Bulma yawned lightly, rubbing at her eyes. She had been working all night on the scouters. For such small devices they were packed with technology. She tinkered with one, gently adjusting the small pieces within the scouter. "I haven't pulled an all nighter like this since college."
She put it over her eye, pressing the red button a few times. It began to beep as it searched for a power to relay. Not finding one it quieted.
"Alright! I got it to work!"
Roshi looked surprised and confused. "Are you sure, Bulma?"
"Come on. Stand up so I can try this baby out." Bulma said, watching it read Roshi's power level. "This should tell me what your power level is."
Roshi did his best to stand still, still perplexed by the alien technology.
"There we go. Looks like we got 139 for you." Bulma said.
"139 huh? That seems a little low to me." Roshi said.
Bulma continued to wear her smirk, more than pleased with her work. "It's probably a good rating. Considering you're an old man."
"It must be busted." Roshi said.
"I know a good way to find out." Bulma said, looking to one of the Capsule Corp workers and Turtle. "Alright, put up your dukes like you're going to fight."
The worker complied with Bulma, putting up their fists and setting their jaw.
Turtle put up his front legs.
The scouter began to relay, beeping quietly.
"One with a power level of 5. The other with a power level of .001" Bulma noted, nodding her head in triumph. "I'd say this is pretty accurate."
"Hello?" Yajirobe's voice caught everyone's attention.
"I wonder why he could be here?" Roshi ventured.
"Open up! I don't have all day."
"Who would think he'd be so pushy." Bulma started to say as she opened the door.
Yajirobe pressed ahead. "Krillin and the others are getting training from Kami right now."
"Did he send you here?" Roshi asked.
"He did. I told him I didn't want to fight those Saiyans, but that's what he's training us for."
"You can't turn Kami down." Roshi said.
Yajirobe turned around, getting into his air car.
Roshi stepped outside. "Hold on. Is there anything else?"
"Oh yeah. Goku and Kukyo are getting training right now. That's all I know."
"Things are finally heating up." Roshi said.
"Yeah, we have to do our part." Bulma said with determination.
Yajirobe grunted. "I'm out. I gave you the message."
Piccolo met Chi Chi and Gohan in the wasteland regions. Gohan was wearing an orange gi and going through his kata with enthusiasm.
"What brings you here, Piccolo?" Chi Chi asked.
They were off to the side, giving Gohan his space.
Piccolo scowled. "You're teaching the boy how to survive?"
Chi Chi narrowed her eyes, carefully observing the newcomer. "Just giving him some training."
"Mind if I join?"
Chi Chi scowled slightly. "What is your angle?"
Piccolo smirked, landing on the ground. "These Saiyans coming are twice as strong as Raditz was. We need every advantage we can get."
Chi Chi kept her eyes narrowed, not dropping her guard. "And?"
"I've come here to train." Piccolo said bluntly.
Chi Chi watched Gohan going through his kata with enthusiasm. "I guess you can join."
Piccolo nodded, cracking his knuckles.
Chi Chi, Gohan, and Piccolo sat down after a hard day of training. Gohan was mainly working on physical exercises, stances, and kata.
"Were you watching, Gohan?" Chi Chi asked.
"Mhm. Will I be strong like you, daddy, and auntie when I grow up?"
"If you train hard and dedicate yourself." Chi Chi said. "I don't want you to be a fighter, though."
"Aw why not?" Gohan asked.
"I want you to be the best scholar." Chi Chi said with a smile.
"I can be strong and smart at the same time." Gohan looked up with a smile.
Chi Chi smiled. "That'll be challenging."
"He should be fighting as well. We need every advantage we can get." Piccolo said.
"He's a five-year-old child. There's no way my Gohan is fighting." Chi Chi said.
"Don't be so emotional. This is all or nothing. Nothing else matters except taking care of these three Saiyans."
