12 Years Later...

On a fine, sunny morning in a forest near the Son cottage, Gine was peacefully meditating.

Even though the Saiyan was now older, she appeared to be physically no different than what she was years earlier.

Gine was also still dressed in her signature armor, despite the fact that its colors were starting to fade out.

Initially, she heard nothing but the sounds of birds chirping nearby.

Although, a few seconds later-

"HYAAH!"

"DAAAH!"

Gine chuckled softly, and shook her head.

"Looks like Supai and Goku are up to their usual sparring sessions again.", thought the female Saiyan.

She stood up, walked all the way over to the front of the cottage, and saw both her 14 year old son, as well as her 31 year old Fumian friend, duking it out in a rather intense manner.

Goku was dressed in a light blue gi, while Supai was dressed in a dark emerald gi. Her hair was also cut short to a bob length.

The two opponents leaped a few feet away from each other. They both waited to see what the other would do next.

After a few seconds, Goku unleashed a barrage of kicks onto Supai, who blocked each one of them.

The Fumian then sent a few palm strikes to Goku's face and chest, sending the young Saiyan to the ground.

"No fair! You promised you weren't gonna use any palm strikes!", angrily exclaimed Goku as he looked up at the former Frieza Force soldier.

"And what if I did?", smirked Supai, "Remember, Goku, you can never trust an enemy, especially in a fight."

Goku got up, and dusted himself off, "Yeah, I guess that's true..."

Supai looked past the small child and saw Gine standing nearby.

The Fumian grinned, "Hey, Gine!"

Upon hearing his mother's name, Goku turned around and exclaimed, "Hiya, Mommy!"

The little Saiyan happily ran up to his mother, and hugged her.

Gine hugged her son back, saying, "Hello, my little Goku."

Supai asked, "So, what brings you over here?"

Gine looked up at her friend and replied, "Well, I was busy meditating..."

Supai's eyes widened, "Oh, shoot! Sorry about that, Gine!"

The older Saiyan let out a soft chuckle, "It's alright. Just try to warn me next time."

"Y-Yeah, we will...", nervously chuckled Supai as she rubbed the back of her head.

Suddenly, the Fumian's stomach grumbled in a very loud manner.

"Welp, I'm getting hungry.", stated Supai as she rubbed her waist.

"Same here. I actually haven't eaten all morning...", said Gine with a small sigh.

Supai added, "And Bisuk's probably out searching for more stuff."

Goku happily spoke up, "I know! I'll go get some firewood and some fish for us!"

Gine turned to her son, "Okay! I'll come with you."

"Actually, I kinda wanted to go on my own this time around."

Gine worriedly asked, "Are you sure you want to go alone? It could be dangerous."

Supai scoffed, "Seriously, Gine? Kid's now 14 years old! Let him explore the wildlife for himself!"

Gine rubbed her arm, "I don't know..."

Goku smiled, "It'll be fine, Mom! Trust me!"

He grabbed a large saw nearby and hoisted it on his shoulder.

Goku turned back around to face his mother, "I'll make sure to come back here!"

The Saiyan woman stared at her son, and saw the determination in his eyes.

She sighed deeply, "Okay. Just try to be safe out there."

Goku nodded and ran off into the forest.

Supai questioned, "Y'know Gine, I was wondering...when are you ever gonna teach Goku flight? Or how to fire ki blasts?"

Gine replied, "I want to wait until he's older."

"Aw, what?! But you taught me and Bisuk about that stuff years ago, and we turned out okay!"

"I know that, but still. I don't know if Goku's ready. It might be too much for him to handle."

Supai rolled her eyes and muttered, "You can't pamper that boy forever..."

Deep in the forest, Goku ran over to a gigantic tree, and began cutting it down with the saw. After a few minutes, it collapsed to the ground.

Using his right hand, he chopped off a part of the tree, resulting in a small stump. The little Saiyan hopped onto it and began rolling out of the forest.

As Goku rolled past a gorgeous ravine, he saw a pair of monkeys hanging on a tree branch. They appeared to be mother and son.

"Hey there!", he cheerfully greeted.

The little Saiyan then continued on his way, and stopped at a cliff, which led to a massive waterfall.

