The Real Raditz

Author's Note: (Updated) So, surprise, I had a hidden chapter in my flash drive that I had to revise and use for the most recent update. Still has original note from 2013 and all. When I complete it, I'll post it as an update and will be starting from complete scratch on Chapter 7. If my writing style has a noticeable change halfway through the chapter, that's a difference of 6 years of experience coming into play. Enjoy!

Edit: Minor edits due to plot holes being pointed out. Growing pains! It's kind of hard to pick up a story from 2013 having not watched the anime in a long time on top of that and remember everything. Thank you guys for pointing out the very obvious problem! Currently hitting my forehead with my college degree. I appreciate the feedback!

Original Author's Note: I'm going to try something different from my usual 'quoting' and direct copy of the actual anime and I'm going to just fill in the blanks that match the plot. It keeps the words new and everyone knows it's boring to read through a written out version of the anime with only a few 'original' words. I don't usually deviate far from the original plot of the anime and I won't but I'm not quoting them with the exception of important things. 'Ex: "IT'S OVER 9000!"

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, or any of the characters.

Chapter 6

"Yes sir!" Nappa launched at her and began to beat her mercilessly. She could hear Piccolo debating on if they should jump in and help or if they would just do more harm than good. There was one particular moment when Nappa stomped on her leg, making an audible crack ring through the area.

"ZORA!" she could hear Gohan yell through her screams of pain. Nappa picked her up only to let her go and crumple to the ground, squashing her leg under her body weight. She tried desperately to get off of that leg but Nappa held her in place. He was suddenly kicked and sent into a nearby mountain. She saw Yamcha and Tien in her vision before Gohan appeared trying to pick her up. He dragged her behind a rock nearby so she was away from danger before sniffling.

"I-I'm s-sorry Z-Zora. I t-tried to help but P-Piccolo wouldn't let me!" Gohan said trying desperately not to cry.

"It's okay...Gohan...I'll...be okay. I...just...need a...little rest." she said with difficulty.

"Gohan! Get back out here!" she could hear Piccolo yell and saibamen sprouting.

"Go." she said. He nodded and left her there to think. She could hear as each of the weaker fighters died before finally hearing Krillin, Piccolo, and Gohan try for themselves. She blacked out just after that. She woke up when she felt something bitter tasting put in her mouth. She tried to spit it out only for whoever gave it to her to hold her mouth closed.

"Swallow it. Trust me." she heard a familiar voice. She couldn't place it though. She just knew that she'd heard it before. She reluctantly chewed and swallowed the bitter tasting thing and suddenly felt as if she never fought at all. She opened her eyes to see Goku, Krillin, and Gohan behind him jumping for joy.

"We thought you were dead for a second there." Goku said with relief in his voice.

"You really gave us a scare there Zora." Krillin said.

"I thought I lost you..." Gohan mumbled.

"It's okay squirt. I'm okay now aren't I? What's happening? I remember Piccolo being here." Zora asked.

"Piccolo died fighting the saiyans. We beat all of the saibamen but the saiyans are still here." Krillin said making Zora widen her eyes.

"Don't let your guard down!" Zora nearly panicked. Why would they all focus on her and risk letting their guard down?! She jumped up and almost limped out of instinct before remembering that she was healed. She saw a smirking Vegeta and a severely annoyed Nappa as she got up.

"Hey Nappa? Didn't you beat her within an inch of her life?" Vegeta asked as his smirk turned into a scowl.

"Yeah! What gives?! She was practically dead!" Nappa exclaimed out of surprise.

"It doesn't matter anymore Nappa. You'll just have to beat her down to that point again until she stays down." Vegeta said out of annoyance.

"Hey! If you want to do that, you're going to have to go through me!" Goku stood between Zora and the saiyans, pointedly scowling at Vegeta.

"Kakarott! You have no idea what you're up against! Last time I checked, you're still significantly weak!" Zora exclaimed nearly panicking again.

"That fool's Kakarott?" Vegeta asked himself.

"It's okay, Zora! Raditz and I both trained to the our full potential! You'll see." Goku said. Zora looked away from him hearing Raditz's name. She still got sad when he was even mentioned. Goku took Nappa out with ease and she could only watch in amazement.

"Take him away from here. He's incapable of fighting and needs medical attention." Goku said kicking Nappa to Vegeta's feet.

"H-Help me Vegeta." Nappa pleaded holding a hand out. Vegeta smirked and grabbed Nappa's hand. Zora knew that smirk and almost jumped forward to save Nappa. Too late. Nappa was thrown into the air and blown up by Vegeta's 'Dirty Fireworks' blast. Zora looked at Vegeta in horror at what he just did before growling and powering up slightly. Her tail thrashed back and forth as Vegeta laughed at his scouter readings.

