Chapter 2: Family Quarrels
Bardock grins at Kakkarot and Gohan. "Let's see how much you two have improved since the last time we fought." Bardock turns on his scouter and waits for the numbers to stop rising. "Ahh Kakkarot, my son. You've improved a bit. You're at 47,500 now, while Gohan is at 33,400. This should be an interesting spar, with me at 49,600 and Raditz at 37,800." Bardock smiles and fires a ki blast at Gohan.
Kakkarot intercepts that blast and knocks it away, "GOHAN! You take Raditz, I'll handle my father." Kakkarot charged at Bardock aiming a punch at the older mans stomach, which was expertly blocked and countered with a kick to the side.
Gohan didn't have much time to prepare for as soon as his father shouted at him Raditz was in his facing trying to beat him down. Gohan dodged to the right and rammed his elbow into Raditz face sending him back. Gohan followed through hitting Raditz with a double kick. Raditz crossed his arms across his face and chest and blocked the kick but couldn't stop from being sent to the ground. Gohan powered up two ki blasts, one in each hand, and sent them hurtling down towards Raditz. An explosion shook the area, but before Gohan could begin to think of victory he was hit from behind by a blast from Bardock.
Kakkarot was having a difficult time with Bardock. His father was stronger and faster then him, if only by a little, but he had a lot more experience then him, and knew a lot more tricks. Kakkarot fought all out against Bardock, throwing punches, knees and kicks as fast and hard as he could. He knew his only way of beating Bardock was to beat him fast. An extended battle with his father would only make things worse.
Kakkarot felt a shift in his fathers fighting and saw him powering up a blast in his left hand while blocking with his legs and free arm. Kakkarot braced himself for an impact as he fought against his father and was surprised when the blast went for Gohan and not himself. He didn't have a chance to warn his son before the blast hit him and sent him falling from the sky.
Kakkarot's attack redoubled seeing his son fall sending his punches out quicker and harder then he had ever before. Suddenly a punch slip through and hit Bardock in the chest knocking him back and into a kick that Kakkarot had initiated before the punch had landed. Bardock flew towards the ground but stopped himself before impact. "Very good Kakkarot, you really are improving. To bad it won't be enough."
True to his word Bardock flew up at Kakkarot faster then he could follow and slammed him in the face and gave him a double hammer to the back sending him down to the ground. Bardock powered up an energy wave his hands diagonal from each other. One hand above his right shoulder while the other by his left leg. "DUAL BLASTER!" Bardock shouted and brought his hands past each other while letting the energy waves fly from each hand. The waves spiraled around one another before combining into a massive twirling beam of blue energy that headed straight for Kakkarot. Kakkarot cupped his hands and sent his own energy wave back at Bardock. The two waves met half-way between them. Bardock and Kakkarot both struggled to overpower the other wave, but they were to close in power to gain an upper hand. They both knew the outcome of the other battle going on, would decide theirs.
As Gohan fell neared the ground a foot in the stomach sent him flying back up. Gohan opened his eyes to see Raditz flying towards him at top speed, with a very hostile expression on his face. "You'll pay for that one brat." Raditz came at Gohan, faked to the left and gave him an uppercut that sent Gohan flying further up into the sky. Raditz appeared above Gohan and kicked him back down to the ground where he made a very nice crater in the ground.
"It's pay back time." Raditz fired not one, not two, but hundreds of ki blasts down at the crater where Gohan lay. Raditz spit "That'll teach him, I'm stronger then him, and always wil… WHAT THE!"
Inside the crater, where a very toasty burnt Gohan should be, stood a totally unharmed one. A flaming aura surrounded him and the look on his face was one that Raditz had seen on very few, and never really wanted to see it again. Raditz glanced at his scouter, "Oh shit, this can't be good. His power level just hit 40,000."
Gohan glared at Raditz and flew after him at top speed. Has he neared Raditz he focused his ki into his hand and arm and bulked the muscle up inside them and hammered his fist into Raditz, and through the protective armor covering Raditz's stomach. Raditz doubled over gasping for breath while Gohan brought both his hands, both bulked up with extra ki for increased strength, onto Raditz's back sending him hurtling towards the ground with pieces of his armor flying behind him.
