Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Truth Hurts More ❯ Bardock Alive?!? ( Chapter 9 )

LES: (hums Twilight Zone Theme) Didn't I say many chapters ago that I wanted to add an intriguing minor character into the fic? Well, tada! At first, I was going to give Bardock a `he's-dead-but-still-important' role. But then I thought “To hell with this” and made him alive. Bardock does intrigue me. He's the one character who can't even figure out who he is.

Funimation Bardock: I'm a Low-Class Saiyan who happens to be the father of the main character. But I'm actually horribly insignificant.

Ocean Dub Bardock: I am a brilliant scientist!

Special Bardock: I'm a psychic!

LES: I'm going to go with #3, cause #1 is boring and #2 is… well… retarded. And I don't know the Japanese or manga version of Bardock, cause I've never watched the series is Japanese, and I've never read the manga. But that's gonna change soon. (Just ordered DB Manga Vol. 1 from Amazon)

Muse: You've never read the manga?!? And you call yourself a fan!

LES: I HAVE read the manga a little. It's just that I was had to read what my old High School library had, and they didn't have the whole series. They only have the start of Dragon Ball Z, and defiantly not the whole series. But now that I have a job, I can afford to buy all the manga I want.

Muse: Loser.

 

Chapter IX: Bardock Alive?!?

 

Vegeta stared at the Saiyan in shock, having recognized his name almost instantly. Back before planet Vegeta had blown up; Bardock had been a joke among the Elites. He was famous for overstepping his boundaries and acting like an Elite when he really was a Low-Class Saiyan Warrior. He pushed the power of Saiyan recovery to its limits, coming back from his missions half-dead and growing stronger because of it.

Vegeta knew a bit about Bardock because of the time he spent with his eldest son, Radditz. Radditz did not speak about his father too often because they had become estranged. Vegeta didn't blame him because it was common practice. Radditz was a First-Class Warrior born into a Low-Class family, and those in similar situations often distanced themselves from their families.

But, more importantly, Vegeta knew Bardock's youngest son quite well. It was none other than Kakarot, the thorn-in-his-side.

But, from what he heard, Bardock had been killed when Freeza destroyed their home planet. How was it possible that he was alive?

“My Lord Prince, are you going to continue staring at me? I require medical attention.” Bardock, or the one who claimed to be Bardock, spoke.

“Of course. Namek, get over here and help.” Vegeta called, using the outer controls to shut the pod and turn the life-support system back on.

“Wouldn't it be easier to carry him without the pod?” Piccolo asked, floating down into the crater to help.

Vegeta began to picked up the whole pod and Piccolo helped him. “He's pretty beaten up, and Saiyan Space Pods come with a built-in life-support system. It will keep him alive until we get back to the woman. If we tried to carry him, he'd die before we got there.”

As they began to fly back to Capsule Corp, carrying the pod between them, Piccolo began to focus on darker thoughts. Saiyans are a very resilient race. I've seen Goku and Vegeta shrug off injuries that would kill a human. He recalled the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai when he blasted Goku through the chest. Goku had managed to get back up on his feet, laugh, and taunt him that he had missed all of his vital organs. Still, vital organs or not, a human would not be able to stand after an attack like that. I'd hate to meet the being who could mess up a Saiyan this good.

And then there was Vegeta's thoughtful silence to consider. In the time he had known the Saiyan Prince, he had never thought of him as the `thoughtful' type. “Hey, Vegeta, do you know this Saiyan?” Piccolo asked.

“By reputation, but not personally.” Vegeta said, and then he quickly explained to Piccolo the reputation the Bardock had on planet Vegeta.

“So, he's a Low-Class Warrior who takes on challenges bigger than himself? Sounds like Goku.” Piccolo laughed.

You have no idea. “There's another thing. You've killed both of his sons.” Vegeta said.

“But… the only Saiyans I've ever killed were Radditz and…” Piccolo trailed off. “Is it possible?”

“It's possible that he's lying about who he is.” Vegeta said. “But, I did notice a familiarity about him. If his story is true, then he is Kakarot's father.”

Piccolo fell silent for a few seconds. “Goku's father?”

“That's what I just said.” Vegeta said.

“Should I go get Goku?” Piccolo asked.

“No.” Vegeta said. “Take my advice. As a Saiyan, it is hard to get used to Kakarot's… unique personality. If I were in his position, meeting Kakarot without any warning as to his oddity would be distressing. We need to prepare him first.”

