Dragonball: Insurgent

The Sheltering Sky

"I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection."

-Sigmund Freud

Wet. Words. Strange. Can't remember meaning. Strange, where am I? Something. I am something. A being, I think. I exist. I am dead in the womb. Something that should have stayed dead. A strange, wet world. Shadows.

"You can take a way my body and my freedom. Bu, there is something a Saiyan never abandons! His pride!"

Memory. I have memory. So much pain. Pain repeated again and again.

"Where is she?!"

Who? A name, a face. Woman. Warrior. Pride. Saiyan. Child. A child. My child? Father. War. Death. Revenge. Exterminate. Exterminate all Saiyans.

Mechanical hands pick me up, and I take my first breath. I exist. Revenge.

The energy coming towards Piccolo feels like nothing he had ever encountered before. It was beyond the earthlings, Kami, or even Goku. Beyond the overwhelm power though is an element of malice, an evil that seems to infect the very air that he breathes. The trees that grow up sparingly around the wasteland seem to quiver, as though the planet was shaking. How such a being could just appear on this planet is a mystery to the demon. Within a matter of moments Piccolo had seen himself fall from grace, from the most powerful fighter in the entire world to a cornered animal. Running through very possible scenario, Piccolo realizes that there's no way that he can successfully fight off such a foe.

I can only do one thing, Piccolo thinks to himself, biting his lip, Though it's a disgusting tactic.

Suppressing his energy as much as possible, Piccolo lands and hides in the branches of a tree. It is a tight fit for the large demon, but it provides him with enough cover to successfully hide himself from prying eyes. The fighter does not even breathe for fear that this dark storm of energy might hear him draw breath and strike him down. His warrior's pride causes him to loathe himself, but the keen tactile mind that he had inherited from King Piccolo knows that's sometimes cowardly tactics are more advantageous. Honor comes second to survival, Piccolo thinks to himself to justify his current state.

His fears are justified when the dark figure finally does grace the wasteland with his presence. The first thing to catch Piccolo's eye is the armor the stranger is wearing, no doubt made of some substance that gives him an advantage in battle. The second thing he notices is the man's hair. Running down his back to the mid-back, the sheer amount of hair gives the new arrival a barbaric look. All of this would have been strange on its own, but not impossible. Piccolo knows that on this planet may have strange appearances, himself being proof of this fact. However, the monkey like tail wrapped around the stranger's waist nearly causes Piccolo to yell out in surprise.

A tail?! Is he related to Goku? Perhaps an ally sent to do his dirty work for him, Piccolo thinks, No, Goku would never do that. The fool is too honorable to send another in his place. I must be careful regardless.

"I could have sworn that I sensed a high power level somewhere in this area," The stranger mutters to himself, "Could it have been Kakarot?"

As the stranger begins to fidget with various button on his green eye piece, Piccolo himself begins to gather energy. Being the only one fit to rule this planet, the son of the Demon King would not tolerate rivals. It is a complicated maneuver, gathering his energy while simultaneously keeping himself hidden. Whoever this man is, he does not turn towards his direction even as winds around them to stir in response to Piccolo's awesome power.

The fool just keep sputtering about someone called Kakarot, Piccolo gleefully thinks to himself, From behind, this attack will finish him no matter how powerful he is!

Letting out a yell, Piccolo unleashes the energy he had been gathering in one attack. Yellow arcs of lighting come from his hands and race towards the tailed stranger. The tree that he had been hiding in was completely blown away. Shards of wood fly all across the wasteland; even the ground shakes under the full might of the heir to King Piccolo's dynast of evil. Unable to help himself, Piccolo begins to laugh reveling in assured death of a rival.

The stranger does not notice the energy before it is too late. He is obliterated by all-consuming hell-fire, no doubt having his ashes blown to the four corners of the earth by the sheer magnitude of Piccolo's attack. When the smoke finally clears, the stranger is no longer standing. Laughing manically to the heavens, Piccolo raises his hands up to the sky.

"Did you feel that Kami, you old fool? Even a being such as him could not stand up to the full power of the might Piccolo!" He yells in triumph, "Goku, you're next!"

