Authors note: Hey, guys, early chapter this week since I had some extra time to finish editing ahead of schedule. Please review, I'd love to hear your feedback.
Chapter 7
King Kai's planet
"Many years ago, Namek was threatened." King Kai spoke from his planet. "Not by aliens or magic, but just by nature. A great cataclysm was unleashed on the planet, and nearly everyone died. They are recovering slowly, but their population is low, only 108 Namekians live. No more."
"Is that why Kami and Piccolo were sent to Earth?" Goku asked from his hospital bed.
"No. Kami and Piccolo did not exist. There was another Namekian, whose name is forgotten to the ages, that fled the planet. I believe one of three Namekians who were still alive. This Namekian came to Earth. He survived and found his way to the Lookout. He was going to become Guardian, but he wasn't pure of heart." King Kai recalled what he had found out during his research of the past of Kami.
"He split himself into two: Kami and Piccolo's former self/father, King Piccolo." Goku finished King Kai's story.
Gohan actively listened. He had gotten to know Piccolo, but he didn't know this much. How could he if Piccolo didn't even know?
"Correct." King Kai continued. "There are two types of Namekians, and Kami is of the type that can create Dragon Balls. A majority of still living Namekians are this type. I can't reach out to them myself, but I know for a fact they have Dragon Balls."
"Hey, that's great!" Goku stopped himself from punching the air, not wanting to ruin his bandages again. "We can go there, and wish everyone back."
"It's not quite that simple." King Kai shrugged. "You won't be the only ones looking for the Dragon Balls."
"That's okay, we usually aren't alone." Goku interrupted. "I mean, we beat the Saiyans, so I think we should be fine."
"No, you cannot." King Kai sighed. "Vegeta was powerful, yes, one of the strongest warriors in the universe, at least in the top 1,000, but he is nothing compared Frieza."
"Who's Frieza?" Gohan asked.
"Frieza is… well… he's not the most evil being ever to exist, but he's one of them. He and his empire are the ones that had the Saiyans going out and capturing planets, so he could either sell them off or strip them for resources for his war machine. His power, on the low end, easily eclipse Vegeta's, able to strike down Vegeta in a single blow, even when maxed out in his Oozaru form."
"Wow! Bulma told me the guy was powerful, but that just seems… incredible." Goku's tail would have been swinging back and forth if he still had one.
"It took you a year to increase to Vegeta's level. You cannot get to Frieza's, not in your lifetime. Frieza is on his way to Namek, he'll be seeking the Dragon Balls, you must avoid him. Promise me, Goku, promise me you'll do everything you can to avoid Frieza."
"Do I have to?" Goku flexed his hand in its wrappings. 'I hate to think it, but how could King Kai stop me?'
"Yes, you do!" King Kai roared, terrified at the very idea of Goku facing such a foe.
"Fine, I promise." Goku quickly crossed his fingers. He ripped the bandages, but he should be out of here soon enough anyway.
"Thanks, Dad." Gohan smiled towards Goku.
"What for?" Goku smiled back.
"For taking this seriously. I know you love to fight, but it sounds like this will be pretty difficult, and we can't lose focus. I appreciate this." Gohan was slightly nervous, scared of the unknown, and was glad to know his father had his priorities in order.
"We?" Goku questioned his son, but his voice was lost under King Kai's excitement at a sensible warrior existing.
Before Goku could ask again, a knock came from the door. Goku looked to the door. "Come in."
A nurse came in, followed by a shy-looking Yajirobe.
"Good morning, Son Goku and Son Gohan. You have a visitor today." The nurse indicated the swordsman as she approached Goku's bed to pick up Goku's chart. "How are you this morning?"
"Hey, Yajirobe!" Goku turned to the nurse. "I'm doing well, thanks. How much longer until I can leave?"
Yajirobe acknowledged Goku, and went to Gohan. Turning his back to Goku, Yajirobe chuckled as he brought out a sack of beans.
