Chapter 4- Little Brother

Many years later...

A strange moon, deep in the galaxy was being rocked by an intense battle on its surface.

Bardock laid on the ground, bruised and bloodied. He stood up slowly, his vision horribly blurred by the pain in his head, his left eye hanging out of its socket from a punch he took. He looked around for his opponent searching the desolate, blue-sanded moon for any sign. His right arm was completely unusable which only compounded his extensive list of injuries. I'm all his years and all his battles, Bardock had never been this injured, this close to death. How could things have gone so wrong, after all these years of preparation he fell short and laughably so. He'd trained around the galaxy, he'd found more Saiyans from the exodus and readmitted them to the Saiyan army. He'd been careful to avoid Frieza, until he was chased down and trapped on this desolate moon. Every move he made since becoming King was dedicated to this moment, to battling his greatest enemy, and now to losing.

His foe walked closer and closer, at least a foot shorter than Bardock his white and purple face cast a devious smirk. Frieza's body was completely unharmed, not a single scratch existed on the galactic emperor. The tyrant, arrogant as always approached his enemy slowly like a tiger stalking its prey. Frieza was the ultimate predator in the universe and now Bardock was his next kill. "Hohoho, you foolish monkey. You thought you could hide from me? My power expands throughout the universe!" He threw another punishing blow to Bardock's ribs sending him flying across the landscape.

Raditz tried to run through his opponent to help his father, but it was no use. The pink blob Dodoria was merely toying with Raditz until Frieza gave the execution order. Frieza's directions were absolutely clear, all the Saiyans would fall by his hands and his hands alone. Tora was in a similar desperate circumstance against Zarbon. Over the years, Bardock had been able to locate and conscript more Saiyans from across the galaxy back into the army, but it was not enough. Half of their bodies littered the surface of the moon, it seemed like the end of the Saiyan race was going to happen despite Bardock's vision and preemptive action.

"Some primate king you are, can't even protect the rest of the chimps." Frieza scowled as he picked Bardock up using nothing but his tail, tightening it around the saiyan's neck. Bardock could force out very few words with his remaining energy, "Raditz, run!"

Tora heard the beckoning call and fulfilled his duty one more time, he charged up the largest attack he could slamming it into the ground. Zarbon stumbled backwards and this was the only hesitation they needed, the Saiyans made a break for the ship. As fast as they could possibly fly, Tora, Raditz, Fasha and a few others made it back to the ship. Before Dodoria and Zarbon could give chase, Frieza sent them a telepathic message, "Let them go."

Bardock was now doomed, his life completely in the hands of Frieza who was dedicated to wiping every Saiyan from the face of existence. The proud king of the Saiyans had one last vision before Frieza ended his life. A vision flashed in his mind, a vision of a glorious battle. Of Kakarot's impending victory, Bardock died with a smile on his face as Frieza choked the life out of him. A vision of his son killing this demon.

"Launch NOW!!" Raditz ordered the crew. The pilots fired up the large and powerful engines of Bardock's warship, setting into orbit of the lunar body.

"Why did they let us go?" Fasha asked curiously.

"We'll worry about that later, we need get out here!" Tora shouted at his wife. It was time to live to fight another day. Through intense training Bardock never developed enough power to become a Super Saiyan, he couldn't even damage Frieza, maybe this foe was far greater than they could have imagined.

"Where are we going King Raditz?" The pilot asked as their ship began to accelerate.

"We're getting Kakarot from Earth."

"Why'd you let those primates leave?" Dodoria asked the galactic emperor.

Frieza responded by punching Dodoria across the ship's main cabin. "Don't ever question me again, you fool!"

He paused, "Do you recognize the long haired Saiyan? He used to work for Vegeta until he betrayed their king. I think it's time we let our pet have his fun. Zarbon, did you intercept their location?"

"Yes. They're heading for a planet called Earth." The pale green alien responded while laughing at Dodoria's pain.

"Good. Dispatch Vegeta to that planet when he has finished his current mission."

