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Son Gohan the Warrior

Chapter 2: The Fight

"Will you shut up already!" screamed Raditz at a crying Gohan. "I can't take it anymore!" Picking up the half-Saiyan, he threw him inside his space pod and sealed it. "You can come out when you shut up. In the mean time, I'm going to round up something to eat."

-DBZ: SGTW-

Back at Kame House, Goku is sitting there. "I... I couldn't stop him from taking my son..."

"Don't blame yourself, Goku," said Krillin. "He was too strong for you. There was nothing you could do."

"He's too strong," said Master Roshi. "We'll need to find some way to outsmart him."

Goku sat there, thinking. "His tail!" he said, sitting up.

"What?" said the other three, completely bewildered by Goku's idea.

"Remember whenever somebody grabbed my tail? It hurt. A lot. I couldn't move at all."

"Yeah, you're right!" said Krillin, getting up. "If somebody grabs his tail, he'll be completely helpless. Somebody can defeat him."

"Yeah!" said Goku, getting to his feet. "But who am I going to get to help me?"

Krillin shook himself mentally. Think about how much Goku has helped you in his life.

"Krillin and I will help you, Goku," said Master Roshi.

"But neither of you can be wished back by the Dragon Balls if you die."

"How many times have you saved us?" asked Krillin. "I don't care, Goku. I'm going to help you."

"You're not strong enough," said a voice from above them. Looking up, they all saw a green demon hovering over Kame House.

"Piccolo!" they all shouted.

"I don't have time to deal with you right now, Piccolo," said Goku.

"I'm not here to fight you, Goku."

"Then why are you here?"

"I'm here because that guy who took your son wants to take over the world." Piccolo grinned. "I have my own plans to take over the world, and I need him out of the way. He's got your son, so that means we both want him gone. And our only chance is if we work together. If we team up."

"How do I know you won't just turn on me?"

"Because, fool, he's too strong for me as well as you."

Goku walked and stared in the direction Raditz had flown. "I don't know why you want to take over the world, Piccolo."

"I have my reasons, Goku. But rest assured, after we're done with him, I'm coming for you."

Goku smirked. "Fair enough." He turned to face Piccolo. "Alright. Let's go, right now."

Piccolo's eyes widened. "You have a plan?"

"He won't expect a head-on frontal assault. Then, when he's distracted, one of us grabs his tail, which will immobilize him. The other one finishes him off."

"How do you expect to find him?"

Goku turned to Bulma. "Can I borrow the Dragon Radar, Bulma?"

"What good will that do?" asked Bulma.

"Gohan has a Dragon Ball on his hat, remember?"

"Oh, right!" Bulma took the radar out and handed it to Goku. "Here you are. Be careful with it."

"Right." He turned to sea. "Flying Nimbus!" The cloud came soaring down, right in front of Goku. He hopped on. "Think you can keep up with this, Piccolo?"

Piccolo smirked. "I would be embarrassed if that thing could keep up with me."

"Alright, let's go."

The two enemies took off into the air together, ready to fight as a team for the first time ever.

"Do you guys really trust Piccolo?" asked Krillin.

"He needs that guy gone, so he'll side with Goku for as long as he needs his help." said Master Roshi. "But no longer than that. But that has got to be the world's strongest team."

-DBZ: SGTW-

Raditz was walking around his space pod. Suddenly, his scouter went off.

"What!?! A power level of 800? And it's within 30 meters of here! Impossible!" He turned to face where his scouter was pointing. It pointed directly at his pod. "Impossible. That kid can't possibly have a power level that high." He touched a button on his scouter. "Thing must be broken."

It began going off again. "Two power signatures. One's at 350, the other at 320. Kakarot has a power level of 350. It can't be him. This thing must still be on the fritz. How could they have followed me here?"

Laughing, he looked at it. Sure enough, two dots appeared in the sky. "Impossible! How did they find me! They don't have tracking equipment. But they're here! This thing must not be broken after all." He turned to his pod. "That means the kid really does have that high of a power level. But how?"

Goku and Piccolo arrived moments later. Hopping off Flying Nimbus, Goku turned to Raditz. "Alright, now where is my son?"

Raditz laughed. "He's in my space pod. I locked him in there because he was annoying me. So, you were too scared to face me by yourself, so you brought the green man with you. You still don't have a chance."

Piccolo laughed. "That's where you're wrong. You will be defeated." He took off his cape and turban, throwing them to the ground, making a slight dent.

"I didn't know you trained with weighted clothing, Piccolo. I guess I should take my weights off as well." Goku took his own weights off.

"So what," said Raditz. "You can mask your power level with weights. Big deal." He hit a button on his scouter. "So, Kakarot. You're at 510, and the green man's at 408. I'm still stronger than both of you combined." He suddenly thought of something. "Kakarot, does your kid wear weights as well?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

Impossible! thought Raditz. That would put the kid near a level of 1,000. And at his age!

"No reason. I was just wondering how accurate the readings I'm getting are. Your kid will make a very valuable member of our organization. I don't even need you any more."

"You're not taking my son!" Goku charged forward, attacking Raditz with punch after punch. Raditz blocked every single punch his brother threw, then elbowed Goku in the neck, knocking him down.

Gohan heard the sounds of battle from the pod. He crawled over to the window, and looked outside. He saw his father getting beaten by Raditz. "Daddy!"

Just then, Piccolo jumped into the fight, attacking Raditz with everything. Raditz simply dodged all the blows thrown at him, then punched Piccolo in the stomach, and threw him back.

"Pathetic for a Saiyan, Kakarot. Losing your tail has made you lost your power, has it?"

