Morning light crept through the curtains.
Goku's eyes opened.
Warmth pressed against his back. An arm draped over his waist. Slow, even breathing against his shoulder blade.
Raditz.
She must have crawled in sometime before dawn.
He let her sleep for another minute. Studying the weight of her against him. The way her fingers had curled into his shirt, clutching even in unconsciousness. The small, vulnerable sounds she made with each exhale.
The proud Saiyan elite.
Clinging to him like a child afraid of the dark.
"Wake up."
Raditz stirred. Mumbled something. Pressed closer.
"Raditz. Wake up"
Her eyes snapped open.
For a moment, confusion. Then awareness. Then horror.
She scrambled backward so fast she fell off the bed, hitting the floor. Her face was crimson, eyes wide, mouth opening and closing without sound.
"I- I didn't- this isn't-"
"You crawled into my bed in the middle of the night." Goku sat up, stretching casually.
Each word landed like a slap.
"I don't know why I- I wasn't thinking-"
"Clearly."
He stood. Walked past her without a glance.
"Get up. Wash your face. Meet me downstairs."
"I..." She was still on the floor, tangled in her own limbs. "Yes."
The dining room was chaos.
Nappi had somehow gotten pancake batter in her hair. Rori was arguing loudly with Bulla about whether energy blasts or scientific inventions were more useful. Hana was attempting to mediate while Mina hid behind her chair, overwhelmed by the noise.
The wives moved through the mayhem with practiced ease. Chi-Chi commanding the kitchen, Panchy serving plates, Bulma reading a tablet while absently feeding herself, Mai keeping Mina calm with gentle touches, Lunch arm-wrestling Rori for the syrup.
Goku entered and the energy shifted.
"PAPA!"
Rori abandoned her syrup quest immediately, launching herself at him. He caught her one-handed, tucking her under his arm like a football.
"Morning, monster."
"I'm not a monster, I'm a warrior!"
"You're a warrior with syrup on your face."
She licked her cheek proudly. "Battle scars."
Raditz appeared in the doorway.
She'd washed her face. Changed into fresh borrowed clothes, another too-small shirt, another pair of shorts that barely qualified as clothing. Her hair was still wild, her eyes still haunted by the night's events.
The room's warmth cooled slightly.
Chi-Chi's spatula paused mid-flip. Bulma's eyes narrowed over her tablet. Kakarot's shoulders tensed.
But Goku simply pointed to a chair next to him.
"Sit."
Raditz sat.
Panchy, ever oblivious to tension, immediately appeared with a plate piled high with food.
"Here you go, dear! You must be hungry~"
Three Days Later
The pattern established itself with frightening ease.
Raditz woke when Goku woke. Ate when Goku allowed. Followed where Goku led. The leash was invisible, but she felt it constantly, a gentle pressure guiding her through the rhythms of this strange household.
She helped in the kitchen. Panchy's relentless cheerfulness was impossible to resist, and Raditz found herself learning to chop vegetables, season meat, prepare rice. Domestic tasks that disgusted her.
She cleaned. Not because anyone asked, though Chi-Chi's pointed looks certainly suggested, but because idle hands left her mind wandering to dangerous places. To memories of the hallway. The crack in the door. His voice in her ear.
*Did you enjoy the show?*
She worked until exhaustion claimed her.
It was easier than thinking.
Five Days Later
"Watch them today."
Raditz looked up from her breakfast, earned after twenty minutes of waiting this time. Progress.
Goku was already standing.
"Watch... who?"
"The girls." He gestured vaguely toward the sounds of chaos in the living room. "I'm training. The wives are busy. You're on duty."
"I'm not a babysitter-"
The look he gave her stopped the protest dead.
"You're whatever I say you are." Soft. Absolute. "Today, you're watching my daughters. Keep them safe. Keep them happy. Is that understood?"
Her jaw worked silently.
"...yes."
"Good girl."
Watching five children should have been simple.
It was not.
Rori had boundless energy and zero self-preservation instincts. She climbed everything, fought invisible enemies, and attempted to blast holes in the garden wall.
Bulla treated Raditz like a particularly slow lab assistant, demanding help with increasingly complex experiments and sighing dramatically at every wrong answer.
Nappi tripped over everything, including her own feet, thin air, and once, somehow, nothing at all, requiring constant vigilance to prevent injury.
Gohana needed no supervision whatsoever and mostly supervised Raditz, offering gentle corrections on proper childcare techniques.
And Mina...
Mina hid.
From everyone. From everything. But especially from Raditz.
"She's scared of you."
Raditz turned. Bulla had appeared beside her, arms crossed, expression clinical.
"What?"
"Mina. She's scared of you." The girl tilted her head. "Logically, this makes sense. You threatened to kill everyone. Her fear response is appropriate."
