"I'm seeing it and not believing it," Krillin muttered under his breath, an amazed note in his voice. "Do you believe it?"

"Almost. But what is Vegeta up to?" Goku could see them better than Krillin, and Vegeta was mumbling something to Bulma.

"I don't know, but it can't be good. The last time he showed his feelings he died, and you almost went with him." Krillin squinted, trying to see.

"The last time he showed his feelings it was to HELP me," Goku pointed out. "We were with a mass murderer at the time. too. Give him a chance. What I would like to know is why Bulma's upset."

"Good point." Krillin ducked back inside and sat down. "Maybe some training will clear my head."

"Yeah," Goku agreed as he slumped down across from his best friend. "Ready to lose?"

"In whose dream world?" Krillin retorted before closing his eyes. Even now this mock argument wasn't old. Goku grinned and they materialized in the alternate dimension.

Vegeta stuck his head in the door, thinking he heard the boys talking. "Hmm. Guess not. They're training. Later then, Kakorrot."

============================================

Rested and feeling good thanks to that food from Princess Snake, Gohan raced playfully ahead, stopping on the end of the tail. "Hey! Where is it?" He looked around. "What a cheap shot! There's nothing here!" He was getting mad at being tricked. "Why'd they lie to me?"

He plunked himself down on the road. "All that for nothing." He laid back and opened his eyes. A small green planet hovered high above the road. "At least I can ask for directions or something," Gohan said to himself, getting up. A running start gave him enough height to be able to fly the rest of the way.

Just when he thought he didn't have enough altitude, he felt like he was being grabbed and he plummeted to the face of the planet. Dazed, he rolled over and shook his head, ears ringing.

"Hello? Why are you here?"

Gohan got up on his knees and rubbed his eyes, thinking he was hearing things. "Huh? Where are you?" Then his eyes focused on the strange blue being. "Oh, hi! I needed to find King Kai, so I came up here to ask for directions. There's nothing at the end of Snake Way. I thought you might know." Gohan stood, getting over the blow. He suddenly felt heavy, and the weighted clothing felt ten times heavier, which it was.

"Well, you found me. I'm King Kai, but who are you?"

"Gohan. Dad said you were a great trainer, so I came here so I would be strong enough to help."

"Gohan..." Then it came back to him. "Goku's boy?"

Gohan brightened. "Yup. That's me!"

"I remember Goku talking about you. A lot actually."

"I missed him too. I've only seen him once in two years. Wait! Twice, I think. Either way, not enough."

"I'll say." He looked over the rim of his sunglasses. "Gohan, did you run into any trouble on the way here?"

"Trouble?"" He scratched head. "I don't think so... I ran into the guys, I stayed with Princess Snake, um... nope! No trouble." He held out his hand. "Unless you call this trouble."

"Not really." Then what he said just sunk in. "You KNOW those trouble-makers?"

"Huh? My friends? Yeah. And Mr. Piccolo trained me. That's why he's here. He protected me." Gohan looked at the ground sadly.

'Piccolo had a soft spot for this boy?' King Kai had a somewhat hard time accepting that the son of his mortal enemy had cracked the Namek's rock-hard feelings. It blew his mind.

"Well then I can ask you a question. Why did Piccolo only drink water?"

Gohan looked at the martial arts master like he was stupid. "That's all he needs."

That was interesting to King Kai. 'No wonder he thought I was being pushy. He knows his limits.' King Kai shook his head. "Well then. You should be pretty advanced by now if Piccolo trained you. Oh, I forgot to ask. Who killed you?"

"Frieza." That simple, straight-forward word conveyed all the hate Gohan had for the alien.

"You fought Frieza?" King Kai's eyes widened. This boy wasn't any older than ten at the very most, and he was fighting the greatest evil in the universe.

Gohan nodded. "While I was fighting him, he said something about someone coming to Earth, so I have to get back and help."

"Well Gohan. I have a few tests for you to pass before I promise anything. Are you up for it?"

"You bet!" Gohan eagerly rose from his spot on the cracked ground. He almost fell from the unexpected extra weight, but he found it was easy to balance after a minute or so.

"Your first test is to make me laugh."

"What? What kind of test is that?"

"I don't train anyone without a sense of humor," King Kai said with an evil smile.

"You trained Piccolo, didn't you?"

King Kai had nothing to say to that. Piccolo HAD cured King Kai's extremely bad sense of humor. Well, the TELLING jokes part anyway.

"I did. But you have to make me laugh. Get on with it. I don't have all day."

Gohan looked around. "How come it isn't dark out? When does day end here anyway?" He looked at King Kai, who was holding a hand over his mouth. "Are you going to train me or what? You have an eternity, but I have to get back. They'll need me." He tapped his foot. "Fine. Since you won't train me, I at least wanted to ask you why Princess Snake is so bad. She's a really nice lady."

That cracked him up. King Kai howled with laughter as he doubled over.

