Hello, hello! Back at it again, this time for... a training montage! (sorta) Sorry if this chapter seems a bit short. I had it split in two since it turned out longer than anticipated and felt it flowed better. The other half of this will be posted soon, and contains a time skip so it doesn't drag too much.
Based on MasakoX's What If series "What if Gine went with Goku to Earth?", but a retcon with some changes of my own on how I think the story would have went down had Goku's mother escaped planet Vegeta with him.
DISCLAIMER: The following is a fan-based work of fiction. Dragonball Minus, Dragonball, Dragonball Z, Dragonball Super, and Dragonball GT are all owned by FUNimation, Toei Animation, and Akira Toriyama.
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CHAPTER 33: THE TRAINING BEGINS
Gine sat at the table of their hut and fidgeted with her empty tea cup. It was mid-morning, and she was restlessly waiting for the rest of the gang to show up. But she felt like she had been up and waiting for an eternity already.
"How are you feeling, my dear?" Asked Grandpa Gohan as he held the kettle and refilled her drink for the third time. She downed it as soon as he stopped pouring it.
She let out a deep sigh and confided, "Anxious, to say the least. I didn't sleep too well."
"Hmm, understandable." Gohan remarked as he took a seat across from her. "All things considered, I doubt anyone would not be as restless as you, what with Raditz and the approaching Saiyans."
Gine nodded to herself. "Yeah... I guess that ought to do it. But I'm doing a lot better than I was yesterday. That's for sure." She said that last part distantly.
He gave her a look of concern. "Are you sure you are prepared for the task of training everyone for a whole year?"
Gine looked to him, unsure of what he meant to ask. "Of course! Someone's gotta do it. And rain or shine, sick or not, I'm the best shot everyone has at defeating the Prince and his henchman."
"I know, Gine. And I can't tell you just how proud I am to hear you are willing to take on this responsibility." Gohan added, "But, are you prepared?"
She frowned. "What do you mean?"
Grandpa Gohan sighed. Gine knew full well what he meant and was just stalling.
"I don't mean to be of hinderance to your task at hand, but given all that has happened recently, especially after our talk last night-"
"No." Gine said angrily. "I am NOT going to forgive or apologize to Kami if that is what you are asking. Divine being enacting a plan or not, he wronged me and my family. Plain and simple."
Grandpa Gohan closed his eyes in frustration. He figured Gine would be like this, but had to try something to help her out as best he could, not just for her sake but for everyone else in the world if it's in her hands to save them from the Saiyans. He opened his eyes again and spoke.
"While that is a matter that ought to be addressed in due time, I think you ought to set aside some days for yourself during training."
Gine raised an eyebrow. "For what?"
"For some self care and realignment of your heart, mind, and spirit." He remarked.
Gine's expression turned to that of annoyance. "What more time would I need to myself during the training besides simple rest?!"
Grandpa Gohan didn't like the hostility in Gine's voice. Sure, she had calmed down in the last twenty-four hours after Raditz's arrival and the cascade of heart wrenching revelations, but her fiery anger towards Kami's supposed betrayal and the hollowed goodbye with Kakarot had only simmered to embers, for it was still burning hot.
"There is no need to kid me as well as yourself, Gine. I can sense how turbulent you are inside right now. The anger you are harboring for Kami is throwing off the balance in your ki and fueling your impatience. Compounded with the looming threat of the Saiyan Prince heading to Earth, I am as worried for your well being as much as for the safety of everyone on this planet."
For once his message sank into Gine, and she recoiled at how Grandpa Gohan could just call her out on something she was not admitting to herself. She looked away, not daring to look at him as he spoke further.
"I know you don't want to see Kami ever again, and you have every right to feel the way you do for what he did, but I believe that you won't do much good at saving Earth if you let such dark feelings prevent you from focusing properly. I'm not asking you to forgive and forget right now, I just want you to know that you should take it easy on yourself these coming months."
Grandpa Gohan's voice turned smoother, "Whenever you have time, we should meditate together. For I feel it will be of great importance for you to be as centered and unclouded in the face of this new threat. Whatever grudge you have against Kami, you will have a year to try and set it aside or make peace with it to deal with the greater threat of these Saiyans."
Those words to Gine's ears sounded exactly like one of Kami's teachings to her long ago. That no matter the pain in one's heart, one must set it all aside with the power of mind and spirit to find the path to inner peace and focus on whatever needed to be accomplished. It was truly a sound lesson she took to heart, but now it was just the words of the bastard who lied to her and caused great pain to her family. That in turn, did not make her so inclined to follow that advice not matter how helpful.
To her, it felt like Gohan was trying to delegitimize her grievance about everything that happened. She was lied to about Raditz! For eight years! She had grieved for the child she believed was dead while he survived a life of horrors no one should ever endure! And nobody, not even Gohan or her youngest son, was taking her side. Wasn't that reason enough to feel the way she did, even if it was the actions from a supposedly good god?!
But also, deep down past the indignation, Gine knew Gohan was right. Harboring such upsetting negative energy in her was influencing her judgement and actions. It could make her not entirely present for the people here and now, or make her short with the gang that needed her guidance. If she couldn't properly teach them how to get stronger, then they were finished.
To Gohan, she did not know whether to feel betrayed or appreciative of his efforts to help her reign in her emotions and center herself again.
"I'll... think about it." She said reluctantly.
Grandpa Gohan sat back, not fully believing her. But knew it was as far as he could get with her today without starting another argument. That's okay though, he had a year to help Gine deal with these feelings.
Gine perked up as the sound of a jet car landing outside reached her ears. A moment later, there was a knock on the door. She went to open it, leaving the uncomfortable conversation behind her.
As she opened the door, Gine was surprised to see not any of the fighting members of the gang standing there, but the benign dark-haired Launch instead.
"Hi, Gine! How are you?" The young woman greeted sweetly.
"Launch? What are you doing here? Where's everybody else?" Gine asked.
"Oh, don't worry. They're on their way here now." Launch assured. "I came to see your son, Raditz."
"Raditz?"
Launch nodded eagerly. "Yeah. I came by to check up on him. Is he doing okay? Does he need me to change the dressing I gave him?"
Gine was taken aback slightly. "Oh, uh, he's still sleeping." She answered.
