Chapter 3: The Renewed Dynasty

Over the course of the next month…

It only took Goku 2 weeks to finish his sprint to King Kai's planet, reaching it with less time lost than he had feared. The Saiyan moved with more purpose than he had been initially. His mind was heavy. But eventually, he made it to the planet of King Kai.

The deity of the Northern Galaxy was impressed by what he had seen upon meeting this new traveler. He had heard from King Yemma that a new guest was headed his way, but he never expected to see them this quickly.

King Kai still put Goku through his signature test: telling a joke that would make him laugh. Most students that came his way didn't seem to get this test, but it was vital for King Kai's training. Not only did the boisterous God love a good joke, but he had to make sure that anyone who learned his techniques had the lighthearted nature and gentle mind to be able to fully access his style. Without a sense of humor, techniques such as the Kaioken and the Spirit Bomb could genuinely strain the soul and cause all sorts of problems for the user.

It took Goku a bit, but King Kai eventually got a passable joke out of his new student. And so, Goku's training began.

The Northern Kai was amazed at Goku's progress, watching as the Saiyan quickly ran through the training with both Bubbles and Gregory in less than a day. His body seemed to be working overtime in order to progress. But in his observations, King Kai also noticed something troubling. Something was weighing on Goku, something heavy. Something deep.

As Goku's power skyrocketed (achieving the Frieza Force metric of 5000 in such a short amount of time!), King Kai began to get to know him better. He learned about Goku's wife and his son and his friends on Earth... and yet the Saiyan was leaving something out.

King Kai sighed to himself as Goku took a nap to rest and regain energy. "I have to figure out what's eating at him... or he'll never be able to master the Kaioken..."

8 months until the Saiyans' arrival…

Goku sat at the table and ate serving after serving of food, practically sucking it down faster than Gregory and Bubbles could deliver it to him. King Kai watched, attempting to read the Saiyan's mind through his facial expressions alone.

Eventually, the Kai gave up and simply began to ask a few easy, but probing questions. "So... Goku... you're a Saiyan too, right?"

Goku nodded. "Yeah. But I only learned that about 4 months ago."

King Kai nodded as Goku continued to eat. He thought for a moment and then asked another question. "Are you curious about your heritage? I watched the Saiyans over the ages until they finally died. I know a lot about them because I try to keep tabs on their benefactors, some real nasty pieces of work lemme tell ya. Maybe I could tell you about your family if they were infamous enough."

Goku shook his head. "I already know about my family. My dad's name is Bardock and my brother is Raditz. They're both pretty strong, although I've gotten a lot stronger than Raditz since I got here. My dad is... still a lot stronger than me though..."

King Kai nodded, taking note of the tone of voice Goku used in describing his father and brother. An uneasy mixture of pride and just a bit of disdain. But more importantly, King Kai noticed a glaring omission. "So, you know your father and brother... but do you know your mother? I've heard of Bardock and Raditz, but I could always ask King Yemma if Bardock had a mate when the Saiyans-"

Goku's tone was base, but forcibly so. "Gine. My mom's name was Gine."

King Kai flinched, detecting hastily obfuscated sadness out of Goku's voice for the first time. He turned and saw the look on the Saiyan's face as he stared at the bowl of rice in front of him. King Kai nodded. "Right. Sorry to have brought it up. No need to dampen the mood."

Goku blinked and shook his head. "Sorry! I didn't mean to space out there!"

He quickly finished his rice and turned to King Kai. "So! How about some more training?!"

King Kai nodded. "Of course. You need to build your endurance up more so that the Kaioken does not destroy your body. So..."

King Kai snapped his fingers and, on the other side of his planet, a marble-sized sphere of Katchin appeared. It landed on the ground and made the entire planet quake. "... you have to go and grab that marble of Katchin and carry it all the way back here, over your head, to me. If you can't do it in 3 days' time, I will make you start over! Understand?"

