"It has been a long and brutal tournament for our contenders and it has all led to these two teams! The team that wins this tournament will be allowed to conquer other planets in the name of Lord Frieza and have the honor of joining the ranks of his armed forces!"

Hundreds of Saiyans sitting at the stands in the stadium roared in a mix of cheers and jeers. At the center of the stadium was a ring with two Saiyan children brawling for victory. There had been sixteen teams, each with three members each. The tournament had gone on for days until finally only two teams had remained. Team Shalloto and Team Raditz.

Raditz was the strongest in his team, followed by his longtime comrade, Turles and their newest member, Rycelo, though they were all the same age at seven years old. The opposing team was lead by Shalloto with his teammates, Bit and Chicoryto. Although their ages and power levels were very different from each other, they balanced each other out and Shalloto alone was far more powerful than Raditz.

Raditz and his team had been quick to push any advantage they had, first ganging up on their weakest and youngest member, Chicoryto and knocking him out mercilessly. All it took was some taunts from Turles and Rycelo to distract Bit and wear him down enough to kick him out of the ring, though not without some intense injuries to Rycelo who hadn't been quite as fast as Turles. They had grown overconfident when it was three against one and underestimated Shalloto. He'd finished off Rycelo, sending him to the medical bay and had managed to throw Turles out of the ring in a single move.

Now it was just Raditz and Shalloto.

"You're a coward!" Shalloto shouted at his opponent, panting. His face was covered in scrapes and parts of his uniform were heavily damaged. "You took out our weakest member and then left your teammates alone to fight and try to wear me down! This isn't battle!"

"It's called strategy," Raditz snickered. "I believe it worked spectacularly. Here I am at practically full health while you're looking a little worse for wear."

"Enough talking! Kick his ass, Raditz!" Turles shouted from the side of the ring. The Saiyans in the stands cheered loudly in agreement.

Grinning, Raditz lunged forward and punched Shalloto as hard as he could in the jaw. Before the older Saiyan could recover, he brought his other fist up and punched him again. Shalloto crumbled to the ground, trembling and panting. He spat out blood and Raditz wrinkled his nose at the display.

"How pathetic," Raditz said, stalking closer. "Couldn't even take a couple of hits."

This was far easier than he thought. Raditz leaned forward and grabbed Shalloto by the front of his armor, jerking him up so they could look each other in the eye.

"Ready to lose, weakling?" Raditz asked, arm drawn back to deliver a final punch to knock his opponent out.

Shalloto flashed him a grin. "I dunno, are you?"

"Wha-"

Shalloto kneed him in the gut, causing Raditz to loosen his grip on him and bend forward, mouth wide open in a silent scream of pain. Shalloto didn't stop there, he pulled back for a second and then elbowed Raditz as hard as he could into the ground and repeatedly began stomping on his back. Raditz could feel his power slipping away with each hit and struggled vainly to get back up but all he managed was to roll over. Shalloto didn't risk him slipping away and stomped him in the stomach one last time before keeping him pinned in place.

"Shit! Raditz!" Turles shouted.

"Just give up, Raditz!" Shalloto said smugly.

Raditz groaned and attempted to remove Shalloto's foot with his hands but the other Saiyan wasn't having it. He could hear the Saiyans in the stands beginning to laugh at his misfortune. How he was pinned like nothing by a child who wasn't even at his full strength. He couldn't stand being laughed at, especially in battle. It was a fact Turles knew all too well so Raditz didn't understand why his comrade suddenly hissed,

"Raditz! It's okay! Forget about it! Give up!"

He jerked his head in Turles direction disbelievingly. Had he forgotten how hard they had worked to get here? This was their moment and Raditz couldn't believe he was telling him to throw it away. "Turles…"

Turles pounded his chest twice with his head held high, grinning. Comrades.

Raditz understood.

Swallowing, he met Shalloto's eyes. "H-Hey, did you hear that?" he asked in a low voice. Loud enough for Shalloto to hear, but much too quiet for the announcer. "I give up! I admit it, I'm outclassed. Remove your foot."

"What?" Shalloto growled disbelievingly.

Raditz glanced at the stands at the laughing Saiyans and then gave Shalloto a desperate look. "Please… Let me go! I'll throw the match, I promise. I just can't lose like this… not on the ground. It's humiliating." Shalloto was speechless but Raditz caught him glance at the stands where the Saiyans were jeering. "I need to at least keep my pride. That's all I ask of you…"

Raditz's fingers dug into the dirt and he shut his eyes, forcing as much desperation into his voice as he could.

