The Bardock Effect
Chapter Fourteen: Past Pain, Future Nightmare
"Kakarot, my son, hold on," Bardock choked out. "Please, fight!"
"Father," Goku said weakly, holding on to his crying wife's hand as best he could. "I'm...glad we finally got to meet. I'm-" a loud, heavy cough wracked him. "Proud to be your son. Good...bye. I'm sorry."
"No," Bardock said weakly as his son's ki signal faded into oblivion, a peaceful look on his face.
Bardock pulled a white sheet over his son's body as he led his crying daughter-in-law from the house to the front lawn. Gohan looked up at his grandfather, a pleading look in his eyes. Bardock couldn't bear to speak to the boy, opting to merely close his eyes and shake his head. His friends and family sobbed. Goku, the greatest hero of planet Earth died of a heart virus a month to the day after his father's bloody victory over the revived cyborg Frieza and his father, King Cold. It'd struck fast, leaving the mighty warrior bedridden within a week. He fought to the last day when, too exhausted to continue, finally numb from the pain, he closed his eyes for the final time. Just a week ago, Kami had informed them that it was not within Shenron's power to undo nature or a natural death to prevent people from living beyond their appointed time. Senzu beans had been unable to heal him, there was no cure. A month of agony, and it was all over. Bardock, as well as Goku's friends and family, had donned black armbands during the hero's funeral. Bardock refused to remove his.
A few months later, Bardock received word that Vegeta had impregnated Bulma and left Earth a coward, too scared to raise the child he'd sired. As he did in another time, Bardock stepped up, trying to channel his grief over his son's demise into drive to be a proper father to Bulma's newborn son, Trunks. Wracked with grief over the loss of his brother, Raditz had become a drifter. Every once in a while, the news would report on a haggard-looking man with wild, long, black hair and incredible strength saving a busload of children or putting an end to a bandit gang. Gohan's grades slipped, despite his mother's pleas and his grandfather's encouragement. The boy looked as tired as Bardock felt when he was alone, late at night, looking into the stars and thinking of his youngest son. Then, one day two years after Goku's death, the world promptly went to hell.
"Bardock!" Bulma yelled urgently over Trunks' wails. "You need to see this, hurry!"
"What is it?" Bardock asked, alarmed, as he ran into the living room.
"Look," Bulma said in a quiet, awed voice, pointing at the television.
"This is Chet Manley on location near South City!" A black-haired reporter yelled over the deafening sound of helicopter blades beating their bombastic refrain. "Just hours ago, we here at ZTV received reports of explosions wracking a small town just to the southeast of here! Now," the picture shifted, showing smoking ruins of a city. "There is nothing left, the entire city has been wiped out! Before they were wiped out, one of our other camera crews managed to capture footage of what look to be two teenagers destroying massive swathes of the city and killing everyone they laid eyes on."
"Shit," Bardock spat. "You think the others have seen this?"
"Master Roshi was the one that told me about it," Bulma said hastily. "And Chi Chi told me that Gohan has rushed off to South City. Bardock," she added, barely stopping for breath. "You have to hurry! The others are probably on their way as we speak! Please, don't let anything happen to Gohan!"
"I won't," Bardock said angrily, tightening his bandanna. "Take care of Trunks and, Bulma, no matter what happens," he paused, leaning in to kiss the woman he'd grown to adore. "I love you."
Just then, the duo that had been shown earlier was in front of the news crew. While equal in height and general build, one was a young man with straight, black hair, while the other was a young woman with blonde hair in the same style. Both had the same cold, blue eyes. Their faces lit up with savage delight as they raised their hands and, a moment later, the signal cut out, preempted by the terrified screams of the news crew.
Bardock rushed off, as fast as he could. He could feel several strong ki signatures converging on his destination. Focusing as much as his panicked brain allowed, he felt the ki of his grandson leading the pack and, to his surprise, his eldest son, Raditz, wasn't too far behind. What felt like an eternity later, Bardock met up with the crew that had assembled itself. Raditz, a scraggly beard grown over his face like an untamed mass of wiry brambles, was holding his nephew as the young boy looked down at the city being laid to waste, cold murder in his eyes. Behind them were Tien, Krillin, Piccolo, Nail, and Yamcha, all equally grim-faced.
"We know what we have to do," Bardock said simply. "Don't screw it up by getting killed, got it?"
Raditz' grip loosened on Gohan and, like a cork, the boy shot off without a word to the group, speeding to the city. Bardock could feel a massive wellspring of emotion, not to mention power, flowing from the boy like a raging tsunami. The boy had been, apparently, in dire need of an emotional outlet, and he was finally getting one. Transforming into a Super Saiyan, Bardock flew after the boy, his desire to keep him safe overriding everything else. The rest of the group charged behind him, the sound of explosions echoing through the air. Bardock saw the twin terrors dead ahead, laughing as they blasted buildings to rubble. He watched as Gohan, somehow managing to outpace him, kicked the young man square in the chest, knocking him to the ground.
"You've got spunk," the young man said, pulling himself up. "What's gotten into you, huh kid?"
