Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Therapy ❯ Radditz ( Chapter 13 )

Disclaimer: In the many, many months since I last updated this fic, I failed to procure the rights to DBZ, Cartoon Network or even Codename: Kids Nextdoor. I have however, recently been granted the rights to myself. Yea!!! (Does the infamous Happy Dance.)

 

A/N: I know it has been forever since I updated this fic. Hopefully, I haven't lost all my reviewers. As promised, I wrote this fic, Gunlord. I hope you all really, really enjoy this one. So far, it is my favorite of my sessions.

 

If ever asked to tell what I consider one of my most bizarre and most touching sessions to date, I would be forced to tell about the time I met a very sweet warrior with a heart of gold, though no one would have ever believed that heart existed.

 

This session begins on a Saturday morning as I was watching Cartoon Network, eating a bowl of cereal and savoring a few moments alone in peace. During a commercial break from Codename: Kids Nextdoor, the telephone rang, and rang and…rang. Finally, I gave up all hope of my brothers answering and got up to answer it myself. On the other end, I heard a very loud, thundering voice with the most unusual accent say, “She answered! Now you can talk to her!”

 

I frowned. “If this is a prank call, I swear, I will call the police! I am not going to even begin to play with you! I am sick and tired of people calling me like this!”

 

“No,” came a deep reply. “This isn't a prank call. Could I speak with a Miss Mar?”

 

“Um…yeah. This is her speaking,” I replied. Somehow, the voice had caught my attention. He seemed nice enough, in a very strong kind of way. You know how you can sometimes get feelings about strangers when you talk to them on the phone? Well, that's how it was with this guy.

 

“Hi, my name is Radditz. We've never met before, but I've heard a lot about you and seen your work,” expunged the voice on the other end of the line, now known as Radditz.

 

“My work?” I questioned. What could he be talking about? Was it my writing, my therapy sessions or something completely different I was unaware of? If he has been looking at my paintings or drawings, I swear….

 

“Yes, your therapy sessions. I've seen how good you are and was encouraged to speak with you,” Mr. Radditz continued.

 

“So, you're wanting to set up an appointment?” I questioned.

 

“Yes,” came the decisive answer. Of course, I wanted to watch my show, so I quickly looked over my appointment book and jotted down a time and place to meet this guy at some place called Mount Five Elements and went back to my programming, not to think about my appointment again until the day had arrived.

 

Notebook in the seat beside me, I drove and drove what seemed like forever, following the directions Radditz had given me. Let me tell you, Frying Pan Plain goes on for what seems like forever. Thank goodness in recent years, a road was put in to help the spirits on their journeys to and from Otherworld.

 

As I neared my destination, I saw a large wall with a gigantic gate forming in the distance. Behind both of these was a mountain covered in fog. That must be my destination, Mount Five Elements. That's where Radditz was going to meet me, somewhere in the fog.

 

Nearing the gate, I noticed monsters three times larger than a man engraved on the gate. The gate itself must have been as tall as the Empire State Building! From under its shadow, I couldn't even see the mountain!

 

Slowing my car, preparing to stop at the gate, I noticed a person standing beside it. Parking my car beside the road, the old man approached me.

 

“Hello. Are you the therapist I'm supposed to be waiting for?” the older gentleman asked.

 

“Unless you're expecting more than one, that would be me,” I answered smartly.

 

“Oh goody! I can get back to Tajoro and the furnace,” he sighed happily. “Annin.”

 

I lifted a brow. “Um…okay. But how do I get through this gate?”

 

“That's easy!” Turning to the gate, the old man said some kind of incantation, and that gate slowly swung open. “Follow me!” He started down a twisting path with spikes on either side. Shrugging to myself, I simply followed.

 

“So, do you have a name or something?” I tried to make conversation as the man stood for a moment, apparently waiting on something.

 

“Oh, yes. My name is Gohan. Most people call me Grandpa Gohan,” Gohan said without sparing me a glance. “Now where is that danged carpet anyway?”

 

“Grandpa Gohan…” I mused to myself. Could this really be the man responsible for “rearing” Goku? And if so, would it break his heart to know how tremendously he had failed? “Well, my name is Mar.” I smiled brightly.

 

“Nice to meet you.” Gohan looked around for another moment before yelling, “Carpet!!! Get over here now!!! I don't have time for this!!!!”

 

To my amazement, a carpet flew down out of the sky. I have seen some odd things, a Namek and cabbit being two of the oddest, but this would definitely rank right up there with the flying nimbus.

 

“Well, come on,” Gohan climbed onto the carpet. Once I was on board, the carpet began sailing down the path between the spikes, barely about the path itself.

 

It wasn't long before we encountered a hole in the path with spikes below. Thankfully, the carpet continued soaring without a moment's hesitation, at least until we saw the samurai troops ahead.

 

Slamming on the breaks, the carpet almost threw me off, if it hadn't been for Gohan sitting in front of me, that is.

 

“No one shall pass,” the leader of the samurai warriors said in a deep, dead tone that made a shiver of goose bumps crawl down my spine. These guys were creepy!