"Well, depending on your blood work, you could be out of here pretty quickly." The nurse glanced at the machines around Goku's bed and took some notes before replacing her pen with a needle. "Okay, do you have a preference on where I draw from?"
Goku, seeing the needle, went rigid. "Y-Y-Yeah, take Gohan's blood! He's young! His blood work will come back great!" Goku couldn't see his son behind Yajirobe, but he saw the man's shoulders bobbing. "Yajirobe? Do you have the beans? If so, now's the time to share! Come on, don't hold out on me!"
"While beans are good for you, you'll need more than that. Right arm it is." The nurse found an open portion of skin on Goku's arm and wiped it with alcohol swab. "You may feel a small pinch."
Gohan wasn't sure what was going on, but Yajirobe shuffled the bag of beans, and Gohan put two and two together and tried not to smile. 'You're evil.'
Goku began to beg the nurse, but she just told him to be a good influence on his boy and began the blood draw. Goku's scream nearly caused the nurse to miss the vein, but thankfully she got the blood she needed.
"Dad, you have had holes punched right through you with energy and you may have yelped, at most. A needle comes near you, and you scream? I don't get it." Gohan shook his head. "So, Yajirobe, do you have any beans for us?"
The nurse complimented Goku on his son's imagination, and bravery, before leaving with promises of information later in the day.
Yajirobe pretended to pat his pockets.
"Yup, here they are." He held the sack over his shoulder, pulling a bean out of the sack he handed it to the boy. "You're first, Gohan."
Goku's eyes bulged out of his skull. "You had those in your hand, and you let that lady stab me!?"
"Neah, I forgot what pocket they were in, and couldn't find them in time. Sorry, Goku." Yajirobe chuckled as he brought a bean to Goku.
"Uh-huh, sure." Goku opened his mouth, and Yajirobe through the bean in.
As Goku felt his energy rapidly recharge, it smashed through his previous limits, mending his bones, muscles, and tendons back together as good as new. Igniting his aura, the bandages around his body shredded and flew off him. A few quick air punches later had Gohan taking his bean as well.
This wasn't Gohan's first time taking the bean, but the impact was much greater this time around. Previously he had used it to recover energy, but this time it finished off his healing, and put him in peek condition immediately.
"I've got a lot more where that came from, and I was going to give one to Tien as well. Where is he?" Yajirobe threw the bag of beans to Goku.
"He's over at Capsule Corp. Aside from his arm, his injuries weren't horrible, so they were able to continue his treatment there while working on some kind of arm Bulma was talking about."
Goku threw punches around the bag, using the force of his blows to keep it in the air, and circling around it to keep it from being thrown off in any one direction.
Capsule Corp
Under the grounds of Capsule Corp, Tien and a pair of scientists, one wearing a prototype CC scouter, occupied a large domed room, plated in metal. A mirror-covered globe hung from the ceiling by a fixed rod which slowly rotated and pivoted.
Tien stood directly under the globe, and the scientists were in a raised booth off to the side.
"The light will launch sometime in the next 30 seconds. Whichever panel it hits, shoot." one of the scientists said while he pressed a button.
Tien kept his right hand tucked behind his back, holding his left, slightly off in color, arm in front of him. Counting the seconds down, Tien waited for his target. When he had counted down to twelve, a light projected out of the base of the dome, striking the swinging ball and causing the light to reflect in an array over a small portion of the dome. A moment later, Tien adjusted his position and fired a Dodon Ray at the wall. A dent appeared where his shot hit the plate of metal, perfectly round, as if a tennis ball was thrown into soft clay.
Tapping his scouter, the second scientist eyed the first. "I see his energy, but that attack didn't show up."
"Keep watching." The first scientist rotated a knob on his controls, causing more lights to shoot at the mirror ball, and Tien to launch several more Dodon Rays.
Tien had good reflexes, but the light was a little too quick for him. If the lights weren't moving slowly after being projected, he'd likely never have a chance to hit them. As it was though, he was quickly potholing a majority of the room.
A few moments later, the scientist dropped the lights back to zero and gave instructions. "Tien, please use your right hand for the next round. Starting within 30 seconds."