Stumbling to his feet, Goku turned to Piccolo. "Do you have any sort of trick up your sleeve we could use?"

Piccolo nodded. "I was planning on saving it for you, but it looks like I'll need it now. I need a few minutes to charge it up, so do you think you can hold him off until it's ready?"

"Doesn't look like I have much of a choice." Goku charged back into battle. Piccolo raised his fingers to his head and began focusing his energy for the attack.

Goku was giving it his all, but it still wasn't enough. He managed to evade some blows, but those that came through hurt worse than any other punch. Still, it was all he could do.

Raditz suddenly looked as his scouter beeped. He looked at Piccolo. "1,330! How did he gain that much energy in a short amount of time?"

"Special Beam Cannon, fire!" Piccolo fired his beam at Raditz. Raditz moved out of the way just before it hit him.

"How did he dodge that?" muttered Piccolo. "He must be able to move faster than the speed of light."

"That was a rather nice trick," Raditz said, grinning. "But still not good enough. Now, remember this? Keep your eyes on the birdie." Suddenly, he started writhing in pain. Looking back, he saw Goku had taken advantage of him being distracted and grabbed his tail.

"Hey, Piccolo. Can you charge up another one of those attacks?"

Piccolo nodded. "Sure." He began to get another attack ready.

"No... please," begged Raditz. "You can't do this to me. I'll leave and never come back, I swear!"

"Don't listen to him, Goku!" yelled Piccolo. "He's trying to trick you!"

"I'll never hurt anyone again, I swear it! Just please, let me leave!"

Goku's grip on his tail slackened. Raditz elbowed Goku in the head, knocking him down. "You're too soft to be a Saiyan, Kakarot."

Suddenly, his scouter began going off again. "What the!" He turned to his pod. "This can't be! The kid's power level is over 1,500! And yet it's still going up!"

Suddenly, Raditz' pod shattered as a very angry Gohan shot up and landed directly in front of him.

"Goku... look over at the crater. It's your son," said Piccolo, amazed.

"No... Gohan, Daddy can't get up right now. Run away from here. Run away, Gohan."

"2,078! That's impossible for a kid to have a power level that strong!" Raditz backed away slightly. "And if Kakarot is to be believed, the kid's still wearing weights!"

"Get away from my DADDY!" screamed Gohan as he shot forward at Raditz. He head butt his uncle directly in the chest, causing a noticeable crack in the armor. Raditz fell backwards, tumbling hard.

Gohan was on the ground. Getting up, he looked at his father, who was just staring at him in awe. "G.. Gohan?"

"You darned kid!" screamed Raditz as he got up. "That hurt!"

Goku staggered to his feet. "Come on. Let's finish this."

Raditz charged at Goku, who maneuvered behind Raditz. He was too weak to take Raditz out, so he grabbed him in an arm lock. "Piccolo, fire!"

"Special Beam Cannon, fire!" screamed Piccolo once again. This time, the beam tore through Raditz, and then tore through Goku.

Both Raditz and Goku hit the ground.

"Loser. How could he? Now.. he's a goner. The... fool." said Raditz as he was lying there.

"Don't lose your long sleep over it," said Piccolo, walking over to Raditz. "I bet Goku will be back here within a week."

"What!? That's... impossible. Tell me how!"

Piccolo grinned. "Gladly. On this planet we have something that we call Dragon Balls. Whoever brings all seven Dragon Balls together get any one wish granted. Goku's friends will use the Dragon Balls to wish him back in no time. It's Goku who will have the last laugh."

"No. I'm afraid you're wrong, green man. This device on my face is also a transmitter. Fool. They've heard every word. Now they'll come. I know they will. They'll want to make a wish."

"When?" asked Goku from where he was lying. "When will they be here? How long will it take them to get here?

"One year. And the funny thing is... they're much stronger than me."

"Stronger," muttered Piccolo. "One year... Oh no."

"What's wrong? Gee, you look so depressed all of a sudden, green man. Don't be so glum! We can't all have the last laugh." Raditz started laughing. Piccolo couldn't take it anymore and finished him off.

Just then overhead, Bulma, Master Roshi, and Krillin swept over in a jet. "Oh no! Only one of them's standing!" said Bulma.

"Oh great," said Krillin. "Who is it?"

"Piccolo?" asked Master Roshi.

"Oh no!" exclaimed Bulma. "Goku's down!"

"Uh-oh. He's not moving."

-DBZ: SGTW-

"You're gonna make it, Goku! You can pull through!" said Krillin, kneeling over Goku.

"No, Krillin," said Master Roshi.

"He can! Can't you, Goku?"

"Nope," said Goku simply. "Not this time, friend. This time, I can't."

"I'll wish you back, Goku. We already have three Dragon Balls."

"Goku..." said Bulma from where she was holding Gohan.

"Take care of Gohan for me, guys. And tell Chi-Chi that I'll be back. You know I will, so don't worry about me."

"I'm proud of you, son," said Master Roshi.

"I love you all. Goodbye." Goku then closed his eyes. With that, the protector of the Earth passed away.

"GOKU!" screamed Krillin, his eyes shut tight.

"What a remarkable man," said Master Roshi. "Hey- look! He's disappearing!"

And so Goku did. He vanished.

"What in the world happened?" asked Master Roshi to no one.

"I know," said Piccolo. "It was Kami."

"Who's Kami?" asked Krillin.

"The guardian of the Earth. Goku knows him well. Yes, this is his work. No doubt Kami has some special purpose in mind for Goku."

-DBZ: SGTW-

What is Kami's purpose for Goku? Find out in the next chapter of DBZ: Son Gohan the Warrior.