The sun had begun its slow descent by the time Yamcha, Goku, and Krillin touched down outside Kame House. The air was warm, the waves gentle, but the atmosphere snapped taut the instant their feet hit the sand.
They didn't even have time to straighten their posture.
Because they were immediately swarmed.
"GOKU!!"
"YAMCHA!!"
"KRILLIN!!"
Bulma, Chi-Chi, Roshi, and the kids all rushed forward in a chaotic wave of fear, relief, and frantic shouting.
Bulma reached Yamcha first. Toshi clung to her mother's neck, but the moment she saw Yamcha…
"DADDY!"
Her little arms stretched out toward him, trembling.
Yamcha barely had time to brace before Bulma all but threw herself at him, one arm around his waist, the other keeping Toshi from flinging herself too hard into his bruised ribs.
"You… You idiot!" Bulma snapped, voice cracking between anger and sobs. "You scared the hell out of me! What the hell were you thinking, taking on a giant monster alone like that?!"
"I wasn't alone," Yamcha said softly, resting a hand on her back. Toshi buried her face in his chest, tiny hands fisting his torn gi. "And I'm okay. I promise."
"You coughed up blood, Yamcha!" Bulma pulled back just enough to check his face, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. She moved on to his chest, then his arms like she expected something to fall off any moment. "You look like you went through a blender! What…how…why?!"
"Bulma, honey, breath," Yamcha whispered, smiling tiredly.
Her eyes filled with tears again and she punched him in the shoulder.
"Don't you Bulma-honey me! You scared me half to death!"
"Ow, okay, I deserved that one."
Nearby, Chi-Chi had Goku in a death grip, shaking him back and forth like a rag doll.
"What were you THINKING?! Fighting a monster like THAT?! And you didn't even tell me you had a BROTHER! Or that your brother was a homicidal space maniac!"
Goku laughed nervously. "Heh… yeah… sorry about that…I didn't know until today either."
"And look at you! Bruised everywhere! Your clothes are practically ashes! Your hair is—well your hair's the same but STILL!" She jabbed a finger at his chest. "We are having a VERY long talk when we get home."
"Uh…" Goku rubbed the back of his head. "Can I eat first?"
"NO!"
Goku winced.
Gohan, peeking from behind Chi-Chi's leg, tugged on his father's scorched pants. "D-Daddy…? You're okay, right?"
Goku softened instantly and scooped his son up. "Yeah buddy. I'm okay."
Gohan sniffed and hugged him tight.
Behind the couples, Roshi whacked Krillin on the head with his cane. "You reckless brat! Running off like that! You could have been killed! Did you forget we can't bring you back again?"
Krillin rubbed at the bump forming on his head and chuckled weakly, "I know Master Roshi, it's just…"
He grew serious at that. Roshi, sensing his student's mood change, sobered as well.
"I couldn't just let them fight alone. If they had died, Kami would be gone too. That way nobody could be brought back. If it meant sacrificing myself to save the planet…"
A small, proud smile found its way to Roshi's aged face. "Foolish as it was," he placed a steady hand on Krillin's shoulder, "You did well. I'm proud to call you a student of the Turtle School."
Krillin grinned, a small blush forming at the praise, but a warm sense of pride bloomed in his chest all the same.
The reunions went on for nearly a minute; a chaotic swirl of hugging, yelling, crying, relief, and more yelling.
But eventually…
Roshi noticed something.
"Hey… where's the tall green guy with the cape?"
Goku glanced over his shoulder.
"Oh, Piccolo? He left already."
Chi-Chi stiffened. "Left? After all that he just… LEFT?"
Krillin swallowed, guilt flickering in his expression. "Can't… really blame him,"
Before he could continue, Yamcha cut him off. The subject of Saiyans could be brought up once everyone calmed down a bit. It had absolutely nothing to do with Bulma currently being the only thing holding him upright.
"Hey. Nice throw, by the way," He nodded towards Krillin.