Gohan was getting a little mad. "Stop that! She IS! She gave me dinner, and let me have a nap, and she even gave me cookies! I like her."

King Kai realized the little Saiyan was serious. "You're not kidding," he said, more to himself than Gohan.

"No, I'm not," Gohan said stubbornly. "And I can't just wait around here forever. Are you going to train me?"

"I'm still trying to decide. Come here for a minute." Gohan appeared at his side in an instant. King Kai was mildly surprised that Gohan could walk with such ease in ten times his own gravity. 'Maybe it's because he doesn't have weighted clothes.'

Something caught the trainer's eye. "Turn around." Puzzled, Gohan did as he was requested. "Hmm." He grabbed Gohan's tail and pulled gently on it.

Gohan turned so he could see it. "It grew back again? Man! How am I gonna get rid of that thing?" Fed up with it, he wrapped it around his waist like all the other Saiyans he'd met.

"Gohan, why do you have a tail?"

"I think it's because Dad was a Saiyan. That's what everyone tells him anyway. So I guess that makes me one too." He shrugged. "I can change."

"Change?"

"Yeah. Into a giant monkey. You know, the big apes that run around with killer breath and destroy things. Only Saiyans can do that, and they need a tail. And for some reason, mine keeps growing back!" His tail twitched in annoyance. "I think I'll just keep it. Why bother cutting it off if there's no moon?"

King Kai was speechless. Gohan probably hadn't known there was other life in the universe two years ago, and he had pretty much summed up the anatomy of his father's side.

He reached for the hem of Gohan's shirt and was surprised to find the clothes were already weighed. "Where did you get these?"

"Princess Snake gave them to me before I left," Gohan replied, shrugging the top off. it fell to the ground with a thud. "Man. They're heavier than they felt." He also took off his hat and nearly fell again from the sheer weight difference. "Her and my mom have the same taste in clothes. Even though the hat doesn't have great-Grandpa's dragonball on it."

"Hmm." King Kai was thoughtful. "Then you don't need anything from me." He watched Gohan dig through the folds of the shirt. "What are you doing?"

Gohan triumphantly held up a bag. "They didn't get squished!" He sat down and pulled out a handful of chocolate-chip cookies. He noticed King Kai watching him and held out one. "Want some?" he asked through all the crumbs in his mouth.

"Where did you get them?" King Kai asked as he studied the treat.

"Princess Snake." He reached in for another, then offered one to a monkey that was sniffing around.

"No, Bubbles! Don't eat that!" King Kai snatched it away from his pet.

"Hey! If you wanted another one, you shoulda just asked. I have plenty," Gohan said strictly.

"There's sleepy grass in them though," King Kai argued, keeping the cookie out of reach. He sniffed one to make sure, then looked confused. "What? She didn't put sleepy grass in your food?"

"Whatever that is, probably not. She's my friend." Gohan grabbed his food back and gave it to Bubbles.

"Who knew?" King Kai wondered aloud. "Well, Gohan. As soon as you're done with that, I want you to put your clothes back on and get ready. Your training starts today."

"Really?" Gohan nearly knocked the man over in his enthusiasm. "You mean it?"

"Yes. Now hurry up." King Kai turned his back to make sure Bubbles wasn't affected by the candy. When he turned back Gohan was putting his hat back on, all traces of food gone. "I knew I should've stocked up after Goku left," King Kai moaned.

"I'm ready," Gohan announced, securing the hat so it wouldn't fall off.

"Well, you've already met your first partner. This exercise is to get you used to the gravity here. You'll need to catch Bubbles."

"Can we play tag?" Gohan asked hopefully.

"Sure. But you're it."

"Yeah! All right Bubbles. One... two... THREE!" Gohan dashed after the startled ape.

Bubbles ran, looking behind him, until he couldn't see Gohan anymore. He slowed down and plowed right into the boy. Gohan reached for him, but Bubbles motored away.

"Cool! He's got overdrive!" Gohan resumed the chase, catching him in a few minutes. "Tag, you're it!"

Bubbles was completely confused at the concept of this new game, but he did realize Gohan had caught him. But why was he running away now?

Gohan stopped a few feet away. "Hey. What's up? Why isn't he playing?"

"I think you have to teach him Gohan. He doesn't know how to play tag," King Kai suggested.

Gohan nodded. "Okay, now Bubbles," he said in a talking-to-little-kids voice. "This is easy. When I touch you, you have to catch me. Then we do it again." Bubbles didn't really understand him. He scratched his head and sat down. "Ah, he's no fun."

"Maybe your next partner will be better to play with," King Kai said, smiling. It was a nice change to have a young boy instead of a grown man. It was definitely more entertaining. King Kai whistled and shouted, "Gregory!" Gohan ducked his head in time to avoid getting hit by the little spot of light.

The cricket stopped about six inches in front of King Kai. "You called?"

