Bulma closed her laptop and rubbed her forehead. Another long day, and she still wasn't finding any answers. None of her tests on the communication system had worked. She had managed to reverse-engineer something that might resemble what Planet Vegeta used, and her attempts to break through the blocks failed. Even if she succeeded, there'd be no guarantee that she'd be able to do so in reality. The more time passed, the more it became clear that this was a losing battle and a waste of time. Literally anything else would be more productive to the cause.
She carefully climbed down from her desk, pulling a Capsule Corporation sweatshirt on. She needed to go out and get some new sets of clothes - with her belly growing at the rate that it was, she didn't fit her usual outfits anymore. Then, she left her room and went down to the parlor. She missed a step by accident and tripped, nearly falling forward. Luckily, someone stopped her, grabbing onto her arm and keeping her upright.
"Hey, careful there," Krillin asked. He was standing right next to her.
She sighed, putting her hand on her forehead. That was close. "Thanks, Krillin." She quickly regained her balance and made it down the rest of the stairs. "My mind was just somewhere else, I guess."
He shrugged. "It happens. Were you working on something?"
She walked into the parlor, flopping down onto the couch. "Yeah, and I've had zero luck. Even if I managed to find a way to get through whatever blocks the Saiyans are using, there's no guarantee that they'd actually listen to us. So I've just been wasting time that I could have been using anywhere else!" She grabbed a pillow and pressed it against her face. "What am I even doing," she yelled into it.
Krillin walked up and sat on the couch's armrest. "Hey, don't be so harsh on yourself. You've done a lot of great stuff. Had you not made that radar, Tien and I wouldn't have known where to look first. So what if a little bit of research went to waste? Now, you know what you can focus on next."
She pushed the pillow onto her stomach. "That's the problem, though. I don't know where to even start with that. The only way I can see us getting our communications back up would be to directly talk to someone on Planet Vegeta. And there's no way they'd let someone on Earth waltz onto that planet right now. Unless there was some kind of," her voice trailed off.
Then, she shot up in her seat. She ran her fingers through her hair. "That's it! Why didn't I think of it sooner?!" She turned over to Krillin. "Krillin, I need you to run up to my room - it's the first door on the right when you go upstairs. There's a little mirror about this big sitting on my bedside table. When you find it, bring it back down here to me. Can you do that?"
He looked surprised at first, before he nodded. "Sure. I'll be right back." He jumped off of the couch and went up the stairs.
Just as he did, Tien Shinhan came in from outside. He looked up at Krillin, before looking back at Bulma. "Where's he going?"
She swung her legs around to the front of the couch. "I'll explain in a bit. I think I've figured out a way to get in touch with the Saiyans, again."
He nodded. "That's good." Bulma still hadn't gotten a read on Tien. He seemed like a nice-enough guy, but he always kept to himself and didn't go out of his way to talk to anyone. It was funny: Krillin was super sociable and friendly, while Tien was the exact opposite. Yet, they still got along well and seemed to be close friends. Maybe she hadn't gotten to know him well because she wasn't in his immediate friend group - all of the Earth warriors seemed to be that close.
Krillin came running back downstairs, holding the mirror that Kami gifted her. "Here it is." He handed it to her. "What do you need it for, anyway?"
"Kami gave it to me when we were all on the Lookout, together. He said if I needed to ask him anything, I can talk to him through it." She rubbed the sleeve of her sweatshirt on the mirror, wiping away fingerprints. Then, she lifted it up so she could see it. "Hello? Kami? Can you hear me? It's Bulma!"
The image in the mirror seemed to swirl, and a green aura emitted from the frame. Then, light flashed from the glass, making her look away. When she looked back upon the mirror, Kami's visage was sitting inside of it.
"Yes, I can hear you," he said. "What's happened?"
"I think I've found a way to get in touch with the Saiyans! I don't think I can get through the blocks, but there's a better way that's been staring us in the face this whole time."
"Well, let's hear it, then."
"If we can't get through on this planet, maybe we can get through on another planet. Another planet like, let's just say, Planet Namek!"
His eyes widened and he blinked. "Are you certain that would be possible?"
