Dragonball Z

Alter Age

Cast Aways

(A few minutes later)

When the small group of Z-fighters consisting of Bulma, Master Roshi, Launch, and Krillin finally arrived at the site of the battle between Goku, Piccolo and Raditz, the group found themselves gazing upon a scene that was almost surreal. Completely disregarding the utterly ruined valley around them, scorched earth, and the enormous hole burrowed into the side of the snowcapped mountain, the group was absolutely mortified to find Goku lying defeated on the ground, with a massive hole in his stomach, and blood pooling all around him.

What's more, his arch nemesis Piccolo- still missing an arm- was standing over his fallen partner, his body also in a pretty poor state, and with no Raditz to be seen. All in all, the whole situation raised more than its fair share of questions, many of which the demon king was more than happy to answer.

After his alarmed group of friends converged on his position, with blond Launch moving around to check on their surroundings, Krillin and Bulma made it just in time to share their last few words with their friend. Though the bald fighter desperately pleaded for Goku to stay with them and to not give up, the man's life force was rapidly slipping away, with the last thing the man asked his friends to do was to 'bring Gohan back to Earth with the dragon balls.'

The moment he said this, the father's eyes darkened and closed, and his head rolled to the side- signaling the last embers of his spirit finally dissipating.

Through their anguish and their grief, the group wept over the loss of their friend, with Master Roshi being the only one to maintain his composure. However, despite his hardened face, it was clear that the martial arts master was greatly hit by the loss of his pupil, who he had spent years watching grow up and change, only to then pass on, here in the middle of a scorched battlefield.

While Krillin, Bulma and Launch continued to shed tears over the loss of their dear friend and comrade, the trio were then caught completely by surprise when they saw their companion's body disappear into thin air right before their very eyes. While Krillin scrambled to his feet in alarm after seeing the man's remains vanish, a startled Launch quickly demanded to know where Goku had gone. Piccolo quickly cut in, informing them that Kami had taken his body to Otherworld, where his spirit would be able to take on physical form in the afterlife.

The evil half of the guardian of Earth explained that Goku would probably be sent off to train with a new master on the other side- quite possibly the guardian of their galaxy, King Kai. Because he lived and died as a warrior, he had the opportunity to master even more secrets as a fighter beyond the restrictions of the living, which he was certain the spiky haired idiot would love.

With that explanation given, the group felt a wave of reassurance fall over them, which then resulted in the Z-fighters scattering over the area.

"I wonder what Goku's getting up to right now?" Krillin asked as he placed his hands on his hips and looked up into the sky.

Master Roshi, staff held behind his back, smiled warmly. "Well, knowing him, I'm sure he's going to be making the most of it- whatever it is. As long as the Guardian of Earth is there to lead him down the right path, then his soul will certainly be safe."

Wandering over to where the red hat with the dragon ball was lying, Bulma bent over and picked it up- watching as the orange globe flashed under the light of the sun. "All the same, we need to start gathering up the last six dragon balls so that we can wish Gohan back to Earth and then Goku back to life." The woman then turned her gaze skywards and frowned. "I can't believe it. That bastard actually managed to send the poor boy off into space. How horrible."

"From what I heard, the little runt did something with the Saiyan's ship that caused it to fly off to some planet owned by a guy named Frieza. Judging from how frantic the guy was acting, he must've lost control of it," Piccolo informed, drawing the group's attention over to the warrior. As they watched him slip his cape back on, followed then by his turban, the green-skinned demon turned around and glared back at the group. "Even if we were to go after him, I doubt he'll be able to get the kid back."

While Bulma and Krillin exchanged worried looks, Launch, propping her shotgun over her shoulder, turned to stare at the green warrior with a serious expression. "So… that Raditz prick is still running around out there somewhere, huh? Think we should hunt him down and finish him off?"

"No," Piccolo shot back, causing the group to jump a little at the tone of his voice. "Even though he's tired and injured, he's still much stronger than all of us put together. He's also scared and desperate. As long as he's able to move and has that strange device attached to his head, he'll know if we're coming after him." He then shook his head at them. "I wouldn't risk it."

Launch, clicking her tongue in annoyance, then stepped down from her gung-ho posture as Krillin chimed in once again. "You think he'll be back?"

"Most likely," the green warrior answered, flicking is cape back and beginning to focus his energy into his stump of a left arm. "That's why I'm heading off into the mountains to train, so that I can be ready for him when he returns." His change in expressions quickly alerted the main members of the Z-group that something was going on, which not only had Krillin back away, but also prompted Launch to swing her weapon forward out of sheer instinct.

The reason for Piccolo's unexpected change in look was revealed shortly afterwards when, with a yell of pain, the man grew a new arm from the stump on his shoulder with a loud squelch. As green blood splattered across the ground from his reformed limb, the demon flexed his fingers a few times, before then turning his gaze back to the team.

"I suggest the rest of you do the same. We're going to need all the help we can get if we're going to face that guy again," Piccolo stated, referring to the warriors amongst the four of them as the now fully-healed, yet winded warrior turned heel and began heading off. "I also suggest you hold off on wishing Goku's kid back to the planet so soon. Something tells me that this alien problem is far from over."

"Huh?" Master Roshi balked, his back straightening sharply. "What do you mean by that?"

This question had Piccolo frown. "I overheard Raditz speaking to the five of you back on your island. He said there were two more Saiyans just like him out there somewhere in space- two more incredibly powerful fighters who are probably just as strong and dangerous as he is." He then turned his back on the ground and faced the mountains, a very serious scowl stretched across his face. "What do you think is going to happen if they find out that one of their own is in trouble? Consider that while you're getting your affairs in order."

His piece said, the green demon king slowly levitated off of the floor, before then shooting off into the sky at full speed, leaving behind a trail of wind and a series of stunned faces on the group of Z-fighters.

