Based on MasakoX's What If series "What if Gine went with Goku to Earth?", but a retcon with some changes of my own on how I think the story would have went down had Goku's mother escaped planet Vegeta with him.

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CHAPTER 48: A NEW MISSION

It had only been hours ago when the gang had parted ways at West City hospital. Now they were all back together again, outside the main entrance of Capsule Corp.

"Any idea what she's got in mind?" Gine asked Krillin, the entire Son Family plus Launch were standing in apprehension behind her. They had all just arrived moments earlier with Krillin and Roshi present too.

Krillin shrugged. "Beats me. She was pretty vague about it."

"Huh." Was all Gine could say. Little Gohan clutched Chi-Chi tightly, not letting go after Gine told them that Bulma had an idea to save Kami, Tien, and Chiaotzu.

The whole family had flown here as fast as they could despite their confusion. How could one bring people back from the dead without the dragon balls? None of them could offer any clue. But whatever it was that Bulma so desperately needed them here for, it gave them some hope, however improbable it may be, especially Launch for she demanded they at least give it a try.

Gine was also feeling a little trepidation too about what lay in store. For if Bulma did truly find a way to bring back their slain friends, they will do whatever it takes. But still, no one could escape the suspense of what that hope might actually entail. And if it was dangerous in some way...

Raditz glanced towards the giant domed building. "Well, hopefully she doesn't keep us in suspense for long." He quipped. Launch clung to his side, not daring to let in any doubt. Poor girl, Gine thought.

The sliding glass doors of the main entrance parted and Bulma herself came running out with Yamcha limping after her in vain. "Babe, slow down!" He called out to no avail.

She skidded to a stop before them. "Oh good, you all made it!" Dressed in dirty coveralls, she looked manic, as she always did when she fully immersed herself in whatever project she was working on.

"We did." Said Gine and got to the point. "So, what is this all about, Bulma? You said something about bringing back Kami somehow?" Just then Yamcha finally made it to Bulma's side, hopping along.

"Babe, seriously." Yamcha huffed, exhausted from the pain and effort. "You'll finish me off trying to keep up with this leg." He half-joked, but she paid him no mind.

"That's right! Follow me, all of you!" Bulma pointed back towards the entrance and led the way as everyone trailed behind her. Yamcha's face fell as his girlfriend had (yet again) outran him.

"No rest for the weary." Master Roshi joked to him as he passed. Yamcha sighed to himself and went after the rest of the group.

Inside the building, Bulma led the gang through a series of corridors until they came into a massive laboratory that doubled as a hanger. In there, Bulma beamed to them: "Like what you see?!"

The group were indeed amazed at what looked like two large, dome-shaped spaceships under construction by a team of Capsule Corp. engineers. One was closer to completion than the other. But the inspiration to their design was unmistakable, especially when they saw the dissected remains of Gine's old ship strewn about in one corner.

"Whoaaa..." Little Gohan pointed to the gutted pod. "Is that the ship you and grandma came here in daddy?!"

"That's right!" Kakarot ruffled his son's hair. Raditz just scoffed at the sight of the new ships. "Cute, still a little primitive though." He remarked offhandedly.

Dr. Briefs was supervising the construction when he noticed the group and called out to Bulma. "They're coming along nicely! Once we get the artificial gravity controls figured out, they'll be ready to fly in a few more days!"

"That's great, Dad!" Bulma called back.

"Very impressive, Bulma." Said Gine. "But... what does this have to do with-"

"So, you remember the ship you gave me, right?" Bulma cut her off, pointed toward the disassembled Saiyan pod.

Gine frowned and nodded, "Yeah. What about it?"

"Well, don't you see?!" Bulma asked desperately, but Gine just shook her head in confusion.

Bulma sighed in exasperation, as if talking to someone clueless. Gine hoped the girl wasn't thinking that and would just tell her already what this was all about.

"Alright. Well, it's a million-to-one shot, but there might be a way to bring Kami and the dragon balls back."

"How?" Gine asked, everyone's attention on Bulma.

"Well..." She paused as if for dramatic effort before she said it: "Maybe we can go to Kami's home planet to wish them back."

"WHAT?!" They all cried out in unison.

"That's what I said." Yamcha uttered when he finally caught up to them, but no one paid him any mind.

"Hear me out on this." Bulma continued. "As you could see, we managed to successfully reverse engineer Gine's ship and develop two prototypes of a new ship design made with the Saiyan hyperdrive in it. The applications of this technology can dramatically change the world. I mean, we could travel to the stars with this!"