That was true, for Raditz had been asleep for nearly twelve hours. It was the first real sleep he's ever had in his life, after the arduous journey to Earth and the events of yesterday, he's more than earned that rest so Gine decided not to bother him. Besides, through her mind's eye she could sense him stirring already.
Launch seemed disappointed, but Gine assured her, "Don't worry, he'll come to soon."
As if on cue, the door to Raditz's dwelling opened, and out stepped the sleepy-eyed, long-haired Saiyan.
"Speak of the devil!" Gine remarked.
Raditz yawned deeply, stretching out his arms and cracking his back. The light expression on his face reflected the sense of relaxation he felt throughout his body. He never had such good and comfortable sleep before, actually feeling rested for once.
"Oh goodie!" Launch appeared before him and snapped him out of his reverie.
"What are you doing here?" He asked in an almost annoyed tone, but it did not faze Launch at all.
"I came to check up on you. How are you feeling? Is your hand okay?"
Raditz was confused at that. His hand was just fine and needed no more attention. And what about his well-being did it matter to this bubbly and nagging version of this Earth woman? Plus he still couldn't wrap his head around how a person could change forms as she did.
"I'm fine." He answered curtly. Fresh out of the deepest sleep in his life and already he was being irritated. He just wanted to bark at her to buzz off.
"Oh, that's good!" She beamed. "I was worried I didn't do a good job, just wanted to be sure and..." She blushed. "Just wanted to say "hi" to you too."
For some reason, Raditz felt a surprising touch of warmth in his chest from her words. This "Launch" was one of the first few beings aside from his own family that seemed to actually care about him in the slightest degree. It made him feel like it would just be too... "mean" to just turn her away like he felt like doing a moment ago.
So he just answered politely, "Uhhh... Thank you."
Launch smiled sweetly up at him, "You're welcome, Raditz."
No one has ever been so warm and cordial to him before, especially someone as lovely looking as this Launch, which Raditz had begun to notice. And it made the tall Saiyan feel slightly awkward.
Gine walked up to them. "Did you sleep alright, Raditz?"
Raditz turned to his mother, feeling relieved from Launch's charm and, for the first time, chuckled lightly.
"I guess you could say that, mother. I haven't slept so hard in my life." He said with a smirk and patted himself on the chest, signifying his rested health.
"Glad to hear that." Gine said happily. "Well, everyone is still on their way. I can make you some breakfast if you want."
Launch interjected. "Oh no, don't worry, Gine. I can make breakfast instead!"
Gine raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Yeah! You need to train with everyone else, right? I can take care of that so you don't tire yourself out already."
A bead of sweat went down the side of Gine's face. She remembered how atrocious the young girl's cooking was. "Ummm..."
"A splendid idea, Launch!" Said Grandpa Gohan from behind them as he walked up. "I can help you too, my dear."
"Really?" Launch asked.
"Of course! I've got nothing better to do today so I think I can offer some support." He said with a knowing wink towards Gine.
Gine knew the underlying message of his words: I'm here to support you through your year of making peace with your feelings.
She was still hesitant to consider what he talked about just minutes before, and said nothing.
"Okeydokey then!" Launch beamed.
"Thank you, Launch. I appreciate this." Gine smiled. The girl giggled with a smile of her own.
If anything, at least Gine was relieved it won't just be Launch cooking. If Gohan had picked up anything over the years from watching Gine's culinary skills at work, then at least whatever Launch made will be somewhat edible.
"Come dear, I'll show you were we stash everything." Grandpa Gohan said as he lead Launch back to the hut.
Gine turned to Raditz. As she took in a breath of the fresh morning air of Paozu, her nose wrinkled.
"Say, Raditz, before everyone gets here why don't you go back in and take a shower."
Raditz looked at her with confusion. "Uh, a shower?"
"Yes, a shower. A cleansing chamber in Earthling parlance." Gine stated.
"Why?" He asked seriously.
Gine shook her head. "Because you smell, silly."
More than smelled, he reeked. Gine had forgotten how bad Saiyans stank from their wearing the same armor and being locked in their pods for months at a time. Except for the females and the royals, most Saiyans only periodically bathed. For their concern with hygiene was tertiary compared to moving onto their next missions.
"I should have some new clothes for you to wear besides your armor." Gine added.
Raditz raised an eyebrow. "Earthling clothes?"
"Yes." Gine answered.
"What's wrong with my armor?" He asked while patting the black and bronze-plated suit he wore.
"It reeks too." Said Gine. She realized Raditz probably slept with that on too as he was too tired to remove it and shower before collapsing from exhaustion yesterday. So she made a mental note to have his sheets changed and hoped Bulma had a way to sterilize the interiors of these capsule houses if they had to return them.
"Plus, if you are going to be living here I suggest you should get used to our ways here as well."
Raditz was mildly struck by how his mother had used "our", instead of "their", ways. And how she wore her dark green dress outfit spoke to him that she had fully assimilated to this planet's customs. Was she so confident in her ability to protect herself or whatever social status she had by wearing those rags instead of the practical, honorable, and trusty Saiyan battle armor? It was almost undignified to be seen in something like cloth, which almost every worthy species among Frieza's empire regarded as attire that only primitives wore. So he wasn't entirely privy to the idea of wearing something more degrading than his low-class warrior's armor just yet.
He was about to voice these sentiments about woven clothing, but whatever her son thought of Earthling attire didn't matter to Gine. Her sour mood from the talk today, and her restlessness, meant she was getting fed up quickly. She stomped her foot into the ground with enough force to shake the surrounding trees, and silencing Raditz before he could speak. Flocks of birds, startled by the tremor, flew out of the canopy and flew into the sky.
"Don't argue with me, just do it." Gine commanded with finality.
Raditz was about to protest, but the look in his mother's eye made him relent. He stormed back inside, and a minute later Gine heard the water running.
Gine turned and went back inside the hut, and past the kitchen where Gohan was trying to keep Launch from burning some eggs. After rummaging through the rooms, she retrieved a couple of Kakarot's old orange pants and some of his blue undershirts. They were rather small for someone with a large frame like Raditz, but it was better than nothing.
With the spare clothes, Gine went back outside and into Raditz's dwelling. She placed them outside the bathroom for him to find afterwards. Looking the place over, even though Raditz stayed one night, it was already turning into a sty. Sheets tossed everywhere and scraps of whatever food snacks he found littering the floor. Gine thought warily that she may have to teach Raditz a few things about hygiene if he was to stay in his own dwelling. If it's anything like teaching Kakarot about basic cleanliness, she had her work cut out for her.
