Chapter 1: Off the Beaten Path
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!
The doors of the usually peaceful temple were flung open as several dozen men garbed in bright yellow robes rushed into the courtyard. Shock and horror filled the monks' faces as they were met by the sight of their once proud and beautiful gateway reduced to a pile of smoldering rubble. For the monks, the worst part was that they could not go too stop the spreading fire for now, since a large amount of smoke had gathered into the courtyard. Any attempt to put out the flames would have to wait. Though the minds of these friars were on preventing more damage to the temple, another objective had appeared.
"Quickly men, we're under attack!" shouted one of the men in front. "We have to find this intruder and make him pay for daring to desecrate our holy temple!"
"Right!" responded the gathered monks in unison.
"This guy must be an idiot if thinks he can mess with us," remarked one teenager. "Doesn't he know who he's dealing with here? We're the fighting priests of the Orin Order! No one can match us in our martial prowess."
A roar of agreement rang out from the cluster of martial artists as they began to descend down the steps and towards the dark cloud of smoke. However, as the monks cheers began to die out, a new sound quickly began to echo throughout the courtyard. A howling laughter was now originating from within the confines of the black fog, putting the trained fighters on high alert.
"Is that right?" asked a condescending voice after ceasing its' laughter. "NO ONE can match your all's ability in combat? Hahahaha! Quite confident in yourself aren't you, pathetic human! Well, we'll see if the scouter agrees with you."
Uneasiness hung over the gathered group of martial artists as they began to encircle the dissolving ring of smoke, which for now was obscuring their enemy from sight. The shaved heads of the monks gleamed with sweat as the only sound that was coming out of the black cloud was some random beeping sounds. As the smoke finally dissipated completely, another booming laughter began to fill the courtyard while the fighting priests were completely taken aback.
Standing in the middle of the ring of martial artists, with his head thrown back as he laughed manically, was nothing but a child! The boy was tall and lanky, with extremely long, black hair, but it was still clear to all those present that he hadn't even reached his teenage years yet. Adding onto the monk's shock was the kid's outlandish outfit. A brown breastplate was covering the long-haired boy's chest and he was wearing matching shoulder, thigh, and groin guards to complete his uniform. Across his left eye, was a green display screen that was connected to some device attached to the boy's ear. If the men didn't know any better, they would have assumed that this child was a part of some sort of army!
"You Earthlings really are all pathetic," barked the fiery youth, a mad gleam dancing in his onyx eyes as he surveyed over the stunned men encircling him. "Not one of you maggots has a power level over 50! Disgraceful! I knew that you're race was pitifully weak but this is just sad. It's almost an embarrassment to me and my proud people to even fight you weaklings, but since I've been stuck in that damn pod for so long and I could use the exercise, I guess I'll make an exception this one time."
"Hey kid, who do you think you're dealing with here!?" angrily shouted a skinny acolyte, clenching his fist at the cocky child before him. "This is the legendary Orin Temple, and we are all prestigious students here. You can't just barge in here, start blowing things up and expect to get away with it!"
"That's right!" chimed in a short, chubby monk. "You're dealing with some of the greatest martial artist on the planet and you think that we're weak! Ha! We'll show you who's weak you little brat!"
A chorus of agreement rang out over the courtyard as the horde of enraged fighters prepared to unleash their fury on this annoying punk. Their previous fear of the boy was gone, being replaced with rage when they saw the smoldering pile of rubble that had once been the entrance-way into their beautiful temple. This arrogant rascal was going to be adequately punished by the full force of the Orin Order's wrath!
As the angry mob of martial artist began to encroach upon him, the long-haired boy simply gave a small shake of his head before lifting it into the sky and letting loose another boisterous round of laughter. Still grinning, the muscular 11 year old bent his knees into a crouch and raised his arms as he prepared to meet his foes in glorious combat.
"Man, Kakarot, I never thought that coming to pick you up would end up being so fun," stated Raditz with glee before launching himself at the first wave of the bald monks that were now charging at him.
