Goku flew home, guided by his ki-sensing abilities. He could sense the high ki powers of his friend Vegeta and Vegeta's son Trunks. He could tell Piccolo wasn't far off. He could sense the ki of his younger son Goten, and the overwhelming ki of his older son Gohan. Bingo. However, as he prepared to fly toward Gohan, he stopped in midair. There was some kind of commotion going on in the streets below. Goku flew down to investigate.
There was a robbery in progress. Two thugs in ski masks had taken two bank customers hostage, and refused to let them go until they received all the money in the bank. Police had sealed off the area, and there was a crowd of civilians trying to get a closer look. Goku walked up to a police officer and asked what was going on.
"I don't have time to answer your questions! I'm sorry, but this is very important!"
Goku expected as much. He prepared to jump into the fray and rescue the hostages, but someone beat him to it: a fourteen-year-old girl. The criminals were shocked, but quickly got over it and fired. The girl caught every bullet: slow enough for Goku to watch easily, but fast enough for the crowd to wonder what was going on. The girl ran over to the criminals and administered a kick to the head of the first, which sent him flying into the wall of the bank. The second man prepared to bash her head with his gun, but she flew--yes, flew into the air and landed with a punch to the gut. The second criminal collapsed onto the ground in pain.
The girl looked at the hostages, smiled, and said "You're safe now!" They nodded nervously. When she smiled, Goku saw that she looked so much like his wife Chi-chi.
The police didn't know what had happened. They saw the two criminals on the ground, the two hostages running back to their homes, and a young girl standing triumphantly in the middle of it all. She smiled, waved, and flew off. Goku followed her.
He caught her easily; he was much faster than her. "Hey, Pan?" he called. She turned around.
"Yes...?" Then she stopped. A big grin crossed her face. "Grampa! Is it really you?"
"Yeah! I'm coming back to visit! Wow, you've sure changed a lot in the last few months. I almost didn't recognize you at first! Good job back there!"
"Thanks! I've been doing it for a while now. Mom and Dad say I shouldn't, but I can't help it, it's just so much fun!"
"I know what you mean. So are you going home now? I was headed to your house before."
"Yeah, I am. Let's fly there together!"
Goku and Pan flew toward the house of Son Gohan and his wife Videl. On the way there they told stories about what had happened to them since they last saw each other. Goku left out the most recent events; he didn't know quite how he was going to break that to his family.
After a nice visit with his son's family, Goku took Gohan aside and told him about the Black Star Dragonballs.
"I'm leaving as soon as Bulma can get me the right equipment," he told him. "Do you want to come with me?" Gohan looked a little disappointed.
"Sorry, Dad, I can't. I can't leave my work for that long, or I'll miss out on some of the most important scientific experiments of our time. Plus, Videl and Pan wouldn't like it."
Goku frowned. "OK, I understand," he said. "Hey, why don't I ask Goten! He doesn't have a job, right?"
"No," Gohan said. "And Mom's not very happy with him either. It might be good to get him out of the house for a while."
Goku smiled. "OK!" he said. "Speaking of your mom, I think that'll be my next stop! So long, Gohan! I'll see you soon. Say goodbye to Videl and Pan for me!" He flew off toward his own house.
When he told Chi-chi, she let out a shriek louder than the one Pilaf had let out earlier. "You're going again?" she wailed. "I swear, Goku, you never stay put!"
"I know, I know!" said Goku, trying to calm her down. "But this one wasn't even my fault! I was planning to stay this time, I really was!"
Chi-chi sniffed. "All right, but take Goten with you. He needs to find something to do!"
"So I've heard," said Goku. "I need to visit Bulma and ask her to get me a ship and a new Dragon Radar. I'll come back as soon as I tell her. I'm sure I won't really leave for a month or so."
He flew off toward Capsule Corporation, and found Bulma there, working with Trunks. She had recently retired as president of the company and given the position to Trunks, but she still couldn't bring herself to stop working. Goku explained the situation, and Bulma was ecstatic.
"Yay!" she cried. "I'm so excited to be working on this type of thing again! I'll get right on it, Goku!"
"I'll help!" called Trunks. "In fact, I may even come along on this trip. Sounds interesting."
"Hmm, maybe." said Goku. "I guess I should figure out who I'm taking along…sure, you can come along, Trunks! I'll tell Goten, he'll be excited!"
"Oh?" said a gruff voice. "And where is my son going?"
Vegeta entered the room. Goku could tell he had been training: there was a powerful ki signal around him, and Vegeta was making no effort to disguise it. "You haven't shown your face here in some time, Kakarot. You haven't changed."
"Neither have you, Vegeta! I was afraid you'd have a weird haircut, or a mustache or something."
"Idiot! You know as well as I do that a pure-blooded Saiyan can't grow hair. But if you'll recall, Kakarot, I asked you a question. Why are you back, and what does Trunks have to do with it?"
Goku told him. Vegeta listened, then said, "And so you're taking our sons on a trip across the galaxy, just so you can recover some useless baubles you're perfectly capable of finding yourself?"
"It's not that simple, Vegeta. We need more than one person to man the ship. Besides, Goten and Trunks want to come! And I think Uub may join us."
"Uub? You mean that second-rate edition of Majin Buu? Well, let him come. Let me know how you do saving the planet again."
In the coming month, Bulma and Trunks completed a spaceship capable of moving at incalculable speeds, as well as an improved Dragon Radar. This one was matched to the frequency of the Black Star Dragonballs, and could find them from huge distances. Goku visited all of his other friends: Krillin, Master Roshi, Yamcha, and Hercule. When the day came for Goku, Goten, Trunks and Uub to depart, everyone came out to say goodbye.
"See you soon, Trunks!" called Bulma. Vegeta smirked. Their daughter Bra hugged her brother. Everyone said their goodbyes, and the four of them boarded the spaceship. Gohan pulled Pan back as she attempted to sneak aboard. As the ship disappeared into space, Chi-chi sighed. "They'd better come back alive," she muttered."