What if, when Dodoria killed Bardock's team, it had been enough to make him go Super Saiyan?  Then, when Frieza tried to destroy Vegetasei, Bardock had killed the tyrant right then and there?  This is the story of yet another timeline, one in which the Saiya-jin were never killed, the Earth was cleared by Kakarot, and Vegeta is not the Saiya-jin no Ouji, but the Saiya-jin no Ou. 

(A/N:  There will be a LOT of time jumps in this story.  I'll let you know at the beginning of a chapter how much later it's taking place by saying "(#) Years/Months/Weeks/Days Later…" So if a large time lapse between chapters bothers you, you may not want to read anymore of this.  I also kind of blew the idea of the Golden Monkey out the window…let's just pretend that having a tail doesn't affect how you go SSJ, okay?)

            Bardock landed lightly and broke into a run.  Where were they?  Why couldn't he sense his team's ki?  He had only been gone a second!  Shugesh and Brogos' life forces were gone.  Fasha…it was just barely there—no, now it was gone, too.  His beloved sister was dead.  But at whose hands? 

            He froze and gasped.  Four bodies, all clad in battered Saiyan armor, were lying on the ground.  The bodies of his comrades, fallen victim to fate.

            "No…no…this can't be…"

            "Bardock…"

            He spun at the sound of the raspy voice and immediately dropped to his knees at his best friend's side.  "My God, Tora, what happened?  Don't tell me you let those meat-heads do this to you."

            "Nah, come on.  You should know us better than that, Bardock."

            "Then what happened?"

            Tora coughed, and his eyes flickered.  He fought to stay awake.  "We…we were ambushed…by Dodoria…"

            "But Frieza's the one that sent us here!"

            "It was a set-up.  He wants us all dead!"

            "What?  After all we've done?  It doesn't make sense!  We took the jobs even his elites wouldn't fool with and won!"

            "That's why…Frieza—Frieza's scared…"

            "Scared?  Of what?"

            "Of you, Bardock…can't you see?  You were getting too strong!"

            Bardock could feel Tora's ki getting weaker, and watched as the gentle rising and falling of his dear friend's chest came at shorter, more shallow intervals.  He was fading fast, and there was nothing the proud Saiyan warrior could do.

            "Good luck…Bardock…I'll…see you…on the other side…"

            Tora's body went limp in Bardock's arms, and slightly older man's breathing ceased altogether.

            "Goodbye, Tora.  You were my best friend…"

            A rush of ki met Bardock's senses and the soft sound of Saiyan-style boots landing calmly on the ground echoed behind him.  He laid Tora's body on the ground and stood.  Anger welled up inside him as he swept his eyes across each of his companions' faces again.  "Tora, Fasha, Shugesh, Brogos—Dodoria."  He hissed the name as he identified the strange ki that had just appeared at his back.

            "So this is what it's come to," he said, slowly turning around, his tail now swishing back and forth like an angry cat's.  "This is how we're repaid."

            Dodoria laughed and flicked his wrist, sending the two elite soldiers behind him after Bardock.  "I'm sorry if you were hoping to fight me personally, but you see, I really don't want any filthy third-class Saiyan's blood on my clean white gloves."

            "I won't stand for it!  Their deaths will be avenged!"  A golden glow surrounded his body, and with a quick blur of movement, a huge reddish ball of ki disposed of one of the alien footmen.  The other growled at Bardock and charged forward, and was immediately sent into oblivion in the same manner.

            "Why you dirty little monkey…" Dodoria said, narrowing his eyes. 

            "You did this.  After all we've done!   We served Frieza loyally, and you repay us by killing my team?!  I won't stand for it, Dodoria!  COME AND FIGHT ME!!"  His eyes flickered green as he dashed towards the pink alien in a scream of pure fury.  The only connected thought in his mind was revenge.

            "What the…" Dodoria muttered, observing that Bardock's hair was now on end and changing rapidly between black and gold.  His moment of confusion was all Bardock needed—he attacked, and left Dodoria defeated and barely conscious after only one swift blow.

            "You…Frieza was right…you are…too strong…" the pink monster muttered before falling into the black arms of death at the lower-class Saiyan's hands.

            "You killed my best friend and my sister.  I will never forgive you or Frieza."  He fired a single beam of red-violet energy through Dodoria's chest, turned, and walked calmly away.  His hair, golden in color and spiked straight up, fell into its normal position and faded to black; his eyes remained a glowing shade of green before turning black as well.  His tail swished wildly back and forth behind him as he passed the bodies of his fallen comrades, and he clenched his fists tighter.  "This isn't fair!  After all we've done…" he hissed.