"I'll keep training him like I have been. He always finishes his studies on time. There's no way he's going to fight these Saiyans. The adults will be more than enough to handle them." Chi Chi said.
"You're worried about that?" Piccolo asked.
"Of course I'm serious." Chi Chi said.
"I need to test something."
He grabbed Gohan by the head, putting his arm all the way back, and flung him towards a mountain.
"Piccolo!" Chi Chi yelled, sprinting to catch her son.
Gohan shot towards the mountain. When he got near it his eyes narrowed, and there was a flash of light before it was obliterated. Dust and debris swept up around the landscape, forcing Piccolo to shield his eyes.
"No way!" Piccolo exclaimed.
Chi Chi recovered from being thrown back. "My little Gohan..."
"I wanted to test the kid out and see. There is a great power within that kid. All we have to do is teach him how to use it." Piccolo said, smirking slightly.
He was feeling confident. If Gohan was trained properly, there's no telling what heights he'd reach.
Gohan stared at the trench that went on for miles, the fresh smoke still lifting into the air.
"Wow look at that." Gohan said in awe.
Chi Chi ran towards Gohan while Piccolo made slow strides towards the child.
"What happened?" Gohan asked.
Chi Chi grabbed him in a hug. "Gohan! Are you alright?"
"Yeah. What happened, mommy?" Gohan asked, looking at her then at the trench.
"That was all you, kid. You did that with your power. It's rare to have such power at your age, but you need to learn how to control it." Piccolo said.
"Huh?"
"I'm going to train you, kid."
"My mom is already training me. You're the third strongest guy after my dad and aunt." Gohan said.
"There's no way I'm letting you anywhere near my child after that stunt!" Chi Chi yelled.
"Don't be so emotional. The guy me, Goku, and Kukyo fought was way stronger. And, now there's three more just like him on their way." Piccolo said, throwing a glare towards Chi Chi.
"I'm just a boy." Gohan said.
"Your mom, dad, aunt, and I need your help."
Chi Chi put herself in front of Gohan, not backing down from Piccolo. "I'll ask you again. What is your angle?"
"Wiping out these three Saiyans." Piccolo said, keeping his focus on Gohan.
"What do you plan to do after?"
Piccolo smirked. "I haven't thought that far ahead. My focus is taking out these three Saiyans."
"If you do that again, I will wreck your shit." Chi Chi said.
Piccolo chuckled.
This was going to be interesting.
Bulma wiped away the sweat that had beaded on her forehead. Finally, they had taken apart the three space pods and were getting all of the technology arranged. It had been a long task, and a few of the Capsule Corp workers had slipped in the crater and rolled all the way to the bottom, but it was well worth it.
"This is really advanced stuff."
Roshi looked surprised. "You're really something else, Bulma."
"Now we should capable of interstellar flight." Bulma said, watching the Capsule Corp workers settling all of the technology. "This should be enough. I can build a space-ship."
Roshi did his best to understand, but he was still perplexed by the alien technology.
"Interstellar, you say?"
"Definitely. Looks like I'll be able to make three ships to be exact." Bulma said.
"Three huh?" That seems a little much to me." Roshi said.
Bulma continued to wear her smirk, more than pleased with her work. "Three definitely. There's more than enough here."
"I still don't know." Roshi said.
"Don't get weak kneed on me." Bulma said, looking to one the Capsule Corp workers. "Make sure to be careful with the engines."
The worker complied with Bulma, going to relay her order.
"At this rate I'll be able to have a ship made within a year." Bulma noted, nodding her head in triumph. "I'd say this is pretty accurate."
Goku and Kukyo grinned as they blew past the street sweeper, jumping over it with a great leap.
"Finally seen someone." Kukyo said, relief in her tone.
"Yeah, wonder how long he was on here." Goku said, smiling.
They ran down Snake Way at full speed. Every step was one step closer to King Kai, and for the most part it was only the two of them on Snake Way until they had to jump clear of the street sweeper.