"He doesn't look like he wants to talk, Seventeen," the young woman observed, looking at the visage of cold fury etched into Gohan's face.
"You're right, Eighteen," Seventeen said, dusting himself off. "That's fine, I was getting bored, anyway. Oh, and I see you've brought friends."
"I have only two questions," Bardock began as he landed. "Who and why?"
"My sister and I," Seventeen replied, stretching. "Are cyborgs created by Dr. Gero of the Red Ribbon Army to kill Son Goku. But, the 'brilliant' doctor thought he could order us around," Seventeen added with a laugh. "So, we killed him and now, we do whatever we want. As for why...I ask you, why not?"
"Killing all these people on a whim," Gohan spat angrily. "You're disgusting."
"So you say, kid," Seventeen replied, laughing before speeding towards the boy. "But, enough talk, time for action!"
Before he could react, Seventeen struck Gohan hard in the stomach and smiled vindictively as he placed his foot on the boy's head.
"Aren't any of you going to help this poor kid?" Seventeen asked mockingly. "If you don't, I'll kill him right here."
"You leave my nephew alone!" Raditz yelled, charging Seventeen.
Eighteen took this chance and, in an instant, had a struggling Raditz in a headlock, grinning as the Saiyan clawed at her abnormally powerful arms. Bardock charged and, unbeknownst to him, Nail was not far behind, but aiming for Eighteen. Bardock sent a punch flying into Seventeen's face, knocking the cyborg into a nearby pile of rubble. Nail swept his feet underneath Eighteen, tripping the female cyborg and freeing Raditz. Raditz coughed a few times before turning to see Eighteen artfully dodging all of Nail's subsequent attacks. There was something wrong here, the Firstborn of Bardock could sense it. He couldn't feel these cyborgs' ki, and they weren't taking them seriously at all. While it seemed that they weren't aware of how powerful his father was, they still seemed far stronger than they originally appeared.
"We can't afford to hold back against these guys," Raditz breathed to the rest of the group. "We need to split up and cover our targets evenly so they can't gang up on a single one of us. Everyone, sound off which target you're going after, I'm taking Eighteen!"
"Seventeen," Piccolo stated firmly.
"Seventeen as well," Yamcha added.
"Eighteen," Krillin said.
The rest of the warriors called their target, splitting up as evenly as they could between the two cyborgs and charged. The scene devolved into utter chaos as the cyborgs dodged and countered almost everything that'd been thrown at them with ease. Seventeen took Bardock a little more seriously after their first skirmish, but was handling the others with a constant, mocking grin on his face. Building after building was leveled in the fighting until a sickening gurgling sound came from nearby. Looking to his left, the Saiyan Veteran saw Krillin slump the ground, a hole in his throat.
"Broken so easily?" Eighteen said with a sigh. "That's disappointing."
"Tell me about it," Seventeen called out, knocking Yamcha away. "The only one putting up a real fight is the blonde guy, here."
"You monsters," Gohan ground out, getting off the ground he'd laid on for some time, passed out. "You'll pay for that!" Gohan's aura spiked, flaring angrily, his face set in absolute fury. "I will make...you...suffer."
"Man, the tyke's really angry," Seventeen remarked casually. "I think someone needs an attitude adjustment."
Gohan's face shot up, his eyes turning aqua as he did. Just then, Gohan let out a scream that made Bardock's stomach churn; such a guttural yell had no place coming from a boy so young. The boy's hair shot up into jagged spikes and turned gold as his power increased dramatically.
"Whoa, he can turn blonde?" Seventeen asked, looking mildly impressed. "Hey, that's actually pretty cool."
"Still wanna fight me, little boy?" Eighteen asked mockingly. "Come on, then, stop wasting my time with all this posturing and let's get down to business."
Gohan acted first, firing a massive ki blast towards Eighteen without a moment's hesitation. As Eighteen moved to deflect it, Gohan detonated it in her face, blasting the cyborg backwards, much to her surprise. Emboldened by Gohan's radical upswing in power, the remaining warriors moved to attack the cyborgs. Wanting to keep him from intercepting his grandson, Bardock attacked Seventeen, working as hard as he could to put him on the defensive, or at least distract the absurdly powerful cyborg.
"I gotta say, Scarface," Seventeen said as he locked grips with Bardock. "You're a lot tougher than the rest of these guys. Wanna join us in laying waste to this place? After all, what's the point in having power...if you never use it?"
"I'm using plenty to put and end to your insanity," Bardock said angrily. "Why are you killing all these people, destroying what they've worked so hard to achieve?"
"I think the better question," Seventeen said, inching in face toward Bardock's. "Is why not? Its only natural for the strong to have their way with the weak. We have your battle records, Bardock," Seventeen continued with a grin. "When that creepy guy Frieza and his dad came to Earth, you killed them, did you not? They were weak, you were strong, so you won. You could've spared them, could've found a way to imprison them, but you didn't. Instead, you killed them. You removed the threats. You crushed beings weaker than you when you had so many other options open. Why is it okay for you, but not okay when we do it? The only reason people think you're the good guy is because they agree with you."
