Gohan slowly stirred, the few hours of sleep he had gotten weren't enough to energize him, and he was annoyed because of it. He sat up against the log he used as a headrest and reluctantly opened his eyes, fully expecting the morning light to be blinding but it wasn't. As a matter of fact, the light wasn't even the kind of youthful yellow that one would see in the early hours of the morning, it was more of a golden color that was usually around in the evening. He looked over his shoulder, there was no tower, no tee-pee, no Upa, just forest. He looked up, the leaves on the trees were a mixture of red and yellow with slight hints of green here and there. A withered leaf twirled through the air and glided onto his lap. He picked it up and examined its elderly qualities.

These leaves are all wrinkly...but it's still summer.

He placed the leaf gently back on the ground amongst its kin and stood to walk deeper into the strange forest.

...Guess I'm still dreaming then.

He didn't know exactly where he was going, but something told him it was the right way. He followed this sense, this strange assurance that he was heading in the right direction until he came upon the remnants of an old trail. It was almost completely covered with leaves but was still visible due to the mossy rocks that lined it. He recognized this path, it was the path that led to him and his father's spring. He stepped onto it and began to walk along the right side, he dared not stray onto the left; that was his father's side. Goku always walked on the left, allowing Gohan to hold his hand as they made their way to the spring.

The trees cleared and opened into a small circular meadow that was populated by daisies and pink roses. In the center of the meadow was the apple tree, he walked slowly up to it and sat at the base of its strong trunk. The bark was very strange for an apple tree, rather than the usual course rugged bark that characterized most apple trees, this one was soft and smooth making laying against it an absolute pleasure.

He didn't question why he was dreaming this, he just enjoyed the peacefulness of it. He looked to the far side of the meadow and watched as the small waterfall trickled water into the spring below, he didn't feel like swimming although the temperature seemed to be appropriate for it, he just felt like relaxing, at least for the time being. It felt like he was able to rest there for hours, feeling completely safe and at home under the singular apple tree, he would have dared to say he felt happy but he would have known that to be a lie. There was still one final piece missing to this beautiful puzzle and he remained firmly out of his reach.

His attention was shifted as he heard a rustle from behind him in the forest, but when he tried to stand, his muscles refused to cooperate. His heart rate skyrocketed as his body refused to listen to him all the while the rustling grew louder and louder. His anxiety reached a peak when all noise stopped, he heard gentle footsteps approach the tree and a hand run across the bark. The black dress shoes were the first thing he saw, and Gero slowly appeared in front of him. He had no power to move, nothing was working, his eyes followed the old man as he stood in front of him.

Gero bent down placing one hand on the grass to support himself, Gohan could tell he was flesh as he heard the slight cracking of his joints as he sat down on the grass. He hadn't noticed the softer features that made the man look much kinder than the android version of himself Gohan had first met when he was nine. He still remembered that first engagement; the terror he felt when he heard Gero cackle madly as his father collapsed onto the floor and tore at his chest was resurfacing quickly, and not having the power to stand only further stoked his fears.

The terrified look in Gohan's eyes told Gero he was incapable of moving anything. He gave a crooked smile before standing up and slowly turning away from him, trying to be careful not to startle him more than he already had. He looked towards the spring's glistening waters. They were so clear you could see right through the surface even from as far back as the tree. He walked a couple of feet ahead of Gohan and carefully stepped into the meadow, avoiding each precious flower as he chose his spot to relax. Finding a perfect patch of grass that featured no flowers, he was quick to lay there, very tired for reasons unknown.

Gohan's breathing slowed, he wasn't in danger, at least for now. He felt his invisible straight jacket slip and suddenly he was free to move as he pleased. He got onto his feet and observed Gero; the old man had fallen asleep in the grass and was letting out a soft snore every couple of seconds.

Gohan could hardly believe he was dreaming this, this was his meadow, his spring, his safe place that carried only positive memories so how could his subconscious allow Gero here? Sure, some part of him wished to redeem the old man, but what he has done in the past is unforgivable. And the nerve to just lay down and relax like he had been there plenty of times before! Like he had any right to be there at all! How self-obsessed and egotistical could one man be?! He held out his hand and summoned a ball of energy, he brought it back behind his head and prepared to throw it at his sleeping foe but suddenly found himself incapable of launching it.

