Dragon Ball Saga – Part 1: Rise and Fall

Standing on the precipice of a large cliff, Elder Moori could feel his heart nearly stop beating in his chest. He could feel the presence of the Grand Elder, Guru, inside—he had never had the blessing to meet him before, nor did he have it now, but he knew that the Grand Elder needed to be aware of Kakarot's sudden arrival on the planet.

Swallowing slightly, Moori slackened his jaw and took a step towards the Grand Elder's home, feeling a chill of fear running down his spine as soon as he felt his moccasin touch the ground.

It hadn't been long after Moori's landing on the peak when he heard that booming, powerful voice resound through the small building with only a single word:

"Enter."

Moori did just that, feeling sweat cascade wildly down his mien with each and every step he took towards Guru's abode. Sighing heavily, as if he were expelling his fears, he took his first few steps into the room, where he finally came face to face with the Grand Elder—who, admittedly, looked quite different from what he had expected.

Instead of the eternally young, all-powerful Namekian Moori had envisioned in his mind, he was a frail, aged man who appeared as if he barely had the strength to move a finger. His gargantuan size suggested he had remained idle for quite a while – due to his age, perhaps – and that he hadn't seen the sun in what appeared to be ages. Compared to the vibrant, emerald green coloration of his brothers' skin tone, Guru's was a dark and chilling olive.

'It seems as if he could pass on at any given moment…' Moori thought to himself, absolutely shell-shocked with his misinterpretation of the Grand Elder. '…Why hasn't he come to us for help? Back home we've an abundant supply of water; surely he wouldn't need to worry about taking from us—'

"Do not fear," came Guru's booming voice again, completely interrupting Moori from his musing. Upon noticing the horror on his child's face, the aged Namekian offered for a gentle smile instead. "I may not be in the best of shape, but I can assure you that my life is not close to over quite yet. Now, child, what exactly is on your mind for you to come here?"

Moori hung his head in shame, somewhat perturbed that the elder was able to read his mind—he hadn't meant to be disrespectful, though he himself could admit that his internal thoughts appeared to be filled with spite. "I'm sorry, Grand Elder, it's just that… never mind." He awkwardly shifted his stance, almost as if he, as a fully grown adolescent, was being reprimanded for his actions.

"Do not fret about it, as I said." Guru's eyes showed no sign of malice; in fact, he seemed hardly intimidating at all. Still, though, Moori seemed to be afraid of him—that simply wouldn't do. "I only wish to know why you are here today. It's been quite a while since I've had visitors."

Swallowing heavily, Moori decided it was now or never. "I do not come here for my own purposes, but rather, for a child's. Recently, Grand Elder, we had some sort of craft land in one of our expanse fields, resulting in a rather large tremor that caught the attention of Elder Tsuno and the child Nail. I was notified of this not long after and brought to the sight, where we came across a young infant wailing. It appeared that he was the one sent across the stars to our planet, but we soon learned that it was a miracle he landed here at all."

"Why is that?" Guru frowned, seemingly not understanding. "Namek, even before the great drought, was known as a simple remote planet—almost no one knew of our race back then, and even less do now due to the purging of almost all Namekians."

"Admittedly, we believe that his landing here was nothing more than chance." Moori seemed to relax, now having the full confidence to stare his father in the eyes. "He was destined to land on Planet Earth and wipe out its entire race, but instead, he landed here. Though we don't understand why, we do know that he's nothing more than a poor, innocent child who has the chance to avoid becoming the monster he would grow up to be." Inhaling a deep breath, the elder stopped skirting around the question and finally said:

"I wish to raise him as one of us and show him right from wrong, evil from good. I want to ensure that he never lifts a finger against another with malice, and that if he does so, only for the sake of protection. I don't want to see a monstrosity emerge from this child when we have the chance to save him from that path." Moori then stopped, looking deep into the eyes of the Grand Elder, hoping to find something – anything – within them that would offer to spare the child from the horror of being an evildoer.

"Your words are powerful, my son, and you do appear genuine. But I must ask you… this child—"

"Kakarot," Moori interjected "His name is Kakarot." Immediately after he uttered that last word, his eyes widened with shock—had he really just cut off the Grand Elder?

To his relief, however, Guru appeared to see it as nothing but informative, as he soon pressed on without any scorn or malice in his eyes. "Yes, Kakarot… you must realize that he is not one of us. As such, it will be extremely difficult to even consider raising him, especially when we consider that he must consume different substances than we do."

Moori gasped when he realized this, but he knew it to be true. "I-I hadn't thought that far ahead…" Would this jeopardize Kakarot's health if he were to stay on Namek? He didn't know, but he vowed that he couldn't send him back to where he came from or anywhere else—Kakarot was his responsibility now, and he simply couldn't allow him to perish. "…but there is still one way I know of to fix this problem."

