The first and last time Gine had ever been to Orange Star High School was the day of Gohan's graduation.

Her small hand rolled itself into a fist as she knocked gently on the glass door. She rapped a few times until a woman wearing an awkward smile opened the door for her.

"Ma'am?" When the woman chuckled, the brown bun on top of her head jiggled. "There was no need for knocking. The door was unlocked."

Blushing, Gine bowed to her as a sign of thanks and entered the small office. The only full-blooded female Saiyan alive clasped her hands together and held them in front of her while waiting for the woman to sit down in her chair again.

The secretary of Orange Star High had a natural swing of her hips as she walked, causing the floral print on her dress to look like flowers blowing in the wind. She adjusted her glasses before pulling out a piece of paper.

Gine looked behind the semi-busy woman to the large photographs hanging on the wall. Her mouth opened, then closed. Then, it dropped wide open. She had to squint to make sure what she saw was real.

Bardock! Smiling!

Well, sort of.

It was a group picture of the faculty for the current school year, and the taller teachers had to stand in the back. On the highest bleacher, right smack dab in the center, was her mate. He was forced to wear that tuxedo he hated and was destroyed during his transformation at Gohan's wedding. His headband was redder than ever and his eyes were closed shut. Gine's squint was able to make it clear now that this picture was snapped during one of his yawns.

"Jeanie?"

Knowing that wasn't her name but startled by the sudden sharpness of the secretary's voice, Gine finally looked away from the photo. They looked at each other in silence before the heel-wearing woman coughed and stood up.

"The principal is ready to see you now. Follow me."

Gine's feet were so light on the floor that the secretary had to look over her shoulder to make sure she was still there. Once they arrived to their destination, she offered Gohan's grandmother a genuine but exhausted smile and held the door open. Gine paused in the doorway and felt a sweatdrop when a man rose from his seat behind a desk and was revealed to be nearly three times her height.

"It's Jeanie," his secretary nodded. "Coach Bardock's wife."

"Ah, yes!" The principal's voice was a little too high to match with his body. His large hand shook Gine's miniature one once the woman closed the door. "It's so good to finally meet you! I'm Mr. Pen."

"Mister...Pen..." Gine blinked and then feigned a laugh when she saw the cup full of writing instruments on his desk. "Oh, I get it.."

"...Get what?"

"N-Nothing!" In order to change the subject, Gine dug into the pocket of her small purple purse and took out the letter they had received in the mail. "According to this, you're concerned about my husband's...situation?"

Mr. Pen took on a serious expression as he pointed to the seat on the other side of his desk. "Yes. Take a seat, Jeanie."

Gine tugged at the neckline of the yellow sweater Bardock absolutely loathed, only because Chi-Chi knitted one for each family member. When she sat down, Mr. Pen was already eyeing her suspiciously. The sweat rolling down her neck didn't really help her case, either.

"I'll get right to the chase," Mr. Pen folded his hairy hands together and rested them on the desk. His comb-over was as brown as his solid tie. "The students and faculty here at Orange Star just love Coach Bardock. He's a really great guy. When we got the message from Videl Satan that he was in the hospital, we tried over and over to send him flowers and cards but everything was always sent back. I decided to investigate myself, and you know what I found?"

Gine was fiddling her thumbs on her hidden lap, resembling her younger grandson more than anything. Out of everything Videl could have come up with, that's what she said!?

All the wife could do was shake her head.

Mr. Pen let out a heavy sigh. "Bardock never checked into the hospital. It's been six months. He's missed the majority of the school year and we are just about a month away from summer break."

"Oh..."

The principal arched a fuzzy brow and leaned toward 'Jeanie' more, causing the woman to slink down further in her chair. "Now you gotta be honest with me. I know that your family is heavily involved with the world champ. Is Bardock..."

Gine bit her lower lip. She wasn't expecting to be interrogated about her husband's background. Chi-Chi had warned her over and over again not to reveal the truth to the people of this Earth because she'll wind up on those magazines in the grocery store with the headline: 'I married an alien!'

"HE'S NOT AN ALIEN!"

"-Part of the Earth's special forces... Wait, what?"

"What?"