The ball evaporated and a sudden overwhelming sense of shame came over him. Was this the kind of person he was? Willing to attack an old man resting peacefully in the mist beautiful meadow. He fell back against the tree and felt his eyes burn and a few tears leak out, he wondered how he could even think about doing something so monstrous. He flung himself up to see if Gero was still there, he felt an obligation, no, a burning need to apologize. He looked towards the grass, it no longer carried the old man. Gohan searched the area circling the meadow at least a dozen times before giving up his search.

A sudden but small mouse-like voice made its way into his head.

Wake up, Jack!

Wake up!

It's Tao!

A sudden crash and subsequent vibrations shook Gohan into consciousness. Dust had clouded his vision but he stood up and managed to shift Upa behind him. When the dust cleared, it was Tao that stood only a few feet in front of him. He was visibly irritated, perhaps even more so than usual.

"Listen, boy, I am short on time and need that dragon ball, so hand it over unless you want to end up like that stupid 'Goku' friend of yours."

Gohan, still waking from his dreams and adjusting to the situation, had missed what he had said.

"Did you not hear me, boy? I said give me the dragon ball now before I take it by force!"

"You aren't taking anything!" Goku yelled as he landed at Tao's left.

Gohan saw the look in his father's eyes, the look that screamed 'I will beat you to a bloody pulp', it was so intense it nearly frightened him. He had seen it plenty of times before but he looked unusually angry. His teeth were exposed revealing his massive fang-like canines and Gohan could have sworn he heard a quiet growl emanating from the back of his throat. He felt out his father's ki and was surprised at how large it was compared to the last time he saw him. He tried to do the math and estimated that it was roughly three to four times as large; he was impressed, to make such awesome progress in only three days of training was truly amazing, it was something he knew only his father could do.

Tao could hardly believe what he was seeing. "You! You're alive?!"

"Yeah, my grampa's dragon ball protected me from your stupid Dodo Ray!" Goku yelled.

Never before had anyone had the courage or the opportunity to insult his signature attack, he seethed with anger. "Hng, it's Dodon Ray you impotent little mongrel!"

"Yeah, well, I don't think it really matters because after we're done you won't be able to hurt anyone else with it!" Goku said as he readied himself. He looked over at Gohan and Upa and was relieved to see they weren't harmed. "Jack make sure Upa's safe. I'll take care of Tao."

Tao smirked as he stepped lightly off the column, he kept Bulma's bag containing the dragon balls strapped onto him and rested his hands behind his back as he slowly approached Goku. "Oh really? And what are you going to do? The worst you could do is send me back to the tailor, now hand over that dragon ball and perhaps I'll be kind enough to spare your friends!"

Goku growled, "You don't scare me!"

The nerve of this shrimpy child began to nip at Tao, he clearly needed to be taught a lesson in humility. "Then perhaps this will!"

Tao rushed forwards and started with three kicks followed by his renowned death punch, a massive attack intended to splinter the sternum and send the fractured pieces into the heart. As he threw his fist towards Goku's chest, it was swiftly blocked by his knee taking Tao by surprise. The assassin jumped back, this was unprecedented.

"You blocked my death punch with your knee!"

Goku's focus waned, he couldn't resist the temptation to play with his opponent. "Yep, it's all I kneed. Get it? kneed?"

"What have you been doing these past three days? You didnt...you didn't climb the tower did you?" Tao asked.

His focus returned and he answered his question particularly venomously. "I did, and I drank the sacred water too!"

Tao's nerve seemed to waver a little, but he tried not to make it obvious. After all, his opponent was only a child, an incredible one, but still just a child. "No matter, even if the legends are true, you still don't have what it takes to beat me."

Goku smirked and responded confidently. "Well if you truly believe that, then come and get me."

Tao raised his arms and drooped his hands at the wrist, not dissimilarly to what Roshi had done back at the tournament. He took in a deep breath and stepped to the left keeping his eyes on his opponent. Goku did the same and the two soon circled each other waiting for the other to make the first move, and eventually, Tao did. He slid across the ground and attempted to kick Goku into the air where he could more easily strike him. He was pleased when Goku jumped to dodge his kick.

Foolish boy, I have you now!

Tao flung up off the ground in pursuit of Goku, the two traveled high into the air before Tao realized his fatal mistake: In his ambition, he just gave Goku the high ground. At the apex of his jump, Goku dove downwards into Tao and sent him flying back into the ground. When the mercenary slammed into the earth he was buried, leaving only his legs exposed. Goku then landed in his fighting stance. He knew that attack was nowhere near what is required to take Tao down so he waited patiently for the mercenary to recover.

