26.

Somehow he'd gotten roped into scouring a nearby neighborhood with his brother. And Nappa. Also 17. It had been… interesting. Goku had chosen to go along with them instead of Tien, 18 and Lunch, mostly because the boys seemed more willing to stop and break for snacks. And 18 and Lunch were kind of scary.

The only other option was staying back at the house, but it there had been a lot of sitting around and it was getting fairly boring. His feet were itching to get back on the road, out where things were a touch more exciting. Goku didn't like killing Walkers, really, but it was fun fighting them. More fun than sparring with Krillin on Roshi's island. There was a sense of adventure that came being out, the urge to give it his all without any of the restraint that he felt during the late night spars with Vegeta.

Although, his ribs still ached from a kick he'd taken from Vegeta the night prior. He was 99-percent sure Vegeta lacked the ability to hold back. There were lots of things Vegeta seemed absent of, but his inability to exercise moderation had the most glaring consequence. Goku touched the tender spot and his brother snickered.

"Still bitching about that bruise?"

Goku frowned. He wasn't complaining about anything. "Just thinking about how I'm going to get him back." His tone was amicable enough, his smile teasing.

Raditz flashed his teeth. "Word of advice? Don't get caught up in a feud with Vegeta. That man can hold a grudge."

They finished the walk back to the safe house in relative silence; Goku's pack bounced against his hip - delightfully full of snacks and matches and a little red fire truck he thought Chiaotzu might like. Though the group hadn't had a lot of luck finding water he hoped Tien's crew had better luck.

The sun was working on its descent when they arrived back at camp. Nappa holed himself up in the bathroom with Bulma screeching at his back that they only got one flush. Chichi smiled at him as they approached, and when he opened his mouth to say something to her, Vegeta interrupted with,

"I'm going out."

Chichi shot him a stern look. "No stunts like yesterday. You nearly got us all killed."

Vegeta just turned and disappeared into the thicket of trees, leaving Chichi frowning at his back.

"At least Bulma can get some kind of reply out of him. Even if it isn't necessarily nice."

Goku scratched the back of his neck. Yes, Vegeta was odd but he was done thinking about the other man. At least for now. He was growing bored again, and with nothing better to do, he looked at Chichi and asked, "Would you like me to show you a few moves?"

"Moves?" she countered, one of her dark eyebrows cocking in a fashion that wasn't entirely as innocent as she put off sometimes. "What kind of moves?"

"C'mere. I'll show you."

And even though Chichi let him guide her into all of the positions, moving her arms and altering the tilt of her hips, Goku got the impression that this wasn't her first lesson. He dropped his hold of her elbow, and she watched him from the kata he'd put her in. She was relaxed, comfortable, like this wasn't the first time she'd held the pose.

"You're a fighter."

She shrugged. "I used to be."

"But you…" He was going to say that she kept to the kitchen and not the battlefield, but the words died on his lips remembering the way she'd gone about slinging her frying pan with the skillful pression of a martial arts champion. "Wow Chichi. That's pretty cool."

She lowered her head so that he chin was against her sternum, but Goku caught a bit of red staining her cheeks.

Huh.

"I could show you some stuff with the staff. It's not as good as the one my grandpa gave me, but it isn't too bad. Good at taking out Walkers."

"Uh." She looked up at him then, big dark eyes searching. He blinked back at that gaze, unsure of what he was supposed to do. "No thank you Goku. I should probably help Mrs. Brief with dinner. You have fun beating the shit out of air, though. I uh - I'll let you know if we need anything."

And then she was running off toward the house without looking back. Goku blinked again, raised his staff, and practiced fending off imaginary enemies. Women were weird, and it wasn't just 18 and Lunch that scared him.

No, even though he'd known her since they were kids, Bulma scared him half the time. And then there was Chichi. Who terrified him for a different reason altogether.

.

He'd had a nice long spout going through his forms when Vegeta emerged from the woods with a pair of dead possums slung over his shoulder. Goku's stomach rumbled and he dropped the staff along with the kata he was holding.

From her vantage point as watch, Bulma saw Vegeta coming first. Jumping from the porch railing, she started in Vegeta's direction, her shotgun swinging lazily at her side.

"Goku, go tell mom Vegeta's come back with dinner," she said as she passed him. Goku nodded obediently. Halfway to the porch he could already hear them shouting at one another.

The front door smacked back into its frame, but neither Chichi nor Mrs. Brief glanced up. They were both staring out the window, watching the pair arguing on the yard. Goku joined them at the near the sink. Bulma had her hands balled at her sides, Vegeta was smirking. Dead animals still dangled over one of his shoulders.

"They should just screw already," Mrs. Brief sang, smiling fondly at the pair. One of which was her daughter. The other a psychotic man who delighted in killing Walkers and got off on bossing people around. Goku frowned.

"So," Chichi remarked. "Possum for dinner?"

Goku liked any excuse to eat meat. Chichi and Mrs. Brief were capable of making anything taste delicious, even wild game that wasn't really intended for dinner.

"We didn't find much water," Goku admitted, his voice low. "I think…"

"We'll be fine." Chichi's grin was tight.

Between the three of them they didn't have any grand ideas to remedy the water situation, they stood in silence, watching the pair still arguing in the yard. After a few minutes, Vegeta stormed off and slammed the possum down in front of Nappa, who'd left the confines of the house's bathroom and was now napping near one of the Walker traps.