OOO

(That night)

Deep in the wilderness, nestled between the safety of several towering mountains and rocky plateaus, a small fire was currently burning at the mouth of a small cave. Tucked away from the rest of the world and hidden well enough from sight that nobody would be able to find him, a wounded yet still very much alive Raditz, was currently in the process of stitching himself up.

Having removed his damaged armor, as well as his boots and gauntlets, the long-haired pirate from another world was doing the best that he could to patch himself up with whatever supplies he had left on hand. Thanks to his ship flying off to Frieza's planet and carrying everything else he'd brought with him, the Saiyan was forced to be economical with his tool kit and hunt for whatever food he could find. Though the latter wasn't too much of a problem for him, considering he had to do all of this while severely injured and concealing his presence, made the task a bit more difficult than it normally would be.

After the thorough beating he'd received at the hands of both his freakishly powerful nephew, and then his father and comrade afterwards, the last thing he wanted to do was attract attention and start another scuffle while in his current state.

Hissing as he applied the healing tank oil over the spot where his ribs were cracked and broken, the exhausted Raditz then gave a groan as he leaned back against the cave wall and gazed up towards the ceiling. His bruised, swollen face showing how drained the man actually was, the winded male allowed the healing solution to slowly take its effect.

"I can't believe it..." Raditz thought, his exhausted stare fixed on the shadows dancing against the rocks as his fire pit crackled brightly in front of him. "Kakarot died… trying to sacrifice himself… for this place. For this planet…" A solemn look slowly crept over his face as his mind slowly processed all of the events that'd taken place over the course of his entire day. While things had started off so well- landing on Earth, making contact, and tracking down his wayward sibling- everything quickly spiraled out of control as one chaotic event led to another and then another, resulting in the Saiyan not only receiving a beating of a lifetime, but also ending in complete and utter tragedy.

All of this culminated in the scout secluding himself in a mountain where, he was then left to wonder why his brother- a Saiyan and his own flesh and blood no less- would risk everything, including his own life, to try and save the planet he was sent years ago to conquer? Did he truly love this place? Did this mud ball actually mean something to him? Did its people mean that much to him? Was he not afraid of dying for all of the inhabitants living on it? Why?

"Why did he do it?"

So many questions and yet so few answers orbited inside of the Saiyan's mind, biting and gnawing at him like a bug. The result was Raditz being left internally conflicted and broken up over everything that'd happened and ended. It was only while he was being left to stew over these emotions flooding through him that the warrior suddenly remembered exactly where he was and who he now had to answer to for this.

Glancing down from the ceiling to the floor next to him, he saw his scouter lying on the ground beside his armor- its cracked screen flickering in the orange light of the nearby flames. Narrowing his eyes nervously on it as he knew that the unit still had half of its charge left, Raditz then slowly reached over, picked it up, and set it over his ear.

"Though I don't really want to do this, I need help…" Raditz thought. After all, he was trapped and stranded on this world with no way off. And since none of the other grunts in Frieza's forces would bother to come and help a 'pathetic, dirty Saiyan' like him, there were only two other people left that he could turn to.

With a hesitant press of his finger, the man pushed the button on his scouter and promptly made contact with his comrades on the other side of the galaxy. "Vegeta. Nappa. Are you there? Respond."

After a couple seconds of static and crackling over the vacuum of space, the sound of his superior's voice flooded his ear. Judging from his tone, his fellow Saiyan sounded somewhat amused. "Well, well, look who finally decided to call in. Raditz. I was wondering when you were going to get back to us." There was a brief pause as the sound of chewing suddenly filled the air, telling the long-haired Saiyan that his companions were probably in the middle of eating after a battle. "So, how did your test go? Did everything go according to plan?"

Sweating nervously when he heard the oddly chipper sound in Vegeta's voice, the prone Raditz inhaled deeply- albeit raggedly- before then responding. "There was… a bit of a complication…" Was that the right word? Sure. He decided to go with that. "Things started off as I expected. But then the whole situation quickly escalated and things got out of hand."

"Oh?" came the prince's sardonic reply, followed by what Raditz assumed was a big smirk. "Sounds interesting. Please. Continue. Do tell us what happened down there on Earth."

Though reluctant to divulge this information due to his uncertainty, Raditz proceeded to explain in great detail the events that'd transpired since his reunion with his younger brother. He laid the report out plain and simple. He told them all about his battle with his nephew and how the child's power level skyrocketed at an unnatural rate with his excitement. He told them how after knocking him out with three of his Saibamen, he then set him up into space where he would be safe, only for the child to then mess with the controls of his Attack Ball and then take it on a wild ride through space towards Frieza's Capital world. And then he told them about his battle with Goku and Piccolo, how his younger brother perished in the ensuing chaos, and how he fled due to his weakened state.

The entire story came spewing out of Raditz's mouth like water, covering every little thing from the details of his plan to its total and agonizing failure. By the end of it, the Saiyan felt as though his heart was about to burst through his chest out of sheer anxiety, as he knew that Vegeta and Nappa weren't going to take this well at all.

He couldn't have been more right on the money.

"So in other words, you did the one thing I told you not to do," Vegeta's voice chimed in after Raditz concluded his epic tale of tragedy and heartbreak. "You fucked up."

Hearing this caused the wounded Saiyan to flinch, as the mood he sensed on the other end had suddenly gone from amused to unnerving.

"Honestly, I expected nothing less of you- the low-class, reckless, lonely weakling posing as a mid-class warrior, just because he's one of the last living members of our race. You couldn't even handle a simple recovery assignment. How typical," Vegeta scoffed, knowing full well that Raditz could hear every word.

Clenching his jaw tightly as his fists tightened in anger, the long-haired scout bit back his tongue before slowly responding with a simple and straightforward plea. "I can make it up to you, Vegeta. I promise. Just… please… send a pod out to my location so that I can get off this retched world and recover. When I do, I'll be able to come back and finish what I started, and wipe every damn insect off of the face of this planet. You have my word."