One year ago…
A wave of nausea washed over the lanky child as he grabbed onto the latch of his space pod for support, his legs becoming wobbly and threatening to give out on him. Raditz's eyes widened in horror as the gravity of the news that he had just received through his scouter sunk in. His home, Planet Vegeta, and his race, the proud Saiyan warriors, had just been completely wiped out by a stray asteroid.
Simply thinking about it caused bile to rise up into his mouth, and the boy quickly leaned over as his body expelled the vile substance. Wiping his face as he stood, the Saiyan's haggard breaths were the only thing that seemed to be entering into his ears as his mind seemed to go completely blank, unable to comprehend the situation the young warrior had suddenly found himself thrust into. He was only 10 years old, and now he was completely alone in the vast universe, with no family, friends, comrades, or even fellow Saiyans to speak of.
It was a mind-boggling concept for the adolescent to try and wrap his head around. The boy barely had the strength to stand, even with the support of the pod he was leaning against, as every muscle in his body seemed to shut down from the sheer despair that was consuming Raditz's being. Everyone he had ever known had just been…obliterated in a single moment.
This feeling of fatigue and gloom that now hung over Raditz was a stark contrast to the boy's emotions only a few minutes beforehand. Complete and utter euphoria had coursed through Raditz's core after finishing off the last settlement on this desert planet he had been assigned to purge. It had been a great honor, receiving his first ever solo mission. At first, he had been unsure if he was really ready for such a task, but after some encouragement from his mother-along with simply being noticed by his father-Raditz had accepted the assignment. He couldn't have been more elated when he arrived on the planet and began his mission. Purging left the boy completely invigorated, and he had never felt more alive than when he was playing the role of God of Destruction for this measly race of bug-like people.
A brighter mind may have realized that it was an ironic fate to befall the planet pirate. Raditz was now experiencing what every single child whose parents and cities he had mercilessly obliterated had felt right before he murdered them as well. In fact, the Saiyan boy had caused this same feeling of emptiness and despair in thousands of people and now he was enduring fate' cruel sense of humor. Thankfully for the long-haired boy, he made no such correlation and his burden was not weighed down even more with guilt. Instead, he simply sank to the ground and buried his head in his knees.
Of course, now that he reflected a bit further on the orders he had just received from the Planet Trade Organization, he wasn't completely alone. Apparently there had been a few other Saiyan survivors, others who had been out on jobs when the cataclysm struck their home world. Still though, Raditz doubted that he would know any of them. While the company of Saiyans was preferable to anyone else, the boy doubted that even among the handful of survivors, he would be little more than an outcast. Knowing his luck, it would end up being with a bunch of elitist pricks that would continue to look down on him, even though there were only a few members of their proud race left. Ending up as the butt of everyone's joke was not an appealing fate for the lower class warrior, especially if he didn't have another 3rd class to share in his misery.
"Shit," murmured the long haired Saiyan as he attempted to bore a hole into the ground between his feet. An unfamiliar feeling washed over the child as he simply sat there, unable to think properly. It wasn't that he was grieving about his lost loved ones or reflecting on his bleak looking future. No, he just wasn't thinking…at all. Nothing came into his mind, his brain simply seemed to shut down and go blank for a minute as he just sat there, listening to the slight whistle of the dead planet's breeze.
Finally, the shock over what had occurred passed and then…it came. The overwhelming anger and sense of injustice of being left alone in a cruel universe overtook the boy. His previously empty mind was now filled with nothing but bitterness and hate. Snarling, Raditz leaned forward until he was on all fours, clutching fists full of dirt as if in an attempt to strangle the live out of the very earth itself. His teeth gnashed together, his eyes bulged as his pent up rage finally began to pour out.
"Shit…shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, SHIT!" screamed Raditz before slamming his fist against the ground, causing the terrain to shake with a slight tremor. "It's not fair, it's not fair, IT'S NOT FAIR! Why am I the one that's been left behind? Once again, I'm the one that's excluded and left to be the one that's ridiculed! All that's left for me now is to always be the weakest 'monkey' left! Why does it have to be me! WHY!?"