"PLEASE!"

"Tch…"

Shalloto's foot lifted.

Raditz grinned. His hand closed around the dirt and he threw it forward, releasing a handful of it directly into Shalloto's eyes.

"Oh ho! It seems Raditz has blinded his opponent!" the announcer shouted. Raditz forced himself up on one knee. His tail unraveled from his waist and swept at the dirt, causing thick dust cloud to form around them. "With all this dust, we can't see the ring anymore!"

"Shit! Where is he?!" Shalloto cursed, unaware that it was no longer only he and Raditz in the ring.

Turles had leapt forward into the ring as soon as the cloud of dust had risen. He managed to maneuver around Shalloto and grabbed his tail, squeezing it as hard as he could. Shalloto was immediately brought to his knees. He looked over his shoulder at Turles in disbelief.

"Damn it! Y-You… It's… forbidden to… to intervene!" Shalloto choked out. "And pull one's tail!"

Turles grinned at him wickedly as he saw Raditz recover and lurch towards them with a powerful attack. "Who cares, idiot?" he laughed, releasing him and rolling out of the ring just as Raditz's attack made contact.

The impact was powerful enough to clear the dust and force Shalloto out of the ring. He crashed against the opposite wall, unconscious. The stadium was completely silent as everyone took in what just happened.

"Amazing! Shalloto was thrown out of the ring! Which mean Raditz's team wins the tournament!" the announcer cried. The stadium was filled with the roars of cheers.

"What? No way!" Chicoryto and Bit shouted.

Raditz panted from exhaustion but kept himself upright as he exited the ring. Turles was smirking at him and the two bumped their arm braces against each other as they passed.

"Good job, Raditz," Turles said teasingly. "Knew you had it."

"Shut up," Raditz said, unable to stop the grin from forming on his face.

"H-Hey!" Chicoryto shouted from the other side of the ring. "You're nothing but… but a bunch of cheaters!"

Both Raditz and Turles looked at the younger Saiyan smugly. "Ha!" Raditz said. "There's no rules in war, kid! And we're the soldiers!"

"You alright?" Turles asked Raditz when they had left the stadium. Turles himself had been knocked out of the ring without taking too much damage so he was escorting Raditz to the medical bay.

"I've had worse," Raditz grunted, clutching his stomach and wincing. "You should see me after a training session with Bardock."

Turles snickered. "I believe it! Gods, I heard his power level was reaching 10,000 now. Is it true?"

Raditz shrugged and then hissed in pain. "Ah, I haven't seen him in a few months. Not sure."

"Imagine, power level 10,000," Turles said fondly. "What does it feel like? Does it pulse through you? Does it boil the blood… or does it feel normal? I don't feel any stronger than I was a year ago, but my power level has gone up for sure."

"Only one way to find out," Raditz chuckled.

"Aye, and we're well on our way."

They entered the healing chambers. The first one they saw was their team member, Rycelo. His recovery time was almost complete already. There was no staff in sight, but this was pretty normal since operating the tanks was really simple and the Saiyans went in so often they became familiar with the equipment themselves.

"Hey Raditz, look who it is," Turles said, grinning and pointing to the corner of the room.

"Shit," Raditz said.

His mother had found him.

Gine was a small Saiyan with a very petite figure, unlike most Saiyans. She was not a fighter and the way she held herself made it clear. Her body was never tense and her tail was almost always free from her waist, waving in the air behind her displaying her true emotions to anyone who looked her way. Her hair only touched her shoulders, but was shaggy almost like Raditz's. When she saw Raditz and Turles enter, her face crumbled with worry and she strode over to him before he could brace himself and pulled him close into a hug.

Raditz's face flushed red at his mother's gentle embrace. Turles just coughed and turned away, crossing his arms with a smirk. One of Gine's arms unwrapped from him and began running down the cuts and bruises on his body. She was concerned, but knew this tournament had meant everything to Raditz.

"Congratulations, Raditz," Gine sighed, running her fingers through her son's hair.

"Mother," Raditz growled, attempting to pull away without hurting her or himself.

She giggled. "I won't be seeing you for a while, Raditz. Indulge me this once."

"Yeah, yeah," Raditz murmured, leaning into his mother's arms. Just a little. Barely. "I won't be gone that long though. This will be an easy mission."

"Your first," Gine reminded, squeezing him a little tighter. She pulled back to get a better look at his face. "Your father would be proud."

