Chapter 1: Forced Goodbyes

"Daddy!" Small fists pounded the metal walls of the pod relentlessly. There was no rhythm. Like his heart, the beat was frantic. His hands began to hurt. It went unnoticed for a moment, until a hopeless feeling settled in his core. The child winced at discovered pain. Tears streamed and wetted his rounded face as hands fell defeatedly at his sides. The words spoken between his father and uncle were barely audible to otherwise sensitive ears. He couldn't understand what was being said. Gohan began to wonder if daddy could hear him or if he cried out for naught, but his mind wandered to more hopeful thoughts. He would beat this man in no time. Surely, he would! Dad was a great hero and no one could defeat him.

Knees were drawn to his chest. All he had to do was wait now. Then he could go home and repress this awful memory...

The smothered wails of Goku's son did in fact reach the ears of his father. His heart wrenched at the cries, but the man was glad the four-year-old was away from the battlefield. A deep breath was taken and then released as a sigh, but a calm did not wash over Goku. Before him was his brother, or so he claimed to be. All Goku saw was a threat to Earth and his loved ones. It wasn't the first time his world was at stake nor would it be the last. Eyes darkly studied the more skilled fighter before he moved to prepare.

Stance taken, and weighted gear removed, Goku stood alone against a greater power. All his brother seemed to do was sneer, hardly amused by the presence of his foolish brother and the pathetic power level he possessed. However the tailed saiyan's attention seemed to shift and redirected itself as something else was detected on his scouter.

Another ki was sensed approaching that caught Goku off guard for a moment. The device made Raditz full aware of the other as well. An ebony eyebrow raised towards the familiar being and the armored man laughed. "What now, green man? Surely you know your place!" A tension could be seen briefly from Goku.

Piccolo invited himself to joined his side.

"I have a bone to pick with your sibling." The words fell from his tongue bitterly as the weighted clothes collided on the ground with a dull thud. "You're next, be assured of that, but I suppose I'll need your help finishing him off." These were the only words he offered to Goku. A temporary alliance.

A short bit of laughter came. Goku was the source. He did not let his uneasiness show. "Eavesdropping is something Chi-Chi would frown at. Though, I can't deny that I may need your help, too," Eyes focused themselves again on the greater threat. "But don't think I'll let you have victory over me when this is over with." Piccolo gave no more than a snort of acknowledgment before he fell into a defensive stance.

A frown. Even with confidence brimming, Raditz wouldn't regard their foolishness lightly. "Even together you pose no threat to me. You've only accomplished one thing." The man seemed to disappear before their eyes, two sets of orbs searching for the man in surprise. Goku let out forced cough before his mind could collect what had just happened. Fingers curled together in a tight fist. It dug into his gut. "Your defeat." A sigh. "You should have joined me, little brother, but I can't grant you another chance now." He hadn't bothered to add the rest of the statement. The other could piece it together himself.

You are a disgrace to the saiyan race.

Blood-curdling scream forced Gohan from his thoughts. "Daddy...?" A scream ripped through the air a second time. "Daddy!" He was being hurt! Tears again streamed down a former trail. Eyes tried to see the battlefield through the red-tinted window and his watery eyes, but Gohan couldn't see anything beyond the crater. Another scream emerged and more soon followed. He was trapped and daddy needed him, but what could he do?

Something seemed to stream in his veins, threatening to burst the tiny vessels that carried his blood. Something he never felt before in his short life.

Anger. It was accompanied by a feeling of uselessness.

"Leave him alone..." It was barely above a threatening whisper. Knees were pulled away from his chest as the child stood as much as he could in the pod. "I said leave my daddy alone!" An order came. It was the loudest he had even been in his life. Underneath his foot, just as he was going boil over, a series of buttons were pressed and soon crushed.

Unexpectedly, a gas was released, not surprising the child fuming in newfound hatred for the man hurting his father. Something tickled his nostrils, and he felt weak all of a sudden, but overall tired as the gathered strength soon left him. Tears were left in the corners of his eyes as he drifted into a sleep.

What?! Scouter suddenly picked up on a much more menacing power level than the two before him. Raditz followed an arrow to the source, his pod, and looked in disbelief. The power dropped as soon as it rose, but the sound of crunching metal didn't pass his sensitive hearing. "Hmm." 710 was still an impressive number. Boot lifted from the body of Goku and a frown took over his features as he returned his gaze to the other beneath him. "Brother," The word came from a tongue of venom. It was a shame he had to even be related to his oaf! "You are not worthy of death. I will not grand you such a blessing." Foot slammed into the body one last time. Goku felt his body cave in on itself. Bones cracked underneath, twisting the structure into odd positions. "Pathetic." Those were the final words to he heard from his sibling.

The true saiyan began advancing towards the crater, leaving him in shame. Not bothering to glance back. Raditz gave an annoyed grunt as he noticed the damage to his pod. Luckily, to remind him of the reason he was here, the alien had another pod. Formerly for Kakarot's use.

Goku weakly raised an arm, fingers shaking with a lack of control. "Wa-Wait—G-Gohan..." Words hardly made it out of his throat. "G-Give...my son bac—" Blood filled his mouth, overwhelming buds with a taste of cropper as it spilled from corners. Eyes were like a lease out of focus. The world was shifting, his head was dizzy, and his body wouldn't listen. Dark orbs, like coal, watched as his son was taken away from him. A piece of his world just gone.

Darkness crept into his vision.

Piccolo, just feet away from the unconscious other, barely managed to gather enough strength to stand again. Purple seeped from open wounds and dripped to the earth.

The invader wasn't wrong.

AN: Hello people! Sorry about the poor fight scene. I can't say I have much experience in that, so I apologize for making it as it is. I really don't think you could even call it one. ^^; I hope to improve with time though! Maybe I'll come edit and fix that someday. Haha. Anyways, I hope this start was enough to interest some eyes! Oh what awful fate does this story have in store for Gohan? What about Piccolo? Will he take the chance to defeat Goku? Hehe! Only I know and you'll have to patiently wait to find out! Until the next chapter!