Two adult figures stood in front of a red-tinted window looking at the confused boy behind it. The woman got close to it and started speaking directly to him.

"If your father is wrong about this then we'll come and get you immediately"

The other male figure started to speak too.

"Listen son, you do what it takes to survive, got it?"

"We'll see you really soon," the woman said as she tried to hold back tears.

The man placed his hand on the glass and the small boy reacted by doing the same thing.

"Goodbye"

The space pod the boy was in started to lift into the air, and the two figures became smaller. As it got farther from the ground, the woman ran to speak up one last time.

"Don't forget us, Kakarot!"


Kakarot's eyes slowly blinked open as pale dawn light filtered into the small bedroom he shared at the orphanage. For a moment he lay still, thoughts still swirling with fading fragments of the dream.

It wasn't the first time he had experienced that same vision during the night. Ever since he was a very small child, flickers of that scene had periodically recurred in his sleep.

The man who had called Kakarot his son did bear an uncanny resemblance to him - the spiky black hair, intense eyes, and proud angular features all a mirror of his own. Kakarot felt certain on an innate level that this man was his true father.

And the woman who stood next to his father, and had gazed at him with such anxious love could only have been his mother. Her voice murmuring his name - his real name - echoed across the years, etched into his spirit. Kakarot - that was who he was meant to be, not this "Goku" nickname he had been given upon arriving at the orphanage.

Kakarot's early life was a blur, his infant memories fragmented. Yet as he grew older, he gradually managed to piece together shards of his mysterious origins.

Before, the term "Saiyan" had held no meaning to him as a toddler. But over time, flashes of inherited recollection revealed this to be the race he belonged to - a fierce warrior people from a distant world.

In those final moments before his journey to Earth, his father had told him to survive. That must have been the reason for sending him away as an infant - his parents had sensed some grave threat looming over their people.

His mother's promise to come for him if nothing bad happened confirmed that Kakarot's solitude here was meant to be temporary. Yet it had been over 12 years now since the smoking pod deposited him in the forest, and no rescue had ever arrived.

That could only mean one thing - whatever catastrophe his parents had feared did ultimately come to pass. His parents and possibly the rest of the Saiyan race must have perished, leaving Kakarot stranded and alone in this alien world.

Kakarot had done as his father bid all these years - he had survived. Endured isolation and living amongst weaker beings. But was mere survival to be the sole purpose of his existence?

Deep in his Saiyan blood, primal instincts drove him to test his limits, to seek ever greater strength through combat. Yet on this placid world, not a single creature existed who could push Kakarot or give him real challenge.

He had never belonged amongst these earthlings at the orphanage. They feared his potential and shunned his differences. He knew now his destiny lay along a different path than theirs.

That one woman, Hina he thinks was her name, she was the person who first found him. Now that he thinks about it, she was the only person he was fond of as an infant. Too bad she left a few years back for different work. It's a shame because he would have wanted to ask her a question.

But it doesn't matter to him anymore. If answers were to be found, he would have to seek them out alone.

He knew what he was going to do today.


Kaede hurried to exit the classroom, keeping her eyes lowered. She hoped to make it to her room unnoticed. But a grating voice suddenly called out.

"Well, if it isn't the little horned freak!"

Kaede cringed as Tomoo and his two sneering companions blocked her path. She tried to slip past them, but one of the boys grabbed her shoulder.

Kaede suppressed a shudder as she was surrounded. Not again... She just wanted to get through one day without this torment.

"What's the rush? We just want to get a closer look at those ugly things sticking out of your head," Tomoo taunted.

The other boy flicked his finger against one of Kaede's horns, making her wince. "Do these get sharper? You could put someone's eye out with these nasty things!"

Kaede's small hands went instinctively to the bony protrusions on her skull that had made her an outcast all her life. Other children claimed she was cursed, or even demonic. To them, she was just a freakish monster.

They were the reason she endured this humiliation day after day.

She hated them, hated the way they defined her as some kind of monster in the eyes of her peers. If only she could rip them out and cast them away forever.

Kaede shook her head, refusing to cry. She wouldn't give them the satisfaction. "Please, just leave me alone..."

"Oh, it speaks!" Tomoo exclaimed mockingly. "What's wrong, Don't like us paying so much attention to you, freak?"

Kaede's lip trembled as she forced herself not to respond, knowing anything she said would only fuel more torment.

Kaede kept her eyes on the floor, hands clenched into fists at her sides.