Piccolo shrugged. “I guess I'll have to trust you, Vegeta. I don't know much about father/son relationships, since I never knew my own father.”

“You're damn right.” Vegeta growled, and then he grew silent. Damnit, this is just what I need!

~~~~~~~~~~

Vegeta and Piccolo made it back to Capsule Corporation within a few minutes.

“So, what now?” Piccolo asked.

“We get him healed.” Vegeta said simply. “A Saiyan recovery pod would be able to fix all this within a few hours, but humans don't have that sort of technology, and I don't know how to make one. So, I'd say those bean things would be our best bet.”

“Will it work?” Piccolo asked. “Even the Sensu beans have a limit. If these wounds are more than a few days old, the Sensu beans will do nothing.” He trailed off thoughtfully. “What about Dende?”

Vegeta almost slapped himself on the forehead. Of course! That Namekian runt has healing powers! “Fine, Namek. The Sensu beans will be a last resort. A bean might not restore him completely, but might save his life. Can you go get the runt, Namek?”

“All ready done.” Piccolo said. “You forget that Dende is Earth's Guardian now, and as such, is able to read the minds of any that call to him.”

“Oh yeah.”

They did not have to wait long. Dende, Earth's Namekian Guardian, appeared in a flash of golden light. Ne was a young Namekian, a teenager by most standards, but he was all ready wise beyond his years. “Hello, Piccolo. Good morning, Vegeta. What seems to be the problem?”

“Do you think it would be possible to heal the Saiyan in this pod?” Piccolo asked, pointing to the pod in question.

Dende took a glance at the pod. His expression changed from curiosity to confusion. “Are you sure that's a Saiyan in there?”

“What? Of course I'm sure! Do you think that I wouldn't recognize a member of my own race?” Vegeta demanded.

“I'm not questioning you, Vegeta. Of course you'd be able to tell the difference between Saiyans and other races. I'm simply trying to say that I've never encountered a Saiyan whose mind worked like this. An enormous amount of his power is being redirected to a certain portion of his mind that Saiyans on most cases never use.”

“Even Kakarot?”

“Goku?” Dende clarified. “No, even Goku's brain is more Saiyan than this. On a fundamental level, Goku is just as Saiyan as you are. His love of battle, his drive to get stronger, and genius battle techniques are proof that his brain works just like a Saiyan's. But this one's brain is different. The drive to battle and to be stronger are still there… but it's not nearly as important anymore.”

“We can clarify all this when he's healed.” Piccolo said. “Can you do it?”

Dende considered. “Like most Saiyans, this one did many terrible things in Freeza's name.” The young Guardian paused. “But I also sense a deep remorse within him. It should work. Bring him out of the pod, please.”

Vegeta opened the pod and Piccolo pulled the wounded Warrior out.

Dende knelt before him, hands held out over him. Both he and the one who called himself Bardock began to glow as the healing began. The worst wounds sealed themselves first, followed by layer upon layer of scar tissue.

As the Warrior's original appearance returned, both Piccolo and Vegeta's jaws dropped.

Dende finished the healing and looked up at the other two. “Is there something you didn't tell me about this Saiyan?”

Before them lay a mirror image of Goku.

Vegeta turned away. There seemed to be no doubt. So far, it seemed that this Saiyan was exactly who he claimed to be: Bardock, a joke among Elites and father of Kakarot.

“The resemblance is too strong to be a coincidence.” Piccolo commented. “This Saiyan really is Goku's biological father.”

“Really?” Dende gasped. “As in his actual father? But he looks so young! He should be at least sixty!”

“Actually, he closer to eighty.” Vegeta said. “Radditz once mentioned in passing that his father was nineteen when he was born, and Kakarot wasn't born until Radditz was fully grown. He'll be youthful for several more decades.”

“His age is irrelevant.” Piccolo said. “The real question is what are we going to do now?”

Vegeta shrugged. “The woman's place is big enough.”

“Good. But what are we going to do about Goku? I'm sure that he's all ready sensed that a Saiyan is on Earth.” Piccolo said. “I'm surprised that he's not here all ready.”

“Well, the better for us.” Vegeta said. “We should try to get everyone up to speed as soon as possible. But we'll have to keep Kakarot out of this as long as possible. Hey, Namekian brat, can you make him stay asleep until we figure all this out?”

“Sure, Vegeta.” Dende said, nodding.

“Gohan's on his way.” Piccolo said suddenly.

“What?!? That brat shouldn't even be able to move!” Vegeta growled. “Namek, you head him off!”

