Dragon Ball Z Dynasty

by Feraligreater328

When travelling along Snake Way, Son Goku suddenly finds himself plummeting down to Hell. There, he meets a surprisingly familiar ghost from his past that promises to change everything about his life going forward. How will the Saiyan react to this sudden, positive change in his life? Find out in Dragon Ball Z Dynasty.

27. Chapter 26: A Family Again

Dragon Ball Z: Dynasty

Written by: Feraligreater328 and StevenBodner

A/N: Okay, next up on the big thank you train is Scott404 on ao3. I have no way of communicating directly with the fella, but their effort to keep Dynasty alive by, in a sense, circulating the tapes is something that made me smile even at my lowest in these past four months. If anyone has a direct line of communication, or if Scott404 is reading this, I am honored that the effort was put in for my writing.

Chapter 26: A Family Again

Outside of Frieza's Ship…

Bardock and Captain Ginyu were still going at it. The ferocious but precise fighting style of the Saiyan was clashing against the fluid but adaptive fighting style of the Captain.

While Ginyu had a slight advantage in raw power, Bardock had the slightest advantage in actual skill. Years of fighting people stronger than him, matching up against various combat styles in the trenches, had allowed Bardock to hone his own skills and instincts to be that much more adaptive. On the other hand, Captain Ginyu, while certainly not one to slack-off on his training, had spent most of his career never really having to push himself. The result was a flashy fighting style that, at its core, was significantly more rudimentary than that of Bardock. This difference in experience allowed Bardock to keep up with the captain almost blow-for-blow.

Being knocked back by a graceful kick to the chin, Bardock was getting tired of this.

He briefly considered using the Kaioken, but then Bardock's eyes widened as two feelings suddenly hit his senses. One of these feelings was close and rapidly approaching and the other was still quite far away. Bardock tossed a Ki bomb at Ginyu, scarring the land around the captain and landing on a nearby ridge. The older Saiyan smiled and chuckled. "Okay then... that changes things. I can make it through this without having to hurt myself."

Having escaped the majority of Bardock's attack, Ginyu leapt into the air with a twirl. "You think you're going to escape this unscathed?! You insult me, Bardock!"

Ginyu descended from the sky for a flying kick, but he was cut off midway. Rather than being hit by a surprise shock from Bardock, Ginyu was hammered from his blind spot by an entirely different foe. Crashing into the ground hard, the Captain pushed himself up. He growled under his breath, turning to face his foes. And what he saw made Captain Ginyu very angry, Bardock had been joined by another rat. "What the hell are Burter and Jeice doing?! Can they really not be flummoxed to split their attention between two foes?!"

Vegeta wryly chuckled to himself as Ginyu glared at him. "Burter and Jeice... pfft~"

Ginyu seemed to blow this off. Instead, he addressed Bardock and his newest opponent directly. "Quite the unfair move, Saiyan filth! Teaming up two-on-one is hardly sporting!"

That bit of pretentious speech annoyed Bardock, something fierce. "Two-on-one is unfair?! Two-on-one?! Have you forgotten that FIVE-on-one beating where you and your fellow flamboyant assholes all ganged up on me and beat the shit outta me?! Huh?!"

Ginyu leapt to his feet, his face crossed with rage. The captain looked as if he were ready to blow... but then he immediately calmed down. Ginyu let loose a playful chuckle and wiped his nose, trying to look innocent. "Y-Yeah... I guess... from that perspective... I really don't have... uh... have a leg to stand on... do I?"

The Captain blushed and scratched his cheek, looking rather awkward at being called out like that. But then, striking a mighty pose, Ginyu shouted at the top of his lungs. "But all is fair in love and war! So, I will accept the punishment for my earlier, less-than-honorable actions! Have at me, Saiyans!"

Bardock sighed at Ginyu's bravado. "Hate to break it to you, jackass, but I'm just getting my second wind."

Ginyu struck an even more epic pose. "The last thing a man of my pedigree is afraid of is a couple of brats!"

Vegeta and Bardock both glared down at Ginyu, watching as the captain shouted of manliness and youth. And then, the two of them turned their glares towards each other. Bardock was gruff and blunt. "I'm getting sick of hearing his goddamned voice. Let's get this shit over with."

