"A Father's Story"

Chapter 1- "Family Reunion"

By- Tiny

The space port on Vegetasei was a bustling center of activity at all times of the day, what with all the off-planet fighters coming in for their next missions and people being sent out later on, and this day was no exception. A squadron of elites had just come back from a purging mission on a planet that was now home to a colony of wandering insectoid aliens, which had decided to call the planet Arliasei. The moving of the population had brought a great reward for the squad involved in the planet clearing, and they were in the bar nearby drinking it up as another pod crashed into the port.

The pod was clearly a much older model, nearly falling apart just from the force of impact even with the soft landing surface, probably that of a Saiya-jin child that had been sent out six zurals earlier. It was covered in mud and what appeared to be vines of some kind, though how they had stayed attached during a long space flight was a mystery, and the life-support system was failing even as the door was kicked away. One of the attendants who had been sent over to retrieve whoever was inside nearly jumped out of his skin when the door flew at him, gulping nervously as a soft laugh came from inside.

There was a small boy inside the pod, no older than six or seven zurals judging solely from his size, his hair a messy bunch of locks that resembled the way most people look when they step out of bed in the morning. He was covered in much the same kind of mud that his pod was, his body covered only by what little remained of the bodysuit that had been sent out with him, and he stunk horribly. The people around the boy didn't know whether or not to bow to him and ask for his name or to hose him down first, deciding on the prior as their scouters started to go off.

"Welcome back to Vegetasei, young warrior," one of the attendants, a blue-skinned alien bowed, "May I ask, what is your name and to which of the houses do you belong?"

"According to that piece of junk pod, my name is Bardock and my father is the Saiya-jin war general Raditz," the boy answered gruffly, "Why is it that he is not here to retrieve me himself?"

"Well...the general is a very busy man, young sir, and cannot be bothered to come to the space port often," the attendant answered, "But before we take you to him, might we recommend that you spend a cycle in the rejuvenation tank and, for the god's sakes, clean yourself up a little bit?"

The blue-skinned alien didn't know what hit him as a blast of yellow energy went straight through his head, spilling his green blood all over the dock's floor as Bardock kicked the corpse out of his way. The other's that were standing around him seemed stunned at just how violent the boy was, especially at such a young age, and were keeping their distance from the small child lest they become his next target. One green one was not so lucky as Bardock walked right up to him, his small eyes narrow and nose crinkled up slightly, a small smirk on his lips as he began to speak.

"Take me to the medical ward so that I can clean myself up before going to meet with my parents," Bardock chuckled, "NOW!"

"Yes sir, right away sir!" the alien gulped, "Umm...sir? Just out of curiosity, why did you kill our fellow worker over there?"

"Because he got on my nerves," Bardock huffed, his tail swishing behind him, "Pray that you aren't next..."

Zorn did not understand why he was called to the medical wing just before his audience with the king, the discussion of his being given a squadron of his own being the night's topic of choice. His father had worked long and hard to get the now mature warrior a meeting with the powerful King of Vegetasei only to have the young man summoned to the medical ward near the docks immediately. The younger fighter's initial thought was that his father may have been injured in his latest mission , but that didn't seem to be the case as Zorn arrived in the room.

Raditz was there, in his best formal armor that he had put on to wear to Zorn's audience with the king, and the boy's mother was also in the room, begrudgingly wearing the formal gown her mate had purchased. Zorn wasn't sure why his mother hated dressing up so much, though he presumed it had to do with the fact she was from the southern tribes and they didn't like formalities. Still, the reason for their being called down to the medical ward become shockingly clear as he walked up in between his parents, taking a look down at the floor and spotting someone he had hoped never to see again.

When they had shipped Bardock out zurals ago, he had never expected to come into contact with the savage looking little boy again, and yet there he was, his eyes narrowed just as Zorn's were as they sized each other up. Bardock certainly didn't look as he had upon his arrival on the planet, his wounds now fully healed and unnoticeable, his black locks of hair somewhat glossy from where they had been cleaned. He was not wearing a formal suit of armor, seeing as he had just returned from his mission, clad instead in a suit of black and green armor and a pair of dark, form-fitting pants.

"You...you called me down here for HIM!" Zorn snapped at his parents, his ki swelling, "That brat is hardly worth the spit that I swap with my soon-to-be mate, much less keeping me from my audience with the king!"

"Swapping spit sounds disgusting," Bardock chuckled, folding his arms over his small chest, "You should find a new hobby, big brother."

"You stay out of this, brat!" Raditz snarled, "Like it or not Zorn, this low-class trash is our responsibility and it is our...duty to take him in. Your mother has agreed to take him back to our home for tonight while we attend your audience. I'm sure the king will understand."

"Very well...I hope you rot for this, whelp," Zorn snarled, his anger hard to keep under control, "Let's go, I don't want to be thought of as associating with low-class garbage like HIM!"

"Perfectly understandable," Raditz scoffed, "The king is waiting..."

Bardock watched with an expressionless face as his father and brother left the room, not really caring if they left him, seeing as they were both elites and had duties to attend to elsewhere on the planet. He may have only been a child but he understood the social system of his planet well enough, having been taught it by his pod while he was away and learning of all the prejudices that that social system entailed. Bardock was ranked as third-class, a 'low-level' soldier, and the only things that ranked below low-levels were half-breed's and disgraced Saiya-jin.

