"So these rocks… you think they are special?"

Tien glanced over at me. "What, you mean magical? How would I know that… you are the magic expert."

"Do NOT let Baba ever hear you say that again. The pain she'd force on both of us…"

At once the triclops grimaced. "Yeah… don't think I want to press that button at all." I nodded and went back to rubbing my chin as I stared at the rock formation. "But still, shouldn't you be able to tell?"

"I wasn't referring to magic. Bad choice of words. I mean do you think they are special to someone?"

"I… don't follow."

I waved at one, a twisted orange formation with a hole running through it so it looked like it a sewing needle. "I wonder if anyone lived out here," I said. "Some tribe of people hundreds or even thousands of years ago. And these rocks were special to them because of their structure. Like they held spiritual meaning. The shamans or war chiefs or whatever you want to call them would look upon these rocks and go 'These were crafted by the gods. Look upon them and honor what came before us, children'."

Tien helplessly shrugged. "I have no idea."

"And I mean there must be animals that use these things for shelter. That hide from the sun or burrow into the stone or place their nests on top of it." Tien just stared at me helplessly, not having an answer. "Well, works for me."

And with that I thrust out my hand and channeled a sphere of magic and fired it right at the rocky outcrop we had been talking about. The magic was nothing fancy, to the point that it didn't even have a name. It was like a Ki Blast… any mage with a bit of training and skill could fire one off.

The ball hit with a boom that reduced the outcrop into little more than dust.

"Also it is highly rude of me to destroy something that was millions of years old. Very disgraceful."

"What was that!?" Tien exclaimed, leaping away from me and tensing.

But I was focused on my hands, frowning as I stared at the ebony energy that was now dancing around my fingers.

"Aw come on, that little? I should have at least gotten bit more…"

"Oh," Tien said, relaxing a touch. "This is an evil magic thing."

"I've saved the world twice," I point out. "I'm out of balance… I'm like a car with two tires over inflated and the other two having gone flat."

"I'll just take your word on that," Tien commented and I wondered what Tien's life was like outside of training. Did he not go into town for McDonalds? Or sit down on a couch with a beer and watch a game? Was Master Roshi's place the most modern he got? "So, trying to boost up your evil magic?"

"Again, out of balance," I muttered. "There are ways I could quickly boost it but I've already told Baba no."

"Did I even want to know?" Tien asked.

"Her first suggest was I kill one of you guys," I grunted. Tien's eyes widened at that. "I would never-"

"No… not you. Her. Here I thought that losing Master Roshi would mellow her out a bit."

"We are getting new Dragon Balls," I pointed out. "So she figures that someone else could wish on them to bring one of you back while I could reap the benefits of the evil of killing a defender of the earth."

"Well… other than having to deal with all of us when you kill one of us," Tien pointed out.

"Isco was very handy in drawing up diagrams of who I could kill that wouldn't get me instantly pulverized."

Tien frowned at that, looking over to where Isco was going over Senza's ship with Bulma, seeing what he could pull up from the computers. "Do I even want to know my place on the list."

"No," I said, holding out my hand and forming another magic sphere. "You really don't." Tien tensed and after a moment I casually made the magic dissipate. "Come on, scaring Tien should have netted me a bit of evil magic!" I complained to myself.

At once Tien relaxed again. "That isn't funny."

"It's a little funny," I argued. I didn't mention that him and Chiaotzu, if I doubled them up, were at the bottom of Isco's list.

"Alright," Bulma said, dusting her hands off as she emerged from the Namekian ship. "Isco says he has access to the main system and Mr. Popo learned how to pilot the thing… somehow." She tilted her head. "I honestly don't know HOW he knows, since Senza doesn't know, but he can teach one of us how to pilot it… assuming I keep the controls the same." She rubbed her chin. "All depends on how much time we want to spend upgrading the ship. I mean, we need to get it back up to space faring condition but…"

"Shouldn't we head out right away?" Tien said. "Master Roshi needs to be resurrected in a year, right?"

