Episode 2

Mysterious Threat

Few days had gone by and during those days, Bardock had done nothing but train. He was practicing his skills for hours and hours now without any kind of rest or sleep. In his ship, he spent most of his time in the training room, which happened to have a gravity room as well. This was a room which will allow the user to change the intensity of gravity to his or her liking. The user can have a maximum of 120 times gravity. The heavier the gravity was, the stronger the person will be if he or she was able to overcome it. Again, Bardock thought about the children and their genius ideas, that they were really upping the standards of martial arts training.

"Hyah!" he shouted. After he threw a punch, he quickly did another combination of moves. He was undergoing at least 50xG, five times more gravity than his home planet had. He was perspiring greatly, but he can still move his body quite well. The flooring looked slightly damaged after receiving damage from some of his energy blasts. Bardock's wounds were beginning to heal as well. In addition, he was easily becoming used to this gravity.

Bardock fired a strong energy blast at the end. It spun around the training room, intending to hit Bardock, but he stood there and concentrated his body and mind.

"This one…I won't dodge!" he said to himself, breathing heavily.

When the blast was about a foot away from him, Bardock shouted to increase his defense and keep his body firm. The energy wave met with him and it detonated, resulting into ashes. Bardock felt a lot of pain. It stung quite a lot, but he tried to overcome this. He then realized what he had just done was a little too much, he immediately felt a little over-fatigued. He fell to the floor, trying to catch his breath.

"Come on, I can't rest now," Bardock tried to get up from his knees, wanting to train more. He only had two months to make himself stronger; therefore, he cannot waste any time. He was about to stand up until he started to feel strangely uneasy. He found himself struggling to lift his legs, but the floor seemed to be pulling him harder than before.

"I can't get up?" he asked himself. Bardock quickly looked at the gravity status on the controls and realized the rate of gravity had abruptly increased to 60xG without the means of adjusting anything.

"What the heck? I didn't even lay a finger on the controls," he said, but then he might know what the problem might be. He took a glimpse out of the window and noticed a radical thunderstorm raging outside.

"…no way. Not now!" Bardock gasped in surprise and shook his head. It was just the beginning of a serious weather: A Nebula Magnetic Storm. It was a tempest that can randomly, but dangerously malfunction almost anything especially devices, machines, and apparatuses; anything that contained some sort of machinery and electricity. Due to this storm, it was dramatically changing the rate of gravity in the training room.

"So this is what's causing it," Bardock growled. "The Nebula Storm is the source for this me-mess!" he suddenly groaned in pain and felt himself being pulled again for the gravity had increased to more than sixty. The numbers were going up and down rapidly. Sometimes, it returned to 50xG and then a random number of 80xG. At one point, it even rose up to 100xG.

"Ugh! I can't get up!" he struggled, trying to defy this demanding gravity, but it was still no use for the Saiyan warrior. He did not expect for this to happen now. He regretted that he should have never over-trained.

"I need to turn off the controls somehow before something bad happens!" he told to himself very worriedly. He continued to struggle with all of his might, knowing every second counted.

Far beyond the shooting stars and explosive, yet silent shockwaves in space, millions of miles away, a planet was showed. It was in the vicinity of other neighboring planets and blazing stars of new and old. It was surrounded with many white and twinkling celestial bodies like fireworks painted on a black canvas. This planet appeared to be seldom, yet the most beautiful planet ever; a planet of lush blue, white, and green colors.

Entering through the dark space and cosmetic dusts, then through the eternal skies, and then finally within the many lands and seas and oceans…

"Gohan! Gohan!" a voice of a woman echoed throughout the sea green forests with the sun's rays shining across the fields.

"I'm right here!" a voice of a child replied from a far distance. An adorable kid ran to the young lady who was calling him.

The two were surrounded with forests and open meadows. The fields bloomed with flowers and fresh air. Near the fields was a river bank. There was also a house that was within all this scene of greenery, and what was even more beautiful, their home was on the top of a mountain.

"Gohan?" the beautiful female asked, her eyes twinkling. Her hair was tied in a bun with bangs sticking out from her ears. She was wearing a mix of traditional martial arts and Chinese clothes. "Did you do your math homework including your science?" she asked. "I think you needed to do a quick project, right?"

"Don't worry, Mommy. I did all of them," the boy named to be Gohan answered while he wiped out the dirt and dust from his clothes. He had an adorable, innocent-like face. He was wearing a yellow coat with a symbol at front as well as a red hat on top of his head. Behind him, he had a tail that was moving from side-to-side.

