Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Dragonball Z. The amazing Akria Toriyama does. I only own the plot and my own characters

Absalom

Chapter 4

Silence had descended on the house as the discovery of Goku's long lost mother sunk in. Goku stared wide-eyed at the woman in front of him who just smiled softly. Kayla was delighted to see that the baby she watched leave Planet Vegeta all those years ago was now a man. She watched as he took in what he was seeing. It gave the discovery time to sink in for her too.

"You're my mother?" Goku repeated "But… I thought…"

"That I was dead?" Kayla finished for him, "I managed to escape."

"Then where have you been all this time?" Krillin asked suspiciously, "no offense, but if you've been alive this entire time, then where have you been? Why didn't come and find your son?"

Immediately, Kayla's expression fell to a sad and guilty one. Although it seemed harsh, Krillin was right. It certainly didn't seem like she cared about her own sons.

"I had no idea which planet he had been sent to." She said softly, "I searched many planets but I just didn't know where to go. Then, I started developing this planet. Before I knew it, it had been so long."

The guilt of not finding Goku sooner was clear in her eyes. Despite the pain of her injuries, Kayla tried to sit up and explain herself. Shinto immediately darted to her side to support.

"That is enough," He demanded firmly, "Kayla needs rest and questioning like that is not helping. I suggest you all leave the room, now."

"No, Shinto," Kayla groaned, "I'm fine."

But then a switch in Goku's head flicked and he too went closer to support Kayla. He gently took her hand in one of his and put his other arm around her back. He could feel she was more injured that appeared.

"Listen to Shinto, Mother," He told her, "your body's not strong enough."

Kayla looked up in to Goku's face and saw he was concerned. Finally, she sighed and lay back down, insisting that Goku stay. Piccolo, Vegeta and Krillin left to another room while Goku stayed as he and Shinto made sure Kayla was more comfortable. As they did, Shinto noticed that Gohan was still there. While Goku had been assisting him, Gohan had been stood staring stunned at Kayla. It wasn't just Goku who just found a long lost relative.

"I told you to leave." Shinto said firmly.

"That's my son, Gohan." Goku interrupted.

Kayla smiled in delighted surprise. She had a grandson. That was definitely not what she expected. She looked over at her old friend.

"Shinto, surely he can stay too?"

Shinto sighed, "Ok, but do not get her stressed."

The Diante elder reluctantly walked out and left Kayla with her new found family. There was a lot for them to talk about.

Meanwhile, high above the planet's surface, Hollo was sat at a table eating a luscious meal when one of his underlings walked in.

"Sir, our scanners have indicated that another spaceship has landed on Absalom," He reported, "We've detected five new power levels from the planet."

"It seems our little saiyaness has brought reinforcements," The master replied coolly, "No matter, we will just bring the deadline forward. Tell the troops to prepare, we'll storm the planet tomorrow."

"Yes Sir!"

The underling saluted then left his master to eat his meal. He would need to gather as much energy as possible to get through the invasion.

In the comfort of her little bedroom, Kayla sat in her bed listening as Goku and Gohan told her about their lives on Earth. They told her about Chi-Chi, Goten and Videl. Kayla was relieved when Goku told her about being adopted by such a kind and gentle man as Grandpa Gohan and was pleased to hear about his achievements. It made her eyes water to hear about how he defeated Frieza and avenged the saiyan race. She knew Bardock would be proud him too. But there was one thing didn't get mentioned, something Kayla was worried to hear about.

"Did you ever find your brother?" She asked, with trepidation.

Goku suddenly felt a bit guilty. He didn't know what to tell his mother. Clearly, she had hoped her sons would unite and fight together. But she could see things weren't how she had hoped.

"I'm sorry, Mom," Goku finally replied, "Raditz is gone. He came to Earth but, err…"

Kayla felt her hopes sink as, between them, Goku and Gohan explained how Raditz came to Earth, kidnapped Gohan and threatened them all then how Goku and Piccolo stopped him. Kayla had already heard that Raditz was dead but she didn't know the details before now. However, she wasn't surprised. Frieza's actions and tyranny would make any solider under his command hostile. But before they could talk more, a massive pain shot through Kayla's body. Her eyes clamped shut, her body stiffened and she gave a deep groan. Both Goku and Gohan stood to help, Goku putting his arm across her shoulders.

