Author's Note: Sorry for the delays with my updates. I've just been super busy these past couple weeks.

Just to let you guys know, for all my Golden Age and Secret Series fans out there, I'm currently working on a full-colored doujinshi of my Gohan/Zangya story- Fiery Lake. It's going to be a full colour comic of the chapter, which I am planning on putting on my paetreon, and I have posted sample pages on my deviantart account.

If you guys would like to read it and if you want to see more of my other 'adult' works, you can support my work through there. I plan on publishing more Gohan doujinshi in the future, which I will be working on between my posts here.

Dragonball Z

Alter Age

Gifts

(Sometime later)

Gohan had no idea how long he'd been asleep for. What he did know however was that upon waking up and finding himself staring at the bright, white ceiling above him that he was no longer on the surface of CP-179. Blinking when his vision finally cleared and the sounds of low humming filled his ears, the raven haired child slowly sat up.

Looking around in a perplexed manner, the demi-Saiyan hero quickly identified the room he was in as The Comet's primary medical bay. The white ceiling, sterile walls, beds, and equipment lying around were all prime indicators that this was indeed one of the areas inside of his mobile headquarters and home- a place he easily recognized inside and out.

Shaking his head to clear himself of the drowsiness he felt, Gohan then sat up from the sheets covering him, only to feel something heavy weighing on his stomach. When he looked down the length of his head, he saw the familiar, blue, furry form of the fox girl Kida lying across his stomach from a chair, with her two friends lying in similar positions and dozing quietly at the foot of his bed. The sight of the peacefully sleeping kitsune-seijin bewildered the young Saiyan, leaving him sitting there in confusion for about a minute.

It was after a long few seconds of pause that a soft voice spoke up from nearby.

"They haven't left your side since we found you passed out at the bottom of the crater," the amused tone of a female remarked, drawing Gohan's gaze across the room. It was there he saw Myra standing right beside him. Wearing only her purple spandex singlet and bloomers, revealing her body was covered in multiple first aid patches and bandages, the alive and well Hera was positioned beside the boy's bed on his left, her arms crossed and a warm smile in play. "Honestly, it was a bit of a struggle carrying you up the ramp of the Comet with the three of them circling me the entire time. But they insisted on staying with you to make sure that I got you here in one piece."

Gohan, blinking a couple of times as his mind processed the vision of the person before him, then felt his face light up with joy. "Myra-oneechan."

"Hey, spiky," the Hera chirped back, stepping closer to the boy to stand directly beside him and his pillow. "Glad to see you're finally up. Are you feeling okay?"

"Y-Yeah. My head's a little sore and I'm super hungry… but aside from that, I'm feeling great." Gohan then looked his friend over, taking note of the various bandages wrapped around her stomach and arms, before then glancing back up to her face. "And you? How are you doing?"

"Hm. Honestly, I've been better," Myra responded tiredly, holding an arm out and flexing her wrist, only to wince when her bones creaked. She then reached down and gripped her throbbing ribs when they too sent a bolt of pain up her body. "That bastard did a real number on all of us down on that planet, especially after he ate that damn fruit and started kicking us around like pucks. Some of our injuries were so bad that Doctor Kiyo said that we were lucky to be alive."

It was at that point Gohan felt his stomach sink, as a worried look quickly came over him. "W-What about Dore and the others? Are… Are they-… did that creep Turles-…?"

Myra smiled and raised her hands calmly. "Relax, Gohan-kun. They're okay. Dore and Salza are in the healing capsules right now." She then gestured across the room, directing the demi-Saiyan's gaze towards the right and past his bed's curtains. When he got a closer look at the two large pods sitting against the wall with the computer monitor resting between them, he saw the forms of his captain and Beppa-seijin teammate floating in their spandex in the bubbling water. From the way they were bobbing about with their limbs twitching in the water, it was clear the healing fluids were working their magic. "Dore came out of that fight with a really bad skull fracture, cracked jaw, several broken ribs, and a ruptured spleen. But Captain Salza got it the worst. Multiple burns, lacerations, a broken arm, broken femur, and localized internal hemorrhaging in multiple spots around his center mass."

"Oh. Wow…" Gohan whispered, a bead of sweat trickling down his face when he heard the report.

"Don't worry though. The doc said they'll pull through. Since we have the latest healing units installed on the Comet, it should only take a couple more hours before they're fully recovered," Myra reassured, putting on a big smile as she turned back to her young teammate and friend to see him glance back up at her. "Neiz is up on the bridge with a few torn muscles and a missing tooth. Since his bones are so malleable he didn't get any damage to them, so out of the four of us he got off easy. Lucky bastard."

The child sighed and put on a small smile. "That's good."

After a moment of silence, in which the pair spent smiling at one another and looking over the three young fox girls huddled up on Gohan's bed- with Kida happily nuzzling the child's stomach and mumbling in her sleep- Myra then decided to speak.

Appearing completely calm, the adolescent looked down at her friend with a curious look on her face. "I still can't believe that you were able to defeat that Saiyan pirate all by yourself… and after he stabbed you through the chest with his hand. I thought for sure that you'd been killed."

"Oh? Uh. Y-Yeah… me too…" Gohan stuttered, appearing quite confused as he then reached up and scratched the back of his head. "After I fell out of the sky and landed at the bottom of the tree, even though I was close to blacking out and dying, I was able to hear and sense everything that was going on around me… including your fight with Turles." He then frowned as he looked up at the girl seriously, his fingers clenching around his bedsheet tightly as his anger climbed at what we remembered that man doing. "When I heard he was going to torture and dishonor you right there on the ground, I felt all of my blood rush through me. There was no way I was ever going to let that asshole lay his hands on you like that."

Hearing his hushed, angry words and the desire he had to protect her during that moment of the battle moved Myra quite a lot. Feeling her heart flutter and cheeks warm somewhat, the teen looked down momentarily to compose herself. After taking a deep breath as memories of that fight flashed through her, she then looked up and gave her friend a puzzled look. "Even though he almost did… you jumped in and saved me at the last second." She shook her head. "How? After what he did to you- tearing a hole through your body and destroying one of your lungs- you shouldn't have been able to move, let alone breathe."