"That's very good. Oh, how your mommy is so proud of you," she smiled. She was always proud about her son's accomplishments in his studies. "Now, you have to go along with your dad now. You need to be early for your reunion. Goku!" the woman then called out to the skies.

A man then jumped out of sight from the shadows of the forests and came sprinting with light spreading on his gorgeous face. He had wild, spiky, black hair and he was wearing an orange and blue martial arts uniform. His body was built and muscular as he had gone through a lot of training in his life.

"Hey, I'm back, Son," the man named Goku greeted his family. He was carrying firewood in his hands and he placed them near their front door. "Hey, Chi-Chi, here's the firewood you asked for."

"Thanks a lot, Goku," Chi-Chi said.

Goku then placed his hands on his hips and asked his son with a wide grin, "So, you ready to go for our reunion, Gohan? I bet you're excited, I'm sure!"

"I'm ready," Gohan happily said.

"All right, now I want you all back before dinner starts," Chi-Chi told them. "I don't want it to get cold. By the way, tonight's dinner is going to be dim sum, your favorite!"

"Dim sum! Yummy!" Gohan patted his stomach.

"I could just taste it right now," Goku said, smacking his lips. "All right, Chi-Chi, we're off. Nimbus!"

When Goku called "Nimbus" in the skies, a yellow cloud that was really shaped like a nimbus came into view, flew, and stopped beside Goku. Nimbus had acted as a vehicle transportation system for Goku ever since he was child for he did not know how to fly before. Both he and the cloud developed a strong friendship and had been great companions ever since. Although clouds were supposed to be only objects, just non-living things, they were clouds like Nimbus in which they acted alive, like a human.

Goku and Gohan hopped on its puffy, silk-like cushion.

"See ya later, Chi-Chi," Goku said while holding onto his son tightly.

"Bye, Mom," waved Gohan.

"Bye! Make sure you take care of yourselves," Chi-Chi waved back.

"Nimbus, go!" Goku exclaimed. The cloud followed his orders and flew away, the three faintly disappearing in the sapphire-colored skies.

"Goku, be careful! You too, my baby!" Chi-Chi said one more time before they left. She then sighed. "Aah, I'm gonna worry myself to death. Oh…," she went back inside.

Goku was known to be one of the greatest fighters in Earth, possessing superhuman strength. He had gone through so many battles in his life, defeating many powerful opponents, and these experiences he had always made him stronger from the in and out. When he became an adult, he married Chi-Chi whom he met when he was a small boy. Chi-Chi was the daughter of Ox-King. Sweet, kind, but also firm and tough, she used to be a fighter, but now, she was living a much simpler life in the mountains with Goku, in this small place called "Mount Paozu." Soon, they started a family and had Gohan, a shy, yet intelligent boy who had always worked diligently on his studies for he dreamt of becoming a scholar one day.

Chirp! Chirp!

The chanting of birds made nature itself even more peaceful, and Goku and Gohan saw these birds flying with them. They watched the beautiful horizons while Nimbus took the two to high altitudes and elevations. Gohan stretched his arms to feel the breeze blowing on his plump face. With his hands, he tried to touch this flock of seagulls that were flying with them. Goku enjoyed the scenery as well with a relaxed smile on his face.

"Wow, look, Daddy, seagulls!" Gohan pointed to one of the birds with excitement, which, to him, they symbolized freedom.

"It's a nice sight, isn't? Would you like to touch one, Gohan?" Goku asked his son.

"Really? Of course I do!" the child eagerly nodded.

Goku then held up his hand into the open-air. Some of the seagulls were too afraid to approach him, but one curiously settled on his palm. Once it was on Goku's hand, Gohan then went ahead to touch the seagull's yielding feathers and tail. Its coat felt warm and smooth. After Gohan enjoyed petting the seagull, Goku then released it back into the wild and watched as it returned to its flock and flew away. He then looked down and saw a small house that said "Kame House" on the front. It was within a very small and secluded island.

"Here we are, Gohan. Nimbus, head to that island over there," Goku told his trusted cloud. Nimbus obeyed and took landing. Once the cloud arrived, it floated an inch above the sands of the tiny atoll. With Goku carrying Gohan around his arms, he hopped off from Nimbus and said, "Thanks, Nimbus. I'll be calling you later."

The cloud took flight and vanished into the skies.

"Hello! Anyone home?" Goku called out, approaching the house.