"We don't know how the Namekian Dragon Balls work," I pointed out. "And it also might be an afterlife thing."

"Eh, not an afterlife thing," Master Roshi said in all our heads.

"M-Master Roshi?" Bulma exclaimed in shock, looking about.

"In the flesh… or not. Heheheh!"

"Oh, that was a good one!" King Kai chimed in.

"Wait," I said slowly, "you're on King Kai's planet… already?!"

"Course I am!" Master Roshi proclaimed. "Was easy enough… with all that trainin' I did I was more than strong enough ta fly the entire length of Snake Way."

"…I don't believe you," I said slowly, sensing there had to be more to the tale.

But Tien cut me off. "Master Roshi, we're working on getting the Dragon Balls from Namek-"

"Yeah yeah, I know already!" Roshi proclaimed. "That's why I'm reachin' out ta ya. Wanted ya ta know that while I can't wait ta get back ta livin' ya shouldn't take a bunch of risks just ta try and get me back in a hurry. I'm keepin' my body up here and from what King Kai has seen the Namekian Dragon Balls are strong enough ta bring be back if you're a touch late."

Bulma let out a sigh of relief at that. "Well, that's good," she said. "Better than working under the gun. Now I can focus on actually getting the ship up to snuff."

"But don't risk pushing the deadline!" King Kai warned, causing Bulma to fall off the ramp of the ship.

"But you just said there was no deadline!" she screamed from where she had fallen.

"Heh, deadline," I snickered. Tien looked at me. "Because he's dead."

I heard King Kai chortle at that. "That's a good one! I'm gonna steal it!"

"Don't steal my jokes!" I complained… not because I actually wanted to keep it but rather because I didn't trust King Kai to tell the joke right.

"WHO CARES ABOUT THE JOKE!" Bulma screamed, zipping back onto her feet. "You said there was no deadline!"

"There isn't," King Kai said. But there might also be a deadline."

"Which is it?" Bulma demanded.

"Look, we're kinda working in uncharted waters here. I have no Idea if there is a deadline or not. The Namekian Dragon Balls might have the same deadline for bringing someone back as the ones Kami made. Or they might have a longer one. They might even have a shorter one!"

"You just said you'd observed the Namekians!"

"Its just an expression. Point is that we don't know when the Dragon Balls' time limit will be."

"Or if they can do it at all," Tien muttered.

"Wait, what was that now?" Roshi asked.

"Oh don't worry about that!" King Kai said. "Just focus on getting our suits pressed! Deevee and Veecee are expecting us to pick them up in a few hours."

"Wait a minute!" Bulma shouted, looking skyward. "Are you telling me that while we are busting our butts trying to bring you back to the world of the living, traveling to other planets to seek out mystical relics, you are going on double dates with King Kai!"

"…well, when ya put it like that- OW!" Roshi groaned and I looked to see Bulma had snapped her hand out. "How did ya manage ta slap me? I ain't even on the same plane of existence as ya!"

"Break the connection before she hits me too!" King Kai said and suddenly all we could hear was silence.

"…I am going to wish that when the dragon brings him back he has erectile dysfunction!" Bulma roared.

Isco chose that moment to exist the ship. "So I am going to assume that someone was talking in your minds because all I heard was you three going crazy."

"That's what happened," I informed him.

"Ah… then I can release Chiaotzu and NOT perform the brain dissection." With that he walked back inside the ship.

"…he's joking, right?" Tien asked.

"HELP!"

I glanced at Tien as we heard Chiaotzu scream. "With Isco…?"

~MC~MC~MC~

"So, how was your swim, Raditz?" Goku asked as his brother emerged from the ocean, water beading down his chest. They had all decided to return to the island for the moment, even with much of the research laboratory destroyed. Bulma was already bringing capsule houses for everyone to stay in and a quick search had confirmed her lab was undamaged from the battle with Vegeta and Nappa, meaning it was the best place to get to work on Senza's ship.