"Yes. This is Gohan. Gohan, this is Gregory. He'll help you with the next exercise."

"Yup. You have to hit me on the noggin with that hammer."

"What hammer?" Gohan looked around. "Where?"

"Stay here and I'll get one." King Kai passed the one he gave Goku and went down a few more. This one wasn't the heaviest, but it wasn't behind by far. It was heavy, even for him, and he had to drag it out to his new student.

Sweating with the effort, King Kai dropped the handle with a gasp as it hit his foot. Gohan picked it up with ease. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," King Kai grunted. "Now, go Gregory."

The brown insect disappeared into a point of light. Gohan hefted the hammer onto his shoulder. "Where's the bug?" His hat slipped back, catching around his throat. Added with the weight of the hammer, Gohan toppled backward. "Oww," he groaned, picking himself up. He fixed his hat and scowled, looking much like Vegeta in that moment. "All right. Let's try this again."

King Kai yawned. "This might take a while. I think a nap is a good idea."

Gregory appeared in front of Gohan. "Giving up already, small fry?"

"No way. I just think I might hurt you." Gohan weighed the hammer in his hands. "This could bruise at the least."

"You won't even touch me," Gregory said. He felt a surge of déjå vu, then remembered he'd told that to pretty much everyone who'd come by.

"Whatever you say," Gohan said, putting the weapon on his shoulder. "Ready?"

"See ya," the cricket said before taking off again.

After a few minutes of chasing, Gohan plopped down under a tree and put his head on his hand. He used the handle of the hammer to write out his math equation. "Let's see, he's just as fast as I am, and he's three feet..." He drifted off as he figured it out. "Aha!"

"You understand this stuff?" It was Gregory, behind Gohan and looking over his work.

"Yeah. It's easy." Gohan tightened his grip and swung, hitting the unsuspecting Gregory squarely on the head. "You see, my mom wanted me to be a great scholar, so she taught me all kinds of stuff," he explained as he carried the unconscious cricket to King Kai. "I think he might need a band-aid when he wakes up," Gohan suggested, holding out his injured partner.

King Kai accepted Gregory, thinking. 'He's already so strong. How much can I do for him?' He got out of his chair, a little stunned at Gohan's obvious power. "Excuse me. I have to go to the Hall For Infinite Losers. Some arrangements need to be made."

============================================

Chi Chi collapsed into a chair, coffee in her hand. Usually she drank tea, but that wasn't strong enough for this. No one knew if a heart attack victim could be wished back. She stirred it carefully, paying close attention to what she was doing. But that didn't take her mind off her friend, or her son.

She sighed and sat back, eyes closed. She heard the door creak open, and she just thought, 'Not now Papa. I just want to be alone.' But the footsteps weren't that of the Ox King. They were too light and cautious.

Chi Chi rose from her seat. "Who's there?" she demanded, the fighter in her looking and listening carefully. "Come here."

Piccolo appeared silently in front of her, arms crossed. Chi Chi suppressed the urge to run and glared at him. "What do you want? I don't have anything and Goku's not here."

"I'm not here for a social visit with Goku," Piccolo sneered. "I have something from Gohan."

That didn't improve her opinion of him. "You're the monster who kidnapped my baby, aren't you?" She wasn't afraid of him anymore. Now she was pissed. "Now what do you want from this family? You killed my husband and stole my son."

"He's a warrior, not a baby," Piccolo snapped. "And I want nothing to do with you. It's only because Gohan asked me to come here that I did at all. Now do you want this or not, because I have better things to do."

"What did you do with Gohan?"

"Nothing. He's fine. Now answer me. Do you want this or not?" Piccolo was oblivious to the fact that she was just as brave as Gohan. Not to mention she was getting ready to kill him again.

"Yes," Chi Chi said hesitantly. Piccolo tossed the note on the table and waited for it to skid to a stop right in front of her.

"Everyone will be back soon. When they return, I'll be back for the dragonball." He swirled his cape around him and turned to leave. "And I think that there will be little protest from Goku."

"What do you mean by that?" Chi Chi demanded, but Piccolo was already gone. She clenched her fist. "If you've done one thing to him..." she threatened under her breath. Then she turned her attention to the folded price of paper on the table.

She picked it up with shaking hands. It was clearly Gohan's handwriting, and addressed to her. She carefully unfolded it, expecting the worst.



Hey Mom,

How ya doing? I'm fine. Don't worry about me. I'm sorry I didn't get to tell you I was going to King Kai's. I had to leave before I got the chance. I hope we can spend a lot of time together when I get back. You, me and Dad, all together again. It'll be great! Can't wait to see you again.

Love you Mom,
Gohan



Chi Chi shook her head. "I do worry Gohan. But I just want you home," she whispered.

The Ox King, well aware that his daughter was upset, stuck his head in the kitchen. "Hey Chi Chi."

She jumped. "Don't you people know how to knock!" Then she realized who she was yelling at. "Oh, hi Papa. Sorry about that."