"Did you really think that was going to work on someone like me?" A voice says from behind him.

Piccolo only has enough to time to dart a few feet to avoid the attack. Unbelievably, the stranger had withstood his attack. Not only that, he had been able to move behind Piccolo faster than the green skinned warrior could track. Looking his enemy over, all Piccolo had managed to do was damage the armor the stranger had been wearing. Singe marks mark the exposed portions of flesh, though nothing more than flesh wound sin actuality. If anything Piccolo was by far worse for wear. Charging an attack of that magnitude had taken more out of the demon than he had anticipated.

"Did you really think that would work on a Saiyan warrior? Tell me green man, was your one attack worth making me angry?" The warrior calling himself a Saiyan asks through gritted teeth. A ring of energy begins to form in his hands, crackling with purple lightning, "Allow me to show you the full, terrifying power of the Saiyan race."

An energy ball flies towards Piccolo, filling his vision with its purple energy. At last possible moment however he is able to dodge the energy attack. Unfortunately for him though, Piccolo is unable to avoid a brutal hammer drop from the powerful warrior. Piccolo is knocked to the ground before he even has a chance to counter attack. The Saiyan, if that's what the stranger is calling himself, has an unbelievable level of physical strength. That fist had felt like a mountain crashing into him. It hurts Piccolo to even stand. Not since he faced down Goku's Super Kamehameha has his body been so shaken by an attack. Gritting his teeth, Piccolo pushes onwards despite of it. He dashes into the air and lunges for the Saiyan's face. In a blur of motion, his enemy side steps. Anticipating this, Piccolo extends arm to claw at the Saiyan's face.

"That hurt," The Saiyans says. Piccolo's attack had managed to draw blood as well as leave some deep scratches that would take time to heal. The Saiyan begins charging his energy, "Tell me something, Namek, is your kind capable of feeling fear. You should be very afraid of the name Raditz!"

The word "Namek" throws Piccolo off, causing him to drop his guard. It rings in his head as Raditz moves in to attack, as though the word was a shadow of a memory. He does not have time to worry about this though as Raditz begins launching a devastating series of blows against him. The Saiyan has the advantage in strength, simply smashing through Piccolo's guard when he cannot out maneuver him. Piccolo tries to disengage, flying in a zig-zag pattern in and firing off several ki blasts in an attempt to cover his retreat. Instead of attempting to dodge the attacks, the Saiyan simply fires an energy beam at Piccolo, consuming him in a similar fashion to the demon's own sneak attack. Piccolo can only scream out as his flesh boils under the heat of the Saiyan's attack. He drops to the ground, unable to move.

"Hmph! Pitiful excuse for a warrior," Raditz gloats over the still smoking body of the Namek, "How disappointing, I would have thought that a member of such an esteemed race would have offered me more of a challenge. Still, just to be safe."

Grinning, Raditz rips off the arms of the Namek, throwing them aside. Seeing the alien's purple blood drench the ground makes Raditz feel alive. When he had studied earth, he had worried that the planet would have offered Kakarot nothing resembling a challenge. Perhaps Kakarot had even encountered this Namek, no doubt led on by his warrior's spirt and Saiyan pride.

His scouter indicates that the next highest power level is to the south of where Raditz is. Without out giving the Namek another look, Raditz flies towards what he has to assume is his brother.

Chi-Chi had almost forgotten how much fun it was to fly on her husband's Nimbus. The wind blowing through her hair, the occasionally splash of seawater from her husband's daring doves, and the sounds of Gohan screaming in delight throughout the whole thing makes Chi-Chi want to have this ride last forever. Occasionally Goku will try to shock them, performing loop-de-loops and corkscrews to both scare and delight Gohan. Soon though, the Son family is able to glimpse the secluded little hamlet mown as kame House. Chi-Chi can barely hear Goku recount some of the time he had spent there and training with Master Roshi to Gohan propped up on his shoulder. How his Dragon Ball cap does not fly off at such high speeds is nothing short of a mystery.

