Survival of the Fittest

Update October 31, 2010: HAPPY HALLOWEEN! CH.4 is now up. I was going to post this last night...but then I thought it'd be fun to post on Halloween. So here we are. Just wish there was something Halloween-y about this chapter, would make this occasion more memorable. Hope you all have a wonderful and safe holiday. See y'all on Nov. 13 with the next update, we're back to our two week scedule. Ja-ne.

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Chapter Four – "Turbulent Relations"
WC: 3,997

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Vegeta sat on the back porch of his home, waiting for the sun to rise over the mountains. He had not slept that night. He had left Goku's embrace in the middle of the night, coming to sit here and think, because he had much to ponder about, and he couldn't think clearly with his mate snoring in his ear.

First, his oldest friend turns out to be alive and well, and had been living on Earth quite happily for a very long time. Vegeta was very happy and relieved Radditz was alive. It was going to be hard for everyone else to adjust to the newest edition of his family, but Vegeta was confident Radditz would be accepted and that they would have an even stronger family because of it.

Second, was that his youngest son Keigo was a seer. This was the toughest news for Vegeta to swallow, and to grasp. Vegeta didn't even understand how it could be possible, was it genetic or was it something Keigo was gifted with because of his unnatural blindness?

Last night after they had all returned to the house Vegeta had made a large dinner which was quickly and silently consumed before Radditz retired to his new bedroom, which used to Gohan's. After his friend had retreated upstairs for sleep, Keigo had sat down on Vegeta's lap and told him everything. Keigo had told him about his ability, how it had come to light almost four years prior. His sweet son spoke of what he had seen, how Takeo had helped Keigo understand the visions and see the world around through his brother's eyes, and the extent of his power.

The news worried Vegeta.

Keigo just seemed so much more vulnerable now, with so much responsibility on his shoulders and Vegeta worried about his son's future. But through Vegeta's immediate worry, Keigo had stayed so calm and seemed so adjusted to the situation, while Takeo had grown into the position of being Keigo's silent supporter and protector. Maybe everything would be okay…but Vegeta couldn't help but worry. He was their Papa, it was his job to worry excessively.

Goku had taken the news well, had even said it was cool, but Vegeta suspected his mate's composure was for two reasons. One, he didn't fully understand what Keigo's ability meant, and second, he was too busy worrying about his brother Radditz. Goku had even stood for a full ten minutes glaring at Radditz before Vegeta dragged his mate to bed. His lover had made love to Vegeta almost desperately last night, for reasons Vegeta didn't understand yet. And then the big lug had fallen asleep, leaving Vegeta with his thoughts which had brought him here…to his porch.

The sun finally rose, dawning a new day, leaving Vegeta mentally exhausted, realizing there were still some more hurdles to jump before things could get peaceful around there once more. He needed to reintroduce Radditz to Gohan and Piccolo, which he suspected wouldn't be that easy, not to mention the rest of the family. But for now he would just focus on breakfast, and whatever needed to happen would…but after they all had full stomachs.

Vegeta felt Radditz's chi moving around while the rest of his family stayed sleeping. He continued to watch the sun rise as his friend found him on the back deck. Vegeta didn't say anything at first, he just waved to the seat next to him, indicating his friend should join him. Radditz sat down just as the dramatic colors of the sunrise faded into the tame blue of the day. "Good morning," he said, turning to give his attention to his friend.

Radditz was sitting and smiling at Vegeta, hands folded in his lap. "Good morning Vegeta," his friend responded in kind.

They fell into a comfortable silence, just letting the early morning sounds of the forest wash over them. But after a while Vegeta needed to talk with his friend, hoping to get some unbiased wisdom from the man who taught him everything he knew. "Your father was a seer, correct," Vegeta said suddenly, drawing Radditz's attention back to him.

His friend cocked his head at the question, but he nodded. "He was, not as powerful as the species that poisoned him, but it was still significant. Why do you ask," Radditz asked softly.

"Because Keigo told me he is a seer, and his powers seem to far exceed the abilities you said your father had," Vegeta said bluntly, closing his eyes and sighing as his earlier worries overcame him.

