Prodigal Sons

A Dragonball Z fanfiction by Andrew J. Talon

Disclaimer: This is a non-profit fan work of prose. Dragonball, Dragonball Z and Dragonball GT are the property of Funimation, Toei Animation, Fuji TV and Akira Toriyama. Please support the official release.

The little island was pristine and beautiful, an oasis in the endless blue sea. And it just added to Raditz's increasing anger and disgust with his younger brother. To think that this world would be so untouched! What, had Kakarrot gone native?

Well, given how strong that Namekian had been, perhaps it had been too much for him. Maybe his little brother had perished. The green slug man had been almost as powerful as he was, meaning Raditz had to be cautious around him. Still, he'd learned more. Enough to navigate. Enough to identify two other high power levels.

His scouter beeped, and Raditz frowned. The two levels were changing, growing stronger. From a mere 500 each, to... 1,500?! And a third was growing to nearly a thousand, in the same spot! A fourth was charging up too, just a little behind! He slowed, and began to descend down to the sandy beach of the little island. A small house, made of wood and carbon steel, sat on the island. The translator option in his scouter transcribed the words on the dwelling as "Kame (Turtle) House".

The door to the house opened, and a tall, spiky haired young man in orange clothing stepped out onto the grass. He was the spitting image of their father, and Raditz felt a tiny bit of relief that his brother still lived. A short native, in orange clothing as well but far shorter, balder, and... Noseless, stepped out with his brother. Kakarrot stared in curiosity, sizing his older brother up with a calm expression. As well he should: He was stronger than Raditz, he would be unworried as well. The short human was more wary, looking at Raditz as a potential threat. Raditz found himself smirking a bit: Maybe he was outmatched, but they were cautious. He could work with that.

He took a breath.

"It's been a long time, Kakarrot," he said. "My, how you've-"

Then the third person stepped out of the house, and Raditz's breath caught in his throat. His eyes widened as the small, female form walked out.

She too was dressed in organic fibers from this planet, a greenish-blue dress over a pink long sleeved shirt, held tight against her form by a matching pink sash. Her dark black eyes widened as well, recognition burning in her eyes. Her long, monkey-like tail stood up straight in shock.

"R... Raditz?" She gasped, her hands covering her mouth. Tears pearled at the corners of her eyes-The only eyes that had ever shown him kindness or affection. Raditz took a step back, his heart pounding hard.

"... M... Mother?!" He whispered.

"Who is this, Gine?" The short bald one asked.

"Why does he have a tail?" Kakarrot asked. Gine was shaking.

"H-He's Raditz... M-My eldest son... And your brother, Goku," she said. Kakarrot blinked, and stared at Raditz in amazement.

"Really? Wow...!" Kakarrot breathed.

Raditz opened his mouth, trying to say something. Trying to remember what he came for. He managed to lock onto it, and drag out the Plan.

"I... I am your big brother, Kakarrot. And I've come to-"

Gine's amazed face broke into a wide, happy smile and a joyous laugh, ringing in his ears like bells. She crossed the distance between them in an instance, and wrapped her deceptively strong arms around his waist. She sobbed happily into his chest, her tiny form burying herself in him.

"Raditz! Oh Gods, I thought you were dead! I thought-You're alive! You're alive!"

All thoughts of the plan vanished.

An ancient looking human wearing a heavy shell of some kind emerged, as did two female humans: One with light blue hair dressed in synthetic fabrics and looking very inquisitive, and a pretty blonde in far briefer clothing and carrying a projectile weapon. The blonde female had a fearsome look on her face... Until she sneezed, and her hair turned a dark purple. After that, she just looked confused.

Finally, a small boy in garish clothing with a tail wandered out, looking confusedly up at him too. That had to be Kakarrot's son.

Much confused murmuring and conversation ensued, as Gine just kept crying and smiling and sobbing over Raditz. Yet all of it faded as he slowly wrapped his arms around his small mother and hugged her back. It was a difficult motion, as he hadn't embraced anyone in... So long. Yet it made her happier.

"My baby boy... You-Look how big you are!" Gine said happily. She beamed up at him. "You're so strong, I can sense it!"

