Chapter 1: Abandonment
Greetings #Dragonball fans and welcome to a new What If series where Raditz's initial encounter with Piccolo goes a tiny bit differently as he recognizes big green as a Namekian.
#DragonballZ #WhatIf
One of Them?
After dispatching the farmer with a shotgun, Raditz looks around a bit, monologuing on Kakarot's many failures, as much for himself as for the 2 other Saiyans possibly listening in via the trusty old scouter. That same trusty old scouter then spots a shiny new power level so he flies off to say hello to his weakling of a… wait, that's not Kakarot. What the hell? Green skin, pointy ears? Where does he know that from?
Ah, of course! Those records had been old, older even than King Cold's reign but he recalls the main notes pretty well. Something about their planet being a wasteland, barely even worth the space fuel needed to get there. There was also no night, something the vast majority of species disliked. And the big thing that stuck out in Raditz's mind was that there was some kind of recent catastrophe that had killed off most of the population. He remembered that parapharph like he'd just read it a few minutes ago and he can still feel that odd pit in his stomach when the words had finally sunk in.
With so few Namekians remaining and apparently not a single female of the species left on the planet, they'd been marked for extermination. Being a vaguely strong species though, they weren't going to waste the man hours to actually attack. They were to be exterminated by patience. There was no need to spend the resources and soldiers to help the natural process along. They could just sit back and wait for them to all die out, then maybe in 1000 years, when the planet had recovered some viability, it could be settled by some unlucky souls with more money than sense.
Raditz wonders, not for the first time, just which fate he preferred. To be wiped out in an instant as most of his kind had been or to slowly die out, at least as a pure race, unable to perpetuate themselves. If he was honest with himself, as he often is in his own head, he'd actually much preferred at least being with his kin at the end. Then he'd be dead instead of trudging through this life of tiers that piled up on top of him ever since. Tier upon tier of masters to serve and tier upon tier of fear of those masters' seemingly overwhelming power.
When the green man before him eventually breaks the extended silence and asks who he is, Raditz, who's just been floating there, staring, is pulled from his introspection and asks how there are Namekians on Earth. Said Namekian stares back at him for a moment then asks what he means. Raditz's explanation is unfortunately cut short by another power popping up on his scouter's hud. Maybe he'll come back later to interrogate this guy properly but for now he blasts off towards this new signature. When he arrives and confronts his weakling of a brother, the short bald man still gets tail-whipped into the lone house on this island, Kakarot still refuses to join him so gets stomach punched, and then there's the boy, who gets…
Oh? What's this? Kakarot has managed to have a child with a local and it actually has a tail? Interesting. And useful! Most Saiyan hybrids don't grow tails, it being a recessive trait. Very interesting indeed. Hmm, well he's still got a mission and he gives Kakarot a day to sort himself out then come and join his older brother or, well, say bye bye to his son and then say bye bye to the planet. Ok so that last past is a bit of a stretch at Raditz's power level but they don't know that, what with those piddly little power numbers of only 400. Laughable doesn't do it justice.
As Raditz blasts off though, his scouter still chirps at him and he looks back to spot that Namekian from earlier, just floating above the house, watching him, but wisely staying out of it all. Hmm, so the green man had followed him despite the massive power difference? Ballsy, even for a guy that big. Oh, he doesn't have a scouter, does he, so probably has no idea just how weak they all are in comparison.
Hang on. He lacks a scouter? So, how'd he manage to find them? Hmm, he must know the place and just made a logical assumption. It's not like Raditz hadn't just flown off in as straight a line as globe trotting allows. Yeah, that's it. It's not like you can track power levels without a scouter, right?
One of Us!
When his brother and that Namekian guy arrive at Radtiz's landing site, instead of going in to attack, they ask about this Piccolo guy's people. Apparently they had been discussing it a bit on the way here. How they were the two ultimate rivals on this planet and wouldn't you know it, neither of them are even from it!
While he's a bit put off by them wanting to talk prior to him killing one or both of them, he can't help but remember how uncomfortably close to home what he'd read about the Namekians had struck. Or at least how he thought it had prior to finding this hybrid boy. A hybrid with a tail. An actual tail! The flight here had seen the many possibilities filling his mind with thoughts long dead. Maybe a glimmer of hope that their once proud race isn't destined to die out after all! At least not completely.
For the time being, Raditz is happy enough to retell what he knows of the Namekians. At least what he'd read while flicking through that old archive while bored out of his mind, waiting for their next mission. Kakarot looks bored with this but the Namekian, Piccolo, listens intently, his expression shifting between irritation and worry.