"Who were you talking about?" He sat down across from her.

"Piccolo was here. He gave me a letter from Gohan." She handed him the note.

The Ox King was very confused. "Chi Chi! Piccolo was dead. How'd he get this?" Then he read it. "And King Kai was the trainer that Goku had when he died."

"WHAT!" Chi Chi's eyes snapped up. "What did you say?!"

'Oops,' the Ox King thought. "Now Chi Chi, calm down. Think about this."

"How can you ask me to calm down? All you people are telling me that Gohan is fine, and then I come to find out he's dead! That's NOT fine to me!"

"Well, when to think about it, if he's dead then nothing can hurt him." The look in his daughter's eyes made him regret that statement.

Chi Chi grabbed a frying pan off the counter, ignoring the hot grease that nearly splashed on her head. She waved it in his direction and was so angry she couldn't say anything.

The Ox King grabbed her wrists and held them until she gave up trying to fight him. After twenty minutes of having his hands clenched, it hurt to open them again.

Chi Chi went over to the viewscreen and started banging on it again. She heard a sizzling sound, then the screen went completely black.

"No way! You damn machine! Work!" She kicked the base of it and shouted some more.

"Do you know anyone who can fix it?"

"Papa," Chi Chi said with barely concealed annoyance. "The only person on Earth that can fix this is dead, and the other one if floating around somewhere in space!" She took deep breaths to try and keep herself under control, but it wasn't working. She felt like she was dealing with Goku. 'If he suggests using tape, I'll kill him.'

"Good point. Well, let's hope we can do this ourselves. You up for it?" Chi Chi's only reply was a groan.

============================================

Vegeta appeared in the alternate dimension. Goku stopped his attack, and Krillin looked behind him to see what was up.

"Vegeta? What are you doing here?"

"Getting rid of some snoopers," Vegeta grumbled back to the bald man. Goku's hair faded to black, and he stepped in front of his best friend.

"Well, if you told us what was going on with Bulma, we wouldn't have to snoop around. But if that's the only way to get information, then I'll do it."

Vegeta scowled. "You would've found out sooner or later. It's a goddamn ship! Living with someone for two months makes it kinda hard to keep a secret, don't you think?"

"Yeah, but how long has this been going on?"

"About two weeks."

Krillin looked up. "You've been able to stand each other for two weeks? And then get paly-walsy too?" It blew his mind. "I didn't think they had it in 'em."

Goku shook his head. "This is a little out of the ordinary."

"Goku, we've been off the map of weirdness since before we found out you were an alien. Anything supposedly normal is out of the ordinary for us. This is just plain strange."

"That isn't my fault," Goku said. "But this is getting out of hand. Vegeta, exactly what is wrong with Bulma?"

"What do you mean what wrong with Bulma? She's with him! Don't you mean what's NOT wrong with her?"

Goku slapped Krillin on the back of the head. "How dense ARE you? They're not together!"

"How can you tell?"

"I've only known her since I was seven. Believe me. They're NOT an item."

Vegeta was utterly confused by the conversation. "Whatever. Anyway Kakorrot, her father died."

Once Krillin recovered enough to speak, he said, "And why did she tell YOU? I mean, she HATES you."

"Well, apparently she doesn't as much as you think. But I couldn't sleep when she kept whining, so when I told her to shut up, she yelled at me saying she had a good reason. I don't get it. I never even knew my father. What's all the fuss about?'

"That's the point. She was close to her father. She knew him almost better than he knew himself," Krillin began defensively. Goku took over Krillin's speech and quickly explained Bulma's relationship with the famous scientist. When he finished, Vegeta had an idea of what he was feeling. Thankful for that, he smiled inwardly.

"I need to talk to you later Kakorrot. Alone." Vegeta vanished from the training ground.

"What was that all about?" Krillin asked once he was gone.

"I have no idea. I think hanging around Bulma's warped his mind."

"It would warp anyone's mind. Vegeta's no different in that class."

"True, but I need to talk to both of them later. Come on. Let's get back to training."

They didn't get the chance. A violent rock of the ship brought them both crashing back into their bodies, which weren't where they'd left them.

Goku painfully opened his eyes and looked around. Vegeta was against the far wall, and Bulma was streaked in red and holding desperately onto the controls. Krillin was on his head against another wall, and attempting to straighten. Goku pushed himself up and stumbled over to Bulma.

The cut on her forehead wasn't good. She pushed her hair back out of her face and touched bone. She ignore the nausea that ran through her and shivered at the feeling. "This is not a good thing."

"Bulma, are you okay?" Goku was holding into the seat with a death grip to keep himself from being tossed around like a rag doll.

"Good enough to get us out of this alive, but I need some help," Bulma replied, getting around what looked like a boulder, only twenty times bigger.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Get Vegeta and Krillin over here now," she ordered, barely making it around another one.

