Even though Ruby was awake, she didn't open her eyes. She felt so warm and comfortable that she would have liked to drop off to sleep again. As cosy as she was however, a gust of cold air rolled over her bare face and exposed knees, forcing her to awaken full. With an understandable amount of reluctance, Ruby Rose opened her eyes. She was wrapped up in her red cloak, which was keeping her warm.

The first thing she saw, or rather the first things that she focused on were her unconscious companions. She looked to her sister first, and Ruby shuddered at the bloody stump that had replaced Yang's arm, she really must be tough to have escaped... she sighed and fought back a tear, it didn't make sense, and she was always to tough…what was dad going to say?

Weiss, looking more ruffled that Ruby had ever seen her before, her eyeliner was muddy and smudged by tears, and her hair was a mess. Her dress was dirty and covered in dust, debris and blood. She must have had to help Yang escape Adam along with herself, and it must have been her own semblance that had saved her sisters life…Ruby unconsciously smiled at Weiss' vacant face.

Blake was lying on her face so Ruby couldn't see her properly, but she was breathing so she assumed that Blake was okay, and finally the two Saiyans, Goku and Vegeta were lying parallel to each other on their backs. Vegeta seemed to be out as well but Goku was still awake. Ruby could see his fingers twitching and his chest rising and falling like a piston as the old man panted. For some reason he was smiling, though Ruby could not think why, they were after stranded in…some place.

Seeing that nobody was seriously hurt, Ruby decided to get up and have a look around where they had landed or appeared or whatever. She stared around at the white floor and the small fluffy clouds around them, and the endless blue sky that seemed to stretch on forever like an ocean. A nasty little shiver travelled down Ruby's spine as another gust of wind blew across her pink face and a scary though crept into her mind. The cloudy blue sky, the wide expanse of white floor, and the fact that they were all okay after what had just happened…was this heaven? No…they couldn't have all…

"You're not dead" sounded a fatigued but not all together unhappy voice from behind Ruby's back. It was Goku; he was sitting up now and caressing the stone floor as if it were an old friend's shoulder. Other than being rather short of breath, he looked no worse for wear. His eyes were twinkling contently and his chapped lips were still beaming. In a sudden flood of realisation, Ruby's other questions gave way to one particular query that had just occurred to her. She ran forward and knelt down in front of Goku.

"How the heck did you do that?!"

"How'd I what?" Goku replied, bemused. Ruby began to make large and flamboyant gesture with her flailing arms, in an apparent re-enactment of what had occurred on the farm. She was watched by Goku who was starting to wish he had done something a little less…inspiring.

"And the she was all like 'THIS IS THE END' and fired her yellow thing but then you were all like "AAAAAAAH" and fired your blue thing and they crashed into each other in the air and…what happened to your beard?!"

In the silly girl's wide eyes, Goku could see his own face reflected and in that image, what Ruby was talking about. Goku for whatever reason had decided to use a level of Kaio-ken that he had not used since outside living memory. He was understandably a little rusty, while muscle memory had allowed him to pull the technique off, the powered up 'Kamehameha' had rebounded slightly on himself, somewhat singeing his muzzle. Goku was now practically clean shaven on one side of his face.

"'Hmmm…I think I see what you meant King Kai'. Oh don't worry about that, I'm sure Mr. Popo will have a razor."

"Mr. Who what?"

"Oh he should still be around here somewhere. He never normally leaves the lookout."

"What lookout?"

"The others look alright, I think he should make sure that arm is ok, it looks a kinda gross."

"WHERE ARE WE?!"

Goku looked down to see a very harassed Ruby looking back up at him; her lips pouting and her bright eyes alight with desire for knowledge. He smiled and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Sorry, I forgot you guys have never been here before. This is called 'Kami's lookout', I felt it was the best place for us to get our heads together. It's a floating castle in the sky where the guardian of the earth lives…or he used to live here." He paused and swallowed at the thought, as he often did when having to think about mortality. "Kami died years ago, and his replacement hasn't spoken to me in just as long…I think he is too."

"Unfortunately."

