Pursuit

Chapter 2: Abduction

May 7th, Age 756; 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament

"She's turned into quite the young woman hasn't she?" Master Roshi remarked.

"Heh – yeah," Yamcha murmured, his rapt attention following Goku's fluid moves as she battled her next opponent, Tenshinhan.

Master Roshi adjusted his sunglasses. The sun glinted off of the lenses. "She's a force to be reckoned."

"You can say that again. She's gotten so much better since the last time I saw her," Krillin observed.

Yamcha idly scratched his chin stubble. "Not gonna lie – I'm kinda relieved I'm out of the tournament now that I don't have to worry about the embarrassment of getting my ass handled to me by her."

Krillin pressed his fist to his lips and cleared his throat. "Coward," he murmured under his breath.

"Hey!" Yamcha exclaimed. "I heard that!" He punched Krillin in the arm.

Krillin rubbed the spot and chuckled. "Yeah you'd lose alright. You hit like a girl. That tickled…"

Yamcha raised an eyebrow challengingly. "Goku's a girl, and she'd give you a smack-down."

Krillin rolled his eyes. "That doesn't count," he retorted. "Goku's special."

Yamcha's eyes widened for a moment, and then he began laughing heartily. "She's special, huh?"

Krillin choked on his saliva and pounded his chest with his fist. "Th – cough – that's not what I – cough – meant!" he defended, his cheeks flushing a scarlet red.

"Sounds to me like you've got a crush on Goku," Yamcha teased.

Krillin crossed his arms. "I don't have a crush on Goku. She's my best friend!"

Yamcha patted the top of Krillin's head. "Chill man, I'm just kidding around. 'Sides, if you don't want her, I'm calling dibs."

Krillin's jaw dropped. "Wait, what? You have a crush on her?!"

Yamcha chuckled. "Nah dude… crushes are for kids. I just think she'd be great in bed, and it's pretty cool that she's a martial artist like me. I'm starting to get sick of women always wanting to drag me on their shopping sprees, and if I have to see one more chick-flick I think I'm gonna shoot myself!"

Krillin's face paled. "You mean… you only want to hook up with her?"

Yamcha quirked an eyebrow. "You sure you're not into her? You're looking a little jealous, Bro."

Krillin shook his head adamantly. "No. It's not that! It's just… this is Goku… not some chick you pick up in a bar."

Yamcha waved his hand at Krillin nonchalantly. "Ah... c'mon, Krillin. Don't give me that. She's not a little girl anymore. She can handle herself."

Master Roshi cleared his throat. "I think you should listen to what Krillin has to say. Goku is like a daughter to me, and I'd hate to see you mistreat her like that."

Yamcha gaped at his Master in disbelief. "Come on! You're not gonna give me that b.s. Goku's so naïve and innocent pretense too…?"

"Pay attention, Yamcha. Goku has grown up. She can live on her own with nobody's help. She defeated the demon King Piccolo. She's done a lot of maturing, but she's still the same old childish, naïve Goku at heart. Bulma may be able to handle you, but Goku won't even be able to comprehend you," Master Roshi explained. "There are plenty of other women martial artists who have come to the tournament."

Yamcha crossed his arms and furrowed his eyebrows together with apparent frustration. "You're the last person I'd expect to cockblock me. Honestly, you act like I'm gonna treat her like dirt! I would never do that to her!"

Having nothing else to say, and being greatly aggravated by his Master and friend, Yamcha took off to watch the fight at a different location and to steam off a bit.

Krillin crossed his arms and huffed. "Can you believe the nerve of him?"

"Krillin," Master Roshi muttered.

"Yeah, Master?"

"The same goes for you," he said.

Krillin's jaw dropped again. "Seriously? I'm not anything like Yamcha. I'm not a lady's man. I've never even had a girlfriend!"

"That's not what I mean, Krillin," Roshi replied. "I can see the way you look at her. You're a kind, honest, and upstanding young man, m'Boy."

Krillin blushed again. "How many times do I have to say that I don't like-like Goku!"

"You can't fool me, Son. I'm warning you now. Goku is not the right kind of woman for you. She doesn't understand what romantic love is, and the older she gets, the more I believe that she never will. She's a kind-hearted, good girl who loves everyone and everything in the same way. She's not interested in settling down and getting married. I doubt she even knows what marriage is. She doesn't want to have children like you. Your passion for the martial arts is all that you have in common."

Krillin frowned. "That's not true, Master! We have a lot in common, and you make Goku sound like a robot. She's a human being just like me and you!"

Master Roshi shook his head and his accompanying countenance was uncharacteristically stern. "You're a smart boy. You know what I'm saying is the truth, but your big heart is clouding your judgment. I care about you just as much as I care about her. I don't want to see you get hurt. Promise me you'll think twice about what I've told you."

Krillin sighed and bowed his head. "I promise."

The Present:

Raditz clicked his tongue and wagged his index finger to-and-fro. "Karra, Karra, Karra... you should know by now that I'm not a patient man. In fact, my patience has just about dissipated. Stop playing these childish games!"

Goku clenched her teeth. "I'm not playing," she hissed.

Raditz raised his eyebrows and chuckled. "My, my… so you do have some Saiyan sass in you after all."

"I don't tolerate anybody who threatens my friends!" Goku retorted. "Do you accept my terms or not?"

