Hello again! The other part meant for the last chapter here as promised!

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 34: PUSHING LIMITS

Days, weeks, and months passed by...

From the gang's combined superhuman strength and speed, the flanks of Mount Paozu were plowed, sown, and turned into the largest vegetable garden on this side of the world. Although it meant there was much more gardening than Gine could care for, at least they didn't have to worry of running out of food. Then the real training began.

With their "camp" set up and a solid training regimen in place, everyone settled into the new routine. By having everyone staying in the capsule houses in close proximity, they could spar every minute of each day to train from dawn to dusk. They also rested often by taking a day out of every nonstop three days of exertion; they would lounge around, sleep in, or tell stories by campfire to Raditz of his mother's and brother's exploits during their time on Earth.

Every day they all ate their meals picnic style, picking their vegetables from the vast bounty they planted earlier for Gine, Chi-Chi, or Launch to make filling stews out of. Occasionally they would make quick errands into civilization or have the other familiars pay them visits from Launch, Roshi, Bulma, and even Puar or Oolong. Launch visited most often to help with logistics, cooking, upkeep, and for morale by cheering them on. Though she was more enamored with Raditz than with the rest of them.

Raditz, meanwhile, slowly but surely adjusted to his extended family, the rest of the gang, and to the ways of life on the planet. Gine had even stitched him a new and complete gi for her eldest son, an orange fighting outfit much like Kakarot's but tailored to his larger size, while also going into town and getting him some regular clothes to serve as his "civvies" on their off days. Although Raditz balked at wearing the ridiculous colored clothing matching the fighting school of his younger brother, he eventually grew used to the more lax attire. At least they fit him properly this time.

To Gine's disappointment, what changed even slower was Raditz's progress. Not only did he have to relearn fighting all over again after three decades of doing things the Saiyan way, but due to the wide power gap between them, Gine could not go all out with him as she could with Kakarot for fear that she might accidentally kill her eldest son. Also, unconsciously on her part, Gine held back psychologically as she did not want to harm her long lost boy that had only just re-entered her life. So through carefully battling him until he could barely stand, and teaching him the importance of rest (something he had a hard time to wrap his head around since taking luxurious recuperation was unheard of), his zenkai boosts grew at a somewhat noticeable pace. By the third month since his arrival, his strength had increased by half. It was nothing compared to how the intense training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber made her grow stronger in such a short time, but progress was progress. Raditz had no complaints since his current growth far outpaced the way he used to train under Vegeta and Nappa, or any other time in his life. What took him years before, he could do in weeks here on Earth with his mother. Small victories...

The rest of the gang progressed as well. The farming and hard labor increased everyone's strength before changing it up to training proper. In a great display of unity, the former rival martial arts schools of Turtle and Crane cross-taught each other for the benefit of all. Krillin, Yamcha, and Chi-Chi taught the Crane students the key to increased physical strength was grueling everyday chores and the importance of rest. Then, Tien and Chiaotzu taught the Turtle students about perfecting the art of flying and meditation practices, the latter of which Gine, albeit begrudgingly, also agreed to partake in at the behest of Grandpa Gohan. She knew his motives were to help "cure" her anger towards a Guardian she would not name, but reasoned that it might be of some help to her, all the while Grandpa Gohan watched her like a hawk.

Like Tien had done with Tao, the students of the gang implemented the brutal sparring practices of Crane by doing battle with their far stronger opponents, Raditz and Gine. This served several purposes to both increase their strength, get a real sense of what a real fight against Saiyans would be like, and to help sharpen Raditz's growing skills. Gine had to insistently remind and caution Raditz that although the purpose of the exercises were to show them the brutality of their kind, that he had to be careful to not accidentally kill anyone either, no matter how blinding his bloodlust got. Reluctantly, he complied, and almost every fighting member of the gang was nearly beaten to death trying to fight Raditz on their first go at him.

It was as brutal as advertised with Yamcha having his legs broken again and Chiaotzu nearly vaporized, but after that first sparring session and some senzu beans, the fighters understood the seriousness and fought with as much professionalism and viciousness as Tien. Each new fight with Raditz, the stakes were increased. Raditz was improving every day too. For after the slow start, he was becoming a fast learner like his brother on how to be a better fighter. His mother and everyone else fought with him to share their techniques and Raditz in turned helped by divulging everything he knew of his former comrades, from their specialty moves to their personalities, so everyone would know what to expect from the pompous Saiyan prince and his dimwitted hulk of a right hand man.

Through this routine of intense training, comfortable rest, hearty eating, and forward intelligence from Raditz, they were all slowly but surely getting stronger. Soon, they will be ready to take on the Saiyans for sure... Maybe...

"HYYYAAAAH!" Yamcha and Tien Shinhan yelled together as they charged towards Raditz. Punches and kicks flew, but the larger Saiyan ducked and dodged every move thrown at him with with ease.

Then out from behind, Krillin and Chiaotzu swooped in to kick Raditz off from his own feet by hitting the back of his knees. The combined force of the two made Raditz stumble backwards, ducking from the high swooping kicks from Yamcha or Tien that would've hit his face but falling flat on his back. The two shorter fighters then tried to pounce on him from either side, but Raditz quickly phased away before being hit.

"Where'd he go?!" Krillin panicked. But the other two human fighters, Tien and Yamcha, anticipated this move and turned on their heels just in time to face Raditz as he reappeared with hands out and firing golden ki.

