Last time on Dragon Ball Z Retold, a simple day out for father and son turned into a major-league rescue mission when Goku had to save Gohan from a raging waterfall; but when Gohan somehow makes it to safety, it gives our hero a major blast from the past…

...and speaking of blast from the past, Piccolo was accosted by a mysterious man who came from outer space, searching for someone by the name of 'Kakarrot'. The power this solitary fellow exuded left Piccolo bewildered, and even more surprises are to come.

Tale #2: "Between Brothers"

Voice Cast:

Ian James Corlett as Son Goku

Christopher Gray as Son Gohan

Terry Klassen as Krillin

Alyson Court as Bulma Briefs

Mike Donovan as Master Roshi

Peter Cullen as Sea Turtle

James Arnold Taylor as Raditz

Jonathan Potts as Yamcha

Janyse Jaud as Blue Launch/Kathleen Barr as Blonde Launch

Pauline Little as Puar

Michael O'Reilly as Oolong

Brian Drummond as Vegeta

Doug Parker as Nappa

Narrated by PETER CULLEN

(C) 1996 Toei Animation.

Licensed by Viz Video, a division of Viz Communications, Ltd.

NOTE: In this, Puar is female...and during the gap between the end of Dragon Ball and the start of Dragon Ball Z, she and Oolong settled things and became a couple.

As lightning flashed and thunder rumbled through the skies above, the man was determined to continue his quest and find his fellow Saiyan, Kakarrot.

"Have you truly lost sight of your pride? Of what it means to be a member of the mightiest warriors in the universe?!" he bellowed. "Well, when I find you, I'll be more than happy to remind you...KAKARROT...!"

His words seemed to echo upon the wind as he vanished into the distance.

Meanwhile, on a tiny island in the middle of the ocean, a Capsule Corp. hovercraft touched down outside on the sandy surface. Out of it emerged a teal-haired young woman, accompanied by a dark-haired young man with a scar across his left eye. And along with them were a small, floating, blue cat-like creature and a short pig wearing a throwback cap and a pair of red overalls.

"Alright, who th' hell is there?!" snapped Blonde Launch, kicking open the front door. As per usual, she was armed with a tommy gun, locked and loaded.

The pig immediately went pale. "...don't tell me she forgot about us already...!" he gulped.

"Launch, don't you remember what Master Roshi said?" asked Sea Turtle, crawling up to his roommate. "Today is the official reunion of the Turtle School of Martial Arts! Ah, Miss Bulma! Mister Yamcha! Lady Puar, and Sir Oolong! Do come in, won't you?" he asked, as a warm smile graced his face. "Roshi and Krillin will just be delighted!"

"Oh...it's you guys," Blonde Launch replied. "...my bad; I got a little jumpy, is all."

"Well, thank you, Turtle," said Bulma as she went to the doorstep. "At least someone on this island hasn't forgotten their manners."

Turtle waved a flipper as Bulma stepped inside, ignoring Launch's indignant expression...although he had sensed her annoyance. Luckily, he'd known to prepare for this, so he blew a small leaf filled with pepper at her, making her sneeze...

PIN-N-N-G!

And in a blink, Blonde Launch was gone, with Blue Launch in her place instead. Upon seeing this, Yamcha, Puar, and Oolong relaxed a bit more.

"Heya guys, what's up?" Bulma waved. Inside Kame House were Master Roshi and Krillin, both of whom looked up and saw one of their long-time friends standing before them.

"He-hey, Bulma!" Krillin exclaimed, holding a TV tray with a bowl full of chips. Master Roshi gave a dry laugh as he put down his mug of beer.

"It sure has been a long time, hasn't it?" asked the young heiress. "You said to come visit, so I did! This house still hasn't changed a bit after all this time, eh?"

"Maybe not, but you're still as pretty as ever!" wheezed Roshi, much to Bulma's modest joy. "Though you're a cold 'un, fer sure; unless someone tells ya to visit, we barely see you around here! Not to mention ya probably forgot my manju buns...but I forgive ya!" he shrugged as he took a swig of his beer.

"Surprise!" Bulma beamed as she held out a gift-wrapped package to the old man. "I didn't forget 'em!"

