Chapter 25

"Goku," Piccolo walked up to the worried man. "What is it you're sensing?"

"It's Majin Buu," Goku answered shakily. "It's-he's killed Babidi."

Everyone blinked in shock. "Well," Piccolo grunted. "This is a surprising turn of events."

Bardock licked his lips, feeling the perspiration, "I had a feeling that he might. They didn't really seem to get along. I guess I pushed his hand a little more than expected."

"So, what happens now?" Piccolo asked. "Majin Buu has no one telling him what to do anymore. There's no denying that Babidi was the brains of that particular operation."

Bulma smiled in relief, "Maybe things will turn out happy after all, guys."

Krillin nodded in agreement, "Yeah."

"I'm not so sure," Goku furrowed his brow conflictingly. "The only thing we can do now is hope."

Pan frowned, turning to her brother, "What do you think, Bardock?"

Bardock swallowed thickly, blinking hard to keep his eyes open, "I-I don't know. Someone has to stop him. I'll go." He stood up, taking a few steps before his body pitched forward.

Goku caught him worriedly, "Hey, take it easy, Bardock. You drained a lot of ki back there. I don't think you need to worry about Buu for right now."

Bardock panted heavily, gripping his grandfather's arms, "I have to. If he kills more people, it'll be my fault."

"It's okay, Bardock," Goku reassured, righting his grandson. "Just take a rest. We'll deal with anything that happens with Buu."

An explosion was let off somewhere on the ground, lighting up the sky. "That whole city," Krillin choked in shock as he peered over the edge of the lookout.

"He's even worse without Babidi," Piccolo gritted his teeth.

Goku hummed, "I guess it's just in his nature to cause destruction. It's probably he's ever known to do."

"No," Piccolo hissed. "Don't go making excuses for him. There's no reason to demolish planets, regardless of personality defects."

"Don't worry," Goku said. "I'm fairly certain we can keep him from wiping out the entire planet."

"Buu seemed pretty eager when I told him that stronger fighters than me were going to fight him," Bardock commented, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"So," Goku smiled slightly. "That buys us some time, but I can't help feeling bad for all those innocent people who stand in his way."

"But we can bring everything back to normal with the dragonballs, right?" Krillin asked a bit uncertainly.

"Perhaps, but that doesn't help us if the boys aren't ready to fuse and to fight Majin Buu in these next few days," Piccolo retorted. "That should be our priority."

"I really do hope that the boys are as strong as you say they're going to be," Bardock said, inhaling deeply. "Our time here may be running out, Grandpa, but my time is coming to an end." He swallowed, "I have less than an hour."

"What?" Pan asked in shock, shaking her head in denial. "No, you have to have more than that. It hasn't even been 24 hours yet."

Bardock plucked at his red head band, "I wish I was lying, Pan, but silver saiyan is only a form that should be used in the other world. It drained my ki which is making me very tired."

"Just take a nap," Pan insisted, her eyes welling up with tears. "Everything will be fine. You always take a nap after a big fight. After that, Dende will heal you."

Bardock chuckled exhaustedly with half lidded eyes, "It won't help. I'll have to return to the other world."

Pan blinked back her tears. The one day where she had all of her family and it had to be the day everything went to crap.

"Tick tock, tick tock," Baba's voice sounded as she floated onto the lookout. "Bardock, at the tone, your time on earth will be 30 minutes."

"Is that all I've got?" Bardock asked in disbelief.

"At the tone, Bardock," Baba drawled. "Beeep."

Bardock sighed heavily, sitting down at the edge of the lookout. Goku took Goten to the center of the lookout, starting a spar with his youngest son.

"Bardock, I want to ask you something," Pan sat next to him.

"Yeah?" Bardock replied, trying to stop his eyes from drooping.

"When you went silver saiyan, could you have killed Majin Buu?"

Bardock inhaled shakily, "Yeah, I could've. I was planning on it, that's why I went instead of Grandpa."

"Why didn't you?" Pan asked, her hands clenching on her legs.

Bardock shook his head, "Grandpa said not to. He said it wasn't my place and that I should leave it up to Goten and Trunks."

"He's going to wager the world's future- hell, the universe's future on the shoulders of kids?" Pan asked incredulously, her anger rising up.