Yamcha and Tien leapt aside from the energy attack paths, exploding far behind them, then all four of the Earthlings pressed their initial attack again on Raditz. The Saiyan blocked every hit thrown at him, but the Earthlings kept up the offense without any signs of wear as they did for the last two hours, still trying to land a blow.

Master Roshi sat cross-legged on the lush green grass as he watched the fight between Raditz and the four from the sidelines with an examining eye. Launch stood behind Roshi as she watched too, wondering if she should cheer Raditz or Tien. Gine and Chi-Chi, meanwhile, were sparring in the next meadow over with Little Gohan watching.

"I can barely see what they are doing! They are moving so fast!" Launch remarked, enthralled by the action.

"Mmmmm." Roshi frowned thoughtfully. "Same here. Can you believe that?"

The five combatants quickened their pace and became blurs of green, orange, and black. Roshi was having to make an effort to closely follow every move. His students were improving very quickly, something he both loathed due to his old age and prided for how far his students had come in the last four months of intense training under Gine. And he too was proud of how well that woman was doing as a teacher, even if she didn't believe it herself.

Raditz kept up his defense against the combined frontal assault from the four human fighters. Roshi knew that Raditz didn't have to move out of the way, for his power eclipsed any of his students and could've just took the hits without damage, but the eldest son of Gine was commendably determined to practice the defensive techniques he had picked up. Roshi was also impressed with how much longer Tien and Yamcha, who did the bulk of frontal assaults, could go on fighting without tiring out like they used to. He was glad to have the Saiyans around for teaching his former pupils how to increase their stamina.

Thinking he had enough of evading, Raditz phased out of sight to reappear behind Yamcha and Tien again, but this time to elbow them in the backs and jut out his legs to kick Krillin and Chiaotzu away. The Earthling fighters cried out in pained surprise as they were sent flying away, but they quickly recovered by flipping over to bounce back at their target, charging with their battle cries.

Raditz, smirking at how all four were converging on his spot, phased out at last second to let them all crash into one another in a painful heap of limbs and cursing.

"OW!" They all cried out, bumping each other's heads against one another. To anyone else, the sight would've been hilarious. Even Launch giggled at that a little.

"Hahahaha!" Raditz laughed from up above, watching the four of his challengers untangle themselves from each other. Then shouted down, "Is that all you got?!"

Yamcha shook his fist up at Raditz. "We're not done with you yet, Raditz!"

The four humans leapt up into the air together, in the next second rejoining Raditz in battle against him. The Saiyan went back on the defensive by blocking all of their flying punches from every direction with his arms and legs.

In this four-against-one battle, Raditz was doing rather well. Considering how with this number of opponents and that their cumulative power was greater than his they could've overwhelmed him, and Raditz was surprised at how he could see their moves faster than he could before. A couple months of sparring with his mother had taught him the importance of technique, and forced him to learn what all the others had learned over the course of their lives in a short time. This proved quite fruitful for Raditz. Even if he was far from catching up to his mother, his defensive and offensive capabilities had sharpened dramatically still, and could actually have real fights with his mother if they just stuck with moves before she steamrolled over him with her raw power. So he trained his new moves further with the others, helping them get stronger too.

Despite his own training, the hits from the humans hurt whenever his defenses slipped. At least the training program was working for them too. He had to admit that for as weak humans were compared to Saiyans, they were very adaptable.

Wanting to break the stalemate, Raditz put some energy into his legs and flew even higher into the air. He raised his right hand above him, ready to charge a Saturday Crush and knock them all out of the sky when they came to charge up at him. His tail waved behind him eagerly.

But Tien, Yamcha, Krillin, and Chiaotzu did not immediately fly after him. They looked at each other as if having an unspoken conversation of strategy. With one more second to nod, they all then leapt into the air to follow after the Saiyan.

Raditz smirked to himself, thinking he had them. Orange electricity crackled in his raised hand as he prepared to fire his attack. It will be just enough energy to stun, not kill, his opponents.

"HEYAH!"

He flung the orange bolt of energy to the group. The four of them split up to let the large energy blast go by them, but Raditz grinned even more wickedly. Although he missed, he had developed another nasty but useful surprise he could use now!

Instead of letting the missed attack continue on, he detonated it in midair before the fighters could get past it. The explosion sent all four of them flying away uncontrollably, stunned by the disabling orange electrical shock. It bought Raditz the time he would need to pick them off one by one.

Tien was the quickest to recover and right himself. Before he could do anything else, Raditz appeared in front of him with a kick to the abdomen. The bald three-eyed human gasped in agony and was sent hurtling back. But before Raditz could go after the next fighter...

"KAMEHAMEHA!" Came Yamcha's voice from behind. Raditz turned just in time to be engulfed in the bright blue energy of the signature Turtle School attack.

"GOTCHYA!" Yamcha boosted, having recovered faster than he thought.

But when the smoke subsided, Raditz floated there still intact. He had crossed his arms to fend off the brunt of the attack and was not hurt at all, but his new gi was scorched.

"Hehe... Nice one, Yamcha." Raditz complimented. "But that won't save you from-AAAGH!"

A razor-sharp pain shot up Raditz's spine that made him cry out. It was so debilitating that it left him paralyzed.

He knew what that pain was. Wide-eyed in alarm, Raditz turned his head back to see Krillin and Chiaotzu right behind him, and enraged to see them clutching his tail.

"Heh. You got careless." Krillin admonished. "We all remember how Kakarot hurt when his tail got squeezed. Chiaotzu, squeeze harder!"

