"That's everyone. Tien was hard to get ahold of, but everyone's been told," Bulma said. Goku and Krillin were still on the beach in front of Kame house, just standing there and staring off into the distance. It had been years since she'd seen either of them this intense. Goku hadn't been tense when he'd faced Piccolo, he'd been excited. Seeing him scared, seeing him angry...She was glad she'd called the rest of their friends. Had she called enough?

"He's here," Krillian muttered.

"Daddy, what's going on?" little Gohan demanded.

"Stay back, Gohan," Goku commanded, his eyes still up on the skies. Bulma patted the kid on the head, and ushered him back into the house. She looked to Roshi.

"Do you feel it, too? I wish I knew what was going on," she said. Roshi nodded, that solemn look on his face he had when he knew it was time to get serious.

"Yes, I feel it. Whole communities wiped out. It's hard to explain, but think of it like hearing a bunch of noises all the time, you don't notice it. Then, suddenly, there's a much louder single noise, and suddenly, the ones that've always been there are gone. All three of us are feeling that noise, and we all felt those towns get wiped out in an instant. Whatever is going on…" Roshi looked out the window to his students, "It's going to take everything we've got to deal with it."

Krillin took a step back as, suddenly, a new figure was floating above the two warriors. He was tall, as tall as the Ox King, with long, black hair than ran down to his calves. Bulma swallowed the lump in her throat; she wanted to get a closer look, but she had Gohan clutching her leg; she wouldn't let the boy out of her sight.

"Kakarot! I've found you!" the figure announced, floating closer to the ground, "You have a lot of explaining to do."

The figure landed on the beach, his eyes locked on Goku.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here? Why did you kill all those people?" Goku demanded. The man grimaced.

"I'm doing what you were sent here to accomplish, Kakarot. Do you not recognize me?"

"I've never seen you in my life."

The man cocked his head, "Curious. Do you not even recognize your own name, Kakarot?"

Goku clenched his fists, "You're going to answer for what you did to those people, do you hear me?"

"What, are you-" the figure looked Goku up and down, scowling, "It shocks me how much you look like our father. Tell me, Kakarot, did you hit your head as a child?"

Goku looked to Krillin, and then to Bulma in the house, before looking back to the figure, "What if I did?"

The man crossed his arms, "Then I can't exactly blame you for failing us. Perhaps it's for the best, in the end. Listen up, Kakarot, because there's a lot you need to know. Do you know where you came from? Anything about your past?"

"I was found in the woods by my grandfather."

"Nothing before then? About your family, or where you came from?"

Goku shook his head, and his stance was starting to falter.

"Goku, don't listen to this guy! Remember what he did to those people, he's a monster!" Krillin said.

"Monster or not, Kakarot, the truth is that you were sent here to destroy this world, and you failed. The people who sent you will not be pleased, and your weakness puts us all in danger," the man told him.

"Goku is the world's mightiest warrior!" Krillin boasted, "He's a hero who saved the Earth many times from monsters like you!"

The man put his hands on his hips and smiled, "A hero, huh? I've made a career of killing heroes, Kakarot, but I suppose it runs in our blood. Our father was a hero, too. A martyr, who died trying to protect our world. But that is the power we face, Kakarot. A power to whom not even the greatest of warriors can stop."

"Our father-?" Goku muttered.

"That's right, Kakarot. My name is Raditz. Like our father, I scour worlds to sell to the highest bidder on behalf of Emperor Frieza. We come from a race of warriors known as the Saiyans, and we stand on the brink of extinction. Which is why I am here, Kakarot-to retrieve you, my brother. We need every warrior we can, and garner as much goodwill as we can with Lord Frieza," Raditz explained, and he looked around the island.

"Clearly, however, your childhood injury has made you forget everything from your indoctrination, and you have, instead, settled here," Raditz said with a smile, "Our mother won't show it, but she'll be jealous."