"What's wrong, demon? Too ugly to even look at us?" Tomoo taunted cruelly.

"She's probably too stupid to understand us with that tiny freak brain," one of the other bullies chimed in. They all laughed.

Tomoo roughly grabbed Kaede's chin and forced her head up. "I'm talking to you, monster!"

Kaede tried to wrench away but his grip was too strong. Tears of pain and frustration burned in her eyes.

"Ha! She's too much of a spineless coward to even defend herself," one of the bullies said. "She knows we're right - she's a worthless, ugly piece of garbage!"

The vile insults kept coming as Kaede stood trapped, unable to block out their hateful words. Tears burned in her eyes but she forced them back.

Spineless. That's what Kakarot had called her last night for not standing up to bullies. Was it true? Was she just weak for silently enduring this abuse?

Kaede trembled under the onslaught of cruel taunts, feeling helpless rage and frustration building inside. She should fight back, and defend herself.

Just then, a new voice spoke in Kaede's mind, making her blood run cold. "Yes, fight back! You have the power to destroy these insects easily. Kill them all!"

Kaede gasped, eyes widening in shock and alarm. What was that? Who said that? She looked around frantically but saw only the smug faces of her tormentors.

The voice spoke again, its tone cold and inhuman. "Why do you allow these worthless creatures to torture you so?" it questioned icily. "You were created to be superior to them."

A spike of fear shot through Kaede. Was she losing her mind? Hearing sinister voices?

The cold inner voice spoke again. "Destroy these pathetic humans. It is your purpose. EMBRACE it!"

Kaede clutched her head, heart hammering wildly. "No! Get out of my head!" she cried out loud, making the bullies trade confused looks.

Oblivious to her internal crisis, the bullies laughed. "Did we break the freak?" Tomoo jeered.

Just then, a new voice cut through the torment. "Stop it, go away," muttered in a bored and annoyed tone.

Kaede's eyes darted over to see Kakarot sitting alone, not even looking up from his food as he lazily dismissed the bullies.

Tomoo scowled as Kakarot told him to leave Kaede alone. His two friends shifted nervously, eyeing Kakarot.

"Let's just go," one muttered to Tomoo. "Forget about her."

But Tomoo clenched his fists, refusing to back down.

"Stay out of this, monkey freak," he spat at Kakarot. "No one asked you." Tomoo then smiled. "What's wrong, monkey boy? Don't like me picking on your fellow circus freak?"

Tomoo's friends glanced at each other anxiously. "C-come on, let's just go," one muttered, trying to tug Tomoo away.

But Tomoo wrenched his arm back. "No! I'm not letting this tail weirdo threaten me!" He stormed right up to Kakarot's face. "You don't scare me, monkey freak. Why don't you crawl back to the jungle where beasts like you belong!"

Tomoo's lackeys shifted uncomfortably, sensing Kakarot's dangerous energy simmering beneath the surface.

But Tomoo was either oblivious or uncaring. He smiled cruelly at Kaede's anxious face. "And let's not forget this pathetic little horned cow. A couple of rejects sticking together, how sweet!"

Kaede winced at his words. Kakarot's hands slowly clenched into fists, his shoulders tensing.

Tomoo made exaggerated crying noises. "Aww is the monkey mad I called his freak girlfriend names?" He laughed. "Face it, you circus animals need to accept you don't belong with normal humans!"

Kakarot moved in a blur, seizing Tomoo by the shirt and lifting him off his feet. Tomoo's bravado evaporated, replaced by wide-eyed fear.

"L-let me go!" He choked out.

Kakarot then slammed his fist into Tomoo's face. The bully crashed backward with a shriek of pain, blood gushing from his nose.

Before Tomoo could get up again, Kakarot's foot slammed into his stomach, making him double over in agony. Kakarot grabbed him by the hair and yanked his head up.

"Let this be a lesson to you, insect," Kakarot hissed as Tomoo gasped for breath. "Never speak to me that way again, or next time... I'll kill you."

"P-please, I'm sorry!" Tomoo sobbed. "I'll never bother you or the horned girl again, I swear!"

'I don't care about that damn girl,' Kakarot muttered in his mind.

Kakarot's lip curled in disgust. "Pathetic coward. You're not worth my time." He turned and walked away, leaving Tomoo bruised and bleeding on the ground.

Tomoo only thought one thing, 'You'll pay for this no matter what! I'll find your weakness... I'll figure out a way and then you'll be the one begging for mercy!'