"Do tell, my child." Guru showed no bias towards his child, only waiting to see what he would come up with next. "How would we possibly care for an infant if we don't know what he needs for survival?"

"The Dragon Balls, Grand Elder. We can use them to obtain the supplies we'll need for Kakarot, the knowledge of how to produce more of these materials, and perhaps learn of his origins."

Guru nodded approvingly down at Moori, to which he cracked a smile. "I must say that I am quite impressed; you seem to have a true plan for Kakarot's survival."

That recently-born smile soon evaporated in place of a frown—Moori knew that he had simply thought of his ideas on the fly. "I must admit that I wasn't fully cognizant of these plans before I came here today, Grand Elder. I simply refuse to force Kakarot into the unknown once again just because we are unequipped to raise him."

"I applaud your courage, Elder Moori." Guru seemed to break out into a warm smile once again, almost as if his persona before had been an entire facade. "And that is why I must admit to you the truth: I have been fully aware of this information for quite some time."

"R-Really?" Moori gasped. 'But then… what was the purpose of having me explain this…?'

"I needed to test your convictions, my son. Though I can read nearly every thought of yours and can tell your heart is pure, I did not know how serious and dedicated you would be to raising him. I can tell that with you as a guardian and mentor to him, he will certainly go far as a son of Namek and as a person overall."

"D-Does this mean…"

"Yes, Elder Moori. I grant you permission to use the Dragon Balls for Kakarot's survival, and raise the boy himself to become a man of kindness and benevolence."

Age 749, on another planet…

The warm glow of the sun kissed the breaking horizon gently as it shone brightly in the sky, watching down on the Earth below as Son Gohan made his way up the mountainside towards the cabin which he called home. Just as he made it to the top and unlocked the door to his cabin, a loud noise startled him, nearly forcing him to drop the deceased fish in his hands.

'Is that… a car?' thought Gohan as it drew closer and closer, kicking up asphalt and debris as it traveled on its path with a mighty roar. 'I thought nobody lived around these parts, save for the animals and myself—just what is this person doing here?'

As the car drew closer and closer, tearing up the road it traveled upon with a mighty roar, it soon began clear that its destination was his cabin – there was nowhere else that this winding road would lead to.

Suddenly, he could make out more details—it seemed a young, rather pretty girl was the one behind the wheel, and seemed to have a genuine smile on her face.

'She doesn't seem malicious, that's for sure...' Gohan thought as he walked closer to the incoming vehicle, ready to stop the girl in her tracks if need be. '…but I can't let down my guard when the possibility still exists of her being a robber.'

Suddenly, the car came to an abrupt halt and the driver hopped out, revealing the girl's full figure. She appeared to have a gun on her person, but she didn't seem to have any intentions of attacking at all—more likely than not, she would've tried to sneak attack him if she dared to try anything.

"Hello, sir," she began politely, looking him directly in the eyes. "It might be a bit weird that a city girl like me is roaming around here…" She noticed his gaze had been drawn to her gun, and she frowned, realizing that he was trying to test her intentions.

"Oh, this?" she asked, indicating to her weapon. "Sorry, I've been using that in case of wildlife. As you can tell, I'm not exactly strong enough to fend them off."

"Please, don't worry about your gun—I assure you that's not why I'm so concerned. It just seems suspicious that you would be out here on your own if not to rob someone." Gohan relaxed his body, now confident in the fact that this girl meant no harm to him. "Now then, why exactly are you here?"

The girl seemed to mull over something for a moment – most likely debating whether or not to trust him – but she soon answered him. "I was hoping that I could take your Dragon Ball from you, actually." She pulled out what appeared to be a small, golden-orange sphere that shined brightly even in the clear sky. "If you collect all seven of these things, legend has it that you can get any wish you want!"

"So what exactly do you want to get out of this? Money? Fame?" Gohan asked. "I'm sorry, but you must understand that this doesn't exactly sound all too normal to me. I believe your story, but I don't know if I can trust you with my Dragon Ball yet." He had no problems with relinquishing the sphere; what mattered was what she planned to wish for.

"Well… to be honest…" she hung her head down and blushed wildly. "I want to wish for the perfect boyfriend."

Gohan chuckled to himself, realizing that she was indeed just a city girl with no real intentions of doing harm. "Well… if your wish is as simple as that and one that doesn't do any real harm to the world, I suppose I can give you the sphere on one condition."

"And that would be?" She looked back up at him, waiting to hear what he had to say.

"I wish to accompany you on your trip. You'll surely need someone to protect you from harm; after all, you can't be the only one who's been scouting for these spheres."

The girl frowned, apparently not pleased with his offer. "Um… well, not to be rude, but you don't exactly look like you're in perfect fighting condition."