"Goku, just be careful landing!" Chi-Chi yells out to her husband, "Take it easy this time with Gohan…"

Her husband promptly ignores her, leaping from the Nimbus with their son still on his shoulders. All Chi-Chi can do is watch the two of them flip through the air and land nimbly on the soft sands of the Turtle Hermit's island. Her heart nearly beats its way out of her chest, but she knows that her boys were never in any danger. Though Goku will never hear the end of this if she has anything to say about it.

"Ok Nimbus, take me down," Chi-Chi instructs the cloud, looping around the Kame House, "Me and my husband need to have a talk about child care."

"Yep, he's my son!" Goku happily tells his friends as Chi-Chi stealthy lands behind him, "We named him after my Grandpa. Say hello Gohan."

The child can only stutter, pointing frantically to his mother glaring at his father. Goku's friend all begin to freak out, yelling and pointing towards Chi-Chi. Slowly, Goku turns around, jumping backwards and cowering behind Master Roshi.

"Chi-Chi! Hi! Look I didn't mean to…see Gohan's fine!" Goku stutters, bracing himself as Chi-Chi begins to march towards him, "Honey? Sweetheart?"

"Do you have any idea how much danger you put Gohan in with that little stunt?! One slip and he could have suffered brain damage' Chi-Chi yells, stabbing Goku's chest with her finder, "I swear Goku, sometimes I think you're so strong because there's no blood going to that empty head of yours!"

"Mom I'm fine, "Gohan meekly protests.

"You're lucky Son Goku," Chi-Chi says to her husband, backing away and fixing Gohan's clothes. Seeing the mixture of embarrassment and regret in her husband's eyes softens her expression. She promptly smiles, "Hi everybody. Sorry about that!"

Most of the Dragon Ball Gang is in attendance for their little get together. Master Roshi is busy trying to catch a quick feel of Bulma, receiving a smack on the head for his efforts. Yamcha and Krillin are having a lively debate about the value of the Wolf Fang Fist technique. Chi-Chi finds herself agreeing with Krillin point that it's too flashy to actually work, despite a good deal of protest from Yamcha's constant companion Paur. Bulma is giving her own lecture to Goku about him never visiting her or Yamcha anymore. Launch, the strange woman with a tendency to change personalities anytime she sneezes, is serving everyone drinks in her docile blue haired form. Most of all though she keeps an eye on Gohan, who is happily play on top of turtle's back in the surf.

"So, you and Goku finally did it huh," Krillin says, the bald monk walking over and taking a seat next to Chi-Chi in the sand, "To be honest I wouldn't have thought the big guy was capable of it. You know Goku, he never seemed to grow-up."

Chi-Chi nods and smiles. They watch as Goku playfully throws Gohan into the air and leap sot catch him. Her heart melts watching her two boys just playing together, "Yep, that's my husband for you. Sometimes I think Gohan's the mature one."

"Oh I don't think there's any question about that," Krillin laughs, "Can't believe it's been five years since we beat Piccolo Jr. Life used to be so much harder back then. It was just one battle after another. Still, you can't help but look fondly on the old days."

"I'm almost four hundred years old and even I think you're talking like an old coot," Master Roshi interjects while downing a mug of dark beer, "Come on you two, it's a party!"

He promptly attempts to feel Launch's breast, though he is once again smacked aside by an angry Bulma, "It's not that kind of party you dirty old man!"

Suddenly, all of the fighters look serious. Together they look towards the north, trembling as though they were seeing some kind of terrible monster. Despite not being able to sense ki on the same level as the others, it's clear to Chi-Chi that something is bad is on the way. Goku clenches his fists, clearly worried about whatever he is sensing. Fear starts to creep into Chi-Chi's heart, No one's stronger than my husband. What on earth could this be?

"Chi-Chi," Goku says, no hint of his usual playful self, "Take Gohan and go inside."

"Goku what is it?" Chi-Chi asks, unable to hide the trembling in her voice, "Is whoever is coming this way really that powerful?"

"I don't know," Master Roshi interjects, "But I smell death in the air."

Her instincts kick in, she grabs Gohan and runs into the Kame House. She ignores her son's protests. Bulma and Launch follow behind hermit the other two women no doubt realizing just how dangerous the current situation is. Gohan lets loose an endless stream of questions, crying out for his father as Chi-Chi holds him tightly on her lap. She tries to silence the frightened child.

