Unexpected Fate: Version 2.0

Chapter 27-Venturing Into the Unknown

Shadows danced against the dimly lit room and Turnipa opened her eyes to find herself in a circle carved within stone with a menacing figure standing over her. A fearful chill went down her spine when she realized there were other eyes watching her every move.

"It is done," the cloaked figure spoke.

"Excellent, everything is going according to plan," a familiar voice spoke. Turnipa realized that the one who spoke was Paragus and she attempted to move to no avail.

'What's wrong with me? Why can't I move?' Turnipa thought while Paragus drew ever nearer.

"She has been partially resurrected; I thought I said fully…" Paragus stared at her eyes.

"To resurrect her fully would give her full control of her body," the figure explained. "Would you prefer it if she blasted your head off?"

'That voice!' Turnipa attempted to get a better view of the man, but she couldn't move.

"This wasn't part of the deal," Paragus growled.

"I am altering the deal, pray I don't alter it any further," the figure threatened. "In any case, you have done what you have asked for: a resurrected female Saiya-jin under your control, Paragus…"

'Under Paragus' control?' Turnipa realized that she was wearing nothing besides a navy spandex suit and a necklace that hung rather heavily against her neck. 'What is going on?'

"I suppose it's fair that we have Bardock's mate as an incentive to bring those fucking traitors to their knees…" Paragus chuckled. "Once they are dealt with, I will see she is used as a whore…"

'No…' Turnipa shivered when Paragus touched her arm rather teasingly. 'Infr, anyone… help me!'


Upon entering the room, Bardock noticed Goku next to Turnipa's unconscious form lying on the bed and saw her writhe unconsciously in pain.

"How long has she been like this?" Bardock questioned before kneeling down to her side.

"I'm not sure, she's been in pain for quite some time," Goku admitted. "Then, there's the fact that I see strange visions of some other Super Saiya-jin attacking me and mom acting so distant."

"Pinelve… maisen… Kakarrot… no…" Turnipa muttered weakly when her eyes opened. Bardock was startled by the lifeless gaze that seemed much worse, but he saw that she was doing everything in her power to not surrender to what is going on.

At that moment, Bardock was hit with fragmented visions of the future.

a cloaked man standing before an altar…

a man he assumed was Brolly attacking his son…

his prince not doing anything besides standing there in utter shock and confusion while the others attack the deranged Super Saiya-jin that stood before them…

Kakarrot and himself were preparing blasts aimed directly at the shadows…

an explosion of rock and debris raining down while the others were staring up at him in shock and horror…

Turnipa safe in his arms as she warmly smiles at him despite the empty gaze in her eyes…

Moments later, the visions cease and Bardock found himself staring at his mate wishing he could see more while muttering curses under his breath.

"Dad?" Goku looked at his father with concern.

"Infr help me… if anything bad happens to her, I…" Bardock's threat died short when Scrix entered the room.

"Are you ready to go?" Scrix questioned.

"Go where?" Bardock questioned.

"Where do you think?"

"If it's to save Turnipa, then I'm ready to…"

"Not yet," Scrix answered.

"And why the hell not?" Bardock glared at Scrix angrily.

"Right now, you are not strong enough to face him."

"Him?" Goku repeated in confusion. "What are you two talking about?"

"Brolly," Bardock seethed angrily. He wanted nothing more than to prove the god wrong right then and there by rescuing his mate before anything bad happened to her.

"Brolly?" the Earth-raised Saiya-jin noticed the tension in his father's voice. "Why are you so angry?"

"Kakarrot, he's… he's a monster that shouldn't even exist anywhere in this universe…" the cursed warrior sighed angrily in an effort to bid his anger; even in the slightest form. "If he dares touch her, I swear he will wish he was never conceived…"

"We'll find a way to save her…" Goku promised. "Until then, hang in there mom," the Earth-raised Saiya-jin gently touched his forehead to hers with affection. The gesture seemed so right, so natural, so…

"…Goku?" The moment was ruined by a weakened moan from a nearby bed and the warrior noticed Chi-chi had come to rather woozily.

"Are you alright Chi-chi?" Goku asked her.