Tao freed his arms and pulled the rest of his body from the ground somewhat ungracefully. He stood from the small crater, only giving it a short glance before glaring Goku down once more. His shirt was ruined by the impact, making this job more expensive by the minute

"Gah, you ruined my outfit again!" He angrily proclaimed, stretching the ends of his ruined shirt out in front of himself. "You are the only person to ever have done that to me! Oh, and you will pay dearly for it, believe me!"

Gohan watched as the man raised his hand and concentrated his ki. He recognized this attack and tried to warn his father. "Goku look out!"

Tao screamed putting as much rage and strength into his voice as his attack. "DODON RAY!"

The yellow beam shot with incredible speed from Tao's finger straight towards Goku. In the short time that it traveled towards him, Goku held out his hands to receive the blast and when the attack had ended it left only a couple of scratches on his palms.

Once the light from his attack had ceased, and Tao saw it had barely any effect, his mouth dropped and nearly popped a vessel in one of his eyes out of sheer frustration and disbelief.

Tao spoke in a calm but odd tone, one so full of surprise, it almost sounded impressed. "You blocked my Dodon ray."

"It can't hurt me anymore, just like my kamehameha can't hurt you." Goku said.

Tao, completely beside himself, whispered, "Absolutely unbelievable."

He blocked my Dodon Ray. My ultimate technique, my trademark finishing blow. It was reduced to nothing. T-there's only one thing left to try...

Yes! Yes! This is the sure-fire way to finally rid myself of this pest

He reached into his pocket for a capsule and pressed the button before throwing it into the air. A cloud of smoke appeared in the air and a sword dropped into his hand, he lunged forward attacking wildly in an attempt to stab Goku. Goku gasped as the blade nearly cut into his face, he ran backward as Tao continuously pushed him.

"Jack, My power pole!" he yelled as he ducked below a massive slash, managing to only lose bits of his hair to the attack.

Gohan, while keeping Upa behind him, grabbed the pole and threw it over to Goku. The mercenary continued to swing downwards, repeatedly striking the staff. He was not prepared when his sword snapped in half, his closed mouth drooped and his eyebrows raised as he examined the remains of his weapon, this was beyond explainable.

Goku swung the pole around Tao's legs and he landed flat on his rear. Before he could stand, Goku held the pole over him threateningly. "If you say you're sorry, give us the dragon balls, and promise not to hurt anyone else ever again, I'll let you go."

"Why would I make such a foolish promise! And, more importantly, why would I make it to you?!" Tao stubbornly managed out.

"Because you lost! Now give up and say you're sorry!" Goku stated angrily while bringing the pole closer to Tao's nose.

Tao laid his head in the grass and made it clear he had no intention of continuing to fight. "Fine, I surrender... and...I-I'm sorry."

Goku drew the pole away from Tao and stepped back "Good, now can you please hand over our dragon balls, then you can go."

Tao bowed as a sign of respect and agreeance to Goku's terms. "Y-yes of course... I have them right here in this bag."

Tao reached deeply into the bag and pulled the pin off of one of the grenades he kept in it. Goku heard the click as the pin released, and when Tao threw the grenade at him he kicked it back just as fast. Tao gasped as he caught the combustive pineapple in his arms, he raised it up to throw it again but before he could, it exploded in his palm encapsulating him in a blinding firey explosion.

The force of the grenade sent Goku flying back but let him unharmed aside from some scratches on his forearms. He looked sorrowfully at the circle of burning grass and the now evaporated general Tao, all that was left of him were the dragon balls and a few burning scraps of Bulma's backpack. He lifted up the two-star ball, he was thankful to have them back but regretted that the price of keeping them safe was Tao's life.

Gohan walked over to Goku and put a hand on his shoulder. "You did your best Goku, sometimes people's hearts are just too hurt to change."

In the reflection of the ball, Goku saw Gohan and remembered the stress of the night prior. He stuffed the ball in his gi and went to work inspecting him for signs of injury. "Jack I completely forgot! Are you okay? Last night I-I could have sworn you got hurt."

Gohan blushed as Goku looked at his arms and inspected his face for any scrapes or bruises; he did a similar thing after their practices in the time chamber with almost just as much worry. "Yeah Goku I'm fine, there were just some poachers snooping around, that's all."

