Raditz stood on the ledge of the cliff overlooking the mountain town. The whole lot of them were ants from up here, easily destroyed with a casual flick of his wrist. He'd have started blasting already, if it were not for the basket of bird that the humans had assembled. Sure, he'd given Kakarot a week, but that didn't mean he had given him exactly seven days.
But this bird was petance enough from the humans; enough for him to keep true to the letter of his word. There was no way he was going to destroy this world, not with delicious food like this just strolling around. This world would make the Saiyans a fortune.
Raditz looked down at Gohan, who flinched in response. Species who could make hybrids with Saiyans were far and few between, and the boy had shown extraordinary potential. The weakness of the average Human would make it difficult to convince Vegeta, but Raditz couldn't help but think about the possibilities of this world beyond simply selling it to Frieza. If they kept it a secret, they could father an entire new generation of Saiyans.
"Please don't hurt anyone, Raditz! We didn't do anything to you!" Gohan begged. It wasn't the first time, and probably wouldn't be the last, either. Raditz shook his head.
"It's eat or be eaten, kid. Now shut up, and stay out of my way, or I'll stuff you in my pod," Raditz warned. His scouter beeped, and he looked up to the sky; Kakarot and the Namekian had arrived, along with a few other humans. They landed opposite Raditz and Gohan; their expression told Raditz all he needed to know about what was about to happen. Raditz scraped the last of the meat off the bird leg with his teeth, and tossed the bone aside. He wiped his hands and mouth with the napkin provided with the basket, before holding up the four-star Dragonball.
"I hope you've got more of these with you, or things are going to get ugly," Raditz said.
"Give me back my son, Raditz, and leave this planet. I'm giving you this chance to leave now, and never come back," Goku said. Raditz took a deep breath.
"You don't get it, do you, Kakarot? You and I, we're some of the last Saiyans. I'm doing this for us. I am your people. Your mother and your sister are out there, waiting to meet you. I'll fight you, but," Raditz pleaded, and shook his head, "Your failure will not go over well."
"Last chance to leave, Raditz," Goku warned, pulling off his training weights and assuming a fighting stance. Most of the humans, even the Namekian did the same thing. Raditz clicked his scouter; Kakarot was the highest at 625, followed by the Namekian at 587. After that was the human with the third eye at 362. It registered a large number of weapons on the cyborg human, while clocking him at 212 overall. Raditz guessed his weapons wouldn't push him much past 250, if they had an effect at all. The shortest human was at 206, while the black-haired human was at 196. The old human barely clocked 150. Absolutely pitiful.
"I'm impressed, Kakarot. You've nearly doubled your power in just a week. See what you can do if you push yourself?" Raditz chuckled.
"We've got the advantage, Raditz. You're alone, and we're a team. You can't win," Goku said.
"That a fact? I gave you a task, Kakarot. And you've failed me. So now suffer the consequences."
Raditz reached down, grabbed Gohan by the hair, and threw him off the cliff.
"GOHAN!" Goku screamed, jumping after him. As a yellow cloud charged down the cliff with him, Raditz charged forward, flying past Piccolo and landing a punch on Tien, who only half-blocked the blow, with Raditz's fist pushing Tien's elbow into his own gut, sending him reeling over and knocking the wind out of him.
Chiaotzu came at Raditz, spinning as he flew, forcing Raditz to catch and hold Chiaotzu at arm's length, giving Krillin the chance to strike him with a series of jabs to the side. Raditz redirected Chiaotzu towards him, forcing Krillin to dodge his own teammate.
"Don't let up!" Roshi commanded, swinging his own punches at Raditz, but forcing Krillin off-balance was all the momentum Raditz needed to block Roshi's attacks. Yamcha tried to disrupt Raditz by flanking him with Roshi, but the Saiyan was more than able to keep up with the two of them.
"Are you two just going to stand there, or are you going to HELP US?" Roshi shouted to Piccolo and Tao. Tao came in at Raditz, swinging with the sword protruding from his arm. Raditz twisted his hips to catch the blade on his armor, which caused Tao's arm to fling back in response.