"Hmmmpf… not bad." He flicked out his left hand and a massive Great White Shark slammed down next to Goku, eyes rolled up in its skull and body littered with bruises. "This thing decided to come and try and bite me… its edible, right?"

"Anything is edible if you cook it right!" Goku declared.

That caused his older brother to tilt his head in bemusement. "You know, Kakarot, every time I think you are nothing like a Saiyan you say something like that and I feel like you spent your entire life on Planet Vegeta."

"Thanks!" Goku declared. He tossed Raditz a towel and his brother began to dry off. As for Goku he was just relaxing, having decided to take a break from training in order to let his body heal up from all the fights they'd had in recent days. "What was it like?" he asked suddenly.

"Hmmm?"

"Planet Vegeta. What was it like?"

Raditz considered his brother for a long moment before finally sitting down on the sandy beach, legs stretched out before him. While Goku had stripped down to the bare minimum of his Gi, going with just the pants (Chichi had mentioned that he'd look good with a tan) Raditz had opted for a pair of swim trunks after everyone had begged him not to just swim naked. The two brothers thus sat in the sun, soaking up the rays as the ocean lapped just past their feet.

"It wasn't like this planet," Raditz finally said. "Living on Planet Vegeta was like fighting a battle every day. The air was thinner there… when I first got to a planet that was rich with air my head swam for a week. A single gulp of air was like taking ten breaths on Planet Vegeta. The water was also far saltier, so we had to constantly find ways to make it fit for drinking.

"That bred hard things. Us… and the animals. They were fierce, Kakarot, with hides that could repel all but the strongest blows and tough meat that took hours to tenderize. We had entire hordes of women whose entire job was to pound the meat with hammers to try and make it edible. That's why whenever a Saiyan landed on a planet the first thing they did was get some decent food." He scoffed. "Vegeta and Nappa used to claim it was all shit compared to Saiyan food because it was too tender and sweet but they just didn't want to admit that when it came to cooking food was something Saiyans weren't the best at."

Goku made a face. "Man, I can't imagine not having good meat!"

Raditz scoffed at that. "I got as much at dinner last night."

"Vegeta… he said he was the Prince of All Saiyans. Is that true?"

"Unfortunately," Raditz muttered. "Sometimes I wonder what life would have been like if he had died and someone else had led us."

"What do you mean?" Goku asked, staring at his brother in confusion. "I mean, considering what he did to that guy Nappa he doesn't seem like the greatest guy to work for…"

Raditz shook his head at that. "No. He wasn't. Though I won't be crying over Nappa. That man was a sadist, Kakarot. Cruel for the sake of being cruel. Utterly devoted to Vegeta though… King Vegeta saved his life-"

"Wait, so that has been a bit confusing," Goku said, cutting his brother off and scratching his head. "I get that there is Prince Vegeta… and that our planet is CALLED Vegeta… but King Vegeta is someone else?"

That made Raditz glower. "Not by their choice. That… was King Cold's doing. When he first arrived on our planet and… made our 'alliance'… we had no king. We functioned in different tribes, fighting each other constantly. Cold killed the leaders of all the tribes and then selected one Saiyan and declared, "You are the king now. And because I don't want to bother learning your name you will be Vegeta". When he had a son and tried to introduce the boy to Cold he was informed the boy's name was now Vegeta. Everyone figured out when Vegeta the Second had a son that he should also be named Vegeta until… well, now."

"Wait a minute," Goku said, trying to wrap his head around what his brother had just told him. "You mean that Vegeta, the very first one, was only chosen because he was picked at RANDOM!? He didn't do anything special? He wasn't the best fighter or the smartest inventor or anything like that?"

That caused Raditz to let out a barking laugh. "Smart inventor? Please… King Vegeta the Third made our father look like a brilliant scientist!"

