A/N Hi! I've been thinking about what it'd be like if Goku remembered everything about his heritage instead of hitting his head on that rock (You know the one). So, here are my thoughts on what it'd be like! Also, before we get started I just wanted to point out that, while Kakarot was in an incubator on Vegeta before he was sent to Earth, he could still hear what was going on outside. Furthermore, the incubator gave all Saiyan infants a sort of lecture on the basics of their planet; such as technology, language, customs, etc. As such, Kakarot will be well informed on Saiyan habits despite being out of his incubator for maybe an hour.
"Speaking English"
"Speaking Saiyan"
'Thinking'
/
Kakarot couldn't believe it. He was finally removed from that insufferable incubator permanently, only to be met with the end of the world. His mother, Gine, was rushing away from the city with him in her arms. Unshed tears swam in her eyes. "Mama?" Kakarot questioned softly. She slowed her pace slightly and looked at her youngest child, "Don't fear Kaka, your papa will be here soon. Then, you will be safe." Her words only worried Kakarot more.
He had heard fleeting whispers between his mother and father in their kitchen before his father took off and he'd been removed from his incubator and dressed hastily, but he still wasn't sure what was happening. All too soon, Gine stopped in an abandoned village that their ancestors had once inhabited. She sat not far from the village center with hoisted Kakarot onto her lap. Then, they waited.
/
Thankfully, Bardock did not take long to reach them, despite having a large pod resting on his shoulder. Gine stood and made her way over to her mate, clutching Kakarot as tightly as she could. Neither Bardock nor Gine said a word as Bardock activated the pod, input the proper coordinates, and deactivated the normal "Purge" instructions. Gine delicately set Kakarot in the pod before backing away as Bardock took her place.
"My son," Bardock began, making Kakarot tear his eyes from his mother to look at him. "This is not how I wanted our first lessons outside of that ridiculous incubator to take place. Unfortunately, I currently have no say in the matter." Kakarot blinked in shock. 'My father having no say in the matter? My father is strong! He should have a say in all topics that he so chooses!' Kakarot defended mentally.
"Frieza plans to destroy our planet," Bardock continued. "He recalled nearly all our forces to eliminate us all at once. As such, your mother and I agreed that it'd be best to send you away. We have decided to send you to Earth. It seems to be inhabited weak organisms, but I'm sure a planet that hasn't been conquered despite being as weak as that will have to contain some outliers. I want you to find those outliers and train with them. I want you to protect Earth. I want you to find a mate. I want you to destroy Frieza. Can you do that for me, son?"
Kakarot blanched at the life-changing news but nodded regardless. Bardock smiled slightly and pat Kakarot's head. "That's it, boy. Now, don't forget to get the tracker out of your back, or Frieza will find you before you're ready." He mumbled.
Kakarot hunched under the force of his father's hand but quickly sprung back up. "Wait!" He called. "What about Raditz?" "He's with the Prince's squadron, which is still out. So, he'll be fine."Bardock explained as he stood and clicked the button to close Kakarot's pod. He backed up to stand beside Gine, and they watched their youngest son soar away from them with his hands on the only window in his pod.
/
Darkness. Emptiness. A star or planet dotted in between, yet they stood for little when in the unending vacuum of space. Lord Frieza thought he understood how to see into said darkness to find hidden little gems that he could claim as his own. He was wrong. After all, he never saw the little white pod flying off the west face of Planet Vegeta. The little white pod that carried the vengeance of the Saiyans. The little white pod that carried his doom.
/
Three weeks. That's how long it'd been since Kakarot had breathed fresh air. Kakarot took a small step out of his pod and looked around. 'That's a lot of green out there. Seriously, where am I? I know I'm on Earth but like, HOW ARE THERE SO MANY GREEN THINGS! It truly is a wonder that this place is still in the space boonies.' He thought to himself as he inched further out of his pod. Kakarot stilled as he saw a flash of orange through the green.
"A predator.." He mumbled to himself as the orange flash was identified as a large orange and black feline. The cat moved closer upon seeing that it was discovered, and let out a large roar. Kakarot readied himself for an attack when, just as suddenly as the feline had appeared, it took off. Kakarot leaned closer to his pod because, despite his confusion, he was smart enough to know that anything that could scare off a big predator like that was far stronger than the predator itself.
He backed closer to his pod and waited for this stronger foe to appear, only for an old man to crest the depression made by his pod.