"Wait," Bulma stepped out of Kame House, "You're here to recruit Goku? What do you need him for?"

"We have much to discuss, Kakarot. But we cannot delay," Raditz held out his hand, "Come with me."

"Ex-cuse me, I'm talking to you!" Bulma shouted. Raditz scowled at her.

"Tell your pet to be silent or I'll quiet it for you," Raditz told Goku.

"Bulma, get back inside," Goku said.

"WHAT? I'm not taking orders from either of you! I demand an explanation, you come to my planet, kill people, and then order me around?! I don't-"

In a split second, faster than Bulma could follow, Goku flew across the island, ripping a hole through Kame House, sending Roshi onto his ass.

"Hmph, you're lucky Kakarot is so soft, human. That was meant for you," Raditz said to her.

"Y-Yeah, okay, message received," Bulma stammered.

Goku jumped out of the water, soaring over Kame House, and landing next to Raditz, clutching his stomach.

"I-Erph! I won't...Let you hurt anyone else, Raditz!" Goku warned before coughing.

"Seriously, Kakarot, this planet has left you weak. I don't need a weakling, I need a Saiyan Warrior! I need my brother, someone worthy of bearing the legacy of our father! Do you know what will happen to both of us if I come back with you this pitiful?" Raditz shook his head, "I can't believe you let yourself be this weak. Mother and I should have retrieved you years ago. But I suppose we had no choice in the moment."

"I am...Son Goku…" he stood up straight, "I am the defender of this world, and I will not allow you to hurt anyone here again!"

"Wait, hold on," Krillin interjected, "Bulma's right, why are you here for Goku? If he's so weak, why not just let us be?"

"Your pets are barking again, Kakarot."

Goku replied by charging at Raditz, who, with one arm, snatched Goku by the arm and slammed him into the sand, pressing down on his chest with his foot.

"Yeah, you're, like, super fast," Krillin squeaked

"Wait, Raditz, listen," Bulma interjected again, "Why don't you let us go, and call your trip a wash, right? Goku's clearly not a threat to you or your um, Saiyans. You don't want him, or us, right? We'll just bring those people back with the Dragonballs!"

Raditz looked over to Bulma, his eyebrow cocked, "The what?"

"The, erm...Dragon...Balls…"

With Raditz distracted, Goku grabbed Raditz with his other hand, and pulled himself up, trying to flip Raditz over, but the other warrior just floated into the air, before punching Goku in the chest several times, before letting him fall to the ground.

"DADDY!" Gohan rushed out of Kame House to Goku. Raditz let out a gasp, and gawked at the boy as he shook his father to rouse him.

"What is that?" Raditz demanded.

"Gohan, come back inside," Roshi commanded, but Gohan wouldn't listen.

"See? Goku even has a son to take care of. There's no reason for him to go out in space...Destroying planets," Bulma gestured to Gohan. Raditz stood over Gohan and Goku; the toddler turned to Raditz, and scowled, tears rolling down his cheeks.

"I'm not gonna let you hurt my daddy!" Gohan declared, and he kicked Raditz in the shin. Raditz bent over, and picked Gohan by the collar, before turning back to Bulma.

"This is Kakarot's son?"

"Raditz, please! Don't hurt Gohan!" Goku wheezed.

"Hurt him?" Raditz let out a laugh, "Kakarot, you're pathetic, but you're lucky this world is so interesting. We can breed with the locals, and what are these Dragonballs you mentioned?"

Raditz took the hat off of Gohan and turned on his scouter. The ball was giving off a strange energy it couldn't quite identify, "Is this a Dragonball? What does it do?"

"Why should I tell you?" Bulma demanded.

"Because I'll rip your arms off if you don't. I've already defeated your 'world's mightiest', so who's there to stop me?" Raditz said, pressing on Goku's chest harder with his foot, "Now give me a reason I shouldn't kill you, my worthless brother, and everyone here."

