Author's Note: Writing a few chapters ahead here so I probably won't have seen any feedback on chapter one yet. Just wanna keep the momentum going, you know? I wanna have backup chapters anyways just so I can maintain some semblance of a schedule when posting. Anyways, chapter two let's gooo!

Disclaimer: …Yeah, nope, still don't own Dragon Ball.

~INSTINCT~

Chapter 2

Atmosphere of Planet Namek 6 months later…

I awoke from my artificial hibernation, fully alert as per the Attack Ball's design. I see the green fields of Namkian grass rapidly approaching before touching down violently. Thankfully the ship was set to land far from civilization and native lifeforms. Wouldn't do to blow a crater in an unlucky village. First impressions are extremely important here.

I exit the ship, and find I landed on a small island surrounded by a green sea. Odd to see a green, and yet also crystal clear ocean.

Meh, alien bullshit. I'm sure there's some scientific explanation for the grass and water, like the minerals in the planet are completely different from Earth or something.

I went to tap my scouter, but stopped myself. Perhaps I ought to try my hand at Ki sensing, Vegeta could piece it together just from knowing about it after all. I sit cross legged, and close my eyes. I focused on my own Ki for a time, then tried looking outward. For the first ten minutes I felt nothing. Finally, one Ki signature came into view, and it was approaching quickly!

My eyes snap open, and I spot a small purple dot in the distance. Once it got closer I could see it was a Namekian flying towards my location. I tapped my scouter to get a read for their PL.

1,700. Oh balls... Hopefully they give me enough time to say I come in peace. The figure touches down, and it's obvious this is a child. 'A strong child…' I turn my scouter off again right after.

The Namekian youth speaks, "Who are you outsider, and why are you here?!" Angry child too, it seems. Must be from the Warrior Clan, especially with a PL like that at his age.

"I'm not here to cause trouble if that's what you're worried about. My name's Aikon, I'm a Saiyan from Planet Vegeta." I won't say more than that unless necessary since I don't want to repeat my story too much.

"I don't know anything about Saiyans, but you still haven't said why you are here." Serious little guy, isn't he? He's starting to become familiar, but I could be wrong.

"I have multiple reasons why I came here, but I'd rather not explain myself more than once. As I understand it, your leaders are the Elders of your villages, with your Grand Elder Guru at the top of the hierarchy. I would speak with him if you don't mind." The Namekian seems to twitch at the mention of Guru. He mulls it over for a minute before locking eyes with me again.

"Fine. Can you fly?" I nod, "Good. Follow me, and do not wander off."

The youth jets off, and I follow suit. We fly for a little while towards Guru, presumably. We pass two separate villages on the way there, both hard at work on their fields. Speaking of which… "What are they growing? I was under the impression your people survived exclusively on water."

"..."

"And for that matter, why do Namekians have teeth? Not even herbivore teeth either, you've got some sharp fangs like a carnivore."

"..."

"...This tour sucks, I'm complaining to your supervisor."

"Shut up." His response is short and biting. Little did I know, his eyes were wide and confused. 'Why do we have fangs?!'

In the distance I see Guru's home sitting on a tall spire of rock. We touched down at his door soon afterward, and the Namekian turned and held his hand out. "Wait here, I will speak with the Grand Elder first. He will decide if you may enter, or if you must leave here immediately."

I nod, and he enters without me getting so much as a glimpse inside. Minutes pass before the door reopens, and the child steps out. "You may enter, but know that I'm watching you, Outsider."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be on my best behavior. Let's get a move on already." I walk past him as he growls at my dismissal. I couldn't help it, I only have so much patience for standing on ceremony. As I walk in, Guru proves just as massive and ancient as I remember. Maybe less fatigued with the lack of stress that Frieza would later bring on.

"Hello young man, I understand you're a Saiyan. I know of your people. I must admit, I'm surprised you haven't caused any trouble yet since your arrival. Pray tell, why have you come to Namek?"

"My home world was just recently destroyed by the tyrant, Frieza, while I was on a mission. I am one of the few surviving Saiyans that remain. My reasons for being here are twofold. I wish to train with your people, who boast incredible Ki Control. The second reason is more superstitious in nature. I was hoping the legend of the wish-granting orbs were true, so that I might revive my parents."