Goku nodded and immediately ran off. "I'll do it in 2 days!"

King Kai smirked and shook his head as Goku rounded the horizon. After a moment, the Saiyan cried out. "Jeez! This is really heavy!"

King Kai snorted and laughed out loud. He listened intently as Goku made small, heavy step after small, heavy step. Once he was sure that Goku was distracted, he immediately retreated into his house and picked up the phone. He dialed a number in and listened as it rang.

*click*

"Hello, King Kai?"

King Kai smiled. "Hey, Yemma. I have a favor to ask..."

2 days later…

Heaving breaths in and out, Goku made the final approach to King Kai's house. His muscles were aching and fatigue was setting in, but he refused to give up. He had been through some hard training before, and this wasn't going to topple him. He grunted and growled as he got closer and closer to King Kai's doorstep.

King Kai stepped out from the doorway and smiled. "So, you're back already? I guess you did say that you'd make it in 2 days."

The comedic Kai snickered and Goku nodded, his voice hoarse. "Y-Yeah..."

King Kai smiled. "Well, while you've been gone, I called and got you a special set of training partners. With them, your training should be much more effective!"

Goku wearily smiled. "Th-That's nice... training partners are... fun..."

Finally, from sheer fatigue, Goku fell over onto his face right in front of King Kai. The marble of Katchin fell, threatening to crush Goku's head, but was handily caught. Goku could feel someone standing over him and struggled to look up. "Wh-Wha-"

A gruff voice responded. "Unable to carry a pathetic, little marble?! What kinds of disgraces did I help make?!"

Goku's vision was blurry, but he recognized the voice above him. Soon enough, another familiar voice joined in. "Hush up, Bardock!"

A soft, gentle hand caressed Goku's face. "Are you okay, Kakarot?!"

King Kai sounded legitimately proud as he spoke. "He managed to gain quite a bit of strength for the short amount of time that he's been here. When he wakes up tomorrow, he should have gained a whole new level of power!"

Hearing those words, weariness finally got to the Saiyan from Earth. Goku gave one final grunt, and then he passed out.

10 hours later…

With a groan, Goku woke up. He creaked as he sat up in King Kai's bed and gave an agonized moan. His muscles ached from having to haul the Katchin, but Goku smiled. He did feel stronger. A lot stronger.

Slowly standing up, Goku looked over at the bedside table and grabbed the clothes that King Kai had left for him. He slowly dressed himself as he thought back to before he passed out. He remembered that something important had happened, but he couldn't make out what it was. Goku tried to picture it, but was quickly snapped out of his thoughts by a familiar voice.

"Come on Raditz! You can take him! You're not a little kid anymore!"

Goku's eyes widened at the sound of a voice. Her voice.

Quicker than he had expected he was capable, Goku sprinted out of the house. He looked around for the source of her voice, jumping when it sounded behind him. "Kakarot..."

Goku turned, his eyes wide, and he smiled at who he saw. It was a feeling he realized that Gohan must feel every time he got to see Chi-Chi. Sitting next to King Kai, cup of tea in her hand, was Goku's mother, Gine.

Before Gine could get out a single word, Goku ran up to her and hugged her tightly. "Mom!"

Gine had a gentle smile, lovingly stroking her free hand down her son's back. "My Kakarot... it's so good to see you again... especially after I thought that I would never get to after-"

Goku interrupted her. He gently grabbed his mom's shoulders. "How did you get here, though?!"

King Kai smiled and raised his hand. "That would be me! I could tell that something was up with you. So, after hearing about your family, I decided that maybe I could help clear your mind and improve your training by bringing all three of them here!"

Goku flinched. "All three of them…?"

A fist slammed into the back of Goku's head, smacking him to the ground. He howled in pain and cried out as something grabbed him by the back of his collar and threw him across the ground and into King Kai's apple tree. Goku groaned and sat up, looking to his left and seeing his older brother, Raditz. Raditz was breathing heavy. He looked over at his brother. "Hello, Kakarot..."

