-----
-----
Goku staggered back and collapsed onto the ground, mumbling to himself in guilt.
Seeing Goku's vacant, lifeless stare, Vegeta opened his mouth several times as if wanting to say something. Maybe he just couldn't stand watching his… friend fall apart like that. In the end, he couldn't hold it in anymore.
"Hmph! Kakarot, doesn't Earth have those weird wish-granting balls? If that's the case, why not just wish them back to life? Idiot."
"Huh—oh! You're right! How did I forget that? I must've been too sad to think straight. Thanks, Vegeta!" Goku bounced up from the ground instantly, back to his usual self.
"Hmph. To get this worked up over a few weaklings… what a disgrace to Saiyans." Vegeta turned away with his usual arrogant pout.
"But… the Dragon Balls were just used. We'll have to wait another year." Only a moment later, Goku remembered that unfortunate detail and deflated again.
"Look, dragging it out doesn't make it easier, so let me crush your hope a second time..." Broly paused, then added,
"Piccolo and Kami are the same being. Piccolo's dead, so Kami should've died too. And once Kami dies, the Dragon Balls turn to stone. They're gone."
"Uh…" Goku's brief spark of hope vanished again. He opened his mouth to speak, but Broly cut him off.
"Hold on. I'm sensing a really faint energy… flickering, but still there. Someone might still be alive." Broly flew toward the source of the weak ki and gently tapped the ground with his right foot.
The earth immediately split, leaving a crater. At its center was a small figure buried in the dirt—wearing black clothes, with a monkey-like tail. Only part of his body was visible.
"Gohan! Thank goodness, he's still alive!" Goku also felt that faint ki and hurried to dig him out, pulling his son into his arms.
"Here." Broly tossed Goku three senzu beans. Goku caught them, tossed one to Vegeta, ate one himself, and fed the last to Gohan.
"Mm… Dad? I'm alive? Wait—Uncle Piccolo? Where's Uncle Piccolo? And Uncle Krillin?" As Gohan woke up, his confusion faded and he remembered the last thing he saw before blacking out. He grabbed Goku's clothes anxiously.
"They… they're gone." After forcing those six words out, Gohan broke into loud sobs. Watching his son cry, Goku felt his own heart sink.
"Damn it… is there really nothing we can do?"
"Not necessarily. I heard that Kami and Piccolo are from another planet—Planet Namek. Vegeta knows this too. If we go to Kami's homeworld and find the remaining Namekians, maybe there's a way to bring them back."
"But do you even know where Planet Namek is?"
"No idea," Broly admitted before Goku could answer. "But I can find out."
He raised his voice. "Hey! North Kai! Quit watching like it's a show—you heard everything. Can you find Namek's coordinates?"
"Tch. As a Kai, of course I know. Give me a moment, I'll check the records and scan the direction." North Kai's voice echoed into everyone's ears. Hearing there was still hope to revive Piccolo and Krillin, Goku and Gohan lit up again.
A moment later, North Kai returned as the universe's talkative narrator, explaining Kami's origins, Namek's history, and finally giving them the coordinates once his antenna picked up the signal.
Everyone listening felt their heads spin. "North Kai, please hold on a second!"
Broly vanished with Instant Transmission and reappeared a few seconds later—this time holding a slender, elegant hand.
"Bulma, these coordinates or whatever—they're gibberish to me. You figure out the fastest way to get there. Okay, North Kai, repeat the coordinates!" He immediately dumped the entire messy task onto their resident genius.
After working it out, Bulma frowned. "I've got the direction… but Namek is ridiculously far. With Earth's current tech, flying there would take around four thousand years."
She looked genuinely troubled—and irritated. This was one of the few serious tasks Broly had given her, and the result felt so useless she couldn't help feeling annoyed.
Broly waved it off. "Don't worry. We've got Vegeta's space pod. Take it apart and study it. Maybe you can build a bigger ship. Assuming Vegeta's okay with donating it?" Broly shot Vegeta an amused look.
He had thought about just conjuring a ship himself, but dismissed the idea. Anything too low-grade wasn't worth summoning, anything high-grade was a waste since he had Instant Transmission… and honestly, giving the girls something to keep them busy sounded like a good idea.
"Vegeta, you—" Goku started, but didn't finish.
A black blur shot at Goku's face. He caught it and found a device that looked like a remote control.
"Hmph. Bunch of nonsense. You're cutting into my training time." Vegeta tilted his chin up, then flew off.
"What is this? How do you use it?" Goku stared at the device, just as confused as ever.
…
Back home, Bulma said a quick hello to Chi-Chi, Launch, and Marron. The four of them immediately dove into research to modify the ship. Broly, with nothing better to do, headed into space to practice his mimic-Super Saiyan transformation.
Just as he reached outer space, a system notification rang in his ears:
Fourth mission complete. Reward: Four 'Destined Love Threads.'Points: 80,000.Fifth mission will begin when the ship departs for Planet Namek.
Two months passed. After endless work, Bulma and the other three finally combined the best parts of the Saiyan pods and the ship Kami used to come to Earth—creating a brand-new spacecraft.
It… ended up looking kind of like a squid.
"....."