A Saiyan's Family Challenge
A/N: This is my response to the challenge fic, A Saiyan's Family, by mellra. The first part is all mellra, any changes made were mostly editorial. After a while, though, it becomes mine. Just for fun, while I get more ideas for my other fic I'm working on…
Ages:
Kakarot: 1.5 cycles (12 earth years)
Raditz: 2.25 cycles (18 earth years)
Bardock: 4.75 cycles (38 earth years)
Gine: 4.5 cycles (36 earth years)
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A twelve year old boy named Son Goku braced himself as he began to chant, "Ka…Me…Ha…Me…" You see, for the past few weeks the young boy with the strange monkey tail had left his mountain home to travel with a city girl named Bulma Brief in search of the magical Dragon Balls, which, when all 7 were gathered, would grant a person one wish. Along the way they'd met the shapeshifting pig Oolong, the desert bandit Yamcha and his floating cat Pu'ar, along with many others. Now, though, the small group was caught in the castle of the self-proclaimed Emperor Pilaf, who had stolen the six Dragon Balls they'd gathered, to go with his own seventh. In desperation, Goku was attempting to use a powerful technique called the Kamehameha Wave that he had learned from watching the aged martial artist Master Roshi, in order to escape their prison cell and stop Pilaf from wishing for world domination. With a final cry of "…HAAAA!" a bright wave of ki erupted from Goku's cupped hands and blew a hole in the wall. While in most universes, the hole would be too small and the group would have to rely on Pu'ar and Oolong to stop the pint sized tyrant; in this universe Goku was able to hit a space in the wall that was central to the wall's stability, causing most of the stone structure to come tumbling down.
"Way to go, Goku!" Bulma cheered her friend as they were released from their cell. Their joy was short lived, however, as they noticed the unnaturally black sky and the bright light being emitted from the Dragon Balls a couple hundred yards away. "Oh, no! They're about to summon the Dragon! Goku, you gotta stop them!" Bulma shouted in alarm.
Giving a nod to the girl's request, the monkey tailed boy unslung the mighty Power Pole from his back and cried out, "Power Pole, extend!" With that, the red pole extended hundreds of yards long, and, giving a battle cry, Goku swung the large staff like a baseball bat, catching Pilaf and his two minions in the backs of their heads, knocking them out cold. With a cheer, the group of five ran over to the unconscious villains and tied them up with some rope Yamcha had on him. Now, however, the question remained as to what they were to do with the still glowing Dragon Balls.
After a few minutes of whispering amongst each other, the group then turned towards Goku. "Well, Goku, I think I speak for all of us when I say you should be the one to make the wish," said Bulma.
"Huh? But, Bulma, didn't you want to wish for something? What did you say it was… a boyfriend?" Goku asked in confusion.
"Actually," Bulma said with a blush as she shared a look with Yamcha, the desert bandit sporting a similar blush, "me and Yamcha have our wishes covered already. Besides, out of all of us, you've been the one doing most of the work during this entire journey. If anyone deserves a wish, it's you."
Goku scratched the back of his head, while still sporting a confused look. "But I don't really got a wish. I only came along, 'cause I wanted to see the dragon!" he said.
Yamcha stepped up. "Come on, Goku, surely there's something you'd like? A new house? A never ending supply of food?" he suggested, trying to think of things Goku might want. "Bulma's right, you've pulled our bacon out of the fire enough times tonight alone to deserve a wish!" Noticing the look Oolong was giving him for the analogy, Yamcha muttered abash, "Sorry."
Oolong sighed, and turned to the young boy with a smile. "Besides, none of us really have anything we wanna wish for right now, so it's better to go to someone who deserves it. Although…" he gained a blush as he continued, "if you'd like to wish for the panties of a beautiful girl, I wouldn't – ow!" he finished with a yelp as Bulma bonked the perverted pig over the head.
Pu'ar finished, "It doesn't even have to be something big, you just gotta wish for what your gut tells you to."
