2: Meanwhile On Earth

Present Day, on Earth

"Gaaah!"

Goku crashed to the ground with a resounding boom, sand and dirt flying upon impact. Birds scattered, cawing angrily at the Saiyan who lay flat on his stomach in a human-sized crater.

"That was graceful," Whis chuckled as he floated over to where Goku lay, landing just a few inches from the hole Goku's body had made.

Beerus grumbled from where he lounged on one of the reclined beach chairs a few feet away. "Keep it down, will you? I'm trying to nap here. Whis, take them somewhere else."

"Didn't you just take a nap, like...an hour ago?" Trunks asked as he tried balancing his sword on his fingertip, tilting his head to the side.

Beerus glared at him. "Go play with dirt."

Goku groaned as he got to his feet, sneezing to rid his nose of the sand and grass that had invaded his nostrils. "Ow."

The summer sun was high and bright, beaming down on Earth like a great spotlight shining on a performer. White clouds dotted the sky, stretching as far as the eye could see. It was cool, the wind blowing most of the heat away. It was a rather beautiful day, and it was days like these that reminded Goku of how amazing Earth was, and another reason why it was worth protecting. The bright green leaves clinging to their respective places in the trees, the calming sounds of the ocean hitting the shore over and over again like a zoetrope, and the laughter of kids playing in the sand and excited dogs barking to each other all made Goku happy. Earth really was a paradise, a diamond hidden in the roughness that was the never-ending blanket of space. He had visited his fair share of planets in his lifetime, and none of them compared to the beauty and peacefulness that was Earth.

Whis and Beerus had agreed to come to Earth for a few days to train Goku and Vegeta in exchange for something the humans called "pie." They couldn't resist food, especially when Bulma talked it up like it was something truly significant. Beerus mostly napped, which wasn't much of a surprise, since he was a God, after all. An hour long nap was nothing but a mere blink compared to his normal naps, which usually lasted 50 years. However, Whis managed to drag him along with the promise of pudding. Bulma made sure to have several special batches made just for the God of Destruction after what had happened last time he didn't get pudding. Nobody wanted a repeat of that tantrum.

Goku plopped down in a chair, sighing heavily. "Man, Whis, you sure are good."

Whis smiled. "Well, I am an Angel."

"No need to rub it in." Goku whined, then he beamed. "Just wait. I'll get you one day. I just...need more practice doing that whole "not thinking before attacking" thing."

"That shouldn't be too hard for you," Vegeta mumbled from across the table, his arms crossed tightly over his chest.

"What?" Goku asked, looking genuinely confused.

"Nothing." Vegeta shook his head. "If you really think you'll get to be as good or even better than an angel, you'll need to do more than just practicing not to think."

"I have to do more?" Goku asked incredulously. "I thought having Whis train us was enough! I mean, he trained Beerus, and he kicked our asses like it was nothing."

"You're damn right!" Beerus said proudly, pumping a fist in the air.

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "Lord Beerus is a completely different subject. He's a God. You're a Saiyan. He trumps you effortlessly. He already had great power long before Whis became his teacher."

"I have a question," Bulma interjected, plopping down in the chair beside Vegeta, snatching up his hand to hold it. Vegeta grumbled something under his breath, but didn't deny her touch. "He's literally a cat, and acts like it, too. So how is he so powerful if he's just a little kitty?"

Beerus perked up and glared at her. "I am not a little kitty. Mind your tongue."

Whis laughed. "Well, she isn't wrong, Lord Beerus. If I'm not mistaken, you are what is considered anthropomorphic, which is an animal that acts like a human."

"And, like all cats, you're pretty lazy." Trunks chimed in with a smile, happy to have something to add to the conversation.

"You even groom yourself, it's really cute!" Bulma giggled.

"Alright, that's enough!" Beerus shouted, launching to his feet. "Must I remind you I can destroy this planet with the flick of my finger?"

"Oh, please, you won't." Bulma said with a wave of her hand.

Beerus froze, then turned to her with a raised eyebrow, his yellow eyes drowned in confusion. "What?"

"Bulma what are you doing?" Vegeta whispered, already starting to feel panicked.

Bulma laughed. "If you destroy Earth you'll be destroying the food you love so much. No more pudding or cake or sushi or meat of any kind!"

"Oh, yeah!" Goku chuckled. "That's right!"

Beerus groaned and flopped back down in his chair. "I'm going back to sleep. Keep quiet."

"Yes, my lord." Whis said, but smiled back at the rest of them. "Good one, Bulma."

Bulma smiled proudly. "I try."

Goku stretched his arms above his head, looking up at the sky fondly. "Hey, Vegeta, it's a pretty nice day, huh?"

Vegeta raised an eyebrow. "Sure, I guess. What about it?"

"Nothing, I'm just thinking about going for a fly around the city. Taking a small break from training can't hurt too much, can it? You should come, too. Maybe we can even race. I'll win, but a race is still fun." Goku smiled slyly as he stood.

"Maybe instead of racing, you should visit your wife." Bulma said.

Goku froze. "Oh, right."

Vegeta gaped at him. "Did you really forget you had a wife, Kakarot?"

