The Event of being Reincarnated as Raditz Chapter 2: Pride on the Line
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As we last left off, Shawn and Piccolo were flying off to Kame House. While the heir to the Demon King was contemplating how this individual seemed to know so much, from his desire to conquer Earth to his feud with Goku, Shawn had bigger fish to fry in his mind.
"So….For things to continue smoothly, I need to find a way to get Goku to die. If I have to, I'll do it myself, but it'd be a lot better if I can just convince him that it's necessary rather that fight the entire group. Let's hope he's more reasonable than he seems in the show…."
It didn't take the pair long to arrive at Kame House, though Piccolo kept himself hidden while Shawn continued downwards, landing in front of the entire group consisting of Bulma, Goku, Gohan, Roshi and Krillin. As soon as they saw him, they all seem shellshocked; some weird long-haired guy just showed up there, and Goku and Krillin were well aware of just how strong he was. It was...Intimidating, to say the least.
Shawn quickly thought of something to say, to break the ice. "Relax. I admit," he commented with a smirk "I'm quite the intimidating fellow, but I'm not here for a fight. I'm here to warn you." Krillin was the first to speak up, trying to hold his composure speaking to the space warrior.
"W-Well….Spit it out then! Don't keep us in suspense!" The Earthling was lucky, because if this was the real Raditz, it's likely Krillin had just bought himself a one-way ticket to Otherworld. Speaking of that…."In about a year, two threats are coming to this planet that outmatch me tenfold, and certainly you sorry bunch don't stand a thread of a chance as you are. However….There is a way for one of you to get strong enough. It'll be a bit….Unorthodox, though."
Goku had no idea what unorthodox meant, but he definitely liked the word 'strong'. "What is it? I'm ready for any challenge! Whatever it is I gotta do to beat the next enemy, I'm up for the test!" He was eager now, but Shawn was confident he wouldn't be so peppy after he heard what was necessary.
"If there is a way to revive people on this planet, then it's possible that you may be killed and travel to the King of the Heavens, King Kai. He'll train you up to easily handle the situation." As this, there was a disturbing silence, and in the middle of it Shawn turned back on the comms on his scouter. This was really awful, but he had to make sure it at least tried to stay on line with the original.
Goku seemed deep in thought (or about as deep in thought Goku usually got), but with a firm nod he had seemingly come to his conclusion. "I'll do it. After all, I can get that years worth of training as that King Kai's place, then get revived by the Dragon Balls to handle whatever this threat is."
Shawn, of course, totally knew about the Dragon Balls, but had to play the part of the fool to get the info Vegeta and Nappa would want to convince them to come to Earth. "Dragon Balls? What exactly are those?"
The old man Master Roshi finally spoke up. "The Dragon Balls are seven mystical items that, when gathered together, summon forth a dragon that can grant any wish." Shawn nodded, going along with his feigned ignorance as he swiftly shut off the comms. It was all the pair would need to know.
"In that case…..Actually, I can't believe this! I haven't asked for names. That's pretty important if we're going to work together." Quickly, the group spouted off their names to the Saiyan warrior (besides the young shy Gohan), and much to Shawn's surprise it was Goku who asked of his name. "And what about you, eh?"
"Raditz. So...Are you ready to die, Goku?" Despite how awful the sentence sounded, it was laced with no signs of malice or contempt at Goku; merely as if stating a question, which he was. At first, Kakarot simply stood there, gaze locked with Raditz. Suddenly, he sprung the question on him.
"Before I die….Mind if we spar? Sorry, but I really like fighting, and you seem like a pretty tough guy!...You even sorta remind me of me, for some reason." Shawn gulped, silently hoping Goku wouldn't come to the conclusion of their brotherly connection. Now wouldn't be a good time. But honestly, what he was even more worried with was if he could even fight properly in Raditz's body. Well, better late than never….
He gave Kakarot the nod of approval, and they both took fighting stances. For but a moment, the two fighters stood there in a standstill, gazing upon each other. Eventually, though, Goku took the initiative with a quick rush towards Raditz with a punch aimed toward the gut.
Luckily for Shawn, some Saiyan instinct kicked in as his tail managed to catch the attack due to the massive power difference. However, it certainly put things into perspective for him. "If I'm going to stand any chance against Nappa and Vegeta, I'll need to learn how to fight in Raditz's body as well as raise my power…" Luckily for him though, this was an easy victory. With Goku unable to wrench his hand from the tail's grasp, a swift kick to the chest sent his brother sprawling onto the sandy beach of Kame House. The fight was practically over before it even started.