Roshi rubbed the back of his head. "Aw, you didn't need to go to all this trouble. You're gonna spoil this old man!" he chuckled as he leaned in. "In fact, I'm so happy right now, I could just squeeze ya!"

However, Bulma already knew where Roshi was trying to go as he came towards her, and she slammed the package on his head, leaving a decently-sized lump behind. "Well, excuse me for tryin' to say thanks!" he snapped.

"You dirty old geezer...why did I think you could ever change?!" Bulma groused.

"...is this a bad time?" asked Yamcha, as he, Puar and Oolong poked their heads inside.

"Yamcha! Puar! Oolong!" Krillin beamed. "Get on in here, you guys!"

Meanwhile, Goku and Gohan were speeding towards Kame House, spotting flocks of seagulls and school after school of flying fish as they went by.

"So, how are things between you and Yamcha these days?" asked Krillin, balancing the parcel on a finger. Puar and Oolong wisely kept drinking the beverages that they'd been given by Sea Turtle, because they knew that this wasn't something they wanted to get involved in.

Bulma scoffed angrily. "Why don't you ask Mister Baseball Superstar yourself?" she replied. "We only came here together for everyone else's sake! Besides, I can have fun without him, and so can the rest of you!"

"Well, so sorry I can't always kow-tow to her Royal Highness' every demand!" Yamcha retorted. "So there are some female baseball fans who like me, I can't help that!"

"Breakin' up is hard to do..." murmured Roshi.

"I wouldn't know," replied Krillin.

"So...are Tien and Chiaotzu coming?" asked Puar, trying to liven up the mood. "After all, you did send them invitations."

"Maybe, maybe not," said Yamcha, his bad mood dissipating. "Just never know with those two...but what about Goku?"

"Well, he should be on his way, with a surprise." replied Krillin as he opened the box and drooled over the manju buns. Gleefully, he took out two of the nine and got ready to start stuffing his face.

"Hey, at least save some for the rest of us!" squeaked Puar as she and Oolong ran over.

Meanwhile, somewhere, the man continued his solo flight in search of Kakarrot. The position of this power is moving at an incredible speed...but not fast enough, he smirked to himself.

Outside Roshi's house, the Nimbus Cloud flew down to the beach. "Here we are: Master Roshi's place!" Goku pointed out for his son as they approached.

"You're a crafty one, Kakarrot...but you won't escape!" the man remarked, getting ever closer to his location.

Once the father-son duo had arrived, Goku leapt off the cloud with Gohan in his arms. "Yoo-hoo! Anyone home?" he called, though he was a bit surprised to see Launch coming over and giving him a bear-hug.

"Oh, hello, Goku!" she beamed. "It's been quite a while since I last saw you...and who's this little darling?"

"This is my boy, Gohan," replied Goku, putting him down. "Say hi to Launch, little guy."

Gohan took a very formal bow. "G-good afternoon, miss." he said. Launch giggled at this. "My, he's such a little gentleman," she told Goku. "Once he gets older, the girls will be swarming him!"

Goku nodded. "Yeah, I betcha they will," he replied as he went up to the front door. "Hey, Turtle Hermit! Anybody home?" he called.

"Fine, fine; I'm comin'..." muttered Roshi's voice as some footsteps could be heard approaching the doorway. Then, after a few minutes, it creaked open, revealing the bearded face of Master Roshi. "Ho-nelly, if'n it ain't Goku himself, an' his little youngster, too! How ya doin' today, kiddo?"

"I'm fine, Grampa Roshi," said Gohan, reaching out to shake the old man's hand as Krillin and Bulma came out to join him.

"This is the first time I've seen Gohan in person and not just in photos," Bulma told the bald monk. "You were right, he's too adorable for words!"

"Well, we can at least get inside for further introductions," suggested Turtle. Everyone agreed, and came indoors.

"So Goku, Krillin said you were bringing a surprise," said Oolong. "What IS it, anyway?"

"Who's the little boy?" asked Puar. "Are you babysitting for extra money?"

Goku gave a shy chuckle. "Actually...he's my son," he replied. Upon hearing that, Oolong, Puar, and Yamcha all did a double-take in surprise. Out of everyone on Earth, Goku was the last person they expected to see with a son of his own.

"Told'ja," Bulma chuckled at Yamcha's expression of disbelief.