To this, Gohan smirked slightly and used a fraction of his speed to dash behind her and hop into her car; from there, he started the car up before returning to his previous position in front of Bulma all within the span of a few seconds.

She hadn't caught even the slightest glimpse of him.

"D-Did you just…" she stammered, unable to comprehend how he had such speed at his disposal. "I-I guess I could use your help after all…"

"I apologize if I frightened you," chuckled Gohan, "but I only wanted to show you the very real threat of what a trained fighter can do. I'm most likely not the only human out there with speed like that, and I'd rather you not get hurt because you didn't have anyone to back you up."

Turning back to the direction of his cabin, Gohan smiled and held out his hand toward it. "Now then… I do have lunch almost prepared. Would you care to join me and fill me in on what exactly the Dragon Balls are?"

"S-Sure," she responded, dusting off her outfit before extending her hand. "I don't know if I ever said it, but my name's Bulma Briefs."

"Son Gohan," he responded as the two began to walk towards the cabin, and subsequently, the beginning of a new adventure to come.

For those on Earth, a new journey had just begun that would change the planet for years and years to come. However, for those on Namek, an adventure had already begun twelve years earlier with the arrival of Kakarot...

Age 749

"Now, Kakarot, I expect you to retain the information we've learned about our culture today—I'll be quizzing you on it tomorrow." Tsuno stood up, smiling, and ruffled the child's hair. "You're learning our history rather well, child, and I hope that you don't fail to disappoint tomorrow."

"Don't worry about it, Elder Tsuno; I'll do just fine. I'll study hard for tomorrow!" Kakarot grinned cheekily, his furry tail wagging behind him.

'The more he learns of our history, the closer he comes to learning the truth about his origins…' Tsuno thought, the slightest hint of a frown forming across his face. '…But that time has not come quite yet.'

"So…" Kakarot prodded on, trying to get his mentor's attention. "…Can I go outside and play with my friends now?"

"It's approaching bedtime for you, if I'm not mistaken." He looked to Moori – who was standing in the doorway so as not to interrupt Kakarot's lessons – and received a firm nod in response.

"Aww, really?" pouted Kakarot, crossing his arms in protest. "I hate having to sleep—all the other Namekians don't have to! Why me?"

"Kakarot, you're still a growing child," came the response of Moori. "It's essential for your body to gain sleep while you're still young, or else you won't grow to be strong and tall when you're older."

"If you say so…" he muttered, scurrying off to his quarters for rest. "Stupid sleep…"

"I should go with him," interjected Moori quickly. "He doesn't take very well to sleeping for some reason; if I don't make sure he goes to sleep, it's very likely he'll just stay up until his body gives out on him."

Tsuno couldn't help but grin at the sight of parental maturity emanating from Moori. "You've really taken up the mantle of Kakarot's true protector, haven't you?"

Moori lifted his brow. "What are you saying, Tsuno? You and I know that this is more of a collaborative effort between all of us than anything else."

"Don't play the fool with me, Moori. You and I both know that you were the one who ultimately wanted to take Kakarot in and raise him, even when the others had doubt… including me. Then you were the one to ultimately go visit the Grand Elder for his approval, and you were the one who learned how to summon the Dragon Balls from him."

"I-I guess I have done a lot for the boy…" smiled Moori as he began to walk to Kakarot's room in the small house. "…but my job isn't quite done yet. Once I see him fully grown with a pure heart, then my goal will be complete."

His obsidian, onyx eyes stared at the mattress below him as his face contorted into a scowl. 'Stupid bed. I want to go swimming with my friends, but I have to go to stupid sleep or else Elder Moori will get upset with me.' It wasn't fair that he had to sleep but the others didn't—was he seen as inferior to them? Was this some sort of punishment for something he did earlier in his life?

Sighing heavily, Kakarot changed from his everyday attire – a navy blue cloak with alabaster-colored pants – into his sleeping garments, muttering to himself as he did so. 'Guess I've got no choice…' Crawling onto his mattress, he shut his eyes and tried to wander off to sleep...

…hours passed. Still, he couldn't fall asleep. The constant chatter of the Namekians outside was enough to keep the child awake. It was frustrating – irritating – to know that they could be outside living their lives while he was forced to stay inside and simply sleep.

Tossing and turning in his bed, Kakarot's thoughts of resentment and intolerance of his situation refused to allow him peace as he drifted off to sleep. His eyes simply wouldn't stay shut regardless of what he tried.

'No more,' he finally decided mentally, sitting up fully in his bed. 'I don't care what they want anymore—it's time for me to earn what everyone else has. Whatever reason they've got isn't fair; I shouldn't be punished by being deprived of time with my friends every day!'