"5,500. Not bad for the mate of a BUFFOON!" Vegeta said knowing she'd blow. She screamed and charged him as her power level soared up to 8,000. Vegeta began thinking about how to deal with her, successfully getting distracted and he started having a slight bit of trouble before she finally just started beating him. He was soon concentrating again and was letting less and less of her punches hit him and managing to get more and more hits on her. They landed and Vegeta smirked as she went down on one knee due to her exhaustion.

"Now, that's where you belong. Kneeling before your Prince. You know, I was planning on making you as my mate when Nappa and I got back from our mission but it seems the idiot beat me to it. Doesn't matter, because I'm going to finish you off here and now." Vegeta said pointing his finger at her preparing a blast.

"You wouldn't dare kill the last female of your race. What prince has no one to rule? Kakarott surely won't subject himself to being the only subject of a prince that has nothing." Zora glared at Vegeta before finding herself whisked off to the side by something next to Gohan and Krillin with Goku taking her place. He grabbed Vegeta's outstretched hand and began squeezing until he heard a wavered breath from Vegeta. He let go and Vegeta got into his stance.

"Gohan, Krillin, take Zora to Kame House and wait for me to get back there. Go!" Zora felt Gohan put her arm over his shoulder and started flying with Krillin taking her other arm before increasing their speed. Zora looked back at Goku and glared pointedly at Vegeta. He hadn't beaten her. He would never get her to submit to him again.

"Wait...what about the kids?" Zora asked.

"We'll get them after we're sure Vegeta is either off the planet or dead. We don't want him tracking you down and finding them do we? It's best that we go to Kame House and wait." Krillin told her before they noticed a bright ball in the sky. Zora immediately recognized it and started flying on her own.

"We've got to go back! Dad could be hurt!" Gohan yelled. Krillin looked over at Zora.

"Can you fly back on your own?" Krillin asked. Zora nodded.

"Go help him. You'll need all the power you have and I'm a bit useless at the moment. I'll give you a word of advice though. Cut off Vegeta's tail. It will take away most of his strength and get him out of Oozaru form." Zora told them. "Good luck." Zora muttered as they thanked her and flew back to the battle. She started her slow flight to Kame House, ignoring the explosions behind her. She hated this feeling of uselessness. Now that she'd tested her limits since the pregnancy, she felt like she had to train relentlessly from now on to get stronger. She needed to be able to protect her kids and their future. She landed on the beach at Kame House and collapsed in the sand. She heard the kids crying and forced her eyes open for a second before shutting them as fast as possible. She felt someone carrying her inside and laying her on the couch before she opened her eyes again. She saw Bulma and ChiChi who she'd also gotten acquainted with during her time on Earth.

"Kenji and Takashi have been crying since you left. It won't hurt if we put them on the couch with you will it?" Bulma asked.

"Go ahead." Zora muttered, her voice raspy from screaming in pain. She saw ChiChi and Bulma get the kids from outside where Master Roshi was watching them and bring them back in where they set the twins next to her on the couch.

"Don't leave that idiot in charge of them again." Zora told them as she hugged the kids, making their seemingly never ending tears stop flowing and they seemed to hug her back. Bulma left to give them privacy but ChiChi stayed in the room so she could keep an eye on Zora's health.

"Momma! Momma!" she heard Takashi calling her while Kenji just wrapped himself around her arm and didn't let go while stifling sniffles. Zora had noticed that Takashi required the most attention but she also had to pay attention to Kenji when Takashi wasn't tugging on her face and trying to get her to look at him.

"How sweet..." ChiChi muttered. Zora let out a small laugh but tears still escaped her eyes. If only Raditz were here. She'd remembered that saiyan twins always chose which parent they liked best and it wasn't just the mom or just the father. One would pick the mom and the other the father. This way they got the type of attention they wanted. She knew she couldn't give Kenji the attention he wanted.

She couldn't replicate Raditz's love. She wiped the tears from her eyes and sat up on the couch, groaning as she gathered her energy and used it conservatively. The bruises and broken bones that were also contributing to her pain also flared up before she settled. At least one of her ribs was broken along with some internal bleeding. She coughed into her hand and saw specks of blood contrasting against the pale skin.

"We should get you to a hospital. We don't want you to die on the couch from a punctured lung or something." ChiChi said as she helped Zora up and offered her shoulder to help her walk. Zora held Takashi while ChiChi held Kenji as they walked outside. Zora was surprised to see an aircar parked on the beach and Bulma was about to come in when they'd walked outside.

"I was just about to come and get you. Baba's crystal ball broke so we're taking an air car to the scene. Vegeta was almost dead when we last saw him so we should be fine." Bulma said as she took Takashi and helped Zora into the plane. She sat down on one of the more comfortable chairs with a kid on each leg as they took off and flew towards where she could feel the fluctuating powers of Vegeta, Goku, Gohan, Krillin, and one other guy she couldn't recognize. When they arrived, Zora could feel Vegeta's power signature leave the atmosphere and she immediately fell into a rage. How could they just let him get away?! As soon as they landed, the first thing she did was take the kids and push past her now dulled pain so she could go see who was responsible.

