Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Wish For The Past ❯ Rise and Fall of Emperor Pilaf ( Chapter 61 )

Disclaimer: I own a couple of acorns and some oak leaves that I had to use as models for my piece of commissioned art. Other than that, I own nothing. -_-; That includes DBZ! *sniffles* Waah!!

Bardock pulled the scouter away from his face, folded it, and tucked it into a pocket, then turned to face the two boys from the future. Kneeling down in front of them, he pulled Goten and Trunks into a tight hug, knowing that this was the last time he would see either of them, unless they met in the after life, or if he happened to live long enough in this timeline to see them born here. But that would not happen for many years, and they would not be the same as the two chibis he now held in his arms. Circumstances and people in this timeline would not be the same as with the other timeline, and so would breed different people, even if they looked the same. Unless time travel was used, he would never see these two again, something that made him profoundly sad.

Whispering something to the two boys that, for some reason, he couldn't hear, he released them and stood up, waiting patiently as Goten and Trunks spoke wordlessly to Goku, Vegeta, Radditz, and Bulma, in some cases exchanging hugs, then walked over to stand in front of the seven glowing dragonballs that lay on the ground. Bardock watched in awe as, responding to the unheard words that emerged from Trunks's mouth, an enormous, serpentine figure emerged and spoke to them. Trunks spoke again and the dragon replied, its red eyes glowing brightly for a moment.

Realizing that the moment of parting was at hand, Bardock called out one last thing even as his grandson and the child's best friend disappeared in a flash of light. Then the dragon was gone, too, the seven balls shooting out into the heavens to lay scattered and dormant upon the earth for another year.

The scene shifted, the beautiful scenery being replaced by scorched rubble, blasted trees, and blood. Radditz's blood. And Radditz's body. But that was not what held Bardock's attention. What held his attention was worse, far worse, than the broken and torn remains of his eldest son, as gruesome as his death had been. As terrible as it had been, it was over now and had been replaced by the brutal torture of his youngest son. Goku's screams, inexplicably inaudible despite Bardock's proximity to the boy, still managed to rend the air and echo in his ears and heart. He struggled to reach his son, to do something, anything to protect him from his attacker...

But he could not. Something he could not see restrained Bardock and held him in his place as surely as if he had been embedded in stone. All he could do was watch in helpless horror as the young boy's life was torn from his small body, tears of grief and anger sliding down his face uninhibited. In only a few minutes - a few minutes that seemed to last a lifetime - Goku lay on the ground in a puddle of his own blood, unmoving and indisputably dead.

Dead.

Both of his sons... were dead.

A very audible groan grated out from Bardock's parched throat, his mind battling for consciousness and slowly winning. His head pounded with the aftereffects of... whatever it was that had knocked him out in the first place and he shook his head in an effort to clear it. Cracking his eyes open, he blinked a few times in order to get his eyes to focus on his surroundings, which was when he realized that he was no longer inside the capsule house, nor anywhere else he recognized for that matter. One last blink, and the details of the room finally came into focus...

...and then promptly disappeared.

Bardock pulled the scouter away from his face, folded it, and tucked it into a pocket, then turned to face his youngest son. Kneeling down in front of him, he pulled Goku into a fierce hug, knowing that this was the last time he would see him, not unless time travel was used. Yes, he might meet another form of his son, but he would not be the same person as the child he now held in his arms. Grief tugged at his heart, and the silent words he spoke to his son were choked with emotion, emotion that only became greater when the seven year old Saiyan hugged him back and responded with words of his own. It was perhaps one of the hardest things Bardock had ever done to release the son he had known for only a short time, the son he would not have the opportunity to know better. But it was time to let go and say good-bye.

The dragon was summoned, its great scaly body filling the blackened sky, rumbling words that could not be heard. Tears were in Bardock's eyes, even as he stoically lifted his head and spoke the words that made the world swirl around him, solidifying into a world that was recognizably Earth, and yet was not the same place he had just been. Taking a shuddering breath, he looked to the place where he had just seen his son, and found no one. The wish had come true, and now he had abandoned Goku for the second time in his life.

Shift.

A young man with familiar, spiky black hair, dressed in a white tuxedo stood with a black haired young woman in a lacy white dress, and many people crowded around them. The man, barely an adult, wore a puzzled but vaguely happy look on his face, while the woman was positively beaming, hanging from the man's arm as she responded to the well wishes of the people around them.

Despite the odd clothing and the unfamiliar faces of the crowd, Bardock recognized the young man to be his son, no longer a child, though he had no idea who the woman might be. Bardock studied Goku intently, ignoring the crowd that seemed to be able to pass through him as though he was a ghost. Beyond letting him know that this was a vision, and that he was not physically present in the event that was unfolding before him, they were unimportant. The only thing that mattered right now was his son.

