As months passed everyone was gradually being able to get ahead of their lives and try to go with the motion of things, despite the most recent tragic event that had been the kidnapping of Son Goku, an admired prodigal child. As hard as it was to deal with the passing, they trusted in the word of Baba, Roshi's sister.

Muten Roshi himself was up very early one morning, letting the cool breeze hit his nearly naked body. The only things he had on were some black baggy Martial Arts Pants and a heavy turtle shell on his back. In preparation for the next Tenkaichi Budokai that was to take place, Roshi had been doing some secret training for a while now. Inside the house, Krillin and Yamcha were sleeping peacefully. Said two aspiring martial artists were hell-bent on proving Roshi that they could be just as good, or even better than Son Goku. As proud as he was, Roshi was focused on sharpening his skills not just for the tournament but just in case something else was to transpire in the future, especially pertaining to Goku.

The old Martial Arts Master took in a deep breath with his hands cupped and body remaining tensed. The number one thing he was focused on happened to be physical balance and balance of breath; the latter, he felt to be much more important. The sweat that accumulated at the top of his waxed forehead felt almost as cold as ice as they fell down his face and neck.

"Huya!"

Letting out one little shout, Roshi pushed out a decent amount of ki, but rather in the form of sole force rather than energy itself. A great amount of sand kicked off from the shores of his little island and into the cool Sea Waters surrounding him. The ripples within the waters had exaggerated drastically due to the unexpected force that was Roshi himself.

Roshi took in one final deep breath prior to relaxing his muscles and releasing what tension he had remaining. It had been a long while since he trained as seriously as this. It wasn't just a matter of getting into shape, but going further beyond that. He would start off his training with meditation and a series of stretches prior to placing the turtle shell on his back and shadow boxing. That itself was only a mere portion of what he did every early morning while his students were sleeping. He got very little rest sometimes but that came with the action of private training for self as he had to deal with pupils, too.

"I thought ya kicked the old fighting bucket a long time ago," Launch said by the front door of Kame House.

Roshi looked over to his side and saw the blonde woman in a grey tank top and white panties, nothing more. He was very intrigued by how she didn't appear to be wearing a bra either but he quickly ignored that, knowing this wasn't the type of Launch he could leer at and get away with.

"Ahem," Roshi coughed into his hand. "Launch? What are you doing up so early?"

"Hm..." she rolled her eyes. "I woke up, didn't I?"

Of course, she wasn't going to respond without some sass at least. Muten Roshi really didn't expect her to come out dressed as she was. But then again, Launch was probably taking advantage of it because she knew Roshi wouldn't even try anything at all. "Touche..." Roshi rubbed his head.

"Why are you out here fighting anyway?"

"I'm training," Roshi corrected. "And I'm training so I can get back into fighting shape."

"For the tournament?"

"Not just that. But for anything that's bound to come in the future."

Launch took a quick look over Roshi's body and noticed indeed that the man was making some progress. She genuinely noted Roshi to be much more scrawny and lanky just by appearance. Now, he seemed to be ripped. Hell, he even had a four pack. She could tell he meant business.

"I see." The blonde haired woman stepped down off the porch. "It all has to do with Goku, doesn't it?"

Roshi didn't expect her first assumption to be as precise as it was. As he was paused for a short moment due to being taken aback by her correct statement, he then responded: "Yes, it does. I trust my sister and what she says but I know that she is aware of a lot more than she tells on."

"Well, of course, the old wench can see the future, can't she?"

"That's the point," Roshi said. "This person who is strong enough to take Goku on and kidnap him without a trace of effort is someone completely out of our league. If he ever does come back, we need to be ready."

"We?" Launch looked around. "So far, all I see is you training yourself for this occasion. What about those two poor saps that're sleeping in the house?"

"Once the tournament passes, then I'll be sure to guide them to their next steps of improvement. Right now, they already have their minds enough busy."

The blonde crossed her arms and took a few steps until she remained directly alongside Roshi. Both of them stared off into the skies as the sun was in the very beginning phases of rising. "Ya know, when you're not being an old perverted dick weed, you're a pretty genuine guy."

Roshi took a double take to Launch, who remained with her eyes over the horizon. As Roshi was just getting comfortable, she latched his entire neck with her arms and reeled him in tight. "If that stupid pig Oolong can make an impression, how couldn't you?"

Roshi's eyes went wide as he was mere centimeters away from coming into contact with her chest. His own body temperature went through the roof just for being in such an internally tense situation. He licked his lips and began to stick his tongue out, hoping to get a...taste.

"A...A..."

Oh no...

"ACHOO!"

And down went Roshi's face right into the sand. Launch was then left standing there, eyes wide, head changing directions every millisecond. "What am I doing outside?" she asked worriedly. She covered her chest as soon as a big chill hit her from the cool breeze. "Did I wake up?"

