3 Months after the Piccolo incident…

-In a distant Red Ribbon facility by Ginger Town-

"Come now, you little runt! It's time for your weekly status check." Said Commander Black. He pushed the white haired boy forward towards a machine. "You know the drill! Punch the damn thing."

"...Fine." Cayde winded his fist back. He thrusted it deep into the machine, pushing it back a few feet. "There. Happy now?"

"Hmm... Five tons of force... Your strength is improving quicker than I thought possible." Black said.

"Yeah... I suppose it is." Cayde responded.

"Onto your next test." Black demanded.

Cayde stepped on a treadmill looking machine and automatically started running.

Commander Black observed the boy's incredible speed. "Three hundred and fifty miles per hour in three seconds... Your speed as increased twenty five percent since the last test."

"That's good...Right?" Cayde asked.

"Yes. That is optimal growth for you. You're advancing quickly. At this rate you'll be unstoppable against those two monkey brats. Take pride in your abilities and use them to your advantage." Black said to him.

"I still don't get why I have to do all of this. I mean, how much stronger do you need me to be? I'm pretty sure I can take them both on as I am right now." Cayde spoke.

"Look kid...I'm only here to keep you in shape. You want answers? Then talk to Red about it."

"Gee thanks for the useful information. That really helps me out…" Cayde said sarcastically.

"No need for the smartass remarks. I just telling you how it is." Black walked over to a nearby door. He then stopped and faced Cayde. "Get yourself situated. We're leaving in about two hours."

"To go and do what?"

"Your first REAL mission." Black said with narrowed eyes.

"...Am I going to have to fight?"

"Most likely. Then again, that all depends on you. Red wants to see what you can handle so far. Your strength is admirable but your mentality may be lacking." Black told him.

"In what regard?" Cayde asked. The boy still didn't understand what the older man was saying.

"Those two little boys with the tails, you said that you'd have no problem with fighting them, correct?"

"Yeah. The one that I faced during the tournament was an easy opponent. I didn't even have to try my hardest against him." Cayde said.

"That's good and all, but do you think that you could kill him?" Black asked. His voice holding nothing but seriousness. "Can you kill him and his brother without thinking twice about it?"

"...Yes...I can." Cayde said in his usual chilling voice.

Black nodded. "...Can you kill innocent people? People who have never wronged you in any sort of way?"

"...It makes no difference. The only person that I will never kill is my sister. Nobody else matters to me." Cayde said.

Black looked at him with a distant face. "Do keep that in mind when we go out on your next mission. Commander Red is keeping tabs on you at all times so make sure you impress him. He may be cruel, but he's also willing to reward good work to those that deserve it."

Cayde nodded but said nothing as he took a seat on a nearby bench. Black sighed and walked out of the room leaving Cayde to dwell on his thoughts.

"...No...It doesn't make any difference. I'm fighting to protect her. I'm not wrong...this doesn't make me a criminal or a villain." He said to himself. His words were faint and held a hint a disdain. He spoke, but didn't truly believe in his own words. "My own village...My people...They all died! Karona is all I have left…" He stared down at his tender hands and glared. He knew what he had to do and he wasn't afraid of the consequences.

-At the Kame House-

~WHAM~

Faster than a speeding bullet, Goku buried his fist deep into his brother's abdomen and followed up with an uppercut to his chin, knocking the spit out of him mouth.

Using the the momentum of his head snapping backwards, Rento backflipped and kicked Goku up into the air. Rento held his chin with a pained expression.

"Don't you think that you're taking this a little too far? That punch really hurt!" Rento growled.

Goku looked at him with his usual grin. "Sorry bro. I guess I got a little carried away."

Rento scoffed at his brother's carelessness but then flashed a grin. "Fine. If you wanna kick this up then let's go again!"

"Now you're talkin! Let's give it everything we've got!" Goku said happily.

