Chapter 1: A Family Reunion

Snake Way…

Son Goku laid on the back of the Snake Way streetcleaner, enjoying a welcomed respite from his endless run down the spiral stretch of road for the last 3 months. The Saiyan slumbered, trying to regain the energy needed to go and see King Kai. He had less than a year, at this point, to train and grow and learn the skills necessary to deal with the two wicked Saiyans that would be invading the Earth.

He slumbered and snored, blissfully unaware of the bumps and corners that the bulky vehicle had to navigate. And, as such, the Saiyan from Earth was totally unaware as one mighty bump sent him flying from the back of the vehicle and over the side of the road.

Goku snored, blissfully unaware that he was falling directly into Hell.

Hell, Bloody Pond…

Goku landed with a thud, the force of the fall knocking the wind out of him. He coughed and sputtered as he sat up, groaning and rubbing his aching back. "Wh-What's going on?!"

He got to his feet and looked around, taking in the sights. The pond of blood, the burning red sky, the mountain of spikes. "Is this... King Kai's place?"

From behind Goku, a voice called out. "Whoa! You're still awake?! Even for a dead guy, that was quite a fall!"

Goku turned and stared in confusion at the source of the voice: a bulky, blue ogre with a single horn jutting from the top of his head. "Uh... King Kai?"

The ogre shook his head. "No. I'm not King Kai. Name's Goz!"

Goku cocked his head. "Goz, huh? So... you work for King Kai?"

Goz shook his head. "No! Ya damn fool! I work for King Yemma. He has me stay down here and help out with torturin' all the folks that end up here in Hell."

Goku nodded. "Oh, Hell. I see. Well, that make sen-"

He froze as the situation dawned on him and began to panic. "HELL?!"

Goz smirked. "Now you're getting it. You've landed in Hell, my friend. Fell off of Snake Way from the looks of it."

Goku was in shock. As he tried to stammer out a response, Goz was joined by a fellow ogre. This red ogre, with two horns on his head, marched up and spoke to Goz. "Did I hear you right?! This guy just fell off of Snake Way and he's already up and about?!"

Goz nodded. "I know! It's crazy, ain't' it, Mez?"

Mez nodded. "Super crazy."

Finally, Goku managed to speak. "Wait a second! I can't be stuck down here in Hell! I need to get to King Kai so that I can train to fight the Saiyans that are coming to Earth!"

Mez and Goz both turned to Goku. The red ogre scratched his head. "Saiyans huh? It's weird to think that so many of them managed to survive after the planet was destroyed... I thought we had seen the last of them decades ago."

Goz shook his head. "Imagine our surprise when, out of the blue, a Saiyan got thrown down here a month ago…"

Goku flinched back. He realized that the two of them must have been talking about Raditz. But that didn't matter. He had to think of a way out of this mess. Earth wouldn't survive unless he made it there to help. Goku spoke up. "Guys! Please! You have to help me get out of here! If I don't make it to King Kai's place, everyone I know is going to die!"

Mez frowned. "It's a pretty weird request to ask for a way out of Hell. Most of the time, when spirits are sent down here they're here to stay. But... Goz?"

Goz nodded. "Seeing as you were given permission to run Snake Way, we'll see what we can do. We'll try to get on the horn with King Yemma to see if we can get permission to let you loose. So until then, how about I try and help you train to pass the time?"

Goku smiled. "Really?!"

Goz nodded again. "You seem like a good guy, so we'll try and help you out. Mez'll go and call King Yemma and we can wrestle to help you build some strength while you're waiting!"

Goku was pumped. Not only were these ogres going to try and help him get back on track, but he would even get some training out of the deal. With a skip in his step, Goku followed the two hulking ogres away from the Bloody Pond.

However, as he and his new friends went off, none of them noticed the presence hidden behind a nearby tree. A fair hand gripped the bark of the tree hard enough for it to crack. Whoever this was, they were not best pleased.