His hand was suddenly grabbed and Vegeta's eyes opened to find Radditz leaning over the gap between them on the porch step to hold his hand and smile at him encouragingly. "You're worried aren't you," Radditz said. "Worried that he'll be hurt by this."

Vegeta heaved another sigh, nodding in agreement to Radditz's simple statement. "A part of me is happy that he has something that makes him unique and makes up for his loss of sight…but what if he sees something terrifying, or something he can't do anything about. I just…I don't want him to change or be harmed by what he sees."

Radditz squeezed his hand, eyes compassionate and understanding. "He's your baby. I get that. I'd feel the same if he was mine. It's just in our nature to worry. But Keigo will be fine; he's a very balanced and calm little boy, not to mention he's got a very protective twin brother. No matter what he goes through you've taught him how to take it in stride Vegeta. He'll be just fine, because he has a strong and loving family protecting him."

It was so nice to have Radditz around in his life again. His friend had always been the most level headed of the three of them, and until his miscarriage he was the calmest and had dealt with their dark situation much more easily. He had been the rock for the three of them. Radditz had been the one to teach him these skills that Vegeta had then passed onto his children…because Radditz was his Papa.

As they smiled at one another Vegeta took notice that the rest of his family were up, his mate was coming down the stairs with the twins in tow. Vegeta stood to greet them at the back door, waving at Radditz to keep sitting. He wanted to make sure there weren't going to be any problems that morning.

"Papa," his twins cried when they saw him, launching themselves into his waiting arms. Vegeta sighed and held them tight; burying his nose into Keigo's hair, telling himself over and over in his head that everything was going to be alright.

"Good morning brats," Vegeta said in affection, smiling down at them both. "You too are very energetic this morning. I hope this means you'll both train hard before breakfast?"

The twins both nodded their heads vigorously, and Takeo jumped from his hold, running out on the grass behind their house. Keigo stayed in Vegeta's arms for a moment longer, leaning in to hug his neck and kiss his cheek. Vegeta squeezed his youngest son tight for a moment before setting his boy down and watching Keigo trot off to join his brother. Vegeta turned from watching them to look at his mate, a frown coming to his face at the heated glare Goku was giving Radditz who sat squirming in his chair under the angry gaze. Vegeta walked up to his lover, reaching out to shake Goku's shoulder and to demand his mate tell Vegeta why he was acting so hostile.

"Kakarot, what the hell is wrong with…"

The last word he was about to speak was swallowed up by his mate's mouth. Goku had suddenly grabbed Vegeta tight and slammed his lips down onto his own. Vegeta was bent backwards, one of his lover's hands possessively holding his ass while the other had a death grip on his hair, holding Vegeta's head in place as he was kissed thoroughly and passionately by his growling mate. Vegeta's nerves were on fire and he felt heat spread across his body at Goku's unusual show of dominance. He moaned helplessly as his mouth was plundered and his body claimed by his strong mate.

Goku ripped his lips away from their kiss much too soon for Vegeta's liking. But his mate did so to lean down and roughly sink his teeth into his mark of claim on Vegeta's shoulder, pulling a yelp from his lips. His lover lifted his head slowly after he was sated, growling with bloody lips at Radditz, voice deep and menacing as he said simply "Mine," before releasing Vegeta and walking away, wiping his mouth on the blue wristband he wore.

Vegeta stared blankly ahead, one hand fingering his swollen lips as the other clamped over the open wound on his shoulder. He turned slowly, wide eyes staring at his mate's back as Goku started the morning training with their boys, before Vegeta turned his gaze over to Radditz who was staring at him with a fierce blush. Vegeta's eyes suddenly narrowed and he huffed at Goku's back. "The baka's jealous," he murmured to himself as sudden, painful understanding dawned, turning and walking into the house.

Radditz trailed after him as Vegeta walked into the kitchen, going to the cabinet where he kept all of their first aid products. His friend was by his side in a moment as he worriedly helped Vegeta patch up his wound. "What the hell was that all about," Radditz breathed out as he wiped down Vegeta's shoulder.