As she stepped back outside, another jet car flew overhead and touched down nearby. It bore the logo of Capsule Corp on it's side. The cockpit door opened up and out stepped Bulma wearing cargo shorts and a company logoed t-shirt.
"Bulma!" Gine called out as the blue-haired girl approached.
"Hey Gine!" Bulma greeted. She reached into one of her many pockets and held out in her hand a couple of capsules. "I got the extra portable dome houses you wanted!"
Gine smiled as Bulma placed them in her hands. "You're a godsend, Bulma."
"Think nothing of it!" Bulma smiled back. "It's what friends are for."
Pressing the activation buttons, Gine threw one capsule in a random direction and the other in the opposite. Both of them materialized into similar dwellings for Krillin, Yamcha, Tien, and Chiaotzu.
"Looks like the guys are gonna be roommates and neighbors for awhile, huh?" Bulma remarked.
"No kidding." Gine answered.
At that moment also, Gine sensed two energy signatures closing in from nearby. She turned just in time to see Chi-Chi landing in front of them with Little Gohan in her arms.
"Well look whose back!" Said Gine with a proud and excited look, for Chi-Chi was clad in none other than her old orange Turtle School gi. "I thought you tossed that out years ago!"
Chi-Chi smiled and said, "Nope! Kept as a memento, but figured I'd put it on just in case. I have to admit I kinda missed wearing this thing."
Gine looked down at Little Gohan, and was even more struck by his outfit. "Well, look at you!"
"Don't I look cool, grandma?!" Little Gohan said as he posed in the child-size orange gi.
Gine chuckled. "You do, sweetie! That's the same outfit your father wore when he was learning under Master Roshi."
Chi-Chi, despite not wanting him to be here, couldn't help but smile at her son too. "It's uncanny how similar he looks in that thing, minus the hair of course."
"Just like old times." Came another voice.
"Krillin!"
They all turned to see him just as he touched down from flying. "Hey, Chi-Chi! Lookin' good in uniform again!"
"Aw, you're just saying that!" Chi-Chi waved, feigning sheepishness.
"And Gohan? Wow! For a second I almost thought you were your dad at age twelve again!" He joked, eliciting a gentle laugh from them.
"Are the others on the way?" Gine asked.
"Yep. Yamcha said he'd be here. Haven't heard from Tien and Chiaotzu, but knowing them, we can count on them showing up." Said Krillin.
Gine nodded. "Good to know."
Krillin looked around, "So, uh, where's Raditz?"
Just then the door to Raditz's dwelling slammed open and he stepped out. Nude, his long black hair dripping wet, and him looking bewildered.
"Mother! What are these?!" He decried, holding the clothes Gine had for left him.
Bulma and Chi-Chi blushed a deep red at Raditz's nakedness, with the latter covering Little Gohan's eyes. Krillin look away chuckling.
"Those are the clothes I left you." Said an irritated Gine.
"You expect me to wear these?!" Raditz asked incredulously.
"I just told you that you ought to get used to things around here. Now go put those one!" Gine sniped.
"But-"
"Am I going to have to come over there and put those on for you?" Gine chided threateningly.
Raditz's eye twitched at the degrading threat of being forcibly dressed. He turned back around and slammed the door shut. Chi-Chi lifted her hands off of Little Gohan's eyes.
"Sorry about that." Gine said to them all.
"That's alright." Said an amused Bulma. "Pretty combative but I guess there's a lot of things for him to adjust to here after all that he's been through."
"Hn." Gine agreed.
A moment later, Raditz stepped back out fully clothed this time. But he looked and felted uncomfortable in the orange trousers and blue undershirt meant for his younger brother. They were not so tight as to restrict his movement but the pants made his quads and calves bulge out, and not even needing a belt to be tied around the waist or his tail wrapped around. And the blue undershirt may as well be a tank-top spray painted onto his large muscular frame. From his old look, he still had his red armband and black boots. Despite herself, the sight of small clothes on his large body made Gine giggle.
Raditz scowled as he looked at Gine. "Don't laugh at me!" He yelled, sounding almost pleading.
Gine chuckled. "It looks good on you, son. But don't worry. I'll make you a gi your size."
Bulma noted how Raditz decided not to wear his other gauntlet and perked up. "Oh, by the way. I've been looking at the armor piece you gave me yesterday. It's incredible, I've never seen any material like it! Though there are other things I don't understand about it. So I was wondering, Raditz... could I borrow your whole set?"
"What?!" Said Raditz wide-eyed. "My armor?! No!"
"Okay, okay! Geez." Said a frightened Bulma.
Gine, while irked over Raditz's uncooperativeness, understood. He had grown attached to his armor and had to give it up already. He might even need it for when the Prince and Nappa arrive too.
But then Gine remembered. She used to wear armor too once upon a time. And she still had her armor laying around!... Somewhere, that is. She hadn't even thought of the armor since she put it away so many years ago.
"You can have my old armor, Bulma." Gine offered.
Bulma turned to her and her eyes lit up. "Oh, cool! I didn't know you had a set of armor."
"Haven't worn it in a very long time, and didn't have any need for it." Gine shrugged.
"Oh, okay... Well, if it's okay with you, if you don't need it..." Bulma said politely but didn't finish her sentence. Gine already knew what she was asking for, and hated that way of asking. Then again, Bulma did give her three dome houses without charge.
"Sure. Let me go get it." Gine answered for her and walked back to the homestead again.
"Sweet!" Said Bulma as she waited with Chi-Chi, Krillin, and Little Gohan.
Inside, the smell of woodfire smoke and flour filled the air as Grandpa Gohan was teaching in vain to Launch about how not to undercook pancakes. "No, no. It's still runny. Flip them after they have bronzed around the sides..."
Gine was again rummaging through the closets and under the bed in her room. Like everything else in the Son household, the bedroom was spartan with just a bed and some random knickknacks here and there. A photo, a book, some knitting needles, some of her own clothes, bundles of yarn. Where could the blasted thing be?
Shoving some cobwebs aside in the back end of a storage cabinet, "A-ha!" Gine exclaimed. She pulled out the armor set and brushed off the dust on it's surface.