Roshi plopped his head from under the sand and fixed his crooked shades. Realizing that Launch's softer and more naive personality came into play, Roshi had a very hard time hiding the smirk that was fighting to make an appearance.

"You and I were just having an...erhm..." he tried to think of something. Launch looked at Roshi as he was brainstorming on ideas as to why the two of them were both out early morning in a cool breeze with more clothing off than on. "we were having fun!"

"Fun?" Launch asked.

"Yeah..." Roshi said, getting up. As soon as that word left his mouth, he immediately regretted it. Left mentally beating himself up, Roshi was lamenting how he had at least half a minute to get his thoughts together, only to come up with such a lame explanation, a one syllable word none the less.

"How?"

That worked?

Roshi was left laughing like a maniac inside his own head. He couldn't have thought of anything better, it seemed. He had the oblivious woman in the bag. Roshi got near Launch and grabbed the woman's hand. She was still utterly dumbfounded and oblivious as to what the old man had planned. He had woke up early morning just to work hard. Now he was hoping for a little reliever.

"Master...? What are you doing up so early?" Krillin was right at the door, rubbing his tired eyes. Even though no longer sleeping, the kid was still virtually half awake. So tired that he didn't instantly realize the lecherous antics Roshi had planned on going through with this morning.

The old Martial Artist went cursing in his head loudly at Krillin cock-blocking him so suddenly. All hopes came crashing down instantaneously.

At home, in her room, Bulma was seated in a chair, looking over her studies. School was up and about again so she was getting right to work. This year would be her last year for normal high school before she would finally be off to college. Said room consisted to be the same of any female with a decorative mind. The room was colorful and had many posters on the wall, some of other successful ladies and even hot boys. Regardless, being the genius that she was as well, she had many more books than she did anything decorative such as her strawberry pillows.

Scribbling in her notes, Bulma had blocked the world and everything else in it from her mind. As easy as it would be at times to just make an advanced technological device to aid her in her work, the young woman much preferred to do it herself. Well, at the moment, at least. After all, what else did she have to do? Yamcha was entirely far too focused on being trained by Roshi. Puar and Oolong were also both always out in the city, doing Kami knows what. And her parents? Sometimes they forgot that Bulma herself even existed.

B O O P!

The motion of the pencil she used in her hand had stopped as soon as that beeping sound went off. Eyes wide as she stared at the words she wrote on a loose-leaf sheet of paper, Bulma's intuition told her what she already knew.

Subsequent to placing the pencil down and getting up from her chair, Bulma walked over to her green little book sack that was placed right on the edge of her bed. Zipping it open and reaching into the first section of the bag, she pulled out that white, little Dragon Ball radar that she had touched upon not long ago.

Clicking the top button, a dot appeared on the green graph of a radar.

She knew what this meant.

"The Dragon Balls..."

They were active yet once more. She couldn't believe that an entire year had passed by so quickly after Goku wished that kid's father back. With the Dragon Ball radar clutched tightly in the palm of her hand, the genius young woman began to ponder: "Should I?"

There was a deep urge, a feeling deep in the pit of her stomach that she should go on a solo hunt for the remainder of the Dragon Balls and gather them all back for the sole purpose of bringing her old pal Son Goku back.

Yes...old pal.

As much as the little tike managed to get on her nerves and sometimes even infuriate her, Bulma grew a genuine respect for him and even bonded with the kid. Upon witnessing him getting taken away via the magic ball of the future seeing fortune teller Baba, she realized just how much Goku had done for her, even saving her life on many occasions. If not for the unlikely alliance with Goku, she'd be dead by now.

"Son Kun..."

"Something I find very hard to believe if I do say so, myself..."

Freeza Planet Five, just another planet upon dozens of others that Freeza had come to own. Passed down onto him from his father, who was merely an aid in Freeza's rule in the universe, the tyrant had everything he could ever want or desire at his every beck and call. Whether it would be food, women, or any person, he had it. However, unlike many people, he was just a sadist who loved his callous empire for killing others at the very profit of his own, just like his father. Unlike King Cold, the previous ruler of the universe, Freeza was much worse.

Aside Freeza, as he sat in his hover chair, was a short yellow man with a very round, oval face, looking as if it was a stretched football. His big buggy eyes, as well as his antennas, were two key tendencies that people recognized him to be a top respectable member of the Freeza Force: Kikono, also a very successful scientist in the business. Both were in a pristine white room, the main one where the entrance was only permitted to Freeza.

"I was almost certain that I had gotten rid of all those Saiyans well over a decade ago..." Freeza stated lowly, just loud enough for Kikono to hear him. Despite the tranquility oozing from the tone of his voice, Kikono knew his master well enough to see that Freeza was very well disappointed with how unsuccessful his plan just so turned out to be. Once he got news that Raditz had recruited a Saiyan from a distant world to their group, his first reaction was him slamming his tail on the floor of where he was at that very time.