Having expounded enough, Raditz says to his little brother that it's time to choose, and they quickly move back into the fighting stage of this little reunion. Kakarot and his large Namekian friend make a decent enough attempt at least but are quickly put in their place by Raditz's bigger number. At around 3 times their fighting power, their obvious skills as martial artists are only so effective.
But Raditz is also aware that he isn't responding to his fullest here. He is distracted by thoughts of the Namekians' dwindling fate and continues to mix them with those of his own people, the Saiyans. They're all but dead now with just the 4, or maybe 5 of them, if that weakling of a boy's tail is functional. But what's the point in dragging this out?
He finds a handy counterpoint to all that when he's standing over Kakarot's bruised body and he has finally decided that the guy is probably better off dead. Raditz will spare his weakling, tailless brother the same, or arguably less meaningful life of servitude and ridicule that he himself has endured for at least 20 orbits of that slowly expanding asteroid field that was once their planet, Vegeta. With no tail, he would instantly become the butt of all the jokes usually aimed Raditz's way.
However, as the ball of energy charges in his hand, his scouter barks a warning and he turns just in time to see that previously weakling of a little Saiyan hybrid, obliterating the precious attack pod and his power number rapidly climbs to and then, rather worryingly, beyond even Raditz's.
His attention is drawn away from the boy for a moment by his scouter complaining bitterly about yet another power and while he manages to narrowly dodge the overpowered beam from the Namekian, things get overshadowed by a scream and something solid slamming into his chest, knocking the wind out of him.
As he stares up into the blue sky, waiting for the pain in his chest and the ringing in his ears to subside, he starts to hear the three of them talking. Haha, yeah, they know he's too strong. That should be obvious by now, shouldn't it? Huh, so the Namekian wants to try that beam thing again, but he needs more time and a stationary target? Well that's not gonna happen!
When it eventually does happen, having recently seen the 1st Makankosappo's numbers, Raditz, now tangled up in his brother's oddly effective hold, can only beg his brother not to throw his, no, their lives away. There are so few of them left. They could be together again, they could rebuild their great Saiyan race using these apparently not so puny Earthlings to do it!
"Not to worry," Piccolo says, "Unlike you, Goku will be brought back to life soon enough!"
What does he mean brought back? How? Dragonballs? Wishes? Hold on, hadn't that survey team's leader made a note about something like that on Namek? He thinks so but since they'd never actually seen any of those wish orbs things, they'd marked it as apocryphal. Likely some Namekian legend that they cling to like many a race and their deities of choice. If such things had existed, surely the Namekians would have used them to undo whatever calamity befell their world?
"Oh no, they're quite real". Piccolo says as the crackling around his fingers grows in intensity.
Two More?
Raditz then hears Vegeta talking to Nappa over the scouter network. They're going to get their hands on those Dragon Ball things! Namek looks to actually be closer to them than Earth is, if only by a few week's travel. They'll head there instead. Best not waste their time coming to Earth first. Besides, they can see the strangely flexible power numbers coming from the Namekian, Kakarot and the hybrid brat. Who knows how high they can actually go. And then, when he's immortal, it won't matter!
"Wait!" Raditz calls into the ether. "What about me?"
"What about you?" comes Vegeta's response. "Oh, you're in trouble over there, aren't you, Raditz? Well, that's too bad. Either sort it out yourself, or don't, it doesn't matter. Once I get my wish, I won't need you anymore."
Then with a click, both the channel and then the entire scouter goes dead.
The Namekian raises an eyebrow at him as Raditz slumps a bit, and stops struggling to free himself from Kakarot's bizarrely effective hold. Piccolo's expression changes to alarm and anger when he sees that Kakarot has all but let go, again. It's as if he can sense Raditz wondering what the point is. His pod is toast, and there's no rescue coming. This Piccolo guy's fingers are still glowing white hot though so it'll be over soon enough. Why fight it?
When his brother asks what's changed, Piccolo says that he overheard someone talking in the background. Apparently they are heading to that Namek place right now, seeking a wish to become immortal. They said that they should arrive on Namek in less than a year. At least if their math is vaguely accurate. Oh yeah, and they're abandoning this guy to his fate. Apparently they don't care if he dies or not.
"Nice friends you have there, Raditz was it?" Piccolo says, glaring down at the man while the glow around his fingers fades away.
"Oh, Hi Kami!" Goku says suddenly and Piccolo recoils a bit.
Raditz looks around to see that another, much older looking Namekian has appeared just behind his brother.
"What do you want?" the younger, fitter looking of the two green men demands.
