Chapter 1: Ruination
Prologue:
The sky hung as an ashen veil, a lifeless canopy of smoke and fire. Earth's vibrant hues had long been suffocated by ruin, leaving the land scarred with deep craters and charred remnants. Once-thriving ecosystems were now mere shadows of their former selves, and the world seemed to be dying in slow agony. The dim sun struggled to pierce the haze, casting a dull, orange glow over the desolate wasteland below.
What was once a vibrant land now stretched endlessly in ruin. Smoldering craters punctuated the earth where cities had once flourished, their jagged edges faintly glowing with the last traces of heat. Shards of civilization jutted like broken teeth from the scorched ground, their twisted forms clawing at the horizon. Bare trees stood like skeletal remains, blackened trunks a grim testament to the inferno that had consumed all.
The air was thick with ash and the bitter tang of blood, clinging to the skin like an oppressive weight—as though Earth itself were mourning its own demise.
In the heart of this devastation stood a figure. Shod, battle-worn, and clad in a torn Saiyan battle suit, Kakarot surveyed the remains of his latest conquest. His tail, wrapped loosely around his waist, unfurled lazily as he inhaled deeply, his nostrils flaring at the scent of ash and ozone. It was an all-too-familiar aroma.
Kakarot crouched low, gripping a loose chunk of rubble. He crushed it absentmindedly in his hand, the fine dust slipping through his fingers and scattering in the faint breeze. "Fragile," he murmured, his voice devoid of emotion. These humans had put up a fight—enough to amuse him for a time—but their resistance, like every other, had proven futile.
His scouter beeped faintly, pulling his attention to a weak energy signature nearby. He turned, his dark eyes locking onto a cowering figure huddled beneath a broken wall. A child—barely old enough to walk—clutched a shattered toy, its face streaked with dirt and tears.
Kakarot's boots crunched against the rubble as he approached, his shadow looming over the trembling form.
The child whimpered, clutching the toy tighter. "Please…"
He tilted his head, a flicker of curiosity breaking through his otherwise stoic expression. There was no malice in his gaze—only indifference. He raised his hand, palm glowing with the faint hum of gathering energy. "Survive or perish," he muttered. "It's all the same."
The beam tore through the air, its light briefly illuminating the desolation before fading into the ash-filled sky.
The weight of silence pressed on him. Once, he might have reveled in the thrill of battle, the purpose it gave him. Now, as he surveyed the wasteland around him, there was nothing but emptiness.
"This is what it means to be a Saiyan," he thought bitterly. A warrior. A destroyer.
And yet, a flicker of doubt gnawed at the edges of his mind, unrelenting. Was this truly his purpose? Or was it the purpose assigned to him—a legacy carved into his very blood? His father's face flashed briefly in his memory, stern and resolute. Bardock had sent him here to survive, to thrive. But had Bardock known what would come of it?
"If this was survival," Kakarot thought grimly, "maybe I should have stayed."
The quiet wasn't soothing. It was suffocating. The moaning wind carried no resistance, no voices, nothing but the echoes of the destruction he'd wrought. His fist tightened at his side, the scouter beeping faintly again—a reminder of the whispers he couldn't silence.
Suddenly, a faint hum caught his attention. Not the wind, not the flames—something mechanical. It was distant but unmistakable.
Kakarot smirked, his lips curling in a semblance of a grin. So, they were coming. Someone always came. Another fight, another distraction to drown out the whispers in his head.
He turned toward the sound, his tail flicking behind him. "Another distraction, then. Let's see if they can even keep up."
The swirling abyss of hyperspace was silent, yet Raditz felt the echoes of his thoughts reverberate in his chest. The hum of the ship's engines could not drown them out. His scouter, though inactive, rested snugly over his eye, a constant reminder of the task ahead.
He muttered the name of the planet—"Earth"—as if testing its weight on his tongue. It was not the planet that gave him pause but the one who resided there. His brother. His only brother.
"Let's hope you're worth this trip," he murmured under his breath, his gaze fixed on the screen in front of him. The faint energy signature of Earth flickered on the display as the planet grew closer, its presence now undeniable.
Raditz remained motionless in the pod, his hands resting on the sides of the small craft. The pod's internal systems hummed quietly, guiding the vessel toward the atmosphere with minimal input required. As Earth loomed large on the monitor, his eyes narrowed. The journey was nearly over, and his next move was clear.