Putting on a smile, Gohan then looked down at the three kitsune-seijin lying on his bed and snoring away. "Kida and her friends saved me. She gave me a piece of the fruit from the Tree of Might when she, Rei and Riko stole them from their host. After I swallowed it, the energy healed me in an instant, and I was able to jump back into the fight even stronger than ever." He then glanced back up at his friend and comrade, and beamed. "If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have been able to rescue you in time… and neither of us would be here right now. We owe those three a lot for what they did."

Upon piecing all of this information together with what she already knew, Myra, upon finally receiving confirmation of the child's miraculous recovery during the fight, nodded in understanding. "Yeah. We sure do." She then leaned forward and rested a hand on her friend's head, ruffling his hair in gratitude. "But right now… the one that I owe the most out of this entire crew, is you, Gohan-kun. You rescued me from getting tortured and raped by that prick, and saved the entire quadrant. And what's more… you managed to do it all by yourself." She then giggled and gave him a wink. "I guess I was right to pick you up from that planet when I did, huh?"

Gohan, recalling the time where he'd first met Myra, flashed the woman his signature Son grin and nodded. "Yeah. Definitely."

Laughing at his cheerful smile and joyful answer, the young Hera then leaned forward and gave him a warm kiss on the cheek. The gesture had Gohan blink in confusion for a moment, but after feeling the girl pull away, he saw the warm shade of red in her cheeks and the loving gaze she was giving him. Upon seeing these, the child put on a cheerful look again, which was then followed by him speaking up again.

"I can't take all the credit for that battle though," Gohan said, setting his hands in his lap as he gazed up at his friend. "All five of us fought and worked together to defeat those pirates and stop them from taking over the galaxy. If it wasn't for our teamwork that Turles guy would've picked us off one-by-one right from the get-go."

Myra nodded in agreement. "I can't argue with that. If we hadn't practiced working on those drills and formations in the training room for the past few months, that creep would've torn us to pieces with his higher power level. Good thing we knew which attack plan to use."

Gohan then looked across at the healing pods. "We should let Salza know after he gets out of there. I bet he'll be really happy to hear about what we think of his battle tactics and that they actually paid off."

Glancing over at the same capsules, the orange-haired female chuckled. "We'll see. Though he might be a bit salty once the capsule is finished mending his wounds, I bet the four of us will be able to find some way to cheer him up again." She then looked down at the child and shot him a grin. "He did get his ass kicked by the boss, after all. Then again… all five of us kind of did."

This remark earned a cheerful laugh from Gohan. "Oh yeah. No kidding."

While the child snickered over the thought of how he and his entire team look in a snapshot with all of their injuries on full display, Myra couldn't help but spare a thought to her friend's performance. Upon looking down at him and seeing him check out the scars and bandages on his own body, the adolescent Hera tilted her head as a rather intriguing idea crossed her head.

"A Saiyan prodigy with a continuously increasing battle power, bursts of rage, and hyper adaptability?" the orange-haired tomboy thought. With these particular traits circling in her head, the girl found herself hitting on a name that she'd heard brought up in conversation several times in the past regarding the Saiyans. Needless to say, it was just about as fantastical as the giant tree that they'd helped to bring down many hours earlier. "A Super Saiyan, huh?"

It was quite a tantalizing idea and one that she wondered if she would be able to test out sometime in the future. After all, it wasn't every lifetime you got to fight side-by-side with a being of legend.

OOO

(That evening)

With the Comet remaining in orbit above Cooler Planet 179, the members of Cooler's Armored Squadron were given ample enough time to rest and recuperate from their intense battle with the Turles Crusher Corp. Considering how powerful each of its members had been, as well as how strong their brute of a leader was, Gohan and his squad mates could say without a shadow of a doubt that this particular gang of thugs had been the strongest and most difficult group they'd dealt with in the past year. For the more seasoned members as well, this latest batch of adversaries had also been by far and away the hardiest clutch of mercenaries the squad had ever encountered since their team's inception under King Cold.

Considering how close the group had come to certain death, all of them were lucky to be alive. Shira and Neiz made that comment when they came down to check on how Gohan and the others were doing. When they found that he was finally awake following his twenty-four power nap, both of them made sure to give him his due praise and congratulations for saving the day.

Of course, the demi-Saiyan understandably didn't want to hog all the credit. When Kida, Rei and Riko finally woke up from their slumber, the three kitsune-seijin were understandably overjoyed to see the boy was finally awake. Almost as soon as all the questions as to how he was feeling had been asked, Gohan quickly thanked them for saving his life and- by extension- all of their lives. The children of course accepted his thanks, yet insisted that he take the credit for the win and settled with giving him hugs.

Myra, Shira and Neiz had a good laugh at Gohan's expense when they saw him get smothered by the three girls, as it was quite an adorable spectacle.

Anyway, once all of the mushy stuff had been pushed out of the way, the group proceeded to move about the ship so that they could wait for Salza and Dore to recover. Neiz and Gohan chose to occupy themselves in the bar area, playing chess involving hologram pieces and having food prepped for them by the chef, while Myra showed Kida and her two friends around the vessel.

The rest of the crew ran diagnostics on the ship as well, at the same time keeping a watchful eye on the planet and the system in case there were any more changes. The sight of the now destroyed Tree of Might could be seen lying clearly across the country where it'd previously been standing- its trunk on fire and its two halves pointing in different directions. At the same time the grey clouds of the planet's sky continued to drift across the atmosphere, shielding much of the devastation brought to the world by both the invasive flora and the pirates that planted it.

When afternoon finally rolled around, both Salza and Dore emerged from the medical pods fully healed and reenergized. As soon as they slapped their purple spandex, boots and gloves back on- leaving their scouters and armor on their racks- the pair immediately had the rest of the squadron assemble on the bridge. Upon arriving there and meeting with the rest of the crew, they were given a quick update of everything that'd happened while they'd been out of commission.

Once all of the information on the ship and crew's status had been covered, the Captain made the executive decision to get into immediate contact with their Emperor- Lord Cooler- in order to give him the full report on their most recent assignment. As soon as the entire squad- along with the survivors Kida, Rei and Riko- had gathered around the main hologram table at the back of the Comet's bridge, the leader of the contingent ordered the Comms Officer Niyusu to patch them through to Cooler's capital ship.

With every single squad member accounted for, all of them immediately dropped to their knees and bowed as soon as Cooler's entire body appeared in the hologram. Kida and her friends did the same, with the children quietly standing back while Salza- upon rising to his feet with the rest of his crew- gave the mission's report in full, while allowing all of the other members to fill in the blanks of the events that'd taken place during the battle for the parts he wasn't conscious for.

