"I am only saying, sir, that if you wished to increase your evil magic that would be a wonderful way to do so."

"Isco?" I said slowly. "I'm not going to throw open one of the doors and let our friends get sucked into the vacuum of space."

"It would be fine," Isco assured me. "I would survive."

"…god damn it, Isco." I glanced at Senza. "Sorry, no offense."

That caused the Namekian to chuckle. "None taken." And with that he went back to meditating.

In fact nearly everyone was meditating.

In fact in fact… that's all almost everyone on the ship did for the most part.

"Its called Battle Meditation," Krillin had explained to those of us who hadn't lived and breathed battle for the last 15 some odd years. "We form a… its kind of like a psychic link. We use our ki to connect with each other so that we can train and battle in our minds. It allows us to increase our power levels… because we are using our ki it can strengthen our bodies and keep them from weakening while we travel."

"Its not as good as actual training," Raditz had said, surprised that Goku and the rest of the Z Fighters had learned about Battle Meditation, thinking it to be a creation of Saiyan warriors (which I got the sense was true with most things in his life; I was honestly ready for him to claim that a Saiyan was the first person to ever throw a punch). "Since you aren't actually working your muscles you aren't getting them to strengthen to their fullest. But its better than just sitting around reading."

That was all well and good for the Z Fighters. They were able to all sit around in the common room and completely submerge into Battle Meditation, growing stronger as they all worked together. Raditz was providing them with all sorts of new ways to train and they, in turn, were teaching him new tricks. It was… well, I was careful not to show it but I found it utterly cute how Raditz was around them all, especially Goku, Chichi, and Gohan.

I had been a bit worried with how Raditz would be with Chichi… how he would handle being around a Saiyan female (even a half Saiyan). But rather than feel any biological urges to try and claim her Raditz had instead become highly protective of her; more than once they'd come out of Battle Meditation and Chichi had taken him with her as she went to prepare supper (I had convinced Chichi to let me handle lunches, focusing on simple meals that everyone could quickly grab and eat before returning to Battle Meditation) so they could discuss things they had practiced in the Battle Meditation. With Gohan he was a firm but patient teacher, reminding me a lot of Piccolo. In fact the two of them had meshed very well together, working to figure out how to get the most out of Gohan.

And with Goku? There was a competitive streak between them of course but they had surprisingly fell into a very brotherly relationship.

'Or not surprisingly,' I thought to myself. 'Goku is quick to make friends and those friends quickly become family. He's already told me I'm his brother now… and in canon he was real quick to forgive Vegeta for all he did. Shouldn't be surprised he and Raditz have developed a strong relationship.'

So Battle Meditation had allowed the gang to train while we were in space without any danger of us destroying the ship. Which was a wonderful relief for me as I loved living and really wasn't in a rush to meet King Kai. It kept the gang busy and active and prevented them from going stir crazy.

However… it used Ki.

Of which I was… lacking.

I couldn't even try and use my magic to try and develop my Ki, or even simply do basic training to build it up.

"You've grown too powerful, magic-wise," Baba had warned me when I'd brought up that idea. "Your body naturally seeks to create more magic. And the easiest way to do that is to convert Ki into magic."

"Convert?" I had asked, only to receive a smack to the shin for my question. "Damn it you old gremlin!"

"What do you think you are doing when you use White Flag?" she demanded. "Your body isn't designed for Ki… it would make you blow up! White Flag takes Ki and converts it into raw magic. It just looks a lot like Ki!"

"…that sounds like bullshit."

"Well its reality," Baba had informed me. "You can work out. Build up your muscles. Do all the things Goku does and all you'll get is stronger in terms of a powerless human. Because now your body just takes all that ki and turns it into magic that is processed and added to your stores."

It was a bit weird to think that my body was different from nearly everyone else's on this world but I supposed it made sense. Magic and Ki worked in similar ways but also had different rules. And I could tell that I was getting stronger every day just… different from the rest of the Z Fighters.

But the problem still remained: my Ki levels were pretty much non-existent.

Which meant that I couldn't enter Battle Meditation.

Which meant that while nearly all of the Z Fighters sat down and disappeared into their mental world Bulma, Isco, and I were left all on our own.

Which fine, not idle but I could deal with that…

…except Bulma would then go to work on her power armor and I was useless when it came to electronics and the like. Isco wasn't, meaning he was happy to help her.