Gine studied the old armor in her hands. The gold shoulder straps, the teal chest plating, and the solid skirt that was common for female Saiyan battle attire. The last time she wore this was before she learned how to knit her own clothes, the green dress gi she wore now. Over twenty years ago, in another lifetime... after crash landing on Earth...
"Mother?" Came Raditz's voice from the doorway, snapping her out of her thoughts. She didn't hear him enter. He had followed her inside out of curiosity to see this wooden shack his mother and brother called home.
"Sorry, I just..." She said quietly, stroking the armor and lost in thought again. "It's been so long ago when Kakarot and I landed here." Gine's voice trailed off.
Her reminiscence then got her thinking of the old attack ball she and Kakarot traveled across the galaxy in to reach Earth. She had completely forgotten about that too. And it was probably still there, somewhere deep in the forest of Paozu, not far from the hut...
"Our ship should be here somewhere too." She added. "Come, I'll show you if you want."
With the old armor in her hands, Gine walked out the back door of the hut and into the forest with Raditz trailing her. While Raditz was not one to usually be drawn to sentimental things, he was at little curious about these things he did not know of his mother's and brother's life. Taking a sort of glimpse into what their lives was like in his absence.
Gine was caught in the moment too, of showing her eldest son pieces of a past that he never got to share with her or Kakarot. This was a meaningless tangent to their day if they are all to begin training for the Saiyans, but... she felt compelled to do this.
After a few kilometers of bushwhacking, they reached a clearing in the forest. And in the clearing, they found the landing site.
The crater was overgrown with foliage, erasing the scaring of the Earth beneath it as if it were a depression in the grass. Gine and Raditz stood on the crater rim to see that the pod itself was nearly half buried in dirt accumulating in the crater bottom from erosion. The hatch was still open, the seat inside and the controls covered in a thick layer of grime. Seeing it for the first time in over twenty years awakened a flood of memories in Gine.
"When we got here, Gohan found us." Gine said distantly, eyeing the pod.
"I thought he was going to harm your baby brother, and I tried to fight him off. But he was too fast for me no matter how much stronger I was." Gine laughed humorlessly. "Funny. To think I'd be where I am today from the worthless good-for-nothing cook I was who couldn't beat an old man..."
She turned to the tree line, her wistful tone turning melancholic. "I made a run for it into the forest over there, to get away from him. But I had no idea what I was going to do afterwards. There wasn't much intel known about Earth at the time. So I had no idea what I was going to do once we got here. I was so scared on that day when Frieza destroyed our planet... All I could think about was saving Kakarot, and what happened to your father... and you, sweetheart..."
Raditz listened intently, although he was uncomfortable with how vulnerable his mother was being right now. He could believe that his mother was that weak as to not be able to defend herself against the decrepit Gohan back there, even if he meant no harm. It gave him a moment to imagine just how his mother must have felt on that fateful day... lost, alone, and scared. On the run from Frieza and trying to protect his baby brother from harm on this far away world while she was certain he himself was dead. He couldn't help but feel touched at the knowledge that his mother truly missed him.
He knew where he was that day, still on assignment with Vegeta and Nappa on a mission to a planet he couldn't remember. The news of their planet's destruction by a "meteor" shocked him as it did the Prince and General Nappa. Raditz was a little sad on the surface, and deep down he grieved that his parents were gone. But he couldn't show remorse for that kind of thing. Life went on for the six year old Saiyan warrior. They had to continue their mission and serve Frieza still. That was all that mattered if he wanted to keep surviving. Grieving about his lost species, planet, and family became nothing to him over time... until now that is. Sure his mother and brother were alive all along, living in peace and wondering whatever happened to him, but he never realized how frightening it all was to them when it all happened... wouldn't he have felt the same too?
"I didn't know what I was going to do. I didn't want your brother to be alone and helpless here if his power level was so pathetic... I wanted to save who could. But... even I couldn't provide much help I was cold and starving too." Her voice became quiet, her eyes moistening. "If it weren't for Gohan... we wouldn't have lasted long here."
There was a rustling in the bushes, startling them both. Bulma came out suddenly, cursing as the branches snagged at her clothes and twigs in her hair.
"Hey!" She called out to them. "You guys were gone for like thirty minutes. What gives?"
Gine's tail twitched. She shut her eyes to wipe away any tears and groaned from her trip down memory lane being interrupted so rudely.
"Nothing. Just found my ship." Gine muttered flatly, clearing her throat.
Bulma, intrigued, walked up beside them and saw the pod in the crater. Her eyes went wide with wonder. "NO WAY! That's your spaceship?!"
"Yes, it is." Gine answered simply.
"Can..." Bulma tried to finish her sentence. She had already asked for so much today, but couldn't resist the opportunity before her.
"Can I... have a look at it?... For study of course."
Gine sighed. At least Bulma didn't cower out of an audacious question with such niceties.
She eyed the craft again. Since no one else had come looking for extraterrestrial beings crashing in the forests of Mount Paozu as she fear on the day of their arrival, she and Gohan had left it here. As a sort of memorial for when she and her son first set foot on the planet they now called home. To her, it was a reminder of another lifetime. One of fear, death, and survival now long behind her... for now at least.
But that's all it was, just a memento that had only painful sentimental value to her at most. They had no use for it laying here anyway.
"Sure, why not." Gine said somewhat defeatedly. Bulma's eyes lit up as if Shenron had granted her greatest desire.
Gine slid down the crater wall and clasped to the ship's side with her free hand while holding onto her armor piece in the other. Then, with just her one free hand, she picked the ship up and out of the dirt, kicking up a cloud of dust. Bulma watched bug-eyed at the display of strength as Gine leapt out of the crater and set the derelict spacecraft down on the grass in front of Bulma with a loud metallic "clunk".
"I don't suppose you have a means of taking this back to Capsule Corp.?" Gine asked dryly, almost daring Bulma to ask her of another favor today.
Bulma however, upon recovering her wits, produced a capsule. "I do, actually!"
After activating the capsule, it expanded into an empty container more than big enough to hold the ship inside. Of course she had something for such a purpose, Gine thought.
With the door to the container closed around the pod, Bulma pressed a button and a second later, the container shrank the Saiyan pod down to something that could fit in her pocket. Gine and Raditz both shook their heads at the ridiculous sight. Even to them, who had come from a civilization that mastered interstellar travel and harnesses the power to obliterate entire planets, miniaturization technology was an untold wonder.