"I..." Raditz had no response to being psychoanalyzed by a five-year-old.
"However," Bulla continued, "fear can be overcome through repeated positive exposure. If you demonstrate consistent non-threatening behavior over time, her amygdala will recalibrate."
"Her what?"
Bulla sighed. "Just be nice to her. Consistently. She'll come around."
She walked away, leaving Raditz staring after her.
*What is wrong with this family?*
One Week Later
It happened without Raditz noticing.
She learned their routines. Rori's energy peaked after meals and needed to be burned off with outdoor play. Bulla required intellectual stimulation or she got destructively bored. Nappi needed someone close by at all times, ready to catch her. Gohana appreciated being treated as an equal rather than a child.
And Mina...
Mina had stopped hiding when Raditz entered a room.
Small progress. But progress.
"You're getting soft."
Raditz spun. Goku leaned against the doorframe, watching her read to Nappi, the girl had fallen asleep against her side, drooling slightly on her borrowed shirt.
"I'm not-"
"Don't worry." Goku's hand settled on her head, and she hated how much she leaned into it. "Soft isn't always weak."
He walked away.
Raditz sat frozen, Nappi snoring against her, something cracking open in her chest.
Ten Days Later
Training sessions became observation sessions.
Raditz watched the daughters practice. Rori had raw power but no technique, all instinct, no discipline. She reminded Raditz of herself at that age.
"Again, Rori."
Goku's voice carried across the training ground. Rori stood opposite him, breathing hard, gi torn, face set with determination.
"I'm gonna hit you this time, Papa!"
"We'll see."
She charged.
Raditz watched from the sidelines, arms crossed. Beside her, the other daughters had gathered to spectate, Bulla bored, Nappi cheering, Hana observing quietly, Mina...
Mina was standing next to Raditz.
Close enough to touch.
The realization hit Raditz like a physical blow. The shy girl who'd hidden from her for days was now choosing to stand beside her. Not behind Mai. Not behind Goku. Behind Raditz.
Something warm bloomed in her chest.
She crushed it immediately.
Two Weeks Later
It was a normal afternoon.
The daughters were playing in the garden, some complicated game involving territories and alliances that Raditz couldn't follow. She sat on the porch, watching. Waiting. Ready.
For what, she wasn't sure anymore.
Goku emerged from the house, heading toward the training grounds. He paused, watching the children play.
Then his hand moved.
Fast. Casual. Like he was swatting a fly.
A ki blast, tiny, controlled, but shot toward Mina's exposed back.
Raditz didn't think.
Her body moved.
One instant she was on the porch. The next, she was between Mina and the blast, swatting it aside with her bare hand. The energy ball scattered and evaporated before hitting her.
She stood over Mina, teeth bared, tail bristling, every instinct screaming *protect protect PROTECT*.
She was facing Goku.
Ready to fight him.
For a child she'd threatened to kill two weeks ago.
Silence.
The other daughters had frozen mid-play. Goku stood motionless, hands in pockets.
Raditz's breathing came ragged and harsh. The reality of what she'd done crashed over her in waves.
*Why did I- how did I-*
Behind her, a small hand tugged at her shorts.
She looked down.
Mina stared up at her with wide eyes.
"Mina."
Goku's voice cut through the moment. He approached slowly, and Raditz tensed, ready for punishment, for pain, for the consequences of her defiance.
He walked past her.
Crouched down in front of Mina.
"Are you okay, sweetheart?"
Mina nodded vigorously.
His hand ruffled her hair. "Why don't you go play with Nappi."
"Okay!"
Mina scampered off toward the house, but not before turning back to wave at Raditz.
Goku walked past her toward the training grounds.
"Good reflexes," he said casually.
Nothing more.
Raditz stood alone in the garden, staring at her palm, drowning in questions she couldn't answer.
That night Raditz couldn't sleep.
She lay in her assigned room, no longer on the floor, she'd earned the bed days ago, staring at the ceiling.
Why did I protect her?
The question had haunted her all day.
Through dinner.
Through the evening routines.
Through Mina specifically seeking her out to say goodnight, small arms wrapping around her waist in a hug that left Raditz paralyzed.
I'm a Saiyan warrior. I've killed children younger than her.
Entire families.
Entire civilizations.
So why…
She turned onto her side.
It's this place.
This family.
They're doing something to me.
But what? How? She couldn't identify the mechanism. Couldn't see the trap she'd walked into. All she knew was that somewhere in the past two weeks, the foundations of her identity had crumbled.
And something new was growing in the ruins.
Is this... attachment?
The word felt foreign.
Dangerous.
Warriors don't get attached.
Attachment is weakness.
Kill the weak.