"His name is Gohan," explained Blue Launch casually to the bewildered threesome.

Oolong gave a chuckle. "So ya named him after your grandpa?" he remarked. "Pretty sweet of ya, I'll admit."

Puar floated over to the tiny child. "Hi there, Gohan; how old are you?" she asked, a bright smile on her face.

Gohan held up 4 of his fingers. "...this many!" he replied.

Puar looked up at Goku. "Even for four years old, he seems rather polite. Are you sure he's your child?" she asked.

"Well, Chi-Chi has been teaching him all that manners stuff," Goku explained.

"Say, short-stack, what'cha gonna be when ya grow up, eh?" Oolong asked the youngster.

"I want to be a great scholar when I get older." replied Gohan, leaving Oolong baffled.

"Scholar, huh...?" he asked. "Kinda figured your old man would be teachin' ya how to kick butt like he did back in the day, but I guess startin' early isn't for everybody."

Yamcha glanced down to see a fuzzy brown appendage hanging off of Gohan's coat. "Am I seein' things, or is that a tail?" he asked.

"Yeah, like the one I used to have!" Goku nodded. Upon hearing this, Bulma and the others realized that they might just have a serious problem on their hands.

"Um, Goku...has anything unusual ever happened to Gohan?" asked the seafoam-haired woman.

"Whaddya mean?" asked Goku, before Roshi zipped over.

"W-well, for one, does he undergo any changes at night when the moon is full?" he explained.

"...nah, we go to bed pretty early around my place," Goku replied. "...why do you ask?"

"Oh, nothing! Just curious, is all!" Roshi laughed sheepishly, while Bulma and the others simply turned away and whistled in a nonchalant manner, save for Launch, who merely looked on, feeling a bit guilty about keeping such an important secret from a longtime friend.

"So, Goku...is your kid strong like you?" asked Puar.

Goku looked on, sadly. "He's pretty tough, yeah...even tougher than me, maybe," he replied. "But Chi-Chi gets mad whenever I try to train him. She says martial arts are a waste of energy."

"Oh, then what's that make us, huh?" asked Krillin.

"Now, now; settle down, lads," Roshi told them. "You can't expect everyone to agree with ya-it'd be all too easy, then. Not to mention, th' world's been pretty quiet since that Garlic Jr. fella was taken care of."

"That thing on Gohan's hat...that's a Dragon Ball, right?" asked Bulma.

Goku's mood brightened, and he gave a brisk nod. "You betcha; it's the Four-Star Ball!" he replied. "Took me awhile to search it out, but I wanted Gohan to have it since it used to belong to his namesake. I've been collecting 'em for fun: I even got 3-star and 6-star!"

Bulma couldn't help but chuckle. "Really takes me back...all the crazy escapades we got into, trying to find those things..."

Suddenly, something caught Goku's focus, and he glanced around.

"What's wrong?" asked Oolong. "You get a brain cramp or sumthin'?"

"I dunno...something's coming this way..." Goku replied as a chill ran down his spine.

"Maybe it's Tien and Chiaotzu?" asked Yamcha. "I did tell them we'd be here today."

"No..." replied Goku. "It's a terrible...evil power...somehow, stronger than Piccolo...!"

As Goku looked on, a tiny dot began to manifest in the distance. "There he is!"

"What the...who IS that?!" exclaimed Krillin as the fiendish invader touched down on the shores of Kame House.

This isn't good...I smell death in the air, Roshi thought to himself. What sort of ferocious bloodlust IS this...?

As the man landed, Goku, Krillin and Yamcha struck defensive poses; Gohan cowered in Bulma's grasp, and Puar and Oolong hid behind Sea Turtle with Launch.

The device on his face scanned Goku, granting a positive match. "So...we finally meet." the quill-haired man smiled. "You're all grown up..."

Goku let off a gasp of shock.

"...but I'd recognize you anywhere, Kakarrot." The man finished.

Now Goku was utterly puzzled. "...Kakarrot?" he asked, the word sounding foreign on his tongue.

"You look just like our Father," The man smiled. "Not to mention our cousin, Turles..."

"What's that mean?" asked Yamcha, his voice a whisper. "This guy know your family or something?"