"Is Bardock part of the Earth's special forces?" Mr. Pen asked again, ignoring Gine's random outburst. The poor woman's chest was heaving; she must have tried covering this lie for some time but good ol' Mr. Pen knows everything. "Come on, you can tell me... Everyone knows Mr. Satan and his disciples protect this Earth while we go on with our normal every day lives. Is he one of Mr. Satan's disciples, stuck in an underground war for humanity?"

Gine habitually pulled on her ear. She knew these people in Satan City were strange, but this one took the cake. She shrugged her dainty shoulders.

"Yes. Bardock is one of Satan's followers."

"I knew it!" Mr. Pen laughed and clapped his hands excitedly. He was so enthused, that he stood up and pointed a finger at Gine's forehead. "Jeanie, your husband is one hell of a guy! Tell him to take all the time he needs, and when he comes back we'll have a huge celebration in his honor!"

Not knowing what to say or do, Gine shook his finger and stood up.

"Y-Yes well, I need to get going. Special forces type stuff, you know?"

Mr. Pen shook his head repeatedly as if he completely understood. He placed a hand on Gine's upper back and walked her down the hall. "Yes, yes, yes! You just be sure to tell Coach B about that party, alright!? Oh man, I can't wait!"

After some awkward goodbyes to the office staff, Gine left the building confused for two reasons. Reason one, was that she couldn't believe so many people found her husband lovable after all the curse words he'd say after work. Reason two, was this sorted half-truth half-not was hilarious.

Videl was waiting in her red car in front of the school with Pan happily coloring in the backseat. Typically, they'd put the vehicle in a capsule and fly to Kame Island, but so much training was in for the day that they decided to take this small trip easy.

Her granddaughter smiled sweetly at her when she climbed into the passenger seat.

"So how'd it go? Well?" She held two thumbs up, hoping it'd be so.

"Surprisingly well. The stubborn fool even has a party waiting for him once he gets home."

Pan wrapped her arms around her great grandma's neck and grinned. "I hope him, Daddy, and Grandpa come home soon! I miss them!"

Videl didn't answer her sweet daughter, but both of the women agreed so much so that their hearts ached for a second. The driver shook the feeling off, knowing this was for the best and when the time came Gohan will be there.

He always was.

"What is it? Did I say something wrong?"

Gohan's hand clenched tighter on the handle of his sword, turning the skin of the hybrid god completely white. The way Beerus' lips were curled into a betraying smirk let the father of one beautiful girl understand that the God of Destruction could not be trusted.

"You wouldn't dare."

Beerus admired the sword in his own powerful hand. He honestly wasn't expecting it to be this good looking given the lack of a Supreme Kai, but the purple glow embracing the blade was fine enough.

The deity's yellow eyes left his creation to glance at his opponent. His position caused Beerus to arch a brow bone. Gohan's right leg was lunged forward, and his left foot was resting on the tip of his toes. Two hands were wrapped around the handle while the long, sharp blade was resting on his shoulder and aimed downward.

"What is that, that you're doing right there?"

"Don't change the subject!" Gohan yelled back, surprisingly sharp. It was still hard, however, to cover up the reddening of his face. "You threatened the life of Videl, so there's no backing out now!"

"You look like a dancer," Beerus strolled over to the steaming Saiyan and ignored the death glare he was receiving on the other end. The purple skinned cat stopped inches away from the dancer and held his own sword above his head by the handle. "Here. Watch me."

Unblinking and at a loss for words, Gohan did as Beerus asked and watched him drop to the grass. The blade of the sword was now pointed directly at Gohan's face while resting above Beerus' head. His left leg was outstretched while his right foot was propped up to support his weight.

"That's exactly what I'm doing!" Gohan did his best to defend himself, but his words were coming out jumbled and weak. "It's just... Uh..."

"I can stab you in the gut right now if I wanted to."

"Oh..."

"If you take on positions like the one I'm demonstrating, every part of your body is protected. You could come across an opponent much faster and smarter than you and you'll be dead doing something like...that."

'That' referred to Gohan's current stance. The embarrassed adult quickly brought himself to Beerus' level and raised his sword above his head until the ends of both their blades were touching.

"Th-Thank you, Lord Beerus."

Leaving Gohan down, Beerus rose and scoffed. "Don't take that as a sign of companionship. I was in the same position about three thousand years ago and wish someone had given me the same advice."