Serve the strong.
Nothing else matters.
But Mina's smile kept floating through her mind.
She got up.
Her feet carried her down the hallway before her pride could object.
Past the empty rooms.
Past the closed doors behind which Goku's wives slept.
To Mina's room.
The door was cracked open.
Moonlight spilled across the small bed where the girl slept, dark hair spread across her pillow, face peaceful.
Raditz stood in the doorway.
I should go back.
She entered instead.
Settled into the chair beside Mina's bed.
I'll just... make sure she's safe. That's all. Someone should watch over her.
That's all this is.
She didn't believe herself.
But she stayed anyway.
Later That Night.
Goku stood against the railing, watching the stars.
Footsteps behind him. The click of the balcony door.
Bulma's arms wrapped around him from behind, her warmth pressing against his back.
"The girls are asleep," she murmured. "All of them."
"I know."
"Even our newest addition."
Goku's lips curved.
"Where is she?"
"Mina's room. Sitting in the chair beside her bed." Bulma's voice carried a note of wonder. "She's been there for hours. Just... watching her sleep."
"Good."
Silence.
Bulma's arms tightened.
"It's working, isn't it? Whatever you're doing to her."
"Yes."
"How?"
Goku turned in her arms, pulling her close. His hands settled on her hips as he looked down at her, brilliant blue eyes sharp with curiosity, that genius mind already working through the puzzle.
"It's simple," he said. "Control everything. When she wakes. When she eats. When she's allowed to speak. Strip away her autonomy until she forgets she ever had it."
"That's not simple. That's-"
"Then introduce the children." His voice was casual. Clinical.
"Let her watch them. Care for them. Protect them. Give her purpose she didn't have before. Something to belong to."
Bulma's brow furrowed.
"But that's just... basic psychology. Dependency conditioning. Any scientist could-"
"Could they?"
Goku's smirk widened.
"Could they break a Saiyan elite in two weeks? Turn a killer into a guardian? Make a warrior who's slaughtered thousands willing to die for a child she barely knows?"
Bulma had no answer.
"It's not just conditioning," Goku continued. "It's targeted conditioning. I had to understand her first. Her pride. Her loneliness. Her desperate need for someone stronger to follow."
His thumb traced circles on Bulma's hip. "They gave her fear. I gave her something better."
"What?"
"Belonging."
Bulma pulled back slightly, studying his face.
"Does this technique have a name? Some psychological principle I should know about?"
Goku's smirk became something darker.
"Call it... Goku's Dog Conditioning."
"Dog conditioning?"
"That's what she is now. A dog." He shrugged. "A loyal, protective, deadly dog. Point her at a threat, and she'll tear it apart. Threaten her pack, and she'll die defending them."
Bulma sighed, running a hand through her hair.
"You know... watching her with Mina today..." She hesitated. "Maybe it's not just conditioning."
"Meaning?"
"Maybe some of it is genuine." She looked up at him. "The way she looked at Mina. The way she stayed in her room. That's not trained behavior, Goku. That's..."
She trailed off.
Goku's expression didn't change.
"It's not genuine."
"How can you be sure?"
"Because dogs like her don't understand attachment."
The words were cold.
"She thinks she cares about Mina. She thinks this warmth in her chest is something real. But it's just the conditioning. Stimulus and response. I gave her something to protect, and her broken psyche latched onto it."
He turned back to the railing, staring out at the night.
"In a month, she won't remember what she was before. She'll believe she's always been this way. That she chose this. That she wants to be here, protecting my childrens."
"And she won't?"
"She'll want what I trained her to want." His voice carried no emotion. "That's all."
Bulma moved to stand beside him, her shoulder brushing his.
"That's... cold. Even for you."
"This is mercy, Bulma. I could have killed her. I could have broken her mind completely. Instead, I gave her a family. Purpose. Something she's never had."
Silence stretched between them.
"And if I'm wrong?" Bulma asked quietly. "If some of it is genuine?"
Goku didn't answer.
"What if she's actually growing to love them? The girls? This family?"
"Then the conditioning worked better than expected."
"That's not-"
"It doesn't matter." He turned to face her, his expression unreadable. "Genuine or not, the result is the same. She protects. She guards. She kills anything that threatens them. That's all I need from her."
Bulma searched his eyes.
Whatever she found there made her look away.
"Sometimes you terrify me."
"I know."
"I love you anyway."
"I know that too."
She leaned into him, and his arm wrapped around her shoulders.
They stood together, watching the stars.
"One year," Goku murmured. "One year until they arrive."
"The other Saiyans."
"Vegeta. Nappa. Stronger than Raditz. Much stronger."
—
Kami's Lookout. One week earlier.
Kakarot stood at the edge of Snake Way, staring into the endless expanse.