Goku floated just above the floor as it bucked under him, another impact sending the ship into yet more asteroids. Vegeta and Krillin had figured this out and stayed put while the ship rocked back and forth. Bulma took another hard blow to the head, but set her jaw and tried to focus her fading sight on the rocks.

"Guys! Come here! I think we have a problem!"

Krillin obeyed instantly, and Vegeta did after another meteor hit the window. "Bulma?" Krillin asked, looking at her. Her face was a mess: her blue hair stained red and she was squinting.

"Krillin, Goku, go to the closet and get out the space suits. Vegeta, I need you with me." The boys didn't hesitate. Goku raced for the suits while Vegeta hovered by her side. "Now. Go to the weapons. I need you to blow up any of the smaller rocks that might get in my way, and protect the guys. They're going out on the roof and give us some extra power. I think I can get us out of this if you do it right."

Goku was finishing getting suited up. He poked himself in the eye with a microphone inside his helmet. "What's this?'

"That's so we can talk while you're outside."

Krillin put his helmet on a little more carefully. "So, what do we do?"

============================================

"I can't believe I'm trusting those morons," Bulma muttered as she collapsed into the seat. "Or him."

Vegeta resisted growling at her. The blows to her head hadn't affected her attitude too much. He glared at her before he turned her attention to the controls.

"So, what did you want us to do again?" That was Goku over the loudspeaker next to Bulma. She nearly jumped out of her skin at the unexpected sound.

"Just hold on for a few minutes," Bulma snarled, getting between two extremely large asteroids. "I'll tell you in a minute."

Vegeta got rid of some others that were threatening to float their way. He had to admit he was impressed. Bulma had to be in a lot of pain, probably half blind and definitely a little ticked by Goku's stupidity in a serious situation, yet she was totally in control of herself. And them for the time being.

"But I'm bored out here."

"I don't care!" Another meteor was avoided then blown to dust. "Deal with it. You won't be when we get into the meteor shower."

Silence, then, "I am stuck on Band-aid brand 'cause germs don't stick on me."

"What's he doing?" Vegeta wondered aloud.

"He's being an idiot," Bulma replied. "Goku! Shut up! I can't concentrate."

"Who needs to concentrate?"

"Someone with a brain. Krillin, why can't you shut him up?" Bulma rolled her eyes and regretted it. Her head hurt beyond imagination, and Goku's so-called "singing" was NOT helping at all.

"Have you tried when you're stuck under what looks like a brick the size of Manhattan?" Krillin finally got that sentence out between grunts and groans.

"I'm not even going to ask." Bulma finally stopped the ship in what seemed like a clear space. She sighed and sat back, nursing the side of her head that wasn't cut open. "You didn't happen to bring any Tylenol with you, did you Goku?"

"I don't think so, but whatever that is, I'm sure I have something better."

Bulma barely resisted hitting herself on the forehead in a "duh" movement. "So, what DO you have?"

"You know that bag next to my clothes? There's a senzu bean in it. Break it in half and eat it."

Bulma came alive at the mention on Korin's magic beans. "You brought them with you?"

"Of course. I was training in 100 times gravity, then I fought the strongest guy in the universe. Who wouldn't bring them with him?"

"Goku, sometimes you amaze me. You're so stupid when it comes to anything ordinary, but when something completely strange pops up, you're ready for it." She stood and took a step, then a wave of dizziness hit and she fell back into the chair. "Perfect."

Vegeta glanced at her. "What are you doing woman?"

"Don't even start that again. Get me the little bag by Goku's clothes." He looked at her blankly, and she closed her eyes. With much effort she added, "Please." He didn't move, or even blink. "Dammit Vegeta, get the bag!"

He shook his head like he was coming out of a trance. "You say something?"

Bulma tried to scream but was too tired. "Vegeta. Get that stupid, goddamn bag from over by Goku's stuff before I do it myself, then KILL you."

Again he just looked at her. "What are you talking about?"

"I swear Vegeta, once I am able to get up I'll make hell sound like a nice place to live!"

"What's hell?'

"I feel like I'm dealing with Goku here," she said as she rolled off the seat and steadied herself on hands and knees. "You're both so damn stupid. It must be the Saiyan blood or something. But at least Goku knows how to follow an order."

Vegeta didn't like being compared to Goku, so he tossed the bag at her feet. "Happy now?"

"I will be as soon as I eat this." She did as Goku had told her and popped half of it in her mouth. She never realized why the fighters looked forward to the senzu so much until now. She not only felt better, she could see and the pain felt less. "All right!"

If Vegeta hadn't experienced the power in the beans himself, he wouldn't've been astounded at the change in her. Now she sat back and started up the engines again. Vegeta shrugged and took ahold of the weapon's controls.

"Goku? Krillin? Get ready. Once we get in the meteor field, we'll need extra power from you guys. I don't care how you do it, get us out of there when I say." Bulma kept her eyes glued to the window. "Vegeta, you'll have keep an extra eye out. I'll do my best to get around them, but you might have to do some quick shooting. Got that?"