Losing all sense of control, the Saiyan simply began to scream, letting out all of frustration, anger, and sorrow into one elongated howl to the heavens. As he yelled, the boy began to pound out his frustration with his fist, throwing one destructive tantrum. After pounding a sizeable crater into the ground in front of him, Raditz leapt to his feet and began to destroy everything in his path. Purple spheres of ki sprang to life in his palms as he began to flail his limbs wildly, sending the deadly balls of energy in all directions. Soon, even he couldn't hear his own screaming voice over the roar of dozens of explosions as the rocky terrain around him was completely uprooted.
Raditz's outburst didn't last for long though, because after a minute or two of his shrieking, the boy's lungs gave out on him. A sudden light-headiness put a quick stop to his shout and after staggering forward to launch one last ki blast, the child dropped to the ground. Groaning as his head landed with a loud smack, the long-haired warrior felt as if his eyes were swimming as they continued to go in and out of focus thanks to the extreme dizziness that had now set in. Attempting to get back onto his feet, the boy began to push himself up, only to immediately crash back down; the only reward for his effort being a quick upheaval of the contents of his stomach.
Rolling over onto his back, and away from the vomit, Raditz simply lay on the ground, panting heavily from the effort he had exerted during his tiny freak-out. Though he wasn't happy about being unable to stand now, his flirtation with unconsciousness was allowing him time to clear his head. His breathing slowly began to return to normal, taking deep, deliberate breaths as he began to regain his senses. For a moment, the smallest inkling of tears formed at the bottom of the warrior's eyes as he softly said…
"Why did you all have to leave me alone?"
When the world finally stopped spinning, Raditz lifted his hand to wipe away the small remnants of his water from his eyes. Saiyan's weren't supposed to cry after all. While doing so, the boy noticed that tears weren't the only thing that had been trickling down his face. A small stream of blood was now making its way down the child's face as he sat up straight. Cursing, the boy quickly wiped away the scarlet trail with the back of his hand before covering up the small scrape on his forehead.
After finishing a make-shift bandana to stop the bleeding, the boy quickly glanced at the smeared blood on his hand. Another string of curses left his mouth as he belittled himself for being so careless. What would his father say if he learned that the only injury that Raditz had sustained during his mission was self-inflicted! Not to mention that it had been caused because he had lost his cool, something that his father would never had done. Bardock had always been painted as the model Saiyan warrior by his mother and the other 3rd class warriors. It was a fact that Raditz was constantly reminded of, along with the fact that he was not living up to the high expectations of being, "The Great Bardock's Son". Maybe Kakarot wouldn't end up being as much of a disappointment as him. Hell, he didn't just have the same blood as Bardock, like Raditz did; he looked almost identical to the man! Surely that meant…
Wait…
A wide grin spread across Raditz's face as a light went off inside his head. He wasn't completely without kin in the universe! His brother, Kakarot, had been sent off on a mission right before the planet's destruction! Scrambling on all fours back to his pod, the boy practically jumped inside in order to enter the data for his brother's pod. After a few moments of silence while his pod processed the information, a loud beep rang through the small spacecraft as the information for the planet that Kakarot had been assigned to appeared on the small display screen in front of Raditz's seat.
A snarl formed across Raditz's lips as he read the data concerning the length of a trip to his brother's destination. No one from the Planet Trade Organization would like him taking a trip to a planet that would take a year to simply travel to, and that was only one way. Hopefully the fact that he would be coming back with another valuable Saiyan warrior was enough for him to escape punishment for taking so long to report in. Of course, he could always lie and say that he simply had pod malfunctions. It wasn't like they would be able to tell right?
Besides, none of that mattered now. All that mattered, was that Raditz had a blood relative out there that would be able to somewhat lessen this gaping hole that he felt in his chest. Even though everyone else that he had ever known was now gone, there was still one person out there that could help him overcome this tremendous loss, even if it was just to give him someone even lower on the food chain than himself whenever they met back up with the other Saiyans. First off, he would become a hero for finding another survivor of their race and then Raditz figured that with someone even younger, weaker, and more bothersome than him around, the other Saiyans wouldn't see him as such a burden compared to his younger sibling. A small smile danced on the Saiyan's lips as he thought about the elite Saiyans welcoming him in with open arms, seeing worth in him since his brother would allow him to shine as being far more useful.