Goku jumped, Ruby must have jumped too because there was a loud squeak and he felt something cling onto the back of his right leg. A squat man was standing before them, having appeared out of nowhere. He wore a red waist coat and a white bejewelled turban, with white baggy pants and shoes with curling soles, like a leprechaun. His skin was dark as brimstone, making his eyes stand out significantly, two circular white islands on his grave face, framed by his pointed ears. The maroon lips were attempting to smile, but they only inclined upwards a fraction.

Ruby had no idea how such a funny looking creature had gotten so close to them without being obvious from a distance. She expected her own bewildered expression to be reflected on Goku's weary face, but as she looked, she could only see a mild smile of comprehension and sad nostalgia. Both men moved forward and took each other's hands like very old friends.

"It's been too long Popo." Goku seemed to be fighting back a surge of emotion at his reunion with this little man. He smiled in earnest now, showing a square flat tooth in an otherwise empty mouth.

"It's good to see you too Goku, the years have been kind to you. I have taken care of your guests."

He gestured over his shoulder and Goku saw that Blake and the two other girls had vanished. He had to smile at this; he had never thought for a moment that had lost his touch. There was a sharp metallic noise from his left, what he saw made him jump. Ruby had drawn her scythe out and pointed the sniper rifle barrel straight at Popo's heart.

Even though he knew he wasn't the target, Goku jumped back from the red and black steel. He was more concerned by her face, despite the scratches and obvious tiredness, her face was set. Ruby's face was relaxed and confident, but her eyes were narrow and focused sharply on the squat man before her. "Where are they!?"

Ruby's statement carried no threat, strange since she was pointing a weapon at Popo, but her voice was calm and focused. Goku jumped in front of the hulking weapon, shaking his hands in panic. "It's okay, he's good-he's good!"

"What have you done with them demon!?" Ruby did not react to his words, but she cocked the sniper rifle dangerously, and he slowly backed down, looking apprehensive. Goku had never seen the young girl with such a murderous disposition, he was aware of fury, especially in women. His wife had very frequently lost her temper and given people a piece of her mind, but never like this, like she was actually willing to kill. But there was one other thing that he also knew... inclined his head to the side slightly while he watched the young warrior, and then smiled again.

"You'd have a better chance relying on your own strength than on that weed picker. A weapon should enhance ones strengths, not compensate for ones weaknesses."

BANG!

The gunshot sounded oddly muffled while so high in the air, Goku covered his ears all the same. He had never heard the sound of a gun while on Kami's lookout, nor had he expected nothing to be damaged after the sound faded from his ears. But there was something that he did expect to see, and that was Popo standing behind Ruby, his stubby arm raised in a chopping position. With the speed of a striking cobra, the short fingers struck the back of the girl's neck and then receded back to his side. The Crescent Rose clanked to the floor as the young girl fell to ground, unconscious.

"You know you could've just answered her question." Goku placed a hand on his forehead, exasperated, but amused. Popo turned around and spoke as he began to walk back to the castle, with a skip in his step.

"What can I say, I'm feeling nostalgic. Do help me carry Vegeta won't you?"

"What do you think?" Goku asked, tentatively.

"I've never had to deal with a human injury like this, there isn't an awful lot I can do for her except clean it up...good heavens…"

"Can't we just use the drago-?" Vegeta started to growl, but Popo cut him off.

"I'm afraid…they are no longer…with us."

Goku and Vegeta nodded grimly as the stood over a white silk bed, in which Yang was still unconscious. was splashing water from a brown jug on her stump of an arm, and then drew out some thick linen bandages. Vegeta sighed and rubbed his forehead as the wound disappeared under multiple layers of medical binding.

"How on earth did this poor girl lose her arm in the first place?" Popo asked the room, his voice shaking slightly.

The three girls all said something different at the same time.

"A terrorist called Adam" muttered Blake

"Filth" raged Weiss

"A dead man" murmured Ruby, more ominously than she originally intended, not looking at Popo. She was sitting in the corner with her arms folded, finding her sudden loss of consciousness to be both rude and humbling. She had woken up with her other team mates, except Yang who had remained asleep. Weiss had been standing over her when she had woken up, and hugged Ruby like a sister when she did come too. Blake had not gotten up, but Ruby understood. She was staring at Yang, not blinking or moving from her bed.