"I… why are you on the floor?" Chi-chi angrily questioned. "You're not well and here you are getting all dirty…"

"I'm all better," Goku admitted honestly. "My mom's not though…"

"That 'monster' is not your mom!" Chi-chi snapped angrily. "She's just like your father and I think she's a bad influence!"

"Influence? Look who's talking about influences for a minute," Bardock glared at Chi-chi. "In case you haven't noticed, your 'husband' is not human and never will be despite how much he still denies the blood running through his veins…"

"Goku is nothing like you," Chi-chi countered. "If he was, I wouldn't stand having him anywhere near my Gohan…"

"And you forget Gohan has half of his blood…" Bardock reminded. "If anything, you are in complete denial of the truth."

"He's human…"

"Half-human, he's got the blood of a Saiya-jin running through his veins as well woman. He could be more if you stopped holding him back and…"

"Enough! I had it up to here about you all-mighty aliens trying to conquer Earth and take my Gohan away from me." Chi-chi ranted. "First, that monster Piccolo steals my son away, then he runs off into space to do God knows what and then, you and the others want him to fight these horrific androids that some hell-bent old man wants to murder my husband. When will this fighting stop? The last thing I want is for my Gohan to be anything like you or Goku's friends."

"Chi-chi…" Goku meekly spoke. "I know you don't like Gohan fighting, but trust me when I say it's for the good of Earth…"

"The good of Earth isn't worth my worries over Gohan's future. I know I can't stop you or him from going to do what you need to though." Chi-chi conceded finally with a sad smile on her face.

"Don't worry," Goku promised. "I'll make sure he comes home safe."

"You better," Chi-chi leaned forward. "Train hard, okay?"

"I will," Goku gently pulled Chi-chi into an embrace before kissing his wife.

'What kind of custom is that?' Bardock watched his son pressing his lips to his wife's before they pulled apart. 'That looked rather weird… is that the Earthling's way of showing affection? If so, I wonder what it's like…'

"Scrix," Goku turned to the God of Strength, "do you mind if we make a couple of pit stops first before we get started?"

"Not at all," Scrix moved closer to Goku. Bardock, not wanting to fall behind, grasped Goku's shoulder while the Earth-raised Saiya-jin extended his hand for Chi-chi to take. She did not hesitate doing so. While this was going on, Bardock took one last look at Turnipa and noticed her body flicker slightly.

'Hang in there Turn,' the cursed warrior vowed silently to himself before they vanished from the room.


In all of his life, Bardock did not imagine being spirited away by one of the gods, meeting his youngest son, becoming a Super Saiya-jin or dealing with living what felt like his second life on Earth. Yet, here he was standing upon a strange platform that somehow defied the laws of physics that was suspended in midair. While Goku explained the situation to some strange man that he did not bother getting the name of, he was standing there lost in his own little world trying to comprehend the situation at hand. In a way, he had never seen anything like this during his years purging planets and wondered what other marvels were out there.

"Come on dad," Goku called out. Bardock, who had been staring at the void blue sky around the lookout, turned to see his son along with Gohan and Scrix waiting for him.

"Right," Bardock nodded before following them towards the location his son had described while he was recovering. 'What kind of room is this we're going into?'

"Beyond this door is a place where you will all be spending the next year," the dark-skinned male spoke when they reached the entrance. Almost cryptically, the door creaked open and they stepped inside. Almost instantly, Bardock felt the pressure increase and he noticed Gohan was struggling slightly.

"It feels so strange in here… the air feels different…" Gohan admitted honestly.

"I don't feel anything outside of the room," Bardock muttered while staring at the door that had shut just moments ago. "Is this all there is?"

"Not even close!" Goku beamed. "I couldn't stay here for longer than a month when I was younger."

"Why not?" Bardock raised a brow at this.

"Come over here and I'll show you why," Goku lead them through the arched doorway and Bardock's eyes widened in shock.

"Wait, there's nothing out here! What kind of hellhole did you bring us to this time Kakarrot?" Bardock questioned with shock clearly on his face. He had expected his son to drag him into some sort of alternate dimension, but there nothing besides a hollow void of whiteness everywhere he turned. A part of him was intimidated by this while another marveled at the idea of training without any restrictions.

"This is where we're going to train," Goku grinned with excitement on his face. Of course his son had done this before, but this was truly baffling. What was the point in this room?