"My gut, huh?" Goku mumbled as he rubbed his grumbling stomach. Well, it had been four hours since he last ate, and that idea about a never ending supply of food did sound pretty good… Turning to the glowing balls, Goku grinned and shouted, "Okay! Dragon, can you come grant my wish?"
The light shining from the Dragon Balls grew brighter and brighter until it was nearly blinding. Suddenly, the light shot up into the dark sky as thunder rumbled. There was a final burst of light that made the group shield their eyes, and when they uncovered them, they couldn't help but gape at what they saw. There, floating in the clouds, was a massive eastern dragon! Its serpentine body stretched on for miles until it all but blotted out the sky. The beast's pure red eyes turned towards the group, and it said in a voice like thunder, "I am the Eternal Dragon. I will grant you one wish. What do you desire?"
Goku, after recovering from the shock of seeing the Dragon, was about to happily shout out his desire for food, when suddenly, he stopped short. For at that moment, his Grandpa's smiling face suddenly popped into his mind. Goku, even though he didn't always show it, missed the old man terribly. That was why he guarded the Four Star Ball so closely, as it was one of the few mementoes he had left of the man who found and raised him. Remembering Pu'ar's advice to go with what his gut was telling him, Goku blurted out, "I wish I had my family back!"
The Dragon paused for a second before saying, "It shall be done." With that, his eyes glowed brightly for a few seconds. Suddenly, three bright lights shone in the middle of the field they were in. With that, the seven Dragon Balls flew into the air and dispersed, and the dragon disappeared in a bright flash of light. When Goku's eyes adjusted, however, there was no sign of Son Gohan.
Instead, three people stood in the clearing, blinking in confusion. One was a tall man, with hair and features exactly like Goku's. The only difference was, while Goku had a childhood innocence about him, this man had the feel of a hardened veteran, with a muscular body, black and green armor, a red headband, and a jagged scar on his left cheek. Next to him was a smaller figure, a woman, wearing black and gold armor, softer features, and a shoulder-length mane of shaggy, spiky hair. She was holding a meat cleaver in one hand, and the leg quarters of some animal in another. On the other side of her was a boy, older than Goku, with long, spiky hair, brown and black armor, and some kind of green lensed device over one eye. But, what struck Goku the most was that, each one of them, had a tail just like his…
There was a long moment when everyone was silent and awe-struck. That moment soon passed when the man and the boy quickly got into a battle stance, Bulma cried out in fear, and Yamcha said, "What the hell?" all at the same time.
Instinct took over, and Goku was in battle stance too, not taking his eyes off the newcomers. The woman, however, was looking back and forth at everyone. Her wide eyes fell on Goku. "K-kakarot?" she asked, breathlessly.
That declaration caused both of the male warriors to glance at each other warily. The older one spoke. "Raditz," he said, realizing who the older boy was. The one called Raditz gave a short nod, but his features were still distrustful. The older warrior turned to the woman. "Gine," he said softly, straightening.
Gine turned towards him, and blinked. "Bardock," she said, breathlessly, gazing into his eyes. She then turned to look to the one on her right. "Raditz," she said, holding out her hand.
Raditz's jaw clenched. "Mother," he said, his voice thick with emotion. She gave him a short nod, her eyes kind, and turned back to Kakarot, who was taking a step towards her.
"Uh… mister…" the boy said, looking at the meat she had in her hand. "Did you see my Grandpa, by any chance?" he asked, trying to tear his eyes away from what his stomach craved so badly.
Gine smirked at the young cub, then suddenly shoved the meat into his hands. It was still raw and bloody, but Goku couldn't wait for it to be cooked. "Go ahead, Kakarot. It's safe. I wouldn't give my own son something that wasn't," she encouraged him.
Goku, not needing to be told twice, began tearing at the meat hungrily.