"Hmm…" There was a moment of pause as the Saiyan Prince on the other side contemplated the man's words. A few seconds later though, Vegeta came back with a reply that was about to make Raditz's day a hundred times worse. "You know what, I won't."

Raditz's eyes widened. "W-What?"

"You see Raditz, we Saiyan Elites have a certain… standard to live up to. Our image and reputation hinges entirely on the strength of our members and the victories we bring home with us," Vegeta began, his tone immediately becoming arrogant and full of himself as he proceeded to chew Raditz out further for his defeat. "As the greatest and mightiest warriors in the universe, it would be really bad for our station if we were to allow low-level weaklings like you and your brother to become a part of our inner folds. And considering that you not only killed said brother, but also allowed yourself to get trounced by a group of earthlings with such laughable battle powers… I don't think we can afford to keep you around anymore, Raditz."

Heart stopping and eyes widening, the shocked warrior felt his mind slowly tick over what was being said to him. When his words became stuck in his throat, after a few tries to get it out, Raditz eventually managed to muster a single, stuttered response. "B-But… Vegeta…"

"I don't want to hear any more excuses," the voice on the end replied, promptly and bluntly, this time without a single hint of amusement. "You're a weakling and a disgrace- you AND your brother both. Hell, that incompetent fool was sent to that planet to do a single job and he failed it. Why should we even consider giving you a second chance when you yourself have proven how feeble and pathetic your family line is?" There was a brief pause as Vegeta allowed the weight of what he had just said to come down on Raditz, who he knew was hanging off of his every insult. After giving it enough time to breathe, the prince continued. "You can sit in whatever hole you've dug yourself into and rot for all I care. Don't even think about trying to return to our company or Lord Frieza's. You're done."

Feeling as though his own soul were being pulled down into a gaping fissure of despair, Raditz's arms and legs suddenly became weak, and his entire body slumped against the side of the cave. Mouth open, he tried to get another word in, desperate to try and word himself out of this mess- as he'd done several times in the past. But from what Vegeta had said to him, it quickly became clear that the Saiyan's time as one of them was finished.

About a full minute after Vegeta had wrapped up his declaration, the familiar, gruff voice of his other companion suddenly chimed in. "That 'green man' you said you were fighting. Piccolo, was it? The one that Kakarot was screaming to? He sounds kind of fun." Raditz suddenly perked up at this, as he heard the once Elite General of the Saiyan forces proceed to address Vegeta over the same line. "I'm actually quite interested to see what kind of person was able to scare the pants off of poor, useless Raditz. Why don't we go to Earth and pay him a visit?"

Following what Raditz assumed was a few seconds of consideration, Vegeta answered. "Hmph. While I am curious about that pest's capabilities… I'm more curious about those dragon balls Kakarot mentioned." When another brief silence passed as the man contemplated that little gold nugget, he then followed-up with a final, resolute statement. "Since we've got nothing better to do, we'll pay this 'Piccolo' and his friends a visit, and ask them more about these treasures of theirs."

Raditz, on the verge of breaking down, tried one last time to appeal to his comrades. "Vegeta. Please! Let me help you! I… I… I can scout ahead, get coordinates on these artefacts for you and Nappa, and then I can-"

Sadly for him, the prince was having none of it. "No. We're through with you, Raditz." The Saiyan replied, silencing the soldier. "Since this is the last time we're going to be speaking to you on good terms, I'm going to give you a choice. Either stay out of our way when we get to Earth… or die. Or better yet, stay right where you are and the two of us will come find you, and put you out of your misery ourselves." Following a static increase, Vegeta concluded their communications. "Consider yourself discharged."

There was a click and then silence.

Raditz, hearing that last bit from his former teammates, gaped across at the wall on the other side of the cave as his arm dropped limply from his ear piece and landed on the ground beside him. Feeling all his energy leave him, the man then lay there to dwell over the fact that not only had his two comrades renounced him as a Saiyan, but he was also trapped on Earth with no way off, and had lost everything he ever had.

He had nothing. His planet was gone. His "friends" were gone. And his brother was gone.

He was now completely isolated and alone, left to wallow in the squalor of his grief and defeat…

OOO

(Meanwhile)

(On a distant world)

"Hmph. Good riddance," the voice of Nappa cut through the humid air as he sat atop his log, glaring through the visor of his scouter as he reviewed to coordinates to Planet Earth inadvertently given to him from his former comrade's device.

On a world far, far away from the Solar System, on a planet previously inhabited by a race of insectoid aliens, the two Saiyans Vegeta and Nappa were currently enjoying a short break. Following a rather invigorating conquest of the jungle-covered terrestrial body, in which the pair had joyously obliterated the entire civilization of peaceful people, the pair had now relegated themselves to a clearing in the jungle- just downstream from the last village they had sacked.

As bodies of bugs littered the ground around them- men and women based on their body types and sizes- the duo were spending their afternoon sitting by the fire, and roasting the limbs of some of the poor creatures they'd finished slaughtering. Vegeta himself was currently resting on the body of one such alien, devouring one of its carapace limbs while his friend sat behind him, appearing incredibly bored.

Their conversation with their wayward Saiyan Raditz had probably been the most interesting thing they'd experienced while on this now abandoned rock. With nothing else to do, the pair of them had spent it mulling over the fact that their companion had let them down for the last time and besmirched his name as a warrior. This was of course entirely based on Vegeta's opinion, who had made the executive decision to wipe his hands clean of the embarrassment and start their group off fresh.

Now it was just the two of them… and after learning of what had happened on Earth, the duo certainly had a lot to talk about.

Upon analyzing the location and distance they would have to travel to get to the planet drifting in the Milky Way galaxy, the warrior general- a huge, bulky man with a bald head, thin mustache, dark battle armor with yellow accents, and blue scouter- sighed exhaustedly. "It's a shame you had to let Raditz go like that. After what you had to say to him, I kind of feel sorry for the poor fella now. He was a good kid."

