"Huff... huff... took you long enough." Piccolo pants as Goku collapses on the ground.
"..." Raditz doesn't respond, staring at the sky with a complicated expression on his face.
"Heh. You're looking... lopsided." Vegeta remarks with poorly-hidden exhaustion. "You're lucky to be missing that arm. When I get my revenge on you, I'll beat you at your best."
"..." Yet again, the tall Saiyan stays silent, lost in thought.
"Will... will Dad be ok?" Gohan asks nervously.
"Of course he will. He just needs some time to rest... but I guess we'd better have Dende check up on him to be on the safe side." Krillin answers, picking Goku up.
The two short warriors dash away, leaving Vegeta, Piccolo, and Raditz standing there.
"You two... you'd better not try anything." Piccolo warns. "Goku isn't the only one capable of handling you."
Vegeta scoffs. "You, handle me? Don't make me laugh, Namekian. No member of your species could ever hope to match the legendary Super Saiyan."
"You're not a Super Saiyan." Raditz suddenly says, startling the other two.
"Tch. So is Kakarot supposed to be the Super Saiyan of legend?" the Prince asks.
"No. None of us are..."
The tall man trails off, looking at the spot where Frieza was mere moments ago. An awkward silence falls over the trio, only to be broken half a minute later by Piccolo.
"I don't care about any of that 'Super Saiyan' nonsense. If either of you try to take over Earth again, I'll make sure it's the last thing you do."
Without another word, the Namekian flies off, leaving the Saiyans alone.
The Prince walks up to Raditz, standing next to the taller man in silence. After almost 10 entire minutes, he speaks.
"...It's hard to believe that he's truly gone." Vegeta says in a quiet voice. "Killed by Saiyans... a fitting end."
"..."
"..."
The short warrior grits his teeth, staring at Namek's sky in rage.
"It should've been by my hand... I should've been strong enough to kill him alone." he says, voice shaking slightly.
Vegeta abruptly takes off into the air, flying away from Raditz in a hurry.
The tall Saiyan stands alone, looking at the green sky for hours afterwards. To any outsider, it's obvious that his thoughts are complicated and deep. Perhaps he's reflecting on the fate of the Saiyans and the fate of the one who drove them to extinction? Maybe he's considering the life he's lived under Frieza's rule? Considering all the atrocities he's done, all the pain and suffering he's wrought. Maybe he's asking himself... was it worth it? Regardless, the only one who truly knows what's in his head is Raditz himself...
'Shit! Shit! Fuck! Dammit! How the fuck did this happen?!?!' Raditz thinks angrily. 'I didn't even change that much of the story! Sure, everyone is much stronger than they're supposed to be, and sure, I weakened Frieza a ton when I fought him... but why the fuck did that stupid lizard not kill Krillin?! Kakarot isn't a Super Saiyan! King Cold is stronger than Frieza! We'll be crushed when he comes to Earth! And that's not even mentioning everything else that this'll change about... about the... future.'
His eyes widen in panic.
'Hey System... this wasn't my fault, you gotta believe me! You aren't gonna kill me for this, right?'
The System doesn't respond, causing the Saiyan's anxiety to skyrocket.
'I swear, I'll kill that bald midget myself if need be! Promise!'
...
'God dammit! Listen System, we can still salvage this. All hope isn't lost.'
...
'Kakarot and the others are far stronger than they should be. Frankly, I'm even falling behind a little in terms of raw power, and I've been working my ass off since I arrived in this Universe. I'm sure they'll be more than enough to handle Frieza's family. By the time the Androids have arrived, I'm sure at least one of them will have become a Super Saiyan!'
...
'Think of it rationally! If we're actually too weak to handle King Cold, then I'm sure Kakarot will be the last one to die. That means that the others will go down first! That will surely push him over the edge and turn him into a Super Saiyan! That means that Earth won't be destroyed, Vegeta will live there, and Trunks will be born! Then we won't even have to fight, as Future Trunks will kill King Cold!'