Used to Goku's lack of reason when there was food to be had, Bulma stepped forward and picked up the slack. "Um… sorry… did you say you were Goku's mother?" she asked, nervously. She earned a low growl from the woman, causing her to stop in her tracks. Suddenly, Raditz laughed out loud, earning a glare from the older warrior. "Uh… was it something I said?" she asked, feeling abashed.
"Now I know I hit my head on Poris. This is too much," Raditz said, shaking his head, and reached a hand towards the device on his face.
"Not another move, boy, or I'll break that arm," Bardock growled, causing Raditz to freeze, eyes wide. Bardock walked over to Raditz, and taking the device from his face, crushed it in his hand.
Raditz regarded him with cold fury. "What the hell, father? How do you expect us to get back, if-"
"I don't," Bardock cut him off, and turned to the blue haired female. "You. What the hell happened?" he demanded, getting tired of having questions with no answers.
Bulma blinked, frowning. "Uh…" she stammered, but Bardock glared at her.
"Speak, woman! Or I'll-" Bardock began, but was cut off by Gine.
"Frighten her so bad she won't be able to speak," she finished, giving him a pointed look. "Or, worse, make them so angry they refuse to tell us anything. I never thought I'd see Kakarot again, and here he is, alive and well. You've been away on missions for so long, I feel like it's been a year since I've seen you. And Raditz…" Gine sighed, looking over at her oldest boy. "Just last month you were this size, and now you're taller than me! We all have questions, and we're not going to get any of them by scaring away the natives," she said, crossing her arms and scowling back at Bardock.
Bardock sighed, and his features softened somewhat as he regarded Bulma again. "Fine. Please tell us what you know. As far as I know, we were all dead, all but Kakarot," he said.
"I wasn't," Raditz chimed in, but a glare from Bardock quieted him.
Bulma blinked. "Uh… well, Goku made a wish on the Dragon Balls…" she said, realizing she might have to explain what those were, but not knowing if she could trust these people. She powered on. "He wished he had his family back. I think he meant his grandpa Gohan, though…" she said, glancing at Goku, who was wiping the blood of the raw meat from his face, looking a bit more satisfied.
He nodded at Bulma's words. "Bulma's right, I really meant Grandpa, I didn't know the Dragon was gonna bring…" he trailed off, looking at them all. "Who are you people, anyway?" he asked curiously.
The three newcomers gasped, looking at Goku with widened eyes. Gine brought a hand to her mouth. "Oh, Kakarot…" she said, and before Goku could stop her, her hands were in his hair, searching every inch of his scalp, and stopping short when she came upon a nasty scar. "Bardock, look at this," she said, causing Bardock to peer closer to survey the damage.
"Shit," Bardock said, growling, and turned to Bulma. "Did you people do this to him?" he demanded angrily. Bulma shook her head, confusion and terror on her face.
"Do what? What's going on?" Goku asked, trying to get away from Gine, who was holding him fast.
Gine knelt down to be at her son's eye level, looking deep into his eyes, as though she were studying him. "Kakarot, tell me what you remember. Where are you from? What is your mission? What's my name?" she said, her voice laced with concern.
Goku scowled. "Look, mister, you've got the wrong guy. My name's Goku, not Kakarot," he said, frowning. "I'm from Earth, and my mission was to help Bulma find the Dragon Balls. But we've done that already, so I'm gonna go and-"
"He's lost all of his memories," Gine said, sending a look of despair towards Bardock. "He's also desensitized from being on this planet too long, he's not picking up any of my telepathy," she said. She turned back to Goku. "Kakarot, give me your tail," she said softly.
"I told you, my name's Goku, not-"
"Your tail, Kakarot. Don't make me grab it," Gine said, in a tone that made both him and Raditz flinch instinctively. Swallowing, Goku extended his tail out towards her.
Gine made no move to touch it with her hands, only her tail brushed up against his, causing Goku to gasp. With a small smile, Gine gently coiled her tail around his, and he closed his eyes, feeling things he had never felt before… or at least, didn't remember ever feeling before…
"Mama…" he breathed, before Gine released his tail, smiling down at him.