"Hmph. Don't waste your pities on a man like him," Vegeta retorted, taking another bite from the arm he'd been cooking and chewing the tender meat from inside. Swallowing it, the warrior with flame-styled, dark brown hair, wearing white battle armor with yellow accents, blue spandex, white gloves and boots, and a pink scouter, scoffed at the bland taste. "Raditz was a poor excuse for a Saiyan and, frankly, a waste of space. If you ask me, he should've up and died a long time ago."

Nappa then inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. "Well, if you think it had to be done, then it had to be done." The big Saiyan then looked down at his superior and comrade inquisitively. "So what's our play here? Go to Earth, hunt down this Piccolo guy, and then go after Raditz? From what I was able to gauge from the scouter, I bet they'll make for some pretty good sport."

Spitting out a bit of shell that got stuck in his teeth, Vegeta smirked and lowered the bug limb he'd been eating. "Feel free to go after them if you wish. I'm more interested in the other thing."

"Ah. You mean those dragon orbs or whatever they are?" Nappa asked, blinking curiously.

Tossing the remaining leg into the fire, the smiling Vegeta stood up and paced around it. "They've certainly caught my interest." He then looked back at his comrade and raised his hand. "Just think of the possibilities, Nappa. If what Kakarot said is true, if we get our hands on those balls, then we can use them to wish for anything we want. Anything at all." He then dropped his fist and chuckled. "Wouldn't you say that's worth making a little trip across the cosmos?"

Finally catching on to what Vegeta was suggesting, Nappa grinned broadly and clenched a fist. "Are you kidding? Yeah. Let's go."

Without wasting anymore time, the two ventured back over to their space pods, which they had parked in a clearing not too far from them. Pushing their way through the jungle, it should be noted that both warriors had a rather enthusiastic spring behind each of their steps, with Nappa looking the most eager of the pair. When they arrived at their vessels, Vegeta divulged to Nappa his plan.

"Once we force Kakarot's friends to tell us where the dragon balls are and how to use them, we'll eliminate them. Along with anyone else that stands in our way- including Raditz," the prince informed, stopping at his vessel, bagging on the top of it and opening the front hatch with a hiss. "I'll leave the job of disposing them to you."

"Sounds great," Nappa answered, unable to hide the very eager and malicious grin on his face. When he opened the hatch to his ship, the man then glanced over at his companion as he hopped into his seat. "Have you thought about the wish you're going to make after we get our hands on those dragon balls."

"Oh… I have a pretty good idea," Vegeta replied, reclining back in his seat while smiling across at his partner. "How does eternal life sound?"

The question caused the bald warrior to cock an eyebrow. "What? Living forever? That sounds awesome." He then, with a bit of difficulty due to his size, clambered into his pod and dropped down into the seat. "Yeah. If we can't die, then that means no one will be able to defeat us. We'll be unstoppable."

"Indeed. We'll be the greatest and most powerful fighters in the universe," the prince concluded, crossing his arms and closing his eyes eagerly. "With immortality on our side, we'll be able to ascend to our rightful place alongside the Saiyan warriors of legend."

"Heh," Nappa chuckled, "You mean…?"

"That's right," Vegeta nodded, "The Super Saiyans- just like the ones in the stories."

Once he'd said that, the hatches to their pods sealed shut. Once they did, the ships became surrounded by two identical shimmers, before levitating off of the floor and shooting up into the sky. The Attack Balls bolted through the clouds above the planet, parting them, before making their way through the thermosphere and into space.

With the two Saiyans finally on their way, they left behind not only the vapor trails from their craft, but a completely ruined planet minus its previous population.

OOO

(Meanwhile)

(Otherworld)

People over the centuries have come up with all sorts of ideas of what they believed life after death was actually like, as well as what awaited them beyond the horizon.

Some imagined a set of pearly, golden gates waiting to be opened for them, leading to a valley of endless white clouds, forests and structures. Others imagined a stairwell leading into the mouth of an endless cavern, stretching down and down through multiple levels of fire, brimstone and magma, with the screams of countless people suffering echoing off of its walls. Reincarnation. Rebirth. Ascension to a new, pure world beyond the event horizon. A world of battle. A world of rewards. A world of torment. A world of celebration. Everyone imagined something different of what awaited them beyond the threshold of the physical plain.

For Goku, where he found himself was certainly a world of endless golden clouds. However, before he could go exploring anywhere, he needed to be processed through a large palace acting as an administration office for the departed souls.

The entire operation was run by a big man in a pinstriped suit known in this realm as King Yemma- a large ogre, chief organizer of the entrance to otherworld, and formerly a student of the great King Kai. The man was in charge of overseeing the passage of spirits to the next world, deciding based on their history and merits whether or not they were worthy to go to Elysium or get sent down to Hell.

It was a tough job and Goku, in awe of everything around him, couldn't help but admire the man for his commitment and effort.

As soon as he was moved on through the Check-In station and he'd bid his farewells to Kami- who was kind enough to see him off- Goku was then escorted towards the back of the main building where the start to Snake Way lay. However, instead of going directly to the winding path, on the way through the palace the hero of Earth was taken on a quick detour by the ogre staff member tasked with guiding him.

When they pulled in to the back garden where a rocky outcrop stood, along with large patches of grass and a collection of ponds, the recently dead Saiyan found himself looking about in confusion. Finding no starting point to King Kai's path here, the man then looked behind him at the blue ogre in the white button up shirt and square glasses smiling at him from the stairway.

"So… umm… why exactly did you bring me here, sir?" Goku asked, at the same time pointing over his shoulder innocently. "Am I supposed to do some sort of test or something?" Sure, the garden looked very lovely. But this wasn't where he was expecting to go.

