Disclaimer: I don't own Bardock or any Dragon Ball characters and locations. But since most of the plot is my creation, I suppose I own at least that.
Well, I decided to give a shot to a couple of ideas that went around my mind from months (maybe years) after finishing Shin Budokai 2 for the PSP. The game had a nice story, even if it was an original one. And I always loved Bardock and believed that it was a shame he never got anything but a special, so… I guess fanfic was the way. So, meet my newest fic! Enjoy!
P.S.: I know that the original name is Burdock. But the story is in English, and I like the sound of Bardock more.
A punishment… A ill action against someone… Think about it. What's the worst that you can think about? Death, right? … Once… I was sure about that thing too. The worst that you could to someone was killing them… But now, I'm not that sure anymore about it. I experienced it before hand. I can say… That when someone dies, it's not the departed the one who met the worst fate. The worse fate is of the ones who stay behind. The ones who keep on living… On facing the past… The ones who remember.
I do remember. I remember everything from my past. I know things from the future. And I just couldn't seem to live my present without first fulfilling some of my objectives… Wanna know about me? I suppose we'll have to get back to the beginning… Or better, to an end. My end. To the time when I died.
Saiyajin no Shunketsu
Chapter1: The one who lived
Yes. You heard that right. I died. All this story begins with me dieing. So, you probably ask, how the hell can I be here, talking to you, narrating? No, I'm not a zombie. No, I'm not talking to you from heaven where I had craptastic adventures. Yes, I've been resurrected. No, no loved one of mine got resurrected first and warned about my dead whereabouts by some superior entity and gathered magical balls to resurrect me. Nothing that cheesy. And I got resurrected just for a case too. They… Well, I should probably start narrating, right?
The last thing he remembered was being blasted into cosmic power by Frieza, along with the whole planet Vegeta. So, imagine his surprise when… When he opened his eyes again. It looks like a little thing, but when you're certain you'll never be able to do that again, even that makes you surprised.
Then… As his sight adjusted and the blurs became clear images, the things became… Quite familiar to him. He was into something… A tube, he recognized. And he was floating in some liquid full of bubbles. Very familiar. Only that… It usually wasn't a tube. And he wasn't wearing anything to breath around his mouth, like he usually did. But… He could breath. And easily, too. Then… he began to pay attention to what was outside the tube… It seemed like some kind of lab. The floor was made of yellow tiles, and the ceiling and walls were white. Judging by the architecture, it was situated into a spaceship. Then… He began to observe the people in the lab. They were people from various planets, that was sure. You just had to look at their skins. It looked like a rainbow, out there. And they were all wearing lab coats.
"… Where am I?" It was the first thing that came to his mind and that he immediately voiced out. And incredibly, he could hear his voice too, while being in that liquid. And it seems like the people outside where able to hear him as well, since they immediately turned in his direction.
["Oh! Doctor! He has awoken!" (Translated from alien language for YOUR convenience) One of them had suddenly begun to move his mouth, talking to someone who looked like the one in charge of the lab, since his lab coat was different from the other ones. While the others were simply white with a single blue stripe on the left side, this alien's stripe was golden. A simple method to identify superiors, seemed. The alien itself was of human shape, but he hadn't a nose nor ears to be seen, his skin was blue and his eyes were completely black. And his hair was of a darker shade of blue, and long enough to be kept in a ponytail. He approached his tube, and pressed a button that was just below it, on a control panel.
"Can you hear me? Is this your language?" Seems like the button permitted to him to hear what they said from the outside. He nodded in agreement. "We're going to get you out of there. But you will be weak, so try not to move much once the liquid gets drawn out." He nodded one more time. Then, the doctor pushed one more button, and he could hear a clear electrical sound and then a noise similar to that of a vacuum. The liquid's level began to diminish. In the end the tube got emptied and he noticed two things. One. He was naked. Two. Yes, he was weak. He fell to one knee right after his feet touched the ground.
"Ugh…" The doctor pushed another button and the tube began to open, letting fresh hair hit his still drenched and weak body. He shivered. He didn't remember to have ever shivered before that moment. Suddenly, he was faced with a bundle of clothes held by the doctor.
"Your full body strength should return in a few minutes. And these are to cover yourself. What's your name, by the way?" Asked the doctor.
"…" He thought about it for a few seconds. He was in a really awkward situation. He had no idea where he was… Or why he still was. And he didn't know who or what these people were… But he didn't have much choice at the moment. He took a hold of the clothes. "Bardock."