"It seems that I'll be meeting you even sooner than I thought, Kakarot," muttered Raditz as he shut the hatch to his pod and entered the coordinates to his new destination. As his pod's engines fired up and the boy was launched through the atmosphere of this now desolated planet, another smile formed across his face before the hibernation gas began to spray out into the pod.
"Just imagine little brother, what would your life be like if I just left you to rot on that mudball huh?"
One hour ago…
Raditz shielded his eyes from the blinding light that he was met by as he stepped out of his pod. A growl escaped from the boy's throat, annoyed as always by his eyes being so unaccustomed to natural light after being trapped inside that damned pod for so long. If there was one thing that the prepubescent warrior hated about his line of work, it was the traveling conditions. With the combination of the small, cramped space in the pod along with the artificially induced hibernation, one never traveled in comfort as a soldier of the PTO. Not to mention when you finally did reach your destination, you always had the aggravated muscle stiffness to deal with after escaping from the confines of your pod.
Still grumbling about the inadequacies of his space pod, the Saiyan began to slowly ascend above the crater of his landing site, allowing him to take his first look of the planet called Earth. The boy was surprised by how green everything was, with almost everything in sight being covered by plants. On Planet Vegeta, the terrain had been extremely harsh: consisting mostly of rocky wastelands with little to no vegetation to speak of. Of course this scarcity of edible plants had led to their being few species that could survive that sort of rough environment. It was this almost intolerable setting that had led to the Saiyan's ancestors honing their bodies in order to survive the cruel environment of Planet Vegeta, which allowed them to become such a mighty warrior race. Seeing as how this planet seemed to be overflowing with life, it was no wonder that the people that lived here were so weak.
Snarling, Raditz tore his eyes away from the grassy plain to focus on the beeping, green screen across his right eye. It was standard procedure upon landing on a planet to immediately scan for the highest power levels on the planet. Of course, since a mere infant had been assigned to purge this world, Raditz wasn't expecting too much to come of his scan. In fact, he assumed that the highest one that his scouter could detect would have to be Kakarot's. Even if he was just a baby, there was no way one of these Earthlings could ever hope to match a Saiyan's combat ability. Luckily for him, because the Earthlings were so weak, this would make the search for his little brother much quicker.
With a sharp beep, the scouter alerted him to a grouping of above average power levels about a hundred miles north of his current location. A small smirk began to form on the boy's face as he quickly read the information. He could use a little exercise after being cooped up in that metallic ball for over a year and it seemed that this grouping of relatively high power levels would be a perfect place for a quick warm-up. Who knew, maybe Kakarot was actually amongst this group? It wouldn't be unusual for a Saiyan to be attracted to strong individuals, so there was at least a chance of his little bro being with them. Besides, his sibling had been assigned to purge this planet, so even if he wasn't with these people, Raditz could at least get a head start on eliminating this race. He couldn't let Kakarot have all the fun after all.
Another ding from the scanning device told the boy that the complete scan of the planet had been completed and with a cursory glance over the listing, Raditz could see that there were several dozen fighters with descent sized power levels on the planet. To be honest, the planet pirate hadn't expected there to be this many capable fighters on the planet his brother had been assigned to. Instead of being discouraged though by this new information, the Saiyan warrior was beginning to get excited. Not only would he be able to recover his kin, but it also looked like he would get a half-way descent work-out from this trip as well!
Raising his hand to the device on his ear, Raditz quickly confirmed that the nearest high power level was indeed the grouping he had been alerted too earlier. So it seemed that these guys would indeed be his warm-up exercise before fully beginning his search for Kakarot. While finding and recovering his brother was indeed his first priority, the lanky youth didn't see a problem with having some fun with the local fighters in the process. In fact, before he left this planet, Raditz swore that he would kill every one of the fighters whose power levels had appeared on his scouter. With his mind made up, a white aura sprung to life around the boy's body as he blasted through the azure sky towards his first group of challengers.
