Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Royal Namekian Blues ❯ Goku's Concerns addressed ( Chapter 40 )

Primally Yours

 

By Trynia Merin aka StarbearerTM

*****

 

The day passed with several situations that left Dr. Stellari confused. Finding out Launch was expecting a child just like she was earth shattering enough. Yet the whole ritual of Raditz preparing animal skin clothes for her was another complete mystery. Fermi and Bohr were wholeheartedly embracing the whole 'back to nature' time. Launch was busy target shooting with a machine gun that afternoon.

 

Nappa had gone off to hunt something for lunch. Both twins were helping their mother straighten up the cooking area of bones and other debris when Raditz suggested the boys could try sparring with him. Fermi glanced at his mother, "Can we?"

 

"If you want to," said Dr. Stellari nervously.

 

"Don't worry I won't hurt your whelps," Raditz chuckled.

 

"She's scared we'll kick your butt," Fermi giggled.

 

"Hmm, is that so?" Raditz chuckled, leaning over to look at the defiant young warrior in orange gi. It was a good idea both boys had changed into real clothes unlike she. Bohr still stood close to his mother, looking at Raditz with wide eyes.

 

"I guess," Bohr muttered.

 

"Some REAL fun! I wanna spar with him, Mom, can I?" asked Fermi.

 

"Go ahead. Bohr?"

 

"I'll watch," the other twin said. Raditz extended a hand to the boy, trying to remember what he had seen other parents do on television. Nervously Bohr placed his small hand in that of the large warrior. Fermi nodded and strode alongside him.

 

"I'll not be far away. Will you wait for us here, love?" Raditz glanced at Dr. Stellari.

 

"Go on and play boys," she waved her hand. It gladdened her to see her boys starting to bond with her new husband. Just how it would play out made her nervous. Soon Raditz had taken either boy towards a nearby clearing leaving Atomique Stellari to sit by the glowing coals she tried to keep alight.

 

"Are you okay?" asked a voice out of nowhere. Atomique Stellari screamed whirling around with both hands raised.

 

"Who the HELL!" she shouted, sending a shard of plastic towards whoever had invaded the silence.

 

"OWW!" Son Goku yelped, pulling spikes out of his skin. "That's sharp! Hey, relax I'm not going to hurt ya!"

 

"Where the HELL did you come from! I didn't even SENSE you!" Tomic stammered.

 

"Sorry, Chichi did tell me I shouldn't IT in here," Goku laughed, rubbing the back of his neck with that annoying grin. He pulled more plastic spikes out of his gi.

 

"Um, how did you… never mind, I'm sure you just homed in on our energies," she said nervously. It had been a few weeks since the fight and she was still gun shy.

 

"I just dropped in to check on you and see if you were OK," Goku said quietly.

 

"If it's about Nappa and Raditz transforming, I had no idea," Atomique looked up at him guiltily.

 

"I'm glad you're all right," Son Goku nodded, striding up to her. "Hey, nice clothes. I didn't know you ladies wore animal skins?"

 

"Um, I left my good clothes behind. Raditz made them for me," she admitted.

 

"Huh, I didn't know he could sew," Goku shrugged. "So you are okay? I sense the boys alive and well nearby. And did you see Miss Lunch?"

 

"Yes, and she's fine. Nappa hasn't hurt her, if that's what you were wondering about," said Dr. Stellari, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

 

"Hey, relax I'm not here to fight or anything! Chichi just sent me to see if you and the kids were okay… I mean we ARE not too far away… and Bulma was kinda worried when you didn't show up for work…"

 

"Oh shit, I'm sorry, I forgot!" Dr. Stellari groaned. "I forgot about work!"

 

"Don't worry; I'll let her know you're fine. But dontcha think it's kinda dangerous for you to go out when they're in their Great Ape forms?"

 

"Fermi and Bohr protected me. Raditz didn't hurt me at all," she said quickly.

 

"Wait, you mean he didn't?" asked Goku, scratching his head.

 

"Raditz may be a Saiyan, but he CAN control his form," said Dr. Stellari firmly. Seeing the defensiveness in her, Goku chuckled.

