Chapter 13: Brothers to Namek!

On Earth, Mount Paozu…

Goku let loose a massive shout as he fired a blast at his older brother.

Raditz clasped both hands together and slammed the blast away. He charged Goku and threw a mighty punch. But, Goku quickly dodged the punch and countered with one of his own. Raditz caught this attempted blow and dragged Goku in. Goku was ready, however, and used the momentum to flip over his brother. He dropped an elbow on Raditz, only for Raditz to catch it.

The two brothers smirked at each other, their sparring resuming at once. Since being cleared from the hospital, the two Saiyans were training with and sparring against each other constantly. It was the only thing they could do to handle waiting for their ship to Planet Namek and supply of Senzus to be finished, assuming they would even need to fly there before Bardock's group made contact with the Namekians.

Chi-Chi was sitting with Gine. The two women were enjoying their tea as they watched the brothers spar.

Five days after Bardock and co. left for Namek, the doctor and the nurse both recoiled in shock as the two brothers casually stood up and flexed off their various bandages and casts. Gine had long since pulled the bandages off her face. Somehow the three had made a full recovery. No longer needing to hang around in the hospital, Raditz opened the window to the hospital room and he and Goku both leapt out and flew away. The doctor and nurse watched on in utter disbelief. Before Gine joined them, Chi-Chi hanging on her back, she turned and gave a friendly wave to the hospital staff, thanking them for their help.

Now they all sat on the lawn in front of Goku and Chi-Chi's house, wasting away the time while waiting for their chance to join the action.

Gine shouted to her younger son. "How much longer before those 'Senzus' are finished growing, Kakarot."

Goku turned his attention to Gine as he flipped Raditz over his shoulder. "Should be any day now."

Gine smiled. "I still can't believe magic beans that instantly heal you exist. It's almost too bad we already healed up before the crop finished growing. I would have loved to try one."

Goku chuckled. "Well, if this is going to be your home planet now, then odds are you'll get a chance soon enough."

Gine beamed at that. "That's right! It's our home! Our home is full of miracles!"

The Saiyan mother turned to Chi-Chi and smiled. "Seriously, for a planet that I thought would just be a boring place to send Kakarot to, this planet is so wonderful~!"

The surprisingly taciturn Chi-Chi merely nodded, not really hearing what Gine had said. "Uh-huh..."

Gine frowned and placed a gentle hand on her depressive daughter-in-law's shoulder. She turned back to her sons and smiled, watching them wrestle with one another. Since they began training together, with his armor still broken, Raditz was given one of Goku's spare, blue gi. Raditz smiled as he fitted the open-chested blue vest onto his body. Originally, Raditz wasn't too keen on the outfit, even if it was surprisingly comfortable and durable. But he had to admit it was good for freedom of movement when training. "I'm starting to see why you like wearing this kind of uniform so often, Kakarot. But still, blue really isn't my color. Also, it could use something underneath to complete the look."

Goku smiled. "Don't worry, Chi-Chi makes all of my training clothes for me! I'm sure she can make you an outfit like that in whatever color you want, right Chi-Chi?"

Chi-Chi still didn't seem entirely present. "Uh-huh..."

Raditz snapped the muscle band around his left bicep and turned to his brother. "Is your wife okay?"

Goku shrugged, looking slightly concerned. "Chi-Chi... are you okay?"

Chi-Chi gave the same dead response. "Uh-huh..."

Suddenly, the group's attention was turned to the arrival of Yajirobe. The fat ronin's air car landed with a hiss and he hopped out, a massive burlap bag in hand "Heya, got nice bag of fresh Senzu for ya, courtesy of Korin."

Gine graciously accepted the bag of Senzus, tying them shut and tying them to the belt on the pants that Chi-Chi had given her. The Saiyan mother stood up and brushed the wrinkles out of her pants, adjusting her armor top and the sleeves of her matching, pink undershirt. Then, she turned to Yajirobe and smiled, bowing her head. "Thank you very much for going out of your way to make a delivery."

Yajirobe sighed and shrugged. "Whatever. S'what I do."

Goku smiled at the news. "Great! Now we can finally go to Planet Namek with all necessities on hand!"