"Seems like a fitting place to improve our skills," Scrix agreed while Bardock started towards the endless void.

"Don't go too far dad," Goku warned. "The gravity in here changes the deeper you go in. On top of it, the temperature can range from burning hot to freezing cold…"

"I'll keep that in mind," Bardock waved his son off before venturing deeper into the room's emptiness.

"I will follow him," Scrix suggested. "Spend some time with your son, Kakarrot."


"…stupid whiteness… it's everywhere…" Bardock spoke out loud to no one in particular.

"It is called the 'void planet' for a reason," a voice answered from his scouter.

"That's beside the point Tora; this isn't physically possible…" Bardock seethed. It had been a few months since his brother's death and he had been reassigned to a different squadron. The introduction to the team had not been a smooth one since the team was against taking an outsider of their group in.

"Look, just kill the inhabitants and stop bitching," a female voice spoke up next. If anything, he was irritated about working alongside all of them, Fasha included. The only woman of the group tended to be a bitch at times and he honestly wondered if she had something up her ass.

"Whatever," Bardock pressed the button on the side of his scouter and continued through the white dust that seemed to cling to his spandex and armor. Up ahead, he saw huts that almost blended into the area. Had it not been for the shadows they cast upon the ground, he would have missed sight of it.

It was then that he was ambushed from behind by one of the creatures that used the lay of the land to its advantage and its tongue wrapped around Bardock's leg. A chameleon-type creature had managed to sneak up on him and hissed while dragging the Saiya-jin closer towards its form.

"Careful, I think you'll find Saiya-jin give a bad case of indigestion!" Bardock threw a blast at the alien; which released him with a screech. He wasted no time firing an assault towards the houses; forcing more of them out and laying waste to the village. In less than an hour, the once white ground was covered in scorch marks and yellow blood.


The cursed warrior was jerked out of the memory by the sound of footsteps following him. He turned and saw Scrix a few arm lengths apart.

"What are you doing out here?" Bardock questioned.

"The same could be said about you," Scrix asked rather calmly. "You do not seem like yourself as of late."

"That is due to the fact that while I was in the other universe, the gods did nothing to assist me," Bardock seethed. "Do you choose when it's convenient for you to intervene or what?"

"We choose to intervene when it is necessary," Scrix spoke calmly. "If there were times I wish I had taken initiative, then I would have chosen to kill Frieza myself."

"Why didn't you?"

"The destruction of Vegeta-sei was meant to happen." Bardock turned and angrily threw a punch that Scrix easily caught. The cursed warrior powered up and started throwing fists at the God of Strength, who easily dodged or blocked the blows.

"Meant to happen? That's a pitiful excuse if I ever heard one…" Bardock yelled angrily while he continued to assault the god and attempt to ground him, but Scrix did not power up in the slightest; remaining in his base form while the mortal quickly ascended in order to continue the one-sided affairs.


Days passed. Then weeks while the four fighters trained in the empty void. Gohan was nowhere closer to transforming into a Super Saiya-jin himself and while Scrix trained the boy one day, Bardock was sparring with Goku. Both full-blooded warriors had transformed and were not holding back as much as they usually would.

"Hey dad! Easy!" Goku winced when another blow grazed his arm. It had been nearly six weeks since they had started their ordeal and Bardock had spent most of his time training alone or with Scrix. Since Goku had spent most of his time trying to get Gohan to transform, he had not advanced as much as he had hoped with the boy's progress.

"Cell wouldn't give you the time to adjust Kakarrot!" Bardock sneered before throwing another punch that the younger Saiya-jin barely avoided. In the weeks of entering, the inner demons inside of the cursed warrior had become louder and he had struggled with controlling his transformation into a Super Saiya-jin.

"Yeah, but you're not Cell!" Goku grimaced when Bardock threw yet another blow to his stomach. He fell to his knees and attempted to catch his breath, but the male did not give his son any mercy and drove his elbow between the Earth-raised Saiya-jin's shoulder blades while he was still recovering. Spots danced before Goku's vision and he struggled to get up again from the ground

"What's the matter? I thought you were a Saiya-jin! Or are you still clinging to your pitiful 'earthling' upbringing?" Bardock spoke with malice in his voice. The way the cursed warrior was speaking at that moment seemed to scream wrongness and his power was becoming more unstable with every breath he took.