"No way, he must be nuts." Krillin replied, keeping his own voice low.

"Kakarrot! What've you been doing all these years?!" snapped the man. "You were supposed to complete your mission: wiping out all native life on this planet! So what've you been slacking off for?"

Goku looked back to Master Roshi, who could only give a shrug of confusion; whatever this stranger was talking about, he sure as heck didn't know.

"Now just a second, Mister!" Krillin spoke up. "I dunno who you are, but you've obviously got the wrong guy! The last thing we need around here is drunks like you, hanging around; allow me to escort you off this island."

The man smirked as his 'belt' glowed with energy, but only Goku was quick enough to notice. "KRILLIN, WATCH OUT!" he shouted.

Krillin didn't get a chance to move out of the way; rather, he was smacked by the fuzzy brown appendage around the stranger's waist, and was sent flying right into the wall of Kame House, demolishing the paneling.

"KRILLIN...!" Goku yelped, seeing his friend injured. Seething with rage, he turned around...only for his rage to turn to shock when he saw something that looked all-too familiar.

Bulma, Roshi, Oolong, Puar, and Yamcha were also surprised.

"Is...is that...a TAIL...?!"

Sit back and gather your energy! "Dragon Ball Z: Retold" will return in a moment!

Grab some Senzu Beans; now we're back with more "Dragon Ball Z: Retold"!

The man chuckled at their expressions. "Looks like you've finally put two and two together." he shot.

"What are you talking about?" asked Goku, as Bulma pulled Gohan away from the fracas and out of harm's way.

The man did a double-take, mildly surprised. "...you mean you don't even know who I am?!" he asked, bewildered.

"I dunno who this Kaka-whatever is, but I'm not him!" Goku remarked. "I'm Son Goku!"

The man blanched, mortified. This...this couldn't possibly be happening! How could my brother have utterly forgotten his mission? His own FAMILY, even?! It's impossible! ...unless...

"Kakarrot...tell me...have you ever taken any strong shocks to the head in the past?" he asked.

At that, Master Roshi's eyes lit up with a gleam of recognition.

"What?" Goku replied.

"During your childhood, did you ever hit your head?!" shouted the man.

"...yeah...back when I was really young," explained Goku. "I don't remember it too well, though; and I still have the scar to prove it."

The man gritted his teeth in aggravation. "So that's what happened..." he fumed.

"But what's that got to do with anything?" asked Goku.

"Goku..." said Master Roshi in a serious tone. "There's something that your grandfather told me long ago that I think you ought to know..."

~FLASHBACK~

We see old Grandpa Gohan approaching a large crater, astonishment on his face.

One day, deep in a valley, he stumbled across something quite unusual...almost like it'd fallen from the sky. When he approached it, there was a round capsule, and next to it was a baby with a long, furry tail, lying inside a little round pod.

A shot of the infant Goku, luckily having his lower body covered by a blanket, staring up at the old man.

He took him home, and tried to raise and care for him, but the child was hateful and violent, downright uncontrollable, even...not to mention, bizarrely strong. He wanted nothing to do with Gohan's kindness.

Several shots: baby Goku bites Gohan's hand; then kicks him in the face; he is next shown biting and tearing apart his hammock; then he kicks apart the wooden washtub as Gohan tries to give him a bath; he angrily throws his baby bottle and a blue toy dump truck at Gohan, while surrounded by 3 or 4 other toys.

The old man was at his wits' end, but one fateful day...

Shot: Gohan on a hike, while baby Goku reaches out of his backpack to try and grab at a bird. The next shots show Goku stumbling out of the backpack, and plummeting into the ravine. The last of these shots shows Goku landing at the bottom, right on his head. The camera shakes for impact.

...the baby fell into a ravine and hit his head. Gohan feared the worst, but somehow, some way, the child managed to recover.

Shot: Gohan keeps a quiet vigil over the bed-ridden youngster, who lies unconscious with an ice pack taped to his head with bandages.

And after his recovery, the child's violent, foul-tempered attitude vanished, and he became a good little boy. Yes, any other child would've died...but this boy wasn't exactly like any other child, that's for sure.

Final shot: Gohan with an 8-year-old Goku, dressed in blue overalls and a red shirt, who now looks much happier...a lot like the Goku we've come to know and love.