Hell, Training Grounds…

After hours of grappling and sparring, Goku threw his new training partner onto his back. Goz gasped as the wind was driven from his chest. The Saiyan smiled wide and snickered. "You're pretty strong, Goz!"

Goz chuckled. "So are you! Geez... I haven't been given this much trouble since that last Saiyan showed up..."

Goku, tired and out of breath, fell to his butt. "That Saiyan you're talking about... was his name Raditz?"

Goz nodded and took a sip from his water bottle. "Yeah. He was a pain in the ass to deal with. Took forever to beat the power out of his soul, but me and Mez eventually managed..."

Goku was confused. "Beat the power out of his soul?"

Goz nodded. "Yeah. King Yemma makes us beat all of the evil power out of troublesome souls before we throw them into the soul purifier. Some give us more trouble than others. Like when the Saiyans all died way back when, that was a full year of chasing souls around with our clubs and beating 'em into submission. Managed to get most of 'em... a few wandered off and they're just stuck in limbo now..."

Goku nodded back. "I see."

Goz sighed. "So... we had just beaten the power out of that Raditz guy and we were about to do some torture and then throw him into the soul purifier... but then he just went missing..."

Goku was shocked. "He went missing?!"

Goz nodded. "Yeah. His loss. He could've been reincarnated as a better person... but instead he's just stuck in eternal damnation now..."

Goku shrugged, ultimately uncaring. "Oh well. You won't get in trouble for losing him, will ya?"

Goz sighed. "King Yemma'll probably dock mine and Mez' pay, but that ain't too bad. Might lose my gym membership for a month, but it's fine."

Mez came walking up, a grim look on his face. "Eh. I'll cover ya for the month, Goz. I have some money saved up."

Goz smiled. "Thanks, bro. Anyway, what did King Yemma say about our friend here?"

Mez frowned even harder. He turned to Goku and shook his head. Goku tensed up. "Wh-What's wrong?"

Goz groaned. "Was the line busy?"

Mez sighed. "No, but King Yemma is currently really backed up on paperwork. He won't be answering any calls for the next... 8 months..."

Goku gasped. "8 MONTHS?! What does that mean?!"

Mez sighed again and helped Goz to his feet. "That means, Goku, that we can't let you leave until we get word from King Yemma. In other words, you're stuck down here with us..."

Goku's eyes widened. "But... I have to get to King Kai's place. I have to train... My friends and family are going to..."

Mez shook his head in shame. "I'm sorry, Goku. I wish there was something we could do... I'm really sorry..."

Goz gave Mez a pat on the shoulder and sighed. "Don't beat yourself up, Mez. I'm sure that Goku understands that you can't just break the rules. We have to do our jobs. Right, Goku?"

Goku looked miserable. He laid back and stared up at the distant yellow clouds. "Yeah... I guess I don't want you guys to get fired..."

Goz frowned. "We'll... we'll give you some privacy. Me and Mez'll head back to the office and try to figure something out. Maybe... try to shave a few months off of the wait... or something..."

And with that, the ogres stumbled away, leaving Goku to stew in the bad news.

8 months. He was losing 8 months of valuable time to train and try to get stronger. At this rate... he'd never meet King Kai in time. And that meant that he might not be able to deal with the Saiyans properly. Discouraged, Goku laid there and tried to think about what to do.

And then he jumped to his feet. "No! I can't wait for that!"

Goku glared up at the distant sky and slapped himself on the cheeks.

He powered-up to full strength and, with a mighty leap, he took to the air. He had to make it for his friends and his family. He couldn't let anything stop him. He flew at top speed and, slowly, the clouds got closer. Goku gritted his teeth as he exerted all of his power to fly high up. "I have to go and find King Kai!"

Finally, Goku reached the cloud and smiled. He was home free. But then, to his horror, something stopped him. An invisible barrier.