Gine gently took Chi-Chi's hand. "Want to come and see us off, Chi-Chi?"

Chi-Chi nodded. "Uh-huh..."

Gine nodded back. "Right."

The Saiyan mother motioned to her two sons. Raditz smirked and flew away. Chi-Chi hung on Gine's back and quickly followed.

Once the Son family was gone Yajirobe sighed and picked up Chi-Chi's unfinished lunch, shoving the food into his mouth. "Whatever. As long as I'm left out of all of this space nonsense..."

At the Capsule Corp…

Goku and Raditz both descended, both staring in awe at what Dr. Brief had constructed while they were in the hospital: The Capsule Space Pod!

Raditz shook his head. "How the hell did a human make a ship so advanced?!"

Goku folded his arms behind his head and chuckled. "Dr. Brief and Bulma are both really smart!"

"Oh, hello, Goku! What are you and this strapping young man doing here?!"

Goku and Raditz both turned to see Bulma's mom, a deceptively young-looking, blond woman running up to them, tray of cookies and pitcher of lemonade in hand. "Why don't you ever call when you're coming over?! I barely have any snacks ready for guests!"

Goku scratched the back of his head and laughed. "Sorry, Miss Panchy. We aren't really here for a visit..."

Before Goku or Raditz could say why they were there, Gine and Chi-Chi landed on the lawn next to them. Gine smiled as she observed their transport. "What an impressive ship!"

Panchy Brief instantly switched her attention to these new guests. "Oh... hi there, Chi-Chi! Would you and your guest like some snacks?!"

Gine nervously laughed and held up her hands. "N-No thank you, ma'am, I'm fine! Chi-Chi, are you thirsty?"

Chi-Chi gave her the same blank response. "Uh-huh..."

Panchy didn't seem to notice, cheerily pouring Chi-Chi a glass and handing it to her. Chi-Chi nodded, but didn't even take a sip. As Gine shot another worried stare at her daughter-in-law, Goku and Raditz were called out to be another voice. "Boys! You're here!"

Goku smiled wide and waved. "Hi, Dr. Brief!"

The old scientist rode up to Raditz and Goku on his motor scooter and smiled. "You boys are going to love the ship! I designed her with all of the specifications that Bulma thought you would need!"

Dr. Brief quickly led the four of them into the craft to show it off. "Everything fighters like you could want! An increased Gravity Chamber to allow you to train at higher rates of gravity, five fully stocked fridges of food, two full bathrooms, a washing machine and a dryer, and two cabins: one for the two of you and one for your mother..."

Gine was in awe of the entire ship. "Wow... and this was made in such a short time. All of the work that must have gone into it..."

Raditz smirked. "It's perfect! Excellent work, human!"

Dr. Brief nodded, seemingly ignoring the "human" comment. "Yes! And I have also loaded a full second portion of fuel on board as well. It's simple to fuel the ship, just extend the hose out and plug it into the port underneath and the tank should fill up!"

Goku nodded. "Huh. Neat!"

Raditz grunted. "How many tanks of fuel do you estimate it will take for us to travel all the way to Namek?"

Dr. Brief clicked a button on the nearby console and a schematic appeared on the ship's viewing screen. "Based on the vectors that Bulma shared with me, I had a properly-sized fuel tank constructed yesterday. One tank of fuel should take you all the way to this Planet Namek without the need to make a stop and-"

Goku gasped. "W-wait a minute! Bulma contacted you from Namek?!"

Dr. Brief turned to Goku and nodded. "Yes, she did. She gave me all of the vectors to travel as well as the coordinates, which I have pre-programmed into the navigation system."

Chi-Chi's ear perked up a bit, a small amount of fire lighting in her eyes. Dr. Brief continued. "And with the information that she gave, everything is almost ready. All I need to do is conduct one final safety check and then you can take off!"

Raditz quickly spoke up. "Did she give any details on the situation on Namek? Have they located the Dragon Balls?!"

Gine spoke up. "Is everyone doing okay? None of them are hurt, are they?!"