After waiting for a while, three people then came out from the door including a huge turtle beside them. The first one was named Krillin who was bald with six dots on his forehead and he was wearing a similar uniform like Goku's. He was originally a monk warrior of the Orin Temple. Krillin is a great friend of Goku ever since they first met as kids and as martial arts classmates and still today, they continued their strong friendship. Next, there was a young woman named Bulma with blue short hair and she was wearing summer clothes. Bulma is also a friend of Goku and also the daughter of Doctor Briefs, the founder of Capsule Corporation. She possessed a tomboyish and hot-tempered attitude, but with a brain so intelligent than the average human. She was the kind of person no one should mess with, but overall, she was kind and helpful just as long you do not push the wrong button on her. The next one was an elderly man named Master Roshi with a long white beard and mustache. He was wearing casual, yellow shorts, a green polo shirt, and cool glasses while carrying a wooden stick in his hand. He was the former master of Krillin and Goku when they were children, who trained them under the art of the Turtle Hermit. He also had a perversion side of him, the type who liked to flirt around with young ladies, yet he was also wise as long there are no young, attractive ladies around to distract hm. The last one was Turtle, a good friend and a long-time companion of Master Roshi. Turtle is an animal that can actually talk. All of them, Krillin, Bulma, Master Roshi, Turtle, and Goku had gone through so many amazing and thrilling journeys in the past.

"Goku, is that really you?" Krillin asked with amazement. He had not seen his best friend for a long time.

"Yep, it's me," Goku replied with a cheer on his face. "It's been a while, huh?"

Bulma gave a wide smile. She was quite surprised to see him. "Hey, Goku, long time no see," she said while observing him from head to toe. "Wow, you haven't aged a bit since the day you and Chi-Chi got married."

Goku nodded in agreement. "That's very true, but that's a good thing, right? So how are things going between you and your boyfriend, Yamcha?"

Bulma suddenly had one of her mood swings. She became irritated and she gritted her teeth together. "Oh! Might as well don't talk about him. He's been such a cheater!"

"A cheater?" Goku tilted his head to the side with a confused expression.

Krillin chuckled nervously. He did not want Bulma to go berserk or anything at this time, not during their reunion today; therefore, he said to his friend, "Nah, forget about it, Goku. It's not that important."

Goku easily shrugged it off. He then turned to his former master. "And how are you, Master Roshi?"

"I'm fine indeed," Master Roshi answered. "Turtle's been great, too."

Turtle gave a wave with his flipper.

"My, look at you Goku," Master Roshi approached him with his walking stick. "You look very well and healthy. I could guess that you haven't slacked off in your training."

"Not one bit, hah, hah!" Goku laughed.

Krillin then crossed his arms and gave a smirk. "You better not slack off in your training, Goku, 'cause I've been doing some myself, you know."

Goku chuckled a little. "Heh, heh, I see. Maybe when we have time, we can spar and let's see who's gonna win the match."

Krillin was certain of himself, he told him, "I'm confident that I'll win! Hah, hah!" he laughed.

Suddenly, Bulma's attention was caught when she noticed the young child around Goku's arms. "Oh, Goku, who's that kid you're holding?"

Krillin finally noticed him, too, and he asked, "Are you trying to babysit or something? If so, that's kinda surprising considering you never had a job before," he found this to be quite unusual. Knowing his friend, he never had any job experience or perhaps he never had time to apply for one; or maybe he was just too lazy or he never had the proper skills for any job. Goku's "profession" was only a fighter. He had fought countless battles against strong enemies that had tried to conquer the Earth before. Other than that, it seemed like this was his only specialty: just training and fighting.

Goku gave another soft smile and responded with the easiest and simplest answer ever. "…he's my son."

Everybody's eyes grew huge as if they were going to pop out. Their jaws almost dropped to the ground. "WHAT?! He's your son?!" they all yelled.

"Surprising, isn't it? His name is Gohan," Goku introduced him to his fellow friends.

"I see. So you named him after your grandfather," Master Roshi realized, fixing his glasses to observe Gohan closely, particularly his face. He could definitely see the resemblance between him and his father.