"Yeah, sure," Goku said. "But I'm still bored."

"How about helping Krillin?" Bulma suggested sardonically. "He's been moaning and groaning for the past ten minutes. How about giving him a hand?"

"He's got two of his own."

Bulma growled and fought to keep herself under control before she killed someone, or blew up the ship. "Goku, that's like asking to help him."

"O," Goku drawled. "I always wondered what that meant. Yeah, sure."

Bulma rolled her eyes, this time without pain. "I don't belive I'm using him to help save my life."

"YOUR life! What the hell are you worried about? I'm the one out here with him!" Krillin sputtered. Bulma figured he'd gotten whatever it was off of him.

"Are you okay Krillin?" Bulma asked patiently.

"No thanks to any of you people. But fine." He dusted himself off and growled at Goku, then grinned. "But I think it's past Goku's bedtime."

Bulma jumped out of her chair, almost fast enough for Vegeta to miss. "Krillin, don't even think about it!" she screamed into the speaker. "Unless you want to kill us!" Then she thought about what she just said. "Forget that. That's just a motive. Don't do it!"

"All right," Krillin said dejectedly. "I promise."

Bulma sat back down, on the alert for both Krillin's voice and the chunks flying past.

"What was he going to do?" Vegeta's eyes strayed from the lasers to Bulma.

"He was going to sing Goku to sleep. It would be a little harder now than when he was 7 years old, but it would work." Bulma ground her teeth and asked the boys above, "Are you guys ready?"

Then she stopped. Blinked. Shook her head and turned around to see Vegeta was still in his spot, hands ready for a lighting-fast reflex.

"Goku, what are you doing in here?! This is getting dangerous!" Bulma couldn't see him, but if Vegeta was where he belonged, then the breathing behind her could only come from Goku.

"I had to go to the bathroom?" he suggested meekly.

"Right. You can go AFTER we do this. OKAY?"

"But I have to go."

Bulma rolled her eyes. "Goku, get up there, now. Before I have to pull out my secret weapon, and I know you won't like it." Her hand balled around something she had hidden in her palm.

"But I really have to go!" Goku whined in protest.

"You asked for it." Bulma jabbed it at him, stopping a few inches from his shoulder. His eyes widened and he suddenly wasn't so interested in going to the bathroom. He was running for his life instead.

"What was that anyway?" Vegeta couldn't help wondering what could scare that fighter.

Bulma tossed the needle up in the air and caught it like it was a Dino Cap. Then she showed it to Vegeta and grinned. "Works like a charm. If everything else fails..." She flipped it to him and gave him a mock salute. "Now that we got that out of the way, let's get ready to rock and roll." How true her words were.

"So, how'd you convince her to let you go?" Krillin asked with a hint of humor showing in his voice.

"I didn't," Goku groaned. "Man, I gotta GO! Like yesterday. Can we hurry this up?"

"All right guys. Which way are you facing?"

"Huh?" Goku, obviously.

"Why is it NOW that he has to bring out all the stupidity he's been hiding for years?" Bulma groaned to herself. "Krillin? Which way?"

"Toward the engines. Why? I thought that was the right way."

"For once you ARE right. But I want you turn around for a second and see what we're getting into."

Krillin obeyed, grabbed Goku's waist and spun him around. "Holy...." they both began, but couldn't finish. Goku kept a firm grip on the handholds they'd dug out earlier and looked at the flying rocks.

"Good, now, imagine what one of those could do if you mess up," Bulma ordered. She could hear their gulps at that image. "All right. Now, when I say, give us an extra boost somehow, straight out from where the engines are. They should be a little off center, to the left I think. Yeah, to the left."

"Your OTHER left, Goku," Krillin told his alien best friend. Bulma groaned again and let her head drop onto the "dashboard" in front of her. She ignored the pain that coursed through her head and neck, then sat up. "That's right. Now just wait."

"Here we go. Everyone be on alert," Bulma said as she fired up the engines to half power. "And now... ignition!" She braced herself for the acceleration, but it wasn't as fast as before. "Great. We're losing power."

"Hmm?" Vegeta looked up for a minute at the comment and an outraged cry from above made his sensitive ears hurt.

"Damn, Vegeta! How about paying attention!" Vegeta looked back and saw a Destructo Disc carving through a meteor, then through a few more. "I can't keep stuff out of the engines AND do your job for you!"

"How's there stuff in the engines? They're inside!" Bulma gave a quick glance to the printouts, having to look at them repeatedly while constantly going around, under, and sometimes even through chunks of iron and metal flying around at nearly the speed of sound.

"There's still a giant hole where you were fixing them back on Namek," Krillin observed. "There's all kind of shit mixed up down there."

"Well then get it out nimrod!" Bulma cast her eyes upward and barely missed another potential danger to the ship. "This isn't good."