"Dad…" Goku coughed up a bit of blood while Bardock raised his foot threateningly. The Earth-raised Saiya-jin barely rolled out of the way as the foot slammed into the floor to climb back onto his feet and slide into a fighting stance. "Your power's rising too fast… you need to calm down or you'll lose control again…"

"Control? I have control Kakarrot," Bardock barked and he summoned a sphere of energy in one hand. "It's you who doesn't have control over your power…"

"What?" The blast flew at Goku, but he avoided it only to have his father slam his fist directly into his face a moment later. Bardock didn't waste a second while his son was defenseless and grabbed his shirt. Before he could inflict another blow, a hand wrapped around Bardock's fist and the cursed warrior growled at who intervened.

"Let go," Bardock demanded coldly; the tone was forced at that moment.

"Power down," Scrix warned. "Kakarrot is in no condition to train with you at the moment."

"My son can take pain…" Bardock hissed. The gaze in his eyes was feral and the way he spoke was forced to a point where it almost sounded like a growl.

"Not when you are about to make it worse, now power down." Scrix commanded. Angrily, Bardock released the energy and moments after he returned to his base state, recognition returned to eyes. It was almost though he had awoken from a dream and realized with grim horror what he had almost done.

"D-dad…" Goku muttered with relief on his face before passing out.

"Kakarrot? What the hell happened?" Bardock tried to wake the younger Saiya-jin, but he seemed out of it for the time being.

"You slipped into the uncontrolled state again," Scrix mentioned. Bruises and various scrapes ran across the unconscious warrior's body.

"Fuck! I was trying to train with him, not beat him until he was a bloody pulp!" Bardock cursed.

"You need to learn to control yourself in your transformed state," Scrix explained. "It is twice as hard when you have a tail."

"Easy for you to say Mr. All Powerful Being," Bardock snapped back. "If you really cared, you would have helped me rescue my mate from Paragus' slimy hands."

"And I had explained why I cannot intervene."

"You… you've already intervened enough as it is! If this was your mate, wouldn't you be going after the bastard who kidnapped her? Oh wait, you did and you died because of it!"

Bardock suddenly found himself floored the next minute as the power around Scrix's body flickered. His son lay upon the ground while the God of Strength held the cursed warrior upon the floor; his hair flickering between deep auburn and gold. He would have ascended easily, but did not perhaps either out of respect for the mortal's life or the fact that again, he was not to intervene against Infr's orders. Whichever the case, Bardock only looked up at the god rather tauntingly this time around and hoped Scrix would do him a favor and follow through with his anger. He was sadly disappointed when the grasp slackened a moment later.

"What the hell Scrix?" Bardock was irritated at the god. "You could have killed me and did this fucking universe a favor!"

"Had I killed you, then that would have been unwelcomed by those who are devoted to you," Scrix explained. "Kakarrot especially would have been devastated by your death."

"You don't know that!" Bardock sat up; his tail lashed behind him; showing how irritated he was with the forgiving treatment the God of Strength showed.

"You honestly think Kakarrot will forgive the gods if I did the universe a favor and killed the last attachment he has towards his family?"

"He would be better off…" Bardock started and then, his vision blurred.

the next moment, he saw himself standing above an active volcano that had lava lapping a couple hundred feet below the lip that he stood upon. The future version of himself was standing there with a grieving look on his face.

"What's the point in living anymore?" the broken Saiya-jin said morbidly. "My comrades, my mate, both Radditz and Kakarrot are dead… besides the prince; there are no other Saiya-jins left that I can relate to…"

'What the hell's going on?' Bardock saw his future variant walking closer to the edge. 'Is this when I was going to…?'

"Damn this fucking world… had I known that it would have brought so much misery, I would have sooner had left it years ago," Bardock looked up at the cloud-ridden skies above. "My life hasn't been the same since Kakarrot died and it's bad enough that his second son bears a strong resemblance to him; mannerisms and all… this world would be better if I died like I should have three decades ago… Kakarrot, the promise I made to you years ago… I can't continue to carry it without you by my side…"

'Wait… I'm not going to…' Bardock felt his veins freeze when he saw the broken male before his eyes take a step and plummet into the molten lava below. 'So this is when I tried to commit suicide? And it was all because of Kakarrot? Why the hell would I…?'

