What's up guys? It took a while since I was never satisfied with the way this chapter was coming, but here's the next one.

This story will have a couple of new pairings but there are some that I will not change. I don't want to give anything away so just wait for it when the time comes.

Also I'm trying to make Goku a bit smarter on this story. Not to a point where he's a genius helping Bulma fix ships and stuff, but just to a point where he's not as naive when he grows up, this includes him being able to tell man and woman apart now.

And that's that, don't forget to drop a review if you liked the chapter or have any questions, they really help motivate me to do better!

Dragon Ball Kai

Chapter 8

Sacrifice

Growing up as part of the Saiyan Royal Family came with nothing but harsh expectations. King Vegeta, her father, was a man of great pride. As a King he upheld his position flawlessly and he expected his family to do so as well. From an early age they were groomed to be stronger than any others of their age, expected to purge planets left and right, and to live life as examples of proud Saiyan Warriors.

Of course, this meant that for most of her life she'd been doing nothing but training, missions, and the occasional formal tournament where she and her brother were expected to do well. Her older brother had no problems, he was a genius when it came to combat as well as incredibly strong, so much that she doubted she could ever reach him; and unlike her, he was the perfect proud Saiyan, it was no wonder why he was the pride of their mother and father.

Mara pushed away those thoughts for the moment. She was leaning against the wall of one of the corridors of the palace, her home.

Her father was upset again. While it wasn't a rare occurrence, this time it was more serious since he found out that she was befriended low class Saiyans. If there was one thing that her father always told them it was that a Saiyan had no need for things like friendship, they were warriors so what they needed were trusted comrades. So when he found out that she had friends and that they were weak who, according to her father were nothing more than stepping stones, he was furious.

"A bother as usual."

She flinched and stood up straight when hearing her older brother's voice. With the way he carried himself and his stern face, it was hard not to be intimidated.

"When are you going to start acting like a real Saiyan? Father is growing more upset by the day."

"How am I supposed to know what's going to make him angry? How does he want me to act?"

Her brother, Prince Vegeta, chuckled in amusement, "Asking that is proof enough that you have no business here. You're lucky you were born with a high power level, otherwise you'd be rotting in some weak planet."

Mara bit her quivering lip as her brother left. Knowing all too well that he was right, she had to throw herself into training again. Hopefully if she got stronger then her father wouldn't be so angry with her.

Mara grinned confidently as she stared down Goku.

She hoped this fight would be good. Bardock's son was strong, but she knew that he didn't have a chance to beat her.

A Saiyan needs to sacrifice many things in order to be strong. Those were her father's words and she knew they were true. And while she was still easily pushed around by older Saiyans, she had become the person her father wanted around those closer to her age. Proud and strong.

With a brief smirk, she was off and shot towards him at a high speed that made his eyes widen in surprise, but he managed to compose himself and block the kick aimed at his head.

Goku grunted when he felt the force behind the kick, powerful enough to cause a small shockwave in the area, before pushing her away and throwing a flurry of punches. Mara was very used to battle so it was no problem for her to block and dodge most of the punches before lashing out with a kick that caught Goku on the side and sent him back several feet.

The boy stopped himself in the air and turned to face the girl with a worried frown on his face. He wanted to get to Yamcha quickly but this girl was a lot stronger than he thought. Even so he held out hope that his friend would be okay while he tried to end his fight.

"I don't have a lot of time to waste. I will protect my friends at all costs," he declared before taking off his wristbands and shoes.

Mara raised an eyebrow when seeing how fast the things fell, and let out a gasp when her scouter picked up a sudden spike on his power level.

"N-no way..."

Without warning, Goku shot towards her and delivered a knee to her stomach. The Saiyan princess cried out in pain from the strike before being sent hurling through the air, but the boy was not done as he followed after her with the intention to get another hit in. However, before he could get close enough, she stopped herself in the air and fired a ki blast that got him on the shoulder.

Mara gritted her teeth as she watched the boy stop and bring a hand to the large gash her attack had caused.

'Impossible! Impossible! There's no way someone like him can be that strong!'

She winced and brought a hand to her stomach, making her even angrier at what happened.

'He's weak. Weak. Relying on other people, having friends, those are signs of weakness! A true Saiyan throws away these things to get stronger! There's no way I threw away so much for nothing!'

White aura flared around her and fluttered wildly as she glared at Kakarot. It wasn't often that she was angry but when seeing the power level of this soft Saiyan, she felt furious. Pride and title be damned, there was nothing more insulting than seeing someone get so strong while still holding on to the things she threw away. It wasn't fair!