"I don't do deals, Kakarra. I don't think you fully understand the position you're in," Raditz replied, his brow-line beginning to pucker with mounting aggravation.

"Probably not," Goku confessed, "but I do know the position you're in, and you can't afford to refuse."

"I admire your moxy, little sister, but you need to pipe it down already. It's going to get you killed," Raditz stated matter-of-factly.

"I'm waiting," she reminded.

ChiChi dragged Krillin's unconscious body out of the crossfire, and shot Goku a look of unease. "Don't do this, Goku. We can take him together!"

Goku didn't so much as glance in ChiChi's direction. She was afraid she'd lose her composure. ChiChi had to know how serious the situation was. There was no way in hell that they could take Raditz down together.

Raditz smirked at the Earthlings. "Alright, Kakarra, I'll accept your proposal. Your friends will be left unharmed."

"All of them," Goku insisted, "and the planet Earth, and my son!"

Raditz sighed and replied, "Yes, yes… all of them and this mud-ball planet." He turned his attention back to Goku and his smile softened. "After all, even if you've lived all of these years in coexistence with these pitiful, weakling aliens, you're still my only little sister. I would never lie to you."

Goku exhaled the breath of trepidation she had been holding in. The ki in the palms of her hands dissipated.

"Don't move," Raditz commanded. He reached up and pressed a few buttons on a device attached to the left side of his head. "Ah… there you are…" he murmured in a pleased tone of voice. He pressed some more buttons. The device beeped in response. "And in working order, it seems. Excellent."

Goku stared at her brother dumbfounded, whilst the others exchanged unnerved glances. "What's in working order?" Goku asked, her curiosity too much to bear.

Raditz grinned. "Your pod."

Goku tilted her head to the side and shot him a quizzical look. "Pod?"

"It's your ride home. I was afraid you'd have to be sandwiched into my pod. It's fairly common for Saiyan babies to destroy their pods when they first transform," Raditz explained.

Transform? Goku questioned silently.

As if on cue, Goku's space pod came rocketing toward its point destination. It crashed onto the shoreline a few feet away from Raditz, causing a dust cloud to billow up into the air. The dust settled and revealed an odd looking spherical space ship. It was a lot smaller than Goku had expected it to be.

Raditz pressed another button on his scouter and the single hatch on the pod swung open to reveal the small compartment within, equipped with a lot of buttons and screens that Goku had no idea how to use, and a small seating arrangement.

"Say hello to your new home, Kakarra. You'll be living in it for nearly a year," Raditz announced with a chuckle of amusement.

Goku had known she would be leaving Earth, but seeing the means to the end just made everything so much more real. Her lips parted to speak, but her mouth hung agape uselessly with her lips trembling.

"Well, sister, don't just stand their gaping at it like an idiot. Get inside," Raditz ordered.

"It's… so small," she muttered. "And… I don't know how to use it."

Raditz growled impatiently, stomped up to his sibling, and grabbed her roughly by her tricep. He pulled her with so much unexpected force, Goku almost fell.

"Mommy!" Gohan screamed. "Mommy! Don't go!"

Upon hearing her frightened child, Goku pulled back in an effort to bring Raditz to a halt, but he was too strong, and he ended up dragging her forward regardless.

"Please! Let me say goodbye to my son!" Goku pleaded.

"That wasn't part of the deal," Raditz replied callously.

Goku pointlessly dug her heels into the sand. "Please! I might never see him again!"

"I don't care," he responded, tossing Goku into the pod like a rag-doll.

Without another word spoken, he shut the hatch of the pod, and punched in the coordinates to their destination on his scouter. Meanwhile, Goku smacked the solitary window with the palms of her hands, and pleaded with her eyes. The pod wasn't soundproof. She could hear Gohan's muffled wails, and it broke her heart to be leaving him like this. She could have easily kicked the door down, but she used all of her willpower to withhold herself from doing so. This was for Gohan's safety. This was for the well-being of everyone. She had to make this sacrifice.

She could see Raditz suddenly smirk and wave to her goodbye. That was the signal. She was departing now. She had no time left. She pressed her forehead against the glass and yelled, "I love you, Gohan," at the top of her lungs.

A female computerized voice spoke through a speaker: "Kakarra, remain seated. Launch commences in 10… 9… 8…"

Goku sat in her seat, and gasped as straps came out of seemingly nowhere and buckled her in. Her heart pounded fiercely against her ribcage.

"7… 6… 5…"

She closed her eyes and braced herself for liftoff.

"4… 3… 2… 1…"

"Momma!"

Tears spilled down her cheeks.

The pod catapulted into the sky, and before she knew it, Earth was just a little, round ball she could see floating out of reach.

A/N: Just a little warning to y'all, this story is going to have adult themes and it will be very dark at times... also, lots of drama lol!

Kakarot Son: Nope no OC evil guy getting Goku pregnant in this story! :)

Buckets Full O' Sunshine: Thank-you very much, and this story will definitely be very adventurous! :)

Gogglegirl: I'm keeping Goku as Goku just because I honestly like it better that way. However, you will be hearing her Saiyan name a lot more soon and that is more feminine. I never alluded to ChiChi's gender... so... idk what to say to that yet ;)

Gokua1: Thanks!

wierdsquirrelgirl: Thank-you!

Guest: Thanks a lot, and you were right! :)