"MASENKO-HA!!" Gohan fired his new attack at Raditz. He had created it a few weeks ago, and the blast ripped through what was left of the armor and slammed Raditz into the ground making a huge crater, and putting him out of commission.
Gohan glanced up and saw the duel going on between his father and his grandfather. He frowned and flew forward to aid his father overpower the older mans energy wave.
Bardock seeing this grinned. So, my grandson is to honorable too attack me from behind, well that'll be his undoing. As Gohan came closer to Kakkarot, Bardock used the spare energy he had been saving. Kakkarot's energy wave had been slowly winning against Bardock's, almost too slowly to see. Bardock used only one hand to maintain his wave, that being one of the bonuses of his attack. Once formed, it only required one hand to keep it going strong. In Bardock's other hand he created a second ki blast, a lot smaller then the wave being generated in front of him, but it didn't need to be big, only distractive. Bardock sent the ki blast at Gohan curling it around coming at him from behind and slightly below.
"GOHAN WATCH OUT!" Kakkarot yelled at him. Gohan turned around to see the blast fly at him and prepared to block it, but it was too late, it had done its job. The blast hit Gohan knocking him slightly up, and forward… into Kakkarot's energy wave. The blast ripped through Gohan instantly disintegrating his armor and damaging him badly.
Kakkarot's energy wave suffered greatly as well. Most of his energy in the attack had just been used up while cooking Gohan. Bardock put both his hands back into his attack and forced all his energy into one final push. Bardock's energy wave ripped through the rest of Kakkarot's wave and slammed into him, not to mention Gohan who was still trapped in the middle of it.
Kakkarot and Gohan were sent spinning down and both slammed into the ground. Bardock slowly levitated to the ground and walked over to Gohan and Kakkarot who was just getting up off the ground. "Nice fight Kakkarot, you could have won, if you taught your son the finer points of fighting. Honor is something that should never be brought onto the battle field. I hope he's learned his lesson. In the mean time, I think we need to get him to a regeneration chamber, because I don't think he'll survive otherwise." Bardock glances over at the crater created by Raditz body and Gohan's attack. "I think the same goes for Raditz. That was hell of an attack that he used on Raditz. I didn't expect Raditz to fall that quickly."
Kakkarot rushed to Gohan and gently lifted his body, "Don't worry son, I'll get you fixed up real quick. Don't you die on me." Kakkarot levitates off the ground, and blasts off towards the capital city, heading towards one of the many medical hospitals. Upon reaching the city he rushes to one of the gates. The guard, instantly recognizing Kakkarot has one of the elite guards lets him through without asking for identification or reason for visit. The reason was quite obviously the bloody mass of flesh in his arms.
Once inside the city Kakkarot didn't waste any time. He blasted as fast as he could in his injured state heading towards the palace where the finest regeneration tanks lay. A shadow seemed to follow Kakkarot towards the palace but as he got close to it the shadow disappeared. At the gates to the palace Kakkarot slowed down and landed. Not even he could race through the palace halls. At the gates one of the guards once again recognized Kakkarot. "Hello Kakkarot, what brings you here, and what's in your arms? It sort of looks like a saiyan."
Kakkarot frowned. "This is my son, I need to get him to the regeneration tanks. He's still alive, but barely. He needs the best treatment to live, and I'll be damned if he doesn't receive it."
The guard looked at the bloody mass of flesh in Kakkarot's arms in shock. "That's your son?! What the fuck happened to him? He looked like he got squashed between two moons."
"Well he kind of got caught inside my energy wave, getting hit with the full force of it, and then he was slammed by Bardock's energy wave, both of them at full power. He didn't really have much of a chance seeing how he was caught of guard." Kakkarot said looking at his son. "Now can I get through? I'd rather save him then talk to you at the moment."
