Authoress' Note: Welcome everyone to the latest installment of the Unexpected Fate series. Now, before I get flamed and rushed to start the Fallen Hero Arc, let me just say that this is a tie-in between two stories that will explain what is going on and finally cover some of the horrible plot holes I have written.

Yes, this explains one of the most recognized plot hole I had written and never had a chance to cover until now.

What the heck has the gods been doing between the twelve years between stories? Have they finally found some way to contribute to this series?

…

…wait, you're saying you were expecting Radditz in this story? Well then, I guess I should write a story about Radditz. Um… he died a horrible, horrible death by a green skinned demon and then stuff happened and he came back to life.

…

…you're not satisfied with this answer, are you? Alright, fine, I'll write what really happened. Though I should warn you that it will involve a lot of plot and characters not yet introduced that may or may not contribute to the Fallen Hero Arc.

~Chibi Mirai Gogeta

Unexpected Fate: Redemption

Prologue-Dead Man's Tale

'I've been out of my element for longer than I care to admit,' Radditz silently thought while sitting with his back against a stone wall. 'Though, if I had to be honest, it feels like an eternity has passed.' He glanced at another dead Saiya-jin that was picking a fight with one of his comrades over territorial rights. He chose not to intervene since there was no point. He was the weakest one and anyone could easily overwhelm him.

'Have they all forgotten about me? Have they decided that I no longer exist? If so, then it is for the best. After all, I have done things I admit that I am not proud of, and if it is any constellation, I made a lot of enemies who would sooner see that I am truly annihilated from the cosmos themselves.'

Something outside the cell was heard and Radditz sat up straighter. It was rare that another would venture down into these catacombs unannounced, especially since nearly their entire race had faced extinction already. Still, it was a bit bizarre seeing his younger brother, who he recalled was the reason he had died in the first place on the other side of the grate dividing the living and dead. He had tried to get through once, but failed to succeed.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Radditz angrily questioned. It was bad enough that he had known his brother's stroke of good fortune, but to know that he was alive made him envy the pleasures of life.

"Hey, don't be like that," Kakarrot seemed to pout with a stern look on his face. Radditz almost thought he was staring into the splitting image of his father the way he carried himself, but knew that the man was a bit taller than his brother happened to be. "I need you to do me a huge favor."

"What is it?" Radditz did not like the air of mystery that surrounded the younger man. As a matter of fact, he hated the idea of the younger Saiya-jin's presence and would kill him if and when he had the chance.

"Do you mind keeping a secret?"

"A secret? You are entrusting me with some damn secret? What do you take me for?" Radditz seemed offended by this trivial request. He was a warrior, not some therapist or some sort of documentation device to hold something personal.

"Hey, hey. I wouldn't ask you if it involves you in some way."

Radditz could not help but become curious with this bit of news. "…I'm listening."

Kakarrot reached out towards his brother. While the elder warrior thought to smack the hand, he decided to play along and grasped it carefully. Seconds later, Radditz saw the expression on his younger brother's face change and wondered what was going on. A strange energy seemed to flow through his arm and every hair seemed to stand on end.

"In roughly twelve years, a figure will be searching for me," Kakarrot spoke in a monotonic voice. "Whatever happens, be there for him…"

"What would happen if I'm not there for Bardock?" Radditz growled. He knew of his father's plights thanks to his mother conveying what happened, but it was almost though his own father had forgotten completely about him. About the unwanted son.

"You will not like the consequences. Just remember my warning if you do not wish to know the other outcome."

"Like I am frightened by the figments of your imagination Kakarrot." Radditz rolled his eyes.

"You should be." Kakarrot was attempting to get rid of the ghosts of what he had seen. Radditz did not believe any of the bullshit of his father and younger brother having the same ability to see in the future. If that was the case, he wondered why the man had ventured into the Realm of Morte to ask him to keep a secret. "After all, it would bring her much heartache if something were to happen to you."

Kakarrot turned and left shortly after, but the words he had spoken to his dead brother had left the man pondering over what was just said.

"If everything you said was true Kakarrot, I pray it never comes to pass." Radditz softly spoken the last part. He did not wish to remember their mother in that manner. 'Then again, dead men don't spew secrets… or should worry about the lives of those on the surface…'

"Dead men may not be able to keep secrets, but that does not mean you have to remain dead," a masculine voice whispered from the shadows. Radditz turned and saw nothing but darkness around him. While a Saiya-jin's sense of sight was more effective than a human's, he could not see any signs of who had spoken to him.

"Who's there?" Radditz asked with agitation in his voice. He was starting to wonder if he was going insane. He had known warriors to up and vanish in the past, and began to question if he too was near his breaking point.

"You cannot see me due to the lack of respect you give to the deities of our race…"

"Respecting the gods? Uh-huh… where were they when I died?" Radditz rolled his eyes in utter annoyance. "If they did care, they would have intervened much sooner."

"We only intervene when needed. If you wish to see, then start by listening to the warning that Kakarrot had brought to these hallowed walls."

"Kakarrot's delusional. I bet he's made up that bullshit to try to get his way…"

"No, he meant every word of what he saw. The question is will you believe the words of a man who wishes to save you from a fate worse than death?"

"There is no fate worse than death," Radditz growled. He turned with anger clearly written on his face back at the grate of the prison he had been in for over a decade with his fists clenched at his side.

"So you think, but it was what your mother had endured when another had nearly destroyed her soul."

The words instantly made Radditz's eyes widen. "Mirasta? No… no one could…"

"One nearly succeeded. If you want to avoid the same fate, it would be wise to heed the warning rather than neglect it. Even Kakarrot is capable of devotion towards you if you permit yourself to do the same."

"Why should I? He turned his back on our kind and betrayed the blood flowing through his veins!"

"Are you sure that you were not the one who betrayed your family?" Radditz saw a faint outline of someone. He was uncertain if this was the man speaking to him, but he was growing more annoyed of being interrogated.

"I never betrayed our family! If anything, that traitor Kakarrot had!"

"How could he if he was uncertain of who he was when you first encountered him?" The long-haired warrior turned towards the darkness.

"If he had a shred of dignity, he would have fought me alone and died a true warrior's death than rely on that slug to assist in the efforts of taking me down." Radditz began his stride back towards the world that had become his home. "Go away whoever the hell you are."

"Jagamo." The name meant nothing to the dead warrior, and he did not care about who or what the mysterious invisible man happened to be.

Yet, the name itself would not be a name easily forgotten, that much Radditz would learn in time as he retreated further into the Realm of Morte and into its wasteland.

To Be Continued…