...
'I'll even take Kakarot to Yardrat on the way back to Earth!'
That finally gets a reaction out of the System, causing several blue screens to appear in front of Raditz's face.
New quest: Instant Transmission!
New quest: Cooler's revenge!
New quest: The legendary Super Saiyan!
Raditz slowly blinks, surprised both by the three new quests he's been given and by the names of these new quests. Feeling numb, he looks through the quest details.
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Quest: Instant Transmission!
Quest details: Goku has no reason to visit Planet Yardrat now! Without the Instant Transmission technique, the proper history will change even further. Make sure Goku learns the Instant Transmission technique!
Time remaining: 1 year, 7 months, and 8 days
Rewards: Access to System Technique: Analyze
Punishment for failure: Removal of three random techniques given by the System's guides to Ki Control
Quest: Cooler's revenge!
Quest details: Frieza's older brother, Cooler, and his father, King Cold, will soon learn of Frieza's demise. Although both he and his father will come to Earth to seek revenge, none of Earth's warriors can hope to kill both of them. Kill Cooler before he arrives on Earth!
Time remaining: 1 year, 7 months, and 8 days
Rewards: Access to System Technique: Inventory
Punishment for failure: Death, destruction of Planet Earth
Quest: The legendary Super Saiyan!
Quest details: Without a Super Saiyan, Earth's warriors stand no chance against the foes they will face. Ensure that at least one Saiyan becomes the legend before it's too late!
Time remaining: 1 year, 7 months, and 8 days
Rewards: Access to An Expert's Guide to Ki Control
Punishment for failure: Death, destruction of Planet Earth
'Shit! I can't kill Cooler! System, what the hell?! How is he even going to learn that we're from Earth?!' Raditz complains, not expecting an answer.
To his surprise, however, he does get an answer from the System. One that causes a wide grin to appear on his face.
Goku told Frieza that he was a Saiyan from Earth. Frieza's scouter transmitted his conversation to the Frieza Force's database.
'Oh... oh thank God.'
Raditz sighs in relief.
"Are you there King Kai? It's me, Raditz." he says, telepathically sending a message into the sky in hopes that the blue Kai will hear it.
"..."
"Hello? King Kai?"
"..."
"Hello? Anyone there?"
"..."
"Hello--"
"I'M BUSY RIGHT NOW!" a voice screams inside his head, causing the tall Saiyan to flinch.
"Yeesh, calm down. Whatever you're busy with isn't as important as what I have to say."
Raditz hears an intake of breath, as if someone is about to yell, and he quickly continues.
"I know what wish we need to make with Earth's Dragon Balls! The fate of Earth depends on it!"
King Kai closes his mouth, calming down slightly.
"What do you mean?" he asks.
"The scouters of Frieza and his men recorded everything that happened on this planet, including Kakarot revealing that he was from Earth. Frieza's father and older brother will be coming for revenge really soon. I need you to use the Dragon Balls to revive everyone killed by the Saiyans, Frieza, and those who've worked for Frieza in the last three months. That should bring back all the Namekians and most of the humans."
"And how does that help? Frieza's family will still come to Earth and kill all of you."
"I'm getting there!" Raditz scolds. "Once the Namekians are brought back and they've chosen a new Grand Elder, I need you to tell them to create a new set of Dragon Balls and make three wishes. From what Kakarot told me, only one of the humans have died twice now, correct?"
"That's right. Chiaotzu has died before."
"You can bring him back with the first wish. For the second, you need to erase all the data the Frieza Force has on Earth, Namek, and everything relating to them."
"And the third? Let me guess... you want your arm back?"
"..."
"What's the third wish?" King Kai asks again.
Raditz sighs, taking a few moments to think before he responds.