"That's bullshit," Bardock spat. "I fought and killed Frieza to protect the people I love. If I had spared him and his father, they would've found a way to kill me, in the end. I did what was necessary to secure the peace of this world," Bardock lowered his head, glowering at the dark-haired cyborg. "Unlike you, I don't get my rocks off by killing people and destroying things."
"Whatever you say," Seventeen said in a noncommittal tone. "I still think you're full of it, but that won't matter much in a little while, none of you are leaving here alive."
An instant later, Seventeen's left hand was outstretched, a beam of ki stretching out from his palm, striking Yamcha square in the back, piercing through to his chest, killing him. The cold-blooded cyborg let out a mocking laugh as Tien wailed in grief.
"Through playing around, Seventeen?" Eighteen asked after she momentarily knocked a furious Gohan away.
"Only a little," he replied, easily countering Tien's punch, throwing the triclops to the ground and pinning him. "The small fries are beginning to bore me, so I'm getting rid of them so I can focus on the big, blonde guy. The rest, well," he continued, holding Tien's head in his hands and staring into his eyes. "No reason to keep them around, right?"
With a sickening crack, Seventeen broke Tien's neck, sending him to meet his comrades in arms. Piccolo and Nail looked on in horror at the absolute monstrosities they were fighting. As he fought, it dawned on Bardock that the creatures they were fighting were even more evil than Frieza. At least the tyrant had wanted to do more than kill, there was at least some reason to his bloodlust. With these cyborgs, however, there was nothing so human within them. Destruction and death, for them, were ends unto themselves, there were no motivations other than simple, animalistic pleasure. The thought froze his blood. There would be no reasoning with them, nothing he could give in exchange to get them to stop. Bardock dodged a large ki blast, watching Seventeen smile evilly as the cyborg closed his hand.
"Nail!" he heard Piccolo yell as the Namekian forced the other out of the way just in time to save his life.
The explosion that went off in Piccolo's face had shredded his body to bloody tatters, ruining him so badly, no amount of regenerative power could bring him back. Bardock's heart nearly stopped. Piccolo was dead and, just like when he'd died during Vegeta and Nappa's assault on Earth, the Dragon Balls were now inert. Nobody would be coming back from this fight. Bardock's ki ebbed a little as his heart sank, he had to signal a retreat...now. As he turned to call for the others to run, Seventeen appeared before him, putting a finger to his lips.
"You were about to tell them to cut and run, weren't you?" he said casually. "Tsk tsk tsk, I expected better from you. Like I said before, none of you are leaving here alive," Seventeen's features darkened, a look of sadistic glee on his face. "I don't like it when people try to make a liar out of me."
A ki blast went off in Bardock's face, sending a searing pain through his left eye. Blinded by the bright flash and body wracked with sudden, intense pain, Bardock didn't have the ability to defend himself when Seventeen sent a hard punch to his gut, forcing the Saiyan Veteran to revert back to normal as he fell to the ground. A quick kick in the ribs sent him flying off and the last thing he felt before everything went black was another ki blast striking him in the back.
Flashes of images ran through Bardock's mind disjointedly before he awoke. The first thing he noticed was the pain still throbbing in his left eye. That was when his stomach turned and the Saiyan Veteran nearly vomited. The sudden disorientation he'd noticed was due to his beginning to lose depth perception. He felt his face and gasped when he felt the seared flesh over his left eye. There was no saving it. Turning around, his remaining eye widened in horror. While he'd been out, there had been a complete, utter massacre. Searching frantically though the wreckage, he found the one thing he'd prayed he'd never see: beneath a heap of rubble lay the corpse his only remaining son, Raditz, a hole in his stomach and, cradled in his arms, the body of his grandson, Gohan, the boy's neck bent at a disturbing angle.
His children. Gone. Not even as a Super Saiyan was he able to save them. Now, he was alone, with no Dragon Balls to bring his loved ones back and, with Nail gone, no lead on where the other Namekians had gone. The realization hit him like an oncoming train. Nobody was coming. The only other people in his life were his youngest son's wife, Bulma, and his adopted infant son, Trunks. The only one who'd even have a chance of helping was Vegeta, and his ship was long overdue to return. Hating himself as he did it, Bardock flew away from the horrorshow, heading for Capsule Corp as quickly as he could manage. His mind still fogged from exhaustion and pain, Bardock didn't stop in time, and flew headfirst into the Briefs' front door.
"You know," he heard Bulma say from within. "People usually knock with their hand-OH MY GOD!" Bulma yelled as she opened the door, seeing the battered, bleeding Bardock lying at her doorstep. "Dad, get over here, quick! I need help, Bardock's hurt!"
"They're all gone," was all Bardock managed to get out before the darkness claimed him once again.
The Saiyan Veteran awoke in a sickbed, an IV coming out from beneath the right side of his sheets. He had a large bandage wrapped around his head and, shifting his body slightly, he could feel even more bandage wrapped around his abdomen as well as a cast on his right shin. Even the slight movement sent waves of pain coursing through his body, causing him, much to his chagrin, to audibly wince.