This time around, Tien shifted his left arm behind his back, and drew his right hand forward. Counting backwards, he hit twenty when the first light shined. Quickly responding, Tien drilled a hole through the first targeted plate, followed by several more. As the Dodon Rays flew, the scouter began lighting up as well, registering each shot as a powerful attack.
"That's enough." The scientist stopped the lights once more. "What are your thoughts now, Tien?"
"Well, it's good, better than I ever could have hoped." Tien formed a fist in each hand, feeling his nails touch his skin in one hand, and nothing more than force feedback from the other. "The arm still isn't nearly as strong as me, but at the same point it doesn't seem to cost me any energy to use it, and I can't sense its attacks either. As long as it holds up in combat, I think it'll be a great asset now."
"The micro generators are working pretty well now, so they should be able to produce all the energy you can use." Leaving the raised booth he touched Tien's left arm. "As for power, it uses general motion to charge up. We have a few ideas, such as converting it to draw energy from the energies around it, but we're not there yet."
"Does that mean it would be able to match me for power?" Tien asked.
"Yes, maybe. We're having storage issues though. Right now, this is its base line and when we get it tuned up, it will still be at this level most of the time. But when you power up beyond your suppressed energy, it should match."
"So, even when suppressed, I'll have this energy available?" Tien looked at his arm with renewed interest.
"As of now, yes. No promises for the future, since this is still a work in progress, but that is the goal." Walking back to the control station the scientist asked his partner if he had any more tests.
"We've seen both types of energies now. What if you combine the two? Do you have any attacks that require both hands?"
"Yes, I do. Do you want me to try it?" Tien tried to figure out what would happen if he mixed his ki with the synthetic energy, and his life force.
"Yes, please." The scientist prepared his light once more. "30 seconds."
Tien formed a triangle with his hands in front of his third eye, head on a swivel. He saw the lighting shift slightly, the light was behind him. Rotating and powering up, he prepared his blast. "Tri beam."
The small lit circle was lost in a flood of external light. A pair of doors slid open, and Tien barely caught himself before launching the attack directly over Bulma's head.
"Oh hey, Tien." Bulma waved, not realizing how close to being vaporized she had come. Then again, she could have known, but with the craziness her world has become, she may have been welcoming the embrace of endless sleep.
Tien lowered his hand, feeling the energy from the attack flood back into his system from both sides.
Bulma took in the room. A ring of small lights along the floor were pointing mostly at each other, instead of at the disco ball like they should. The reinforced panels that were polished to a mirror finish were mostly cratered like the moon, however some were close to falling off the dome entirely.
"When I said you could use the party room, I didn't think you would destroy it." she looked at the scientists in the DJ booth. "I did say do what it takes though, and this is a good alternative use of resources. I like the creativity."
"Thank you, Ms. Bulma." the scientists both smiled and nodded.
"Now, there's a reason I came down here." her eye snapped to a panel that was losing its fight with gravity. "The ship is nearly done… and thankfully built to a much higher standard of energy resistance than this room…"
"Sorry, Bulma. I'll help fix it." Tien shrank slightly.
"Don't worry about it. Did you learn anything new?"
"Yes, I'll have the data compiled and on your desk by morning." The scientist took the scouter from his assistant. "It's weird that the scouter can only detect organic energy as it is. We need to find a way to detect inorganic energy as well, otherwise if someone created a machine like the one that the Red Ribbon army was working on, we'd have no way to track it."
"Understood, get on it. Anyway, Tien, we leave for Namek in the morning. Goku and Gohan have recovered, and are spending the night back at their home." Bulma turned her attention from Tien back to the scientists. "I'll review the data while we travel. While we're gone I want you to see what you can do about the scouters limitations."
Goku's house
"No, absolutely not. Not a chance." Chi-Chi stopped chopping vegetables to make eye contact with her husband.
"But, Chi-Chi, Bulma needs me." Goku uncrossed his arms and attempted to give the puppy-dog eyes, failing.