 

"Hey, don't get angry! I believe you, calm down okay?" Goku waved his hands before him. He knew that angry gleam well enough in his wife Chichi's eyes. That sort of glare that told him he was poking his nose into forbidden territory. It was heartwarming to him to see the bond between his older brother and his mate was a loving one like his own marriage. So far the kis of her sons and Raditz were flickering healthily with the distant sounds of ki blasts and fights.

 

"Do you want some roasted bear? We have some left?" she said, reaching over to pick a spit up off the fire.

 

Goku forgot his concerns when offered food, because he eagerly snatched the offering and started chowing down on it. "Hey thanks! How did you know…?”

 

"You're Saiyan, you guys ALWAYS need food," she laughed. "So if you're worried that Raditz is hurting me or the kids you can forget it because we're fine! It's just some weird Saiyan hunting ritual."

 

"Well Vegeta DID explain to me that's what they were doing, from what he was willing to tell me," Goku said quietly. "I mean what Trunks told me."

 

"You don't trust Vegeta do you?" she asked.

 

"I trust that Bulma's okay and that Vegeta's not hurting anyone, and that he's keeping Nappa and Raditz from killing so far," Goku said, narrowing his eyes in a manner that resembled Raditz gaze. It shivered her and for a moment the seriousness conjured strange images from her dreams. She blinked and rubbed her head.

 

"You okay?"

 

"It's nothing," she said. "It's just you looked like my husband for a moment there. And like something out of a dream I had."

 

"A dream?"

 

"Raditz and I… it's the bond we share," she lowered her voice. "I know I wouldn't tell anyone, but since you are brothers…"

 

"Bond?" Goku blinked.

 

"A telepathic connection," said Dr. Stellari.

 

"Oh, you mean like reading minds?" Goku nodded.

 

"Sharing thoughts and emotions. Yamcha said you could read minds, but I didn't think… I mean some Red Ribbon operatives could, and Tien and Chauzu can, but you…"

 

"Relax I have to touch someone to read their minds. I can't do it any other way, I mean not easily," Goku shrugged.

 

"If you doubt Raditz is safe, you can read MY mind," she said, glaring up at him. "Maybe THAT will convince you I'm all right."

 

"Are you sure? I mean I had thought of doing that to Bulma, but I doubt Vegeta would let me get close enough," Goku blinked.

 

"You could have asked me before, Goku. Before your friends scared the hell out of me and my children," she said.

 

"I'm sorry that happened," Goku hung his head. He extended his hand with the palm facing downward towards Dr. Stellari's forehead. She moved forwards, nodding her assent. Goku's hand callused with many rough spots gently rested and she concentrated. To his surprise her thoughts were surprisingly clear and well ordered but the wall rising up shocked him.

 

"Wow, you know about how to defend yourself," Goku said. "Was that from being in the Red Ribbon army?"

 

"Not my conscious choice, Goku. But I trust you," she nodded.

 

"I won't hurt you, just relax and show me what you want me to see," Goku urged. Dr. Stellari closed her eyes, letting the silver tendrils of Goku's mind reach out towards hers. To his shock the mind link was easily formed, images drifting in a well-organized stream.

 

"Do you see now?" Dr. Stellari asked.

 

"Yes. I should have done this before. I believe you, and I believe Raditz," said Goku with a stern nod. "But I couldn't get a good sense of you if you were telling the truth for a moment…"

 

"Bulma said you could tell truth from lies, like most Saiyans," she said.

 

"You must have been blocking me. But I do sense another mind closely attached to yours. That must be Raditz, huh?" he nodded.

 

"Yes. I willingly entered into the rapport," she said.

 

"Huh, Chichi and I have something like that but I never knew why. I mean Vegeta told me SOME things about Saiyan culture, but it's not like I always ask," Goku admitted. He removed his hand from her forehead and glanced down at her. Fortunately he wasn't as difficult to look in the eyes since he was a full head shorter then his brother. Wearing those orange workout clothes and blue boots he seemed to oddly fit into the wild surroundings around them.