"I really, really do want my arm back but... Frieza's henchmen did a ton of damage to this planet. The third wish can be used to restore it. It's not like I'll have to wait long. A Namekian year is... what? 4 months? Their Dragon Balls will be ready again by then."
"You're mistaken. The Namekian Dragon balls take about three Namekian years, or one Earth year, until they're ready to be used again."
"...It doesn't matter. I won't be fighting for the next year anyways."
"...Heh. I can see why Goku likes you so much. I'll go tell Kami and the others the plan. I do have one question though."
"What is it?" Raditz asks.
"Why are you having me order the Namekians around? You aren't staying for them to be revived?"
Raditz scoffs. "How many Namekians did Vegeta kill? Do you think they'd want to be around him? Around us? It's better if we leave. Besides... we'll be stopping at Planet Yardrat on the way back to Earth. I learnt from... from my mentor that they have several strange, extremely useful techniques. I'm sure that Kakarot and the others would benefit from training there."
"And what about you? You aren't going to train with them?"
"Hell no. I'm going to relax and take a break. I've earned it. I'd appreciate it if you took credit for the idea. I doubt Piccolo would follow my advice."
"If you're aware of the techniques you can learn on Planet Yardrat, then why aren't you going there?" King Kai asks, puzzled. "Their techniques are derived from what I taught their ancestors back when I was still in my prime."
"Your prime? You used to be stronger?"
"Of course! Yemma alone used to be on par with Frieza's first form. Back in my heyday, I could probably kill Frieza by myself."
"Then what changed? Kakarot told me that he's already become stronger than you, and this was before we finished training on the way to Namek."
"A long, long time ago, a monstrous, terrifyingly powerful warrior roamed the Universe." The Kai begins, seeming very eager to tell this story. "He was several times stronger than Frieza even, and he gathered a gang of fighters around himself in an attempt to take over the Universe. This warrior's name is... Bojack."
"You didn't stop Frieza from taking over the Universe. Why stop Bojack?" Raditz asks with genuine curiosity.
"Bojack... he wasn't like Frieza. He didn't want to actually rule the Universe. He just wanted to have fun, doing whatever he wanted to whoever he wanted. He destroyed countless planets on a whim. Worst of all, the Supreme Kai said that Beerus, the God of Destruction, refused to help. Eventually, the Grand Kai decided that Bojack had to be stopped."
"The Grand Kai lured him and his gang into a star, fighting all five of them at once." King Kai says, grinning at the memory. "It was... it was beautiful. I've never seen someone fight the way the Grand Kai fought. Despite that... he was losing, badly. They toyed with him. Luckily, that was what we'd expected."
"Me, South Kai, East Kai, West Kai, and all our subordinates poured all of our power into one spell... we sealed Bojack and his gang away in that star. The Grand Kai almost got caught in it too, but he managed to escape. That spell is a constant drain on our powers. Even if we stopped the spell, it'd take us a long time to return to our previous levels of strength."
"What would happen if that star was destroyed? Would they die or would they be released?" the Saiyan asks.
"The star is far more durable than it should be. Any attack that can destroy it would kill them. The only way they'll escape is if me or one of the other Kais who cast the spell died."
"Well... that was quite a story. It's no wonder your techniques are so strong."
"Exactly. So you'll go to Yardrat and learn some of them, right?"
"Ha! No." Raditz replies.
"W-What?! Most people would kill to learn techniques that strong!" King Kai shouts. "Why won't you try to learn them?!?!"
"Frankly... I'm happy with the techniques I have. If I added any more, I'd have to spend time fitting them into my fighting style, and then I'd have to spend even more time training those new techniques. It's too much work."
"Too... too much..." the Kai mutters, dumbfounded.
"Training is fun, don't get me wrong, but I'm not Kakarot. I don't want to spend all of my time training or fighting. An hour or two every day is more than enough for me."
"...You're the strangest Saiyan I've ever seen."
Raditz grins, kicking off the ground to launch himself into the air.
"I'll take that as a compliment."