Hello and welcome back! Now that the Saiyan saga is well under way, what with our heroes do!
Based on MasakoX's What If series "What if Gine went with Goku to Earth?", but a retcon with some changes of my own on how I think the story would have went down had Goku's mother escaped planet Vegeta with him.
DISCLAIMER: The following is a fan-based work of fiction. Dragonball Minus, Dragonball, Dragonball Z, Dragonball Super, and Dragonball GT are all owned by FUNimation, Toei Animation, and Akira Toriyama.
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CHAPTER 30: THE NEW THREAT
Raditz stood there in the sand with his hand trembling over the now useless scouter, he looked shell shocked.
Gine and Kakarot stood by frozen in place and not uttering a sound, trying to process what just happened. The sound of the gentle waves lapping against the tiny island and the seagulls cawing away had become very deafening.
Suddenly, Raditz yanked the scouter off of his face and crushed it in his grip, then let out a despairing scream that echoed across the island.
Gine ran to her eldest son in alarm, and placed her hands on his shoulders to steady him.
"Raditz, what is it?! What's wrong?!" She shrieked.
Raditz barred his teeth and clenched his fist so hard it drove the fragments of the scouter into the skin of his fist, drawing blood.
"I've doomed us all." He uttered grimly between huffs of enraged breathing.
Gine felt the hairs stand up on the back of her neck at hearing what her eldest said. Whatever just transpired over that scouter, she knew trouble was coming, and that their time incognito on Earth was now over. This was NOT how she expected this day to go.
"Who was that?" Asked Kakarot.
Raditz was silent for a moment before he answered without looking up. "Vegeta."
"The prince is also alive?" Said Gine, amazed at the confirmation of her suspicion that there were other Saiyan survivors.
"Yes, along with General Nappa too." He replied solemnly, then looked to his brother and mother. "They're on their way here to kill us."
"What?!" Gine and Kakarot recoiled. Little Gohan, frightened, clung to his father.
Raditz nodded forlornly.
Gine shivered. She remembered them well. King Vegeta III's son, Prince Vegeta IV, was the favorite Saiyan warrior among Frieza's army and the next one in line for ruler of their home planet. The king's right hand man, General Nappa, was the prince's personal bodyguard and fellow combatant.
Nappa was a giant of a Saiyan, Gine remembered clearly. She had seen him several times in the presence of the king whenever the Saiyan monarch made public appearances or visited the battlefield. Bardock even fought alongside him once, and told her it was the "second worst experience he ever had to endure", for the man was a mindless brute that was as strong as he was dimwitted. The absolute worst thing after him, was the prince himself...
Vegeta IV, she recalled, was a spoiled brat who believed everything and everyone in the universe was to be subservient to him. She had seen him treat all around him like they were garbage, including the man sworn by his father to protect him. Gine had even seen him kill his own loyal subjects on the spot for no other reason than because he could, something that made even the hardest of Saiyan's stomachs churn since they were in still in the midst of a repopulation crisis. The kid was nearly as ruthless as Frieza himself, and was extremely powerful for the age of seven when she last saw him. His great strength and supreme status alongside his father made the prince arrogant, with rumors once circulating on their home planet that he believed himself to be the divinely ordained savior of their species, the next "Super Saiyan". It was a laughable belief in an old fairy tale, but no one dared say so, out of fear of getting their tongues cut out for speaking ill of the royal family.
Like his father and the rest of the ruling elites, the Saiyan Prince had expressed nothing but contempt for the low-class warriors like her and her family. In his rare appearances alongside the king when they visited the lower ranks on the worlds they conquered, the prince would turn up his nose and spit in their direction. He often made it loud and clear that, upon his ascension to the throne one day, he would see to it to eradicate the lower class Saiyans from their race to "keep the weaklings from tainting their pride as the most unstoppable warriors in the galaxy", followed by revering (if not forced) applause from everyone.
Gine loathed the disrespectful and pompous little brat, and the way the royal family regarded her kind. Bardock did too, and he had the unfortunate luck of having to work along side the kid once. The prince threatened his life for just looking at him wrong, and nearly acted on it for seeing his power level being just a few digits too strong on his scouter.
She wondered how her firstborn had the strength to put up with taking orders from that monster for all these years. And now the prince was on his way to kill them all...
"But, why?! Who are they?!" Kakarot asked incredulously.
"I worked for them, and they are the ones that sent me here." Raditz said to his little brother. "I was supposed to bring you back into Frieza's army as extra muscle to help us conquer a set of planets we couldn't do ourselves."