Dr. Brief cleared his throat. "I don't know the answer to any of those questions. She didn't talk to me directly. If you want to know anything about any of that, I suggest you take a moment to visit Bulma's secretary in her off-"

Before Dr. Brief could even finish his sentence, Chi-Chi bolted out of the ship at practically the speed of light, making a beeline directly towards Bulma's office. Goku, Gine, and Raditz all stared, totally baffled by Chi-Chi's sudden energy. But they all quickly followed her lead.

In Bulma's Office…

Goku, Raditz, and Gine all arrived at the door to Bulma's office at the same time. Gine opened the door and the three of them stepped in to view a pitiful sight. A confused, but concerned Blue Launch was standing there with a blubbering and sobbing Chi-Chi's face buried into her chest. She glanced up at her new visitors and shot them a small smile. "Oh, hey Goku! Is this your new family that I've heard so much about?"

Goku worriedly looked on as Chi-Chi cried. "Y-Yeah..."

Raditz and Gine both stood there and watched, feeling really bad, as Chi-Chi continued to cry. Launch was gentle as she stroked the sobbing woman's head. "Chi-Chi, dear... please try that again..."

Chi-Chi pulled her face from Launch's chest, sniffling. "Please... Please tell me that Gohan is okay..."

Launch smiled reassuringly. "Miss Bulma told me that Gohan, Krillin, and Mr. Bardock are all doing fine. They're on Namek looking around for Dragon Balls, just like old times~!"

A bit reassured, Chi-Chi stopped crying. Her voice was still shaky, but she wiped her face. "O-Okay... th-thank you, L-Launch..."

Launch nodded and bowed her head. "Of course!"

With that situation resolved, Goku stepped up and asked his question. "Okay Launch... could you tell us everything that Bulma said in her message?"

Launch nodded. "Of course~!"

She reached behind her desk and pulled out what appeared to be a hastily scribbled memo. "Let's see here... the good news is that they are on Namek and they are safe because Mr. Bardock is an... um... bleep-hole... but he's a smart bleep-hole..."

Gine smiled and chuckled. "That's my husband..."

Launch frowned. "But bad news... apparently a person named Vegeta is also on Planet Namek..."

Goku, Gine, and Raditz all tensed up. Chi-Chi's eyes went wide. Raditz sighed and shook his head. "Well, that figures. Of course, that arrogant prick would arrive on Namek at the same time. Because apparently no coincidence is too unlikely to happen..."

Goku smirked. "It's fine! Dad is there! He can handle Vegeta!"

Raditz and Gine both nodded and Goku chuckled. And then, Launch continued. "Also... more bad news. Apparently the refrigerators on Namek aren't all that great..."

Goku sighed. "Well that sucks... so much for trying some new alien food..."

Gine was confused. "Why would Bulma comment on the state of food storage on the planet? She's not a Saiyan, is she?"

Raditz shook his head. "Certainly not. But food is important. At least she has a good head on her shoulders."

Launch seemed confused by the message as well. "Yeah, but I agree with Ms. Gine. I don't see why a bad freezer is such a big deal..."

Blue Launch looked up and saw a ghastly sight. While Goku and Chi-Chi both looked confused and worried, Gine and Raditz had both gone pale white, their pupils having shrunk to the size of pin pricks. Gine's jaw quivered as she tried to mouth the word. "F...F...F...F...F..."

Immediately, Raditz ran across the room and grabbed Launch by the collar of her shirt, lifting her so high off the ground that her head hit the ceiling. Launch cried out. "Ow! You're hurting me!"

Raditz's voice was shrill, he screamed at the terrified human at the top of his lungs. "Tell me you got that message wrong! Tell me that she didn't say that FRIEZA was on Planet Namek!"

Goku shouted at his brother. "Raditz! Put her dow..."

Goku looked closer and noticed how badly his brother's fist was shaking. Tears were built up in Launch's eyes as she gave a terrified response. "P-Please... that's what Ms. Bulma said. I can't do anything about it! Please put me down!"

Raditz's breathing was hoarse. But as he stood there, his ears ringing, Gine stepped up and grabbed his hand. "Put her down, Raditz. She can't help that this is Frieza's space..."

The elder brother hastily complied, but then he immediately turned and started smashing his fist into the wall. "We're all gonna die! We're all gonna die! Frieza is going to kill everyone on Namek and then he's going to kill us! We are all going! To! Die!"