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He got dressed. They were clothes very different from the ones he used to wear. Clearly not for battle. A pair of underwear, a blue long-sleeveled chest garment and a pair of trousers of a darker blue. Both were very fitting, adherent, but they didn't give him problems while moving. Like they were a second skin. They didn't give me anything for his feet, though. The doctor probably noticed that he was glancing at his feet.
"Don't worry. You will not need shoes or anything like that, but we'll provide you with a pair of those garments, if you want." Said the doctor, his voice sounding like a caring affirmation. Bardock slowly dropped off the tube's base to the ground, his strength returned that bit that he needed to drop on his knees without impacting the ground with his face.
"That would be appreciated…" He said, slowly getting up in the meanwhile. "As would be appreciated to explain a couple things… Like…"
"Where are you. And… How you can be alive." Finished the doctor, his voice knowingly, like it wasn't the first time someone asked him that… And it probably wasn't, Bardock thought as he got back standing on his feet. "Follow me. I'm off duty right now. I'll give you a tour and explain a few things while we walk."
"…" Bardock began to walk beside the doctor towards the door of the large lab room. The alien pressed a large button beside the door and it opened sliding horizontally. He found himself in a large corridor. Various aliens of different races were walking trough it. Some were dressing lab coats like the doctor and his assistants, others were dressing more casual wear, similar to the clothes he was wearing in that moment. And there were some who were dressing what looked like a uniform. Something that resembled an azure coloured plate of armour covering their chests, backs and shoulders, with a yellow symbol on the right part of the chest, resembling two wings, the chest and back part ending in a 'V' shape. Underneath that they were dressing a full white body suit, similar to those that he had seen Frieza's men wear. Then, a pair of azure gloves and boots. No trace of headgear.
"…" Bardock then proceeded to observe the structure. While the walls and the floor were identical to those of the lab, the ceiling was very different. It was made of another material, and it was completely transparent, giving to the people in the corridor a clear view of the outside space.
"First, I still have to present myself." Suddenly, the doctor's voice got his attention again. "My name is Madist. I'm a high ranking scientist and head of the bio-soul engineering department aboard the station."
"… So, this is some kind of… Space station?" Asked the saiyan, still half-convinced that it was a spaceship of some sorts.
"Yes, but… It's as big as a natural satellite, like a little moon. Many like to call it an artificial planet. Hence the name 'Mooning'. A joke about the words moon-thing." Madist chuckled. At first he had found such a name an idiocy, not appropriate for something like a planet… But in the end, everyone got to like the name. "Now, for your second question…"
"That's what's pressing me the most, actually." Suddenly, Bardock interrupted the doctor, who turned his head to his right to face the saiyajin. "Because my last memories are of having been hit by an attack that then proceeded to destroy my planet. So… Right now, I should be reduced to smithereens, if not cosmic powder."
"…" The doctor observed the saiyajin's face, now waiting for his answers. His face alone was saying 'whatever the explanation is, it better be damn convincing'. He chuckled and turned to face the corridor they were walking again. "Yes. In fact, all that we found of you was exactly that. An almost infinitesimal piece of your epidermis tissue. But that is enough for our technology."
"… So, I've been cloned?" Bardock had heard that various scientists of Frieza were working on that project. The creation of another living being by the use of even just a singular cell of the body.
"No, nothing like that." Bardock raised an eyebrow. Madist, acting like he had eyes even behind his head, immediately continued. "Or better… There's more to that. You see, creating another living being creates another soul as well. That's what we discovered. And it would be troublesome for the upper beings to find two almost identical souls in the same realm, right? We discovered that the Soul…" The doctor placed a hand on his chest. "Is connected to the body by the 'mind'." Madist placed a single finger on his right temple. "So, as long as even one cell exists, they're still connected. Body and soul attract each other, even after death, but without a functioning body, the soul cannot return to the living world. What we do is rebuilding the body, so that the soul can find again a place here."
"…" Bardock took his time to take in what he had just heard. So, he had died… And been resurrected, basically. "So, I've been to the otherworld? I guess this is the proof that it really exists… But how come I don't remember anything of what happened after 'my soul left my body'?" Asked the saiyan, empathizing the words.