 

"But sometimes do you and Chichi exchange thoughts when you're asleep?" she asked. Goku accepted another skewer of meat from her and gobbled it down. She motioned him to sit next to her on one of the flat rocks.

 

"Kinda. But it isn't always something I could control. Not till I trained with King Kai," Goku nodded through a mouthful of meat. Bits of cartilage crunched as he swallowed whole chunks. He saw Dr. Stellari examining him with that strange look Bulma often had. The look of a scientist perhaps?

 

"You're staring at me kinda funny, something wrong?"

 

"No, just seeing the family resemblance," she chuckled.

 

"Oh yeah we're in laws now, at least that's what Chichi says cause you're mates with Raditz," said Goku.

 

"You still accept him after what happened?" she asked.

 

"I'm starting to," Goku nodded.

 

"I saw through his eyes what happened, and I can't blame you for not forgiving him," said Dr. Stellari. She shivered and hugged herself, absently covering her chest at the same height where the hole had smashed through them both.

 

"Oh man, are you serious?" Goku asked, grasping her shoulder. He felt the waves of tension and nausea passing through her tense muscles as images not her own soared in her brain. She nodded her skin a slight sickly green.

 

"So much pain and horror," she whispered.

 

"Hey, relax, I didn't mean to make you think of that," Goku apologized.

 

"I can't help it. But I've seen things just as horrible if not more from my time," she shivered. "I've done some bad things too, Son Goku. You must know from what Bulma told you about me and Bliss Simms."

 

"She did," said Goku. "I had a talk with her shortly after I knew you guys were with the Saiyans. You saved Bliss from some nasty experiment?"

 

'Yes. She's a Saiyan just like you. You know as well as I," she nodded.

 

"All these people, who survived the blast," Goku shook his head. "Makes you wonder…"

 

"What?"

 

"How many people did she bring back with her wish?" Goku asked quietly. "And if they're hurting people like they were before…"

 

"Not if they learned from their mistakes," she said.

 

"Are you talking about Bardock?" Goku asked. At the sound of the name Dr. Stellari flinched. Goku's eyes widened to their usual friendly round shape in his surprise.

 

"You know?" she asked.

 

"Mm hmm," Goku said softly. He slid his hand down from its grip on her shoulder towards her hand. Strong fingers a little smaller then Raditz closed around hers to give her hand a knowing squeeze. Something about this action caused a lump to form in the scientist's throat.

 

"How do you, Goku?" she asked, looking directly into his deep dark eyes. She saw the same bottomless look there as with Raditz, but filled with an infinite understanding. Such an infinite sadness she often saw in Goku's eyes when he was about to fight someone he did not wish to kill. Energy surged at skin's surface from his touch to hers suggesting incredible power brewing under a tight lid. She could feel his awesome powers locked tightly away, rather the potential then the actual.

 

"I saw him on Namek," Goku whispered, drawing close. Atomique swallowed her understanding, tears forming in her eyes. Such sincerity she couldn't doubt.

 

"But he's dead… Raditz told me he could see future events, to the point where people thought he was nuts…" she trailed off. "He must have been psychic. I mean Saiyans ARE to some limited extent but only with other Saiyans. But you can read minds and Prince Vegeta cant."

 

"I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because of the training with Kami and King Kai," Goku shrugged. "I'm not sure how long I've been able, but I can sense good and evil. Most of the time."

 

"Raditz told me that Saiyans can only telepathically communicate with other Saiyans or those with Saiyan blood. Although I'm an exception," she said.

 

"I can't always dot that with Chichi but I can with Gohan, and with my other friends," Goku nodded. "But that's just hard training."

 

"You grew up on Earth, and thought you were human," she nodded. "But…"

 

"You saw something that looked familiar a while ago, and it looked like you were seeing a ghost because you were staring at me funny sometimes," Goku said.

 

"I… share dreams with Raditz," she whispered so softly human ears couldn't hear. "Am I going nuts?"

 

"No. Because that's how I saw Bardock," said Goku, squeezing her hand again reassuringly. It was like having a brother long forgotten and she knew why Bulma shared a rapport with the fighter. Someone so honest you couldn't help BUT tell them what was going on. Not that he always understood, but he would listen.