Goku didn't quite understand why that was so funny but he got the general idea all the same… and he didn't like it. He had always been taught that leaders should be the best, able to lead. He was the strongest fighter amongst his friends and family and as such they tended to look to him to lead them. But he looked to Master Roshi at times because he had the most knowledge. Bulma led them when it came to machines. Kayos led them if it involved trickery. It… it just made sense!

"Though don't get me wrong," Raditz said quickly, "King Vegeta… all of them… have been incredibly strong. They used their position to do all they could to make themselves the most powerful fighters on Planet Vegeta. If they hadn't then they risked one of us taking over and so long as we had taken the name 'Vegeta' I don't think Cold or Frieza would have minded. Probably found it amusing." He let out a huff at that. "Unfair advantages, some liked to grumble…"

"So if one wasn't strong enough?"

Raditiz smirked. "Its said that Vegeta had a brother… and he was dealt with before Frieza learned of him."

"That's horrible!" Goku exclaimed.

"That was life," Raditz said with a shrug. "Even after Planet Vegeta fell we were forced to continue serving Prince Vegeta and Frieza. There were some of us that wanted to strike off on our own. To make our own fortunes. We argued that the alliance had been made with our planet and that was gone now. But Prince Vegeta refused." He scoffed. "Frieza met with him and I think he told him how amazing he was and how powerful he was and fed the brat's ego. Frieza has always had a soft spot for Vegeta… he saw him like a pet, I think, while Vegeta saw Frieza as one of the few people left in the galaxy who remembered his royal birth. Because he knows that without a planet the only thing giving him his title is his deeds and Frieza's allowing of him to keep it. He loses that… and well, with his attitude, he would have died a long time ago to the rest of us. Nappa could have only protected him so much. We didn't dare go against him so long as he held Frieza's favor.

"So we were stuck with him and the 31 Saiyans that survived our planet's destruction slowly got whittled down to 4. Stupid mistakes on everyone's end. Some were just too cocky, used to being able to call upon an entire squad and now found themselves down to only two or three. Others did nothing wrong… it was just poor match ups. It doesn't matter. It came down to us, brother, and Nappa, and Vegeta. And even now it's down to three."

He paused before smirking.

"Or rather four and a half."

Goku let out a moan at that. "Please don't mention that to Chichi! She's still struggling with what happened to her!"

"Hmmmpf," Raditz said with a huff. "I don't see why its such a big deal for her. Saiyans are far more powerful and durable than humans. And our lifetimes are longer too."

"Wait, what!?" Goku exclaimed, eyes going wide at that. "How long could I end up living?"

"I honestly have no idea," Raditz admitted. "From what I was told you didn't see an old Saiyan because they died in battle."

"Oh…" Goku said, suddenly having the mental image of a frail and wizen Chichi, looking a bit like Fortune Teller Baba, honestly, standing next to him as he looked young. "Still," he said, shaking off those thoughts, "she isn't doing well with suddenly being a different race."

"Well, she needs to get used to it," Raditz said before slowly glancing at Goku. "Unless you are going to do something foolish like wish on the Dragon Balls to make her human again."

"What? No!" he exclaimed. "Honestly I'm not sure if that would even work… not sure its even possible!" Raditz nodded, his glower fading away at that bit of information. "Besides, I want to focus on bringing back Master Roshi and maybe finding out if there is another way for us to get Dragon Balls." He leaned back, thinking about all his brother had told him. "You kept mentioning King Cold and Frieza… who are they?"

"God, Earth is in the boondocks, isn't it?" Raditz joked. "King Cold used to be the Emperor of nearly a quarter of the known galaxy. No one really knows what species he is… no one was dumb enough to ask. All anyone knows is that he and his kind are insanely powerful. About 40 years ago Cold decided he was going to retire which really means he didn't want to deal with the day to day operations of the Empire he had crafted. He placed his two sons, Frieza and Cooler, in charge, giving them each half of the Cold Force and letting them do whatever they wished. Cooler kept things basically the same, doing as his father had: going out with a few loyal warriors and testing themselves against a planet, bringing them to heel, and then moving on." Raditz grew quiet. "Had it just been Cooler I think… I think we could have lived decent enough lives. He is cruel and dangerous but you know where you stand with him."