"Gohan needs you. I need you. Bulma will have Tien and Krillin with her. There is no reason you being there will make a difference… unless the plans are more than just grabbing the Dragon Balls?" Chi-Chi cut a vegetable as if to make a point.
"I need to be there in case something goes wrong." Goku sat at the kitchen table, not wanting to stand over his wife.
Gohan had his head thrown back, half-pretending to sleep, half-pretending to meditate.
"You just want to fight that Frieza character, don't you?" Chi-Chi didn't care if she stood over her husband, she didn't want to sit down.
Goku was frustrated, although he didn't let it show. "It's not like that, Chi-Chi. But with that said, what if a fight does break out? They're both strong, but I am stronger than them combined. Plus, I'm way stronger than I was before since healing, at least at Vegeta's normal max. And add to that the Kaio-ken. Bulma researched Frieza. I know what Frieza is capable of. I won't be looking for a fight. I just want to protect my friend."
"I understand you want to keep Bulma safe, and Krillin and Tien too, but you can't be the hero for everyone. They don't have to go to Namek, and neither do you. They are choosing to go. Do you know who didn't make a choice? Gohan. He didn't ask to be brought into this world, and you owe it to him to keep him safe. What if you have another brother or uncle or something that decides to pop in while you're gone? Who will protect us, or the Earth for that matter. Roshi? Oolong? That's a joke." Chi-Chi smacked her hand on to the table to emphasize each person's name.
Gohan raised his head and opened his eyelids. "She has a point, Dad. I wasn't given a choice."
"See? How are you going to tell him no?" Chi-Chi stepped forward, touching her toes to Goku's. Looking down at him, oozing her authority on matters that she took an interest in, such as her son. "If Gohan was running off to space and leaving his wife and kid behind, would you want him to stay? To be a father? To be a man?"
Goku broke eye contact, finally realizing the impact that his actions have on his son.
"That's not what I meant, Mom!" Gohan stood up, facing his mother, his father between them. "My choice, which I wasn't given but I'm making anyway, is to go. If Dad is going, I am going. If Dad wants to go, I am going."
'That's the second time he's yelled at me.' Chi-Chi thought. She tried to think about what Gohan had said, but the way he said it took up all her notice, and she couldn't even recall what he said. Did he say he wants to go to space? To a planet where an evil space emperor is? No, he couldn't have said that.
"You're talking about Yamcha, and concern for Bulma, Krillin, and Tien. What about Piccolo? For a year he kept me safe, he taught me how to survive and fight. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have been able to help in the battle. Tien only lost an arm: He could have lost his life. Chiaotzu too. Do you think he would have survived? I'm not as strong as Dad, but I am strong, and I owe it to Piccolo to fight for him. I don't want to fight Frieza, but if Piccolo has to do it, I'm going to be there too." Tears began to run from Gohan's eyes.
He didn't want to cry. He wasn't sad. He was angry, his aura flickered slightly, but he held it back from flaring up completely. For Kai's sake, he was a boy, not even old enough for school. He realized this, and here he was telling his mother that he was going to go off into space, to revive a former threat to the world, and potentially face off with a space tyrant.
As Gohan's tears fell, he cursed himself for having the body of a boy, but knowing he'd never have the life of a boy. He wondered what it would be like to pick his nose, pee his pants, or throw a tantrum about not getting a toy… Hell, he didn't know if he would have any childhood at this point.
"Gohan, that's enough. You're staying here, with me. The fighters can handle it." Chi-Chi was having similar thoughts. Her son was growing up way too fast.
"Agreed, the fighters can handle it. Only fighters, and Bulma, should go." Goku looked between his wife and son. "Being a fighter, that means I am going, end of discussion."
Chi-Chi's face turned stern, and towards her husband. She went to speak, but Gohan started first.
"We're both going. I'm a fighter too. I don't have the experience of Tien or Krillin, but, but I have the power. I can help, and I refuse to sit around doing nothing when I could help." Gohan closed his eyes once again and leaned his head back.
