Far out in the ocean, a small island with a singular dwelling sat peacefully amidst the ocean's more turbulent currents. A picture of calmness and serenity, the two story pink house seemed out of place with its surroundings, partly due to it being moved onto the island through a singular capsule by its owner, the retired martial artist known as Muten Roshi. Affectionately referred to as the "Turtle Hermit" for both his peculiar method of training disciples through wearing a large turtle shell and his companion Turtle, the 300 year old master was once renowned as the most powerful martial artist in history, having trained under the likes of Master Mutaito and the cat deity Korin. He himself took on a handful of disciples following his master's death sealing away the fearsome King Piccolo, including the Ox-King of Fire Mountain and the legendary Son Gohan. However, it was the latter's adopted grandson Son Goku, as well as the monk Krillin, who would become his greatest students, both vastly surpassing him in terms of power. For a time, Roshi continued to participate in the world of martial arts under the guise of a perverted old warrior named "Jackie Chun," narrowly defeating Goku in the 21st Tenkaichi Budōkai and making it to the semifinals against Tien Shinhan, disciple of his rival Master Shen. Although he held his own against him, Roshi saw how much more powerful his students were getting, and decided to opt out of the match and the world of martial arts for good. In spite of this, he gave his life defending the Earth when King Piccolo was freed from his seal, and would continue to provide his students with advice and whatever assistance he could following his resurrection. Now, however, his serene home was burdened by a sequence of tragedies, the only outward evidence of them being the hole that the alien warrior Raditz had left in the wall during his first encounter with Goku.

Now, in the aftermath of Goku's second battle with the warrior who claimed to be his long lost brother, during which the son of King Piccolo killed them both in a last ditch attempt to secure victory, Goku's friends and family gathered at Roshi's home to mourn his loss. Goku's wife, Chi Chi, began to prepare a meal for the group to take her mind off of the news, while Bulma, Goku's first friend, fiddled with the device they had taken off of Raditz's corpse. Krillin and Master Roshi, meanwhile, discussed how best to prepare for the heralded arrival of Raditz's allies, the Saiyan warrior Nappa and his liege, Prince Vegeta.

"So, if I cross connect these circuits here..." Bulma muttered before the device sparked to life. "A ha! Got it!" She put on the device over her right eye and pushed a button on the side to activate it. "Alright, my modifications to the linguistic database seem to be taking...now let's see how this works..."

She turned to Krillin and Master Roshi, who were in the middle of conversation regarding where they might train.

"We could try training with Korin again," Krillin suggested. Master Roshi simply shook his head.

"You all matched Korin in speed long ago. You have already received the main fruits of his training."

"Well, what about Kami, then? Goku got insanely strong after he trained with him."

"Over 3 years," Roshi replied. "We don't have that kind of time. Not to mention we don't quite know what kind of training he got up there in the first place, beyond his weighted clothing."

"The fact remains, there's no way we'll get strong enough to fight these guys just training on our own. This Raditz guy managed to hold his own against both Goku and Piccolo, and his allies are supposed to be, like, ten times stronger!"

Master Roshi merely sighed, lost in thought. "If only we knew where the others were, we could come up with a better strategy..."

Suddenly, the two were interrupted by a loud beeping noise as the scouter registered both their power levels.

"Let's see…139 for the old man, 206 for Krillin, and...1 for me," Bulma muttered. "But under what metric? Is it measuring concentration of ki, or something else?"

"What have you got there, Bulma?" Krillin asked.

"It's the device we found on Raditz' body. I think it's some kind of monitoring device, to gauge others' levels of power and determine their locations."

"Hm...perhaps we could locate the others with that thing," Roshi pondered. "Try and see if you can extend its range beyond Kame House."

Bulma fiddled with the controls until she got a wider view. "Hm, okay...there's one power level of 177 out in what I'm guessing is West City, along with another power level of 10."

"That must be Yamcha and Puar. Probably at a baseball game or something," Krillin responded.

"250 and 155 outside of Shining Falls."

"Hm...Tien and Chiaotzu?" Krillin guessed.

