Meeting the Families

Part 1

Goku and Bardock leaned against a tree as they watched the arrivals show up one by one. Neither father nor son knew WHY Radditz and Dayna were throwing a huge potluck barbaque blow-out (as Dayna so colorfully put it) but when it comes to Saiyans and their accute, chronic hunger, need for answers to questions can be overridden with need for promised food. And there was promise for much food here.

Besides, both Dayna and Radditz only repeated that they wanted everything to be a surprise.

"Ya know, I don't think I like surprises," Bardock mumbled to Goku as they watched Gohan and Videl exit an air car and put a bowl of fruit salad on a rented picnic table.

"Oh, come on. It can't be that bad," Goku replied as he waved a greeting to his oldest son.

"Oh, mark my words, surprises are never good."

"What, are you getting those funny future visions again?"

Bardock became silent. He was accually begining to worry about that. Since arriving on Earth, he hadn't had a single premonition. In a strange way he missed those out of the blue attacks of forsight. Though he hadn't had the ability for too long, he had become used to it.

"It doesn't matter," Goku said, hoping he hadn't said something wrong, "I'm sure whatever Radditz and Dayna have to say will turn out okay. I'M getting a feeling this time."

Bardock smiled and nodded his head.

"By the way, where ARE those two anyway? I don't think I even saw them arrive."

The scar faced man just closed his eyes and shrugged, "I'm sure they're around.........."

****

"Your family is arriving," Radditz said as he watched a group of people get out of an air car. He was peeping from a window of the Capsule Corps. building.

"Good. I was worried cause they like being late," Dayna said, carefully smoothing out her dress, "I already told you they were a bit odd."

"And I already told you that my family is odder than yours," Radditz said, whipping his tail mindlessly.

"You haven't MET my family," Dayna said.

"You haven't met MINE," Radditz countered.

"Okay then, lets go meet them right now!" she paused to rub her chin in thought, "Lets make a bet! Bet you'll think my family is wierder than yours!"

"You're on!" Radditz said, then paused, "But what are the stakes?"

Dayna carefully considered, "How about.........fifty dollars?"

"You know I don't have money," Radditz reminded, "I don't need it."

"Alright then! If I win, you have to get a job!"

"And if I win, you have to get a job!"

"Deal!"

"Deal!"

The two shook hands before heading out the door.

****

The couple wandered about the property, casting glances to various clusters of people. At the picnic table, where the food arriving with incoming people was just as quickly vanishing down the ever hungry Saiyan's gullet. At the grill, Krillian was frying burgers and hotdogs, flipping them expertly while the Saiyans that weren't gorging at the table hovered over him, waiting expectantly for the first slab of meat to finish cooking.

Radditz was about to go lean over the short warrior as well when he and Dayna were approached by a short, plump elderly woman. Her frizzled hair was over-permed and gray as sleat, flying off from all sides of her head in wild, speratic curls. She wore a hat that seemes nearly as big as she was, decorated with a multitude of plastic flowers. Her dress had an equally stunning number of flower arrangments on it, and she tightly held her hand-bag close to her bosom.

Radditz had to blink twice to realize that the brightly colored old bitty was accually real and not a figment of his imagination.

"Aunt Fanny!" Dayna cheered, wrapping her arms around the old woman's neck and squeezing.

Dear old Aunt Fanny's face lit up and she returned the hug with a smile, "Dayna dear! How have you been-who's he?" Suddenly her voice sounded not so happy.

Dayna sweated and said quickly, "Um.....Aunt Fanny, this is Radditz...........I told you about him, remember?"

The old woman leaned over and looked into the Saiyan's eyes, "Is he the one with the ingrown toe-nail? I don't think I like this one."

"No, Auntie, that was Robbie!"

"Bah, they're all the same, these men! Radish, Robin, all men are vicious, evil, coniving, compusive liars!"

Radditz was hard-put to not take offense.

"Auntie, his name is Radditz, not Radish. And why do you say that about men? Uncle Vernen left you a fortune!"

The old woman glared at the couple with beady eyes for a moment then said in a frightening, quiet tone, "Don't get cheeky, young lady."

"Yes'm. Sorry'm," Dayna said quickly and lowered her head.

"There we go! Now why don't you and Radish join me to go get something to eat!" and with that, the old woman waddled off, looking back once to make sure the couple was following her.

Dayna and Radditz exchanged glances as they followed.

Apon reaching the long stretch of food, Radditz and Dayna were forcefully shoved aside as Vegita dove in for the cole slaw.

"Move it, weaklings," the Prince said as he filled his plate.

Dayna glared at his rudeness while Aunt Fanny stopped picking over the salad and slowly turned around to face the shorter Saiyan.

