Desert Wasteland

Piccolo bent down to pick up his cape and turban, groaning as the Earthlings chattered behind him. Right after Raditz had made his exit, Krillin, Master Roshi and Bulma had shown up in a Capsule Corp. aircraft.

"You're saying Kami took Goku and Tien's bodies?" Bulma questioned as she cradled Gohan in her arms. The child was sleeping peacefully despite all that had happened around him. Piccolo merely grunted at Bulma in response.

"Who knows what he has planned for them…" Krillin spoke, picking up Gohan's hat and extracting the four-star Dragon Ball from it.

"But if it's god himself, we don't have anything to worry about, right…?" Master Roshi chimed in, seemingly staring in the direction that Raditz had blasted off in. The turtle hermit then turned his head towards Piccolo, a stern expression plastered on his face. "Are you sure letting Goku's brother roam free was the right move, Piccolo?" he questioned.

Piccolo grunted before turning to respond to the martial artist. "No. But he could have killed me on the spot if he wanted to. For now, I don't think he's an enemy… we can probably expect him as an ally in the fight against the Saiyans."

Before anyone else could respond, Piccolo groaned and regrew his lost arm on the spot, grimacing as he observed the white fluid formed as a byproduct of Namekian regeneration.

"Just like a lizard's tail…" Krillin observed as he, Bulma and Master Roshi stared in shock and horror.

"Bulma, right?" Piccolo spoke, turning to the blue-haired woman, ignoring Krillin's statement. "Raditz had an interesting piece of technology that allowed him to measure our ki and convert it into a numerical format. It's crushed into pieces over there but… I assume you could probably use that to our benefit, somehow," he informed as he pointed towards the remains of the scouter.

Bulma's eyes widened in glee at hearing about such a valuable piece of technology. She immediately rushed over to the remains after handing Gohan to Master Roshi, crouching down to take a better look. "Looks like an eyepiece… I'll try to salvage what I can… but I'm no magician," she paused, before looking up. "I'm a genius scientist! Should be a piece of cake. Thanks Piccolo!" Bulma grinned.

Krillin merely stared in awe and fascination at how Bulma was going to turn those crushed pieces into a functional piece of technology. "You're amazing, Bulma…" he uttered, earning an arrogant wink from the scientist.

"Anyway, you should start looking for those Dragon Balls immediately. Kami can't bring the dead back to life himself," The Namekian stated, walking over to Master Roshi, slowly. "As for the boy, you can leave him with me. He ha—"

"Hold on a minute!" Krillin shouted, pointing at the Namekian in accusation. "You're not planning on eating him, are you?!"

"Don't be absurd!" Piccolo shouted, going red in his green face before collecting himself. "That boy has a tremendous power hidden away, so I'm going to give him the proper training he needs. We're going to need him in a year's time, and I doubt his uncle cares about anything other than his own revenge right now. I'm the only one who can give him the training he needs!" he announced, grabbing the boy and tucking him under his arm.

"Once you bring Goku back, tell him I've raised his son as the Demon King's apprentice! I'll bring him back in a year, not a day earlier!" Piccolo exclaimed, a wicked grin on his face as he shot into the sky.

Krillin frowned, realising he was the one who would have to speak to Gohan's mother. "Chichi's not gonna take this lightly…"

Master Roshi stood there in silence as he turned away from the rest of the group. Far off into the distance, he could feel a powerful, yet wicked and horrible ki signature. Though he knew it belonged to Raditz, something about it had him pondering - there was a hint of sadness in there, pain, even. Roshi could not bring himself to focus on it any longer, and so he continued to stand in silence as he pondered. He already had experience in training a Saiyan.

The turtle hermit cracked his knuckles as he straightened up. "I suppose… The Turtle School always has room for one more." He turned towards his student. "Krillin! Get me one of those senzu beans!"

Otherworld, Check-In Station

Goku stood with Kami at the gateway between the physical plane of existence and the Other World. The Saiyan had been there for a while as the red giant of a man who called himself King Yemma measured Goku's achievements in life.

"This is the second one you want to send to Snake Way, Kami?" The red ogre bellowed, glancing down at the Namekian god of Earth. "He has a much better resume than that Triclops, perhaps even enough to send him straight into heaven!"

"Triclops…" Goku mused, before his face lit up in realisation. "You mean, Tien's already been through here?" He questioned, before another thought plagued his mind. "Did a guy named Raditz pass through here, too?"

"Goku! Let me do the talking," Kami scolded, but to his surprise, King Yemma responded rather casually.

"Yes. Kami convinced me to send that Tien Shinhan fellow on his way to meet King Kai. He was very respectful, you should take notes!" Yemma spoke, before flipping through the pages of the record-book. "Hmm… there's no mention of Raditz… he's your brother, right? Are you sure he died?"

Goku's eyes widened in shock, but his reaction was quickly halted by Kami's hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, Goku. The Earth is safe, I made sure of that. I am not sure of Raditz's intentions, but I could not feel a hint of malice towards the Earth nor it's inhabitants. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here right now," Kami assured, turning his attention back to Yemma.