Quickly donning his alabaster pants and his blue cloak, he quickly opened the window and scurried out, making certain that he evaded anyone's sight. From there, he quickly crept across the wastelands in a frantic run, a grin breaking out on his face when he came across the murky green waters, flowing quietly in the light of Namek's three suns.

'Finally!' he grinned, hopping into the sea without a care in the world. No less than a moment later, his body was completely submerged in the water. He grinned happily, feeling the warm water envelop his figure and provide him with warmth. From there, he suddenly kicked off and threw his arms forward, giggling like the child he was as he swam forward and away from the wasteland he was previously on.

'What's he doing now…?'

As his friends slowly but surely came into view, a cheeky grin spread Kakarot's features. A small group of his brothers were huddled near the water's edge, lapping lightly at their feet. As fast as he could, he took in a lungful of air, dunked himself underwater, and shot forward as fast as he could.

Bringing his head up for air, Kakarot began to tread water as he extended his hand towards his friends. "Come on in; the water's fine!"

"K-Kakarot?" one of the children – named Linas – asked, his eyes widened with surprise. "Aren't you supposed to be… what was it called…?"

"Sleeping?" finished Kakarot with a scowl. "So what? I'm just as every bit a Namekian as you – if you guys don't need to sleep…" Stubbornly, he pointed towards his chest with his thumb, "then I don't have to sleep. Anyway… forget about that; let's play!"

"Sorry, Kakarot, but we actually have to go work in the fields now," came the response of Radula with a frown. "We actually just got out of the water a little while ago; if you were up, you could've joined us. Sorry... maybe we can play tomorrow, Kakarot."

"Dang it!" hissed Kakarot to himself, dunking his fist underneath the water as he watched his friends trot off to their work, leaving him all on his lonesome. Briefly, he considered going back to his quarters, but he soon realized that wasn't an option – he came out here to swim, and despite being alone, that was exactly what he planned to do.

Inhaling as much air as he could, Kakarot slipped underwater and shot forward like a speeding bullet, moving his arms in small strokes as he kept himself afloat. His legs, tiny as they were, began to kick off as fast as possible to support himself as he swam.

It bothered him, but he couldn't swim how he normally did—the elders would surely be woken up if he were to make a lot of noise or commotion. Keeping his movements as quiet and undetectable as he possibly could, he continued to drift forwards.

After a few minutes or so, though he wouldn't admit it, his body begun to feel numb. With every movement his arms made to keep himself afloat, his muscles began to grow stiff and sore; not long after, it became more strenuous to move them. His legs, strong as they were, tuckered out next, leaving him unable to continue onwards.

Then, suddenly, his fatigue and exhaustion caught up to him in one fell swoop—he felt darkness begin to creep up his peripherals, drowsiness in his mind. A moment later, there was simply nothing to feel, for he had fallen into unconsciousness.

Though he wasn't perfectly astute in the knowledge of energy sensing, even Nail could tell that Kakarot's power level was sinking like a stone. How or why he did not know, but he knew that his adoptive brother was certainly, undeniably, in peril.

"That fool!" Nail cried out in his mind, immediately summoning his clear aura and blasting off towards the seas of Namek. 'He's going to get himself killed!'

Immediately, he began to dash over the ocean, feeling out with both his mind and his sight in order to pinpoint Kakarot's location. 'There aren't many ripples around here… he must've gone far from his home. The spoiled brat would do something like this…'

He quickly swerved to the left, hoping to scout out for the Namek-raised alien from a different perspective – the child's power level was rapidly fading; it was no longer a reliable source for his location – though nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.

It was then that he noticed a discarded cloak just near the ending of Namek's land and the beginning of its seas, flowing gently in the wind. As soon as his gaze locked on the familiar kanji symbol, there was no mistaking it.

'There.'

Nail immediately plunged into the seas, separating the seas with his mighty aura as he dove in after Kakarot. Immediately, the waters began a mighty roar, screaming in defiance as Nail's superior strength overpowered them.

Then, as quickly as possible, the Namekian warrior grabbed onto the scruff of Kakarot's neck and dashed upwards, allowing the water of Namek to come spiraling down and crash back into the currently dried-up basin.

Staring into the child's unconscious and dilated expression, Nail let out a small growl of frustration. "You could've been killed, do you understand? Do you understand what that would've done to all of us—your friends, the elders, they would be so disappointed in seeing what you've done."

Nail slowly began his flight back towards the villages, thinking of just how to explain this to the elders. There was no doubt they would be quite disappointed, but what mattered was that the foolish child learned from his mistake—the next time, the Namekian might not have been around to save him.

"Man… I'm starving!" Oolong whined, frowning at Gohan as if he expected him to have the solution to his problem. "Can't we break to eat yet?"

