Ch. 44: Namek Bound!

"Now, that's a spaceship!" Krillin shouted, admiring the huge ship in front of him. He and Piccolo were already at Capsule Corp, where Bulma, her father, and Gohan's old friend Mr. Robot were going over last minute, unnecessary checks to ensure that the spaceship that the Core Girls had built by referencing Goku and Kami's old spaceships was working correctly.

"I'll say. It's a marvel of engineering, you know. I don't think that Capsule Corp technology can replicate this thing at all, you know! It's just too advanced, though it seems to be based off the technology that we found in whatever was left of Raditz's space pod, it's been improved immensely!" Dr. Brief exclaimed, still excited by the spacecraft in front of him. After a full two months of investigating the thing, he understood about half of how it worked, but the other half was a total mystery. He wanted to make a duplicate of it, but he wasn't even sure if he could make something capable of flight off the knowledge that he'd managed to understand from analyzing the thing.

"So we'll be fine living in it for a full week?" Piccolo asked.

"Absolutely. The ship has been tested in every environment imaginable. It is incredibly safe, and the supplies inside seem to be nearly unlimited. Even accounting for Saiyans' normal dietary needs, five people should be able to survive inside of that ship for up to five years without problems. The air seems to filter itself automatically, as well." Mr. Robot, who Bulma had rebuilt as her lab assistant, informed Piccolo.

Piccolo nodded in satisfaction, "Alright, then. It seems that we're just waiting for Gohan and Hanna to arrive, then."

"Well, they better hurry up. We're leaving today, and I don't think that Shay wants us to leave without them." Bulma said, clear irritation in her voice. She was wearing a heavy spacesuit, and probably just wanted to get off planet as soon as possible.

"You're right. You can't leave without all five of you on board. The ship won't allow it." Shay agreed. She was standing by the launch pad as well, irritated that her Mistress wasn't right by her side at the moment. 

"H-hey! Goku!" A flying red car pulled up beside the launch pad. Before it could land completely, Goku and Hanna opened the doors and jumped out of it.

"Goku! Don't jump out of moving cars! You're setting a bad example for our children!" Chichi yelled at her husband after she and Ox King got out of the car. Goku rubbed his head, sheepishly nodding along with his wife's beration.

"Aw, it's not like he's harming anything." Raditz said, having flown there beside the car.

"You stay out of this, you uncivilized monkey!" Chichi yelled.

"Should've expected that!" Krillin whispered to Roshi, who nodded in agreement.

"Anyways, sorry we're late. Chichi went a little overboard packing." Goku apologized.

"I just hope that spaceship has a really big cargo bay! Looks like it, though. Now that's a spaceship!" Ox King agreed with Goku.

"That's what I said!" Krillin agreed.

Chichi opened the passenger's side door and urged Gohan to get out of the car, "Come on, Gohan! Everyone's waiting for you."

Gohan didn't leave the car. Goku and I could barely contain our laughter.

"What's wrong? Why won't you come out?" Chichi asked, that motherly worry in her voice. Gohan was a sucker for that sort of thing. After a little more hesitation, he finally left the car, head down. Seeing everyone's reaction to his looks made Goku and I unable to hold it in anymore, and we broke down laughing for like the dozenth time since Chichi dressed him.

He looked like a schoolboy, complete with a suit, tie, and a bowl cut. 

"Uh?!" Even Piccolo had trouble not laughing at that one. Due to his self-preservation instincts, Goku was still doing his best to stifle his laughter, but it was a far harder battle than the one against Vegeta had been, and he quickly lost. Luckily, as his sister, I had a right that my father didn't: The right to laugh at my little brother whenever I wanted, however long I wanted. I was rolling on the ground.

"It's not that funny, Hanna." Gohan chided me, embarrassed. Unlike me, Gohan was still stuck with mom's 'super mom' mode. She fussed over him constantly, to an abnormal degree. As Gohan started looking around, his eyes landed on a certain robot. His face lit up like a christmas tree.

"Mr. Robot! You're alive! But I thought you died!?" He immediately ran up to the robot and gave it a hug. Though parts of the robot's design had changed, the robot overall looked almost exactly the same as Gohan remembered.

The robot hugged him back. During their stay in that cave about a year ago, Gohan and this robot had become close. So, I'd saved it and given it to Bulma to repair. This was the first time that Gohan had been to Capsule Corp to realize that. "It's nice to see you again, Gohan. Miss Hanna over there saved me after the cave collapsed. She brought me to Miss Bulma, who repaired me.

"Thank you, Hanna, Bulma!" Gohan thanked us both, smiling from ear to ear. Then, he realized something, "Wait... Hanna, were you watching over me the whole time that I was out there?"

"I couldn't let my little brother face the wilderness alone." I admitted, "But I didn't want to interfere with your growth, either, so I made sure to pick up a few of the friends you made along the way."

"Yeah... I figured that out when you mentioned training Pigero..." His countenance fell, remembering Pigero's sacrifice.

"Hey, Gohan. Don't blame anyone for what happened. Hanna's training saved me, and I chose to die in order to stop you from hurting anyone else." They all heard a voice. Gohan and I immediately recognized it.

"Pigero, is that you?" I asked, realizing what was going on.

"And Yamcha! After we met up in otherworld, we decided to challenge Snake Way. We're at King Kai's place right now."

"Yeah, they made really good time, though they couldn't quite beat yours, Goku." King Kai told us.

"Pigero, I'm sorry. I'm the one who put you in that position. I should have gotten there faster." I apologized.

"At least he was able to have a good fight! That Vegeta guy was insane. You sure you did the right thing, letting him go, Goku?"

"Yeah. I know I did." Goku firmly told him.

"Alright. I trust you. Next time, with the Kaio-ken on my side, I'll become strong enough to take Vegeta down all by myself, then!" Yamcha bragged to them.

"And this time, I'll teach them both the full Kaio-ken. Mine doesn't kill people instantly." King Kai told me, annoyed.

"I told him not to use it!" I argued.

"It was totally my fault. I wasn't strong enough. Don't either of you dare feel bad, you got me?" Pigero scolded me and Gohan both.

"But... Pigero..." Gohan looked to be on the verge of tears.

"Seriously, Gohan. Remember what I told you when we parted ways the first time. Some things are just out of our control. Let's just do what we can, and move on with our lives, okay? The dragon balls will bring us both back just fine." Pigero reminded him. 

"Uhn!" Gohan nodded.

"Anyways, tell Bulma, wherever she is, that I miss her, and I'll be back soon, stronger than ever, okay!? See ya later!" Yamcha said his goodbyes.

"Yeah, I'll be stronger than ever, too. See you guys then." Pigero echoed Yamcha's sentiments before their voices disappeared, King Kai having cut the connection.