As soon as the door was open, she could see the destruction of the landscape and everyone scattered everywhere. She first noticed Goku and walked over to him, noticing that the kids were giggling now. They thought it was funny that he was probably on the brink of death. How adorable.

"Hello. You must be Zora. I'm Goku!" Goku said with a smile even though he was pretty much almost dead. Zora heard Kenji yelp in pain and pulled Takashi away from his hair.

"Takashi! Don't pull your brother's hair! You don't want to be a dirty fighter!" she scolded and Takashi sulked while she rubbed Kenji's head with him whimpering with tears pricking his eyes.

"And they must be the little ones. Raditz was so happy that he wouldn't stop talking about them." Goku said as everyone started gathering around him with Gohan, Krillin, and a fat man with a samurai sword.

"This is Kenji and this is Takashi. Boys, say hi to your Uncle Kakarott." Zora told them as she introduced them. They both giggled slightly and Takashi let out a gurgle that sounded a lot like, "Ka-rot!"

"How...is Raditz?" Zora asked Goku who smiled the biggest smile she'd seen on him yet.

"He's training extra hard with the other saiyans. King Kai let him go to HFIL so he could talk to his father and learn new techniques. It was intense to watch him train because you can tell he wants to be stronger. He wants to protect you and the kids." As Goku said this, Zora felt a smile growing on her face even if she was sad. He was changing. He was going to be different. He would no longer be the heartless killer he once was. At least...she hoped.

"Well, if you were revived, why wasn't he?" Zora asked, sounding hurt. Goku's smile dropped but he still made her feel like everything was going to be okay.

"Um... I'm not sure... maybe it was because he was in HFIL when the time came... But I found out there are Dragon Balls on Namek that can have three wishes! That means we can revive everybody a lot faster!" Goku said happily before coughing a bit.

"Are they going to travel to King Kai's planet too?" Zora asked, a little nervous about what they would do to Raditz. She had a small inkling in her mind that Goku wasn't being truthful but she was too exhausted to pressure him into elaborating. If there was a reason that Raditz couldn't be brought to life at this moment, she would eventually figure it out.

"Hmmm. Yup! They'll want to get stronger too!" Goku answered.

'Oh Kami help us.' Zora thought.

-In Otherworld-

Bardock and the other saiyans had taught Raditz all they knew in the time he'd been there and he had to leave HFIL again to stay with King Kai until he got wished back to life. As he jumped from Snake Way yet again and landed on King Kai's planet, he saw King Kai standing off the side, antennae twitching meaning he was talking to someone via telepathy.

"Yeah sure, send them down. I'll send Raditz to escort them down here...Yes! I'm sure it's fine! He'll probably get them down here faster anyway...They need to train and every second counts!...Okay. I'll talk to you later. Bye, King Yemma." King Kai ended the call and Raditz walked over to him and sighed.

"Do I have to?" he asked.

"Yes, you do. I want you to rush them but don't wear them out so bad that they don't want to train." King Kai told Raditz who scratched the back of his head. He was getting bad habits from his father and brother already.

"How many people are coming here exactly?" Raditz asked.

"There's Tien, Chiaotzu, Yamcha, and Piccolo, the Namek that killed you. Now go get them and bring them back here. AND NO ROUGHHOUSING!" King Kai yelled as Raditz took off, shooting down Snake Way. He would have been bored anyway. After a few hours, he saw the group of people flying rather slowly down Snake Way and joined them. He knew Yamcha since he'd been helping Zora while she was pregnant and craving odd things and he knew Piccolo since he was the person who killed him. However the bald man with the three eyes and the little clown looking midget didn't register in his memory.

"Are you all going to King Kai's?" Raditz asked even though the answer was obvious.

"Yeah. We were told you'd show up. Raditz, right?" Yamcha asked. Raditz nodded with crossed arms and a nonchalant look on his face. Piccolo had immediately noticed the difference and followed Raditz as he led them down Snake Way at a fast pace.

"Let me know when you need to rest." Raditz told them as they kept flying. Surprisingly, they didn't have to stop more than three times during the entire three day long flight. When they landed on King Kai's planet, everyone noticed the weight difference but Yamcha was the only one to fall to his knees. The rest of them, even Piccolo, had slight trouble walking with the exception of Raditz who retrieved King Kai from his lawn chair in the front yard.

"King Kai, we're back." Raditz called out as he walked around the house and towards the blue man.

