Thank you for taking the time to read this fanfic series, for whatever reason you chose to. Before you begin reading, I need to stress:
Do not pay my past reviews any mind. If you wanna cringe, go ahead, check them out. But don't pay them much attention. As you can see, this fic has been up for a bit over two years. I had a lot of time to improve this.
Disclaimer: All rights go to their respective owners.
In the midst of a forest, a young boy with a hat and a shiny ball with four red stars searched, lost and terrified. Accompanying him was his older brother, who wore the same outfit as him, minus the strange ball. The young boy had glazed, white hair, and his subtle, icy blue eyes showed no emotion at all.
His younger brother dashed at the sight of an elegant butterfly, so he followed to make sure his younger brother wasn't completely alone in the large forest. He made it his mission ever since the first time he glanced at his brother to protect him.
The young boy stopped behind his younger brother, seeing he had tried to climb the tree the butterfly stood upon, but failed. The young boy inched up the tree, but slipped down before he could make any progress. He glanced upwards, watching the butterfly gaze down at him in amusement. His subtle eyes swirled into a glowing glance of determination, and he leapt back up on the tree, sliding up inch by inch until he closed in on the butterfly, extending his arm to try and grab it.
The butterfly flew away as his hand neared him, and the sudden movement surprised the boy, making him lose his balance and fall. Pain stabbed onto his back as he crashed onto the ground, but he shook it off as his brother's eyes widened with worry. The young boy stood back up, and he held onto his little brother's hand, continuing their search for their home.
"We'll be home soon, Gohan." The young boy reassured his little brother as Gohan dragged his feet, hopelessness planted on his face.
"We've been looking forever, Ryu. I'm tired. I'm hungry... And I wanna go home." Gohan replied pessimistically. Ryu didn't reply, not too sure of how to respond. Instead, he just continued walking on, not an inch of worry on his face.
As they continued on, Gohan heard rustling in nearby bushes. After a few moments of creeping towards the bush in nervous curiosity, a wolf jumped out, crawling towards the two young boys menacingly. Ryu's mind raced, but, fortunately, Gohan instinctively lied on his back, playing dead. Ryu fell face-first on the ground, squeezing his eyes closed. He heard the wolf slowly slide towards him, sniffing his neck. Ryu bit his bottom lip closed to stifle in any laughter, and the wolf moved away from him in apathy.
To his horror, the wolf stopped towards Gohan, ruffling on his head. Ryu leapt up, facing the wolf fearlessly, but the wolf already dashed off, Gohan's hat in it's mouth. Ryu checked on his younger brother, and, to his relief, he was unharmed.
Gohan, in a fit of rage, sorrow and panic, dashed after the wolf, and chased it far away from Ryu's eyesight. Ryu, panicked, dashed after him. He heard Gohan scream, and he came to a cliff. Ryu's eyes widened in fear, and he glanced around, trying to see if there was any way for him to get down safely.
Seeing only the hard way, he moved slowly, climbing down the large cliff. His arms and legs were sore, but he would not rest until he found Gohan.
As he was climbing down, his right foot slipped, and that caused his entire body to fall off balance. Ryu tried to regain himself, but, in a heartbeat, he was falling. Ryu's body went limp, accepting this would be how he went out.
...You're struggling... I'd love to see how this turns out... But I'm afraid you can't die... Not yet.
"?!" Ryu glanced around in panic.
...Have this... Tiny gift of power... In exchange for a show... A show... Of how your life... Will be played out.
A tingle of strength swam inside Ryu, and his irises span, swirling into a scarlet red color, his pupils slitting slowly. Ryu glanced around, his mind racing to find a solution to his predicament. An idea hit Ryu, but it wasn't going to be pleasant in the least.
For Gohan.
With a sharp inhale, Ryu crashed his hands and feet onto the wall next to him, his hand searing with pain as he began slow down, his shoes beginning to tear. He slowed to a stop, then resumed his climb down to the ground. Before he knew it, the ground was underneath him, and he hopped down onto it, patting the dust off his hands and clothes, then glanced upwards.
"Thank you." Ryu murmured to whoever had helped him. Determination sketched across his face, and he hunted for his younger brother.
As Ryu searched, he heard Gohan yelp. His ears twitched as he strained to hear his brother, and, as he closed in on Gohan's voice, he ran in his direction.
When Ryu finally found Gohan, he saw him briefly before Gohan fell down a waterfall. Ryu's heart banged in his ears, and, without a single thought, he dived down the waterfall, straight into the hands of a man in an orange and blue gi.
"Ryu? Why're you here? Where's Gohan? What's with your eyes, and why can't I sense anything from you?" The man threw an avalanche of questions at the young boy. At the sense of peace Ryu felt, his irises swirled back into their subtle, icy blue color, and a wave of fatigue washed over him. Ryu's body fell limp as he fell into a small slumber.