Guru ruminates on this with a hum. Meanwhile, the serious child's eyes soften just a touch at my story. "I am sorry for your loss, truly. However, your requests are difficult to grant to a stranger. Might I see what lies in your heart? I will make my decision afterwards."

I hesitated for just a moment, wondering what he would see. My memories, from my previous life till now? The original Aikon's memories, before he was replaced? All of the above? I have no idea, but this is the best path forward, so finally, I nod and approach Guru.

He places a hand over my head, and suddenly we are catapulted through memories both mine and foreign. I see when this body exited the incubation pod for the first time. Receiving my first set of armor from my father, Bardock. Trying it on in front of a mirror, seeing my new face as a consequence for the first time. Similar facial features to my father, but my hair was styled like Cloud's in Advent Children, only slightly bigger, and slightly less sharp looking. Finally, I see my most recent memory of my last mission, reliving my first battle in my new life.

I thought that'd be the end, but the visions continue. I see Son Goku battling Vegeta, confronting Frieza here on Namek, becoming a Saiyan for the first time. I see him

staring the genetic monster, Cell, down before Gohan takes his place. I see him locked in combat with Kid Buu, now as a Super Saiyan 3. I see the Destroyer God, Beerus, colliding with Goku as a Super Saiyan God, and on it goes.

Every key moment and battle I know that takes place in the future plays out before us. Then…we see my own plans for the future. How I would change things, hopefully for the better. Then it's over, and suddenly we're back in Guru's home. He seems shaken by what we witnessed, but soon regains his composure.

"You don't seem evil in nature, but certainly not pure of heart either. There is a lust for battle beyond even other members of your race, but I don't believe you would lash out against the innocent. I will allow you to train in our ways here, and I can plainly see you are fully aware of the Dragon Balls, both here and on Earth." He raised a placating hand towards the yet unnamed child, who stepped forward in agitation. "His deceit was to maintain peace, Nail. Do not take offense."

Guru addressed me again while I absorbed the fact that I'd been with a young Nail this whole time , "I believe you would be a force for good, so I will allow you the use of our Dragon Balls on one condition. Once you've attained ample strength, I would have you eliminate this Frieza before he has the chance to slaughter my people."

"Done. I'd offer a handshake, but your hand would take up my whole arm." Guru chuckles and nods.

"We have an accord then. Nail, go to the villages, and gather the other Dragon Balls." Nail hesitates before nodding begrudgingly and walking out the door. Guru speaks once more, "I know you are aware of my ability to unlock one's potential, however I shall wait to do so until much further into your training. I believe you will get more out of it that way, as it were. After you've made your wishes, and brought your parents here, we shall have a home prepared for you. Then once you've settled in, your training may begin."

Guru's plan was sound, so I nodded. "Thank you, you've been very generous." I bowed at the waist, but Guru waved me off.

"We gain a powerful ally from this as well, there is no need for gratitude. You are awfully polite for a Saiyan, I must say. Though that seems to change while you are in combat."

I shrugged, "Saiyan instinct at work. Even that Son Goku tapped into our brutal nature when fighting, despite being an amnesiac."

Guru hummed at this. "...I know not how you know of future events, but I will simply accept it as a boon of the divine, and leave it at that. So…Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan is quite the mouthful isn't it?"

"HA! Absolutely, I'm going to call SSG Saiyan God personally and hope it catches. Super Saiyan Blue doesn't sound very impressive either." I basically got to shoot the shit with Elder Guru while we waited on Nail.

A Few Hours Later…

Nail had returned with the Dragon Balls, and we moved the proceedings away from Guru's home so as to have more space. Nail raised his palms and summoned Porunga in Namekian. An enormous beam of light shot into the sky. As it began to take shape, Nail turned his head my way.

"I will be translating your wishes, so don't try to wish for anything we didn't agree to, outsider." I didn't respond, too mesmerized by the spectacle before me. Porunga, God of Dreams, had appeared in all his enormous glory.

"I am Porunga, I shall grant you three wishes within my power."