"Oh my, do you think that they'll be ok? Everyone looks so serious," Launch says, looking back with a worried expression.

"Relax Launch," Bulma tells the girl, "Goku and Yamcha can handle anything. I'm sure the boys are just being dramatic."

"I don't know about that Bulma," Chi-Chi says, looking out the window. In the distance she can see the faint outline of an aura flying towards them, "Goku."

In all the battles he's fought, Goku has never felt a power quite like this one. Every hair on his head stands on end as the figure gets closer and closer. Master Roshi is right, the stranger reeks of death. Goku can tell just by his ki that they just might be dealing with someone worse that General Tao or King Piccolo. That's without factoring in the sheer magnitude of power, it reminds Goku of how it felt when he first began his training under his grandfather in a way. Everyone on the island is dwarfed by it.

He does not have long to consider this though, as the stranger finally does arrive. Dressed in brown armor, the stranger has a cruel yet oddly familiar face. He has a cruel expression, looking over each of his friends as though they were insects. When he notices Goku though he remains transfixed on him.

"Greetings, my name is Raditz," The stranger says before pointing at Goku, "And I'm your big brother, Kakarot."

"Who's Kakarot?" Goku asks, stepping forward, "My name is Goku. I also don't have a brother."

Raditz looks confused, even hurt, at this statement, "Come now Kakarot, surely you recognize your own flesh and blood."

"I'm sorry but it doesn't ring a bell," Goku tells him, "I'm sorry but I think you're talking to the wrong person."

"Kakarot enough clowning around! I don't know what kind of humor you've picked up on this planet but what I do know is that you've failed in your mission!" Raditz yells, pointing in turn to each of the humans, "Why haven't you wiped them out? What have you been doing all this time?"

"What are you talking about?" Goku asks, "Why would I ever do that? I'm human."

"No Kakarot you're not. You were sent here as a child with the mission to wipe out all life on this planet. You're a member of the Saiyan race, a proud warrior people with no equal in the entire universe. We roam the stars, wiping out the natives of worlds and selling them to the highest bidder. The entire cosmos shakes when they hear our names. Surely you must have felt it at your core, surely you couldn't have just thrown away your pride so easily?"

Raditz pauses, "Surely you can't have forgotten me?"

"I don't remember any of that," Goku says again, "I'm sorry, but I'm not one of these Saiyans. I was born here."

"Goku, he's telling the truth," Master Roshi interjects. Everyone looks at the hermit with surprise, "When your grandfather found you, it was in a strange space pod. He tried to raise you, but you were totally wild. That was until…"

"Until I hit my head," Goku says, the memory coming back to him, "So I am one of these Saiyans."

Goku looks at Raditz with new eyes, seeing the tail wrapped around his waist. The closer he looks, the more Raditz's face reminds him of his own. They have the same nose, the same colored hair, even their eyes look the same. Though it hurts him, and as much as he would like to deny it, he can even see bits of this stranger in his son. The tail is all the proof Raditz really needs, even Goku cannot deny some of what e's saying.

"Ok I think I've heard enough!" Yamcha says, stepping forward, "You may talk a big game, but you're wrong if you think Goku would do something like that. Get out of here, unless you want a taste of my Wolf Fang Fist!"

"Yamcha don't!" Goku yells at his friend, but it is already too late.

Yamcha launches his signature attack, becoming an orange whirlwind of energy. He strikes Raditz at from every possible angle, with each one of his blows being blocked by the stranger. To add insult to injury, Raditz allows Yamcha to strike him several times, simply weathering the blows with a sadistic grin on his face. As Yamcha moves to finish the technique, the stranger simply thrusts out with his hand. Yamcha is sent sprawling back, crashing into the side of Kame House.

"How disappointing," Raditz says to himself before turning back to Goku, "Kakarot, see sense and join me. It is your destiny as a Saiyan warrior."

"Yamcha! Ok, you're going to pay for that!" Krillin yells, flying towards Raditz with Master Roshi in tow.