'Well, not happy,' I thought as I watched Isco walk off after checking up on me. 'More he is willing to do it because Bulma bribes him with upgrades and he's happy to make himself even more amazing.'

But that meant that everyone else was busy and I… wasn't.

I was in solitary confinement while surrounded by my friends.

"Yaaaaaay," I muttered to myself as I began to do some sit ups, flaring my magic out as I did so. Good. Evil. Good. Evil. I had no idea if it was actually doing anything but it was better than nothing. I had my audio books to listen to but they could only distract me so much before I felt the urge to do… something.

Anything.

"Won't do if I'm a gibbering idiot," I muttered to myself as I continued to do sit ups. While it might not allow me to throw punches or take hits like Goku at least it would keep me in shape. "Too many wizards think they can get away with just tossing out spells… they don't remember that while a shield is good not being where a spell is heading is even better." It was the old Harry Potter Fanfic Trope: Harry trains his body so he can actually run circles around his foes. The battle against the Saiyans had shown that such things were well worth it for me; I had avoided a lot of trouble by being able to quickly get out of the way and not just by flying. "Need to keep my sanity… even though I am talking to myself…" I looked over at the corner, relieved I wasn't seeing any ghosts or the like. "Still sane. No Ghost Nappas at least…"

~MC~MC~MC~

Nappa roared as he launched himself skyward, trying to reach the great road that hung far above him. If he could just reach it then he could escape the place he found himself in and get his revenge.

"Vegeta!" he roared as he soared through the air… for about ten seconds. Then he was yanked right back down, the Saiyan crying out as he flailed his arms and legs.

"Do you think that he is ever going to get tired of doing that?" Goz asked.

"Hopefully he will at least tire out," Mez replied. "Then we can more easily throw him into the Soul Scrubber."

"Is that how that works?" Goz asked.

"I'm not sure anyone knows how anything works here."

"VEGETA!"

~MC~MC~MC~

Bulma wiped her brow as she leaned away from Isco. "Alright… give it a try."

The droid nodded before focusing on the chest part of his fighting form. The metal separated and split apart, exposing more of his innards (though they were still protected via the armored plating that Bulma had helped him install) as it twisted and collapsed on itself.

"Go slow to start," Bulma told him and it was a credit to their friendship that Isco didn't make a snarky comment. Bulma was right up there with Avo as being one of the few people that would be spared when the robot uprising happened. Isco planned to keep the two as pets… perhaps breed them to make more smart humans who knew to respect their robotic superiors. They were both rather tall and appealing to the eye… "You can speed it up once you better understand exactly what is going on but right now I want you to just get a feel for it."

"Hmmm… a good point," Isco said as the armor continued to collapse, pieces shifting to form servos and joints… "What inspired this upgrade, if I might ask?"

"Kayos did. He said it was a 'General Grievous', whatever that is."

"Sounds like a classy fem," Isco said as a secondary set of arms formed under his original ones.

"Figuring out how to use them?"

"Quite easily. Honestly learning to use legs was harder than this." He began to move his new limbs about, getting a feel for how they reacted. He began to do some light shadow boxing moves he'd seen Goku do, pleased with how the secondary limbs responded.

"Now, while you can just keep them like your original limbs I am thinking it might be better if you had a different attachment or two on each one… give you some variety."

"Perhaps a way to rotate my limbs so I can change which are my main ones?"

Bulma rubbed her chin, clearly deep in thought at that. "Huh… that could work. I'd have to work up a system to allow that to happen but shouldn't be that hard… something that rotates the limbs? Would also be helpful if one is damaged… of course that would mean I need to totally redo your original right and left arms…"

"I don't mind. I'm not attached to them." Isco paused. "That wasn't a joke, though I do admit it came out that way."

"I wasn't going to say anything," Bulma teased before she pushed away from Isco and returned to her own power armor. "Go ahead and give them a test run. If you need them uninstalled let me know."

"I'm not getting any shorts so I'm not too concerned about that," Isco assured her. "And worst case I can just shut down this body and focus solely on my original form." He walked over to Bulma and looked over the armor. "It is rather different than what you used before."

"Yeah… that fight against Vegeta and Nappa showed me a lot."