Grandpa Gohan was Goku's adoptive grandfather. He found Goku in a forest when he was a baby, crying and wailing helplessly, needing care and love. His grandfather had no idea how Goku got there, but since then, Grandpa Gohan took care of him like his own grandchild. He also taught him a little bit of martial arts. Unfortunately, Grandpa Gohan had to go, but at least the teachings he gave to Goku helped him to take care of himself. Goku lived on his own with no one else to take care of him, but he continued to grow strong, happy, and healthy. The only problem was that when Goku was growing up, he was living like a caveman, who was ignorant of the outside world. He was like an animal who only knew how to survive, which explained his lack of knowledge about the human world before. When Goku first met Bulma, he thought that the car she rode in was an elephant! He also claimed to Bulma that she was the very first female he had ever met and that he had only come in contact with humans just twice: her and his adoptive grandfather. This was a severe shock to Bulma, but thanks to her and the rest of Goku's friends whom he met along the way, after encouraging Goku to finally explore what the outside world like, he was taught well and he began to understand how the human world works.

Krillin scratched the back of his head. "Man, Goku, you've isolated yourself for too long. Why didn't you try to call us or something when your son was born?"

Goku could only chuckle to himself. "Sorry, I think that was kinda my fault, but hey, here he is now," he looked at his son and playfully touched his nose. "Not only did I name him after my grandpa, but I also gave him the four-star DragonBall that I used to keep back home. He can keep it," he said, briefly fixing his son's hat this time.

Goku's adoptive grandfather had given him a lustrous, orange-colored DragonBall with four red stars on it as a remembrance of the grandfather who loved and took care of him. And now, Goku had decided to pass this piece of memory to his son. The four-star DragonBall was actually attached on top of Gohan's red hat.

Bulma approached the two while she clasped her hands together with delight. "I'm so glad I'm able to meet your son, Goku! Look at him. He looks so cute!" she exclaimed sweetly.

Gohan felt some blushes on his cheeks, but when Goku placed him on the ground, he was startled and he quickly hid behind his legs since this was his first time seeing his father's friends.

"Gohan, go ahead and say 'Hi' to them," Goku whispered to him with a smile, assuring him that everything was going to be fine. Soon, Gohan slowly emerged from his legs and he greeted everyone with respect.

"H-hello, good morning, everyone," Gohan said very timidly.

Bulma, Krillin, and Master Roshi, including the aged Turtle, greeted him back.

"Nice to meet you, Gohan," Krillin said and pointed to himself. "I'm one of your dad's friends. My name's Krillin."

"And I'm Bulma," she introduced herself.

"Welcome, I'm Roshi," he quickly bowed his head.

Bulma went closer to Gohan and she continued to say with delight, "It's so nice to meet you! Can you tell me how old you are?" she crouched down to level with him.

Gohan counted with his tiny fingers and held up four. "I'm four and a half."

"Hmm, you being the son of Goku and all, I bet you're gonna be a strong fighter like your dad when you get older, am I right?" Bulma softly smoothed out Gohan's hair. She was confident that he, too, will become an awesome martial artist one day.

However, Goku told her, "Well, Chi-Chi doesn't let him train."

Bulma was quite surprised to hear that. Goku was surely a great fighter who had fought many battles, but it was a bit strange for his own son to not "take up" that position. "Oh…martial arts are not allowed for you, huh? Do you have any ideas then what you want to be when you grow up, Gohan?" she asked, continuing to smooth out his hair.

Gohan replied in the most utmost decorum. "I'm not so sure, but I know I want to be a scholar. I also want to major in any science field. I'm thinking of becoming an orthopedist or a cytotechnologist."

Bulma's eyes widened a little. Even for a child at his age, he knew such complex vocabulary. She was a bit baffled by his professional-like response. "Wow, I'm impressed," she almost uttered quite uncertainly.

Master Roshi was also surprised by Gohan's decision. "Well, not bad for a kid who's making his own decisions when he grows up."

Goku knew the truth behind it though. "Well, Chi-Chi actually influenced Gohan to get into any kind of science field and to also take up scholarship; seems like he likes it."

Krillin, Bulma, and Master Roshi could see a resemblance between Goku and Gohan and that was mainly their looks, but their interests in life were completely different.

"Yeah, I know," Goku frowned a little. "Chi-Chi has been overprotective lately. She wants our kid to study a lot because she says martial arts are a waste of energy. She says she'd rather train Gohan's brains instead of his brawns."

"Really? Then what does make us then?" Krillin asked with disappointment. It had been a long time since they fought together as great warriors to save the Earth from evil forces, but Chi-Chi never seemed to have realized and acknowledged the great deeds they had done.

"Hey, calm down," reassured Goku who kept on smiling. "I'll let Gohan study if that's what he wants. I kinda like the idea."

Turtle then came to Gohan curiously, but Gohan quickly backed away, afraid it would bite.

