Gero watched as the two settled into their oasis home after a long day of what he could only assume to be travel. His drones lense focused as Goku helped set the massive fish he caught for Gohan over the fire.

Helpless boy, can't even roast a fish without assistance.

"Would you come assist me with this Dr. Hamilton? I know you said you had your own priorities but you have been watching the monitors for the last 52 hours. The Red Ribbon Army pays us to construct androids not..." The middle-aged Gero reversed the drill and released now threadless screw from the android he was constructing, he placed it to the side and shifted his chair to better see the screens. "Not keep tabs on your personal enemies."

He sighed, being robotic meant your eyes couldn't tire and the only thing that ever was on his mind, aside from making progress on his mechanical monstrosities, was Goku and Gohan. He stood from his seat and felt the leaking roof of their cave laboratory drip water onto his new face he had constructed to hide his true identity.

"You speak of matters you do not understand. I am observing for weaknesses and am running muscle endurance tests to see just how durable the one in purple is. As I have told you previously they have been a constant threat to my work for years."

He placed the drill down, puzzled "Really? I see...and how did you manage to get their muscle samples? Do your little drones have sampling kits?"

The doctor nodded and smirked with a sense of condescending superiority over his naive past self. He had lied through his teeth, and his younger self just took him at his word. The truth was he never constructed any drones with tissue collection kits and already had plenty of samples from Gohan and his father during the fight with Cell. He just enjoyed observing them for reasons even he himself could not understand.

"What's the matter? Not hungry?" Goku asked.

Gohan stared at his fish, he was starving, they hadn't eaten anything all day and he didn't think it was appropriate to ask the villagers for food because they looked like they were struggling enough. No need to fill two enormous appetites when even your tomatoes are shriveling in the heat of the desert.

"No it's not that, it's just we're so close to the dragon ball. It's only a couple of miles away we should go get it now rather than wait until morning."

Goku finished swallowing the chunk he tore from his fish "It'll still be there in the morning. Bulma is the only one who knows how to make dragon radars remember? No one else has a way to find them."

"I know but what if someone already has it? What if it's not moving right now because someone found it and is camping like we are?"

Goku could hear the strain in Gohan's voice, prompting him to try and calm the situation. He picked up his fish and scooted closer, he rubbed his back with his free hand as he spoke"Hey it's okay there's no reason to get so worried. Were out in the desert. I doubt there's anyone out here at night. Heck, we'd be icey if we weren't by the fire."

Gohan blushed, he knew he was smarter than this. Of course no one was stupid enough to roam the desert at night looking for a magical orb about the size of a large softball.

"Sorry, I get worried easily. I guess I've always been like that."

Goku waved his hand dismissively. "That's alright, as long as you eat your dinner I'm happy."

Gohan picked up his spit and dug into the fish, it was tender, warm and wonderfully flavored. There weren't many things his father was good at cooking, but fish was the one exception. His mind wandered back to the promise made in their favorite spring just after his father calmed his worries over Cell.

"Do you trust me?" Goku stared, worried about the answer that would come from his anxious son.

"I trust you Daddy." He pushed his head into his father's shirt trying to hide his still seeping tears

He smiled "Good. Then after we go and kick Cell's sorry butt, we'll go on the best fishing trip you've ever been on."

Gohan gasped, excited at the idea, and looked up. "Really? That sounds so great. I haven't had your fish in forever!"

Goku wiped the tears away from his son's cheeks "Yeah! And I'll teach you grampa's secret recipe. I know I burn basically everything in the kitchen but thankfully Grampa always called for an outdoor fire to make it right."

Gohan smiled sincerely as he remembered that warm moment between them. He looked over at his father said, "It's great Goku."

Gohan figured he'd let the mystery of how his father managed to make the fish so delicious continue. After all, it didn't seem right to ask his father how he did it now. Maybe one day, when he saw his real father again, he'd teach him. If he could ever forgive him.

They finished their fish and headed off to bed, the heat of the desert during the day had drained them both far more than they knew. Luckily enough, Gohan slept rather peacefully that night, his dreams were muddy and distorted making them far easier to treck through.

The morning heat woke both of them up early. The shade of the few palm trees above them kept them cooler than if they were out in the sun but heat is still heat. Goku drank straight from the lake, he had never been sick a day in his life and his stomach was used to the unclean water. Gohan, on the other hand, made a makeshift purifier. Using his shirt as a vessel he gathered gravel from the lake and copious amounts of sand from the dunes surrounding them and had his fill of water that way. After he had finished he walked up to Goku who was already on the nimbus looking at the dragon radar.

"Alright, Goku let's go get those dragon balls!"

