Welcome back. This chapter will be going to the start of Dragon Ball Z. Before we start I feel I should confess that a lot of the dialogue in this chapter comes directly from the Funimation Dub of the anime. I know that seems like an odd decision given that this scenario is a big change to the story, but I feel much of the story in early DBZ would be pretty similar. You'll see what I mean in the following chapter and I am aiming to change the cannon more and more as the story goes on.
Please let me know what you think, the feedback I've received has been really helpful.
Goku and Bulma were currently at their home in the mountains getting ready to go to a reunion that was taking place at Kame House. It had been five years since the defeat of Piccolo Jr and the couple were eager to see their friends again. There was one other person who would be joining them on this trip.
"Come on Gohan we have to go," called Goku.
A four-year-old boy with spiky purple hair and blue eyes came out of the house. He wore an orange gi like Goku, but it had the Capsule Corp logo as opposed to the turtle symbol. This was Goku and Bulma's son Gohan, named in honour of Goku's grandfather. Bulma had originally wanted to continue her families' naming traditions and call him something like Bocksa or Trunks, but she could see how important it was to Goku that they name their first son Gohan, so she agreed on the condition that she get to name the next child. Their son was a good kid. He was happy and carefree like his father, albeit a little spoilt and bratty at times due to his privileged upbringing. Despite this he knew better then to ever make his parents mad.
"Dad, can't we do a bit of training before we go?" pleaded Gohan.
The boy loved training with his father and was already remarkably strong for his age. Goku estimated that Gohan was nearly as strong as he had been when he competed in his first martial arts tournament.
"Later son, we're already running late and if we stall, we might make your mother angry," said Goku.
"Also Gohan we had an agreement, you have to finish your homework before you can train with your father," said Bulma sternly.
While Bulma wasn't excessively pushy about Gohan's study, she still wanted him to do well in school. Which hadn't been a problem so far, as he was already excelling academically despite being only four years old. Bulma had also decided to home school him, knowing that he might be given a hard time being the son of Capsule Corp's president. She also feared what might happen if Gohan lost his temper and decided to fight back against bully's. Bulma figured she might let Gohan go to public school when he was a little older, but for now she felt it was best that he was home schooled.
"Mum, I finished that last night so I could train with Dad this weekend," said Gohan glumly.
"And Bulma what does it matter if he falls a little behind? You already said he skipped a grade. Whatever that means," said Goku.
Despite Goku still being ignorant about the importance of education, she couldn't deny that he made a decent point.
"Alright, tell you what, once we get home you can train with your father for the rest of the weekend," said Bulma.
"Yay," said Gohan happily.
"Well, we better get going," said Bulma. She was about to release an airship within a capsule when Goku spoke up.
"Bulma why don't I just fly us there, it'll be quicker that way?" suggested Goku.
"I don't know Goku," said Bulma who didn't like the idea of being carried from mount Paozu to Kame House. While Goku was incredibly strong, that didn't stop her from fearing that he might drop her.
"Oh, come on, it'll be fun, besides it'll let Gohan practice his flying a little more," said Goku.
"He can already fly?" asked Bulma.
She'd been so busy with her duties as president of Capsule Corp that she hadn't had a lot of time to witness all of Gohan's accomplishments as a fighter.
"Sure, I taught him last week," said Goku. "Say Gohan, why don't you show your mother that technique I taught you last night?"
"Are you sure Dad?" asked Gohan.
"Yeah, why not, besides it's quite impressive that you learnt it at such a young age," said Goku.
"Alright," said Gohan, putting his hands to his side.
Bulma recognised this technique. Had Gohan really been able to learn Goku's signature technique at the tender age of four.
"Ka, me, ha, me," said Gohan before pushing his hands towards the sky. "HA."
Gohan shot an impressive beam of blue energy towards the sky.
"Yep, he's a talented little guy," said Goku proudly.
"Wow that is impressive," said a wide-eyed Bulma.
"And it'll only get more impressive with practice," stated Goku. "The same is true for his flying."
While Bulma won most of their arguments, she had a feeling this was one she couldn't win.
"Alright, you and Gohan can fly us there," said Bulma admitting defeat.