"I had a hunch that there was a possibility of there being more survivors," Kikono commented, letting his inner thoughts out and away in the room of just them two.

"And what makes you say that?"

Kikono remembered the time Freeza destroyed the home of the Saiyans as good as ever as if it happened yesterday in fact. "When I gave you the report that it would take a month for approximately all of the Saiyans to return to their home, I also subtly implied that there may need to be a slightly longer wait until they all arrived there."

"Yes, I understand," Freeza responded. "For that reason Vegeta and his lackeys are alive." Freeza then scoffed. "I merely did not expect for there to be more than three survivors." His eyes then narrowed. "It makes me wonder..."

Kikono looked at Freeza. The look on his face was an indication that his mind began to wonder, perhaps into hypothetical scenarios, all of which would only serve into Freeza's already horrible paranoia when it came to the Saiyan race. Before Kikono could ask just what Freeza happened to be thinking about, the automatic doors to the room slid open.

The first person to reveal himself was a common foot soldier, who immediately stood erect and straight ahead at the other soldier who was on the opposite side of him. "Sir Vegeta and his soldiers have arrived as you requested, sir."

"Hm..." Freeza clicked his tongue.

The first to enter the room was Vegeta, alongside Nappa. As per usual, when in the presence of Freeza, they both bowed down to show their respects.

"It's nice to see you again, Vegeta," Freeza greeted.

"Likewise," Vegeta replied. Freeza just smiled at his comment while Vegeta did his best to make his small grin go unnoticed. Both shared an innate sense of resentment for one another but the respect was definitely there. Freeza respected Vegeta for his prodigal prowess and his unbreakable loyalty (seemingly unbreakable) as Vegeta, on the other hand, was left with no other option but to respect him, or at least act like it.

Looking over Vegeta and Nappa, Freeza immediately realized that there were only two Saiyans, both of whom he could easily recognize a mile away. "And the other two...?" his curiosity began to rise as he awaited the presence of this newly recruited Saiyan.

As if on cue, Raditz came up from behind. Vegeta and Nappa both stepped aside, revealing the long-haired Saiyan, who shoved Goku right into the room. Both Kikono and Freeza's brow raised in pure interest. They expected more than just a child.

"Here he is, Master Freeza." Once he finished his greeting, Raditz quickly bowed to him. As he was in the room, Goku looked back at the other Saiyans, who all just stared intensely at him. Turning back around, Goku looked over to Freeza, who gave off an emotionless look. Raditz elbowed Goku in the arm, eliciting a groan of displeasure. "Get down on your knees, show some respect."

Goku rolled his eyes at Raditz and looked back to the amused Freeza. "So, you're the big, bad guy, huh?"

After a brief pause, Freeza began to chuckle a bit. Never before in his life had anyone ever referred to him as such, despite him knowing just how villainous and diabolical his actions were on a very consistent basis. "That's quite the manner to refer to me. Big, bad wolf? It has a nice ring to it, wouldn't you say?"

"But you-"

"I am Freeza," he said, cutting Goku off. "And you will refer to me as Lord Freeza from now on. "I can overlook you not kneeling before me as you truly not are yet cognizant of my overwhelming power but the disrespect ends here and now."

Goku grinded his teeth with his clenched fist. If someone like Raditz really were to bow before this guy then he was much stronger indeed. Goku was a stubborn boy and sometimes did idiotic things but he was by no means outright dumb and stupid. His tail lashed from side to side in agitation.

"Now, let us start fresh," Freeza said.

Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz were all just watching this take place. For Nappa, he was really interested as to how this would go down. With his first impressions of the young Kakarot, he could tell that the boy had a tendency for perversity and so he wondered just what actions Freeza would take to make sure he came to be another common soldier with obedience.

For Raditz, he was silently cursing in his head. A part of him hoped that Freeza would kill of Kakarot so he wouldn't have the burden of dealing with his little brother. People were already beginning to mouth off in gossip as to how weird Kakarot is in regards to being a Saiyan and Raditz took it as an insult as it was a bad reflection on him, as well as the fact that Kakarot was an exact misrepresentation of how a Saiyan was supposed to be.

Vegeta, on the other hand, felt this as utter entertainment. Nothing Kakarot did would have any bad consequences for himself so Vegeta was genuinely intrigued as to how this would play out. What would Freeza do? A big chance to see more of Freeza's character and how he would react to a peculiar subordinate.

"My name is Freeza," he restarted. "What is yours?"

Goku bit his tongue before he spoke. He was on the verge of saying Goku yet he knew how Raditz would react if he said otherwise. Thinking about it for the moment, Goku swallowed down hard. Despite how revealing his real home name wouldn't come with any repercussions, he wanted to stay true to who he really was.