Oh, that's easy. This wrinkled old Kami guy says he'd been listening in and that he just wants his people to be safe! He had forgotten most of what he knew about himself, but as with Piccolo, the mention of Namekians rings too true to be ignored. And then there's that strange ship he remembers from Yunzabit Heights.
"It won't..." Raditz starts to say before the realization hits him.
He'd just resigned himself to being stuck on this rock, probably dying here. If not to the Namekians unpronounceable beam thing then maybe at least until the soon to be immortal Prince and Nappa bother to show up and, and, what? They would, wouldn't they? Yeah, they'd show up eventually to clean up his mess. And probably him along with it.
Hearing that there is another ship, however? He can use this. Maybe he can get there in time to beat Vegeta? Damn, he has no idea where this Namek place is and with the pod destroyed, he has no way of looking it up. Besides, if they meet Vegeta on Namek before he becomes immortal himself? Well, that won't end well either, will it?
"It won't matter." He says again. "If you thought I was strong, you, you have no idea."
Kakarot, Piccolo, Kami, and even the boy, Gohan apparently, all regard Raditz for a moment then, when he doesn't continue, his brother asks just how strong these other Saiyans are.
"Strong." He says. "I'm only 1,200. Nappa is 4,000 and Vegeta is, well he's sitting at 18,000. Unless you've got some massive tricks up your sleeves, you won't stand a chance."
"Neither will you!" Piccolo says, just a bit smuggly, like he knows exactly what's going through Raditz's head.
How many?
After that statement sinks in for an awkward second or 10, the older Namekian says that he may have a solution, but it will take a bit of finessing. He knows a guy who can train Goku and maybe, if he can pass some test, Piccolo too. Hmm, maybe even this little boy could go along. The North Kai is known to have some great techniques that could be of use. He's just not sure if some King Yemma guy will be ok letting living people into Other World.
"No harm in asking right?" Kakarot asks, but Kami's sour look implies otherwise.
As Kami expounds about King Yemma's apparent temper, a small flier arrives and lands nearby. That small bald man, along with the older one and the woman peer out at Raditz then, seeing that everyone's just kind of sitting around, they venture out and approach cautiously. They should be cautious. Raditz could wipe them out with the flick of his wrist, if he was so inclined. Good thing he needs them, or more accurately Kami to show him where this ship of his is.
After Kami explains the plan to the bald guys and the blue haired woman, Krillin, Roshi and Bulma, the little guy that Raditz had recently sent through a building asks if they can come too! He thinks "the others" would probably want to come as well, if only to keep up with their rival, Goku. Oh right, that's Kakarot. Yes, let them go somewhere else to train. That will leave Raditz to twist this Kami guy's arm a bit to show him the ship!
His train of thought is broken when the blue-haired woman, Bulma, walks up to him while examining a piece of attack pod in her hands and then she pokes at the scouter that's still attached to his head. She asks to see the thing and well, Vegeta has killed the connection, rendering it inert so whatever, take it, it's useless.
He watches in amazement as all of 30 seconds later, she has taken the thing apart, poked and prodded and twisted and scraped. She thinks she can fix it huh? Yeah, right. It's a highly advanced piece of t... What the hell? It's powering back on? How did she do that?
"A girl never tells!" she says, and winks at him before the thing sparks and dies again.
She huffs and turns towards the flier saying that she needs better equipment and she stalks off, an impressive collection of charred pod parts tucked under her arm. Raditz turns back to the rest of them and is suddenly aware that there are only 2 other people here. The Bulma woman and that old guy. Roshi was it?
"Hey! Where'd everyone go?" He demands.
"Hehe…" Roshi laughs. "Off to do some special training. Looks like you weren't invited!"
Damn it! He needs that Kami guy's ship!
"You two coming?" Bulma calls from the flier's cockpit.
Raditz stares at her for a moment, then eyes the pod parts stacked haphazardly on the bench seat behind her. Hmm. If she can get a dead scouter to power on, maybe, just maybe she can be of use to him. Fine, he'll play nice for now, and once she gets his scouter working properly, he'll kind that Kami guy again and get his ship. Well, any ship will do. One way or another, he has to get to Namek.
End Chapter 1
And so as Raditz clambers into Bulma's rather undersized flier, and awkwardly sits next to Roshi, we will bring part 1 to a close.
Raditz's brother Kakarot, or Goku, as he calls himself for some reason, has vanished, along with the Namekian, Piccolo, the hybrid boy, that other small guy and worst of all Kami.
Where have they all disappeared off to? Will Raditz be able to percure himself a new ship? Will he get to Namek on time or will Vegeta beat them to the punch?
Find out next time on Dragonball, What If: Raditz Recognized Piccolo.