The path stretched before her, impossibly long, winding through clouds and void, leading to a destination she couldn't see. King Kai's planet. Training beyond anything Earth could offer.
Strength enough to protect her family.
She thought of Goku. His faith in her. The weight of his trust.
*I will protect them.*
Kakarot leaped.
Her feet touched the narrow path, and she began to run.
---
The Week Before Departure
The week flew by.
Goku moved with purpose, tying loose ends, securing protections, preparing for five months of absence. Every action deliberate. Every encounter calculated.
All the Z fighter went to Kami for their new training, Krillin, Yamcha, Tien and Chaozu.
Kakarot was already on Snake Way, running.
And Raditz...
Raditz followed him everywhere.
An order. Simple. Direct.
She'd bristled at first. Pride demanding resistance. But she obeyed. And in obeying, she revealed herself completely.
Goku watched her reactions. How she positioned herself, always slightly behind, always watching for threats. How she tensed when strangers approached. How her hand twitched toward violence at the slightest provocation.
*Attack dog*, he confirmed. *Not a strategist. Not a leader. A weapon that needs pointing.*
People like her needed structure. Hierarchy. A master to serve.
He could work with that.
The Dragon Balls scattered across the planet didn't stay scattered for long.
Goku blasted from continent to continent, following the radar's signal, collecting the orange spheres one by one. Raditz followed in his wake, struggling to keep pace, pushing herself harder than she had in years just to not lose sight of him.
By the third day, all seven were gathered.
By the fifth day, Bulma's ship was complete.
By the seventh day, everything was ready.
Then.
The nights belonged to his wives.
Bulma, Night One.
She wasn't expecting him.
Still in the lab, buried in last-minute calibrations, muttering about fuel efficiency and gravity compensators. She didn't hear him enter. Didn't notice until his hands settled on her shoulders.
"Goku, I'm busy-"
"No you're not."
"I have to finish-"
"It's finished."
He spun her chair around and silenced her with his mouth.
She protested. Briefly. Then her hands were in his hair, pulling him closer, and the lab became irrelevant.
Hours later, she lay sprawled across her workbench, papers scattered, tools on the floor, a satisfied exhaustion written across every line of her body.
She tried to say something. Couldn't find the words.
Her face said enough.
---
Mai, Night Two.
Wild.
That was the only word for it.
Mai, quiet, reserved, controlled Mai, came undone completely. Every wall crumbled. Every restraint shattered. She begged in ways she'd never begged before, her voice carrying through walls she'd forgotten existed.
In the hallway, Eve froze mid-step.
She moved closer anyway. The door was cracked. Just slightly. Just enough.
She peeked.
Her eyes widened.
Went red.
"EWWW!!! I don't want to see thaaaaat!"
She fled down the corridor, hands over her face, the image seared permanently into her brain.
Inside the room, Goku smirked against Mai's neck.
"We have an audience."
"Don't- ah!- don't care-"
He made sure she didn't.
---
Chi-Chi, Night Three.
Tender.
She needed reassurance more than passion. Needed to feel held. Protected. Promised to.
Goku gave her all of it.
---
Panchy, Night Four
Sweet and unhurried as always.
---
Lunch, Night Five.
She was waiting for him.
Blonde. Fierce. Ready.
But when they finished, her hand drifted to her stomach. Pressed flat against it.
"The others have something I don't. Something of *yours*."
Understanding settled over him.
The seed was planted. Another thread binding her to him.
---
The Final Night, Raditz.
The week had done its work.
Raditz was different now. Not broken, not yet, but shaped. She followed without being told. Anticipated his movements. Positioned herself at his heel like a trained hound.
She didn't even realize it was happening.
*Attack dogs need masters*, Goku thought, watching her shadow him through the house. *Give them purpose. Give them structure. Give them someone to obey.*
*Then give them a taste of what loyalty earns.*
He opened her door without knocking.
Raditz was in bed, blanket pulled to her chin. At the sound, she twitched violently, hands yanking out from beneath the covers, slamming onto the fabric above.
Her face was flushed.
Her breathing uneven.
Goku paused in the doorway.
Gave her a long, knowing look.
She refused to meet his eyes. Stared at the wall. The ceiling. The floor. Anywhere but him.
"I wasn't-"
"I didn't ask."
He approached the bed. Sat on the edge.
The mattress dipped under his weight.
And Raditz moved.
Without thought. Without decision. Her body simply... acted.
She slipped out from under the covers, circled the bed, and knelt before him. Hands on her thighs. Head slightly bowed. Waiting.
*There it is*, Goku thought. *The hook set. The routine established.*
She didn't even realize she'd done it until she was already in position.
Her eyes widened. Confusion flickered across her face.
