A/N: It just occurred to me that some of you might not be aware that MasakoX actually read this story out loud on his YouTube channel, up to chapter 9. He made everything sound amazing, so definitely check it out.


"What's that?" Gohan asked, pointing at the sky. For a heart-stopping moment Gine thought maybe the Saiyans had come early, way early, and they were all about to die, but then she looked up and saw what was definitely not a Saiyan descending from the sky.

"Who is that?" Chi Chi asked, shading her eyes.

"I don't know," Yamcha said, frowning. The figure landed lightly on his toes in front of them. Gine blinked in astonishment.

"A Namekian?" she said under her breath. The newcomer smiled in response.

"Not just a Namekian," he said. "Don't you recognize me, Gine?"

She only knew two Namekians, and one of them wasn't exactly walking around, but the being standing in the swaying wildflowers of the training field was young, and strong, and straight-backed. Still, if you added a bunch of wrinkles and a stoop…

"Kami?" Gine took a step forward, hoping for a clearer look (and maybe a hug), but to her surprise someone brushed past her and reached the Namekian first. It was Chi Chi.

Eyes blazing, she marched up to him and jabbed a finger in his face, even though he was so tall she had to reach to get it there.

"You! You're the reason my Kakarot's gone!" she bellowed. "Bring him back right now! How dare you show your face here without bringing him with you!"

"Chi Chi!" Yamcha hissed. He ran forward and attempted to drag her away, succeeding only in digging his feet into the ground. "That's Kami! Show more respect."

"Did he show my marriage respect?" Chi Chi shoved Yamcha away, sending him sprawling, not once taking her eyes off Kami. "Did he show me respect when he took my husband off to who knows where without even consulting me!? Who do you think you are?"

The Guardian of Earth blinked, apparently at a loss. Gine stifled a laugh.

"Chi Chi, dear, give him a break. He's probably never been scolded before in his life."

With a pointed hmph, Chi Chi spun on her heel and walked away with her nose in the air.

"Come on, Gohan," she said, leading her son away. Gohan looked back and Gine gave him a wink, which he returned with a grin. Yamcha stood, brushing himself off and muttering.

"Can't believe… dunno why... Kakarot…"

Gine went up to the Namekian, searching his face in amazement.

"Are you really Kami?" she asked. He nodded, smiling. "How did you...? Is this… normal?"

Kami chuckled and shook his head.

"I used the dragon balls to wish myself young again."

"That's a heck of a beauty routine," Krillin said faintly, staring up in awe at the Guardian, who smiled deeper.

"I thought you could use some help in the upcoming fight, and I wouldn't have been much use otherwise."

There was a slightly bitter undertone to his words that no one else noticed, and which Gine wasn't sure she hadn't just imagined. But she watched him a little more carefully from then on, as he settled into their routine and helped them train. Even Chi Chi eventually came around and let him teach her, though she remained cool to him otherwise. They all improved much faster under his instruction, and for the first time in months Gine began to feel real hope.

Still, there was that sense of something unspoken that continued to linger, but it wasn't until she saw him with Gohan one day that she broached the topic. Her grandson was picking flowers, ostensibly for some nature notebook Chi Chi was having him keep, but probably just because, and he shyly offered one to Kami, who was meditating nearby. Kami smiled, grinned really, and accepted the flower, tucking it behind his ear. He looked so… carefree, in a way that a deity really shouldn't, and it gave Gine the courage to ask him,

"What are you really doing here?"

He glanced up at her, the grin fading but still present. Gine put her hand on Gohan's head as he retreated behind her leg, though he continued to watch the Namekian with wide, curious eyes.

"I'm here to help you fight," Kami said, like he knew that wasn't the end of it.

"But why?" Gine pressed. "Why do that now? Why not with Piccolo, or— or if you couldn't fight him yourself, why not do more to help us then? What's different about this threat?"

Kami studied her for a long time.

"You know, when we first met," he said eventually, "you had just taken care of one of my greatest mistakes. There you were, with a very god granting you a request, and all you and Kakarot wanted was to protect the earth I had put in danger." His smile, which hadn't really gone away, turned sardonic. "I hope you'll understand when I tell you that was quite a blow to my pride. Where had I gone wrong, that two mortals, not even from this world, felt they had to pick up my slack? When you came to me this time, and again I could do nothing, I decided enough was enough. Helping you directly may not be… precisely in my job description, but it does feel a lot more like being a Guardian."

Gine sat next to him, pulling Gohan into her lap and stroking his hair as she mulled that over. From where they were sitting they could see nothing but flowers and grass waving at the clouds overhead like old friends.

"Do you think we have a chance?" she asked after a few minutes. It was several more minutes before he answered.

"Yes. With Kakarot and all he will have learned from King Kai, I think we stand a good chance."

It wasn't the unqualified enthusiasm Gine had been hoping for, but she felt comforted anyway. If Kami thought they had a chance, then they did, end of story.

She didn't let herself wonder if a god could lie.


They all felt it at the same time, looking up from what they were doing to stare at the sky.

"W-what is that?" Gohan asked in a tiny voice.

Gine felt her hackles raise. "It's them."

"Already?" Yamcha asked in alarm. "I thought we had another day!"

"I miscalculated," Kami growled. "I'm sorry, everyone."

"Not your fault," Tien said, stretching out his shoulders. "One day wouldn't have made that much difference anyway. Everyone ready?"

They started to give their assent, and then the balance of the world tilted. Everything suddenly felt wrong, like an important piece of a block tower had been unceremoniously yanked away, leaving the rest wobbling and about to fall.

"What…?" Chi Chi whispered, putting a hand to her mouth. Chiaotzu gasped, and Gine felt her blood begin to boil. A whole city, gone in an instant. It was nothing she hadn't felt before, but this time was different. This time, those people had been sitting on the periphery of her awareness for decades, and to find them suddenly gone was like a cold spot in her soul.

"They've already started," she said. "We have to go now, ready or not. Come on."

She took to the air, slicing through it at top speed without waiting to see if the others were following. She could feel them struggling to keep up, but she didn't wait for them. How many more were the Saiyans going to kill before they got to them?

But it turned out she didn't need to worry. About halfway to the ruined city she felt them coming directly toward her, doubtless letting their scouters guide them to the highest power level in the area. It seemed she had some amount of choice in their meeting place, so she landed at the nearest spot that looked promising, a wilderness area with flat, open ground and small hillocks. The others landed around her a minute later.

"Why'd you stop?" Chi Chi demanded.

"They're coming right for us," Tien said. "This is as good a place as any to meet them."

And in a few minutes two figures slowly descended from the sky, landing in front of them.

The bigger one was exactly who she'd been expecting, though he'd lost all his hair in the interim. She'd seen him around, especially when she'd been running with Bardock and his crew, but they'd never exchanged words. He was powerful, but if they all fought together, not impossible to take down.

They'd never get a chance to do that, though, because standing next to him was the face Gine had seen in every nightmare she'd had for the last year: Vegeta the Fourth, Prince of the Saiyans.

And he was staring right at her.