Chapter 3: Raditz

Brother? Did Chi-Chi hear the mysterious man right? She looked over to Goku, but he seemed just as confused as she was.

The man chuckled dangerously. "So, Kakarot. I've finally found you"

Kakarot? Chi-Chi thought. Is this really Goku's brother? Looking hard at the man, she tried to find any resemblance at all. He was much bigger than Goku, standing a head taller and having broader shoulders. He was extremely muscular as well, defined in places she wasn't even sure she had muscles. The black and brown armor he wore covered his entire torso, and sported large pauldrons that covered his shoulders, but short of a pair of black cuffs and boots around his wrists and feet, his arms and legs were exposed. He possessed very long black hair, growing all the way down to his waist, and he sported a noticeable widow's peak—which Goku definitely didn't have. But there were similarities between them, with their jawlines and noses looking almost identical.

They were definitely more different than similar, though—especially in their mannerisms. Goku almost always maintained a friendly and inviting posture—confident, but not arrogant. The man, on the other hand, seemed to carry himself in an extremely arrogant and openly hostile manner. He cast his eyes over everyone in the area, as if he were silently judging him. He stopped momentarily at Chi-Chi, and a slight look of confusion crossed his face. She got the sense that he didn't expect her to be here, but she didn't know why.

The biggest difference, though, was in their power. Goku was strong, but he paled in comparison to the man standing in front of them. Chi-Chi couldn't tell if he was deliberately avoiding hiding his power, or just didn't know how, but his presence was intense—so intense that she had no idea how nobody could sense him approaching.

"Kakarot?" Goku said, still confused.

"Yes, that's right." The man said. "That's your name. It has been many years, but I know who you are, and I must say, I'm disappointed in you. You have failed your mission. You should have wiped out this planet's inhabitants by now!"

Wait, what? Chi-Chi thought to herself, completely confused. Goku, killing everyone on this planet? My Goku? She just couldn't see it. There was no way her pure, honest husband was capable of committing genocide.

"Excuse me," Krillin said, walking past Goku and Chi-Chi. "But I think you've clearly got the wrong guy. I mean, this guy's name is Goku, and I've known him since I was a kid. If you really think he's some crazy killer, then I think you've had too much to drink. So scram!"

The man glared at Krillin, and Chi-Chi sensed murderous intent.

"Krillin, look out!" Goku shouted, but it was too late. The belt around the man's waist unwrapped itself and struck Krillin directly in his forehead, sending him flying backwards into the wall of Kame House. Chi-Chi looked back to make sure he was still moving, then turned her eyes to Gohan, who was clinging to her leg. A startled noise from Goku caused her to quickly turn back around, and when she did, she also let out a gasp.

The man's "belt" wasn't a belt at all. Swaying back and forth was a long, furry, brown tail—like Chi-Chi's and Gohan's, but longer and thicker.

"He's got a tail too!?" Goku shouted, surprised.

"That's right," the man said. "I wondered when you would recognize me."

"What are you… I… I've never seen you before!" Goku said. Chi-Chi signaled to the others, then pushed Gohan back, and Bulma immediately rushed up to grab him and pull him back, away from potential danger.

"Are you telling me that you have no idea who I am, Kakarot?" The man asked, surprised.

"Who are you calling Kakarot?" Goku shouted, starting to get agitated. "I don't know who that is! My name's Goku!"

"What happened to you here?" The man said quietly.

Chi-Chi felt small arms wrap around her left leg. Looking down, she saw that Gohan had run back up to her.

"Gohan," she said, concerned. "You need to get back, now."

"B-but, Mommy-"

"Gohan, do what your mother says!" Goku shouted.

"Kakarot!" The man called, bringing attention back to him. "Did you ever sustain a severe injury to your head when you were younger?"

"Huh?" Goku said. "Yeah. I don't really remember it very well, but I did hit my head once. I've still got a scar from it. What about it?"

