"Goku then flies to Frieza's spaceship and presses buttons to try to cause the ship to fly, however it does not work and Frieza's spaceship falls into the lava. He quickly escapes Namek using one of the Ginyu Force space pods. The pod takes Goku to Planet Yardrat, which was going to be the Ginyu Force's next target.[145] His friends, who were teleported to Earth by a wish made with the Namekian Dragon Balls, believe him to be dead. However, months later, when they attempt to revive Goku and Krillin by warping them to the check-in station, they learn that Goku is alive. When they decide to transport him back to Earth, he declines, stating that he'll return later." - Dragonball Wiki
Hello and thank you for checking out this story! The above quotation is the basis for what is to come, and is a direct abbreviation of the events of the Frieza saga. These events will be twisted to create an alternate reality in which Bardock is revived. If this goes against your typical idea of Dragonball, by all means, exit the story now. I do not own Dragonball, Dragonball Z, or Dragonball GT nor do I own any affiliated products or works. All rights belong to the respective creators and developers of the anime and manga.
"This is most unusual, King Kai." said a slightly annoyed King Yemma. His desk was cluttered with all manner of paperwork. It would seem King Kai was speaking telepathically to him from his planet. The paperwork all suggested Goku had been killed by Frieza, as despite his clairyoance, he was under the exact same impression as the Z fighters; That Goku had perished in that fateful fight. While Frieza had not appeared, neither had Goku at that check-in station. However, it was possible that they were merely spirit clouds and slipped under the radar. Yemma's confusion became even more apparant at the request that he could not seem to decipher- to bring Goku back to life with his friend Krillin. Both had died once previously, making this an even larger mess, though it was made known quickly that these were the dragonballs of Namek.
"Goku hasn't stopped in, and I haven't heard anything of him dying again so quickly. Are you certain he's up here with us?"
"He has to be!" King Kai shouted. "Have your guys check the HFIL. He did fall into it once, remember? How are we supposed to know if he didn't or not?"
"I suppose that's true... Alright. One of you idiots standing around doing nothing, go down there and ask if anyone resembling Goku has been spotted!"
A lone blue-skinned demon in a semi-casual outfit timidly headed off, scared of his employer. There was a short wait before the demon returned with a spirit cloud, greatly confusing Yemma and King Kai.
"This one has the same aura as that Goku guy that came by here not too long ago, sir."
"Prepostrous! Goku had a body when he died last time!" Yemma slammed a fist on his desk, not amused by the abrupt and seemingly lazy search. It wasn't until King Kai interrupted that things calmed down.
"Wait, Yemma! Goku became a super saiyan during the fight with Frieza! It's possible the rage that filled his heart corrupted him too much to let him keep his body when he came back, see?" explained the Kai, nodding with a smirk in approval of his own theory. Yemma nodded, beginning to understand and agree. The spirit stayed silent, observing the events before it.
"Alright, I guess all of that makes sense. Krillin should be arriving any second now to return with Kami. You can tag along with them or we can send you back to Earth now. What'll it be, Goku?"
The spirit remained silent.
"Somebody's moody today. super saiyans have quite the atmosphere around them, don't they?" Yemma joked. "King Kai, next time Goku dies, he is YOUR responsibility, are we clear?"
There was a pause, and then "yes, sir" from King Kai before communication ceased. Krillin arrived, then Kami, and Yemma informed them of Goku's status. A small conversation about it took place before the three of them were off.
"Good job..." Yemma said to himself, leaning back in his chair. "A whole day of relatively stress free work. It's been a good day."
"Um... Sir?" said the blue demon.
"Yes, what is it?"
"That spirit... Well, it was actually a man named Bardock. We just double-checked and Shenron said Goku was still alive, so I did some double checking, and cross refenced some papers, and-"
"IDIOT!" shouted Yemma. "You just let loose a long dead Saiyan warrior on Earth!"
We can asume the blue demon was fired for his poor judgment.
Back in Bulma's yard...
"Wait, Goku is still alive?" asked Gohan, confused. "Then who did Kami come back with?"
"Hehe..." a slight chuckle from the entrance to the building, followed by the shadow of a man who looked like Goku. As he came further into the light, his saiyan armor became noticable, and the red headband stood against his jet hair. His smirk was rather wide, and his definition was immense. This man was not Goku, but boy did he look like him.
"W-what the-" Next came Piccolo, taking a guarding stance and practically stepping in front of Gohan. Next to the man was Krillin, who didn't seem to realize he was next to a saiyan warrior.
"Krillin, behind you!" shouted Piccolo. The bald man turned to see the intimidating saiyan warrior, who didn't seem to want a fight with him. Rather, he nodded to Krillin as if to greet him. The armor probably made him think Krillin was a saiyan.
"So, what planet did I just get stuck on?" asked the man. His physical resemblance to Goku aside from the scar on his cheek was entirely betrayed by the gruff, hardened voice he had.
"Huh?" Krillin stepped away, seeing that he wasn't in immediate danger, to greet his friends. There was a momentary reunion, but the stranger had them all on guard. Shenron vanished without a word, and with him, so did the dragonballs. Chi-chi seemed far less than amused.
"Alright, somebody better start explaining or I'm going to start swinging!" she exclaimed, in particular staring down Krillin. "How did you not see that this isn't Goku? Idiot, you let them bring back the wrong saiyan!"
"Allow me to answer that one." a voice from the sky came to Piccolo. The voice was King Kai. "See, that's kind of my mistake. We thought Goku was dead, and this guy's aura was so similar, we sent him instead. He was a spirit though, so I thought Goku's transformation made him impure. So, if anyone's reponsible for this mixup, it's me."