"That's something we don't know. Strangely, all the people we bring back don't remember anything of the time they passed in the otherworld." Replied the doctor, then took a moment of pause before continuing. "The process still isn't fully researched. We've basically crossed mysticism and science, here. So, it's natural to have some blank points. Like, we don't know why we can't bring back some people. But we believe that the ones who come back had a strong will to not die, or had some unfinished businesses in this world."
"…" Bardock reflected about those words. A strong will… Well, I guess I showed that… Even if just before dieing. Trying to take on Frieza alone… I highly underestimated his power. Unfinished businesses… Bardock began to think about what he had left 'unfinished'… His planet and his whole race had been almost exterminated, and the culprit was still around. And… His sons. Raditz, fortunately, had been dispatched on some planet some months prior to Frieza's attack, and… Kakaroth… Kakaroth was going to be alright, if what he had seen in his visions was true… Living on another planet, growing up… And facing Frieza… But maybe, since he was still alive… But suddenly, his thoughts got interrupted by the most pressing question. Maybe the most important. He had been brought back. He had been given a second chance to live. But… The most important question wasn't how… But… "… Why?"
"In the end, they always ask that question. But… The answer is not to be given by me. And after all, we're here." Bardock had been so assorted that he hadn't noticed that they had been walking for ten minutes minimum. They had stopped in front of another door. Only that this one was wider and higher, so that people 10/11' high could enter the room behind it without having to bend. "The people in there will fill you about the other details. Ah, by the way, your body strength should have returned, right?"
"…" Bardock tried to flex his muscles, clenching his right fist and tensing the muscles in his right arm. Yes. It seems that his body was back to normal… Or better, it felt even stronger than when he died. Saiyans got stronger every time they recovered by fatal injuries, so… Well… I guess actually dieing DOES count as a fatal injury. "Will I be needing it?"
"Only if he's in there." Madist then chuckled a little louder than before. Bardock was confused. The doctor was warning him about a possible fight, it seemed, but… He didn't know why, he had the strange sensation that it wouldn't be a life-threatening situation. "Well… Good luck. I hope to see you around."
"…" Bardock observed the scientist walk away, leaving him alone, and bare-footed in the middle of the corridor, in front of the large door. Bardock just snorted, and placed his right hand on the button similar to the one he had seen the doctor use to open the door. The button embedded itself in the wall, and the door opened. The saiyan observed the inside. It was… Pitch black, inside the room. He just shrugged and entered the door. Better get it over with.
The door closed behind his back. It was pitch black, so he would have to wait a little for his eyes to adjust to the darkness… But it seemed that it wouldn't be needed. Suddenly, lights got turned on. The whole room got filled with light. Bardock observed his surroundings. It was a very large… Plain? Bardock had suddenly found himself in the middle of a plain. The ground was violet, the sky was blue, different from his planet, and the rocks were dark brown. He could make out the shape of a big boulder a bit far from his position… And he could make out the silhouette of some on it. And… Where the hell was the music coming from?
The man on the boulder was big. Very big. It was of a different race. He stood at least 7' high. It was very muscular, almost bulky. His skin's colour was similar to his one, just of a lighter tone. His hair and the beard that covered his face were dark orange, and he was striking a strange pose. He had the right leg raised and bended and pointed to his right, his foot touching the left leg, which was fully stretched. His arms were fully stretched as well, pointing to his sides, and his hand were stretched as well, his fingers pressed together. His eyes were black, and he was looking at him with a very determined look, but on that pose, well… It looked ridiculous. His clothes were a half-sleeveled body suit, azure coloured, and upon it, he was wearing a body armour similar to the ones he had seen others wearing in the corridor, only that this one was segmented, probably to provide better movements, and the back and front part were connected by two crepe bandages, and it was completely black. Like black were his gloves and boots. And suddenly, he shouted, dressed like that and in that pose…
"Opponent! Prepare to be vanquished!" And then, he launched himself at the saiyajin, letting out a battle cry.
"…" Bardock took everything in. Horrible colour choices. Idiotic pose. Stupid speech… Bardock… Sweatdropped. Yes. He sweatdropped. W-What the hell?! Saiyans don't sweatdrop! He barely had the time to recover from the shock and get into a battle stance before the man was on him, attacking him with a barrage of punches, which he provided to parry. Calm down, calm down. You sweatdropped. No big deal. You died and got resurrected, so I guess everything can happen, right? This seemed to calm the saiyan down. His opponent, despite his ridiculous attitude and bad clothing, was good. His hits were fast and accurate, and strong too. Too bad he didn't have the scouter anymore. He wondered what his power level was. But at least he could make out something nonetheless. He was certainly faster and stronger than him… Before he died. He would have had troubles parrying those hits, in the past, but… Seems that dieing really did power me up. Good.
