The next day, Kakarot fought to keep still as their family prepared to go. Breakfast had to come first, he knew, but his excitement warred with his stomach as he was halfway tempted to take off before eating. He knew his father wouldn't allow that, though, so he tried to contain himself as breakfast was finally cooked and they sat down to eat. He ate more quickly than he usually did, which was a feat in itself, and Bardock growled, causing him to wince and slow down. When they were finally done, Bardock made certain the pod was secured, Gine made certain the fire was out, and Raditz flew into the air, looking around. Kakarot's flying skills had improved considerably, and he was determined to make this trip without any help from his family or from the Nimbus. He lifted himself up off the ground and floated up to where Raditz was hovering. "Do you know where West City is?" he asked, curiously.

Raditz grunted. "When we first got here, Father had me scout out the area. West City is that way," he said, pointing in its general direction. "I asked around about where we could find a space worthy ship, but…" He shook his head. "Humans are weird," he said simply, shrugging.

Kakarot grinned wryly. "You're telling me," he said, thinking of all the weird experiences he had on his journey with his friends. "But, they're also pretty nice, once you get to know them. Just, watch out for Bulma and her witch-bombs, they're not really that dangerous, but they're loud-" he was saying, as Bardock and Gine joined them. Instinctively, he looked at Bardock, as did the rest of them, and the man made a gesture with his head. Raditz led the way, and the four Saiyans began their flight towards West City.

It took a few hours for them to get there, mostly because they were waiting for Kakarot to keep up. The boy refused any offers of help, something which Bardock could respect, and he didn't want to dampen the boy's spirits by insisting. Spirit was something the cub needed right now more than ever, if he and Gine were right about what was wrong with him. And so, they took their time, until they finally landed within the streets of West City.

The city bustled around them, feeling very much like every city Bardock had ever been to, and he relaxed, glancing at his family to make sure they all wrapped their tails around their waists. Kakarot's was free, and Bardock reached over and flicked the end of the boy's tail, causing him to wince and wrap it around his waist again. Stepping forward, he looked around until he saw a man standing on the street corner, holding a sign. He smelled foul, and had a desperate look in his eyes. Bardock smirked, and walked towards him, waving his family back. "You. Where can I find Bulma Brief?" he asked.

The man looked at him, cringing at the look in Bardock's eyes. The man had been beaten before, Bardock could tell, and used it to his advantage. "Tell me now," he said, menacingly.

The man blinked, stepping back. "Look, man, I don't want any trouble, I don't know any Bulma Brief, what do I look like, a police man?" he asked.

Bardock frowned. "Police man?" he asked, not knowing the term.

The dirty human nodded fervently, and pointed to a man on the corner, wearing dark blue clothes with bits of silver metal hanging on them. Bardock gave a nod, then cast a glance at Gine. She nodded, then they followed him over to the police man, while Bardock spoke to him.

"Bulma Brief. Where can I find her?" he asked the man, officiously. The man looked up at him, his eyes wide, and he swallowed, hand going for his weapon. Bardock sighed, he would get nowhere if this human saw him as a threat. "We're just visiting from another… town," he said, trying to keep things simple. "Bulma is a friend of my son's, but he doesn't know her address, so we're trying to find her while we're here," he said.

Kakarot grinned up at the police man, who looked nervous. He glanced at his father. Bardock gave him a slight nod, and he spoke. "Sir, my Father's kind of scary looking, but he's not bad. Can you please help us find my friend? I haven't seen her in a long time, and I know she'll be mad if I don't come by soon. I promised I'd come visit," he said.

The police officer looked down at Kakarot, then relaxed, giving him a smile. "Well, sure, I think I can help. Bulma Brief, you said, eh?" he asked. Kakarot nodded. The police man reached down to a device he kept on his belt, then pushed a few buttons. The screen showed a certain picture, and he showed it to Kakarot. "Is this your friend?" he asked.

Kakarot's eyes widened. "Yeah! That's Bulma! What did you do to her? Why's she in there?" he demanded, glaring at the small device, then at the police man.

Raditz sighed, resting a hand on Kakarot's head. "It's just a picture of her, fool," he explained. He looked at the police man. "You'll have to excuse my brother… he's a bit sheltered," he said.

The police man nodded slowly. "Where does she live, then?" Bardock asked, his voice almost a growl.

