Raditz pensively ran his fingertips along the edge of his chin as he attempted to sort through the sudden influx of emotions rushing sporadically through his mind. Goku stood behind him, his normally goofy demeanor having given way to seriousness as he reached out to Raditz once more with the hope of establishing a connection with his estranged brother. Following Raditz's fight with Piccolo, Vegeta and Android 17 had departed with the bruised Namekian, leaving the Saiyans alone together for the first time since his brother's return to Earth. He'd reiterated his proposal to train Raditz, even going so far as to offer him his grandfather's humble hut as a place to live during the process, but the hero of Earth was met with only silence.

Despite the Saiyan's desire to continue to grow in strength, reservations about trusting Kakarot still lingered in Raditz's thoughts. Was he ready to truly forgive Kakarot's actions all those years ago? More importantly, was he able to forgive himself for his own past misdeeds? Raditz's brow furrowed at the thought as his mind battled his heart, the internal struggle to remain safely on the outskirts of his brother's sphere of influence waning against the overwhelming need to banish such reservations and begin anew. He thought back to his first encounter with 17; the intense feeling of regret had reverberated in his every word as he admitted to Raditz his own shortcomings in regard to his sister:

"Now I can see how wrong I was, but I'm still too proud to tell her as much, I can't manage to show her how I've changed; how sorry I am."

Raditz turned to Kakarot, their eyes locking immediately. He swallowed as he clenched his fists, struggling to keep his emotions in check. He hated the fact his brother could affect him this way; he hated feeling weak. Despite such feelings, a question burned in the back of his mind like a forest fire, and he knew if he avoided it, there could never be progression, and he would remain an outsider.

"Brother," Raditz struggled with allowing himself to express the thought as need overrode pride. "You can do many amazing things, seemingly overcome any obstacle, no matter how indomitable, but there's one thing I need to know you can do before we continue. Can you forgive my past transgressions? Can you look on me with pride rather than scorn?"

Goku's eyes widened, surprised by the question.

Raditz sighed; he knew he'd reached the point of no return.

"In the past I've wronged you. I allowed my own fears, my cowardice and insecurity to cloud my judgement and lose sight of the one thing that's most important in this universe: my family. I was so enraptured with what a good soldier would do, what a good Saiyan should do, that I never thought twice about what I should've done. Ideas of what was morally right or wrong were inconsequential so long as Vegeta and Nappa were satisfied. When you're the weakest of your allies, your army, your species, you adapt to levels of behavior that would seem abhorrent otherwise. You learn to be cruel, to lie, to do whatever you have to in order to ensure the success of your mission; your survival, and in doing so, you lose yourself and everything you thought you stood for and by the time you realize what you've done, what you've become, you don't care anymore…but that's no excuse. My father—OUR father—would've never let such trivial things like his class or station come between him and his family, and by doing so, I've forever shamed him with my insolence."

In spite of his compromising admissions, Raditz kept his head held high as he addressed Kakarot; only his cobalt eyes revealed the unbridled power of the emotions behind his words, and even still, Raditz stood strong.

"I've hated you every day since I can remember as I suffered in Hell, not because you killed me, but because for the first time ever, I felt guilt. I listened and grew jealous as you excelled in strength and powers I could never have imagined, and as you showed others far crueler than I could ever be mercy, forgiveness…it made me feel like a monster, forever unworthy of such an act. I knew I didn't deserve it, but I longed for it, and it caused me to despise you even more. Then something changed. As I lay beaten and broken in the Tin-Man's home after you brought me back to this dreaded rock once more, I came to know kindness, strength, and even if he didn't mean to, 17 taught me what it felt like to actually have a brother. It forced me to grow even stronger so you wouldn't see me as some weakling begging for your pity, but an equal seeking redemption."

Raditz held out his hand, hoping against hope his brother would accept it.

Goku said nothing as he shoved the hand away and embraced Raditz tightly.

"I forgive you," he said quietly.