Bardock put his hands up defense, "Hey, don't get angry with me. I was all for killing Buu by myself, but he's so dead set on having Goten and Trunks do it."

Pan huffed angrily, shaking her head. She sighed deeply, "When you go back, can you give Papa my regards?"

Bardock's features softened, "I will. I'm sure he misses you and Mama."

Pan smiled softly, "Mama refuses to believe Papa's dead. She says she has a feeling in her heart."

"I believe her," Bardock smiled back. "That's how strong their love is."

Trunks suddenly flew up in front of them, landing on the lookout. Bardock laughed in relief, "Finally."

"Hey, Trunks is here!" Krillin announced as everyone ran to the boy.

"It's good to see my little Trunks," Bulma smiled at him. "You must be tired."

"Mom," Trunks whined. "I'm fine."

"Of course you are, dear," Bulma teased lightly. "You're so grown up."

Trunks turned to Bardock, thrusting the radar at him, "Here it is, sir. Confirm, is this your dragon radar?"

He grinned tiredly, taking the radar from the boy's hands, "Confirmed. Good job, soldier. Mission accomplished. At ease."

Trunks laughed, "Thank you, sir."

Bardock handed it to the beaming Bulma, "Now, thanks to Trunks, we can use the dragon radar to find the dragonballs and wish everything back to normal." She held the radar close to her.

Trunks' eyes lit up, "When do we get to train for the fusion? You guys didn't start without me, did you?"

"Of course we didn't," Goku smiled reassuringly. "It takes two to fuse." He put his hands on his hips firmly, "Alright, let's go train. We're gonna need all the time we can get."

"Sir, yes sir," The boys walked to their training area.

Goku blinked in surprise, "Wow, what do you think got into them?"

Piccolo chuckled, "I guess you can teach kids new tricks."

Bardock watched later as the boys raised their ki levels to their highest, sparks flying everywhere. Goku smiled when they went back to normal, "Great, your kis are perfectly matched. Keep practicing; otherwise you'll slip out of sync with each other."

"Hey, Bardock, you don't look so good," Videl said concernedly.

Bardock panted lightly, "Why do you say that, Videl?"

Videl frowned, "Your hands are shaking."

Bardock looked down in surprise and sure enough, his hands were shaking something fierce. He smiled shakily, "I'm fine, Videl. Really."

Videl smiled slightly, patting the boy's hair, "Sorry, I guess I'm just a worry wart." Bardock reeled in the familiar sensation.

"Are you ready for the final step to fusion?" Goku questioned. "This last step is difficult and requires a lot of patience and some real discipline."

"We're ready!" The boys exclaimed.

"Once you've matched your kis precisely," Goku said. "You must strike a delicate series of poses together. If either one of you is even the slightest bit off, the fusion will fail. Now, I'm about to teach you the exact moves, so pay close attention, alright?"

"Yes!" Bardock snickered behind his hand as he remembered what the actual dance looked like.

"To get it started, the two of you will stand right next to each other then go like this," Goku brought up his arms, putting them in the same direction on the other side. "And make sure your arms are straight."

He then took tiny steps, swinging his arms to the other side, "Then you say fuu. You'll approach each other with outstretched arms, moving exactly 3 steps over and once you got that you say…"

He moved his arms to the other side once more, lifting up his knee, "Sion. Quarter turn, and watch the angle of your knee." He then leaned his body to one side, his arms outstretched, and his fingers pointing, "Ha! Now watch, point your fingers parallel and don't forget the angle of your legs. It's very important."

They all stared at him in incredulous disbelief. Bardock chuckled, whispering to his sister, "Your expression is the same as mine when I first saw this."

"This…might be a bit tough," Trunks murmured. Goten nodded in agreement.

"Listen boys," Goku said sternly, "You're going to have to face Majin Buu in two days, now that's pretty soon, so it's crucial you know how to fuse before then. Do you understand?"

"Yes!"

"Okay guys, I hope you were paying attention. You're going to have to do the same exact moves in perfect symmetry, alright?" Goku questioned. "Let's give it a try." Both boys stared at him blankly. Goku furrowed his brow confusedly,."What's wrong?"