The ogre in the black tie chortled and shook his head. "No, sir. Not at all. I brought you to this level because a couple of friends of yours on this side said that they wished to meet with you." He then brought a hand out from behind him and gestured the Saiyan's attention across the garden.

Following the man's hand, Goku then saw two people step out from behind a nearby tree. When he saw their forms emerge from the shade and come completely into view, the man gave a couple of surprised blinks before his eyes instantly lit up. Recognizing the first individual right away, the young warrior quickly rushed over to him, as the old, smiling face of his adoptive grandfather- dressed in his trademark oriental robe, black pants, martial arts shoes and cap, beamed back at him warmly.

"Grandpa! You're here!" Goku laughed boisterously, coasting to a stop in front of the man who'd raised him since he was a baby. The man was understandably overjoyed to see him.

The kindly elder in return laughed when he saw his adoptive boy stop and stand before him, dressed in the same orange and blue gi he remembered seeing him on his last trip to the world between the living and the dead. His height was certainly a surprise. "Hello, Goku. My dear boy."

"Long time, no see," the father chuckled as he looked down at the man in the mustache and the golden halo over his head. "How have you been? The last time I saw you, you were watching over Annin-san back in her cave. What happened?" His expression quickly became one of concern. "Did she kick you out of her home because you tried to do something naughty with her?" Like Master Roshi?

After all, the two were very much alike in certain ways.

Grandpa Gohan laughed in amusement and waved a hand towards the hero of Earth. "No, no. Of course not. I've just taken a few days off work to come spend some time over here with a few friends and relatives. When I heard from King Yemma's messenger that you'd just arrived after a big battle on Earth, I dropped everything I was doing to come and see you, to make sure that you were okay."

"Oh? Really?" Goku's smile quickly returned full force when he saw the pleasant smile form on the old fighter's face. "That's great!" It was then the spiky haired hero took notice of the second individual that'd appeared.

When he looked at them, confusion immediately framed his face when the Saiyan laid his eyes upon a person he hadn't met before. Standing taller than his grandfather but much shorter than him, the dead hero of Earth looked over the figure of a young-looking woman, with shoulder-length, spiky black hair, charcoal eyes, and wearing dark spandex pants, yellow tipped boots, and green armor- which suspiciously looked like the same one that a certain someone was wearing when they visited Kame House.

Upon giving the quiet and calm female a quick once-over, the puzzled Goku leaned over to his grandfather and pointed across at her. "Hey, Grandpa. Who's the girl? Is she a friend of yours?"

Grandpa Gohan chuckled. "You could say that." He then waved a hand at the tall fighter and beckoned him towards the female. "She's been waiting to meet with you for quite some time now. I think you should say hello to her. Introduce yourself."

Quickly remembering the manners taught to him by said grandfather, Goku momentarily freaked out before clumsily stepping over and standing before the woman. Noticing the nervous and uncertain look on her face, the spiky haired man gulped before bowing to the woman in greeting and extending a hand. "G-Good day, miss. My name is Goku. Son Goku."

"Goku?" the woman whispered back, noticing his extended hand, but paying it no mind. Instead, she smiled at the man and tilted her head. "Is that the name Gohan gave to you when you landed on Earth, Kakarot?"

The dead hero was immediately caught off guard by that last title. "Huh? K-Kakarot?" Wait. Did she just say…?

Stepping closer to the man, the woman took a moment to look him from head to toe before nodding in approval. "My, what a fine, handsome young man you've grown into. I never expected you to grow so tall… especially since I remember you being so tiny. Guess you really were a late bloomer, like the doctors said." The raven haired woman giggled at the confused blink Goku gave her. "Even after all these years, I still recognize you. You look a lot like your father, after all."

"F-Father?" Goku repeated, tilting his head at the mother a couple of times, before racking his brain trying to think who this stranger could be. Though her face seemed kind of familiar to him, the adult martial arts master was at a complete loss. However, as he continued to listen to her remarks, a picture slowly started to form in the hero's mind, to the point that he was teetering on the edge of realization. It was only after the man saw a brown, furry tail wiggle out from behind the woman and saw it curl through the air happily that it finally clicked for him. "Wait. Are you saying that you're…?"

The woman giggled. "That's right. I'm your mother. My name is Gine." She then bowed to him politely, yet briefly. "It's so good to finally see you again, son. I'm really glad."

"Wow. So… you were my mum… my real mum… back on the planet Raditz was talking about. Before I came to Earth?" Goku asked, completely blown away by the relatives he was meeting in such a short amount of time. The warrior reached up the scratched his head anxiously. "Geez. This is so surreal. I… never thought I would ever get to meet you."

Beaming and taking a few more steps closer, Gine then reached up with both her hands and lightly cupped her boy's cheeks. She almost had to stand on her toes just to reach up to his face, but she managed all the same. The moment her palms made contact and saw Goku stare, the woman tilted her head and gave him a loving look.

"We have time. Would you like to sit down and catch up? I'd love to hear all about your adventures on Earth," Gine said, a hopeful look reflected in her eyes.

Goku, at first unsure, gave a quick look across at his adoptive grandfather. When he saw Gohan beam and nod to him, the young man grinned and quickly smiled back at the woman who was his biological parent. "Sure. I'd love to."

Relieved to hear this, Gine and Goku then went over to a nearby rock and sat together, where the mother proceeded to ask her son all sorts of questions, with the father slowly answering them as best as he could, and in great detail. While Gohan stood by and listened to the pair, looking on fondly as the kind mother and son made up for lost time, behind the same tree where he and Gine had previously walked out from- leaning against the back of it out of sight- a third individual was currently standing and listening in on the conversation.

Dressed in the same armor he'd perished in during the destruction of his home planet and sporting his signature headband, the scar-faced, gruff form of Bardock had also showed up to check on his son. Of course, unlike Gine, in typical Saiyan warrior fashion, the serious man had elected not to come out and ruin the moment between the mother and her boy. Instead, he chose to remain secluded and out of sight, smiling as he heard his happy mate listening and commenting on all the marvelous adventures her son had been on over the years.