He heaved a sigh, handing his friend a bandage when Radditz had finished cleaning away the blood. "He's jealous, the bastard. He shows his Saiyan side at the oddest of times, and then when he does show it he has little control over it, especially when negative emotions are involved. Baka," Vegeta huffed in frustration, putting away the first aid when he was bandaged, turning to get breakfast started.

"But why would he be jealous of me," Radditz asked curiously, standing to the side, not knowing what to do.

Vegeta paused in his chopping of various fruit, passing them over to his friend so Radditz could help as he got out some eggs and rice. "A while back, before the twins were born, I told Kakarot about my past. I had to tell him about what Freiza did to me but I also told him how you and Nappa introduced me to pleasure, so Freiza couldn't completely break me. I suppose on some primitive level he's thinking you might take me away from him, like you're a competition for my affections. Any other time he might be right…but you're a Sub…and he's my soulmate," Vegeta trailed off, rolling his eyes as he thought about his mate's lack of comprehension.

"Oh," Radditz said simply, pausing his chopping to scratch his chin as he thought about the situation. "So…you'll tell him I'm a Sub and no threat right? Because while that little display was hot I'm not sure it's unhealthy to have that kind of negative energy around."

Vegeta nodded at his friend as they made breakfast together, loving the help and the wisdom Radditz always seemed to shine on any situation. "I'll tell him, don't worry. I don't want there to be any animosity between the two of you either. You're family and this should be a happy reunion."

He looked out the window at his little family training, thinking about the other members of his extended family and about how Vegeta needed to reintroduce Radditz to them as well. Vegeta paused in his preparation of breakfast, frowning at the egg shells in his hands. This was going to take some gentle maneuvering though, because if he remembered correctly, there was some bad blood between Radditz and his eldest son, Gohan, and his best friend, Piccolo.

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Gohan flew swiftly through the air, on his way to his parents' house. He had gotten a cryptic call earlier from his Papa, saying he needed to come over early before dinner, a short message about how there was someone he needed to meet again, whatever that meant. Gohan shook his head as he wondered over whom it could be, but Gohan had come up blank. So all he could do was fly over without Piccolo to meet this newcomer…or not so newcomer. His Papa had been strangely adamant that Gohan come alone.

He touched down in moments, straightening his shirt as he approached the back door of the house. Gohan jumped in surprise when the back door suddenly slammed open, his dad stomping out in a huff, a dark look on his face, mumbling "I'm not jealous," as he passed by Gohan without so much as a hello, disappearing into the forest beyond. Vegeta appeared in the doorway, glaring after his dad before his face softened when he spotted Gohan.

Vegeta gestured for him to enter the house and Gohan slowly walked up, turning to glance at the forest his father had headed into before looking at his papa. "What's Dad so upset about?" he asked, following his Papa into the house and down the main hallway.

His papa sighed, throwing up his arms in exasperation. "He's jealous over something that happened in the past that has absolutely no context in the present. I can't make him see reason because he's so damn stubborn. So I sent him off to cool down," Vegeta explained, pausing at the entry to the living room but not going in.

"What in the world is he jealous about…I've never known him to be jealous," Gohan wondered out loud, cocking his head as he watched his papa closely.

"Never you mind," Vegeta said, waving off the question. "I want you to meet someone properly, and it's why I called you over."

His papa went into the living room and Gohan followed before he froze as he saw what was going on. He saw his youngest brother Keigo…in the arms of a villain. He remembered the fear and anxiety that was associated with that man well up inside of him and when he saw his brother, no older that he was when he was kidnapped, Gohan felt his vision go red. He shouldered past his papa, snatching his brother away from that bad man as Gohan charged a chi blast, ready to send Radditz straight to hell.