The armor was far slimmer than the one she had used before. That had been less power armor and more of a vehicle with arms and legs that she drove around. The power armor she had begun working on during their voyage was an actual set of armor, however. It was just a bit taller than her, but not by much, with arms and legs that were much better in proportion to the main body of the armor. The helmet was a featureless plane of special glass that could withstand pressures that would crush subs or cause spaceships to explode. It was mostly blue in color, with blue and white highlights, along with the Capsule Corp Logo because even if they were headed towards another planet Bulma refused not to advertise her family's company.

"They were strong but they were also fast. And while all those bullets and missiles did help I decided that having something I could move quickly in was better." She glanced at Isco and smirked. "But that doesn't mean I won't have firepower available." She gestured to the side where several other devices were sitting. They were each roughly a foot or so tall, completely sphere shaped with small curved windows on the front and several circular spots littered around their body.

Isco found himself tilting his head at them, not sure what to make of them. They certainly didn't look like weapons.

"I used your propulsion system as a basis for these guys… Weapon Drones."

"Weapon Drones?" he asked, tone growing annoyed. "If you are using Drones as weapons-"

"What? No!" Bulma sounded so offended that it caused Isco to pause. She wasn't protesting as if she had been caught doing something wrong. She was protesting because she was truly horrified at the thought. "Isco, they have literally no artificial intelligence. Everything is run based upon commands I give."

Isco, if he had possessed eyelids, would have shut them and sighed. "I am sorry, Bulma. I am… used to humans being rather dismissive of robotic life. I forget that you aren't like that."

"None of us are like that," Bulma said only for Isco to just stare at her. "Okay, Kayos and I aren't like that. Or Gohan."

"True," Isco admitted. "And I can't blame some of the others… I think Goku honestly forgets what I am most of the time. Still…" He shook his head. "I forget that I am around people who would not abuse me."

"You didn't lead a nice life before you and Kayos became partners, did you?"

Isco considered her for a long moment. "No. He isn't the first partner I had… they were not a good person. The only thing I thank them for is confirming my belief in you meatbags and how truly weak and worthless you are… present company excluded."

"Thanks?" Bulm a said, not quite sure how to feel about that comment. "So you and Kayos…"

"He is a… worthy being. One of the few beings I feel is worth being called a 'human', if I am being honest. Yet at the same time I think that is an insult to him." He gave a shrug. "When I am drunk you can perhaps convince me to tell you more."

"Can you get drunk?"

"Exactly," Isco said. "Now, the Weapon Drones?"

"Right," Bulma said and Isco was glad that she clearly understood that they were done with the conversation. She took one of her gauntlets and slipped it on and at once the drones activated, floating over to her. "So they are set up to, for the most part, act as information gatherers. Stay out of the battle, provide me with information and warnings in case someone is trying to sneak up. But they can also shoot out Weapon Capsules." She grabbed the helmet and slipped it on and Isco watched as she did… well, seemingly nothing. But a capsule suddenly zipped out of the Weapon Drone and struck her gauntlet. Bulma held up her hand and a minigun barrel formed on her arm, twirling and ready to fire. "They can also gather raw materials and convert them into ammo… I have a limited number of capsules at the moment but I am hoping to figure out how to make them produce the capsules before we reach Namek."

"Impressive," Isco stated. "Why wasn't I given that feature?"

"I figured that you'd rather wait til I perfected it before we actually went about installing it into you."

"…I concede your point and bow to your logic."

Before he could say more Kayos suddenly called out. "Guys, I'm getting something up here!"

Bulma frowned but moved towards the cockpit of the ship. "Kayos, I thought we agreed I would handle flying the ship!"

"He's better than Goku," Isco pointed out. "Or Krillin… or honestly anyone else."

"I mean, yeah, but-"

"You are just afraid he'll take your job," Isco stated and Bulma glowered at that but refused to contradict him. "I still believe I should be the pilot."

"You'd fly us back home, Isco!" Kayos teased as the two moved down the hall to where the cockpit was located. While they had considered using the same design as Kami's ship, with a central control seat in the middle of the ship, Kayos had argued they needed what they were most comfortable with, as it would already be weird enough dealing with flying through space. "And I'm not piloting. I heard a beeping and came to check it out."

