Chapter Text
On the far off planet of Vatos, a war had been underway over the span of three days, the Vatian people had fought hard. The whole of the species was fighting tooth and nail, a whopping two billion people fighting for survival. Their bodies, naturally as hard as the stones around them, allowed them what they believed a defensive advantage, as well as the camouflage to hide amongst the rocky surface of their world. Their greatest inventors had worked tirelessly on weapons capable of piercing even titanium, and tear through it like paper. The brutal sun pounding down made life on the planet difficult for anyone that weren’t built for survival in extreme temperatures. They were the natural apex of Planet Vatos.
And yet, the apex simply was not enough. Each passing day, more and more Vatians fell. Their bodies crumbling like sand under each incoming blow, their weapons doing seemingly less than nothing on their foes. The mighty kingdoms, spires of obsidian might and diamond brilliance were falling. What could it have been, to stand before the Vatian Rule and win?
Three men. A mere three warriors had crashed their way in, and in the span of three days brought the population of two billion to be something closer to two million. What to the Vatian people is the most horrifying moment of their life, to these men, it's Sunday.
They all wore strange armor that clung to their body, seeming almost like plastic, yet remaining hardened against any strike sent their way. Upon each of their faces, adorning an eye, is a strange device that beeps and whirs with data of the battlefield, showing nearby threats to the trio, not like anything here was a threat. The unmistakable sign of tails were wrapped around each of their waists, like some kind of bizarre belt that was physically attached to them.
Currently relaxing from a day of conquest and destruction, the men were each sat somewhere amongst the rubble. At the top of a destroyed spire was a rather short fellow with hair that spikes directly upward, his legs crossed as he stares down at the work before him. This man has an air of utter control about him, he was after all, the leader of this band of killers. Sat not too far, chewing on some meat from the beasts these people had been making use of, is a bald man who lets out a hearty laughter that causes another, weaker building to come crumbling down as well. And at the very bottom of the spire, remaining standing upright, was a rather prideful looking individual taking note of nearby energy readings, his long hair flowing slightly behind him.
“Raditz, status report.” The short leader barks from above, his voice was demanding and rough.
The one with long hair, Raditz, flinched a bit at the sound, stopping his readings before trying to regain some level of confidence. He lets out a small laughter as he looks up, holding outstretched his hand with the index and pointer finger raised to the air.
“Not much longer before this planet is ours,” Raditz declares in a slimy hiss of a voice.
“It would’ve been ours much sooner if you’d actually done your job, Raditz.” The short man, Vegeta, speaks again, his voice dripping with sheer contempt for the weaker being.
“S-Sorry.” Raditz whimpers out, lowering his hands back to his sides, and his head to look at the ground.
“And that’s why everyone calls you ‘Raditz the Runt’.” The larger bald one, Nappa, interjects as he chomps down on the meaty piece of beast.
Raditz clutched his hands into fists, tightening his hold so hard he could feel his hands beginning to bleed as his nails dug into his palms. He hated that stupid title. It’s sheer mockery, and he has to just sit here and take it. He’s a warrior just like them, he fought as well, does he not have the right to be proud of the amount he could do? He was one of the last three remaining Saiyans.
“Things’ll be different on the next planet.” Raditz tries to quickly assure, only to be scoffed off by Nappa, who continues enjoying his feast.
Vegeta would stand up, beginning to walk down. His aura pulsing and fluctuating slowly to remind Raditz of the sheer difference between them. Raditz saw his scouter’s numbers go up and up, until it hit 18,000.
“Mark my words,” Vegeta spoke in such an apathetic voice, “if you screw up again, I will kill you.”
With that, Vegeta walked past Raditz, and fired a beam directly into a wall, killing a man who was hiding against it. Raditz bit his lip now. Would Vegeta really reduce the remaining Saiyan Population to a mere two? Wait… One… Two… Raditz’s face lit up with realization, maybe someone to help even the numbers between the lower class and Vegeta.
“Wait! I just remembered something!” Raditz’s voice raised in volume and pitch, the sheer change caused Vegeta to turn quickly, and Nappa to raise his head from the meat he was clutching. “I think my little brother, Kakarot, was sent to a different Planet. I’ll bet you he’s still there!”
Nappa visibly lit up at the news of another Saiyan being out there, if there were a few stragglers out among the stars, maybe there was hope for them after all. His expression dimmed a bit as he saw Vegeta’s face.
“You have a brother? I didn’t think there were any Saiyans left besides us,” Vegeta pried deeper into the subject.
“If he joins us, the rest of the universe would be ours in no time!” Raditz tried to assure, lifting his hands up and about to go into a detailed explanation.
“The fact he’s your brother doesn’t exactly fill me with confidence.” Vegeta interrupts as he walks up and grabs Raditz’s chin, glaring right into his eyes. “But… What planet was he sent to?”
Raditz froze for a moment, he could see intrigue in the prince’s eyes. A chill ran down the low class warrior’s spine as he felt the weight of this entire planet suddenly crushing him. But he knew this was the one chance to finally prove his worth. Moreover, this is finally a reason to pick him up.
“I think it’s called… EArth?” Raditz explained, over pronouncing the A in it.
“EArth, huh? Well, we may as well get moving.” Vegeta states as he lets go of Raditz. “We’ll come back for this place when we snag up Bardock’s second bastard.”
“Wait, Vegeta.” Nappa interjects. “Frieza wants this planet in four business days. Let’s just… Let Raditz go get him ready, all caught up. Make a little family reunion out of it. And he can just swing by Planet 414 with him.”
Vegeta paused for a moment at that. Yes, indeed, Frieza will want this planet done with, and if they leave now, well, it’d look weird. Better to just rule Raditz as a casualty of war, then have him come back with a bonus later. It’d be a month long ride on these cramped pods anyway, even with the nav system. He relents and sighs out.
“Raditz. You’re going on a solo mission. Do not. Fail me.” Vegeta’s voice was clear and commanding. “Come back with that brat. If anything goes wrong, I am murdering both you, and your brother.”
Raditz nodded, bowing fully down. Feeling a strange sense of relief to be away from these two for some time, but moreover, to prove he’s not just a useless runt, that he truly was a Saiyan Elite. Even a low power level child like Kakarot no doubt has grown to be valuable in a fight during his time on EArth. He would fly up and away to where his pod had landed. His next stop, some strange backwater alien planet deemed low enough priority for a baby with a power level of two.
For Raditz, this was a chance to really change everything about his life, but for Nappa and Vegeta, it was just a Sunday.