"You're awake," Bulma said, entering the room. "You've been out nearly 36 hours. Bardock, what happened? The TV reports say that the city you guys went to was totally annihilated."
"They," Bardock began, tears of shame and pain streaming down his face. "They were too strong. They killed Krillin first, and Gohan became a Super Saiyan. Even that wasn't enough...Bulma, those cyborgs, they're ruthless killing machines. They killed everyone...the only reason I survived," he continued, lowering his head as much as the neck brace would allow. "Was because they thought they'd killed me."
"Everyone?" Bulma said in a hoarse tone. "Even Piccolo? Even...even Gohan?"
"They're all dead," Bardock said, drained. "The monsters spared no one."
"And the last report I got from Vegeta's ship said it'd run out of fuel near the event horizon of a black hole," Bulma added quietly.
"So," Bardock began, his voice weakly sarcastic. "We can't even count on the Little Prince coming back to destroy the planet and the cyborgs in the process."
Bardock, Bulma, and the Ox King retrieved the bodies that day. According to the large man, Chi Chi had gone all but catatonic at the news of the loss of her son, she was barely responsive and the only thing she did was cook in silence, making dinner for a family that would never be coming home. Gohan and Raditz were buried next to Goku, his son and brother joining him in the afterlife. Yamcha, Piccolo, Nail, and Tien, per their wishes, were buried at the foot of Korin tower. Krillin, having spent most of his adult life on the little island, had chosen to be interred near Kame House, with Master Roshi's solemn approval.
For the next five years, Bardock, adorned now with a plain, black armband on his left arm, opposite the one for his youngest that he still wore, trained as hard as he could. He took each newly destroyed town almost as a personal affront, an insult to the memories of his beloved dead. He'd fought so hard to save what little remained of his people from the tyranny of Frieza, he'd become the legendary Super Saiyan, but it'd all been for nothing. He'd only gotten to enjoy relative peace for a few short years before all his work had been undone in a single day. Bardock wished that Krillin were still here...the short, bald warrior had visited both Bardock and Gohan quite a bit since Goku's passing, partly out of grief and partly to help them heal theirs. Now, even he was gone. Chi Chi's depression had worsened with each new day, and Bardock had been there less and less, and not just due to his adopted son's ever-increasing needs. Chi Chi, his daughter-in-law, had...approached him during a visit when the Ox King was out grocery shopping, and she'd frequently slipped, calling Bardock "Goku." While Bardock felt sympathy for the woman, the loss of both her husband and her son had obviously driven her well beyond the point of sanity. He knew the resemblance he bore to his late son and, apparently, in her current state, Chi Chi was all but unable to distinguish between them; his presence was doing more harm than good.
"Bardock," Bulma said as the Saiyan Veteran readied himself after breakfast. "I know what you're thinking and please, don't go. Trunks needs you, I need you!"
"If I don't stand up to them," Bardock said with a resigned sigh, this hadn't been the first time she'd brought this up, and she wasn't exactly wrong. "Nobody will. Like it or not, I'm the only one left on the planet who can even come close to fighting these monsters. Every day, more people die. Every month, we lose another town. What kind of world would I leave for Trunks if I didn't try to put an end to them? I know we held off our engagement because of what's going on, and I'm fine with that, but he's still my son, even if he isn't my blood. I want him to grow up in a world that is at least rebuilding, if not totally at peace. Just yesterday, he asked me what life was like before the cyborgs..."
"Stubborn, just like Goku," Bulma said with a sad sigh. "I see where he got it from. I know I can't stop you, Bardock, but please, promise me that you'll not let yourself get killed. If it gets too dangerous, I want you to come home alive."
"You have my word," Bardock said, pulling Bulma close. "I have no intention of dying to those beasts. Today, they die. For my firstborn, for Gohan."
Kissing his love goodbye, Bardock stepped out the front door of Capsule Corp. The last report had placed the cyborgs near Giran Village, southwest of his current location. His eye, or rather the socket where his eye used to be, stung a little as he tightened his bandanna, shifting the eye patch he wore slightly, rubbing it against old scars and stirring phantom pains. Bardock took off, as fast as he could, toward the cyborgs' last known location. In the Southern Massacre, as the news had dubbed it, the cyborgs had left him for dead, even though he was still very much alive. Either that meant they were confident in their ability to face him should he come back, or they weren't able to sense ki. If the latter were the case, that gave him a distinct advantage, should he need to make good his escape. Given that he couldn't sense them, either, it was a slim advantage, but Bardock was willing to take whatever he could get. Ninety minutes after he set off from his home, Bardock was floating above the charred ruins of Giran Village. It'd barely had a thousand people to its name, but someone had managed to get the call out before all communication had been lost. He could see explosions wracking a single section of the village and the light they left told him that they weren't incidental.
"Are you done, yet?" Eighteen called with an exasperated sigh. "Watching you blow up buildings got old half an hour ago."
"You should join in," Seventeen chided. "Stop being so serious and learn to live a little, sis!"