He could see Snake Way. It was close enough to touch... but he couldn't make his hand go through. With a massive recoil, the barrier sent Goku shooting back down to the ground.

He landed with a heavy thud and groaned in the crater that he had made. "D-Dammit... what was that...?"

And then, to Goku's surprise, a distinctly female voice answered him. "That was the Morality Barrier. You cannot pass through that barrier so long as you harbor a selfish desire for getting through..."

Goku turned to the voice. "A selfish de-"

Goku stopped mid-sentence from shock. Approaching him from behind was a youthful-looking, beautiful woman.

It was clear right away that she was a Saiyan from her swinging, fury tail, and battle armor. She was average in height with a slender but definitely feminine build. She sported spiky black hair reaching below her shoulders, and gentle, ebony eyes as black as lustrous as stones from a deep river. Those eyes, however, were filled with an intense fury. "Another Saiyan?! I thought Goz said-"

With all of her strength, this female Saiyan reared back and slapped Goku right across the face. She screamed in desperate anger as tears streamed down her face. "HOW COULD THE BOTH OF YOU BE SO STUPID?!"

Goku held his stinging cheek as the woman began to weep. She wiped tears from her face and began to hiccup. "We tried so hard for you... We did everything we could to make sure you both lived..."

The woman screamed at Goku. "How could you and your brother kill each other like that, Kakarot?!"

Goku flinched. This woman called him by his Saiyan name. A name that only Raditz had called him by before. Goku was confused. "Wh-Who are you? And how do you know that name...?"

The woman clenched her teeth, tears still streaming. "How do you think I know that name, you fool? I'm Gine... Your mother!"

Goku gasped in shock as the woman continued to cry her eyes out. "M-M-MOTHER?!"

In a deeper level of Hell…

Goku followed Gine deeper into the spiky depths of Hell. The mood was silent and tense. After her initial outburst, the female Saiyan had fallen into a sad silence. Goku didn't know what to say... but she didn't feel untrustworthy. Rather, she emanated a kindness that fondly reminded Goku of his dear Grandpa Gohan. And the intense sadness on her face and in her voice genuinely made Goku feel bad.

Finally, after a long while of just walking, Goku spoke up. "So... you're my mom...?"

Gine nodded silently.

Goku continued. "... and... your name is Gine?"

Once again, a silent nod.

Goku scratched his head. "And you're down here with Raditz and... my father?"

Gine nodded again, this time with a grunt. Goku nodded back. "Okay then... I think I get it. So, you guys are down here because you're all as evil as Raditz was, right?"

Gine's shoulders slumped. "Yes, Kakarot..."

Goku frowned. "My name is Goku, if you don't mind."

Gine turned and looked at him, letting a small, sad laugh slip out. "Yes... Raditz told me about how you 'went native' on Earth. But... you lead a happy, peaceful life... right?"

Goku smiled wide. "Life on Earth is nice. I'm happy that I got sent there as a baby. Grandpa Gohan treated me well, and I made so many friends like Bulma and Krillin and Master Roshi! I love my life on Earth."

Gine cracked a sad smile. "You left the Saiyan race behind and lived a life you were happy with. As a mother... I guess that's all I could really ever hope you'd end up doing. Racing to make sure your pod made it off of Planet Vegeta really was worthwhile..."

And then her frown came back. "If I had just been faster... I could have told Raditz about you and we could have avoided all of this..."

Goku was really confused. He bluntly asked Gine the first question on his mind. "Okay. So... the Saiyan's are evil but... why are you down here, Mom? You don't seem like a bad sorta person."

Gine shrugged. "I wasn't ever much for conquest or even fighter. But... I guess I just ended up down here because of my relationship to the Saiyans. Our society was basically compiled of shameless killers. It's not like we didn't have our punishment coming..."

Goku cocked his head. "I guess if you feel that way. I just don't think you deserve to be down here is all..."