Raditz perked up at that. "You think? When'll he be back? Can we tell him now?"

"He's just finished a mission and should be on his way back... Perhaps you'll have time to tell him yourself before you depart." Gine's eyes lit up. "I know someone else who would love to see you off though."

Raditz tilted his head. "Who?"

She winked at him. "It's a surprise." She turned to Turles who was still looking the other way. "Hello, Turles."

Turles' head snapped in her direction, a blush forming on his cheeks. He cleared his throat and looked at the ground instead. "Hi."

Raditz snickered and Turles gave him a nasty look which only caused him to laugh louder.

"I brought something from Meat Distribution," Gine said, turning around and picking up a package wrapped in brown paper that she had placed on top of a counter. She bent down in front of Turles and offered it to him with a small smile. "For you."

Turles took the package gratefully. From where he was, Raditz could smell it was a good amount of smoked meat, something Turles had a hard time getting his hands on since he lived alone. When Gine ruffled Turles' hair, his face was completely red.

"You should eat it while Raditz recovers. I'm afraid you can't take it with you on your mission," Gine added.

"Th-thanks," Turles said.

Gine stood up and smiled at Raditz and Turles. "Alright, I'm going to go check on the surprise to see when it'll be ready. I'll be there to see you boys off, okay? Raditz, make sure you stay in there the full session, you'll want to land on that planet at full strength."

"Yes, mother."

"Make sure you find a food source just incase you aren't able to clear the planet in time!"

"Yes, mother."

"And water! Food is important for a Saiyan but we can do without it for a few weeks. Water is the most important thing!"

"Mother."

Gine giggled and left the room, leaving both Saiyan children blushing.

"Your mom's something else," Turles said, scratching at his cheek.

"Don't remind me," Raditz sighed, hopping into the healing tank and putting a mask on. Turles went to the control panel and punched in a few buttons. The tank sealed and began to fill up with rejuvenation liquid. The last thing Raditz saw before closing his eyes was Turles ripping at the paper around his meal with his teeth and sitting in front of him to wait.

When Raditz opened his eyes he noticed Turles was still waiting and Rycelo had apparently been released already. Turles saw he was awake and quickly went to the control panels to release him.

"Where's Rycelo?" Raditz asked, throwing off the mask as soon as the tank was drained and opened.

"I sent him to attend the mission briefing," Turles said. "We wanted to wait for you but the other soldiers in charge didn't so I figured I'd send him, then wait for you here so we could join him as soon as you recovered rather than sticking you here alone until someone happened to release you."

"Shit, thanks," Raditz said. He shook his tail off and wrapped it around his waist. "Rycelo better get all the information we need. Last thing I want is to be sent to the wrong planet…"

"You kidding? Rycelo's been waiting as long as us for this moment. He's got this," Turles said. "Come on, let's go!"

The two Saiyan children darted out of the medical bay… only to almost be completely tramped by an older Saiyan who had pushed past them, not losing stride even when he almost knocked them over.

"What's his problem?" Turles asked, scowling. Raditz wasn't paying attention. He had recognized who the older Saiyan was. When Raditz had failed to respond, Turles looked up and let out a soft, "Oh."

"Bardock," Raditz whispered. "Mother was right, he's back…"

Turles tilted his head. "Um, is it just me or does he not look too good?"

His father looked stressed and disoriented and extremely exhausted. He still hadn't spared them a glance even though it should have been second nature to be aware of his surroundings at all times. Obviously, something was keeping his mind occupied. Telling his father about his mission suddenly didn't feel that important. Besides, Raditz figured, it'd be much better to tell his father about a successful one.

"You gonna tell him about your mission?" Turles asked. "Cause now's your chance."

Raditz shook his head so fast his own hair almost whipped him in the face. "No! It can wait, we'll just-"

"HEY MISTER!"

"Turles!" Raditz hissed in horror. Turles elbowed him in the ribs and pointed at Bardock who had stopped and whirled around to face them. It was clear he didn't recognize Raditz and he tried not to let that bother him.

"He's got somethin' to tell you!" Turles said, jerking a thumb at Raditz who suddenly couldn't find words.

Bardock squinted at him, then his eyes widened with recognition and a quick 'oh shit' expression flashed across his face.

"Raditz, you've grown," he puffed. "How's Gi- How's your mother?"

"Y-Yes!" Raditz blurted. "I mean. Good! She's good! Doing great!"

Bardock hesitated, then nodded. "Ah, good…" He made a move to turn away and Turles smacked the back of Raditz's head.