Goku nodded. "H-Hey, Rad-"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!"

Goku flinched and he and Raditz both turned to face the gruff voice that had yelled at them. Bardock, in all of his glory, towered over his two sons. Goku stared up at the harsh, but nearly identical face of his father. "Bardock..."

Bardock nodded. "Kakarot."

And then, without warning, Bardock sprinted forward and drop-kicked both of his sons in the ribs, sending them flying. The Saiyan father stopped short as his sons went crashed a few yards away and called out. "I can't believe that I died to save you two little brats and you repay me by staying so damn weak!"

Bardock let loose a ragged sigh and ripped off his armor, armbands, and his signature headband. And then he cracked his knuckles. "But don't worry! Daddy is here now and he's gonna make sure his little boys grow up to become friggin' men!"

Bardock took a deep breath and then sighed. With a scream, he released all of his power. "SO, GET READY FOR THE LONGEST, 8-MONTH ASS-KICKING OF YOUR LIVES!"

The older Saiyan took off from the ground, soaring at his two sons as they both stood and landing a solid punch on each of them. They went flying and he charged again. Raditz took another punch, but Goku caught Bardock's fist. Bardock smirked. "Well, at least one of my boys knows how to fight..."

Goku grumbled as he struggled to hold back Bardock's fist. Bardock smiled. "So. You said you had a son, right? Teaching him how to fight like a Saiyan?"

Goku spoke through clenched teeth. "N-No... Chi-Chi wants him to be a... scholar..."

Bardock's smile faded. He closed his eyes, shook his head, and sighed. "You two are both such disappointments..."

Without so much as a warning, Bardock delivered a swift kick to the bottom of Goku's jaw, sending his younger son into the air. He then turned to Raditz and charged.

Bardock smashed Raditz in the face with his elbow. After that, he grabbed his older son by the hair and swung him up in the air, smashing him into Goku and sending them both crashing to the ground in a heap. Goku and Raditz both struggled to stand and stared with just a bit of fear at their father. Bardock cracked his neck and rushed at them again.

King Kai watched, with just a bit of horror, as the training/beating continued. "He... uh... your husband. He's... pretty brutal..."

Gine smiled and blushed. "Yeah... Yeah he is..."

King Kai cleared his throat and sipped his tea as he and Gine sat there, watching while Bardock "trained" his two boys.

5 months until the Saiyans' arrival…

King Kai and Gine both ate chocolate-chip cookies and watched as Bardock fought with Goku and Raditz. Gine smiled with pride and King Kai watched in awe.

In a short 3 months, Raditz and Goku had both greatly increased in power. Bardock also gained quite the boost himself despite focusing most of his efforts on training his sons. And, although he was still stronger than either of the boys on their own, the two of them together were quickly getting to the point where they could overwhelm Bardock in a fight.

Gine closed her eyes and focused. "So... I focus on the feeling of their energy... correct?"

King Kai nodded. "Yes. Just focus deeply and it should come through."

Gine bowed her head, eventually managing to feel it... if just a bit fuzzily. "If I had to guess... Bardock is roughly at 14,000... Kakarot is currently sitting at... a little over 12,000... and Raditz is trailing behind at 11,000..."

King Kai smiled at his student and nodded. "Indeed. Those numbers are about where they would be in terms of Frieza's metrics. But can you tell me how far you've come along in the past 3 months?"

Gine blushed. "I... I'm not all that great. I'm certainly not a warrior like my husband or sons... Just a mere 6000..."

King Kai gently scolded. "Do not sell yourself short. In the old Saiyan empire, that would have put you in contention with most Elite soldiers. You might not be a natural physical fighter, but I am genuinely impressed at how well you handle the spiritual side of things. You've managed to master more in 3 months than most of the people who have ever shown up on this planet just through sheer effort!"