Ryu's eyes slid open, and he recognized his surroundings as his room. He slipped off his bed, rubbing his eyes, then his memories slapped him. He ran outside his room, glancing around wearily, and saw Gohan being scolded by their mother, Chichi, for going out alone. Ryu lunged at his younger brother, hugging him softly.
"I thought you died." Ryu murmured as he stepped back, making sure Gohan was completely unharmed.
"Me, too." Gohan replied with a small smile. Ryu smiled softly, but his smile faded when Chichi cleared her throat, staring down at the two boys menacingly.
"You, young man, are very lucky. If you didn't have to go with Goku, you'd be in for a treat!" Chichi growled, then nodded her head away, giving the two permission to leave. The two young boys readied themselves, and their father, Goku, stepped outside with his two sons.
"Don't be gone too long, dinner will be ready soon." Chichi ordered.
"Alright, I'll be back in a bit, Cheech." Goku inhaled deeply, then shouted, "NIIIMBUS!"
A small, yellow cloud skidded to a stop in front of Goku, and he jumped on. Gohan leapt into his lap, and Ryu climbed up onto Goku's back, wrapping his arms around his father's neck securely. After a final wave of goodbye, the trio shot off.
Moments later, the trio arrived on an island, a large house with red paint entitling, "KAME HOUSE". Goku held onto Gohan, Ryu held on tighter to his father, and Goku hopped off the yellow cloud as it zoomed past the island, disappearing from sight. Goku sat Gohan down, and helped Ryu down.
A blue-haired woman, an elderly man, and a bald, short man walked out of the house on the island, welcoming Goku. Once the three worked past the fact that someone like Goku had two children, Goku leaned forward, whispering something to the three strangers, then the three gave Ryu sympathetic glances, to his confusion.
"Master Roshi, nice to meet you. I trained Goku at one point, helped him become as strong as he is now. Maybe one day I'll be training you, too." Master Roshi bowed slightly.
"I'm Bulma! I was the first to meet Goku. Those were my prime days..." Bulma murmured softly as she took a trip down memory lane.
"The name's Krillin. I used to be a training buddy with Goku back when we trained with Master Roshi, but now I don't stand a chance against him." Krillin frowned at the gap in their power, while Goku grinned at it.
The four of them talked and caught up on old times while Gohan and Ryu played around with the tortoise on the island, but the playful, welcoming atmosphere changed into a panicked one when Goku whirled around, exclaiming, "What is this energy?! It's so powerful!"
Before Goku could even move, the energy signature he sensed landed on the island in a blur, a smirk on his face changing to a scowl as he pointed at Goku, barking, "Kakarot, why is this planet still intact?! You should've destroyed it long ago!"
""Kakarot"? I'm not Kakarot! I'm Goku!" Goku replied back.
"Don't play stupid. If you refuse to answer me, I'll just have to make you talk!" The man growled.
"Listen, buddy, you've got the wrong guy. Not only is this not this "Kakarot" guy, he's-" Krillin started, but the stranger slapped him with a tail resembling a monkey's, sending Krillin crashing into Kame House. Goku's eyes widened in worry, but calmed down once he saw Krillin's arm twitch, then faced Krillin's attacker.
"Why are you here? What do you want?! Who are you!?" Goku barked questions at the stranger.
"You really don't remember? Fine. I'll tell you. My name is Raditz, and I'm your older brother, Kakarot." Raditz answered with a sigh.
Master Roshi cleared his throat before Goku could deny what Raditz told him, and explained how Goku's grandfather found him. Goku crashed down in a strange pod, and his grandfather took him in as one of his own, although Goku was a vexatious child. One day, Goku's troublesomeness caused him to fall and hit his head from a dangerous height, although Goku survived the fall. The fall changed Goku from a hostile child to a friendly one, as well.
"Well then, you really must not know. Kakarot, you are from a nearly extinct, alien-like race called the Saiyans, the greatest and strongest race to have ever lived. We've-" Raditz began, but his words were stuck in his throat as he scanned Goku. "What the hell happened to your tail, Kakarot?!"
"I cut it off, someone said it was dangerous." Goku replied.
"Do you understand what you've done?! You've lost your special ability to transform, you idiot!" Raditz groaned at his brother's foolish choice.
Goku's eyes slid to his right, glancing at his children, frozen in terror and confusion. Raditz followed Goku's vision, and he noticed the two children. He noticed Gohan's tail, and his scouter beeped, showing Ryu's power level, and it was 113, way too high for a normal human. He stomped over to the two, picking up Gohan in his left hand and Ryu in his left, and held on tight, despite their wiggling.
"You've chosen to reproduce with a non-Saiyan!? Despicable!" Raditz growled, then sighed, switching to a small smirk. "Okay, Kakarot... You have until tomorrow to bring me 100 people, dead, and your children live. If you refuse to cooperate, I'll kill them, and destroy this planet myself."
"Put them-" Goku lunged at his brother, but Raditz rammed his left knee onto Goku's waist harshly, sending him stumbling to the ground, the attack so devastating he couldn't breathe regularly.