Instead of fighting them, Raditz simply vanishes. Goku recognizes the technique, realizing what's going to happen. Pushing off of the sand, he intercepts it, receiving Raditz's fist for his efforts. By the time his best friend and mentor notice the afterimage, Goku is already crashing to the ground. Years of experience as a martial artist tell him exactly what has happened to his face. His nose is broken, and Goku can feel the blood dripping down his face as he lays in the sand. In the background he can hear his brother laughing at him.

"Kakarot you make me sick," Raditz curses, spitting on Goku's head, "You've let yourself become as soft as these earthlings. At least the green man put up something of a fight before I killed him."

Piccolo! Goku thinks to himself, despair growing in his heart, This guy killed Piccolo and still had the strength to beat me and Yamcha, he's a monster. I just hope Chi-Chi and Gohan stay…

"Daddy!" His son cries, Goku despairing as he sees his only son's leg moving towards him.

"Gohan! No please not my son!" Another voice, Chi-Chi's, yells out, "Don't you dare touch my son you monster!"

Goku tries to lift himself off the ground, only able to get on his hands and knees as he watches Raditz slap Chi-Chi aside with his tail. Anger swells up inside him, and he rushes to grab his wife before her body hits the ground. He holds her close, gently putting her down to face his brother one last time. In the corner of his eye, Goku can see Yamcha slowly start to stand up. Master Roshi and Krillin are rooted to the spot.

"So, this is your new family? Your wife's nothing to write home about though," Raditz says with a sneer, holding the crying Gohan up by the tail, "Yes, this boy will do nicely."

"Give me back my son!" Goku yells as Raditz starts to float away.

"If you want your son back then you know exactly what you have to do. By this time tomorrow bring me the skulls of one hundred humans," Raditz demands, "Until then, you're never going to see your son again. If I were you, I 'd start with that wife of yours."

Helpless for the first time in his life, Goku watches as the alien speeds away with Gohan. He had been totally outmatched, blown away by an opponent that had come out of nowhere. Yet, despite all that had transpired, a sort of excitement begins to take over. Nobody since Piccolo Jr. had been able to provide him with a challenge. Now, with the drive of getting his son back, it's enough for him to force himself off of the sand. He gently lays Chi-Chi on the ground, turning towards the ocean.

"Krillin, take care of Chi-Chi for me," Goku says, a new edge in his voice.

"Goku, what are you going to do?" Krillin asks, "If you think you can go after that guy on your own you're crazy. Maybe if all of us fought him we might stand a chance but, buddy I know you don't want to hear this but you're not strong enough on your own."

"That's why he's not going alone!" Yamcha declares, stepping forward and clasping Goku's shoulder, "I just wasn't ready for him, that's all. This time will be different."

"Yamcha it's too dangerous," Goku insists, "He's got my son, this is my fight."

"No way man, I think you've forgotten about all of our adventures together," Yamcha tells him, "If someone messes with one of us, they have to mess with all of us."

"Guess there's no talking ya out of it huh?" Goku says with a smile. He whistles, calling nimbus and stepping onto the cloud, "You learned how to fly while you trained with Tien right?"

Yamcha smirks, rising slowly into the air. After stumbling to get his bearings the scar-faced warrior straightens up, "You could say I've mastered it."

"Whatever you say man," Krillin says, "Me and Master Roshi will stay here. We'll also see about calling Tien and Chiaotzu, but knowing those two they're probably nowhere near home right now. Be careful ok?"

"Goku, this is an enemy beyond any we've faced before," Master Roshi warn shim, the Turtle Hermit adopting a rare serious tone, "You'll have to be on your guard at all times. This isn't a battle you can afford to hold back in."

"Here!" Bulma yells, throwing Goku the Dragon Radar, "Use this to track Gohan. As long as he has that dragon ball on his head, it should lead you right to him."

Goku nods, rising into the air on Nimbus. He only stops when he hears another voice from below, "Please bring our boy home."

Don't worry Chi-Chi, we'll be back before you know it.

Without another word, Goku and Yamcha speed off in the same direction as Raditz. Goku clenches his fist as he prepares to do whatever it takes to bring his son home.