The two brothers charged at each other and clashed fist. Stepping to the side, Rento launched a roundhouse kick at Goku, which was caught by said grinning boy. Goku swung him around and flung him towards a nearby palm tree. Rento twisted his body in the air and pushed off of the tree with his legs once he made contact. He flew forward and punched Goku in his chest.

Goku skidded back a little bit but was able to quickly recover and jump forward. He kicked Rento straight in the face as a response to his previous attack. Rento's legs buckled and he was currently seeing stars. Using this to his advantage, Goku took the time palm strike his brother. He pushed Rento back with a little bit of ki, sending him flying towards the same palm tree. Only difference was that this time, Rento smash back first through the large plant.

Rento struggled to get to his feet and hissed at the pain in his back. "Fine! You wanna use ki, huh?" Rento charged up a small yellow orb in his hand. He jumped up and tossed it down at Goku.

"Woah!" Goku shouted as he jumped back, barely avoiding the small blast. This however led to Rento's knee slamming directly into Goku's small back. Rento cocked a fist back and swung it at Goku's face with ferocity. A loud whack echoed throughout the entire island.

Goku's head slammed into the sand, leaving an imprint of his face. Goku placed a hand on his bleeding nose and glared.

"Rento! That was a cheap move!" Goku yelled angrily.

"Nothing cheap about it. I only made an opening and followed through with a solid attack. It really wasn't that hard…" Rento said with a shrug.

"Oh yeah?" Goku said with a glare. He kicked Rento's knee in and watched as he dropped to the ground.

"Ok now that was a cheap move…" Rento muttered.

"Oh but Rento...That was an effective strat-"

~WHACK~

Rento punched his brother in the gut, effectively cutting him off.

"Ow! Rento!" Goku hissed.

The two boys began to sprawl around on the ground aggressively. Goku was strangling Rento while Rento continued throwing punches at Goku.

"Scumbag!" Goku growled.

"Piece of crap!" Rento barked.

The two then decided to engage in a quick fist fight as the sun began to set.

Meanwhile…

Inside of the Kame House, Krillin was currently meditating in the living room. Launch was preparing dinner for everyone. She made extra portions for the two wild brothers fighting out front. Roshi sitting cross legged as he watched Karona try to bring out her ki.

"Why...isn't it working?!" Karona asked with frustration.

"You just have to relax and take it slow. You're trying to force it outta yourself. It won't work if you're all tensed up." Roshi explained.

Karona continued to focus on her two opened hands. She knew that she felt it, she just couldn't bring it out. That was her current issue. It aggravated her to no end when she saw how easily Krillin. Rento and Goku both were able to form ki and use it effectively in combat. She remembered how Cayde was able to do it with little trouble and continued to question on whether or not she could to.

"...I am relaxed!" Karona barked at the old man. She continued to focus until she decided that enough was enough. She dropped her hands and slammed her fist against the floor. Her snow white hair spilled in her face, hiding her defeated expression. "Why?! I don't get it! I should be just as capable of making ki blasts the others. Why is it that I'm the only one of us that is struggling?"

"Using you ki isn't easy for everyone. Some struggle with it more than others." Roshi spoke as he placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"Master Roshi is right. Goku and I mastered ki pretty quickly, but Rento struggles with it the most. That didn't stop him from trying though. Even though he's still the weakest with ki, he's the only one of us that was able to use it to fly a little." Krillin added.

"See. Everybody is still learning to master the use of ki. Some just struggle with it more. It's not the easiest thing to grasp." Roshi told her.

~BAM~

The front suddenly door flung wide open. The two brothers were shoving each other back and forth with intense glares. Both were scratched up and bleeding all over. They were practically covered in bruises.

"Watch it! You almost stepped on my tail you scumbag!" Goku snapped.

"Then quit dragging your feet and move it you butt rag!" Rento yelled.

"You wanna go again?!" Goku asked, sizing his brother up.

"I dunno...depends on if you're ready for another beatdown."