"Son, I don't know where I went so wrong with you." Chi-Chi didn't drop the stiffness before addressing her son.
"We've been over that. Letting Piccolo take me was the first place. I will always be grateful to him for what he did, but you didn't fight for me. You didn't try. That's when you lost me." Gohan was thankful he couldn't see the hurt in his mother's eyes.
"Gohan!" Goku snapped at his son.
"I'm not going to pretend it didn't happen. If she is going to say that she was wrong, I'm going to agree with her." Gohan faced his father, eyes still closed.
"You do not treat your mother like that."
"We've had this conversation already." Chi-Chi interrupted. "Can we… can we please move on?" She sat next to her husband, across from her son.
"When could I ever go to space again? This is a once in a lifetime opportunity." Gohan jumped at the chance to change subjects back. He didn't want to hide the truth, but that didn't mean he liked it when his mother was upset.
"Your father's already been to space. You could go another time." Chi-Chi thought she had Gohan with this one.
"I could land on another planet."
"He went to the moon." Chi-Chi countered.
"Interact with aliens."
"Two of the four aliens you met tried to kill you. Another one tried to kidnap you, and the fourth did kidnap you."
"Leave Piccolo out of this." Gohan snarled.
"You are an alien!" Chi-Chi snapped at her son. "Half-alien anyway."
"If that's how it is, then Dad, and I, don't belong here." Gohan crossed his arms. "Either we're Earthlings and we have the chance to go discover an alien culture, or we're aliens and our home is up there somewhere." Gohan pictured pin pricks of lights in the darkness, stars all around him, ready to be explored.
"This is our home, we do belong here." Goku put a hand on his sons shoulder. Gohan reflexively tensed himself, but quickly relaxed, not wanting to upset his father any more than he had already done.
"Then I want to leave home, and explore. When you were my age, you were on your own. You were exploring the outside world by yourself. Well, with Bulma, but she couldn't help in a bad situation, not like you could if you were to be my companion." Gohan lowered his chin to his chest, trying to think of any angle he could use to convince his parents to let him go. Did he really have to convince them? His couldn't stop him, and he doubted his father would really want to if Mom wasn't a factor.
"He did explore as a kid, yes, and now he knows better. It was dangerous, he could have died, and it wasn't worth it. Tell him, Goku."
"Mom, you did the same thing as a kid. You didn't tell me many stories, but you left your home in an attempt to save it? Well… if we bring back Piccolo, and the Dragon Balls, the world will be a lot safer. It's no different then what you did." Gohan smiled. He knew he had them now. "Also, if you didn't both explore as kids, you never would have met. Who knows what will happen in space..."
"He does have a point." Goku squeezed his son's shoulder, proud.
"Goku, we were both older than him. You lived on your own as a boy, after… and I didn't leave home until I was 11, or was it 12? Either way, we were both much older when we started getting in these dangerous situations." Chi-Chi put her head in her hand, and her elbow on the table. She was getting exhausted.
"He's both far stronger than we were, and he's been forced to grow up a lot quicker than we did." Goku shifted his shoulders to be more in line with his son's. He had been won over.
"How strong is Gohan, exactly?" Chi-Chi asked while holding back the reflex to smack her husband when he mentioned the result of her failure as a mother.
"If I did have another brother that decided to pop up while I was gone, equal to Raditz, he wouldn't stand a chance." Goku heard Chi-Chi's sharp intake of breath as he clarified. "I didn't get a great feeling for the bald Saiyan, Nappa. But with how far he's come, I think Gohan could even handle him by himself. He's strong, Chi-Chi, stronger than I would have thought possible when I was his age. If I was as strong back then as he is now..."
Goku lost himself in thought of his past battles, past losses.
"You really think I'm stronger than Nappa?" Gohan opened his eyes once more.
"If not stronger, than equal. I don't know how it happened, but once we both ate a senzu bean, we're both well beyond where we were a month ago." Goku proudly said.
Closing her eyes, Chi-Chi asked a question, not knowing who she was talking to. "Why do you want to fight?"