Considering the specialness of the situation, the parents were lucky to be able to meet up with their boy, before he went off to train with King Kai while waiting for his friends to wish him back to life.

XXX

(A few days later)

(Somewhere in deep space)

When Master Roshi, Krillin, Bulma and Launch eventually had to break the news to Chi-Chi that her husband was dead and her son had been sent off into space by the Saiyan that defeated him, the woman was understandably upset. Actually, more than that. After freaking out at the news that her little boy had been shot across the cold depths of the cosmos on a one-way trip to some far flung and possibly dangerous world, the news of her beloved's end during the battle against his older brother caused the woman to faint.

It took her exactly one whole night and a morning until she was conscious again. When the mother finally returned to the land of the living, her resurrection was accompanied by an immediate and massive fuss- with the strong woman demanding that her husband's friends work day and night to hunt down the dragon balls and wish her son back to the planet. This of course fell in with Goku's initial wishes to have his little boy brought back safe and sound to the planet, instead of wishing him back to life. After all, the wish to revive him could be done after the dragon balls have completed their one year cooldown cycle.

Clearly he wasn't in any haste to get back- prioritizing the safety of his loved one as opposed to himself. This was typical of his kind and considerate nature.

However, while everyone was all for wishing Gohan back to Earth as soon as possible, there was still a slight wrinkle that they had to take into consideration.

When Piccolo reminded the group of the fact that there were two more Saiyans besides Raditz, he also brought up the possibility that those same Saiyans might come around to get payback for their comrade's defeat. Because this idea remained a very crucial and terrifying point for all of those who'd been involved in the whole debacle, Bulma, Krillin and the others wisely decided to stall their hunt for the dragon balls, and figure out if they should wish Goku or Gohan back first.

Clearly it was a very complicated situation- one laden with many perils and unknowns. And that wasn't even counting the fact that their friend's brother Raditz was still alive somewhere on Earth and in hiding. While Piccolo had a vague idea as to where the Saiyan was hiding out in the mountains, Goku's rival decided not to go out looking for him, as it was obvious that the warrior was still many times more powerful than him- despite the multiple injuries he'd sustained from their battle.

The Saiyan was also most likely keeping a watchful eye for any of Goku's friends and comrades hunting for him, which gave him extra incentive to stay hidden and not be found. Until he was fully healed up of course.

This next adventure was going to prove to be a very busy time for all of the Z-fighters- and not just its core members. While Piccolo knuckled down for a long bout of solo training in the wastelands in preparation for his eventual rematch with Raditz, Bulma headed off to find Yamcha in West City, and Launch took her jet for a flight up North to try and locate the vagrant Tien and Chiaotzu. Since Earth was still at risk from two possible and very dangerous threats, the women were determined to round up their comrades in arms and get them to start preparing for war.

As to who with exactly they had no idea- but they had a feeling that it was going to be a rough one.

While all of this was going on, the most considerate members of the group couldn't help but wonder what was going on with Gohan and whether he was doing okay.

The answer to that of course lay with the young Saiyan, who had spent the last week or so moving about the tiny interior of Raditz's ship, eating from his rations box, and admiring all the stars as he passed them by. Having read up a lot of the astronomy books his mum had forced him to memorize for the science and physics portion of his learning, the boy tried to make a game out of naming all of the clusters and constellations that drifted by his window, many of which had been recorded in his books.

Along with admiring the scenery, the energetic child divided up his time between sleeping, learning to control his energy in a confined space, exercising, and trying to decipher the odd, alien language of the interior of his uncle's ship.

By the end of the first two weeks, the child was able to break down the collection of geometrically based letters, including identifying all of the numbers from 1 to 1000, as well as other basic and obvious words such as 'thrust', 'radar', 'track', 'com' and all the various modes making up the portions of the console he didn't destroy. He even tried to tinker with the underside of the panel to see if he could break into the computer, but ended up causing a rattling sound inside the pod that he didn't like, which told him to not mess with the ship as it was traveling across the galaxy at a rate above light speed travel.

It was a good thing he had enough room to stand in and do pushups and stuff, otherwise the entire trip he was on would've been utterly mind-numbing.

Eventually the flight of his craft led him to this day.

While Gohan was fast asleep on his uncle's seat, curled up into a ball with his tail wrapped around him, the child was completely unaware of an unexpected malfunction taking place with the guidance system. The map and route that the ship had previously been following for the last several days, experienced a sudden glitch when a charge caused by the initial damage the panel had sustained weeks ago caused the computer to change courses.

A small warning light flashed on the control pad as the map turned static for several moments, with the computer's female voice saying: "System Error. Course for Frieza Capital Planet cancelled. Rerouting for nearest habitable world. E-Error. System Error. Erro-or…" The voice became low and warped, before repeating again- this time in static.

With the computer wigging out as the control panel sparked a few times, the pod then performed a sharp slingshot around a star, before then flying off in a completely different direction than before. When Gohan woke up a couple hours later, he was completely unaware that the Attack Ball had gone off in a new direction and continued on his daily routines of lazing about, training, as well as imagining the kind of place his ship was heading towards.

It wasn't until a couple of days later that he had his question answered.

Arriving on the furthest systems on the long arm of the Milky Way galaxy, Gohan's damaged ship made a B-line straight for one of the large planets orbiting around a red star. Shooting past its two grey moons and down towards the orange and green terrestrial planetoid, the pod broke through the atmosphere and cloud cover- catching fire and leaving a trail of hot smoke in its wake.

Following a very loud and uncomfortable entry, which lasted for well over a minute, the ball-shaped craft eventually careened through a towering plateau, smashing through the top of the stone tower, before then slamming into the ground a split second later. The force of its impact was equivalent to that of a meteor making landfall, with the pod proving how sturdy the exterior was when it left a fifty-foot wide crater in the mountainous terrain, without receiving a single scratch in kind.