Goku breathed a sigh of relief, Korin had managed to calm him down last night, but confirming that Gohan and Upa were safe himself put any concern he had firmly to bed.

"That's a relief, maybe I just worry too much." Goku laughed as he bent over to pick up the three dragon balls. "Now that we have these three back, we can go get the other two that the army has. What do you say, Jack, you ready to finally get rid of these guys?"

Gohan smiled, he was just as tired of dealing with the Red Ribbon Army as his father. "Yeah Goku, let's finish this."

Upa walked over to the two, the only reason he hadn't approached earlier was out of fear that Tao may still be alive, but now, it seemed the coast was clear. "Do you two really think you can do that?"

Goku wrapped an arm around Gohan and smiled down at Upa. "We sure can! Jack and I will have those dragon balls in no time, and when we do, we'll find the others, summon the dragon, and get your father back, Upa!"

Upa hugged his two warrior brethren. "Thank you both so much. Y-you don't know how much this means to me." He began sniffling as he finished speaking.

Goku patted his head. "Hey, don't be sad Upa we'll be back real soon, I promise."

Upa stood back and nodded, now was not the time to get too emotional. He would only have to be alone for a little while.

Goku called for the nimbus and the two stepped on. Before getting underway, Goku noticed he was only able to fit two dragon balls in his gi which meant that they needed somewhere else to put the other two. Upa saw that they needed something to carry them in and so he waddled his way into the tee-pee and came out with a ragged leather satchel.

"Here Goku, take this, it's usually for fish but it can carry the dragon balls."

Goku opened the satchel, it was surprisingly clean and carried the dragon balls nicely. He put three in but kept the four-star for himself, he didn't trust anything to keep it safer than himself.

"Thanks, Upa! We'll see you soon!" Goku said while waving enthusiastically. He could tell Upa wasn't excited to be left on his own, but he knew that he would be all right. Goku felt like Bora had prepared him for a situation like this. He sat down on the nimbus with Gohan behind him and the two took to the sky, traveling as fast as they could towards the Red Ribbon Armies two dragon balls.

He kept a close watch on the radar, they traveled closer and closer as each second passed but it wasn't fast enough for him, Goku wanted to be there now, not only because the challenge of defeating an entire army was thrilling but also because he had someone waiting for his return.

About halfway to the dragon balls both Goku and Gohan noticed a small circular drone following just a few yards behind them.

Goku stood and peered over at the thing which made it travel closer to him. "What is it, Jack?"

"It's some kind of drone Goku. But I don't think it's Red Ribbon, it has the capsule corp logo."

That name rang a bell for Goku. " Capsule c- Oh, Bulma's dad owns that right?"

Gohan nodded. "Yeah, if I had to guess, the camera behind the glass casing is probably her watching us right now."

He innocently looked into the red eye of the camera. "Y-you mean she's in that little robot?"

Gohan giggled, his father still had so much to learn about the world. "No Goku, she's probably watching from Master Roshi's. She must have built this to find us."

The droid seemed to nod in the affirmative just before shooting in front of the two, unknowingly heading towards the Red Ribbon base.

"Wow, it's so fast!" Goku said enthusiastically.

Gohan was puzzled.

Why are you sending a drone out Bulma, you can't be that worried about us...can you?

After going over the possible reasons and coming to no conclusion he eventually let the question slip from his mind.

The two continued on their flight until they came upon a few massive mountains, so large they were partially shrouded by clouds that floated beneath their huge white peaks. As they hurdled the troublesome obstacles, they were met by a valley populated by a massive pine forest. Off in the distance, the two could see the Red Ribbon Headquarters; it was a massive, hulking compound. There were multiple airstrips featuring long lines of jets and stationary helicopters, rows, and rows of tanks were parked in open-aired depots, just waiting for deployment. Truly it was an incredible and horrible sight, but it paled in comparison to the most oppressive feature of the base: The Castle. The castle's white stone walls were raised high above the tanks and the jets, towering over the surrounding area in an almost cathedral-like fashion. Inside its walls, the buildings were each covered and lined with gold, a symbol of the wealth and power of the Red Ribbon Army and a proclamation of its royalty and prestige.

Despite this seeming like the most daunting enemy Goku had ever been put up against, his courage didn't waver. He knew that with Gohan by his side there wasn't a damn thing the Red Ribbon Army could do to stop them, so he pressed forward, excited and determined to claim their two dragon balls.