The two baldies tightened their hands around Raditz's tail even more. A sudden, blinding bolt of pain like fireworks went off in Raditz's head, making him lose focus and fall out of the sky, screaming while doing so. Krillin and Chiaotzu held on to the tail for dear life as the Saiyan plummeted to the ground.

Raditz landed face down with a crashing thud. Both of the shortest fighters still had his tail in a death grip and touched down beside him. Tien and Yamcha reappeared also, landing on their feet in front of a helpless Raditz writhing on the ground.

"That was a good strategy you played, Raditz." Tien said. "You could have kept us together to take us out all at once with that blast, and failing that, stun us enough to divide and conquer. A great move!... But, as Krillin said, you dropped your guard when you showed off your tail. So I motioned everyone to split up and go around you when you thought you had us. Now with you at our feet and helpless, he'd have delivered a final blow you couldn't stop."

Krillin snickered from behind, "I guess this means we win this round! Right, Master Roshi?" He called out to the old man watching.

"That's mean strategy to use against him, Tien!" Launch complained.

Roshi nodded. "I suppose. But if Raditz can't get up again as long as they have him like this, then they've won. Let him go, Krillin!"

With that, he and Chiaotzu released Raditz's tail.

Raditz sighed in relief as the pain mercifully subsided. He wrapped his tail securely around his waist again to keep it safe. Then, he got angry.

"Grrrrr, you'll all pay for that!" Raditz seethed, lifting his face off of the grass. "That's a dirty trick to grab a Saiyan's tail!" He wasn't just angry at them, but at himself for not toughening up his tail just yet.

Yamcha shrugged. "You said so yourself that Saiyans fight dirty. We figured: why shouldn't we exploit a weakness if they would do the same to us?"

Despite the trickery and the attack at his Saiyanhood, Raditz smirked. "Well... looks like you humans aren't so soft-hearted afterall."

"We like to believe in mercy too... sometimes." Tien added.

Raditz got up and dusted himself off. "Well don't show any to the prince or Nappa. They'll sure as laugh at you before they kill you if you do that."

Master Roshi spoke up. "Still, it's always good to show at least some amount of kindness to even your worst enemies."

Raditz turned to him in disgust. "Not to my former comrades, old man. For Prince Vegeta and Nappa... Hell, we Saiyans despise the idea of mercy and kindness. It's a joke to them that showing compassion would get you anywhere if you wished to survive. Such things are only for the weak to be wasted among themselves. For could someone as powerful as Frieza ever do the same for those lower than him?..." He laced that last sentence with such venom as to make everyone's skins crawl, especially the sensitive blue-haired Launch didn't like hearing this. "No. All that matters is strength." He finished.

Roshi frown and hummed thoughtfully, for he hated this narrow and brutal line of thought from Raditz. But also as much as he hated how wrong it was, in a cold and heartless environment as the empire he had escaped from, he understood why Raditz would think that. To the Saiyan, it was the ONLY way of life he knew under the rule of this "Frieza". He couldn't blame them if it helped him survive.

"Even so..." The elder martial arts master lamented. "It's not always that hopeless. Yamcha and Tien here were once mortal enemies of your brother. Both of them were not strong enough to challenge Kakarot in battles to the death, but he showed them mercy when he could've easily killed them. Eventually, they became his friends and my best pupils."

"It's true." Said Tien. "Me and my friend Chiaotzu have done some regrettable things in the past, and we both wanted to kill Kakarot. Yamcha here wanted to as well when they first met. I even briefly surpassed Kakarot and wanted to kill him, but... I didn't. Kakarot had showed us forgiveness and acceptance. and somehow... It rubbed off on me, and I couldn't consider killing him anymore. I wanted him alive as a friend and not as an enemy."

Yamcha added, "We're not saying that we ought to forgive your old buddies or anything, it's just that sometimes a little kindness can go a long way. That's all."

Raditz looked away for a moment, thoughtfully as well. Although he still believed such notions of showing mercy were a futile errand for fools, something about it didn't sit well with his old prejudice.

His mother and brother were far more powerful than he was. Family or not, they could've killed him easily. With some rare exceptions like Raditz's own family, blood ties meant little in Saiyan society. Although it was forbidden to kill other Saiyans for population reasons in the days of planet Vegeta, if one committed treason or had the power to advance their goals, most Saiyans would not hesitate to kill their own parents, siblings, or even children on the spot if they were ordered to or got in their way. It was their own fault if they weren't strong enough to save themselves. More so for the other races they conquered, and for why Frieza had dominion over them all.

Strength was all the mattered. Raditz had failed to acquire such power to determine his own destiny as Vegeta and Nappa have, and they used their power to inflict their whims over him. He had no one to blame but himself and his pathetic genes for being a low-class warrior.

His mother and brother mastered their power to determine their destinies, but they did not kill him. Nor did they kill all who crossed their paths. Instead, they became their friends. They developed such fruitful bonds that spawned friendships, and even a family. Their compassion for the weaker humans paid off in a way that greatly benefited their lives and the lives others. And this Tien, who had the opportunity to kill Kakarot, was living proof that those once considered your enemies could become your allies if you treated them right, even if they were stronger. Wasn't that reason enough to believe that, maybe strength wasn't always everything?

"Hn." Was Raditz's only answer.

While compassion was a radical idea for the Saiyan, he thought of Frieza... and wasn't so sure if it could extend to everyone...

Meanwhile, over on the other side of the field, the sound of ki blasts being fired broke Raditz out from his train of thought...