With its hull sizzling and gushing with smoke from its break through into the planet, the computer inside the ship immediately shut down all systems to conserve power. Once it did, it then activated a blinking red light in the top corner- on a box that read in an alien language Emergency Beacon. Once the ship began sending out a distress call across to whatever habitable worlds or civilizations were within reach, a slightly dazed and groggy Gohan hit a nearby button and opened the top hatch.

The door gave off a big puff of steam as it swung open, exposing the demi-Saiyan to his first breath of alien air as he crawled out of the pod and into the open. Groaning as he flinched against the blinding rays of the sun, the shirtless child crawled out of the fissure his ship had formed and up to the top. When he reached the peak of the crevice, stood up and looked around, he immediately found himself in awe of his location.

On first blush the scenery looked almost like Earth. A large plate of desert and stone mountains- many of which arched over to form multiple, large bridges- stretched as far as the eye could see, with a heavy scattering of purple and blue acres of trees covering multiple areas of terrain, particularly the bases of various barren outcrops and lowlands. What set this place apart from any other typical landscape from Gohan's home planet was that not only were the woods purple, but the sky for this particular setting was also red. A blood red to be more precise. With orange clouds drifting across the lower atmosphere. Aside from this slight alteration to the color scheme and the fact that the air was quite hot and stifling, the child felt like he'd landed in quite an interesting location.

Of course, that opinion would become even more understated after his first hour of exploring, which was exactly what the child went and did.

Leaving the vicinity and safety of the crater, the restless, hungry, curious half-Saiyan boy from Earth ambled across the countryside, taking in the environment of this wild, outlying world. In typical fashion while exploring the more uneven and forested grounds, the child would go on all fours, hopping from place to place, sniffing and feeling everything out with his senses. On his first leg out the child didn't notice anything too peculiar. The foliage seemed normal and there were a couple of watering holes too, with these areas being dominated by large insects.

On his little journey, Gohan snatched a couple of dragonfly looking bugs flying through the air around one of the ponds, sniffing them for toxins before eating them. Not too satisfied with the snack, he then sniffed out another kind of game- stumbling upon a large, rodent-like creature grazing on a patch of grass. This rat-like animal, with rabbit ears, a long tails, and cartilage armor plating growing on the outside of its fur, wasn't able to sense the child sneak up on it from the canopy, before dropping down on it from above and biting into the back of its neck, killing it.

Like a wild animal, Gohan proceeded to eat the creature's meat raw- tearing off its carapace defenses with his bare hands and feasting on its flesh and organs. Though the hide was tough and its muscles hard to rip apart, the child managed to consume the creature bit by bit, not caring in the slightest that his face became smeared with its blood and entrails.

The rations on his uncle's pod hadn't been nearly enough to satisfy his enormous appetite- especially after recovering from his big battle with the Saiyan. He wanted more meat. More food. Anything to quell the low growling of his empty belly.

After ripping the animal down to the bone as he happily feasted on it in the clearing, the crouching hybrid suddenly became aware of the sound of heavy stomping and growling nearby. Blinking as he chewed on the mouthful of mammal flank in his mouth while the now empty bones were strewn between his hands, Gohan casually looked over his shoulder to see one of the large, twisting purple figs behind him get shoved aside like a cardboard box.

When it crashed to the floor with an earsplitting bang, the mildly surprised boy found himself looking upon the enormous, towering form of a six-legged beast that was as big as an elephant, but nowhere near as friendly. Bearing a sleek, powerful body with six, muscular arms, razor-sharp claws on each of its paws, long tail, and a head shaped like that of a canine's, this wolf-like mutant abomination came to stand over the tiny child and growled down at him threateningly. As it did, Gohan noted that while this massive monster resembled a typical carnivore in shape and build, the animal was also covered in dark red fur, multiple boney protrusions and armor plates above and beneath it, and two thick, straight horns growing out of its head.

Growling lowly as the yellow-eyed, hungry alien glared down at the somewhat startled youngster, the beast then brought one of its six large paws up and slammed it into the floor with a loud thud, clearly as a territorial display.

Gohan, blinking as he looked up at the six-legged animal, swallowed the remaining food in his mouth, wiped his blood-smeared lips clean on the back of his arm, and then stood up. When the four-year-old turned and straightened to full height to gaze up at alien predator as it snarled back at him, the child quickly gave it a quick once-over, before smirking devilishly.

His grin was further accentuated by the dark shadow that cast over his feral gaze and his charcoal eyes shimmering with excitement.

"You look like you have a lot of meat on you," Gohan whispered, before dropping the boney carcass of his previous, rodent kill and clenching his fists. As he did so, his hair started to rise up and a wind kicked up from his body. Sensing the increase in presence from the preschooler, the giant, six-legged wolf stepped back and dropped into a crouching posture- growling even louder while the tiny lifeform in front of it flexed his power. Upon which the demi-Saiyan then dropped down onto all fours and, with a deep growl of his own as his back arched, barked out loud. "Good! Because I'm still very, very hungry!"

Its yellow eyes suddenly glowing, the hair on the wolf's back rose up as a white aura sprang around it, blasting wind and dust in all directions. The moment it powered up, several large, boney spikes shot out of its spine and shoulders, creating a defense on it that was in no way friendly.

Gohan in kind also powered up, white steam erupting from his body while his teeth sharpened and irises dilated. A split second later he bolted up at the wolf, at the same time it lunged in at him, opening its mouth and snapping its jaws down on him!

OOO

(Two weeks later)

(Back on Earth)

A fiery explosion erupted from one of the mountains in the middle of the wilderness to the northeast, the very location where the demon king's descendent Piccolo had chosen to conduct his training. Completely isolated from any traces of civilization, with the only lifeforms for miles around being wild animals and dinosaurs roaming the landscape, the green, powerful warrior of the planet was using every minute he had polishing up his skills and increasing his battle power.