"This is incredible!" Bulma held the capsule with eagerness before pocketing it. "You know what this means? If we can reverse engineer this, then this could unlock a whole new advancement of the sciences! Spaceship propulsion, advancing computing, manipulate gravity, the works!"
Gine nodded politely as Bulma listed off all the ways this would benefit her and her father's employ, until she suddenly remembered an important detail.
"Oh! One thing to remember, Bulma: Inside the control panel left hand corner there's a red button that you MUST NOT push at all."
"What's that?" She asked, to which Gine dutifully answered:
"Self destruct."
"Oh." Bulma gulped. "Dully noted."
Before heading back to where they came, Gine took one last look around the clearing and crater. Twenty years since she was first here, escaping a life that had now seemed to be coming back to her...
She turned around and followed Bulma and Raditz back into the forest.
They walked back out into the opening where Chi-Chi, Little Gohan, and Krillin waited for them. As they drew closer, Little Gohan looked at what Gine was carrying. "Oh wow. Was that your old armor, grandma?"
Gine had forgotten she was holding the armor under her arm. "Yes... It was." She said.
Little Gohan touched it and knocked on it's surface. He too seemed drawn to how it could be so solid and stretchy as was his uncle's armor. After he fiddled with it, Gine handed it over to Bulma entirely. She had to admit that she felt a little nostalgic about that item, and was almost sad to part with something from her old life... almost.
"Wow..." Bulma looked over the armor with fascination, turning it over and around. Then she collected herself and addressed Gine, "I'll have my engineers take a look at it. I've got some ideas with what we could do with it."
"Like what?" Asked Gine.
"Well, if I could replicate the material I could make a new patent for something like this. This 'polycarbon' stuff is incredible! A material so lightweight but nearly indestructible? I could make bullet proof vests for law enforcement with this, or even fireproof clothing!"
"So... basically new armor?" Gine elaborated.
Bulma hadn't considered that, but reasoned that is basically what that type of clothing would be.
"Yes, that too! I could make you guys a newer set of armor too! One that's lighter and stronger than what you guys had if you like. The design Raditz has seems rather bulky. Maybe without the shoulder guards and less stuff weighing you down, I could make a design that's more effective!"
"Hmph. As if anything you humans could make would be better than my armor." Raditz snidely remarked from the side.
Gine thought it over. She never could get used to the older armor designs she used to wear in her heyday, the same ones that Raditz had with the shoulder, leg, and crotch guards. Even if it was the same stretchy polycarbon that never restricted their movements, Bardock used to joke that whoever made that design choice in Frieza's industrial division probably had too much flair in mind.
Although she doubted she'd don armor again, out of her fondness for regular clothes and not wanting to be reminded of her old life, Gine didn't object to the idea. The girl was a genius afterall.
"Sounds great, Bulma! If you can, do it!"
Bulma smiled widely. "Sure, would take me a year though, but I'll figure it out."
"I believe you will." Gine said.
Just then, she felt the approaching energy signatures of Yamcha, Tien, and Chiaotzu before a whoosh of air signaled their dropping out of the sky and landing in the grass.
"Hey, Gine!" Yamcha waved.
"Welcome!" Gine answered back as they walked over to them. As they did, Yamcha glanced at Chi-Chi.
"Look! Chi-Chi's back in uniform!"
"Way to go, Chi-Chi!" Tien cheered, earning a blush from Chi-Chi. They almost stopped to stare at Raditz's new attire, but a deathly glare from him silenced any ridicule before it started.
"Awesome, Bulma got the houses too!" Chiaotzu remarked.
"Yep!" Said the blue-haired girl. "You guys make yourselves at home in them. You're gonna need something comfortable for the next year out here. I'm outta here!"
With the armor in her hands, she was about to leave when Yamcha stopped her. "Whoa, wait! Bulma, don't you wanna stay?" He asked with some desperation in his voice.
"And watch you guys beat each other up for a whole year and put up with your smelly, sweaty gear? I don't think so. I got some important scientific work to do!" Bulma scorned, before hopping into her jet car and speeding away.
Yamcha was disappointed, but Gine suspected that Bulma's remarks were more of a dig at him than the group.
"Guess we're roommates, eh?" Krillin jabbed.
"Shut up." Yamcha retorted despondently. Tien and Chiaotzu looked to one another and shrugged. The two were inseparable anyway so they will take the other hut together.
"Well then." Gine cleared her throat. Everyone turned their attention to her, all lined up while Raditz stood by her side, looking utterly embarrassed in his too tight outfit. With his matching orange trousers with the rest of the gang, he looked like a new recruit at the Turtle Hermit martial arts school. It tickled Gine into wondering what a teenage Raditz would've looked like then, training alongside them as Kakarot did.
She then grew sad at thinking of the time period in his life she missed, and shook her head to clear it out.
"So, is everyone ready for training?"
"Yep!" Everyone minus Raditz said.
Gine clasped her hands together as she addressed the group. "Alright... Now since a lot of you most likely had acquired the strength and techniques you have today through your own unique training throughout your careers from different masters and sources, the first thing we ought to focus on is making sure everyone here is on the same playing field. So that means we should cross-train each other so we all share the knowledge and means to make ourselves the best fighters we can be."
Grandpa Gohan, from the open door of the hut with Launch still cooking, watched with a proud smile at seeing Gine in lecture like Master Roshi would. He thought that if she had her mind set to it (and not in such a troubled state as of now), she would make a great martial arts master herself.
Gine turned around and surveyed the vast open meadows that flanked Mount Paozu. "...And what no work better than farming to get started?"
She turned back to the assembled fighters. "Tien, Chiaotzu, I assume your basic training was different under Crane. Correct?"
"Uh, yes." Tien answered.
"How so?" Gine asked.
Tien looked into the distance thoughtfully as he spoke. "Well for one thing, Crane really didn't have us do all the farming chores that Roshi did, since he considered it beneath him. He mostly had us spar with him until we were able to hold our own against him or his brother Tao for at least one minute of uninterrupted combat. That we had to learn how to fight and defend ourselves the hard way." He said that last part spitefully.
Figures. Thought Gine.
"First time I fought my former master, I barely lasted a second and he broke my arm in three places before I even knew it." Tien shuddered at the memory.