"Oh my, what on Earth is that?" The old man questioned aloud as he began to edge down the sides of the crater. Kakarot shoved himself back into his pod. 'That must be a human. If that striped quadruped ran from this man then I don't know if I have a chance… He must be one of those outliers papa talked about. There is no way every Earthling can have a power level of...' (He put on his scouter) '124?! Papa said these people are weak, but that old man is stronger than me! I'll have to plan this very carefully if I want to escape with my life..' Kakarot thought as he slid off his armor and scouter. Then, he began to cry.
The old man, who was previously descending with the pace of a sloth, rushed down the outer curve of the cavity and over to the pod. "Oh, you poor thing!" He cooed, picking Kakarot up. "Hmm, tell you what. I've always wanted a grandson, so I'll take you home and you can live with me! My name is Gohan, but you can call me Grandpa, or Grandpa Gohan. Now, what should I call you..." Just like that, Gohan carried Kakarot back to his home, chattering to the infant all the while.
/
Some time had passed since Gohan had picked up Kakarot, and it was surprisingly nice. For some reason, Gohan never blinked an eye at just how much food Kakarot would devour at every meal and he somehow had enough food to keep up with the Saiyan's eating habits. Gohan had also taken to showing Kakarot his martial arts forms and told Kakarot stories about his time learning under the great Master Roshi. Kakarot picked the training up with ease, but it wasn't enough for him. So, whenever Gohan went to sleep, he'd go outside and train far more vigorously for hours into the night.
He hadn't been on Earth long, but he found himself getting stronger at a rapid pace. Gohan was also amazed, but to a much higher degree than Kakarot. "My, my Goku!" Gohan called as he watched Kakarot run through his forms one morning. "If you keep this up, you'll be stronger than me in no time!"
Kakarot rolled his eyes as Gohan spoke. 'That's the point of this Grandpa. Seriously, why would you teach someone and not what them to gain in strength so they can be on your level? Also, why do insist on calling me that? I'm not the greatest at full-on speech yet (luckily I can comprehend words just fine) but if I were I would tell you off so fast. It's Kakarot, KA-KA-ROT… Seriously that is the first thing that will come out of my mouth once I'm confident in my words.' Such words would never come.
/
Despite seeing Kakarot blow through his martial arts training like it was nothing, Gohan still didn't seem to trust Kakarot's balance. As such, he was carted around in a basket whenever he and Gohan went on a walk. Said basket limited Kakarot's ability to gauge out the tracker in his back.
'I would have just done it at home, but there's nothing sharp there, other than those things Grandpa calls knives. However, he keeps a sharp eye on those, so it's impossible to get one. These rocks here look like they'd do just fine, but Grandpa won't let me out of this forsaken basket! What to do, what to do….' Kakarot pondered as they began to climb a small path near a waterfall. About halfway up the path, Kakarot noticed it was thinning and the path had become unstable. 'Only a few seconds…. And… NOW!' Kakarot pounced into the side of the basket, sending the whole thing, himself included, plunging into the rocky alcoves below. "GOKU!" Gohan shouted in fear, but Kakarot did not hear him. He was far too focused on spinning to the necessary angle for the rocks to take out tracker, but nothing more.
Within seconds, he was on the ground, light-headed and dizzy- but lacking the tech in his back. He would have given himself a victory cheer had that not hurt so much. The last thing he saw before losing consciousness was Grandpa Gohan, rushing over in fear, tears dripping down his face.
/
It had been several years that Kakarot lived with Grandpa Gohan after the whole, 'oh my god, he's dying' fiasco. During that time, Kakarot learned many human customs, social cues, and even some basic math and history. He'd also learned that it'd be best if he wore long-sleeved shirts and gis because many muscular human men had a lot of pride in themselves and how they looked. So, they could easily get angered over a little boy having more muscles than them. Unfortunately, Kakarot destroyed his life of comfort when he started his Oozaru training. He lost control during his first transformation and accidentally crushed Grandpa Gohan in the process.
The following morning, Kakarot recovered and saw the carnage that was left. He wasn't as devastated as most would assume, but he was certainly disappointed. 'Moons dammit. Now I have to find another teacher! Maybe I can find that "Master Roshi" Grandpa spoke so fondly of. If Grandpa is dead, that means I'm stronger than him. However, he always said that Master Roshi was stronger than him, so this could be a good challenge.' Kakarot decided at last. Unfortunately, he had no idea where to even begin searching, so he knew his search would take some time. What he didn't know, however, was how quickly his search would be cut off.