 

“Don't worry about it guys. The girl's with me, and you know I'm dead. She has special permission from King Yemma to pass through here.” Gohan pulled out a piece of paper and showed it to the samurai.

 

After taking a moment to eye the paper, the samurai replied in a disappointed tone, “Alright then…You may pass.” And with that, they all faded away into thin air, leaving the path wide open for us to continue on our not-so-merry way.

 

“Who were those guys?” I questioned as we continued on our little journey.

 

“Oh, they're just here to protect the path from the living. The last thing we want around here are tourists.” Gohan laughed merrily.

 

Eventually, we came upon an entrance leading away from my destination, the top of the mountain. “Well, this is my stop,” Gohan said, climbing off the carpet. “I have to get back to the furnace and Tajoro. To get to your meeting, you will need to continue on the carpet. He knows where to go,” Gohan directed.

 

“Thank you. I appreciate your help. Do I need that paper or anything? I mean, what if there are more samurai ahead?” I questioned before he could leave. The last thing I wanted was to run into a battalion of armed samurai, all determined to kill me, and not have the necessary paperwork to make them back down.

 

“Well,” Gohan reached inside his pocket. “I don't think you'll need this, but I suppose it would be better to be safe than sorry.” He handed me the paper, which I promptly placed inside Radditz's spiral for the session. This was turning out to be the most work I had ever done to help someone. I couldn't help wondering if maybe I was under charging. I would definitely have to think about upping my rates.

 

“It should be pretty easy from here. Take care of yourself,” Gohan said, wishing me a fond farewell.

 

“Same to you, Gohan. And I'll be sure to tell the family you said hi.” I grinned widely as I nudged the carpet on down the path, leaving a very confused Gohan behind.

 

After we left Gohan's exit, the path became an uphill one. Needless to say, I was exceedingly glad I did not have to walk this part of the path. Thank you for the carpet, Gohan!

 

The higher we got, the thicker the fog became until I could barely see my hand in front of my face. All around were softly whispered voices and I had the distinct feeling I was most definitely not alone. Shivering, I had huddled down on the carpet with my arms around myself. The sooner I got to Radditz, the better.

 

At the top of Mount Five Elements the air began warming as the fog thinned, revealing a Japanese style building at the top and a large, wild-haired man wearing a halo sitting on the steps. As I approached, the man stood and walked over to greet me, going so far as to offer me a hand off the carpet.

 

“You know, you're the first living person I've seen in years,” the guy chuckled. “The name's Radditz.”

 

“Hi, it's nice to finally meet you. It's been a rather…interesting journey to get here. I…um…what's up with the halo?” I questioned, staring at the golden ring around my next project's head. As rude as it was to ask such a question so straight forwardly, I knew if I didn't ask now, I would spend the entire session staring instead of listening, rendering my services completely useless.

 

Radditz laughed lightly. “Well, I am dead. Piccolo killed me. So, I got a halo and placement in the Home For Infinite Losers.”

 

“Alright,” I nodded. “So, you called me here for a therapy session, correct?”

 

“That's right,” Radditz smiled. “And I really appreciate you coming all this way. I know it wasn't an easy journey. Trust me, you will be compensated. King Yemma said he would pay whatever the price to get me fixed. Something to the effect that I was making HFIL even more depressing or something.” He shrugged lightly.

 

“Well, I guess we could get started.” I pulled out my notebook and sat down on the steps with Radditz. “So, why exactly was I contacted?”

 

“Well, I guess you could say I'm having difficulty wrestling with a foreign emotion. The word I've heard used to describe it is…guilt,” Radditz confided.

 

I lifted a brow. “Guilt?” I wrote that in my notebook and put a question mark with it. “Guilt over what?”

 

“Well,” Radditz began, looking at his feet. “I guess it has to do with how I died. The day I met my brother….”

 

I nodded. “Alright. So, what exactly about that day do you have regrets about?”

 

“I guess with the way everything turned out.” Radditz's brow was furrowed in thought.

 

“Okay. That is certainly a start. Now, why don't you try being a little more specific? Try telling me about what happened in your own words. If you come to a part that you regret, we can talk about that particular part. Sound like a plan to you?” I laid down the foundation for the rest of our time together.

 

“Sounds like a plan to me.” Radditz finally looked at me again.

 

“Well, it took years of digging, but I had finally found my younger brother, Kakarot. When I discovered he had landed on Earth, I made sure to destroy all the evidence so Frieza could never find him, including all those present, and after a long talk with Vegeta, I received permission to travel to Earth in search of my brother.

 

“When I arrived, I intended to get Kakarot off the planet. I knew his programming wasn't working by the fact that the planet still existed and he wasn't on a random rampage throughout the galaxy. I wanted to know why. I wanted to…well, I wanted to see if there was some way to reverse our killing program, and…” Radditz sighed longly, “get to know…him.

