Early chapter because I am going to be very busy, tomorrow. I'm gonna be at a con, and I'm really excited! Anyway, enjoy!

Oh, and a huge thank you to my friend xSonallyGirl129x for drawing some art from my stories! She drew Bulma's ballgown from A Thrilling Chase, and it turned out amazing! Go over to her deviantart page, ScissorSoulOtaku235, and give her some love. She's also a writer on here and makes some great Dragon Ball stories, too, and I'm sure you'd like them, too. Thank you again, my friend.

The sun was moving closer to the west horizon, slightly shrouded by the fog of Mt. Paozu. The natural beauty was untouched by man. The water of the lakes and rivers was so blue and clear that one could see to right to the bottom. Deer grazed along the grassy plains and birds huddled in tight nests in the trees. The only path that one could follow was a dirt one, carved into the edge of a cliff.

Bulma drove her car down the road, creating a trail of dust behind her. Roads meant that someone had to be living at the end of it. It might not be Son Goku, but whoever lived there might know where to find him. Plotting out houses in the middle of nowhere wasn't a priority, so she was driving completely blind. She just hoped she had enough gas for the trip home.

She didn't know much about Goku – she didn't find much in her late night researches. From what she could find, he was a master martial artist. He entered the 22nd World Martial Arts Tournament when he was only twelve, and made it all the way to the finals. His fights against Jackie Chun and Tien Shinhan were dazzling, even if he lost by a narrow margin. He acted carefree during all of his matches, completely unbothered by his losses. She had suspected his talent, before: he had gone toe-to-toe with Piccolo, after all; but she wasn't aware of how much of a prodigy he was. She was eager to speak with him about this.

Then, over the horizon, a house appeared. She pulled her car over, parking it on the edge of the dirt road. She stepped out, and walked the rest of the way, looking around. If this weren't where she needed to be, she'd have to find someone to ask for directions.

On the front lawn, a little boy was reading a book. His head was tilting back and forth, as he turned the pages. Bulma smiled. She always loved kids. When he heard the footsteps, he closed his books and turned around, with a big smile on his face. But, when he saw her, his smile faltered. He looked around, appearing to look a little scared.

Bulma knelt down, keeping some distance between them. "Hey there."

He picked up his book, putting it in his lap, still not saying anything.

She couldn't help but smile. He was just shy – it was adorable. "Is your mom or dad home? Can I talk to them?"

He got up, struggling to lift the book with him, and ran across the lawn. He jumped up to grab the door handle, and hopped back down when he got it open. Bulma chuckled. What a sweet little boy. The door opened, again, and a young woman stepped out, as the child hid behind her legs.

"Hello," she said. "Can I help you?"

Bulma stood up. "Hi – do you know where Son Goku lives, by chance? I need to talk to him and ask him some questions."

She put her hands on her hips. "What do you need to ask?"

"It's nothing bad, I promise. I've been talking with some of his old friends about something really important, and they told me to ask him. I won't take up much of your time."

The woman looked at her with judgmental eyes. What was her deal? Bulma wasn't trying to sell her something or trying to abduct her kid. She hadn't given her a reason to distrust her, as far as she was aware.

Thankfully, she did nod. "Alright. Goku's my husband. He's off training, so you'll have to wait until he gets back."

Bulma smiled. "Fantastic! Thank you so much!" She walked up to her, and held out her hand. "I'm Bulma. It's nice to meet you."

Her eyes widened for a moment. "Oh!" She stared at her, before she returned her handshake. "It's nice to meet you as well. I'm Chi-Chi, and this," she shifted around, to look down at the boy, "is Gohan. He's mine and Goku's son." She gently nudged him with her foot. "Go on – say hi."

Gohan looked up at his mother for a moment, but then bowed, in front of Bulma. "H-hello."

"What a nice little gentleman." She giggled, and bowed. "It's very nice to meet you, Gohan." Gohan scurried back behind his mother, looking down, bashfully.