Gohan still had a bedhead, so his wild hair-horns stuck out in all directions as his widening eyes caused his forehead to move upward. "Three thousand years!? Are you immortal-"

The father's words were cut short when Beerus' foot connected with his neck. Gohan released his sword before colliding with a tree, knocking it over and causing a domino effect. The deity shook his head and picked up Gohan's sword, holding two weapons now as he walked over to the other fighter.

Gohan was on his knees, spitting out blood after Beerus' forceful attack. He ended up spraying some of the red liquid on Beerus' brown shoe that had just appeared in front of him.

"H-How could I," he spoke to the bloodied shoes between breaths after getting the wind knocked out of him. "How could I have not seen that coming?"

"You get too relaxed and trusting like that father of yours," Beerus threw one of the swords down to the rightful owner. "Do I need to remind you what's at stake here? The only reason I use Whis as transportation is because I get lazy. I can get to Earth a lot faster than you think."

Gohan closed his eyes tightly as if that would bury the pain away quicker. Still hurting, the Saiyan grabbed his sword on his way to standing up once again. He studied Beerus with blurred vision, now wishing that Bardock hadn't broken his glasses.

"Why are you winking at me?"

"I'm not! I can't see after that attack, you string bean!"

Beerus hooded his yellow eyes. "My brother uses those corny names all the time. Perhaps you're just as pathetic as him. Another reason why Whis prefers not to train you."

Gohan wiped the remaining blood off his chin with his bare forearm. He blinked a couple times while feeling out Beerus' ki to make sure he wasn't on the move. Once his clear vision was coming back, the hybrid glared at the deity with a new ferocity reflecting in his pupils.

"I don't really think that's the reason at all!"

Beerus planted the blade of his sword into the ground and used the exposed and sturdy handle to rest his elbow on. He yawned loudly; traces of saliva dropped down his sharp fangs.

"Is it because you're boring? You're doing a good job at putting me to sleep."

"Whis doesn't want to train me because he already knows I'm stronger than you!"

This statement caught Beerus' attention. A renewed outlook on the Saiyan in front of him had emerged in his deathly eyes. Now standing up straight, Beerus placed his hands on his hips and sneered.

"From lacking confidence just minutes ago to this. My attack must have messed with your senses too much if you truly believe what you're saying." The only way to describe his tone to Gohan's ears was one that was void of all humor. It was clear to Gohan now that he had said something he shouldn't have once a darker side of Beerus was beginning to take over.

Although Gohan was just trying to bait Beerus into more back-talk, the hybrid couldn't take back his words now. Despite the fear beginning to form in the pit of his stomach as a purple energy surrounded his opponent, Gohan stood tall and spoke with authority.

"Are you finally ready to fight?"

Gritting his teeth together, Beerus pulled the sword out from the ground and charged towards the suddenly cocky Saiyan. His hands were holding onto the blade, and it was unclear to Gohan just how tight his grip was because there wasn't any blood leaking from the god's hands. The wild look in his eyes and the way he held the weapon like his life depended on it caused Gohan to think of his mother and his broom.

"You're smiling because you're thinking of those Earthlings!" Beerus hollered as soon as their swords collided. In the middle of the forest, Gohan was fighting off the sword of his enemy. His arms began shaking along with his knees as the deity began over powering him. "I wonder if that smile would still remain when you come home to find them dead!"

From behind the blade, Beerus swore he saw Gohan's eyes turn ice blue for a moment. The hybrid released one hand from the sword to form it in a fist, now feeling certain one was good enough to fight off the purple-skinned deity force.

Beerus' pupil widened as he watched his own blade coming down on him. Granted, he wasn't even close to using even half his power but this was perplexing. He peered at the hybrid once more, to see if his forehead was sweating with strained veins yet.

"What's this...?"

Gohan's jet black hair was as blue as his eyes were, on and off. All the deity had seen from these Saiyans were either golden or red, but never blue. His question was answered by the fist of the clueless transforming god, which dug into gut. Beerus slid backwards holding his sword in the same face-protecting position it had been seconds ago. By no means was he hurt, but he certainly was intrigued.

Gohan knitted his brows together as Beerus lifting his own knee up to break his sword in half. Now having one jagged dagger and one sharp dagger, the God of Destruction teleported behind his new experiment and the two began running through the forest. With Gohan going backwards, he was forced to fight off the double weaponry of Beerus.