Nappa's voice crackled over the communicator. "Raditz, you there? What's the status?"
Raditz grimaced, tapping the device. "I'm closing in. It's… faint. But he's alive."
"Better be," Nappa replied, his tone dismissive. "If he's a waste of time, Vegeta won't be happy."
The transmission cut, leaving Raditz to his thoughts. His brother had been sent to Earth with a purpose, yet no reports of the planet's destruction had reached the Saiyan remnants. That silence was troubling. What had Kakarot been doing all these years?
As Raditz's pod neared the planet, the sight of Earth came into view—a fractured, lifeless orb drifting in the void. His scouter beeped, faintly picking up Kakarot's ki signature among the ruins.
"Finally," Raditz muttered, his tail coiling with anticipation. "Kakarot… Let's see if you've managed to accomplish anything worthwhile on this backwater planet."
The attack ball tore through the upper atmosphere of Earth, its outer hull glowing molten as it breached the ashen skies. The descent was violent, a streak of fiery light against the backdrop of ruin, but Raditz remained motionless within the cramped pod. His arms were crossed, his scouter occasionally flickering as it detected faint energy signals below—insignificant compared to the might of a Saiyan.
His scouter's interface blinked, identifying a familiar presence amid the desolation. Kakarot. The brother he'd long written as a failure was alive, and his power level… it was both disappointing and intriguing. Despite the weakness of the reading, the devastation spread across the planet told a different story.
"Brother," Raditz said, his voice low, almost reverent. "What have you become?"
The pod slammed into the earth like a meteor, throwing up a shockwave of dust and fire. As the debris settled, Raditz emerged, brushing specks of dirt from his armor and taking a moment to breathe in the scene before him. The air was thick with ash, the horizon dotted with jagged ruins and rivers of smoke. It was beautiful in its brutality.
A low chuckle escaped him. "You've been busy, little brother."
Raditz took to the air, the ruined landscape a blur beneath him as he followed his scouter's readings. The signal led him to the heart of the desolation, where the once-mighty towers of a city now stood broken and charred. The only sounds were the distant crackle of flames and the groan of collapsing steel.
In the center of the destruction stood Kakarot, his silhouette sharp against the backdrop of chaos. His tail swayed lazily behind him, his posture relaxed as he surveyed the ruins with a sense of satisfaction. His armor was scuffed, his boots dusty, and a faint streak of dried blood tracing his cheek. The faint glow of embers reflected in his sharp eyes, but his expression remained calm—proud, even.
He turned slowly as Raditz descended, his face splitting into a smirk. His resemblance to Bardock was striking—the wild hair, the sharp eyes—but the cold amusement in his gaze was his own. As he turned his head fully, the smirk deepened, curling his lips with an air of mocking confidence. He didn't greet Raditz, didn't offer any explanation. Instead, he chuckled—a low, derisive sound that echoed softly against the ruined landscape.
"Kakarot!" Raditz's voice cut through the stillness as he descended, landing heavily on the cracked pavement. "So, this is what you've been doing? Playing warlord on a planet of insects?"
Raditz clenched his fists, his scouter blinking as it calculated Kakarot's power level. "Disappointing," he muttered, though his gaze betrayed curiosity.
Kakarot tilted his head, the smirk still plastered on his face. "Is that all you Saiyan elites ever do? Measure strength through a number on that thing?" He gestured dismissively toward the scouter on Raditz's face.
Raditz sneered. "Careful, brother. Your tone suggests you've forgotten who sent you here in the first place."
"Sent me?" Kakarot's expression darkened. The smirk faded, replaced by a flicker of bitterness. "No one sent me. I was discarded. Banished to rot with the insects." He gestured toward the ruins surrounding them. "And look how well I've thrived."
Raditz took a step forward, his boots crunching against the cracked ground. "Thrived? This… this is a child's tantrum. Destruction without purpose." His tail lashed behind him. "Father sent you here to conquer, to bring this planet into the fold of our empire. Yet here you are, sulking in the ruins."
Kakarot's eyes narrowed. "Our father sent me here to survive, nothing more. If you think I owe him or the Saiyans anything, you're mistaken."
The air between them grew tense, the static of their suppressed power crackling faintly. Raditz's scouter beeped again, signaling Kakarot's rising energy. "For someone so disillusioned," Raditz said, his voice dropping into a low growl, "you seem awfully eager for a fight."