Gine and Raditz both saw no appeal in that idea after each spent a lifetime of traversing space conquering whole worlds. But everyone else was enchanted, especially Little Gohan as his curiosity flared up and stared at the ships in awe. Bulma droned on excitedly about the techno-jargon like a giddy schoolgirl until she caught herself and continued her proposal.

"Anyway, I could only imagine how much more advanced tech Saiyans or Kami's people had. And it got me thinking: since these prototypes are capable of interstellar flight and according to our calculations, the max speed of these ships would allow us to go anywhere in the galaxy in a matter of months, if not weeks, so why don't we use it now to find Kami's home planet?!" She said enthusiastically. "If we can go there, and if his people also have dragon balls..."

She did not need to finish her sentence for everyone to jump in joy. "We could save our friends!" Krillin cried out.

The momentary celebration died down as they all turned to the Son matriarch to see that she was not ecstatic.

"What's wrong mom?" Kakarot asked.

Gine sighed. "That's a great idea, Bulma. But... even if we had these ships, we don't know where Kami's planet is out there. I don't think it was even on our pod's navigation system, so there's no way to know."

Everyone's spirit was crushed in that instant. Gine cursed herself for letting them all and herself feel this false hope. It was a good idea, but now she cursed her lack of foresight. She had known about the planet Namek since her time as a Saiyan warrior but had never visited it herself. It was too out of the way and nothing there worth conquering.

She looked to Raditz. "You wouldn't happen to have been there before, haven't you, son? Had the maps been updated since..." She did not finish with "since our planet was destroyed" out of fear of reopening painful memories for him.

Raditz gave her a defeated look and shook his head. "Afraid not. We didn't keep the coordinates for it. Place was too primitive last time the Frieza Force checked."

"I was afraid of that." Gine bemoaned, aware that the lack of knowledge over Namek's existence to Frieza might have been a boon for its people. But regardless, all hope of Bulma's daring plan seemed extinguished.

But then, Kakarot perked up as an idea came to him. "Maybe there might be a way to find out!"

Now everyone to him in confusion.

"How so, honey?" Chi-Chi asked. But instead of answering, Kakarot smiled as he looked up to the ceiling and beyond.

"Hey, King Kai! Can you hear me?!" He said aloud. Everyone just stared at him in utter confusion. Had Kakarot finally gone crazy?

"Yes, I can hear you Kakarot!"

They all jumped in surprise from the bubbly, disembodied voice that seemed to come from nowhere. Roshi looked especially concerned.

"Uh... Is my old age finally getting to me or is there a voice talking?"

"I think we can all hear him too, Master." Grandpa Gohan chuckled.

"I wanna say congratulations on defeating the Saiyans, everyone! You all did very well."

"Oh, uh, well thank you, I guess." Krillin said quietly, not feeling entirely glad after some of their friends and a few million people were lost.

"And you too Kakarot for putting all of your training to good use!"

"Yeah! The Kaio-Ken technique sure came in handy, thanks to you." Kakarot beamed.

"Yeah, well, I'm the best teacher in the universe afterall, hehe. But, anyway, what was it you wanted to ask?"

"Oh yes, I was wondering, do you know where the planet Namek is by any chance?"

"Namek? hmmm..." King Kai in Otherworld pondered. Everyone else, while disturbed to hear a whole conversation going on in their heads, went along with it.

"I think so, I'll have to look around to find it. It's been a while since I've checked up on it."

"What do you know about it?" Bulma spoke up, joining the telepathic conversation.

"Ah, you must be Bulma I take it?" Said King Kai. "Well, the planet was a beautiful paradise much like Earth."

"Was?" Gine asked, wondering about the past tense.

"Long ago, a great cataclysmic event struck the planet, making it nearly inhospitable and almost drove the Namekians to extinction. It got so bad that they sent their children out into space aboard starships in the hopes that some of them would survive and find new home worlds. I guess your friend, Kami, was one of those children sent out and had found his way to Earth."

"Huh. Kami never mentioned that before." Gine said to herself more than anyone else.

She wondered why he never told her, why he never went back or if he missed his home, and what other things about him Gine wished she asked. The fact that he had also fled his home planet in the face of destruction as she did so many years ago struck a chord with her. They were both refugees in a way. Realizing that they had more in common than she knew, Gine felt a wave of longing for her old friend and a sense of regret with not getting to know him better.

"But, as far as I know, they are still alive." King Kai continued. "Their society recovered bit by bit, but they aren't as many now though. Maybe a hundred at most."