"Please, come inside," Chi-Chi said. "Would you like something to drink, while you wait?"

Chi-Chi came out from the kitchen, carrying a tray of drinks for her and Bulma – a mug of coffee for Bulma, and a cup of tea for herself. Bulma was sitting on the couch, and thanked her, as she was handed the mug. She breathed in the scent, and sighed, before she took a drink. When she swallowed it, her eyes widened. This was some of the best coffee she'd ever had. She had to find out what recipe or mix she used, before she left. Chi-Chi sat down next to her, sipping on her tea.

"So, do you know how long it will take Goku to get here?"

Chi-Chi scoffed. "I never know. He might not be back until the break of dawn. All it is with my husband is training, training, training. The only thing he likes more than that is eating." She put her hand behind her head, and started speaking in a silly voice. "'Oh, Chi-Chi, can I go out and train, again? How long is it going to be until dinner's ready? I swear I'll be back, in time!'"

Bulma laughed. Sounded a lot like someone she knew. "My boyfriend is the exact same way. Should we compare notes? Does he tend to hurt himself, while doing it?"

"Oh, you don't know the half of it. But it makes him happy. I guess as long as he comes home every once and while, I'll live. Of course, it doesn't help that Piccolo's an enabler." She sighed. "I sometimes wonder how I put up with it all."

Bulma did a double take. "Did you say Piccolo?" Chi-Chi nodded. "Is he a big guy? Pointy ears? Turban and cape? Always looks angry?" She mimed along as she described his features.

"That's the one." She pointed to the wall behind them. "See for yourself."

When she turned around, her jaw dropped. There was a huge painting of Goku with Chi-Chi, Gohan, and, behind all of them, Piccolo. She pressed her fingers on her forehead. She had no idea. Out of all of the people she knew, Piccolo was the last person she would have expected to settle down and become domestic. A lot could change in three years, but she hadn't thought of this. She suspected he might have gone to live with Kami, maybe wander around and live wherever. Never this, though.

She shook her head, and turned back around. "Piccolo's an old friend of mine. I just… I didn't expect this. I'm sorry."

Chi-Chi nodded. "I know."

"What do you mean? What do you know?"

"That you were one of Piccolo's old masters, when he was still in the Dragon Ball. He said that you were the only one of them that wasn't a delinquent. I should probably thank you for doing what you did. We wouldn't have met him, if you hadn't."

"He told you?!"

"Everything."

She looked down. "Wow… I would have never thought…" He hadn't even told her his past – she learned it from the Grand Elder. If he trusted them so much that he told them everything... She didn't know everything, but she was so proud of him. She knew he'd be able to move on. "Does he just live with you guys?"

"Mm-hmm. He helps me out around the house, trains with my husband, and even looks after our son." She giggled. "Oh, Gohan was head over-heels for Piccolo, when he came to live here. It took a while for me to warm up to him, but Piccolo is good people. He's got a nice head on his shoulders."

"What about Goku?"

"Oh, Goku was even worse than Gohan. Sometimes I swear that my husband has a husband." She sighed, and shook her head, but she smiled. "But I love them. I wouldn't want it any other way."

Before Bulma could say something else, Chi-Chi stood up. "Well, looks like he's on his way back. I'll introduce you two." She was about to ask how she could tell, but then she felt a familiar energy, herself. That answered her question – she could probably sense ki. She had long since grown rusty, only able to recognize her closest friends. And there was one heading their way that she could never forget.

Chi-Chi walked out the door, leaving it open. Bulma scooted to the edge of the couch, to see what was going on outside. "Welcome home."

There he was – sitting on a flying cloud. He jumped off, with a large smile on his face. "Hey, Chi-Chi! What's for dinner? I'm starving."

Chi-Chi shook her head. "In a moment. We actually have a visitor who wanted to talk to you about something. She said it was important."

"Huh? Really?"