*Why did I- when did this become-*
But she didn't get up.
Goku's hand settled on her head. Fingers threading through her wild hair. Stroking slowly.
"Good girl."
She shuddered.
He stood.
Raditz remained kneeling, looking up at him, that confused desperation swimming in her eyes.
Goku stepped forward.
His lower body stopped inches from her face.
She should have recoiled. Should have snarled and snapped and defended her pride.
Instead, she stayed perfectly still.
His hips shifted, just slightly, bumping against her cheek.
She didn't pull away.
Her face burned red. Her jaw clenched. But she stayed.
"Look at you," Goku murmured. "Saiyan elite. On her knees. Nuzzling against me like a pet."
"I'm not-"
He stepped back.
Reached down.
Pulled his shirt over his head in one fluid motion.
Raditz's eyes traced every line of muscle. Every scar. Every inch of bronze skin revealed. She couldn't help it. Couldn't look away.
"Get in the bed."
She twitched.
"Now."
"Tch!"
The defiance was automatic. Reflexive. But she rose anyway, climbed onto the mattress, laid on her back, arms stiff at her sides.
Goku looked down at her.
That smirk.
"Interesting position."
"What?"
"On your back. Legs together. Arms down." His head tilted. "Almost like you're expecting something specific."
Her blush deepened to crimson. "I wasn't- I don't- shut up!"
He approached the bed. One knee pressed into the mattress.
His hand found her thigh, spreading her legs.
"W-what are you-"
Her hands flew down, pressing between her thighs, covering herself.
But it was too late.
Goku had already seen.
The shorts, those ridiculous borrowed shorts, had a dark spot spreading across the fabric. Obvious. Undeniable.
"Well."
Raditz's eyes squeezed shut. Mortification radiated from every pore.
"Even as a hostage," Goku said softly, "you can't control your own body. Can you?"
"Shut up-"
"Soaking through your clothes just from kneeling in front of me."
"I said shut-"
"From having my hand in your hair."
"Stop-"
"From being told you're a good girl."
A sound escaped her, half whimper, half growl. Her face twisted with shame and fury and something else.
*There*, Goku thought, watching her reactions. *There it is.*
The anger that fed the arousal. The humiliation that heightened everything. The shame that made her wetter.
"You like this," he realized aloud.
"I don't-"
"Being put in your place. Being controlled." He chuckled, low, dark. "Being humiliated."
"NO-"
"Your body says otherwise."
He leaned over her. Close. His hand still gripping her thigh, thumb tracing lazy circles on her inner skin.
"What a discovery," he murmured. "The proud Saiyan elite. Not just desperate for a master." His other hand moved to hers, the ones still pressed protectively between her legs. *But a masochist too.* He thought.
Her brows furrowed. Jaw clenched. Eyes blazing with impotent fury.
But she was trembling.
And when his fingers curled around her wrists, pulling her hands away from where she'd been guarding...
She let him.
"Last night before I leave," Goku said. "I suppose I should give you something to remember me by."
His hand slid up her thigh.
Higher.
"Something to think about. Every night I'm gone."
Higher still.
"Something to make you ache for my return."
⚠️ Explicit - beginning ⚠️
His fingers reached the soaked fabric of her shorts and paused, letting the heat of her pulse against his palm.
Raditz's thighs twitched, trying to close on instinct, but his grip on her leg tightened, just enough pressure to remind her who decided what happened next.
"Hands above your head," he said, voice calm, almost conversational.
She glared at him through the wild fall of her hair, teeth bared in one last flash of pride.
Then her arms moved. Slowly. Reluctantly. Until her wrists crossed above her head on the pillow, fingers curled into tight fists.
"Good girl."
The words hit her like a slap and a caress at the same time. Her back arched a fraction off the bed, hips chasing contact she hadn't been given yet.
Goku hooked two fingers under the waistband of her shorts and peeled them down in one slow drag. The fabric clung, soaked through, sticking to her skin until it finally gave way with a wet sound that made her flinch.
He tossed the shorts aside.
Raditz lay completely exposed now, legs pressed together, tail curled tight against her own thigh like it could hide her. It couldn't. Nothing could hide the way she glistened, swollen and dripping, thighs already slick halfway to her knees.
"Look at that mess," he murmured, almost to himself. "All this just from kneeling and a couple of words."
She turned her face into the pillow, refusing to meet his eyes.
Goku settled between her legs, forcing them apart with his knees. She resisted for half a heartbeat, then let him spread her wide, knees bent, feet flat on the mattress, completely open to him.
He didn't touch her yet. Just looked.
Let the cool air hit her overheated skin. Let her feel how exposed she was. How helpless.
Raditz whimpered, and her hips rolled upward, searching.