"I don't need to be eager," Kakarot replied, his smirk returning. "It's just who I am." His aura flared, sending a wave of heat and pressure radiating outward.
Raditz barely flinched, his own energy rising in response. "Then let's see if you're as strong as you think you are… little brother."
Raditz smirked, flexing his fingers as he dropped into a ready stance. "You've inherited Father's arrogance, at least. Let's see if you've earned it."
Kakarot didn't reply. His eyes gleamed with a feral intensity as his body tensed, and in a blur of movement, he closed the gap between them. The impact of his first strike cracked the ground beneath their feet, forcing Raditz to block with his forearm. The older Saiyan slid back, his boots digging into the pavement.
"Not bad," Raditz admitted, lowering his guard to taunt Kakarot. "But brute force alone won't save you."
Kakarot lunged again, aiming a flurry of punches at Raditz, who deftly dodged and parried each blow. "You fight like an animal," Raditz mocked. "No strategy, no discipline-just rage."
"And it's working, isn't it?" Kakarot growled, spinning into a kick that clipped Raditz's shoulder, sending him stumbling.
Raditz recovered quickly, his expression hardening. "Enough games." His energy spiked, a fiery aura erupting around him as he charged forward. The force of his counterattack sent Kakarot flying into the ruins of a nearby structure.
As Kakarot pulled himself out of the rubble, Raditz crossed his arms. "I didn't come here to fight you, little brother. This was merely a test."
Kakarot wiped blood from his lip, his expression defiant. "A test? You think I need your approval?"
"It's not my approval you need." Raditz's tail, resting comfortably around his waist, stayed perfectly still as he made his way forward. "I wasn't sent here alone. Vegeta and Nappa are awaiting my report. If you're strong enough to be useful, they might tolerate your existence. If not..." He smirked cruelly.
"Well, I suppose you've already made a home in this wasteland."
The mention of Vegeta and Nappa made Kakarot's jaw tighten. "And if I don't care about your 'report'? What then?"
Raditz's expression darkened. "Then I'll finish what Father started and put you out of your misery. But l'd rather not waste my time on weaklings."
Kakarot's fists clenched as fragmented memories surged through his mind—Bardock's stern voice, Gine's soft encouragement, and the chaos of their final moments. His father's last words rang in his ears: "You have to stay alive."
For years, those words had guided his survival, yet now they felt more like a curse. Stay alive… for what? The ruins of Earth, the ghosts of its inhabitants, and the bitter solitude that had consumed him provided no answers.
He exhaled sharply, bitterness lacing his voice. "They wanted me to survive. But what's the point of surviving when there's nothing left to fight for?"
Raditz's scouter beeped softly, reading the spike in Kakarot's energy. "What are you babbling about now?" he snapped, his tone sharp and dismissive. "You survived because you're a Saiyan, and that's all the purpose you'll ever need."
Kakarot scoffed, his aura sparking faintly. "Purpose? I was a baby sent to die on a rock. My survival was never about purpose—it was desperation. And I've had enough of living someone else's plan."
Raditz's eyes narrowed, his scouter blinking steadily. His tail, coiled securely around his waist, tightened slightly as his frustration grew. "You're part of something bigger than yourself, Kakarot. You just don't see it."
Kakarot's aura flared violently, shaking the ground beneath them as his anger reignited. "I don't need your empire, your mission, or your approval. l've carved my own path, and I'll crush anyone who tries to take it from me— including you."
Before they could clash again, a blade whistled through the air, embedding itself in the ground between them. Both Saiyans turned to see a stocky figure step out from the shadows, gripping another katana.
"Hey, you overgrown monkeys!" Yajirobe barked, his voice trembling slightly despite his bravado. "Why don't you pick on someone your own size?"
Raditz looked incredulous. "What is this... thing?"
Kakarot smirked. "Another survivor. They just keep popping up."
Yajirobe charged recklessly, swinging his blade at Raditz. The older Saiyan dodged easily, catching the blade mid-swing and snapping it in half with his bare hand. Yajirobe's eyes widened in terror, but he recovered quickly, throwing a smoke bomb to obscure their vision.
Kakarot took advantage of the chaos, launching an attack at Raditz, but the older Saiyan countered, slamming his brother into the ground. Yajirobe reappeared behind Raditz, aiming a surprise strike at his back, but Kakarot's wild energy blast forced both Raditz and Yajirobe to retreat.