"Don't make me laugh! Let me know when your kamehameha is better than mine." Goku stuck his tongue out at his brother.

Rento rolled his eyes at him and huffed out an annoyed breath. "I swear…"

"Are you both done with your little sparring match?" Roshi asked.

"Yeah! I WON!" Both boys shouted in unison, which lead to another glaring match between the two.

"I hope you guys are hungry. I made fried pork, dumplings, rice-" Launch started as she walked into the living room with her apron still on. Roshi was staring at her for a noticeably long time.

"FOOD!!!" Both brothers shouted happily. They completely forgot about their little dispute and ran straight into the kitchen and admired the spread of the food.

"Eat as much as you like." Launch said with a happy smile.

"Save some for the rest of us!" Krillin said, already knowing what was to come from the two when it involved food.

Everyone sat at the table enjoying their meal. Some enjoyed it a little more than others. While Roshi, Krillin and Launch were used to the eating habits of the two brothers, Karona was not. Needless to say, she was still disgusted with their table manners.

"This is my third month here and I still can't stand the way they eat." Karona said. Krillin laughed at her comment.

"Don't worry. I don't think any of us will ever really get over how much they eat. You just learn to try and ignore it.

Goku and Rento were on their sixth helping of everything with no signs of slowing down. They shredded through just about everything.

"Launch...This is...SOOOO GOOD!" Goku said in between bites.

"Yefmfmf thimfmf mm the besmmff!" Rento spoke with his mouth full.

"You two are absolutely disgusting." Karona said with a glare.

Rento swallowed and returned the glare. "It's not our fault that it's so good!"

"Would it kill you to slow down just a little bit?!"

"Uh...Yes! I'm a growing boy. I gotta eat to be strong! The quicker I eat, the quicker I can go back to training!" Rento said wholeheartedly.

"You're going to go out and do MORE training?!" Karona asked with confusion.

"Well duh. What else am I supposed to do? We're on a distant island with like five trees on it. I might as well keep pushing myself." Rento told her.

"What he said…" Goku said before continuing to eat.

"Don't you think that you're overdoing it? I mean, you guys train all day, every day. You literally eat sleep and train. Doesn't that get a little...repetitive?" She asked.

Both brothers paused their eating and glanced at each other. "Nope!" They said together.

"Face it Karona. Those to a determined to be the best. All they think about food and fighting." Krillin said with a chuckle. The monk had gotten used to the tendencies of the two brothers. They were both pass about fighting and he took note of that. Even though he was on similar ground with them, he could tell that they were much more determined to get better. Not only did they love fighting, but they also took their "sibling rivalry" rivalry to a whole new level. They always fought against each other to be the best. It was just the way they were.

-Later that Night-

Karona watched as both of the brothers competed to see who could do the most push ups. This took place after their sit up challenge. After Goku had bested his brother in the competition, he decided to turn in for the night. Rento chose to stay out longer and train on his own much like he usually did. Karona noticed that every time Goku would beat Rento at something, he stay outside even longer and push himself to do better. He'd tell at himself and throw a tantrum. She couldn't tell if he was a perfectionist or if he just had something against losing to Goku. Either way, she found it interesting.

As Goku walked inside of the house, he noticed that Karona was staring outside of the window. "What are you still doing up?" He asked her.

"Oh uh...I'm just trying to see how you guy train with each other." She said, slightly embarrassed from being reprimanded by Goku.

"Why?" He asked as he scratched his head. "it's it's not like we're doing anything out of the ordinary. They were only push ups…"

"Why does Rento always stay out so late? He looks exhausted, plus it'd be better if he just went to bed and got a good amount of rest." She asked.

"I'm not entirely sure. H

I know that he hates to lose though. I think that pisses him of more than anything. I dunno...He's kinda weird like that, ya know?" Goku said with his grin.

"Well, I mean...Nobody likes to lose. That doesn't explain why he decides to kill himself with EXTRA training at midnight."