He took off all of his clothes, and gracefully swan dived into the lake below.

While swimming in the water, Goku came across a giant blue fish.

The boy struck it with a swift palm strike, knocking it out.

He grabbed his prey by the tail, and got out of the water. Walking on some grass, he placed the fish beside him.

"Hey, Goku!", called out a familiar voice.

The little Saiyan looked up, and saw Bisuk standing at the top of the cliff.

The Pesutorian wore a dark red gi, and was holding a basket filled with various things. Surprisingly, he had gained a ton of muscle mass over the years, and was now standing taller than Gine.

"Hiya Bisuk!", said Goku as he happily waved at the Pesutorian, "What are you doing here?"

Bisuk replied, "I was just looking for more herbs and berries, when I saw you near the cliff."

The Pesutorian grabbed Goku's clothes, and flew down to where the Saiyan was standing.

"Here you go, little guy.", smiled Bisuk.

The Pesutorian gave the clothes to Goku, who happily said, "Ah, thanks!"

Bisuk looked away as the little Saiyan quickly put his clothes back on.

He turned back to face Goku and asked, "Ready to head back home?"

The boy grinned happily, "Yeah!"

Goku hopped on Bisuk's back, and the Pesutorian ascended up to the cliff.

Bisuk grabbed the tree stump with one hand, the fish with the other, and the basket handle in his mouth. He then proceeded to fly away from the cliff.

Gine sat on the front steps of the Son household, staring up at the light blue sky. She was patiently waiting for her son to return.

Supai was busy doing three sets of push ups, minding her own business. As the Fumian stopped and sat down, she saw Bisuk and Goku land a few feet away from the cottage.

Supai grinned, "Hey dude!"

Bisuk happily nodded at her, and walked over to Gine, still holding onto the various supplies.

Gine smiled, "Good morning Bisuk! Did you find your stuff?"

Bisuk carefully placed the basket on the ground and replied, "Yeah, and I ran into Goku here."

Goku happily added, "I found the firewood and fish!"

Gine exclaimed, "That's great!"

"See, Gine?", said a smug Supai, "I told you he'd be fine!"

Gine chuckled, "Okay, I guess you were right."

Bisuk spoke up, "Hey, um, do you guys recognize that vehicle?"

He pointed out to a small green car in the distance that parked itself near a tall tree.

A young, blue haired girl (presumbly around the age of 16) got out of the car, and began walked towards the cottage. She was holding some sort of odd device.

"Mom? Guys? Who is this?", asked Goku.

Gine replied, "I'm sorry Goku, but I have no idea."

The Saiyan mother asked the girl, "Excuse me, can I help you?"

The girl replied, "Yes. I was tracking down a Dragon Ball, and I'm getting some strong signals from this location."

She showed the pair her device, which had a green, computerized screen that somewhat resembled a small GPS.

"I was wondering if you had any idea where it is?"

Gine and Bisuk collectively questioned, "A Dragon...Ball?"

Supai asked, "The heck is that?"

Goku thought, "Hopefully its not some poor dragon's wee-wee..."

The girl smiled, and pulled out something from her small bag.

"This!", she exclaimed, showing a small orange orb with two red stars on it.

The group's eyes widened, and they all looked at one another in shock.

Bisuk exclaimed, "Wh-What?!"

Supai stammered, "Th-That looks like..."

Gine nodded, "I know!"

Goku questioned, "H-HOW?! HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?!"

The girl gained a confused look on her face, "Um...is everything alright?"

Gine looked back at the girl and asked, "Young lady, what's your name?"

The girl replied, "It's Bulma Briefs."

Gine nodded and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Briefs. We have exactly what you're looking for, but I'm afraid we can't give you the Dragon Ball."

Bulma exclaimed, "What?! Why not?!"

Supai stated, "A friend of ours once inherited an orb just like that."

"Oh, a 'friend' ?", scoffed a incredulous Bulma, "Then, where are they, huh?"

The group looked downwards, in a quiet, sorrowful manner.

Bulma's eyes widened as she realized what that meant, "O-Oh...I'm sorry. I had no idea."

Gine sighed, "It's fine. We were too late to save him anyway."

Bulma inquired, "What do you mean, 'too late' ?"

