Another day announced itself on Planet Vegeta, and young Raditz had gotten up early to train with his friends. He knew very well he wasn't allowed to leave the house without permittion, Planet Vegeta was no place for young children to roam around unsupervised for too long, certainly outside the villages.

But the way Raditz and his friends saw it, they needed the extra training time. He felt he was forced to break the rules. And so it happened that the boy had gotten out of bed quietly, put on hir armour, snuck into the kitchen for some food, and finally peeked through the crack of the door to his parents' bedroom to check if they were still asleep. Luckily, they were.

Before he left though, he spotted something in there that drew his attention.

There, on the nightstand, was his father's green scouter. Ready for the taking.

He tiptoed his way in and before he grabbed the scouter he checked to see if his dad was really sleeping.

"Dad...?" He tried, whispering.

The only response he got was a loud snore.

That was all the confirmation Raditz needed, so he took the device and made his way out.

Outside the sun had only been up for about half an hour, but it already promised to be another hot day. The small village wasn't showing any signs of life yet. But in a few moments that could change. You would have fellow Saiyans coming back or leaving to go out on missions. Raditz knew that so he quickly flew to the place they had agreed to meet just the day before.

Upon arrival, he saw that his friends were already there.

"Finally !" Ricello, a boy of Raditz's age with a bandana, sighed.

"He probably had to get smothered with kisses again by his mother first..." Turles sneered. The boy had almost the same spikey hair as Raditz's father Bardock, apart from the two hornlike strands on top of his head. He was the oldest and strongest of the three, so he wasn't afraid of mocking his friends every now and then.

Raditz simply ignored that comment and tapped the scouter.

"I had to receive this first..."

"I noticed," Ricello said, clearly impressed. "Is it yours ?"

"Ofcourse !" Raditz lied. "Uhm...My dad got it for me, he said he'd gotten one for my brother too..."

"But your brother isn't even born yet..."

"Yeah, but...uhm..."

"You don't believe that crap, do you, Ricello ?" He's still too weak to get his own scouter. We should train more if we wanna stand a chance in the tournament. You should at least be able to hold your ground against me, Raditz. But you're weak, just like your mother..."

"She's not weak !" Raditz growled. "She's different..."

"Weak, and you're just like her, it seems." Turles just went on. "In fact I'm surprised your father decided to mate with her again.

Even though he had no idea what he was on about with that last part, Raditz straightened his back and stood in front of Turles. He might not have been stronger, but he sure was already a lot taller. "You know I heard a rumour about your mother Turles..." He said, smirking down at him. "Mine told me that when you were born and your mom saw your face, she was so disgusted, she killed herself."

"Say something like that again and I'll break your neck !" Turles growled in between his teeth.

"Try me." Raditz simply said.

Turles didn't need any more provocation and quickly flung himself towards Raditz, pushing him to the ground, dealing blow after blow to his face. He even broke the scouter in the process...

Raditz had the hardest time pushing Turles off, and when he finally succeeded in rolling them both over so he was on top, Turles quickly got the upper hand again.

After being on the receiving end of some punches again, Raditz gathered what strength he had left to push Turles off him.

With two hands he pushed Turles away. Launching him, to Raditz own surprise, into the air. Unfortunately, it soon became clear that wasn't his own doing.

Turles cried out in pain as he seemingly couldn't move. It was Bardock who had grabbed the kid by his tail and now held him up in front of him.

"Aaaaw, let go of me !" The boy squealed.

Bardock granted that request. "Beat it, kid !" He growled, giving him a warning look.

As quick as he could, Turles got up from the ground and made it off into the sky. Ricello quickly followed, mumbling apologies as he passed Bardock.

"We sure showed them, right dad ?" Raditz asked as he stood by his father, crossing his arms proudly.

"We ?" Bardock asked in a sarcastic tone. "You were getting beat up. Is your mother making me train you myself just to get beat up by your friends ?"

Raditz lowered his head, not answering his father's question.

"Answer me, Raditz !"

"N-no..."

"And another thing. Where is my scouter ?"

Again, Raditz did not answer. Instead, he just kept staring down at his feet. They suddenly seemed the most fascinating things he had ever seen.

"Raditz...?!" Bardock growled.

With a sigh, Raditz gathered all his courage. "I took it, and..."

"And ?"

"Turles broke it..."

For a few seconds, Bardock remained silent. But it was clear by his expression that he was angry. Raditz knew he was in a lot of trouble now.

"I...I'm sorry, dad..."

"Get your sorry butt home !" Bardock said as he kicked the boy's bottom, making him stumble for a few feet. "Your mother is worried sick!"

Raditz knew better than to wait too long to obey, so he flew off with his tail between his legs, closely followed by his father.

Once home, he wasn't welcomed back with the usual warm hug from his mother. Instead now she just kept standing behind the kitchen counter, chopping up meat. And Raditz stood there, in the middle of the kitchen, staring at his boots.

Gine sighed, putting one hand on her pregnant belly. "Where have you been, Raditz ?"

"Out...With friends..." He replied, barely audible.