~END OF FLASHBACK~

By the time the Turtle Hermit had concluded his story, everyone, save for the mysterious man, was in shock...but Goku was the most shocked of all.

"T-that was me...?" he asked, shocked that he was once possessed such violent, feral emotions at such an early age.

"Was...is." Master Roshi concluded.

"Hey, I was right!" Oolong exclaimed. "I hadda feeling Goku wasn't normal all those years ago, and looks like I was spot-on!"

"So...do this guy and Son-kun have some sort of connection?" asked Bulma.

The man chuckled. "Brains and beauty; I can understand why you were so hesitant to carry out your mission...she IS rather fetching." he remarked. Bulma blushed lightly at that remark.

Goku turned back to face the man. "Alright, you got my attention; now tell us who you are!" he told him.

The man's smile tapered a bit. "Well, I wasn't expecting to give a history lesson when I came here today," he spoke, as his tail wrapped itself back around his waist. "But I'm willing to make time. After all, we're going to be working together as of today, and I do like my co-workers to be well-informed."

At this point, Blonde Launch had helped Krillin out of the side of Kame House that he'd been smacked into. Sure, she could be bad-tempered and rob banks, but she still had a heart! Besides, she saw the little cue-ball as kind of adorable.

"You alright, Krillin?" asked Goku.

"Sure," came his friend's response. "Watch yourself, Goku; that guy's not normal!"

Goku gave a brisk nod, as he began sweating. "I know what'cha mean; to be honest, just us standing here, looking at each other like this has got me spooked." he replied.

"I'll spell it out for you then: you're not a human," the man spoke. "You were born on the Planet Vegeta. You are a proud Saiyan, the mightiest warrior race in the universe."

Goku and the others gasped in abject shock.

"And I...am your big brother, Raditz!" concluded the man. A dark cloud seemed to loom over the Kame House from above.

"G-Goku's big brother...?!" exclaimed Yamcha in shock.

"B-brothers?!" Bulma gasped. "You're kidding!"

"Quit talkin' nonsense! Why should I believe you?" asked Goku.

"R-right!" Krillin added. "If Goku is from space, then what's he doing on Earth?"

Raditz began to chuckle. "That's an easy question; Kakarrot was sent here to exterminate the bothersome life-forms that populate this rock!" he replied.

"I was...what?!" exclaimed Goku.

"You see, we Saiyans are assigned to travel through space in search of planets with good environments; those are the ones that fetch a high price on the galactic market," Raditz explained. "Once we find them, we send out our warriors to purge them of any life and make them, how do I phrase this? Hmm...ready for sale. Afterwards, we sell them for a high price to any aliens in search of a suitable planet. The adult warriors are sent to planets whose population possesses a high battle power. But to planets such as this, with a lower level, we send our infants to infiltrate the populace until they're old enough to battle. Either that, or they wait until they see a full moon, and let the rest work itself out from there. With any luck, they'll handle the job in 2 or 3 nights' time, give or take a month."

"I-if that's true, then you Saiyans are a bunch of space pirates!" Krillin spat. "You guys make even Piccolo seem lovable!"

Bulma hugged Gohan to her bosom. "How can you even think of sending helpless babies into space on their own?!" she glared.

"Kakarrot, given several years' time, you should have had plenty of time to purge these pests by yourself! At least, other than the woman," Raditz told his brother. "Luckily, this planet has a moon of its own."

"Why is that so lucky?" asked Goku.

"Don't be daft!" Raditz snapped. "It's when the moon is full that we Saiyans are at our best; when we transform into gigantic apes!"

At that, everyone except for Goku put it together...

Through Bulma, Oolong, Yamcha, Puar, Roshi, and Krillin's minds, they saw the memory of Goku transforming into the massive ape-monster: the first time being when they were at Pilaf's Castle, the second time being during their journey to find the Sleeping Princess; and the 3rd time being during the 21st World Martial Arts Tournament, during the climactic showdown with the 'legendary' Jackie Chun.

So that was why it happened...and how it could be explained!

"I dunno what you're talking about!" Goku yelled.

Raditz suddenly drew back, shocked. "I-it can't be...where's your tail?!" he exclaimed, mortified.