            As he approached the round Saiyan space pod, he took a final glance back over his shoulder.  "Tora, Fasha, I will not let your sacrifice be in vain.  That tyrant will regret the day he ever decided to mess with us!"  He boarded the pod, flipped the controls, and took off into the twilit sky. 

            The pod crashed onto the landing pad at the base back on Vegetasei, and the door slowly opened.  Two mechanics rushed out to inspect the badly damaged pod as Bardock stepped out. 

            "Bardock?  Back so soon?"  One of the men asked, then looked around.  "Where's…the other pods?"

            Bardock regarded him with an ice-cold glare, growled, and proceeded into the building.

            The cafeteria was bustling with the usual suppertime life, but the battle-worn Bardock didn't seem to notice.  He fell backwards into his chair in the far corner of the room and leaned back, closing his eyes.  He jumped at the sound of the waitress's voice.

            "Ah, Bardock! What'll ya have?"

            He leaned back again, giving of a false air of contentment. "The usual. And Janesh, could you do me a favor?"

            The waitress looked at him, confused. "Sure, I guess. What's up?"

            "Find out when they're sending my son to wherever-the-hell he's going."

            Janesh looked at Bardock sideways.  Most Saiyans had little compassion for their children, but then, Bardock was different.  "Sure thing." She turned and left to retrieve the warrior's drink from the bar.

            A thunderous call shook the room. "JANESH! A deh nake! Uze na'e nak? Janesh![1]"

            Everyone turned to see who was yelling at the waitress in their native tongue.  Whoever it was mush have run out of patience.  Janesh whirled with a tray of food balanced on her arm and replied in the Saiyan language.

            "A deh zejyusges![2]"

            Bardock calmly stood and walked over to the larger man's table.  He took a seat and folded his arms.  "Cool it, Grivas.  She's going as fast as she can."

            "Well, it's not fast enough.  And I don't exactly remember inviting you over here, Bardock."

            "With a mind as small as yours, I'm surprised you can remember much of anything."

            Grivas glared at Bardock and growled.  Bardock simply smirked.  "What?  Did I offend you?"

            "Iyan Toma ji ro Nisure.[3]"

            Bardock's face fell, and then twisted into a look of pure hatred.  "What did you say?"

            "You heard me."

            Bardock stood and slammed his fist down on the table so hard it buckled.  "Don't you ever insult my family again, got it?"

            "Boys, boys," Janesh said, cautiously approaching the table. "I don't feel like picking up broken tables and shattered glass tonight, so could you please calm down?  Shut up, Bardock, I heard what he said.  Grivas, I don't want to hear you use that word in this room again."

            Grivas and Bardock exchanged a final glare and moved to separate tables, considering the one they were currently at was now in about three pieces on the floor.  Janesh sat the tray down in front of Grivas and then turned to Bardock.

            "Now listen to me.  If he ever says that again, you have my permission to hit him as hard as you please."

            "I was going to whether I had your permission or not."

            Janesh smiled.  "I figured that.  Here—" She handed him his drink. "Oh, and I found out when they're sending Kakarot to Earth."

            "Earth, eh?  When?"

            "Later tonight.  So if you want to go see him or something before they ship him off…"

            "Yeah.  Thanks.  Hey, have you seen my other brat anywhere?" he added with a soft chuckle.

            "Raditz? No, not since he left with the Prince about one phase ago.[4]  Well, I'm gonna leave you to your drink, okay?  Oh, and where's the rest of you team?"

            Bardock flinched slightly at the mention of his team, and he looked away.  Janesh mouthed an 'oh' and went back to her job.

Yaha!  So what do you think so far? Oh, and here's all of the things I had marked-translations and such.

[1] "Janesh! I'm hungry! Where's my food? Janesh!" (By the way-in Saiyan, the final 'e' is accented.)

[2] "I'm coming!"

[3] "Your mother is a half-breed." (In the Saiyan culture, to be called a Nisure, or 'half-breed', is the lowest insult one can have thrown at them.  Vegeta full-well knows this, which is why he constantly degrades Gohan and Trunks by calling them 'half-breeds'.  Now, I'm not saying that Bardock's mom is a Nisure, 'cause she's not.  Grivas is just a meanie-head, that's all.)

[4] One phase (as in a lunar phase) is the equivalent of 26 to 29 days, about a month.  New phases are marked by the full moon.  (And we all know what happens on the full moon. ^^)