Raditz sat aboard his warship wondering what these past years had done to his younger brother Kakarot. He was never a fan of his father's decision to leave Kakarot on such a planet and now he could do nothing but hope he was still alive. Hope he wasn't a weakling, someone who could help against Frieza. They had been gone far too long and father lost contact with Borgos many years ago, who knew if Kakarot knew anything about the saiyans. Everything was unclear, Raditz hated when things were unclear. He blamed his father for his own death, Bardock had been too busy drunk grieving Gine and acting ruthless across the galaxy to get them prepared for Frieza. He thought he'd been training hard, but it was not nearly enough. Bardock trained by fighting weaklings on planets without any real warriors, the last years father and son had slaughtered so many people they were creating waiting lines in Otherworld. His failure had now left Raditz and Kakarot parent-less but that wasn't a rarity amongst saiyans. They were a war tribe, however if they indeed wanted vengeance against Frieza for enslaving them, they'd have to grow. Hopefully Kakarot could be the key to that growth. There weren't many Saiyans left, after Frieza left planet Vegeta he began hunting down the Saiyans effectively killing a large number of them, those who hadn't been successful in hiding or gotten sloppy. Vegeta had also been on his own hunt, constantly searching for Raditz and Bardock he killed every Saiyan that didn't swear fealty to him immediately. Those that did, remained alive serving in Vegeta's small army under the control of Frieza, the galactic emperor.

Raditz was angry and he had plenty of outlets for that anger. He took his father's position upon the throne of the warship watching it progress through the endlessness of space. They'd been traveling for a month now, Earth was close and Raditz craved to get out of his ship and hit something. Cooped up on the warship with no place to train and get stronger was driving him insane. He needed to get stronger to face Frieza, not to mention that Vegeta was still looking for him across the cosmos. The young king's concentration was broken as Letty came to see him. "Sire, we're approaching Earth now. I've prepared for the ship to make landing procedures."

The king glanced over at her, "I understand."

Letty had grown to become a great friend to Raditz, she donned her own saiyan battle armor with purple highlights. She was a talented fighter, but that was far from her best quality. Letty was a certified genius, about a year younger than Kakarot she was already the lead engineer for the ship. She'd been born of chaos, the daughter of Fasha and Tora during their exodus from Frieza. Her hair was often tied back in a long ponytail, her armor accentuating every curve on her body, a voluptuous shaped woman with a caramel skin complexion. She was brilliant and a little sadistic like her father.

Raditz got up from his throne and headed back to his room. Flipping on the light to wake up Carra, she was another full blooded saiyan woman.

"Goddamn it! I was sleeping," she shouted. Carra was known for her spunky and outrageous personality, the kind of fire that usually came with saiyan women was amplified by her. She was definitely a wild child, a fun loving person who could kick your ass in a heartbeat.

"Woman, I'm the king. Get up, we're making our approach," Raditz replied barely giving her the time of day. He came in to grab his scooter, retrieving it from his nightstand.

"But Raditz, I want you back in beeeeddd." She sat up dropping the blanket from covering her enticing the king to strip off his armor, nearly successfully. It was no surprise that Raditz had chosen her, she was absolutely beautiful and a deadly warrior; the perfect match for a king. Carra reached out to him, placing her hand on his chest. "Come on, just a quick one. Kakarot can wait."

Raditz looked down at his sexy woman, her body was calling for him to slide back in between her thighs. "Yeah, fuck that kid. He can wait."

Earth

"Damnit!" Yamcha yelled as he slammed his fist hard on the tiny table in Master Roshi's small island home. The former bandit completely smashed the Martial Arts Instructor's table.

"Yamcha, you're buying me a new table!" Roshi shouted at his longtime friend while everyone laughed aloud.

"Yes! Did you really think you could beat the world champion in an arm wrestling challenge Yamcha?" Kakarot cheered as he grabbed his prize, the last slice of pizza. It appears that Kakarot had grown up well with his friends who had basically become the family he never had. He was the world champion in Martial Arts and the strongest fighter on the planet. The young Saiyan warrior had hair exactly like his father's and his tail was still intact, the only clue to his strange alien heritage that he knew of. Gohan, before he passed, figured that strange men with tails would never be coming back and so he lied to Kakarot by claiming he didn't know about the boy's family. Kakarot was always ready for a fight, he constantly wore his red Martial Arts Gi almost never wearing regular clothes. He was constantly in training mode, his undershirt, boots and wristbands weighing several thousand pounds each. The small home was full of laughter and love. Bulma, Krillin, Yamcha, Master Roshi and of course Kakarot were catching up after a long time apart. Everyone's laughter immediately ceased, "Do you guys sense that?" Krillin asked.