The Prince chuckled. "Wanting to look good for your family? I know that Raditz and Kakarot are here. And so is that irritating woman of yours that dared to strike my face..."

Bardock's brow furrowed. He hid it as best he could, but Vegeta mentioning Gine served to draw up the older Saiyan's ire. Vegeta continued. "Once this Ginyu Force situation is done... I can't wait to have the four of you bastards to myself..."

Bardock snapped at Vegeta. "Keep my family's names out of your mouth. Once we're done with Ginyu, I'll make an opening in my schedule to kick your ass! Anything to make you happy, Your Highness..."

Vegeta laughed out loud, watching as Bardock rolled his eyes. "Sure! I'll kill you first. You're the one that has succeeded in pissing me off the most, after all!"

The Prince's lips cracked into a wicked smirk. "But... first..."

With a roar and a mighty burst of energy, Vegeta left Bardock behind and charged directly at Captain Ginyu. Bardock sneered at the Saiyan Prince, and then he followed behind him. The two Saiyans lunged forward at Captain Ginyu, killing intent gleaming in their eyes.

Meanwhile, in a far off Namekian plain…

The traveling battle of Gohan and Recoome finally came to a resting place. Now, instead of dodging each other's blasts and returning fire, the two fighters were furiously trading blows in a brutal back-and-forth brawl.

Recoome's fist bounced off Gohan's face, but Gohan worked through the pain. He summoned a Ki blast into his hand and shot it at Recoome's eyes. The brute dodged, but his hair was split and the ear cup of his Scouters was blasted into pieces.

As the lens fell from Recoome's face, he smirked at Gohan and laughed. "Nice shot!"

Recoome went at Gohan again, a manic look in his eye. He was excited to see the leap in power the boy had made sense the last time. The hulking soldier was actually getting a challenge and it made his blood froth and boil with total joy. He tossed his massive fist forward and caught Gohan on the jaw, taking the boy off of his feet. But Gohan was nearly unfazed. He snapped back at Recoome and fired an even larger blast into the brute's face.

The thug fell back into a tumble, but landed into a tackling position. He dug his heels in and shouted as loud as he could. "RECOOME SACK!"

Recoome launched his broad shoulder directly at Gohan. The boy flinched and crossed his arms in front of him, taking the brunt of the hit and flying back. He crashed, back first, into a rock and the rock crumbled into pieces. Recoome smirked and scrunched over.

Using the full force of all of his muscles, Recoome launched himself high into the air. "RECOOME BODY SLAM!"

Gohan looked up just in time to see Recoome's massive, yellow frame crashing down towards him. He quickly rolled out of the way and the thug smashed into the ground hard, leaving a Recoome-shaped crater where he landed.

Gohan leapt into the air and screamed at the top of his lungs. "MASENKO!"

The boy fired the beam directly into the crater and created a massive explosion. The flints and pieces of rubble shot into the air as Gohan landed onto his feet. He thought he had a minute, but then Recoome popped from the ground in front of him, scorched and with a smile. "Is that all you have, kid? Come on! Keep giving me more!"

Gohan screamed in frustration and charged at Recoome. The brute tried to punt the boy, but Gohan leapt up to dodge the kick. Quick as a flash, he landed a kick of his own that dislodged three of Recoome's teeth from their sockets. Recoome fell flat on his back and Gohan landed a double-knee strike into the yellow thug's stomach.

The wind fled from Recoome's lungs and Gohan went for a furious tornado of strikes. Punches and kicks and slams and headbutts that all ended with one massive spinning ax kick to Recoome's forehead. Gohan's rage was pumping full force in this assault, taking his power to such a point that the very ground beneath Recoome's thick skull cracked and crumbled at the force of Gohan's final strike.

But the boy wasn't done! Gohan leapt off of Recoome's prone form and began to rain bursts of Ki blasts down onto his opponent. The sheer force of the power Gohan was putting out pushed him higher and higher into the air. Soon, he was so high above the ground that the spot where Recoome was lying looked like a small campfire. The boy's energy was used up and he was breathing hard. But at least he had made some sort of progress.