"They...They grant a wish, if you gather all seven! Anything you want!" Bulma blurted, "Please, just stop hurting him!"

Raditz gave one more press, but stepped off Goku's chest.

"This planet just got a lot more interesting," Raditz said, "Congratulations, human, you live to cower another day. What the-"

Raditz's scouter beeped as Gohan growled, before letting out a screech of, "STOP HURTING MY DADDY!"

Before Raditz was able to register the words, Gohan kicked Raditz in the face, sending him back into the sand. Gohan dropped to the ground next to his father, who was beginning to stand up. Goku clutched his son as the boy began to cry again.

Raditz leaned up, a smile on his face as he got back onto his feet. He reached into his mouth, and pulled out a tooth.

"Well, well, I am surprised. I thought my scouter was broken, but this planet just gets weirder and weirder, doesn't it, Kakarot?" Raditz said, walking over to them, "So I'm going to make you a deal, and you don't really have a choice in the matter."

Goku charged at Raditz, but he caught Goku's fist and planted him in the ground with another strike. Raditz stepped on Goku's back and stepped toward Gohan, who was whimpering as he tried to scramble away from Raditz.

"You either bring me the other six Dragonballs, or you become powerful enough to be worth our time. If you don't, I'll destroy another one of your precious cities, and leave you with your pitiful world. But I'll be taking your half-breed son with me when I go. He's got potential," Raditz said, "And I'll be back with the rest of my team if I do. I'm sure Vegeta will be very interested to learn about the Dragonballs himself."

He looked to Bulma and Krillin, "You have one week."

Raditz reached out, grabbing Gohan by the tail and squeezing, before flying off into the distance. Bulma pressed her hand to her mouth as she watch Raditz go; she'd just told him about the Dragonballs, and now he was demanding them. She looked down to Goku, who was wheezing and struggling to stand.

"What are we going to do?" she said aloud.

"We train," a voice called out. They all looked up to see Piccolo, wearing a destroyed Gi, and he landed next to Goku.

"Piccolo...Now's not a great time," Goku said through a laugh.

Piccolo gave a grin, "I know, and I heard. I was keeping my distance, watching what would happen. It went about as well as I expected. I had an encounter with him too."

Piccolo gestured to his Gi, "It didn't go well."

"I guess this means we're putting our thing aside for now, huh?"

"Yeah. If we can't beat him, then he and his team will come back and take over the world. That's my job," Piccolo gestured to himself, "So we've got one week to figure out a plan."

"We're gonna need everybody for this," Krillin said, "Goku didn't stand a chance against him."

"None of us do. Not alone. Which pains me to say, we'll need your help, too," Piccolo said. He gestured to Roshi, "Yours, too, old man."

Roshi leaned on his stick, scowling as he thought, "We may need to consider some extremes here. This won't be like your father, Piccolo. I've got a few more things to teach, and a few more things to learn, but can you pull any of your fathers'?"

"There's some things, but if you're talking about creating children, no way. It puts a huge strain on the body, and I would lose a part of myself. It's what made my father weak. He didn't do things himself. I'm killing this Raditz myself, even if I have to use the rest of you."

"Good. We're going to need that attitude, Piccolo. Goku, can you stand?" Roshi asked.

"Yeah, Master Roshi, I'm good. Just had the wind knocked out of me, that's all," Goku said.

Bulma snapped her fingers, "Wait, I've got it! Here's what we'll do: You all train, and I'll gather the Dragonballs! If you can't handle Raditz, we'll make a wish, and have Shenron handle him for us! I got us into this mess, I can get us out if we need to."

"That sounds like a plan," Krillin nodded.

"All right. We'll train in my domain, it's much more open, and we won't be bothered. And if you need motivation, you can just visit the towns that Raditz destroyed. Be there soon, I have no use for cowards," Piccolo said, taking off into the air.

"Hey, Roshi? I've got one more call to make," Bulma said, "Was your phone destroyed?"

