"

"That's you, Goku. Man, you must've taken a pretty hard fall," Krillin said, daring to approach Goku a second time. "Maybe we should get you a Senzu Bean and—"

Again Goku pushed Krillin away, this time with such force that he crashed into a wall. "My name isn't Goku. It's Kakarrot."