"I-I don't think Goten knows what symmetry is, sir," Trunks muttered.

Goku blinked in surprise before smiling, "Oh right. Well, it's…how should I put it?" He tapped his chin thoughtfully, "It's like-well, no…mirrors. No…oh, I've got it. Bardock and I could show you how it's done."

Bardock choked in surprise while Pan snickered behind her hand. The boy panted lightly, "Sorry, Grandpa. I'm a little tired and probably won't be on sync with you. How about Piccolo?"

Piccolo glared at the boy while Goku smiled, "Good idea."

Bardock sighed in relief when Goku nodded. Piccolo got into position, his green cheeks getting a tinge of red. "Now watch us very carefully," Goku said. "We only have time to demonstrate this once. Just follow me, Piccolo and do what I do, like a mirror opposite."

"Fuusion ha!" They executed the dance perfectly. Piccolo seemed to get even more embarrassed by the second. "That is symmetry."

"What the heck was that?" Krillin said incredulously, "Was that fusion or is this junior prom?"

"I don't know how I feel about that being our last hope of saving the world," Bulma commented.

"Now, are you two ready to give it a try?" Goku asked.

"Yes!" The boys nodded stiffly. They then clumsily tried out the dance much to Goku's disbelief.

"Oh brother," He sighed, scratching his head. He clapped, gaining their attention, "Alright, let's try it again from the top. Remember, symmetry."

"Well, Grandpa seems like he's becoming a good teacher," Bardock mumbled amusedly.

After a few times, the boys demonstrated the dance perfectly. Goku grinned, "Now that was much better than before. Just keep doing it like that."

Moments later, he sighed after the boys tried it again and failed, "That's still not right. You're breathing has to be absolutely in sync."

The boys started whispering to one another, slightly grating on Goku's patience, "Hey, attention!"

The boys straightened immediately, "Sir, yes sir."

"Start over again from the top guys," Goku instructed. "Remember this time to stay in time with the rhythm. Ready?" He started clapping.

The boys kept the rhythm before Trunks grunted, dropping from his position. Goku blinked in surprise, "What's the matter, Trunks?"

"I'm sorry," Trunks said. "But this fusion technique's lame."

"What?" Goku was taken aback. "You think it's lame?" He laughed, "Kids today. Fusion is anything but lame. The men who taught this to me and Bardock were some of the strongest in the universe, thanks to fusion."

"Okay," Trunks mumbled before his face lit up excitedly. "But first, can we see the silver saiyan?" Goku and Bardock blinked in shock. "Those people may be powerful but they're no silver saiyan."

"Can you do it too, Dad?" Goten asked, matching Trunks' excitement.

Goku laughed nervously, "No, that's just Bardock's specialty."

"Instead of wasting our time with this whole fusion thing, wouldn't me and Goten be better off if we went silver saiyan?" Trunks questioned.

Goten nodded enthusiastically, "Yeah, I'm sure we can beat Majin Buu then."

Bardock stood up from his seat, walking up to them, "Slow down, guys. Becoming a silver saiyan requires a lot of time and training. We don't have time for either. You guys go super saiyan at a young age, which in itself is impressive, but you don't have enough power to bring yourself anywhere near the next level of super saiyan. Right now, boys, fusion is your only hope."

The boys' faces fell, looking crestfallen. Goku smiled sympathetically, "Aw, they look so sad. Maybe you can just show them," He leaned down to his grandson, whispering behind his hand, "After all, your time is cutting short and the sooner you get to the other world, the sooner you can see Gohan."

Bardock nodded slightly. He turned, smiling widely at the boys, "Alright, I'll become a silver saiyan for you guys." The boys cheered. "But you have to promise me that you'll listen to Grandpa afterwards?"

The boys nodded vigorously. Pan clenched her fists, stalking up to her brother, "Be smart, Bardock. You'll lose what little time you have left on earth."

Bardock smiled up to her, sadness around the otherwise happy face, "I'm already out of time, Pan."

He turned to the boys once more, "Trunks, Uncle Goten, watch closely." The boys nodded. He inhaled deeply, powering up to super saiyan, "First, turn super saiyan." The boys nodded, concentrating intensely on the other half saiyan. Bardock grunted a bit, the little ki he had left making it harder to power up. He turned super saiyan 2, "Then you go one step beyond that to a super saiyan 2."