"Yes, cub. I'm your mother," Gine said softly, gently stroking his face as he opened his eyes. "And this is your father, Bardock," she said, glancing up at the tall warrior, who gazed down at him impassively, giving a short nod. "And your brother, Raditz," she said, pointing at the younger warrior, who regarded him with a raised eyebrow and a partial smirk. "We're your family," Gine explained.
Goku's eyes widened in understanding. "So, when I wished for my family back, the Dragon brought you guys, instead of Grandpa Gohan!" he said, grinning. "Well, it's nice to meet you!"
"He's got no instincts," Raditz growled, rolling his eyes.
"Neither do you, yet you're still alive," Bardock said, arms crossed as he regarded his oldest son. "You must have been on a mission when Frieza destroyed our planet," he observed.
Raditz's eyes widened at that. "Our… our planet was destroyed by a meteor," he said, horrified at Bardock's accusation.
Bardock glared at him. "A meteor? You really think that King Vegeta's special forces would let something as mundane as a giant space rock get anywhere near our planet?" he asked incredulously. "I was there, on the front lines. The only thing that hit us was Frieza's giant death ball," he spat.
This caused Raditz to glare, then to roar out in fury, causing everyone to look on in fear. Everyone without a tail, anyway. Bardock was scowling, as was Gine, and Goku was frowning.
"Uh… what's going on?" Oolong whispered to Yamcha. He was so far out of the loop, it wasn't even funny.
"I'm not really sure… I think that Goku's an alien from another planet. They all have tails, like Goku. And I think their planet got destroyed," Yamcha said, trying to explain the gist of it.
"Wow, it's like a science fiction movie!" Oolong said, entranced.
When Raditz calmed down somewhat, glaring at the ground, Bardock placed a hand on his shoulder. "We'll get him, Raditz. I… I saw something," he said, and shrugged off Raditz's curious glance. "I'll explain later, just know… we're going to kill that bastard," he said.
Raditz met his eyes, and gave a short nod. They both looked at Gine, who gave a nod as well, her eyes cold.
Goku blinked at them. "Who's Frieza?" he asked.
Bardock folded his arms. "Enough talk, I think we're up to speed. We need to find a place to sleep tonight. Some place with a roof, unless we plan to destroy everything around here," he said, glancing at the halfway destroyed castle around them.
Gine's tail bristled at that. "Oh, right, the moon, this must be a big one, I almost hadn't noticed," she said, feeling the telltale shiver that came whenever a full moon was near.
Bulma frowned. "What do you mean, destroy everything? What's the moon have to do with-"
"There's no time!" Gine said suddenly, and looked down at her youngest. "Kakarot… I need you to trust me. You have to close your eyes, and keep them closed, no matter what," she said.
Goku frowned in confusion. "But why-" he began, when Raditz cut in, his eyes already closed.
"Because if you don't, you'll turn into a giant oozaru and kill all your friends," Raditz said quickly, causing the earthlings to gasp.
Bardock began blasting a hole just beneath the castle, not a big one, lest he bring the whole castle down on them, but big enough for the four of them to fit in comfortably. "Get in," he told them, and Gine held her hand over Goku's eyes, walking him towards the hole. Raditz walked after them, using his other senses to compensate for having his eyes closed. Bardock glared at the others. "If any of you enjoy life, I'd get as far away from here as possible," he warned them.
"Wait! I want to tell my friends bye!" Goku said, but Gine held him still, keeping her hand over his eyes.
"Kakarot, you can't, if you look at the full moon, for even a moment, you will turn into an oozaru, and your friends will be trampled to death," she told him, keeping her eyes on the ground and the top of Kakarot's head.