Gine blushed. "Th-Thank you, sir...I'm no Cassava, but…"

King Kai shook his head. "Don't thank me. It's all your hard work that-"

Gine interrupted. "No. I mean... thank you..."

King Kai noticed that Gine was no longer looking at him, but rather out at her family. The Kai turned to see a wonderful sight. Two sons and a father, although trading blows with one another, all smiling with pride and comradery. King Kai, himself, smiled. "Oh! Of course."

Soon after, the training ended for the day and King Kai called everyone in for dinner. He watched, a bit aghast, as the family of four Saiyans demolished their way through yet another meal in a matter of minutes. Goku, Bardock, Raditz, and even Gine ate as if they hadn't seen food in decades. King Kai sat down to enjoy his own portion of the food and watched as the four of them interacted.

In the intervening 3 months, the dispositions of all four Saiyans had changed in major and minor ways. Goku no longer seemed uncomfortable with his family, genuinely wrapping his arm around Raditz's shoulder and eagerly addressing Bardock as "Dad".

Raditz no longer held a meek and severe demeanor. He seemed at ease with himself, happily joining his brother in taunting their father.

Gine had managed to shed her somewhat miserable shell. She smiled warmly and laughed, egging her sons along and joining in their playful jabbing at her husband.

And, as for Bardock, while he maintained his serious, angry outside... something inside had shifted. His voice when speaking to his sons no longer contained any hints of disappointment in them, but rather the stern pride of a father. Even though he still called them wimps, his words contained none of the venom from beforehand.

King Kai finished his portion of rice and then cleared his throat. The Saiyans all ignored him, so he tried again a bit louder. Still ignored, King Kai took a deep breath and yelled at his raucous house guests. "Hey! Everyone shut up and listen for a second!"

All four Saiyans turned to King Kai and he smiled. "I am quite impressed with how much each of you has progressed. So much so that I think I'm definitely going to tell King Yemma that you deserve a place in the Other World, rather than Hell..."

Bardock, Raditz, and Gine all looked shocked. Goku smiled wide. "Oh! That's so cool!"

King Kai nodded. "Indeed. And, as an added bonus, I'm going to let you all in on the training that I was originally going to reserve for Goku... I am going to teach you all how to do the Kaioken!"

Goku pumped himself up. "Yes!"

Raditz was confused. "The... Kaio... what?"

King Kai nodded. "Yes. I think that all of you are ready. One of you has already gotten a rudimentary grasp of it! So, now, all you need to do is pass my test..."

Bardock raised an eyebrow. "Test?"

And so, King Kai's training began. After some difficulty, and with a little help from Gine, Raditz was able to pass King Kai's test and tell a joke that made the deity laugh. Bardock, on the other hand, was a little less receptive to the ridiculous challenge.

"Hell no! I'm a warrior! Not a damn jester! I'd rather train myself than take part in some pathetic... comedy night!"

After her husband had stormed off, Gine smiled and shook her head. "Well... for obvious reasons... I think I am going to pass as well..."

Gine walked up to each of her sons and gave them a kiss on the cheek. "Good luck, boys. Just know that I know you can do it!"

King Kai was secretly happy that Bardock and Gine had chosen to abstain. It would be easier to focus on two students at once rather than four.

And so, the training began!

Goku and Raditz worked hard on utilizing the Kaioken. Their Saiyan endurance allowed them to test with and train in the form for much longer. They ran circles around the planet for hours on end, sparring with one another as they broke more and more hurdles. As their training wore on, they each managed to hit a hard limit.

Bardock, meanwhile, trained on his own. The rebel Saiyan was used to honing his skills in private. His exceptional power for a Low-Level had always made him unable to train with his peers. He pushed himself closer to his limit each time he trained, breaking it quite a few times and finding a new basin of power to draw from.

But all the while, Bardock made sure to keep a wandering eye on his sons' training, observing their continued gains and the techniques they were learning.