"But not with Frieza?" Goku asked.

"No," Raditz said darkly.

"You said he was the one that destroyed Planet Vegeta…"

"Our father learned of it. All the Saiyans were commanded to return to Planet Vegeta… a few, such as Prince Vegeta, took their time and that is what saved them. That and our father trying to stand against Frieza and stop him from his sick plans. Frieza is a sadist, Kakarot. A vile, heartless, cruel, destructive creature that only cares about his own whims. I know you promised to help me take him down but-"

"No buts," Goku said firmly. "He's your enemy then he's my enemy. I don't want to risk him ever harming the Earth… so that means we'll have to get strong enough to stop him."

Raditz merely nodded and the two went back to silently watching the ocean.

~MC~MC~MC~

I frowned as I walked into the kitchen and saw a feminine rear end wiggling slightly as it stuck out from the fridge, a monkey tail waggling back and forth. Cocking an eyebrow I stopped and just watched as, after about half a minute, Chichi pulled her head out of the fridge, arms overloaded with different platters and bowls carefully balanced in her arms while she bit down on a large slab of meat on a bone like she was Fred Flintstone. She turned and I watched, bemused, as she used her tail to grab another bowl before she kicked the door shut and moved towards the table.

It was only when she had set everything down that she finally realized I was standing there, letting out a little yelp before she glowered at me, just managing to catch her meat as it fell.

"You. Saw. Nothing."

"I know noth-ting, noth-ting!" I declared with a grin, holding up my hands.

Chichi just glared before her stomach rumbled and she began to tear into the first hunk of meat. She tried to be dainty and refined while doing it but as time went on and I didn't say a word she finally just gave in and began to devour the food much like Goku, Gohan, and Raditz did.

"Its this Saiyan blood!" she complained as she opened up a container of cold shredded chicken and, after a moment's hestitation, gave in and just began to shovel it into her mouth. "I've always been able to eat a lot but now that I have full control it I'm hungry ALL THE TIME!"

"Yeah, I noticed," I said dryly, walking over to the fridge and snagging some leftover pizza and tossing it into the microwave. "How are you handling all of… this?" I gestured at her.

"I have to relearn how to do everything," Chichi complained. "I tried to make breakfast the other day and I broke the pot I was using. It just… crumpled in my hands! I keep nearly slamming my tail into doors…" Said appendage wiggled like it had a mind of its own, almost playfully. "But there are weird things too. Things I didn't expect."

"Like what?"

"Well… I feel less angry." Chichi frowned. "I know I have a temper, Kayos. I won't ever deny that. I'm very passionate and can get so mad. I thought with Saiyan blood I would be more angry but instead I feel more calm."

"You didn't gain Saiyan blood," I pointed out to her. "You always had it. My wish just… balanced it out, I think. Giving you control of the Great Ape Form means the natural rage that was within it is now contained. Not tamed but… you aren't going to lose yourself in it."

"That's so odd to think about," Chichi said.

"Have you though?" I pressed. "Have you really?" She looked up at me. "Chichi… you just learned your mother wasn't human. She was a Saiyan. I know you must be asking yourself a ton of questions concerning that. Worrying what it means for you."

"I don't know what you're getting at."

I shot her a cool stare. "So you aren't wondering if your father knew?" I pressed. "Gohan was born with a tail… I imagine you were too. Did he just not see it? Or did he and he hid it? Why didn't he say anything about Gohan? Why didn't you have the small hole that Goku has on his back where his tail was removed?"