Silence filled the air while Goku and Gohan thought. "I don't want to fight. I want to help Piccolo. If I need to fight, I'll do it. I'll fight the best I can."
"Why can't you leave it to your father? You know how strong he is." Chi-Chi looked at her son, and how her husband had his back.
"I… I can't trust him to do what it takes." Gohan felt his dad tense up this time.
Goku and Chi-Chi exchange worried glances. They knew that as the adults, this is something they would need to address. Plus, no matter how much they wanted to sweep it under the rug, they just couldn't do it, not for long.
"Gohan. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough. It won't happen again." Goku spoke, and Chi-Chi felt the same, nodding.
"Thank you. I want to trust you, but…" Gohan began crying again. "I can't yet. It needs time, and a structure to take form over. I don't think I'll be able to trust you, not until you give me the ability to. You can't force..."
"Okay, you can go." Chi-Chi didn't want to allow it, but she wanted her son to finish that sentence even less. She was doing the best she could. She couldn't let something bad happen, and she couldn't accept that something bad had happened. If her son told her what she needed, if she knew what she needed to do, then she would know she did something wrong. This way, letting him go, it's her choice, she's giving her son what he wants. "It's not going to be a vacation, though. You haven't studied since… in too long. You're falling behind. You need to bring your homework with you."
"But Moooom." Gohan wined, appreciating the normality of that statement. "Dad didn't study when he was traveling."
"He didn't have the chance, but you do. You're going to study. That decision is final." Chi-Chi picked her head up off of her hand and made eye contact with her husband. 'You'd better agree with me, or else…'
"Your mother is right. There is no reason not to study. Master Roshi made us sharpen our minds as much as strengthen our muscles after all." Reflecting on his time with his first real teacher. Goku didn't know if that was entirely true, but he figured it was close enough to reality.
"And how exactly am I going to study?" Gohan uncrossed his arms, waving a hand in front of his eyes.
Here it was again, another failure of hers smacking her in the face. How could this have happened? Chi-Chi began crying, losing track of how many times this would be this week.
"I'll help you." Goku promised his boy. "I'll read to you, I'll do flash cards with you. Whatever you need, Gohan. I will make it happen for you."
Gohan thought for a moment. He really didn't want to have to study, but he couldn't think of a way to get out of it. Chi-Chi on the other hand loved this idea, loved this man. Goku was taking responsibility, not just for their son's safety, but his education and future. This is the man she fell in love with. A pit was in her stomach. Too many emotions. Too many thoughts, but she smiled. Life wasn't good, no matter how much she resisted the thought, she wasn't a good mother as of yet. But now, with her husband helping her son study, and her getting ready to cook a meal, life wasn't horrible.
The next day at Capsule Corp
Bulma, Krillin, Tien, Gohan, Goku, Chiaotzu, Chi-Chi, Roshi, and Dr. Brief stood in a semi-circle outside of Capsule Corp, around a large spherical structure, with five legs telescoping out from its equator, and a narrow, thin, ramp leading into a curved hatch.
Dr. Brief stepped in front of the group. "Meet the Capsule Corporation Concept Craft, I call her Cami."
"Dad, does everything have to be about underwear with you?" Bulma tilted her head at her father.
"Don't be ridiculous, Bulma. What other name starts with C and has four letters in it?" Dr. Brief chuckled at his creativity.
"Cara." "Coco." "Cloe." "Cleo." "Caty." "Cari." "Cyra." "Cyan." the Z fighters laughed as they listed names, and Dr. Brief got flustered.
"Anyway, moving on, a few notes. Goku, the gravity chamber is installed and ready. We got it up to 100 times Earth's gravity. It can do more, but not on the power supply you'll have while under way. On Earth, hooked up to the grid, it should be able to cap out at 500, but that has yet to be tested." Dr. Brief tried moving on, and Goku's exclamation of joy helped him do so.
Dr. Brief continued. "The food system works by..."
Quickly getting lost in the technical details, Goku looked around at his friends and family. Spotting that Tien had his new arm, Goku knew they were working on it, but he didn't know it was done. It was a near-perfect mirror image of his other arm.
