Hey! It's been a long while since I've updated this fic, I know. I had a few reasons. o.o No, really!

1) When able to get my hands on a PC and a keyboard (sometimes it's an annoying fact that you need both.... and an internet connection too), I mostly worked on my newest story, Prince of Darkness. Where this story is more adventurous, DB-like action and so forth, that story is more... violent, deeper, and, well, not really suitable for people who would never read an R-rated story and close-minded people. If you're more the open-minded person and like a bit of gore, horror, angst and evil-ness, go read it.

2) The evil of evil-ness for an author: writer's block. I'm wanted to bring in a new, original element to the story, found it, but then dismissed it a few days later... and I was stuck with the dilemma whether or not continue the story or just delete it.... A lot of thanks to Burenda for the encouraging mail! You revived my story!

3) A few chapters ago, I mentioned the fact that I had my own PC now. Well, it was a rather old one, and there was something wrong with it, so I had it repaired. While it was being fixed, I couldn't work on my next chapter because I'd already started it on that PC, ne? The annoying thing was that when I got my PC back, it was in even worse shape than before. u.u"

Raditz: Yep, and the entire new chapter was deleted. Bugger...

Me: ~sniff~ Yeah. But I finally got a new PC ^_^ Windows XP .... yay-ness! Well, at least it's got a working version of Word on it and won't delete my stories without any reason.

PC: I got a reason, they suck!

Me: .... ~stares dumbfounded to the now-proven-to-be-able-to-talk PC~ .... that's not a reason! Baka no stupid-crap-that-deletes-perfectly-good-stories!

Raditz: ~watches the weird scene, sweatdrop running over the side of his face~ Ooo-kaaay.........

Me & PC: ~go into a verbal fight, which is quickly followed by a physical fight~ (don't ask me how you do that with a PC)

Raditz: ~is backing away at this point~

Raditz: ~at a considerable distance from the wrestle between Seph and the pc~ Now I got to get this story going..... erm .... I guess I'll start with the disclaimer.

Chibi-Goku: Dark-Sephy doesn't own DBZ or the characters.... who would think so anyway? o.O I mean, it's called FANfiction. Anyone that reads this would know that none of these authors own the stuff they write about, right?

Raditz: ............. that's nice, here. ~gives him a lemon lollipop~

Chibi-Goku: ~returning to being chibi~ YAY! ^_^ Arigato, oniichan!

Me: This chapter will be probably totally different from what I made the first time though... mostly because I totally can't remember what I made last time.

By the way, if anyone has any good ideas, PLEASE send them!!! PRETTY PLEASE!? With cream and cherry on top!?

Raditz: ~whacks me~

Me: Owie.

Raditz: Get the damn thing started already....

Me: Hai..... by the way, special thanks (again ^_^") goes to Burenda for beta-reading this chapter. THANKS, YOU RULE!

CHAPTER 14 : WHY!?
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In a half-awake state, the young warrior felt someone lying beside him. He fluttered his eyes slightly open, looking beside him. Was he still dreaming? Next to him lay a beautiful young woman, her white nightgown not really hiding that much and her shoulder-length, auburn hair lay all over her pillow. Her calm and rhythmic breathing indicated that she was in a deep and relaxed sleep. Leaning in slowly, he ran his hand over her chest, momentarily touching the warm skin and the fabric of the gown, and placed both hands on either side of her body. Raditz looked down at the still sleeping face of the girl. The only thing that he heard was their breathing and the pounding of his own heart. 'It must be a dream.... Oh well, at least it's a lot better than the usual ones...'

Kate felt something furry brush against her leg. She shifted a bit under the touch, but the fur-covered snake-like thing still slithered over her skin. By now, she also felt that something was above her while soft, warm breathing was touching her face. Fluttering her eyes open, the only thing she could distinguish at that moment was a large, dark and spiky mass looming above her. Her eyes went wide as she screamed and pushed whatever was above her reflexively.

Raditz, startled by the sudden awakening of the dream girl and the scream, lost his balance when something pushed him, toppling him over the side of the bed and he hit the ground with a hard 'thud'. Kate quickly sat up, popped her head over the bed's side and looked down at the strange thing that was formerly above her. Raditz grunted and got up from his awkward position on the ground. "What do you think you're doing, onna no baka!?"