Hearing this news, even if she didn't really grasp the scope, Chi-Chi ran from the room with tears of fear in her eyes. Her agonized scream echoed down the hallway as she ran. Gine cringed and ran towards the door. "Chi-Chi, wait!"

Gine stepped into the doorway and then glanced back at the traumatized Launch being tended to by Goku. She then turned to her eldest son and shouted. "Raditz! Apologize to that poor woman and then you and Kakarot come to the ship! We have to hurry!"

And then Gine ran off after Chi-Chi.

After a long pause of utter silence and Launch's sniffling, Raditz shuddered and pushed himself off of the wall. For just a moment, the spooked Saiyan gathered himself and offered a hand to the woman he had just assaulted. "I... am sorry for losing my cool like that..."

Launch glanced up at Raditz, who had an embarrassed blush on his face. "B-Bad experiences with... with that person that you mentioned…?"

She swallowed a lump in her throat and then nodded, taking Raditz's hand and pulling herself to her feet. "Th-Thank you..."

The secretary went behind her desk and pulled out a box of tissues, wiping her eyes and then blowing her nose. "It... it's fine. I understand being scared of scary people being after you. When I was younger, scary people were after me all the time and I never knew why..."

Blue Launch blew her nose again and then smiled. "But... it's fine. I don't think I could stay mad at a handsome man like you~"

Raditz's face glowed bright red. "H-Handsome...?"

Launch gently smiled. "Yeah! You're really h... hah... Hah..."

Goku tensed up. "Oh boy, here it comes..."

Raditz turned to his brother. "Here what-"

Blue Launch took a deep breath and sneezed hard.

Raditz glanced back over at Launch and watched, in abject horror, as the blue-haired wallflower he was talking to was replaced by a furious-looking, blonde haired bruiser. Blonde Launch leapt over the table and grabbed Raditz by his shirt, slapping him in the face. "Who the hell do you think you are?! HUH?! Grabbin' me by the shirt collar like that!"

Launch reached behind her desk and pulled a 9-millimeter handgun out. She jammed the barrel underneath Raditz's chin and put her finger on the trigger. "Gimme 26 reasons why I shouldn't splatter ya brains all over the ceiling and give them quick, ya long-haired, rat-faced punk bastard!"

Raditz looked over at his brother, who was cowering behind the waiting room couch. And then, he glanced back at Launch. Raditz swallowed a lump in his throat and then spoke. "T-Twenty-six reasons... um..."

Blonde Launch waved the gun around. "Well?"

Raditz swallowed hard again and then he spoke. "I'm really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really sorry..."

Launch snorted, failing to stifle back a small, amused laugh. And then, she lowered the gun and sighed. "I guess that was 26..."

Goku nervously stood up and chuckled, grabbing Raditz by the arm and pulling him towards the door. "O-Okay... nice talking to you Launch, see ya-"

Launch screamed. "Hold it!"

Goku and Raditz both stiffened up and Launch pointed her gun at Raditz again. "I accept your apology for now! But when you get done with all of this Planet Namek crap, you owe me a nice dinner! And a ton of booze! Got it?!"

Raditz hastily nodded. "Y-Yes, ma'am..."

Blonde Launch slammed the gun on the counter. "Good. Now get the hell outta my lobby!"

Goku and Raditz didn't need to be told twice as they both hastily ran out the door to Bulma's office. Once they were far enough down the hallway. Raditz turned to Goku and shouted. "What the hell is up with all of these crazy Earth women?!"

Goku smiled and laughed. "They all just have a ton of spirit. Launch does, Bulma does, even Chi-Chi does when she's not... acting weird..."

Goku looked away from his brother, concern flashing across his face. Raditz sighed and then his face became bothered again as well. "Frieza is on Namek... Kakarot, I know you don't know Frieza, but-"

Goku gave his brother a punch on the arm. Raditz turned and saw his brother give him a confident thumbs-up. Raditz couldn't help but laugh. "You really think we have a chance to beat the strongest being in the universe...?"

Goku smirked. "Well, no. Not so long as he's the strongest!"

Raditz sighed. "Training, huh?"

Goku nodded. "And lots of it!"