 

"He…" she trailed off. Goku looked her in the eyes and at the same moment the image flashed in their consciousness.

 

"That's him. One thing king Kai taught me was how to communicate mind to mind. I can send my thoughts to other people like Gohan, Piccolo, and Krillen. But there was a few times where Vegeta sent me HIS thoughts from when he was dead in a dream. He told me everything about what Freiza did to the Saiyans… it was horrible. I understood why they did so many bad things. I wanted you to know that I DO understand now," Goku reassured her.

 

"But how did you see Bardock?"

 

"Sometimes King Kai says that thoughts can travel across space and time no matter how far apart people are. Sometimes I can still hear my grandpa. I mean having the dragonball helped, but he still DOES talk to me," he said.

 

"Ancestor worship," she said.

 

"Don't be so quick to blow it off," Goku warned her gently. "For a moment before I was going to fight Frieza he called me 'Bardock' and he looked at me like he was looking at a ghost. The same look you gave me and the same look Raditz gave me. He said I "looked like Father'."

 

"Put a scouter on your face and armor on you, and that would be the case," she nodded, pushing a piece of hair behind his ear. It had the same texture as Raditz, she realized, and the same black coloring. Whereas Bulma had said Vegeta's hair was dark brown in full sunlight. Blowing to pieces the theory the Prince had about Saiyans only having black hair.

 

"He died protecting the planet," Goku said. "Like a hero. It wasn't too late for him to change."

 

"So that's why… you saw him… when he… but…"

 

"I don't remember much before when I hit my head, but I remember bits and pieces in dreams. And I saw him as clear as day. Reaching out to me," said Goku soberly.

 

"Just like Cassandra," she nodded.

 

"Who?"

 

"A character in Greek myth that could tell the future but was cursed because nobody believed her," she said.

 

"Like Fortuneteller Baba I guess. But he looked like he was going crazy," Goku shuddered. He released her hand and returned to squeeze her shoulder knowingly. Their look of understanding was painfully clear, but she trusted his open gaze now. Not that she had reason to disbelieve, but lately her emotions were tempered with something inhuman.

 

"That's not all, Goku," she said quietly. "Not only thoughts, but something else. Raditz said that he and I were… 'One'. I am just realizing what he meant."

 

"One?" Goku blinked. "You mean like one person? But that's weird…"

 

"I mean that there is such a connection that I can see and know things I wouldn't normally. Raditz said that he taught me the Saiyan language or a bit of it while we were sleeping. There were one or two times I was speaking it, without knowing. And lately I lose my temper so easily," she said.

 

"Go on," Goku urged.

 

"I almost put a coworker through a wall, Goku. I'm strong, but nowhere near as strong as even the weakest Z warrior," she mumbled. "I mean Raditz said my power level was high for a weak human, but equivalent to a Saiyan newborn or child."

 

"I don't use one of those things to see ki, but there is a big difference. Maybe it's because of your kids?" he said, looking at her rounding belly. "Both of them. I could sense their ki when you were there with Raditz, and I knew also that he couldn't want you dead if you were making children together."

 

"I wish I could sense ki. I mean Yamcha DID teach me to some extent, but I'm not too good at it," she chuckled.

 

"I hid my ki thought so that's why I surprised you," Goku said guiltily. "And I guess I'm not the only other person surprised cause Raditz is headed back this way."

 

"Does Gohan and Piccolo know you're here?" she asked with alarm.

 

"Don't worry, they're off training together. I just don't think it's safe for you to be out here though because there's been some other strange stuff going on," Goku said.

 

"And what would THAT be, Kakarot?" asked the deep voice of her mate. "I should have guessed that power level was you. What brings you here?"

 

"Um hi, I hoped to talk to you. I was just um chatting to Atomique here. Don't worry I'm not here to fight or anything," Goku said as he stood up and gave a cheesy smile.

 

"Hi Son-kun san," both twins blinked at him. "You were hiding your power."