"DADDY!" Gohan cried for help.
Ryu struggled to release himself from Raditz's grip, but Raditz blasted off before he could. Ryu froze as he was face-to-face with nothing that he could make out except for clouds.
Raditz landed in front of a metallic sphere inside a large crater in the ground, dropping the two children by his feet. Gohan's wailing didn't stop, and Ryu jumped in front of his younger brother as Raditz stomped towards the crying boy. Raditz grabbed Gohan, and threw him into the pod, then slammed the door shut.
"Let Gohan go." Ryu demanded, his normally emotionless expression replaced with one with rage. Raditz ignored the boy, but Ryu lunged at him as his rage burned. Raditz grabbed the young boy, opened the pod momentarily, and threw him in with his younger brother, slamming the door closed once more.
Gohan knocked on the machine a few times, pleading to be freed, but Raditz ignored him. Ryu jumped from the seat inside the pod, dropkicking the door to try to open it back up, but failed, falling onto his back.
Ryu's ears twitched as he heard his father and someone else talking alongside Raditz, then jumped as the ground shook from what seemed to be a battle. Ryu tried to push the door open, but it wouldn't budge. Just as Ryu began to give up, he heard his father cry out in pain, and the young boy's irises swirled back into their previous scarlet red color, his pupils slitting into daggers as fury burned within him. Ryu heard his father's screams echo in his ears, then clutched onto his ears as it began to ring in his mind continuously.
A swirling pillar of gray, thick energy erupted into the air, bursting a hole into the pod that imprisoned Ryu. Ryu vanished, reappearing instantaneously on the battlefield and glaring at Raditz, who was crushing his right foot onto Goku's side. Ryu's hair dropped over his face, his face darkening as gray, thick energy swam over him slowly, bubbling up into a cloak of energy. Two horns of energy pierced up around Ryu's forehead, and a tail of energy slithered from his rear as his eyes widened, his consciousness fading as rage consumed him.
"Wh-What?! My scouter can't scan the brat's power level!" Raditz exclaimed as he pushed the button on his scouter numerous times.
Ryu was a blur as he whizzed towards Raditz, crashing his small fist onto the Saiyan's stomach, sending Raditz flying backwards from the powerful blow. Ryu ran on all fours as he dashed after the Saiyan, clenching his left hand into a fist as he neared him, and rammed his fist onto Raditz's cheek, sending him flipping backwards. Ryu extended shoved his hands forwards, the bubbly, thick, gray energy cloaking around him extending two large hands made from the same energy towards the Saiyan. The two large hands clamped themselves together, and, as Ryu swung both of his hands downwards, the clamped hands crashed onto Raditz, dirt shooting up into the air as a crater cracked onto the ground from the impact.
A streak of light blasted towards Ryu, and, in a heartbeat, Ryu was sent flying backwards with a powerful kick to his cheek, the young boy skidding on the ground as he slipped back down into the crater far behind him.
Ryu's strange energy seemed to deactivate as it slid back inside him, and his scarlet red irises swirled back to their icy blue color, his pupils snapping back to normal, as well. The pain in Ryu's body numbed, and the young boy's eyes closed softly as his consciousness faded.
Ryu jumped up, water splashing around him as he tried to open his eyes, but they were instinctively shut closed. Water dripped off his face as his eyes snapped open, and he scanned his surroundings in panic.
"Listen up. You two need to make a choice." A deep voice growled, and Ryu glanced around, noticing at a tall, green monster, the same one that was with Ryu's father. His eyes popped around him, and he located Gohan nearby, water dripping off his hair. Ryu slid over to him, making sure he was alright, and hugged him tightly.
"In a year, two Saiyans, more powerful than the last, are going to come, like the one that took you away from your father. I'll give you two a choice. I can either take you back to... "Kame House", or I can train you, and prepare you for battle." The monster explained, and stared at the two children for their answer.
"I... I wanna go home. I want my daddy." Gohan mumbled.
"Your father is dead."
Everything surrounding Ryu faded out as his eyes widened slightly, Gohan's wailing barely audible as tears bubbled up in his eyes. An image of Goku's corpse was displayed in his head, then it was replaced with an image of Gohan's.
"I'll train under you." Ryu murmured without a second thought. He refused to let his brother die like his father. Tears streamed down Ryu's face, but his subtle facial expression didn't waver in the slightest.
"I-I-I... I'll b-be tra-trained t-too." Gohan stuttered as he worked to calm down his river of tears. Piccolo nodded, then whirled around, walking off.
"We'll start by seeing if you both truly are worthy enough for me to train you. If you can survive on your own for 3 months, I'll come back, and we'll begin your actual training. My name is Piccolo, and the next time we meet, I will be your teacher."
Before Ryu or Gohan could ask any questions, Piccolo cloaked white energy around him, then shot off into the air. Ryu gazed at his surroundings, clenching his tiny hands into fists at the big world around him, and the even bigger adventure lying ahead of him.