He could see his mother changing out of her formal gown and back into her regular armor, seemingly relieved that she didn't have to go to the audience with the king, and Bardock could actually sense the emotions running through her. A handy little trick he had picked up before destroying the small population of the planet he was sent to was the ability to read emotions through sensing a user's ki. It made his scouter useless for anything except getting a read on power levels, but he didn't want anyone to be made aware of his ability, so he wore the accursed thing anyway.

"You've just saved me from subjecting myself to the most humiliating circumstance of my life, my son," Kinoko smiled, a genuine smile, "In the king's court, women are not warriors, just trophy's on the arms of the men they're mated to, and such humiliation is intolerable."

"You will actually call me son, not brat?" Bardock asked, confused, "I thought it was Saiya-jin custom to not show affection to children, especially not those of a class lower than your own."

"It has not always been that way, only since the ejection of the Tsufuru-jin have our ideals been that way," Kinoko chuckled, "I heard what you did to that attendant when you arrived and, quite frankly, I am disappointed. You had no reason to kill him, he was only trying to help you."

"He was a weakling, Saiya-jin conquer the weak," Bardock prattled out, "It is the way of our people and the only way a third-class survives; by destroying those weaker than themselves."

"My grandfather, your namesake, was born a third-class warrior, yet he did not kill unless absolutely necessary, even if it meant he was reprimanded," Kinoko snorted, standing over her son, "Before he was killed on his final mission, he had risen to the rank of our village's chieftan, a position held now only by elite warriors, so let that be a lesson to you in the days to come."

"All that means is that they screwed up on his read as a child, that's all," Bardock snorted, "No low-level could possibly become a chieftan, much less be in the same league as elite warriors."

"One thing you are going to learn now that you are home, my son, is that anything is possible, no matter how you were born," Kinoko smiled, kneeling to his height, "You have a warrior's spirit, have since you came into this world, and that will make you stronger than anyone ever dreamed of one day."

In that moment something within the young Saiya-jin crumbled, the walls he had built up around his emotions crumbling down as he felt his mother's arms encircle his small form and embrace him warmly. He regretted killing the attendant from earlier, though he knew he could not change that now, but vowed at that moment that he would no longer kill unless it was a necessity. He was going to prove to everyone that he was not just another low-class solider, that he would not be looked down on as some lower life-form, but would one day excel on the battlefield, as his ancestor's had long ago.

"Come now, my son, let's go home," Kinoko signaled, taking off into the air, "I hope you can keep up!"

"I accept that challenge!" Bardock smirked, "Last one there's a rotten egg!"

Zorn did not like riding in the ships that were required on formal occasions, much preferring the wind in his face and through his hair as he flew, but did not say anything as they arrived at the central palace. The king's home was located in the capital city of the planet, in the precise center of their planet's many tribes and villages, a majestic center of culture and home to the planet's finest warriors. Zorn himself would love to live in the capital city with those other fighters, but his father hated cities and opted to live in the southern regions of his mate's forefathers, where things were much harsher.

As he waited to land, the young Saiya-jin's thoughts almost immediately went back to his little brother, wondering how the small boy had managed to even survive his mission with a power level barely ranking him as a third-class. He knew that the inhabitants of the planet had not had any manner of ki control for more than a few decades, but their numbers alone should have overwhelmed the young Saiya-jin in close quarters. Yet still Bardock had managed to not only survive, but to make his mark already by killing an attendant at the docking bay, all of which made Zorn sick to his stomach.

"Stop thinking about the brat, this is an important audience and if you screw it up I won't promise I can get you another one," Raditz snorted, "The king is very impatient and hates it if his subjects seem distracted."

"I can't help it, the brat shouldn't even BE here!" Zorn snarled, "None of us expected to ever see him again and yet there he is, just as cocky and arrogant as any other southern piece of trash!"

"Your mother is from the southern tribes boy, meaning you may take after my eastern cousin's, but you are part southern as well," Raditz scoffed, "Besides, your brother will very soon be out of our lives for good."

""Going to do it yourself or hire someone?" Zorn chuckled, "Mother wouldn't be pleased; she seems attached to the brat."

"And I to her, so unfortunately I can't kill him, but the head of the Academy will be here tonight, a man named Kale," the general smirked, "I'm going to see if I can't...persuade him to take your brother off of our hands."

"But only the strongest warriors survive at the Academy," Zorn mused, lowering his brows, "I barely survived their training myself!"

"Exactly, and he is far weaker than you, my son," Raditz chuckled, looking out the window, "With any luck, the next time we see your brother will be in a grave."

"Perfect," Zorn laughed, watching as the palace came into view, "Just perfect."

"Indeed it is, my son," Raditz nodded, "Indeed it is..."

Power Level Update

Raditz: 7,000

Zorn: 4,650

Kinoko: 4,200

Bardock: 285

Author's Notes: As you can tell by that last little conversation, the general and Bardock's older brother don't really care for him very much, even wishing him dead to prevent the 'disgrace' his presence will bring. The boy's mother, on the other hand, is encouraging him to not be like the rest of his race and more like his ancestors, including telling him that he could be as powerful as most elites. We all know who clearly influences him the most in the later years of his life, but for now it will be a toss-up between the teachings of his culture and his mother.

The next chapter will feature an unexpected surprise for Bardock as he begins training with his mother, coming in the form of a very large elite who's there on his father's orders to take him away. Who is the elite, and why is he after Bardock just after he returned to his home? Stay tuned to find out!