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Chapter 2: The Saiyans

Raditz awoke the next morning with the Earth's sun stinging his eyes. Raditz shook his head and stood, looking around. He hadn't had time to check out the landscape before, but it was beautiful. For now, he needed to contact Vegeta and Nappa and tell them about what had happened. Though, the thought of it made Raditz a little queasy. Pull yourself together, Raditz! You're a Saiyan, not a weakling! Raditz scolded himself.

But was that entirely true? He was the weakest surviving Saiyan, now that his brother was dead. But, Raditz didn't have time to ponder on the matter. He knew that Vegeta and Nappa would be very keen to know what was happening on Earth. He had never been so anxious to tell Vegeta and Nappa something in his entire life. But he knew he had to tell them the truth, that he had lost to a Saiyan raised on Earth, and a Namekian.

Raditz nervously turned on the scouter and contacted Vegeta. "I - I don't have Kakarot. I'm still on Earth."

"Is that so? Tell me what happened!" Vegeta snapped, clearly very annoyed.

"I - I lost to a Namekian," Raditz said. Before Vegeta could tell him how much of a failure he was, he quickly said, "I can help you guys defeat them!"

"Oh no, Raditz. As far as Nappa and I are concerned, you are no longer a Saiyan," Vegeta said. Raditz's eyes widened with dismay and he tried to say something else to change the prince's mind, but Vegeta wouldn't let him speak. "Stay out of our way, or you'll regret it, deeply."

"Oh, wait, Vegeta! That Namekian sounds like fun! I want to fight him!" Nappa's voice cut in.

"Fine, we can go to Earth to fight the Namekian, then we can leave. I have had enough of Kakarot and Raditz. Pathetic weaklings. Raditz, you had better stay out of our way when we arrive on Earth, or I'm serious, we will kill you. Before we go, tell me, what happened to Kakarot?" Vegeta said, scoffing a bit.

"K - Kakarot is dead, the Namekian killed him," Raditz replied, still terrified.

He couldn't believe what had happened to him. Vegeta let out one final scoff and cut the connection. Raditz scolded himself for being so scared. He scoffed, fine, if they wanted to leave him behind, then he would just join Kakarot's friends.This sounds like a plan that could very easily backfire, Raditz thought to himself with a small shudder. He slapped himself. You are a Saiyan, one of the last! You can do this, Raditz! he thought, attempting to boost his own confidence.

He slapped himself again, and left his small cave. He turned on his scouter and instantly recognized the power level of the Namekian. As horrified as Raditz was at his brother's death, he was also proud. Proud to have a brother willing to sacrifice himself for those he loved. He only wished that he could have gotten to know his brother before he had died. For now, Raditz needed to find his brother's friends, he followed the Namekian's power level and frowned, his scouter was running out of battery life.

Scoffing, Raditz knew that it would be hard to find the precise location of Kakarot's friends. And they obviously still saw him as a threat. Raditz had a feeling that they could somehow sense his energy. It explained how they all knew he was strong before he even got there. But it didn't make any sense. How could they sense energy? That was a skill that even Lord Frieza did not posses. Yet, somehow these Earth bred warriors could do it.

Maybe they'd adapted in order to learn that ability. Either way, Raditz knew that it was not a skill Frieza possessed. It sort of made Raditz want to laugh. Frieza was the strongest warrior in the universe, and yet these earthlings could sense energy. It technically made them more talented than Frieza himself. He couldn't imagine how angry the overlord would be if he found out about this feat. It was truly impressive, the warriors on Earth had adapted to be able to sense energy.

Raditz had been so deep in thought, that he didn't notice the Namekian was moving away every time he got near. Raditz grit his teeth, an annoyed glare in his eyes. He looked up at the clouds, and realized that he had been out all day. Grumbling to himself, he settled down in another cave and closed his eyes, maybe he would find them tomorrow. Kakarot's friends couldn't stay in hiding all the time, right?

Raditz woke with a start and immediately recognized the place where Kakarot had died. He had no idea what was going on, and he didn't like it. Before he could say anything, he was thrown to the ground by a tremendous force. Groaning, Raditz got to his feet and looked around. Shock pulsed through him. There was Kakarot; a red aura around him, with a defiant look on his face. Fighting him was...Vegeta, in his Oozaru form.

Raditz looked around the wasteland and was surprised to see that they were far away from humanity. Had Kakarot managed to strike some humanity into Vegeta? Raditz doubted it. Nobody could, not even Nappa. But Kakarot's eyes were blazing with anger, and the intense urge to fight. Raditz cautiously walked forward to listen to what they were saying. He then noticed two people hiding. He recognized the kid, but didn't know who the bald person was.

"How could you do that?!" Kakarot's sudden voice snapped his gaze back to the ongoing fight. Raditz saw disbelief and hatred on his brother's face. "Why would you kill your own comrade?! What kind of a person does that?!"

"Nappa was of no use to me anymore," Vegeta replied, a laughing tone in his voice. Raditz's eyes widened with shock. He couldn't believe he had just heard that. "But those Dragon Ball things? I'm curious, tell me about them."

"Not over my dead body! I'd never tell you!" Kakarot said, defiantly. Anger burned in Oozaru Vegeta's eyes as Kakarot said this. He grabbed Kakarot and squeezed him. Raditz's brother cried out in pain, but he didn't speak. Raditz knew his brother could very well die, but he was still glued to the spot. Was it fear, or did he think Kakarot could defend himself? "I... will... never...give in! KAIOKEN TIMES THREE!"

Raditz was shocked. He had never seen a technique like that before. Suddenly, Kakarot launched himself upwards and punched Vegeta straight in the jawline. The great ape dropped Kakarot, and fell to the ground with a massive boom.

Raditz awoke with a start and was surprised to find himself sweating as if he'd had a nightmare. He sighed, and turned back on his scouter. He was surprised to see that this time the Namekian's power level was stationary. Raditz caught up with ease and as he expected, the Namekian was glaring at him. Raditz looked down at the ground and noticed that Kakarot's son was with him. Raditz was surprised, Kakarot did not seem to like him.

"What do you want?" the Namekian challenged.

"I want to help you. Saiyans are coming to the Earth. Ones that are way stronger than me!" Raditz said.

"Why would they want to come here?" Gohan challenged. "Isn't there another planet they can live on? Peacefully, like normal aliens?"

"That is not an option! When they say they want to come, they mean it! I know that I've done some really bad things, but please trust me, just this once!" Raditz urged, realizing that he was shaking from fear, as well as fury. "And even then, there is no such thing as a "normal" alien, we are all different!"

The Namekian looked suspicious for a bit, then he sighed in resignation. "Fine, you can train with us. My name is Piccolo. But promise us one thing."

"What is it?" Raditz asked.

"That you help us when the Saiyans arrive," Piccolo said. Raditz nodded in agreement, even though he was more terrified of his former superiors than he was letting on. "We'll be keeping our eyes on you, Saiyan."

Meanwhile, on Snake Way

"Finally, I made it to King Kai's! This planet is much smaller than I expected. Oh well!" Goku said, jumping onto the tiny planet. He was shocked as the gravity pulled him to the ground. "I made it."

A/N: Chapter was edited by RoyalBlueRoses