"My sincerest apologies for the interruption, King Yemma. Though to answer your question, yes. I would like to send Goku to undergo Snake Way and be trained by King Kai," The Namekian answered, confidently.

King Yemma smirked before responding. "You know, if I wasn't so busy all the damned time I'd offer to train you myself, Goku. I've always wanted a student!" He proclaimed, causing Goku to widen his eyes in excitement.

"Hey Kami, are you sure about this King Kai guy? I'm sensing King Yemma's energy and it's gettin' me riled up for a fight!" Goku announced, a determined look on his face, earning a chuckle from King Yemma whilst Kami frantically tried to mediate.

"Don't be silly Goku! King Yemma would wipe the floor with you as it is right now," he paused, before whispering into the Saiyan's ear. "Besides, King Kai's far stronger…"

"I heard that, Kami!" King Yemma bellowed, glaring down at the green man. "You are aware that I'll be the one to decide whether you go to Heaven or Hell, right?" Yemma questioned, a mischievous smirk creeping onto his face.

Kami frantically apologised, earning a deep chuckle from the giant red ogre.

"Very well. You may undergo Snake Way. But I will give you the same warning I gave to Tien… only one person has managed to complete it in over a thousand years!" King Yemma announced, pausing to witness the shock on Goku's face. "And that person… was me," Yemma smirked, causing Goku to stare in awe.

"Anywho, go wait for the guide by the entrance. Although, remember… if you fall off Snake Way, don't come crying back to me!" Yemma warned.

Kami put a hand on Goku's back and guided him towards the exit leading to Snake Way. "This will be a rather challenging year for you, Goku. I imagine Tien should have quite the head-start on you," Kami stated. "I will tell everyone on Earth to wait a year before reviving you and Tien, and in the meantime, I should probably get around to upgrading those Dragon Balls…"

"Got it. I'll tell this King Kai guy that you sent me. Say hi to Mr. Popo for me, Kami!" Goku grinned as he waved goodbye to both his friend and mentor.

Kami smiled as he watched his pupil run off, before he began to mumble to himself. "There's a very real chance we might not survive these events… even with King Kai's training, I'm not sure Goku and Tien will amass enough strength. The Earth can only hope for a miracle—"

"SHUT UP KAMI! YOU'RE HOLDING UP THE LINE! GO HOME!"

King Yemma had had enough.

Otherworld, Snake Way

Tien frowned as he stared at the endless expanse of yellow and grey in front of him. Though it was a serene, peaceful, sight, he couldn't bear to stare at it any longer. It seemed near enough endless.

"There must be a way I can speed this up…" Tien thought to himself. He could use the Multiform technique and throw himself, but there'd be no point to that since his strength would be halved. The Four Witches technique wasn't viable either… an extra two arms would not be useful in this scenario.

The Triclops then thought back to the last World Martial Arts Tournament that he had participated in, particularly, the battle of Goku versus Piccolo. Goku had used a Kamehameha wave at his feet in order to propel himself at high speed. Tien thought about it for a minute, wondering if he could replicate that or somehow manipulate his Dodon Ray in order to produce a similar, yet more efficient effect.

"I'd waste too much energy doing that…" Tien concluded, sighing. The only thing on Tien's mind was getting to King Kai's planet. The man stared forward at the seemingly endless Snake Way, before shooting into the sky and rocketing down.

As he flew, Tien thought to himself. Two threats, far stronger than Raditz… in a year's time. He was rather ashamed of his performance against Raditz, he felt he had been nothing more than a glorified meat shield for Piccolo, and to add salt to the wound, Kami had told him Raditz was still alive and that Goku had perished in the fight too.

Tien breathed in deeply, collecting himself. He had decided he would devote his entire being to train with King Kai. He was certain Goku would be catching up to him some time soon, so he wasted no time as he soared through the skies of the Otherworld. Though the warrior was bent on getting stronger for both himself and the Earth, he wanted to be far stronger than Goku, Piccolo and especially Raditz by the time he was back on Earth.

Tien was a man that enjoyed a little competition.

Author's Note

Hey guys, shorter chapter this time, and less eventful too – but don't worry, the next one will be far more action-packed. This was just a breather in between in order to give the characters some shine.

Also, yes, I know Master Roshi is far weaker than Raditz – but Raditz still has a lot of growing to do. Besides, I feel like a dynamic between Roshi and Raditz is never explored, so it seems like a fun thing to have a stab at.

I hope you guys appreciate Tien's far more active role in the story. I always felt like King Kai's techniques were far more beneficial to the humans than Goku, considering the Frieza arc and onwards.

If you have any questions, put them as a review and I'll answer in the next chapter.

Q: Will you be including and/or introducing What ifs concepts of storylines from MasakoX?

A: Yes. I love MasakoX's storytelling and concepts. Where I see fit, I'll incorporate some concepts. In regards to storylines, I want to be a little more unique – put my own spin on things, otherwise, what's the point of reading my fic when you have a whole Masako video? Haha

Anyways, please leave reviews! I love reading your guys' opinions and takes and questions. Thank you!