Piccolo came in through the gap caused by the exchange, forcing Raditz to turn his attention to the Namekian, and, for a moment, put the Saiyan on the defensive as he focused on blocking the blows. The moment Raditz managed to get his footing back in his favor, however, he braced himself, and sent Piccolo across the ground with a well-landed punch.
"Goku! Gohan! Are you okay?" Tien managed to catch his breath and shout down the cliff. The Flying Nimbus floated up, with Goku standing on the cloud and holding stepped onto the cliff, and placed Gohan on Nimbus.
"Gohan? Daddy's going to take care of this, okay?"
"But, dad, I can help!"
"You're way too young, and your mother's been worried sick. Don't worry about us, Gohan. I've got this, okay?"
"Okay. Beat him up, dad!"
"Heh, you've got it, kiddo. Nimbus, take Gohan home to Chi Chi, okay?"
The cloud let out a few happy puffs, and took off into the sky with Gohan looking back at the battlefield.
"I pegged him for a brute, Goku, but he's smarter than he looks," Roshi admitted, "I knew this was going to be tough, but this is a few steps above 'tough.'"
"You don't have to stay," Goku said.
"I didn't say anything about running away," Roshi said, "We're just going to have to fight smart."
"Do you have something in mind?" Tien asked.
"We've got a few techniques, but I think Tao was right about needing tricks," Roshi admitted.
"Chiaotzu and I have one," Krillin grinned to Chiaotzu, who nodded, understanding what Krillin had in mind.
"I'd call off your friends if I were you, Kakarot. This is going to be painful enough for you. It's never easy seeing your squad being rendered pathetic," Raditz taunted. With Raditz distracted, Krillin pelted the area around Raditz with Ki blasts. They were numerous and clumsy, a simple matter for Raditz to deflect or even take straight-on without taking serious damage. It wasn't easy for Krillin to put out that kind of energy so quickly, but hitting Raditz wasn't the point; the air was now full of chunks of rocks which had been flung into the air.
"Like I said! Pathetic!" Raditz called out.
"Everyone! Take your shots now!" Krillin commanded. The rocks froze in midair, causing Raditz to look around, trying to understand what was going on. As the fighters came at him, landing a few blows before letting the next teammate take their shot, Chiaotzu flung the floating rocks at Raditz, preventing him from taking the initiative and retaliating.
"Your team's not bad, Kakarot," Raditz admitted as Goku took his share of swings, "But it won't be enough. Not by a long shot."
Raditz charged Ki in his hand, and swung his arm in an arc, disintegrating the rocks around him, and flinging Goku out of the cloud of dust created by the attack.
"Goku!" Krillin shouted. When he looked back towards where Raditz had been, the Saiyan had already charged out of the cloud, and landed his fist on Krillin's face, sending him into a boulder, which cracked when Krillin impacted it. Krillin slumped over, blood running down his face.
"Krillin! Damn you!" Roshi hissed.
"No! Krillin!" Yamcha charged at Raditz.
"No, Yamcha, don't! Stick together!" Roshi commanded, but Yamcha had already leapt into the air and was coming down upon Raditz.
"WOLF! FANG! FIST!" Yamcha yelled, landing the punch on Raditz's chest, pounding Raditz into a small crater with the impact of fist and Saiyan, "HAH! Not so tough NOW, are you?"
Raditz pushed himself out of the ground, held up his arm, and chuckled.
"Wednesday Barrage."
Yamcha was pelted by a series of straight-on Ki Blasts, one after another.
"Tien! Do something! He's going to kill him!" Chiaotzu shouted. Tien floated up, and held his fingers in a triangle.
"Don't do it, Tien! We can still win this!" Roshi shouted. Raditz looked up to the floating Tien as his Scouter started letting out shrill beeps, ending his torment of Yamcha.
"Two thousand? Where did that human get THAT kind of power?" Raditz wondered.
"Kikoho!" Tien let out the attack, blasting a perfect square into the ground where Raditz was. The blast was more than enough to plant Raditz firmly into the center, and left even the Saiyan warrior gasping for breath.
"Want some more?" Tien shouted, charging another.
"Don't do it, Tien!" Chiaotzu shouted.