"What do YOU think you were doing, mister!? I thought there was some kind of monster on top of me or something!"
The Saiyan snorted. "Typical for a weak-minded human..."

"Oh, and I suppose the Almighty Warrior never has a nightmare or a bad dream."

With a intense growl of anger, Raditz grabbed the girl by the collar of her gown in a move too fast for her to follow. She almost gulped when she looked into those burning eyes. "That is none of your damn business, human! And nothing you should try and meddle with, either!" Kate blinked and was dropped a bit harshly back onto her bed.

But she got her composure back soon enough. "You jerk!!! Why the hell are you like this!? First I try and save your life, help you, give you food and a bed, and now you treat me like a lowlife, insulting me in my own house!!! You'd better apologize, mister, or else..."

Raditz was struggling between being insulted by her insolence, or being amused with her courage. He decided somewhere between the two, replying in a rather calm voice, "Or what, onna?"

"OR WHAT!? You'll see! You don't wanna see me angry, buster! If you don't apologize this instant and then get the hell outta MY room, I'll ..."

"You'll WHAT, I asked..."

"......"

"Nothing... indeed. Your threats are rather hollow, onna. You're just a mere human, you can't do anything against me. So if you're at least a bit smart, you'd better shut your big mouth."

"WHY YOU... You, you... JERK! GET THE HELL OUT OF MY ROOM!!! NOW!!!!"

She hit him hard with her pillow, not doing any damage at all, except for agitating the Saiyan some more. He was getting rather fed up with all of this and stomped out of the girl's room. Not bothering to pay any attention to Kate's parents, who, awoken by all the noise, came to see what happened, he passed them and jumped over the landing and hit the ground downstairs. He made his way through the living room, grabbing his long, black cloak, put it on and went outside.

Walking through the village and noticing the sideways glances the villagers gave him when they thought he didn't see them, Raditz growled to himself. He kicked off against the ground and took to the air, ascending rapidly. He felt the gazes of the people burning on his neck and increased his speed. Soon, the village lay far behind him. At the moment, he didn't care where he was going or how he would find his way back again.

Raditz skipped low over snow-covered tree tops, between several rock formations and mountains, until he finally came to a promising clearing. The river he had been following continued, even if it seemed the ground had suddenly stopped, and toppled over the edge of the large cliff. The young Saiyan paced alongside the water and sat down, his legs just dangling over the edge. The view in front of him almost awed the teenager. The river dived down over the cliff, to plunge into the lake 50 meters below, splattering water up in a beautiful curtain of clear liquid, a rainbow gracefully cutting through it. Besides the thundering roar of the waterfall, which constant rhythm seemed to calm the Saiyan somehow, all was silent. Around the lake was a large clearing, quickly followed by a close forest of pine trees, which formed, with their snow-covered tops, a seemingly endless sea of white 'fluff' as far as the eye could see. The sun had not risen, yet there was already enough light and the horizon in the east had a seemingly painted red colour.

Raditz let out a deep sigh. Not even this beautiful scene could ease his troubled mind. Several thoughts ran through his mind, at random it seemed. He didn't belong here... His world, everything he had known and loved, was torn away so suddenly from him... and why? What had happened!? ... Why had it happened...? The only thing he still had was his little brother, who had thrown away his Saiyan heritage. Even if it wasn't really on purpose, it somehow still aggravated Raditz. Why, why, why... if he could just know why... Why did things happen like they did? Fate!!??? Tssch, riiight...... but do things really happen all just by coincidence?... it seems too... 'too much coincidence' if it was.... If there really was some entity that decided the flow of events, the fate of every living creature, man, Raditz would love to kick his ass... majorly! ... There are probably a lot of people that shared that thought.

He wondered if he really made the right choice... Maybe he should have gone to Frieza instead of Chikyuu... Now Raditz wondered what would have happened if he had (A/N: we all know the answer to that....). His brother... he was more Ningen (A/N: inhabitant of Chikyuu, I hope it's spelled right) than Saiyan. Hell, he was even almost the full opposite of what a 'real' Saiyan is supposed to be. He hesitated to kill his enemy... if he did, he would never live to be a great warrior. If Raditz was going to train him, he was going to be sure to get that silly notion out of his head. 'Crush your enemies when they're weak, otherwise you'll give them a chance to defeat you.' An important lesson, taught by his father during one of his last training sessions. How long had it been since he had seen his own father!? That short moment before Raditz went on that last mission... he sounded rather crazy then, but... he had saved Raditz! Why... why did he save his son and go straight to fight Frieza then, a certain death!?