Bulma climbed onto Goku's back and the three took off at great speed towards Kame House. Unknown to the Son family, there was something heading towards Earth, something that would greatly affect Goku and his family.
After an hour of high-speed flight, the family of three landed on the tiny island where Kame House was located.
"Wow, I haven't had to fly that far for a while," puffed Goku. While Goku had been trying to develop his flight, he still relied greatly on the flying nimbus to get around, so flying such a long distance was a bit of a challenge for him.
Gohan had it worse. Having only learnt to fly the week before, he found the trip to be exhausting. It was decided that Bulma would fly them home in one of her vehicles, so they could have a rest.
"Guys we're here," called Bulma.
The door to Kame House opened and Krillin and Master Roshi came outside.
"Hey, good to see you all again," said Krillin.
"Yes, I must say the last five years have been quiet without the two of you around," stated Master Roshi.
Krillin noticed the purple haired boy standing next to Goku.
"Goku, Bulma, what's with the kid, you guys babysitting or something?" asked Krillin.
"No, this is our son," said Bulma happily.
This caused shock to both Master Roshi and Krillin. Goku and Bulma had a son?
"His name is Gohan," stated Goku.
"So, you decided to name him after your grandfather huh?" asked Master Roshi.
"Yeah, I could tell it was really important to Goku that we name him Gohan, but I don't mind, I think Gohan's a lovely name," stated Bulma.
"So, you gonna be a strong fighter like your father?" asked Krillin.
"You bet, I'm already super strong," said Gohan.
"I'll bet you are, I never beat your father in a fight, and something tells me I'd have some trouble if we sparred," laughed Krillin.
"Heh, probably," said Goku scratching his head before suggesting. "Say why don't you guys have a sparring match later today. The only sparring partner Gohan's had is me, so it might be good to test his strength against another opponent."
"Sure. If it's ok with Bulma that it," said Krillin who highly familiar with Bulma's temper.
"I don't mind, but go easy on him, I don't think he'd have the same strength as you yet," said Bulma.
"Ok, I'll make sure to take it easy on the little guy," said Krillin.
Master Roshi then realised that Gohan lacked something that Goku had as a child.
"So, Bulma, I see Gohan doesn't have a tail like Goku did as a child. Was he born without one?" asked Master Roshi.
"No, he did have one, but we removed it," said Bulma.
"I was a little against that at first, as I loved having a tail as a kid, but then Bulma pointed out that enemies might try to take advantage of it if they discover it's a weak point, so I agreed to have it removed. Gotta have Gohan be the strongest fighter he can be," said Goku proudly.
In truth, Bulma had another reason for why she had the tailed removed. She gestured Master Roshi closer so she could whisper.
"I still haven't told Goku what happened when he looked at the full moon while he had a tail," said Bulma.
"Probably for the best it might lead him to realise that he accidently killed his grandfather," said Master Roshi.
The group spent a while reminiscing on what had happened over the last five years. Krillin told them he was still training hard in the hopes he could catch up to Goku one day. Goku revealed he was thinking about looking for the Dragon Balls again, despite not actually wanting anything. Bulma then revealed that while she would like Gohan to take over Capsule Corp one day, she wouldn't force him to if he didn't want to, because she felt it was more important for Gohan to follow his passion, whatever that may be.
After this, Gohan and Krillin had their sparing match. Gohan impressed them greatly with his strength. Eventually Krillin took the victory, but he couldn't deny that Gohan was incredibly strong and there was no doubt in Krillin's mind that Gohan would eventually surpass him.
"Great job Gohan I'm impressed," said Goku helping his son to his feet.
"So am I, you actually forced me to get serious," laughed Krillin.
The laughter was short lived however, when suddenly Goku sensed something, something very powerful.
"Goku what is it?" asked Bulma.
"There's something bad heading straight for us," said Goku.
"What? Are you sure Goku?" asked Bulma.
"I'm positive, I've never felt a power like this before," said Goku.
"Yeah, I feel it now too," said Krillin.
"There's nothing there you guys," said Bulma trying to reassure them.
Goku wasn't convinced. He could still sense it. It was greater than any energy he had ever felt. Not only that, but the power felt evil. The power was so intense that Goku started to sweat.
"Look there," said Goku as he spotted something in the sky.