The police man stammered. "I… I'm not sure if I should-"

Frustrated, Bardock snatched the device out of his hand, and looked at the writing. He growled, and showed it to Kakarot. "Kakarot, can you read this?" he demanded.

Kakarot frowned. "Um… one… nine… two… four… Ca…Cap…Capsool… No, Capsule! Capsule… lanee. 1924 Capsule Lanee?" he asked.

The police man was scowling at Bardock. "That's personal information, I can't just give it out to-"

"Thanks," Bardock said, pressing the device into the police man's hand. "Now, where can we find 1924 Capsule Lanee?" he asked.

The police man frowned. "I can't just lead you to her doorstep," he objected. At the glare Bardock gave him, he sighed. "I… suppose I can call her, see if she wants to talk to you," he said.

Bardock was about to say something, but a look from Gine had him rethinking it. "Fine," he relented.

The police man pulled out another device, and pressed some buttons. After listening to the device for a few moments, he said, "Hello, this is Officer Brady, I'm calling for a Bulma Brief? Is she home?" There was a pause, then he said, "Ah, yes, Miss Bulma, this is Officer Brady. I have some people here who say they know you. They're… a bit strange, ma'am…" he said.

Kakarot looked up, his eyes wide. "Are you talking to Bulma? Tell her it's me, Goku!" he said excitedly.

The police man listened to the device some more. "Ah… ah, yes… On the corner of 4th and Piccolo Street. Okay, I'll tell them," he said, then hung up the phone.

"Aww, you didn't tell her," Kakarot whined.

The police man smiled down at him. "Don't worry, she heard you. She says she knows you, she's coming in a car to pick you guys up. Just hang tight right here, she should be here very soon," he said.

Bardock nodded, and the five of them stood around awkwardly, Kakarot nearly jumping up and down with excitement, the police man glancing at Bardock nervously, Bardock resisting the urge to snap the police man's neck, and Gine and Raditz mentally preparing themselves for whatever chaos would ensue should Bardock stop resisting that urge.

They didn't have to wait long. Soon a large vehicle hovered above them, and slowly lowered to the street. Bulma smiled and waved, and Kakarot broke out into a grin. "Bulma!" he said excitedly, nearly throwing caution to the wind and jumping into the van. At the last second, he shot Bardock a glance, and he gave an imperceptible nod, smirking at his son as he excitedly jumped into the front seat next to Bulma. "Bulma! It's so good to see you!" he said, grinning.

"It's good to see you, too, Goku!" she said, tussling his hair with one hand. She turned her eyes to his family. "Come on in! I'll take you guys to my place!" she offered, and they all got into the van, Bardock being the last to enter. Once they were seated, Bulma took off into the sky. "So, little guy, what have you been up to? It's about time you came to visit, you know," she said, sending a mock glare to Kakarot, who shrugged it off.

"We've been training!" he said proudly. "I'm real strong, now!" he boasted.

Bulma laughed. "Oh, man, you're even stronger than before? You should enter the World Martial Arts Tournament, then. It'll take place next month. All the world's strongest fighters will be there," she said, as they flew towards her house.

Bardock made a noise in his throat, eliciting a sideways glance from Kakarot to his father. "Maybe," Kakarot said, knowing his father didn't have a high opinion of Earth's strongest fighters. "I don't know how long we'll be here," he said.

Bulma smiled into the rear view mirror, towards Bardock. "Well, you are all welcome to stay as long as you want. There's plenty of room at Capsule Corp," she said, as they landed outside a very large building, shaped like a dome. Once she did, the Saiyans left the vehicle, and Bulma pressed a button on the side. With a loud explosion, the vehicle disappeared, the only thing left was a small capsule, which Bulma placed into her pocket.

Bardock, who had been in fighting stance since the explosion occurred, watched her with wide eyes. "What… the hell…" he said.

Kakarot looked up at his father. "Those are Bulma's witch-bombs. Bulma's really smart, she can fit all kinds of things in those, even a whole house!" he said.

"For the last time, Goku, they're not witch-bombs!" Bulma said, exasperated. Bulma held it up to Bardock for inspection, grinning proudly. "My father makes them. They're called dyno-caps. It uses miniaturization technology, we produce all kinds," she said, gesturing to the large building. "I'm currently working on a device that will do the same thing to a living person," she boasted.

Bardock blinked. "This technology… there's nothing like it in the galaxy," he said.

That made Bulma's smile widen. "Really? Dad'll be happy to hear that! Let's go inside, I'll introduce you," she said, and led them into the large building.