Or so he thought! That idea was immediately rendered false as Recoome suddenly rocketed up right next to Gohan. "SURPRISE!"

Gohan had no chance to react as the toe of Recoome's boot swiped across his face. He went corkscrewing through the air, but Recoome quickly caught up and seized him by the hair. Gohan screamed in pain and Recoome responded by whipping the boy around before immediately flying back towards the ground. Gohan was slammed into the ground like a sack of bricks.

He went sliding and Recoome pounced on him, grabbing the boy by the face and punching him again and again, harder and harder until he stopped making noise. The thug plucked the broken little boy from the ground and chuckled. "Is that all ya got? Huh?"

Gohan shivered, as if his body was seizing up. His eyes were rolled back and Recoome began to laugh. But then, Gohan's eyes straightened out and he flung another blast into the bastard's gaping mouth. Recoome dropped the kid and Gohan immediately lunged for his foe's leg.

Recoome chuckled as Gohan latched on to his ankle. "Damn! You sure have some spunk, kid!"

Meanwhile, on the far side of the planet…

Goku, Raditz, Gine, and Chi-Chi were all speeding over the Namekian sea. Each was feeling the conflicts and the power levels that dotted the surface of the planet. Goku's attention was solely focused in the direction of the strongest, most sinister power. "That must be Frieza... huh?"

Raditz was blue in the face. "Yeah. It... it is. And..."

The older brother's attention was planted on Bardock and Vegeta and whomever it was they were fighting. Raditz was still new to this whole "energy sensing" thing, but he was capable of using context clues. He sensed a strong, sinister power other than Frieza. And he didn't want to say who he thought it was. Gine was blunter in addressing the issue, though. "Don't withhold information from your brother, Raditz. That power that Vegeta and your father are fighting is almost definitely Captain Ginyu."

Raditz flinched on reflex. "Goddamned Ginyu Force..."

Goku smirked. "Hey, at least he feels strong!"

The Saiyan from Earth smashed his fists together. "I'm pumped for a good fight!"

Gine sighed at both of her sons. "I swear, it's one extreme or the other..."

She turned to look at her daughter-in-law. "Men. Am I right, Chi-Chi?"

Gine cocked her head when Chi-Chi didn't respond. "Chi-Chi? Are you okay?"

Chi-Chi wasn't trying to be rude, she was just very distracted. Lost in her own thoughts and trying to grasp the feeling of searching out specific energies, Chi-Chi was truly lost in her own world. She felt the various powers on the planet, knowing that she was truly out of her depth here. But that didn't matter! Only one thing was on Chi-Chi's mind. One power. One person. The person that she took this trip across space for in the first place. It took her a moment, but Chi-Chi soon locked onto a familiar feeling. In spite of never having felt an energy signature before, she knew it was him! It had to be him! She would be able to pick him out from anywhere! Her motherly instinct told her that the person she was feeling was 100% her son!

Chi-Chi's eyes snapped open. "Gohan!"

Gine, Goku, and Raditz all jumped and stared back at Chi-Chi. The housewife, meanwhile, was still feeling what she knew was her son. But something was wrong! His energy was uneasy! Something was hurting him... something... someone?! Someone stronger than Gohan was attacking him!

Chi-Chi's eyes became steel and she gritted her teeth. "My baby!"

She growled under her breath, pulling from a yet-to-be accessed pool of power. And then, with an almighty, motherly shout, Chi-Chi took off at a speed that surprised all of her allies. Goku and Raditz both stared as she flew off, flabbergasted. Gine did as well. They all then broke from their distractions and sensed exactly why she raced off as fast as she did. The levity quickly drained from Goku's face and he took off at top speed. Gine and Raditz, the fear and trepidation having left them as well, both took off in the same way!

Back with Gohan and Recoome…

Gohan was rapidly losing ground against his older, more experienced opponent. He was out of energy and out of stamina and Recoome didn't seem to be lacking any steam at all. The brute, as a matter of fact, only seemed to have more energy from this ongoing scrap with his child opponent.

A massive kick slammed into Gohan's chest and the boy coughed hard. He went sailing back and bounced off of a rock, landing with a solid thud. Gohan struggled to get up, coughing and wheezing and struggling to breathe. The boy damned himself as he fell back to the ground. "E-Even after the power boost from last time... even after that..."