It was Myra who inevitably put the final word in for Gohan, who she stated was the one to finish off the pirate leader, Turles.

As the group stood before the young emperor's gaze and watched with baited breath as their leader processed the information given to him, Cooler then gave an affirmative nod of understanding. "I see. So that's what happened out there?" Upon sizing up the youngster and nodding further in a seemingly approving manner, the purple and white alien- with his hands positioned properly behind his back- glanced across at the three kitsune-seijin children that the group had rescued from the planet. At first appearing to glare at them, a rather solemn look suddenly came over the young lord as he placed a hand over his chest. "I'm truly sorry for the unfortunate series of events that took place on your planet. Your people were supposed to be under the protection and care of my empire… and yet my forces were unable to do anything to stop those pirate scum from attacking and wiping out your entire race." He then lowered his head towards the trio of girls. "I offer you my deepest and sincerest apologies."

Initially freezing up at being put into the spotlight and having the most powerful individual in the quadrant bow his head to them, Kida, Rei and Riko hurriedly looked at each other, before the chief's daughter hastily straightened up and spoke. "I-It's okay, Lord Cooler. It wasn't your fault. My people… and your soldiers… they did their best to try and fend off the invaders. But they were simply too powerful for us." She then shook her head. "There was nothing any of them could've done."

Cooler, looking up from his lowered head position, then gave the girl a serious look. "Nevertheless, as head of the Empire and overseer of this quadrant, I will take full responsibility for allowing such a horrible blight to infect your home world." Tail swishing behind him, the alien straightened his back before the children. "As compensation for your loss… and to show that I'm a fair and benevolent ruler… you can wish for anything you want from me, and I shall do everything in my power to grant it."

"Th-Thank you, sire," Kida stuttered with a bow. "That's very kind and generous of you."

Following his little moment of courtesy, the smiling Cooler then turned his attention back to Salza and his crew. "As for the rest of you… great work. Your successful crushing and purging of the pirate band on CP-179, has proven to me how capable and effective a unit the five of you are. You truly are the finest and most elite group of warriors on this side of the quadrant." His compliment causing all five members of the squadron's chests to swell with pride and joy, the group then saw the white and purple alien then bring one hand around and hold it out. "Now that your assignment has been completed, your next orders are to return to my capital ship for debrief and rest. I also wish to personally meet with the children you rescued… as well as young Gohan."

Hearing that last bit had Myra and Neiz look at one another in surprise, with all four adult members of the group quickly glancing across at their youngest member. The sudden wave of attention caused the demi-Saiyan child to stiffen up on the spot, as he not only felt everyone look at him, but Cooler as well.

Once that it was said, the alien ruler then concluded his transmission with one last bit of information. "My ship is currently orbiting Star 136 on the edge of the Whirlpool Galaxy. I've recently been commissioned to wipe out several dead planets in that sector to create a new hyperspace lane and a station. And considering who my current client is, I'm overseeing the completion of this job personally. I expect all of you to join me within the week."

Salza smiled and bowed to his leader. "Understood, my lord. We'll be at your side before the eighth day's end."

With one final nod from Cooler, the hologram shut itself off, leaving the group standing around a now empty table. Following a brief moment of silence, Dore put on a big smile before stepping over to where Gohan was. As soon as he was behind his teammate, he raised a hand and clapped him on the shoulder in a small offer of congratulations.

The moment the child looked up at him, the green wrestler beamed. "Looks like you've earned the young lord's favor, little bro. Good on you."

Gohan blinked, "F-Favor?"

"He means that you've managed to impress Lord Cooler enough that you've earned yourself a personal, face-to-face meeting with him," Salza answered, turning around to face his youngest recruit before shooting him a small, yet sincere smile. He then nodded to the boy when he saw his curious eyes land on him. "It's not every day the young emperor requests a sit down with one of his soldiers… even his highest ranking ones. You should be honored."

With Gohan feeling a smile tug at his face as Dore gave him another pat on the back and Neiz came over to ruffle his hair, the child then looked to see Myra approach him and beamed at her. In response, the orange-haired female smiled back warmly.

"We're really proud of you, Gohan-kun. Great work," the Hera said, at the same time raising her fist and holding it out to him.

Feeling his chest swell, the Saiyan turned to his friend and returned her gesture- the pair bumping fists and then doing the 'explosion' action afterwards- complete with sound effects. After sharing a giggle with one another, they were then interrupted by Neiz speaking up beside his tiny companion.

"Well, then. I guess we should start getting underway," the brown-skinned Zalt said in his usual, boisterous tone, before then glancing between Myra and Gohan. "In the meantime, I think the two of you should go get yourselves cleaned and fixed up. An hour or so in the healing capsules should do the trick."

"Yeah. And after the runt gets patched up, I bet his power level is going to shoot up even more, on account of his Saiyan biology," Dore chuckled, before then setting his hands on his hips and glancing curiously down at his small teammate. "Since we're on the subject, I still can't figure out how the hell you managed to kick around that Turles guy after he gobbled down that whole fruit."

This statement had Neiz blink before crossing his arms. "Oh yeah. I've been wondering about that as well. Even after only taking a single bite out of it, the guy became so strong he was able to withstand our strongest attacks and wipe the floor with all of us in a matter of seconds. I figured after he gulped down the entire ball, he would've been able to tear the entire planet and every single one of us a new one. So how did you beat him?"

"It couldn't have just been your usual power helping you along," Salza remarked, moving closer and also giving the boy a suspicious look. "No. There had to be something more to it than that."

Before Gohan could speak, Myra quickly jumped in. "I think it was because of his dormant Super Saiyan powers." When she saw the trio look across at her in surprise, the Hera beamed before glancing down at her friend and comrade. "Yeah. My people have heard stories of the Super Saiyan legend before… but we always thought they were just a child's fairytale. A story made up to scare other alien races into fearing the Saiyans' legendary capabilities in battle. However, considering the kinds of things Gohan was able to accomplish back on that planet- shake off multiple fatal injuries, raise his battle power at will, change the color of his aura, and survive wounds that would've normally killed a person- I have every reason to suspect that our little teammate was beginning to tap into his ancient powers… albeit temporarily."