"So you went outside without permission..." His mother stated.

"But it wasn't my idea, Turles talked us into it !" The boy tried defending himself.

Gine sighed again and put her knife down. She was about to walk over to her son and hug him, when Bardock walked in. As soon as he looked at her, he knew exactly what she was about to do and gave her a warning look. After putting the pieces of the broken scouter in front of Gine on the counter, he turned to the frightened child again. "I'll teach you a lesson tomorrow when you're training."

Raditz swallowed. "Yes, dad..." He said without looking at his father.

"As for now, go to your room. Your mother and I need to talk."

Not wasting a second, Raditz hurried himself out of the room. But instead of going to his bedroom, he stayed in the hallway. With the door open just enough to hear what his parents had to say to eachother. He had the hardest time hearing them, but their words became more clear when they obviously started quarreling.

"You're being too hard on him, he's just a boy !"

"He's a Saiyan, you're not supposed to pamper him like that !"

"So what if I do ?"

"Just don't be so soft on him ! He needs to toughen up before -"

"Before WHAT ? Before he turns into a weakling, like me ? Is that it ?"

"That's not what I -"

"Say it ! Just admit it !"

"GINE !"

"BARDOCK !"

Not wanting to hear any more, Raditz finally did as he was told, and went inside his room. There, he went over what he had just heard all day in his head. Did his fatehr really think he was weak ? Was he turning into an outcast like his mother ? This time he couldn't help but cry. Although he was very strict on him, Raditz looked up to his father. He wanted nothing more than to lead a squad of his own when he grew up, just like his dad.

Hours went by and by the time Gine brought in dinner, the young Saiyan had cried himself to sleep on his bed.

The feeling of someone staring at him woke him up. Seeing his mother, he got up on the side of the bed so Gine could place the plate on his lap.

Noticing her son's red eyes, she sat down next to him and sighed.

"What's wrong sweety ?"

Raditz said nothing. He just stared blankely at his dinner and snorted.

"Go on, you can tell me..."

Again, nothing.

"Does it have anything to do with what happened today ?"

That did the trick. His eyes filled with tears again before he spoke.

"Dad thinks I'm weak..."

"He does not..." Gine countered. "He only wants what's best for you. This is his way of showing that he cares...You know that..." She said as she put an arm around him.

Raditz sighed and shrugged. "I guess..."

"I'll tell you a little secret..." Gine continued. "This morning, when he couldn't find you around the house, he almost lost his mind. That's how worried he was about you..."

"He did ?"

Gine snickered. "Yes !"

"Oh...!" Finally, a faint smile appeared around the boy's lips. Suddenly he felt stupid for thinking what he had thought.

Gine kissed his cheek and rose from the bed. "Now, finish your dinner, and tomorrow you go and have a good time at training. Just give him all you've got. Okay ?"

"I will ! Thanks mom !" Raditz said when his mother left the room and closed the door behind her.

Feeling a lot better now, Raditz finished the rest of his plate and fell asleep again not long after.

The next morning, he was awakened pretty early by commotion in the hallway. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he got up to investigate. He opened the door to see his mom and dad standing there. Accompanied by...

"Uncle Tora !" Raditz yelled as he practically smashed himself against his dad's best friend.

"Whoa ! Heey kiddo !" Tora smiled, ruffling through Raditz's hair. "By the gods, what are they feeding you here ? You've grown !"

"Well it HAS been some time since you last came to visit us, Tora..." Gine interfered. She smiled warmly. In the beginning the two didn'g get along all that well, but overtime both of them had to change their opinion about eachother and Tora became a good friend to Gine too. And next to that, an uncle to Raditz.

"You know how it is..." He said, dodging a fist from Raditz who wanted to playfight. "Training..."

Gine rolled her eyes, smiling. "Excuses, excuses..."

Tora huffed indulgently. "You got me..." He smiled. "Looks good on you, by the way." He said, nodding at her belly.

"Thanks..." Gine smiled back, rubbing her belly with both hands.

In that instant, Bardock turned around to pick up his duffle bag. "We gotta roll, we're already late..."

Gine took the opportunity to take his wrists and keep him standing there in front of her, to kiss him.

"Gine..." He started blushing and looked away.

Tora couldn't believe what he was seeing. "Seriously ? Back in the day when you two weren't a thing yet I caught you numerous times banging some chick and now you're gonna get shy over a kiss ?"

Raditz, who was dangling from Tora's left arm now, seized his assault from a second. "What's banging ?"

Bardock gave Tora a 'not in front of the kid!' warning look while Gine tried to shush her son. "You'll learn when you're older sweety..." She then turned her attention to her husband again, who let her kiss him this time. In the background a quiet 'eew' from Raditz sounded.

"Be carefull, okay ?" She whispered as their lips parted.

"Ofcourse..." Bardock sighed. He already knew there was no point in trying to convince her there was no way of 'being carefull' in battle. Ofcourse Gine knew that all too well herself, but still, she felt like she needed to remind him. And knowing her husband wouldn't listen anyway, she now turned her attention to Tora. "You look after him for me, okay ?"