'This is so awesome… This is up there with my first beam struggle. Maybe even better!' There was something heart-stopping about seeing a living creature this enormous up close. It's awesome and terrifying all in one. His voice shakes the very air around me.

"Well? Speak your wishes!" I snap out of it, and look back at an annoyed Nail. Which so far seems redundant, since he's been annoyed since I arrived.

"I want my parents, Bardock, and Gine revived. Then I want them brought to this plateau." I know better than to say bring them to Namek. Wouldn't want any bloodshed from a misunderstanding if the locals found them before I did. Nail repeats the wishes in succession to Porunga.

The dragon's eyes glow before dimming. Porunga grunts, "The one known as Bardock is not in Other World. Where he is, is beyond my sight however, and cannot be brought here. The Saiyan, Gine is well within my power to revive though."

Nail looks at me while I stand there, shell shocked. Not dead, but not anywhere Porunga can see? 'Does that mean Xenoverse is canon here? Is he a Time Breaker

right now? Shit, that's bad. The power scaling is nuts in that. I won't be able to do anything about that for a while, if at all! Damn it…'

I sighed, and gave Nail a nod. "Make it so."

"What about the third wish?" I cross my arms, close my eyes, and think.

"...A pouch that refills with Senzu Beans infinitely? Preferably indestructible, respawning if not."

Nail huffs at the more complicated wish and rolls his eyes, but repeats all three wishes. Porunga's eyes glow bright once more. "This is within my power. The pouch will be very sturdy, but not truly indestructible. Should it be destroyed, it shall remake itself on your person within a day." A white pouch with a black string and Namekian tree design appeared on my waist. The God of Dreams made an "okay" sign with one hand. "Your wishes have been granted. Farewell."

Porunga turned back into golden light before shooting off into the sky, and splitting the Dragon Balls off in separate directions. 'Again, awesome…but wait, what about-'

"Aikon, is that you?" A distinctly female voice softly rang out behind me. My heart stopped for a beat. She was here, right behind me. The mother of this new body of mine. What would she think of me, I wonder? Why is this so terrifying?

I turned around to see Gine, mother to the protagonist himself, and now my own, standing with a hand on her chest. She was clearly confused, but as soon as we locked eyes she smiled, and lunged at me. Startled, I took a few steps back, but she closed the distance immediately and wrapped me in a hug.

"I'm so glad you're okay! I knew you were with the Prince on a mission, but I was still so worried… Where are we, how did I get here? I specifically remember Planet Vegeta exploding with me on it! Where are Bardock, and Kakarot?"

Thank God she was talking so much, because I was feeling a lot of complicated emotions right now that I did not want to deal with. My childhood was shit from the get go, each family member was worse than the last, but my parents definitely caused me the most psychological damage. Having Gine around will take some getting used to, but she deserved a chance at life. I could suffer some temporary discomfort for her, not to mention I seem to have inherited a bit of the original Aikon's fondness for his mother.

I step back out of the hug with more hesitation than I'd care to admit to address her questions. I tell her everything on auto pilot to buy more time to acclimate. Coming here after my mission with Vegeta, using the Dragon Balls to revive her, being unable to do the same for Bardock for "some reason", and finally Kakarot remaining on Earth.

"He's safe there, and for now I think we should let things play out naturally there. He'll learn many good lessons on Earth." This part I was unsure if Gine would cooperate, it's her baby boy after all. She looks at me questioningly, as expected.

"Why does it seem like you know what's going to happen there?" I notice when she's confused or unsure her tail flicks side to side slightly. It's cute, I wonder if mine does the same?

I've come up with a "reasonable" explanation for my meta knowledge and maturity in one swoop since Guru read my mind. "You'll find this hard to believe, but this is my second life. Around 20 years from now I would go to Earth to recruit Kakarot to serve under Prince Vegeta, and by extension, Frieza. At least until we could defeat him. Unfortunately for me he had hit his head as a child and lost all memory of his origins, only knowing himself as his Earth name, Son Goku.

He wanted nothing to do with me. Which was fair, looking back on it, I was kind of an asshole at that point."

"Language." Gine admonished me lightly which threw me for a loop for a second. She really isn't like any other Saiyan, is she?