 

“That fool Piccolo got in the way for a few moments, as did several humans. Honestly, I didn't want Kakarot to think I was weak, just in case there was a part of his programming still intact, he is a Saiyan after all,” Radditz paused for a moment.

 

“Let me get this straight. You came to Earth so you could `get to know' your brother? You didn't come here to kill everyone? That's the usual reason. That's what I was told was your reasoning,” I had to add.

 

“Yes, I did come here to meet Kakarot,” Radditz agreed, “and to see if whatever made him so special could help Vegeta, Napa and myself free ourselves from Frieza`s hold.”

 

“And what about when you kidnapped Gohan? That doesn't exactly scream `I miss and want to get to know you',” I questioned.

 

“That,” Radditz sighed. “That was a rash move. I was trying to convince Kakarot to join me, leave with me. I wanted to protect him. I was even willing to help hide his family, even though I would have to do so without Vegeta's knowledge. When Kakarot refused to come with me, I did the only thing I could think to get him on my side; I took his bratty little son.

 

“I didn't mean for things get so serious. I never intended for anyone to get hurt, much less die. I guess that's what I'm feeling this `guilt' over,” Radditz began working on his breakthrough.

 

“I guess it's understandable that you would feel regret over that. It was a horrible thing to do: to kidnap someone's child. I would feel regret over that too.” Radditz nodded at my words. “It was a horrible thing to do. But,” Radditz perked up as I continued, hoping for a positive twist, “the fact that you feel regret is a major step forward. It means you're not heartless, close but not quite. It also means you have the ability to change and to better yourself.”

 

“What should I do? I can't go back and change the past, even though I would give anything to do that,” Radditz sincerely wanted help. This was amazing! Who knew villains had hearts?! Heck, most of my “good” patients didn't actually want help!

 

“As much as I hate to say it, there isn't anything you can do to change it,” I continued. “What's done is done. It's in the past; over. The only thing you can do is try to get your brother an apology. And you have to stop living in the past. So, instead of driving yourself crazy with regret over the past, focus on the future. Make the person you are better. Who knows, maybe one day you'll be given a chance to earn a spot out of the HFIL, through some selfless act while facing an immeasurable threat.”

 

Radditz nodded. “I…I guess you're right. I guess I can do that. I can work on improving myself so that if I ever see Kakarot, we can spend time together, get that closeness I came to Earth looking for.”

 

“That's the spirit!” I smiled brightly, glad my advice had hit home.

 

Smiling, Radditz looked into my eyes, his obsidian orbs large and begging. “You have done so much for me already, but I have one more request to make.” The puppy eyes kicked up a notch.

 

I found myself a little afraid. “Um…what is it?”

 

“Could you please give Goku that message?” Radditz nearly begged out-right.

 

“I suppose I could,” I gave Radditz an odd look. “Why do you need me to?”

 

“Well, good warriors can get their messages to the living through a Kai. Most spirits can get messages across by visiting on the date of their death or another special occasion. I'm not allowed to leave. I'm considered too big of a threat. I need an intermediary. Please, take my message.” Radditz still had a begging look in his eyes.

 

I looked Radditz up and down for a moment before nodding. “Sure, I'll take a message. What do you want me to tell him?”

 

Radditz smiled brightly. “Thank you. I just want him to know this isn't how I intended things to go and while I know it's asking far too much, I only hope one day he can forgive me. I would really like to spend time and get to know him one day. That's all,” he ended.

 

Returning his smile, I nodded. “Alright. I think I can handle that.” I jotted the idea down in the notebook so I could remember to tell Goku the next time I spoke with him. Chi-Chi was not going to be pleased.

 

“Well, I'll be right back with your money,” Radditz smiled as he stood and offering me his hand, helped me to my feet before turning and entering the building behind us.

 

“I'll just wait right here.” I walked over to inspect my flying rug more thoroughly.

 

A few moments later Radditz returned. “Here's your fee.” He handed me a check that would cover everything I had gone through. I was quite pleased. “King Yemma added a little extra in thanks. He sends his deepest gratitude.”

 

“It's no big deal. That's my job. It's what I do,” I smiled back at him. “Tell King Yemma he's more than welcome. I also hope this helps you. Good luck with turning over a new leaf.”

 

Radditz nodded. “Alright. Thank you. I…well, have a nice ride back.”

 

It was my turn to nod before Radditz offered me his help getting back on my rug. “No offense, but hopefully I won't be back. But if you ever do need me, you know how to get in touch with me.”

 

“I do,” Radditz nodded with a pleasant smile. “Good-bye.”

 

“Good-bye.” And then I left for a pleasant ride back home to write the results of my session in Radditz`s book, give Goku his message and grab a bite to eat before going to bed. By the way, did I ever give Goku that message? Well, let me think…um…well. Crap! I knew there was something I was forgetting! Catch ya'll later!

 

A/N: So? (presses ear to computer screen then frowns) Well, that's not working. (scratches head Son-style) I wonder….(clicks link to reviews) Ah-ha! That's what you had to say!!!! (Hint, hint, hint!)

 

Coming soon! Launch!!!!