With nothing to distract him, nobody to watch out for, and no troubled conscience holding him back, the archrival of Goku and former scourge of the world was making cracking good progress in his training. Or at least that's what he was hoping.

From what he could gouge so far as he stood there on the edge of the cliff, looking up at the edifice that he'd just laid into with one of his blasts, his progress was consistent and steady, with the power from his energy attacks starting to show a lot more impact than they had before. Exercising them in the various ways that he was using them was also helping to improve his speed of execution and stamina.

Taking a few deep, ragged breaths, Piccolo then dropped his arm upon seeing the dust settle around the enormous divot he'd formed in the stone mountain across from him. As he examined the bedrock and felt his cape flutter behind him, the warrior then took a moment to catch his breath as sweat trickled down his forehead.

"Hmph… at this rate, I'll be more than capable of handling that bastard on my own in just a couple months," Piccolo thought, narrowing his eyes as he measured his current power level from what he remembered his most recent opponent's. By his estimate, he was getting closer and closer by the day, which made a small part of him clench his fist in exhilaration. Heck, he probably wouldn't even need help from Goku's friends. "That is of course if our friend from outer space doesn't decide to get any stronger in that time."

Unfortunately for Piccolo, his choice of career didn't often come with small mercies. Because almost as soon as he'd said that, the slightly winded demon's eyes widened when his senses picked up something massive enter his range. Wheeling around when he got a lock on the mental signal, the earthling honed in on the presence coming towards him from the west. After scanning the individual, the green warrior's face paled.

Speak of the devil.

"Oh, this is not happening right now!" Piccolo thought, cursing to himself when he realized what was coming his way. "It can't be!"

All this time since that fateful battle, the young warrior had thought that he was in the clear. That his opponent had been so hurt, so exhausted, and so utterly scared that he'd hightailed it into the hills, with the main intent of hiding away from the Z-fighters and licking his wounds. After having lost his ship and his main reason for coming to this planet, Piccolo had believed that the warrior thought himself stranded, on a world he did not know, outnumbered and out of options. He'd also hoped his presence here would dissuade the man from showing himself, in spite of the big power gap between them, lest risk being discovered.

Piccolo didn't properly consider the possibility that the man would come out to find him.

In a matter of seconds, the green warrior saw the form of Raditz appear in the sky- at first as a dot, before eventually materializing in his full, armored glory as he dropped down from the clouds and dove towards his position. With his speed, Piccolo thought for sure that the guy was coming in for an attack, and braced himself for either a fight or flight moment.

The instant the green demon locked his stance, the spiky haired Raditz touched down on the secluded, rocky outcrop overlooking the mountain landscape. When his boots crunched against the loose granite and kicked up a puff of dust, the two found themselves locked in a very tense standoff, with one assumed in a proper fighting posture while the other stood straight up and composed.

As Piccolo glared across at the calm looking warrior with the ruined battle armor and scouter, he quickly became aware of the high-pitched beeping sound coming from the unit. The sight of its cracked screen flickering caused the fighter to snarl in frustration. "Tsk. Of course he would find me. I've been training like crazy out here for the last four weeks, so his device would've definitely picked me up. I got careless." He probably should've been a bit more discreet. But now really wasn't the time for 'what-ifs' or 'could-ifs'. A more pressing issue had just resurfaced. "Shit. I think he's gotten even stronger than before."

That was definitely not good. How was that possible?

Raditz meanwhile, as the green martial artist in front of him sweated bullets, did a composite scan of his own, his eyes tracing the warrior's stance while the numbers of his unit analyzed the Namekian's power level. When the unit finally managed to get a reading back to him, the Saiyan cocked an eyebrow. "Hmm. The green man's gotten a little bit more powerful since the last time we met. Not bad." Clearly he'd been training in preparation for a second fight with him in the future.

Too bad he had to cut that opportunity short. He would've liked to have seen what he could do in a few months.

Quickly growing impatient at the silence filling the air, the cautious-looking Piccolo bared his teeth and furrowed his brow. "I wasn't expecting to see you up and about so soon."

"Likewise," Raditz shot back, his tone noticeably less haughty and aggressive than before. Glancing across at the ruined mountain behind the caped fighter, the Saiyan invader chuckled. "I see you've been keeping yourself busy in the days since our fight. Been leveling a couple square miles of land just to blow off some steam? Or are you planning on building something in their place?" His smile then became a little cocky. "Real estate?"

"Hmph. I think the answer to that should be pretty obvious," Piccolo quickly responded, keeping his senses wide open and posture fixed defensively as he kept his eyes glued on his foe. "A guy like me has a lot of enemies out there to fight and a lot of goals to fulfil. I have no intention of letting myself slack off while you're hiding out in your cave and nursing your bruises." Though the man wasn't on guard or exhibiting any hostile intent, the new demon king opted to keep his hands up, just in case.

A smirk graced the newcomer's lips. "Fair enough. Though, if I was you, I'd probably look into getting a castle or something else down the line."

"Alright. Spare me the smug responses and just tell me what the hell you want," Piccolo demanded, deciding to cut out the silly banter and get right to the point.

Raditz, hearing the impatience in the warrior's voice and seeing the glare he had fixed on him, took a deep breath. "Before you get any wild or stupid ideas, I didn't come here to fight you. That would just be a waste of time, energy, and manpower on both our parts." Partly because he would be able to crush the Namekian with even less effort than before, while his opponent would likely be flailing about angrily the entire time.

Thank Kai for his race's naturally recurring Zenkai.

Eye twitching at the man's tone, Piccolo's frown deepened. "Oh yeah? So what did you come all the way out here for?"

Sensing the tension growing, Raditz got down to business. "To talk."

TO BE CONTINUED…