Dore blinked, "Really?" When he looked down at the boy and blinked at him a couple of times, the man then mumbled on his breath. "Wow. A Super Saiyan, huh."

Processing the words a little, Neiz couldn't help but chuckle. "Heh. When you say it out loud, it sounds like such a generic, uninspired name, doesn't it?"

"Yeah. I mean… why not go for something cooler? Like Berserker State? Or Blaze Release? Or Fury Mode? Or God Form? Those names sound way more awesome than just 'Super Saiyan'. Urgh," Dore commented, raising his fist and clenching it tightly, before then releasing it with a gasp. It was at that moment he got hit by an idea, which led to him snapping a finger and pointing down at Gohan. "Hey! I just thought of an awesome warrior name for you, kid."

"Huh? You did?" Gohan asked, his eyes snapping up to his towering mentor in surprise.

"Yeah! All four of us already have a couple of cool nicknames, codenames and epithets that we use when we go into battle and operate on the field. You need to have one too… and I think I just came up with the perfect one!"

"What? What is it?"

Dore paused for a moment, raising the tension dramatically as he struck a pose. Then, upon taking a deep breath and raising both hands in front of him, he then stretched out his hands while uttering the boy's new moniker. "The Golden Demon! Just like the color of your energy when you charge yourself up and go absolutely ape-shit on your enemies. Sounds pretty badass, don't you think?"

A few seconds passed in which Gohan spent standing there and allowing the name to float about in his head. After repeating it to himself a couple of times, the child then grinned and pumped his fists. "I love it!"

"HAHA! I knew you would!" Dore shouted, at the same time raising a hand and high-fiving the child when he jumped up to clap his palm. "It's official then! From this day forward, your codename will be- Golden Demon!"

"I think that's a pretty fitting title for a Saiyan prodigy like you," Salza spoke up, crossing his arms and watching his teammates gather around the excited boy and gab over his newly formed title. When he saw them look in his general direction, the man in the full-body purple spandex smirked. "The four of us should come up with official codenames later on as well. An entire squad utilizing titles centered on a certain theme can definitely increase our status and reputation in the quadrant." He then set his eyes on the boy again. "The feats that you pulled on that planet will also spread like wildfire, adding to your legend and place in Cooler-sama's empire."

Neiz chuckled and nudged the youngster in the back. "Yeah. And considering how strong you've become now, you've made it really hard for the rest of us to catch up. Compared to the strength that I assume you have now, we're just a couple of ants and cockroaches."

"Heh. Honestly, I feel kind of jealous," Myra giggled.

"Umm… ex-excuse me…"

Hearing the voice speak up quickly drew the group's attention towards the bridge's walkway. When the group spotted Kida and her friends, they saw the blue kitsune-seijin slowly walk up to them, with Riko right behind her. Stopping in front of the group of warriors, the blue girl asked for the brown bag her friend was carrying- reaching inside and then pulling out a studded red ball.

It took Gohan and the others a split second before they realized that what the girl was holding was a fruit of the Tree of Might.

"Whoa. Hold on a second," Dore blinked. "Aren't those…?"

Before the man could stutter out his response, the leader of the group of little fox girls nodded. "Rei, Riko and I wanted to offer you and your friends our sincerest and most heartfelt gratitude for saving us," Kida spoke, moving forward with the large, apple-sized fruit between her fingers as she held it in front of her- in a manner similar to a person holding onto a precious relic. "If the five of you hadn't come to our world when you did… m-my friends and I would've been found by those pirates and killed by them, just like our families. You rescued us, fought for us… and tried to save our world- even though everything was already long gone. You risked your lives for something so little, and so- to show you all how grateful we are- we would like to offer each of you one of the fruits from the tree that robbed our planet of its vitality and its inhabitants."

Kida, Rei and Riko then promptly went up to each member of Cooler's Armored Squadron and gave each of them a fruit, with Gohan also receiving one. When the four adults and one child found themselves staring down at the red, studded fruits, all of them were at a bit of a loss.

When the three kitsune-seijin stepped back to give them some space- their hands now empty save for the one brown bag over Riko's shoulder- Myra was the first to address their concerns.

"You're… giving these to us?" the Hera asked.

Rei nodded, "Yes. They are a gift."

The orange-haired girl then held out her hand, "Are you sure? I mean… these fruits… they were grown on your planet-"

"…and from a tree that was responsible for destroying almost all of it," Gohan also answered, also looking very uncertain about accepting this present. "Your people lost their lives trying to stop the invading parasite and the pirates who planted it. It wouldn't be right of us to take these from you. Not after everything that has happened."

Dore also looked at the fruit questioningly while Salza weighed his in his hand with a noticeable grimace on his face. "I also don't think the five of us are too comfortable with eating the same, weird fruits that those scumbags used to give themselves a magical steroid shot." He then gave a grunt when he felt someone punch him in the side and looked across to see Myra glaring at him. "What? It's true. I mean, I'm all for bulking up and getting stronger and everything, but I'd rather work for that myself, rather than rely on something like a mystical apple, y'know?"

"I'm with Dore on this one. It would feel pretty weird eating something that was wrongfully taken from another planet," Neiz said, before then pointing to his. "Also, won't we go crazy consuming these things? Or grow a couple of extra limbs or something?"

Salza frowned as he rotated the fruit about. "From what I could tell, the only negative side effects given by this fruit was some unhealthy, purple miasma in the aura and a much tighter wardrobe. Whether this will further inflate our egos or give us random bouts of mania like that Turles guy had, is still up in the air at this point. Either way, I don't really trust them."

By this time, Myra, Gohan and Neiz had approached Kida and her friends, and were holding the fruits back out to them. "Thank you, but this gift is way too much for us," Myra said while holding the fruit to the leader of the children. "We can't possibly accept these… not after all you three have been through over the last few days."

Kida, looking at the fruit and back up to the squad members, beamed warmly. "It's okay. My friends and I are fine with giving you these fruits." Pausing for a moment when she saw the trio in front of her balk, the blue kitsune smiled. "As the last surviving members of our families and our tribe, the three of us have taken on the burdens and responsibilities of our world. This includes the future of our race." She then raised a hand and placed it against her chest. "My people cared deeply for our planet, its forests, its rivers, and its animals. Everything that we ever had in our lives, came from its soil and its waters. By giving you these fruits, we're not only hoping that your group will carry on the strength and spirit of our people, but the power to make sure no other planets fall victim to the same tragedy ever again." She then beamed warmly at the group. "I believe it's what my race would've wanted… and it's what the planet would want to. So those fruits are gifts to do with as you wish."