"Well…" began Gohan, though he soon trailed off into his own thoughts. 'He hasn't tried anything suspicious in quite a while… perhaps he's being genuine. But still, can I really trust him with Bulma – who's still back at the capsule house – who can't truly defend herself if her life was on the line?'

His thoughts were soon cut off, however, as a small accumulation of dust began to form in the distance. Along with it, the elderly man could sense an above-average power level, causing him to raise his guard.

"Oolong," he murmured quietly, "you may want to get Bulma and move her away from here. Things may turn violent in just a matter of moments…"

"W-Why?" came the reply of the recently-recruited pig, his head immediately turning to face Gohan—immediately, he noticed the serious expression plastered across his face and recognized that this was the real deal.

Turning back to face the dust cloud, Oolong could see a silhouette in the distance, dashing towards him and his fellow explorers at a rapid speed in what appeared to be some sort of car. Immediately, he felt a chill of fear race down his body, but before he could heed Gohan's warning and try to flee, it was simply too late.

His fighting attire was… different from the average martial artist. Instead of a single type of garment, this warrior's uniform seemed as if it had been created by the combination of vastly different articles of clothing. His top was a green in color, while his pants were a bright orange. To top it all off, he wore navy blue boots and a white belt, not to mention the sword sheathed on his hip. His long, untidy hair flowed down to the back of his neck in the wind, his bangs lifting to show his confident gaze.

Next to him was what appeared to be his accomplice—a cat, it seemed. As Oolong's eyes shifted from the new arrivals, his eyes began to widen as he realized the feline's identity. 'Wait… could that really be who I think it is…?'

"I am Yamcha," the new arrival said with a confident smirk as he sized up his next victims. "I am the master of the land you trespass on."

"It's my land, too!" the cat grinned, hopping away from the man known as Yamcha to stand on its lonesome. However, now that Oolong seemed to have a grasp on the cat's identity he didn't seem all that afraid of the two… the feline never had been quite intimidating to begin with, if his assumption was correct.

"You needn't fear me," continued the long-haired male, raising his arm and extending his hand towards Oolong and company, "just hand over any dinocaps and any money you have on you, and I'll allow you to pass through here in peace."

Though the very imminent threat of the desert bandit was upon them, Oolong couldn't help but continue to study the feline's face. As the moments ticked by, Oolong's brain continued to connect the dots, and at last he remembered who it was.

"You're Puar!" he called out, pointing towards the cat with a look of surprise. "We went to Shapeshifting Academy together, if you remember." A sly grin broke out on the pig's face as Puar, seemingly infuriated, scowled at the pig.

"And I remember you!" fired back the feminine cat, turning to her accomplice. "He was a loudmouth bully who always stole my lunch money every chance he got! He even picked on me because I was smaller than him!"

In response, Yamcha turned his gaze towards Oolong with a slight protective scowl. "Well, well, it seems the tables have turned, my friend. Tell me, how does it feel to face someone bigger than yourself, little piglet?"

Trembling at the sight of Yamcha's predatory look, the pig immediately scurried over to Gohan's side and whispered "Look, Gohan, I know you're strong, but can you really take this guy? He looks strong… really strong!"

'G-Gohan?' Yamcha thought to himself. 'Just where have I heard that name before…?'

"It's just like in the old days!" Puar fired back, seemingly more confident due to Oolong's fear of her partner. "The swine still hides behind someone whenever he's afraid!"

"Ah, I see," laughed the bandit as he crossed his arms, "Not much courage, huh? What a shame… you were so confident before, but now you're nothing more than a quivering little piglet."

"That's right!" continued Puar with a scowl. "There's not an ounce of bravery in that little porker!" In a derogatory fashion, she stuck her tongue out at him, which only served to rile him up further.

"Puar!" Oolong scowled, clenching his fists. "If I ever get my hands on you—"

A gentle, aged hand was laid on his shoulder to calm him down. Turning to face it, Oolong saw Gohan take a step forward, standing protectively in front of him. "That'll be enough." Though his face may have been aged and his physique less than bulky, the tone with which Gohan spoke was able to send a chill down Oolong's spine. Never had he heard the elderly man speak with such seriousness before in their travels, causing him to genuinely experience fear.

"You two seem so confident in bullying Oolong due to your advantage in numbers, but you seem to forget that I'm still here." He crouched into his fighting stance, casting a concentrated look at the scar-faced bandit. "I won't be allowing you to harm someone I consider an innocent person."

"Heh!" Yamcha couldn't help but smirk derogatorily toward the elderly man. "I usually try to respect my elders, but not when they're invading my land, old-timer. It's your last chance—either you hand over your belongings right now or I take them by force."

Oolong leaned back towards Gohan, holding his hand in front of his mouth so as to block Yamcha out of hearing what he was about to say. "Do you really think you can take him?"

Without returning the eye contact, the elderly man nodded slightly. "Don't worry about me—be sure to keep yourself safe."