Current time…
A smug smirk was plastered across Raditz's face as he effortlessly blocked a roundhouse kick from one of the yellow-robed monks. With just as much ease, the Saiyan warrior leaned backwards in order to allow another attacker's punch to fly harmlessly past his face. Unfortunately for the priest's comrade, the punch wasn't so harmless and the boy grinned even wider as he heard a sickening crunching sound.
"Is this really the best the mighty Oran Order has to offer?" mocked Raditz as he delivered a gut punch to the reeling monk with the broken nose, easily piercing through the man's stomach. The Saiyan licked his lips as he savored the warm sensation of blood that was now surrounding his hand. The crimson liquid was also now streaming from his opponent's gaping mouth, and with another slight push of his hand inside of the man's intestines, the dying monk was forced to cough up a clot of blood. The warm fluid landed onto the Saiyan's face, culminating with the rest of the splattered blood across Raditz's face to give him a downright terrifying appearance. With a satisfactory smirk, the boy removed his appendage from the man's stomach, finally allowing the corpse to crumple to the ground.
"It's ORIN you little punk!" roared the other assaulter as he attempted to recover from his missed blow with a right hook aimed at the boy's temple. Raditz smoothly transitioned from his crouched position above his fallen assailant into a powerful kick that connect with the other monk's jaw. Feeling the bone beneath his boot crushing from the pressure exerted from his kick, Raditz give just a little bit more oomph to the attack, sending the bald-headed warrior skyrocketing.
"Oooooohhhhhh!" exclaimed Raditz, impressed with himself as he watched the Earthlings' upward ascent, and then his inevitable descent. A maniacal grin spread across the youth's blood-stained face when the monk splattered onto marble floor of the courtyard.
"Damn, that's going to be a pain in the ass to clean for somebody," remarked the Saiyan warrior before turning to the small gathering of survivors. The half dozen or so remaining men were paralyzed by fear, mortified by the pile of their dead comrades that lay at the child's feet. But these remaining men no longer saw just a simple boy with wild hair, no; they saw the Angel of Death itself standing before them.
"So, it seems you Earthlings finally seem to be getting it don't you," commented Raditz as he began to make his way towards what remained of his prey, making sure he stomped into a corpse with each of his steps. "You pathetic creatures don't stand against a Saiyan warrior like myself! Your friends thought they could look down on me, that they could beat me! Ha! Well, you can see where their arrogance got them."
"Pl…please, just spare us!" pleaded one of the survivors, a teenager who wasn't but a few years older than Raditz. "We'll do whatever you want! Just please don't kill me!
"Yes! That's it!" shouted the boy as he bore down on the quivering martial artists, a feeling of absolute euphoria consuming his entire being. "Beg, beg me for mercy, hahahaha! I am the one that holds your lives in my hand, I have all the power!"
"Oh, but how shameful of you!" yelled Raditz as he began to levitate into the air, so that he now was looking down on the terrified Earthlings. "Didn't you profess earlier that you were warriors? You must be quite desperate to live then if you're willing to forsake all honor and pride just to save your sorry skin. Hahahaha, but what good is a warrior who has no pride!? Worthless I would say, less than trash in fact…"
A violet sphere of ki sprung to life in the Saiyan's palm as he hovered above his next victims. His blood-soaked face cracked a sadistic smirk as he lifted up his hand, holding it up like a beacon of despair to shine down upon his prey.
"Allow me to dispose of the filth that's defiled your holy sanctuary!" Raditz screamed with glee as he prepared to unleash his ki attack. The Orin monks' sprits had been crushed; they no longer even had the will to flee from their untimely demise.