 

"I wish I could do that better," Bohr pouted from a perch atop Raditz shoulders. Goku saw Fermi walk over and step in front of Atomique. Raditz gaze was the typical pissed off Saiyan frown, and he wore the newer style armor Bulma had made for him. Yet seeing the child tugging at Raditz mane gave him a comical look.

 

"What brings you here, I repeat? Surely not just for a 'friendly visit'?" Raditz tried again, stepping between Atomique and Goku.

 

"It's okay, Radz-chan, he comes in peace, sheesh!" she glared up at him. Grabbing a handful of his hair she tugged on it to get his attention.

 

"Well it's a friendly visit for the most part," Goku chuckled. Raditz cocked a brow.

 

"Have you come to 'bond' in some manner?" Raditz snorted. "You could have given SOME notice instead of scaring the hell out of my mate!"

 

"He's okay Uncle Raditz, he's not gonna hurt her!" Fermi interrupted.

 

"Quiet young one. Both of you take your mother while I speak to him alone," said Raditz quietly.

 

"Now wait a minute," Atomique protested.

 

"No it's okay," said Goku. "Maybe you should do what he says for now. I really do have to talk to Raditz, alone."

 

"Go with the boys, woman. If you please. This is man's talk," Raditz grunted.

 

"If it was anyone ELSE saying that I'd hit them," Atomique grumbled. "But as you wish love. Just don't do any stupid macho trip because I don't want to clean body parts out of the landscape!"

 

"C'mon Mommy, let's go please?" Bohr asked.

 

"Later," Atomique said as she took both twins hands and walked back towards the cave.

 

"You might wanna head on to my place actually," Goku said. "I mean I can transport us all to my house. Chichi's got lunch ready and I bet these two guys and their mom could use some good food."

 

"As you wish. It would be better if my mate stayed with yours while we 'chat', is that the word, Kakarot?" Raditz said sarcastically.

 

"Come over and stand by me. It will only take a second," Goku said. Atomique felt Raditz wrap an arm around her waist and hold her close. Goku rested a hand on Fermi's shoulder and then reality fizzled out.

***

Instantaneous Transmission scrambled her brains because Atomique felt decidedly sick when they appeared again. She was leaning heavily on Raditz when Goku gave an apologetic look. To the left stood a rather worn out pagoda while a modest house was to the right. She had never visited Goku's home and she felt somewhat reassured to see modern convenience again.

 

"Hey you okay?"

 

"Kakarot, must you have done that!" Raditz growled at him.

 

"I feel sick," Atomique gasped.

 

"Mommy you don't look so good," Fermi said.

 

"What did you do?" Bohr asked.

 

"Um sorry, I didn't realize that not everyone gets used to that," Goku chuckled awkwardly.

 

"Next time WARN me," Raditz snarled, scooping up Atomique as she put a hand over her mouth.

 

Just then someone came around the house with a basket of clothes and Atomique heard a voice yelling in Chinese. Goku winced visibly as Chichi marched up with a look of annoyance on her face. "How many times did I tell you not to do that Goku-sa? Wait, you brought COMPANY and didn't TELL me?"

 

"Sorry Chichi, I figured it wouldn't hurt. I mean…"

 

"Oh my gosh are you okay?" Chichi asked, dropping her basket and rushing over to where Atomique heaved deep breaths. "What are you men DOING to that poor woman?"

 

"Mommy's sick," Fermi said.

 

"Maybe she'll throw up," Bohr said.

 

"My goodness where are my manners, bring her into the house you big ox! Don't just keep them waiting in the cold air!" she said flustered. "Come on in… and put her on the sofa…"

 

Soon she lay on a rather conventional silk sofa with a cold cloth over her face and her boys sitting near a television. Both of them were munching on some snack while the woman fussed over a dizzy Atomique. Raditz stood hesitantly by the front door, glancing back and forth.

 

"Sorry about that. I figured since you wanted to meet my brother Raditz…"

 

"This is your abode, Kakarot? Not bad. But won't this considerably anger your… allies?" Raditz asked quietly.

 

"Gohan and Piccolo are still out training in the mountains, so don't worry. I just figured it was safer for your wife and kids here with Chichi. Because there have been some disturbing things going down lately," Goku said in a hushed voice.