"I uh... Well," Raditz muttered. "I... I mean I'm-"

"I'm so happy-I can't even-!" Gine turned to the gathered humans and Kakarrot, and beamed. "Bulma! Bulma, please call everyone! Goku! Get Chichi here! Master Roshi-We need to throw a party! My eldest son is alive!"

The tension in the group eased a great deal. Bulma, the light blue haired one, beamed back and immediately pulled out a communicator to start making calls. Goku grinned and walked up to Raditz, patting him on the shoulder.

"It's great to meet you! You seem pretty strong-I can't wait to spar with you! And to hear about space! I'm an alien huh? Wow..."

"That explains a lot, huh Krillin?" Bulma muttered to the short bald one. Krillin shook his head in amazement.

"Wow... Aliens... First contact... Well! It could have gone worse. Like Independence Day or something," Krillin said. Raditz blinked at this, and back to his brother.

"Uh... Well, I would actually like to-"

"Eat? Me too! But that's all the time!" Kakarrot laughed. He grinned at the small boy. "Come on Gohan! Come over and say hi to your Uncle Raditz!"

"Come on Gohan!" Gine said, beaming. The little boy still hid behind the light blue haired woman, and wouldn't come. Gine beamed at Raditz. "Sorry, he's a bit shy."

"I uh... That's..." Raditz tried again to say something, but nothing came. He knew he should be disgusted at this hybrid creature, and its weakness, but...

Roshi laughed loudly, the old man nodding to the dark blue haired woman.

"Come on Launch! Let's get the beer and the meat cooking! Woo hoo!"

"Oh my, certainly Master Roshi! Though we should introduce ourselves first, right? That's the polite thing to do," she said. She walked up boldly to Raditz, and bowed as Gine pulled away. Raditz's hands were left stiff in mid air, unsure if they should hold onto his mother or pull back. The purple-blue haired woman smiled and bowed, which did let Raditz see part of her mammaries. That was nice.

"My name is Launch. It's nice to meet you!" She said formally. Gine took up a position at Raditz's side, her arm wrapping around his waist. She beamed up at him, and lightly elbowed him.

"On this planet, we bow to people as part of greetings," she said. "Go ahead Raditz!"

Raditz turned back to Launch, and managed to slowly bow his head. "I... I am Raditz," he said. "It is... Good to meet you?"

He looked at Gine, who beamed in approval. That felt good. Launch smiled back.

"You're just as handsome as Goku! Oh... Oh my, I'm so sorry," the female said, covering her blushing cheeks. "That was forward!"

Gine laughed. "You can be more forward with my son! He looks like he could use it! He's so tense!"

Much laughter. Kind, happy laughter. The kind he had never heard before. Launch turned and ran into the house, and soon the smell of meat sizzling over heat wafted through the air. The bald one went into the house, and came out with small, cold metal containers in his hands. He smiled up at Raditz, and offered one.

"Hey! I'm Krillin, Goku's best friend! Or uh, Kakarrot I guess?" He looked at Gine, who shrugged.

"He needed an Earth name to register for things, so Grandpa Gohan suggested it," she said.

"What can I say, I like it!" Goku said cheerfully. He saw Raditz's concern, and took one of the cans. "Try it!"

Raditz took a can, and studied it. "What... What is it?"

"It's called beer!" Krillin said cheerfully. "It's great! Try it!" He snapped open the can, and began drinking from it. Kakarrot followed suit, while Gine continued to smile up at her eldest son.

"Go on, son."

Raditz sipped the beer, and let the taste wash over his tongue. His eyes widened as he swallowed that gulp... And he began gulping it down eagerly.

"Good, huh?" Kakarrot said with a grin. The woman Launch came out with several sandwiches on a platter, all hot with a yeasty and meaty scent. She beamed as she walked up and offered the platter to the Saiyans. Gine took several, as did Kakarrot, while Krillin pulled one himself. That still left plenty for him. He took one, sniffed it. The smell was heavenly. He looked up at the smile of Launch, and the smiles of his mother and brother. He looked back at the sandwich.

"Don't worry," Launch said. "This is just an appetizer! I have a lot more coming!"