"I- I'm going on a mission!" Raditz shouted quickly, recapturing Bardock's attention. "I- We won a tournament. We'll be going on our first official purging mission under Lord Frieza."

Bardock's body went rigid, but then seemed to relax as he began to completely focus on his son. He gave Raditz a tired, but proud smile. "Mission, huh?" He looked around the vacant hall and then back at Raditz and Turles. "Impressive. When do you head out?"

"As soon as we're ready, so today," Turles answered. "We just gotta collect new armor and scouters and register some pods."

Bardock nodded at him and glanced down the hall again. "A mission… Alright. Raditz, c'mere." He pointed at Turles. "You. Go get things ready while I show my son something."

Raditz's heart began to pound in his chest from the excitement of his father actually calling him over. Turles gave him a quick thumbs up and disappeared down the hall. His father began walking in the opposite direction and Raditz had to run to catch up.

"Where are we going?" Raditz asked.

"The incubation chambers."

That completely threw Raditz off until he remembered that he had a brother who was incubating in there for the past three years. His thoughts went back to his mother saying she had a surprise guest that would be seeing him off on his mission. The surprise was his brother!

Raditz knew it was rare for two Saiyans to have the same mother and father. Parents and children were hardly kept track of and he also knew his parents, Bardock and Gine, were an odd couple by Saiyan standards. For one, they were a couple. Bonded by affection and not by only physical desires. Saiyan only bred to create more warriors and had no interest in raising their young since they had the ability to survive on their own at only three years old. Though most Saiyan children did have at least one adult to train them, in some cases there were Saiyan children like Turles who came out of incubation with no idea of who their parents were, struggling to survive and make a name for themselves.

It was difficult enough for one Saiyan parent to stick around, but two was almost unheard of. Gine and Bardock were different. Or rather, Gine was different. Raditz would hear the term 'Soft Heart' thrown around to describe her and her father before her. Gine had the uncanny ability to make others enjoy her company at the expense of any fighting instinct in her body. Bardock was an average Saiyan, one who didn't know his parents. When he met Gine, she won him over and the two eventually became a pair and had their first son, Raditz, who was born with a power level of 54.

Raditz didn't see Bardock around too often, but once and a while Bardock would seek him out after visiting Gine and train him, fully acknowledging their relation. Raditz remembered loving the attention his mother would give him when he was little, but when he got older and saw this was not the norm, he began to reject her affections. He wanted to fight and get strong. He couldn't do that if he became a Soft Heart like his mother.

"Here," Bardock said, stopping in front of a large glass window. Raditz had to stand on his toes to peek over and spot the incubation pod his brother was kept in. He recognized Bardock's hair on him immediately.

"Kakarot," Raditz read. His tail unwrapped from his waist and began to sway back and forth. "Brother."

"Hnn." Bardock crossed his arms. He looked disappointed. "He has a power level of 2."

Raditz jerked back at that and stared up at his father. "What?! That low?" He shrunk down at the frown he saw on Bardock's face as he continued to stare at his brother. "Um… well, he's just a baby…"

Bardock's frown slid away and he chuckled. "You sound like your mother."

Raditz scowled and crossed his arms, tail snapping back around his waist. "He needs to get stronger," he added quickly.

"That's right," Bardock said. "I'm having him sent to a planet in the Sol sector to purge. It's a weak planet called Earth but with his transformation, should allow him to increase his power level to a more appropriate one. Not as impressive as an official mission, but he's not strong yet."

"What if he's still weak when he comes back?" Bardock looked confused for a minute, then shut his eyes and rubbed his temple as if dealing with a huge headache. Several seconds later he let out a breath he was holding and Raditz found himself worried. "…Father?"

Bardock grunted. "What… was the question again?"

"What'll happen to him if he's weak when he comes back?" Raditz repeated. Had his father's last mission given him a head injury? He probably needed to get to the medical bay, but Raditz couldn't see any physical damage on him.

"Hopefully, he'll have an older brother who will have experienced official missions to help train him. You two can become quite a team if you stick together."

"Is that what brothers do?" Raditz asked honestly.

Bardock hesitated as though he was actually thinking about it. "I'll admit I've never seen two brothers together," he said. "But the way I see it, you'll be his comrade for life. You two will be bonded by your blood and the blood of those you spill as you get stronger together."

A close comrade for life sounded pretty good to Raditz. He focused on his brother, silently willing for him to get stronger. Bardock shifted uncomfortably next to him, then abruptly turned toward him and went on one knee. Raditz jerked back in surprise. His father had never gone down to his level. They were now eye to eye and Raditz could see… fear… and anger. He grabbed his shoulder.