Goku brought his hands up in a defensive position with his eyes trained on his angry opponent. While her temper would give him an edge, her power easily evened things out. He couldn't even tell who was stronger between the two of them.

He pushed away those thoughts when the girl sent a glare his way and took on a fighting stance.

With a battle cry the two clashed.


Yamcha breathed heavily while standing in a fighting stance before the smirking armored man. He still had a few tricks up his sleeve but that last attack had really left him in a bad state. Thankfully nothing had been broken but he still felt like total crap.

'I have to use the technique I've been training on,' he decided with a somber expression.

Raditz watched the Earthling with an amused smirk, curious as to what he would be doing next. There was no need for him to stop whatever he was about to do, none of his attacks could hurt him.

"Wolf Fang Fist!"

Yamcha charged in at the Saiyan and began his attack, throwing all kind of punches and kicks but they were all blocked or dodged.

"Is this really all you can do?" Raditz asked while dodging the attacks.

"No," Yamcha answered with a grin as two orbs of ki formed on his palms and he released large twin beams of ki that met their mark.

The Saiyan cried out in pain as he was pushed several feet away before he crashed on the hot sand and kicked up a massive cloud of debris.

"You bastard!" Raditz roared in rage as he emerged from the cloud of sand while holding his right shoulder with a blood stained hand. The Earthling had aimed for his two shoulders, and his right one had been the worse off, not that his left hadn't taken damage.

Yamcha felt relieved that with his attack the armored stranger would have a harder time in moving his arms, but didn't relax his stance in the slightest. Now that he had some breathing room he wasn't about to give the opponent another edge. All things considered, it looked like he could win this fight.

He wasn't blind, he could see the tail wrapped around the armored man's waist. And even though millions of questions raced through his mind he pushed them away and focused on a single thing, catching that tail. It happened with Goku, if his tail was held then he would lose all of his strength.

So with a renewed sense of vigor, Yamcha waited for his opponent to make a move.


Clashing and moving faster than the eye could blink, Goku and Mara continued with their fight.

Neither of them seemed to have the upper hand. Even what he thought would be an advantage, her being furious, ended up not helping at all. Despite being angry, she was precise with her attacks and didn't slack on her defense at all.

The boy frowned as he blocked punch after punch before retaliating with his own but, as expected, the girl blocked them all and countered with her own.

It was no use. If they didn't do something then the fight would be prolonged much more than he wanted it too.

With that in mind Goku dropped his defense, letting a single punch catch him on the side, before using an Explosive Wave to push the girl away. This gave him a bit of breathing room as well as time to calmly think of a way to end the fight. As things were going, it didn't look like he would be able to help Yamcha or Tien.

Goku closed his eyes and emptied his mind just like Kami taught him. This was the only thing he could think of that would help him end the fight.

Mara furrowed her brow when seeing Bardock's son close his eyes, but she decided that she would take advantage of it and shot towards him. Once she got close enough, she punched at him but to her shock he moved aside and grabbed her outstretched arm before flinging her to the ground below.

The Saiyan princess tried to fight against the fall but she was going so fast that she couldn't do anything expect grit her teeth.

She crashed on the ground but was back up and flying almost instantly. Eyes blazing in anger, she tried to his the boy but he would dodge each strike. It was as though he were reading every one of her movements but that wasn't possible, his eyes were closed!

As another kick came his way, Goku caught it this time and began to spin the girl rapidly before hurling her through the air.

"Kamehameha!" Goku called out his attack as the blue beam of ki shot out of his hands and headed for the girl which resulted in a loud explosion.

He knew it wasn't enough to hurt her too badly but it would certainly give him the time he needed to go to the others.

With that done he was about to go but stopped when he felt something change in the other fights. Yamcha's opponent was much weaker than before while the one fighting Tien was still around the same.

"I should go to Tien first then."

Goku was about to leave when an explosion of ki suddenly rocked the area. Eyes widening in shock, he turned around to see Mara floating in the air with white aura flaring around her.

"We're not done fighting!"

The boy frowned, "I don't know why you're so angry but there's no point in us fighting anymore. Even if you try to show it off, your ki is dropping."

Mara clenched her fists, "Not yet. I won't lose to you!"

Goku turned his back on her, making the girl growl.

"Fighting you was fun," he said with a smile, "We should do it again. Just don't be so angry next time."

"What?"

His words were so out of the blue that her aura died down as well as her anger. While she could have followed after him to continue the fight, she instead watched him leave. Somehow fighting him now wouldn't feel right.

"Because of me you couldn't help your friends. They could have been hurt and yet, why did you try to be nice?"