"I think he wants you to pat his head, Gohan," Goku whispered to his son.

Gohan hesitantly patted Turtle's head, but he was quickly relieved to know the old reptile was very docile and kind and so, he happily hopped on its shell. Turtle then carried Gohan around Kame House for a while

For a brief moment, Krillin watched Goku's son as he spent time with Turtle until he suddenly gasped in fright to notice something moving back and forth from Gohan's back. "Huh? Hold on! Isn't that-?"

"-a tail?!" Bulma happened to notice this as well and she was equally as surprised as Krillin was.

Goku nodded, not noticing the apparent frightened expressions on his friends' faces. "Yeah, he does have a tail. When Chi-Chi gave birth to Gohan, he was born with it. Just like me when I was young," he said happily with a continued smile, thinking nothing was actually wrong.

However, Bulma, Krillin, and Master Roshi knew something about the presence of this tail from the past. It was that very tail that gave them nightmares before.

"Oh, Goku! Tell me, nothing strange happens to him when it's night, I hope," Bulma said anxiously.

"Yeah, especially when there's a full moon?" Krillin added with more worry.

Goku cannot understand what they were getting at.

Master Roshi hurried to his former student and explained to him. "We're saying if Gohan has ever looked at a full moon when it's night!"

Goku slowly shook his head. "Not really. We go to bed pretty early…why ask?" he crossed his arms while staring at the blue skies, his mind picturing a full moon up there as his friends kept mentioning about it.

"Oh nothing! Just nothing! Phew!" his friends responded back, sighing with great relief.

Goku absolutely had no idea what they were talking about, but he suspected they knew of something he did not.

It was then Gohan was done touring with Turtle. He ran back to his dad and stood beside him with a cheerful beam. He was finally adjusting to this new environment and with Goku's friends, and he felt less timid now around them.

"I've been meaning to ask, Goku," Krillin began. "What are you gonna wish for if you thought about collecting all seven DragonBalls?" he asked, going back to the four-star DragonBall topic. He picked up a stone and threw it at the surface of the waters, watching it skip.

The seven DragonBalls were created to grant a person's wish; any kind of wish. The number of stars on a DragonBall is an indication what number it held. There are seven in total and when all seven are collected, the DragonBalls will awake an eternal dragon. Like a genie, the dragon will grant any wish.

"I'm not sure, if I think about getting all seven," Goku thought about it and picked up a stone, too. "To tell you the truth, I'm happy with what I have. I couldn't ask for anything better," he took his turn, also throwing the stone across the waters. Since his strength was beyond the roof, the rock dashed instead on the surface of the waters like a fast shooting star.

"Wow, amazing, Goku! You still have the strength!" Krillin praised his best friend.

Master Roshi's glasses shone. "Outstanding…even though Goku has barely trained for the past few years, he's still powerful as ever."

The outgoing Goku smiled while he watched the rock dashed through the seas, the waters flying off from the surface and glimmering under the rays of the sun. Goku knew he had an unbelievable amount of power that was almost abnormal, that no human possessed here on Earth, and he and his friends were very well-aware of this. They were times they wondered if Goku was really human. As for Goku, he did not mind at all about this incredible strength of his since he believed this was all natural to him. It may simply mean that he was just strong and he accepted this.

All of a sudden, out of nowhere, Goku's eyes widened. He was immediately on the alert to have abruptly sensed this strange vibe in the air. It startled and surprised him; he quickly glanced from left to right, trying to find out where he was picking up this unexpected power. What was worse…this power gave him that feeling that a predicament was about to occur.

"Something bad is heading straight for us," Goku anxiously told his friends.

Krillin and Master Roshi happened to feel this very same energy that Goku was sensing now.

"Yeah, I could sense it, too," Krillin agreed who was also getting nervous.

Bulma though tried to calm them down. "No worries. I'm sure it's just Tien, Chiaotzu, and maybe even Yamcha. Though I don't wanna see him at this time! How dare he shows his face after cheating on me!" she gripped her jacket tight and she stomped her feet.

"No, it's not them. This energy I'm sensing…it's too dark," Goku corrected her false prediction, his eyes still looking from every direction with silent anxiety.

Krillin turned to him. At such peaceful times like these, this was much unexpected. His eyes grew big; his heart pounding. He anxiously fixed his vision in the morning skies. "So it must mean-"

"-an enemy is coming," Goku warned seriously. His son, Gohan, heard this and he trembled. He clutched his father's legs for safety, and yet, he cannot rid of this fear he was having.