Even though that fact had always loomed over them like a dark shadow, it didn't chill her to the bone until now that Frieza was still out there, reigning terror across countless worlds. Gine was especially horrified at the idea of her little Kakarot being forced into slaughtering as she and Raditz were.
Raditz looked to Gine. "I didn't expect to find you here, or to learn how strong you two were. As soon as I landed, my scouter went crazy when it detected your power levels. I thought it was something else, and I reported it back to Vegeta. I..." He paused for a moment then continued.
"I asked for backup. He told me to scout you out to see if you were a threat or if you were some other force that could be recruited to our cause. But I didn't know it was... you."
Gine felt herself soften. Now she could see how this all came to be, and how Raditz must've felt responsible. She placed a hand soothingly on his shoulder.
"You were only doing your job, Raditz. It's not your fault." She said sympathetically.
Raditz looked away. Of course he wouldn't have called in Vegeta and Nappa if he knew it was them. But it still didn't ease his conscience, as his former companions were already on their way. He screwed them all, and it was no use for his mother to try and make him feel better.
He turned back to his mother. "By the way, how DID you get so strong?"
Gine figured he'd ask that. "Well, how strong did we register on your scouter?"
"You read at fourteen-thousand. Sixteen-thousand for Kakarot." Raditz replied.
Gine stood there, amazed at herself and her youngest. She knew that they were stronger than Bardock could have ever dreamed of achieving for Saiyans of their class. But now that there was a number to it that put them right up there in the elite and even super-elite class, all Gine could say was, "Huh."
Imagine that. She added mentally.
""Huh?!"" Raditz repeated. "What do you mean "Huh"?! How did you and Kakarot get so strong?!"
"We trained!" Said Kakarot as if it were obvious.
Raditz looked to him. "Trained?"
His younger brother nodded. "Yep. Mom and I have spent our time here on Earth learning martial arts. We learned new techniques, strengthened our bodies and spirits, and trained in a special place that pushed us past our limits to get stronger."
Raditz shook his head. "But... that's impossible! You're a low-class warrior, you shouldn't have been able to surpass a power level of two thousand at most!" He said, but deep down he was already questioning his own words.
Kakarot placed his free hand on his hip and stood proud. "Well, I don't believe in that. I believe that by working hard enough, people like us can achieve any level of strength. Right, mom?"
Gine smiled and nodded. "I believe so too."
The larger Saiyan regarded them in shocked silence.
So... it IS true. Raditz thought to himself. Despite all the bolstering of knowing one's place, it was possible to rise above one's station afterall.
It had been pounded into his head, like every Saiyan, that their maximum potential was known on the day they were born. This measurement determined a Saiyan's worth, and built the entire caste system of their society around it. They have all been told the sacred rule: no matter what, their maximum potential was the highest levels of strength they would ever achieve and should stay in their place. To try and defy it was an act of futility, and even suicidal both socially and physically. To not conform to one's place was a quick way to ostracize yourself from your comrades and a punishable offense in the eyes of the ruling elite. So not many even bothered, at least those not in the lower classes.
His father did, however. Bardock fought tooth and nail to get stronger than what he was meant for. Putting himself in the most dangerous missions and facing certain death fearlessly, he earned the respect of all who fought along side him, but received snide remarks from his commanders and the elites. But Bardock did not care for what people thought. He was not satisfied with being at the mercy of others, and worked hard to be the master of his own destiny and abilities. And as much as Raditz instinctively parroted the sacred rules of staying in one's place, he secretly wished his father was right that any low-class could be stronger. For he hated being the butt of so much ridicule as being such a weakling by Vegeta and Nappa, and feeling so helpless to do anything about it.
"How strong is the prince and General Nappa?" Gine asked.
Broken from his thoughts, Raditz realized what his mother asked and answered swiftly.
"Vegeta is at eighteen-thousand, last I checked. Nappa was around four-thousand."
He looked down at his feet. "I'm only at fifteen-hundred." Raditz said, sounding ashamed at his own inferiority.
"You're still much stronger than I ever was before I came here." Gine said encouragingly.
"Some bar to set." He said humorlessly.
Gine would've felt hurt at a remark like that once, but she let it go. She knew her son was still digesting a shocking truth.
"So..." Kakarot spoke as he counted with his fingers. "...fourteen plus sixteen... four plus eighteen... By those numbers, we should be much stronger than your former comrades. We got nothing to worry about if we can definitely beat them!" He said with an assured smile.