"What kind of water is that?" the faunus snapped at Popo's back, the question caught him off guard momentarily and he fumbled with the bandages as he answered.

"Sacred water, there is no need to worry. The wound was infected, but the water is powerful enough to purge the most powerful evil spirits. A few germs are quick work for it." Mr. Popo tied a tight knot in Yang's bandages and turned to face Blake with a frown on his face.

"You really should sleep my dear; from what I've heard you sound like you've been through a terrible ordeal." But Blake was not listening; she was looking passively over Popo's shoulder at where Yang's stump rested on the mattress. Her expression was blank, unreadable. Shaking his head, Popo turned back to Goku.

"I will go and prepare dinner." With a bow, left the guest bedroom, leaving a silent room of sleep, and questions. Goku turned to Vegeta and asked to talk with him outside, and with a grunt and a shrug, he went with him. The three girls got up and surrounded the sleeping blonde girl and sat down in a semi-circle. Ruby's expression was hard and surly; she seemed to flare up at the sight of her sister being so passive. Weiss did not know where to look, there were so many things she wanted to say to everyone…but nothing seemed appropriate.

"…So what do we do now?" She whispered, but the room was so silent that everybody heard her. There was a long silence before anyone said anything and, of all people, it was Blake who broke the silence. Her voice did not break, but her eyes seemed to be half closed, as if they would leak if were opened fully.

"We need some way of fighting back. They have too much on us and we only have our weapons to defend ourselves." She turned to Ruby "You saw that Cinder woman, how powerful she was. Maybe what Goku was teaching us will help."

"What have you been learning?" asked Weiss.

"But it didn't work" Ruby moaned. "We tried it and we couldn't even faze Adam with that technique."

"Hey! What have you been learning?!"

"Well, maybe it's because we didn't do it right, we hadn't managed to do it before…"

"Yeah, that could be true, especially since mmmmmm mmm mm…" Ruby could not finish her sentence due to the gloved hand that had closed around it. Yang Xiao Long had sat bolt upright, and her eyes were blood red and focused. When she spoke, it was in a clear voice of forced calm.

"Ruby…listen very carefully, I need you to tell me what that pair of strange old men taught you to do with Blake."

Her tone was mirthless, but angry pink tinges had appeared on her cheeks. It took a second for the rest of them to take her meaning. Immediate clarification followed.

"Oh no no, it was the fusion technique."

"rrrrRRRRGH!"

"No sis, I'm serious, he just showed us how to make our bodies one-"

"RUUUUBBYYY!" Yang was holding the scruff of Ruby's cloak now, and shaking her, the redness on her cheeks now solid scarlet. Blake stepped in and spoke in a very calm voice.

"It was nothing inappropriate, a technique that transformed us into a single person. It did not go as intended though, we were a lot weaker in that state than if we had been ourselves."

Yang released Ruby's clothes and returned to her original position on the bed, staring at the ceiling in a sort of enraged trance.

"I swear…If those creeps had done anything to my little virgin flower, I would have shoved my fist straight up their wrinkly a -"

What she said next was drowned out by the chime of a dinner bell, which sounded from somewhere else in the building. Team RWBY could hear thunderous footsteps growing nearer, and Goku sprinted past the door frame, his tongue hanging out like a dog. If Ruby hadn't known better, she could have sworn she heard Goku muttering something under his breath.

"Popo's food…no…not radishes…Popo has meat…ribs."

Ruby and Blake were far used by now to dinner with Saiyans, muted awkward affairs where it was wisest to simply eat as fast as you could without making eye contact with anyone. The three remaining people at the large white table however were not so used to it, although Popo had grown to just let them go at it while he sat quietly without eating. Yang watched beadily as Ruby stuffed her face, still suspicious as to the happenings while they were both separated. Weiss was sitting with a spoonful of mashed potato suspended half way between her plate and her mouth as she stared open mouthed at the head of the table.