"Oooooh! You're a good opponent, opponent! I'll guess I'll have to improve my efforts!" Suddenly said the man.
"!" And to Bardock's surprise, he seemed to have suddenly got faster, since he had landed a hit on Bardock's face. The saiyan was sent flying back, lifted from the ground, but he managed to stop his movement. His opponent had followed his little 'trip', since he was again in front of him, and tried to land a strong hit against his stomach again. Bardock crouched, dodging the hit.
"!" And this time to his opponent's surprised, he landed a powerful uppercut. Then, he landed another one with more strength then the previous, and sent his opponent flying up. Bardock flew after him, with more boost to surpass him, and landed a hit with his hands crossed together in a sledgehammer, sending him flying back towards the ground. And his opponent landed. Hard. Creating a crater and lifting dust and detrits.
"…" Did I get him?
"That was good, opponent! You're a strong fighter!"
"…" Bardock sweatdropped again. I guess not… Damnit! Not again! The dust began to clear… "!"
The strange man was holding his hands above his head, and it seemed like he was focusing a lot of energy between them. The energy was… Pink coloured. Another strange thing. But it was powerful nonetheless
"Let's see how you fare against this technique!"
"Damn it…" Bardock suddenly began to gather energy in his right hand as well. The hand got covered in blue energy. His prized technique.
"Victory…" The strange man got his hands and harm behind his back, bending a little on it.
"…" Bardock had finished charging enough energy. He brought his right hand and arm back, flexing and tensing his muscles, accumulating strength for the shoot.
"Bullet!" The man launched towards him the globe of pink energy, at high speed.
"Ah!" Bardock unleashed his technique as well, directing it towards the one of his opponent. The two globes of energy met… And exploded in the air, generating a shockwave, but cancelling each other nonetheless. That was my most powerful technique… And his one was equally powerful. When the smoke from the explosion cleared, he could see the stranger standing on the ground, below him, with his arms crossed, looking at him… But he was smiling. ? He doesn't want to fight anymore?
"Ahahah… Hey, guys! This one is very strong, I tell you!" He suddenly shouted. To who, Bardock didn't know.
"I agree. Seems like a very powerful warrior."
"?" Bardock suddenly turned his whole body behind him, and then in various directions. The new voice seemed to come from… Everywhere around him? But he couldn't find the owner. But suddenly, even more strangely, the plain where he had been fighting began to… Fade? Yes. Fade. It faded leaving place to what looked like a… A stadium. He called it a stadium because there were what looked like audience stands above the ground. He didn't know what to call it. But… It sure was smaller than the plain where he was fighting. What the hell… Then, he noticed that there suddenly were two more people in the room. One man and one woman.
The woman was petite, but her body was athletic, that was sure. She mostly looked like a saiyan, but with a big difference. Her ears were pointed and long. Her hair was long, and raven. And he couldn't really see here eyes, from that altitude. She was wearing the freak's same uniform, but it differed in colours, and Bardock was secretly thankful for that. The body suit was black, and the uniform, gloves and boots were white. Another difference, the uniform, on her, seemed more 'fitting'. Like it was made to expose her curves underneath the thing… And maybe it was.
The man. The man was another story. Clearly an alien… Well, they all were aliens, so, let's say that he was of a race that Bardock hadn't seen. The body was saiyan-like, but big difference was that his hair was dark green, and his skin blue. And his eyes were completely white, so that they could be seen from the altitude he was at too. The uniform was identical to the woman's one, minus the 'fitting' part.
"Are you going to come down or not?! Don't tell me you want to stay up there all the day!" Bardock's observation was interrupted by the woman's shout. He instinctively turned towards her again. "And in case you don't know, it's rude to stare at someone without saying anything!"
"Come on, Mileuda. You know how the guys like us are. Always better to be on the safe side." The man somewhat took his defences, stating the obvious. He was observing them to see if they meant harm. But from their behaviour, it looked like they meant no harm. So, he slowly started to hover back down towards the floor.
When he landed, he gave the ceiling a glance, just to see if he hadn't turned back into a sky or something like that.