"Yeah," Kakarot's face suddenly grew very tense. "I feel several high power levels close by. There's a few of them over 1,000. What the hell is going on?"

The large Saiyan royal warship landed flatly in the green planet, shutting down its engines and coming to a rest on an isolated bluff. The Saiyans led by King Raditz stepped off, the team consisted of Carra, Letty, Fasha, Tora, Brock and about 4 more warriors loyal to the Crown.

"Why is there so much life here?" Tora asked in disgust. "Kakarot should have taken over this entire planet by now. I bet that old bastard didn't tell him about his heritage."

"I don't wanna hear it," Raditz cut him off bluntly. "It was your bright idea to leave him here. Everyone turn on your scouters, Kakarot should be the strongest warrior on the planet."

Everyone followed the boss's request, immediately scanning the globe for high power levels.

"There's so many low levels here. Maybe it's the pathetic gravity on this planet. Can't believe the prince was forced to grow up here among these weaklings," Carra blurted out. She was silenced by a stern look from the king, he still commanded a load of respect from everyone there.

"This can't be right," Fasha jumped in the conversation with her report. "I'm sensing two power levels, both around 350. There's nothing higher."

"Your scouter must be broken. Try it again," Raditz commanded.

"She's right," Letty pointed out. "I'm getting the same reading."

"Let's check out the one surrounded by similar power levels, maybe Kakarot is fighting now."

With that, the group of Saiyans flew off in the direction of a small, isolated island filled with relatively small power levels.

"Kakarot! Here we come!"

"It's not Piccolo. They're coming this way now! Let's go." Kakarot led his group of friends outside to confront the uncertain threat.

Stepping outside out the home, they prepared for the invasion.

Immediately, they saw the flying aliens bearing down on their location. The strangers landed on the beach outside of Master Roshi's small home.

"What the hell is going on? They all look like Kakarot," Krillin wondered aloud. The bald man was brave, but even he knew that this would be a bloodbath if they challenged these foes.

"Damn, you look just like him," the tallest of the invaders said. His hair dropped all the way to his back, he wasn't the most powerful of the group but he seemed in charge as the rest of the group deferred to him.

"Look like who, who are you people and what do you want?" Kakarot said bravely, instinctively stepping in front of Bulma.

"You really don't recognize your own brother, Kakarot?"

"What are you talking about, I don't have a brother."

"Explain how I know your name then, you look just like our father. Good to see you're fit in fighting shape," Raditz chuckled as he uncurled his tail.

"Who are you?" Kakarot couldn't help but notice the tail that this man had and the tails that all of the invaders possessed.

"I am Raditz, the king of the Saiyan race. And you, you're my little brother Kakarot. You were sent here to purge this planet of life. We're the most powerful race of warriors in the universe, you should know all of this. You were sent here as an infant. It is NOT acceptable that your power level is so low, I will not accept a Prince with such a pathetic amount of strength."

"Did he just say prince, Kakarot is a prince?" Bulma and everyone else's jaws dropped at this new revelation.

"I am not pathetic, and I don't know what you're talking about," Kakarot furiously denied.

"Kakarot. I need to tell you something, something your grandpa Gohan told me along time ago," Master Roshi began. "He found you, in a small spaceship when you were just a baby. Shortly after, some men came to get you but decided against it and left you here on this planet. The men all had tails like you, after that you were extremely violent and wanted to destroy everything in your sight. One day, there was a terrible accident and you fell from the mountain, hitting your head in a ditch. You should have died, but instead you healed and since that day you've been a normal, happy and kind child. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier."

"So that's it? Kakarot hit his head, yes you're a Saiyan warrior. You belong to a great line of fighters, our father rebelled against the king to save us from Frieza and now that he's dead I am the king. You need to come with us," Raditz ordered.