Just as the boy began to bring his arm back in order to toss down his orb of energy, his eyes widened in surprise as he spotted movement in his peripheral vision. A moment too late, his scouter issued a warning that a new power level had appeared in the vicinity, but by the time it was able to transmit the message to its owner, Raditz found a boot being pressed against his cheek. Time seemed to come to a standstill as the boy's eyes darted towards this new attacker, managed a quick glance as his body was beginning to be propelled away. This newcomer was much older than all of his previous opponents, having amassed decades worth of wrinkles on his worn face and sporting a long, pure-white, beard as well. He still wore the same robes as the others monks, leading the boy to assume that this old-timer must be the leader of their order. He sure hit a lot harder than the others had as the forming dent in the youth's face could attest too.
Finally, the stream of time moved forward again and Raditz was flung from his lofty position to the cold, hard ground below. A brief grunt of pain escaped from the Saiyan warrior as he slammed into the courtyard's floor. Cursing himself for showing such weakness, Raditz performed a small somersault to get himself back on his feet before quickly digging his fingers into the ground in order to prevent himself from skidding any further. The boy gnashed his teeth together as he slid to a halt, leaving several tiny trenches in the bedrock of the courtyard in the process.
Rising up from his crouched position, the Saiyan youth lifted one of his hands up to his stinging cheek where the old man had kicked him. To his surprise, not only was his face still tender from the blow, but there was also something else. Something moist, something warm, something sticky. Swiftly bringing his hand back in front of his face, Raditz's eyes widened in shock when he discovered a small, bright red dot of blood resting on the tip of his index finger. Unlike the rest of the blood that was now caked onto the boy's face and hands, this speck of blood was fresh and…it was his. Quickly dabbing the side of his mouth for conformation, the boy discovered that the old priest's kick had caused a small trickle of blood to form from the side of his mouth.
"How…" stuttered Raditz, his entire body beginning to tremble as he continued to stare into the droplet of his own blood. "How…impossible…injure…fool…"
"My apprentices," said a harsh, rough voice from outside of the long-haired boy's sight, "you must flee this place now. This is my battle now; you'll only get in my way if you linger here."
There was a murmuring consent amongst the younger monks to their master's words, but the blood-soaked Saiyan didn't hear that. No, the only sound he heard was the words of a dead man.
Without warning or hesitation, Raditz suddenly blasted off in the direction of the elder priest's voice. His aura flared wildly around him as he flew through the air faster than any of his opponents could follow and before any of the Orin monks realized it, the enraged youth was already on top of them. His eyes were wide, filled with hatred, rage, and madness as he tore through the Earthlings who were foolish enough to stand between him and his real target. Blood flew through the air as three of the surviving priests were ripped apart by the Saiyan warrior's whip like limbs before he finally made it in front of the old man. With a shout of primal fury, the boy brought back his arm, curled his hand into a fist, and then threw a devastating right hook aimed directly for the grandpa's cheek.
Much to the boy's displeasure though, the elderly man was able to lift up his arm and block the punch with his forearm. However, the senior martial artist's guard wasn't strong enough to hold up against the force of Raditz's punch. The man's eyes widened in horror as his arm began to cave-in, coupled with a crunching sound as his radius bone snapped in two under the pressure of the Saiyan warrior's punch.
Growling his displeasure from having his first attack blocked, Raditz twisted his body into a roundhouse kick. This time, his attack hit home, and the boy's heel was driven into the old priest's temple. The blow sent the elderly human flying through the air before crashing into the base of the sanctuary's main building. Quickly following up his kick, the Saiyan quickly phased above where the old martial artist lay in the rumble of his home before dropkicking him right in the solar plexus. The child watched with satisfaction as the old man cried out in agony as his ribcage was shattered underneath Raditz's grinding boots.
Using his opponent's body as a springboard, the blood-covered terror launched himself back up into the sky. From his position above, the boy watched as his battered and broken foe's apprentices rushed over to him, attempting to save their master from the rumble he was trapped in. Snarling, the Saiyan raised his palm into the air, once again charging an energy blast in order to eliminate what remained of the Orin Order and this time, there was going to be no last minute rescue to interrupt him.
"Fools," spat Raditz as his hand crackled with purple electricity as a purple sphere sprung to life in his palm. "This is what happens when you dare to challenge the strength of a Saiyan warrior!"