Gine and Chi-Chi were going at each other. The latter hovered in the air, yelling as she hurled a volley of white energy blasts like a meteor shower that rained down on Gine below. The Saiyan matriarch dodged each blast expertly, rolling out of the way before the ground around her erupted in small explosions. Both of the women's fighting dresses were filthy and tattered, they had been sparring for the good part of the day. Little Gohan sat on the grass from the side, watching with awe at his mother's ferocity.

Gine summersaulted forward to dodge the last ki blast and launched herself straight up at Chi-Chi, landing a light kick into her daughter-in-law's stomach that made her eyes bulge and sent her flying up then backwards.

"Don't press your attack for too long!" Gine called out to the falling Chi-Chi.

Chi-Chi, recovering her wits, flipped over in mid-air and eyed her mother-in-law warily. She was still in freefall.

"HOW ABOUT I RENEW IT, THEN?!" She shouted back.

The young woman cupped her feet behind her, raising an eyebrow from Gine until she felt alarm. Where had she seen that before?!

"KAMEHAMEHA!" Chi-Chi yelled, firing the blue blast from her feet and propelling herself at Gine like missile with her fists extended. The gap closed quickly and the two women clashed with a shockwave that blew Little Gohan over.

Gine had crossed her arms at the last moment, shielding herself from the brunt of the attack but Chi-Chi's momentum drove her heels into the dirt and leaving two skid trails.

Chi-Chi groaned under the strain of trying to push Gine more, she would not budge, but left her side open. Whirling a roundhouse kick, Gine had to block it with her arm, then Chi-Chi used the break in her mother-in-law's defense and socked her in the cheek.

Gine was slightly stunned, but recovered just as Chi-Chi punched again, sending her backwards. Blocking the third to her face this time, Gine now realized she was on the defensive. Chi-Chi had her retreating, keeping her blocking but unable to counter.

"COME ON! IS THAT ALL YA GOT?!" Her daughter-in-law taunted. Her eyes alive with the determination to win this fight. Although Gine was holding back by a considerable amount and knew she could easily pulverize Chi-Chi if she wanted.

But Gine was sparring within the confines of her skill only, no power, so Chi-Chi could remaster her skills. So far, Gine was impressed with what she was seeing. For all of Chi-Chi's worries of being too far behind, the young woman had caught back up in no time flat once she started sparring seriously with her mother-in-law. Light at first until Gine increasingly used more and more of her reserves of strength when Chi-Chi got stronger. Then in the preceding four months, Chi-Chi had caught up and surpassed what her strength was from before! Reaching the same level as Tien and Yamcha, and she was still getting stronger every day. She was very tenacious, always on the attack with great aggression, never letting up until her foes were overwhelmed or if she dropped from sheer exhaustion. Gine couldn't be more proud of her daughter-in-law.

It was really great to see Chi-Chi in her element again. She herself confided to Gine that she had missed this part of her life ever since Little Gohan was born, but had set it aside to raise her son. Gine sympathized with her, knowing full well the responsibility of having to raise a son herself and not pursue her passion. But somehow, through the routine Gine had establish for everyone's training, Chi-Chi was able to find the time to make sure Little Gohan's home schooling was maintained, despite their worries about it being difficult. But more than that, Chi-Chi had finally found a balance that allowed her to do what she wanted and make sure her son's needs were met. Gine hadn't seen her more happier than when she came to her and told her she realized she had time to fight after Little Gohan's math class. That, to her shock, she had a couple hours of free time. "Who would've thought!?" She yelled when she told her.

Chi-Chi couldn't express how grateful she was of her husband's mother's ingenuity, but Gine surmised it as nothing but the needs of their current situation, and she herself had achieved something like that before with Kakarot since his homeschooling was nowhere near as advanced... nor was the training as intense. Still, she and Chi-Chi both felt a sense of comradery at being the "stay-at-home warrior moms" as Chi-Chi often joked that they were.

Deciding to break out of the backfoot, Gine let out a shockwave of ki that sent Chi-Chi staggering back. It did not hold her off for long as Chi-Chi regained her balance and lurched forward again, but now Gine was free and charged forward as well.

Both women meet with locked fists, each letting out ki in their attempted to try and overpower each other. Gine stopped her power at just a hair above the threshold of Chi-Chi's, and the release of energy had both of them blown back. They fell to the ground, each skidding to a stop.

Gine got back to her feet first, then Chi-Chi. Both had a split second to think of their next strategy. But then, Chi-Chi phased out.

Gine was instantly on her guard. She felt her daughter-in-law's presence all around her, using superspeed...

Several apparitions of her appeared around Gine in an encircling movement. Gine knew where she was, but strained her eyes to see Chi-Chi's afterimage. It showed in flashes that she was moving her finger tips to her forehead...

Suddenly, Chi-Chi stopped right behind Gine, a green dot of ki on her forehead...

"I'LL BURN YOU TO A CRISP!"

The green laser fired as Gine wheeled around and raised her arm to block it. The resulting explosion rocked the meadow, throwing dirt, rocks, and smoke in all directions. As the smoke billowed from where Gine stood, Chi-Chi phased out of sight again.

Gine winced as the smoke cleared. Her arm was alright, but the cloth of her sleeve was scorched off. That actually hurt a little, and she had to use some of her ki to deflect the brunt of it.

Before she could do anything, Chi-Chi had phased behind her mother-in-law for an elbow to the back of the head, stopping short of hitting. If Gine had been human and the fight real, it would have been a killing blow.