The vision felt like it lasted an eternity and when he regained his senses, he noticed Scrix and his son were gone; leaving him in the void to pick himself up when he recovered.

'What kind of fucked up vision was that? I would never get that desperate to die by pulling that stunt…' Bardock thought while rising from the ground with a huff. 'Fucking visions need to knock off this shit…'


"Is my dad going to be alright?" Gohan asked the God of Strength. He had Goku's unconscious form in his arms.

"Had I not intervened sooner, Kakarrot might have ended up in worse shape," Scrix spoke calmly. "Until your grandfather gains control of his transformation, you are not to train with him."

"Alright," Gohan nodded. "Um… Scrix?"

"What is it Gohan?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"What is it?"

"Why is grandpa always so mean to dad?"

A smile crossed Scrix's face and he chuckled. "Your grandfather does not know how to convey his emotions like your father does since he never truly had a fatherly figure when he was growing up. Since your father spent most of his life on Earth, your grandfather has been raised by the men he had been exposed to as well as his mate."

"So grandpa feels uncomfortable around us because we act differently… I guess that makes sense…"

"Your grandfather has to adapt just as your father has to accept that he is not a human." Scrix explained. He laid the warrior down before kneeling at the bedside and focused his energy. In a soft voice, he muttered something unintelligible before a silver glow surrounded his form. It spread softly around the unconscious Earth-raised Saiya-jin who did not awaken from the healing process. "Let's get back to training for a while, alright?"

"Okay!" Gohan smiled before the two left the room. A soft ripping sound was heard where Goku had fallen asleep and when he turned over, something snaked out from behind his form beneath the sheets.


Meanwhile, Bardock stood within the void throwing punches and kicks at the conjured image of Cell; trying desperately to hit him. The idea that this demon that Dr. Gero created was motivating him in more ways than one in order to save his son in another way than allowing him to die. Yet, he knew that unless he ascended, it would be impossible for him to stave what Scrix had warned him about.

'I need to ascend,' Bardock thought silently while giving his all. 'If I don't, then Kakarrot…'

Suddenly, Bardock lost his balance and fell to the white ground hard breathing heavily. His chest ached slightly and for a fleeting moment, he worried if the heart virus had reignited. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on his breathing; hoping that it would come to pass without any issue. It took a little time, but eventually, the pain went away and he slowly opened his eyes.

No longer was Bardock in the time chamber. Rather, he was in a forest and he saw that Gohan was walking the path along with his alternate self with groceries in his arms.

"Grandpa? Do you still feel guilty about what happened at the Cell Games?" Gohan asked.

"In a way, I wish I could have taken back the last words I said to Kakarrot when he was alive," the future variant of himself muttered.

'What the hell did I say?' Bardock watched him interacting with Gohan.

"I'm sure he's forgiven you grandpa," Gohan attempted to cheer him up.

"Doubtful," Bardock spoke morbidly. "He's left your mother pregnant with a child that will be born any day now…"

"I'm still excited that I'm going to have a baby brother," Gohan grinned. "Maybe he'll take after dad…"

"Y-yeah…" Bardock noticed the uneasy look on his future counterpart's face.

When the vision faded, Bardock shook his head and rose back to his feet. He began to train again before he noticed movement right outside his peripheral vision. Turning, the cursed warrior saw his youngest son emerging from the sanctuary of the room's only living space. His eyes caught movement from behind the Earth-raised Saiya-jin and he grabbed it in an iron grasp.

"Ow! Dad!" Goku winced while his father held his son's tail rather tightly. Something within the transformed Saiya-jin's mindset made him feel angry at his son.

"Pitiful…" Bardock spat; his eyes glancing at his son's pained expression on his face. "I would have expected better of you Kakarrot, but this proves you are weak as shit…"

"L-let go…" The pressure on the Earth-raised Saiya-jin's regenerated tail was nearly blinding and he felt like he was nearly going to pass out again this time from the pain.

"You aren't my son if you can't handle this kind of pain!" He released the younger Saiya-jin's tail.