"...Right, sorry. Anyways, being the…butthead I was at the time, I didn't take kindly to his refusal. I tail-slapped his best friend through a house, kneed him in the gut, and stole his kid, Son Gohan." Gine gasps with her hands covering her mouth. I don't know why I feel the need to own up to Raditz's bullshit, but I'm already in it so whatever. Not gonna mention the demand of 100 dead humans thing at least.

From there I describe the ensuing battle between Raditz, Goku, Piccolo, and briefly Gohan, concluding with the death of both of her sons. Naturally this had Gine in tears, which hurt to watch far more than it should have. I raise my hands placatingly, "It's fine…Mother, Kakarot was revived within a year, stronger than ever in fact! He went on to fight many powerful foes, each stronger than the last. I, however, would remain in hell, watching his exploits from the afterlife. I was bitter for a time, but eventually I realized the anger did me no good. I started rooting for my little brother, proud of the warrior he became."

Gine seems to calm down finally. "Eventually it was my time to be reincarnated. I didn't want to become someone new, bereft of my memories however. I wanted another chance at being the big brother I should've been. I wished for it with all I had, and apparently someone heard me. I was alive, and on my first mission for the second time. I'm making the most of this chance I've been given."

Now Gine is smiling, hands clasped together, "You've grown so much all by yourself, I'm proud of you." Is it sad that this is my first time hearing that from my mother? I almost choked up from the foreign feeling that warmed my chest. "And I'll trust your judgment, we'll leave Kakarot be on Earth for now. Especially since I apparently get a grandbaby out of it!" Ah. She would focus on that part. "So what now?"

Nail cuts in at this point, "Now you will be taken to your new home. It's on the outskirts of the nearest village to Grand Elder's. It seems for now you two need to catch up. Tomorrow?" He looks at me and smirks, "Your training begins."

As we fly in the direction of our new house Gine leans in close and whispers, "So why training here specifically, with Namekians?"

"Ki Control is really important if I'm gonna get stronger, and Namekians have some of the best control I've ever seen. They also have just as much potential for growth as we do, so a good sparring partner won't be hard to come by." Gine nods along, looking thoughtful. "I don't expect you to train or fight if you don't want to, Mother. I brought you back because you and Father didn't deserve to die."

"Thank you for that, and you're right, I don't like fighting. However I'd still like to train with you, if you don't mind. It's more time we can spend together, and I'll be able to defend myself if need be." She looks shy, bashful, which makes sense. She's a Saiyan saying very un-Saiyan things. Say that 5 times fast. Typical Saiyans would blatantly mock her for her perceived weakness. Saiyan families aren't typically close at all.

"I'd like that." She looks surprised, before smiling fondly. We reach the house in no time and enter it. There's no decor to speak of, a few pots for food and water storage lined a wall. As for furniture, there was only one bed. Why?

I look at Nail, but he doesn't seem to understand the problem. Of course he doesn't, Namekians don't really have gender. They reproduce asexually so they don't have nearly as many boundaries as we do. "I don't suppose we could put another bed in-"

"It's perfect, thank you!" Gine cuts me off, intentionally for some reason. Nail nods and takes his leave. I look at Gine with a raised brow. She grins and her tail sways back and forth. "I've always wanted to cuddle with my boys. Is that okay?"

Then she starts pouting at me with suddenly very glossy eyes, tail limp.

'Gah! That's cheating, how do I say no to that?!' I threw my head to the side, "That's fine, just stop making that face!" Her grin returns full force, a little smug even.

"Hehe, Bardock could never say no to that either. Now let's get some sleep!" She picks me up by the back of my armor, which is humiliating when you're a full grown ass man on the inside, and climbs into bed. Naturally I was the little spoon, but I felt more like a teddy bear the way she held onto me. '*sigh* this is fine, I guess.'

Sleep came surprisingly quickly…

The Next Day…

I wake up to the smell of cooked meat and fruit. I open my eyes and see Gine had prepared what others would consider a full course meal for 4, but for Saiyans, a decently hearty breakfast.