"Ya, ya sure… Go right ahead." The guard shakes his head in amazement as Kakkarot bolts past him heading towards the regeneration room. How is that kid still alive? Kakkarot and Bardock are two of the strongest fighters on the planet. No one should be able to survive that, especially caught off guard.
Kakkarot, after taking two rights and left opened a door to the right with his foot and raced into a room occupied by two doctors. The room was totally white and six regeneration chambers lined the walls. In the center of the room various computers bleeped and made weird noises as they monitored every action in the room and adjusted various variables accordingly, "I need one of those regeneration chambers readied, NOW!" Kakkarot yelled as he burst into the room.
The doctors taking one look at Kakkarot, and another at the bloody mass in his arms, didn't hesitate and immediately opened up one of the chambers. Kakkarot rushed to the chamber and set the bloody mass that was his son into the chamber and watched anxiously as the door closed and liquid began to fill the chamber. "Do you think he'll make it?" Kakkarot asks the doctor closest to him.
The other doctor looked at the screen, up at Kakkarot, and then back to the screen. "If he makes it, it'll be a miracle. I don't understand how he is still alive. His lungs have collapsed, muscles are ripped to shreds, and all of his bones are broken. A lot of the skin on his body has been burnt off and many ligaments have been torn. He should have died from lack blood loss, among various other things like not being able to breathe. I don't really understand your son. If he recovers he'll be a lot stronger then before. This is more then just coming back from near death. This is almost like coming back from being dead." The doctor sighs and looks up at Kakkarot, "You're not in too good of shape yourself. You would benefit from a few hours in the regeneration chamber as well."
Kakkarot looks at himself and grins sheepishly, "Hehe, I suppose I am a wreck huh? I've been so worried about Gohan, I never even noticed I was injured myself. At least it will help pass the time. Just tell my mate Chichi where I am… better yet, don't. I'd rather be yelled at for coming home late then for nearly getting her eldest son killed." Kakkarot steps into one of the open regeneration chambers and puts the mask on. He closes his eyes and relaxes as the door closes and liquid fills the chamber. Kakkarot drifts off into slumber while he waits for himself to heal fully."
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2 hours later…
"GOTEN GET BACK HERE NOW!" Chichi yells at Goten, eyes literally ablaze with anger.
"Not by the hair on my chiny chin ch…" Goten didn't even have time to finish saying his line before Chichi exploded.
"THAT'S IT! YOU'RE GETTING IT YOUNG MAN!!" Chichi forms a ki pan with electricity crackling along its length and blasts off after Goten using her scouter to pinpoint his location. All of a sudden an explosion is heard and Goten lets out a huge yelp of pain.
Goten starts sniffling, "Why'd you do that mommy." Tears begin to form in Goten's eyes as he uses the oldest trick in the book to try and calm Chichi down.
"Oh, I'm sorry sweetie, its just you never listen to what I have to say." Chichi apologizes and smiles sweetly at Goten, "NOW GET BACK TO THE HOUSE!!" yells Chichi, not falling for Goten's trick.
Goten dejectedly flies back to the house with his mother close behind him keeping a close eye on him and a firm grip on her ki pan. When they reach the house they both enter and Chichi motions for Goten to sit on the couch. Chichi sits down on one of the chairs around the table and begins, once again, the conversation that started this entire fight. "Now Goten, I know you don't care much about this stuff, but it's about time you learned it. Most kids your age already know all about it, some are even learning it at ages younger then you. Trunks learned of it when he was two years younger then you are now."