Raditz looked back at the sandwich, his scouter analyzing it. He brought the sandwich to his lips, and bit into it. He held back a groan of pleasure-It was even better than the beer. What had they put into this food?!

The scouter had no answers.

His mother and brother were strong and being kind to him. A hot girl was serving him beer and the most delicious food he'd ever had. He looked up at the sky, just knowing that Vegeta and Nappa were listening in. And who knew who else?

Gine pulled his face down to look in his eyes, her own orbs filled with concern. "Are you all right Raditz?"

"I... I'm just so... Shocked," Raditz said, being honest. "It's all so overwhelming."

Gine beamed. "It's okay," she said. "We've got all the time we need to catch up, and process things. The most important thing is that you're here, with us."

"But I need to tell you," Raditz began, "I need to-"

Gine shook her head, and cupped his cheek. "Tell me what, dear?" She asked.

Raditz stared at her for a long time. He reached up to his scouter, and turned it off.

"It can wait," he said.

More strange humans arrived. Some tiny midget with pale skin and red cheeks who was always floating around and gave Raditz a strange feeling in his mind. Psychics, urgh. His name was Chiaotzu. Eventually he floated over to have something called 'cake', which was amazing-Both in that he left him alone, and that it was delicious.

His friend was better: A tall, bald man who seemed to eschew shirts, and had a third eye in the middle of his forehead. He was very stoic, and was named Tien Shinhan. Apparently, he was an assassin at some point. At the moment he was having a beer and chatting with another human that had arrived: Yamcha. He was mated to Bulma, and was annoying.

Thankfully the human had gotten the message and moved off from Raditz after greeting him with some platitudes.

At last, he got to meet Kakarrot's wife... Chichi. She was a princess of some sort, and was quite gracious and polite. Though rather fierce, which Raditz approved of.

"Yamcha! Keep your feet off the coffee table!" Chichi ordered. Yamcha pulled his feet off, and coughed.

"Sorry!"

Chichi huffed, and turned back to Raditz. He was sitting on a couch between Kakarrot and his mother. Chichi was on the other side of Kakarrot, little Gohan sitting in her lap and shooting him curious looks when he thought his uncle wasn't looking back. Raditz had to admit, he was shooting a lot of curious looks himself. Chichi raised an eyebrow at this.

"Something wrong with my son, Raditz?" She asked, a hint of warning in her tone. Raditz shook his head.

"No, not at all," he insisted. "It's just... A Saiyan hybrid child! That's incredible. We've never actually met any other species we could er, breed with."

"Oh yeah!" Kakarrot said with a grin. "That part was really fun! And I really like to do it with her when we-"

"Goku!" Gine and Chichi both admonished him. Kakarrot winced, and Raditz couldn't help but smirk a little in simple sibling schadenfreude. Krillin came by and sat down on the couch facing them, leaning back with a grin.

"So, turns out Bulma isn't single," he said. "Though you never know, maybe Yamcha will screw up too many times."

"Krillin," Gine said warningly, "you shouldn't be acting like a vulture you know."

"I'm just saying," Krillin said, holding his hands up. "So, Raditz: How are you finding the Earth so far?"

Raditz found himself drinking more beer, and he shook his head. "It's very nice," he said. "The food is incredible."

He sounded neutral enough, he thought. But his mother, despite the years of being apart, was looking at him in deep concern.

"Raditz... What's wrong?" She asked.

Raditz worked his jaw. He stared intently at his mother. The entirety of what he was doing, what would happen, seemed to come over him like the weight of an Oozaru's foot. "I can't... I... I need my space."

He got up and walked out of the house, past all of the chatting humans. Out into the cold night, underneath the twinkling stars. The music, the noise, it all faded against the rushing of blood through his ears.

He had to fly. He had to get away. He had to run. He could fake his death-yes! He could make it look like he had been bested by the native lifeforms and died! That he had found no trace of his brother, and he was gone! Then Nappa and Vegeta...

"... would still come here because they'll want to fight whatever killed me," Raditz sighed.

Gine cleared her throat behind him, and Raditz spun around. His mother stood there, her tail waving slightly in agitation. Goku was right by her, as was Chichi. All of them looking very concerned. None more than Gine.