As quickly as the vision had begun, everything faded away, shifting and changing to display a new scene. Goku and the woman were still present, though dressed in less formal clothing, but everyone else was gone - everyone else, that is, except for the small baby that Goku held in his arms. The baby reached up to pull a small cap with an orange ball sewn on it off his head, revealing a mess of spiky black hair, and Bardock could see that the child had a fuzzy tail peeping out from the clothing he had been bundled into. Was this Goku's son? From the way the man smiled at the child, and how the woman looked at the two, Bardock guessed that he must be their child.

Bardock watched as the happy family - he guessed the woman must be Goku's mate - talked and played with the baby, sitting out on the lawn in front of a small domed building settled in the middle of a vast mountain forest. Goten had mentioned that he had an older brother - Go-something, Bardock couldn't remember - and since there wasn't any sign of another child anywhere, Bardock guessed that the baby in Goku's arms must be Goten's brother. Goten had failed to mention just how much older than him his brother was, so Bardock had no idea how long it would be before Goten joined this family.

Curious about this grandson of his, Bardock stepped forward and peered down at him. He was perhaps a few months old, and yet his large black eyes showed intelligence and curiosity as he chewed on the brim of his hat. Those same eyes blinked and turned in Bardock's direction, and the baby laughed suddenly, silently. One hand freed itself from the cap he was clutching and extended in Bardock's direction, as though the boy were trying to touch the man he saw. With startled realization, the thought suddenly crossed his mind that this baby could see him! But how?! This was a vision, so how could Bardock be seen when he wasn't actually present?

The baby continued to wave his arm in Bardock's direction, and the Saiyan turned around to see what was behind him. A mixture of relief and disappointment filled him when he saw a couple of squirrels scampering up and down a nut tree of some kind. Testing his theory, he stepped aside and watched his grandson's reaction, to see whether it was the frolicking Earth animals or Bardock himself that was attracting the child's attention.

The baby's gaze remained steady, his toothless smile not wavering, and continued to follow the squirrels' movements. Smiling ruefully, Bardock shook his head at his incorrect assumptions. No, the child had only been responding to the fuzzy tailed creatures, not his grandfather. He returned to his scrutiny of the small family, feeling a vague twinge of envy at how close they were. He wondered what it would have been like if his family had been like this, loving and affectionate... and not afraid to show it to each other.

With a sigh, Bardock shook his head and dismissed the idle speculation. There was no use wishing for things that could not be changed, and would in fact only lead him to become unhappy with the way things used to be. All he could do was try to learn from his mistakes and hope that he didn't repeat them in the future.

The world, including Goku and his family, faded into a bright white light, and the vision ended.

Setting the air car not-quite-gently down in front of the capsule house, Bulma was not immediately aware that anything was wrong, other than the odd stillness and silence that seemed to pervade the area. Being the city girl that she was, this did not immediately register in her conscious brain, but she still felt a vague, unidentifiable sense of unease as she stepped out of the car. She checked to make sure that she had all of the capsules of food that she'd just bought, then turned and leaned over the edge of the car, intent on waking the two boys sleeping in the back seats. Much to her surprise, Goten was already awake and sitting up, clutching a teddy bear she hadn't seen before tightly to his chest. Tears glistened on his cheeks and he sniffled softly in an effort to prevent a visibly runny nose, resting his chin on the bear's head with his eyes closed.

"Goten?" asked Bulma, puzzled and concerned at the same time. "Goten, what's wrong?"

Sniffling noisily, Goten ran the back of his hand across his eyes to wipe away the tears and looked up at the blue haired girl with eyes that were wide and still shining with unshed tears. "I had a bad dream," he whimpered, squeezing the bear a little more tightly. "Uncle Radditz died and someone was hurting Goku, and... and..." He sobbed once, his small body shaking with barely suppressed emotion. "And then he killed Goku!" Rubbing his nose against his sleeve, Goten made a visible effort to calm down before going on. "There was more, but it wasn't sad stuff. I saw my daddy - my grown up daddy, not Goku - and mommy wearing funny clothes, and then he and mommy were holding a baby. And there was some parts with grandpa, too, and one was sad 'cause I had to say good-bye to him, but it wasn't... it wasn't as bad as that other one."

"Hey, don't cry. It was only a dream, Goten. It wasn't real," Bulma comforted him, opening the car door so she could sit down next to him and give him a quick hug. "You know what? Your grandpa probably has lunch all ready by now! I bet having a full stomach would make you feel better, right? And..." Grinning, the young genius got back out of the car and patted her pocket where she had a case of capsules. "I just went shopping, remember, so it won't just be fish this time! Come on, wake Trunks up and let's go have some lunch!"

The reassuring words and the mention of food were enough to bring a smile to Goten's face, and he laughed a little as he raised a hand to wipe away the last traces of his tears. "H-hai, Bulma-san," he said. "Thank you." Feeling a lot better about the whole thing, the little boy leaned over and began to shake his best friend awake. "Trunks! Hey, Trunks! Wake up! We're home, and we get to eat lunch now!"