Sho meditated outside of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Chaozu was standing near the door, and Krillin was a few feet from the door pacing around. It was almost a whole day since Tien and Yamcha entered the chamber.
Chaozu found a seat, cupping his head in his hands. "I hope those two are okay. The Hyperbolic Time Chamber is intense beyond belief."
"To think you get a whole year's worth of training." Krillin said.
He turned around, sensing Tien and Yamcha both emerge from the chamber. Yamcha's hair had grown, and he bulked up. Tien bulked up as well.
Sho opened his eyes slowly, looking at Yamcha and Tien. "Your power has risen considerably."
Yamcha flexed his muscles. "I feel even stronger now. We can take those Saiyans."
Tien smirked. "Our training was superb."
Sho stood up along with Chaozu.
"Now it's our turn." Chaozu said.
"Make sure you don't hold back." Yamcha said with a smirk.
"Right." Sho said, walking into the chamber with Chaozu and Krillin.
Gohan was on his thousandth punch as he lunged at his imaginary opponent, going into a quick barrage of punches and kicks. He backflipped away, coming to a stop and threw out a quick kick. He rolled, throwing a quick barrage of punches and kicks, leaping and lunging across the ground.
He stopped, seeing Piccolo walking towards him.
"What do you want, Mr Piccolo?" Gohan ventured.
"I think it's time we increase the intensity of your training." Piccolo said.
"He's going to help us train, Gohan." Chi Chi said.
"When do we start?" Gohan asked, taking a stance.
"Now! Dodge!"
Piccolo charged Gohan, snapping his leg out. Gohan sidestepped the attack, but the following straight punch caught him off guard. He flew through the air, nearly slamming into a rock formation, but recovered with a handspring. He lunged for Piccolo, going into a quick barrage of punches and kicks, which Piccolo easily dodged, circling around Gohan.
Piccolo charged again, exchanging blows. He jumped back to get some distance and charged forward again, meeting Gohan's knee with his forearm. Gohan swung his other leg around, slamming his foot across Piccolo's jaw, he hit the ground hard, wincing as it began to shift under him. Gohan was on him a second later, throwing punch after punch.
Dodging the next punch, Piccolo rammed his fist into Gohan's stomach, sending him flying back. He raced towards him, opening his palm and let his energy blast fly. Gohan barely dodged, letting out a small yelp as the light nearly blinded him. He flipped forward, landing on his feet and turned to face Piccolo with a determined smile.
The kid isn't half bad. Piccolo thought, taking a stance. I may have to actually try.
"He's very creative. Better be careful." Chi Chi said, wearing a proud smirk.
Gohan and Piccolo met in the middle, exchanging punches and kicks, increasing their speed the longer neither could land a blow on the other.
"There's something up ahead." Goku said, slowly coming to a stop.
"Brother we have to keep going." Kukyo said, skidding to a stop.
"I think this is King Kai's place." Goku said, pointing at the snake statue along the path.
Kukyo smiled. "King Kai's place is at the end, we have a long way to go."
"But I'm starving."
"Eat some of the clouds." Kukyo suggested.
They continued running, passing up the snake statue and the woman within. She'd have to wait even longer for someone to stop into her palace.
Goku started leaping forward, looking towards Kukyo who would speed up to stay in line with him. "Why don't you jump?"
"I don't want to fall." Kukyo said.
Goku continued leaping, grinning and laughing as he soared a few dozen meters each time. "Can't you fly really good. Could we just get there that way?"
Kukyo pondered it, not against trying it. "Grab onto me."
A white aura surrounded Kukyo as she shot forward, gaining speed rapidly.
"Here we come, King Kai!" Goku said with a laugh.
Piccolo and Chi Chi had gathered wood to start a fire and were cooking dinosaur tails. Gohan continued going through his kata faster and faster, working through them. Piccolo was amazed by the spirit and fire the boy had. When he wasn't sparring with him and Chi Chi he was working on his kata and finishing his studies. Gohan never let himself slack off from his studies despite the intense training.
