Goku was lying on his deathbed surrounded by his family. His wife Chi-Chi was crying on his chest with her father trying to comfort her. His brother Raditz kneeled by him holding his hand and pleading for him to pull through. His son Gohan stood by his mother hand on her back and looking down at his father with a hard expression. And his sister-in-law Launch was weeping behind Raditz as she held their crying baby daughter Ranch.

Outside the rest of Goku's friends stood in a semi-silent but shocked vigil. Piccolo, Tien, Krillin, Yamcha, Chiaotzu, Roshi, and Yajirobi were all standing there in disbelief, hoping for any good news. Bulma was holding her crying, infant son Trunks as tears also filled her eyes. Meanwhile, Vegeta stood away from everyone else, brooding that his rival was dying the way he was.

Despite any bit of hope that they were holding on to, Goku did pass. His friends and family were left to mourn.

The worst, unfortunately, had yet to pass.

Six months later a new threat appeared near South City.

Vegeta was the first of Earth's strongest warriors to arrive on the scene, and he charged in headfirst without waiting for anyone else. He seemed to put up a good fight at first, but it turns out that his opponent had just been toying with him. Vegeta was thoroughly put down, and was killed right in front of the rest of the fighters just as they showed up. The sheer power of the cyborg menace was both awe inspiring and terrifying at the same time. But having no other choice they went in for a fight.

Krillin, Yamcha, Tien, and Chiaotzu all had their lives quickly and thoroughly ended.

Piccolo, Gohan, and Raditz managed to survive the initial brawl, but only barely. Worse for wear, the three took refuge in a ruined building. They had no Senzu beans.

"Gohan," Piccolo said, bleeding and having to lean against a wall just to stay standing. "You have to get out of here. Find the Dragon Balls. They're our only hope."

"What!" Raditz argued, before Gohan could say anything. "No, Piccolo, you have to go with him!"

"I'm not leaving the fight!" Piccolo told him.

Raditz grabbed him by the collar. "If you die here there won't be Dragon Balls!"

Piccolo gave Raditz a hard look. "And what about you?"

"I'm going to stay and distract these monsters to give you a better chance to escape."

"That's crazy, you'll die and you know it!"

"Yeah, we aren't leaving you behind, Uncle Raditz!" Gohan declared.

Raditz grimaced, but ultimately agreed, "Fine. But if they get the jump on us, you two will run while I distract them." He then put a smile, and put a hand on Piccolo and Gohan's shoulders. "Before I came to Earth it was years since I had any semblance of a family. So much has changed since then and it began with you two. I can't thank you enough."

"Don't talk like that!" Gohan pleaded.

"Let's move," Piccolo said.

They left the relative safety of the building, running from cover to cover through the streets. Explosions could still be heard every now and then, as the cyborgs attempted to flush any survivors out. If they could just get far enough away they'd be free to fly without getting spotted. Eventually the explosions seemed to get farther and farther away. Emboldened, the three made another run for it. Just when they thought it might be safe to take to the sky, the ground in front of them erupted.

The blonde one appeared over them, smirking. "I knew that if my brother caused a commotion away from here, you'd show yourselves."

"GO NOW!" Without waiting for a response, Raditz powered up and took to the air to do battle.

Gohan was looking fleetingly at his uncle, until Piccolo yelled, "Gohan!"

Piccolo and Gohan flew off as Raditz started try to land any punch or kick he could against the cyborg. But despite his best efforts, she blocked everything he threw with ease. Suddenly she punched him hard in the gut, spun around to land a kick, and balled her fists together to slam in downwards to the ground far below. Finally, with Raditz watching meekly from the crater his impact created, she let off a barrage of blasts at him, finishing him off.

"UNCLE RADITZ!" Gohan screeched. He attempted to fly back to the fight, but Piccolo just managed to grab him by the ankle.

"No, we have to—" Piccolo's words were cut short by a thick beam of energy that punctured his chest, shot by the black-haired one that had arrived out of nowhere.

"MR. PICCOLO!" Gohan dove and managed to catch Piccolo before he hit the ground. He then carefully took him the rest of the way down and set him on the ground, before turning to angrily stare down the two cyborgs that landed by them.

"Poor child," the man mocked.

"All alone in the world now, aren't you?" said the woman.

"You…miserable…monsters!" Gonan cried, tears welling up.

"Shall we end this?" the man asked, holding his hand out.

"Let's," the woman agreed, doing the same.