Tomoo scrambled to his feet and fled down the hall, face battered and bloody. His lackeys had already disappeared, leaving just Kaede alone with Kakarot.

An awkward silence hung in the air before Kaede finally spoke up timidly. "Um, thank you, for helping me with them."

Kakarot shrugged, not even glancing her way. "Don't flatter yourself. Their presence was giving me a headache. I didn't do anything for your sake."

Kaede winced slightly at his bluntness but persisted. "Still, I'm grateful you stepped in. They've been tormenting me for so long. I didn't know how much more I could take."

"Hmph. That's your fault for being so pathetically weak," Kakarot replied. "If you had any pride or spine you would have done something yourself."

"It's that meek attitude that allows people to walk all over you. Either become strong enough to demand respect, or remain a powerless victim."

His words stung but Kaede knew he spoke the harsh truth. She had to find some way to change, to prove she wasn't just the scared, helpless girl everyone saw her as.


After the confrontation, Tomoo and his friends seemed to vanish whenever Kaede was around Kakarot. It was clear they harbored a deep fear and resentment toward the tailed boy after the beating he had given their leader. Their cruelty didn't vanish completely, but they no longer tormented Kaede openly when Kakarot was present.

Kaede found herself unconsciously drifting closer to Kakarot after that, whether in the cafeteria or between classes. His reputation created a sort of invisible bubble of solitude around him that kept the bullies away. Kaede latched onto that refuge from abuse like a lifeline.

Around him she could breathe a little easier, the looming threat of bullying held at bay by his dangerous reputation. She was drawn to Kakarot against her better judgment, moth to flame.

Inwardly though, she worried over wearing out her welcome. Kakarot saw her as nothing but a burden, a parasite latching onto him for protection she did not deserve. How long until his patience wore thin and he cast her back to the wolves?

Kaede knew she couldn't rely on him forever. She had to find her own strength. But for now, her fear bound her to his side.

Kakarot remained an enigma, never speaking his mind. Yet inside, he wrestled with confusion over his tolerance of the timid horned girl.

She was weak, pathetic - an insect beneath his notice. So why did he allow her to perpetually hover around him? Her devotion grated on him, yet some foreign instinct kept him from driving her away completely.


Kakarot launched into a fierce solo training regimen, unleashing punches and kicks against an imaginary foe. As his body moved on autopilot, his mind wandered.

He still didn't understand why he tolerated that timid horned girl always trailing after him like a lost puppy. She was a liability, an extra burden he didn't need. So why hadn't he scared her off already?

With an irritated scoff, Kakarot banished the thoughts. He didn't have time to worry about useless weaklings like Kaede. He needed to focus on becoming stronger.

A rustling sound made him whirl around, tense and ready to attack. But it was only the very girl who had been plaguing his thoughts. Kaede froze like a deer in headlights at being discovered.

"What are you doing here?" Kakarot snapped, making her flinch.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your training," Kaede stammered out. "I was just walking by and saw you...you're really amazing..." She trailed off, blushing.

Kakarot crossed his arms impatiently. "Well? What do you want?"

Kaede fidgeted under his piercing gaze. "I...I wanted to ask if you could maybe train me too," she finally managed. "So I can get stronger, like you said. So people won't pick on me anymore."

Kakarot raised an eyebrow, looking her scrawny frame up and down. Training her would be a waste of his time. Yet if it made the girl leave him be, perhaps it was worth it.

"Fine," he grunted. "We'll start with some basics."

Kaede's face lit up. "R-right now? Thank you!"

Kakarot rolled his eyes. "Stay focused if you want to learn anything. Now show me your fighting stance."

Kaede nodded eagerly and tried to mimic Kakarot's posture, legs bent and fists raised. But her lanky frame wasn't used to such positioning.

Kakarot circled her with a critical eye. "Feet further apart. Keep your center of balance low."

He roughly adjusted her arms and legs into better placement, making Kaede wince slightly at his brusque handling.

"There. Hold that for as long as you can without moving." Kakarot stepped back, watching for any give in her stance.

Brow furrowed in concentration, Kaede focused on maintaining the stance. But after only a minute, her legs started to shake from the unfamiliar strain.

"Pathetic," Kakarot scoffed. "I said hold it!"

Kaede gritted her teeth and forced her protesting muscles to comply. Sweat beaded on her forehead with the effort.


It's been about half an hour since Kakarot agreed to train Kaede.

Kakarot growled in annoyance as Kaede failed yet again to perform a simple combination move. "Enough! Do you want to get stronger or not?"