Raditz shook his head. "I'm afraid it's not that easy, brother. They've got Saibamen too."
"What are those?" Kakarot asked. But Gine answered for Raditz, more serious sounding than she did moments ago.
"They're creatures that work as warrior drones. You plant them in the ground like seedlings and they grow into vicious, expendable, and extremely deadly fighting foes." She said, remembering those vile things.
"And they are each as strong as I am." Raditz added bitterly. "I don't remember exactly how many Nappa has. But if they bring enough of them... they'll slaughter us."
A feeling of alarm crept into Gine as she realized what threat those things could pose even with their combined strength. She asked, "How long until they get here?"
Raditz shrugged. "A few months. A year at most. I'm not sure exactly, I took off from a different planet than they did."
Only a few months to prepare... Gine thought worriedly.
"I know!" Kakarot piped up. "Let's go see Kami! He might know what to do."
Gine looked to her youngest son and after a moment, nodded. "Okay. That might be a good idea."
Raditz was confused. "Who is this Kami?" He asked.
"He's the Guardian of Earth." Kakarot answered.
"Pff, what?! Guardians actually exist?!" Raditz scoffed with a laugh despite the seriousness of the situation. They didn't have time for silly legends...
"They do actually." Gine replied plainly to her eldest. "And he just might be able to help us."
"Yeah! He's trained us both, taught us so many ways to get stronger, and there's even the Hyperbolic Time Chamber! We can definitely get up to speed there!" Kakarot said.
"The hyper-what?" Asked a puzzled Raditz.
"Long story, but, we'll show you when we get there." Gine cleared up.
This was a lot for Raditz to take in, on top of being being told Guardians were real. But given how he learned today that his family was alive, he wasn't in the mood to question that and decided to go along with what his mother and brother had in mind. At least it was a semblance of a plan.
"Yeah, let's go!" Cheered Kakarot. He then remembered Little Gohan was still in his arms, the boy had been watching the exchange silently.
Kakarot held him out in front of him and addressed his son. "Gohan, I want you to go inside Kame House to let your mother know that grandma, Raditz, and I will be going to Kami's Lookout for a bit. We'll be right back, okay?"
Little Gohan looked so confused and worried as to what was happening, but nodded obediently. "Uh... okay."
Kakarot chuckled. "Don't worry, son. We'll be back soon."
He set his son down, and the boy ran back into Kame House.
"Ok, let's go!"
The three of them leapt into the air before anyone inside Kame House could barge out and bombardment them with questions about what was going on.
Gine and Kakarot made a turn to dash in the direction of the Lookout. Raditz lagged slightly behind, so the two slackened their speed for him to keep up. It was alright, they weren't in a hurry for now. They just wanted some answers...
"They're on their way, Kami." Said Mr. Popo, who stood by his master and was reaching out with his senses.
The Namekian-born Guardian could sense the three Saiyan energy signatures approaching from half way across the globe. One of which he felt was much lesser than the two he immediately knew were his former students. But he already knew who that unknown was.
"Thank you, Mr. Popo." Replied Kami. He was sweating nervously.
Kami knew this day would come, and had been fretting it for the last eight years. When he sensed the Saiyan's pod approach Earth, for the first time in his three-hundred year life as the Guardian, he wished he could be somewhere else. But he HAD to face her...
The ki signatures arced up from far below, gaining speed, until finally the trio of Saiyans touched down on the tiled surface of the Lookout.
"Kami!" Kakarot called out from behind.
Kami didn't turn around to face the three of them initially, but forced himself to after a moment's hesitation.
"Hello, Kakarot. Gine." Kami nodded to them in greeting, then regarded the taller third Saiyan with wild hair. He looked at Kami with some recognition.
"A Namekian?" Raditz remarked, breathing heavily. He was nearly winded from the flight over and from the altitude of the Lookout.
Kami knew who he was, for he remembered him from Fortuneteller Baba's crystal ball.
"You must be Gine's other son, Raditz."
"I..." Raditz was caught by surprise, and fixed Kami with a suspicious glare. "How did you know who I am?"
"Your mother had told me about you. I am glad to see that she is happily reunited with you."
Raditz fell silent, feeling touched by the act of hearing from a stranger just how much his mother had cared about him in his absence. Gine herself was impressed that Kami would remember something she rarely talked about from years ago, but guessed that perhaps Namekians had photographic memory.