"After that, Chiaotzu and I would watch each of our fights and compare our observations with whatever mistakes we made in our own private sparring sessions... While we healed of course. So essentially, we taught each other. It took several years, but I was able to last the full minute against Master Shen. But against Tao..." He drifted off and shuddered again. "That was a whole different story. Every training fight with him was like a fight to the death."
The whole gang gasped.
"That's barbaric!" Cried Chi-Chi.
"Sounds like proper training to me." Raditz commented, gaining glares from her.
"Definitely not the style of the Turtle Hermit." Gine added. She could see the advantages of it though, for the real threat of dying in battle was what made a combatant think so quickly and so observantly. After years of fighting like that, she could see how that kind of training turned Tien into a hardened and professional warrior that never missed anything.
Gine nodded. "Alright. Well, as barbaric as that may sound, Chi-Chi, that is precisely what the fight against the Saiyans will be: A fight to the death. So that's how we are going to train. Well, without the dying part at least."
Everyone inhaled sharply at that. Gine then assured them, "But not until we are properly prepared and trained with each other first. So..."
She waved to the meadow behind her. "Why don't you all start off with plowing the entire mountain as Master Roshi would have had you done. For strength is simply not just techniques, but founded on being physically stronger and the speed and power of moves corresponding to that. So we will develop that. Should be a nice warm up, doing things the Turtle Hermit way."
They looked to the field as she spoke. "Then, in your sparring time, you will all fight each other and teach other all of your moves, so everyone can do the same tasks if needed."
...Or if anyone is killed. She morbidly left out.
"Good idea." Tien agreed.
"Then, when you have no more moves to teach each other, you will spar with me and Raditz to see how long you can last. It took years for Tien to get as strong as he is now, so let's see if we can break that record."
The challenge was daunting, even impossible, but none of them were going to turn away.
"So, everyone ready?"
"YEAH!" They all cheered.
"Very well then." Gine said with a smile, then reached into her pocket and tossed some packets of seeds to Yamcha and Tien. "Go ahead and start with plowing this field. By midday when you are done, we'll break for lunch. Then you can finish with burying the trenches again by sowing some seeds. Gohan, you go with them."
Little Gohan perked up. "Really?!"
"Yep. I think it's about time you got to do the same training as your parents did." Gine added.
"Whoa!" Little Gohan was wide-eyed and looked up to Chi-Chi. "You and daddy did agricultural work for martial arts training?!"
His mother laughed. "That's right. Master Roshi had us plow whole fields with our bare hands to toughen us up and build character."
"Or run up mountains with rocks." Added Yamcha wistfully.
"Or run twenty-mile milk carton deliveries on foot." Krillin added jokingly.
Little Gohan was floored. This was how his father, the one person he looked up to in his life, started off with simple yet daunting errands? It was unbelievable. And the work itself seemed even more so. Plow and sow several fields in one day? With only his bare hands?!
It made him feel doubtful, but also knew that he's gotta start somewhere if he was to be a martial artist too. So he might be where his parents started. If they could do it, so could he. Plus he'd really get some hands on experience with how to make irrigation canals, fertilization, and a myriad of other things his scholar mind worked up for the possibilities to learn of ahead.
"Alright, let's go!" Krillin leapt after the field with the rest of the gang following suit. Little Gohan clung onto his mother while she flew off...
Raditz, however, stayed behind and looked at the rest of the gang plowing away and digging trenches.
"You expect me to do field work? THAT'S what's gonna make me stronger?" He spat.
Gine turned her head to her eldest son. As for what to do with him...
"No. I want you to spar with me instead."
She turned to face him entirely. "Attack me."
"Huh?" That caught Raditz by surprise. "Attack you? Right now?"
"That's what I said. Yes."
"Why?" He asked.
Gine sighed patiently. "I want to get an idea of what you are capable of. So attack me."
Raditz seemed at a loss. He remembered full well his mother was far stronger than him.
"What's the point?" Asked Raditz. "You are much stronger than me, so why-"
"Just do it." Gine affirmed curtly.
Raditz sighed. "Fine. Whatever."
He took a few steps back and they squared off against each other. Raditz crouched into a attack stance while Gine stood nonchalantly and leaving herself completely open. However, Raditz had not picked up on the flagrant weaknesses of her open stance while his form and posture for attack were sloppy. Already Gine knew this was a bad start for him, but she had to gauge him somehow.
"Whenever you are ready." She said.
Raditz charged up and let out a battle cry as he lurched forward towards his mother. In painful slow motion, Gine effortlessly sidestepped and jutted out a hand to jab him in the ribs as he flew by, making him tumble onto the ground groaning.
"You left yourself open." She reprimanded.
He curled on the ground for a moment to recover from the pain. He held his ribs tenderly and eyed up at her defeatedly.
"I didn't say we were done. Come at me again." She ordered.
Raditz huffed, and stood back on his feet. A moment later he leapt at her again with a yell and throwing his fist forward.
Gine did not flinch, and "tsked" to herself. He left himself open again. In the blink of an eye, Gine used her much shorter height compared to him to just bend her knees ever so slightly to thrust out her arm into his gut.
His eyes bulged out in pain and cried out. Gine moved out of the way as Raditz doubled over and clutched his stomach in pain.
"Again, you aren't defending your openings."
Raditz looked at her with barred teeth. He was getting angry, feeling more slighted by the off-handed single hits that took him down.
To hell with the strength difference. He thought. Without standing, Raditz phased out of sight. He did not reappear as Gine stood very still where she was...
Then without turning her head, Gine raised her fist over her shoulder and met the face of Raditz's reappearing out of thin air behind her. He fell back onto the ground and howled as he rubbed his hurt nose. It took a moment for him to regain his wits and prop himself up on his knees.
"Sneaky, but too slow." Gine remarked without turning.
Raditz angrily pounded his fist into the grass. He yelled, "What the hell is the point of all this?! Why keep humiliating me when you know you are stronger?!"
Gine turned to him. "I'm not using any of my energy or strength. But this isn't about muscle. It's about basic combat."
"Huh?"
"There's no doubt I am stronger than you. But when I first came to this planet, the first person I trained with was Gohan over there." She pointed to the old man in question who watched from the hut. "My power level was at least ten times that of his, but I could barely hit him because he knew how to feel and predict my movements."
"Feel and predict?" Raditz asked with interest.