"Wait. You mean... like a hundred King Piccolos we'll have to fight?" Yamcha suddenly asked, with him and several others present shuddering at the memory of the evil Namekian from long ago.

"No. They were a peaceful people. King Piccolo was an exception. I'm sure they will be more than willing to help if you ask them nicely."

"That's a relief... if that's true." Said Bulma. "But there's only one way to find out. Anyway, would you be able to tell us where Namek is, King Kai?"

"Of course! Just give me a sec."

The telepathic link went silent for a few moments, but the silence stretched out as everyone held their breath for an answer.

Suddenly, King Kai's voice returned triumphant. "A-ha! I found them! Coordinates 9-0-4-5 XY!"

Bulma quickly pulled out a calculator and put in some numbers. "Then, from Earth's coordinates factoring in the new hyperdrive it'll take..." A few keystrokes later, her eyes widened in astonishment at the screen. "Only six days to get there!"

An electrifying silence fell upon the group until Krillin practically shrieked.

"WE CAN SAVE OUR FRIENDS!"

All at once everyone jumped in joy. Some hugging and even crying. It didn't matter. Whatever despair that Gine was trying to make peace with immediately vanished like dark clouds blown away by wind and was replaced with irrefutable shinning hope.

After moments of celebration, it became serious again. They had a mission now.

"Alright then!" Bulma slammed a fist into her hand, determination burned in her eyes. "As soon as the first ship is ready to fly, we'll take off immediately!"

Gine smiled at how the girl genius was taking charge of the situation. While she was glad for stepping up to preparing the group for the Saiyans, it was an exhausting ordeal and was more than happy to let someone else lead the way this once.

"Uh, Bulma?" Little Gohan asked. "What about when we get there? None of us can speak a word of Namekian?"

The fire seemed to go out in Bulma's eyes as she gave this question some thought, one she had not considered. It was good point though, for what good would it be to travel all the way there and never be able to convince the Namekians to let them use their dragon balls. Gine shuddered to think what disastrous misunderstandings could happen over a language barrier.

"Mr. Popo does!" Kakarot offered up.

Gine looked to him in amazement. "Really?!"

Kakarot nodded. "I think so. I remember seeing him and Kami talk to each other in some weird language once. I asked him about it, and he said it was Kami's language."

Gine took in what he said, and it clicked. Of course! She had seen Kami and Popo speak to each other in a strange dialect too but had never asked about it as it never occurred to her.

Smiling big for the first time in a good while, Gine embraced Kakarot. "That's a great idea, son! Let's go ask him!"

"You called?"

Gine and everyone else jumped out of their skin at the sound of Mr. Popo's voice just materializing right behind them alongside the demigod himself, standing aboard a flying carpet that hovered in the hallway.

"W-w-who's he? How'd he get in here?!" Bulma stammered, pointing at the strange dark being.

"The front door was open. I heard my name being summoned by Kakarot and how you require my services." Mr. Popo said steadily. Despite his answer the group was unsettled by his presence.

But Kakarot knew what the problem was and introduced him. "Oh, right. You haven't met him. Master Roshi, this is Mr. Popo. Kami's assistant and caretaker of the Lookout, you remember?"

Roshi regarded the dark figure with mystic wonder. "Oh... I guess it's been awhile..." He said uncertainly. Kakarot turned back to Mr. Popo.

"But yes, Popo, we just wanted to ask you; do you know anything about speaking the language of Kami's race? Namekian?"

"A little." Mr. Popo answered in his blank manner. "Kami spoke a few words of his native language to me before. It was strange to me at first, but I was able to fit them into whatever context he spoke of over the centuries. I can help teach the language if you wish."

"Yeah, Mr. Popo, that'd be great!" Kakarot was ecstatic.

"Sure, and I can program a translator too!" Bulma chimed in.

Good, one other thing checked off the list. And then the serious discussion began.

"Each ship could hold up to five people, considering all the living space, life support, and food storage aboard." Said Bulma. "So, who wants to go?"

She almost joked for everyone not to volunteer at once but reconsidered when everyone rose their hand. Everyone saw that not all eleven of them will fit even in both completed ships. And only one of said ships will be ready soon enough.

"Huh, guess we're gonna have to draw straws then?" Raditz joked. No one laughed.

But not everyone raised their hand, for Bulma noticed that Gine was the only one who didn't volunteer.

"You don't want to go, Gine?" She asked, almost sounding disappointed.