Gine warmly smiled. "I appreciate that Kak-"

She paused and then cleared her throat. "Goku."

Finally, the two of them arrived at the cave that Gine was living out of. She turned to Goku and sighed. "I know that we've just met but... could you please find it in your heart to try and forgive Raditz? We're all already dead and just... I don't want our existence to be spent in-fighting. This is the first time we've ever been together, as a family, and-"

Goku placed a caring hand on Gine's shoulder and smiled. "Sure thing, Mom. We can try and talk this out if it'll make you happy!"

Gine smiled and teared up. She wrapped her small, soft hands around Goku's larger hand and gave it a squeeze. "Thank you so much..."

Goku and Gine both walked into the cave together and Goku was surprised. A pseudo-home had been constructed in the cave. Two stone slabs for beds, a basin full of water, and a pile of chopped meat from several hell beasts decorated the cave.

Goku looked around and eventually met eyes with Raditz, bound with chains on a nearby slab. Raditz glared at his brother with contempt. Goku glared back. And then... Goku's eyes fell on him.

Sitting at the back of the room, an intense look filling his eyes, the scar on his cheek casting a faint shadow as the light hit it, was his father. The intense Saiyan stood and Goku could feel his power. He was much stronger than Raditz and definitely stronger than Goku himself. The scarred Saiyan stomped up to Goku and glared right into his eyes. There was a long silence.

And then, Goku swallowed the lump in his throat. "Y-You're... my father..."

The Saiyan nodded. "I am. And you... are Kakarot?"

Goku nodded. "Y-Yeah... I go by Goku now, but... yeah..."

Bardock sighed and closed his eyes, he seemed very calm as he stood there. Finally, he opened his eyes and nodded. "My name is Bardock. Pleased to finally meet you, kid."

Bardock offered Goku a handshake and Goku accepted. Goku realized that Raditz was right. Apart from his softer eyes that he clearly inherited from his mother, Goku had an uncanny resemblance to his father. Even the same hairstyle.

After that, he turned and walked back to his seat, sharing a quick look with Gine as he did. Once he sat down, Gine motioned for Goku to do so as well. While Goku sat, Gine picked up Raditz's chained form and sat him on the ground between Bardock and Goku. And then she sat opposite Raditz.

Gine smiled, in spite of it all. "Our family... sitting in a circle together..."

She lowered her head. "I never thought I'd see the day. At least... I never thought I'd see the day this soon..."

Bardock took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Gine's calm speech instantly began to waver. She trembled in place and her voice cracked. "I never had considered that... you'd both be so young... that you'd both end up down here... that..."

Finally, Gine began to openly sob. "How could you two kill each other?! We worked so hard to make sure that you both lived. Bardock fought with Frieza and I made sure that Raditz's return orders never came and that... that Kaka... Goku made it off of Planet Vegeta in time and..."

Raw sadness overcame Gine's voice and her words just turned into inelegant blubbering. She sat there, shaking and sobbing in her hands. Goku looked guilty. He glanced over to Raditz and saw that, in spite of him still feeling evil, his older brother also looked as if he felt really guilty.

Bardock had a stoic look on his face that said this was something he regularly dealt with, but he didn't say a word. They all sat there for a good 10 minutes and just listened to Gine cry.

Finally, Goku spoke. "I'm so sorry, Mom. I tried to talk to Raditz and I tried to reason with him..."

Gine wiped her eyes and glared at Raditz with utter disappointment. "I've heard..."

Goku nodded. "He kidnapped my son and-"

Bardock and Gine both snapped at that. "SON?!"

Raditz groaned, clearly having left that part out. Gine's eyes were still streaming with tears, but a gentle smile crept across her face. "You have a son? I'm... I'm a grandmother?"

Goku smiled. "Yep. You're the grandma to my son, Gohan. You'd probably love him, he's such a kind and gentle little guy!"