"Don't speak to my niece like that!" The old woman's voice was creepily filled with authority. Radditz was scared, Vegita was not amused.

"What the hell do you know, old woman? I'm the Prince of Saiyans! Don't tell me what to do!"

Dayna gulped.

"You disgracefull ingrate! You infant!" Aunt Fanny's face turned red, "I aught to cut your dirty tounge out!"

And, true to her word, old Aunt Fanny whipped a gleaming hunting knife out of her hand bag.

"Aunt Fanny!!" Dayna yelped.

The old woman suddenly calmed down and turned heavy lidded eyes to Dayna, "I'm tired, Dayna dear. Take me back to the home."

And with that, the little old lady wandered off to her car, carefully putting her knife back into her bag and humming a tun from the Jolly Rogers.

"We've tried to take that knife from her, but she keeps hiding it........," Dayna said, as her and Radditz watcher the old woman leave.

"Insane human females and their violent tendencies.........," Vegita mumbled to himself.

****

After the fright with dear old aunt Fanny and the Saiyan Prince, Dayna and Radditz saught out the shelter of a tall apple tree, each with their respected plate of food. Dayna was still trying to figure out how the Saiyan managed to keep all the food on his plate.

"Hi, guys," they both turned as Gohan approached, "Have you seen Goten? I don't know where he is."

"Nope, off with Vegita's brat I imagine....," Radditz said, "Oh, hey. This is Dayna. Dayna, this is Kakarotto's brat Son Gohan. Say hello, kid."

"Um.....hi," Dayna considered, then asked, "Kakarotto's your brother, right? Then wouldn't that make him your nephew?"

"Uh...," Radditz considered.

"I don't exactly think of him as my uncle," Gohan said with a little smile.

"Oh?" Dayna asked, noting a silent message running between the two, "Why not?"

Gohan turned a questioning glance to Radditz, who just shrugged.

"Well.....," the demi-Saiyan said.

"Go ahead and tell her," Radditz said with a grin.

"Well, the whole kidnapping thing kinda puts a damper on the family names I suppose."

"Kidnapping?" Dayna asked.

"Yeah, when I was four Radditz kidnapped me."

"WHAT? WHY?"

"Cause Kakarotto didn't want to be a Saiyan," Radditz said simply as he shoveled a hand full of cole-slaw into his mouth.

"But.....he KIDNAPPED YOU?"

"Eeyep," the young man said as he thoughtfully chewed his food, "But I was kidnapped alot as a kid, so I suppose that didn't really affect me. I think it was the part where he tried to kill dad that we really just.....grew apart. *chew chew chew*"

Dayna blinked.

"YOU KIDNAPPED YOUR NEPHEW AND TRIED TO KILL YOUR BROTHER?!"

"He tried to kill me in the end.....," Gohan added quietely.

Dayna turned an absolutely baffled look to Radditz, "AND WHY?!"

Radditz shrugged and grinned rougishly, "Family issues."

"Mmhmm," Gohan said, swallowed and made his way back to the table for more food.

The couple stared at eachother, Radditz grinning and Dayna nearly hyper-ventilating.

"Hi, guys! Great party!" Goku said cheerfully as he came jogging up to them.

"Yeah, you can thank Dayna," Radditz said and looked off at the food table, "I think I'll go off for fifths. Kakarotto, stay here and entertain her while I'm gone."

"Kay!" Goku said, smiling.

"You're Kakarotto?" Dayna asked.

"Well.....actually I'm Son Goku. I hate being called Kakarotto."

"Yeah....but....you're Radditz's brother, right?"

"Yep!"

"AND YOUR BROTHER TRIED TO KILL YOU AND YOUR SON?!"

"Yeah.......," Goku backed afew feet away from the screaming woman, "But that was a long time ago. Lotsa people have tried to kill me and Gohan."

"Lots? Like who?"

"Umm....," Goku looked over her shoulder, "See that tall bald guy over there with the three eyes? He's tried to kill me.....and that guy over there with scars on his face. Lessee.....VEGITA really tried to kill us all.....and so did Nappa and Turles. Heck, all the Saiyan's I've ever met have. See that blonde woman next to the short guy? Yeah, her and her brother. Um...Piccolo isn't here but he-"

"AND YOU'RE OKAY WITH THIS?!"

"Yeah, that was a long time ago. Things are different. We don't try to kill eachother anymore......well, Vegita still keeps saying that he's gonna kill me some day, but that's just him blowing off steam."

"You're joking, right? Radditz paid you all to say this stuff, right?" Dayna was nearly in hysterics.

Goku chewed off a bite of a chicken leg, "I'm not joking. I guess you'd just have to have been there."

Dayna nodded her head and blinked her eyes in stunned silence.

To be continued.......................