Gine sighed, suddenly feeling her chest go tight. "I... I want to. But... I just realized I don't feel entirely comfortable going back into space again."

"What are you talking about? We'll need you on this!" Bulma urged.

Gine shook her head sadly. "You won't need me. You already have the coordinates, and if the Namekians are as peaceful as I remember them to be, you won't have any problems."

"Well, yeah but..." Bulma tried to press. "Isn't that galactic emperor, Freezer or whatever, still out there? What if he tries to-"

"Very unlikely." Gine said firmly. "If things haven't changed in the last twenty-five years, then the planet Namek should still be in a remote backwater that holds no interest to Frieza or anyone. You'll be fine."

Bulma still didn't seem convinced. "Okay, but-"

"Bulma." Gine interrupted again, almost pleading this time. "I know you want me to go, but... I spent half my life traversing the galaxy conquering whole worlds. Space does not conjure any happy memories for me, and I very much doubt that the people of Namek will be welcoming to a Saiyan touching down on their planet. So, please, I would really appreciate it if I could sit this one out."

Bulma opened her mouth about to press further but didn't speak, realizing Gine may be right, and her shoulders sagged in defeat. The rest of the group seemed to understand but still felt disappointed in Gine's decision.

"She's right." Grandpa Gohan came to Gine's defense. "If there is no danger then she doesn't need to go, it's her choice. Besides..." He turned to her. "You've already done your part in saving the Earth from those Saiyans. I say you've earned a little rest, dear."

Gine wanted to hug Gohan as hard as she could without crushing him, but she hoped her smile showed him how grateful she was.

"That too, I guess." She said sheepishly instead.

"You know what? You're right, Gohan. I'm sorry I even asked, Gine." Said Bulma with an understanding smile, then frowned again. "But... speaking of Saiyans, what about that one who got away? What if he decides to come after us?"

"The prince? I very much doubt he'll even know about this little venture. It's more likely that he'll try to come back here instead and finish what he started." Said Gine, now worrying about that very prospect.

Kakarot then interjected, "In that case, I think I'll stay too."

"WHAT?!" Everyone exclaimed. Even Gine was surprised when she asked, "What do you mean, sweetheart?"

"Well like you said, Vegeta may try to come back again. If he does, I'm the one strong enough to deal with him. So, I'll stay here just in case."

Gine felt compelled to protest but didn't. Her son never turned down an opportunity to go on an adventure in his life, but she realized he may actually feel some amount of guilt for letting Vegeta go. And if the prince did return and he was away from Earth, he'd never forgive himself. It made sense.

"Sounds like a good idea, son." She approved. Kakarot beamed at her.

"I guess I'll stay too." Said Raditz. "I'm not in too much of a hurry to go back out there. I am still AWOL afterall, and don't fancy running into Vegeta or anyone else from the Frieza Force out there that's trying to hunt me down."

"But who'll protect us if we run into trouble?" Bulma asked.

"I'll go!" Yamcha volunteered.

"Yeah, me too!" Krillin joined.

The way that Bulma almost said something about her friend and boyfriend together volunteering was a bad idea made Gine wonder how Bulma could be so fair-weather with a partner. She felt sorry for Yamcha, but kept her thoughts to herself; and Bulma seemed to reconsider her words out of respect for her boyfriend's feelings.

"Okay then." Bulma said, sounding unsure but no one noticed. "I'll have to go for sure, since I'm the only one who could fix anything if it goes wrong. So that means there's room for two more."

"I wanna go." Little Gohan declared.

Chi-Chi's eyes bulged in alarm. "Gohan... what are you doing?!" She protested. "You almost got yourself killed and now you wanna go off into space?! Absolutely not, young man! Besides, you have your studies to get back to!"

Little Gohan looked up at his mother with pleading eyes. "I know, Mom. But... Kami saved our lives. We have to go and try to bring him back. He was our friend, and I believe that if he were here, he'd do the same for us."

Everyone regarded Little Gohan in stunned silence. Only five years old and already he was so wise and brave. Kakarot said nothing but couldn't feel any prouder for his boy.

Little Gohan looked to Gine for support. "Right, grandma?"

Gine noticed Chi-Chi was looking at her too, and she thought of their reconciliation only hours ago...

To their shock, Gine shook her head. "It's up to your mother, sweetie."

Chi-Chi's eyes glistened, like she wanted to cry in joy. Instead, she mouthed a silent 'thank you'. Gine gave an understanding smile in return. She agreed with Little Gohan, but Gine knew that some things were more important, and respecting her family relationships was one of them.