Goku had half the table to himself, and it was hard to even see him through the sheer mountains of food: pork chops, deep fried rice, salmon, steak, roast potatoes, roast turkey, lamb, beef and that was only the tip of the iceberg. From what she could see, Goku was little more than a greyish blur as he viciously attacked the succulent food, she was strangely reminded of a bear catching salmon in its mouth when he caught a stray fish in his mouth and shook it until the bones flew out and hit a wall. What food could possibly move someone to be so ravenously impolite? Perhaps this Goku was just a mindless old beggar who was raised with zero table manners. But then why was Ruby doing the same? She wasn't raised by howler monkeys...although that Qrow Branwen looked a bit shady.

She glanced down at her plate which seemed to glint invitingly at her in the setting sunlight. She finished her bite, and almost fell out of her chair, having to force herself for the first time in living memory from stuffing the whole plate inside her mouth. It was the greatest thing that she had ever tasted, and she had tasted the finest dishes from the top chiefs in the entire world, moreover, she had eaten her favourite cake butlers magnum opus every Thursday since she was a little girl, and now she was thrown by mashed potatoes?!

She coughed and composed herself, afraid that she would draw undue attention from the silent sentinel that was the chief. Breathing very heavily, she took another shaky mouthful, and her weight buckled under the warm fluffy sensation that enveloped her taste buds. Weiss looked up and saw Popo, smiling good-naturedly back at her.

"There is no sense in holding yourself back to impress anyone; please, you look very hungry my dear."

Weiss blushed, looked around at everyone else pigging out, and then down at her plate. It was wrong, it was indecent, but the large amounts of delicious food being shovelled into her mouth hastily drove such thoughts from the heiress' mind, as Weiss attacked the mashed potatoes. chuckled and then turned to Goku, who had eaten so much in that short space of time, he was completely visible again.

"It's been so long since I've seen a Saiyan; I almost forgot what you looked like." He laughed "Hehe… Dende always talked about you, right up until his final days. He told me to ask you something if you ever called."

"Oh?" said Goku thickly through a mouthful of roast chicken "and what was that?"

"He wanted me to ask you if you wouldn't mind delivering his… remains back to Namek and telling his people that he has passed on. I tended to his body and prepared it for travel years ago."

Goku scratched his burned chin for a moment, thinking. Then he shook his head.

"Sorry, I'd like to, but I have no idea where Namek is anymore. I could get a good view if I was on King Kai's planet, but I'm banned. Ever since that thing happened, he hasn't responded to any of my calls."

Popo hung his head, but smiled all the same. He seemed to understand that this matter was not to be changed. Even he would not dare question the judgment of a kai. When he looked back at Goku, he laughed again. He knew that face, and he knew what that expression on Goku's face meant from years of experience.

"Yes, of course I have seconds." Goku's entire body relaxed. "Although I needed to make extra, given that I had to feed the guardian."

Goku swallowed a lot of food at once and he seemed to choke for a few second before being struck on the back but Ruby, and regaining the ability to speak. "G-guardian!?" he spluttered, "But, I-I thought Dende was…you know?!"

"Oh he has" said Popo, hanging his head slightly in respect of his memory. "But there has to be a guardian of the earth, for someone has to attend to the duties that Kami once upheld. I couldn't do it, and you were nowhere to be found. So I had to improvise somewhat…"

He smiled and inclined his head to the doorway, where a very large shape had silently moved into view. Everyone stared at it as the huge bulbous form moved towards the table, throwing its staff aside as it grabbed an entire roast duck and swallowed it whole. All eyes were on the strange pink creature and Goku actually stopped eating to gape at the giant. The table vibrated silently as the big man emptied entire plates into his rubbery mouth. Seeing as nobody seemed to be about to explain anything, Ruby opened her mouth to ask 'What in the heck is that thing supposed to be?', but before she could let out a sound, she was cut off by a colossal belch from the giant. Goku blinked a few times, and then burst out laughing.

"I don't believe it, Majin Buu!?"

The giant looked up, and its face beamed innocently. "Yup, me Buu."