"Kami..." She started, getting into the more serious matter at hand. "I wish I came with better news, but we have reason to believe Earth is in grave danger. My eldest son, Raditz here, tells me that-"
"His Saiyan companions are on their way to planet Earth as we speak." Kami interjected.
Gine looked at him in surprise that he already knew what she was about to say, but then felt dismay at what that meant. "You could sense them?"
Kami closed his eyes in intense concentration. Reaching out with his divine mind's eye into the universe, he felt for all the energies of the space around the planet that was his charge, both natural and artificial, benevolent and malicious. The sun, the moon, the surrounding planets, neighboring stars and other civilizations minding their own business. Eventually he felt the oily dark tentacles of evil that was Frieza's empire, threading it's way across the far-side of their home galaxy's reach. But Earth remaining unknown to that darkness.
A certain blotch of focused evil emerged from that darkness, and he narrowed his senses down on it. There they were. Two pinpricks of evil energy, both very powerful, and heading directly towards them...
"I can sense them. Two power energy signatures en route to the planet. At their current velocity, I estimate that they should arrive in one year's time. I can also sense their power... and their ill intent toward the inhabitants of Earth."
Gine felt her stomach drop, and Raditz's face turned grim white. Their fears had been realized.
"Alright then, we should get ready for them and start training." Said Kakarot, almost eagerly.
Raditz turned his head to Kakarot him with shock and anger. "What? Training?! They're on their way to kill us! We shouldn't be training, we should be getting the hell off this rock as soon as possible!"
"No way, Raditz!" Kakarot said to his older brother. "We're not gonna run away, this is our home!"
Raditz growled impatiently. "Don't you get it, you idiot?! THEY'RE GOING TO SLAUGHTER US! I don't care how strong you have gotten, there's still no way you could-"
"RADITZ!" Gine yelled sharply over her shoulder towards him. Raditz closed his mouth and his mother spoke.
"Kakarot is right. We can't just flee, they'll just follow us until we are hunted down. And we are NOT going to abandon this planet to your comrades."
Gine turned back to Kami. "Is there anything we can do or learn that could help us get ready for these Saiyans' arrival, Kami?"
Kami gave a sad smile. "I'm afraid there's nothing else I could teach you in order to get you stronger. I have taught you and Kakarot everything I knew, and even now you have grown far beyond my power to know what to do with. I'm sorry."
Gine's shoulders sagged in disappointment.
"Well, what about the time chamber? Can we use that again to get stronger?" Kakarot asked Kami.
"From what I can sense of your strength, your power combined equals the power of the threat approaching Earth. You may use the Room of Spirit and Time if you wish in order to surpass them even further, but I warn you that it would be an extremely dangerous undertaking, as it was last time. Beyond that, there isn't much else I can do."
Gine thought this over. They could use the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, but... the memory of that place made her shiver with greater fear of it than for the Saiyans themselves. She never forgot what it was like in there. That place to her was probably the closest approximation to Hell as there was in the world of the living, and they barely survived four months in there. Four months of her life, used in eight hours. Sure, to get far stronger than she ever thought possible, but at the expense of her lifetime she would never get back. Could they survive another four months? Maybe, but she almost killed Kakarot and nearly lost her own sanity in there. She shivered to imagine surviving another six months in there, or gods forbid, a full year.
"Huh, maybe..." Kakarot said but trailed off. He was thinking almost the same thing as his mother was. He too remembered how hard the time chamber was, and how it nearly costed him and his mother their lives in there.
No, Gine didn't feel they ought to go that far... yet.
But then another thought came to Gine, one that had troubled her since the moment Raditz had arrived. She was afraid of what the answer might be, but she had to know.
"Kami..." Gine started hesitantly, and gestured toward Raditz. "Fortuneteller Baba said my eldest son here was long dead... why did she say that? I thought you said she had the power to know everything with that crystal ball of hers. Was she wrong? Or..." She didn't finish her sentence, but didn't have to. Kami knew what she was implying.
The Guardian of the Earth swallowed hard. The dreaded question he feared she would ask had come.
"Gine... there is something I must tell you."
She felt her pulse quicken, and asked apprehensively, "What do you mean?"
Kami sighed. He had to say what he had to say now. "Fortuneteller Baba knew he was alive... and she told me not to tell you."
Gine felt like her throat was being choked. "W-what?"
"You knew?" Kakarot asked in shock as well.
Kami nodded, and spoke with the same sternness he used while he was their teacher.