"Oh yes I see it Goku," said Master Roshi.
A man with extremely long black hair, wearing some odd battle armour and a face device with a green lens was flying towards them.
"Who is that?" asked Goku.
"It's not Piccolo, is it?" asked Krillin hopefully.
The man landed on the beach in front of the group. Despite the terrifying energy he gave off, Krillin, Gohan and Goku all took stances preparing to fight him. The man said nothing at first, when suddenly the face device he was wearing activated and appeared to scan Goku.
The man laughed a little before speaking.
"So, we meet again at last?" he said. "You've grown up. I recognise you though Kakarot."
"Kakarot?" asked Goku, who had no idea what that meant.
"That's right, that's your name," said the man.
"His name?" asked Bulma.
"Who is this? He must be nuts," stated Krillin.
The man ignored Krillin's comments and kept talking.
"Kakarot, what have you been doing here all these years? Your mission was to terminate all life on this planet, why haven't you carried it out?" he asked.
Goku was completely confused by what this man had said. He tuned to his friends for support, but they were just as confused as he was.
"Listen mister, I don't know who you are, but you've obviously got the wrong guy," stated Krillin who approached the unwelcomed guest. "Shoo, shoo. I think you've been dipping in the eggnog, allow me to escort you off this island."
The man was unamused by Krillin's comments and decided to teach him a lesson. Goku could feel something bad coming.
"Krillin watch out," said Goku.
Before Krillin could react, the man showed that he had a tail wrapped around his waist, which he unwrapped and hit Krillin in the face with. The force of the attack was so powerful that it sent Krillin flying into the front wall of Kame House. While Goku was concerned for his friend's health, what concerned him the most was the tail this man had. It looked a lot like the one Goku had had as a child.
"A tail?" asked a shocked Goku.
"That's good I wondered how long it would take you to recognise me," said the man.
"What're you talking about, I've never seen you before in my life," said Goku.
"Kakarot, you mean to tell me you have no idea who I am?" he asked.
"I don't know who this Kakarot person is your looking for but I'm not him. My name's Goku."
"What happened to you?" asked the man angrily. "Kakarot, tell me did you ever suffer a serious injury to the head when you were young?"
"What?" asked Goku.
"When you were a kid did you ever hit your head?" asked the man. "Did you hear me?"
"Yeah. I don't remember it very well, but you're right I did hit my head as a child. I still have a scar where it happened," answered Goku.
"You stupid fool you forgot," said the man.
"I forgot what? Tell me?" demanded Goku.
"Goku," said Master Roshi. "There's something, something your grandfather once told me that I think you should know."
Master Roshi told Goku the story about how his grandfather came upon a creator in the woods and inside that creator was some sort of spaceship and next to the spaceship he found Goku as a baby. Master Roshi then explained that Goku's grandfather tried to take care of him, but Goku was a wild, uncontrollable, and unusually powerful baby, who one day fell into a deep ravine and badly injured his head. Through some miracle Goku recovered and turned into a happy loving boy.
"I'm from outer space?" asked a shocked Goku.
Bulma was equally shocked. Her husband was an alien.
"Well that explains a lot," said Bulma. "Goku do you think you have some sort of connection to this guy?"
"I guess," said Goku, before turning to the man. "You have my attention, now tell us who you are."
"Well, I wasn't expecting to give a history lesson when I came here today, but alright, I'll tell you everything," said the man.
It was at this point that Krillin crawled out of the hole inside Kame House.
"Hey Krillin you alright?" asked Goku.
"Yeah, be careful Goku, this guy's not normal," said Krillin.
He explained Goku's origin. That he was born on the planet Vegeta, that he was a space fighter, a Saiyan warrior. The man then stated that he was also a Saiyan. This caused shock amongst the earthlings.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Raditz, your big brother."
"Goku has a brother?" asked a shocked Krillin.
"Goku, he looks like you," stated Bulma.
"Why should I believe you?" asked Goku.
"Yeah, that's right. What the heck is Goku doing on Earth if he's from another planet?" asked Krillin.