"I prefer to hunt things that actually run," Eighteen said in an annoyed tone.
"How about things that fight back?" Bardock asked as he landed, transformed into a Super Saiyan.
"Is that...?" Seventeen asked, astonished. "Dude, it is! Its old Scar-face! We thought you died five years ago!"
"It takes more than that to kill a Super Saiyan," Bardock said coldly.
"You mean the blonde thing?" Eighteen asked with a small laugh. "The kid wasn't so hard to kill. When we beat you, he got distracted, and all it took was one snap to kill him."
"I remember that," Seventeen added with a cold grin. "The hobo got really upset when the kid bit it. He was cradling his body, bawling like a baby, something about the kid being his nephew or something. How can we not kill you when you leave yourselves so open?"
Bardock went rigid. These bastards had made a fatal mistake. His mind blank with rage, he charged, punching Seventeen hard against the face, sending the cyborg flying into a nearby pile of debris. Before she could react, he spun around and fired a ki blast at Eighteen, forcing the blonde cyborg hard against the pavement. As the black-haired cyborg got up, Bardock flew at him, placing his palm against his face and held on, flying as fast as he could, forcing the back of Seventeen's head into the pavement. Bardock heard the sound of flying coming from his left and, without thinking, threw Seventeen as hard as he could into his sister. Drawing his arms back, Bardock thought of all the people he'd lost, and let his rage and grief wax, causing ki to explode between his hands.
"THIS IS FOR MY SON!" Bardock screamed, thrusting his hands forward. "KAMEHAMEHA!"
Eighteen managed to throw her brother aside and put up a barrier around herself as she took the brunt of the blast. As the light and smoke cleared, Eighteen's clothing was badly damaged and she'd been badly bloodied in the exchange, a look of intense anger on her face.
"I just got this shirt," she said, glaring. "And you ruined it! I'll kill you for this!"
"Man," Seventeen said with a hacking cough. "What got into him? He's seriously pissed."
Bardock didn't give them more than a second after that, and charged them both, blasting Eighteen in the stomach, sending her flying backwards once more. Seventeen tried to throw a punch, but Bardock caught it and stared into the cyborg's eyes. The creature that had killed his son...his grandson, had helped slaughter his friends. One of the monsters that had left him almost completely alone, that had broken his son's wife, shattered her mind. Grabbing Seventeen by the throat, Bardock began pulling as the cyborg flailed, gagging. He would take from them, until they had nothing left to give and they were dead.
"What-" Seventeen choked out. "What do you think you're doing?! S-STOP IT!"
"I'm going to rip you apart," Bardock said coldly. "You and your sister, piece by piece. I'll dismember you, starting with this arm!"
With that, Bardock pulled hard as he could as Seventeen screamed, his eyes wide with agony. A hard blow from the side sent Bardock to the ground, part of Seventeen's shirt still in his hands. The black-haired cyborg popped his dislocated arm back into place with an audible, metallic crack. Eighteen stood next to her brother, looking both furious and more than a little frightened by what she'd just seen. This guy was serious...if she hadn't gotten to her brother when she had, this crazy person might have succeeded in ripping off his arm. Seventeen looked incensed, almost visibly fuming.
"You," he ground out, kicking Bardock hard in the stomach, sending him flying hard into a building. "You damn near ripped my arm off! I don't care who you are, I'm not gonna play around, anymore."
Nodding wordlessly to his sister, she and Seventeen charged as Bardock got up, both of them letting ki blasts explode in the Saiyan Veteran's face. Shocked, Bardock stumbled backwards, glaring angrily as if trying to will the smoke away, his empty socket screaming like a banshee. Fighting through the pain, he tried to focus, to hear where the cyborgs were going to attack from next. Flying through the fog, the cyborgs attacked Bardock from both sides, barely giving him enough time to bounce backwards. Seventeen fired a blast which Bardock parried, but it was a feint, there was only enough power in it to actually make the Saiyan Veteran not want to be hit by it, enough to distract him as Eighteen came up from behind him and put Bardock in a headlock as Seventeen pummeled him fiercely.
"You should remember your place!" Seventeen yelled angrily. "At the bottom of the heap, like the rest of the corpses!"
"You know," Eighteen said with a hint of sickening sweetness in Bardock's ear. "I don't think I've ever seen my brother this mad, before. This might take a while."
Bardock wracked his brain for a solution, fighting as hard as he could as his ribs began to splinter. As he looked toward the sun, an idea struck him. He might not be able to win, just yet, but he could at least survive. For Bulma and for Trunks. Levering Eighteen up over his shoulders, Bardock used what remained of his Super Saiyan strength to throw the cyborg into her brother. As the two got up, angrily glaring at him, Bardock had his hands in front of his face.
"Taiyoken!" Bardock yelled, a blinding flash coming from his hands as he whispered. "I owe you for that, Tien."