And as for Gine, when not taking instructions from King Kai, she made sure to keep up a strict schedule of her own. 50 push-ups, 50 sit-ups, 50 squats, a 10-mile run every other day, and several hours of meditation. Before Gine realized it, she had completely changed her physique, becoming lean yet athletically well-built.

Soon, 5 months had passed.

The day of the Saiyans' Arrival…

King Kai smiled at his four students. "Well, congratulations! Your training has produced even greater results than I had hoped. Let's see, going by Frieza Force standards…Goku is at 15,000, Bardock is 16,000, Raditz is 14,500, and Gine is 10,000."

Goku was amazed to hear. After King Kai had warned Goku about his upcoming foes' respective power levels and fighting capacities, the Saiyan from Earth wasn't completely sure he would be ready for the threat.

Goku then realized something. "So, what now?"

King Kai smirked. "Obviously, you tell your friends to revive you."

Goku nodded and focused. Telepathy was one of the many new tricks King Kai had taught his students. An entire minute passed, but Goku still struggled to find and connect with Master Roshi. Clearly, the Saiyan still wasn't very advanced in connecting with people very far away.

King Kai sighed. He walked over to Goku and offered his shoulder, signaling Goku to let him handle it.

Goku smiled sheepishly before placing his hand on King Kai's back and calling out. "Master Roshi!"

The Saiyan smiled wide upon hearing the familiar voice of his wise, old teacher. "Goku! It's been a year! Are you ready to come back?"

Goku nodded. "Yeah. I'm a lot stronger now! Those evil Saiyans won't stand a chance!"

Master Roshi chuckled. "Good, good. We were a bit worried about all of this, but we all knew that you would come through, Goku!"

Goku smiled, watching through King Kai telepathically. Master Roshi quickly gathered the Dragon Balls from a chest in his closet. While he waited, he turned to look at Bardock, Gine, and Raditz. Gine stepped up to her son and smiled, gripping his hand. "We got to spend more time with you than I had ever expected to be able to..."

Goku nodded. "Yeah! It was a lot of fun!"

Soon, Gine was joined by Bardock and Raditz. The two male Saiyans were terse, allowing Gine to talk. The matriarch of the family sighed and squeezed Goku's hand even harder. "It was nice to see you, Kakarot... but please don't let us see you again for a long while. You have a full life ahead of you. Please, live it and don't die..."

The smile didn't leave Goku's face as he stared down at Gine and turned his attention back to Master Roshi summoning Shenron. Finally, once the dragon was summoned, Goku bent down and hugged his mother. And, happily, he whispered into her ear. "We do..."

Gine was confused. "We?"

Goku, turned from his family, spoke and interrupted Master Roshi mid-wish. "Master Roshi!"

The turtle hermit responded. "Y-Yes, Goku?!"

Goku smiled. "I want to change my wish a little bit. Instead of asking Shenron to just wish me back... please ask him to wish back me, Raditz, a man named Bardock, and a woman named Gine!"

Bardock's eyes widened. Raditz and Gine both flinched in shock. Master Roshi, on Earth, was shocked as well. "You want me to wish back Raditz?! But... he kidnapped Gohan and tried to kill you and-"

Goku grinned. "Please, Master Roshi. I know Raditz did wrong but... I want him and the other two to come back with me! They're my family!"

Bardock, Gine, and Raditz were all stunned speechless. Master Roshi shook his head. "B-But what about the time limit of the Dragon Balls? You once told me how Shenron cannot revive multiple people in a single wish who have been dead for over a year."

Goku smiled. "Don't worry. Thanks to King Kai, I was able to get in contact with Kami months ago and asked him to upgrade the Dragon Balls. Honestly, he was against the request at first, saying how it defies the natural order of things too much. But after explaining things to him, and just a little bit of begging, I was able to convince him for a one-time boost to bypass that limit."