"Hmm? Well, it's only the two holes, it's covered in dust, but yeah. Who you calling?"

"Desperate measures."

XXX

"This has been an awful day," Raditz growled, throwing Gohan on the ground, "Stay here, I'm getting food."

Gohan sat up, rubbing his eyes and looked around him. They were in a field, with large chicken-things wandering around. He sat next to a crater, and at the bottom was a white sphere. He spotted Raditz down the hill, grabbing two giant birds by the neck and flinging them about, snapping their necks.

"You-You killed them! You're so mean! You hurt my daddy! I want my daddy! DADDY!" Gohan demanded, starting to cry and screech.

"I never thought I would miss Brussa punching everything she saw when she was that age," Raditz grumbled, "Stop crying. I'm making food."

Gohan didn't stop. Raditz took a deep breath as he started pulling feathers off the bird.

"Way too long of a day."

Raditz picked up the crying Gohan under one arm, held the birds by the necks in the other, and flew to the nearest building. There was a multi-story blue building, and a larger red building next to it. Raditz saw the blue mobility machine parked next to the blue house. This must be the dwelling.

Raditz found the door, and studied it. There was only a small piece of brass on it. He reached out, and pulled, taking the whole device out of the door.

"They left the key in…" he muttered, and tried pushing. It wasn't designed to open that way, and he studied the key he'd pulled out of the door. Raditz put the key in, and pulled, but the key just slid out of the door.

"I'm too hungry for this," he growled, and kicked the door in. The inhabitants of the house shrieked. Gohan was still crying, so it wasn't that much of a change.

"Stop crying before I kill all of you!" Raditz snarled. He held up Gohan, "Put him somewhere comfortable."

Raditz dropped the chickens, "Cook those."

"Th-That's him! That's the alien!" the farmer from earlier pointed at him. He was lying on a soda with bandages over his chest, and there was a female standing next to him, along with three children in the back of the room.

"Please don't hurt us, Mr. Alien!" the woman pleaded. Raditz shook Gohan.

"Comfortable." He pointed to the chickens, "Cook. Now."

The woman cautiously approached Raditz, and took Gohan, putting him on one of the chairs in the sitting room. Raditz stretched, walked over to the sofa with the injured farmer, and sat, with the farmer pulling himself away from Raditz.

"Oh wow. Okay, so, your planet may be full of pathetic weaklings, but your furniture is unlike anything I have ever sat on," Raditz said, slumping down, "Oh, wow, this is fluffy…"

"How...Do you want me to cook these, Mr. Alien?" the woman asked.

"Cut them up and fry them. Quickly, human, I'm hungry, and so is the boy!" Raditz snarled, and the woman ran to the kitchen with a yelp. Raditz looked over to the injured farmer.

"What, are you just going to sit there gawking at me while your mate does all the work? What kind of worthless partner are you? Go help her!" Raditz gestured to the kitchen, and the farmer scrambled off the sofa and into the back. Raditz put his feet up on the table in the center of the room, and looked over at Gohan, who had stopped crying, and was just scowling at him.

"What?"

"You're a bully. I don't like bullies."

"Everyone's a bully when they have power. That's how the world works. The strong bully, while the weak cower and connive. Your best hope is to find people just as strong as you, and bully together," Raditz said, "Your name was Gohan, right? What kind of name is that?"

"Gohan was my daddy's grandaddy."

"The human that raised him, huh? Sounds worthless if Kakarot ended up as weak as he has. Unfit to raise a Saiyan."

"Grampa Gohan was a great warrior! He didn't hurt anyone!"

"How could he be a great warrior if he didn't hurt anyone?"

"Well, nobody that wasn't mean. He'd have beaten you up!"

Raditz grinned, "Sure he would, kid. Do you know who I am?"

"A bad guy!"

Raditz let out a snort, "You're not wrong. I'm your uncle. That means I'm your father's brother. And up there? Up in space? Your dad and I have a sister, and a mother. You get to meet your grandmother when we go to space. You want to meet your grandmother?"