Chichi lets the ki pan dissipate and folds her arms on her lap. "You know that we are fighting a war with the rebel saiyans. It's about time you learned why we are." Chichi takes a deep breath to calm herself, "There are two main reasons why the separation occurred. There were many smaller ones, but we are going to focus on the main reasons due to your short attention span. The two main reasons where control and status. The rebels believed that all saiyans are born into their station and must stay in their station their entire life without room for change. Those that try to rise above themselves are immediately killed. We believe differently. We believe that if you have the strength and skill that far surpasses what is required for your status, your status will be changed to fit your level of strength and skill. King Vegeta wants to get the most out of everyone, and while he believes the royal blood line should be untainted, he is willing to allow anyone to rise in ranks up to a certain point, provided they show the skill and power required. The second reason is that both sides had different ideas of governing. One wanted to control through fear, the other through manipulation. The rebel king rules his people with fear and power. Any that oppose him are killed. As in the matter of conquest, they would destroy worlds to get others on their side, generating the fear necessary to sway others to his side. Our king doesn't do those things. He treats his subjects with respect, if they deserve it. He allows for advancement, he doesn't inspire fear, he inspires courage." Chichi's eyes aglow with pride as she thinks of her king, "When our king conquers planet, he would occupy, aid, protect, all the while manipulating the government of the planet giving them hints and nudges, making them do what we saiyans want them to do, while making it seem as if it was their idea in the first place."
Just has Chichi was about to go on a soft snore can be heard from the couch. Chichi looks over and sees Goten asleep on the couch, curled up into a little ball with his hands clasped in front of his mouth. Chichi smiles softly and picks her child up. She carries him upstairs to his room and lays him on his bed and pulled the covers up to his chin. Chichi lets out a small sigh, "I hope you understand one day Goten."
Chichi leaves Goten's room and heads back downstairs and sits on the couch. "I wonder what's taking Gohan and my mate so long. They should have been home by now. The spar doesn't generally last this long. Maybe it's a sign of how much my baby has improved." Chichi smiles happily as she envisions her son hovering triumphantly over Raditz and Bardock.
Just then Kakkarot walks in through the front door and sees Chichi in her daydream on the couch. "Hi Chichi, when's supper? I'm starving!" A grumbling noise can be heard from the vicinity of Kakkarot's stomach.
Chichi snaps out of her daydream and looks around. "Where's Gohan? Isn't he with you? If he's gone after some girl without telling me… Why I outa!" Chichi creates her infamous ki pan.
"Ahh… Gohan won't be joining us tonight. Don't worry, he's not chasing any girls, and the doctors say he'll be fine in twelve hours." Kakkarot explains, putting his hand behind his head and giving a strained laugh. This isn't going to be good.
Chichi smiles and nods, "Good, so he's not chasing any girls. Why won't Gohan b… THE DOCTORS SAID WHAT!!" Chichi's scream pierced the air skewering Kakkarot's eardrums quite nicely making him think his ears must be bleeding. Electricity starts running up and down the ki pan.
Kakkarot nervously rubs his hands together, "Well, uh you see. He kind of got caught in a blast, but don't worry, the doctor said it wasn't too bad. He said all of his skin is back on his body and that his shattered bones and ruptured lungs will be repair in no time. His torn ligaments should be repair by tomorrow an…" Kakkarot never got to finish as the anger in Chichi was quick visible from the incredible amount of ki being poured into her ki pan.
"KAKKAROT, YOU IRRESPONSIBLE FATHER! HOW COULD YOU LET MY BABY BE HURT LIKE THAT!" Chichi screams at Kakkarot.
WWHHOOMMPP! The ki pan connects with the back of Kakkarot's head making him hop around holding the back of his head with both hands. "AIIIEE!!! THAT HURTS! I'm really sorry Chichi; the doctors did say he'd make a full recovery. You don't have to worry about a thing." Kakkarot looks nervously over at Chichi. A grumbling sound can be heard from Kakkarot's stomach again, "Ahh… When is supper? I'm kind of hungry."
Chichi grins evilly, "No supper for you Kakkarot, and nothing for you tonight either. Until Gohan is recovered and back in the house, you won't get anything from me or an ounce of food." With that Chichi walks off to make a gourmet meal for Goten and herself. "AND DON'T EVEN TRY SNEAKING ANY FOOD BEHIND MY BACK!" Chichi yells as she disappears into the kitchen.
For miles around the house a loud "NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!" can be heard scaring all the birds and wild life. The neighbors just giggled and snickered at the torment Kakkarot has to endure because of Chichi.