"I see that our 4-D training room freaked you out a little, hn?" Suddenly said the man. Bardock turned towards him and raised a single eyebrow. He silently said '4-D? What the hell does 4-D mean?'. The blue-man chuckled. "4-D. Four dimensional. The room can basically turn into any landscape you want. Useful for training."
"I understand… No, screw that. I don't. And I don't understand why you attacked me as well." Replied Bardock, crossing his arms in front of his chest and turning his head towards his previous opponent.
"Eh… You have to excuse him. But every time they bring back a strong guy, he wants to 'test' him." The reply came from the woman, named Mileuda, like he had heard, who playfully punched the freak's left arm while talking.
"Test that you passed with flying colours, op… Ehm, comrade!" The freak struck another pose, this one hawk-like. And Bardock tried his best to not sweatdrop again. And failed miserably.
"By the way, they didn't told us what your power level is. Let's check…" Said the man. At this, Bardock turned around in a flash. They had scouters? But he didn't see anything around his head… But instead, the man pressed an invisible button on the sleeve of his right glove. And what looked like a little hologram appeared in front of his left eye, sporting various words that Bardock couldn't read. He supposed that, like the ones he used, were each one settled on a different language that differed with the user. The blue-man suddenly whistled. "Not bad at all. 20.000? It's the first time someone gets brought back with this much power already."
"20.000…" So, I really got stronger. My strength, before dieing, was 10.000 only… Wait. I don't know if they measure the power level with our same scale… Damn it. I guess we really got over-depended on those things… Well, I guess I'll have to trust my instinct on that. I got stronger. After his inner reflections, and while the man made the hologram disappear by pressing that button again, Bardock knew that it was question-time. Again. "Who brought me here said that you would answer my questions about this place."
"Of course. But first, presentations. My name is Zaril. The girl here is Mileuda, like you've heard…" He pointed to the woman with his hand.
"Nice to meet you." She said, smiling.
"And the powerful warrior in front of you is named Tycoon! Toooooah!" Another pose. This one more ballerina-like than the others. Bardock sweatdropped AGAIN and couldn't resist the instinct to palm his own face, while the other two laughed.
"… Bardock. The name's Bardock."
"Bardock. Cute name." Said the girl, then she cleared her throat. "Well, Bardock, you're probably wondering why we go around resurrecting people and what the hell we do in here."
"Basically… You see, we can say that this planet is an oasis in this galaxy." Continued Zaril. Bardock removed the palm from his face and began to listen carefully to their words. "I don't know how it was in your galaxy, but in this one it's a chaos. There are fights and even wars between planets and even between people of the same planet everywhere."
"The main problem are the 'Destructo teams', like we call them." Suddenly intervened Mileuda. "They're basically space bandits. They once were the less liked elements of the planets, but they did the error to not imprison them. They just sent them out in outer space. And this way, that they would meet and ally was more than likely. It was certain."
"Wretched beings!" Guess who…
"Basically… We could say that our planet is made out of mercenaries." Zaril was carefully choosing his words. Bardock could easily tell it. "We could live and survive on our own without caring about the others. Thanks to the numerous alien races that live here, we've evolved in practically everything. But… It wasn't in our heads' style. And not in my stile either."
"Each one here does something different fitting his skills." Mileuda took the word again. "There are scientists, doctors, engineers… And than, there are soldiers."
"You've probably spotted people wearing uniforms similar to our ones." Zaril had crossed his arms over his chest too. "They're all soldiers. Basically, they try to not dwell with the wars or fights between planets or in-planet, but they are sent immediately wherever the Destructo teams appear. We took as wages only what the planets can give us."
"… And what about you three?" Bardock had noticed that Zaril and Mileuda hadn't included themselves in the explanation. But he probably knew the answer already. Zaril smirked.
"As you've probably guessed… People like us and you, with superior fighting skills, are made members of elite teams. We are sent on missions just when particular situations arise. Like when a particular strong Destructo team appears. They didn't exile some of them just for fun, you know…" He said chuckling.
"…" Bardock smirked. It really was similar to the saiyans', in a way… But while they went around making genocides to sell planets, these people tried to help. "… So, basically, I find something to do here, or I'm free to go?"
"Yes. But trust me, it would be a shame to lose someone like you. I'm sure you could become a valuable asset to the team." Commented the girl.