Raditz lamented. "I wish I was born with the guts you and Father have..."

The two brothers exited back into the Capsule Corp lawn and Goku chuckled. "You just have to believe in yourself, Raditz! You can do it!"

Raditz smiled. "Let's see how confident you are after Mother and I fill you in on just who Frieza is."

Unfortunately, as they rounded the corner, they came across a drastic sight. Gine was holding the shaking Chi-Chi tight in her arms. The powerful woman's voice was almost gone; she was crying so hard. Gine had tears in her eyes as she squeezed her daughter-in-law more firmly, unsure of what to say.

Goku and Raditz turned to each other and Goku held up a finger. "Wait a second, Raditz..."

Goku approached his sobbing wife from behind and Gine quickly backed off. Chi-Chi looked up at her mother-in-law, her eyes puffy and red, but was surprised to be met with a hug from behind. Goku smiled warmly and squeezed his wife tight. "What's wrong Chi-Chi? Talk to me..."

Chi-Chi was silent for a moment, but she tightly grabbed her husband's strong arm and began to speak. "Goku... I'm so worried about Gohan..."

Goku placed his head on top of Chi-Chi's and sighed. "Yeah... I can tell..."

Chi-Chi sniffled. "Everything happened so fast... one second you were just going off to visit Master Roshi... and then you were dead and my baby was gone. I was all alone for a full year without either of my boys there with me..."

Raditz stepped around the two, going over to join Gine. He made sure to avoid eye contact with Chi-Chi, trying to avoid looking at her with all of the guilt radiating from his face. Goku hugged her tightly. "I never meant for that to happen, Chi-Chi. I'm so sorry that we scared you like that..."

Chi-Chi sobbed. "I missed a full year of our son's life. A year I spent praying every night that he wasn't dead... A year that I spent doing nothing but worrying about him... I couldn't make myself sleep... or eat... and now he's up in space where I can't reach him again and I'm just..."

Chi-Chi's voice broke. "... scared."

Goku's face was set by a frown as he tried to think of what to say. He stroked his hand down the side of Chi-Chi's head, knowing just where to rub to get her to calm down. Finally, after a moment, he spoke. "I understand that. I don't want anything bad to happen to Gohan either. But Piccolo trained him up strong. He's much stronger than either of us remember him as Chi-Chi..."

Goku smiled. "He's with Krillin and my dad. He's in great care. Not that he'll need it. That boy has all of the potential in the world. He can take care of himself... I know he can~!"

Goku let go of the hug. "And Chi-Chi..."

To Chi-Chi's surprise, Goku spun her around and looked her in the eyes. He smiled at her as confidently as he could. "As long as I'm able to fight, I'd never let anything happen to either of you. Because you're my family and I love you both!"

Chi-Chi looked into her husband's eyes. "Go-"

And then, to the shock of Gine, Raditz, and Chi-Chi... Goku leaned in and tenderly kissed his wife on the lips. Chi-Chi was stunned as Goku pulled away. "G-Goku... you..."

Goku smiled. " I'm not the best with lovey-dovey junk like romance or nothin', but you know I love ya, right? You're my partner~""

Chi-Chi was moved. Worry still covered her face, but the tears of hopelessness left her eyes. She nodded and hugged her husband close. "I'm counting on you, Goku..."

30 minutes later…

Goku, Gine, and Raditz walked up the ramp of the ship. The three of them turned and glanced down to Dr. Brief, Panchy, and Chi-Chi. The doctor and his wife were both cheerful, happily waving goodbye and wished them all a safe journey. Chi-Chi also waved goodbye to them. But even after the loving reassurance of both Goku and Gine, she still seemed broken up.

Chi-Chi shot them a sad smile. "All of you come back safe, okay?"

Goku smiled and nodded, waving goodbye to Chi-Chi one more time. But, as the three of them walked in, Chi-Chi called out one more time. "Please... don't die. I don't want to be left alone..."

And that was it for Gine. The Saiyan mother dropped her bag and turned around, glancing at the sad look in her daughter-in-law's eyes. And then, she pushed past Raditz and Goku and ran down the ramp. Chi-Chi flinched as Gine suddenly grabbed her by the hand and gave her a tug. "Chi-Chi..."