"Raditz," Bardock said. "This mission you're on… I need you to go all the way on this. Don't let anything or anyone stop you from getting to that planet, alright?"

"I… uh…"

"Listen to me, Raditz," Bardock hissed, shaking him once. "It's important. The planet you're going to. I need you to trust me on this. Trust in me… and trust in your brother, alright?"

"Ah…" Raditz shut his eyes, then opened them and gave his father a determined nod. "Yes, of course. Father."

It was the second time today he'd seen Bardock look genuinely pleased with him. He released his shoulder and leaned back a little, appearing more serious. "Just remember. Planet Earth in the Sol Sector, Outer District. If you can't remember that, it's also called Planet 4032-77 of Sector Eighty in the Northern Quadrant. When I send Kakarot there-"

"You're sending our son where?!"

Raditz ducked down instinctively when he heard his mother's shout. Next to him, he saw his father's tail bush up, though the expression on his face hadn't changed.

"Gine," Bardock greeted, standing up and inclining his head. Gine stomped forward and pushed against his chest roughly with both of her arms, though he remained unmoved. Her tail was lashing back and forth so furiously Raditz was scared it would fly off and hit him.

"Bardock, what do you mean you're sending Kakarot away? Why? Why today?!"

"He needs to go as soon as possible."

"I was going to take him home today, you can't do this… You didn't even consult me! Raditz is leaving too, didn't he tell you? Are you trying to make sure I remain alone for the rest of my life?"

"It's for his own good-"

"He's a baby!"

"For god's sake, Gine, they're my breed, they can take care of themselves! They don't need your coddling!" Bardock roared.

Raditz and Gine both flinched back, causing Bardock to look briefly ashamed. He shut his eyes and shook the look away, eyes hardening into a glare. When he spoke, his voice was softer, but still firm.

"Gine, this is bigger than us. I…" he seemed to struggle with words. "My last mission made me see things that I didn't quite… I still don't understand. It seems impossible."

His eyes flickered around the room as if someone was watching them. Obviously not satisfied, he took Gine by the wrist to lead her away to somewhere even more secluded. Raditz was about to follow but was stopped by Bardock's tail that unraveled and pressed against him to keep him in place.

"Stay with your brother," he demanded. "He'll be released from the pod soon and I don't want any of Frieza's rats getting to him first."

Raditz was shocked by this statement but just nodded. He watched both of his parents leave and then entered the incubation chambers so he could wait near his brother's pod. He hoped Kakarot emerged soon, he had a mission to get to.

He didn't have to wait long. A sturdy, older alien with a white beard and mustache wearing white robes approached the pod and stared at Raditz.

"Do you… need something?" the alien asked.

Raditz cleared his throat. "I'm waiting for him to be released," he said, pointing at Kakarot.

"Oh? Is there a reason you're waiting for this specific child?"

"He's my brother."

The alien squinted down at him, observing him critically. "Never had a brother get their breed out of the incubation chamber before."

"We're sons of Bardock." Hopefully his father's name would get something out of this. The alien looked at a screen on the pod and hummed thoughtfully. "My name's Raditz," he added.

"Seems about right," the alien said. He typed a few commands into the pod and it opened with a whoosh of air.

The Saiyan opened his eyes drowsily. Solid black, just like an average Saiyan. Raditz leaned forward a little. He had no idea how to approach his brother, especially when the little thing was bound to be vicious and untrained. Kakarot's eyes focused on him and his brow furrowed, making Raditz feel like he was being judged by a baby.

He didn't get to think of anything to say to his brother because suddenly all he could see was a mouth full of sharp teeth lunging towards him.

Without a second thought, Raditz brought a fist up and punched his brother in the face.

The alien burst out laughing when he saw Raditz's panicked expression. "That's Saiyans for ya!" He bent down and picked up Kakarot (who had been knocked out cold) and held him out to Raditz, giving him the impression that this was a common occurrence. Raditz quickly took him in his arms, examining his brother for any other damage he might have caused him. "Raditz, son of Bardock, meet your brother, Kakarot."

A/N: Thanks for reading. If you didn't know already, the beginning of this chapter was taken from the fan manga, Dragon Ball Zero by Toyble, which is what inspired this fic. I'll be cherry picking characters and events from Dragon Ball Minus and the Dragon Ball Movies/Show, whatever suits my needs.