Gohan ran to Chi Chi whispering something in her ear. She nodded and looked at Piccolo. "It's fine, Gohan. You can ask him."
Piccolo eyed Gohan carefully, wondering what the young boy would want with him.
"Mr Piccolo..." Gohan started uncertainly.
"Yeah, kid?"
"Could you make my clothes heavier? My mom said you can materialize things." Gohan said.
Piccolo pointed his finger, adding weight to Gohan's undershirt, wristbands, and his boots. "That should keep you busy for a while."
"Thank you, Mr Piccolo."
"Sure thing, kid." Piccolo said.
Goku grinned as he saw the end of Snake Way steadily approaching, "Looks like we've made it."
"Yep!" Kukyo said with a grin, slowly coming down for a landing. "Flying cut our time in half."
Goku walked to the very end looking around. He was careful not to step too fast. "There's nothing here."
"King Kai is supposed to be around here." Kukyo said.
Goku looked around, finding a small planet right out of the corner of his eye. "There it is! He must live on that tiny planet."
Goku and Kukyo leapt up towards it, soaring past the clouds. As they got closer they could make out a domed home, a road that wrapped around the small planet, towering fruit trees, and a 1957 Chevrolet Belair. Goku and Kukyo hovered just outside of it, getting a good look at everything.
They strained, struggling to stay afloat. The inexorable tug of the gravity shot them towards the ground.
"Yow!" Goku exclaimed.
"That's gravity for you." Kukyo said, rubbing her head.
They tried to get up but found themselves unable to move. Slowly they began to stretch their limbs, lifting themselves up with a struggle. The inexorable tug was almost too much to bear, but they forced themselves to a standing position.
"Okay. One step a time." Goku said, bringing his arm forward, striding with all his might.
"There's a house." Kukyo said, striding forward.
A flicker of movement caught their attention.
"Look. A monkey." Goku said, watching it walk around without a problem.
"You must be strong." Kukyo said.
The monkey continued to walk, raising its hands high above its head. It moved towards the tree, easily climbing up into it. Goku and Kukyo followed at a much slower pace, struggling to keep themselves upright the whole time.
"Could you throw me down one of those?" Goku asked, pointing to the green colored fruit.
"Me too!" Kukyo said.
The monkey nodded, moving around the tree with ease. It grabbed two pieces of fruit and let them go. They shot towards the ground, so fast Goku nor Kukyo could reach out fast enough to grab it. It continued to plummet, going through the ground and leaving two holes there.
Goku's stomach began to growl. "Hey! Can you throw two more down?"
The monkey grabbed two more pieces of fruit and let them go. They rocketed through the air, but this time Goku and Kukyo reached out fast enough and grabbed a hold of the fruit with both hands, being yanked to the ground. Goku and Kukyo grinned and slowly pulled their hands forward, eating the fruit with vigor.
As they were finishing up the monkey was climbing down from the tree. Goku turned to face the monkey, giving a bow of respect. "I'm sorry King Kai. I was starving. Please teach me."
"We need to defend Earth from three Saiyans and we need your training." Kukyo said, giving her own bow.
The monkey walked away, raising its hands and began walking around. It lowered and raised its arms over and over.
"That must be an exercise." Kukyo said.
"Yeah." Goku said, doing his best to imitate the movements.
In the home a short round Kai with blue skin and pointy ears watched the whole thing unfold. He was dressed in a martial artist uniform with the kanji for Kai being on the front of his uniform. He wore a small black cap that went over his antennae.
After a few minutes of Goku and Kukyo walking around like monkeys King Kai began to laugh, coming out of his home.
"Who are you?" Kukyo asked.
"I'm glad you asked. My name is King Kai. That monkey there is my pet. His name is Bubbles."
Goku looked a bit sheepish as he scratched his head. "So, you're King Kai. When did you get here?"