Krillin's cheeks reddened. "Y-Yeah, well… somebody had to save you guys."
Goku grinned. "You were awesome, Krillin!"
Krillin beamed, even through the lingering fear. "Heh. You think so?"
"Absolutely," Yamcha said. "We'd be dead without that disc."
Krillin puffed out his chest, then immediately deflated. "Still… I didn't do nearly as much as you two…"
Yamcha shook his head. "That's why we're a team buddy. Everyone plays their part."
Goku nodded happily. "Yeah! And next time, we'll all be even stronger!"
Before any questions could be asked Yamcha made his suggestion, "Not that I don't enjoy the beachfront view," He took a small step forward staggering and leaning into Bulma harder "But I could really use a seat right about now."
The group laughed, Goku stepping over to shoulder Yamcha's weight.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The interior of Kame House had never felt so small.
Goku and Yamcha sat in the cleared living room, still bruised and battered, but upright. Gohan clung quietly to Chi-Chi's sleeve. Toshi sat in Bulma's lap, wide-eyed but calmer now that Yamcha was close.
Krillin sat cross-legged on the floor, arms wrapped around his knees. Roshi leaned on his staff, unusually serious.
Silence stretched for a long moment.
Then Goku broke it.
"…There are two more."
Chi-Chi's face went white. Bulma stopped stroking Toshi's hair. Even Roshi stiffened.
"Two MORE?!" Krillin squeaked, cracking into a panic instantly. "Two MORE space monsters like that?!"
Yamcha exhaled slowly. "Yeah. And they're stronger than Raditz."
Roshi removed his sunglasses.
"…Stronger?" His voice was small. "That thing destroyed half a mountain range by sneezing."
Bulma swallowed. "How… how much stronger?"
Yamcha didn't sugarcoat it.
"Raditz was weaker than both of them even before transforming."
Krillin made a noise that could only be described as a dying squeak.
Chi-Chi grabbed Gohan tighter. "And… and they're coming here?"
Goku nodded. "In a year."
Bulma paled. "A year?! That's no time at all!"
Yamcha crossed his arms. "Exactly why we need to start planning now."
Roshi cleared his throat. "W-Well… what do you boys plan to do?"
Goku smiled faintly. "Train. Harder than we ever have."
Yamcha nodded. "And not just us. We need everyone. Krillin. Tien. Chiaotzu. Even Yajirobe if we can get him to stop hiding with Master Korin."
Krillin shivered. "Th-Those guys are going to flatten us…"
"Not if we get strong enough first," Yamcha said firmly.
His tone shifted. Hard, determined, leader-like.
"We'll meet at the Lookout. Kami and Popo can help guide the early parts of training. And whether Piccolo likes it or not…"
Yamcha cracked his knuckles.
"..if I have to drag him by his antenna, he's joining too."
Roshi almost choked. "You can't just yank his antenna! Isn't he half of Kami? Surely that's offensive?"
"I sure can," Yamcha muttered. "The planet's survival ranks way higher than his stubborn pride."
Goku laughed nervously. "Yeah… he'll probably join us anyway."
Yamcha snorted. "He better."
And then… came the hard part.
Goku glanced at Gohan. Yamcha at Toshi.
Both men shared a subtle nod, an unspoken agreement.
"…Chi-Chi," Goku began gently, "about Gohan…"
"And Bulma," Yamcha said carefully, "about Toshi-"
Instant recoil.
"What." Chi-Chi's voice was sharp enough to cut steel.
Bulma narrowed her eyes. "No."
Yamcha put his hands up like someone facing a wild animal. "Just hear us out-"
"They're children," Bulma snapped.
"I AGREE," Chi-Chi said, gripping Gohan like he was about to be stolen.
Gohan whimpered. Toshi buried her face in Bulma's shirt.
Goku tried again. "Look, we're not saying they should fight or anything-"
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Chi-Chi barked.
Bulma jabbed a finger. "Toshi is NOT going anywhere near this alien death nonsense."