Piccolo took off instantly, heading towards Gohan's Ki.

Piccolo instantly knew that something was wrong with Gohan. First of all, Vegeta had said that he shouldn't be able to move. Secondly, Gohan wasn't at school. And third, Gohan was hovering just above the ground, winching painfully.

The teenager looked up. “Oh, hello, Piccolo.”

“What happened, Gohan? Did something attack you?” Piccolo asked.

“Yeah, a classmate.” Gohan said. “My tail grew back on the last full moon, and a classmate saw it and stepped on it. Broke my tail. So, did you see it, Piccolo? Is it a Saiyan?”

“Vegeta and I have it handled.” Piccolo said calmly. “You should go rest. I remember how sensitive your Saiyan tails can be.”

“Are you sure? The Saiyan's power level took a jump a while ago.”

“It's still not a threat.” Piccolo said. “And we still haven't decided if this Saiyan is a threat at all.”

“Okay, Piccolo. I trust your judgment.” Gohan said.

Piccolo let a rare smile appear on his face. Well, damn it all if he didn't have a bit of a soft spot for the young demi-Saiyan. He had watched Gohan grow up from a cry-baby four-year old who was afraid of everything including his own shadow into a promising young Warrior.

“Don't worry about me and Vegeta. We can handle this.” Piccolo said.

“I'm not worried about you two so much as I'm worried about the Saiyan if he gets on your bad side.” Gohan chuckled, and he began to float back to his room.

Piccolo instantly headed back to Vegeta and saw that he had coerced Dende into carrying Bardock with his powers into the Capsule Corp. building.

“You know, you could have carried him just as easily.” Piccolo pointed out, landing next to Vegeta.

“What for? He can do it too, and I'm the Prince of all Saiyans.” Vegeta said.

“Damnit, give him to me, Dende!” Piccolo grabbed the Saiyan and threw him over his shoulder. Together, they went inside the building.

They took him to an unoccupied room, nearly being way-laid by Trunks along the way.

“Hey, Father! Who's that? Kinda looks like Gohan and Goten's dad! Who is it? Is he a Saiyan? I thought you said all the Saiyans were dead…”

“Damnit, Trunks! Go away!” Vegeta roared, kicking his son out of the way.

Trunks, thanks to the hard head that he inherited from his father, was mostly unharmed. But he still clutched his stomach, where his father had kicked him, and his head, which had hit the wall on impact. “Ow! Fine! Be that way!” He stalked off for a phone, a newer model of his mother's that allowed the users to both talk and see each other at the same time. It was still in beta, so only Bulma and their friends had one; which included the Sons. He quickly dialed Goten's number and waited.

Chi-Chi answered. “Oh, hello, Trunks. Let me guess, you want to talk to Goten?”

“Yeah. Can you put him on?” Trunks asked.

“Yes, I can. Wait a moment; I think he's outside training with Goku.” Chi-Chi moved away from the phone, calling her youngest son. “Goten! GOTEN! Trunks is on the phone!”

Trunks only had to wait a few moments before Goten appeared on the screen. “Hey, Trunks! How're you?”

“Listen, Goten.” Trunks began seriously. “My Father just brought some guy to my house, but he looked a lot like your dad.”

“Huh? Really?” Goten asked.

“Yeah. He's tanner than your dad, and he has a big ol' scar on his face, but other than that, they look alike.”

“Really? Daddy! Hey, Daddy! Trunks said there's someone at his house who looks like you!” Goten yelled, causing Trunks to wince.

Goku came into the house. “What was that, Goten?”

“Trunks said there's someone at his house that looks like you.” Goten repeated. “Do you have a twin, Daddy?”

“No.” Goku said. “Someone who looked like me, huh? Could this have something to do with the Saiyan energy I'm picking up? How much did he look like me, Trunks?”

“Just like you except he had a darker tan and a scar on his face.” Trunks answered.

Maybe Gohan knows something about this. Goku thought to himself. “Okay, I'm going to see Gohan…”

“What? Did you say you're going to see Gohan, Goku?” Chi-Chi called from the kitchen. Trunks quickly hung up, sensing the Chi-Chi was going to have one of her crazy fits like when she pressured Gohan about giving her grandkids.

Goku flinched, sensing the same thing. Unfortunately, he couldn't just `hang up'. “Um… yes.”

“Good. Then you can take him his homework for the week.” Chi-Chi said, carrying a massive stack of books that she could barely carry. She dumped the stack in her husband's arms, and they nearly fell all over the floor before he regained his balance.

“This… is one week's worth of homework?” Goku asked in shock.

“Of course.” Chi-Chi said. “Now, go, quickly!”

“I'm going!” Goku assured her and Instant Transmissioned away.