"Daddy, what's going? I'm scared," Gohan told him, his voice almost faltering.

"Just stay right behind me, Gohan," Goku murmured to his son, bringing him closer to him, trying to calm him down. The feeling of this ominous energy grew stronger by the second, and Goku was angered that something like this would happen now at such peaceful times and at the wrong timing as well; especially that his son was with him, he cannot let anything happen to his own child.

Whoosh!

A gust of wind blew, a faint light flashed out of nowhere, and in Goku's mind, it almost ached from just feeling out this intense and dark presence. Goku quickly looked up and spotted a small figure, which appeared to be already menacing even from such a far distance. A stature in dimness immediately headed straight for them, and it was flying. His eyes grew huge and he held his son more tightly, promising to himself that whatever unforeseen danger he was about to face now, he will protect his only beloved son.

Yet, despite of this courage Goku always showed, he was immensely afraid from the inside. Even keeping his son close to him, he was also quivering as much as his own child. He had never felt anything like this before and no doubt, this spelled trouble for all of them.

And then…it happened.

A mysterious man unhurriedly landed in front of them, placing his two feet on the ground one by one. He was wearing a mysterious-looking garb with an exotic, unusual device worn on his left eye. He had wild, bristly black hair that lengthened all the way to his hamstrings. His body was built and muscular, conditioned to fight mightily in any kind of battle like Goku's. The mysterious man crossed his arms and despite of his handsome looks, his lips pulled a menacing grin.

What captured Goku's attention the most was when he sensed this creature's life force inside of him. His power level…was terrifying.

"Who is that?" Goku asked in his mind, observing this unwelcome guest from bottom to top. He had already begun to sweat and he could feel his palms shaking more; however, he tried to conceal all of this.

"Whoever this guy is, he doesn't look like a tourist to me," Krillin thought. His body was already in a stance that showed he was prepared to take serious action if needed.

Bulma and Master Roshi kept in the back, trying not to move a muscle. They also kept their eyes on Gohan to make sure that he will be safe.

The unknown creature with a serious expression had his gadget started to calculate numbers in a different language. Goku realized that the eyes of this mysterious person were already focused on his the moment he set foot on this island. What was it about him that made this person have interest in him?

His appearance already boded an ill omen. He finally spoke. "We finally crossed paths," shadows were casted over his pupils, still looking straight into Goku's eyes. "You have grown."

"Huh?" Goku was surprised to hear that. Grown? Did this person…know him in any way? But he found this to be highly impossible.

"But I cannot mistaken you are the one I've been looking for…Kakarot," he gave another sinister grin.

Goku blinked his eyes for a moment. That name struck him with wonder, but most of all, utter confusion. "Ka-Kakarot?" he repeated slowly.

"Correct. It is the name you've borne ever since," he said.

"His name?" Bulma asked.

"Who is this? He must be nuts," Krillin thought.

Turtle was scared stiff. He can already smell that this mysterious man cannot be trusted. Master Roshi sensed his friend's uneasiness and he whispered to him, "Hey, Turtle, it's best for you to go back inside! We'll take care of this."

Turtle nodded, understanding him. He hurriedly returned to Kame House without being seen to seek shelter.

Suddenly, the mysterious creature pointed at Goku and began to reprimand him for some reason. Goku cannot understand why he was acting like this as if this man knew him already. He definitely did not know who he was in return. He had never met him before.

"Kakarot, it has been many years since the day you were brought here and you still have not carried out your mission?" the angered man bickered. "You were supposed to terminate all life form in this planet. What were you doing all this time?"

Goku held his son even more as his own nervousness rose. The words he said made no sense at all. He glanced at Master Roshi and his friends, showing them how clueless he was. He was giving a look, asking them if they knew what this person was talking about, but his friends were just as clueless as him.

"Look, Mister," Krillin then interrupted. "It's kinda rude to interrupt us like that, but you obviously got the wrong person," he took a step further and asked him to leave, thinking this man was no threat at all. "If you're lost or something, just allow me to escort you back."

When Krillin approached him, Goku instantly felt the dark energy in the air becoming stronger once more. He quickly saw a faint light surrounding the man's waist and saw him pulled a wider, much sinister grin. Goku knew all of this meant trouble; he tried to warn his friend. "Wait, Krillin, stay away!" he yelled before it was too late.

But in just a flash, without any warnings, Krillin was suddenly struck by the unknown person. He was in serious pain and he crashed into Kame House, breaking some of its walls.