Gine nodded. "That's right. There's a way that you could sense a person's power without the use of a scouter. Not only that, we also learned how you could know what your opponent was going to do, so no matter how much stronger they were than you, if you knew basic martial arts and energy sensing, you could fight them."
It flew in the face of everything Raditz knew. About power, and about just being quick enough. There was more to it? That you could know what your enemies were going to do? And...
"Hold on a second." Raditz interrupted. "You mean to tell me that you could actually sense the power levels of your enemies without a scouter?" He asked doubtfully.
Gine turned up her lip. That was a whole other lot to teach him as well. Small steps, she told herself.
"Yes, you can sense them without scouters." She stated, earning a disbelieving look from her eldest son.
"But... how is that even possible?!" He exclaimed. His whole life he and everyone else he knew had been dependent on those devices. To imagine not using them was to fight with both hands tied behind his back! What kind of abilities did these Earthlings have?!
Gine went on with her lecture, "I'll get to that, but just to reiterate: Don't focus on trying to overpower me. Try to find weaknesses in my form so you could take me down.
"Now..." She brushed herself off and got back into stance. "Let's try again. Come at me."
Raditz just shook his head, and did as she said by charging after her again.
Her son threw punch after punch and kick after kick at her, not once landing a blow on Gine. She easily blocked or evaded his every move, and sometimes tapped him wherever he left himself open to explain the damage she had done and how he ought to improve his technique. All the while, Gine used as little movement as possible to give Raditz enough time to dodge or counter.
She observed Raditz's movements easily, mentally noting that he was very raw. No technique or plan of attack at all, just throwing attacks out there and hoping to hit something like an amateur. Just like she used to do.
This went on for thirty minutes, Raditz trying to keep up with his mother's counter attacks and movements. Meanwhile, Grandpa Gohan came out and sat on the grass nearby to watch them, smiling at how similar this scene was to how he taught Gine basic martial arts so long ago.
After ducking low from a sweeping high kick, Gine struck Raditz in the side of his leg to make him lose his balance. Raditz fell on his side and groaned, but it didn't hurt too bad. And as he was curled up, he stopped. An idea came to him.
In that moment Gine expected him to leap at her again, but instead, Raditz suddenly zipped high into the air above.
"You wanted me to try and hit you, mother?! Well try THIS! MY MOST POWERFUL ATTACK!"
He held out both of his hands and pointed them down at her, a crackle of pinkish ki was charging in each cupped hand.
Gine watched from below, curious of her son's change of strategy and what energy attacks he had in mind. At least he changes things up a bit. She thought. Then looked over to see that Grandpa Gohan was sprinting away from the area quickly.
"DOUBLE SUNDAY!" Raditz's voice thundered just as he fired twin beams of pink energy down at Gine.
The ki blasts landed on her with a powerful explosion that obliterated the entire field they were fighting in. The blast of wind knocked the nearby trees and Grandpa Gohan over. Rocks and debris were thrown everywhere, and a crater hundreds of meters wide formed where there was once a grassy meadow. The homestead and the other dome houses were far enough away to be unscathed. From afar, everyone of the gang stopped their plowing and stared in awe at the display of destruction. Even Launch had been stirred out of cooking to see what was going on.
Raditz floated high above, gleefully smiling at how he finally managed to land a hit...
But then he gasped in shock and pain when the smoke cleared to reveal his mother having phased in front of him during his attack, and lodged her fist in his abdomen.
Before he could react, Gine front flip kicked Raditz in the head. Pain, like bursts of color, exploded in Raditz's head as he was sent careening down to the ground below. His impact left a crater of his own and filthened up by the dirt. He groaned, clutching his head while waiting for the aching to subside. When it did, he rolled over to see his mother standing over him victoriously.
"That's an impressive attack, son." Gine complimented. "But again, you left your guard down."
"How'd you do that?!" He asked wheezily, amazed that he was somehow on the ground with the wind knocked out of him while there was not a scratch on his mother.
"I phased in front of you while you fired, using both hands left your front defenseless." Gine commented.
"But... I still don't get it though." Said Raditz as he painfully stood back up on his feet. "You didn't use any of your strength to beat me. Or am I just that bad at fighting?" He added, not too proud of that last hypothesis.
"Relying on brute strength alone does not mean weak spots cannot be exploited." Gine and Grandpa Gohan answered simultaneously. Even though the old man was hundreds of meters away watching the action unfold, she could hear him say the same words as she spoke.
They both looked at each other for a moment, surprised at the sudden feeling of Deja vu washing over them. How this was the exact same lesson Gohan gave her after she arrived on Earth. Funny how things repeat themselves sometimes...
Raditz took in what his mother said, she had a point. But still, he had trouble trying to comprehend that idea. Where he... or they came from, strength meant everything. No matter what his opponents had in the way of weapons or knowledge, if their power levels were weaker than his, it was end of story.
Gine sensed this same line of reasoning that she used to believe in that Raditz was struggling with now. She smiled as she continued, "As Gohan has taught me, there is more than one way to win a fight, Raditz. I'll give it to you that your sometimes underhanded tactics work sometimes..." She conceded, then quickly pointed a finger at him, "But don't think that will always work. If you had opponents who were much faster than you or knew pressure points, magical abilities or things of the like, you can still be beaten. Like how Gohan used to take me down even though I was far stronger than him." She also recalled how in her spirit quest she outmaneuvered three far stronger enemies...
Raditz was taken aback by what she said. Even though deep down he believed that low-class warriors could be stronger than the elites if they tried hard enough, to overpower enemies stronger than you can be done through wit and ability alone was not an answer he expected for his question.
Gine crossed her arms as she went on. "Believing in such an idea as who is the strongest through who could lift the heaviest or blow up whole planets or what not is very narrow in its scope. For being a big strong warrior who is too slow won't do much if you couldn't hit your opponents or feel the energy of your opponents instead of reacting to them. There is far more to fighting than just just how strong your muscles are or how much gravity you can handle. Granted it's a great advantage to have, but if you don't know how to block or plan or manage your movements, you can easily be defeated."
Raditz thought over what his mother said, things sort of clicking into place in his mind. There were many times (more than he cared to admit) he had been forced to retreat from battle when foes that were supposedly easy prey had some trick up their sleeves or abilities his low-class strength or cunning couldn't overcome. He would wait for Vegeta and Nappa to bail him out when they steamrolled over those enemy forces or just said "to hell with it" and blew up their planets before chewing Raditz out for his cowardice. He guessed those long vanquished enemies that he underestimated managed to surprise him with the sort of same idea as his mother was trying to show him now.