The speed that their feet could move caused the two to look like a giant blur that makes the trees' leaves dance in fright. Beerus growled at Gohan's ability to keep up and slashed a part of his orange gi so his black undershirt was exposed.

"I'm not immortal to answer your question," The deity gave the daggers a rest and placed them in his pockets. Looking more relaxed than he should be, the cat allowed Gohan to be the chaser as he floated backwards with his hands behind his head. "Immortality is a curse I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy."

"I'm sure a guy like you has tons of them."

Beerus' shoulders shook when he chuckled. He intended to fight this half-Saiyan being seriously, but now he was just growing curious. "Let's do this the old fashion way, shall we?"

Before Gohan could ask him what he meant by that, the spiky-haired husband watched Beerus remove the daggers from his clothing and drop them to the passing ground. Hoping he'd be able to find his sword again, Gohan reluctantly dropped it as they came to a stop.

"Would you like to start it, Lord Beerus?"

The change in his voice made the deity narrow his eyes. He was sounding like his usual polite self again, even going as far as calling him Lord instead of string bean. There was something very strange about both him and his father, but at least this one wasn't dense.

Hovering above the grass, Beerus sent quick jabs to Gohan's neck with the side of his strong hand. The hybrid wasn't able to dodge it, but could feel something strange happening inside of him when the blows occurred. The opponent must have noticed it too, but instead of asking about it, he attempted a knee to the face which Gohan blocked.

"What are you?"

"I'm an Earthling with Saiyan blood."

Beerus elbowed Gohan in the face harshly and kicked him in the neck, sending him backwards. "That's not what I meant. That old Kai must have performed that damned ritual on you."

Gohan was still in a fighting stance that complemented his father, not wanting to let Beerus get another hit on him. Luckily, none of the attacks were hurting too badly to discourage his decision to fight a God of Destruction. "Oh, yeah. I've had mystic abilities for years now but it's a process I have to go through a lot or else I lose the power. I haven't transformed into an actual Super Saiyan in forever!"

"You can't lose a power that's been hidden inside of you since birth. Spending all that time with Kais is meaningless."

Slightly dropping his defenses now, Gohan lowered his hands and eyed Beerus carefully. The god didn't seem to be in attack mode, either. "Not if it decides to remain dormant. You need to wake it up constantly, just like you and your alarm clock bombs."

Gohan wasn't sure, but he thought he saw Beerus smile. The cat motioned for him to follow, and within seconds the two were on the ground again. Beerus cleared his throat and rested his sword-less hands behind his back while his long tail swished around.

"This wasn't what I was expecting at all, but you will give me a real fight to the death at some point. I don't want to remind you what I will do if we don't."

Knowing it still wasn't good to trust him, Gohan nodded. "Do you want some milk? I think I have some in the fridge back in the room."

"Just because I look like a cat doesn't mean I drink milk!" Beerus' temper rose, and for a second Gohan thought he was going to kick him in the neck again. Instead, the God of Destruction turned his nose up and walked faster to the temple. "But I will still take it."

Gohan grinned. Soon, the two were out of the woods and back near the lake where Goku and Vegeta had ended their training with Whis and were now off doing their own reps. He was unsure of where his grandfather had gone, but Gohan was greeted by the white-haired and proper caretaker/world's strongest teacher.

"Oh, good. I'm glad to see you're in one piece!" Whis smiled. "I asked Lord Beerus to be your trainer from now on since you two compliment each other more, but I didn't think he'd actual wake up and do it."

Stunned, Gohan's mouth dropped. It wasn't some fight Beerus was searching for, he was training him. Dorky ol' normal Gohan, getting trained under the God of Destruction!

The father looked around to thank the deity for today's lesson, but he had already disappeared.

Tien's all three eyes deadpanned the moment Hercule Satan arrived to Kame Island with his daughter, granddaughter, and the wife of Bardock. The former Crane student crossed his massive arms over his chest and glared at Piccolo. When Piccolo could feel his look burning into the side of his face, the Namek growled and looked at him.

"What?"

"It's your fault he's here. You're the one that taught him how to fly."

Piccolo's face flared up as he thought about all his possible victims that knew the secret. "I have no idea what you're talking about!"