"She's been here for a while, so you shouldn't keep her waiting."

"Okay!" He walked over to the house, still keeping than big grin on his face.

Bulma stood up, and approached him, as he entered the parlor. "Hi. Are you Son Goku?"

"Sure am! Who are you?" He looked up at her hair. He pushed his hand down on it. "And why is your hair all poofy?"

Bulma pushed his hand away, still trying to keep a straight face. "My name's Bulma. I've heard a lot about you, and it's nice to finally meet you."

"Bulma?" He turned over his shoulder. "Yo! I think your friend's here! She has really weird hair!" She sighed, and pinched the bridge of her nose. That settled it – when she got home, she was getting a haircut.

Piccolo entered the house, ducking under the doorframe. He raised an eyebrow, when he saw Bulma. "What are you doing here?"

She tilted her head to the side. "Hey, Piccolo." She waved at him. "As I was about to say," She looked back at Goku. "I need to ask you a few questions about your life. I was told you've faced off against the Red Ribbon Army. Is that right?"

"Yup! Sure did! They were really tough, too."

Well, that was a place to start. She sat back down on the couch. "So, what can you tell me about them?"

Goku plopped down on the couch next to her, crossing his arms. "They weren't very nice people. They were holding the mayor at Jingle Village hostage so that a bunch of guys would work with them to find the Dragon Balls. One of them shot me in my tail. It really hurt."

"Your tail?" She tried to get a better look at his lower back – she didn't see a tail, when he had come in.

"Uh-huh. It got cut off a long time ago, though. And then there was this other guy: Mercenary Tao. He killed my friend Upa's dad to take the Dragon Ball for them. Now that guy was tough. If I hadn't gotten up to see Korin, then I would have been toast."

Bulma nodded. She did remember reading about Tao. As the title suggested, he was just a hired hand, a bit like Hasky. As long as the price was right, he promised to kill any man, woman, or child the person requested. Only difference was that Tao was much more infamous. A lot of high profile assassinations were attached to his name. He was impossible to catch because of his speed and strength. He was only hired for one mission, but it was enough to leave an impact on the people who survived. Maybe she needed to go back to Hasky and ask her more.

"Goku," Chi-Chi said. "That was who Tien went up against at the tournament, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. He was Master Shen's younger brother. He looked different then – he was all metal and stuff. He could pull knives from his body, too. I think he called himself a cyborg, or something."

"Cyborg," Bulma asked. Not an android, but a half-mechanical man with ties to the Red Ribbon Army might mean something. "Did he ever tell you how he became one?"

"Nah, I don't think he did. He blew himself up, after our first fight. Then at the tournament, he said he spent a lot of money to be brought back as one. Tien managed to knock him out, and his brother took him away, after the fight."

This couldn't have been a coincidence. "Did you hear anything about someone name Dr. Gero?"

Goku hummed. "Nope. Never met him."

Bulma sighed. After what she heard from Dr. Flappe, she had hoped he had a run-in with him. Then, she would have at least gotten confirmation whether or not he was still alive. "Okay. What happened at HQ?"

"So, after Upa's dad died, I told him I'd get the other Dragon Balls to bring him back to life. They already had two Dragon Balls, so I had to go through there to get them all. And those Red Ribbon guys had really ticked me off – one of them chased Krillin and me through a cave. So I got to beat them up, too. They had a lot of guns and explosions, but they were weak. I had to get all the way to the top to get them, too. The boss said that we should work together, but I don't wanna be friends with bad guys." Piccolo scoffed, but Goku didn't hear it. "Then he fought me in his big robot suit, but he was slow in it, too. He tried to send a bomb at me, but it blew up a mountain, instead. I just punched through the robot suit and it blew up. After that, I got the next two Dragon Balls."

Goku was speaking so casually. As if this was no big deal for him. The Red Ribbon Army terrorized Earth for years and called themselves the most evil army in the world, yet the person who defeated them didn't think much of it. Maybe that was why she didn't doubt his story. If he had been boastful, she would have been more skeptical. Plus, he just didn't seem like the kind of guy that would lie.