"What are you saying dad?" Goku hissed before Bardock easily overpowered his still weakened son; his teeth bared and aimed directly at his throat. In a sense of self-preservation, Goku blocked the blow with his fist; however, the teeth pierced the outside edge of his right palm near his wrist. For a few brief moments, there seemed to be a stalemate between father and son and Goku saw his vision blur before he felt disoriented from the blood loss. "Dad, stop…"

Moments later, Scrix appeared and grabbed Bardock in a headlock. The teeth pulled out of the palm and Goku winced in pain.

"Kakarrot, get out of here. I will handle him…" Scrix told the Earth-raised Saiya-jin.

"But dad's…" Goku stammered while Bardock thrashed about before driving his elbow into Scrix's gut. For the first time, the God of Strength fell to the ground and coughed up the silvery blood while Bardock lunged at his son again. Transforming, Goku began to fight against his father in his state of madness; knowing that his father was incapable of knowing right from wrong in his current state.

"You don't deserve to be a Super Saiya-jin…" Bardock roared angrily before throwing a punch directly at his son's face. At the last moment, the Earth-raised Saiya-jin lunged forward and pinned his father to the ground in order to restrain him.

"Daddy!" Gohan called out from nearby. "What's wrong with grandpa?"

"Gohan! Stay back! He's not him…" Goku was interrupted when Bardock slammed his head against his own son's and the younger warrior nearly reeled back in pain. The blood flowed from the newly created wound from the cheap shot while he held down the thrashing warrior. "Dad… calm down… please…"

The words fell on deaf ears since Bardock continued his relentless struggling without pause and aggravated the bitten hand.

"When I break free, I'm going to ensure that you suffer miserably!" Bardock threatened. Yet, Goku glanced back to where Scrix laid unconscious with Gohan nearby unable to do anything. In a risky gesture, Goku pressed his forehead against his father's and closed his eyes. "Don't you dare touch me like we're…"

"It's okay dad… I still care about you and am devoted to you… even if you want to try to hurt me…" the Earth-raised Saiya-jin reassured his father.

A moment later, Goku found himself thrown up into the void with Bardock coming at him angrily without any reserve. He was about to deliver a fatal blow when he snapped out of the berserk state on his own. While the Earth-raised Saiya-jin's body hit the floor with a painful thud, the cursed warrior was shaking violently at attempting to remain in control of himself after seeing the extent of the injuries on his son's body.

"Shit…" Bardock cursed before kneeling at his son's side. "Kakarrot!"

"D-dad?" Goku hissed in pain. He felt the blood running down his forehead while lying on the front side of his body unable to move in the slightest.

"I could have killed you… what the hell were you thinking?" Bardock questioned while turning him over. The pained expression did not go unnoticed on his youngest son's face. 'He could have died… why would Kakarrot risk his life like that?'

"You weren't yourself again… and… you could have hurt Gohan…"

"Bullshit, I wasn't myself because I was unstable again. Scrix is right about having a tail in our transformed state; it makes it harder to remain in control."

"You were saying things that I didn't understand too…" Goku admitted. "I don't know what it was, but you sounded like you hated me."

"Kakarrot, whatever those things were, I didn't mean anything I said…" Bardock shook his head. "If I said anything to offend you in the slightest, it was because I wasn't in my right mind." It wasn't exactly an apology, but it was something that Bardock knew he had to say in order to reassure his son.

"Dad… I… ow…" Goku winced in pain. One of his eyes squinted shut while he raised his injured hand to his head.

"Must have really done a number on you if you're hurt that bad…" Bardock muttered before turning to Gohan. "Do me a favor and wake up Scrix." Returning his attention to his son, Bardock noted Goku seemed pale from the blood loss while sitting him up. "I suppose I overdid it somewhat."

"Once I heal up, I am looking forward to sparring with you again taristo." Goku confirmed with a determined look on his face.

Bardock raised an eyebrow. He was hearing things. Did his son just say the equivalent of father in Saiya-go? He wanted to confirm his suspicions and ask, but a groan from behind him interrupted the cursed warrior's thoughts.

"Well, looks like you finally woke up," Bardock jeered. The God of Strength walked over to where he and Goku were and examined the extent of the younger man's injuries.

"You were fortunate not to cause too much internal damage," Scrix commented before kneeling down at their side.

"Is my daddy going to be alright?" Gohan asked.