"Well...Why don't you go ask him. I'm gonna go hit the sack. I'm beat!" Goku said before heading upstairs. "Goodnight." He said to her. She nodded in response and looked back outside the window as Rento collapsed on the sand. The white haired girl sighed. She walked over to the fridge, grabbed two water bottles and headed out the front door.

On the small beach of the island, Rento was bashing his fist repeatedly into the ground. "DAMNIT!" He shouted. The brown haired boy grit his teeth with pure rage. He couldn't understand what was happening. Everything wasn't adding up in his head. Every day he'd come outside to challenge his twin brother, he would lose by a very small margin. Small or not, a lose was still a lose in his mind and it drove him insane. All his life, he felt like he was the older brother, regardless of if they were twins or not. He felt responsible for his brother and felt as if he was supposed to be the stronger fighter in order to protect him.

Rento slowly sat up. He wiped his face clean of his angered tears and glared at the dirt.

"Didn't peg you as the crying type." Karona said to Rento.

He brushed her off and scowled. "Why are you even out here? Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"I could asked you the same thing." She said back with a raised brow.

"It's none of your business!" Rento glared at her.

Karona sighed at the boy and plopped down next to him. She held out a bottle of water to him. He glanced at it for a moment before snatching it from her.

"You know it's not healthy to overexert yourself, right?" The white haired girl said to him.

"...I don't care…" Rento's voice was low a gravelly, as it he'd snap at any given moment.

"Ugh! What's with you boys! I get that you want to improve which is understandable, but why do you always kill out yourself at risk just to out due the other?!" She asked.

"It's not about that!" Rento suddenly yelled. This caused Karona to jump a bit. She was frightened by the boys suddenly outburst. Her light blue eyes widened at him.

Silence formed between the two of them. The sounds of the waves crashing against each other mixed with the noticeable strong, tropical, night time breeze. The breeze caused the palm trees to sway, creating the subtle sound reminiscent to a rattle.

The silence remained until Karona decided to break it. "Then what is it about?" She asked him.

"...It's about my grandfather. When he passed away, Goku was all I had left in this world. I told myself I I'd keep him safe and look after him, but then Goku continued to get stronger and learn things quicker. I mean...Don't get me wrong. I love my brother and everything, but sometimes I can't help but get a little envious of him. I don't know why I'm like this all of a sudden. Maybe it's because of how I fought against that Piccolo guy...Maybe I'm just too prideful...I can't really explain it yet, but I always grew up thinking that I was meant to be way better than Goku. Even though we're the same age, I can't help but take responsibility for him. It's so bizarre to me. Once we moved to Master Roshi's place, he's been more inclined to get stronger without me. He more self reliant and deep down, it kinda makes me feel...inadequate." Rento spoke. He never made eye contact with her. He only started at the ground with a hard look.

"..." Karona wasn't entirely sure what to say. She came out here expecting him to just want to get stronger for the sake of being the best. Not because he's still protective of his twin brother.

"Heh...I know it's selfish, but that's just how it is. If I'm not stronger than him, then I can't do what I promised myself back when grandpa died. I have to keep pushing myself." He told her.

"You know...I want to help my brother, too. He's all alone right now and he needs my help. I know he's a lot stronger than me so that's why I'm here. I want to get better just like everyone else. You, Goku, and Krillin are all improving. That motivates me to try harder. Only problem with you is that you don't rest. I can tell that you're overdoing because you're sore every day, your eyes all still red from your lack of sleep, and you keep getting new wounds that don't heal."

Rento looked at her with a confused expression on his face. "Why do you even care? I thought you hated me and my brother."

"Don't get it twisted! I do hate the both of you for what you did to me, but at the same time, I need you BOTH to be at one hundred percent when I do beat you two. I have my own set of goals that I have to follow through with. I can't say I'm better than you if you're always injured.