"No kidding. Two are already down." That was, surprisingly, Goku. "It won't do any good to go down there now. They're already too far gone."

"How the hell can you tell from there?" Bulma demanded, momentarily forgetting that he was a Saiyan. "Never mind," she said once common sense came back to her. "But how is this thing going with two engines down? And where did Goku learn to tell?"

"I learned how to turn on the TV," Goku said a little smugly. "But how can you be making fun of me and still driving this thing?"

"Goku, I'm sorry to tell you, but making fun of you is like breathing. It's nothing at all. But how long do you think we've got with the last one?"

"Almost out," Krillin reported. "Then what?"

"I'm putting it to full power. When we get out of this, I can always land and fix them AGAIN. But I'll need you guys to get it moving. I don't care how, just do it in two minutes." Bulma calculated in her head from what Krillin was now relaying to her. "Even Goku can tell time. This should work."

Even though this was nothing like a battle, Vegeta felt his pulse getting faster and he wore his trademark smirk. This was exciting, even if the opponents weren't alive. They had to be outsmarted and shot down, the latter something Vegeta enjoyed very much.

Bulma steeled herself as another asteroid bounced off the side of the ship. "Ready guys?"

"As I'll ever be," came Krillin's muttered reply.

"All right. Now!" Bulma cut the power and gripped the seat harder to concentrate. Instead of narrowing her eyes against the pain in her head, she opened them wider to see, shouting out directions at the alien vessel. Vegeta was busy shooting at lightning speed, and Bulma was thankful that she put a Saiyan at the weapons. His quick response and love of shooting things probably saved their lives through this.

Vegeta could hear Krillin tiring out as the ship powered through the meteor shower. "Come on cueball," he urged under his breath. He hadn't heard Goku join in yet and was wondering what could be taking so long.

"There's a planet up there," Bulma said between instructions. "We can land there if you hurry it up."

"You take over Goku," Krillin said. There was a thump of the roof, like Krillin had collapsed.

Vegeta straightened sharply. He could feel Goku's ki skyrocket off the charts as he powered up. Vegeta braced himself for the acceleration, and Bulma's death grip on the seat made her already prepared. The ship reared like it got kicked and shot off, Bulma barely able to direct it. Vegeta was having trouble shooting down things; as soon as he saw them, they were behind. He mumbled something under his breath and took his hands from the controls.

When the ship finally stopped, Bulma couldn't release the chair and was reduced to asking Vegeta for help. He couldn't do much for her because at the sudden stop, he went careening through the air to land on the door that had separated from Bulma's room. Krillin eased himself back into the ship while Goku just fell in through a hole in the ceiling.

Vegeta picked himself slightly off the floor and dragged his limp body over to the part of the door still attached to the wall to pull himself up. Krillin went to help Bulma, who was squirming when she could scratch an itch because her hands were still out of service. Goku just laid on the floor and made no attempt to move. He only wore a content smile and let his head drop back so it was resting on his arm.

"Jeez Bulma. I think we need an extra-strength crowbar to get your hands off here," Krillin grunted as he tugged at her fingers. "Plus Vegeta."

At his name the warrior looked up and snarled, one leg bent unnaturally under him. He limped over to Bulma and held out his hand. "For you," he said with such sarcasm and sugary sweetness it could be poured over pancakes.

Krillin hesitantly took the remaining half of the senzu bean and brought it to within an inch's distance of Bulma's mouth. He tried to force his hand farther, but it wouldn't. He even pushed it with his other hand, but no go. Vegeta rolled his eyes and snatched it from the bald man. He popped it in Bulma's mouth and hurridly wiped his gloves on his pants.

Bulma could instantly free her hands and flexed blood back into them. "Was that so hard? HE could do it," Bulma snarled once she was out of the seat.

"I- I- I dunno." Krillin shrugged. "I couldn't do it."

Bulma's steel-toed boots connected with the monk's shin. Krillin circled the room, howling, in a demented dance of pain.

"Man, where'd she get to be so violent?" Krillin muttered as he rubbed his leg. "Neither of her parents are like that."

"Hel-lo! I spent most of my time with you and Goku when I was growing up!"

"That's not an excuse. The fist time you met Goku you tried to shoot him!"

"Mmm," Goku agreed drowsily. "Little ouchies."

Bulma ignored his reminiscing and turned to Krillin. Before she could say anything, Vegeta asked, "You tried to SHOOT a Saiyan?"

"Well he was attacking me!" Bulma flung up her hands in frustration. "And we didn't exactly KNOW he was a Saiyan. I just thought he was a weird little kid with a lot of strength and a tail."

"I wasn't attacking you, Bulma. I was attacking the monster that tried to steal my fish."

Bulma growled and flipped Goku over. "Shut up!"

"Ow," Goku said with no feeling behind the word. "I was comfortable."