Bulma thundered in shortly thereafter. Her eyes were bright with anger that brought Goku back to fearing all of these women. As a whole, they were probably more of a threat than the Walkers most the time. She took a deep breath, looked at him and asked,

"Did you find any water?"

"... No," he admitted slowly. "But we had a lot of success with everything else. We even managed to grab a couple-"

"We need water." Bulma frowned. "We can scavenge for food on the way, but there hasn't been an inch of rain since this thing started and our bottles are running out. We can't survive without water, we won'-"

"We'll find something," Chichi interrupted. "We'll make something work. We always do."

With a disgruntled nod, Bulma took a deep breath and rested her backside against the lip of the counter. Some of her anger seeming to subside, but Goku took stock of the firm line of her lips and the slight furrow of her brow. Bulma was always thinking ahead, always planning for the worst so they could avoid it.

"Alright then what did you get it?" she asked after a few painful seconds of silence.

Proudly digging into his pack, Goku showed her the contents. The matches. A tarp. The little chocolate bars with the nuts she liked so much. Those seemed to quell her anger, and Bulma even snatched one, opened it, and sunk her teeth into the slightly-melted square. If it had been one of them eating candy so soon before dinner Bulma would've been pissed. But Goku didn't say anything, just kept retrieving things from his pack, pulling out the little fire truck he'd gotten for Chiaotzu.

Bulma's eyes went wide. "Goku," she said. "You're a genius."

From the kitchen sink, Chichi and Mrs. Brief exchanged a glance. Goku blinked.

Tossing the unfinished candy bar to the side, Bulma pulled out her map and spread it open on the table. Her eyes darted around the topography, her finger moving over its surface, pausing on the little towns the dotted the foothills of the mountains.

Goku just stood there, holding the toy truck and watching Bulma work. When he looked back over to Chichi, she just shrugged. And then he raised his gaze to the window. A group of people were approaching, blurred figures in the distance. Not Walkers since they stood in a straight line and walked with an agile grace. He grinned.

"I'm going to give Chiaotzu the truck," he said, turning to the door. Once outside, he stilled. Tien was there on the group's edge, Chiaotzu keeping pace happily at his side. But there were others wedged between Lunch and 18. Three people that hadn't set off with them that morning. Goku's heartbeat picked up a fraction as recognition set in.

Before the newcomers were halfway into the yard, Goku's legs were carrying him past Vegeta and Nappa. Past the cluster of Walker traps. Past Tien and Chiaotzu.

"Krillin!" he greeted, his grin blinding. "You're here! You're alive! I can't-" And then he froze. "Wait. We were supposed to be coming to you guys," Goku said. "What are you doing here?"

"We were on a supply run and ran into some trouble," Krillin responded. Tien and the other seemed confused, but Goku pressed on.

"Well, I can't believe you're here. You too, Yamcha!"

The taller man smiled, his eyes moving to the strangers behind Goku. Rough, intimidating men he didn't recognize. They didn't seem interested in their arrival as they went about their business.

"We got knocked out and came to in the back of a bread truck," Krillin began. "We don't know where we are or how long it's been. Thankfully these guys, your… friends, they saved us. This," he gestured to a blue haired woman with high heels and tangled hair, "is Maron."

She grinned. In her arms, a chicken sat watching him with beady eyes. "Oh! Your friend is cute!" she said.

Goku frowned at the chicken. The animal frowned back. Then Bulma was there, pushing Goku aside and tossing her arms around Yamcha's neck. She held herself up on her toes and pulled back from the embrace.

"You're alive," she said.

"Yeah."

She released him and took a step back. "Vegeta," she called, turning to the man who was busy frowning at a possum. "I have an idea I'd like to run past you if you have a moment."

And as Bulma turned and headed back into the house, Vegeta handed Nappa the animal and followed dutifully after her. With a confused expression, Yamcha watched the exchange.

After introductions, the group sat around the dining room table. Chiaotzu, Tien and Raditz had been downgraded to a card table, but they were all able to sit in the same room with the help of two folding chairs and a ripped recliner. Mrs. Brief presented cooked possum with potatoes and turnips. Not luxury meal in its own right, but when Bulma announced that they would be back on the road in the morning, everyone ate up.

There were 15 of them. "It's going to be crowded," Lunch said, her eyes darting around the room. The little groups of survivors were now clumped together in a hodgepodge of soldiers and criminals and martial artists and former billionaires.

Goku grinned. "The more the merrier."

"Tell us about the island," Tien said, ignoring Goku's optimism in favor of down-to-earth practicality.

"It's… small," Krillin admitted. He glanced at Yamcha who nodded and added,

"There won't be much room, but we'll make it work. There's a larger island nearby, somewhere we could expand to if we needed."

"We have seeds," Krillin said.

"And a chicken."

"We should get fishing supplies, maybe some additional animals."

"We could make it work there, wait out a cure," Krillin continued. "These things, eventually they'll starve. Or someone will find a cure."

Bulma bit her lip and Yamcha leveled his gaze on her. "I'm surprised you aren't searching for one."

She shrugged. "Have to survive first. When we get somewhere safe, we'll see. I'll probably get bored there anyway."

"The real issue is that we're almost out of water," Chichi cut in.

"Actually, I think we have a solution for that." Bulma grinned at Vegeta, who just continued to look jaded about the whole thing. Goku knew he wasn't all that thrilled about even more people hanging around, but he didn't try to turn them away. Krillin and Yamcha knew about the island. They'd been to the coast and knew the condition of the cities there first-hand.

"What's the plan?" Tien asked.

"Goku, go get the truck for Chiaotzu, and I'll explain."