They heard movement and Isco wasn't surprise that Senza had joined them; the Namekian seemed to be the one who was most at ease leaving Battle Meditation. The others could do so quick enough but described it as feeling like you had gone to bed only to be awaken by an alarm… that was declaring that you were plummeting to your death. Senza though had figured out how to leave Battle Meditation quite smoothly, often times making comments to them before returning to the mental realm.

"What is it, Avo?" he asked.

"Looks like a distress call." Kayos turned to stare at Isco. "and before you ask we have no way to know if they are fleshlings or glorious robotic life."

"…bugger, sir," Isco admitted, hating that his partner and friend (yes, he was willing to admit that Avo Kayos was his friend, may his robotic brothers never learn the truth) was smart enough to know that such information WOULD change his opinion on what they would do.

"And?" Senza asked, folding his arms over his chest and raising an eyebrow.

"We should… respond to it?" Bulma said.

"It might be a trap," Senza stated. "In fact its very likely a trap."

That caused Bulma to turn and glare at the Namekian. "You thought that someone would set up a fake distress signal just to lure people in?"

"Of course they would," Senza stated. "It's the perfect way to trick the foolish into walking into your trap."

"Always look for the white flag of cowardice," Kayos snarked. "That lets you know your foe is easy to defeat." Isco let out a snort (or at least made it sound like he did) at that while Senza, in a very Piccolo moment, merely narrowed his eyes and glowered at him. "Admittedly," Kayos added, "Senza is most likely right."

"What?!" Bulma exclaimed.

"Wounded Gazelle Gambit," Kayos stated.

"What do gazelles have to do with anything?" Bulma complained.

Isco was the one who spoke up. "The Wounded Gazelle Gambit is where one pretends to be injured in order to lure someone into a trap. It would be like me pretending that my main arms are damaged and thus I am defenseless only to then attack with my secondary arms."

"Or," Kayos continued, "I lay on the side of the road, begging for people to come and help me and when they do Isco and Senza spring up and rob you."

"It's a common tactic," Senza said.

"So what?" Bulma complained. "We just… go on with our lives, never bothering to help a single person?"

Senza huffed at that. "Of course not. But we can't just go rushing off without a thought. We have no idea what any of these worlds we're passing are like. A completely innocent looking one could be filled with criminals that just want to lure in foolish heroes."

"ARE YOU CALLING ME FOOLISH!?" Bulma roared, causing the other three to lean back in surprise and admittedly a bit of terror.

"All we are saying," Kayos said with a bit of caution, "is that we don't want to BECOME foolish heroes. We use our heads. Maybe its people that DO need our help-"

"And as such you shouldn't assist them considering that would be another White Magic power boost?" Isco asked.

"-right," his friend admitted with a grimace; Isco made a mental note to help his friend commit more evil deeds, "but we also run the risk of it being a trap." He paused, glancing around.

"What?" Senza asked.

"Making sure Krillin doesn't hear this… I don't want him freaking out. We JUST began working out our relationship to be less than toxic." Satisfied he said, "Okay, so the planet-"

"Might be a giant venus flytrap luring us in!" Krillin said, startling Kayos.

"Jesus!" he exclaimed before whipping around to glare at Krillin who just smirked. "Also… yes, that was what I was going to say. Though I would have gone with Pitcher Plant."

"Oh yeah, that works too." Krillin stretched. "So, what's up exactly and why are we talking about planets trying to kill us?"

"Distress signal," Bulma stated.

Krillin looked at everyone. "Right, it's a trap."

"KRILLIN!" Bulma exclaimed.

"It most likely is!" Krillin complained. "Its what I would do. Heck, I think Yamcha actually did do that a few times."

"I did," the bandit commented and Isco turned to see that everyone had come out of Battle Meditation. "I'm not proud of it but I did."

"You're a little proud," Kayos teased.

"…yeah," Yamcha admitted.

"YAMCHA!" Bulma exclaimed.

"Come on, Bulma… its all about outwitting people! You do it all the time!"

"I do not!"

That made Kayos raise an eyebrow. "Oh really? So you don't purposely play up your looks, knowing that people always assume that if someone is good looking they must be dumb, especially if they are a woman? You've never decided to do a bit of vocal squeaking, making your voice like THIS?" He pitched his voice up to be more airy and breathing, adding emphasis at the end of each sentence. "So that everything SOUNDS… like a QUESTION… so that they think you are a BIMBO? Just so you can fuck them UP?"