"That's simple. We sent him here. Kakarot was given specific orders to clear this world of its inhabitants. A mission which he has failed miserably," stated Raditz. "You see, we Saiyan's are sort of like planet brokers. We scour space for planets that will bring a high price on the galactic market. Once we find them, we send our warriors there to purge them of any life and make them ready for sale. It's a very, very profitable business and we take great pride in being efficient in our work. For example, if we discover a planet with strong inhabitants, we send a team of our adult fighters to wipe them out, but for planets full of weaklings like this one, one of our baby's is generally sufficient to carry out the order."
"If what you say is true. You Saiyan's are just an abomination," said a disgusted Krillin. "You're Space Pirates, that's what you are."
It was at this point that Bulma felt a need to hug her son.
"How can send little baby's off into space all alone?" asked Bulma hugging Gohan.
"Trust me, they're more than capable of looking after themselves," laughed Raditz, before glaring at Goku. "Well, most of them. Kakarot you're a disgrace. You could've easily wiped out every living thing on this planet by yourself. If you hadn't forgotten your orders, it would've only taken you a year or two at the most. Especially considering this planet has a nice big moon."
Goku took a stance getting ready to fight his brother.
"Yeah, let me guess I was probably supposed to blow that up too?" asked Goku.
Raditz turned back to Goku furious.
"You fool! You know as well as I do it's the key to unlocking your true potential. I'm sure at least once in your life you've looked at the full moon?" asked Raditz.
"I don't know what you're talking about," said Goku.
This shocked Raditz who then noticed Goku didn't have a tail.
"What, what happened to your tail Kakarot?" asked Raditz.
"My tail? Why?" asked Goku.
"Answer me," demanded Raditz.
"It was removed permanently a long time ago," stated Goku.
"Do you have any idea what you've done? Your true power is gone now," said Raditz angrily. "Without your tail you've lost your ability to transform at the full moon. Now I can see how you'd be on good terms with these weaklings."
"Listen this is my home, and these are my friends, so it doesn't matter what you say I am," stated Goku. "And you sure don't act like any brother I'd want to have. My name is Goku, and I live here, now leave us alone."
Raditz couldn't help but laugh at this.
"So, baby brother wants to be left alone?" he asked. "Well, it's a pity that's not going to happen. No at this point I'm afraid you're far too valuable for that. You see three years ago our home planet Vegeta met with an unfortunate accident, when a huge comet slammed into its surface. The planet was vaporised and the Saiyan race destroyed. There's not too many of us left now brother. In fact, as far as we can tell, there are only four, including you. We were the only Saiyan's away from home when the planet exploded. Like you the rest of us had been sent off to perform a few, hostile takeovers. And now we've found another world we'd like to concur, it should bring in a very high price. But unfortunately, the job's a little too big for only three of us to handle. We were almost afraid we'd have to pass it up, until I remembered you Kakarot. With your help we should manage nicely.
"I've heard enough, I'd die before I'd join a gang of pirates like you," said Goku.
"Yeah, my dad's a hero he'd never help bad guys like you," said Gohan speaking up for the first time since his uncle had arrived.
Raditz was a little shocked. This boy was Goku's son? He hadn't considered it at first due to the boy lacking a tail and having purple hair, but he was nevertheless intrigued to find out Goku had a son.
"Interesting. So that's your son Kakarot. Maybe he'd like to join me instead," suggested Raditz.
"Leave him out of this," ordered Goku.
"I'll decide that," said Raditz.
"If you won't join us, I guess I'll have to settle for taking the boy in your place," said Raditz.
"Don't you dare touch my son," ordered Bulma.
"Hmm, so you must be my sister-in-law. It's nice to see Kakarot at least married a strong-willed woman. It would be a shame if I had to hurt you," said Raditz.
"If you touch my Mum you'll regret it," said Gohan.
Raditz was impressed by the boys fighting spirit, so he did a quick scan of him with his scouter. Gohan's power level was one hundred and forty, which was impressive given his young age. Goku's currently stood at three hundred and thirty and while that was impressive, it wasn't nearly enough to stop Raditz.
"Gohan stay out of this, let me handle him," said Goku.
"I see the fire in your eyes brother you should come with us. It's in your blood you love to fight. And judging by your sons attitude he loves fighting to," said Raditz.
Raditz approached the group. Goku and Krillin stood ready to fight him.
"I'm right here with you Goku," said Krillin.