Goku finally gave her one finger.
Just one.
He dragged it up the center of her, parting her folds, gathering the slick that coated her, and circled her clit once, slow, feather-light.
Her entire body jolted like she'd been shocked.
"Sensitive," he noted, amused.
He did it again. And again. Never quite enough pressure, never quite the rhythm she needed. Just enough to make her thighs tremble and her breath come in ragged little gasps.
Then he slid that single finger lower and pushed inside.
Raditz's back bowed off the bed, a strangled cry ripping out of her as her walls clamped down hard around the intrusion. He gave her a moment, just long enough for her to adjust, then curled his finger upward and pressed firmly against that spot inside her that made her see stars.
Her reaction was immediate.
A choked, desperate moan tore from her throat, hips bucking wildly, trying to ride his hand already.
Goku added a second finger.
Stretched her slowly, scissoring, opening her up while his thumb settled on her clit and rubbed tight, relentless circles.
The room filled with wet sounds, obscene, unmistakable. Her arousal coated his hand, dripped down his wrist, soaked the sheets beneath her.
He set a brutal pace. Fingers slamming deep, curling hard on every stroke, thumb grinding against her clit without mercy.
Raditz lost the ability to form words. All that came out were broken cries, growls that dissolved into sobs, her head thrashing side to side on the pillow.
Her tail lashed, then wrapped tight around his forearm again, anchoring herself to him as her whole body began to shake.
Goku leaned down, mouth brushing her ear.
"Come whenever you want," he whispered. "But you don't get me inside you tonight. So enjoy my hand."
That did it.
Raditz screamed, raw, broken, utterly undone, as her orgasm crashed through her. Her walls spasmed violently around his fingers, hips grinding helplessly against his palm, flooding his hand in hot pulses.
He didn't stop.
Kept stroking her through it, drawing it out until she was sobbing, oversensitive, trying to twist away and being held exactly where he wanted her.
Only when she went limp, chest heaving, tears streaking her temples into her hair, did he finally ease his fingers out, wiping them on the sheets.
He brought them to her lips.
Raditz opened without being told.
Sucked them clean with slow, trembling licks, eyes half-lidded and glassy looking at him, tasting herself on his skin.
Goku watched her, thumb brushing her swollen bottom lip.
"Five months," he said quietly.
She made a small, broken sound around his fingers.
"Five months to think about how easily I can make you do this."
He pulled his hand away.
Then he stood, picked up his shirt, and walked to the door.
Raditz stayed exactly where he left her, legs spread, chest heaving, utterly wrecked.
Just before he left, he glanced back.
"Sleep well, Raditz."
The door clicked shut behind him.
She didn't move for a very long time.
⚠️ Explicit - ending ⚠️
—
Dawn painted the sky in shades of gold and pink.
Goku stood before the ship, arms crossed, studying the vessel that would carry him across the stars. It was a patchwork creation, pieces of Raditz's pod fused with salvage from Piccolo's old spacecraft, all of it rebuilt and expanded by Brief engineering into something new.
The grass rustled behind him.
"Goku?"
He turned his head slightly. Eve stood at the mansion's entrance, bare feet on the wet lawn, hesitant.
"Yeah?"
"Sorry to bother you."
He looked back at the ship. Said nothing.
She approached slowly, each step careful, until she stood at his side. Small next to him. Fragile-looking, though he knew better.
Silence stretched between them.
"I'm sorry," Eve said finally.
Goku glanced down at her. "For what?"
"For this. For my demand." She stared at the ship, unable to meet his eyes. "Because of me, you'll be separated from your family for months. Your wives. Your daughters."
He said nothing.
"I know what I'm asking. I know it's selfish. I just-"
"Don't worry about it."
She blinked. "What?"
"I said don't worry." His voice was flat. Unreadable. "Focus on your mission. That's what matters now."
Eve looked at him.
Something warm bloomed in her chest.
Slowly, carefully, she shifted closer. Let her shoulder brush against his arm. Then, as if by accident, she leaned into him, just slightly, just enough to feel his warmth through the fabric.
She smiled.
Goku felt the pressure. The deliberate closeness disguised as casual contact. He looked down at her.
She was gazing up at him with something soft in her eyes. Something that went beyond gratitude.
"DON'T TRY TO SEDUCE HIM!!"
Eve nearly jumped out of her skin.
Bulma stormed across the lawn, arms overflowing with glowing orange spheres. She dumped the Dragon Balls onto the grass, then planted her hands on her hips.
"I saw that! The leaning! The eyes!" She jabbed a finger at Eve. "He's got enough wives already, missy!"
"I wasn't- I didn't-"
"Save it!" Bulma grabbed Goku's arm possessively. "Inside. Now. Both of you."