"And a power level of 25 approaching them."

"Huh. No idea who that could be."

"Oh, and a power level of about...188 heading this way."

Both Krillin and Roshi sat up at this. "Now who could that-?" Roshi began before a loud whirring noise began picking up in intensity right outside. The group hurried out to find Yajirobe landing by a palm tree in his hover car. After the landing tore up blades of the surrounding grass, Yajirobe disembarked and approached the group.

"Yo," he said simply.

"Uh...hello, there," Roshi responded. "Can we help you, Mr.-"

"Yajirobe," the samurai answered.

"Oh, yeah, I remember!" Bulma replied. "Goku said that a samurai took him to Korin's Tower after King Piccolo nearly killed him."

"Right, that. Hey, uh, sorry about your loss, by the way. Seemed like a good kid. Anyway, you're Roshi, right?"

Roshi nodded in affirmation.

"And the short baldie over there is Krillin?"

"...Yes," Krillin replied, grumbling.

"Awesome. Green guy wants you two to go over to the Lookout to train with him."

"Green guy-you mean this Kami I keep hearing so much about?" Bulma replied.

"Yeah, him. Says some alien guys are coming by in a year to blow up the planet, so you two need to go train with him so you can beat them up."

"Wait-he requested for me to join him?" Roshi asked, confused.

"Well, unless there's another guy named Roshi who's a legendary martial arts master, then yeah, he requested for you to accompany Krillin there. Him and three other guys-Yamcha, Tien, and Chiaotzu."

"Oh! If you need help finding them, we can tell you where they are," Bulma chimes in.

"Nah. Kami already told me where they were through his mind thing."

"Telepathy?" Krillin asked.

"Yeah, that."

"Well...I can't think of any better place to train for these Saiyans, so we'd best not delay," Roshi concluded.

"K. Hop on," Yajirobe said, jumping back into the driver's seat. Krillin and Roshi soon followed, bidding farewell to the others as Roshi left Turtle in charge of the house while he was gone. With that, the three set off in search of the other three warriors.

"...Whoa, that is...huh."

Yamcha sat in the back of Yajirobe's hover car, still trying to process the news. Goku being an alien, Goku's brother showing up, Goku dead, and now two more aliens showing up even stronger than the guy that beat up both Goku and Piccolo? It was simply too much.

"Yeah, that just about sums it up," Krillin replied consolingly.

"Do you really think Kami's training will help us stand a chance?"

"...It's more accurate to say it's our best shot."

"Quiet, you two!" Roshi said, eager to halt the declining morale. "We're almost at Tien's location."

As he spoke, a pair of gigantic waterfalls came into view, a sight which would be stunning were they not interrupted by the sound of distant gunfire beneath them.

"Agh! What the-who's shooting down there?!" Yajirobe said, panicking.

The other three simply paused.

"Launch?" Krillin chimed in.

"Launch," the other two agreed.

The various issues created by the two identities of Launch-one a charming pacifist, the other a violent thief with a tendency to shoot first, ask questions never-were well known to both Krillin and Master Roshi, with Yamcha having gotten enough of a taste of her during their various adventures to see it for himself. In particular, Krillin was aware of both "Bad Launch's" tendency to wind up on the wrong side of the law, and her own attraction to Tien since the days of the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai. Thus, as the hover car landed just off of the road to the falls, and the group saw her carrying groceries while being hunted down by two cop cars, none of them were particularly surprised. No sooner had they moved a step towards her than Tien flew down and picked up the bike she was driving, carrying her and the groceries back to a small cottage at the top of the falls while the others simply looked on.

"...We really need to figure out how to do that," Krillin finally stated, to the assent of all parties involved.