With each question Chichi dipped her head and began to eat a bit faster, trying to chew her food like they were the questions I knew were poking and prodding her.

"Listen…" I said softly, settling down next to her, "I'm not going to give some trite bullshit that you are who you've always been and this changes nothing."

"You did already tell me that."

"I did?" I blinked before waving that off. "Past Me is stupid. This is Present Me. If you feel it changes things then it changes things. The important thing is that for all of us? Everyone on the island? We still care for you. Will stand with you. And give you what you need to get through this. Want to go confront your dad? We're with you. Want to scream and fight? We're… well, not me because I really don't want to test my squishy body against you-" Chichi smiled at that, "then Goku or Krillin or Yamcha or anyone else will. You just want to sit here and cry? We'll get you tissues."

"…I don't want to talk to my dad. Not right now." She shook her head. "My mother died when I was very young. I vaguely remember her… snippets of her. But I heard so much about her… I based my entire life around those stories. That a good wife and mother acted just as she did. But now…"

I winced at that. "Chihci… I mean this with the most kindness in the world… that wasn't healthy even when you thought she was a human." She snapped her head up to glare at me and I threw my hands up. "Listen… okay, so I read this story once about an orphan boy who eventually gets the powers of a god. And at one point his wife is talking to another god who has been watching this boy, now a man and a god, for years. And his wife complained that his love was smothering. That he gave her his entire focus and she felt like she could NEVER match that love which is why she cheated on him.

"And the elder god tells her, and everyone else gathered, that when the boy had still been a boy he didn't have a mother and a father. He raised himself. And as such his ideas when it came to love were based on what he saw. He would watch this one couple that would seemingly dance the day away, focused on each other, and he based his ideas on what love was around that. Love was total commitment to the other person. And because he had the power to do so he did just that. He didn't see the fights. He didn't see the two taking time for themselves. He didn't see that they had other interests and hobbies and all that. He just saw their intense dance and that was that.

"You said it yourself… your mother died young. She never taught you what it was like to be a wife and mother so you had to piece it together. Your father loved her so of course he would only tell you the best things… and…" I paused, tensing as I prepared to leap away in case I really angered her. Because while I had seen Chichi mad… while I knew that she had always had Saiyan blood… it was another thing to remember I was sitting across from a half Saiyan that could snap me like a toothpick. "And… he told you how he remembered her… not as she was."

"My father-" Chichi began and I hurriedly cut her off.

"Loved your mother! Loved her so much that he saw her as perfect! But she wasn't Chichi! She had her faults. I'm sure the two of them had their squabbles… admit it… you hate it when you and Goku fight, don't you?"

"…husbands and wives shouldn't fight," Chichi murmured. "Husbands support the family and a wife makes sure the husband does what is right. My fa-"

She stopped, realizing what she was about to say.

"You've already seen this year that your view on how a marriage should be didn't work great for you and Goku… or at least isn't as good as it is now." Chichi's anger faded at that. "He WANTS to be with you, doesn't he? Before… it felt like he was there because… because he was told he had to be. Or that you were his roommate that sometimes he hugged. But now…" I shot her a level look. "The soundproofing isn't that good."

Chichi blushed hard at that. "We need to find you someone so I can embarrass you."

"I like'em as tall as me and able to kick ass," I commented dryly. "My point is that you built this view of what you should be based on a story, not reality. And now you've broken free of that… you can mourn the dream but don't ignore the reality. Your mother was a person. A Saiyan, yes, but a person. Doesn't she deserve to have her daughter learn who she truly was? Who was Ohlrara?"

She grew quiet.

"Kayos," she finally said, "I'd like to be alone."

"Of course."

~MC~MC~MC~

"Gohan… what are you doing?"

