He woke up with a start, feeling somebody watching him. Chichi was still sleeping soundly next to him. He quietly got up and tried to feel Goten's Ki, then Gohan's. Nothing out of place but he couldn't shake the feeling. It was just past 3am. After searching their house for the invisible intruder, he stepped outside. Nothing there either. He felt the sudden movement inside. There standing in his bedroom was an older version of him. 'What the-' It couldn't be. 'F-father?' he whispered. His tail bristled as he slowly turned around and gave Goku a curt nod. Goku immediately put on a protective stance, but Bardock quietly shook his head no. He beckoned him to follow him putting a finger to his lips and jerking his head to the door.
'Kakarot.' Bardock's deep voice spoke quietly.
'What the hell are you doing here? Are you a ghost? You didn't hurt them did you!? How…?'
'Son.' He spoke again, ignoring his barrage of questions. 'I only have a moment.' He said sadly. 'King Yemma and I came upon an agreement to let me leave the underworld for a short period of time. I've come see you and how you turned out. You were so young when we sent you here.'
Goku was stunned into silence.
Then anger bubbled up inside him before subsiding. He only briefly went super saiyan and reverted back. Bardock watched him intently, pride welling inside him. His vision about his son was right.
'I didn't think it mattered to you.' Goku said a little hurt.
'Son, your mother and I, we…' he growled trying to find the right words. 'Raditz was on a mission with Prince Vegeta, we knew he was safe, well as safe as he could be provided the circumstances. We had to send you away to keep you alive. I discovered Frieza's plan but it was too late, no one would listen. We did what we had to.' That's the closest to an apology he would come to. He was proud of his boy, he's watched him grow up from afar, thanks to King Yemma's fascination with him.
He nods to the house, 'You've done well for yourself. I hear you've saved the world once or twice.'
Goku nods, unsure of what to say.
'I… before I died I knew you'd make it to greatness, I had a vision of you. I was certain you'd be the one to release us from Frieza's hold. I'm glad I was not mistaken, I hear you're even stronger than Prince Vegeta.' Bardock chucked. This earned him a slight smile from Goku.
There was a silence amongst them as they each regarded the other.
'Father?' Goku sounded like a small child. It wasn't every day you got the chance to meet your long dead dad, after all. He couldn't understand why after all this time did he come.
Bardock responded, as if he could read his thoughts. 'I'm not even sure what I wanted to accomplish with wanting to meet you. Being dead this long though, I suppose curiosity got the best of me. I knew you were not like the other saiyans. Well, your mother knew for sure. She would swear that you were special, she'll be pleased to hear she was right.'
'My mother?' Goku asked.
'I just don't understand, I guess...' Goku trailed off a frown on his face and a confused a mixture of emotions piling up inside him. He never regretted his upbringing, he was sure it made him a better person, a stronger warrior. He fought to defend those he loved and cared for. And contrary to what Vegeta said about it all being a weakness, he had time after time defeated not just saiyans but countless foes. If anything his strength came from his friends and family. He suddenly felt like he found a part of him that he didn't realize had been missing. His biological roots had meant nothing to him, and grandpa Gohan's upbringing was the only past he knew. But now standing right in front of him was his actual father. Musing about his mother, no less. As if he had grown up with a normal family, knowing his family was anything but. He couldn't expect to have a relationship with him suddenly but something inside him desperately wanted it to be so.
He looked back at his house, where everyone slept soundly. Would they want to meet him? Would he even be interested in meeting them? He got to meet his brother Raditz once and in the end and that was just a disaster. He was worse than Vegeta even, his cruelty, dirty tricks and pride had no boundaries. Even though the meeting led to him getting stronger, Goku knew that his biological family didn't have the same sense of right and wrong as he learned.
'I won't hurt them boy,' Bardock spoke again, breaking Goku from his thoughts. 'At any rate they are much stronger than I am, and with me being dead and all... I would've liked to get to know them but that was not ment to be.' he added as an afterthought.
'They are, stronger than I was at their age anyway. Not just strong but smart, and brave. My eldest even fought Raditz at a very young age.' Goku beamed with pride speaking fondly of his sons. 'My wife is strong too, not in the saiyan sense, but for Earth standards she is. She's a great cook, you would enjoy her cooking I bet.' He trailed off, the heaviness of the missed opportunity weighing on him.
Bardock chuckled again. 'Raditz has been sore about that ever since. He's gotten better, you know, once he renounced Frieza as his Lord. It really weighed on him that he didn't even realize his slavery to that monster. He's just as prideful as ever, you'd think he was King Vegeta's heir, but death has a funny way of humbling you.' He glanced at his youngest son, not knowing where this left him. He knew if Gine was here she'd make him embrace their son, but that was too embarrassing for the old warrior.
My time is almost up son' he stated, seeing the first rays of the sun in the distance. 'I know my visit has upset you, but I just had to know we didn't die in vain. Someone avenged us, and not just someone but my very own son. You've made us proud.' Not one to be emotional but also not letting the moment to show any semblance of love escape him. What was his Saiyans pride, he was dead anyway. He traded a few hours to visit his son for an afterlife of servitude. Beats being in the underworld, that place is getting full of those his son keeps sending there.
Goku immediately felt a grave feeling of loss. Here he was standing like a silent idiot unable to form a sentence. He had so much he wanted to say. There wasn't enough time. He wished he had more time.
As the sun's rays became clearer on the horizon, an idea crossed his mind. Feeling the last seconds slip away before his father returned to the underworld, he asked desperately, 'Will you take a second chance? With a clean slate? I can bring you back'
He didn't get a chance to get a response or say goodbye as Bardock slipped away. Returning back to the underworld as the morning's first light appeared, with that promise hanging in the air.
'Goku?' Chichi asked softly, surprised at seeing him standing outside so early in the morning. When she approached him she met his cast down face in tears and his eyes full of determination.