"…" Bardock closed his eyes and thought about it. He hadn't a planet to return to… And a man that he couldn't kill because he was too weak. And he still was, he could easily guess it. Then, he began to think about people… Raditz had been sent on a mission, when the planet exploded, but he didn't know if Frieza had reserved him the same treatment he had reserved to his team… And Kakaroth… Who knows on which planet he was, right now… Not that he had any right to go and see him. So, he had nothing to lose and everything to gain. "… Alright. Count me in."
"Yosh! Great! We really needed a fourth member on our team after Gunner was transferred!" Tycoon seemed eager of having Bardock on his own team. Bardock just scratched the back of his head, right now.
"Right. Well, I suppose that right now the priority is to provide you with your uniform. We'll think later about your registration. Come with me, Bardock." Said Zaril, the, he turned towards Tycoon and Mileuda. "Wanna come too, guys?"
"No thanks, Captain! Mileuda promised to help me prepare that thing!" Suddenly replied the orange-haired giant, saluting Zaril. Mileuda just chuckled.
"Ah, right… Well, see you later, then." Zaril walked out the door followed by Bardock, who couldn't help to wonder what in the world was 'that thing'.
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"Welcome to the armoury. Oh, hi, Zaril. I guess you're here to equip the Rookie?"
"You guessed right, Ileanna."
Zaril had brought Bardock to a place that reminded him of home a little. It was the 'armoury', he had heard. Wherever he looked, he could only see battle suits, weapons, and people trying them on. But there was one big difference… He had found big similarities and differences a lot of times in a few hours, in that place… While in place like that, on the Saiyan's planet, one could practically breath the bloodlust, in there… The atmosphere was peacefully. Hell, it was like no one knew that the objects they were holding were intended for fighting. Then, he turned to the woman who had welcomed his new 'captain'. Another strange race. She was humanoid, but her skin was purple and… Lucid. And he couldn't sport body hair. Not even on her head… Her 'hair' was just… It looked like a bunch of short tentacles, only that they didn't move. And incredibly, they gave the impression of real hair, to him. Her uniform was a white, long dress with long sleeves and a long skirt. She spotted white boots and gloves as well. She looked like a nurse from some planet he had visited… And with visited, he didn't mean destroyed. If he remembered right, it was a planet of doctors and hospitals only…
"Bardock, right? Don't worry, I've already told my girls about your fashion likes. Your uniform will be ready in a few minutes." At this, Bardock blinked, while the woman, named Ileanna, walked away. How the hell did he know his name and his… Fashion likes. Then, he heard Zaril chuckled at his expenses.
"Surprised? Ileanna has a few special powers. Telepathy is one of them. While she talked with me, she had already took from your brain your name and your likes in colours and fashion style. It's useful, don't you think?" Said the green-haired man. Bardock instinctively brought a hand to his head. He didn't really like the thought of someone able to enter his head whenever he wanted without him noticing… "Don't worry. Ileanna is professional and extremely selective. I can assure you that she took just that information from your brain."
"… If you say so…" Bardock brought his hand back down, relaxing a little.
"Get used to strangeness. Here you will see a lot of strange things." Zaril chuckled a little more.
"… Stranger than Tycoon, there?" He so called for that precise sarcastic comment. Bardock couldn't resist.
"Already done. Seemed that the girls liked your chooses in fashion, Bardock." Surprisingly for both warriors, Ileanna was already back. Bardock was shocked too. Something personalized realized that quickly? For his outfit, on planet Vegeta, he had to wait for at least two days… Ileanna handed him a bundle of clothes wrapped inside plastic. He took it, still a bit shocked. "Ah, by the way… What mind power do you posses? I'm curious…"
"Uh?" Bardock blinked again. Mind power? "What are you talking about?"
"I can sense that your brain is 'unlocked' in the mind power zone. But I can't understand what mind power is without looking inside your memories. So… What it is?"
"What are you talking about? I don't… …" Then, he stopped. He did have mind powers. It was like had removed that piece of memory. The incident on that planet… The visions… "… I don't… I don't really know. I got it right before dieing. I can't even control it… All I know is that I saw random chunks of the future at random times."
"Ooooh… Foresight? That's something… Honey, I suggest you to go to the psychic research section. They probably can help you. You could even have some other psychic powers, you know… Too bad, gotta go. Someone's not happy with his gloves. See ya." And with that, the purple woman was away. Bardock took in the words slowly. They could help him with the visions? That was something he really would like… Then, something else sank in.
"Honey? Nobody calls a saiyan 'honey'! Hey!"