"Won't let him out of my sight." He reassured her.

All the while, Raditz had no clue what was going on. He stopped swinging fists at Tora and looked at his parents. "What's happening ? Are you leaving again, dad ?"

"Yes..." Bardock nodded. "I got the assignement just now since you broke my scouter. "Tora came to pick me up."

Raditz's lower lip started shaking. "But you said we would train today !"

"I have to leave, Raditz...We'll train when I get back, I promise..."

Raditz sighed and his shoulders dropped. "Okay..."

He trudged back into his room as he heard his dad and Tora leave.

Eventually it wasn't long before Bardock returned from this mission. Only three weeks had gone by when he arrived home again, and got to train with his son as he had promised. Unfortunately, they didn't get much more time to train together than that one time, as Raditz remembered. Bardock was summoned on a mission again, and while Raditz was out in space with Turles and Ricello, on their very first mission of their own, Planet Vegeta was destroyed by a large asteroid. Or at least that's what they were told. Rumour had it, that Frieza himself had a hand in the destruction of the Saiyan planet.

The last news Raditz had gotten from his homeworld was that of his brother's birth, and that the newborn had been sent off to another planet. The mission Raditz was on at the time went horribly wrong, causing Ricello to die and Turles to go missing, so Raditz just assumed he had died too. Raditz survived by hiding in a cave for days and eventually he was saved by his now new comrades and fellow Saiyans, Prince Vegeta and Nappa. He joined them in working for the Frieza force, and after some time he informed them about the existance of his little brother, but they simply stated that in case the child did survive, it would need a lot more time to purge the planet he was on completely. And so it happened that young Raditz stowed the plans of looking for his last living relative away for many more years. He even went as far as trying to forget about it completely, since he found it distracted him from his duty.

But now, over twenty years later he was confronted with his past again.

That morning, the alarm on his scouter went off to wake him and without opening his eyes, Raditz tried shutting the device down. When the annoying buzzing sound finally stopped, he groaned. The room on Frieza planet seventy-nine was way too hot.

It was so warm Raditz could feel the sheet from the matress stick to his skin. He lay there, completely naked, snoozing for just a minute longer when someone got a hold of his tail. Pulsating squeezes were felt when a female voice sounded.

"Wakey wakey, 'ditzy..."

A tongue licked his cheek, and with every squeeze of his tail his muscles tightened. "Fuck off, Sirena !" He growled as he brutally pushed the girl from the bed. He finally opened his eyes to look at her in disgust as she was picking up her clothes from the floor.

"Well I didn't hear you complain last night !" She snarled.

Raditz had his answer ready as always. "I could say the same about you. I think the whole base heard you squeal my name..."

"Oh please ! Don't give yourself too much credit, stupid monkey !" She said as she hopped around on one leg, in an attempt to put her stockings back on.

"You're right, Saiyan in the streets, monkey in the sheets !" He grinned devilishly as he put on a fresh pair of black shorts. "Now get the fuck out before I kill you."

Not needing any further warning, the girl scurried across the hallway in her underwear, shielding herself further with the rest of her clothes.

Working as a prostitute for the Frieza force made it so that she was used to death threats, but she never put them to the test.

Raditz supervised her until she was around the corner and went back inside when he was sure she gone.

The room was no bigger than a prison cell, consisting of a single bed, one large round window and one closet, containing freshly cleaned cleaned armour. Raditz was about to take as the bedroom door opened again. He sighed. That girl never knew when to stop.

"Sirena, I told -"

To his surprise, it wasn't her standing in the door.

"Don't tell me you spent the night with one of those girls again, Raditz..." Vegeta looked around the room in disgust as he entered.

Raditz opened his mouth to deny everything, but the prince beat him to it.

"Don't bother denying, the smell in here says it all..." He said, waving his gloved hand in front of his nose. "I know you're low-class but screwing women like THAT ? They're like a carnival ride, everyone gets a turn..."

"Hey, it's my business if I like to bang a hooker every now and then, okay ?" Raditz growled. "Besides, I needed to get my mind off of things...What Nappa said yesterday kept bugging me..."

Vegeta sat down on the bed, but quickly jumped up again as he realised what had happened in those sheets. "You shouldn't worry about that. One day, I'll make Frieza pay..."

"I know, but..." Raditz stopped, hesitating.

"But what ? You doubt my abilities ?" Vegeta snapped. "I have the blood of the legendary Super Saiyan flowing through my veins, there's no way in hell Frieza will be able to counter that !"

No, I don't doubt you..." Raditz tried defending himself. "I just thought about the fact that you always said how scared Frieza is of us Saiyans... Don't you think he would really piss himself if there were more of us ? Think about it... We could meet resistance on our way to overthrow him...If we just had one more Saiyan by our side..."

He stared in anticipation at his comrade.

Vegeta closed his eyes and smiled, understanding the message. "You're right... Frieza will regret the day he failed to exterminate all of us... I think it's time you went on a little family reunion."

Raditz grinned. "Finally..."