"I got here about one thousand years ago." King Kai said.
"Oh wow!" Kukyo exclaimed.
Goku laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "I guess that makes you pretty old."
"Better to be pretty old than ugly old." King Kai snickered. "I'm in the zone today. I can feel it."
"Umm..." Kukyo scratched the back of her head.
"What zone?" Goku asked.
King Kai put his arms behind his back, straightening his chest. "Tough crowd. So you want some more?"
"Uhh..." Goku looked confused.
"My uncle is so large that when he sits around the house, he really sits around the house." King Kai said with a snicker.
Goku and Kukyo exchanged glances.
"Excuse me, King Kai. We came here to train." Goku said.
"What do you mean train? You both don't know a good joke!" King Kai said.
Goku and Kukyo laughed, trying to sound as convincing as they could.
King Kai smirked. "On second thought I could train you both."
"Oh, wow! You really mean it?" Goku asked.
"Of course. You both are funnier than I expected imitating Bubbles."
"Thanks, King Kai." Kukyo said with a smile.
"The first part of my training is catching Bubbles here. I warn you he's pretty fast." King Kai said with a smirk.
"No kidding." Kukyo said.
"This gravity is something else." Goku said.
"Training on this planet for the remainder of your time will be like nothing you've ever experienced before." King Kai said.
"Hold on, do you know when the Saiyans will arrive?" Kukyo asked.
"Nine months from now." King Kai said.
"We better get training." Kukyo said.
"Right." Goku seconded, starting to take off his weighted gear.
"Hold on. You'll get more out of your training keeping the weighted gear on." King Kai said.
Goku sighed softly. "I guess if you say so."
Kukyo grinned. "This is intense. Get ready, Bubbles!
Goku and Kukyo lunged forward at Bubbles, but he nimbly shot away from them, darting around the grass with ease. Goku and Kukyo slowly tailed behind him, struggling to increase their speed. They ran with their arms out to their sides to maintain balance, digging their heels into the ground as they picked up their speed.
They began leaping and lunging, quickly adjusting to the gravity. Bubbles kept speeding around, climbing from tree to tree, leaping, swinging, staying ahead of the Son duo. He turned back to glance at them, noticing they were both gaining on him. With hast he increased his speed, lunging a few meters, narrowly avoiding being tackled by the Son duo who ran into each other.
Bubbles leapt up the fruit tree, going to the very top and began hopping around with his arms over his head.
Sho, Krillin and Chaozu entered the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.
"I still can't believe we get a year's worth of training in one day." Krillin remarked.
"It's incredible." Chaozu said.
They looked around, taking in the endless white expanse. As far as their eyes could see it was nothing but white space. There was a small entrance to the outside world, beds, a fridge, and a few more things that brought some normalcy to the place.
"We'd better get started." Sho said.
They began to warm up, then without further delay brought their full power to the surface.
"Fighting those Saiyans taught me a thing or two." Chaozu said, slowly taking his stance.
"I can say the same for myself." Sho took his own stance, aura burning bright.
"Yeah, we're not going to be hold back against them." Krillin said.
They lunged for each other, meeting in the middle with a forearm. They exchanged a quick barrage of punches, transitioning into kicks. Krillin shot back out of the way, and Sho and Chaozu pursued him, striking out with their forearm. Krillin dodged the strikes, leaping backwards and going into a backflip, frantically trying to put some distance between himself and Chaozu.
They met in the middle again, exchanging a barrage of blows. Sho skimmed Chaozu's next blow, gritting his teeth as he transitioned, countering, striking, turning into a whirlwind of limbs. Krillin met his charge, blocking, dodging, doing his best to get in close. They met in the middle with a kick, both clenching their teeth as they slammed into the ground. They flipped away from each other, maintaining their distance.
"Not bad, Chaozu." Sho said.
"Same goes to you." Choazu said.
Krillin smirked, transitioning into another stance. "Come at me."