"Fortuneteller Baba's powers of clairvoyance are not only true, they directly affect the course of history. She had foretold that the arrival of your eldest son on this exact date would be the catalyst for a chain events that are to unfold soon, which she had said would bring about a change of greater good for the cosmos. I know it may seem cruel, but she is a divine being like I am and as such, I have to obey her judgements as I would from King Yemma himself. For if I had told you, if you tried to... pre-emptively bring him here, it would have broken the flow of time and could have been disastrous not only to this planet, but to many other planets beyond, and even the fabric of space and time itself if history is altered in any unpredictable way."
He looked down guiltily. "But... what I did was still unforgivable. I am complicit in withholding the knowledge that your own child was alive, and caused you such great pain. For that, I am sorry."
The three of them stood there agape at what Kami said. To Raditz, this was just another flabbergasting revelation to compound to all the other life upending revelations he had to endure today. His family was alive, his own overlord was the one who destroyed their planet, the potential-based hierarchy of Saiyan civilization was a lie, and now there was someone who could see the future and knew he was alive all this time? What next?! He thought in exasperation.
Kakarot was as shocked as his mother that Baba had Kami basically lie to them about his bother being alive, but was amazed at just how important Baba was in such a grand-scheme-of-things kind of way. He didn't understand the complicated history-altering stuff, but knew it must've been important. And, oddly through in his naiveté, he trusted Kami still. He was the inherit good half of the being he shared with King Piccolo afterall. Kami by his nature held no ill to him or anyone, and so were his intentions. Whatever reasons Kami had in not telling them about his brother, Kakarot believed that as a Guardian that oversaw the well-being of Earth and all who lived on it, Kami did what he thought was right.
As for Gine... Kakarot and Raditz eyed their mother expectantly. She didn't react, and just stood there, giving Kami an expression they couldn't read.
Gine's tail twitched. A red mist was creeping into the corners of her vision, and was unaware of her shaking hands curling into fists. The restraining techniques she had acquired from the teachings of the very master before her, were long gone.
Mr. Popo, who had been standing aside silently, cried out in alarm as he felt the flare up of her enraged ki before the rest of them did, targeted squarely on his master.
Before any of them could react, Gine launched herself straight at Kami and drove a fist into his torso. It went through him with no resistance and burst out the other side in a shower of purple blood.
"YOU BASTARD!" She screamed with such hatred and power it reverberated across the whole Lookout. Kami was thrown off of her arm and across the tiled floor, he tumbled and skidded to a stop, leaving a bloody purple streak across the porcelain tiled ground.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Shouted a horrified Mr. Popo and Kakarot. Raditz's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates at what he was seeing.
Gine, blinded by rage, leapt after the defenseless Kami who was clutching the hole in his stomach, vomiting blood and gasping for air. She was about stomp her foot on the Namekian's head and smash his brains when she felt herself being tackled by the small round body of Mr. Popo. The interception was enough to catch Gine off guard and send them crashing into the tiles together and miss Kami by mere inches.
"STOP!" He yelled vehemently and clutched Gine with all his might. "DON'T HURT MY MASTER!"
The short demigod, who some years ago had bested Gine in one-on-one combat, was now a mere nuisance to the female Saiyan. "GET OFF OF ME!" She yelled and rolled over on the ground, flinging Popo off of her like he was nothing and landing back on her feet.
She pounced on Kami again, landing on top of him and pulling her fist back to deliver the final blow. But then Gine felt herself get slammed into as if by a freight train. The wind was knocked out of her, and Gine tumbled to the ground in a jumble of limbs mixed with someone else's. Then felt arms tucked under hers and locked behind her head in a full nelson while writhing on the floor.
"MOM, STOP! DON'T HURT KAMI!" Kakarot yelled desperately. Gine's rage built even more when she realized who was restraining her.
"LET GO OF ME, KAKAROT!" She shout back. Using her small size to her advantage, she swung her arm back far enough to elbow her son in the cheek. He yelped in pain, slacking his grip, giving her the opening she needed to twist herself around and kick him in the side of the head. The force of the hit made Kakarot let go of his mother and fall backwards.
Free from her son's grasp, Gine wheeled around on Kami, who was still lying helpless on the ground, bleeding out and eyeing her. He did not look at her with shock, anger, fear, or sadness. He just looked at her in pain, as if he had brought this upon himself.
In her rage-filled mind, she wanted Kami to suffer. She wanted his blood for what he did. He had lied to her, caused so much grief for her and Raditz. How dare this Namekian, this slug, play God with her family and her emotions! HOW DARE-
Her train of raw emotion-laced thoughts were cut off when an orange blur suddenly phased in front of her and a fist was rammed squarely into her face. Pain and colors exploded inside Gine's skull, she felt cartilage crack in her nose, and her head snapped backwards as she was sent bouncing off the ground, cracking tiles from the impact.
