by DoraMouse
Part Five: October 12th, 761 A.D.
Earth. It had taken seven years to reach the stupid mudball of a planet. for the most part, the trip had been uneventful yet Raditz had remained nervous.
Seven years was a lot of time, a person could do all kinds of thinking in that sort of time. Raditz had spent the past seven years wondering just what his father and his alleged brother had inadvertantly gotten him into. Wondering if he was being followed, tracked. Trying to decide what to say when he finally met his so-called brother, what to think, what to do. Who to trust. Trying to figure out what everyones roles were in this political game... What was Prince Vegeta really up to? What was Nappas stake in this? Was Freezia involved? Was Zarbon? Was it all just an elaborate trap, a setup? Did the saiyan world actually still exist or was he one of the last remaining saiyans alive?
Raditz really didn't know. Because of this uncertainty, he had become rather paranoid and bitter over time. He'd been more than a little cranky when he'd finally reached the planet that was apparently Earth. It was at the coordinates they'd given him for Earth anyway but he'd never been to Earth before so Raditz wasn't sure. The planet itself wasn't much to look at and most of the natives seemed both annoying and weak - just like most planets that he'd ever set foot on. In a way, it reminded Raditz of his planet conquering days.
Cat had been glad to arrive though. The animal had done some stretches before trotting off. It was likely that cat was hungry and had gone to see if this world had anything worth hunting. Raditz had let cat go. It was no big deal. Raditz was glad the cat could take of itself, that made it easier to think of cat as a true friend - an equal instead of a dependant. Besides, cat always came back. The animal seemed to be able to track Raditz.
Seven stupid years... Wasted.
Raditz heaved a ragged gasping breath, trying to swallow the air but choking on the blood that was seeping from his mouth and nose. His blood. This was not how he'd expected to die.
He'd found a few warriors residing on the planet but even the strongest of them hadn't been half of Raditzs own power. And that one, that strongest one, had looked disturbing familiar. Raditz hadn't grown up in the company of his parents but he did have a few scattered memories of them and that was enough to know Kakarott was the spitting image of their father, Bardock.
Raditz had gone with same pity story the saiyan elite had given him - the one about the saiyan world being gone and being one of the last members of the saiyan race. While Raditz wasn't sure if he fully believed that story, it was the most dramatic one he could think of and so he'd told it. He'd been watching the reactions, trying to figure out how much Kakarott knew.
What Raditz had been dismayed to rapidly discover was that his so-called little brother was positively clueless.
Kakarott had introduced himself as Son Goku. The guy hadn't even known what a saiyan was before Raditz had explained it, so it seemed highly unlikely that Kakarott would be able to provide any answers. That had been an incredible disappointment. Raditz had hoped for someone that could help him make sense out of things, someone that understood the logic of their fathers actions and that might know the location of a couple important artifacts. But Kakarott hadn't even had the brains to keep his saiyan tail. In name, appearance and behavior he'd symbolically disowned the entire saiyan culture. The very nature of Kakarotts existance had been an to insult Raditzs saiyan pride.
Kakarott could be blamed, he was an adult. Even if Kakarott had been just an infant when he'd been sent away, it seemed to Raditz that Kakarott should have made some effort to discover the nature of his origins.
There had also been a little boy with a tail, Kakarotts child. Raditzs nephew. The kid couldn't be held responsible for his own ignorance but that ignorance had to be corrected. Raditz had taken the boy away by force, intending to give the kid a proper saiyan name and raise him in a place where he would never ever have to worry about any Earth weaklings pressuring him to rip his tail out when he was older.
It turned out that Kakarott had actually retained one saiyan trait - he was very protective of his family. Kidnapping the boy had lead to a series of fights which had ended a few moments ago, when a pair of radiant streams of crimson energy had collided with and then pierced Raditzs chest. Kakarott had voluntarily sacrificed himself by holding Raditz in place, the blast had drilled through both of them. His own brother - the guy Raditz had traveled for seven years just to talk to, a guy he'd only met an hour ago - had effectively gotten him killed.
As he was dying, Raditzs last few coherant thoughts dwindled on the boy that was his nephew. He worried about that kid. What did Earthlings know about saiyan health? Was the boy even aware of the moonbeam induced were-monkey transformation all saiyans had? Who would teach the boy about his proud heritage? Who would tell him about the saiyan culture, the saiyan planet?
Vegeta. Raditz had initially been thinking of his home world but he remembered just then that the Prince was still out there.