Gine smiled to herself as she realized that the big attack was a diversion. She had let her guard down to protect herself form it, and it gave Chi-Chi the opening she needed.

"Well done, Chi-Chi!" Gine capitulated. "You got me!"

"YEAH!" Chi-Chi let out. She backed away, out of breath but looking triumphant. From the sideline, Little Gohan clapped. "Way to go, mommy!"

Gine turned around to face her. "Not as drained as you used to, going this long!" She remarked proudly.

"Thanks!" Chi-Chi wheezed, huffing and puffing to catch her breath. She bent over to support herself on her knees. "Well... still kinda... takes energy out of... me, especially after using... that volley and Kamehameha."

Gine shrugged then went on. "Still, you found a way to get around my guard. As I keep telling everyone, even someone weaker than Saiyans can overpower them if you are smart and skilled."

The rest of the group had been watching the fight intently while taking a break from their session. Raditz took note of the multi-form move he saw his brother's wife do. He had seen his mother do it before also, this "Afterimage technique" as it was called, but had not figured out how to do it himself. He was close, and by watching someone else do it seemed to give him a better understanding. The weaseling part of himself mentally remarked that such a move could prove quite valuable as a means of distraction, and the way she used it to surprise his mother with that finishing move was astounding. He must remember to inquire her about it.

"Still, that's another limit broken! You are becoming quite a warrior, Chi-Chi. I'm so proud of you." Gine said appraisingly, and gave Chi-Chi her a congratulatory hug. But then she held up her scorched sleeve.

"But you will fix my outfit." She playfully scolded.

Chi-Chi laughed, as she regarded both of their ruffled and dirtied attire. "Nothing a little detergent can't fix." She joked, earning an eyeroll from Gine.

With the match concluded, they all broke for their mid-day lunch of chicken with carrots and turnips. Launch helped with making this dish with Grandpa Gohan earlier, and everyone complimented that her culinary skills had noticeably improved, though made sure there was no pepper around when they made those remarks. Grandpa Gohan joined them as well. He did not partake in the training at since he felt he didn't have much to offer than what they could teach other. They all accepted that, though he did still partake in the daily meditations with Gine.

As they wound down before continuing in the mid-afternoon, they discussed how their fights went to each other and whatever needed to be improved in some's technique. Afterwards they lounged around to rest up for an hour or so before the next round of sparring. It was a beautiful day out at the height of spring. The flowers were blooming, wildlife coming out of hibernation, and birds chirping everywhere. Little Gohan was in a field of poppies not far from where Gine and Chi-Chi were sitting.

They watched as he was picking the flowers out and categorized them, a little interest he had picked up during his studies and further expanded upon from the field work training he partook in. A butterfly flew out of one of the blossoms and Little Gohan giggled as he tried to chase it. His hands were as callused as everyone else's were from the hard labor, but not to the extent that the other fighters had from their sparring.

For some reason, that thought and the sight of Little Gohan so obliviously happy irked Gine.

When she thought about it, the young Saiyan hybrid did not partake in much of the sparring as much as she would've liked. Although Chi-Chi had found the balance of teaching him and sparring with him too, Little Gohan was buried in his textbooks half the time and had been very hesitant of the fights they were all having. He only did the same basic combat matches with his mother over and over again, as he always had before back home. In doing so, his progress was the slowest of them all. Granted that he was only four years old, but at that age Kakarot was already fighting with everything he had against Gine. Any Saiyan worth their salt should have had to at least try and learn how to fight for real by then. And then there's the somber reminder of what they were all here training for...

"Hey Gohan!" Gine called out to her grandson.

Little Gohan stopped chasing the butterfly and turned to her. "Uh, yes, grandma?"

Gine waved him over to her. "Come here! Breaktime is over. We need to get back to training, and I want to spar with you next."

Everyone at the table, and Chi-Chi who sat next to Gine, were surprised at that order.

"Uhh, me?!" Little Gohan pointed to himself in confusion.

Gine shook her head at him playing dumb. "Yes you, silly! Who else?"

Little Gohan seemed taken aback at his grandmother's insistence, but dutifully obeyed her command and started running over to them.

"Uh, Gine? Are you sure Gohan's ready for training with you?" Chi-Chi asked uncertainly.

Gine turned to her daughter-in-law and nodded. "Absolutely. You've done well with him so far, Chi-Chi." She partially lied. "Now I'd like to teaching him a few things too and take things up a notch."

"Up a notch?" Chi-Chi looked somewhat concerned at what that meant. Being the overprotective mother that she was, Chi-Chi was hesitant about exposing her son to the kind of brutal fighting that she and the other adults are used to. Even if Little Gohan had the fabled warrior blood of Saiyans in him, he was still a child.

"Yes." Gine confirmed. "You've already taught him the basics of self defense. Now we need to help refine it and teach him how the best kind of defense is good offense tactics. So I'll teach him how to do basic attacks."

"But you said you weren't going to teach him such things!" Chi-Chi objected.

Gine sighed impatiently. "I said we would teach him how to defend himself and make time for him to study also. We've figured out a perfect routine, right? You made sure his lessons were done and taught him as best you could about rudimentary combat? Well, we did! Now we can move on to more advanced things so he can be all the better at it."

But-" Chi-Chi was about to say more, but Gine silenced her.

"Don't worry, Chi-Chi. I'm not going to go all out on him like I do with you. I just want to spar with him to help him learn how to be a better fighter by going up against a stronger fighter like me, alright?"

Chi-Chi looked away for a moment, still not convinced until Krillin spoke up.