Yamcha held firm, but softened his voice. "They don't have to fight, I don't want them any closer to the action than you do, but they do need to be able to protect themselves."
Chi-Chi's mouth opened, and froze.
Because even she couldn't forget the image of Raditz almost killing them.
"…I…" she stammered. "…I just want Gohan safe…"
"And I want Toshi safe," Bulma whispered.
Yamcha reached out and rested a hand over hers.
"That's exactly what we want too."
The room quieted.
Goku rubbed the back of his head. "So… maybe just… basic martial arts? Not fighting, just learning. Like we did with Master Roshi?"
Roshi blinked. "Me?"
Bulma nodded slowly. "…Self-defense, not battle training."
Chi-Chi hesitated… then exhaled shakily.
"…Only self-defense. And NO fighting aliens."
Goku grinned. "Deal!"
Yamcha nodded gratefully. "Kami and Popo can also help sometimes. They're incredible with ki control."
Bulma opened her mouth to object…
But Yamcha pulled out the scouter.
Bulma's eyes widened instantly, sparkling like Christmas lights.
"Ohhhhhh what is THAT?!" she gasped, grabbing it out of Yamcha's hand. "Is this…IS THE THING HE WAS USING TO SCAN EVERYONE?"
Yamcha smirked. "Yep. And some of his armor too."
Bulma let out a squeal that nearly blew out Krillin's eardrums.
"This is ALIEN TECH! Ki-tracking ALIEN tech! Do you KNOW how valuable this is?! The material alone, oh my god this wavelength conductor is INCREDIBLE, and the internal matrix!!!"
"Bulma," Yamcha interrupted gently.
She froze.
"Yes, dear?"
He produced a capsule and placed a thumb on the top with a smile.
"Would you like to do the honors of introducing our newest invention?"
A sleek, metallic pod materialized, a cylindrical unit with a curved glass top. Tubes and panels lined its side, glowing with faint blue light. It was about two-thirds the size of a standard rejuvenation tank.
Bulma puffed her chest proudly.
"Behold!!! The B-Type Accelerated Recovery Chamber!"
Krillin gawked. "A WHAT now?"
"Basically," Yamcha said, "a healing pod."
Bulma flicked her hair smugly. "Beta version. It works faster than natural healing by about… oh… 600%. Not as good as a senzu bean or whatever, but if we can get enough materials, we can make several."
Yamcha gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. "She spent years developing this."
Toshi clapped excitedly. "Mama's so cool!"
Goku's jaw dropped. "Whoa… Bulma… this is AMAZING!"
Krillin nodded rapidly. "We're gonna need a LOT of those, huh?"
Roshi, for once, looked deeply impressed. "Oh ho ho… you two really have been preparing."
Bulma crossed her arms, cheeks warming. "Someone had to. You boys break yourselves way too often."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Far across the void, two pods floated through the dark, streaking across starlight.
Inside the larger one, a massive bald Saiyan with a mustache lounged with his hands behind his head.
In the smaller pod, another Saiyan watched a flickering hologram.
The last recording of Raditz's scouter.
A single clip looping on repeat.
The sound of tearing flesh.
Breaking bones.
Pleading for mercy
And a power spike reading: 8400.
Nappa swallowed a lump in his throat.
"…Uh… Vegeta…? The other readings were trash, but…"
The hologram flickered, Yamcha shouting mid-barrage.
Another scream from Raditz.
Power reading flashing:
8400
8400
8400
Vegeta's eyes narrowed, a cruel smirk forming.
"Hmph. Raditz was a clown. If he died, he deserved it."
"But Vegeta… eight thousand four hundred!"
"Is NOTHING compared to me."
Vegeta cut him off, vitriol creeping into his tone at Nappa's perceived cowardice.
"We're going. The Dragon Balls are real. And whoever killed Raditz…"
A dark smile curved his lips.
"…They're still nothing compared to the prince of all Saiyans!"
The pods adjusted their trajectory, rocketing through the void of space to a green and blue a year's journey away. .