As the dust settled, Yajirobe scrambled to his feet, glaring at the two Saiyans.
"You guys are insane! I'm outta here!" He disappeared into the ruins, leaving Raditz and Kakarot alone once more.
Raditz adjusted his scouter, watching the Earthling's retreat. "Pathetic creatures. And yet, they persist."
Kakarot stood, his breathing heavy but his resolve unwavering. His fists trembled, not with fear but with something deeper—uncertainty. Once again, his father's last words echoed in his mind: You have to stay alive. But for what? What was the point of survival now that Earth was reduced to ash, a barren wasteland.
Raditz smirked as Kakarot stood. "You've got potential, little brother. More than I expected. Perhaps you aren't a complete waste after all."
Kakarot wiped the blood from his lip, his expression unreadable. The memories of his parents lingered—Bardock's determination, Gine's warmth—but they were quickly drowned out by the reality surrounding him: a desolate Earth and a future that seemed to stretch endlessly toward nothing. His jaw tightened, teeth grinding in frustration, the weight of confusion bearing down on him like a heavy stormcloud.
Raditz stepped closer, his tone softer than before. "You've been running from your destiny for too long. It's time to accept who you are. Father's blood runs through your veins, and the Saiyan Empire needs warriors like us to rebuild. Together, we can rise above this wasteland and take what's ours."
Kakarot's eyes narrowed. "And serve some tyrant? That's your vision?" He remembered the vague references to Vegeta and Nappa, but the full story of who Raditz served was still a mystery to him. All he knew was that they were involved in something far bigger than himself, something that might offer power—perhaps the kind he could use to escape the shackles of this desolate world.
Raditz's smirk faltered, his gaze sharpening. "We have a mission, Kakarot. Vegeta believes we can rebuild the Saiyan Empire, but that can't happen without you." He stepped forward, his voice turning cold. "You're needed. No more running."
Kakarot hesitated, his gaze shifting toward the ruined planet beneath them. He had survived here, yes—but survival without purpose had become a hollow victory. What was there left to fight for? Earth had nothing to offer, and yet the idea of joining the very people who had cast him aside filled him with bitterness.
Raditz's words echoed in his mind as he faced the inevitable choice: stay on this broken planet or forge a new path with his estranged brother.
"Why now?" Kakarot asked, his voice low, his jaw tightening. "Why come for me after all this time?"
Raditz's tail coiled tightly around his waist, his expression unreadable. "The Saiyan race is on the brink of extinction. Vegeta knows we need every hand for the mission ahead. If you refuse…" He let the threat hang in the air.
The weight of Raditz's words settled over Kakarot like a heavy fog. For years, he had clung to the remnants of Earth, driven by nothing but survival. Now, a new path was unfolding before him—one that could either rebuild or destroy everything he had known.
Finally, Kakarot exhaled. "If I go with you, it's not for your empire or some tyrant's dream. It's because I'm done rotting on this rock."
Raditz's smirk returned, sharper than ever. "Well said. But if you're truly done with this rock, prove it. Let's leave this wasteland behind."
The two Saiyans made their way through the rubble before rising into the air, Raditz's scouter beeping faintly as they approached the glowing beacon ahead. Kakarot's gaze lingered on the fractured Earth, the ruins standing as silent witnesses to his choice. He thought of the fleeting faces of those he had encountered—Jaco's relentless chase, scattered resistance—but they faded into memories.
As they flew, Kakarot frowned and shot Raditz a skeptical glance. "How do you expect me to leave without my pod?"
Raditz smirked without breaking his stride. "Relax. I didn't come all this way without a plan. There's another pod waiting for you. You think I'd waste my time on a half-baked reunion?"
Kakarot raised an eyebrow but didn't respond, his focus shifting back to the beacon as they descended. The pods came into view, their metallic surfaces glinting faintly under the starlight. Raditz landed first, striding confidently toward his pod. Kakarot followed, stepping toward the second one. His fingers grazed its cold, metallic surface before he climbed inside, the door hissing shut and sealing him in darkness.
Through the communicator, Raditz's voice crackled, smug and certain. "The universe is much bigger than this dying world, brother. You'll see soon enough."
Engines roared to life, and the pods launched into the night sky, twin streaks vanishing into the void. Kakarot leaned back, the pull of acceleration grounding him as his mind raced ahead. What awaited him now—power, rebellion, or ruin—remained a question unanswered.