As fast as he could, Bardock made his escape. Try as he might, he just wasn't up to the task of fighting two cyborgs at once, not with the kind of strength these two had at their disposal. If he could divide and conquer...get one away from the other, maybe he could manage it, manage to rid the world of the cyborg menace once and for all and give his beloved dead the vengeance they deserved. But, there was no one left on Earth with the kind of power the task required. No one, except for his adopted son. Remembering how powerful Gohan had become with enough work, a wry smile formed on Bardock's face. With the proper training, Trunks could be a formidable opponent and may give the good guys a fighting chance. He winced at the pain, but something began stirring in Bardock's stomach: for the first time in years, Bardock felt some small measure of hope.
"No way in hell," Bulma said in a very direct tone. "I'm not letting our son fight those monsters!"
"Love," Bardock said gently, his ribs still aching from his battle a week prior. "The boy has potential and...if something were to happen to one or, heaven forbid, both of us, wouldn't it be for the best if Trunks at least knew how to defend himself? He doesn't have to fight the cyborgs, but the stronger he is, the better he'll be able to handle himself if the worst happens."
Bulma gritted her teeth, she knew that Trunks wanted to fight the cyborgs, but she couldn't find fault in her Bardock's words. "Promise me, Bardock," Bulma plead, not losing a hint of her ferociousness. "Swear that, whatever happens, you'll keep our son from fighting those creatures."
"You have my word, dear," Bardock said with a bow of his head before cracking a cocky grin. "Unless the boy somehow manages to become strong enough to overpower me. In that case, I really doubt the cyborgs would be much trouble for him."
"I appreciate what you're trying to do," Bulma said as she ran her fingers through her hair with a small smile. "But, seriously, please keep our son safe."
"On my life," Bardock said, embracing his love.
Trunks took to fighting like a fish to water, the boy's drive was obvious from the word "go." His form needed work, but he was already phenomenally strong for his age, almost beyond what Gohan had been at the same point in his life. Being trained by his father no doubt bolstered the boy's confidence, as well, though the Saiyan Veteran was certainly a strict taskmaster when the situation called for it. For Bardock, it was almost like training with his sons again, a sense of fulfillment that he hadn't felt in a long time began to spread a feeling of warmth in him. As time wore on, Bardock noticed that his son was a very hot-headed young man, not unlike his grandfather, the King.
"Dad," Trunks asked one hot summer's day, some six years after Bardock's failed assault against the cyborgs. "What was life like before all this? Before the cyborgs?"
"Trunks," Bardock began, placing a hand on his son's shoulder. "I won't lie to you, it wasn't easy, nor was is particularly pretty. I told you about how I ended up on Earth, about the visions I used to have. In the space of less than a year, we had to fight Vegeta, Nappa, Frieza's elite, the Ginyu Force, and even Frieza himself. Eighteen months after that, Frieza came to Earth, and we only barely managed to beat him and his father. Before Kakarot died, things were nice. We didn't have any real threats to face, we all had a chance to relax, to calm down. It was strange, that feeling of peace, but also pleasant."
"Do you think things will be like that again?" Trunks asked, a small pleading in his voice.
"I know they will be, son," Bardock replied, assuring the boy. "It won't be easy, there's a lot of things standing in our way, but I know we'll beat the cyborgs, one day. When that day comes, we can help rebuild what they've destroyed."
"Do you think," Trunks began hesitantly. "Do...do you think I'll ever become a Super Saiyan?"
"Without a doubt," Bardock stated confidently. "You've got the power in you. I think the only thing you're really missing is motivation, something to make you feel that need for power, like I did against Frieza. We'll find it-"
In horror, the pair watched as a massive explosion rocked the small town that was, until then, sitting quietly nearby. Bardock spit a curse, of all the times for them to show up. Trunks wasn't ready, damn it! He was strong, but Bardock knew the cyborgs were stronger still. Bardock looked at his son and put his hand on the boy's shoulder, forestalling his charge.
"But, why-"
"You're not ready, son," Bardock said calmly. "If you go in there, I can't guarantee that you'd make it out, and I'd never forgive myself if something happened to you."
"But, dad!" Trunks protested angrily. "If we fight together, we could stop them!"
There was no convincing the boy, Bardock saw that. "Very well," Bardock said, facing forward, his face grim. As Trunks faced away from him, Bardock muttered, "Forgive me, son," and knocked him unconscious with a blow to the back of the head. "I love you, Trunks," Bardock said, embracing his son's unconscious form before laying him gently down on the ground and tightening his bandanna.
Transforming, Bardock sped off towards the city, storm clouds gathering around him as he flew. As he neared the centre of the city, Bardock saw the two cyborgs, blasting buildings with their usual, chilling lack of remorse. As he landed, the duo turned towards him in surprise.
"Well, if it isn't ol' One-Eye," Seventeen said casually. "We thought you'd run off for good! I'm glad you didn't, I still have to repay you for nearly taking my arm off."
"He's blonde, this time," Eighteen remarked. "God, can you pick a hair colour and stick with it? This is starting to annoy me."
As Bardock put his hands in front of his face, preparing for an opening Taiyoken, Seventeen appeared in front of the Saiyan Veteran, punching him in the gut.
"Oh no you don't," Seventeen said, a light growl to his voice. "I remember that stupid trick, you're not blinding me twice!"