"Aww, you really do care." Rento chuckled with a teasing grin. He playfully patted the top of her head. "There's no way the you hate me, ya big softy."

Karona scowled at him before viciously punching him across the face."Gosh, you're annoying!"

"What the heck?! You didn't have to hit me!" Rento growled.

"You know what, this was clearly a mistake. I'm going to bed." She said after taking a sip from her water.

"...I was just kidding!" Rento said back to her.

"Goodnight." She said with an annoyed tone.

Rento chuckled at her again. "Goodnight." He said. The brown haired boy flopped back down on the soft sand and stared up at the billions of stars. "Rest...I guess I can do that…" He said before slowly closing his eyes and letting sleep overcome his body.

Up of the rooftop of Kame House was Goku staring down at his brother. His eyes were narrow a slight bit and his arms were crossed. He watched the interaction between the two and listened closely to his brother's words. Only one thought crossed his young mind.

"I don't need protection…" Goku muttered to himself before walking back inside the house.

-The Next Morning-

After eating a large breakfast, the group decided to go off and do their own thing for the day. Krillin practice the kamehameha, Karona continued to work on bringing out her ki, and Rento decided to relax for once. Meanwhile, Goku decided take Nimbus and the Power Pole. fly off somewhere. This left everyone, especially Rento, confused. None of them knew where he was going.

-On the Lookout-

Once hopped off Nimbus and landed firmly on the Lookout. He looked around for Kami and or Mr. Popo. Once he found the tall green man sitting by the edge, he ran up to him.

"Young Goku? What brings you here to the lookout?" He asked.

"Kami, I need some type of boost. I need to get super strong in a short amount of time. Can you help me? Please!" Goku asked.

"Goku, what happened? Why would you have such a request? Piccolo has been defeated and the world isn't under any sort of real threat at this moment." Kami spoke.

"I know. I'm not here to save the Earth. I'm here for personal reasons. I have to bump up my strength as soon as possible." Goku said.

"Well, no matter. I suppose that your reasons are you own. Now, if it's strength you want, then there is a place for you."

"WHERE?!" Goku asked with excitement.

"The room of space and time. You may go the Hyperbolic Time Chamber and serve out your train there." Kami said to him.

"Where's that at?"

"Why, it's here on the Lookout. Please come with me." After a long walk, Kami led Goku to the a large door. "Beyond this door is where you'll spend a great deal of time training. Though I must give you a few warnings. Inside of that room, gravity is much more intense, the air is thinner, temperatures can from far below zero, to scorching hot within seconds. Now keep in mind 5hat a day in the real world is about a year in there. The longer you stay, 5he more likely you will be to suffer some signs of...madness. I'd advise a young boy such as yourself to go with a partner. Why have you not arrived with you brother. I'm sure you'd see better results if you went in with him.

"No...It's because of Rento that I'm here right now. I need to show him that I can handle myself." A determined Goku said.

"...I see. I must say that pride is a terrible thing young Goku. It can cloud one's judgment. You have keep your mind focused." Kami placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm going inside."

"Very well." Kami said as he opened the door.

Once Goku stepped inside, he could already feel the differences between this place, and the real world. I vast open area was intimidating and the thin air made his lungs burn. He struggled to walk and the gravity was higher. None of this mattered though. He was here for a reason.

"It's time to get busy!" He said before clenching his fist. He ran out and started of by trying to get used to the environment. This was gonna be challenging but he expected it to be.

A/N: Feels good to be back. I missed writing this story. Once again, my bad for the delay. School hurts my soul…I'm on spring break so expect more chapters this week to make up for the absence.

Quick update! With how the story goes, I might do a time skip to Goku's teen years in the next chapter or the chapter after that. I want to really flesh out the main group before I move on. Like I said before, I never fully intended to do much of Dragonball in this story but decided that it was necessary for later events. Once I get to Z, this will pick up much quicker. Pinky swear! Thanks for reading guys and I'll see you in the next chapter!