"All right, big shot!" Oolong started, pointing towards the bandit—it seemed he had completely disregarded Gohan's warning. "You may think you're looking at an easy win here, but my buddy here will slap you two silly!"

Yamcha took a step forward, slowly drawing out his blade as he chuckled. "Well… I suppose you've left me no choice. Remember your refusal to submit when I beat you into the ground!"

"Wait just a second!" Oolong cried, immediately pivoting on his heel and running as far away as his small legs would allow him to within a five-second interval. "Okay, Gohan, show him who's boss!"

"I don't want to have to fight you," Gohan started, eyeing the metallic sword as it gleamed in the sunlight, "but I will do what is necessary in order to keep myself and my friends from harm."

"I admire your bravery, old man," said Yamcha sincerely as he tossed the scabbard back towards Puar's feet, "but even wise men can be complete fools at times."

No less than a moment later, the battle begun. With a mighty battle cry, the bandit dashed forward and attempted to go for the instant kill, driving his sword directly for Gohan's heart. However, having anticipated the movement, the elderly man quickly ducked, extending his leg out to trip his foe—he landed on the ground with a mighty THUD.

However, Yamcha didn't miss a beat, pushing his torso off the ground and adjusting his grip on the sword. A moment later, he aimed for a stab to the leg. Gohan was forced to quickly jump –the blade just narrowly missing him – and perform a quick backflip, creating distance between him and his opponent once again.

"We don't have to fight, you know." Gohan showed no sense of deception in his tone, hoping that he could end this battle without any bloodshed. "Surely you must understand that I don't wish to cause you any harm. Please, end this before one of us gets severely hurt."

Quickly, Yamcha jumped back to his feet and refused to acknowledge Gohan's plea, instead opting to go back on the attack. He aimed for the neck this time with a horizontal slash, though Gohan easily countered by blocking the blade with his elbow and firing off a quick jab to the scar-faced bandit's exposed ribcage, sending him flying back into the dirt with another howl of pain. Sitting upward, the bandit clutched his stomach in pain, cursing under his breath.

This time it was Gohan who continued the fight, racing forward and connecting with a firm kick to the jaw that snapped the scar-faced bandit's chin backward and sent him smashing into the dust yet again.

"D-Damn it…" Yamcha hissed, trembling as he felt the searing pain shoot through his skull, disorienting him. He could only barely make out the blur that was his opponent standing over him, most likely preparing to end their fight. There was nothing he could do, nothing he could say… he had lost, fair and square, and he simply had to accept what was coming next.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see his sword shining on the ground far away; he knew he couldn't retrieve it in time for it to make any difference in the outcome of the battle. It was over, and he knew it. All he could do was wait for the inevitable to happen…

…but, to his shock, it never came. All that was given to him was an aged, wrinkled hand, which was accompanied by a neutral gaze.

"I did say that I didn't want this to end in any bloodshed, didn't I?" came the stern reply of the aged man, grunting as he struggled to help Yamcha to his feet. As he did so, he could tell that he'd wounded him too much—he wouldn't be able to stand on his own.

"Excuse me… Puar, was it?" he called over to the feline, that tone of disappointment long gone. "Please help me in keeping your friend stable; I fear he can't maintain balance on his own any longer."

"Y-Yes, sir!" Puar replied, having a newfound respect for the man that spared her best friend. 'I-I thought he was a goner… had it not been for this man's kindness, Yamcha would've been killed…' she thought as she made her way over to the battlefield, helping Gohan in leaning the scar-faced bandit against his vehicle.

"You are strong—that much is certain. But there are always those who are stronger out there, and without being prepared to end things peacefully, it could very well cost you your life." Gohan turned to Oolong, nodding at him as if to say that the coast was clear. "Please get Bulma; we'll be leaving soon."

As the bandit watched Oolong scamper off, he couldn't shake off that recurring thought about his opponent's name—the similarities were just far too great to ignore. "W-Wait…" he murmured softly, as if almost to himself. "Befor-Before you go… I need to know… are you S-Son Gohan, master of martial arts?"

A small, respectful smile formed on the face of the elderly man as he heard his name being spoken in such a high honor. "It seems my reputation precedes me. Yes, indeed, I am Son Gohan… but I wouldn't say that I'm a 'master' of martial arts. Experienced, yes, but there's much more that I can learn."

"That explains it…" chuckled the scar-faced bandit to himself before he let out a small hiss of pain. "You were always said to have spared anyone in a life-or-death situation and to have ended those fights in the quickest way possible…"

"Really, all your praise is flattering, but not necessary. All that matters to me is that you understand now—don't blindly charge into battle, and don't start a battle unless it's absolutely necessary to do so." Gohan gave a nod toward the bandit before he turned his back, beginning to walk away. "Please, do take care of yourselves."