As Eighteen raced to his flank, Bardock let a ki blast fly to his left just as she appeared, catching the cyborg by surprise and knocking her back as the rain began to fall. Grabbing Seventeen's second punch, Bardock threw him into his sister and placed his hands together, drawing them back behind him. It was time to use a technique his youngest had taught him more than a decade ago.
"Kamehameha!" Bardock yelled, throwing his arms forward as the ki wave was unleashed, rocketing towards the cyborgs just as they began to get up.
Seventeen and Eighteen put their hands forward and pushed hard against the attack, combining their strength. Several tense moments later, the blast dissipated and the smoke cleared. To his horror, Bardock saw that the cyborgs were still alive and well, only superficially damaged. That same attack had killed King Cold, turned him into an overlarge piece of charred meat. The cyborgs glanced marginally at one another and fired simultaneous ki waves back at the Saiyan Veteran, forcing him to fly up to dodge the combined attack. It'd turned out to be a feint, Eighteen appeared behind Bardock and put him in a headlock while Seventeen sped towards him, shoving a knee deep into his ribs, breaking several of them with a sickening crack. Eighteen threw Bardock to the ground as hard as she could and tossed several ki blasts his way. Bardock was peppered by them as well as flying debris. Even as he tried to get up to defend himself, his body was wracked with pain. Coughing harshly through the thick dust, Bardock barely had time to notice the sound of the two cyborgs speeding towards him.
This time was different, that much was certain. As the battle raged, Bardock noticed that the cyborgs were working more as a team against him, this time. They were taking him seriously, they saw him as a threat. What's more, unless he got a serious opening, they would never let him pull off another exit like the one he made six years ago. A sweeping roundhouse kick from Seventeen landed square against Bardock's right elbow and pain shot through his body like fire as he heard the distinct sound of bones snapping. Coughing, battered, and all but broken, Bardock only saw one way out of this mess. Only one way to keep the cyborgs from hunting down his family and killing his son...a technique he'd learned from Chiaotzu. Eighteen grabbed the Saiyan Veteran again, she was so fond of headlocks, but Bardock allowed this. He looked straight at Seventeen as he hovered toward him, his face tired, but determined.
"Well well, not so tough now, are we?" Seventeen said with a laugh. "Looks like you aren't making it out of this one alive, Blondie."
Focusing his very life force, Bardock stared the black-haired cyborg in the face and spat on him, a final insult. "I'm not going to let you kill me," Bardock said, his voice hard as obsidian. "You will die, today."
Thunder rolled as Seventeen wiped his face, a furious scowl forming as he fumed. "You," he said angrily. "You'll pay for that, wait," Seventeen stammered, noticing Bardock's body. "Why the hell are you glowing? What are you doing?"
As Eighteen tried to let go, Bardock used his last good arm to hold her tight against him. The blonde cyborg struggled, but the process was already done, the wheels already in motion. Eighteen flew to the ground, forcing Bardock's face hard into the fractured pavement, but his body began to glow brighter, and his left arm still held her like a vise. Seventeen watched in mute horror as the light encompassed his sister, blinding him with its radiance. A moment later, the light detonated like a sun, a gigantic mushroom cloud bloomed into being, forcing the rain clouds away. As the dust settled and the light dimmed, Seventeen's vision cleared, and the scene that he beheld frightened him. Most of the destroyed area of the city had been wiped clean, only a smooth crater twenty meters deep remained. At its centre were small shreds of blue clothing, and a statue where Bardock had once been.
"Eighteen," the remaining cyborg said quietly. "No...no...no no no no no! This can't happen, you can't die! NO!"
Seventeen searched frantically, but the only traces he found of his sister were strands of charred hair and clothing. It was cold comfort that the warrior that had plagued them had killed himself in the process. Furiously, the lone cyborg charged off, looking for a city to destroy. They would die slowly.
Trunks awoke several hours later, damp, but otherwise fine. Bardock, his own father had tricked him. It stung him, but as he looked at the city he'd wanted to protect, the boy saw the massive crater. His eyes wide, he felt around, but couldn't sense his father's ki. Choking back his fear, he flew to the blast site. The sun shined on the crater as Trunks walked slowly to the unmoving stone form at its centre, the town's remaining population coming out to see what had happened. Turning the statue over, Trunks fell to his knees.
"Father," he choked out, tears now flowing freely. "No...no! This...this can't be! You can't die! Wake up!"
Trunks shook the statue, even though, deep inside, he knew the truth. "Wake up, father! Please!" he plead the mute stone. "No! You should've let me fight with you! You wouldn't have died! Damn it! If only I'd been stronger!"
Trunks screamed, digging his fingernails so hard into his scalp that he began to bleed. The ground shook beneath him as his hair stood on end, turning gold along with his aura. Hearing footsteps coming towards him, Trunks saw an old man edging towards him, starting backward as Trunks' furious gaze came upon him.
"Son," the old man said carefully. "Do you...do you know that man's name, by any chance?"
"Why do you care?" Trunks said angrily despite himself.