After skidding to a stop on her stomach, she looked back up with blood dripping down from her swollen nostrils. Gine was enraged before, now she was absolutely livid, for the punch came from Kakarot.
"MOM, STOP IT! NOW!" He commanded, standing defiantly like a solid wall between her and Kami.
Gine growled and pushed herself back up onto her feet. Her aura flared up around her dangerously, fire was in her eyes.
"Get. Out. Of. My. Way. Kakarot." Gine slowly said though her teeth in a deadly low tone. But Kakarot did not move, only giving his mother a steely glare that temporarily made her mistake him for Bardock.
Raditz just stood by during all this. He was gaping in awe at the sheer display of power his mother was outputting, he could actually feel it's strength without reading it from a scouter. Though he didn't mind seeing a fight and some carnage, he was not undisturbed by his mother's fury. He had NEVER seen her this angry in his life, nor even imagined her being capable of this level of anger, it almost frightened him. And Kakarot was just starring her down with the same kind of fearlessness as their father. Through the confusion and spectacle of what he was witnessing, Raditz felt a new kind of respect and admiration for his mother's power, and his younger brother's courage.
Gine started marching forward. If it was a fight that Kakarot wanted in order to stop her from killing Kami, then so be it. For the second time in her life, her thoughts of murder were now turning to the one standing between her and Kami, her own son, but her rage didn't care...
Then Kakarot said, "If you kill him we lose the dragon balls!"
That stopped Gine in her tracks, and snapped her out of her blind rage momentarily.
Kakarot remained calm as he tried to explain. "If we lose the dragon balls, whatever damage those Saiyans cause when they get here will be permanent. Anybody that dies, will stay dead. It could our friends, it could be Chi-Chi, Little Gohan, or Grandpa. They will be dead forever and we'll never be able to bring them back if you kill Kami."
Even though the threat was abstract, she remembered having to bring Krillin and Master Roshi back to life long ago. A world without the dragon balls that brought them back... Oh, that's right. She thought.
Kakarot slowly approached her and spoke soothingly but sternly. "There will be another time to deal with this, mom. But not here, there are bigger things happening now."
A few tense moments pass. It took all of her self control to not shove Kakarot aside, but in the end, Gine relented. With some reason restored, all of Gine's rage suddenly vanished. Her aura dissipated and she powered down. But her anger was still there, hot and sharp, aimed pointedly like a dagger at Kami who was still laying near-death on the ground.
With his mother pacified for the time being, Kakarot rushed over to Kami with Mr. Popo following behind and frantically losing his mind. Kneeling by Kami's side, Kakarot reached into his pocket and procured a senzu bean he always kept on hand, and placed it in Kami's mouth. The Namekian gratefully accepted the healing bean, chewing it and moments after swallowing it, his gaping chest wound closed up neatly. Soon it was healed, and not a scar was left behind on his green skin.
The Guardian groaned as he sat up, clutching the torn white fabric of his cloak now stained purple from where Gine struck him. Raditz was dumbstruck yet again, this time by seeing the Namekian getting back up. He had clearly seen him get punched right through, how was he still alive? And what did Kakarot just give him?
"Kami! Are you alright?!" Mr. Popo wailed.
"I'm...I'm fine, Mr. Popo." Kami breathed wearily. Mr. Popo turned furiously towards Gine.
"YOU FIEND! YOU DARE ATTACK THE GUARDIAN OF THE EARTH?! YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF!" He screamed at her with indignation.
Gine glared back at Mr. Popo and spat with equal amounts of venom, "Your master betrayed my trust and my family! How dare YOU to toy with my-"
"QUIET!" Kakarot shouted at the top of his lungs, punctuated with an angry release of ki that rattled the tiles for a moment. Mr. Popo and Gine stopped talking, but continued burning holes into each other with their looks.
Kami grabbed his fallen staff and staggered back onto his feet with help from Mr. Popo, using the staff as a walking stick. Kakarot pulled out another senzu bean and held it in his open hand to his mother as a peace offering.
"I'm sorry I punched you, but it was the only way to stop you." Said Kakarot apologetically.
She eyed the senzu bean and glared back up at Kakarot, half tempted to swat it away. But she wordlessly took it and swallowed it, her nose stopped bleeding and snapped back into place.