"W-What?" gasped Yamcha, absolutely shell-shocked that Gohan was about to let him off the hook so easily. "I-Is that it? You'll let me go without having to return everything I stole?"

"It appears you've already learned a lesson, and that lesson will do more for you in life than forcing you to return what you need to survive. However… perhaps there is something you can do, if you truly wish to…"

"Y-Yes?" Yamcha asked, now somewhat interested. He couldn't help but admit that the prospect of potentially learning from one of the all-time greats in martial arts history was exciting to him.

"My friends and I are traveling the world in search of these mystical spheres known as Dragon Balls," he started. "If all seven are collected, one can make any wish they desire and it will come true with no hesitation at all. As you can tell, I am the only true capable fighter in our little group… we could always use some extra help." Gohan turned back around to face Yamcha, eagerly awaiting his answer.

"…I'll tell you what, Son," Yamcha replied, trying to act as if he had some control in the situation—he wasn't used to power being out of his hands. "I'll travel with you and your friends and help you collect the Dragon Balls, if – and only if – you teach me in the ways of martial arts."

A warm smile forced itself across the elderly man's face as he walked back over to the duo. "As long as you vow to use that strength only when necessary, you have yourself a deal, young man." He extended his hand to him, and without hesitation Yamcha grasped it and shook it.

"Now, then, let's get going. Puar, would you mind taking that capsule for later?" asked the elderly man as he wrapped one of the bandit's arms around his shoulder, being careful not to aggravate any of the bandit's injuries as they began their slow walk back to camp.

"Sure!" came the cheerful reply of the feline, doing as she was asked before helping to support Yamcha on his – slow but steady – path, grabbing his sword as she passed it.

'Perhaps he wasn't a true criminal at heart…' Gohan thought to himself as the three walked in the heat of the desert sun, the shining light casting its shadow on the now-allies as they made their way across the Diablo Desert. '…All he needed was a new chance to show his true colors.'

"Remember, Elder Moori, that you can't let him control you. He's acted out, and it's very clear that he needs discipline—he listens to us, but he'll never let you control him if you continue to treat him as you do."

"I understand, Elder Tsuno. And once again… thank you for everything."

As his consciousness began to revive itself and regain its grasp on reality, Kakarot immediately tried to scope out his surroundings. Oddly enough, it looked like he'd been magically transported back into his quarters somehow—the desk in the far left corner of the room, the view of the wastelands next to his bedside table, it was all unmistakable to him.

It didn't make sense at all. The last thing he remembered was swimming in the ocean, when all of a sudden he began to feel sleepy. The next thing he knew, he'd woken up here without any explanation. Just what had happened?

"Kakarot… I must say that I am very disappointed in you, my child."

His attention was immediately broken away from his thoughts and centered towards Elder Moori, who began to approach his bedside with a frown across his aged features. "You were told to sleep, were you not?"

"Elder Moori…" Kakarot began, though Moori swiftly cut him off by lifting his index finger, absolutely stunning him—the elder had never given him such a cold shoulder before in his twelve years of life.

"Answer the question, child. It is not a trick question."

"Y-Yes… I was told to go to sleep after Elder Tsuno and I finished studying," Kakarot murmured, bowing his head in shame. "But it's just not fair, Elder Moori! Everyone gets to play all the time while I have to just sleep! Do you and the other Elders hate me or something?!" he asked, feeling a tear roll down his cheek.

It pained Moori to see Kakarot in such a state of unhappiness; truly, it did. But he knew that this time, his child was wrong – there was no excuse for his actions. "We love you more than you will ever understand, Kakarot. But we also know what's best for you, and sometimes that takes precedence over giving you what you desire. None of us have any qualms with you having fun with your friends every now and then, but you must understand that what we say comes first in importance. That means studying when we tell you to, eating when we tell you to, and most importantly, sleeping when we tell you to."

"F-Fine…" sighed Kakarot, coming to terms with reality – he simply had to do what he was told; it was simply expected of him. "Can I please just stay up a little later, though? I want to be able to play with my friends and study; I barely get to see them on study days."

Moori sighed softly as he tried to figure out how to answer his question. "Kakarot… why do we fall?"

"Wh-Wha?" Kakarot stuttered, unable to comprehend the meaning behind his elder's words. "I-I don't understand what you're trying to say…"

"It's so we can get back up and learn why we fell in the first place, my child. You wanted to experience the best of both worlds—while in this case your goals were pure, it's simply impossible to do so. Something must give, and in this case, your time with your friends must be sacrificed for your studies. In the future, that may change, but for now this is how it must be. Do you understand, Kakarot?"