After ascending the falls towards Tien's cottage, the group were greeted by an old enemy turned friend. Once a student of Master Roshi's rival Shen, the Crane Hermit, Chiaotzu had long walked the path of an aspiring assassin alongside his friend Tien Shinhan. However, it was Tien's determination to defeat Son Goku during the 22nd Tenkaichi Budokai, as well as his master's orders to kill his best friend, which caused Chiaotzu to turn his back on his old master and join the side of good. Since then, he had never left Tien's side, doing his best against the likes of King Piccolo when he attempted to regain his youth and giving his life in the attempt. Now revived, he has continued to train alongside his friend, helping him achieve his goal of matching Son Goku. His white skin, red cheeks, and remarkable telekinetic powers certainly made him an oddity among the Earth's inhabitants-in light of all that had happened, Krillin was indeed beginning to wonder if Goku wasn't the only alien living on Earth. Nevertheless, his good nature and positive attitude made him a ready friend to all who knew him.

"Greetings, everyone!" Chiaotzu said, beaming. "Welcome to our humble abode!"

Krillin smiled. Although they had once been rivals in the Budokai, they had grown to be rather close friends in the years since.

"Heya, Chiaotzu!" he replied with a smile. "It feels like forever since we last saw you and Tien. How have you been?"

Chiaotzu smiled nervously. "Oh, good, good. Aside from one...recurring dilemma."

As he opened the door, they could hear the brash voice of a young blonde woman shouting at a taller bald man with three eyes-undoubtedly Tien and Launch in her Bad incarnation.

"-You needed food, so I got you food! I don't see what the big deal is!"

"The 'big deal' is that stealing is wrong, Launch."

"Well, maybe if one of you two went out and got a job, I wouldn't have had to!"

"Why don't you get a job if you're so insistent?!"

"Ah, right, yeah, sure, like that's going to happen! 'So, Miss Launch, what skills do you have which you believe make you suited for this position?' 'Oh, that's easy-I shoot people, and I steal stuff!' That skillset isn't exactly going to qualify me for a desk job anytime soon!"

As the two continued to argue, Chiaotzu looked back at the group apologetically. "I, uh...I'd advise against bothering them."

The rest of the group could only nod before flinching as the argument reached a greater noise level than before.

"We didn't even need that food!"

"Didn't-Tien, you and the midget haven't eaten for ten days!"

"It's called fasting, Launch! And if you call Chiaotzu by that derogatory term one more time, I'll-!"

"Uh, hey, excuse me?"

The two were caught off guard along with the rest of the group by Yajirobe's sudden interjection. Chiaotzu tried in vain to pull him away, his efforts arrested by his extreme mass, as the samurai continued, "Listen, I hate to interrupt your lovers' quarrel, but I need to speak to the triclops and I'm kinda on the clock here."

"You mean because of the Saiyans who were a friend of Goku's brother coming to Earth in a year's time ready to destroy the planet?" Yamcha replied, partly to reaffirm to himself that that was actually happening.

"No-my dinner. I only had lunch about three hours ago, and I've been spending the rest of that time rounding up you idiots. Although, as an aside, thanks for the summary-makes my job even easier."

"Wait a second," Tien cut in, confused, while Launch remained silent, still somewhat embarrassed. "Saiyans? Goku's brother? Destroy the planet? I-I'm going to need some context for all of that."

Krillin sighed, understanding his confusion. "Look, we'll explain on the way, but we need you and Chiaotzu to come with us so we can train with Kami before they arrive."

"Now wait just a second, baldy!" Bad Launch retorted. "You've got a lot of nerve coming over here and demanding these two just drop everything without so much as an explanation-"

"Alright," Tien answered simply, to the astonishment of all and especially that of Launch.

"'Alright'?! You're seriously going to go with these losers based on nothing but a...a...atCHOO!"

With that single sneeze, Launch's hair immediately turned from blonde back to its usual blue, and her eyes shifted from being narrowed to wide as the rest of her body underwent slight adjustments while reverting to her Good state. She looked around, disoriented, before her eyes fell onto the visitors.

"Oh! Krillin! Master Roshi! Yamcha! It's been so long!" she said, beaming, as she moved to hug each of them. Krillin and Yamcha replied in kind, thankful that she had shifted back and happy to see her again, while Roshi had to be swiftly reminded through a kick from Krillin not to return the hug too "enthusiastically." When she got to Yajirobe, she remarked, "Hm. I don't think I've met you before. You are…?"