Gine smiled. "... come with us!"

Goku and Raditz were both shocked. Raditz called down to his mother. "Mom! What are you doing, trying to bring a non-combatant along?! You do remember that Frieza is on Namek, right?"

Gine waved Raditz off. "Hush, Raditz!"

She gripped Chi-Chi's hand tight. "I... I can't promise you that we'll survive this. Frieza was the monster that originally caused Bardock and I to die. But I can at least bring you along and promise that you'll get to see Gohan sooner."

Gine wrapped her other hand around Chi-Chi's and gave it a squeeze. "So, won't you join us?"

Tears built up in Chi-Chi's eyes and her lower jaw quivered. "I..."

Chi-Chi nodded. "Of course, I'll come! I just want to keep my Gohan safe!"

She looked concerned. "But I don't have any luggage prepared, no clothes or food or-"

Gine chuckled. "Chi-Chi, you packed all of our bags. Including mine! We already have a bag of your clothes on the ship, you and I will share!"

Chi-Chi smiled and wiped the tears from her cheeks. Gine, with a radiant grin on her face, leading her daughter-in-law onto the ship. Goku chuckled as Gine and Chi-Chi walked past him. "Oh, this'll be awesome! It'll be nice to have Chi-Chi and her cooking on board!"

Raditz let loose a ragged sigh, walking in as the ramp and the hatch closed behind him. "This seems like it's not a great idea..."

Roughly a week later…

Goku and Raditz clashed against each other as hard as they could. The two brothers fought back and forth across the ship, punching and kicking at one another. Raditz swiped at his brother's face, but Goku caught it and flipped Raditz into the air. Raditz shouted and fired two blasts at Goku, but those were both smashed away.

Goku chuckled. "Those made my hands tingly-"

The Saiyan from Earth looked up and flinched upon seeing that Raditz was no longer in the air. He looked around for his missing brother and was shocked when Raditz appeared behind him, locking him into a full nelson. Raditz squeezed tight and lifted Goku from the ground. "How's this one feel, Kakarot?!"

But Goku was wily. The younger brother smirked and formed a Kamehameha between his feet. He used the beam to launch himself in the air. Then he formed another one and used it to drive himself and Raditz onto the floor. And then, Goku pushed himself off of his brother, doing several heavy backflips before eventually crashing into the console. Using it to steady himself as he stood up, Goku looked down at the "20G"on the console. "I think... after this session... we should go to 30 times Earth's gravity..."

Raditz sat up, breathing heavily. "Y-Yeah... I feel like... we've... gotten used to this..."

Goku smirked. "But... before we do that... Kaioken training. Let's... let's both... push for... Times 8..."

Raditz nodded and stood up, focusing his power before shouting. "Kaioken... x8!"

Goku did the same in turn. "KAIOKEN x8!"

The power between the two brothers swelled and they charged at each other again, clashing against one another and trying to push each other back. Goku smirked. "I don't know, Raditz! I feel like... I'm twice as strong as you now..."

Raditz smirked back, grunting and pushing as hard as he could. "... like hell, Kakarot!"

The two recoiled off of each other and Raditz, taking advantage, immediately charged again. "I'm the older brother here! I won't let you be stronger than me!"

Meanwhile, in Chi-Chi and Gine's Quarters…

Chi-Chi and Gine both sat on their bed, watching on a monitor as Raditz and Goku clashed in the ever-increasing intense gravity. As she watched her husband and brother-in-law clash, Chi-Chi took several mental notes on their fighting styles. Though currently retired, martial arts was still always somewhat present in her mind. Gine, meanwhile, simply sat there and watched with pride as her sons smashed into one another.

Finally, Chi-Chi turned to her mother-in-law and spoke. "Raditz is... a very different person from Goku. It's hard to believe they are brothers. Of course, I'm still wrapping my head around the idea that my husband is an alien."

Gine turned to Chi-Chi. "Oh?"

Chi-Chi nodded. "Yeah. Raditz's personality and his style of fighting is almost the mirror opposite of Goku's. It's almost hard to believe that they're even brothers to begin with, just looking at them from a distance."

Gine nodded. "Yeah..."