Krillin raised an eyebrow. His best friend had been half on his head in a weird situp. He doubted Goku was comfortable like that, but then again, it WAS Goku. He could sleep anywhere, under almost any condition.

"O, well. Now that we're out of there, I'm free to kick your ass."

"After I go to the bathroom," Goku muttered back, sitting up. "What are you so mad about anyway?"

"Well, first off you almost KILLED me you moron!" Bulma snapped. She felt a little woozy and sat down, still yelling at him. She put a hand to her head and found that though the injury didn't hurt, it was still there. Finally she quieted and slowly stood, looking for a hand-held mirror.

"You should get that looked at," Krillin advised as he watched Goku retreat to the bathroom.

"No shit Sherlock. Which is WHY I'm looking for a mirror. So I can fix it."

"You're not a doctor." Krillin was thinking the very same thing, but it was Vegeta who said it. He rubbed his forearm where it had been hit and she'd helped "fix" it for emphasis.

Bulma met him glare for glare. "Maybe not a CERTIFIED doctor, but who the hell else is gonna mend you guys? I've been hanging around these two since I was thirteen, so I've had lots of practice!"

"How old are you now?"

"Vegeta, the first thing about Earth women I'm going to teach you is NEVER ask their age or their weight."

"Why not? It's just something for me to know."

Bulma restrained herself from strangling the Saiyan. She smiled cooly and almost calmly. "You'll find out when we get there."

"Vegeta, if you really wanna know..." Krillin dodged Bulma's fist and caught it on the backswing. For one of the only times in his life he used his strength against her and kept a firm grip on her wrists. "AS I was saying, before I was so RUDELY interrupted, Bulma was 13 when she met Goku, and then he was 7." He shrugged at Bulma's shocked face. "I don't feel like doing the math right now." He turned back to Vegeta. "And now Goku is 28."

"You don't know for sure that he was 7!" Bulma said when she was released. "That's what his grandfather told him, and the guy was a crazy old coot!"

Vegeta was writing numbers in the air with his fingers. "Well, right after he was born...about a year..." He muttered a little more and added something else. "Well he WAS 7 when you found him," Vegeta announced. "Now, about your age..."

Bulma shook her fist at Krillin. "O, you better watch it tiny man! I'll kill you!"

Krillin flexed his fingers and grinned. "Don't count on it. Remember I can always hold you back."

Bulma got in his face and leaned over. "Then. Why Haven't. You," she hissed menacingly.

Krillin didn't back down. "I didn't want to hurt you," he said plainly.

"Hurt me? You thought you were going to hurt me?! O, no! This is almost funny. The little lamb thinks he's a lion!" She held in a laugh as Krillin tried to stare her down. He'd gone too far to quit now.

Goku came back to find his two best friends having it out. 'What's gotten into Krillin?' he wondered as the short man matched Bulma insult for insult. 'I think hanging around her even gave him an advantage. He knows everything she usually does. She's totally not ready for this.' Bulma was getting mad as she found herself running out of rude comments and worse jokes while Krillin rambled on like he was just getting warmed up. Which he probably was.

"Krillin, did you EVER have hair?" Bulma finally demanded. When Krillin nodded, she asked, "Then what color was it?"

Krillin was speechless for a second. As soon as he'd grown a full head of hair, he'd had to shave it. He could see the growing laughter on Bulma's face and he plucked a hair from his eyebrow and held it up for inspection. "Black," he finally answered.

"I'll remember that when I deliver your toupee."

"Well, since you just told me what my Christmas present is, I guess I don't need to hide the wrinkle cream anymore." He clapped his hand over his mouth in mock shock. "Oh, did I just let that slip? Sorry. I knew you wanted it to be a surprise."

Goku moved in front of Bulma before she could do anything too stupid. By the time he got there, though, she was already moving and banged into him. Goku stumbled back against the wall, dazed. Krillin's eyes widened as a gun appeared from apparently nowhere and shoved in his face. That wasn't what made him pay attention. As Chi Chi had learned to power up, Bulma had also apparently mastered the skill. It wasn't visible, but what had been barely there before shot up to hover a little under his own.

'Guess she learned something from us after all,' Krillin thought as the gun cocked.

"Say that again," Bulma seethed. Krillin gulped and felt for something behind his back.

"Why? You heard it the first time," he said, hand closing around what he'd been searching for. "But if you insist, I got you wrinkle cream." Then he ducked and struck with the hand behind his back, the missing sink pipe knocking the gun from her hand.

Vegeta was lost between looking shocked or smug. "Do you need the wrinkle cream at 34?" he asked pleasantly. Meanwhile, he was thinking, 'They were right. If I didn't know better I would've thought she was a low-class Saiyan.' At that he glared at Goku, who immediately went whiter than a sheet.

Goku reached over and tapped Bulma on the shoulder. She turned around in a "What?" position, but her eyes followed his pointing finger to Vegeta. It was then the Saiyan prince realized that they weren't looking AT him. They were staring PAST him.