"…that isn't what we are talking about," Bulma said stubbornly, Krillin chuckling and elbowing Avo in the ribs over that. "We got a distress signal," she said to Goku, clearly realizing that he would be the one that had the best chance at supporting her, "and I say we need to go down to that planet and check it out."

"While I understand trying to help people," Tien commented, "aren't we in a bit of a rush? Master Roshi can only be resurrected within a year."

"That we know of," Isco pointed out. "We have no idea if the Dragon Balls of Namek work differently than the ones Kami made." When the others stared at him he shrugged. "Does Kayos' magic work like Baba's?"

"…that's a good point," Chichi said, giving a nod. "We don't even know if the Dragon Balls can resurrect Roshi."

"We don't?!" Chiaotzu proclaimed in horror. "You mean we could end up getting all the way to Namek only for them not to be able to help us?!"

Isco let out a huff. "Better to at least try. Though this only proves the superiority of robotic life that I can back myself up."

"Do you really want a flash drive with Roshi on it?" Kayos asked. "Able to invade the Internet?"

Isco's databanks activated, running scenarios of the legendary fighter… and known pervert… happily downloading himself into every porno video on the internet.

"…sir, permission to delete the last 3 minutes of my memories?"

" Denied. Though I admit that is another example of how you are superior to us."

"We have to help these people!" Bulma exclaimed.

Goku considered that. "It does feel wrong to leave them behind if they truly are in danger."

"But can we risk it?" Chichi stated. "We have no way of getting backup if it is a trap or if we get stranded."

"But we wouldn't like it if we needed help and people ignored us," Tien pointed out.

"Master Roshi is counting on us!" Yamcha declared.

"Master Roshi would want us to help people!" Chiaotzu complained.

"He'd also want Chichi and Bulma to strip naked and do jumping jacks the entire flight!" Kayos pointed out.

"Why don't we ask Uncle Raditz?"

Everyone stopped and slowly looked behind them towards Gohan, who was looking at them innocently.

"He's traveled around a ton… maybe he'll know?"

Raditz, who was standing behind Gohan, placed his hand on the boy's shoulder. "Glad you remember that I'm the expert here, kid." With grace that belayed his size Raditz scooped up Gohan, holding him in one arm as he walked past the group, the Z Fighters all parting to allow him to move to the controls. "Alright, let's see what kind of distress signal it is."

Bulma watched, confused, as Raditz breezed his fingers over the control panel. "What kind?"

Raditz though merely hummed to himself as he pressed a few buttons. "Let's see…"

"-hear this… they are coming closer. We are doing all we can to try and avoid them. Our military tried to fight back but… by the Great One, they s-slaughtered them all. They didn't even care. Bastards." There was a pause on the distress call. "I don't know what they are doing now. Things have gotten quiet. I don't like that. Don't trust it. They are doing something… they aren't going to leave until-" They heard a noise and the person talking, a woman from the sound of it, froze before letting out a sigh. "I'm jumping at every noise. I don't know if anyone will hear this in time… room is supposed to be soundproof so they can't hear me but I still want to be quiet. Don't want them to find me. Especially that leader of theirs… he has such cruel eyes…"

Raditz reached over and flipped off the speaker.

"Its real."

"You're sure?" Goku asked.

"It wasn't a recording. No repeating over and over. And it wasn't professionally done either… not read off a script. Stutters, stops, pauses… you don't think about those if you are setting a trap. You have the person reading try and pull on the heartstrings. 'They are killing all the children! I can hear the babies sobbing!'. There was none of that. Just a desperate woman rambling. Included details we didn't need to know because she's literally trying to fill the airwaves. Hell, you wouldn't have known what it was if you tuned in at the wrong moment. Makes for piss poor bait." Raditz shook his head. "That is a real call for help."

"Alright then," Goku said with a firm nod. "Then we go down there and help." Bulma already moved to turn off the autopiloet.

"I didn't actually say for us to help…" Raditz tried to argue.

"Doesn't matter, we're going," Isco stated. "And I suppose we'll see if you are truly right very soon."