"How noble." Piccolo scoffed, turning to Chi-chi who was currently kicking Krillin in anger. "King Kai says this guy has Goku's aura and they made a mistake. That would explain why Shenron said Goku isn't dead. But the question remains..." his attention turned to the saiyan. "Who are you that you look and seem so similar to Goku."
"I asked first, pal. Where am I?" answered the man.
"Earth. Your saiyan kind is welcome here as long as you're not out for blood like the others." Piccolo explained.
"Others? Wait, did you say Earth? My son Kakarot was sent here to conquer the place!"
"Y-your... Son?" Krillin stuttered, taking a step back. "T-then you're Goku's father? That would explain a lot..."
"What's a Goku? I'm Kakarot's father!" the man snapped. "Bardock!"
Piccolo sighed, taking a step forward. He didn't seem afraid of the man at all.
"Goku is what Earthlings call your son. And while he was sent here to conquer it, he ended up becoming its defender, along with some of the others you see here." he smirked, pointing behind him at Gohan. "Including his son, Gohan. Now as I said, saiyans are welcome here, but if you make a move on any of us or threaten the Earth, don't be surprised to find yourself on all our bad sides."
Bardock took a minute to stare. Gohan... So, he was a grandfather.
"Gohan, Goku, Earth... All of this is news to me. But honestly, I could care less about fighting any of you. Tell me, why am I here?"
There was a moment of silence, and the wind blowing harder than usual, before Piccolo answered.
"You were wished back to life by the dragonballs by accident while we were trying to wish back your son. The short bald one is his friend Krillin, who died at Frieza's hand... And then Goku obliterated Frieza." the namek new exactly what he was doing. By glorifying Goku to his father, he was ensuring that all of them would be unharmed. He wasn't afraid to fight, but he also wasn't sure he could win right here either.
"Kakarot... defeated Frieza?" Bardock exclaimed. "I can't believe that my son with a power level of two defeated the strongest warrior in the universe! What kind of trick are you pulling?"
Gohan spoke up.
"Hey, my dad's a lot stronger than that! He took on Vegeta and Frieza and the Ginyu Force and beat them all!"
Bardock actually started to laugh.
"You must be joking! One warrior couldn't possibly best even one member of the Ginyu Force, let alone my king or Frieza!"
"It's no joke! Goku's a super saiyan!" Krillin chipped in. By this point Bardock's laughter ceased. These people knew of his race's legends. Yet this primitive planet seemed to be too weak a place for any proper warrior. The gravity was very light and the air was much more friendly to the lungs. How anybody became battle hardened and ready to fight Frieza here was inconceivable. And yet... They knew what a super saiyan was.
"Alright, you've piqued my interest. Where is Kakarot now? I want to see my son's true power."
"Again, I can answer that!" King Kai's voice once again came to Piccolo, but this time it also came to Bardock. "Goku told me to tell you all he's training on another planet right now. He'll be bac as soon as he can be! I didn't mention Bardock to him yet though. I wanted to save that surprise for when he gets back, if that's alright."
"That's fine, King Kai. Thank you." Piccolo turned to the group. "Alright, Goku is going to be back eventually, but for now we should welcome Bardock, since it seems he's not here for a fight."
Chi-chi this time stepped forward.
"Well, if he plans on staying here he'd better catch up with his grandson!"
"You there, namek... Who is this loud woman?" asked Bardock.
"That's your son's wife."
This actually caused Bardock to bow in respect. It seems saiyans are not above proper greeting. Gohan approached his grandfather, and then Krillin, and the others who had remained silent too.
"You'll need to excuse us if we're a little cautious around saiyans in that armor. The last three tried to kill us."
"Three? You had only mentioned king Vegeta earlier."
"Not king. Prince. And with him was a bulky bald one named Nappa. But before both of them was your other son Raditz."
"Raditz is here too?"
"No, I'm afraid we had to kill him to save Gohan. He was out of control. I take full responsibility for his death, since it was my attack that ended his life."
"I see." Bardock's expression hardly changed. Battle hardened saiyans never showed care for fallen comrades. But, just then, it did. To anger, and then concern, and finally back to a neutral state, all so quickly that it was well hidden by a change in posture. He made a mental note to honor the fallen son later, in private, as to not show weakness to these people. "And the prince?"
"Vegeta should still be on Earth somewhere. He was killed and revived by Frieza. Though I warn you, he's not exactly friendly to us. And I imagine you'll be treated as Goku was to him, which if I may say was a lot like a peon. Like somebody who could die and he wouldn't care in his entire life."
"Yeah, that sounds like the prince alright. If we're done here, I'm curious to meet him. I'm not ready to accept all of you as allies just yet, but I don't see a reason to make enemies out of you either."
Without a word, Bardock flew off in an unknown direction. The Z fighters and their families remained silent, baffled by the events that had taken place. Gohan seemed more eager than frightened, while Chi-chi was steaming mad that he abandoned his family. Piccolo and Krillin seemed neutral, and Bulma broke the tension, speaking for the first time since Shenron vanished.
"Well, there's not a whole lot we can do right now. And if he's not out to get us, why think too hard about it? Let's just go enjoy ourselves with some snacks and welcome Krillin back!"
"I like the sound of relaxing for once." said Krillin, as the group headed into the Capsule Corporation building. Little did they know, in the days far ahead of them, a young half saiyan was doing battle against fearsome enemies as the last remaining Z fighter.