Blinking at the girl's reasoning in a clear sense of surprise, the members of the squadron then looked about at one another. At first appearing uncertain and shocked, the group then turned their attention back to the fruits they'd been given. After due consideration, Gohan then moved forward and smiled across at the kitsune-seijin, whom he saw had their big eyes fixated upon him.

"If you really feel that strongly about giving these to us, then we will gladly accept them. But I wouldn't feel right taking this entire fruit all for myself. So how about we do this?" Gohan said, before then putting on a smile. "Instead of eating the whole thing, since you were the ones who gave them to us, I would really like to share it with the three of you. Split the treasure, as it were."

With it now being their turn to appear surprised, Kida, Riko and Rei all looked at the demi-Saiyan with mixtures of astonishment and amazement. Upon quickly glancing around at one another, the trio then shared smiles before looking back at the boy with expressions of warmth and delight. Clearly they were moved by his offer, which in turn compelled them to respond in kind.

"That's perfectly fine with me," Rei said.

"Yeah. Me too," Riko nodded happily, before then blushing lightly under the boy's gaze when he glanced across at her. "I… I would be honored to sh-share it with you."

"As would I," Kida quickly followed up.

Gohan beamed, before then handing the fruit over to Kida and watching the girl weigh it between her hands. Following a quick moment of pause, the girl then took a big bite out of the fruit, chewed it, and handed it over to her friend Rei. From that point on, the four children passed the lone fruit between each other, with every mouthful they swallowed immediately sending a rush of hot energy coursing through them, which fired up their senses and caused their bodies to momentarily grow. While Kida and Rei marveled at the few millimeters of height they suddenly gained and Riko went about consuming her share, the trio was closely watched by the other four members of the Armored Squadron, as well as the crew gathered on the bridge.

Noticing that Gohan was letting the girls take big bites out of the fruit, while he himself was only taking smaller ones, Salza looked down at his ball of physical energy before taking a tentative bite from it as well. The other three followed suit, with Myra and Neiz expressing the same amount of care and caution as their captain, while Dore quietly made his way over to where Shira was standing. Stopping beside the equally tall, red-haired pilot positioned beside the helm of their craft, the wrestler took a big bite from his fruit, chewed it, and then held it out to her.

"Here. Have some. It honestly doesn't taste that bad," Dore said through a mouthful of juice and flesh.

Blinking at the man's unexpected offering, the female lieutenant of the vessel then cracked a smile of her own and eagerly took the fruit from her colleague. Rolling it around between her fingers, she then shot the Beppa-seijin an amused look. "Is this some kind of peace offering for all those times I kicked your ass at chess?"

The big man with the wild, black hair chuckled as he continued to chew. "Yeah. You could say that."

Giggling at the cheesy grin the man gave her, Shira wasted no time in taking a couple of big bites- not even showing the slightest bit of hesitation of eating from the spot where Dore had.

Seeing that their friends were sharing the fruits with one another, Myra, Salza and Neiz figured they'd do the same thing, with Neiz ripping a third of his fruit's flesh out and handing that chunk over to Niyusu, who was watching the group from down in the crew pit. Salza also gave a sizable chunk to his fellow crewmate Deita watching in the background, who found the taste of the fruit to be quite interesting.

After Myra took another bite from the Tree of Might fruit she was holding, the girl walked over to Gohan and decided to share some more of it with him and the girls. The cosmic apples were quite big after all, so there was plenty of them to go around.

When the rest of the crew scattered throughout the ship were called up to the bridge by Salza, every single person on board was able to partake in the generous bounty gifted to them by the kitsune children. Though not every single crew member got an equal chunk of the treasure, once all of the fruits had been consumed- with even the cores being eaten- all of the members of Cooler's elite commando unit and the staff of the Comet immediately noticed the dramatic changes made to their bodies.

Though most of these alterations were minor and didn't amount to anything on their own, when they were stacked together in such close proximity of their comrades, the metamorphosis of each subsequent individual was made much more obvious.

Despite having eaten the fruits at a slow and generous pace, Salza, Dore, Neiz and Myra could feel how much they'd grown and evolved in the span of only a few minutes. While the captain of the team felt he'd stretched a couple more centimeters upwards, his muscles had also strengthened and become more defined than before. The same could be said for Neiz and Myra, the former of whom was looking across at his female counterpart to see her athletic frame had become much more toned, giving her a wilder, more Amazonian appearance. It seemed to strengthen her feminine appeal as well by adding onto her style and maturity, giving her a bit more of an aesthetic glow.

Dore of course was feeling quite overwhelmed by what he was able to notice- the Beppa-seijin patting down his chest and stomach, both of which he had framed clearly against his purple spandex singlet. Pulling on the elastic, the green warrior then released it and felt the fabric snap back against his tight shoulders.

"Damn. Does anyone else feel like they've taken on a couple of extra inches?" the man asked in an astonished voice, noticing the rest of their crew checking themselves out in whatever reflective surfaces they could find. "I feel like my legs and feet are pushing me up towards the ceiling."

"I'll say," Salza replied, inspecting his arms to see they'd gotten a bit thicker than before. He then lifted his hand and began moving it up and down, measuring the distance between his chin and the floor. "Though I hate to admit this, but the effects of these fruits were a lot more potent than I was expecting. It's incredible." A smile then broke out on his once apprehensive face. "Heh. And here I thought that I wouldn't be able to get any taller than I already was. But look at me now."

Looking the blonde officer over from where he was standing, Neiz then cracked a somewhat cheeky grin and directed it at his superior. "You're still pretty short though, captain. I mean… you may have gotten a bit taller than before… but not that much taller."

Frowning deeply, Salza shot a glare back at the amphibian. "You know, not everyone can be as freakishly blessed and lofty as you are, Neiz."

The commander's response caused a listening Dore, Neiz and Myra to laugh between themselves, especially at the irked look that came over their friend's mug. This was then followed shortly by the wrestler turning towards his female compatriot and glancing her over, upon which he then gave an impressed whistle. "Woo. You know what… on top of a few inches, I think that fruit may have given you some extra curves in places, Myra."