Kakarot decided to do the talking this time. "Kami, listen, are you sure there isn't any other way we could learn something to fight these Saiyans."
Mr. Popo interjected before Kami could speak. "You have no right to ask the Guardian for help now! Your mother attacked-"
"Silence, Mr. Popo!" Kami snapped, and the short demigod quieted down as told.
Kami turned back to Kakarot. "There may be one thing... but I'm not sure if it will work. I can get back to you before the day is out to make sure it happens."
Kakarot was about to ask further, but Gine cut him off. "Save it. We don't need your help. We'll face this threat ourselves."
He wheeled around on his mother. "Mom, no! He's only been trying to help!"
"You think that him letting your brother suffer out in space and not telling us he was alive, for eight years, was help? Are you THAT stupid, Kakarot?! He's helped enough!" She said spitefully, glancing sideways and angrily at Kami.
Kakarot was taken aback, and hurt by his mother's vitriolic words. He knew he wasn't the smartest child in the universe, but she never belittled him for it. She was still very angry, he could see, but her anger was now clouding her judgement. Raditz stood by quietly as he watched the drama.
"Mom..." He sighed, trying to talk more gently and sound more reasonable. "You're right, what he did was wrong. But now's not the time for that. We're gonna need all the help we can get to face these Saiyans!"
Gine scoffed, her tail whipped around behind her like an angry viper ready to strike. "We don't need Kami's help. If I recall just moments ago and from what Raditz had told us earlier: we are already as strong if not stronger than those other Saiyans. We can take care of this threat ourselves."
"And you will!" Said Mr. Popo, they all turned to him. "For attacking my master and desecrating the sanctity of the Guardian, you Saiyans are henceforth banished from the Lookout! Please leave and never come back!" He demanded.
"Mr. Popo..." Kakarot begun to protest.
"Fine by us." Gine grunted. She turned around to walk towards the rim of the Lookout. "Come on, boys."
Raditz was frozen for a moment longer before he shook his head to clear himself from the shock. "Err, right... where are we going?"
"We're going back to Kame House. Time to introduce you to everyone else... and break the news of your arriving companions, so we can figure out what to do next." Gine answered curtly.
Raditz raised an eyebrow. He was sure this whole incident had gotten under his mother's skin, but with the power she had and the commanding tone she was taking, it was like she was an entirely different person than he remembered his mother to be. She was almost acting like an actual Saiyan. Either way, he went where she went if they were going to figure out any kind of plan.
Kakarot looked after her and Raditz walking to the edge. "But, Mom... at least let's hear what-"
"Don't argue with me, son. Let's go." Gine said over her shoulder.
"GINE, WAIT!" Kami called out desperately.
Gine halted at the very edge of the Lookout rim, she didn't move or turn back around to face him.
"I'm so sorry for what I've done to you, no mother should ever have their child kept from them against their knowledge." He pleaded, feeling more pathetic and humbled than he ever had during his tenure as Guardian. "But please, I beg of you not to act so rashly. Even if you do not accept my help, I am still the Guardian of this planet. It is my duty to make sure any threat to it is dealt with as best as possible. So please, reconsider, let me help you however I can!"
Gine was silent for a moment before she asked back, "Can you fight alongside with us?"
Kami felt his heart constrict. He was worried she would ask that. And it stung all the more because she knew he couldn't do that. Even if he was the Guardian, he cannot face the threats to Earth directly. He couldn't invoke divine intervention too much, or else he would be in violation as his stature. Plus, he was no warrior.
He looked down at the ground, unable to look at Gine when he answered. "No... I can't."
Gine, with her back turned still, snorted in disgust. Then said aloud to herself but loud enough for Kami to hear, "What good is a Guardian if you can't actually "guard" your own planet?"
Without another word, Gine leapt into the air and flew back down towards the Earth below. Raditz looked back at his brother, shrugged his shoulders, and leapt into the air as well, following behind Gine.
Kami stood there, feeling utterly despondent. Even though he knew this would happen, it hurt more than he thought it would. But at least he was still alive.
Kakarot looked back to his former master and Mr. Popo, feeling as defeated as Kami was. "I'm so sorry about that."
The Guardian shook his head sadly. "You have nothing to apologize for, Kakarot. I'm the one that's sorry. I'm the one that caused so much grief for your mother. And now... I fear that with her going through an emotionally volatile revelation and her trust in me broken, her ability to think rationally and control her power might be... hampered."
"Yeah, I saw." Kakarot said worriedly, he knew what that meant.
