When they were safe aboard the ship, Gine set herself on the mission of keeping a watchful eye over her son. The fact that she was leaving her nephew and niece alone (who were still incredibly paranoid and fretful about the escalating situation) in order to watch a God spoke volumes. She could hardly imagine her son as a deity, despite the fact that he sat across from her in the observation deck.
The residual baby fat of his face was gone as a result of his transformation. Now even more than ever, with his tanned skin, he looked near exactly like his father. Granted, a crimson haired, red eyed, exceptionally gaunt version of his father, but a version nevertheless. Gine pursed her lips as she noticed beads of sweat accumulating on his forehead.
"Goku, sweetie, are you feeling alright? You're sweating quite a bit."
He met her onyx eyes with his sharp bloody ones. "Not really. I can feel the transformation slipping, so I'm trying to y'know, hold it in til I can beat Piccolo."
"What? No, if it's hurting you, stop it! We can just do the transformation again! The cost of a few moments is much less than you, Goku," she begged, her eyes wide with concern.
"I don't know if it'll work again, Mom."
"Then we'll make someone else a God!"
"I don't think Boston or Bibi will be wanting to do that. I can feel them practically boiling in their room," he said, staring out at the endless cosmos.
Gine sighed. "I don't recall raising you to be a negative Nancy… As a mother, I'm not a fan of what this God stuff has done to my son."
"I'm still here," he mumbled. "It's just, I'm not fighting for only me anymore. Mom, it's the whole planet Earth that's counting on me to use this!"
She gave him a pained look. "You're just as important as any of the people you're trying to save. Just… remember that there's such a thing to be too selfless…"
"I'll…" he muttered. "Keep that in mind…"
Panic spread throughout Gine's chest. She shot forward, grasping her son's shoulders. "Kakarot? Are you- Goku!" His hair and eyes flashed from red to black. The mother watched his eyelids flutter, as if he were on the verge of sleep.
"I'm… just Saiyan…" he chuckled before his mop of hair slumped downward, now dark once more.
She held her son's limp frame as his original color, in all senses, returned. "I told you to let it go!" the distraught mother said.
"No can do," he muttered, his vision faded.
"Goku!"
"I'll be okay…" he slurred. "Just goin' ta sleep…"
Gine leaned over him, desperately clawing for the cloth pouch the on the arm of his lounge chair. She fumbled with it for a few moments before pulling the drawstrings to fetch a single bean. Hoping and praying that what he had told her about the Senzus was true, she crushed it within her palm and drained the grains into his mouth.
Goku found the strength to at least swallow, immediately bouncing back.
"Too selfless?" he panted. Goku's hair and eyes returned to their Divine color.
She allowed a few tears to come to her eyes. "Yes. If you let this destroy you, what happens if I- we lose you, only for you to be needed again? Goku, as much as it pains me to say it, you're destined for greatness. I've only begun to see it, I know defeating Piccolo isn't going to be your peak. You're… you're a Super Saiyan. If your father could be here, he'd be incredibly proud."
Goku let out a nervous chuckle. "You say that as if he's dead…"
"I hold hope, Goku..."
OxOxO
Goku had left without a word once they had landed, leaving Raditz, of course, to ensure the safety of their growing party. His younger brother had assured him that Piccolo was close, and to leave if he wasn't back in an hour. Raditz had faith in his brother, but his cautious nature already had him formulating a plan to escape.
If need be, they could simply flee back to Namek. Because the twins were terrified, and Gine and the humans wished to remain safe, only Tarble and himself remained outside the ship. The area they had landed in was arid, dry, and sun scorched. For miles around there were nothing but winding canyon roads.
He glanced at his prince, who was currently studying a hand-sized spiny lizard from a distance. "Tarble?"
Said Saiyan prince stretched upwards and out of a crouching position. "Yeah?"
"I've got to go take a leak. Keep the ship safe?"
"Yeah, sure. Doubt I'll need to though."
Raditz took to the sky. "You never know," he said, zooming toward a bend in the canyon road.
Just next to him was a derelict fuel station. He raised an eyebrow, wondering how maybe people this station saw before the end of the world.