"Goku," Master Roshi said. Goku and Chi-Chi turned toward him, while Bulma grabbed Gohan and dragged him further away. "There's something your grandpa Gohan told me that I think you should know…" and with that, he explained how Grandpa Gohan found a baby Goku in a small pod near a strange spaceship, and took him in, how he was a wild and violent baby that wanted nothing to do with Gohan's kindness, and how the baby Goku fell into a ravine and hit his head, becoming a kind and loving boy after he recovered. Goku and Chi-Chi were both stunned at the revelation.

"I'm from outer space?" Goku asked.

"Yes, Goku," Roshi replied. "You are."

"And what about you?" The man suddenly asked. Turning to face him again, Chi-Chi realized that he was looking at her. "What are you doing on this planet? The brat makes sense—you don't have to explain that to me—but how did you end up here with Kakarot? Why didn't you try jogging his memory, or just destroy this planet by yourself? Or did you hit your head as well?"

Chi-Chi didn't answer immediately. If she told him the truth, it would mean explaining the Dragon Balls and Shenron to him. She didn't want to let someone like him know about the Dragon Balls, because she had no idea what he would do with that knowledge. Would he try to repeat the wish and turn everyone on Earth into monkey-people, or would he just wish everyone dead?

"Answer me!" The man shouted.

"I don't know!" Chi-Chi lied. "All I remember is being raised by the Ox King." She hoped that she believed her, and that Goku would keep his mouth shut. "Listen, if you know so much about us, why don't you fill us in? I'm sure you can explain why a baby would be given a mission to destroy a planet."

The man's smile returned. "Very well. I wasn't expecting to give a history lesson when I came here, but I suppose it couldn't hurt." He stepped forward, wrapping his tail around his waist again. "After all, you three will be serving under me, and I prefer my subordinates to be well informed." Goku and Chi-Chi tensed up, expecting anything to happen. The man came to a stop a few yards away from them.

"The three of you are part of a race from the planet Vegeta. A race of warriors called Saiyans. My name is Raditz, and I'm your elder brother, Kakarot. Which would make me your brother-in-law, wouldn't it?"

Saiyans? Chi-Chi thought. She could have sworn she heard that word before. Thinking back, she then realized where she heard it from: Shenron! Shenron asked if I wished to be a Saiyan! So I just became part of some alien warrior race?

"You see," Raditz continued. "We Saiyans are what you would call 'planet brokers.' We scour the universe, searching for inhabited planets rich in resources. Once we find one, we wipe out it's inhabitants and make the planet… ready to be sold to the highest bidder. Mining corporations, criminal enterprises, traffickers looking for hideouts—all of them are willing to pay good money for a dead planet, so our line of work is very lucrative, and we pride ourselves on how efficiently we carry it out. For example: if we come across a planet with strong life forms, we send in a team of our strongest warriors to crush them. But if the inhabitants are weak—like they are on this planet—then a baby Saiyan is usually more than sufficient."

Chi-Chi felt sick as she heard Raditz talk. He spoke of genocide and conquest as if they were sport. Was this really how Saiyans were?

"There's nothing warrior-like about that!" Chi-Chi yelled, losing her temper. "Warriors have codes, honor, rules! You're nothing more than heartless, genocidal monsters! Space pirates! What kind of disgusting creature sends babies to unknown planets!?"

"Trust me," Raditz replied, unfazed by her outburst. "You're usually more than capable of taking care of yourselves at that age." He then made a face. "Usually. But it seems that you and Kakarot have failed miserably at your mission. You are both a disgrace to the Saiyan name. It should have taken you both less than a year to completely raze this planet to the ground, especially since it has such a big moon."

"Yeah?" Goku said. "Were we supposed to blow that up, too?"

"Idiot!" Raditz snapped. "Surely you looked at the full moon at least once in your life!"

What? Chi-Chi thought. Wait, is that why Roshi and the others asked if Gohan or I looked at the full moon? Chi-Chi always made sure Gohan went to bed as soon as it got dark out, and she was usually tired from sparring with Goku by then, so she never really went out during a full moon—especially after hearing Goku's story about the monster that comes out during the night of a full moon. Looking back at the others, their nervous looks confirmed Chi-Chi's suspicions—Goku was the monster that Grandpa Gohan had warned him about.