Goku put the device back in its pouch and stood towards the edge of the cloud extending a hand to help Gohan up "You sure you're ready to go Jack? You did drink a lot, I don't want the nimbus to get you sick."

Gohan took his hand "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

He lifted him up and sat next to him as the nimbus took to the sky. They only had to fly a couple of minutes until they came upon an old dusty town that seemed to be ripped straight out of the old west. Goku guided them to the edge of the town where they stepped off the cloud. They walked through the eerily empty streets at a brisk pace, eager to find the ball. Goku held the radar close to his face and walked until the indicator was practically on top of the white dot.

"You sure this is it Goku?"

His father tapped the button on the top of the radar that turned off the device and looked at the store's sign which just read 'antique shop'. He looked above the sign to see a single fat bird resting in his makeshift nest.

"Yep, this is it."

Gohan barely got to the front door before a blue midget carrying the four-star ball barged out of it. He was followed by two henchmen, a small brown dog in a ninja outfit and a tall woman with dark flowing hair. Gohan was confused they as looked into each other's faces, the midget seemed to be terrified of him. He felt himself get separated from him as his father stepped between the two wielding his power pole.

"Stay back! This guy's really mean he tried to steal Bulma's wish!"

Pilaf's terror multiplied just as his foe seemed to do right before his very eyes "Goku!? There are two of you? L-l-look I'm sorry just take it" He cowered as he stuck the ball out in front of him hopeful that his offer would appease Goku.

"Wow, Grampa's ball! I can't believe it was this easy to find." He extended his hands out to grab his lost treasure but before he could he saw it shatter before him as a bullet blew it to pieces.

"Stupid kids, the ball was obviously fake."

They all turned to see a man in a purple jacket with a red scarf tied around his neck. He whistled which caused several groups of infantrymen to reveal themselves from the surrounding buildings. The loud marching as they lined up behind their colonel caused the bird to lift himself unnoticed into the air with the six star ball in it's clutches, away from the oncoming conflict.

"Colonel Silver of the Red Ribbon Army and you" he cocked back his pistol as he aimed it at Pilaf. "are in my way." He fired but Goku shielded Pilaf just before the impact. It hurt like hell but luckily hit his back causing only a small red mark to form.

"Ow!"

The colonel was beside himself, did he just witness a bullet bounce off a child like it was nothing?

"What the-" He was punched in the gut before he had time to finish his sentence.

Goku pleaded, "Pilaf get you and your friends out of here!"

The little emperor quickly responded. "Yes, yes of course" and ran off into the desert revealing a massive circular aircraft that picked them up and disappeared into the clouds above.

The men stood ready behind the colonel that held his stomach as he tried to push himself up using a nearby barrel. "What are you doing you idiots? Shoot them!"

The men cocked their rifles and open fired on them, none of their shots hit as the boys seemed to dance around the fire rate of the M16s with ease. As one of them was reloading, took the opportunity to smack one soldier with his power pole while Gohan dashed forwards breaking a couple of ribs in each soldier he passed as he slammed his fist into their sides. Goku took note of his blinding speed, Gohan moved so swiftly even he couldn't see him.

Incredible. I've never seen anyone move so fast before. I knew my attack at the tournament shouldn't have beat him so easily.

His attention was drawn quickly back into the battle as he heard one of the radio's on the soldiers activate.

Colonel Silver, this is High Command. The dragon ball in your vicinity is now moving North-East towards the last known location of the Ox-King. You must intercept that ball! General Red expects nothing but success. Do you copy?

He looked as the colonel dragged himself to the radio

"I have forces in the area, I'll move them to intercept the ball at the Ox King's H.Q. Silver out."

Goku concentrated, he hadn't heard of the Ox-King in a long time and it took him a minute to remember the details. He pictured the large man and the scared girl that stood close to him, he felt some clarity remembering that girls name, Chi-Chi. He panicked as he yelled over at Gohan

"Jack we've gotta go!" He took in a deep breath "NIMBUS!"

Gohan dodged the continuous gunfire as he made his way back to his father who already stood on the cloud, ready to help him up. He felt himself be practically thrown onto the cloud as his father raced to get into the sky as fast as possible. As soon as they were airborne he could see that Goku was out of breath, panting as he checked the radar which to his surprise was blank.

"Goku what's wrong?"

Goku didn't hear the question he was far too focused on making it to the Ox King's before the Colonel's men did.

"Faster Nimbus!" The cloud responded to his command by quickening its pace.

Gohan stood up and touched his shoulder "Goku what's wrong? Do they have the dragon ball?"

He broke from his silence in a voice that sounded full of anxiety "No, no, the ball isn't even showing up on the radar. I'm just worried because those Red Ribbon guys are heading over to the Ox King's place. There's a friend of mine there, her name is Chi-Chi and I'm worried she and her dad are in trouble."