The click of a projectile weapon being cocked sent his guard upward. "What do you want? I was about to take a piss."
"You're a guy?" a female voice briskly asked aloud.
He scoffed. "Do I look like a woman?"
"I was thinking maybe more of a muscular hedgehog," she chuckled. "Sure is a good thing I got the drop on you, you look like you could crush a watermelon with your thighs."
"I can crush things much stronger than a fruit with my fingers," Raditz turned around suddenly. "I'm sorry-"
The blonde woman opened fire. Rather than there being a change in Raditz face, there was a less permanent on hers. He caught the bullet, observing it with disapproval. His tail swished freely. Raditz detected something like recognition on her face.
"I thought I heard a slug thrower! Ha! You'll have to do much better than that to defeat a Saiyan."
She shook her head, keeping her aim steady. "Shit. Are you a new version of those robots?"
Raditz was a little disappointed she hadn't been interested in furthering his ego. "No, I'm a Saiyan. An alien, to you."
The woman slapped her forehead. "Can't believe I was so worried. How in the hell do you find time to do drugs when the world has gone to shit?! What are you on?! Never mind, just give me your stuff and I won't unload a magazine into your dick. Then you can go back to ta- snorting whatever."
"Did you not just see me catch your bullet?!"
"So? I've sent fifty caliber rounds into a kid with a tail too three times smaller than you, and he didn't have a scratch on him. I'm betting the reason you caught that is because you ain't bulletproof."
"Would you care to test your theory, you mouthy bitch?"
She sneered. "You're the bitch, you half naked hairball! If that doesn't work, I've got even more in my arsenal. All of this can be avoided if you hand over your damn supplies. No way you're out here in the middle of nowhere without a cache."
Raditz let out a hearty laugh. "You're incredibly Saiyan-like, you know that? I met a bucket of bolts who tossed insults with me just like you. I tore her apart."
"Yeah?" she asked challengingly. "Why haven't you done that to me, then?"
"There are two reasons your heart still beats. One. You're not a threat to this world."
"Oh my god, you said I was the mouthy bitch?" she asked. "Do I even wanna know what the second one is, or do I already know it? Blah blah blah!"
Raditz could feel his lifespan shortening with this harpy's challenging attitude. She certainly could pass for a Saiyan. Maybe a Saiyan with a wig, but a Saiyan.
"Did you say you shot a boy with a tail? One like mine?" Her face remained in a sneer. "One named Goku?" The blonde's expression turned cautious.
"Yep. How the hell do you know that? You his dad or something? That old pervert told me his father came to get him…"
"Ha! My intuition was correct if you do know him. I'm his older brother. I believe he's told me stories about you. A woman with two personalities? One is a trigger happy blond. I think you must be… Lunch, right? Goku-"
"It's Launch, dickbag. Make sure you don't make the mistake again."
OxOxO
The last occasion King Piccolo had felt terror like this, he was being sucked into an electronic rice cooker.
He chuckled nervously at the intruder who had broken a hole into his dark throne room. "Didn't I turn a boy like you into a donut?" All of his sons designed to be guards lay dead at his feet, and he couldn't see the boy move to snuff their lives. "I assume your kind can regenerate. There's no way you should be here, red hair or not."
"What's wrong, Piccolo? You're looking a little green," Goku said calmly.
"Hmm… The possibility nearly slipped my mind, considering the mess of blood you created. You're a Red Ribbon Cyborg, aren't you now?"
"No, I'm a living person. I've come here for the sake of the planet you've fried, fractured, and fucked."
Piccolo let out a nervous chuckle. "But… you've got no energy…" he muttered. "So you've come for a rematch against the Demon King Piccolo?"
Goku shook his red head, piercing Piccolo with his fiery gaze. "Rematch? Our first encounter wasn't a fight, so I'm here to return the favor. I'm gonna kill you."
"Is that so? Well, I- HA!" Piccolo leapt up, firing a beam of yellow energy from his mouth.
The Saiyan God batted it away, destroying what was left of the wrecked roof. Sunlight danced above them. "You're trying real hard to give me no choice, y'know that?"
It had never been easier to charge his signature attack. Before Piccolo could blink, he had already cupped his hands. "Kamehame-HAAAAAAA!" he cried, throwing his palms forward.