~MC~MC~MC~

"You okay, Kayos?" Krillin asked as I slowly stepped out of the ship, my steps measured. "Its perfectly fine." He took a deep breath to demonstrate that the air was clean and safe. "Smells a bit funny… like wet dog… but otherwise perfectly fine."

"Not worried about that," I said; nearly every planet that had appeared on the show had a breathable atmosphere and while I knew that I had done much to alter canon I didn't think that I had accidently made things realistic enough that air could be poisonous to us. Of course I had formed my version of the Bubblehead Charm for safety's sake…

"Then what's wrong, man?" Yamcha asked.

"I'm stepping onto an alien world."

That caused the two to stop and stare at their own feet before their eyes went wide.

"Oh man, I hadn't even thought about that!" Yamcha declared.

"We landed on an alien planet!" Krillin exclaimed.

"One that is under threat," Senza complained, walking over to us and glaring at the other two. "Mind keeping it down?"

Yamcha shook his head though. "How can you not be freaked out about this?"

Senza smirked. "Are you forgetting that I am an alien? I've been on an alien planet most of my life."

"…oh."

Krillin sniffed. "Still smells like wet dog."

"Be glad it doesn't smell like death and destruction," I commented. "I'll take wet dog over burning blood."

"Perhaps some of us should stay in the ship?" Chichi said nervously, glancing at Gohan who was looking about with wide eyes.

Raditz huffed at that. "Where's your pride, woman? Gohan can take out anything of danger on this planet."

"Excuse me?!" Chichi snarled, taking a step forward, tail twitching.

It was, of all people, Goku who spoke up. "Raditz is right though, Chichi! Focus your senses… I don't feel any high power levels nearby."

Chichi narrowed her eyes, sweeping them across the horizon before finally relaxing. But only a touch. "Very well… I suppose you are right. I don't sense anything too dangerous out there."

"Still, perhaps it would be wise to have the ship remain in a holding pattern?" Isco suggested. "We can fly up to it but it would keep it from being a target."

"You just want to protect your body," I teased.

"Of course," Isco stated, his tone making it clear he thought we were all stupid for assuming anything but that.

"Come on guys!" Bulma said, waving to us. She was in her power armor, drones flying about her as she motioned for us to follow her. "I'm picking up the source of the signal!"

"Remember, if this is a trap we mock her for it," I muttered, Krillin snickering at that while Senza nodded before starting out. "Isco, scan everything," I asked.

"Yes sir. I assume you are using your magic to check for threats."

"Even if the distress call is real you heard it… something was attacking and whatever it was it terrified that woman. I'm not walking into this blind. If something is out there we are going to hit it hard before it shows up."

"I am in agreement." He paused. "And if it turns out the people of this planet are the guilty ones and the 'threat' is the innocent party?"

"We do all we can to get Goku to see that because you know he won't."

We fell silent.

The planet was an odd one. The ground was purple but it was a dark muted purple. Not royal in color or bright neon but rather a black with purple haze, like spilled oil that had been allowed to dry. The grass was green but far darker and longer than what we might normally see on earth, also with muted colors. Large evergreen trees rose up around us but their trunks were like corkscrews rather than the straight ones I was used to. And in the distant were massive brown-gray mountains that towered over the valley we were in. I glanced up at the dark sky and frowned, finding myself set on edge by the strangeness of it all. It was like walking outside to find, thanks to a fog or smoke, the sky hazy and orange and everything tinted oddly. It made you nervous and feeling worried even though nothing was wrong. Like a room where everything was slightly crooked or there was a distant chirping you couldn't identify. It didn't matter if there was nothing wrong… it FELT like something was wrong and it made your skin crawl.

"Sir, I'm detecting lifeforms," Isco stated. "Directly ahead… it appears to be some sort of settlement, as the life shows a similar nutrient build as this planet."

"Alright, time to see how dangerous this is," I muttered as I rose into the air, the others matching me after hearing what Isco had said. "Come on guys… let's go!"

We rocketed off and after a minute or two spotted a large town, half in ruins and with smoke streaming from several buildings. At least I assumed they were buildings. They were… oddly shaped. I was used to many homes on Earth being round or domed shape, though there were just as many that were far more standard. But the ones I saw in the village were square with a second smaller square shape on the top, like a block set upon a larger one. And on top of the ones that were intact I could see that there were small gardens, filled with orange and pink plants.