"Krillin!" Bulma and Master Roshi cried out.

Turtle saw this from the window and he became terrified. He covered his eyes with his flippers.

Gohan closed his eyes and he squeezed his father's legs more, trembling with fear.

"Krillin!" Goku yelled. He then quickly turned around and gave an angry glare to this violent being. "Why did you-h-huh?!" but his expression changed again. This time, he saw something from his back moving from side-to-side. He was shocked to know that it was a tail! And he used it to strike Krillin with it. This tail was very similar to Goku's tail when he used to have it!

"Huh? A-a tail? I-I can't believe it!" Goku stammered, remembering his past childhood. "He has a tail just like me. Who is he?!"

"Good, you finally recognized me," the mysterious man said whose tail continued to sway from side-to-side.

"What are you-? I-," Goku stammered again, not knowing what to say next. By instincts, he now tried to push Gohan away from him this time, to keep him closer in the background with his friends, knowing this place right now was not the best place for his son. Gohan hesitated to leave though and he continued grasp his father's legs very tightly.

"You don't look familiar to me at all," Goku declared.

"Gohan!" Bulma hurriedly snatched Gohan away from his father, hoping that this warrior had not seen him yet and would not start to have any thoughts of doing anything devious to Goku's innocent child.

"Kakarot," the sinister warrior questioned him with a firm voice. He was becoming angry again. "You mean you cannot recognize who I am?"

Goku finally knew what to say to him. He began to defend himself. "Whoever this 'Kakarot' is you're looking for, I'm not him. My name is Goku," he said firmly, making his position clear.

The warrior was apparently shocked to hear his answer. "What? What are you saying?"

"Daddy!" Gohan cried out once more, pleading safeness from his father.

"Gohan, just stay back, please!" Goku immediately whispered to his frightened child.

The warrior was still in shock. He held an even more serious expression. He wanted to know what was going on with him. "Listen to me, Kakarot. Tell me, did you get a serious head injury when you were young?"

Master Roshi sparked some interest. He did consider something from the past about that.

"What?" Goku replied back, not understanding him.

"When you were a child, did you have a terrible accident which caused damage to your head?!" the warrior restated his question one more time.

"Daddy, Daddy!" Gohan continued to panic and cry out.

"Gohan!" Goku raised his voice this time, trying to calm his son down to somehow keep his own mind clear regardless of all the confusion and pressure he was under in now. The current situation, this mysterious warrior in front of him, the panic cries of his son, his friends' safety, his own anxiety, and the dangers he might face in the future, they were all just too much for him.

The angry warrior got more irritated for ignoring his question. "Did you heed to what I just said?!"

Goku stared at him for a long moment while taking a mental calmness of mind and a deep breath. Finally, he answered him in a more composed tone. "…yeah," he placed a hand on his head and felt a vague, old wound there that was covered by his hair. "It was a long time ago. It's too hard to even recall it, but you're right. I did hit my head when I was a child. I still have a scar when it happened."

"You stupid fool! No wonder you had forgotten," the aggravated warrior reprimanded him again.

"I forgot what? Tell me!" demanded Goku, wanting an answer from him. He could not understand why he was acting like this as if they had known each other.

"Goku," Master Roshi sparingly called out from the frustrated crowd.

Both of the warriors quickly glanced at Roshi.

Master Roshi put his head down a little. He had been meaning to say this to Goku before, but he was not able to find the right situation for him to say it; however, today may be the day. Roshi finally said, "Your grandfather told me something before. We kept it hidden, but I think it's now the right time to say it," and so, he tried to retrace every utterance Goku's grandfather told him.

"Long ago, when your grandfather was taking a walk in the woods, he stumbled upon a crater that seemed to be recently made on the ground. When he examined more closely, he found inside that crater what it appeared to be a spaceship that was shaped like a pod. It was then that he found you inside of it. He didn't know how you got there, but he decided to adopt you and raise you like his own grandson. At first, when he took you in his arms, you had a carefree and playful nature; however, as days went by, you rapidly became disobedient, wild, and, to your grandfather's shock, abnormally strong for such a tiny one."

Goku and the mysterious warrior were immediately absorbed into Master Roshi's story.

"You didn't appreciate or even cared about your grandpa's kindness until one day, when your grandpa took you for a morning walk in the mountains, a terrible accident happened. You accidentally fell from a tall cliff and suffered a serious head injury. Your grandpa did everything to keep you alive. Every day, he always feared that he might have lost you. But then, a miracle happened. You survived! Yes, no human, no child, not even a baby could have possibly survived such a terrible accident, but you recovered and in just a few days, too! From that day on, you switched back to your playful and kind nature. You became a happy, loving boy."