This caused Goku to stop suddenly. "Wait… you mean… on the night of the full moon… That thing that killed my Grandpa… it was me?" the little boy asked, feeling his entire world shatter. Bulma brought her hand to her mouth, and Yamcha sucked in a breath. Goku's knees felt weak, and he tried to swallow past the dryness in his throat. "I… I killed my Grandpa?" His shoulders fell. "No wonder the Dragon didn't bring him back to me. I'm a monster…"
Gine's heart broke for her son, but he was an older cub, he should know the truth by now. "Kakarot, we're all responsible for the deaths of others, it happens when you're as strong as we are. Weaker species don't survive long around us. If this 'grandpa' of yours cared about you as much as you care about him, then I think he knew you didn't mean to hurt him. But now, you know about it, and you're putting your friends in danger. If you care for your friends… you'll tell them goodbye, let them get to safety," she told him, her voice soft, but firm.
Goku nodded, keeping his eyes closed, and standing up straight. "Go on, you guys. Get out of here," he said bravely, not wanting his friends to get hurt.
Bulma's lip quivered. "Goku… will you be okay… you know, with…"
Goku nodded. "They're my family. And they're already trying to keep you guys safe, by keeping me away from you. You have to get out of here. Please…" he begged, shame eating away at his heart. Gine could feel hot tears emerging from beneath her hand, where she covered his eyes. "I found my Grandpa, afterwards… it was horrible. Please, don't make me find you like that…" he begged them.
Yamcha placed a hand on Bulma's shoulder, squeezing hard. "Don't worry, Goku. I'll get them to safety. When… when it's safe, come by and find us some time. I'll be in West City for a while. And Goku…. Thanks," he said, holding Bulma's hand.
Bulma smiled, tears running down her face. "Yeah, thank you, Goku. I don't think I'll ever be the same after meeting you. I don't think any of us will," she said.
Goku smiled at that, his smile bright and innocent, if a little sad. "Thank you, Bulma. I never would have met my family if it wasn't for-"
"Enough of all this, get inside!" Bardock grumbled, his eyes still closed as he waited, somewhat impatiently, for Gine and Kakarot to get into the hole.
Bulma laughed. "Don't worry about us, Goku. Just get inside, you big dope!" she said, earning a laugh from Goku.
"Okay, then, bye! See you all real soon!" Goku said, waving in the wrong direction (since his eyes were closed), as he allowed himself to be ushered into the hole by his mother.
Raditz and Bardock soon followed. It was dark in the hole, but Bardock allowed some of his ki to come into his hand, giving the hole light. He sat with his back to the hole's opening. Removing his armor, he wedged it into the opening, obscuring what little they could see of the sky from view. Gine began to remove her armor, too, followed by Raditz, though he was a bit hesitant at first. Bardock situated himself against his armor and the mouth of the hole, for added protection, and laid down on his side. Gine released Kakarot and nestled into Bardock's arms, as though they always slept that way. She reached her arms out for Kakarot, who happily snuggled against her, not caring that she was now only wearing the lower half of a body suit, her entire upper half being exposed. He only cared that this was his mother, and he liked being snuggled against her. She then turned to Raditz, who seemed to be trying to sleep as far from them as possible. "Raditz, is that any way for a Saiyan to sleep? Get over here," she scolded him. Usually, it was him who was snuggled up against her, like Kakarot now was.
Raditz looked away. "You've been gone for a long time… I'm used to sleeping alone," he protested.
Bardock scowled. "Even on missions, we sleep together. It's how we protect each other. Now get your ass over here, son, or I'll yank it over here by the tail," he threatened.
With a wince, then a sigh, Raditz slowly came closer to his family. He slept with his back to Kakarot, sharing in his family's warmth. Kakarot used Raditz's hair like a pillow, and his tail instinctively coiled around Raditz's.
The older boy tensed, then relaxed, scooting in a little closer to his family.
This was how it was supposed to be, he thought, allowing himself a small smile.
In seconds, the light went out, and soon they were all asleep.