"Huh? Wha...?" yawned a groggy purple haired demi Saiyan, who rubbed his eyes as he sat up and blinked sleepily at the younger boy. "We're home?"

"Yup! And Bulma says my grandpa's probably done making lunch, an' she said we get to eat some of the stuff she bought, too! Come on, Trunks!!" Grabbing hold of the other boy's arm, Goten started physically dragging Trunks out of the car and toward to capsule house, all thoughts of bad dreams banished by the promise of a good meal.

"Okay, okay, I'm awake! You don't have to drag me there, you know," Trunks grumbled as he pulled his arm free of the other boy's grip, stifling another yawn. In reality, he was just as eager as Goten to go inside and eat, but he felt that is was his personal duty as the son of Vegeta not to act too enthusiastic about something as ordinary as lunch. Nonetheless, there was a noticeable quickening of his pace as he, Goten, and Bulma approached the door to the capsule house, none of them even noticing the motionless forms of several small animals - birds, squirrels, mice, etc. - lying scattered around the clearing where they had been knocked unconscious by the Thing. No, until they actually opened the door, none of them had any inkling that something was wrong.

And then it was all too obvious.

Once again, the details of the unfamiliar room slowly blurred in and out of focus until, at last, Bardock's vision was clear and he was able to get a good look at his surroundings. Still feeling like his head was swimming, the Saiyan sat up and shook his head in an effort to clear it, with partial success, then got down to the business of figuring out just where in the world he was. The floor and ceiling were tiled in smooth, rectangular gray plates, and the walls were a darker shade of gray brick that did nothing to alleviate the overall drab and depressing atmosphere. Across the room from where Bardock was leaning against the wall was a heavy metal door with a small window holding thick iron bars - a door that instantly raised red flags of alarm in the warrior's mind and jolted him back to full awareness. Doors like that belonged in only one place.

A prison.

Bardock narrowed his eyes and began to scrutinize the room - prison cell, he amended - in earnest, only just now noticing that he wasn't alone. Laying on the floor on either side of him were Goku and Vegeta, both unconscious, although Vegeta was showing signs of stirring and Goku was whimpering discontentedly in his sleep. Both boys' hands were shackled with long chains that trailed down from about half way up the wall where they were firmly embedded in the brick, giving them enough leeway to move around a bit and lay on the floor, but not enough that any one person would be able to reach the other, or the door. Glancing down at his own hands, Bardock realized that he, too was shackled to the wall, the chains thick, heavy and formidable looking. He fingered one of the chains and was about to test its strength when the door suddenly banged opened with a loud clang! and in waltzed a pointy eared blue imp, a black haired human woman wearing red paint around her eyes, and a particularly dumb looking dog-like being, the latter two following behind the former as though the midget were their leader.

A faint scowl creased the Saiyan's brow as he took in the people he assumed were his captors, but beyond sitting up a little straighter he didn't immediately make a move. Just because they looked like imbeciles didn't mean he should underestimate them, and a good fighter never acted without first learning all he could about his opponents. Besides which, these three had somehow managed to knock him, his son, and Prince Vegeta unconscious without being detected, and that alone was enough to warrant caution. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that both Goku and Vegeta were awake, probably woken by their captors' loud entry, but Bardock didn't actually look at either of them. Only a fool took his eyes off his enemy, and Bardock was no fool.

"I see you three are finally awake," the little gremlin sneered, strutting back and forth in front of his prisoners. "Did you have a nice sleep? Yes, I suppose you did. The Thing has that kind of effect on people, you know." Smirking broadly, he snickered and stopped pacing when he returned to the center of the room, facing the captive trio once again. Puffing his chest up self-importantly, he announced, "As you probably know, I am the great Emperor Pilaf, and-"

"Who?" Vegeta interrupted rudely, matching Pilaf's smirk with one of his own. It was clear that the boy had spoken for the sole purpose of annoying the midget. With arms folded confidently across his chest, he eyed Pilaf and his two lackeys in a manner that gave the impression that he was the one in charge, not the one in chains.

Glancing briefly at the ten year old, Bardock experienced a moment of surprise at the fact that the temperamental young prince had chosen to keep a lid on his anger, rather than act impulsively immediately upon waking up to find himself shackled and confronted by a supposed emperor who was apparently responsible for their incarceration. He turned his head slightly to see how Goku was responding to their current circumstances, noting in passing that the boy appeared to have been knocked out while in the middle of getting dressed after taking his bath, wearing only a pair of loose black pants. Goku was holding his head and shaking it slowly, as though he was trying to clear it, perhaps still suffering from the aftereffects of the thing that had knocked them unconscious. His eyes were closed and he didn't seem to be paying any attention to what was going on around him, but other than that he seemed to be fine.