Kaede panted heavily, covered in sweat and dirt from hours of grueling training. "I'm...trying," she gasped out.

"Well, it's not good enough!" Kakarot snapped. "You asked for my help and this is what I get? Pathetic weakness?"

Kaede flinched at his harsh words. "I'm doing my best," she protested weakly.

Kakarot scoffed. "Your best is worthless. If you're too spineless to handle real training then stop wasting my time."

Each scornful remark hit Kaede like a blow. Hot tears of shame and frustration welled up that she angrily blinked back.

As she stood there despondently, the cold, familiar voice from her nightmares suddenly hissed in her mind.

"Why do you allow this foolish boy to disparage you so? You are mightier than he realizes."

"That boy, Kakarot, is no better than these wretched humans. He looks down on you with pity and contempt."

Kaede shook her head, trying to reject its poisonous words. But the voice pressed on.

"You are more powerful than Kakarot could ever dream. He is a fool not to recognize your potential, as are all the weaklings in this place."

The sinister voice echoed. "He is the true weakling... kill him and prove your superiority."

"This boy does not care for you," the voice hissed in Kaede's mind as Kakarot berated her from the outside. "He is using you for his own ends."

Kaede grimaced, trying to ignore the menacing voice. But it persisted.

"He looks down on you as inferior. Why submit yourself to his abusive training when you already possess the power to destroy your enemies?"

The voice's tempting words clawed at Kaede. She shook her head violently. "You're wrong about him!"

It laughed coldly. "Am I? Has he shown you anything but disdain and impatience?"

Kaede faltered. It was true that Kakarot had been distant and cruel in his handling of her.

Sensing her doubt, the voice pressed on. "You are mightier than he knows. You have no need for him or his worthless guidance. Break free of your chains!"

The voice raged in her mind. "He hates you! He wants you gone! Your destiny lies down another path..."

Without warning, Kaede's surroundings melted away, leaving her alone in an endless void of shadows. Icy fear gripped her heart as she glanced around frantically. How did she get here?

Malevolent laughter echoed through the darkness. Kaede spun around to see several pairs of eyes emerge from the blackness, glinting with cruel intent. To her horror, Tomoo and his gang stalked out of the shadows, circling like predators cornering prey.

"Time for more fun, freak," Tomoo sneered, his face twisting into a grotesque mask. The other bullies cackled, flexing their hands menacingly.

Kaede turned to run but found no escape. She screamed as the bullies set upon her viciously. Then their heads simply popped off in a spray of blood, their bodies still grasping for her.

Sobbing in terror, Kaede spun around only to see Kakarot approaching next, his face twisted in a sinister grin.

"You're worthless," he intoned, his voice overlapping with another she almost recognized. "I'll never accept a weakling like you."

Kaede sobbed and reached for him desperately. But then Kakarot's head too slid from his shoulders in a cascade of red, vacant eyes still piercing her as his body moved mechanically nearer.

Kaede curled into a ball, praying wildly to wake up from this madness. A gentle hand on her shoulder made her flinch away with a whimper.

She raised her head to see a ghostly mirror version of herself standing over her, white bandages wrapped tightly around its body. A strange familiarity teased her mind like a half-remembered dream.

"Poor child," it said, reaching out with both hands now in invitation. "I can take all the pain away... I can make you stronger."

Somehow Kaede knew going with this being would mean oblivion. Yet she found herself rising and extending a trembling hand toward its grasp...

"Kaede!" An angry voice called out.

Kaede gasped as the unsettling visions melted away, revealing an irritated Kakarot glaring at her.

"What the hell was that about?" he snapped. "One minute you start talking to yourself, the next you were completely dozed."

Kaede shakily got to her feet, still unnerved by the vivid hallucination. "S-sorry, I don't know what came over me..."

"Tch, save your excuses," Kakarot scoffed. "If you're going to suddenly start acting a fool and passing out, just leave and stop wasting my time."

Stung by his callous words, Kaede looked down. "It was nothing. I'm fine now, let's keep training."

Kakarot studied her critically for a moment as if debating whether to continue. Finally, he grunted in assent.

"No more of these episodes, understand? You asked for my help so start taking this seriously."

"I understand," Kaede said quietly. Inside she was shaken by the voice's deepening influence over her mind. But she couldn't tell Kakarot - he already saw her as too weak. She had to bury this unsettling development and endure.

Pushing down thoughts of the vivid hallucination, Kaede refocused as Kakarot launched back into training. She would become stronger and reject the sinister voice trying to twist her from within. She had to believe that or risk losing herself completely.