Running a hand down her taut side and then her back, the Hera then rested her knuckles over her buttocks and nodded in an approving manner. "Hm. You know, you might be right there." Upon checking herself out and pulling at the collar above her breasts- the pair of which had also become a lot more full and firm, and prompting her to whisper a very apt 'nice'- she then nodded over to where Gohan and his newfound friends were gathered. "But if you think I've changed a lot, check out how much spiky and the girls have grown."

When Salza and the others looked over at the demi-Saiyan and the kitsune, all of the adult males got one heck of a surprise when they saw how much the hero of the day and the girls next to him had advanced. Not only had the hybrid grown a couple more centimeters since a few minutes ago, but judging from his newly acquired build and appearance, it looked as though he'd also aged a year or two. The mane of wild, black hair he had sitting atop his head and hanging over his shoulders, had lengthened and fanned out, his physique had also become more defined, and he looked a heck of a lot stronger than before as well. This much became noted when the scouters on the hologram terminal nearby began to go absolutely crazy, as each of the massive power levels on board the ship began breaking all kinds of records.

Yesterday, Gohan had only been about as tall as Dore's knee. Now, after eating the fruit given to him by the girls he had saved, the youngster had suddenly reached all the way up to the man's hip- so it was safe to say his transformation had been the most drastic of the crew's.

The fox girls standing beside him also looked like they'd aged an extra year over the span of the past minute- their tails having become bushier, and their builds more shapely than before. From the surprised looks on their faces, it was clear that Kida and her companions had not been expecting their bodies to shoot up the way they had, nor had they been expecting to become so much lighter and more energized. Even though they were still kids and in the early stages of their youths, you could not deny that their body clocks had moved forward several cycles.

Neiz whistled when he saw Gohan look at them. "Dang. It's almost like looking into the future."

"No shit," Dore chuckled, at the same time giving the boy a thumbs-up. "Everything good over there, little bro?"

In response, the hybrid turned to the Beppa-seijin and grinned. "Hell yeah."

Needless to say, the adults were quite impressed with what the fruits had been able to do to all of them.

While the rest of the Comet's crew continued to marvel at their respective conversions- with Shira casually looking at her nails while standing at the front of the ship- Deita, who was standing beside the hologram, did a quick scan of the numbers that'd jumped up. Hearing the beeping and buzzing of the computer quickly drew the group's attention towards the blue alien of Burter's race, where they quickly saw the man balk before glancing across at his superiors.

"Holy crap… this is… unbelievable," the petty officer exclaimed while looking between each of Cooler's elite, before then shaking his head. "Shira and the rest of the crew's battle powers have jumped into the hundreds of thousands. But each of your battle powers… you four are each sitting at twenty million, five hundred thousand or more."

Neiz's jaw immediately dropped. "Wait… are you serious?"

A nod from Deita was his response. "Y-Yes. I've run the scan three times. There's no mistaking it."

Looking down at his gloved hands, Dore grinned broadly before laughing. "Hahaha! Awesome! This is great!" He then brought his fists up and flexed his biceps, feeling his entire body swell as all of the muscles in his chest, torso and arms tightened at once. "Oooh! Yeah! Man, if I'm this strong now, then that means I should be able to lift, like… twice as many weights as before! Maybe even four times as many! In five hundred times gravity!"

Myra, shaking her head at her posing friend as he did another pose, placed a hand on her newly broadened hip and thin waist. "Is that all you can think about after all of this? How much weight you can bench press in the training room?" When she saw the green man laugh and strike a different pose that caused his back muscles to swell, the Hera realized he was straight up ignoring her and chuckled. "Guess that answers my question."

Before the squad could get too caught up in their excitement, Gohan- upon testing his fists by clenching them and unclenching them- then turned to his friends and smiled at them.

"So… do you think we should get going? Or what?" he asked.

When Salza and the other boys heard him, the captain and the rest nodded in agreement. However, before any of them could give out any instructions, Niyusu, the little red Brench-seijin girl and radio operator who had come out of the crew pit to talk with Shira, then noticed something happening outside the bridge's window. Stepping up to the wide glass, the white-haired soldier felt her eyes widen before she then spoke up.

"Hey. S-Sirs. Come take a look at this. Something is happening to the planet."

Hearing the girl beckon them over prompted the elite squad and the rest of the people on the deck to approach the front window. When the entire crew of the comet assembled before the window, every single one of them felt a sense of shock and awe flood through them when, down on the devastated remains of CP-179, they saw the massive, burning halves of the massive Tree of Might suddenly disappear.

The fires flickering across its trunk engulfing it spreading in an instant, Gohan, Myra, Kida and their friends then watched in stunned silence as it evaporated into golden dust. The same thing happened to all of the roots protruding out of the ground across the entire continent, as the whole edifice was almost immediately transformed into cosmic dust. The glittering, golden clouds then flooded the murky atmosphere, clearing the skies as the specks of energy that the tree became cascaded back down to the floor. Then, in a matter of minutes, both Cooler's Armored Squadron and the rest of the Comet's crew saw the landscape begin to change.

Once barren wastelands and deserts quickly became overgrown by large, sweeping patches of vegetation. At first it started off as small dots of green appearing all across the planet's surface, along with small ponds of clear, blue water. But all of that soon changed when all of these same patches and specks expanded and grew. Spreading faster than wildfire, forests and lakes began reappearing and manifesting all across the initially ruined, famine-ridden planet. The death and decay that once gripped the ball of rock became covered up and was effectively rid, as in a matter of moments the life that was once taken from its soil was promptly returned to it- and then some.

Before the clock even came around to the ten minute mark, the planet had magically been restored to its original, natural state. As the oceans soon returned to their rightful places in the enormous canyons left behind by the giant tree, the soldiers of Cooler's army watching from the ship couldn't help but feel their chests swell and hearts warm at the sight.

Salza, being the most practical man in the group, simply shook his head in disbelief at what he was now witnessing. "How… is this possible?"

Pondering on the question of reality for a moment, Myra then felt a smile tug at her lips as she quickly reached a conclusion. "I think that whatever residual energy was left in the Tree of Might was returned to the planet after it was destroyed. That must be why this is all happening." It really was the only possible explanation.

After watching with his jaw open for another minute as he saw a stretch of blue water once again cover the eastern side of the planet, the inquisitive and sharp-minded Gohan then turned to Kida and her friends, who he could see were standing right next to him with their hands against the glass. Upon quickly glancing between them, the child then spoke, "Did you guys have something to do with this?"

