He landed in what would look to anyone else like the middle of nowhere. But this place stood out in his mind. This was the place where he died for the first time.
His mind wrestled with itself as it had done on many occasions and it had nothing to do with his own death.
His eyes crossed over the familiar pile of bones that littered the ground. Once belonging to a person whose fate was ever connected with his own, whether they liked that or not.
If he had never come to find him, would he still be alive? If he could go back, would he have given him the same choice that he gave Vegeta? Could Raditz have been saved?
In the beginning, all he felt for the man that was his brother was anger. Anger at attacking his friends, anger from his kidnapping of Gohan, and the rage of his own death, forcing him to leave the side of his wife and son.
He believed that there was no way to forgive such a man, for all of the things he had done. But here he was. Looking down at those bones in regret.
Who was the one that said that time erased all wounds? Because he was starting to understand what they meant.
Did his brother really deserve to die, while he allowed Vegeta to live? In all honesty, Vegeta had been worse than Raditz was. But now the Saiyan Prince had adjusted to life on Earth, even going as far as to settling down and starting a family. Would Raditz have done the same thing? Would he have changed his ways after gaining his freedom from Frieza? He yearned for answers to those questions, but knew that no answers would ever come.
The Dragonballs were not an option anymore. It had been far too long. Raditz couldn't be resurrected.
His mind was plagued by regret. Was it really Raditz's fault? He did live and grow up under Frieza's rule just like Vegeta did, so maybe it was how he learned how to cope.
He shook his head. As much as he hated to admit it, Vegeta was a different creature than Raditz was. Vegeta wanted to make himself stronger. The Prince had wanted to destroy Frieza and take over the galaxy. Raditz on the other hand, seemed to be fine with taking orders from the manic. Wasn't that the reason he had come? To recruit him so they could decimate more planets for Frieza. It was never to reunite as family.
To his brother, he was nothing but a means to an end. He saw someone weaker than him and wanted to control him. That's why he took Gohan and planned to kill him with no remorse, but why did it feel like he wanted him by his side?
Raditz had no idea how much he had changed his life. The pile of bones could not have foreseen the affect that he had started.
The weak brother that he wanted to control, had grown stronger than any Saiyan before him. From the day he met Raditz till after Buu, his life had been riddled with nothing but fighting foe after foe. Sure, there was plenty of that before Raditz, but other than Piccolo, those fights paled in comparison.
So what should he do? Should he continue to despise Raditz for his actions or should he pity him?
The side of him that was a father could never forgive Raditz for his plans to kill his son, but the side of him that knew how manipulated his brother had been couldn't help but feel sorry for him. How badly had Frieza messed him up? There was no way that his brother could have been born this bad, even if Saiyans were often sent off to destroy planets as infants. He just couldn't see his own flesh and blood, do what Raditz had done without being manipulated in some way.
So here he was at an impasse. There was no going back, whether he liked it or not. Raditz was dead and gone. He would never get answers. Even if he spoke, those bones would never talk back.
He had wasted his chance. He could never really know the real Raditz for himself.
He looked down at the ground, his eyes never leaving the pile of bones, knowing full well that he was forever locked in this regret.
Author's Note
This is the first of many one shots, next is Raditz, followed by Vegeta, Tarble, Gohan, and Goten. Most of these will be darker in nature, excluding the last two.