Goku continued guiding them in the direction where he'd last seen the ball on the radar in hopes that he may have broken it during the fight. The land beneath them gradually changed from golden yellow to an earthy brown as they passed through the mountains. They flew through a thick layer of mist near the peak of one before gazing on the wide-open green plains of the Ox Kings land. The faint sound of gunfire could be heard as they approached his home.

Although they were over a couple of miles away Gohan could see what was unmistakably, his unearthly massive eight-foot-tall grandfather charging into a line of tanks. His grandfather told him of his younger days when he was far stronger and seeing him now, even from this far of a distance, was beyond impressive. He watched as he lifted his axe above his head and slammed it down, bending the thick steel that formed the tanks main gun. Then, without even preparing himself, he lifted it up by its frame and threw it onto another tank nearby.

Goku tugged on Gohan's gi "look!"

The colonel had found a way to beat them there. They were still quite a bit away from being able to help but they watched concerningly as the Ox-King was trapped in a net shot by a tank to the colonels right flank. Gohan didn't know whether it was an act of mercy or sheer forgetfulness, but the army seemed to roll by the giant they had just captured.

"Search the village, we need to find that dragon ball now!" Silver's stationary jeep began to shake as the massive aircraft he last saw Pilaf in appeared in front of him to pick up its mischievous master. Pilaf had found the ball inside of the Ox King's home where it had been extracted from an unfortunate pterodactyl who had an unfortunate bird for lunch.

"Nevermind, forget the village! Launch all aircraft and take down that ship!". Silver quickly opened the door and shrunk the jeep back into its capsule, carelessly shoving it back into its case. He selected his favorite vehicle, the Red Ribbon Special Forces Fighter Jet, and threw the capsule down in front of him embarking on the craft as soon as the smoke cleared. He radioed his men in a concerned but not overly worried voice "All right I want everyone to focus on that ship, do not let it escape. It carries a dragon ball and General Red will have us all served up on a platter if we don't get it." On his orders the Red Ribbon Army seemed to disappear just as quickly as they materialized. No doubt that's one of the reasons they became one of the world's leading criminal military forces; their mobilization was leagues ahead of any other competitor.

The pair landed beside the defeated king who struggled as he attempted to break the net. After realizing he couldn't break through it Goku and Gohan helped drag it off of him.

"Thank you Goku. I think I would have been in a lot more trouble had you not been here."

Goku rubbed his head "But I just got here, I hardly helped at all."

The ox king's smile turned into a look of confusion. "What do you mean? You were just at the wedding feast. Are you telling me you don't remember?"

Gohan remembered that little dog in a purple ninja suit being around his father's height. "Mister Ox-King was Goku wearing a purple like mine at the feast."

The giant stared at Goku's orange outfit and answered "Yes, he was. It was a trick wasn't it, someone fooled the old Ox-King."

Gohan laughed "Fraid' so."

The ox king took off his helmet to better see the boys noticing their striking resemblance. "Hm, say what's your name again? I don't remember Goku having a brother."

Gohan stood straight and tall, trying to look presentable for his grandfather in his torn outfit after a day of dodging bullets "My name is Jack, I'm not Goku's brother just a friend who's tagging along on an adventure. It's very nice to meet you." He extended his hand.

The ox king's massive palm enveloped Gohan's. "Well, you've got some good manners. Someone raised you right."

He thanked him as he thought to himself,

More than you could ever know.

The conversation was interrupted by a happy squeal as Chi-Chi ran up and wrapped herself around Goku.

"Oh Goku, you came to save me! I just knew you'd come back and now we can get married and spend every day together!"

Goku's ribs were still sore from the tournament and he could hardly breathe as she crushed his lungs. "Chi-Chi you're squeezing me"

She let go of him and tried to contain her excitement. She was disappointed slightly as Goku took out the dragon radar. "You are here for the wedding right?"

Goku was ecstatic as the ball reappeared on the screen but remembered that it was in the same direction as the Red Ribbon Army went. "I'll have to try some of that later Chi-Chi." He turned to Gohan who stood silently averting his eyes from his mother "Jack we've gotta go, the dragon ball's back on the radar and that Silver guy is gonna get there before us!" He took in the deepest breath he could "FLYING NIMBUS!" and hopped on it helping Gohan up just as fast as he did at the town.

Chi-Chi yelled as they began to fly off "Goku wedding is not a food!" She sighed as neither seemed to hear her, she focused on the unknown traveler that stood on the cloud with her future husband. "Dad who was that with Goku?"

The Ox-King picked up his axe and placed it into its holster on his back "I don't know sweetie, he said he was Goku's friend... and that he was on an adventure with him."

She kicked the dirt in front of her. "Lucky."