His mother, as kind, loving, and peaceful as she was, had an anger buried within her that came out if she was pushed too far. Kakarot had seen it when his mother lost her temper with the Crane Hermit at the Twenty-Second World Tournament hotel all those years ago, and had truly seen what it was capable of when Baba told her that Raditz was gone. From that anger, she had an incredible well of power that made her seem unstoppable. But her anger could be all-consuming, and if she ever lost control, she would lose herself and flying into a blind rage, killing anything that stood in her way.
The three years they spent together here on the Lookout, training under Kami, she worked so hard to learn how to tap into the power and harness it by better controlling her emotions. Gine owed it to Kami on him teaching her the mind-cleansing techniques to purge all fog of doubts and loud thoughts, on how to center herself from the most trying tests of the mental and the spiritual. He had taught her everything on keeping the peace of the mind. But now, with her not wanting anything to do with him anymore, all that knowledge and training she had gained from him she is eschewing. If she couldn't trust him, why bother with what he taught her?
The biggest worry was not just that she was refusing help to deal with a threat to the Earth. She was now far more powerful now than she was before she learned how to tap into her strength. With her anger prejudicing her against Kami, and his teachings, if she went rogue... Kakarot did not want to think what would happen.
"Did you know this would happen?" He asked, to which Kami nodded.
"Then... why did you tell her the truth, and not just say it was Baba's idea in the first place?" Said Kakarot, wondering about the meaning of Kami having to go through all this.
Kami breathed out through his nose and looked at Kakarot somberly. "Because I owed it to her, and to you. You both were my best pupils, the ones who fixed my mistakes and became the greatest chance of survival this planet has. And... she was right. I shouldn't have lied to her. I have seen far too many grieving souls of mothers below when had to ferry their young to the otherworld. Even if I was doing my job under Baba... it was still wrong to be complicit."
Kakarot was silent, and regarded Kami with sad and understanding eyes. He was doing his job, but had the dignity to admit that he helped carry it out and accept responsibility. "I see." Was all he could say.
They stood there in silence for a while before Kakarot spoke again, this time with a flash of urgent remembrance. "Hey, what was the idea you said you might have that could help us?"
A flicker of recognition went through Kami's expression. "Ah, yes. Well, don't hold out too much hope, but I think that I might be able to grant you special training under the tutelage of a god that specializes in martial arts."
"Really?!" Kakarot asked in astonishment.
"I think so. But these gods reside in Otherworld, and only divine beings and the dead can enter that realm. There's no way a living mortal like yourself or your mother could go there unless you die or if I seek permission from King Yemma himself. But to do so would not be guaranteed, for it requires an unimaginable amount of paperwork."
The young Saiyan frowned. "Who's King-"
"KAKAROT!" Gine's voice shouted from far below, startling them both.
Kakarot sighed in disappointment, he had to go, and did not wish to rouse his mother's deteriorating anger further.
He turned back to Kami. "Sorry, I gotta go. But, yeah, we could still use your help. Whoever this King Yemma is, go ahead and ask him if we could train with that god guy then let me know what he says, okay? Bye!"
Kakarot turned to sprint towards the Lookout rim.
"If your mother still refuses help?" Kami called out cautiously.
He turned around and faced Kami one more time. "Let me worry about that. If she says no, I'll still accept any help you can give us to defeat the Saiyans. So, whatever this long shot idea of yours is, I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to at least give it a try."
Kami stood there thoughtful, then nodded in agreement. He bowed farewell.
"Very well then, thank you Kakarot."
Kakarot gave him the thumbs up. "Keep in touch, okay? Let me know how your plan goes!"
With that, Kakarot jumped over the edge and blasted out of sight.
For a moment, Kami was worried Gine would prevent her son from seeking his help if it falls through. But he allowed himself to feel a sliver of hope for the first time that day. One thing he admired about Kakarot, was the no matter the odds or the obstacles ahead, he always faced them with a contagious optimism that made everyone around him, including the stoic Guardian, feel like everything will turn out okay. So whatever Kakarot had in mind to deal with his mother's stubbornness, he was adult, and he could be trusted with Earth's safety. With him on his side, their world stood a chance...
Kami collected himself. He had a job to do now, and a planet to protect.
"I'll be right back, Mr. Popo." He said before concentrating on a place far removed from the physical realm. A moment later, Kami vanished into thin air, teleporting to Otherworld to set his plan in motion.
A/N: Hope you all liked this chapter! See you in the next one :)