Little Gohan frowned in disappointment, but Chi-Chi squeezes her son's shoulders reassuringly. "I don't want you to go, sweetie. But... you're right. Kami saved us. I wouldn't be able to call myself his friend if I couldn't return the favor..." She paused before saying, "So I'll go with you."

Kakarot's eyebrows flew up in surprise at his wife. "You wanna take Gohan into space, honey?!" He asked, dumbstruck.

Chi-Chi nodded solemnly. "That's right. If that's what it takes instead of him sneaking off, then I'll go wherever we need to go."

Gine regarded her daughter-in-law with newfound respect. Chi-Chi had almost lost her son and her own life in the battle, and Gine knew how overprotective she was. She'd think Chi-Chi would never let Little Gohan so much as spar again or out of her sight, let alone risk him on some space adventure. But even after their talk about letting her decide what's best for her child, that she feels like she owed it to Kami for saving her son's life and her own, that was true loyalty and dedication in someone that is hard to come by. And Gine would not stop her for doing what she felt was right.

"But don't think that means you are off the hook with your homework, young man!" Chi-Chi reminded her son. "I'll be tutoring you the whole way there!"

Little Gohan couldn't be more overjoyed. If that's what it took to go on this trip, he'll do whatever was asked of him.

"Can't beat that, eh?" Gine joked to her grandson.

"Then that settles it!" Bulma declared as if it was divine law, and they all knew it. The plan was set.

None of them got much sleep when they went home later, but they didn't care. They were going to save their friends afterall...

A week later, the day arrived. After making final preparations and some packing, they all eventually got the call from Capsule Corp: the first ship was ready.

The whole gang met up again in front of Capsule Corp, this time one of the dome-shaped ships with a number "1" painted on it sat parked on the plaza, fully assembled and ready for takeoff.

Those who were going packed light, except for Chi-Chi, who insisted that she bring "mostly Gohan's things". But when she showed up, she did so with several suitcases worth of clothes, books, Little Gohan's toys (many of which he stopped playing with long ago), kitchen wares, camping supplies... almost everything except their house with them. The sight of a mountain of suitcases was stunning, but everyone was too busy humiliating Little Gohan over a bowl haircut he had gotten during the week. Poor kid couldn't stop blushing furiously, and even his Uncle Raditz, never one to mince words, said: "I'd rather face Vegeta again than wear my hair like that."

"Thanks for the encouragement, Uncle Raditz." Little Gohan bemoaned. Even Gine could help but stifle a little giggle herself.

"Can we go now? This suit is getting heavy." Bulma quipped as she donned her ridiculously over-insulated spacesuit.

Hands were shaken as they all said their goodbyes. Master Roshi however gave an ominous warning.

"I know this journey shouldn't be too much trouble but be ready to expect the unexpected. You'll never know what you'll run into."

"We will master, and we'll be ready." Krillin assured. Yamcha gave the thumbs up. "We'll make you proud, sir." He added.

Master Roshi smiled. "You already do. Just get there and get home safely."

"And bring Tien back too!" Blonde Launch added, clutching to Raditz's arm tightly.

Bulma nodded solemnly. "We will Launch. We won't let you down." She embraced her friend.

Gine knelt down gently and pulled Gohan into a tight embrace too. "Be careful out there, sweetie." She whispered softly; she had the feeling that she had to hold onto him for as long as possible.

"I will grandma." Said Little Gohan and pulled back. "Mom will be with me and she'll protect me, right?"

"Right you are, sweetie." Said Chi-Chi as she embraced her mother-in-law.

"I hope I know what I'm doing." Chi-Chi whispered while in their hug. But Gine smiled and whispered back, "I know you do, you're his mother."

Chi-Chi smiled too as she parted and then gave her last goodbye embrace to Kakarot. They lingered for a while. Her husband had only been back for a barely a fortnight, and now they had to part from each other again, and Chi-Chi couldn't contain her tears over it.

"It'll be okay, honey." Kakarot said soothingly, holding his wife tightly. "When you come back, we won't have to be away from each other for long ever again."

"I know." Chi-Chi choked out between tears. She looked up and gave him one last kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too. This time, you come back safely, okay?" Kakarot asked with a sad smile. The fact that she was the one leaving this time and not him did not escape them.

"Let's go!" Bulma announced.

With great reluctance the five new spacefarers clambered aboard, and the ramp-door closed with Little Gohan waving hopefully back to Gine. It took all of her willpower to not jump in after him to keep him from going...