Raditz rolled up onto his shoulders, aiming both his hands at Tien, "DOUBLE SUNDAY!"
With a yellow flash and a bang, the explosion sent Tien plummeting out of the sky, and Raditz kicked out his legs to get back on his feet.
"I seriously underestimated you humans," he admitted, "I don't know how you're hiding your power levels, but I haven't seen anything like this."
Raditz stood over Tien, and bumped him with his foot. Tien let out a groan.
"A lot tougher than you seem, too. That shouldn't have left a body, much less left you alive. Still, he was the toughest of your humans, Kakarot. I haven't even seen what you can really do. Why don't you stop playing around, or I'll kill your friend right now?" Raditz held an open palm straight at Tien's head.
Goku clenched his fists and faced down Raditz, grinding his teeth.
"He's baiting you, Goku," Roshi warned.
"But he's not bluffing," Goku said.
"Then we fight him together, boy. Piccolo, help Goku. Tao, Chiaotzu, support them from afar. I'll get the injured out of here," Roshi instructed.
"Come and try it, old man," Raditz laughed. Goku and Piccolo charged straight in at Raditz, who braced himself, when the pair of them seemed to shuffle and then multiply, using the After-Image technique to confuse him. Raditz swung, cleanly missing and giving Goku the chance to land a few blows. Raditz brought his elbow down, bouncing Goku off the ground.
"DODON RAY!" Tao and Chiaotzu fired the concentrated beams at Raditz, scorching his armor and sending him back while Piccolo attempted to follow through on Goku's attacks. Raditz grabbed Piccolo by the antennae, and slammed him against Goku, taking the Dodon Rays to his armor, which was starting to crack under the barrage, after having been blasted by the Kikono. Raditz continue to beat Goku with Piccolo until the antenna itself broke off.
Roshi managed to use the distraction to pull Tien away from Raditz and hidden behind a tree. As he started to run for Krillin, Raditz turned to him.
"Don't think I've forgotten about you!" Raditz charged an attack to take him out. Roshi let out a yelp, and started to run for cover, when Raditz let out a gasp and dropped the blast.
Raditz looked over his shoulder, glaring at Mercenary Tao, who had managed to stab between the cracks of Raditz's armor. Tao pulled his arm back, revealing that he had used a syringe, rather than his sword.
"I had hoped it wouldn't come to this, but I don't see any other choice. You'll feel it quickly. It was meant for your brother, but I suppose you'll do just fine," Tao said, an evil grin on his face.
"What stupid trick are you try-uh-what…" Raditz started to wobble as he stepped towards Tao, who took a few steps back. Tao pulled the rest of the syringe out of his arm, and detached his hand. The syringe was empty, aside from a few drops from the end of the long, metal needle. Tao pointed his arm at Raditz and blasted him with a Ki blast.
"You've poisoned me!" Raditz growled, taking the blast straight in the chest. His cracking armor finally gave way, leaving a hole that exposed Raditz's chest.
"What?! No! That should have put you down!" Tao protested as Raditz reached out. With a single swift motion, Raditz ripped off Tao's arm, and began beating him with it, denting his metal skull.
Raditz only stopped when his scouter beeped a warning to him once again, and he turned to face Roshi, whose power had jumped from 150 to nearly a thousand, and had increased in mass. He was starting to gather blue power in his hands by his hip.
"Ka! Me! Ha! Me! HA!" Roshi let out the wave as Raditz started to charge straight at him, sending him flying back. Raditz held out his hands to absorb the attack, though, leaving his hand smoking and only a bit of ground lost.
"If you're done, let's-" Raditz began to talk, but his scouter let out yet another warning. This time, Goku and the Namekian's power were rising similarly. Goku's had gone from 625 to well over 2,000, and the Namekian's was rising past Raditz's own 3,000.
"Where-Where did you get all this power? This is impossible! KAKAROT! I'M NOT AFRAID OF YOUR TRICKS!" Raditz bellowed, charging his own attack.
"Kamehame-HA!" Goku let out his own wave. Raditz waited for the last moment as he charged his counter-attack.