"That man," the elder continued more confidently. "Saved our lives. If it hadn't had been for him, we'd all be dead. He even managed to kill one of the cyborgs, the other one flew off by himself."
"His name," Trunks said, his emotions slowly coming under his control. "Was Bardock, and he was...he was my father."
"I'm so sorry," the old man said, walking towards Trunks, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Its...its not your fault," Trunks replied. "The cyborgs are to blame."
Trunks returned home alone with the stone remains of his father. His mother screamed in grief. A few days after his death, what remained of Bardock's family held a funeral for the Saiyan Veteran, burying the stone remains in a quiet corner of Capsule Corp's garden. A worker who'd been one of Bardock's friends had a statue created which served as the man's gravestone, the inscription reading:
Here lies Bardock,
Who gave his life in the
Defense of Earth.
A brave man,
A loving husband,
A beloved father.
Rest in peace.
At his mother's behest, Trunks forestalled his vengeance against Seventeen. The rampaging cyborg had gone on for over a week, but reports of cyborg-related violence had dropped to almost nothing for the next two years, with only sporadic attacks against travelers being reported. Trunks, however, continued his training with the sword his mother had made for him, as much to improve his own control of the Super Saiyan form as in memory of his father. Finally, his mother's pet project was finally done. Since his father's first, lonesome battle against the cyborgs, she'd been working on a way to go back in time, to prevent Goku's death and send a warning to the past. A cure for the heart virus had been developed shortly before Seventeen and his late sister first appeared, and Bulma had kept a small stock on her, for fear that someone she loved would contract the disease. It wasn't a perfect cure, the timing had to be relatively precise for it to work fully, but it was a better shot than the past had otherwise.
"So, this is the time machine, huh?" Trunks said, looking at the tall, ovoid capsule. "The one you want me to use to go back and warn everyone?"
"It is, indeed," Bulma replied, a sad, but proud smile on her face. "All the test have come back positive, and she's ready for her maiden voyage. Of course, there's always the chance that this will just create an alternate timeline..."
"So long as there's one out there where the cyborgs don't kill everyone," Trunks said, an edge to his voice. "I'll consider it a victory. Besides, it'll be..." Trunks choked up, a tear streaking down his face. "It'll be a chance to see dad again."
"Oh, Trunks," Bulma said, hugging her son tightly.
A few hours later, the time capsule was ready and Trunks set off to the past, hoping against hope that whatever warning and help he could provide would be enough to stop the nightmare before it even had a chance to start...
Author's Notes
Jesus. Fucking. Christ. This bitch just did not want to get written! I really wanna thank you guys for sticking with me for this long and waiting as long as you have. I had a real hard time not turning Bardock into a raging badass and having him rip Seventeen's arm clean off. As it was, he still managed to go out like a baller, though. Let's answer reviews now, so I can stall, er, have a little more meat to this section!
Jack905: Aye, that he did. Vegeta's not a stupid man, per se, he's just got a really big head. The way he cleaves to his title of Prince of All Saiyans kinda hints that he's very fond of his heritage and royal blood. Here, the one person Vegeta could be said to love and respect would be his father, he values the man even in death. Bardock picked up on that and hit on Vegeta's deep-seeded feeling of unworthiness. It was a little manipulative on Bardock's part, sure, but it was the kick in the ass the Prince needed to maybe, just maybe, end up not being such a pain in the cast's collective ass.
Celestia's Paladin: Yeah, things did move...kinda quick, I'll admit. I'll probably do an Outtakes Special some time to cover some of the in-between stuff, like I did with TPA. In the meantime, I will try to cover more stuff in the proper chapters.
Crcole331: Oh, good question! Alas, I don't really have much of an answer because, and I'm being honest here, I don't really know how the battle with Cell will turn out, yet. There's lots of variables that need accounting for, first.
Zod6006: I'm working on the Vegeta being less of a prick angle, but such things take time. Remember that, at this point in canon, Vegeta still pretty much wanted to kill Goku. That, and really...I can't see Trunks being anything other than an "oops" baby, Bulma and Vegeta's relationship only really started being a thing in the later parts of the Cell saga, so them...erm...gettin' down was probably more just a heat-of-the-moment thing, and that's the angle I took here. That said, for all intents and purposes, Trunks is Bardock's son. Remember, a father is the man who raises a child, not contributes the sperm that makes them, any moron can do the latter.
Guest 13 Jan: ...Aight. Just ignoring that things went off the canon rails pretty much from the first chapter and all the shit that happens, you're right. Then again, you have to ignore the entirety of the story to do that, sooooo...yeah. Have fun with that.
TheREALMightyKamina: I'm considering it. (grins) Prolly not until after the Cell Games, though, since everything happens pretty rapid-fire in the Cell saga.
Well, that's about it, folks! Again, really sorry for how long this took! But, good news! There's a Google spreadsheet, linked to on my profile, that tracks my progress with my stories! Its even colour-coded for your convenience! I'll catch you guys later for Chapter Fifteen of The Bardock Effect, Hitting the Fan! Take care!