Disclaimer meant to hold true for all chapters: I do not own Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, or any associated properties. They belong to Akira Toriyama, Toei Animation, and associated authors and entities. I am simply having fun with the many characters and story elements they provided to us viewers and readers over the years. I may craft customized versions of a few of their creations in the process, but I always acknowledge the original work and its elements as belonging to the entities above.
Prologue - Different Views
Age 737, April 25th, countless lightyears from the Solar System and the Milky Way Galaxy…
Planet Vegeta.
It was the home of the Saiyans, a race famed for their overwhelming strength and lust for combat. For centuries, they were known as warriors who lived to seek and challenge strong opponents and relish in the thrill of battle and victory, before going down in a civil war on their native planet. Then, they became known for having somehow resurfaced on a different planet after having devolved into borderline savages who only seemed to live by the rule of might making right. But for six years and counting, they had become known as the latest race to be absorbed into the cosmically-infamous Planet Trade Organization, and as the reason for its fastest expansion since it had been founded.
It was a state of things that seemed set to last, as the Saiyans' new reputation and the might they gained from their access to the wider Universe only intensified over the years. Their soldiers grew more powerful, their babies were born stronger and more frequently, and tales of their efficiency and ruthlessness in missions put fear into beings all across space, from races that feared they would be next on the checklist to members of the Planet Trade Organization who worried they'd become disposable.
And it was in the midst of such a reputation that one of the many Saiyan babies born on April 25th of Age 737 manifested its arrival into the world that would behold him. Unattended by his father and mother, like all Saiyan children born since their race was drafted into the Planet Trade Organization, the baby cried out, craving the love and reassurance common in newborn children of all sorts of races. But that meant nothing in the Saiyans' new way of life, and the only answer to his appeal came from the medical attendants that placed him in the stabilizing pod meant to settle newborns. As per the standards of the Planet Trade Organization, Saiyans were only fit for war, and like all Saiyan babies, the child was only meant to fight.
"That will do."
A scowl contorting his long reptilian face, the short, dark-green alien watched as his colleague pressed the leftmost of the three buttons in the stabilizing pod's controls. A sharp click sprang as the lock clicked, and then the dome rose with a whirr - and the scowl on the green alien's scaly features deepened as the baby's wails seemed to rise as well, now that the hatch wasn't in the way to muffle them.
Not that they had ever been low to begin with. The kid had been crying practically since he was removed from his mother, and even with the stabilizing pod doing its job on him, his voice remained as loud as always and his fists stayed just as tightly clenched. He even went as far as to sit up despite being less than an hour old, and remained in that position without slouching despite how long it had been.
It would be impressive, if it wasn't so annoying.
"That's one set of lungs the kid's got," the green alien rasped, the long robe flowing from the set of shoulder pads and chest guards he wore rustling as he straightened himself. "I've seen lots of newborn Saiyans, but he's a contender for the loudest one ever. I have to hear him much longer, my hair will stand up as much as his'."
Saying so, he actually ran his hand along the orange shock of hair on top of his head, like he was expecting to feel it rigid under his fingers.
Standing by the stabilizing pod as he studied the baby, the green alien's taller colleague, identically-dressed but looking like a pale-skinned elderly human besides the pointy ears, nodded almost imperceptibly, his mouth set into a line barely visible amidst his white beard and mustache.
Like he'd gotten a verbal reply and his colleague was facing him, the shorter alien went on, "Guess he'll need some sort of strength, considering what a hopeless case he is otherwise." Like he was being given an accusatory look, even though his colleague was still facing the baby rather than him, he shrugged, "Guess that's all there is to expect from the son of two low-classes."
The other one's eyes narrowed, a shadow almost seeming to come over them thanks to his thick eyebrows.
"A hopeless case? Is that really what you think of him, Malaka?" he echoed in an old, wizened voice.
Malaka gave a noncommittal shrug.
"What else can he be, Planthorr? You saw his power level. He'll be programmed and shipped off to some random backwater planet in the next months at most, take years to conquer it at best, and that's assuming he survives the mission in the first place. And even if he comes back here, the others will eat him for breakfast when he does." Grimacing suddenly, like a disgusting thought had occurred to him, he added, "Not literally, I hope."
Planthorr turned slightly, his right eye angled towards his colleague, his left one still mostly focused on the crying child.