Gine, Supai, and Bisuk each began explaining the story: One night, approximately ten years ago, while Gohan was teaching Gine on how to control her ki, the pair heard a beastly roar.

They looked up and saw that Goku had transformed into a large Oozaru, the powerful ape-like form Saiyans achieve whenever they see a full moon.

Gine, Supai and Bisuk each tried to rip off the Saiyan's tail, but he was far too wild, fast, and destructive for them to handle, and the beast ended up crushing Gohan to death with his massive foot.

Eventually, through sheer willpower, Bisuk managed to burn his tail off, returning the little guy to normal.

The group buried Gohan's body, and held a small funeral for him the following morning.

Hearing this story again made Goku wince, as he still felt horrible for killing his adopted grandfather.

Gine finished, "So, we have each raised Goku together for the past ten years, making sure that he continues to be healthy and strong."

Supai sighed, "It's a shame that Gohan wasn't here to see it though."

Bulma put a hand to her chin and thought aloud, "Unless..."

The girl stared at her orb for a bit, making Bisuk, Supai, Gine and Goku wonder what she was thinking about.

"Aha! I got it!", grinned Bulma.

A confused Gine asked, "What is it?"

"You can just revive your friend with the Dragon Balls!"

The group looked at Bulma as if she had three heads.

"Let me explain.", said Bulma as she put the orb back in her bag, "The Dragon Balls consists of seven magical orbs, which are scattered all over the world. Legend says that when the seven orbs are gathered, a magical dragon named Shenron appears, and he'll grant you a wish!"

Bisuk stated, "But, we've only seen two of them."

"I can track down the rest with this device, called a Dragon Radar. Although, with there being six orbs, I don't think it'll-"

"Then we'll do it. We'll give you the four-star orb.", said Gine with a determined tone of voice.

Bisuk worriedly asked, "A-Are you sure, Gine? What if this doesn't work?"

Gine smiled at her friend, "It has to work. I have faith it will."

Bisuk turned to Supai, "What about you?"

Supai shrugged, "I'd say do it. Doesn't hurt to try."

Bisuk sighed, "That is true."

Gine looked down at her son, "Goku? What do you think?"

Goku happily said, "If that dragon can bring back my grandpa, then I'd say go for it!"

Gine nodded and looked back at Bulma, "Well, you heard it from us. You can use the Dragon Ball."

Bulma smiled, "Thank you so much!"

She went inside the cottage, and several seconds later, she came back outside.

"Okay, the four-star orb is in my bag. Are you guys ready for the journey ahead?"

Goku excitedly said, "Yeah!"

Gine smiled, "Why, yes."

Bisuk was about to say something, but then Supai growled, "Yeah, yeah, yeah! The whole journey is gonna be exciting and all, but can we eat first?! I'm kinda starving!"

Bulma frowned, "Geez, alright!"

Gine and Bisuk chuckled, and Gine looked at her son, "Care to do the honors?"

Goku happily nodded and grabbed the tree stump. Tossing it into the air, he leaped up after it, and proceeded to rapidly kick it into several pieces.

The pieces all fell onto each other in a neat fashion, leaving Bulma shocked.

She said, "You really are one strong little alien, huh?"

Goku laughed, "Yep!"

"That's our Goku, though.", smiled Bisuk as he placed the large fish on the firewood.

He then used the Heating Hands of Pesutori, causing the fish to be engulfed in flames.

Bisuk turned to the group and asked, "So, while the food is cooking, does anyone have any stories they'd like to share?"

Bulma raised her hand, "Actually, I had a few questions for you guys. First off, where did you come from, and how'd you even get here?"

Gine, Supai, and Bisuk all smiled at one another knowingly, and Supai replied, "Have we got a story for you!"

Bisuk added, "Precisely! See, Bulma, it all began when Supai and I first joined the Frieza Force..."

As Bisuk began recapping the epic tale, Gine looked over at her son.

He was clearly delighted that he was hearing this story all over again.

Gine smiled and thought to herself, "I did it, Bardock. I finally fulfilled my promise. Now, I must go on to a new journey. So I just wanted to say thank you. Thank you so, so much for saving my life."

THE END.