Glancing across at the boy, the blue kitsune girl and daughter of the chief smiled warmly. "You could say that." Noticing Neiz and Myra look across at her as a result, the little fox girl shrugged. "We only kept some of the fruits we took from the tree- the same ones that we gave to all of you. The others we crushed and buried in the ground before we were picked up by your friends. We thought that by doing that, we would be able to return some of the life that was taken from our home."

Her friend Rei, her white tail wagging happily, then looked back through the window and smiled. "And it looks like it worked."

Dore, hearing this from where he was standing, looked across at their captain. "So… does that mean…?"

Smiling as well, Salza nodded and crossed his arms. "Mission Accomplished."

The sound of that statement put happy grins on the faces of all of his subordinates, most notably Myra, Gohan, and the kitsune-seijin they'd saved. After all, their success here had been nothing short of a miracle. A miracle now manifesting itself in the picturesque view now floating before them.

It wouldn't be until sometime later before the crew of the Comet finally decided to fire up the ship and head off to rendezvous with Cooler's capital vessel. But before that, all the men and women assembled on the bridge decided to remain where they were for a little while longer, floating in orbit of CP-179, and watching as the results of their victory took hold of the planet.

Needless to say, it'd been one hell of an assignment.

XXX

(A few weeks later)

(Back on Earth)

On this particular weekend stretch, the fighting forces of the Z-fighters training up on Kami's Lookout had decided to take a long, much needed rest day to work off the stress and pains built up over their past month of hard training. Having worked themselves to the bone the day before, to the point that some of them had collapsed from exhaustion, the group of earthling heroes had wisely chosen to take a day off to rest, relax, and gather their thoughts. And in typical fashion, each and every one of them were occupying themselves in a variety of different ways, as expected of their characters.

While Kami was wandering about the flower gardens and Mr. Popo was in the process of watering them, between the rows of soil and palm trees, the cape and turban-wearing form of Piccolo could be seen floating in place and in deep meditation. Directly alongside him floated both Tien and Chiaotzu, both of whom had decided to join the green demon in his session to calm their thoughts, as well as get used to the man's presence. After all, seeing as how he was acting less hostile towards them nowadays, they really wanted to put in the extra effort to spend more time with him and get a feel for what kind of person he was. They were going to be fighting alongside him in the upcoming battle, so there was understandably a lot of sizing up to do.

So far Tien was having few problems with hanging out with the Namekian. Sure, the guy still acted grumpy at times, but that seemed to have been dialed back over recent days.

Then there was Yamcha, Krillin and Yajirobi- the three men having resigned themselves to the front steps of the palace to chill and talk over a game of cards. So far, judging from the pile of food they were gambling with, it was clear that the most portly member of the trio was raking up the most winnings, some of which he was already in the process of eating. This irked the other two somewhat, as the man was surprisingly good at bluffing them.

And then there was finally Raditz and Launch, both of whom were sitting on another part of the floating platform in their respective training outfits and were talking. Not only that, but the blonde gunslinger had thought it would be a lot of fun to crack out one of the small, handheld mechanical puzzles she often carried around with her to see if the Saiyan could solve it. This consisted of a set of metal wires that the woman had fastened out of grenade pins and rifle rings. So far the man was doing pretty well trying to solve it without breaking the links.

However, after managing to remove one of the rings from their catches, the warrior's expression twisted into one of confusion as he began rolling the set around to see how to undo the next one. Lifting it above him and squinting at it, a now frustrated Raditz began inspecting the device in a manner similar to a curious little monkey, which in turn caused an observing Launch to snicker at the faces and actions he pulled.

"Ooh. Looks like you wedged yourself into a corner there," the blonde remarked in an amused tone. "Need some help?"

"No, no, no. I got it. I got it," Raditz replied hastily as he brought the rings back down and pinched one of them between his large fingers. "It's… this one." He then proceeded to try and remove it from its host, sticking his tongue out in a playful show of concentration, as he did his best not to break the rings in his effort to untangle them. When he heard a giggle from right next to him, the man in the spandex hot pants and his newly modified chest armor looked across at Launch and blinked. "What?"

The blonde female grinned at him while her cheeks shone with a reddish hue. "You know… I always figured you to be a stern, gruff, tough guy, who only ever had training and fighting on his mind. But seeing this side of you is pretty neat too."

Blinking at Launch's remarks while also staring back at her smiling, tomboyish face, Raditz felt his stomach clench a little as a wash of heat reached his own cheeks. Clearing his throat, the man looked away with a pout. "I don't act like a hard ass all the time, y'know," the Saiyan warrior grumbled under his breath.

The gunslinger chuckled while leaning forward with her hands in her lap. "I know. But that's okay. I actually like that side about you… and this one too. It makes you more interesting." When she saw Raditz glance across at her in surprise, the blonde quickly realized what she'd said and recoiled in alarm, her face turning redder as she promptly looked away. "I… I mean… even though you act tough and cute- gah… I mean… after spending so much time around you and getting to know you… well… I think that… uhh… gah! Forget it! Just forget I said anything!" Waving her hands in front of her, the long haired woman promptly looked away and frowned deeply- clearly expressing a great deal of embarrassment at the words she'd let slip.

Upon processing the girl's words and seeing her flustered response, Raditz couldn't help but smile as he slowly turned his attention back to the rings he was holding. "Alright. If that's what you want, I'll try to keep it out of my mind. But no promises though." Sensing the woman look across at him again but pretending not to notice, the long-haired fighter went back to trying to resolve the puzzle between his fingers. Skillfully managing to use his bulky fingers to dislodge one of the aforementioned bands, he eventually managed to remove it from the center clip and grinned when he succeeded in doing so. "Haha! I got it! See!"

When the Saiyan showed Launch what he'd been able to accomplish, the woman was about to congratulate him. But before either of them could do so, a loud roar from below was followed by a large, white object suddenly flying up, past the ledge they were sitting near. The blast of wind and heat nearly knocked both the Saiyan and the woman over out of surprise, with Raditz managing to shield the blonde from the dust that hit them in the face.

Looking up to see what'd shot past them, the pair watched as a large, white, Capsule Corp jet car performed an aerial loop overhead, before eventually leveling out and slowly descending towards the floating platform. The rumbling of its engines and the gales of wind it sent rippling across Kami's Lookout immediately caught the attention of the Z-fighters scattered across its surface, with Kami and Mr. Popo heading over to investigate the new arrivals.