Tien smirked. Sometimes, it was nice to get under the Namek's skin. With Vegeta gone, he was the only serious person left. All three eyes had suddenly squinted when there was the sound of a copter approaching.

"Who's that with Bulma?"

Piccolo glared up to see the mother, daughter, and a stranger landed on the beachy shore of Kame Island. His ki was that of someone's new.

Gotenks propped his elbow on Krillin's forehead, embarrassing the police officer. The fused boy and the boys themselves were growing ever so taller than him! "Yo, Piccolo! Who's that with her?"

Piccolo looked over his shoulder at the cooking Chi-Chi, who shrugged. He figured the wife of Goku was caught up on all the latest happenings, but remembered nothing really ever happened to her on Mount Paozu. He even doubted there was phone service.

"HI BOYS!" Bulma shouted from the opened hatched. Her hand not holding the baby girl was waving madly. Gotenks flew up on the ship and held onto his half-sister while glaring at the strange pilot.

"Who's this?"

"Gotenks, this is Jaco the Galactic Patrolman!" The genius said his name with such dignity, that Jaco held his head up high. "Jaco, this is my... uhm, fused son Gotenks! My actual son is part of him."

Jaco studied the black hair with purple streaks first before widening his eyes at the widow's peak. This kid definitely resembled the photo of Bulma's husband that was back at Capsule Corporations. "Ah, yes. I've heard of fusion before. Nice to meet ya!"

"Uh," Gotenks sweatdropped while Bra buried her head into his chest. This Jaco guy was definitely weird. "Same."

When they all hopped off the ship, Bulma introduced Jaco to everyone on the island. Jaco took a step back to observe Gotenks again and nodded repeatedly.

"Uh huh, uh huh," Jaco glared at his old time family friend. "I saw pictures in your home with a much older son. Just how old are you?"

The patrolman was able to dodge a punch from the bluenette, and the fighters continued their training. Once Bulma had calmed down, she took a deep breath and patted Brief's shoulder.

"I'm not old! That man is Trunks. He's my son, from the future."

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" Jaco pointed an accusing finger at the blinking Bulma. "Time travel is a serious offense! As soon as this mess with Frieza gets straightened out, I'm placing you under arrest!"

"JACO!" Bulma threatened with a fist. "You wouldn't dare!"

The purple and white galactic patrolman opened his mouth to fight back with her, but found himself stuck in silence as an eerie feeling had gone through everyone on Kame Island. Tien had brought his foot back to the sand before he could kick Krillin's chin, while the policeman himself lowered his defensive fists. Gotenks had separated, and now the two young boys looked to Piccolo for answers.

"It's time," The Namek nodded at Videl and Hercule, the weakest of the bunch. "Is there anyway I can convince you to stay here?"

Mr. Satan looked nervously at his daughter, hoping she'd say yes for the both of them but already knowing her stubborn side all too well. The woman's hair that had grown so long was in her teenage pigtails. She had meant to cut it before the battle, but it was too late now.

"No way."

"Thought so," Piccolo muttered. "What about you Gine?"

The female Saiyan shook her head. "Don't worry, I'm not going to fight. I just want to be there when Bardock comes and I'll go."

"If you even have a chance to leave."

All eyes were on the turtle hermit, who had remained silent the majority of today's training. Krillin had already kissed his wife and daughter, who had taken Chi-Chi with them, goodbye.

"What do you mean by that, Master?"

"I've said it once and I'll say it again," From behind his glasses, Master Roshi glared at the sky and aimed his cane at an invisible opponent. "Death is in the air."

XX

"Are you ready to try it?"

"You sure it's going to work?"

"Nope, but I'm still excited!"

The midnight moon above was reflecting in the clear waters below, and Bardock turned away from the beautiful sight to roll his eyes at Whis. The other Saiyans and Beerus were knocked out snoring, and the scarred grandfather wished he could be doing the very same instead of going along with his current teacher's experiment.

"Look... I don't really feel comfortable with this."

Whis sighed loudly and rested his cane against the bark of a nearby tree. He had given up his personal sleep as well just to get this moody monkey up to par, and Bardock was still unforgiving of himself. The humanoid was forced to look at the back of his messy hair since he didn't want to look him in the eyes anymore.

