Kakarot stepped out of the ship, his feet crunching against the dry, barren ground. Home sweet home. Nothing had changed; everything on Vegeta was just as bleak as before. The others exited the ship after him. He heard some of the surprised gasps of the Earthlings and smiled grimly to himself. It was definitely different on Earth.
"Now what?" he turned to ask his father. "We go back to the tunnels?" Bardock shook his head, much to Kakarot's surprise.
"There's no point. Frieza already knows we hide out down there. We need to call all of the Saiyans out and train above ground. Your mother and I will go. The rest of you, stay here and train," he said, turning to leave. Kakarot glanced back at the Earthlings. Despite their brief training sessions in higher gravity, they were still having trouble moving.
"It only takes a while to get used to," he reassured them. "Just walk around until you're comfortable." He turned his attention to his brother. "Shall we?" he asked putting up his defenses. Raditz grinned in return.
"You have no idea how long I've been waiting to spar with you, Kakarot," Raditz said, coiling himself for battle.
Chi-Chi turned herself away from Kakarot and Raditz. The high gravity here was nothing but frustrating. She hadn't enjoyed training in it on the ship either. She took a few steps back, moving quite slowly because her legs felt as though they were made of lead. She tried to look on the bright side of things: at least she could stand. In the beginning of her training, she hadn't even been able to do that. She glanced over at Piccolo and Krillin. They were both able to move faster than she. Piccolo was overcoming the gravity quite quickly; he lifted himself off the planet's surface, hovering just above Chi-Chi and Krillin. Krillin was attempting to pick up running. Chi-Chi sighed, frustrated, and began to concentrate once more. Her concentration was quickly broken.
"What was that?" Piccolo called to them from the sky. Chi-Chi and Krillin both looked up at him, puzzled expressions on their faces.
"What was what?" Chi-Chi asked, putting her hands on her hips. Piccolo silenced her, putting his finger up, and cocked his head to the side.
"There it is again," he said. He lowered himself from his perch in the sky and touched down next to Krillin and Chi-Chi.
"I don't hear anything," Krillin said. "And now's not the time to try to freak me out with fake noises," he said angrily. He turned away from Piccolo and continued his training. Piccolo scoffed, but let Krillin ignore him.
"It sounds like its coming from the ship," Piccolo said. "We didn't leave anyone in there, did we?"
"Only Oolong," Chi-Chi shrugged. "Maybe he's just having a tantrum."
"No," Piccolo said. "I can sense Oolong's chi, and it's not him." Piccolo fell silent for a few seconds. "This chi feels…familiar," he said at length.
The ship door began to hiss open. Chi-Chi and Piccolo stepped back, raising their defenses. The person they saw walking down the ramp gave them a cheery smile and a wave. After recovering from her shock, Chi-Chi threw her hands on her hips once more and glowered at the old man.
"Gohan," she said, sternly. "What are you doing? You shouldn't be here. What do you think will happen if you get hurt?" she asked forcefully. Her scolding didn't dampen Gohan's bright mood. "What about if you get killed? Huh? Do you know how much that will hurt me and my father?"
"Chi-Chi," Gohan said, placing a hand gently on her elbow. "Just relax, sweetheart."
"Just relax?" she threw back at him. "How can I relax when I know that you're going to be in danger every second?"
"He's not your child," Piccolo cut in, silencing Chi-Chi once more. He looked at his old enemy, his eyes brimming with curiosity. "He's a fighter. He wants to be here."
"I'll be fine, I promise," he said, reassuring her. Piccolo grunted and raised himself into the sky once more, leaving Chi-Chi and Gohan to themselves. Chi-Chi continued staring relentlessly at Gohan, who had learned to pay her no mind. He cast his eyes around him, drinking in his surroundings. Gohan had never imagined that Vegeta was this barren, this destroyed. The lifelessness of it all cast a thick gloom in the atmosphere. His gaze was attracted by the sparring Saiyan brothers. They were moving quite quickly. Both were skilled and had masses of sheer strength. They were graceful, yet unbelievably powerful.
"Saiyans are quite interesting creatures, aren't they?" he asked aloud, to no one in particular. "They're built for battle."
"Let's just hope they're strong enough to win this," Chi-Chi said, answering him. "I don't know how much help I'm going to be in this gravity," she mused, trying to move at a normal speed once more. Gohan studied her attempts for several moments, smiling to himself. He sensed her frustration and her eagerness to excel, especially when those around her were doing so well. Krillin had begun to run laps around their spaceship, a satisfied look smeared across his face.
"Why can't I do this?" she asked aloud in frustration.
"Relax, Chi-Chi," Gohan said, soothingly. "You're coming along just fine."
"Everyone else here can move around easily," she spat. "And I'm still left in the dust. You call that fine?"
"Everyone else here is male, dear," he said.
"So what? Being female isn't an excuse," she said.
"You're absolutely right," he agreed, nodding. "Your body has given you a natural handicap. You were created to be weaker than all of us. Once you overcome that challenge, you will become stronger than all of us. Just relax. Don't think too hard about moving, just do it." Chi-Chi tried to separate her mind from her actions. She tried to let go of her frustrations. At first, she was unsuccessful, moving just as slowly as ever. She took a deep breath, repeating Gohan's words to herself. Once she was able to move in this gravity, she would be stronger than she had been on Earth. With that in mind, she felt that her legs were starting to move at a more normal pace. She no longer felt like she was dragging two tons of cinderblocks behind her. She smiled at Gohan.
"You've done it, my dear," he congratulated her. She ran forward and hugged him tightly. Though she would never admit it to him, she was glad that he had come.
"The Saiyans are back," Krillin called. Everyone gathered together to greet the Saiyans Bardock and Sona had gathered together. Kakarot was shocked by their small numbers. The group in the Underground had been at least six times this size.
"There are so few," he said. "What happened to the rest?" Sona gently placed a hand on her son's shoulder.
"Frieza got to them first," she said, sadly. "These were the only ones that managed to escape." Kakarot's face fell.
"The others are dead, then?" he asked. Sona shrugged.
"We don't know. We believe most of them are being tortured and killed on Frieza's ship, which means they're in Prince Vegeta's hands now."
"Then we haven't got time to waste," Raditz said. "We need to continue our training above ground. No one knows when Frieza will decide to show."