"Uh, gotta go with Gine on this one, Chi-Chi. Little Gohan could use a bit more practice rather than just fighting with you all the time."

"I agree too. Without the variety in fighting different opponents, his skills in combat will be stagnant." Voiced Tien that Master Roshi agreed and echoed. Raditz, who just finished his mountain-sized plate of chicken and turnips, just regarded the conversation curiously. He wondered what his nephew was capable of as a hybrid, so he hoped Chi-Chi would relent.

Little Gohan stopped in front of them and regarded Gine and his mother with uncertainty, knowing that their conversation was about him. His tail waved behind him patiently.

Chi-Chi still didn't fully feel comfortable with the idea, but she trusted her mother-in-law. For the woman who handled raising the man who was Chi-Chi's husband, she knew Little Gohan was in good hands. Grandpa Gohan gave her a reassuring look too, and finally she sighed. "Oh, alright then."

"Excellent!" Gine got up and cracked her neck. "Alright, Gohan, let's get started."

Little Gohan obediently followed his grandmother about a dozen meters away to a clearing. The rest of the gang took this as their cue to get back to their own training and headed to another spot while Grandpa Gohan stayed behind to watch both groups with Launch. Chi-Chi followed her son and mother-in-law, out of both curiosity and of maternal instinct.

Gine faced her grandson and crouched into a fighting stance. Little Gohan followed suit with a rudimentary version of the Turtle school defensive stance he had seen his father do. Gine grimaced slightly at the armature posture, but knew she would address that in due time.

"Go ahead and attack me, Gohan." Gine commanded.

Little Gohan, who was expecting for her to attack him instead, looked confused.

"Uhhh... you want me to attack you?"

"Yes. I want you to go on the offensive this time." She answered.

Gine could see how this was a big change up for him from his normal training routine and calmly explained, "This is going to different, Gohan. Part of training is also knowing how to attack your enemies when you fended them off enough. It's as important as learning to defend yourself."

Chi-Chi, who stood by the side and watched, looked anxiously between them.

"Now, go ahead and try to hit me." Gine instructed again.

"uhh..Okay." Little Gohan shrugged and went with it.

Gathering all the strength he had in his small body, he charged at his grandmother with a kick. Gine, however, easily sidestepped him. Little Gohan landed behind her, teetering on one foot and almost losing his balance. He turned around to see his grandmother looking at him expectantly. Little Gohan leapt at her again to go for a punch to her face. This time, Gine brought her hand down to land a chopping strike on the boy that sent him back down to the ground. She used very little force in the move, but the young boy cried out "OW! THAT HURT!"

Gine crossed her arms and reprimanded him. "You left yourself exposed when you attacked me. Didn't your mother tell you to always keep your guard up?"

Chi-Chi looked at Gine and didn't care for that little remark, nor did she like the sight of her son getting distressed.

Little Gohan looked down at himself in shame when he realized that she was right. "I guess so."

"Well come at me again. See if you can do better. I know you can." Gine ordered as if she expected it.

Feeling some unexplainable pressure of not disappointing his grandmother build up, Gohan hastily got back into stance. However it was a bad as before, if not worse by the anxiety he was feeling.

He charged at her again with a flying kick, but Gine dodged it. He threw another kick again, which was also evaded. Then the fight quickened as Little Gohan charged at his grandmother with all the threatening power of a toddler.

Gine was not impressed with what she was seeing. Aside from the all the plowing and the lax sparring sessions with his mother, this was the first real combat lesson for her grandson. His skills were as basic as Raditz's, even if he was only four. Still, as a Saiyan Gine felt he ought to have at least some instinct to attack. Even she, a pacifist, knew when to take the initiative correctly.

Little Gohan clashed with Gine in the middle and the fight turned into a pathetic display that she could only call playfighting. Gine only threw light punches at Little Gohan for him to try and dodge as it would be easy enough for him, but he would get hit. in turn, she tried to give him an opportunity to hit an opening she'd leave out, but he didn't go for them and just dumbly went after her. It was almost too embarrassing for Gine to partake in.

"Come on, Gohan! Put your back into it!" Gine said impatiently. Gohan picked up the pace. But only mildly for Gohan to still see. It wasn't enough, and her building impatience made her suddenly lash out. "GET MEANER THAN THAT!"

Little Gohan stopped fighting, startled and frightened by how his grandmother could raise her voice at him. He only stammered, not knowing how to fight harder than he was before. What was he doing wrong for her?!

Exasperated at his indecisiveness, Gine decided to switch things up. If he wasn't going to get serious with her, then she ought to show him how by going on the offensive herself.

"Alright, Gohan, now it's my my turn. THIS is how you attack."

Gine gave Little Gohan no further warning as she suddenly pounced on him.

"Whoa! GRANDMA?!" The boy cried out in surprise and panic. He barely dodged every move thrown at him, and he did not like it one bit.

As expected, Gohan couldn't dodge fast enough and his grandmother's fist slammed right into his face. He fell over like a sack of potatoes and started bawling his eyes out.

"AAAAHHH OWY! THAT HURT!" Little Gohan wailed. "WHY'D YOU HIT ME LIKE THAT?!"

"Hey, go easy on him, Gine!" Chi-Chi protested, rightfully worried for her son. Gine shot her a patronizing look.

"You've been too easy on him so far, Chi-Chi. He can't learn how to defend himself properly if we don't take this seriously."