Chi-Chi felt her stomach churn. If that was true, then Goku had been the one who trampled his own grandpa! When Roshi caught her eye, he shook his head—she couldn't tell Goku. Chi-Chi knew he was right—there was no way of telling Goku something like that without breaking his heart. For all she knew, it would rob him of his will to fight, and she wasn't going to let that happen, now that she had gained her's.

"WAIT!" Raditz shouted. Looking back at him, Chi-Chi saw a look of horror on his face. "WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR TAIL, KAKAROT!?"

"My tail?" Goku asked. "What about it?"

"ANSWER ME!" Raditz demanded. He looked like he was about to kill everyone there.

Goku's eyes narrowed. "I had it permanently removed a long time ago."

"Do you have any idea what you did to yourself!?" Raditz growled. "Your true power is gone now! Without your tail, you can't transform at the full moon! How could you let this happen to my brother!?" He looked directly at Chi-Chi, shooting daggers. "Surely you tried to stop him from giving up his greatest strength!?"

"I wasn't there when it happened," Chi-Chi said, as calmly as possible given the circumstances. "And even if I was, it was his choice to make, not mine. I'd never give up my tail, but I wouldn't force him to keep his."

"Listen," Goku said. "Maybe you are my brother, maybe you're not. But I'm not interested in whatever you're planning. My name's Son Goku, and this planet is my home. Now leave us alone!"

"Yeah! Get lost!" Bulma shouted.

"Just because the rest of you Saiyans are monsters, that doesn't mean Goku and Chi-Chi have to be like you!" Roshi said. "Goku has even saved this world once!"

"We want nothing to do with you, Raditz!" Chi-Chi said, staring her brother-in-law in the eyes. "You should just leave!"

Raditz merely chuckled. "So baby brother and sister-in-law want to be left alone?" He asked, as if they just told him a joke. "Well, I'm afraid that can't happen. Any other time, I would happily leave a pair of failures like you in exile on this rock, but things are very different now. You see, Kakarot, not long after you were sent here, a massive meteor shower obliterated our home planet, with everyone still on it. There aren't many of us left, now—in fact, counting your wife and child, there's only six Saiyans still alive, and you married the only remaining female." He looked back at Chi-Chi, and the look in his eyes caused her to instinctively enter her opening stance.

"We already told you no!" Goku shouted, also at the ready. "I don't want to have to hurt you, but I will!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Kakarot," Raditz said calmly, approaching the two in a neutral stance. "I can tell that you both possess the fire of a Saiyan's instinct. You both want to fight all the time, deep down. It's in our nature."

An instant later, he was in between the two. Goku was the first to react, throwing a left palm, but Raditz merely tilted his head out of the way, moving faster than the eye could see. Before he could attack again, Raditz's knee surged upward, slamming into Goku's ribs and sending him flying back at least a dozen yards. Chi-Chi was next, aiming a roundhouse kick at her brother-in-law's left ear, but he caught her foot and pulled her in while ramming his fist into her stomach. Chi-Chi's vision blurred, and the air in her lungs rushed out of her mouth, along with hot pot that she had just eaten. He then readjusted his grip, and threw her over his shoulder and into the ground. She saw stars, and her body was stunned to the point where she couldn't move.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Gohan shouted, breaking free of Bulma's grip and running over to his father.

"Gohan… get away from here!" Goku said, his voice strained from the pain in his rib cage.

But it was too late. Raditz quickly grabbed his nephew by the collar and lifted him into the air, making sure Goku and Chi-Chi were looking.

"You just had to make things complicated, didn't you?" Raditz said, his grin never fading. "If you want to have your son back, then I suggest you prove your loyalty to me. Let's see… I think killing a hundred earthlings each would be proof enough. Just dump them on this island."

Chi-Chi forced her body to move, desperately trying to get up and save her son, who was crying in fear. But her lungs still wouldn't take in enough air, and her head was still swimming.

"You have one of this planet's days. Don't waste your time." Raditz said. And with that, he took off flying, carrying the sobbing Gohan with him.

Chi-Chi finally managed to get enough air in her lungs, and with it, she screamed as loud as she could.