Watching as the jet touched down behind them, Raditz and Launch stood up. Whereupon the pair then ventured around to link up with Kami and Mr. Popo to see who it was that'd suddenly dropped in to visit. Though they could see exactly who it was, given the fact that the canopy of the aircraft was tinted, judging from the markings the group had a good idea as to who it could be.

By the time Krillin and Yamcha came over, the jet's engines had promptly been shut off, filling the air with the dull hum of its fading instruments. Before the drone fully dissipated, a loud hiss was followed up by the side hatch of the forward pod opening. When the pilot of the craft eventually jumped out, the entire group was caught by surprise at who they saw.

Dressed in the exact same qi pao ensemble she'd worn to the most recent World Martial Arts Tournament years ago- consisting of a sleeveless, blue martial arts robe with red trim, pants, wrist bands, and taichi shoes, and her long black hair tied back into an elegant ponytail as opposed to her trademark bun- Krillin, Yamcha and Launch found themselves face-to-face with the familiar form of the Ox King's daughter, Chi-Chi.

Appearing even younger than before, due to her change in style and wardrobe, the princess-slash-mother of the Son family shut the door of the jet car behind her and glanced around the vicinity. When her eyes landed on the faces of her husband's friends gaping back at her, the woman's calm expression then steeled as she marched forward.

Blinking away his shock, Krillin stepped forward. "H-Hey there, Chi-Chi."

"Wow. We weren't expecting you to show up here," Yamcha followed up, wrapping his fingers around his gi belt as he watched the young woman march up to them and stop a few paces away. "How have you been? Is… everything okay at home?"

"Hmph. What do you think?" Chi-Chi asked, placing her own knuckles against her waist as she looked back at the two men, both of whom felt their bodies stiffen at the glare she shot their way. "I've spent the last six months mourning over the loss of both my husband and my son. And since Bulma and Oolong are out searching for the dragon balls to wish one of them back, I can only guess who out of the two of them they're going to use the dragon's wish for."

Freezing up at the dagger-like stare she was now giving them, both Yamcha and Krillin wisely chose to keep their mouths shut.

Launch meanwhile, being the bravest of the men that'd bothered to approach the Son mother, then gave the young female a quick look over. "So what exactly brings you here today, Chi? Is there something we can help you with?"

"Actually, yes," Chi-Chi replied, her gaze turning to where the venerable Kami and his associate was standing. Removing her hands from their place, she then stepped towards the elderly guardian of the earth. When she stopped in front of him, the young mother folded her hands in front of her and bowed politely to the robed protector. "Greetings, Kami-sama. It is a pleasure to meet you again."

Smiling kindly, the great overseer of the world bowed back to the young woman. "The pleasure is all mine, young Chi-Chi." When both individuals raised their heads once again and faced each other, Kami then allowed a warmer smile to tug at his lips, as he quickly came to suspect why she was here. "Now… what is it that I can do for you today?"

Chi-Chi's expression then transformed from one of humble patronage to one of sheer determination. "I heard from Bulma that all of Goku's friends and companions were up here on the Lookout, training for the arrival of the Saiyans- the friends of the same man that threatened my husband and my son." Her attention briefly shifted over to Raditz, who she saw stiffen when she frowned at him. A few seconds later however, she then looked back over at Kami. "I also heard that you're desperate for help, since you've also recruited some of my husband's former enemies."

Her quick breakdown drew a nod from Kami, who then tightened his grip on his staff. "That's correct. The Earth is in grave danger after all… and considering the strength of the threat that is approaching us, everyone who is present has unanimously agreed that it would be in our best interests to put aside our disagreements and join forces to combat this new menace." The elder then lifted his head. "Do you have a problem with this?"

A few moments later, Chi-Chi smirked. "Not at all. The more the merrier, I say. In fact, I'll do you one better." She then stuck her chest out and straightened her back, facing down the guardian of the planet with a spark of resolve burning in her raven eyes. "Though I hate the idea of fighting, since the entire world and our home is in danger of being destroyed, with your permission I would like to join you in your training."

This statement had most of the Z-fighters, with the exception of Kami, drop their jaws and gape at the woman in alarm.

"A-Are you serious, Chi-Chi?" Krillin asked, completely stumped at hearing the woman's statement.

The mother glared back at the short, bald fighter sternly. "I'm dead serious." She then turned her gaze back to the guardian. "These Saiyan took away my husband and my son. If these brutes are coming here to this planet to take away everything else, then I'm just going to have to get strong enough to stop that from happening." She then clenched her fist and raised it in front of her. "I'm going to beat those scumbags black and blue, and demand for them to bring my son back. Through hell and across the stars if necessary."

Launch, sensing the determination and confidence emanating from the mother, smiled broadly at the look she was giving the men. Looking to her left and seeing Raditz staring back at the female nervously, the gunslinger chuckled and nudged him in the side. "If you're wondering who that is… that's your brother's wife."

"His mate?" Raditz whispered, quickly looking her over before grinning anxiously. "Heh. Yeah. I can see why he got together with her." Her ferocity and spirit were certainly a standout amongst the females he'd met before. However, through all of this the man glimpsed a very strong, protective nature in the woman, as well as a genuine love and care for her family.

Guess his younger brother had some good taste after all.

Following Chi-Chi's brave statement, when he saw the woman lower her arm and gaze in his direction for several seconds- as if waiting patiently for a response- Kami decided to give her one. With a warm smile returning to his ancient face, the green warrior and overseer of the planet then nodded his head towards her and spoke.

"Very well," Kami said, putting a smile on Chi-Chi's face as she clenched a fist victoriously behind her back. "We shall start your training first thing tomorrow. But before that, I think it will be good for you to meet the rest of the team."

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note: Let me know what you guys think. I know Cooler may seem a bit off in character here, but bear with me for a moment.

I'd originally had this chapter longer, but have recently split it in half for expositional sake. You guys will be finding out more about Cooler and his plans in the next chapter, which is dubbed Motivations and will be the last of the Raider Saga, before the story moves into the Vegeta Saga.

If you are a fan of my work, you can follow me through deviantart, twitter and paetreon. It would really mean a lot if I can get a lot more people on board for my doujinshi projects.