"Not if she's anything like you!" Gohan insisted. Raditz shook his head.

"Gine's a lot nicer than me. Sometimes, Gohan, we have to be people we don't want to be, just to survive. That's why I've got to make your dad tough. You, too. Wanna be tough, Gohan?"

He nodded, "So I can beat up bullies like you!"

"Well, I want to see what you can do, kid. So we're gonna eat, get some rest, and in the morning, I'm gonna make you tough. Tougher than your dad. Then you can beat up all the bullies you want."

Gohan huffed, "You'll be the first."

"I'll bet," Raditz said.

"Uh, here you go, Mr. Alien, sir," the farmer said, presenting a plate full of meat, "It's not everything, but it should get you started."

"Ugh, did you spice this at all?" Raditz smelled it.

"I'M SORRY MISTER ALIEN I'LL GET SOME PEPPER!" the farmer ran back into the kitchen, before returning with a pepper shaker, "Here you go!"

"Ah, much better," Raditz pulled the top off the shaker and sprinkled the entire shaker onto the pile of chicken, "Here you go, kid, eat up."

Raditz tossed Gohan a slice of the chicken. He caught it, sniffed it, and sneezed.

"Too much pepper…" Gohan muttered.

"Eat it anyway, it's what you've got," Raditz said, his mouth full of chicken. Gohan bit into it, chewing bit by bit, while Radtiz shoved entire sections of the bird into his mouth, though he chewed and savored as he went. The family kept delivering bits of the chicken, spicing and preparing as they went.

"Human," Raditz called out as they served a fourth tray.

"Uh, yes, Mr. Alien, sir?" the farmer stammered.

"Raditz."

"Huh?"

"My name is Raditz."

"Yes, Mr. Raditz?"

"Your animals and spices are succulent and flavorful. Only the cooking by my mother has ever surpassed the meal I have eaten this day. You have proven that your world has worth, and it will be what spares your planet," Raditz told them.

"Uh...Thank you, Mr. Raditz?"

"You're welcome. Now, Gohan-" Raditz looked to the boy, who had curled up and fallen asleep. Raditz smiled. He turned back to the humans.

"We require beds. I expect you to surpass the meal in the morning with breakfast."

"Yes, Mr. Radtiz!" the man and the woman said together. The woman picked up Gohan, and led Raditz into one of the bedrooms.

"Is this to your liking, Mr. Raditz?"

"Excellent. Bring a bed in for the boy, I don't want him out of my sight. Where is your cleansing room?"

"Uh...Bathroom's right here. Kitchen's downstairs in the back."

"Good work," Raditz said, putting Gohan on the bed. A few minutes later, the humans came in with a mattress and some blanks and pillows, laying them on the floor. Raditz put Gohan on the mattress on the floor, dismiss the humans with a wave, and began taking off his boots. This planet was pathetically weak in all its creatures, but it allowed this world to become a paradise. No wonder the people here were so weak, they didn't have to fight for anything. They didn't have to struggle, so the threats they faced were so pathetic. Perhaps he was too rough on Kakarot, all things considered.

Raditz sighed; this world would surely spoil him, as well.

There was a ka-click that Raditz recognized from earlier in the day, and he looked up. The oldest of the children, a boy, was holding a weapon and aiming it at Raditz. Raditz sighed.

"You know, your father and I already did this. But you're just a kid, so I won't do to you what I did to him," Raditz said, "If you use that thing on me, I'll do more than just injure your father. I'll break a new bone in his body, one every hour, and make you watch. Your father will beg me to kill him, and you'll be the only one I'll let do it. Do you want to take that risk, boy? Do you want your father to suffer like that?"

The child's lip quivered, and he ran down the hall with tears in his eyes. Raditz reached over and closed the door, leaned back on the bed, and groaned.

Oh there was no way he was destroying this world, it was much too valuable as it was.