"GOHAN!!"

Several hours later.

"I'm telling the truth, Vegeta," Raditz said over the communicator of his Scouter. "Kakarot was with a female Saiyan, and they both had a son."

"That makes no sense," Prince Vegeta's voice said in his ear. "Kakarot is the only Saiyan recorded to have been sent to that planet."

"I realize that," Raditz said. "But I know what I saw. Unless earthlings also possess tails like us, then this woman is a Saiyan."

Raditz had returned to the field that he had landed in, and was waiting for Kakarot and the mystery woman named Chi-Chi to meet his demands. He had already locked their son in the spaceship he came down in, because the brat wouldn't stop crying. Now he was giving a report to his superiors, filling them in on his mission so far, and the unique complications that arose.

"Could she have been sent here in secret?" Raditz asked. "Is it possible that her arrival was merely undocumented, and whoever her family was simply didn't want her sent to another world?"

"We can't exactly rule out the possibility," Vegeta replied thoughtfully. "But with her memories gone as well, there's no way of knowing for certain. In the meantime, continue with your mission, and make sure you collect Kakarot and this new Saiyan woman."

"Understood," Raditz said. "But, in case these two don't cooperate, what should I do then?"

"Kakarot is expendable," Vegeta said matter-of-factly. "If it comes down to it, then you have my permission to kill him—I have no use for Saiyans who can't even wield the power of the Giant Ape. The woman, however, is invaluable to the preservation of our race. Capture her by any means necessary. Under no circumstances are you to kill her, or inflict any injuries that would render her… barren."

"Understood. It will be done, Vegeta."

"In the meantime, maintain an open channel. There may be something worth knowing on that planet. Vegeta out."

Raditz walked over to the edge of the crater his space pod created and sat down, doing his best to ignore the brat's sobbing. He couldn't believe how weak his own brother was at first, but the more he thought about it, the more sense it made. The planet's gravity was weak—only a tenth of what it was on Vegeta—and most of the life forms were extremely weak as well. The strongest non-Saiyan life forms he found were on that island with Kakarot, and they only had power levels around 200. Kakarot was only 650, while his wife was 620. Maybe if they worked together, they might have been more of a threat to him, but he doubted that they would be enough to beat him.

Looking back at his pod, his Scouter barely picked up the child's power level: 9. It was pathetic. He had never seen a Saiyan with such an anemic power level. Kakarot had not only neglected his mission, but his own son as well. His wife, on the other hand…

Raditz's thoughts kept going back to the woman named Chi-Chi. He could see why Kakarot chose her—not only was she the only other Saiyan on the planet, but she was fairly strong, strong-willed, and quite beautiful—in a very un-Saiyan way. She had her tail, as well as the common black eyes and hair of a Saiyan, but her hair was straight, not spiked in the way Saiyan hair naturally is. She was also fairly gentle, despite her clearly short temper.

Another thing that bothered him was how her power level would fluctuate. While she was normally slightly weaker than Kakarot, her power level would suddenly spike to over 800, before going back down. Could it be a result of her anger? If it was, then she seemed to have difficulty tapping into it.

In the end, he decided to drop the thoughts and focus on the mission. If Kakarot and his wife regain their Saiyan bloodlust, then he would take them to Vegeta and Nappa to plan their next move. If not—well, he would still be returning to Vegeta and Nappa, just with less cargo.

Earlier...

Goku looked down at the Four-Star Dragon Ball that had fallen off of Gohan's hat as he was taken away. He was completely powerless to stop his brother and save his own son. After all the training and sparring with Chi-Chi, it wasn't enough to even land a single hit on Raditz.

Chi-Chi had fallen apart. Her initial breakdown had caused notable damage to Kame House before the others managed to calm her down, and now she was on her knees, crying as Bulma did her best to comfort her. Goku had never seen her like this before, and while he had understood more about her than ever, he still didn't know what to do when she was like this.

Eventually, Krillin walked up to Goku, a concerned look on his face.

"Hey, buddy," he said gently. "You okay?"

Goku sighed. "Not really."

"Listen," Krillin said. "I think you should go talk to Chi-Chi. She really needs you right now."