Mara hung her head in defeat, suddenly overcome by a pang of sadness.

She had given up so much. Because of her wish to be stronger she was all alone and didn't feel close to anyone, even her family.

However, she couldn't blame anyone but herself. She was the one who wanted to make her family proud so much that she sacrificed her happiness for the sake of it. Thankfully it paid off in her becoming much stronger, she didn't know what would have happened if she hadn't. Maybe she would be exiled to some planet like her other brother.

But despite all of her sacrifices she still lost to Goku, someone with friends and a pure heart. He had become strong enough to fight on par with her without giving up any of the things that she had. Instead of hindering him like her father had said, his will to protect his friends had made him stronger.

A bitter smile formed on her face.

Defeat was hard to swallow, much more so when it came from someone like Goku that challenged everything she believed in. But even so, she felt like she wanted to fight him again. This time she would do things her way and see if she could become strong without her family's methods.

"Just you wait Goku, next time I'll beat you," she muttered to herself before leaving.


Tien knew he was in trouble as he continued to trade blows with a furious Nappa.

His opponent was impossible to predict anymore, his rage had taken over and he had thrown aside any sort of fighting style. Tien's finesse was starting to give out under Nappa's relentless attacks.

'Dammit!' Tien cursed as one of his punches was blocked and the Saiyan retaliated with a harsh kick to his torso.

"GAH!"

Nappa laughed as he chased after the Earthling that was shot through the air. He quickly reached him and grabbed him by the leg and pulled him up so that he could see the three-eyed bastard's face.

"This is your punishment for pissing off a Saiyan," he chuckled as he brought his left arm back and punched Tien on the stomach, making him cry out in pain and spit out blood, powerless as the Saiyan continued to punch him without stop.

"Now you die," Nappa charged an attack on his right hand and pointed it as the bloody Earthling but was blindsided as a foot connected with his jaw, sending him crashing on the ground with such force that he created a crater on the ground.

Tien dropped from the sky but was caught in a pair of small arms that scooped him up under the shoulders and safely placed him on the ground.

He opened his eyes to see Goku standing over him and looking off to the distance with a glare.

"Thanks...sorry you have to help me again."

Goku looked at his friend with a smile, "We're friends, we help each other out."

"You bastard!"

Goku and Tien turned to the direction the voice came from and saw Nappa rushing towards the boy with a look of pure fury.

"I'll kill you!"

The older Saiyan punched at the boy but he easily ducked under the blow. Not done, he kicked at him but, again, he dodged this time by jumping over the strike. Growing even more frustrated, Nappa let out a scream as he let loose a barrage of punches but none made their mark, Goku dodged each one, not even needing to block.

"You're not very good are you?" Goku grinned.

"I'll make you pay! You hear me!"

Aura exploded around Nappa as he prepared to attack but before he could, Goku flickered out of sight and delivered an elbow to his stomach.

"DAMN IT!" Nappa cursed loudly as he staggered backwards.

Goku disappeared from sight again and this time delivered a kick to Nappa's face, sending him crashing against a tree.

"He won't be bothering us for a while," Goku told Tien, having sensed that the older Saiyan's ki had gone to a miniscule level, meaning that he was unconscious.

"You've gotten a lot stronger," Tien pointed out with a smile.

"Really?"

"Yeah, you took care of that guy no problem."

"Oh, it wasn't like that," Goku waved him off before giving him a Senzu Bean. "The guy was weakened and angry after fighting you, it made it easy to make him do what I wanted."

Tien stood up with a look of awe on his face. It was like he was looking at another person. Whatever training Goku was getting had made him a lot smarter than before. Maybe the boy didn't realize it himself but there was no mistaking it.

"Ah!" Goku suddenly yelled, startling Tien.

"What's wrong?"

"I almost forgot that Yamcha might need help too!"

"Then let's go," Tien decided, earning from Goku as the two took to the skies. While he wanted to ask the boy about the strange people that had suddenly appeared, making sure Yamcha was okay came first.


Yamcha charged in at Raditz, shooting a ki blast as he did but the Saiyan simple slapped it away before rushing towards him. The two clashed, one with a kick and another with a punch, but the two were mostly unaffected and began to trade blows.

Raditz was faster, much more faster and strong, so when most of his punches ended up breaking through Yamcha's defenses he had to keep an insane amount of concentration to keep on trying to block and dodge his attacks. This wasn't all for nothing, if he could get one opening then it would all be over. And it seemed like something was watching over him since the Saiyan thrust both hands forward in an attempt to fire a ki attack.

Seeing his opportunity, Yamcha dove forward as the attack was forming and just barely managed to grasp the tail with all his strength.