"Mom, are you ok?" Goku asked.

"I think Shinto's right," She replied, groaning, "I'm still injured and I need some more time to heal."

"You need rest," Gohan agreed, "Sleep, and we'll get ready for those creeps to come back."

Reluctantly, Kayla nodded and allowed herself to lie down and fall asleep. Goku and Gohan returned to their friends to dinner and head to bed themselves.

When Kayla woke the next morning, she was greeted by strange noises coming from below her window. She recognised the noises from her time on Planet Vegeta. Slowly, she pulled herself out of bed and stepped carefully to the window. She smiled when she saw it. All the Z Warriors were outside training hard, reminding Kayla of when she watched Bardock train back in the day. The skills they were demonstrating had also attracted a crowd from the other aliens on the planet. The children in particular were in awe of the five warriors, their eyes darting to follow the movements of the warriors. As Kayla watched, her bedroom door opened and Shinto walked in. He was surprised to see Kayla out of bed.

"Feeling better I see." He smiled.

"Much better," Kayla replied, "I'm still not fully healed but enough to enjoy the spectacle outside."

"It's incredible, isn't it. Our situation looked dire before but now that Goku and his friends are here, I am hopeful again."

It still felt odd for Kayla to hear her son called himself Goku. She understood that he was renamed by his adoptive grandfather and had no knowledge of his original name. He didn't mind what she called him but she could see that Goku was his preferred name. For now, she couldn't agree more with Shinto. If the Z warriors were as powerful as they looked, the planet could still have a future.

After Shinto checked out Kayla's injuries, she felt well enough to go outside and watch the Z warriors train. Goku and Gohan were training in one area with Krillin and Piccolo training not far away while Vegeta chose to train alone as usual. As they honed their skills, Goku caught sight of Kayla watching and had an idea. He stopped Gohan then whispered his plan in his son's ear. With a smile Gohan agreed. They returned to sparring to pretend all was normal. Then suddenly, they pulled away and landed. Then they treated Kayla to something she thought she'd never see. Both men suddenly became super saiyans. Their golden hair and aura and green eyes had Kayla's eyes wide with amazement. A few seconds later, not wanting to be shown up, Vegeta transformed too. Then they resumed their training. It brought a tear to Kayla's eye to see how far her race had come.

'Bardock would love this.' She smiled.

A couple of hours later, the warriors stopped for lunch and it gave Goku and Gohan a chance to learn more about their new found relative. As they ate, Kayla told them about her parents and brother and how she met Bardock. It was the first time that Goku had heard more detail about his long dead father.

"He was a great warrior," Kayla smiled, "Tough, confident and resourceful. I trained with him when we first met and he was impressive. We fell for each other and eventually had Raditz. It wasn't all smooth sailing but I loved him all the same."

"Is it true I look like him?" Goku asked.

"Almost exactly like him. The hair is exactly the same and the shape of your faces. But your father had a scar on his face that he had for years and you have eyes like me."

"What happened to him?" Gohan asked.

Kayla's smile faded immediately. Revisiting Bardock's demise was still painful even now.

"He tried to take on Frieza by himself but was swallowed up by the death ball that destroyed the planet. Right before, he found me by chance and convinced me to flee. If he hadn't found me, I would've died with the rest."

As Kayla spoke with her boys, Shinto watched with a smile. In the years he had known her, he had never seen her so happy. He thought she was happy before but now he realised how much she missed being with her own kind and with her family. She seemed even more beautiful than before, if that was possible. Shinto couldn't help worry about how she would be once Goku and the others returned to Earth.

But before he could worry anymore, they were rudely disturbed by a mighty sonic boom that shook the planet. Force sent many of the residents to the ground and debris was sent through the air. Everyone ducked for cover and Goku shielded Kayla from the blast as she clung to him. When they looked up, a ship much bigger than the first one had punched through the atmosphere. All anyone could do was look and know what was about to happen. The aliens and their master had arrived early.