Chi-Chi was taken aback by this backtalk. Didn't Gine just tell her that she was doing alright with how she trained Little Gohan so far? And did she have to cause this much distress to her son? But then she thought of what they would all have to do to protect their home planet soon. If she had been too soft on Little Gohan, how would he fair up if the Saiyans went after him? Still, Chi-Chi couldn't help but notice how moody Gine had become sometimes. especially since the day Raditz arrived four months ago. But Chi-Chi did not question her mother-in-law's judgement... yet.

Gine turned back to Little Gohan, who was still sobbing. She placing her hands on her hips and sternly ordered, "Stop crying, Gohan. Get up."

He didn't hear her at first, but his crying turned to sniffles and looked up at his grandmother as she spoke again.

"You can do better, Gohan. This time, I want you to attack me just like I attacked you, got it?"

Little Gohan stood there dumbly as if he didn't know what to do.

"Come on, Gohan. Get up and attack me!" Gine repeated curtly.

Little Gohan snapped out of it and shakily got back on his feet. He was scared of his grandmother's angry tone towards him, and he had never seen her like this before.

Not wanting to be yelled at again, Little Gohan tried to charge her. But she easily swatted him away with a backhand that made him cry out in pain.

"WAAAAHHHH! GRANDMA!" He whined.

"Stop it!" Gine snapped, making him stop crying abruptly out of fear. Now Chi-Chi was really worried, even the other members of the gang and Raditz stopped to glance over at what the commotion was.

"Gohan, if you want to beat me you need to go on the offensive, not just defend yourself forever."

Little Gohan just stood there, trying to process Gine's words. "Ummm, you mean by attacking you?"

"Yes!" She huffed, her patience with her grandson wearing thinner.

His face contorted into a mix of fear and... shame?

"But... I don't wanna attack you."

This caught Gine by surprise. "Why not?" She asked.

"Because I don't want to hurt you." He said plainly.

Gine raised an eyebrow at that. Was that what this was all about? She thought.

"Sweetie, you don't need to worry about hurting me. I can take whatever you throw at me, okay?"

Little Gohan didn't seem convinced, and was starting to feel uncomfortable. But reluctantly he nodded. "O-Okay."

"Now come at me again!" Gine ordered while getting back into stance.

They go at it again with Little Gohan shooting for more strikes, but her gentle encouragement didn't work. He still held back, and she easily countered or evaded. So if he was afraid of hurting her even though he had not the strength to do so, then what was the problem? This was starting to infuriate Gine. Off to the side, the other fighters and Raditz joined Chi-Chi to watch her train (or more appropriately whip) Little Gohan.

"Come on, Gohan! I said: attack me!" She chastised. But he didn't, for instead he was retreating compulsively.

"The boy doesn't have it in him, mother." Raditz remarked with his arms crossed.

As much as Gine hated to admit, it was becoming increasingly apparent that Little Gohan was not a fighter at all. All this training, all this coaxing, all this encouragement, and nothing worked to motivate him to try and take it seriously. He was more of a pacifist than her. And for some reason it sickened her.

"Come on, Gohan. You need to do this!" Gine pleaded.

But Little Gohan just stood there.

"I..." He whimpered, looking at the ground. "I don't wanna do this anymore."

"What? Why not?!" Gine asked incredulously.

Little Gohan was now shaking as if on the brink of tears. "I... I don't wanna. It's not fun anymore."

"Fun?!" Gine recoiled in disgust. "Gohan... This is not a sport. Do you understand? You have to fight, or else when those Saiyans get here, they will kill you. What will you do then?" She lectured, her anger and impatience getting the better of her.

"Gine, tone it down. Will you? He's only four!" Chi-Chi objected, to which Gine ignored and pressed on.

"Gohan, do you know what those evil Saiyans will do to you if you can't fight back? Or if we aren't there to protect you?" Gine said threateningly. The boy didn't look up, his face obscured by his long shaggy hair but he had heard her.

"If you cannot defend yourself, they could kidnap you, take you back as a prisoner of Frieza's empire. As a half-breed Saiyan, they will regard you with nothing but contempt. It does not matter that you are a child. They might... or will beat you, torture you, and in the end: kill you. Not only that, but they kill your mother, all of us here, everyone you know or care about! Every man, woman, and child on this planet will die if we don't stop them! I will not allow that to happen while I'm standing, and least of all let my grandson just surrender like a weakling!" She shouted, unconsciously feeling like she was yelling at Kami on that day at the Lookout, letting all her contempt spill out in all it's vileness, but at poor Little Gohan instead.

Everyone flinched in shock. Of all the years they had known Gine, they had never heard her use such harsh language nor imagined her using it on her own four year old grandson who didn't know better.

"So come on! Fight me if you want to know how to survive!" She yelled at Little Gohan. The poor boy trembled violently, looking to be on the brink of an emotional breakdown.

"Okay, Gine. That's enough!" Yamcha tried to speak up.

"FIGHT ME YOU COWARD!" Gine shouted again, this time with ki in her voice that shook the ground.

"Stop screaming at my son! What's the matter with you?!" Chi-Chi screamed back. She was running up behind Gine to confront her and defuse the situation...

But then Little Gohan stopped trembling. He looked up at Gine with an enraged look that stunned the angry Gine into silence.

"NOOOOOO!" Little Gohan roared. His voice sent out a shockwave that reverberated through the air. Out of nowhere, a surge of power erupted from Little Gohan in an aura of energy that enveloped him.

Then suddenly, he rocketed at Gine with such speed that the older and more experienced Saiyan had no time to defend herself. The boy headbutted her square in the solar plexus. All of the wind was knocked out of her, and Gine was sent her hurtling backwards...