Goku wanted to say so much more than that, he wanted to apologize for failing to save his brother, for considering him beyond redemption, for fearing to one day become him, but he didn't need to; his tears expressed what mere words could never convey, and Raditz knew it.

As 17 lay atop the roof of his pink 'Lucky Foods' van, he frowned; the normally comforting silence surrounding him seemed louder than a Saiyan's belch. He sat up, causing the aging vehicles shocks to squeak uncomfortably beneath the cyborg's shift in weight. He paid it no mind as his eyes kept darting from the large collection of cumulous clouds hanging overhead to the narrow dirt road leading to his cabin, eagerly awaiting the familiar scraping sound of his hovercars anti-grav couplings against the unruly earthy pathway that signified the return of Azu and his children. He irritably blew a loose piece of his long black hair out of his eyes as he pulled his knees to his chest. Though he played the part of a loner throughout the majority of his life, it was a role he felt was best left retired.

As he heard the sound of heavy boots displacing the leaves behind him, he smirked.

"Raditz, what kept you?" 17 asked, not even bothering to turn around.

"Just talking some things out with Kakarot; how's Piccolo?" Raditz replied nonchalantly as he continued forward to his friend's side.

"He's fine, besides his wounded ego anyway, I dropped him off at the Lookout after we left."

Raditz nodded in approval. "Good to hear, I'd hate to see the green bean out of commission for too long."

17 sniggered, his eyes remaining trained on the pathway.

"So, I take it you're expecting your family back?"

17 smiled widely, for an instant dropping his cool demeanor, "Yeah, anytime now."

The Saiyan put his hands on his hips as he looked up at 17, he'd grown fond of the cyborg during their time together. Raditz wasn't embellishing his feelings about him to Kakarot; he'd become more like a brother than a simple friend long ago, and telling him he was leaving for Kakarot's training was proving an even more difficult task than he imagined.

"I'm glad to hear it," he replied softly.

Raditz hung his head as 17 peered over his shoulder, noticing the shift in his demeanor. They both knew what was coming next, but neither wanted to initiate the conversation.

17 slid from the side of the van, his impact on the ground beneath him causing a light layer of dust to coat his chucks. He slid his hands into the back pockets of his distressed jeans as he eyed his somber looking comrade.

"So, what did Goku have to say?" he asked quietly, though he knew damn well what he said.

"We've made amends, finally," Raditz replied, "and he made me another offer to train with him."

"I take it you accepted the invitation this time, otherwise you wouldn't look like someone just up and curb stomped your puppy right now."

Raditz chuckled lightly. "Yeah, yeah I took him up on it. I move in tonight."

17 ran his hand through his hair as he nodded. "I'm happy for you, hedgehog, you've earned this." His eyes betrayed his true feelings on the matter.

"I wouldn't have been able to do it without you, tin-man. Kakarot may be the proverbial savior of this world, but don't you dare forget that it was you who saved me. So, thanks."

17 felt his lip slightly quiver as he tried to hold a smirk. "No chick-flick moments, Raditz. Just know you helped me just as much. 18 and I are close again. Hell, even baldy and the kid seem to like me now. I couldn't ask for anything more than that."

Raditz crossed his arms as he let out a small sigh. "So, I guess this is goodbye then."

"I suppose so," 17 replied sadly, holding out his hand to the warrior. "Just remember you always have a place here, no matter what happens."

Raditz smirked as he clasped his own hand around it. "I will."

As Raditz flew away, 17 felt his eyes begin to sting. He sneered as he rubbed them with the underside of his shirt sleeve. "Take care, Raditz," he muttered aloud as he watched the Saiyan disappear into the distance.

Leaping back to his perch atop the van, 17 pursed his lips, feeling smothered by the strange sense of loss. It was never his intention to grow this close to the Saiyan; he honestly wasn't completely sure why Raditz's story had affected him the way it had, or why he allowed him to stay in his home and train under him, but he was happy that he did. He supposed it may have been their similar histories, but maybe it was fate that had brought the Saiyan to him. As 17 reflected on their time together, he heard the sound of a hovercar scraping its way up the driveway towards him, causing him to smile once more.