Piccolo let out a ghastly shriek that was swiftly sniffed out by the building sized energy blast.
"Uh oh," he muttered, taking in the sheer size of the blast. The fine hairs on his tail stood on end, prompting him to whip around. Goku fired another blast diagonally toward the sky, barely deflecting his Kamehameha before it could strike him.
He was awestruck with himself, and honestly quite fearful. This new form had granted him power so vast, he had fired a ki wave so powerful it had wrapped around the earth and nearly hit him in the head. Goku was unused to this power, leaving him no choice but to stow it away. As much as he would've loved to train in this form, the guilt at most likely erasing a few lives with his unbridled divinity kept him from it.
Goku dropped out of the Super Saiyan God form, his features returning to normal. His skin became pale as he slightly filled out, his irises and hair becoming dark. He observed his shaking palms before flying upward and toward his family.
OxOxO
Just as Raditz was about to retort that he'd have no trouble remembering she didn't share a name with a mealtime, the ground began to quake. Launch fell forward, into Raditz arms. Shortly thereafter, a bright light filled the sky, sending dust afterward.
Launch's ticklish nose was affected by the airborne allergen. As she leaned against him, she reeled back before sneezing in his face.
If Raditz had any doubt that she wasn't who he thought she was, it was quelled here. The now blue-haired Launch slowly opened her eyes, looking up at the Saiyan. He averted his gaze, his cheeks blushing at her adorable deer-in-headlights impression. Then he mentally cursed himself for thinking such a thing was cute. She wasn't Saiyan! Although… she sure did act like one. Sometimes.
"Um, I'm sorry, where am I? Who are you?" she asked, her cheeks equally red.
"You don't recall? You just attempted to rob me before that earthquake!"
She backed away, her features apologetic. "Oh no! I'm so sorry, sir. You see-"
"Your personality changes when you sneeze. I know," Raditz said, finally able to stomach looking at her. "You sneezed right after I told you I'm Goku's brother."
Her eyes went wide as her jaw dropped. "Really?! That explains the tail. Oh, Goku is going to grow up into such a handsome boy if he's anything like you! Does that mean he's back from space?"
Raditz cleared his throat. She was much too trusting to have survived this long! Without her blonde form, he was sure she'd have perished in the wasteland that is Earth. "I can take you to where he'll be shortly. He just left to take on Piccolo."
Launch's big eyes filled with tears. "Y-you mean it? Please tell me this isn't some sort of joke. I'm sorry for what I did while I was blonde, but please don't pull my leg because of it!"
He smirked. "I mean it. Our ship is just over around the bend."
"My blonde half would kill me if she knew I believed you…"
The Saiyan held out his hand to the human. "Come along."
Launch looked up at him, wiping her tears away. "Okay, let's go."
Raditz picked up the now squealing Launch as he took to the skies. "Hang on."
"Your brother needed a cloud to fly!" she screeched. "Not so fast, please!"
He chuckled. "We're already here! It was just faster than walking."
Setting her down, she marveled at the sleek ship. "You really weren't kidding! Oh, wow! I can't wait to see Goku! We only spent a short time together, but I miss that kid so much!"
Gine looked up from her card game with Tarble, Bulma, and Yamcha. "Raditz, why did you kidnap that girl?"
"I didn't!" he spluttered.
Launch looked at the two with tails. "Oh, are you Goku's other siblings?"
Gine turned beet red. "Ah, no, I'm his mother. You're very flattering!"
"You look younger than me!" Launch cried.
"And we're Goku's friends," Tarble explained, motioning to the humans.
"Sooooo… who are you?" Gine asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm Launch."
"Oh, we've heard a lot about you!" Gine beamed. "Oh, Goku would love to catch up when he gets back, I'm sure!"
Launch looked up at Raditz. "I can't wait! This has been the best day of my life, and I've only been away for five minutes!"
"Well, your blonde half was very much awake when we met," Raditz muttered.
She laughed nervously, taking a seat next to Gine. "I'm sorry."
And the restoration of earth finally makes some advancement! Wanna talk about it? We've got a discord at 4CC5VC6!