It had been easier than Piccolo had anticipated. Over the years he had developed his ability to sense ki, taking to further beyond anything that Goku or his friends had ever seen before. The idea behind this particular technique had spawned when Piccolo had been assaulted by Krillin's homing attack. Sensing energy and following it back to its source would give him an edge over the tricky tactics employed by the Earth fighters. He had intended to use it against Tien's Solar Flare or the oaf Yamcha's Spirit Ball, but more mundane practices such as finding his enemies base was more than a good enough reason to test it out.

The trail leads him a few miles to the west, over some of earth's farmland. All seems normal, save for the gigantic crater. It is here that Piccolo detects the last of Raditz's energy, concluding that this is where the so called "Saiyan" had landed on his planet. Grinning to himself, Piccolo lands and begins to approach the crater. On the edge of his vision he can see a strange space craft. Laughing quietly to himself, the demon walks towards the space craft.

"I'll find a place to begin charging my energy. When that alien tries to leave the planet, I'll kill him with my new technique. The fool will rue the day his path ever crossed with mine."

However, something causes the Demon King to hesitate. A tiny humanoid is tinkering with the attack pod. Judging by the amount of sparks and smoke coming from it, he's failing at whatever his aim is. When the figure does stand up and stretch, Piccolo notices that he is wearing the same type of armor as Raditz, along with a monkey tail.

There's another one?! Piccolo angrily thinks to himself as he watches the boy begin to nibble at some form of food, No! I won't allow it!

The demon fires off another energy wave, weaker than the one he used against Raditz but still enough to cause some serious damage to this Saiyan. He savagely grins as the crater is lighten up by the enormity of his attack. It takes a minute for the smoke to clear, and Piccolo walks over to examine what he had done.

"I hope there's at least a body to bury," Piccolo laughs, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "The fool didn't even have a chance to defend himself."

The crater is simply, the Saiyan must have been annihilated by the ferocity of the attack. Smoke is all that remains of the ally of his enemy. However, the Demon King does not relax. On the edge of his conscience he can feel another presence near him. It is masking its power, hiding from him. Piccolo only knows that he had failed when an attack from behind sends him tumbling into the pit. Covered in dirt, Piccolo turns around to see that the Saiyan he had tried to ambush had survived his attack untouched. Now that he is closer, it becomes clear that this is the younger of the two Saiyans, this one appears to be the same age as when Goku had defeated his father. A wild fire seems to burn in the boy's brown eyes, but he does not move into attack. Piccolo, however, does not waste the opportunity.

His kick connects, sending the boy sprawling across the plains. Much of the damage had be negated by the armor the Saiyan is wearing. Running forward with his claw outstretched, Piccolo launches a series of fast and powerful blows. The boy is able to avoid a sweeping strike from the side, but is unable to avoid being brutal kicked in the face. Sent flying once again, the Saiyan is able to catch himself this time and launch himself towards Piccolo. Adopting a defensive stance, Piccolo grabs the boy's fist in his hand, matching the younger Saiyan in a contest of strength.

"Is this all?" Piccolo asks, disappointment in his voice. He pushes the younger Saiyan back a few inches, reveling in the fear coming across the child's face, "I expected more of your so called warrior race."

With a demonic roar, Piccolo slams the child into the ground. Instead of laying still, the boy grabs a handful of the soft soil and flings it at Piccolo. The dirty tactic works, as Piccolo is forced to rub some of the dirt out of his eyes, giving the Saiyan an opportunity to tackle him. The child's fist slams into Piccolo's face, followed by another, and another. A frenzy is over the Saiyan, with Piccolo forcing himself to stay focused as blow after blow assaults him. When the savage child stops to take a breath, Piccolo blows him off with an eye focused ki blast. Piccolo is already beginning to heal as the child starts to get up to attack again. Wasting no time, Piccolo stretches out his arm and throws the boy behind him.

He's got some power, but nothing compared to that older Saiyan, Piccolo thinks to himself as he blows off another attack from behind, And he's an idiot when it comes to fighting. The universe is going to be down one Saiyan once I…

Piccolo's thought is obliterated from his mind as he senses the familiar energy of Raditz heading his way. The eye piece on the boy's eye also lights up in response, with the child adopting an almost frightful expression. Without a word, Piccolo flies off into the plains, the boy evidently choosing not to pursue. It sickens him to run from another battle, but sometimes a king has to forgo his honor for the good of his kingdom.