"Just stay close to Gohan," said Goku.
"No I can fight to," said Gohan freeing himself from his mother.
"Gohan don't," pleaded Bulma, but it fell on deaf ears as Gohan stood with Goku and Krillin ready to fight.
Raditz stopped in front of the group. He seemed to vanish, then suddenly appeared in front of Goku. Goku tried to attack, but Raditz was too fast. He kneed Goku viciously in the stomach, causing Earth's greatest warrior to go flying. Goku landed with a thud on the beach defeated.
"Dad," said Gohan, whose blood had started to boil.
Raditz looked at Gohan. He was initially impressed by the fire in his nephew's eyes, when suddenly his scouter went off. Gohan's power was rising.
"What the? His power level was only one hundred and forty. It's now over four hundred. That's stronger then Kakarot," thought Raditz.
Upset by what this man had done to his father, Gohan was determined to teach him a lesson. Gohan put his hands to his side to charge an attack.
"Kame," said Gohan.
"What? Impossible," said Raditz, whose scouter was indicating that Gohan's power was getting even greater. "Seven hundred, eight hundred. But how? Can they raise their power level by concentrating their energy into one spot?"
"Hame, HA," yelled Gohan shooting as much energy as he could.
Raditz was getting worried. The scouter now read Gohan's power as one thousand. That was nearly as strong as he was. Raditz had to do something and do it quick. If that beam hit him, it would do some serious damage. Raditz put his hands out and braced for impact. When the beam made contact with his hands the resulting energy managed to push him back a little, but he was able to resist and cancel out Gohan's attack.
The dust cleared and everyone was horrified to see Raditz was unharmed.
"Not bad nephew, I never expected someone as young as you to have so much power," stated Raditz.
Gohan didn't know what to do. He'd put so much energy into that attack and it did nothing.
"It's settled. You're coming with me. With the right training and guidance, you'll make a fine Saiyan warrior," said Raditz.
"LEAVE ME ALONE," yelled Gohan.
Without thinking, the young boy charged at his evil uncle. He threw multiple attacks, but Raditz blocked every punch and kick with ease.
"You have a lot of spirit nephew, you have the makings of a true Saiyan," stated Raditz blocking Gohan's attacks.
Getting bored by Gohan's feeble efforts to hurt him, Raditz grabbed Gohan's next punch with one hand and used his other hand to knock Gohan unconscious by hitting him on the back of the neck.
"Well then, we'd better be off," said Raditz before turning to Goku. "Now Kakarot, if you ever want to see your son again you'll do as I say."
Bulma however was not going to let her child be kidnapped so easily.
"PUT HIM DOWN," she ordered.
Raditz turned to face Bulma who was starting to approach.
"And what makes you think I'd do that?" asked Raditz.
"I SAID PUT HIM DOWN," demanded Bulma before slapping Raditz across the face.
Compared to Raditz, her strength was pitiful.
"Nice try Earth woman, but you'll have to do better then that if you want to get your kid back. I admire your will and spirit though, you would've made a fine Saiyan," stated Raditz.
Raditz retaliated by slapping Bulma back. She went flying, but thankfully Krillin managed to catch her before she hit Kame House.
Seeing his son and wife hurt by this monster, Goku found the strength to get to his feet. He charged at Raditz, but the result was the same as last time, with Raditz hitting him away like he was nothing. While Raditz appreciated his brother's tenacity, his patience was wearing thin, so decided to tell Goku what was going to happen.
"Now, Kakarot, when you decide to join us and you will, there's something I want you to do to prove that you mean it. You can start by eliminating one hundred of these pathetic earthlings. Just dump them on the beach when you're done, I'll be back for a headcount," stated Raditz. "You'll get your son back when you're finished."
Using all the strength he could muster, Goku crawled up and grabbed Raditz's boot.
"Leave Gohan out of this," begged Goku.
"I wish I could Kakarot, but you understand I need to give you a little extra incentive to do what I ask," said Raditz.
"Please let him go," said Goku.
"Just look at how pathetic you are. Please brother show some pride," ordered Raditz before kicking Goku's hand off. "You have until tomorrow try to enjoy it."
Raditz flew up into the air and took off into the distance. Taking the still unconscious Gohan with him.