"Of course! They're already close with the Saiyans, and I'm friends with a lot of them. I'm sure I could find someone willing to cooperate with us." She frowned. "Only problem is the ships that we have won't get any of us there very fast. The fastest one I have still takes a month for one trip. And who knows what Gero could be doing, during that time?"
Kami thought, for a moment. "There may be a faster way. Stay there - I'll be there immediately." And then, the conversation was cut off.
"Do you really think that planet would help us," Krillin asked.
She nodded. "Yeah, I do. The Namekians are always willing to lend a hand to anyone in need."
The room was suddenly flooded with a bright light. Everyone shielded their eyes, as a figure shrouded in gold stood in the middle of the room. When the light cleared, Kami was standing there, holding onto his staff and with something rolled up underneath one of his arms.
He unrolled the bundle, revealing a carpet. "Bulma, I need you to sit down upon this. There's something I need to show you." When he hit his staff on the ground, it floated off of the ground.
She looked down at the carpet. She knelt down to get a better look at it. When she waved her hand underneath it, there wasn't anything holding it up. "A flying carpet, a magic mirror: do you have a genie in a lamp up there, too?"
He chuckled. "That I do not. Krillin, Tien - you need not join us. I'll see to it that our friend is safe."
"If you say so," said Tien.
Bulma climbed onto the magic carpet. It gave way slightly, but once she regained her balance, she was able to sit on it easily. She crossed her legs and looked up at Kami. "Ready when you are!"
Kami nodded and hit his staff on the ground. When she blinked, she wasn't in her house anymore. The sky was dark and they were above a series of plateaus covered in teal-colored grass. The rockwork was a grayish-purple, and a cold wind blew against her face, as she looked at her surroundings.
"Here we are," Kami said.
Bulma carefully climbed off of the carpet. She rubbed her arms, to try and stay warm. "So where is 'here', exactly?"
Kami waved his hand, and the magic carpet rolled up, before disappearing into thin air. "The Yunzabit Highlands."
She balked at his words. "That's halfway across the world!"
"That is true. Now, follow me. I believe we aren't far."
Kami began walking forward, leaning against his staff as he did so. Bulma quickly caught up with him. They walked between the plateaus, as the wind blew harshly against them. She looked up and around her surroundings as they continued, wondering where exactly they were going. She had so many questions, but she held her tongue, knowing Kami would answer them eventually.
After a while, she leaned her hand against one of the plateaus. She pressed a hand against her forehead, feeling dizzy from all of the walking. "How much longer, Kami," she whined. She wasn't sure if she could keep up the hike for much longer.
He looked back at her, before pointing the rounded end of his staff in front of him. "See for yourself."
Once she regained her wits, she walked up next to him. Sitting on the ground below them was a round, oval-shaped vessel covered in moss. It stood on four legs, with spikes sticking out of it from the front and the back and a dome-shaped window in the front of it.
"Hey, that's a Namekian spaceship," she exclaimed. She traveled on one just like it right before the fight with Frieza, all those years ago. "What's it doing all the way out here?"
"It was mine, many years ago. Would you like to take a closer look?" Kami extended a hand towards her.
The two descended down the plateau until they were standing in front of the spaceship. Bulma circled the vessel. She hit her knuckles against one of the legs. It was made of some kind of metal, but not any that could be found on Earth. And its design was an exact match for the spaceships on Namek.
"You said this was yours, didn't you?" He nodded. "Was this the ship you and Piccolo came in, all those years ago? After the big drought on Planet Namek?"
"That it is. When I was young, I thought it was an ordinary home. I never comprehended how abnormal it truly was. Not until I learned of Namek through my other half."
She nodded. "Do you know if it still works?"
"I cannot say for certain. But perhaps with some of your technical know-how, you can restore it to working order."
Her eyes lit up and a big grin formed on her face. "That's right! The Namekian ships I've been on are faster than the ones we had on Planet Vegeta. This is a little older, but surely there's a way to modernize it. But Kami: would you really let us have a go at your old home? I can't guarantee it won't look a lot different, when we're done."