Gohan gagged, coughing up bile and shaking. "... it's still not enough to even help beat one damned opponent...?"

Recoome walked up to Gohan, chuckling and cracking his knuckles. The brute's face and body were both significantly bloodied. Gohan hadn't beaten Recoome, but he sure as hell left his mark. The bastard stopped a few yards away from Gohan and smirked. "It's a waste of talent and it sucks. You're scrappy, kid! It's a shame that you had to cross Lord Frieza!"

Recoome shrugged. "But... I'm not paid to question orders. I'm just told to carry 'em out..."

He folded his arms above his head. "I'll make it quick, kid! A nice thank-you for giving me such a good fight!"

Recoome opened his mouth wide. "RECOOME ERASER GUN!"

A pink glow developed in Recoome's gaping mouth. A pink glow of death. Gohan glared at Recoome and tried to move, but he couldn't. He couldn't draw air into his chest. He couldn't get his body to move! Gohan squeezed his eyes shut as tears began to form. He knew that he was going to die.

He was so sad. So upset. He didn't even last long enough to see Piccolo be brought back to life. He didn't even last long enough to thank him for taking care of him and saving his life. Gohan began to sniffle and sob as he thought about it. He was scared. He didn't want to die. Recoome took a deep breath. The energy was there and he was ready to fire. But as he blew and the beam of energy began to fly out, salvation rained from above. A heavy kick smashed down onto Recoome's head and slammed his mouth shut!

The Eraser Gun discharged in Recoome's mouth and exploded, shattering most of the brute's remaining teeth. Recoome's eyes rolled back and his jaw slacked open, allowing a pillar of smoke to erupt from his throat. The yellow brute groaned, and then fell onto his back with a solid thud.

Hearing this commotion, Gohan cracked his eyes open. He needed to see what was going on. But as his eyelids eased up, Gohan was seized from the ground and pulled into a tight compression. The boy roared in frustration, trying to get free. But as he did, he realized that he recognized this feeling. It was soft, warm, and welcoming. Slowly, Gohan craned his neck upwards and he began to cry at the sight of a familiar, beloved, and long-missed face. "M-Mommy..."

Chi-Chi stared down lovingly at her beaten and battered child. Tears were already streaming from her eyes like gushing waterfalls. Her lower lip quivered as she squeezed her bloodied baby tightly. "Gohan..."

The two of them were quiet for a moment, a little bit of peace laying over a scarred battlefield. And then, the two of them both broke down into inelegant tears.

"MOMMY!" "GOHAN!"

They squeezed each other close, just desperately happy to see one another again. Even in this past year that had forced Gohan to be a warrior, one thing hadn't changed: he was still just a child. Not even 6 years of age yet. The embrace continued for a short while, mother and son shaking and cradling one another as if nothing else existed. The sadness and panic were soon replaced with a heavy wave of relief. The two of them held one another and smiled.

And then, that lovely moment was broken into by a brash shout. "What the hell was that?! Cheap shot, lady!"

Gohan and Chi-Chi's eyes both snapped open and they turned towards the voice. And the two of them were panicked to see a very irritated Recoome looming over them. They were frozen in place, shaking with fear, and Recoome continued. "You have to wait your turn, ya know?! I'm in the middle of it with that kid right now! But once he's dead, I can fight you if you wanna!"

Recoome struck a pose. "Recoome fights anybody! I'm not racist or sexist! So I'll give it all I have to this fight when your turn comes up!"

With a smirk, Recoome reached down to grab Gohan. But Chi-Chi was quick to leap away. Recoome stared at the woman, confused. "What the heck?!"

Chi-Chi didn't answer. She hugged Gohan tight and then set her baby down onto the ground. And then she turned and shot Recoome a death glare, stepping in front of Gohan and taking a fighting stance. "You won't be killing my son! Not as long as I'm able to stand and defend him!"

Gohan groaned in pain. "M-Mommy...don't..."

The boy faltered, crashing to the ground in agony. He couldn't make himself move. Recoome, meanwhile, smirked and laughed. "Seriously?! Look lady, I said I'd fight you... but how long do you think it's gonna last?! You're super weak-looking!"