Noticing Goku staring, Tien pointed his fingers down and pushed energy into them. They began to glow so he shifted his hand behind his back. He continued powering up until the light became likely to distract the others, he pulled the energy back in.
'Did I just absorb that into my body?' Tien wasn't sure, but he'd have to discuss this with Bulma.
Goku's jaw dropped. Not because the blast was powerful, but because even a small and suppressed, energy like that should have given off a ki signature, but he couldn't feel a thing.
Tien smiled, and Chiaotzu chuckled.
"And that's it for the kitchen. Oh, if you want a muffin..." Dr. Brief continued for a few more minutes. When he finished he asked the group. "Any questions?"
Gohan raised his hand. "If we have Bulma with us, why do we all need to know this?"
"What if for some reason I can't fly? Say I get sick, I'm asleep, or I break my hand? It's unlikely, but there's no harm in everyone knowing how it works." Bulma wasn't happy that the boy didn't automatically know the value of the information, but was glad he was engaged enough to ask.
"Oh, um… can you repeat that then, Dr. Brief? I've got a tape recorder here." Gohan took his backpack off and began digging through it.
"You don't need to worry, there are manuals for every system onboard. I just wanted to do a quick run through in case anyone caught something I missed or had any questions about its operation. Anyway, you won't need to fly, that's what the adults are for." Dr. Brief was oblivious to the wave of cold energy that flooded out from Gohan for a moment. "Anyway, say your farewells, the only thing stopping the launch now is the lack of passengers."
Chi-Chi could have throttled Dr. Brief at that point. There was no need to rush, and she was enjoying the extra time with her son and husband. "Gohan, are you absolutely certain this is what you want? Once you take off, you won't be able to turn around."
"Yes. I am going." Gohan made sure to enunciate clearly. He was having some second thoughts. If he got on this ship he was pretty much giving up any chance of a normal life. But that wasn't going to happen anyway.
"Tien, is there anything I can say that would convince you to stay, or let me come with you?" Chiaotzu flew up to his friends level.
'Yes, but that's not it.' "No. I need to go with Bulma and Goku, and it wouldn't be safe for you up there." Tien made eye contact with Chiaotzu. "I left a letter on the kitchen table at home. If I don't come back, read it. Or don't."
With the rest of the farewells going on around them, Bulma hugged her father farewell and entered the ship. Moments later, Krillin entered, followed by Tien, Goku, and Gohan.
"Okay, set down your bags, look around, claim a bunk, and get ready to go." Bulma instructed.
Krillin and Goku were the first to the quarters, and claimed bunks. When Tien arrived he called out to Bulma. "Uh, Bulma, there are only 3 beds..."
"Looks like you guys will either sleep in shifts, or get cozy. I don't really care which, but the third one is mine." Bulma entered and threw her capsule case on the bunk.
Krillin looked at Tien. Tien smiled at his former rival. "I'm the big spoon." Tien's smile grew to a smirk.
A few moments later the tour was complete, Goku and Gohan were excited for the gravity room, Tien and Krillin were discussing how they could emulate the effects of the Pendulum Room. Bulma was doing one last check through of the ships systems.
Once she was satisfied, Bulma sat in the captain's chair. Dr. Brief appeared on a small screen beside her. "Are you ready, darling?"
"Yes. Count me down." Bulma looked around. Everyone was buckled in. She disconnected the ship from auxiliary power and had the telescopic legs unhook from the ground.
"Five, four, three." Dr. Brief began. "Two, one." He paused for a moment. "Travel safe. Zero."
With much less excitement than expected, Chiaotzu, Roshi, Chi-Chi, and Dr. Brief watched the ship lift itself off the ground, and just keep going up. 'If only my wife could watch this.' Dr. Brief thought. 'I probably should have talked some of this over with her first.'
Authors note:Edited by StevenBodner on 4/10/2021.
Authors note 2: 1,000 reads and counting, thanks, everyone!