"My name is Son Goku."

Freeza's brow raised. "Goku?" Vegeta and Nappa both stifled a chuckle as Raditz let out a deep, exasperated sigh. "Are you not a Saiyan?"

"I'm from the planet Ea-"

"Planet Vegeta," Raditz corrected.

"Ehehehehe," Freeza laughed. "Truly, all I got was that he would be a Saiyan and under relation to you, Raditz. I didn't think he'd have a confused origin complex."

"I'm not confused," Goku defended.

"His real name is Kakarot," Raditz told Freeza. "Forgive him, please."

Freeza nodded, indicating that he didn't have any worry in the slightest. This Goku character was somewhat interesting and reminded him of a Saiyan of the past...a Saiyan he was yet to remember entirely.

"Very well." He motioned his hand, waving the others away. "All of you can leave now, except this Goku fellow."

Raditz then stepped up. "Bu-"

"That wasn't a question," Freeza clarified.

Raditz nodded and began to back up. Vegeta rolled his eyes as Nappa let out a sigh of dissatisfaction prior to exiting the room. All three were hoping to remain there as Goku and Freeza interacted for one another, all for different reasons.

Once the doors closed behind them, Goku was left with Freeza and Kikono. Said advisor and scientist kept quiet and scrutinized Goku's behavior.

"Now..." Freeza hopped out of his hoverchair, swaying his long tail side to side. "tell me about yourself."

As Freeza grew closer and closer to Goku, said boy began to grow frantic. Despite at times, being under control of his own anxiety, this was one of those moments where he felt frozen. Virtually everyone in this business had some bad tendency about them, as well as an evil presence. This guy however...felt one hundred times worse.

With his mind all over the place, there was a brief silence in the room. Freeza's unmoving cold stare sent chills down Goku's spine as he looked this seemingly warm figure up and down. Kikono cleared his throat with a cough, feeling quite awkward about the entire situation. Never before has he saw this happen.

"Well..." Freeza briskly turned around. With such quick movement in addition to being close to Goku, the very end of his tail grazed Son on the nose. The kid was left with fluttery eyes, bewildered as to what just took place. Little did he realize the blood that was leaking from the skin of his nose. "I am sure enough that your older brother Raditz has given you a summation of how things are run accordingly around here." Looking over his own shoulders, Freeza squinted his eyes at the boy, getting one more close look before hopping back into his hoverchair. "I expect many things from you, Goku."

The only thing to bring the kid back to his senses was the mentioning of his name. Goku was sure that this guy was evil, he just knew it. Yet again he wondered...why was he acting so cordially? He didn't get it. All those bad he had met thus far had no shame in putting their malevolent behavior on display for all to see. This Freeza guy...Goku could feel that he was suppressing a deep, horrible character, but he just couldn't get over how this man smirked so pleasantly as if he was a nice going person.

Freeza waved his hands. "You may leave now."

Goku felt a mix of fury and shame. He wanted to beat this guy up so badly yet his intuition guided him to do the complete opposite. Swallowing down the very pride Goku had at this current moment, he turned around and began to walk out, head down. He knew the situation was bad for him but he didn't quite get the bigger picture until he interacted with the man who had his nails deep into everyone elses skin. He could just tell...this creature was in a league of his own. He knew not how hard he'd have to work in order to get as strong as Freeza but Goku imagined that it would indeed take a while.

Once the automatic doors slid open, out came Goku. And as soon as he was out, Raditz didn't shy away in approaching. His very first reaction was a scoff due to how he had primarily hoped that something would happen to Goku in there. "Still al-"

"Oh, Raditz!" Freeza beamed. Raditz's head instantly turned over to Freeza, who was giving off the most innocent smile deemed imaginable. Raditz glanced at Goku and left the kid alone prior to entering the room he was just called into.

As the doors slid behind him subsequent to Raditz entering, Goku was left alone. Taking a glance of his surroundings, Vegeta and Nappa both seemed to be out of sight. As soldiers walked by, giving him odd looks, Goku's little mean glare had them all turn away. Throughout all the intense training he had gone through with Muten Roshi and even that three-day span of high exertion due to exercise from Karin, Goku was still no match for Raditz, who he was sure had to be lower tier, especially compared to everyone else he has met thus far. Because of this, only one thing came to mind: training.

As for Raditz on the other hand, he was in the room with Freeza, someone he had never spoken to face to face alone without his superiors present at least.

"What is it that you want, my Lord?" For whatever reason, Freeza calling him in to speak with one on one must have been very important. Also, given as to how Freeza had never done this before, Raditz could only come to one conclusion:

This was about Kakarot.

"What can you tell me about your brother...?"