Chi-Chi tightened her stance, not saying a word. Recoome sighed and shrugged, cracking his knuckles. "Fine. Your funeral."

The two of them charged at one another. Recoome smiled wide and went for a heavy punch. A strike so strong that it would've killed Chi-Chi instantly flew right at her face, but she surprised the brute with her sheer agility. Chi-Chi fell to the ground and dragged her fist through the Namekian soil. Recoome went to stomp her, but Chi-Chi dodged again. She took a mighty leap into the air with her newly-learned flight powers and dodged a third punch from the brute. Recoome was getting annoyed, growling at Chi-Chi as she landed onto his fist. "You're pissing me off!"

Chi-Chi still said nothing. She threw her hand back and then brought it forward, flinging a massive handful of dirt into the thug's eyes. Recoome growled in pain. "Dammit! That's a dirty move!"

The housewife took a deep breath. She focused every last bit of her power into her foot and then reared back and slammed it into Recoome's nose. The brute clenched his face as Chi-Chi leapt back to the ground. "Ouchies!"

Chi-Chi took a fighting stance again, watching as Recoome rubbed his face with both of his hands. "That stung..."

As the yellow monster recovered, Chi-Chi glanced back at Gohan. She knew this was a losing fight, but she also knew that her child needed protecting. And that, in her heart, her life was nothing compared to his. Chi-Chi sighed and then drew her hands to her side. "O-Okay... just like Goku..."

Recoome wiped his eyes with a grunt and saw Chi-Chi charging an attack. "What are you-"

Chi-Chi shouted. "Kamehameha!"

A blue beam rushed over Recoome. Chi-Chi winced at the feeling of her own energy whipping against her skin. It burned due to her lack of control. She cursed herself for not practicing more while she was on the ship, but her self-reflection was quickly brought to a halt. A massive hand shot out of the beam and wrapped around Chi-Chi's throat. The Kamehameha dissipated and she went to try and pry the fingers from her neck, desperate for air. But to no effect. Recoome used a mere fraction of his strength to force Chi-Chi to her knees.

From the sidelines, Gohan was in a panic. He didn't care how much it hurt, the boy forced himself to his feet and began to hobble over to help his mother. But midway, he fell back to the ground. His vision was blurring from his injuries. "Mommy..."

Chi-Chi was fading, but she looked back at her son. With a feeble wave of her hand, she made it clear to Gohan what he needed to do. Runaway while he still could.

Recoome sighed. "See... so weak..."

He shook his head, clearly disappointed. "Gonna kill you now."

The brute raised his elbow into the air and shouted. "RECOOME..."

Chi-Chi raised her hands up as best she could and began to fruitlessly struggle. She laid meaningless punch after meaningless punch onto Recoome's chest. No effect whatsoever. Chi-Chi knew that, at the very least, she was about to be maimed. But she still fought. If she could buy Gohan even a single extra second, it would have been worth it.

She reared her right fist back as far as she could, desperate to throw even one more punch. Recoome shouted. "BOOM!"

As Recoome's elbow descended towards Chi-Chi's face, her fist shot forward. And then Recoome's attack came to an immediate halt. The yellow thug blew a raspberry, spit and foam sputtering from his mouth as he dropped Chi-Chi and began to stumble back. Chi-Chi fell to the ground and broke into a coughing fit. The human woman looked up from her spot on the ground, and then her tense face immediately lightened up, a loving smile cracking through her stern lips.

Gohan was confused, struggling to get a clear view of what was going on. But before he could, a feminine hand reached down and pushed a Senzu into his mouth. The boy quickly chewed and swallowed, rolling over and groaning in relief as the pain left his body and all previous damage was undone. His vision cleared and he looked up to see his grandmother and uncle both standing over him.

Gine smiled warmly and lovingly at her grandson. "Gohan~! How's my adorable little grandson doing? You look stronger~"

Raditz nodded. "Nephew."

Gohan smiled at the familiar faces. "Hey Grandma Gine. Uncle Raditz. It's good that you're here... Grandpa Bardock and the others-"

Raditz nodded and interjected. "I know. I know..."