"Good morning Aikon! The locals said it was okay for me to hunt, so I whipped up something quick after I took down decent sized fish." Decent being roughly the size of the Mount Paozu Tuna on Earth apparently. "Eat up quick, Nail wants you back at that plateau from yesterday right away!"

This is gonna take a lot of getting used to. She's so nice, but it's making me really anxious. I know how I am, if I'm not careful I'll start putting my walls up around her without meaning to. "Thanks, it smells great." I sit at the table they apparently added while I was asleep, and notice a lack of eating utensils. 'Ugh, gonna have to eat like a typical Saiyan for now I guess.'

I start ripping into the food with gusto alongside Gine. I try to be mannerly about it, but I'm eating fast and with my hands, so I can only do so much. At least Gine isn't much better.

Later at the Plateau…

I arrive to find Nail and an older Namekian warrior waiting with their arms crossed, Nail tapping his foot impatiently. "About time Saiyan, how long does it take to eat?!"

"Aikon."

"What?"

"My name isn't Saiyan or Outsider, it's Aikon. I'm gonna be here awhile so you might as well use it. As for my eating habits, you'll have to bear with me. Saiyan bodies aren't the most efficient. We burn through a tremendous amount of calories, and have an appetite to match."

Nail clicks his tongue in annoyance. "Whatever, let's just get started. This is Master Shel, my mentor, and now yours too."

Shel is the next to address me. "Hello Aikon, the Grand Elder gave me an idea of your situation. I'm eager to assist you on your journey to reach your full potential. To start, I'd like to see where you stand currently. So you will be sparring with Nail today."

I grin, yeah he's stronger than me right now, but if it's not a life or death battle, that doesn't bother me one bit. My blood is pumping already, meanwhile Nail couldn't care less. We move to opposite spots from each other and enter our fighting stances. Gine finally arrives just in time for Shel to announce the fight has begun. "Go, Aikon! Kick some butt!"

'Mother, please…'

Nail smirks at my embarrassment and blitzes at me. I barely have time to put up a cross guard before I'm punched hard enough to fly back several meters. As he races towards me again I create a small Ki ball, and underhand it into the ground in front of him, throwing dirt up into his eyes.

I immediately take the opportunity to blast off the ground at full speed and slam both feet into his solar plexus, driving the wind from his lungs, and launching him in the opposite direction. He comes to a stop after driving his hands and feet into the ground. He then rises a moment after, nursing his sternum. He bared his fangs in a snarl, "You fight dirty."

"If you're not cheating, you're not trying." I'm grinning again, and bouncing on my heels. I throw a few air jabs tauntingly. He audibly snarls this time and charges again. I create

the same Ki orb, and he stops in place, ready to protect his vision this time. Instead of employing the same tactic though I aim the ball right at Nail and fire. He doesn't flinch and slaps the attack away, meanwhile I was hovering above him with another ball of Ki in each hand, only bigger. I fire two beams straight down on him reminiscent of Raditz's Double Sunday, only red. The attack connects and explodes, getting a loud grunt in response.

Before the smoke clears two arms extended towards me and grip my ankles. 'Uh-oh…' I shout as I get thrown into the dirt at an arc, forming a crater with my body. My groan is muffled by the earth my face is burrowed into, then I'm pulled up by my ankles, still trapped in his grip. 'Goddamnit!' This time I was slammed onto my back, coughing up all the air in my lungs.

I gather a lot of energy in my right hand as quickly as I can and blast another beam at Nail. The smoke cleared at this point, I watched him cancel out my attack with a mouth beam of his own. Then he reels me in with one arm as the other is pulled back in a fist. Once I'm in swinging distance he swings his fist straight down into my hasty cross guard, driving me into the earth even deeper this time. Pretty sure I felt something crack in my left arm.

I'm not done yet though. I roll back onto my palms and handspring upwards, driving my heels into his chin. His head is thrown back, and he stumbles back a few steps. I landed back on my feet and immediately tackled his midsection, bringing him to the ground before mounting his chest. I swung punch after punch into his jaw, knocking his head back and forth. Blood and teeth flew from him before all the strength in my body was suddenly drained completely.