"What cave did you crawl out of, you impudent little brat!?" All three Saiyans winced at the high, grating voice of the enraged Emperor Pilaf, who didn't seem to notice the effect his screeching had on the sensitive ears of his poor victims. "Everyone who is anyone has heard of Emperor Pilaf!"

"Oh, really?" Vegeta yawned and leaned against the wall, exuding an air of boredom that was marred only by the small smirk on his face. It was clear to Bardock that he was enjoying taunting the vertically challenged emperor, and that he held no fear of any possible consequences his words might bring about. Narrowing his eyes, Bardock wondered whether the boy was acting recklessly, or if Vegeta knew something that he didn't, something that had infused him with the confidence that he could get away with goading their captor. "Actually, I just might believe that. Yes, I remember now," his smirk turned into a mocking grin. "Everyone has heard of "Emperor" Pilaf - in fact, he's the topic of every conversation the whole world over! Pilaf the puny, they say. Pilaf the pathetic! Pilaf the pitiful, pointy-eared pigmy whose country is probably a colony of dust mites that ousted him because his brain was the only thing smaller than his kingdom. What an honor it is to finally meet you in person, your... highness." If the sarcasm in Vegeta's voice had been any heavier, it probably would have squished Pilaf like an overgrown bug.

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO ME LIKE THAT, YOU INSUFFERABLE, WRETCHED LITTLE MONKEY SPAWN!!!" Pilaf screamed at the top of his lungs, outrage and fury causing his eyes to bulge out of his head as his face turned an interesting shade of purple. "I am the one in control here! You are my prisoner - all of you are my prisoners! I could have you all killed if I wanted!! YOU WILL SHOW ME THE RESPECT I DESERVE OR I'LL TORTURE YOU SLOWLY AND PAINFULLY UNTIL YOU ARE BEGGING FOR DEATH!!!" Winded by his own ranting, the enraged emperor drew in a ragged breath and took a moment to recompose himself, straightening his smock with a dignified tug. "Now, where was I? Oh, yes." Deliberately turning away from Vegeta, Pilaf stalked forward a couple paces so he could glare Bardock in the eye, assuming him to be the father of the two boys since all three had tails. "I demand to know how you and your two brats managed to gather three of my dragonballs! I'm warning you: if you don't tell me what I want to know, I'll be forced to use..." he paused dramatically, trying to sound ominous, "the Thing."

"Oh, now there's an original name!" Vegeta butted in, looking as though he was about to burst out laughing any second now. "Did you think that one up all by yourself?"

"I THOUGHT I TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP!!!"

Vegeta stared at the pompous pip squeak in outrage. How dare he tell the Prince of all Saiyans to shut up! Opening his mouth to cut the already short monarch down to size, Vegeta was interrupted by a yelp of recognition.

"You! I remember you!" With his mind finally clear of the aftereffects of the Thing, Goku was at last able to take a good look at his captors. Recognition dawned as he remembered his last encounter with the self-styled emperor, how he and his friends had been robbed, imprisoned, and nearly roasted alive by this same trio of villains. Glancing down at his shackled wrists, he scowled as he realized that he had once again been taken prisoner by Emperor Pilaf.

"And I certainly remember you, you stupid monkey boy!" Pilaf growled. "And you can be sure I'm going to make you pay for what you did to my castle! I haven't decided what I'm going to do to you yet, but whatever it is, I'll make sure it's long, painful, and ends with your demise!!"

"I don't even know what you're talking about!" Goku protested angrily. "All I did to your dumb old castle was blow one tiny hole in the wall! Besides, you're the one stole my dragonballs and you tried to kill me and my friends!"

"'ONE TINY HOLE'?!?! YOU CALL DEMOLISHING MY CASTLE AND LEAVING NOTHING BEHIND BUT RUBBLE 'ONE TINY HOLE'?!?!?! That's it! I've had it with you!! Agent Mai, Agent Shao, take this brat outside and stake him to the ground on top of an ant hill! And make sure they're fire ants! Have a video camera set up to record everything, too." Snickering cruelly, the diminutive evil-doer added, "I want his family to watch him suffer!"

Chiiiannk!

Up until this point, Bardock had been content to watch and listen, gathering information about his enemy from the words Pilaf exchanged with Vegeta and his son, but no one - no one - threatened his son. Especially not some stunted, blue skinned, childish imp who claimed to be an emperor! Deciding he had had enough of sitting idly, the Saiyan warrior growled and swiftly stood up, yanking hard on his chains as he did so. As formidable as they had appeared earlier, the metal links - made to restrain stronger than average humans - were no match for a stronger than average Saiyan.

"You just made your last mistake, you son of a bitch," Bardock snarled.

Worked long and hard on this chapter, so please review. *puppy eyes*