Swinging his arm forward, the long haired boy hurled his energy blast towards the gathered Earthlings. The energy attack moved too fast for them to register and before they even realized it, the monks had been obliterated by the explosion. Raditz shielded his eyes from the sudden discharge of light that now bathed the entire courtyard as the old man and his students perished within the light's fiery depths. When the roar of the explosion finally died down, the boy glanced downward to see that the entire main hall had been reduced to a pile of rubble, littered with charred bodies atop the debris.
"Tsk, I must be really off my game," said the boy, "if I can't even completely obliterate that small of a building with that attack. Well, no matter…"
"AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH!"
Arching an eyebrow, Raditz quickly began to descend into the burning remains of Orin Temple as his eyes scanned for the source of the howl of agony. Upon landing, it didn't take long for the Saiyan to find the lone survivor of his energy blast and he was a pitiful sight to see indeed. The Earthling had the lower half of his body pinned underneath a large chunk of building and his top half wasn't looking much better. From what he could see, it seemed like the monk had been only half-way caught in the explosion, causing him to only have his body severely mutilated on one side of his body instead of being completely burnt to a crisp.
"Please…kill me…" begged the monk, in a raspy voice as he reached out with his free hand towards Raditz. "I can't take…the pain…"
"You are quite the pitiful sight," remarked the boy as he reached the maimed priest, looking down with disdain at his scorched body. "Though we may be able to work something out, I do need to ask you a question."
Crouching down in front of the dying human, Raditz slowly uncurled the brown, furry tail that was wrapped around his waist. Waving his extra appendage playfully in front of the monk's charred face, he asked, "You wouldn't have happened to see a baby with one of these around have you?"
"N…no," answered the priest, a fit of coughing preventing him from saying more.
"Damn," said Raditz as he rose up from his crouched position, face palming as he hovered above the crushed human. "Well, I suppose I shouldn't have expected to find him the very first place I went. Probably should have asked them before I killed them all too…"
"Why?"
Looking in between his fingers, the lanky youth could see that the man was once again lifting his seared hand up towards, an accusatory finger pointing directly at his face.
"Why…did you attack us?" croaked out the Earthling.
Removing his hand from his face, the boy once again bent his knees until he was almost eye-level with the mutilated warrior priest. For a moment, Raditz stared into the man's scarred and singed face with an emotionless mask on. His deadpan eyes looked into his foe's, which were full of hatred, malice, and resentment. It was too be expected of course, the barbarous looking child had completely destroyed everything this man held dear in just an hour or two. The Saiyan had seen this same look, and answered this same question many times so far in his short lifetime. As always, he gave this Earthling the same answer he had told to all the others: the truth.
"To prove that I'm strong."
With one fluid motion, Raditz grasped the monk's bald head with both of his hands and twisted. The boy heard a sickening crack as the man's neck snapped like a twig between his blood-soaked hands. His end of the bargain now fulfilled, the long haired warrior stood up and turned his back on the burning debris. There was no time to savor the destruction of this once proud temple, or to mock its former inhabitants. No, unlike in all of his other fights during other missions, he wasn't on this planet to destroy and kill. At least for now, that part of the job would have to be pushed to the side until he could complete his main objective for coming to this planet…
"I'm coming to get you…Kakarot."
Thanks for reading the first chapter of Brotherly Bonds! I really hope that you enjoyed this opening chapter, I know that I had fun writing it. This story idea came to me awhile back that while in almost every, single DBZ story out there, Raditz comes too Earth to retrieve Goku, but I had never seen a story showing Raditz immediately coming to get his brother after the destruction of Planet Vegeta. Since having the idea, I haven't been able to get it out of my head and pretty soon I found myself writing this story. As you may have guessed, Raditz showing up on Earth so soon will have MAJOR repercussions on the storyline, creating an entirely new and unfamiliar story from the one that we see in canon. Hopefully, you guys are willing to join me on this rollercoaster ride of a story! Again, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! See you next time!