"I won't be going anywhere with you," Kakarot barked back. "I may be Kakarot that you speak of, but this is my home now. I'm staying here, you and your friends can leave!"

He stepped forward to protest the new stranger more, but Raditz was fast. He jumped and knocked his brother back with a strong right hand, sending him flying to the sea about 500 yards away. Turning to the scared group of humans around Kakarot, Raditz began questioning them too. "Who are you weaklings?"

Stupidly, they decided to avenge their injured friend by jumping at Raditz. Within seconds all of the other Saiyans acted on instinct and smacked the entire group, leveling them to the ground.

"Damn, these guys hit hard." Yamcha, captain obvious pointed out while grabbing his broken ribs.

"I think I have internal bleeding," Krillin coughed out.

Kakarot had returned from his earlier scrape, to Raditz's delight there was not a single scratch on the young prince.

"What do you want from us?"

Raditz didn't even look over his shoulder as he responded to the question, " I came for you brother. However, now I'm not even sure you were worth the trip. Spar with me, if you do well I will bring you with us. We have many enemies and I may need your help."

"And if I say no?"

Raditz was indignant at the idea that Kakarot would refuse, he was the prince of all Saiyans. This was his way to escape this planet of weaklings and explore the galaxy, once they defeated Frieza then the two of them could rule together side by side. "If you refuse, I will kill you. I have no need for a useless little brother. If you die, I will personally kill every living person in this planet and claim it as the new home of the Saiyan race. Right now, you disgust me Kakarot. You have one hour to decide, find me when once you've made the right decision." Raditz brushed past his weaker brother and signaled to his team to leave. He levitated himself in disgust and began to fly away.

Letty was the last Saiyan to leave, she turned to Kakarot before taking off. "Raditz has wanted you by his side your entire life. Now that your father is dead, you're the only thing keeping him alive. Come join us, it's where you belong."

"Letty! We're leaving!" Fasha roared. And with that the Saiyans were gone.

"Do you think he'll come with us?" Tora asked the king.

"If he doesn't, I will make good on my threat. This planet is dead if he doesn't accept that he's a Saiyan warrior."

Earth's warriors sat in pain and desperation, they'd all heard Raditz's promise and there wasn't a one among them who believed he wouldn't follow through with it.

"What the hell do we do now?" Krillin asked.

Master Roshi spoke up first, admitting what no one else wanted to say.

"Kakarot, you really have no choice. You have to fight him, if you don't he'll kill everyone. I'm sorry, but there's no other option."

"Are you crazy old man? If he fights, he'll die." Bulma shouted, highlighting everyone's anxiety about the upcoming brawl.

"He is right, I have to fight him. Maybe he's just strong, his technique could be poor. If I don't, then we have no chance." Kakarot sat up and whistled for his flying cloud companion, Nimbus. It was time to face his fate.

"Your brother is running out of time, he probably got scared and ran away," Carra laughed at her own words. But her laughter was cut off quickly, by Raditz choking her and lifting her off the ground.

"Do not EVER speak about my brother like that again. He's your prince and you will learn to respect him."

"Sire," Brock interrupted Raditz's rampage. "He's coming."

Sure enough, Kakarot was flying over the horizon on Nimbus with his friends in tow. The heroes of Earth positioned themselves 20 yards out from the Saiyans landing on a short bluff to give them a good vantage point of the fight. They discussed their plan of action in case things got too bad for their friend, they agreed to go down swinging and protecting the earth at all costs.

"Brother, it's good to see you. I'm glad you came to your senses." Raditz applauded as his brother landed just a few feet away from him.

"If you're my brother like you claim, then you know I love a good fight. Let's take the stakes out of this one and just spar," Kakarot said.

"Ha, no way. I want to see what you're made of little brother. Everything you're made of. I want to know I've gotten your best fight."

"So be it!"

The two brothers stood in their battle positions, sizing one another up. Kakarot knew that he was outclassed but his brother's stance was amateur at best, it certainly didn't represent that of a seasoned galactic warrior which Raditz claimed to be. Maybe, just maybe Raditz wouldn't be too talented of a fighter and he could use that to his advantage. He was quickly proven wrong.