"Do you know if anyone got out?"

"All the people that were running. They weren't the bad guys shooting at me, so I just let them go."

There it was: confirmation that not everyone was killed. It wasn't much, but it was enough for her. "One last question: do you think there could be some remnants out there? Could someone be working for the Red Ribbon Army on their behalf, even after all of this time?"

He tilted his head from side to side. "I dunno." He scratched his head. "It's been a really long time, so I don't really know the point of that." He shrugged.

She nodded. "No more questions. Thank you for your help, Goku."

"Sure!" Suddenly, his stomach growled loudly. He laughed, scratching the back of his head. "Can we eat, now? I'm starving!"

Chi-Chi shook her head, and stood up. "Of course, Goku. Bulma, if you want to stay for dinner, we'd love to have you."

She looked down at her watch. It had gotten late. "No, I should probably get going. It's a long drive to get back home. Thank you for all your help. If I come up with anything else, I might stop by. Thanks, again!" She waved, and walked out the door.

"Bye!" Goku waved back.

Bulma went back to her car. Her days of research gave her a lot to work with. It wasn't the clear answers she had hoped for, but it was more than she would have expected. There was still more work to be done, of course. Now, she had to put these leads to good use, and start some serious digging. But, as far as she was concerned, it was a good start. She had plenty to report to everyone back on Planet Vegeta.

"Kid, wait."

Bulma stopped, as she was about to jump into her car. Piccolo had followed her out of the house. She smiled. She was in a hurry to get home, but she always had time for him. "Hey again, Piccolo. Sorry if it seems like I turned up, out of the blue. I actually wasn't expecting to find you here." She looked back at the house. "So, you've settled down with a family. I didn't think you had it in you."

"That makes two of us."

"But I am really happy for you. It's like I told you – you're a good guy, Piccolo. Isn't this so much better than where you thought you'd be?"

"Better than being cooped up in a Dragon Ball, for sure."

She laughed. "Yeah, I can imagine. Anyway, what do you need?"

"Why did you ask Goku all of those questions, if you don't mind me asking?"

She sighed. She probably shouldn't have told him this, but she trusted Piccolo. He knew the Saiyans, and he wasn't one to spread gossip. "Something really bad has been going on, back on Planet Vegeta. We've been trying to figure it out for months without a lead. The Red Ribbon Army was our closest clue, and I'm seriously thinking they might be involved."

He raised a brow. "What do you mean by something?"

"A lot of Saiyans have died. So, you can tell, we need to get to the bottom of it all. I can't tell you anymore than that."

He nodded. "Just take care of yourself. And make sure you watch your back." He turned around and went back into the house.

Bulma blinked. Those words were cryptic – a lot unlike Piccolo. He was usually really blunt and to-the-point about everything. What did he mean by 'watch your back'? Did he know something that she didn't? She hoped it wasn't serious – with everything going on, it wouldn't make the situation any better. But, with all that she knew, she could only wonder. She jumped back into her car and drove off, leaving a cloud of dust in her path.

Piccolo did not know what to say to her. He had recognized the name Dr. Gero, even if it had slipped out of Goku's mind. He didn't know how to break it to Bulma that he will be potentially responsible for the end of the world as they knew it, or that he was planning on kidnapping her to turn into an android. Nor did he know how to tell her that he only knew this because he spoke to her son from the future. The warning was all he could reasonably say without a lengthy explanation.

After hearing everything, he couldn't help but try to connect the two situations. Whatever was going on with the Saiyans, could it be connected with the androids? If he had more time, he might have done some digging of his own. Unfortunately, an interplanetary conspiracy wasn't the most pressing issue for him. Getting stronger was his top priority. The androids were still coming, no matter what the situation was. Hopefully, he, Goku, and the others would be ready for them in time.