A sudden harsh slap to the back of his head knocked Gohan out of his red haze and he blinked in confusion as his papa's angry face came into view, the older man taking Keigo from Gohan's arms. He looked over his papa's shoulder at Radditz who stood in the corner of the room looking at Gohan with sad eyes. Vegeta set Keigo down and his little brother scurried out of the room before his papa took a hold of his arm and forcibly sat Gohan down. Vegeta stared at him hard before sighing and taking a seat on the arm of the chair Gohan sat in.

"I knew you wouldn't have a good reaction to seeing your uncle again, but I didn't think it would be that dramatic," Vegeta said gruffly, running a hand through Gohan's hair as he motioned for Raddtiz to sit on the couch next to Gohan's seat.

"Pops, what is he doing here," Gohan asked suspiciously, unconsciously curling closer to the heat of Vegeta's body like he used to as a kid.

"Somehow he was brought back to life. Radditz has been living peacefully on Earth for the past 20 years or so. And now he's going to be a part of our family."

"WHAT?"

"Don't you raise your voice at me young man," Vegeta said darkly, once again slapping the back of Gohan's head. "He is family and he will be living here. Now you're going to have a talk with him and set aside this unwarranted animosity, or so help me I will give you a lesson you won't soon forget. I will not tolerate hatred towards anyone who doesn't deserve it. Now sit and shut up Gohan."

Gohan stared wide eyed at his furious papa, clutching the back of his throbbing head and blinking owlishly as Vegeta left the room in a huff. He turned his gaze to Radditz who was shaking his head, an affectionate smile on his face. "I'd forgotten how hot headed he could be," Radditz said softly, smiling after Vegeta.

Gohan watched the other man closely, vaguely taking notice that his demeanor was different than the last time they had met. Gohan still didn't trust him…but he had to give the man a chance, because Gohan did not want to incur the wrath of his papa. So he sat back in his seat, crossing his arms and watching Radditz with a narrowed, suspicious gaze.

His uncle finally turned back to look at him when Vegeta's frustrated mumblings faded from earshot, the older man sighing at Gohan's expression. "No amount of apologizing will make up for what I did to you Gohan, but I hope that if I tell you about why I did those things, it might make everything a little easier between us," Radditz said, voice soft and grave as he stared off to a spot on the wall, not looking at Gohan, his hands folded in his lap.

"We, meaning myself, your papa and Nappa, had gotten word that there was another Saiyan alive on this planet. We didn't know who at the time, but the news was still a cause for happiness. We kept the news from Freiza though, because the bastard was paranoid about having more Saiyans alive that could threaten his rule. We made plans to send Vegeta, because he was the most important and the youngest of us…and the most damaged by our experiences. If we could get him to this planet that was out of Freiza's reach he might be safe…

"But then I found out I was pregnant with Nappa's child. While I may not have loved him it was still news that made me elated…and terrified. Because now I was at risk. Nappa decided that I should go in Vegeta's place, to keep my baby safe. It was one of the few kind gestures he had done for me. He was a very closed off person, but he did care for me…

"Freiza found out I was pregnant, I'm not sure how we thought we could keep it from him now that I think about it. But he didn't know about my brother being alive so that was a blessing. Freiza was furious that I was pregnant though, and just as I was about to leave he punched me violently in the gut…I lost the child in my space pod.

"It was a long journey to Earth so I had plenty of time to agonize alone over my loss and go mad with grief. I was not in my right mind when I landed here Gohan. I should have been happy to see my baby brother alive and well, but all I saw was that he had the family that I was supposed to.

"I stole you Gohan, not to bait my brother, but to make him feel the same pain I did…and to have you as my own. I know now it was wrong what I did and I have come to terms with both my loss and my mistakes. I just want you to know I'm sorry for stealing you from your family and I hope we can at least be civil to each other…for Vegeta's sake."

Gohan had listened to Raddtiz's entire story in silence, feeling his fear and anger at the man fade away as the details of why he did those things unfolded. He had shifted from being in a closed off, defensive posture to relaxing and leaning forward to hear the story. After he had finished speaking his uncle looked down at his hands, heaving a great sigh. Gohan got up from his seat, going to sit beside Radditz on the couch, reaching out and taking a hold of the man's hands. All Gohan was left feeling after his uncle's story was empathy and forgiveness.