Raditz's scouter is going crazy as he approaches his attack pod. The entire flight had been a hassle with the child crying the whole way. At times he had gotten reading from the little boy ranging from 2 to 200, always fluctuating. Now, he gets a reading that Olve's power had briefly shot up. Question run through his mind, wondering if perhaps Kakarot had somehow beaten him back to his base. Though, how he would do that is beyond the Saiyan.

Landing, Raditz tosses Gohan at Olve, "Put him in the ship. We're going to have to stay here longer than expected. Kakarot's decided to turn into some bleeding heart hero."

Silently, Olve carries out his orders. Following the two younger Saiyans, Raditz notices that the front of the attack ball has some minor damage to it. He dismisses as a result of their landing, he had not spent much time checking his ship. Resting against a tree, Raditz closes his eyes as he thinks about the series of events that had transpired in the last week. Alone he had doubled the Saiyan army, surely he should be happy. Kakarot's betrayal gives him pause, an unexpected change in what should have been an easy mission. The logistics of getting all four of them off planet is also a difficult problem. If Kakarot really has lost his memory, he might not know where his own ship is. Not to mention he's clearly changed. His eyes are the same as Bardock's, I might have to take him back by force.

"Boy, get over here," Raditz commands Olve, noticing that the boy is walking a bit slower than normal. Not important right now, "Do you know how to fly an attack ball?"

After a moment of hesitation, Olve nods yes.

"That makes this easier. Kakarot is far weaker than I could have anticipated. Even with several of the natives backing him up, my brother was barely able to land a hit on me. His son even more so, just a cry baby," Raditz says over the faint sounds of Gohan's crying, "It would be best if you took my nephew and left now. I'll preprogram the Prince's quadrants. We should be close behind, assuming Kakarot still has his ship. Understood?"

Olve nods, but something is off. His tail is moving slowly, and he won't look Raditz in the eyes. Every few seconds he glances back at the screaming child.

"Ignore him, he'll learn in time," Raditz tells Olve, closing his eyes, "Besides, a bit late for you to start developing morals. A man is dead because of you today, to be a warrior you must abandon your heart. Bury under the mountains of your vanquished foes. It is a part of our evolution as true Saiyan warriors."

Just as Raditz is about to fall asleep his scouter picks up two power levels heading this way. Their numbers are familiar, Kakarot and his friend, Raditz thinks t himself, jumping up. There's no time to try and treat his pre-existing injuries. His power level may be lower than he would like, but Raditz is confident that he is still leagues above his brother and friends.

"Olve, stand back and be ready on my signal," Raditz orders, "Prepare for battle."

Olve turns his head towards Raditz's crying nephew and mutters one word, "710."

The two friends land across from Raditz, staring the Saiyan warrior down. Yamcha can hear his heart beating violently against his chest. The Saiyan is far too calm for his liking, and only Goku's confident expression keeps him rooted to the spot.

"Have you finished your task, Kakarot?" Raditz asks, a faint hint of hope in his voice, "Or have you foolishly decided to rush into the jaws of death. This is your last chance little brother."

"Give me back my son, or you're gonna regret it!" Goku yells, dropping into a fighting stance. Yamcha follows suit, "Even if you are my brother, I won't hold back!"

AN: Hey everyone, welcome back! Hopefully you're all enjoying this little story so far. Chapters will hopefully stay about this length, tell me what you think of it. As always, please feel free to leave a review and tell me what you think. I love hearing from you guys, so please ask any questions you may have. Also let me know if there's anything you really want to see. While I have this story pretty well planned out I am very receptive to new idea.

Question of the chapter: Favorite "Dragon Ball" series (Dragon Ball, Z, or GT)? Mine is actually Dragon Ball, oddly enough.

Power Levels:

Raditz: 1500

Olve: 234

Goku: 350

Chi-Chi: 101

Gohan: 7 (Hidden Power unkown)

Yamcha: 177

Krillin: 209

Master Roshi: 139

Piccolo: 365 (with weighted clothing)