"Yes, Elder Moori. I'm… sorry. I just feel like I never get to see my friends anymore and that it's all about studying and growing up to be a good 'Son of Namek.'" He sighed, running his hand through his head of spiky hair. "I want to be that, but I also want to able to spend time with the other Namekians outside of that. I want to work in the fields on occasion. I want to be able to… live the lives that they do."

"I'm sorry to say that it's not entirely possible for you to do that, Kakarot. Though you are undeniably a true Namekian in heart, the powers that be birthed you differently from the rest of us." He wasn't ready to know the truth quite yet—the time would come, but it just simply wasn't today. "But if that is truly all you wish, then I will do my best to accommodate that." He paused for a moment, mulling over his thoughts. "But this is a two way street, understood? For everything I do to fulfill your dream, you must do what I ask of you."

"Yes, Elder Moori. I'll do my best to make you and the others proud!" Kakarot immediately dove into the elder's arms, embracing him as a child would a parent. Slowly, Moori returned the embrace, smiling to himself.

'Little do you know, Kakarot, you've already brought us more pride than you could ever imagine.'

And that's a wrap! Thanks for reading this chapter of Turbulence, and sorry for the wait and lack of notification on my profile about the chapter's progress – it's been a hectic few weeks, but I was able to get this done tonight for your reading pleasure.

On that note, sorry if this chapter appears to be reuploaded every few days - seemingly every time I replace the content in the chapter, it does that.

Now, I've an announcement to make about Turbulence's progress. Basically, as you can tell if you're a consistent reader of mine, having a 7K chapter is pretty darn rare, but in the case of this chapter it was necessary. I needed to build upon the key divergences in this universe in order for Chapter 3 to make sense; otherwise, I would be hurling blocks of information at you from all directions. At the same time, however, I don't want to have 7-8 chapters or so of exposition – more likely than not, you're here to read the DBZ portion of events, right? That's why I did what I did. However, this story is extremely fun to write, so I might just be getting to these chapter sizes again quite soon!

I also want to thank you all profusely for all your feedback and support. I never expected to get the reception I did with this fanfic, but it's kept me extremely excited and motivated to keep writing this fic. Here's hoping that you all join me as I do so!

Also, due to writing longer chapters, I have a bit of space at the end of chapters – I'm going to start incorporating Q&A sections again, only because I feel like nobody really wants to have to go all the way to a Q&A forum just to hear a response to a question, haha. Unlike my previous style, I'm going to inherit a different style of questions and answers - if I did it in italics, you might be confused by where the A/N ends and that begins. I know some people don't like Q&A's in chapters, but I feel like it's necessary in order to cover more information you might've missed.

Lastly, I'm almost certain that you might be raising an eyebrow about Gohan's power and how that'll affect the story. We all know that he's much stronger than nearly any threat to come, but things will change very soon, I can promise that. The timeline makes more twists and turns with every chapter; this next one will be no different!

Expect the next update to come fairly soon!

-Galick Gun 419: I hope that the Saiyans don't really have big parts in this one, hopefully I'm right because your character list doesn't have Raditz/Nappa/Vegeta and you even say you don't want to write about pride in this fic

We'll see about the other Saiyans, but I'll simply say that DBZ isn't DBZ without a few Saiyans. Kakarot will, of course, be one of them, but the humans will do just what I promised they would – have relevant and prominent roles in the story.

-Fernandtoussiant: You've definitely got my interest. Im a big fan of your other two stories.

Out of curiosity, since Kakarot will be raised by Namekians does this mean he'll have a different skill set. Essentially all the powers that seem to be unique to Piccolo and the Kais in canon, e.g. magic materilisation?

Kakarot will have similarities and differences from his canonical counterpart, but I will say that he will be proficient in Namekian abilities and their fighting style. That's not to say that he won't develop his own along the way, however.

-Supersaiyaninfinitygohan: This is most certainly an interesting idea, having Goku land on Namek. I'm interested as to how exactly this will affect the universe as a whole, particularly as they no longer have anyone to protect them from the likes of Pilaf and King Piccolo.

This chapter should provide some hints as to who will be taking up the mantle of protectors, but the next chapter really gets into the meat of the events on Earth. And your compliments are much appreciated; I'm going to do my best to make this a unique story from any other "Kakarot" story out there.

- Multiple readers: Concern about Kakarot possibly getting with Bulma

I recognize that many people don't want Kakarot getting with Bulma as it happens in quite the number of these types of fics. However, I can and will assure you that if I am to have Kakarot and Bulma get together, it will be done in an organic, logical manner. I am well aware of her mannerisms in canon and will try to make her and whomever her suitor is(whether it be Yamcha, Vegeta, Kakarot or another) fit just as well as she and Vegeta did in canon. Every romantic pairing I've selected for this story(and yes, they are indeed set into stone) will be given enough time and enough characterization to be made believable - I'll settle for no less.