The boys nodded again, their eyes becoming wide with shock and anticipation. "Then," He grunted, powering up to his maximum, "The ki that comes from this has to come deep from within you. It may hurt a bit because the power is intense." He screamed, the wind picking up on the lookout, throwing Goten and Trunks away. They grabbed onto poles, holding themselves in the room while the lookout shook immensely.

When the wind died down, Bardock stood there. His silver hair flowing in the wind, his gold eyes hard and angry, "Once you find that, you become a silver saiyan."

"That's awesome," Trunks said in awe.

"Cool!" Goten exclaimed.

Bardock smirked before he pitched forward, falling to his knees. Pan ran up to him worriedly, "Bardock."

Bardock put his hand up, panting harshly as he fell from silver saiyan back to his base form, "Don't worry about me, I'm all right." He stood up unsteadily, his face pale, "Alright boys, back to work. You two promised me." The boys nodded in response.

"Bardock," Baba drawled causing Bardock to stiffen and turn to her. "Your time's up, Bardock."

"Now?" Bardock asked in disbelief.

"That little stunt you just pulled drained the last grains of sand through your hour glass," Baba answered.

Bardock sighed deeply, "Alright." He smiled at his grandfather, "I'll see you on the other side, Grandpa. Make sure the boys do their best."

Goku smiled a bit sadly, "Yeah, I'll see ya."

Bardock walked out, smiling at everyone, "Sorry everyone, my time's up. I have to get going now."

"Really? So soon?" Krillin asked. "I was just barely getting to know you, kid."

Bardock chuckled, "Yeah, sorry Krillin. I promise, if I do get to come back again, we'll hang out more."

Bulma huffed, "We would've been able to bring you back to life if it wasn't for Goku."

The half saiyan smiled widely at her, "And I thank you for finding the dragonballs for me. Not many people would've done that."

Bulma smiled back, ruffling the boy's hair, "Well, anything for Gohan's kids."

Chi-Chi then came running out, crushing him into a hug, "Oh, I'll miss you. I didn't get to spend that much time with you, but just know that I love you, sweetie."

Bardock hugged his grandmother back, feeling his eyes sting, "I love you too, Grandma. And don't worry, I'll say hi to Papa for you when I get to the other world." The mention of Gohan sent Chi-Chi into a new round of tears.

"You won't," Videl said abruptly.

He blinked at her in surprise, "What? What do you mean, Videl?"

She shook her head, "Gohan's not dead. I know he isn't. I can feel him beating in my heart."

Bardock's eyes shone happily as he smiled, "Your love for him is astounding." He walked up to her, gathering her into a small hug. The tears came back harder, "I'll miss you, Mama."

Videl sniffled, hugging him back. He pulled back, smiling before turning to his sister, "I'm sorry we didn't get to spend more time together, Pan. But I swear, I will come back and we'll get to go back to our timeline."

Pan sobbed, hugging her brother tightly, "I'll miss you." Her breath hitched on her next words, "Tell Papa I say hi, okay? If you do see him."

He nodded, wiping his eyes, "I will."

Baba floated past him, frowning, "No more goodbyes, your time's up."

Bardock nodded slightly. The boys stepped forward timidly. He glanced at them, "What is it, guys?"

The blushed a bit, twiddling their thumbs and scuffing the floor shyly. Pan chuckled tearfully, wiping her eyes, "I think the boys want a hug from their hero."

Bardock blushed humbly, gathering the boys in his arms. He swallowed thickly when their tiny arms latched onto him. "Sorry, guys. I wish we could've had more fun together."

"Bardock, you can't put it off any longer," Baba grumbled.

Bardock nodded, "Right." He put the boys down. He put his hand on each of their heads, "You guys train extra hard, alright? Buu's not gonna be defeated if you aren't concentrating." They nodded. "I'm proud of you guys."

He floated up in the air with Baba, "Bye everybody!" They all waved back, saying their goodbyes one last time.

Pan smiled at her brother's disappearing form. Come back soon, Bardock. I have a feeling things are going to get complicated.