"Uh...no! I was just...maybe she's busy?" He looked at Bulma expectedly, as if she had an answer as to whether Chi-Chi was free or not.

Bulma frowned at him. "Stop hiding from your wife and go."

Goku slumped over with a sigh. "Fiiiiiiiiine."

"You're dramatic." Vegeta said with a shake of his head.

"Oh, and you're so perfect." Bulma nudged him with her shoulder.

"I am, but what does that have to do with anything?" Vegeta replied.

Bulma sighed.

...

"Oh, don't worry, Jaco. This will be easy! Just fly around until you see something suspicious, then investigate like a real Galactic Patrolman."

Jaco grumbled, then punched a few buttons on the dashboard of his ship, and the engine roared as it soared faster through the blackness of space. The small red and white Frisbee-shaped ship sailed smoothly, stars and planets flying past in blurry colors.

Assigned yet another mission of finding a dangerous alien, Jaco was at the end of his rope. Not only were his superiors sticking him with the deadly aliens much bigger than him, but they also gave him very little information about where to find them. It was hard enough being small in size and having a weak power level.

He huffed and crossed his arms. "So unfair. There's nothing out here but empty planets. If there really was a dangerous alien out here, I'm sure Goku and Vegeta would be the first to handle it." He put air quotes around the word 'dangerous', then turned his attention to the abyss of black.

He had to admit that the view was quite breathtaking. All the glowing stars and moons lighting up the sky, as if just for him. He liked to think that sometimes. That everything was shining for him and him only. He was alone most of the time, so there was nothing to interrupt his train of thought. After the chaos that ensued when Frieza was resurrected and attacked the Earth, he figured he deserved a little luxury.

Sadly, evil never sleeps, Jaco thought sourly to himself. He watched the planets pass by, making up a game of calling out the color just before they vanished from sight. It was better than sitting in miserable silence.

"Red, red, green-blue, yellow, yellow, yellow-orange, purple, oh, pink, that's a new one."

A beeping from his monitors made him jump so hard he hit his head on the glass door over his head. "Ow, crap!" He rubbed his head and turned to glare at the monitor, hoping his computer didn't just pick up a measly comet and declare it a threat. It had done that a few times. The first time, he got so scared that there was an actual threat that he had started doing a handful of evasive maneuvers. He tapped a few buttons, then sat back in confusion, bringing the ship to a halt.

"A distress signal?" He said aloud, then leaned forward to stare out at the vacant space before him. "Who would be releasing a distress signal?" He hadn't picked up any kind of signal since he joined the Galactic Patrol, so he went on full alert.

It took him only a split second to realize that he wasn't just in any part of space. All around him, large chunks of rock floated past, but he knew better than to assume they were a colony of meteors. They weren't all going in the same direction, as they were scattered haphazardly, ranging in sizes from ity bity to extremely large. Planet Vegeta, Jaco thought, feeling his chest tighten. Such a terrible fate for the Saiyans. But if I had to guess, a distress signal would most likely come from here. There are no other planets or moons around, and I don't see any astray ships. But...who would still be in an area like this? I see no way of surviving. Maybe my monitor got it wrong. A fluke, or a glitch.

Just as he was about to put his ship back in gear, a rumble caught his attention. Not a terribly big rumble. More like a tiny growl that shook his ship ever so gently. He peeked over his console to the ruins of the planet down below, and spotted a very large portion of the planet still very much intact. It had lost its roundness, but it looked to be held together well enough to hold some life, but not strong enough to support it. A large, misshaped ball of grey and dark brown. How miserable, Jaco thought.

Suddenly, the rumbling intensified by tenfold. A bright yellow glow burst from the surface of the half-destroyed planet, a beam of pure energy shooting straight towards him. He screamed and grabbed hold of the steering wheel, jerking the ship backwards with so much force that it did a full flip. The beam shot past, radiating enough heat to melt a diamond in a few seconds. Jaco pressed himself against the wall of the ship, farthest away from the beam, panting as if he had just run a marathon.

The beam slowly disintegrated until the yellow glow that had enveloped his ship died down, returning back to the darkness that had been present before. The only light that was present now was the dull and pathetic glow of the buttons decorating the console.

Jaco took several deep breaths before he slowly peeked over the console and out the window at the planet remains. All was still and quiet, as if nothing had happened. He actually debated having imagined it. After all, spending too much time alone in space can do a number to your mental stability. The planet was the same as it had been just a few seconds ago.

He sank down in his chair, letting out a long breath as if he had been holding it in forever, and slowly reached for his communicator. He dialed a number without looking, knowing it by heart, then waited for the receiver to respond, meanwhile trying to stop his heart from beating right out of his chest.

"Jaco. Long time, no hear. How are you?" Bulma said happily, her voice somewhat staticky over the vast distance between them.

"Where are-" Jaco asked in a high pitched voice, then cleared his throat and spoke normally. "Where are Vegeta and Goku?"

"Uh, Goku just went to go see Chi-Chi, and Vegeta is right here with me. Why?"

Jaco sucked in a breath. "I think...I think we have a problem."