"It's alright Uncle Radditz, I understand now, and I forgive you," Gohan said softly.

Radditz looked up sharply, looking at Gohan with disbelieving eyes. "How," the man asked softly. "How can you forgive me so easily?"

Gohan smiled sadly, squeezing his uncle's hands in his own. "Because I understand," he murmured. "I probably understand better than anyone, and because of that I can forgive much more easily."

His uncle just looked at him speechless, opening and closing his mouth a few times to try and form some words, so Gohan decided he'd spare the man the trouble. "I've had a miscarriage too," he said simply, knowing that it would be enough of an explanation.

Raddtiz's face fell in sadness and dawning realization, and he pulled Gohan into a hug, wrapping him up in a warm, tight embrace. They exchanged no more words after that, nothing more needed to be said. All they could do was comfort each other, sharing their strength and knowledge. Eventually Radditz sat back, ruffling Gohan's hair as they sat side by side on the couch, shoulders gently touching.

Gohan soon took notice that his papa was standing in the doorway to the living room, Keigo in his arms as he looked at them both with proud, but sad eyes. Takeo stood at Vegeta's side, holding on to the man's pant leg and looking at them both in curiosity. Vegeta walked forward, gently handing Keigo over to Radditz as Takeo took the initiative and scrambled into Gohan's lap.

This time when Gohan saw Keigo in Radditz's arms he didn't feel panic or fear, all he felt was calm, a feeling that was intensified at the soft and caring look on his uncle's face as he looked down at Keigo. A hand on his face drew Gohan's attention to his papa who stood before him with a sad smile.

"I know it's a painful memory but I'm glad you finally have someone to share it with," Vegeta said softly, running a hand through Gohan's hair, smoothing the stubborn strands.

His papa took a step back, hands on his hips as he looked at the four of them on the couch. "Now all of you stay here. I need to track down Kakarot and knock some sense into that dimwitted brain of his. After that we need to get ready for everyone else to come over," Vegeta paused, looking at Radditz with apologetic eyes. "I'm afraid there will be more animosity from some of our guests at first, but I'll dispel it as best as I can…the only one I really worry about is Gohan's mate."

"Who's that?" Radditz asked.

"The Namek who killed you," Vegeta said softly before leaving, stunning the older man into silence.

Gohan sighed, understanding what his father meant. Piccolo would probably go ape-shit at the sight of Radditz. He would be hard to calm down…especially with how powerful he'd become over the years of intense training with Goku. But even though that was worrisome Gohan wasn't that concerned. He looked over at his uncle, smiling as he pulled Takeo closer to his chest. "Don't worry Uncle Radditz, I'll protect you," Gohan said as cheerfully as he could. Radditz grinned humorlessly at him before turning all of his attention on Keigo, proceeding to play with the little boy.

Now Gohan understood why he was called to come over alone, because Vegeta wouldn't have been able to keep both Gohan and Piccolo from killing Radditz…again. Not to mention that Gohan was able to easily forgive his uncle once he knew all the details of the past. Being able to understand one another had bridged the gap the past had made between them. And now there was a new member of the family, and Gohan couldn't be happier.

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Thank you everyone who reviewed last chapter. It's very encouraging to see a response. I got so little for chapter 2 that I thought I was loosing people. Good to know that bringing someone back from the dead can hook y'all (adds to list of 'things to manipulate my audience and get a response').

On another note. I've had a few people wondering where some of the other characters are, most importantly Trunks and Goten. They do show up. But right now, all of these chapters until about ch12 are 'establishment' chapters. Basically I'm setting up each character and the role they are going to play later in the story. Everyone (at least in the Saiyan family) will have important and prominent roles to play. But it's just taking time for me to get everything set up. I'm sorry for everyone missing them and Piccolo, but they do show up soon and once we get to the heart of this story you'll be seeing much more of everyone. I just wanted to point this out, because I imagine a lot of you are wondering.

Next update: November 13, 2010. We're back to the two week schedule again.

TTFN