"We've spent way too long on this for you to give it up now. I'm raising potential replacements for Lord Beerus here. Please don't take all the time I've given you for granted."

Bardock rested his head on his arms and leaned back into the grass. He kept his eyes closed so he couldn't see the moon. "I don't take shit for granted, trust me. I deal with over one hundred little jackasses on Earth five days a week. I just don't' understand why this can happen to me when I can't even achieve what I've been dying to for years now."

"You just skipped it is all. Prince Vegeta has done the same."

The Saiyan growled loudly, scaring the birds. Whis frowned as they flew away.

"Ah, just shut up already! You know me and him aren't equals."

Whis clicked his tongue and lifted Bardock by his ear off the grass. He ignored the Saiyan's curse words as he dragged him a little further away from the temple in case the power up was too strong. "I think I've heard just about enough of that talk. The prince and yourself just received the power in different ways. He got it on his own, and I gave it to you. But the form I've been searching for was already part of you. I just gave it an upgrade."

Rubbing his sore ear, Bardock looked at Whis like a kindergartner who had just gotten scolded. "You didn't have to drag me like that, vanilla cone..."

"Look at the moon. Now."

Taking a deep breath, the stubborn Saiyan complied. They had gone through this transformation every night, and Bardock had done it so many times that eventually his Oozaru form didn't last as long as it use to. Once Whis saw the large furry body begin to change, he clasped his teal hands tightly together and waited in hopes of something new.

When they fought earlier, a strange light caused by Bardock's new ki appeared in his straight punch. The humanoid truly believed it was a sign that tonight was the night a hybrid transformation would be born. Whis watched in silence as the ground beneath his feet began trembling at the might of an unseen power. The lake behind him was rippling in fear of what was to come, while the sky became entranced by the mysterious blue aura taking over Bardock's body until he became one with the light.

"Very interesting... Can you hear me, Bardock?"

Whis couldn't place his finger on it, but something was off. If the transformation had worked, and if this was the transformation, Bardock still fell short to the likes of his son. The humanoid would need to train him in his new form from now on in order to give Bardock what he wanted.

"If you can hear me, please show yourself. I want to see your new appearance."

Although the blue aura lingered around him like a smoke cloud, the shape of the Saiyan emerged. Through the light of the moon, Whis could see the pissed-off expression of a Super Saiyan 4 with one blue eye, one red eye, and bloodied hair that was contrasted against icy-blue streaks. His red tail swayed sharply behind him and curled around his waist that was covered by green pants.

"Well?" His voice came out deep, rough. "Is it bad?"

"Not at all! A hybrid indeed!" Whis teasingly fist pumped the air one time before bringing his arm back down to his side. "You just remind me of those mutts Earthlings adopt because they feel bad for them."

"Looks like the cavalry has finally arrived."

Resting more comfortable than ever in his throne after what he had gone through, Frieza chuckled cruelly overlooking the fighters who decided to challenge him on their judgement day. The main one he cared about couldn't be sensed, but the tyrant knew he'd come to stick his nose in everyone else's business like usual.

Tagoma loyally stood on his right, while Sorbet manned the left. Thousands upon thousands of their fellow soldiers were gathered behind him, more than prepared to take on such a small army of Earthlings. The purple-skinned alien proudly stood straight without his scouter, scanning the island beneath them as the fighters began appearing one by one.

Tagoma spat. "What pathetic excuses for a life."

"I want you to kill one of them right away for me. Can you handle that?"

"I'm honored, sire."

Frieza chuckled and remained silent as that Namek from before showed his ugly mug, followed by a three-eyed disaster carrying an old man, and the bald boy he had murdered before.

And then the next group came in.

The tyrant straightened up. A young boy with the same stupid haircut as Goku was smiling the same stupid smile and was practically joined at the hip with a lavender-haired kid that resembled the man who sliced him up. Not only that, but a female with a monkey's tail popped up out of nowhere. Behind her, a red ship was the hiding spot for a blue-haired woman and her baby, and another young girl with black hair was doing her best not to be seen.

"Good god they've multiplied!" Frieza's eye twitched at the thought. "The other monkey and his other son aren't even accounted for!"

"The prince isn't here either Sire," Sorbet finally spoke. He had been nervous this entire time, but felt relieved not to see the two he was most concerned about. "Do you think he still lives on Earth?"