The little boy, who had been digging through the rubble that was the research facility, jumped and Senza at once felt guilty for startling the child… but also a touch of annoyed that his situational awareness wasn't strong enough to have detected him. It was the warrior in him that scoffed that Gohan hadn't noticed him coming…

'Though most of the Z Fighters seem to be rather bad at that,' He thought. 'Sensing energy? They can do that easily enough. But they don't do well when it comes to noticing things that are low in power or are trying to hide from them. Could probably kill them all with a few low powered humans sneaking into their rooms…'

"I'm sorry, Mr. Piccolo," Gohan said before wincing. "OH! I'm sorry. I didn't-"

Senza though waved him off. "It doesn't matter, Gohan," he told him. "Sometimes I feel almost exactly like Piccolo. So it doesn't offend me if you call me by his name."

Gohan, clearly relieved that he hadn't insulted the Namekian, gave a choppy bow at that. "It must be weird… being one person now."

"It is," Senza said with a fond little smile, patting Gohan on the shoulder. "But… also not." The boy frowned at that, trying to figure out what he was trying to say. Which was fine because Senza was still trying to figure out what he wanted to say. "Like I told you I remember being Piccolo. I remember being Kami. And I feel what they feel and understand WHY they did what they did… but I also disagree with it." He let out an annoyed huff. "You ever really want to do something but also didn't want to do it?"

Gohan considered that idea for a long time. "Like… how sometimes I'll want to not study because I'd rather play with my dad… but I know if I do then my mom will be upset because she wants me studying?"

"A bit, yes," Piccolo said though it wasn't entirely like that at all. It was just him simplifying it for a child. 'I need to see a shrink,' he thought even as, in the same moment, he scoffed at the idea of lazing about on someone's couch talking about his feelings. Waste of time and all that…

He shook his head.

'Why did I ever think this was a good idea?' he thought to himself and found that none of the parts of him had a good answer for that. "But," he said as he turned his attention back onto Gohan, "that isn't why I came over here."

"It isn't?" Gohan said slowly.

"No. I came over here to find out why you are playing around in this garbage."

Gohan winced and even with his limited understanding of children Senza knew he was doing something he wasn't supposed to be.

"I was just… seeing if everything was okay…"

"We already got everyone's stuff out," Senza informed him. They had taken several hours to locate where everyone's rooms were and pull out what they could salvage. Chiaotzu had been the best at it, using his telekinesis to yank things right out from the rubble. "So what are you really doing?"

Gohan swallowed before lifting up some wood. "UH… I needed this."

"For… what…"

Rather than answer the little boy scampered off.

"Gohan!" he snapped, gritting his teeth as the kid hurried away from the site, still clinging to his snatched wood. 'Damn it, what has gotten into him?!' He gave chase and with his longer legs he should have been able to easily catch up to the boy but Gohan had darted into the forest and was slipping through the trees and the underbrush with ease. Honestly, had it been any other time, Senza would have been impressed. Gohan was flowing through the greenery without a care, easily slipping and sliding through tracks, gaining ground on him. Latching onto handholds, finding hidden little spots that would allow him to gain a yard as Senza struggled to break through… it was impressive.

If only he knew why the kid was doing it!

Finally he broke out of the jungle and saw that they were near one of the low rocky outcrops that littered the island. Nothing too tall… honestly Senza could have leapt to the top of it without using much ki. And Gohan wasn't making his way to the top, instead rushing towards a small opening in the stone, about half a foot shorter in height than Senza.

"Mr. Senza!" Gohan said, not surprised at all that he'd been followed. In fact it was becoming clear to the Namekian that the boy hadn't been trying to flee him but instead had been leading him to this spot. "Come here!" He waved him off and Senza slowly approached.

There, within the cave, was all the wood that Gohan had grabbed plus plenty more, though the stuff already in there was charred and blackened, making Senza pull his wrap up to cover his nose and mouth. Gohan though stayed low, not bothered at all, and smiled as he looked at the occupant.

"He likes it warm right now… according to my books he'll need plenty of fires until his scales harden.

Senza stared at the small pale purple dragon that chirped at him.

"His name is Icarus!"