I felt myself being lifted up and saw Shel had stretched his own arm and lifted me by my tail. "That's enough, this spar is over!" Nail pulled himself off of the dirt, holding his mouth looking a bit stunned.

Shel continues, "Aikon, I'm aware how brutal you Saiyans can be, but simple spars need not go this far. Certainly not after your arm was broken either!"

I glanced at the aforementioned limb to see angry red and purple bruising on my forearm, and as the adrenaline drained away with my energy, I felt it too. 'Yeah, that's super broken. Ow…'

Looking back at Nail I could see I had indeed taken the fight too far. At the same time though, I couldn't help but marvel that I came out on top, literally. I'm sure if my tail

wasn't being grabbed I'd find my strength had grown much more from this fight then with the Saurians, and that's before the Zenkai I'll get once I heal.

"Sorry, my instincts kicked in a little too hard there. In my defense though, that was the best fight in my life so far." I grinned once I was put down and could stand under my own power. "Still though, I do feel bad. Here."

I dig in my pouch and toss Nail a Senzu Bean, before pulling out another for me. "It's one of those beans I wished for. Swallow it and you'll heal pretty much any injury." I eat my own for proof and heal instantly right before everyone's eyes. I moved my arm around, no longer broken. I could feel my energy increase dramatically as well.

Nail huffed, but ate his bean anyways. He looked away, but I had the feeling he was feeling out his teeth to make sure they were all accounted for.

Master Shel marveled at the rapid change. "That will be incredibly useful, both for battles and training! Your energy is much higher now too, based on Nail's own power, I'm guessing this is another trait of your biology?"

I nodded, "Saiyans grow exponentially when we recover from battle. The increase seems to be based on the strength of the opponent, the extent of the injuries, and even the strongest power a Saiyan feels upon recovery."

"Interesting. Let's move on for now, and outline what your training will look like for the next few years." While nodding along, I turn my scouter back on to scan myself. The numbers rose quickly, 1,400, 1,500, 1,600, 1,700. The numbers stopped.

PL: 1,950

My grin was near savage. It wasn't huge by any means, but I had grown nearly twice as strong as when I arrived here. From a single battle, no less. Granted, our future spars won't likely be allowed to escalate so much, Senzu Beans or not. But it was another step towards the strength I can only dream of right now.

The next few years are gonna be fun~

End Chapter

~INSTINCT~

Power Levels:

Aikon: 1,350-1,650(During Battle) 950(After Battle)

Nail: 1,700(During Battle) 1,800(After Battle)

Master Shel: 2,450

Gine: 500

Author's Note: This one ran much longer than I anticipated. My chapters will typically have a natural stopping point, but because of that, the length of each chapter might vary wildly. I mean this one has nearly twice as many words as the first one! I've got us set up for a decent time skip as you can probably tell. I'm not trying to rush to the canon timeline, but I don't want to drag this out either. It's mostly gonna be training for the 10-11 years after all, and while some Dragon Ball fans just wanna see numbers go up, I'd get bored and so would most of you.

In case anyone has any suspicions, Aikon is not hooking up with his mom. They will be very close in time, but not like that. Trust me, I'm not slap happy about it either, Gine is cute as can be, it's just not happening here. Don't worry, my fellow degenerates, there will be girls down the line.

I gave Nail a post battle boost just cause I feel like it. It's not fair if non-Saiyans don't grow at all after a fight if Sayians like Bardock, Broly, Goku Black, and now Aikon are getting stronger during the battle. I want Nail to be a long standing rival, and I want non-Saiyan allies to stay relevant just in general. Looking at you, Tien. Jesus dude, get a grip! Learn Kaio-Ken, get Ultimate, become an Android, do something!

Tangent aside… Nail is around 7 or 8 here probably. Pretty sure Piccolo Jr. had an accelerated growth rate to reach his prime asap. Dende is a good example of proof, having only reached teenager status after the 7 year time skip. As for young Nail being an asshole? Did anyone look at this guy and think he didn't have a stick up his ass as a kid, too? Only now he's a kid that takes himself way too seriously to boot. He'll calm down as time goes on.

Anyways, I think I've spoiled enough of my plans here. Off to chapter 3! Wheeee~