Raditz charged his brother quickly, smacking him in the face rocketing him across the landscape. Kakarot rubbed his mouth wiping the blood of, "this guy hits hard."

"Get up Kakarot. You're gonna need to do better than that."

Kakarot jumped back to his feet and charged his brother once more, unleashing a flurry of punches and kicks that would have leveled any of the Z Fighters. His speed was good, but Raditz was much, much faster. He dodged every strike, "Come on Kakarot," his words were cut off by an uppercut from the younger Saiyan. Raditz smiled and punched his brother in the face, but to his surprise his hand connected with nothing. One of Kakarot's favorite techniques, leaving a image of himself while he strategically moved to a different place. He punched his elder brother hard in the back sending Raditz flying to the ground. He began charging his favorite and most powerful attack.

KAMEHAMEHA!!!

Quickly, he charged a blue beam of potent energy sending it soaring towards his brother. The king's scouter blared as he registered the power of the blast.

"1200, where'd all that power come from??" He barely got up in time to dodge the beam as it crashed into the Earth's surface creating a giant crater.

"Nice moves. Maybe you aren't completely hopeless."

Kakarot panted loudly, that attack took a lot out of him. The two Saiyans clashed again their hands moving at near the speed of light, fighting his brother was pushing Kakarot to his limits. He took a powerful gut shot as blood ejected from his mouth, then a hammerfist sent him crashing to the Earth's surface. He got back up and charged Raditz again, who nimbly moved out the way. Kakarot turned around quickly, catching a knee right to his stomach followed by two jabs shattering the younger brother's nose. Then a spinning back kick and a suplex throw knocked his brother through a mountain and into a riverbed. Raditz launched his own volley of ki blasts down at his brother, they savagely ravaged his body before Kakarot could even move.

"Aw man, things are looking bad for him. We've got to do something," Krillin whispered to his friends.

"No," a newcomer surprised them all.

"Piccolo??! Where'd you come from?"

"I sensed a battle and decided to see who these invaders were. Whoever that is, he's holding back. He's not killing Kakarot for a reason," the Namekian answered.

"He claims he's Kakarot's brother. He's here to take Kakarot with him," Roshi answered.

"That makes sense, either way we should let this play out. I know you see those other guys over there, well I can take maybe one of them. They're strong, you guys are completely outclassed."

Raditz looked down at the mess he created, his brother laying in a crater of his own design, the water from the river nearly evaporated from the heat of Raditz's attack's. Kakarot was bloody and badly battered, but he rose slowly to face his adversary.

"You're strong, I've never fought someone this powerful."

"I'm glad you're alive Kakarot, I wasn't sure you'd survive that. We're not through yet," Raditz roared forward plunging his fist into Kakarot's face immediately breaking his jaw. The younger Saiyan cruised violently into the nearest mountain, shattering it completely as the rocks crushed his body.

"NOOOOO!!" Krillin cried out.

"Double Sunday!" Raditz charged orbs of bright purple energy in either hand and launched the powerful attack right at his brother, there was nothing Kakarot could do to move before being blasted again and again by the energy.

"Has Raditz killed his brother? I don't see how someone so weak could survive that?" Fasha asked.

"Bardock would have hated for this to happen, but Kakarot really is weak compared to Raditz. I know he expected better from his son,"Tora said.

King Raditz lowered himself to the ground, it seemed like his brother was done for indeed. "Kakarot, I hate that I've come all this way for you to disappoint me." Raditz turned around to walk back to his ship, when suddenly his scouter beeped again. Whipping around, he saw flashes of a bright, white light being emitted from under the rocks.

AHHHHH

Kakarot unleashed a victorious cry as his aura powerfully vaporized the rocks from around him. He stood up, completely worn out from battle. His body was absolutely ruined, his left arm hung dislocated and his ribs were completely shattered. The amount of blood coming from his face and limbs was appalling, but what was even more appalling is that he was still walking towards his brother. Raditz just stood in place, watching his badly injured brother get closer. 'Was Kakarot about to ask for mercy? Is he really that pathetic?'