Goku glanced at his rear end. "It was removed permanently, when I was a teenager." was his reply.

"YOU FOOL!" Raditz spat. "Your true potential is gone now!"

Goku raised an eyebrow. What did Raditz mean by "true potential"?

"It's no wonder you've bonded with this world's people..." Raditz fumed. "You think I wouldn't want to experience that sometime? To actually get the chance to know someone from another world instead of having to blow them to bits? ...alas, such is my lot in life."

"So WHAT if I'm from another planet? Or if I have some alien name? Or if you ARE my brother?" Goku scoffed. "Anyone who'd go out and slaughter people like cattle is just...just sickening! Besides, my name is Son Goku, and I was raised on Earth! NOW HIT THE ROAD!"

Yamcha stepped up to his left. "Yeah! If you were his brother, you wouldn't force him to do something he didn't wanna do!" he added.

Master Roshi nodded. "No matter what his past, Goku's the most human fella I've ever known!" he agreed. "Nurture over nature!:

"He even saved this planet a few times! So why don'cha just climb back into whatever spaceship you crawled out of, and go home?" concluded Krillin.

Raditz gave a dry chuckle. "Oh, I gladly would...but then again, that's impossible." he replied, getting a faraway look in his eyes. "24 years ago, our home world was obliterated by a massive asteroid...at least, that's what most say. Others say it was some sort of comet. All I know is that on that day, both of our parents were slaughtered, and only a handful of us managed to survive. Naturally, I was devastated, but I wasn't allowed to show it."

Goku was taken aback by this; he'd always wondered if he had parents...but to think he'd never get the chance to know them now...unless...

"Raditz, wait!" he exclaimed.

The hedgehog-haired Saiyan glanced over at his brother. "What is it?" he asked.

"...what if I told you there was a way to bring back the other Saiyans who'd died?" Goku asked.

Raditz squinted, then removed his scouter, placing it on his holster. "Very well then, little brother; you have my attention."

And so, Goku (with help from Bulma on telling the extra-complicated parts) explained the story behind the Dragon Balls, all while Raditz listened intently. Finally, the tale had been told.

Raditz was astounded that such things could actually exist in the universe. And to think, he'd never known of them until this moment! His eyes were alight with a sudden,

"Kakarot!" he exclaimed. "With these things at our disposal, we could not only revive the Saiyan race, but we could gain infinite power!"

Goku was silent, but a disembodied voice seemed to speak up at the moment. "Infinite power, eh? I like the sound of that!" And though the voice was only heard over the scouter, it was very distinctly male.

The group all turned to see the source as another voice spoke up.

"You sure about that, Vegeta? I mean, we could use them to revive the Saiyans' empire. Think about it, we'd have all our old pals back! Maybe we could even cross-breed some kind of a Super Saiyan! That'd show Frieza what-for, eh?"

The first voice, Vegeta, spoke again. "Don't joke around, Nappa! That's exactly why father had my pathetic brother Tarble exiled, because he thought too small. Just imagine: eternal life, eternal youth: no age...no death...just being able to fight as long as we like! Heheheheheh...and to think we owe it all to the weak link, Raditz! Son of Bardock, the low-level FILTH! We'll be coming to the planet so we can find these 'Dragon Balls' for ourselves, so don't hesitate to roll out the welcome mat for us!"

With a final smug cackle, the line went dead, leaving Raditz looking very disconcerted.

"Damn it! Now they know..." he scowled. "How could I have been so foolish?!"

"...should we do something to help?" asked Yamcha. "He looks pretty deflated."
"He was literally borderline threatening us five-odd minutes ago," Krillin replied. "And last I checked, he smacked me into the house...so excuse me if I'm not in what you'd call a sympathizing mood."

Raditz turned back to face Goku and his friends. "While I can understand that you aren't exactly willing to lend me a hand, take this into consideration: those other two Saiyans who are coming here just so happen to be much more powerful than I am. So you can't beat these two alone. We need some way to get stronger."

Goku looked as though he were lost in thought...until his eyes brightened. "Maybe we can get Kami and Mr. Popo to help us out!" he suggested.

Raditz looked surprised by this, as well as the other inhabitants of Roshi's island...even those who weren't in plain sight. Just what did Goku have in mind?