Before departing, Nappa had given Raditz a scouter and a headset. The scouter was a nifty piece of technology worn like an eyepatch that had allowed Raditz to see an opponents fighting power just by looking at in their direction. The headset has been rigged so that Nappa and Vegeta could communicate with Raditz and keep track of his mission. The saiyan elite, true to traditions and probably also so as not to draw attention to themselves, hadn't ever said much to Raditz. But if they had been listening...
Maybe they'd overheard everything. Maybe they'd come to Earth to search for the crown. Maybe they'd be interested in some artifacts that the evil green warrior had mentioned, saying that he could revive Kakarott with them.
"Avenge me." Raditz hissed into his headset, closing his eyes and wincing as much from the pain as from the agonizing numbness that was swiftly overtaking his body. "Save the boy. Find cat."
Those were Raditzs last words. His vision and hearing got steadily worse before slipping into non-existance. The numbness robbed him of the ability to control his own movements, to draw breath. Raditz struggled at the end, trying to maintain some sense of feeling so that he'd know he was still alive but the pain wore him down. His strength left him but it wasn't until his resolve crumbled that he died.
In the space of the few moments he'd spent dying Raditz had gone through shock, anger, denial, helplessness and sadness - all the regular emotions associated with death. He'd reached acceptance by the end. He'd died figuring that he'd likely see his father in hell and get all the answers to his questions there. His only regret was that he'd never gotten to say goodbye to cat.
Raditzs slow death was mostly overlooked because of Gokus passing but both saiyan warriors died in the presence of witnesses.
Not much was said, Gokus friends were in shock. They'd come to regard Goku as invincable so seeing him dead left them speechless. Piccolo was the first to leave the battlefield, he departed carrying the unconscious form of Gohan and mentioned plans to train the child. Bulma was there, more somber than usual. Krillen seemed pained and Master Roshi was quiet as he leaned on his walking stick.
Krillen was the first to speak up. "We should bury them." He said softly. Krillen had been raised as a monk so he felt very strongly that it was part of his religious duty to give the spirits of the dead an honorable send off. But more than that... A funeral would be closure, it would make the unbelievable situation more real.
"We can wish them back." Master Roshi reminded him, "Goku's never died before."
There was a pause during which time an unspoken conversation took place between the gathered friends. Perhaps they could also wish Gokus brother back but...did they really want to? It would mean an uncle for Gohan, a brother-in-law for ChiChi and having to live around a guy that was more dangerous than anything else they'd ever heard of. Piccolo and Goku, former enemies, had needed to work together to defeat Raditz and even then the battle had been hard for them.
Besides, the dragonballs could only grant one wish at a time. In that sense, Raditz never really had a chance at being revived. The people that had the power to collect the dragonballs and make the wish were Gokus friends, it practically went without saying that they'd be wishing back Goku.
"We should bury him anyway then." Krillen eventually persisted, scowling slightly.
Earlier, Raditz had flicked Krillen through a wall of the Kame House. The injuries Krillen had gotten from that attack hadn't been too severe but it had taken him a while to recover - and repair the hole in the wall - so in effect, Raditzs attack had prevented Krillen from being at the final showdown.
Krillen couldn't help but wonder if things should have worked out differently, if perhaps his presence at the battle could have kept his best friend alive. This train of thought caused Krillen to have some bitter feelings towards Raditz, a funeral seemed like more than the bully deserved. But still... A life was a life. And there was probably some reason that Raditz was a bully. Krillen sighed inwardly, looking away from the body as he reminded himself of these things.
The single most disturbing thing about Raditz for the Earthlings was simply that Raditz looked too much like one of their other friends. Another warrior they knew was tall and had long dark hair... Krillen hoped that he'd never have to see Yamucha with a hole punched through his midsection.
"Hangon." Bulma knelt down and gently removed Raditzs scouter, seeming a bit squeamish. "Might be useful." She said nervously, wiping some blood off the device with a tissue, "Doubt he'll need it anymore."
It was starting to get dark outside by the time the Earthlings finally did depart, heading for Capsule Corp so that Bulma could get her dragonball radar. They had capsulized Gokus body for safekeeping and buried Raditz. His gravesite was on the battlefield where he had died and was marked by a medium sized rock that had only 'Son Raditz. Died October 12th, 761 A.D.' carved into one of the stones naturally flat surfaces.
They hadn't known his last name so they'd just given him Gokus. It was their subtle way of making peace and sort of projecting the idea that there was the slightest chance that maybe Raditz would have seemed like a better person if they'd had a chance to get to know him.