Frieza waved him off. "Vegeta loathes Son Goku. We won't have a problem there, but if one occurs you know what to do."

Once the short blue-skinned alien turned his attention back to the Earthlings, a fight among them had broken out right before Frieza could make his grandiose speech.

"GO BOYS! I'll keep trying to get your fathers down here, okay!?" Bulma was shouting from behind Jaco's ship, but emerged to show them that Bra was cheering too.

"You brought a baby to the battle field!?" Trunks groaned for the sake of his mother's thinking.

Frieza began tapping his fingers angrily while the Earthlings began bickering, but it didn't look like anyone was leaving. He motioned with his index finger for Tagoma to come closer than he already was.

"Yes, my lord?"

"Go take one out. Any of them. Just leave the vested monkey alone."

Videl looked up at the sky at all the soldiers blocking the clouds. There had to be thousands of them. Thousands of alien soldiers, who had their own tactics of war and only wanted to kill or follow a tyrant's orders. The brave woman found herself gulping, beginning to think this was a mistake. She could feel Piccolo looking at her as if he thought the same.

"N-No," her voice struggled to come out strong at first but then she found her way. She stood up straighter and prouder, knowing who she was fighting for. "All of us working together can never be brought down. They are nothing compared to us."

"Videl, honey," Hercule nervously tugged at his robe. The poor champ had no idea what he was getting into when he volunteered. Damn that Gine for not giving him enough information. "I think we should leave it up to the other guys. They come from other planets too, ya know? What's the point of dying when we've got so much to live for? We've got legions of fans and-and-and they're printing my face on a mug next week-"

When her father had suddenly stopped running his mouth without someone making him, Videl tilted her head to the side. "What's wrong, Dad? Are you getting scared?"

The Afro-haired man could only point a trembling finger at someone much taller than his daughter.

The mother and wife pivoted around slowly to see a purple skinned alien wearing Saiyan armor. He had his forefinger and middle finger pressed to his forehead with one hand while his other held an attack he'd been charging since his time in the sky with Frieza. Piccolo had seen it coming, but was finding his words of warning to come out slower than usual.

Piccolo ran, and ran, and ran. But it seemed the faster he went, the attack doubled in speed. He closed his eyes and lunged forward, remembering the silent promise he made to Videl the day Gohan left.

It wasn't until Pan screamed from behind Jaco's spaceship that everyone realized what had just happened. Piccolo could hear his heart beating in his ears, disbelieving the scene just a mere foot away from where his feet had failed to cross.

The fighting had ceased.

Goku had to grab onto Vegeta's fist before it hit him in the face, and when the angered prince yelled at him for ruining their spar, Goku pointed in the direction of his son. Bardock had left Whis behind to run to his side, but his son was still quicker than him.

Beerus arched his eyebrow and stood beside Whis and Vegeta, both of whom were confused.

"Did you get into another sword fight and stab him?" The flame-haired prince questioned the God of Destruction. It was the only clear explanation as to why he was clutching his chest and looking pale in the face. Either that, or he somehow inherited his father's heart disease. When the purple-skinned deity shook his head, Vegeta grunted and brought his attention back to the Son family.

Goku was kneeling on the grass, joining Gohan. The son was using his hand that wasn't holding his aching heart to grip onto the grass as if his life depended on it. When the messy-haired hero placed his hand on his back, he could feel the decreasing temperature in his body that shook.

"Talk to me, son. What's wrong? Are you getting sick? You can take some time out to rest!"

Gohan blinked his burning eyes at the pair of green-tipped boots that appeared and shook his head. His grandfather was looking down at him with his arms crossed and brows furrowed.

"I can't explain it... But I just got this huge pain in my chest and it's making me feel so sick."

Bardock dropped to his knees and forced Gohan's head up so they could search each other's eyes.

"What do you mean by a huge pain, kid?"

Gohan squinted, becoming a little off-put by his grandfather's unsettling tone of voice.

"I don't know... it's like a bad feeling running throughout my whole body."

Bad feeling...?

Whis took a long look at the orb of his staff and sucked in his breath. He cleared his throat loud enough for the Saiyans to all look at him.

"Chalk it up to carelessness on my part, but it seems I have missed quite a few messages."