"Ahahahah!" Zaril this time laughed openly at Bardock's expenses. The guy seemed to freak out at everything even slightly out of the normal.
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"This is where you'll be staying."
"…" Bardock had the suspect that this room too was subjected to the 4-D thing… No, he was certain of it.
Zaril, after the equipment check, told him that he would lead him to the warriors' quarters. Basically, they were a long corridor made out just of doors. He was wondering how the hell could they live in boxrooms, when they walked in. Behind the boxroom, appeared an enormous… House. There were three rooms. The big living room fused with the dining one, a bathroom and the bedroom. And there even were windows that gave Bardock a clear view of the open space.
"Surprised, hn? Only that these ones can't be shaped at will like the training room. It's for making things easier for the cyborgs who come to clean. The only thing that you can modify is the window." Zaril approached said window and leaned his right hand on it. "Normally, it gives a perfect and natural view of the space surrounding Mooning. But if you think of a place you've visited while touching it…" Zaril paused. And in a couple of seconds the scenery 'outside the window' changed to that of some kind of forest. There were trees with blue trunks and green leaves in perfectly round shapes, sporting round fruits of red colour. Zaril removed the hand from the window. "It will turn into that scenery. How do you like my home planet?"
"… Different from mine, that's for sure. It's full of trees…" Commented the saiyajin. He didn't remember seeing a lot of green in the city were he was born, if any. Not that he ever paid it any attention.
"Yep. But from there you can't really see it right. Those trees are very big. Some of the biggest reach the mile of length." Bardock raised an eyebrow in sincere surprise. Zaril turned to him with a grin. My people live inside the trees. They call us the Arborians because of that. When I died, though, a Destructo team was destroying everything and burning the trees. When I got resurrected, I was glad to see that they have been able to grow again."
"They grew to a mile of height again? They sure were fast…" Replied Bardock, amused.
"Well, when you're dead for 27 years lots of things happen in the meanwhile…"
"I supp… …" Zaril's word reached Bardock's brain just after two seconds. And he felt like a knot to his throat. 27 years… Of course. Of course! The most important question wasn't why he got resurrected, after all. The real question was… He turned towards Zaril, panicking a little. "How much time have I been dead?!"
"Uh? They didn't tell you?" Zaril was sincerely amused and was about to make a joke about it, but then noticed Bardock's face. The guy was panicking. "Ehm… 20 years. You've been dead for 20 years. If your years are made out of 365 days…"
"20…" Bardock was thankful that there was a chair right behind him. 20 years. 20 fucking years. Well, of course. From what he had understood, these people never heard about saiyans, so that meant that he now was in a completely different galaxy. And what remained of him surely needed its time to travel a few light-years… "…" Calm down. I have to calm down. So, I have been dead for 20 years. So what? It's not like anything changed. It's not like I missed an occasion to bring back planet Vegeta and the saiyans trough the years. That's an impossible thing… It's just a little shock, but nothing else…
"Are you… Are you alright?" Asked the arborian, now really concerned about the saiyan. He didn't look like someone who got shocked easily.
"Yes, I'm alright… Just… I mean, I suppose that even for me there's a limit to the amount of news I can take in a day…" Bardock decided that holding his head with his right hand and massage his temples with his thumb and index finger was something very saiyan-like, for the moment. So, he did that.
"… Well, it's kind late. It's quite hard to notice time into space, hn? You should probably get some sleep. If you want to eat, just push a button over… Well, it's quite simple. I trust you to get it on your own. We'll see you tomorrow morning. 9 o clock, okay?"
"… Alright. See you tomorrow…"
"Goodnight, Bardock…" And with that, Zaril left Bardock alone in his room.
Eat… He didn't feel like that. He felt like shit. It was like the weight of everything that had happened to him, his planet, his race… Had all suddenly fallen on his back in one instant. Right now he really felt like sleeping. And he hoped for a sleep without dreams.
"You're not… You're a saiyan… And I'm your brother..."
"Shut up! My name is Son Goku!"
"Daaaaaaad!"
"Kill 100 humans! Or your son will pay for your ineptitude!"
"… I suppose that these voices in my mind are against it…"
Continue…
In the next chapter…
Bardock finally becomes a full fledged member of the population of Mooning. He has to deal with a new life, new comrades and his visions at the same time. But will he be able to do so? And will he be able to adapt to a life-style so different from the Saiyan's way? Stay tuned!