"If it will help our cause prevail, then I can get over losing a rickety old spaceship." He smiled and winked at her.
She laughed, before running up to hug him around his waist. "Thank you, Kami! You might have saved us, again!" He just patted the top of her head.
Yamcha and Raditz were getting closer to their destination - the last point on the radar that Tien and Krillin hadn't explored yet. After a long day of flying, they decided to take refuge in a small, desert town. It reminded Yamcha of the town where he and Goku met that Rabbit that could turn people into carrots. It wasn't very big, with only a few shops on main street and some housing at the other end of the street. There was a small inn in the middle of the town, which is where they decided to stay for the night.
"Hello," the lady at the concierge desk greeted, with a smile on her face. She was dressed in appropriate desert attire - loose-fitting clothes and scarves covering her head. "What can I do for you, gentlemen?"
Yamcha stepped up to the desk. He took out his wallet from a pocket in his gi, looking for cash. "We'd like to stay for one night, please."
"Of course! Will that one room for the both of you?"
He laughed, awkwardly. If it were any of his buddies, that wouldn't be a problem. But he wasn't quite keen on sharing a room with Raditz all night. He had laid off on the aggressive flirting for the past couple of days, and that might only serve to bring it back on. And what if there was only one bed? That would make it even worse. "About that-"
"We'd prefer two," Raditz spoke up.
Yamcha looked over his shoulder, his eyes wide with surprise. Was he turning down a chance to spend the night with him? He would have sworn that he'd take that excuse. He turned back around. "Yeah, what he said," he muttered. He took out zeni from his wallet and placed it on the desk.
"Certainly," the lady said. Once she got the payment sorted, she reached under her desk and pulled out two keys, with square keychains on them. "Your rooms are right around the corner - the room numbers are on the keychains. Breakfast is at 8 am. If you have any questions, feel free to ask."
When they reached their rooms, Yamcha tossed Raditz one of the keys. "Well, your room's right there," he said, pointing at the room number. "If you need something, I'll be here." He pointed at the door to his room. He cringed, realizing he had just walked right into a pickup line.
"Would it be alright if we simply talked for a while?"
Yamcha blinked. He had given him an easy innuendo to play off on, and he didn't take it. The second time today. Was he not feeling well? "Sure, I guess." He unlocked the door of his room and they went in. He sat down on a bench in front of the bed, while Raditz leaned up against the wall. "So… what is it you wanted to talk about?"
Raditz crossed his arms. "I wish to learn more about you."
"Oh. Well, what do you want to know?"
He shrugged. "I don't know, just something. I don't care what it is."
Yamcha put one hand down on the bench, leaning to one side. That gave him nothing to work with. What would a guy like him even be interested in hearing about? He thought for a moment. "Well… did you know I used to be a bandit?"
He laughed. "Really, now?"
"Everyone's always surprised. But yeah, I used to rob people out in the Diablo Desert. It was just me and my buddy Puar. We had a lot of fun, back in those days." He put his hands behind his head. "But that was a long time ago - we don't do it anymore."
"What changed?"
"I met your brother. Goku was the first person who ever gave me a good fight. No one had ever really challenged me like that, before. And then… I dunno, I just felt like that was a sign to leave it all behind. I ended up helping him find the rest of the Dragon Balls."
"You've known Kakarot for that long? What was he like?"
He shrugged. "He's not much different than he is now. He's still really carefree, always looking for his next big fight. But you can still count on him to have your back. There's always been something different about him. Now that we know he's not from Earth, it all kind of makes sense."
Raditz was looking at the floor. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke up. "Seems he's grown up fine. He doesn't need me."
Yamcha couldn't help but feel bad for him. He stood up and walked up to him. "Hey, you don't know that. Just because Goku's gone this long without you doesn't mean he won't ever need you. I might not know the whole story, but whatever separated you guys wasn't your fault. There's just a lot going on right now. Once this whole mess with the androids is done, I'm sure Goku will be happy to sit down and talk to you about everything. Knowing him, he's got a lot of questions. And you're the only one who can answer them."
"You truly think so," Raditz asked, looking him in the eyes.