Chi-Chi cocked her head. "Why is that? Is it because of the different ways they were raised or...?"

Gine shook her head. "No. If I were to blame anything on how different Raditz and Kakarot are, I would say it would be the difference in how they were born."

Chi-Chi was confused. "A difference in how they were born? What do you mean?"

Gine blushed and nervously chuckled. "Y-Yeah... let me explain..."

The Saiyan mother cleared her throat and began. "It was my last combat mission before I retired from the Saiyan Army. Bardock and I and our squad were all assigned to go and fight in the war that was waging in the Makyo Star Cluster..."

Chi-Chi cocked her head. "Makyo Star Cluster?"

Gine nodded. "Yeah. We were trying to exterminate the Makyans. They were... uh... a race of near-immortal ghouls that drink blood and try to infect other solar systems with artificially produced stars..."

Chi-Chi's face was drained of color. "S-Space vampires?"

Gine shrugged. "More or less."

The meek, human woman swallowed a lump in her throat. "O-Okay... That's terrifying."

Gine waved off Chi-Chi's concerns. "Don't even worry, dear. The Makyans are long dead. King Vegeta III obliterated King Garlic and then they gave the planet to Frieza. But that's beside the point..."

Getting back on topic, Gine continued. "Bardock and I were on our mission. We were pinned and both heavily injured. And from what we knew at the time, no one was coming to look for us. We were prepared to be jumped and killed at any moment..."

Chi-Chi's face was streaked with concern. "That's terrible."

Gine nodded. "It was... I've never been so terrified in my life..."

Gine's eyes went blurry and she adopted a thousand-yard stare for just a moment. But then, she shook her head and sighed. "Bardock and I... I couldn't feel my left leg and so we took shelter in a collapsed building. Neither of us had any stamina left and... the Makyans artificial stars rendered the moon of that planet unable to produce Blutz Waves. We were alone, outnumbered, and unable to turn into the Oozaru to even rampage. We came to the conclusion that... well..."

Gine swallowed a lump in her throat. "... that we were going to die."

The Saiyan mother took a deep breath and adopted a small smile. "Bardock and I had always been close friends. Like, I was as close to him as Toma was. So, we were sitting there just reminiscing. And then... well... the moment just felt... right..."

Chi-Chi mischievously smiled. "Oh really?"

Gine chuckled. "Y-Yeah... so... in that moment we..."

Her face glowed bright red and she slapped her hands onto her cheeks. "We let passion overtake us..."

Chi-Chi laughed out loud and gave Gine a pat on the back. "O-Oh my~! That's..."

She snorted as she laughed and Gine shot her a sideways look. "D-Don't laugh at me! We thought we were going to die and didn't want to go out with regrets!"

Once Chi-Chi finally stopped laughing, and Gine's face decreased several shades of red, Gine continued her story. "But... something unexpected happened after that. You see, Saiyan babies are normally made through a process known as DNA Splicing. It's a practice that King Vegeta II started. The DNA of two parents is taken and mixed in a genetic chamber... and then the baby is made rather than born. Just to ensure that they are genetically predisposed to rapid advancement and combat-readiness. That's how Kakarot came to be, in a mix of mine and Bardock's DNA in a pod..."

Chi-Chi nodded. "Okay..."

Gine nervously scratched the back of her head. "But in our moment of passion, Bardock and I actually broke a taboo within the Saiyan Monarchy. And, well, 9 months later Raditz was born..."

Chi-Chi looked off-put. "The Saiyan Monarchy banned pregnancy?"

Gine nodded. "Saiyans can reproduce naturally, but pregnancy wasn't profitable. A Saiyan woman that had to deal with the rigors of childbearing wasn't able to fight. So instead, the children were genetically engineered. The only reason I was allowed to keep Raditz, in spite of all of the scolding and punishment that I got for it, was because I was deemed useless and thrown out of the army anyway. But that didn't change Raditz's fate. My poor baby was an outcast..."

Gine glanced back at the screen, watching Goku and Raditz train together. "I feel nothing but guilt for bringing Raditz into the world that way..."

Chi-Chi frowned. "Why? You gave him life, why feel bad about it?"