"Raditz," Gine said softly. "Just tell me what's going on."

Raditz clenched his fists tightly. Gine continued.

"You still have a Freeza Force Scouter... You're still part of them, aren't you? Even after he destroyed our planet."

Raditz's jaw dropped. He stared in shock at his mother. "You-You knew?!" He gasped. "How-?!"

"Dad warned Mom," Goku said. "We had a message and everything."

Gine rummaged in her dress, and pulled out a holographic disk. She held it out to Raditz, and he shakily took it. He activated it, and looked at the holographic projection of his father. He was injured and ragged, but still determined. Still brave.

"... Freeza's afraid of us... Afraid of our power," Bardock said, "he's going to destroy us. All of us... Get off the planet. Get out of here. And keep Kakarrot safe..."

The hologram ended. Raditz growled, and his grip tightened on the holographic disk. He took a deep breath, and looked into the eyes of his mother, and his brother.

"... He killed father... He destroyed our world... I always suspected, there was enough time to evacuate but..." He took another deep breath. He shut his eyes. "Mother... Brother... I've been under Prince Vegeta and Nappa for all this time. I've been their slave! They've treated me like a joke! I told them I could bring back Kakarrot as another warrior! Just to be another slave! They know you're here..." He took deep breaths, calming himself. "And if they come, you'll be...!"

He couldn't finish it the thought. All of this kindness and generosity, and he didn't deserve a bit of it. Nevermind Saiyans being soft, this was his mother.

Gine smiled gently, as she reached out to take Raditz's hand. "I've faced worse," she said. "And let's be honest... I always expected the Freeza Force to catch up with me sooner or later."

"How long will it take for them to get here?" Kakarrot asked, curious. Raditz sighed.

"If they leave right now...? About one year on this planet."

Kakarrot grinned. "Hee... Then one year to train to get strong enough!"

"Wha... Are you an idiot?!" Raditz demanded. "You can't get strong enough to beat them in one year! It's impossible!"

Chichi smiled gently. "I think that word's lost all meaning the moment I met these two," she said. Gine shared her son's smile, though hers was more focused.

"Raditz... We don't have a lot of choice, do we?" She asked. She held out her hand. "Your scouter please?"

Raditz stared in confusion. "My scouter-?"

"Raditz? The scouter, now," Gine stated firmly, her Mom Look at full power. Raditz slowly complied, pulling the scouter off and handing it over. Gine put it on, and turned it back on. She opened the communications channel, after fumbling with the controls briefly.

"Ooh, I was never good with these things," she muttered. "Ahem. Prince Vegeta, I call a meeting of the clans to discuss meteor issues. Over and out." She then turned off the scouter, as Raditz gaped in disbelief at her.

"Wha-What did you do?!" Raditz cried. "We're going to all die!"

Kakarrot grinned. "Ooh... We're gonna meet them?"

"I essentially called a diplomatic meeting in the old Saiyan way," Gine said. "If Vegeta remembers his old ritualistic training, he will come to a meeting of the clans to discuss issues of importance to the Saiyans." She nodded. "And we will meet and convince him to join us. After all, we're not opposed to defeating Freeza. I think we're quite keen on that."

Raditz's jaw dropped even harder. "Mother!" He gasped. "Have you lost your mind?! We'll have one year! ONE! YEAR!"

Gine smiled. "Then we'd better get started, shouldn't we?"

Kakarrot cheered. "Woohoo! Training! Isn't that awesome, Chichi?"

Kakarrot's wife chuckled. "Yes dear. Quite awesome."

Raditz was shaking his head slowly. His mother took his suddenly numb hand in hers, still beaming.

"Come along dear. Let's get to work. First stop? Kami's Lookout."

"What's... A Kami?" Asked Raditz.

"Basically God," Kakarrot explained.

Well... Now he knew why his mother and little brother had taken to this strange world: They were completely insane.

Based off of Masakox's What If Series, this is yet another story I have written to throw against the wall and see what sticks. My own ideas and some other What Ifs might be integrated if this goes further. Feel free to send the link to MasakoX if you'd like.