Gine was giving a full-tooth smile. This was news to her, but it was just enough to lighten up her overcast heart. Bardock couldn't help but smirk. "My bloodline has continued..."

His smirk turned into a frown and he smacked Raditz on the back of the head. "The hell is wrong with you?! What kind of stupid bastard kidnaps their own nephew and threatens to kill him?!"

Goku cocked his head. "What did he tell you he did?"

Gine frowned. "He said that he kidnapped an ally of yours and threatened to kill them..."

Bardock shook his head. "That's a smart thing to do, but instead he kidnaps his own blood. Disgraceful."

Raditz finally spoke up. "What the hell do you people expect me to do? If I had come back empty-handed, Prince Vegeta would have blasted me into dust!"

Raditz snarled at his family. "You all sit here and act like you have the high-ground in this argument when two of you have been dead for most of my life and one of you has had a vacation on Earth! Do you know what my life was like? Constantly under threat of Vegeta, Nappa, or one from the Frieza Force getting annoyed or bored enough to kill me?! I was nothing in life and was hoping that maybe my brother, the only flesh and blood I had left, would be willing to side with me! And then I finally find him and he forsakes me for the inhabitants of a worthless planet like Earth!"

Goku frowned. "The people of Earth haven't done anything wrong! They're innocent people who can't even fight back against a guy as strong as you!"

Finally, Bardock and Raditz found some common ground as they both shouted at Goku. "Who cares?!"

Goku flinched back. Bardock spoke harshly. "Those people are beneath you! You could have easily dominated that planet and served as their king if you had put your mind and strength to it. How could you ever consider siding with a bunch of worthless Earthlings as your equals? How could you choose them over your own brother?!"

The room was silent again. Finally, Gine spoke. "We... have no right to question Kakarot's life. Er, Goku's life. We sent him to that planet with no one to teach him or guide him. If he found a different life that he's happy with, we have no right to disparage him for that..."

Bardock sneered. "He's behaving like an Earthling rather than a Saiyan and-"

Gine screamed at Bardock. "And look where acting like Saiyans got us, Bardock!"

That shut Bardock right up. Gine glared at her husband. "We're in Hell! Kakarot only ended up here by mistake and is already getting ready to leave! His path was in the right! Ours wasn't!"

Bardock and Raditz both fell silent, neither had anything to say in response to that. Gine stood and shook her head. "I'm... I'm sorry K... Goku. I'm so sorry, Goku. I wanted to have a family reunion but... let's just get you out of here."

Goku looked at his mom, seeing the sadness in her eyes. He took her hand and she yanked him off the ground and out of the cave, leaving Bardock and Raditz sitting in silence.

Hell, The other side of Bloody Pond…

Goku was confused as Gine led him to an open area on the other side of Bloody Pond. "I don't understand, Mom. I thought you said that the 'Morality Barrier' was keeping me trapped down here. How are we going to get me out?"

Gine took a deep breath, wiping the tears from her face. "Goku, why do you want to escape from here? Tell me."

Goku cocked his head. "I want to save my family and friends from the other two Saiyans that are coming to Earth. So I have to get to King Kai's Planet so I can get the strength to beat them."

Gine nodded. "And that's it? That's the only reason you want to get out of here..."

Goku smiled. "Well, I mean, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to fighting with these Saiyans too! I can only imagine how strong-"

Gine cut him off. "That's the problem!"

Goku was confused. "Wh-What?"

Gine shook her head. "Goku! You have to let that go or the Morality Barrier will never let you out of here! Your selfish desire to fight, no matter how small, will keep the barrier strong against your attempts to escape it!"

Goku's jaw dropped. "B-But... how do I get rid of that? I can't just stop wanting to fight strong guys! I love a tough fight!"

Gine sighed and shook her head. "I swear... you really are just a nicer version of Bardock..."

Gine took a deep breath and smiled. "Well, worry not, Son! I'm your mother and if there's a way to get you out of Hell, we will find it! Together!"

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