She crashed into Chi-Chi behind her with a loud smack and a sickening cracking sound of hitting something else. The two women fell back on the ground with Gine collapsing on top of Chi-Chi. Little Gohan fell away to the ground unconscious. Everyone stood there in shock and disbelief at what they had just witnessed.

Gine rolled over groaning. She felt the blossoming pain in her chest as if she was hit by a train. She was unhurt, just dazed at what just happened. She saw Little Gohan passed out on the ground to her side as if he was sleeping peacefully, looking uninjured at all after headbutting her. "What the..."

"CHI-CHI!" Someone screamed. Gine turned around and gasped in horror.

Her daughter-in-law lay on her back, twitching and gasping for air. Her head had rolled to the side, revealing a visible concave in her left side of her frontal from where Gine slammed the back of her Saiyan head against her fragile human skull. Dark blood oozed from the wound of cracked bone. Her eyes were wide in blank shock. Her neck had also snapped from the whiplash of Gine smacking into her, but she was somehow still alive.

"NO!" They all wailed. Even Raditz, who had only known Chi-Chi for a short time, was disturbed at the site. He had grown fond of the woman, having used to just see her as another weakling human and annoying wench. But after seeing her fight, seeing how she cooked, and how she made him laugh about stories of Kakarot, Raditz saw her as a fellow fighter, as his brother's wife, and as his nephew's mother.

Yamcha ran over to them and skidded to a stop beside them. "Uhh... SENZU BEANS! Do we have any?!" Yamcha asked desperately.

"Oh no! We used the last ones we had about a week ago, remember?!" Said Krillin.

Yamcha remembered. It was the last stock they had from their last visit to Korin's tower four months ago. The feline martial artist said he was growing some already before they got there, but didn't say how far along.

"Quick! We need to get her to a hospital, now!" He tried to scoop up Chi-Chi in his arms. But Grandpa Gohan quickly interjected.

"NO! DON'T MOVE HER! Her neck is broken, if you carry her unsupported you could kill her!"

Now everyone was panicking. Gine kneeled by Chi-Chi's side, unsure of what to do. Even without the broken neck, that strike to the head would make her bleed out in her brain soon.

"QUICK, DO WE HAVE A STRETCHER?! A BRACE?! ANYTHING?!" She pleaded.

"I'LL GO CHECK THE EMERGENCY MED KITS!" Tien ran back to the dome houses. But Chiaotzu said, "Wait! I got an idea!"

Chiaotzu lifted a finger that glowed. A second later, Chi-Chi's immobilized body was floating in mid-air, but straightened out and supported.

"Good work, Chiaotzu!" Gine praised.

Launch clasped her hands to her mouth, horrified by what she was seeing of her friend. "Oh Kami! Chi-Chi!"

Gine turned to Launch, suddenly remembering that she arrived here by jet car.

"We're too far from the city to call for an ambulance! Can't we fly her there in your jet?!" Gine asked desperately.

Launch, in her panic, looked between the downed Chi-Chi and up to Gine in indecisive shock. The poor girl couldn't handle the extreme stress.

"LAUNCH!" Gine yelled to snapped her out of it. "We have to move fast or Chi-chi is going to die! Can you fly us to the nearest hospital?!"

"U-uh-uhh, y-yeah I think so!" Launch stammered.

Gine quickly fell into action. "Okay, good! Go get it started! Chiaotzu, can you keep Chi-Chi up like this all the way there?"

"I can try!" The doll-like child fighter answered.

"Then we have no time to lose! Krillin, Yamcha, head up to Korin's see if he has any new senzu beans yet!"

Both of the men looked at each other reservedly. It was a gamble to see if Korin had any new beans harvested yet after they last saw him, but it was still Chi-Chi's best chance of survival.

"Right!" Krillin answered before taking off with Yamcha behind him.

"Alright. Come on, let's go!" Gine ordered the rest of them.

With that, Gine followed Chiaotzu as he levitated Chi-Chi's body towards Launch's jet. Tien scooped up Little Gohan, quickly checked his vitals and looked him over. He was amazed that not only was he alright, he wasn't even concussed after a major hit like that.

They all headed in the direction of the jet car that Launch had, now fired up and ready for takeoff. It was just big enough for them to fit in and so they took off together. Gine with Grandpa Gohan, Chi-Chi being held by Chiaotzu while Tien held onto Little Gohan, with Roshi and Launch in the cockpit. With room used for Chi-Chi to lay flat, Raditz elected to fly alongside them to West City.

As Gine prayed for Chi-Chi to cling onto life for just a little longer (and trying not to think of what brain damage she might suffer from the injury), she eyed Little Gohan cradled in Tien's arms. This was all caused by him ramming into her, and forcing her off her feet to crash into Chi-Chi by an unknown eruption of power, and that look...

A sense of astonishment washed over Gine as she looked at her unconscious grandson, recalling that moment of shock when he starred back at her with those wild eyes. For that look, and that explosion of raw power, was all too familiar to her.

But now she couldn't think of it's implications. Because she realized that all this was her fault. For even if he had the power she think he inherited from her, she had provoked him into attacking, and it may have costed her daughter-in-law's life.

She looked out the window as West City drew near, too ashamed of herself to look at her family any longer...

A/N: Uh oh, training accident! How will our heroes get back up from this? What could this mean for Gine, for Gohan, and Chi-Chi especially?

Tune in next time!