Gohan quickly put both his hands outstretched in front of his face, and hoping it'd work, shouted, "Solar Flare!" A blinding light emanated from him, causing both cyborgs to recoil and turn their heads away. When their vision returned they saw to their annoyance that their prey had disappeared.

Sometime later Gohan came across a cave. He carried in Piccolo, who was still alive but just barely. He was bleeding terribly but Gohan had nothing to help him with.

"Go…han," Piccolo said weakly, opening an eye.

"Don't talk, Mr. Piccolo," Gohan said desperately. "Save your strength."

"I'm…sorry," he said, tears now filling his eyes, as he tried to move his right hand. "Not...strong…enough…"

"No, you are strong," Gohan told him, gripping his hand and the tears now cascading. "You are strong, you'll pull yourself out of this, and then you'll get even stronger!"

"Gohan…" Piccolo tried to get other words out, but at that moment his eyes closed and his hand became limp.

"Mr. Piccolo," Gohan said softly, shaking him. "Mr. Piccolo! NO!" Gohan fell to his hands and knees, crying and shaking with indignation. "Mr. Piccolo...Uncle Raditz…Krillin…" He finally let out a yell filled with sorrow and rage. Piccolo, Raditz, Krillin, Yamcha, Tien, Chiaotzu. Vegeta. Even Vegeta! Just like that all his friends and allies were dead!

The air around him began to swirl, the dirt and rocks on the ground started to float upwards, and an immense energy seemed to escaping from Gohan, as the thought of all his fallen friends pushed him over the edge. Gohan slammed his fists into the ground, almost causing the cave around him to collapse, but he didn't care. Standing up on his knees and throwing his head up at the ceiling, Gohan yelled even louder and longer than before. The energy within him then shot out, everything shook around him, he began to glow, his hair became yellow, and his eyes turned green.

Gohan didn't know how long he was in that cave. He wasn't aware of anything except his grief. In fact, he didn't react to any outside stimuli until he heard someone say, "Hello? Anyone in here?" Recognizing that voice, he turned his head to see Bulma, carrying baby Trunks on her back, approach with a flashlight. "Oh my goodness! Gohan? Is that you? You…you're…a Super Saiyan!"

"I'm a…?" Gohan pulled down his bangs and for the first time noticed the change in color. "Oh." He didn't care. It didn't matter.

"And…oh on, Piccolo!" she cried, running forward and kneeling next to the fallen warrior. "The others?" The look that Gohan gave her was all the answer she needed as she descended into tears. "No…Vegeta."

"How did you find me?" he finally asked.

"I may not be able to sense energy, Gohan, but definitely felt something earlier," she explained, wiping her tears. "And then I saw some kind of light coming from this cave, and knew that I had to check it out."

"So what now?" Gohan asked, not know what else he could say.

"We can talk about that tomorrow," Bulma said, standing up with a surprising amount of resolve. "I'm afraid, Gohan, that you have some news to deliver."

Gohan started to concentrate, and with an exhale he managed to power down. Bulma was right. He had lived to fight another day, and that was what he was going to do. For now, though…. With one last look at Piccolo, he followed Bulma out of the cave.

Later, Gohan's blue-haired Aunt Launch was on the couch bawling her eyes out as she cradled her daughter, who had picked up on the mood and was also crying. Chi-Chi, meanwhile, somberly bandaged his wounds. No one said anything for the rest of the night.

The next morning Gohan woke up and went to eat breakfast. Launch wasn't eating, just staring down at her plate with puffy eyes, while Chi-Chi fed Ranch. After Gohan ate the plate that was put out for him, he got up from the table, saying, "I'm going to Bulma's."

"Oh…okay, then," Chi-Chi said, uncharacteristically compliant. "When will you be back?"

"I don't know," Gohan admitted. "I have to find a place to train. I have to get stronger."

"Fine," his mother said, finding her strength. "But…but you have to come back soon. You can't fall behind on your studies."

"My studies?" Gohan said, rounding on her angrily. "What good are my studies? You actually expect me to sit here and do homework while the planet is in danger?"

"Gohan," she argued back, as she slowly got back to normal, "someone else will—"

"WHO?" he demanded furiously. "I am literally the strongest person left alive! Are you saying that you'd prefer me to dump this on Ranch and Trunks, and wait however many years it takes for them to grow up and get stronger? Because I am not doing that, mom." Without another word, Gohan turned his back one her, and walked outside.