~~~~~~~~~~~

“Okay, wake him up, Dende.” Vegeta ordered once they got the Saiyan to a private room.

Dende nodded and released Bardock from his powers, allowing him to wake up.

The Saiyan Warrior slowly came to, his eyes still closed. He probably still thought he was half-blind. “What… what happened? Where am I now?”

“We brought you to my residence on Earth, and we healed you… almost completely.” Vegeta answered.

“I can feel it. My body works again.” Bardock paused. “And my mind too. My thanks to you, Dende, Guardian of Earth.”

The silence in the room was stifling. How did Bardock know about Dende? “How do you know about that Namekian brat?” Vegeta demanded. “You haven't even seen him yet, let alone heard us talking about him!”

“I know a lot of things.” Bardock said. “Now that my mind is clear, I can see again. I know that my son Radditz is dead, and the silent Namekian over there was the one who killed him. I know that you're trying to hide the fact that my youngest son, Kakarot, is alive and on this planet.” Vegeta stared in shock. “I knew about my son's `oddity', as you put it, long before you ever did. I know that you and my son are the only full Saiyans on this planet and that you have one half-breed son… and your mate is pregnant with another half-breed. And my son has two half-breed sons named Gohan and Goten who…”

“Hold on!” Vegeta began. “You might have heard up talking about some of that stuff, but we've never talked about our mates or children!” Vegeta grabbed the front of Bardock's armor violently. “How the hell do you know all that?!?”

Bardock finally opened his eyes. His eyes were just like Kakarot's too. “Ever hear about the planet Kanassa?”

“A little.” Vegeta said. “It was one of Freeza's conquests. Living there was supposed to give you physic powers. Freeza lived there for several months and he gained nothing. A foolish fairytale.”

“Freeza was the foolish one. Is was the people of Kanassa that granted physic powers, not the land.”

Everyone in the room stared at him. “Did you gain those physic powers?” Piccolo asked. It would certainly explain why the Warrior knew so much about them.

“The Kanassans meant it as a curse… revenge on me for destroying their people. They had foreseen their destruction, and wished for me to foresee the destruction of my own planet.” Bardock said. “It worked. I learned that, even with forewarning, I could not change the fate of planet Vegeta. Freeza destroyed it, just as I foresaw.”

“So… to get all this information, you read my mind?” Vegeta asked.

“Mostly. When I first gained my powers, I saw glimpses of my son's future, and I saw how different he would be from other Saiyans. But I also foresaw how strong he would become.” Bardock smirked. “My son… defeated Freeza, so I am proud of him.”

Both Piccolo and Vegeta flinched at the same time, because they suddenly felt Goku's energy with Gohan. “Goku is here. I guess he finally decided to come investigate the Saiyan energy.”

“Go get him.” Vegeta said. “But tell him about this first.” Piccolo nodded and left.

“My son?” Bardock asked.

“He's here now.” Vegeta commented. “The Namek went to get him.”

Bardock stood up and began to stretch. It irked Vegeta to see that, just like Kakarot, Bardock was taller than him. He seemed to be testing out his newly renewed body. “I know you don't really care about what I have to say, but my son was born with a Power Level of two. No one thought he would amount to anything… doomed to obscurity in the Saiyan army. Even I thought this. But… my son, Kakarot, my Low-Class son… a Super Saiyan!”

“I'm a Super Saiyan too.” Vegeta said.

“I know. But Kakarot achieved the state first and he's my son, so forgive an old Warrior for favoring his son.”

Vegeta grunted. He'd probably feel the same way about Trunks were he in his place.

 

LES: I'm going to go ahead and end it there. I know I promised to reveal how Bardock survived in this chapter, but it was getting too long. Next chapter, though. I promise.