Roshi took a deep breath as he absorbed the nature of what Goku was asking of him. "Boy, sometimes you just aren't right in the head... but... okay..."

The old lech looked up at Shenron and called to him. "Eternal Dragon! I wish that Goku, Raditz, Bardock, and Gine were all returned to life!"

Shenron's eyes flashed. "Your wish has been granted!"

Goku took his hand off of King Kai's back and smiled at his family. After a moment, the halo above Goku's head disappeared. At the same time, so did Raditz, Gine, and Bardock's respective halos.

Gine fell to her knees and placed her hand on her chest. "M-My heart... I can... feel my heartbeat again..."

Goku smiled. "Well... yeah! You're alive, silly!"

King Kai warmly smiled as, with tears in her eyes once again, Gine immediately ran up to her son and hugged him tight, thanking him repeatedly. All the while Raditz and Bardock stood there looking genuinely stunned.

King Kai then pointed his antennae to the four Saiyans. The antennae tips began to pulse with energy. In a flash, the family's respective outfits were perfectly restored.

They were shocked by this sudden change. Gine was the first to respond. "H-How did you...?

King Kai chuckled. "There are still plenty of tricks this sly fox has to show. No need to thank me, but I figured you didn't want to join the battlefield in tattered clothing. I also added a nice little touch."

As King Kai pointed at his own left side of the chest, the students took the hint and looked down, finding that King Kai had placed his symbol on it.

Goku smiled. "Nice!"

While Gine and Raditz nodded in gratitude, Bardock scoffed, using his Ki to scorch the logo off. "Yeah, no thanks. I'm not some greenhorn trying to kiss up the teacher."

King Kai sighed, not liking Bardock's attitude. But, accepting this is what Bardock wanted, he extended his antennae again and fixed up the scorch mark while removing the symbol altogether.

Goku grinned from ear-to-ear. "All right, King Kai! Teleport us back to Earth please! We have Saiyans to fight!"

King Kai's smile faded and he gasped. "W-wait a minute... teleport you... but..."

Goku frowned. "What's wrong?"

King Kai swallowed a lump in his throat. "I... I can't teleport you. The only way to teleport people here is one way, from Yemma's office to my house. It doesn't work in reverse..."

Goku's eyes widened. "B-But... it took me months to get here in the first place. If it takes me that long to get back, the Saiyans..."

King Kai held up his hands. "N-Now, it shouldn't take you that long to get back! Just a few hours at most."

Raditz interrupted. "In a few hours, Vegeta and Nappa could raze the Earth to the ground!"

Goku's face went white. "Oh no! Oh no! This is-"

Seeing the writing on the wall and now feeling fear all too real for his youngest son's home, Bardock immediately rocketed off down Snake Way. "GODDAMMIT!"

As Bardock pushed forward with all his might and earnestness, suddenly, his aura began taking on a fiery, red glow. "KAIOKEN!"

As everyone was shocked to see Bardock's surprising development, King Kai was the first to regain his wits. "WHEN DID HE LEARN THAT TECHNIQUE?!"

Goku chuckled. "Wait... He learned the Kaioken without King Kai's help?! That's amazing!"

Raditz nodded. "Even by Saiyan standards, our father was always regarded amongst the rank-and-file as a talented learner. It's not surprising that he learned the Kaioken just from observing us..."

Gine walked past her family and shook her head. "He's also famous for having a head so hard he could crush rocks with it! I swear... If it weren't for Fasha and Toma being so savvy, your dad would've probably died long before Frieza came around..."

Amazed that his father had figured out this special technique through sheer observation, Goku didn't bother to question it and took off in hot pursuit of his much faster father, hoping that he would be able to make it in time.

With a determined nod, Gine immediately hopped onto Raditz's back. "You're faster than me! We have to hurry!"

Raditz turned to face his Mom and Gine shouted. "Go, Raditz! I didn't get brought back to let my new family die!"

Raditz nodded and immediately took off as well, chasing after his father and brother.