A picturesque plain lay under the open sky, now scarred by a crater five meters across and three meters deep where an alien craft had slammed into the ground, like a painting suddenly marred by an ink spill.
A middle-aged, heavyset man drove up, curiosity gleaming in his eyes as he stepped out and whistled at the round spacecraft in the pit.
Hiss… creak!
The hatch opened.
"…We there already? I didn't get enough sleep," Raditz muttered, rubbing his eyes before stepping out. With a faint whoosh, his boots left the ground and he hovered in mid-air.
"You… you're an alien?!" The man didn't run. Instead, he raised his hunting rifle and aimed.
"Hm?" Raditz's scouter beeped. Beep, beep, beep.
"Battle power… five," he said with open disdain. "A worthless insect."
He drifted closer.
"Stay back! I'll shoot!" The man's finger trembled. Bang!
Clang!
Raditz caught the bullet between two fingers. "Such primitive weapons."
Kame House
Not good. That idiot! Gohan cursed inwardly, leaping to his feet and striding to the shore. His ki flared sharply.
Everyone stared in surprise at the sudden change in his aura.
Back at the crater, Raditz's scouter shrieked beep-beep-beep!
He froze, dropping the idea of killing the hunter. Just as he was about to check the reading, Gohan suppressed his ki again. Best not to scare him off.
"Who's there…? Kakarot? If you're alive, why are there still natives on this planet? It has a moon. You should've wiped them out!" Raditz shot into the sky toward Kame House.
Behind him, the middle-aged man was left pale and shaking… and in need of new pants.
Arctic Wasteland
"Huh? That's Gohan's ki… and another heading toward him? Interesting." Piccolo rose into the air. Though far away, he was faster than Raditz.
Kame House
"Gohan?" Goku stepped forward.
"Don't worry, Dad. My so-called uncle is weaker than you," Gohan said calmly.
"Brother…?" Goku looked toward the incoming presence.
"There's a strong ki coming this way, stronger than King Piccolo five years ago," Krillin explained to the confused Bulma, Launch, and Oolong.
Yamcha and Tien moved in behind Goku and Gohan, tense. They didn't know Goku had grown far beyond his old limits, and that Gohan was on another level entirely.
"Piccolo's coming too… Master Roshi, where's the Evil Containment Wave jar? We can seal him!" Krillin said urgently.
"Calm down, Krillin. Just watch. It'll be fine," Goku said, voice steady.
Krillin blinked, but chose to trust him.
With a sonic crack, Piccolo landed.
"Gohan, you know who this is?" Piccolo asked, reading the tension.
"Quiet and watch," Gohan replied.
"King Piccolo, what are you doing here? Get lost. We're not on the same side!" Yamcha, in a spectacular display of poor judgment (and maybe to impress Bulma), stepped forward.
"Trash. Begone." Piccolo's eyes flashed, and an invisible force blasted Yamcha away.
"Stop, Piccolo!" Goku rushed to intercept him.
Gohan didn't bother. Anyone that stupid wasn't worth saving.
Show off? At least pick the right audience, he thought.
Bulma, despite their breakup, still helped Yamcha to his feet. "You idiot. Don't try to act tough when you can't back it up!"
Her words cut deeper than any blast.
"I don't need your help! Get away from me!" Yamcha snarled, flying off in humiliation.
"Fine! You'll never hear another word from me again!" Bulma shouted after him, tears welling.
Krillin tried to soothe her, but she was fuming. "Serves him right. We're through!"
Unfortunately for Yamcha, he was flying straight toward Raditz.
Beep! "Battle power… 200. Not Saiyan. Trying to challenge me? Fool." Raditz surged forward at full speed.
Still fuming, Yamcha didn't sense the danger until it was too late.
"Die! Stardust Crusher!" Raditz formed a blazing sphere and hurled it.
BOOM!
Kame House
"What the...?! Oh no!"
"Gohan! Quick" Goku's aura flared as he launched into the sky.
"Should I bother? …Fine. If I don't, Dad will just waste a Dragon Ball wish bringing him back," Gohan muttered before vanishing with Instant Transmission.
Piccolo followed. Krillin, Tien, and Chiaotzu took off. Bulma threw a capsule and sped after them in her plane, others aboard.
But Gohan's moment of hesitation cost precious seconds.
When he appeared, Yamcha was already… gone a drifting cloud of gore in the air.
"Oh? And who are you, brat?" Raditz asked.
"Too late. Wonder if Dad will blame me," Gohan said without looking at him.
Two more streaks of light arrived Goku and Piccolo.
"Where's Yamcha, Gohan?" Goku asked.
"Over there," Gohan said, pointing at the grisly remains.
"Damn it! Why'd you kill him?! He was mine to deal with! No one interfere!" Goku roared, his power spiking uncontrollably.
Beep-beep-beep! "10,000… 50,000… 100,000!" Raditz's scouter exploded.
"No… impossible! One hundred thousand?! Impossible!" he staggered back, panic in his eyes.
Piccolo's own power was over 100,000 now, but even he could tell Goku's had surpassed his.
Bulma's plane arrived. From inside, they saw the chunks of Yamcha beginning to fall, no longer held aloft by the blast's energy. No body left to bury just an empty grave in the making.
"Calm down, Dad! We can use the Dragon Balls!" Gohan said, holding him back.
"Gohan… without a body, the Dragon Balls can't revive him," Goku said, forcing the words out.
Raditz quietly tapped his scouter's comm button. The detection unit was fried, but the transmitter still worked.
Gohan stayed silent. No way was he revealing that Namek's Dragon Balls could grant three wishes.
"There's another way," Piccolo said suddenly.
"Right! I forgot your people are from Namek! Their Dragon Balls could bring him back!" Goku's face lit up.
Gohan's eyes narrowed, cold and sharp at Piccolo enough to make the demon shiver and take a step back.
In a blink, Gohan fired a beam, shattering Raditz's scouter.
"So it's exposed anyway. Figures… the world always finds a way to 'repair' itself," Gohan thought grimly.
"You're… Kakarot? I'm your brother. Don't attack!" Raditz blurted.
Goku stared at the face that was the mirror of Bardock's.
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