All around them, robots hustled and bustled, cleaning, dusting, washing dishes. Bulma led them down a few corridors, and into a large laboratory, where an older man with purple hair and a white lab coat was bent over a table, studying some device. "Dad! I'd like you to meet my friend, Goku, and his family!" she said, causing the old man to look up.

"Oh? Goku, you say? I thought you were seeing that Yamcha fellow…" he said absently, looking them all over.

Bulma's cheeks turned crimson. "DAD! Not THAT kind of friend!" she objected, mortified.

Kakarot looked up at the man, who had a black cat on his shoulder. "Hi, sir, I'm Goku," he said, and glanced up at his father. "This is my father, Bardock," he said, and took a step back, trying to remember his manners.

Bardock took a step towards the human. "You're a scientist?" he asked, blunt as usual.

Bulma's father blinked, then nodded. "Yes, I'm Dr. Brief. Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Bardock," he said, holding out a hand.

Bardock glanced at his hand, then looked around the lab. "Just Bardock. Do you know anything about space travel?" he asked, getting to the point.

Dr. Brief withdrew his hand, frowning in thought. "Oh, yes, I remember! Bulma did say you were aliens to this planet, didn't she?" he asked, earning a nod from Bulma. "In answer to your question, yes, I know about as much as anyone on this planet does. I'm still working on the mechanics of it, mind you. The trouble is speed, you see… we can successfully travel to the moon and back, and even to other planets in our own solar system, but to get anywhere else would take longer than the human lifespan, at this point," he said sadly.

Bardock grunted. "What if you could study an existing spacecraft, capable of greater speeds?" he asked.

Dr. Brief's eyes widened at that. "Well, yes, of course, that would help tremendously! If I could see how they did it, I could duplicate the engine design, as long as it doesn't require resources not found on planet Earth, anyway," he said.

Meanwhile, Kakarot was glancing all around the lab, and Bardock cast Raditz a glance. The older boy noticed, and looked at Bulma. "Is there anything interesting to do around here?" he asked, placing a hand on Kakarot's shoulder.

Bulma frowned, thinking. "If you want, I can show you what I'm working on," she said, and led them out of the room, leaving the adults alone to talk.

Once the young ones left, Bardock turned back to Dr. Brief, who was still muttering calculations to himself. "Dr. Brief, we need to discuss something else," he said, feeling his mate's tail brush up against his, searching for comfort. He let his tail loose to brush hers back as he spoke. "Our son, Kakarot… the one your daughter calls Goku… he hit his head pretty hard when he was young. We think it did more damage than we originally thought. We need a medic for him, but…"

Dr. Brief nodded, understanding. "You don't have any Saiyan medics available, and need a competent human doctor who can keep quiet about you being aliens," he said knowingly. "I'm not a medical doctor, but I have one of the best in my employ, and I can assure you of his discretion. If you'd like, I can have him look over your son, run some tests, maybe he can help?" he asked.

Bardock gave a short nod. "What kind of compensation –" he was about to ask, but Dr. Brief just waved a hand.

"Don't even worry about it, Bardock. Your son's a friend of my daughter's, we're happy to help! Just the chance to study alien technology helps me more than you know. Just promise to come to me any time you need anything, and we'll be considered even," he said.

Bardock smirked. He could see how such an arrangement would be beneficial for the old man; he would have access to information about alien technology that none of his competitors would, and be able to replicate the technology for a profit. He gave another nod and a grunt, indicating his agreement.

Just then, a woman with blond curly hair came in, holding a tray of drinks. "Oh, my, honey, is this any way to treat guests? Hello, I'm Panchy, Bulma's mother," she said to Gine with a smile, holding out the tray. Gine looked at the tray, sniffing it lightly, then picked one of the cups up, taking a sip.

"Thank you," she said, giving a small smile back.

Panchy beamed at her, and offered a drink to Bardock, who took one as well. "Bulma told me you live far away. Feel free to stay as long as you like. We'll be having dinner soon. I'll show you to the guest rooms," she said.

Gine shared a glance with Bardock, then looked to Panchy. "Why don't you show me, while these two talk? I can help with dinner, if you like," she offered, as they walked out of the laboratory.

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Ages:

Kakarot: 1.5 cycles (12 earth years)

Raditz: 2.25 cycles (18 earth years)

Bardock: 4.75 cycles (38 earth years)

Gine: 4.5 cycles (36 earth years)

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