The ship's interior was cramped but functional.
Bulma settled into the pilot's chair, fingers dancing across the console.
"Alright. Here's how this works."
"Shenron will teleport you directly to Planet Eve I named her, using the coordinates Eve provided. From there, you find the time machine, go back one year before the planet's destruction, and do... whatever you're going to do."
She spun in the chair to face them.
"Technically, you should return to the exact moment you left. But the journey back will still take five months." A pause. "Mom packed food. Enough for eight months."
Eve nodded, trying to process everything.
Goku said nothing.
Bulma rose from the chair and crossed to him. Her arms wrapped around his torso, squeezing tight. Her face pressed into his chest.
"You're going to say goodbye to the kids, right?"
Silence.
"...Goku?"
He turned. Walked to the pilot's seat. Sat down.
"No."
"What do you mean *no*?"
"Better not." His hands found the controls, familiarizing himself with the layout. "Let's go."
"Goku, they'll want to see you before-"
"Just do it, Bulma."
She stared at him.
Then understood.
"...okay."
She kissed him one last time, and walked out of the ship.
The sky darkened.
Bulma stood before the Dragon Balls, arms raised, voice carrying across the grounds.
"SHENRON! I SUMMON YOU!"
Lightning cracked. The balls pulsed with ancient power.
*"YOU WHO HAVE GATHERED THE DRAGON BALLS. SPEAK YOUR WISH."
"Transport that ship and everyone inside to eve's Planet! To the coordinates I've specified!"
The dragon's eyes blazed.
"YOUR WISH... IS GRANTED."
Light consumed the vessel.
And it was gone.
The family came running.
"What happened?! Where's Goku?!"
Chi-Chi burst from the mansion, still in her morning robe. Mai followed close behind. Lunch. Panchy. The daughters spilling out in various states of dress and confusion.
The empty space where the ship had stood answered their questions.
Mina's face crumpled.
"P-Papa...?"
Her voice broke, and then the tears came. Great heaving sobs that shook her tiny frame. Nappi joined her immediately, wailing without understanding why.
"PAPAAAA!"
Hana's expression flickered, pain suppressed beneath composure. She took Bulla's hand and led her toward the house without a word. The blue-haired girl followed, face blank, processing.
But Rori,
Rori stood apart.
Her eyes glistened. Her fists trembled at her sides. But she didn't cry.
She looked at the sky where her father had vanished. And something hardened in her gaze.
Determination.
She turned. Marched across the lawn to where Raditz stood watching with crossed arms.
"Train me."
Raditz looked down at the small Saiyan girl. Tear tracks on her cheeks. Fire in her eyes.
"Why would I bother with a brat?"
"Because you're strong. And I need to be stronger."
"Tch." Raditz studied her, the set of her jaw, the clench of her fists. Saw something familiar there. Something she recognized from mirrors long ago.
"Then again..." A smirk tugged at her lips. "I could make you stronger than that weakling Kakarot."
In the distance, watching from the treeline, Piccolo stood with arms crossed.
His eyes met Raditz's across the lawn.
Neither looked away.
*So*, Piccolo thought. *He left the dog to guard the house.*
*Clever.*
—
The ship materialized in a barren landscape. Red dust stretched to the horizon. Twin suns hung low in a purple sky. Strange rock formations jutted from the earth like broken teeth.
The hatch hissed open.
Goku dropped to the ground first, boots crunching on alien soil. Eve followed, her tail swaying behind her as she took in familiar surroundings with new eyes.
Nearby, at the edge of a crystalline river, two figures froze mid-motion.
A child, some amphibian species, scales glinting blue-green, held a fishing rod. His father crouched beside him, hands still reaching for their catch.
Both stared at the ship.
At the two figures emerging from it.
At the tails.
The father's eyes went wide.
"Saiyans!"
He scrambled to his feet, and ran. Full sprint. Didn't look back.
"Papa, wait!" The child dropped his rod and chased after him. "Papa!"
Their panicked footsteps faded into the distance.
Eve watched them go, something complicated crossing her face.
"They're afraid of us."
"Come on! I want to show you the crystal caves! And the night markets! Oh, and there's this food stall that makes the best-"
"Eve."
She stopped mid-bounce.
Goku's expression hadn't changed.
"The time machine. Now."
"But-"
"We're not here to sightsee. Every minute we waste is a minute we can't get back." He started walking. "Lead the way."
Her shoulders slumped.
"...okay."
The house was small.
A simple structure on the outskirts of a quiet village. The kind of place that didn't draw attention.
Eve stood before it, frozen.
"This is where..." She swallowed. "Where me and my mom lived."
Goku studied the building. Noted the weathered walls. The overgrown garden. The sense of absence that hung over everything.
"Where is she?"