"THURSDAY CHARGE!" Raditz fired back just as the Kamehameha was about to strike him. The ensuing struggle between them, along with the poison jabbed into him by Mercenary Tao, was starting to take Raditz's energy. Despite all of it, Raditz was able to overcome his brother's Kamehameha, and send Goku plummeting.
"Not...Not bad, Kakarot," Raditz gulped for air, sweat pouring down his body, "It's still not enough. But not bad."
Raditz turned to the Namekian, and got a better read from his Scouter; all the power was concentrated in the alien's fingertips.
"You've lost," Raditz declared, "You'd better fire that now, because if it doesn't finish me, I'm going to rip and tear you to pieces, Namekian."
"Goku! Now!" Piccolo ordered, and to Raditz's surprise, Goku leaped from the ground, and tucked his arms under Raditz, and pulled back.
"What? Kakarot! Get off me! What are you doing! Let GO!" Raditz wiggled to try and get out, but he was losing strength faster than he expected.
"Piccolo! Do it now!" Goku shouted.
"Makankosappo!" Piccolo fired the Special Beam Cannon. Raditz gathered power in his mouth, but he had so little power left, and the attack was far too quick, especially with Goku holding him in place.
The attack gave a surge of heat in his stomach...And then cold. He hit the ground, unable to move his limbs except his head. Goku landed on the ground next to him, a similar hole in his stomach.
"Kakarot...No…It wasn't...Supposed to be like this..."
Piccolo stood over Raditz, and wiped the blood away from his eyes, "Don't worry. His friends will bring him back with the Dragonballs. We'll see him again. You, however, won't be so lucky."
"You...Think so, Namekian? You're...a fool. My Scouter...Has been broadcasting...My mother...She knows...you've killed us. Her wrath...Will not...Be sated…Prepare...To...Die."
"Thanks for the warning. We'll deal with her the same way we dealt with you," Piccolo scoffed.
Master Roshi was kneeling over Goku, "I'm so sorry, Goku. I couldn't save you...We tried...We fought as a team, but we couldn't save you…"
"It's okay, Master Roshi. We did our best. We won," Goku coughed, "The world's safe. Just...Do me a favor...Train Gohan...Please...There's more like Raditz...He needs...To be ready…"
"I will, Goku. I promise you, I'll train your boy, he'll make you proud," Roshi promised, cradling Goku's head, "You've made me proud, Goku."
"G-Goku?" Krillin had managed to get to his feet, "Goku!"
He rushed to his friend's side, but Roshi was already looking away, tears in his eyes.
The sons of Bardock had passed.
Light-years away, the wrath of their mother was declared with a blood-curdling scream.
XXX
Author Notes: Here's some Power Level stuff just for fun.
Vegeta: 18,000
Nappa: 4,000
Gine: 3,500
Raditz
3,000 after training with Nappa
1,300 after being poisoned by Tao
Brussa: 2,700
Meys: 2,300
Shive: 2,100
Goku
416 when Raditz arrives
625 after the week of training
2,600 with the Kamehameha
Piccolo
408 when Raditz arrives
587 after the week of training
3,200 when firing the Special Beam Cannon
Roshi
150 when relaxed after training
450 when in Bulk Form
1,200 when firing Kamehameha
Krillin
206 when Raditz arrives
252 after training
Tien Shinhan
250 when Raditz arrives
362 after training
Yamcha
177 when Raditz arrives
216 after training
I've also received some questions about Shive and Meys. They're OC's, but they do appear in Dragonball Super: Broly as generic Saiyans that were accompanying Vegeta and co. when they received word about the destruction of their homeworld.
I imagined they are lower-class warriors, and are so dismissed by Vegeta and Nappa, and ended up getting killed before the events of DBZ. However, their fates changed in this fic due to Gine. For example, in Chapter 2, Gine intervened when Shive was beaten by the Frieza Force soldiers, where, originally, that was the scene where he was killed. Meys was killed on Gellow in Chapter 3, which Raditz barely survived due to cowardice, originally. Again, Gine's presence saved them, and Gine's success drove them to train.
They'll continue to play a role in the fic, provided I remember they exist.