Master Roshi finished with his brief, yet a story of significance. His glasses shone again, and he had a more serious expression.

At first, Goku could not believe that this was possible, but when he remembered about his own abnormal strength, about how mysteriously powerful he was than any other fighter here on Earth, he was beginning to see some truth behind Master Roshi's story. "Are you saying…I'm not…from here then? I came from…outer space?" at the end, he found himself struggling to speak those last words out.

Bulma raised an eyebrow. "Okay, that rids a lot of confusion. Are you saying Goku and this guy have some sort of connection with each other?"

"I wish I knew," Master Roshi said quietly.

Goku slowly turned to the unwelcome man now. With a serious expression, he asked him. "You have my attention. Now we must know who you are. Why do you claim that you know me?"

The unknown being could only look down at the sands beneath him, his eyes showing nothing but apathy. "I did not really come here to give you a brief history lesson because you should know who I am…and who you truly are…," once again, he stared at Goku with dark shadows casting over his eyes; a look so baleful and ominous.

Goku was feeling nervous again, but he tried to keep his valor unwavering.

"But I'll tell everything to you anyway if that's what it takes to make you remember," he said further. "And after I give the details to explain this 'mystery' to you apparently, ensure yourself you'll be coming back to work for us."

Goku was startled more, but he tried to keep a clear mind and thinking. Whatever he will say, he will surely not believe in his words especially that he and everyone else saw him as a heartless enemy. Goku promised he will protect his family and friends. He will make this warrior leave out of this planet with a lesson he will never forget. Whoever he was, he was not welcome here.

Soon, Krillin finally regained his posture. He wobbled and cautiously tried to get up from his knees. He tried to recover from his pain and shock. Bulma and Master Roshi including Turtle quickly went to Krillin's aid.

"Thanks, guys," Krillin said to the three of them. He groaned in pain, however, and felt a bit lightheaded.

"Krillin, you okay there, buddy?" Goku asked, concerned about his friend's condition.

"Yeah, careful, Goku. I can sense he's not…normal," Krillin warned him, rubbing the back of his aching head while staring into those eyes of this violent creature.

"Mmm-hmm. I agree with you," Goku understood him perfectly. "Something about him that turns my stomach into knots, even just standing and talking to him like this."

The warrior could only grunt. In his mind, they were all foolish enough especially Goku to not know who they were actually dealing with. "Hmph, such a pity. You should know better than to say harsh words. Careful, you're more like me than you realize," he said to Goku.

Everybody became speechless and even more afraid what this man might do next.

And so, this unknown being began to reveal everything to Goku; the whole truth about him, revealing him to every tiny detail and every little story. He began to tell Goku about the true nature of him…he once supposed to be from the very beginning.

"You were born on the planet, Vegeta, your home planet, many galaxies away from here. You were destined to be a violent…"

Goku's eyes slowly widened.

"…merciless…"

Goku's heart was pounding. He was shaking his head in disbelief, not believing this was all true.

"…and a prideful fighter."

And yet, there were times Goku had these deep, inner, unconscious feelings that he felt he was supposedly to be…evil in the first place; he felt that when he was a baby, even when he grew up a little; however, he had always dismissed them as tricks in his mind, only false imaginations, that he was just over-thinking about this, which held no special meaning. Once, he had felt that way even after the accident happened, which led him to become a good person instead. It was now a memory in his mind he cannot seem to forget; however, it was a good thing he changed for the better! It was a good thing that accident happened! He thought.

"You are destined to be…a Saiyan warrior…just like me," the mysterious creature said.

Goku silently gasped.

"Huh?!" Bulma, Krillin, and Turtle exclaimed.

"Goku…!" Master Roshi worriedly said.

Gohan remained in Bulma's arms while she and her friends kept the young, innocent boy safe from harm's way. Gohan actually could not help but feel some tears falling out from his eyes already from experiencing too much fear in his fragile heart.

"We are related by blood. My name is Raditz…your older brother!" the warrior finally revealed who he was at last.

"…!" Goku was immensely shocked to know this. This man who he was confronting all along was his older brother!

The skies began to darken and grey clouds were rapidly covering the sun. It was a terrible omen that will soon yet to come.

"Brother?!" Goku repeated one more time in his mind with terror and dread.