Eve stiffened.
"What?"
"Your mother. Where is she?"
"She's..." Eve's hands twisted together. Her tail curled tight around her waist. "She's not- I mean, we should focus on the time machine. It's in the garage. Come on."
She moved toward the side of the house, steps quick. Evasive.
Goku let her deflect.
"What about your father?"
Eve paused. Her back still to him.
"My father?"
Silence.
Then, slowly, she turned. A smile on her face.
"He's... a great person!. Really. One of the strongest man alive!." Her eyes grew distant. "I just... didn't grow up around him."
"You'll meet him," Eve added, brightness creeping back into her voice.
Goku said nothing.
The garage was dusty and dark.
Eve pulled the door open, revealing stacks of old equipment, broken machinery, forgotten relics of a life interrupted.
In the center, beneath a tattered blanket, something large waited.
Eve crossed to it. Gripped the fabric.
Pulled.
The time machine sat beneath, smaller than Goku expected. A spherical pod with an open cockpit, controls that looked almost primitive, a temporal core that hummed with dormant power.
"Mom built it," Eve said softly. "She was a scientist. One of the best. She theorized that time could be navigated like space, with the right vessel, the right calculations."
"Did it work?"
"Once." Eve's hand traced the pod's hull. "She sent a probe back. One hour. It returned with soil samples from the past."
"I took the machine. Spent years figuring out how to make it work for longer jumps. And now..."
She looked at Goku.
"Now we're here."
They moved the time machine to a deserted plateau.
No witnesses. Just empty sky and red dust and the weight of what they were about to attempt.
Eve climbed into the cockpit. Her fingers danced across the controls, inputting coordinates, temporal markers, destination parameters.
"One year before destruction," she murmured. "That should give us enough time to..."
*To what?* Goku thought. *To fail?*
He climbed in beside her.
The cockpit was cramped. Their shoulders touched. Her tail brushed his leg.
"Ready?" she asked.
"Do it."
She pulled the lever.
The sensation of being pulled in every direction at once, stretched across time itself, existence reduced to a stream of consciousness hurtling backward through the fourth dimension.
Then-
Stillness.
The plateau looked the same.
Same red dust. Same purple sky. Same broken rock formations reaching toward the heavens.
Eve's hands trembled on the controls.
"Did it work?"
Goku stepped out of the pod. Scanned the horizon. Felt the air.
"You tell me."
Eve pulled out a small device. Checked the readings. Her face split into a brilliant smile.
"24 years." Tears welled in her eyes. "We're 24 years in the past! we did it. We actually did it!"
She leaped from the cockpit, throwing her arms around Goku before she could stop herself. He let her hold on for exactly two seconds before stepping back.
"Now what? How do we get to Planet Vegeta?"
Eve wiped her eyes, composing herself.
"There's a man. In the capital. He helped my mother years ago, smuggled supplies, arranged transport off-world. If anyone can get us a ship..."
"Then let's go."
The capital city was chaos.
Markets and merchants and a thousand different species all crowded together in a sprawl of commerce and survival. Eve navigated the streets, leading Goku through alleys and shortcuts until they reached a dingy shop on the city's edge.
A bell chimed as they entered.
Behind the counter, an elderly alien looked up, wrinkled gray skin, four eyes, tusks yellowed with age. His gaze found Eve first.
Then Goku.
Then their tails.
"Hello."
Those four eyes studied Goku with uncomfortable intensity. "Another Saiyan. Dangerous company these days."
"We need transport," Eve said. "To Planet Vegeta."
Morek laughed, a wet, rattling sound.
"Planet Vegeta? Girl, do you know what's happening there? Frieza's got the whole system on lockdown. Ships coming and going are monitored. Documented. *Controlled*."
" Frieza ?" Said Goku.
"Can you do it or not?"
The old alien studied her.
Then Goku.
Something in the Saiyan's flat stare made him swallow.
"...I might have something. Old pod. Unregistered. It'll get you there, but it won't be comfortable."
Eve produced a pouch, currency Goku didn't recognize. Dropped it on the counter.
"Will this cover it?"
He counted. Counted again.
Smiled with too many teeth.
"For this much? I'll throw in fuel."
—
The pod was ancient.
Rust spots decorated the hull. The controls looked like they'd been repaired a dozen times. The seat was cracked and uncomfortable.
But it worked.
Eve settled into the pilot's position, Goku crammed in beside her. The hatch sealed with a wheeze of old hydraulics.
"Course set for Planet Vegeta," Eve announced. "Travel time... three weeks."
"Then let's not waste any more time."
She engaged the engines.
The pod shuddered, groaned, and launched into the sky, leaving this Planet behind.
Ahead of them, through the viewport, stars stretched into infinity.