He could hardly say they shared a great bond ... they never saw each other. They were always gone on separate missions and such. Emotions were already seen as weak... Now he wondered again... It has been like that ever since the Saiyan race became part of the Cold army. Have Saiyans always been this cold... or not? Those purging missions could make any person cold as ice. In the beginning, you find it hard to kill all those innocent people... But the more lives you take, the more your heart turns to stone. Many warriors even described them as 'fun'. Raditz never found them 'fun'... it's fun to fight, yeah. All out battles with your enemy, that's fun. But killing innocent, weak people... he actually hated that part of the job. He did it without trouble though, but he plain hated it. He had to do it.

Damn irony... The Saiyans were killed the same way they had killed so many. Maybe that was a kind of justice... But who had done the 'nice job', that was no justice at all. If someone deserved death, then it was Frieza. He was the damn bastard that had pulled the Saiyans into the wretched planet purging business. After all those years of loyal service, he had just killed them all... WHY!? While the bastard himself still lives ... WHY, GODDAMNIT!!!???

He's too damn strong too... The entire Saiyan race probably wouldn't have been able to kill him. Hell, he just wiped them all away with just one damn attack! ... That dream... the moment he saw his own father being devoured into that blast... why was it so painful to see that!? And now... he felt like he missed him.... Bardock... dead now. He had given his life trying to save the entire race, who had laughed at him just moments before, 'cause they didn't believe him. Even his own son. Why, why, why.... why hadn't he just gone with his father? Now he is left, stuck behind as probably the only Saiyan alive, apart from his little brother. He hated it. Why was he 'chosen' to be the last... the sole survivor of the disaster that had struck his race. Why had 'Fate' decided to play such a game with him? He was completely alone. Maybe he should have just died too... 'I don't fit in this damn world...' All of the people looked at him with some awe... But once they knew what he was, and even when they didn't, they just looked at him as if he was a monster. That's what they thought of him... a monster, a creature that would destroy them any time if they didn't kill him first. Even that old man at the tournament had looked at him like that...

'What ever you are... you're no kid, you're some kind of demon!' The words of that pathetic human... Had he been right? It's what they all think... Yeah.... It would be better if he just was gone, like the rest of his doomed race...

"Raditz? ... I don't want you to do that..." a trembling voice sounded cautiously behind him. "I ... wouldn't want you to leave me behind....."

Raditz suddenly realized he had been saying his thoughts out loud. He whirled around to see a shocked-looking Goku, tears starting to roll over his cheeks. "... Kakarot...... how did you get here...."

"I-I followed you, after you left the house..."

"... and you heard everything I said?...." Goku nodded weakly, trying to blink away some tears. He walked up to the side of his big brother and sat down. Raditz just looked down. "Why would you care... Goku.... To you, I'm just a monster, too....."

Goku stayed silent for a little while. "You're not, Raditz... I didn't know... I still don't really understand everything about the Saiyans and that... Frieza, but... somehow, brother, I think it's not your fault. You shouldn't try and blame it on yourself either..." Raditz didn't answer. Goku sighed softly and continued. "All is not lost, you know... I said that I don't know much, but I do know that we are a proud race. Raditz, you can't give up! And you're not alone... I'm with you."
Raditz looked up to Goku. "..... You're sure?"

Goku nodded and grinned. "You don't have to think that being dead would be better! It's true that the entire race was destroyed and left us behind... but that means they're counting on us to avenge them! We have to continue to fight... till the end."

Raditz blinked but nodded. "... You're right, little brother. But I never expected to hear something like that from you. You know, I just thought I heard father speaking instead of you, seems you did inherit something other than just looks from him."
"Heh heh..." Goku flushed a bit and scratched the back of his head in his fashion. "I have my moments."
Both Saiyans looked ahead, just staring some off in the distance at nothing in particular as both fell silent. "Erm... Raditz? Did you mean that comment about father?"

Raditz nodded. "You're a lot like him..... You'll probably become a great fighter like him with the proper training."
Goku grinned "Really?" The elder brother nodded again. "... Would you train me, big brother?"
"We both need training, little brother. We will train each other then."

"Promise?"

"Promise."