Raditz slowly nodded in agreement, finally seeing what Gine was trying to get at. "I guess I got too used to the idea that with enough strength I could beat anything." He said wistfully.
"Well, that's also partially true." Said Gine. "We as Saiyans are indeed strong from the gravity of our home planet, and have knowledge of ki attacks. But what makes a true fighter is technique and discipline. If you mastered those things combined with your strength as a Saiyan, you'd be almost unstoppable."
That really made Raditz stop and think. If what his mother said was true and Saiyans fought the way she did, they would have been a far more formidable force to contend with. Maybe not even Frieza could stop them if they all fought like his mother and brother.
But Raditz didn't think if that would extend to him though. That thought made him look away from her.
"I guess that would be true. But..." It took almost every ounce of willpower to force out his next words. "...I'm a weakling. I don't think I could fight like that."
Gine felt the doubt and shame in his voice. It split her heart wide open, for she used to say the exact same words to herself before. She shook her head and walked up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Gine was momentarily amazed that Raditz was nearly one and a half times as tall as she was.
"Nonsense, Raditz. You can do that, because I use to think I couldn't, and I was a weakling and a pacifist. If I could get stronger than I thought was possible, so can you." She said softly.
Raditz looked at Gine incredulously. "Really?"
"Of course. Everyone has the potential to be more than what destiny provided them. While true that you, your brother, and I come from a warrior race that make humans look like insects, anyone who sets their minds to being the best can become the best through hard work, dedication, and a good heart. That's the beauty of what it means to be a martial artist. To not be the best of others, but to be better than yourself!" Gine said passionately, the life-changing words that Gohan had driven home to her so long ago now being passed on to her eldest son.
Everyone has the potential to be great if they set their minds to it. Raditz rolled those words in his mind, trying to fully grasp what it meant. It almost sounded like something his father would say. How he tried to claw his way up the ranks through taking the most difficult jobs he could take, that he tried to be something better than what he was born for. He never fully grasped it until now.
"I will teach you these methods. It won't be easy, but I know you can do it. If someone as weak as me could get to where I am now, you could go probably farther." Gine added. The statement was half at herself than as encouragement for him, but it struck a chord within Raditz.
His closely-guarded belief of lower classes usurping elites being talked about so openly and positively was truly uplifting. Combining that with the idea that even a coward and weakling like him could still accomplish this was exhilarating. He could crawl out from the bottom of the barrel and be equal in strength to his former boss, the Prince? And that he would no longer have to fight for conquest or have anyone tell him what to do anymore? It sounded too good to be true!
For the first time in his life, he felt hope for himself.
Gine saw the change in hopeful demeanor in her son, realizing he was getting it. She beamed at him.
"Come at me again, and I'll show you how to feel my attacks."
This time, Raditz felt calm when he got into stance. "Alright. I'll give it another shot."
"That's the spirit!" Gine smiled widely at her eldest son, and eagerly got back into stance. "Come at me whenever you are ready."
Raditz smirked, then charged at Gine, throwing a random punch but willing himself to see what his mother wanted him to see. In slow motion, Gine blocked the punch and stopped her other arm's elbow from meeting his nose.
"When lurching forward as you did, always keep some of your guard up to protect your front and side from me elbowing you like this." She explained. "I will attack you like this, and I want you to defend yourself as I did, okay?"
"Okay." Raditz affirmed before stepping back.
This time, Gine was on the offensive and launched at him. To her surprise, Raditz blocked her as instructed, even if only just barely stopping her, but failed to take the initiative to counterattack as she deliberately left herself open as he did. For a moment, she wondered if her eldest boy had the same or slower wits to absorbing lessons as her youngest did.
Small steps, she reminded herself again.
"Good block!" She plaintively encouraged. "Remember to take advantage of my open defenses. I'll try another attack and see if you can do the same thing."
Gine flies at him again without using ki, and he blocked it again this time. He strained under the hit from her increased strength. She could plow through his arm if she wanted to.
They sparred for the rest of the day. Slowly at first as Gine stopped to point out to him how to guard or attack better, teaching him the finer points of combat whenever she had to yell out "Still not feeling me!" But then their fight grew faster and fiercer, until Raditz was going all out while Gine kept at his pace.
As day dragged on, they fought until the entire meadow was plowed by the gang and even missed the lunch call. They didn't care though, for mother and son were having what Gine realized was their first real bonding experience since Raditz was born.
For their first full on battle, Gine gathered that Raditz was too used to compensating for his lack of skills with overwhelming power against weaker foes, like she did in days of yore as any other typical Saiyan. There are a lot of bad habits for him to unlearn, and a lot more of basic martial arts to be taught to him again. She may have to explain each step in minute detail along the way, but at least it was a more promising start for him nonetheless.
All the while, Grandpa Gohan sat in the grass and watched Gine spar with her eldest son. The scene reminded him much of how he taught her basic martial arts to her when she first arrived on Earth with Kakarot long ago. Now passing on his wisdom to her other son...
"Ummm, Gohan? Dinner is ready. Wanna tell them?" Came Launch's voice from behind him.
"Oh dear!" He exclaimed, startled to see that it was already almost dusk. He had been watching Gine and Raditz sparring almost the whole day without realizing it.
"Ah, how time flies by!" Grandpa Gohan bemoaned as he got back up on his feet. "I didn't get to preparing supper for everyone."
Launch gave him a reassuring smile. "Oh, don't worry! I took care of that and made dinner instead!" She declared, sounding almost proud of herself.
"Ah, well... that's terrific dear! Thank you my dear!" He said graciously and with a bit of sweat dripping down the side of his head.
Launch smiled sweet. "Of course! I remembered what you taught me so everything should be delicious!"
Grandpa Gohan felt a wash of relief. "Oh, well, that's great! Then let me go tell Raditz and Gine then."
"Okay!"
As he walked to the let the sparring pair know about supper, Grandpa Gohan smiled that if someone like Launch could learn a few things, then Raditz could too...
A/N: Hopefully in just a couple days as I get the last part of this out, and it will have a bit of a time skip.
Thank you and see you soon!