He limped closer until he was mere feet away from the elder Saiyan, cocked his fist back and punched right at his brother.

Raditz dodged, this feeble but noble attempt at an attack and kicked his brother hard in the chest sending him flying back in the direction of the mountain. This time the Saiyan followed, sending blow after blow into Kakarot's chest completely rocking him and then finishing him with a ki blast to his already broken ribs knocking him down once more.

Raditz stood over his younger brother who was barely able to breathe, coughing up an alarming amount of blood, Kakarot was near death at this point in the fight. But, his Saiyan pride refused to let him end yet.

Kakarot pushed himself back up, staring his brother directly in the face. The courage and heart that Kakarot showed wowed everyone, the rest of the Saiyans looked on in admiration wondering if he'd earn such respect from the elder son of Bardock. Kakarot's body was cashed, the spirit was willing but the body unable. Raditz finally spoke, "You are indeed a Saiyan warrior. You refuse to lay down and die Kakarot, for that I'm impressed. Your fighting technique is also quite good, even though you lack the power. There may be hope for you yet."

"What's he saying?" Krillin asked nervously while he watched his friend very near death.

"He's saying, Kakarot can live. It seems like he respects him."

"That's great! So he's not going to destroy the earth?"

Piccolo groaned loudly, "He hasn't said anything about that yet."

"Brother, I will leave this planet in peace. We'll get you healed up and fire back off into the galaxy!" Raditz smiled, placing his hand on his younger brother's shoulder.

"This," Kakarot forced out weakly. "This is my home. I'm not leaving."

"Kakarot, we are meant to rule the galaxy. Our father died so we can avenge him, I need you to do that. Haha, you aren't strong enough to fight me off so you're coming and that's the end of it. You don't have a choice!"

Raditz threw Kakarot over his shoulder and flew back to their warship.

"Where are you going with Kakarot?" Krillin shouted to no response from Raditz or any of the other Saiyans,

"What's that beeping sound?" Piccolo said.

BOOM!

A bright, white light flashed followed by an explosion which rocked the countryside. Dense shrapnel ejected in very direction, while everyone struggled to take cover from the deadly flying metal. Smoke and fire. A deafening yell of pain. More blood.

"Kakarot!!!" Raditz and Krillin shouted at the same time. The bald man made his way over to his friend as quickly as possible, leaning over his body with his brother. Kakarot's chest had been impaled by a 3 foot metal dagger, shrapnel from the explosion. The entire Saiyan warship had exploded, there were no more regeneration tanks. Kakarot was doomed.

"Stay with me buddy," Krillin said tearfully.

Raditz was furious, he'd just gotten his brother back and now he was going to lose him to an explosion.

"What the hell happened?" He shouted in the direction of his Saiyan comrades who were all gathering their footing again.

"Kakarot stay with me!"

Kakarot coughed weakly, "it's not your fault Raditz. I don't blame you."

"Kakarot, buddy. You're going to make it," Krillin chimed in.

"Not this time, pal. You know what to do," Kakarot struggled to get anymore words out. "Raditz, promise me you won't kill them. Please Raditz, leave my home alone."

Raditz couldn't believe that his brother was so different than him, on his last breath he was begging for the life of his friends and his home. He'd fought bravely and refused to give up, Kakarot was a Saiyan after all. Not just a Saiyan, a Saiyan Prince.

"I won't kill them brother," Raditz said as Kakarot took his last, painful breath.

Suddenly, a voice crackled over Raditz's scouter.

"Hello Raditz," the familiar and sinister voice said. Raditz's mind began to run a million miles a minute, even though he hadn't heard the voice in years it was instantly recognizable.

It can't be. How'd he find me? How'd he contact me?

"Vegeta."

"You didn't actually think Frieza would let you escape did you? Zarbon planted a bomb in your ship as soon as you landed on that moon. Frieza was right, you'd be too stupid and scared to check before taking off."

"You did this? You'll pay Vegeta!"

"Hahaha, now I get to have my revenge, seems you're stuck on thist backwater planet. No more games, I'm coming for you Raditz. Now, be a brave Saiyan and take your death with honor. I'll see you soon."