Meanwhile, the spectators of this fight were stunned, especially the likes of Piccolo and Krillin; up to this point, they thought no one could match up to Goku. How wrong they were. The young child Gohan was also quite scared, cowering behind Bulma's legs sniffling. He had heard what was apparently to happen to his dad, and he felt powerless; he wanted to say something, do something - anything! Alas, he knew that there was nothing he could do. Or at least, that's how he felt.
Kakarot stood up, catching his breath with a grin. "Whoa! You pack a pretty nasty punch! You're sure that you can't handle whatever's coming?" He had meant this as jokingly, but Shawn had that sail over his head. "I certainly don't. The weaker of the two threats is nearly five times my power."
This got a slight quake out of his sibling, Goku suddenly realizing the magnitude of this. "...Alright, let's get on with this." He turned to see Gohan, and gave his Half-Saiyan child a confident smile as the kid muttered "D-Daddy….". "Don't worry, Gohan. I'll be back in a jiffy! You won't even realize I'm gone!"
At this, Shawn felt his heartstrings tug. He had no idea what Piccolo would be putting Gohan through in his training….Although, he had a plan about that as well. At any rate, he stepped forward to Goku and put a hand on his chest. "Hope to see you soon, Kakarot." He said out of some kind of mental habit, and quickly, before Goku could question him, he blew a hole straight through him with a Ki Blast. He almost immediately left to Otherworld.
Due to how sudden it was, everyone was rather on edge; what if he had just tricked Goku into essentially killing himself? What if HE was the real threat? However, this was assuaged almost immediately as he turned to the group. "We have one year, and we'll have to train viciously to stand even a remote chance. You, baldy. Krillin, was it?" Shawn had easily remembered Krillin's name, but was acting the way they would probably be expecting.
The Earthling responded almost immediately. "Y-Yeah?" He was pretty scared seeing his best friend get blasted like that, but knew that listening to this seemingly prophetic super-strong warrior was the best option. "Gather all of this planet's strongest warriors and find a place to train. I believe I saw an incredibly tall tower on my way here….Perhaps for Earthlings like you, it'd make good training." He told him, subtly bringing up Korrin's Tower, which would therefore lead them to the Lookout. Nodding, Krillin flew off.
After the last potential threat to him had flew off, Piccolo descended, much to the terror of Roshi and Bulma. However, he quickly recovered things. "Calm down. I'd certainly love to dispose of you both, but we have larger problems. I can kill you all and claim Earth later…." Rather terrifying words, certainly. He turned towards Raditz. "So, what are you and me going to do? Twiddle our thumbs while the Earthlings grow stronger?"
Shawn just tsked at Piccolo for this. "No. We'll be doing some training….With Goku's kid, too." Gohan looked surprised, and finally Bulma spoke up (as she had been a bit too terrified to speak up during most of this event). "Listen, you….You...Raditz! Having to kill Goku is one thing, but you wanna take his son?!"
Raditz sighed. "Bulma….Even if you wanted to stop me and Piccolo from taking him to train with us, you simply can't. Besides...I need to talk to the kid. So c'mon, Gohan. It'd be better for both of us if you came quietly."
To the surprise of everyone, he seemed to agree. Rather stoically (or as stoically as someone so young could be), he walked towards Raditz. "I...I've gotta be brave like dad. If….If me training with you means we can help dad, then I'll do it!" To possibly even more surprise, this was the first time Raditz smiled. "That's the spirit, kid. In that case, we're off!" Placing the youthful Hybrid Saiyan on his shoulder, both he and the Namekian flew off, leaving Bulma and Roshi speechless. At the very end of it all though, Launch in her Good form walked outside, seeming a bit bashful. "S-Sorry I didn't come out sooner….I was just a little nervous." The other two barely acknowledged her, too busy gazing up at where the two mighty warriors had flown off to.
Silently, in her head, Launch had one thought. "...That long-haired guy was actually pretty handsome."
Thus, this wraps up Chapter 2! Another slow one, but trust me, things'll start picking up real soon! As always, I'll see you all in the next (hopefully) exciting installment of 'The Event of being Reincarnated as Raditz'!