"Of course. I know I'd be happy to know I had more family out there. Especially if they were as considerate as you are." He smiled at him. After a few moments, Raditz smiled back at him. It was nice to see a genuine look of content on his face. He much preferred it over the macho-smirk he always wore around him. They stared at each other in silence, not even realizing they were doing so.
Raditz pushed himself off of the wall. "Well, I suppose I should be heading to my room." Right as he went up to the door, he looked over his shoulder at him. "I'll see you in the morning."
Yamcha nodded. "Good night, Raditz."
He winked at him once, before leaving the room and closing the door behind him. It was then that Yamcha realized something - that was the first genuine conversation they had ever had, together. And they had opened up to each other a little bit.
Maybe he really wasn't such a bad guy, after all.
As the sun flew over the sky, Goku and Piccolo were hard at work training together. They needed to make up for the days they had lost, with their new arrangement - going at it from the moment the sun went up to the second it went back down. After that, they'd go back home and rest. It was nice to be sleeping in their own beds, again.
Goku leapt out towards Piccolo, hurling his fist at him. Piccolo raised his arm just in time to block it. He jumped backwards and kicked Goku's leg, knocking him off balance. Then, he kicked him, again, sending him hurtling across the plane. Goku stopped his motion, dragging his hand against the soil. Then, he propelled himself back towards Piccolo.
The two fighters clashed, the impact causing the air around them to shake. They threw punches at each other, dodging the others attacks while doing so. Their forearms pushed against each other, as they stared each other in the eyes. Then, they jumped backwards.
Goku brought his hands together next to him, while Piccolo placed his right in front of his chest. Together, they charged their attacks, putting as much into them as they could. Then, they released them, and the two energy beams clashed against each other. They each pushed against the clash, trying to overwhelm the other fighter. Something in the middle broke, and the waves of energy were broken. A shockwave pushed out from it, cratering the ground around it and knocking the two fighters off of their feet.
Goku quickly jumped back up. "Phew! That was tense! You've really gotten strong, haven't you, Piccolo?"
Piccolo stood back up. "You're not so bad yourself."
He walked back over to him, stretching his arms. "Do you think we'll have a chance against the androids?"
"I'm not sure. If Tao was any indication, then they'll be tough foes, to be sure. And unless we can find Gero and stop him, he might end up making more androids for us to fight."
"Then we better keep training! Because I'm gonna fight 'em all!" He crouched down and stretched his legs from side to side.
Just a year ago, Piccolo would have called him a moron for looking forward to it. Now that he knew for certain that he was a Saiyan, it made a lot more sense. It was a strange coincidence that Goku, his closest friend, was the brother of Raditz, who was friends with Bulma, his other closest friend. Even with how long he had lived and how many places he had been, it was still a small world.
"How are you feeling," Piccolo asked.
Goku stopped and looked up at him, tilting his head to one side. "What do you mean? I feel great!"
"With everything you've learned these past few weeks, I figured you'd be a little less peppy."
The smile faded off of Goku's face. "Oh yeah. I haven't been thinking about it very much, I guess. Hey - if Kami knew I was an alien, did you know, too?"
"I had my suspicions. I was with the Saiyans for a little while, and I couldn't help but notice the similarities. I've never brought it up because I didn't have any conclusive evidence."
"You know them?" He nodded. "Can you tell me more about them?"
"That's a better question for Raditz than it is for me."
He crossed his arms over his chest, looking down at the ground. "You know: my whole life, I thought my grampa was my only family. When I told people, they always thought it was weird. Now that I know there's more of my family out there… I dunno. If there really are more of them, why didn't they come look for me? Didn't they want me?"
"Family's a lot more than that, Goku. It isn't something that ends in blood. It's finding people that you care about and who feel the same way about you."
"So, do you think I should just talk to him?"
"That's up to you. But if you want those answers, then he's the one to ask."
Goku looked into the distance and sighed. "I guess you're right."
"But remember that even if your Saiyan family is out there, you still have your grandfather. You still have Chi-Chi and Gohan."
"And I still got you," Goku said, looking up at him with a smile on his face.
Piccolo smirked and chuckled. "I guess you do."