"Gah!"

The ki in Raditz' hands disappeared the instant the Earthling grabbed his tail.

"Ha. Ha. Gotcha now."

"Damn you! How in the hell did you know about our weakness?!" Raditz asked in shock as he kneeled over in pain.

Yamcha grinned in triumph, "Doesn't matter, this fight is over."

"Fool," Raditz smirked as he stood up straight, unaffected by the tail weakness, and elbowed Yamcha on the face, sending him crashing on the dunes. "Saiyans get rid of this weakness in their childhood! There's no way a warrior like me could have such a glaring weakness!"

The Saiyan shot towards Yamcha and pinned him to the sand with by stomping on his chest. "Now you'll pay for actually hurting me."

Screams of pain soon filled the area as Raditz stomped on Yamcha's chest and fired small ki beams at his arms. This went on for a few moments until the Saiyan was satisfied.

"We agreed that there would be no killing but you were just begging for it earlier," Raditz chuckled as he began to charge an attack but was distracted when his scouter started to beep wildly. "Huh?"

Looking in the direction in which the scouter detected something, he found two power levels moving towards him, fast.

"You're in luck, I have to beat whoever is coming too."

Raditz stepped away from Yamcha and waited for the two power levels with a smirk on his face.

It didn't take long for the two to get there, at least it seemed that way to Yamcha since he was drifting in and out of consciousness. When he noticed the two figured floating high in the air a wave of relief shot through him.

"So it was you Kakarot?" Raditz frowned.

Goku looked to the bloody form of Yamcha before glaring at the Saiyan.

"What this? Are you angry at me hurting your weak friend?" Raditz laughed.

"Tien, go give Yamcha a Senzu Bean," Goku instructed as he gave Tien the bag he had tied around his belt.

"Oh no you don't," Raditz said as he moved towards Tien. He remembered the strange food Kakarot had given the little bald human and he wasn't about to let them heal the weakling he had been fighting.

Tien's eyes widened in alarm when he saw the Saiyan moving towards him at a terrifying speed but, moving faster than he could see, Goku intercepted him and delivered a powerful punch to his face that sent him crushing on the sand.

"I won't let you hurt any more of my friends!" Goku declared, eyes burning in anger.

Raditz wiped away the blood flowing freely out of his nose and checked his scouter to see what he was dealing with. He really wished he hadn't checked his scouter since what he saw made his blood run cold, "I-Impossible! S-sixteen thousand?!"

Goku had no idea what the Saiyan was talking about and was about to attack but stopped when he sensed something moving their way. He turned his head in the direction of the ki signature and in just seconds Bardock appeared before them with a look of anger on his face.

"Father?"

"I told you that there would be no harming the Earthlings," Bardock growled at his oldest son, "We had an agreement, how dare you spit on it?"

Raditz visually shrunk at the commanding voice of his father.

"It won't happen again Kakarot," the older Saiyan said in a gruff voice mostly directed at Raditz, "I'll make sure of it."

After saying that the two left, leaving Goku alone with Tien and a fully healed Yamcha.

"That guy was crazy strong but that other guy looked much stronger," Yamcha said in amazement.

Tien nodded in agreement and then turned to Goku, "Could you tell us what's going on? Who are those people and why do they know you?"

Seeing as his friends were safe now, Goku decided to tell them about everything.


"Who the hell do you think you are to go against a direct order from me?" Bardock asked Raditz as the two flew back to where they had made camp. "I gave my word that no harm would come to the Earthlings but you ended up doing it anyway."

Raditz fought the urge to scoff, "They're just weaklings. I don't see why we can't kill them."

"Because that would make us Kakarot's enemies. And what have I taught you about loyalties?"

"You said that family came first, even before Planet Vegeta."

"Exactly so get your head out of your ass and don't do stupid shit."


"So you only have a couple of months until you that really intimidating guy?" Yamcha asked once Goku finished his explanation.

"Yeah," he answered with a grin, "Don't worry, I'm training really hard to get stronger."

"I will too," Tien decided, "This time I won't let the fate of the Earth rest solely on your shoulders. I'm going to get stronger so that I can help you when the time comes."

Yamcha smiled at that, "Don't count me out just yet. I'm going to train like crazy so that we can make sure nothing happens to this world."

Goku laughed eagerly, "Let's give it our all!"


Power Levels:

Goku – 16,000

Tien – 11,500

Yamcha – 11,200

Raditz – 13,000

Weakened – 11,500

Nappa – 14,000

Weakened – 13,500

Mara – 16,000

Weakened - 14,500

Bardock (Holding Back) – 20,000