"I know," Goku replied. "I just don't know what I can do to help her."

"C'mon, Goku," Yamcha said, walking up beside Krillin. "All you have to do is talk to her. You've got to get her head straight, so you can go kick that guy's ass!"

Goku looked up at Yamcha. He was right—if Chi-Chi didn't calm down enough to think straight, they might not be able to save Gohan. Taking a deep breath, he stood up from the ground and walked over to his wife.

"Chi-Chi-"

Chi-Chi was on him in an instant, spinning around, grabbing the folds of his gi and pulling him down to eye level with her.

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT, GOKU!" She screamed, sending everyone else running away from the two. "WE NEVER SHOULD HAVE COME HERE! Now Gohan's gone and that madman's holding him and-and…" she broke down in tears again. "And I c-couldn't do anything! It's j-just like with P-Piccolo!"

Goku wrapped his arms around her as she sobbed into his chest. "I know how you feel, Chi-Chi. I couldn't do anything, either. But we have to calm down and figure out how we're going to get Gohan back. I need your help, Chi-Chi."

It took a few minutes, but Chi-Chi eventually stopped sobbing and managed to compose herself. Goku looked over at Yamcha, who gave him a quick thumbs up and smiled.

"Alright,"Chi-Chi sniffed, wiping her eyes. "What are we going to do?"

"Well," Goku began. "Finding him shouldn't be too hard. His presence is pretty easy to sense. The trick is how we're going to beat him. He's strong, so we should probably try to take him by surprise or something."

"That won't be enough, Goku," a familiar voice said.

Chi-Chi tensed up in Goku's arms. They both recognized that voice from the World Martial Arts Tournament. Looking up, they both saw the green-skinned, goblin-like Piccolo flying overhead, arms crossed, staring down at them. The two immediately went into defensive mode, thinking Piccolo was up to no good again. The last time they saw him on Papaya Island, he swore revenge against Goku for beating him.

"Thanks for showing up, Piccolo," Chi-Chi growled. "I need to kill something ugly right now."

"Chi-Chi!" Goku said, shocked.

Piccolo merely looked at Chi-Chi curiously. "I remember you," he said. "You're that loud, angry woman who lost to Goku in the tournament. It seems you've improved on your fighting prowess, somewhat."

Chi-Chi gritted her teeth angrily. "Why don't you come down from there? I have some new techniques that I'm dying to show you."

"Hurm!" Piccolo grunted, then turned his attention to Goku. "You have to know that the two of you won't be enough to stop that monster. If he has his way, he'll destroy this entire planet unless we stop him."

"We?" Goku and Chi-Chi said at the same time.

"Yes. We." Piccolo looked like he wasn't enjoying this idea any more than they were. "If he isn't stopped, there won't be an Earth left for me to conquer. I'll be perfectly honest with you: this is for completely selfish reasons. I couldn't care less about what happens to you or your son, but I need that Saiyan out of the way."

Neither Goku nor Chi-Chi said anything—Joining forces with Piccolo was the last thing Goku expected, and the last thing Chi-Chi wanted. But eventually, Chi-Chi stepped forward.

"I want your word that until Raditz is dead, you won't try to harm or kill us." She demanded.

"Chi-Chi!" Goku said again, this time with with a hint of awe. He never expected her to even consider working with Piccolo. Neither, for that matter, did Piccolo, who was staring curiously at her again.

"That seems reasonable enough," Piccolo finally said. "You have my word. Until we kill him, I won't attack you, as long as you don't attack me."

Chi-Chi took a deep breath, and steadied her nerves. She hated this, but saving Gohan was all that mattered.

"Alright," she said. "Let's go."

A/N

Hello everyone, and thanks for reading another chapter. Just a few quick things. First, the reason Raditz was able to sneak up on the Dragon team is actually quite simple: I completely forgot that he wasn't able to hide his presence. I hadn't seen the Saiyan arc since I was a kid, and didn't refresh my memory until after writing that chapter. Second, I really appreciate the feedback I've been getting, as well as the constructive criticism. If you find anything wrong, don't hesitate to let me know.