Under the cover of the night, Kaede slipped out of the orphanage, a loaf of bread in hand. She made her way to the forest where a dirty, small puppy awaited in a bush.

"Hi boy, I brought you something," she said softly, putting down the bread. The starving animal ravenously gulped it down.

Kaede gently stroked his matted fur. "You must be so hungry. I wish I could do more." The orphanage provided her with barely enough food for herself. But she couldn't stand to see the poor dog starve.

"You're one of the few things keeping me going," she confessed. The dog was her secret ray of hope, a creature even more cast-off than she. Caring for him gave her purpose.

Sadly, the scraps were soon gone. "I'm sorry, that's all I have," Kaede whispered, heart aching. The dog whined and licked her hand, big eyes imploring for more.

"Never go to the orphanage looking for food, they'll hurt you," Kaede warned. "If only I was stronger, I could protect you properly..."

As she turned to leave, she bumped right into a startled Kakarot. Kaede gasped. "Please don't tell anyone about him!" she pleaded desperately.

Kakarot looked down at the small puppy and then back at her. "I don't care what you or that mangy beast do. It's no concern of mine."

Kaede slumped in relief. "Oh thank you. I know he seems useless to you but-"

"Save it," Kakarot cut her off brusquely. "Just keep your pets and problems away from me."

As he turned to go, Kaede found the courage to ask "Why are you out so late anyway?"

Kakarot shot an icy glare over his shoulder. "Mind your own business."

Kaede shrank back. "S-sorry to pry. Good night then." She headed back to the orphanage while Kakarot disappeared into the darkness once more.


Kakarot stalked through the woods, eyes scanning the darkness for any sign of his target. He had landed on this pathetic planet in some kind of pod. If he could find it again, perhaps he could get the blasted contraption working and escape this place.

After nearly an hour of fruitless searching, he finally spotted something promising - a large crater mostly hidden in vegetation. He shoved the vines aside to reveal a rounded metal shell lying broken and dormant within. It was the pod!

Kakarot examined it eagerly but the technology was unfamiliar. He found a strange device with a lens and earpiece - it must be a scouter. He tried calling into the device. It showed some signs of life before quickly shutting off.

Digging around more revealed some sort of black and green armor in a small compartment. Kakarot slid it on and was surprised to find it flexed to fit his frame comfortably. This was Saiyan armor, he realized with a spark of familiarity.

But his focus returned to the inert pod. He searched its exterior for any switches or panels to activate systems, even trying prying some loose. But the pod remained dead, not even the slightest flicker of power. It's been sitting here broken for 12 years after all, he knew this was gonna happen.

With a snarl of frustration, Kakarot gave up for the night. At least now he knew the pod's location - he could return again to try restoring functionality. Perhaps there were tools somewhere in this backwater world that could jury-rig the alien technology.

For now, it was late and he needed rest. But Kakarot vowed he would fix his pod and escape this pathetic planet one way or another. Once he sorted out how to make the space pod work again, he'd finally be free of this strange world.


Light years away, Raditz stood by his space pod next to Vegeta and Nappa after ravaging another helpless world. As they set course for the next planet to conquer, his scouter suddenly beeped with an incoming signal.

Raditz tapped the scouter, surprised to see the signal originating from Earth. That backwater mudball was where they had sent his infant little brother Kakarot years ago to exterminate the population.

A savage grin crossed Raditz's face. This must be his little brother finally contacting them after completing his mission. The signal meant Kakarot had wiped out most of Earth's inhabitants if he was now trying to return home.

"Well done Kakarot," Raditz muttered proudly to himself. "I knew you wouldn't disappoint our warrior race."

He had planned to come fetch his brother in another decade or so once the planet was fully purged. But it seemed the boy was nearly done ahead of schedule.

"Hmm, perhaps I'll pay my dear brother a visit sooner than expected," Raditz mused. "We could use another strong fighter. And I'm interested to see how much devastation he's caused.


Uh oh, hope Raditz is not too mad to find Kakarot slacking off. And Tomoo isn't too happy about getting beat up. I wonder what's he gonna do about it. Find out next chapters.

Looks like a finally got done with chapter 2. It was kind of rushed so if there are any mistakes I will try to edit them if I can. This has about twice as many words as the first chapter so I'm proud of that. You guys might not see another chapter till the weekends when I have time.

Also don't be afraid to leave reviews. It will help improve the story. I got many more stuff planned.