Gine sighed. "Like I said, to optimize offspring the DNA of the both parents would be specially synthesized together in a special chamber, or an 'artificial womb' as you might call it. During this time, the growth and development of the fetus was carefully monitored by staff or computers, receiving the best nutrients available after they were purified to optimize development. Of course, the higher the ranking of the parents was, the better conditioning and monitoring the children underwent."

Chi-Chi didn't like the sound of that. She was visibly disgusted. "So Raditz just wasn't 'properly conditioned'?"

Gine lowered her head sadly. "Due to the lack of genetic molding he would've received in the chamber, certain things that other Saiyan babies had repressed flowered normally in him. Fear, timidity, and caution... they all mocked him as weak. Worthless.

Her face tensed. "A runt."

Gine looked closed to tears. "They shunned my baby because of what Bardock and I did..."

Chi-Chi nodded and looked back at the screen, watching as Raditz and Goku took their Kaioken even higher. She sighed. "I never thought I would actually feel bad for the man who kidnapped my son. But..."

She shook her head and turned back to Gine. "Raising him must have been hard on you."

Gine shrugged. "I guess. But..."

The Saiyan mother smiled the most genuine, loving smile that Chi-Chi had ever seen. "Raditz and Kakarot are my babies. Brave or coward, strong or weak, good or evil...I feel nothing but love in my heart for them. I'd die for them all over again if I had to..."

Chi-Chi smiled and placed her hand on top of Gine's, squeezing it tight. With a small laugh, she agreed with her mother-in-law. "I feel the same way about Gohan~!"

Chi-Chi's smile faded and she lowered her head. "But... I feel so powerless, Gine..."

Gine glanced over at Chi-Chi, catching a tired sigh from her daughter-in-law. "Threats are just getting more and more terrible as I get older and older. I can fight really well... my dad taught me how to when I was little after…what happened to my mother. But even while I rank among the strongest women on Earth... all of these superpowers are making me feel as if there's no way for me to protect him at all..."

Chi-Chi's face was hidden by her hair, but her shoulders began to shake. "I feel so useless..."

And then, Chi-Chi began to sob once more. "I can't believe that I'm a terrible enough mother to have let any of this happen in the first place! If I could bench-press a mountain or shoot a Kamehameha or even FLY, I could at least try to keep my Gohan safe, but-"

"ENOUGH!"

Chi-Chi stopped mid-kicking herself. She glanced over at her incensed mother-in-law. Gine pulled her sleeve over her hand, reaching over and wiping the tears from Chi-Chi's face. Gine grasped Chi-Chi's hand and spoke to her daughter-in-law in a firm voice. "You can't beat yourself up and you can't just admit defeat, Chi-Chi. You aren't useless! Everyone is capable of bettering themselves, no matter how meager they start!"

Gine smiled. "I mean, look at me. The Saiyan Royal Family claimed that I was worthless... and yet not too long ago, I decked their firstborn heir across the desert~"

Chi-Chi's lower lip quivered, but she chuckled at the stupidly proud look on Gine's face. "Th-thank you Gine... I needed that..."

The human mother sighed. "But... I just don't know what I can do anymore..."

Gine adopted a sly smile and nudged Chi-Chi with her elbow. "Well... you could learn to fly for starters..."

Chi-Chi flinched and stared over at Gine. "M-Me?! Learn how to fly?!"

Chi-Chi swallowed a lump in her throat. "I... I mean... I would love to... but I don't think that I have the aptitude to-"

Gine shook her head. "Stop with that! Of course, you have the aptitude, Chi-Chi. Your 5-year-old son can fly!"

Gine turned and faced Chi-Chi on the bed. "As far as I'm concerned, you are more than talented and more than determined enough to do anything you want. Especially a skill so basic as flying."

Silence filled the room. Chi-Chi glanced away from Gine, staring down at her lap and then over at the image of Goku and Raditz training on the screen. Chi-Chi took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "O-Okay... I'll try to learn how to fly..."

Gine happily smiled. "Excellent~!"

Chi-Chi and Gine both turned to face one another on the bed, crossing their legs and turning off the viewing screen to the gravity chamber. Gine began. "So, the first thing that you need to learn is the basics of Ki control..."