"I don't think so," he said. "As many rumors as there are about them, most Saiyans are not that awful. In fact, I can easily think of many that are better people than some soldiers from other races."
Malaka's grimace faded, but the uncertainty lingered in his eyes, although Planthorr, still with his back turned to him, couldn't see it.
Nevertheless, the taller alien spoke up again.
"But even putting aside, pay attention. And I mean very close attention. Approach the baby, don't mind how loud he is or the way the sound is fraying your nerves, and take in the full picture."
Grimacing again, although this time not in disgust, Malaka nodded and approached, stopping to Malaka's right as his large eyes fell on the baby.
As far as he was concerned, the kid looked like an average Saiyan. Light skin, spikes of black hair sticking out in all directions except for a smooth spot at the center of his scalp - a hairstyle that marked him as a Saiyan of the lowest class of warriors - and a furry, dark-brown tail that fell limply over his legs as he sat up, his fists still tightly clenched and his back straight as a spindle as he kept screaming his lungs out.
Like he'd said earlier, it would be impressive if it wasn't so annoying. With how long it had been since his birth, he should have started to quieten down by now. Especially considering his low power level.
And like he had been connecting dots, a picture formed in his mind upon that final realization, and Malaka blinked, his already large eyes widening the tiniest bit.
On cue with that reaction, Planthorr turned halfway to him.
"Do you see it now, Malaka?" His only reply was further wails from the baby. "That's the cry of a great warrior."
Slowly, still with his right eye on the baby, Malaka turned halfway turned to the left, some of his gaze falling on his colleague.
"You can't be serious…"
His hands clasped behind his back, Planthorr straightened himself, the height difference between him and Malaka suddenly more obvious.
"I've done this job for years, and seen all sorts of babies, including Saiyan ones. I know what I'm talking about."
Malaka kept quiet.
Planthorr had a point that he was experienced, and it was true there could be more than met the eye to many beings across the Universe. But to make such a statement about this kid?
It was true he was strong compared to children of most races in the Universe, and he was still average even among children from races serving as soldiers for the Planet Trade Organization, but he was a weakling by Saiyan standards. Had he been born just ten years before, he probably would have been doomed, and while he had a place in the new Saiyan society, it was at the bottom rung. And odds were that would never change.
But Malaka kept his thoughts to himself. Planthorr's track record on these predictions was said to be spotless, and while that might be an exaggeration, he didn't want to argue about whether this kid could be a rare mistake.
Feeling Planthorr's gaze starting to weigh on him, Malaka averted his eyes - and caught the rejuvenation tank by the wall behind Planthorr, where the baby's mother was healing.
More to hear something besides the baby's crying than for any other reason, he asked, "What did Gine say she called him?"
"Kakarot." Planthorr made a seemingly-deliberate pause, like he wanted to let the name sink in. "A name that I'd wager will be as known as Lord Frieza's one day."
So... this is it. The first chapter of my latest fic in this account in years. I hope you're enjoying it so far, and that you also enjoy all chapters that are set to come.
I know, much about this can't exactly be considered original, for better or for worse, as not only there likely are many fanfic versions of this period of Dragon Ball history, but there are even at least two official revisions of this period in Dragon Ball history, two of them by Akira Toriyama himself.
To people noticing the blend between more classical elements from 1990s and newer elements from the 2010s-onwards... well... it is deliberate in more ways than one. When it comes to Dragon Ball as a whole, I admit the classical era has many more things that I like, and that Dragon Ball Super has less of them, but there are elements that I like in it too. And when it comes to the history and ancestry of Goku in particular, that holds particularly true. I hope you will enjoy the way I'm mixing the old and the new, as well as the story as a whole.
Also, to those of you who read my announcement about From Enemy To Student making a comeback and are waiting for that... I admit I am taking much longer than I thought, and I still don't dare to make promises, but I haven't forgotten about it. In fact, this story in a sense is meant to be connected to that, because I am planning to have revised versions of many of the movies as part of the canon of that universe once I really get going, and I felt that this would be a good one to start. I hope to actually have a revised chapter of From Enemy To Student soon... but only time will tell just when I'll have it.
I apologize in advance that I can only say this, and I will do my best so that you won't have to wait much longer.
Hoping you enjoyed the chapter,
Genescritor