"Thanks Raditz. By the way, it's been quite awhile since you've talked to Zora. She lived through the fight with Vegeta and Nappa and she's fully recovered now if you want to talk to her." King Kai told Raditz who smiled and nodded, putting a hand on King Kai's shoulder enthusiastically.

-On Earth-

Zora was sitting in Goku, Gohan, and Krillin's shared hospital room with the kids when Raditz called.

"Hey Zora. Are you okay? Kakarott hasn't said anything stupid has he?" Raditz asked making Zora laugh before feeling Kenji tug on her shirt and point at the roof.

"Dada?" he seemed to ask.

"Yes, that's your daddy. He'll be back soon. Don't worry." she told little Kenji who usually never talked.

"I wish I was there now. I still haven't met them." Raditz told her almost sadly.

"It's okay Raditz. They know who you are and I'm sure they'll still be kids in the next couple of months when you come back." Zora reassured him.

"I know but I just feel like they're growing up too fast. I'm missing too much of their childhood." Raditz told her. She sighed.

"You know a saiyan's growth rate just as well as I do. I can assure you, they'll still be kids when you get back. I know it's hard but just wait until Goku and I go to Namek and use the Dragon Balls to-" she began when Raditz interrupted her.

"Absolutely not! You are not going to Namek!" Raditz exclaimed, making Zora scowl at the opposition.

"And why not?" she protested. The twins just listened curiously as their Mommy and 'Daddy' argued. They were too young to truly understand what was going on.

"It's too dangerous! And what about the kids? You can't just leave them there!" Raditz began. He had a decent point.

"That's why I'm bringing them!" she told him which only frustrated him more than he was.

"No! Absolutely not! The Namekians are peaceful but what if Vegeta or Frieza shows up?! I don't want you or the kids to be put in danger!" Raditz told her, not noticing he was balling his fist that wasn't on King Kai's shoulder.

"So what, you expect me to just stay here while everyone takes the risky mission to Namek to wish you back? I'm sorry but I feel like that's my responsibility as well!"

"Well, it isn't! Leave it to the idiot that killed me in the first place! Kenji and Takashi need you to be stable and safe while they're young like this! They need to be trained on stable grounds! If Frieza were to find you while you were on another planet, do you know what would happen to you and the kids?" Raditz was about to panic over this. It was too dangerous. There was no reason to be risking kid's lives over a long-distance mission as it was. To him, his life wasn't worth his family's.

"What do you expect me to do, Raditz?" Zora was almost in tears at this point. She knew this was a losing argument but she'd hoped he would give in before now.

"Stay on Earth. Focus on the kids. Educate them as they start talking, help them start walking, let them be kids for a while. We never got the chance to be kids. Don't take that chance from them. Is that a good way to put it for you?" Raditz had his patience tested in HFIL but one thing he got a lot of was unwarranted 'Dad Advice' from other saiyan fathers. While it irritated him at the time, he could see why it helped him now. One thing every saiyan unanimously agreed on in HFIL was that the kids should grow up in peace, not in the war they all grew up in. They could very well be the last of the race. They shouldn't spend that time causing fights and risking their lives.

"Fine. I will, but you need to promise you will come home. Don't risk your life and don't kill anyone you don't need to. If the opportunity presents itself, absolutely destroy Vegeta and/or Frieza but no innocents, okay?" Zora let a tear run down her cheek where Kenji gently pressed his hand to touch it.

"I promise. Zora, I've learned a lot here. I'm better than I was. Trust me, I will come home and things will be okay. I love you. I want to be home and see my family." With that, Raditz cut off the communication. He didn't want her to have another chance to argue with him. Without a word, he stepped away from King Kai and decided to fly down Snake Way for a while. King Kai didn't ask any questions and neither did anyone else on the tiny planet that heard the argument.

-On Earth-

Everyone in the hospital room was silent for a long pause. Zora wiped the tear off her face and put on a smile for the kids.

"Mommy and Daddy just miss each other too much. Sometimes it gets sad," she tried to explain. The kids weren't truly comprehending it but it made her feel better to explain it that way. She glanced at Goku. "Bring him back to me. We have a lot to work on and we need a complete family for these kids." It wasn't a request and Goku knew that.

"I will. He deserves to come home and see his family." Goku understood the severity of the situation and knew better than to joke at a time like this. Zora stood and took the kids with her back to Capsule Corp. She couldn't be around the Z fighters right now. It only reminded her of the fighting she wouldn't get to do. She would still train, that was for sure. In the event that everyone leaves to Namek, she'll be the only one there to defend Earth and her kids if, for any reason, the planet were to become a target in the meantime.

"Boys, you're going to grow up very big and strong and you're going to learn how to protect your homes and your families. You will never be defenseless in the face of danger. I'll make sure of it." That time, the twins seemed to get a vague understanding, giving her their full attention and hugging her a little tighter. That was good. They would pick up their training quickly. At least, Zora could hope.