The interior of the vessel looked cavernous to its passengers. Compared to the Saiyan pod its design was based off of, this was pure luxury. Two separate decks connected vertically by the central column containing the shipboard computer and the hyperdrive. The lower deck was the living/sleeping quarters that had a full kitchen and a lavatory with a bathtub; while the upper deck had a common room that doubled as a rec area just behind the command chairs.

"Wow! Sure is quite spacious in here." Chi-Chi said as she took in the inside, her voice carried a slight echo.

"Of course, it is!" Bulma beamed. "I figured that for any long trip you gotta have room to walk around, stretch your legs, or have some privacy or else you'll go crazy."

"That's a relief." Said Yamcha as he held Bulma knowingly closer. They traded suggestive glances that made Chi-Chi blush and look away in bemusement. This was going to be a long trip with these two aboard.

Little Gohan opened a closet out of curiosity and went wide-eyed. In there he saw a whole rack with familiar sets of black-and-bronze plated vests, gloves, boots, and dark pant suits. "These look like the armor that Uncle Raditz had!" Little Gohan noticed.

"Yep! I reverse engineered his armor. It wasn't easy, for I had to invent the material all by myself from scratch!" Bulma gave the thumbs up and wink as she continued her tour of the ship. When she came to the central column of the hyperdrive, she turned to them.

"Oh, and did I mention that this thing even has artificial gravity too to walk around in! That was a tough nut to crack but figured out how to get the drive to mimic the pull of a gravity well in parallel with the drive..."

As she droned on about the technical details, Krillin suddenly had an idea. "Say, if this ship could control gravity, is there a way to increase a little if we wanted to train?"

Bulma put her finger to her lip and thought for a moment, humming to herself. "Sure, I don't see a problem in that. The grav-plating is adjustable afterall."

"Thats a brilliant idea!" Yamcha perked up. Given his fully healed leg, they should all be able to get in tip-top condition.

"Just gotta be careful." Bulma warned. "Gravity knows no limits, and with a drive like this it could be adjusted to almost a hundred times that of Earth's! Don't want to liquify ourselves by accident!"

"True true." The others agreed. Still, the fighters among them could see all other sorts of ideas that high gravity could afford them, training wise. A few more ideas about its potential were coming to them, but now was not the time to keep speculating.

Now was the time to get going. Bulma went ahead and stowed away what she packed into her berth, then strapped herself into the pilot's seat. Everyone else followed suit moments later.

"You sure this thing will work?" Chi-Chi asked Bulma uncertainly.

"We haven't had a chance to test fly the ship fully, so... looks like we're about to." Bulma answered honestly. Nobody liked it, but Yamcha gave her his full confidence.

"Never underestimate what my girlfriend could do!" He beamed with pride and nerves.

"Well, here goes nothing. Namek or bust!" Bulma pressed a few buttons and the hyperdrive behind them hummed to life with a spooling sound winding up to a roar. A few seconds later after it was at full power, and Bulma clasped the controls as she sounded off the countdown.

"Everyone hold on! 5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Liftoff!"

In an instant, the view outside showing the domed buildings of Capsule Corp disappeared, shrinking into a cityscape, followed by clouds, a darkening sky, and then finally blackness streaked with stars as the Earth shrank into a smaller and smaller dot behind them. Before they knew it, they were already out of the Solar System...

Gine kept starring up at the point in the pale blue sky where the Capsule ship disappeared, unable to take her mind off of her departed friends and family. Especially her grandson. And she felt like she had just let them go off to their deaths.

As much as she wanted to help, by Saiyan standards Little Gohan was grown and ready to make his decisions, so Gine had to let him go. This was his personal quest that he must go on himself to save his friends... At least, that's what Gine told herself. While she was right that there was very little chance of danger for the gang going to Namek, Gine couldn't shake off the feeling that she should still be with them. She deserved a rest, sure, but that's just an excuse if there was any. The dark truth that Gine felt she wasn't afraid to face yet, was she felt like a coward for not going. That she was not ready to go back to the infinite void that reminded her so much of her past life, and how she barely escaped it to find her paradise in this backwater away from Frieza. The mere thought of stepping onto the ship made her feet feel anchored to the ground, frozen in fear. No, she couldn't be this scared of facing her past. Could she?

"They'll be fine, mom." Kakarot said, breaking her dark thoughts. He put a reassuring arm across her shoulders. "I believe in them, and there should hopefully be no trouble along the way."

"Yeah." Gine said softly. "...Hopefully."