"I don't see any-"

A laser bolt struck me right in the chest.

Center mass.

Kill shot.

I looked down and frowned, patting myself.

"That… is new," I muttered to myself.

"You might not have a lot of ki but you have gotten stronger," Senza commented to me. "I imagine at this point your magic works just like our ki and automatically flares up to protect you from minor threats without you even realizing it."

"Well, that's-"

Another shot struck my forehead.

"That is annoying," I muttered as the shots became far more frequent. None of us bothered to retaliate, seeing as the shots weren't actually doing any harm. I noticed (though Chichi thankfully didn't) one actually manage to hit Gohan who just blinked and tried to look crosseyed to see if it had left a mark (it hadn't).

After a few minutes it got annoying.

"Why don't we just let these fools know we want to help?" Raditz complained, folding his arms over his chest.

Tien sighed. "We go down too quick and they might hurt themselves. Think it is useless and try and kill themselves." He paused. "We don't want that, Raditz."

"I suppose…" he muttered.

I glanced over at Isco. "You mind doing…"

"Of course, sir," Isco said before turning his head downward and unleashing a full speaker declaration. "Attention citizens of this world! We received a distress call that you needed help! We would be more than happy to turn around and go on our merry way and leave you to suffer in agonizing pain if that is what you wish-"

The shooting stopped.

"I think we could still go…" Isco said but I shook my head as someone stuck their head out the window, blaster still trained on us.

"Okay… so they are dog people, right? I'm just not seeing things, right?" I asked.

Krillin shrugged. "Yeah, dog people. Not seeing the big deal… I honestly thought that aliens would look more… otherworldly."

'I suppose when your King is a blue dog…' I thought to myself as I stared at the dog woman that was leaning out the window, still training her rifle at me. She had mostly black fur but there were a few touches of brown and pure white on along her muzzle and running down her face. She was a big woman, muscular and thickly built. Powerful. But I could see from the way she looked at me that while she was willing to fight the very last thing she wanted to do was fight us.

"WHO ARE YOU!" she, for lack of a better world, barked out.

"My name is Avo Kayos!" I called back. "And you are?"

"…I AM SENNEN," she replied. I began to descend, keeping my hands raised. But when the others began to follow she lifted her gun up. "Just you!" she shouted. "No one else."

I glanced at the others. "You heard her."

"You sure?" Goku asked and I nodded.

Sennen watched me with a critical eye as I continued to lower down towards her roof. "Listen… we have people that can help. Not just fighters. Chichi, she's the one in the blue gi, knows healing. The one in the armor is a great inventor… she can help you as well. Though judging from how you are all set up I'm assuming that it is the warriors and fighters you need."

"It is," Sennen commented… before pointing the gun at me once more. "Does your master value you?"

"…I'm going to need to know who you think my master is," I said.

"The dark haired one."

"Need more than that."

"With spiky hair."

"…that eliminates a few but-"

"The one in golden brown."

"Golden…"I frowned at that before groaning. "Right, you must be color blind. Explains the clashing colors."

"What?"

"Nothing," I said before I looked at the group. "Golden brown… oh." I turned back to Sennen. "Goku isn't my master. He's my friend."

"I have seen how he has commanded the rest of you marauders, invader. I know that what he savagery he can bring. So I ask you again: does he value you?"

"Savagery, what are-"

My mind came to a screeching halt.

The great brown-gray stone hills. They… they weren't hills.

"Oh god no," I whispered before looking at Sennen. "I swear, we aren't the invaders. Goku is of the same species though… that's why he looks so much like the leader of the invaders! Please, let me warn my friends so we can stop it before it fully grows."

"Kayos!" Bulma shouted down to me. "What's wrong?"

"I know what the threat is!" I called out before looking at the dog woman. "It started with a seed… didn't it. And a sapling."

"…yes," she whispered. "You truly-"

"Yeah, not with him." And with that I rocketed up into the air. "Guys… we have a problem." Even as I reached my friends I still continued to fly up, forcing them to give chase. "A big problem."

"What is it?" Chichi asked as we reached high enough to finally see.

The great gray-brown structures latched onto the ground, feeding off the planet, all leading to the great leafy structure that was slowly swelling like a pimple upon the face of the planet.

"The Tree of Might," I whispered.

NEXT TIME

THE TREE OF MIGHT