"Yajirobe," he replied simply.

"How wonderful! Would you like some food, Mr. Yajirobe? I have no idea where all of these groceries came from, but I should be able to make enough of my famous daikon stew for everyone!"

The suggestion was heartily answered by the group, who had likewise not eaten for several hours. As Launch went to prepare the food with Chiaotzu's help, Tien and the others sat down, discussing the issue at length over the twenty minutes it took the pair to prepare dinner.

"So, in summary: Goku's an alien sent here to kill all life on Earth."

"Yup," Krillin replied.

"But he didn't because he hit his head as a baby."

"Uh huh," Yamcha answered.

"So now this Raditz guy, otherwise known as Goku's brother, showed up to pick up where he left off."

"Yeah," Roshi responded.

"He then kidnapped Goku's son when he refused to join him."

"Apparently," Yajirobe answered between mouthfuls of stew.

"Then beat the everloving crap out of both him and Piccolo, before his four year old son severely wounded him with a single attack."

They all collectively replied "Yes."

"This then allowed Piccolo to use some new technique of his to kill both Raditz and Goku…"

"Yeah," from Krillin.

"Only for Raditz to reveal that his two significantly more powerful partners were listening in halfway across the galaxy..."

"Yes," from Roshi.

"And were particularly attentive to the part about the Dragon Balls Piccolo just so happened to mention…"

"Particularly," from Yamcha.

"So now they'll be at Earth in a year, and in response, Piccolo decided to-"

"Kidnap Goku's son, yes," Chiaotzu answered.

"Which means we have to somehow become stronger than the strongest person any of us have ever seen before, the guy who beat Son Goku, the previous record holder, to mulch...in one year."

"So it seems," Roshi concluded.

Tien was silent for a full minute after that, before finally saying, "...Hm. Well. Alright, then." He got up and moved to collect a few bare essentials into a single rucksack. "Launch, you'll be in charge of the cottage while me and Chiaotzu are gone."

"For a whole year?" Launch replied, disappointed. "There's no one else to talk to out here."

"Well you could always come with us to the Lookout!" Roshi blurted out as the others tried to stop him.

"Oh! Could I? That would just be marvelous!" Launch replied, to the chagrin of all but Roshi.

"...Very well," Tien reluctantly agreed before motioning for everyone to clear out of the cottage. He stepped out of the cottage last before moving to a small panel on the eastern side. There, he inserted an empty capsule into an empty slot and pushed the button, allowing the entire cottage to be stored within the small capsule and put into his pocket.

"Now...shall we depart?"

"They will be arriving within the hour, Kami-sama," Mr. Popo, Kami's faithful servant from Other World, stated.

"Good," Kami replied. "How goes the Senzu Beans Korin is preparing?"

"He's growing them as fast as he can. He's particularly upset about the addition of a sixth fighter."

"I can imagine. Well, not much we can do about it-he already determined that the beans will not grow under the Time Chamber's intense gravity, and barely escaped himself."

"So you are certain that the Time Chamber will be of no use to Goku's allies? It's no worse than that of King Kai-sama's planet." Mr. Popo asked.

"This is true, but it makes no difference. Although their strength may yet grow to where they could bear the Chamber's gravity, their physiology is simply not built for it like Goku's was. And even he could only last a month inside."

"I see. So we'll have to use the conventional methods."

"Indeed. The weighted clothing should have a similar enough effect, and the addition of a sixth sparring partner should make training easier."

"Well..." Mr. Popo concluded as Yajirobe's hovercar landed on the Lookout's marble tiles, the other chosen fighters and Launch in tow, "We can only hope."

Ugh, why do I keep forgetting to write these, lmao?

Anyway, another chapter done with, and I know what you're all thinking-don't worry. We've just got one more chapter to get through before the fight with the Saiyans, showing a series of snapshots of their year of training for the engagement. After that, the pacing will hopefully pick up a lot more.

Once again, thank you for reading, and let me know what you think.