He held out his hand. "Mom, give me the Senzus. I'm going to rush ahead to help out Dad and the rest."

Gine nodded. "Krillin's power is flagging. Make sure you find him and give him one first."

Raditz nodded back, taking the bag of beans and flying off at top speed. Gohan's eye followed his uncle as he flew away, scanning across the sky and eventually coming upon his mother. And, standing next to his mother, was an equally welcomed sight. Gohan got to his feet. "Daddy!"

Goku and Chi-Chi both turned, smiling at their son. Goku chuckled. "Wow, Gohan! You've gotten so big! Must be that Namek air, huh?"

Gohan didn't respond. Instead, he ran as fast as he could towards his parents. Taking a leap, Gohan jumped into his mother and father's arms and the three of them embraced. For the first time in a while, the family was back together. And none of them were even grievously injured!

Slowly, Gine came walking up with a big smile on her face. She watched on with genuine joy at the sight of her youngest son and his family together. But then, to her shock, two hands grabbed onto each of Gine's shoulders. She yelped as Goku and Chi-Chi both tugged on her and pulled her in close, bringing her into a loving, family hug.

Gine's smile fell a bit, going from jovial to gentle. And she just allowed herself to take the moment in.

And then a Ki blast came rocketing towards them.

Gine was quick to respond, thrusting her hand out and firing a blast of her own to stop the attack. Goku, Chi-Chi, and Gohan all turned to face the source, each with an angry glare adorning their face. Standing a bit of a distance away, Recoome was back on his feet again. "Hey! There's no time for sappy crap like that! I'm still ready to fight!"

Gohan, Gine, and Chi-Chi all took fighting stances, ready to tangle with the brute. Recoome chuckled and grandstanded. "I didn't mean you pathetic fools! I wanna fight with Mister Cheap-Shot in the orange shirt!"

The two women and child all turned to look at Goku. The Saiyan from Earth was calm. He placed a gentle hand on his wife and mother's shoulders and carefully pushed them aside. As he walked by, he playfully ruffled his son's hair. And then the gentle kindness drained from Goku's face and he glared at Recoome with a focused, quiet fury. Recoome chuckled and sarcastically quipped. "Ooh! Scary~"

The yellow thug flipped Goku off, but the Saiyan didn't break stride. Recoome continued to run his mouth. "You're gonna regret walking up to a member of the Ginyu Force so nonchalantly!"

Goku didn't even raise his voice. "Ka..."

Recoome chuckled. "Whatcha mumbling to yourself? Huh? Maybe a little prayer before I break you?! Come on, you loser! Even the kid had the guts to scream out while I was breaking him!"

Goku's glare intensified. "...me..."

Recoome snorted. "Oh! That's the same weak-ass move that that woman used! Puh-lease! Lemme show you a real attack!"

Recoome began to charge all of his power into his core. "You gotta yell your attacks with flair! RECOOME! ULTRA!"

Goku was ignoring the boisterous prick at this point. "...ha..."

Recoome shouted even louder. "FIGHTING!"

Goku was within spitting distance of Recoome. "...me..."

Recoome shouted as loud as he could. "BOMB-"

Goku thrusted his hands right into Recoome's face. "HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

A truly monstrous energy blast, the size of a mountain, engulfed Recoome. The attack spread across the Namekian landscape, swallowing several islands and parting the sea as it ripped across the planet. From an outer space point-of-view, it looked as if Namek itself was firing a Ki blast into the cosmos.

Gohan, Chi-Chi, and Gine all stood by, visibly flustered. Once the smoke cleared, Goku remained. However, there wasn't even a trace of Recoome left. The brute had been totally vaporized by the overwhelming might of Goku's newly-acquired power.

The Saiyan from Earth stood up straight and turned to his family, his stern scowl being replaced with a gentle smile once more. "Nice to see a week of training at 100 times Earth's gravity really makes such a difference. What say we go and join up with Dad and Raditz?"

Immediately, the family perked back up, they all smiled and nodded at the suggestion. Goku chuckled and took off. "Well then, come on guys! Let's get going!"

The Son Family members all took off, flying towards Frieza's ship. Only one Ginyu Force member remained and then it was time for a family reunion on Namek!