"Of course he's going to be fine," Bardock snorted. "How can he not be…?"

"My head hurts…" Goku muttered before he pitched backwards. Bardock barely caught his youngest son out of paternal instinct.

"Seriously Kakarrot…" Bardock muttered almost like the younger warrior was faking it.

"You were the one to nearly give him a concussion," Scrix warned.

"He's fine," Bardock snapped. "When he wakes up, he'll be good as new once you heal him."

Scrix said nothing in response to this and focused his energy on healing the unconscious warrior. The bite mark on Goku's hand scarred over oddly compared to the other injuries that left not one visible scar upon the warrior's flesh. When he went to stand, the God of Stength's face twisted in a form of pain that Bardock had never seen upon his face before.

"Now what the hell's wrong?"

"I am uncertain…" Scrix focused before the top half of his armor dematerialized elsewhere. For the first time, he stood there shirtless and Bardock had a better view of what the god was like beneath the metal plating he always seemed to wear. The first thing his eyes were drawn to was foreign curvature tattoo that rested directly above his heart that represented his status amongst the gods. Had he seen it upon their introduction, he would have laughed off everything he was told much sooner. His eyes moved away and he noticed that there was a bruise where he had struck Scrix in the ribs earlier in his uncontrolled state.

"Shouldn't that have healed by now?" Bardock questioned.

"Even gods need time to heal from injuries, though this is much slower than usual," Scrix stated in honesty. "Perhaps it is the room."

"Oh sure, blame the room for your recovery speed going to the shitter." Bardock rolled his eyes.

"Or maybe it's due to grandpa's energy being uncontrollable in his ascended state," Gohan added.

"That could be the case," Scrix mused. "Either way, we should head back and get some rest."

"I'm staying out here." Bardock claimed.

"Bardock, are you feeling guilty about…" Scrix started to ask the cursed warrior.

"I'm not in the least bit guilty. I just want to get some more training in." Bardock interrupted; hiding the shame he felt.

"If you say so," Scrix picked up Goku and walked off. Gohan stayed for a minute before following after the God of Strength.

'Some father I turned out to be huh Turn?' Bardock thought silently to himself. 'I never had a father to look up to and here I am trying to be such a great influence on him…'


Later, Bardock dragged himself back under the stone canopy and sanctuary from the room's harshest elements. He could barely stand let alone walk and had to walk slowly towards his bed before falling face first into the comfortable bliss that almost stole his consciousness upon impact. He glanced up with weary eyes at the hour glass that dictated how much time had passed since coming into this room and saw how little sand was at the bottom.

'A year in this place… seems kind of… damning in itself…' Bardock yawned before his eyes fell closed. He felt exhausted and sleep seemed like a novelty he could barely afford since there were times he had nightmares.


The dirt kicked up around the area and Bardock found that he was in a desert-like setting where there was no life to be seen for miles. In the distance, he noticed someone lying eagle-spread face-up on the ground. Confused, he began walking towards the body, but for an odd reason, the distance seemed much further to journey. No matter how far he walked, it seemed his goal was growing further away.

'What the hell's going on? I want to see who this is…'

Eventually, he stopped walking when he noticed he wasn't getting anywhere near his goal and the body was nearly out of sight. Falling to his knees, he felt the sweat on his brow and noticed the fine grains of sand in such detail that it almost seemed life-like to say the least. It was though he was taken from one extreme to another and had no idea of how to get back.

'Stupid desert, bad enough I was in a white void before and don't know how I wound up in this god forsaken place…'

Suddenly, a strong wind blew against him and he felt the sharp rise of energies around him. His eyes were forced to shut in order to keep the sand from obscuring his eyesight. An angered yell roared and the scent of burnt flesh obscured his senses. When the winds had died down, his eyes opened and he saw Vegeta hovering there with a slight tremble in his frame and a wall of dust hovering in the sky precariously like some warning sign. What did Vegeta do and why was his energy unstable?

'My prince, what has angered you?' Bardock wanted to say, but he knew that the proud warrior wouldn't answer him if he was in a vision. He glanced around and noticed the others standing there besides the mortally wounded Trunks and one of the androids he had seen often in his visions. Everyone who was conscious, including himself, was watching with bating breath for something; anything to happen.

Before he could turn around, surprise crossed everyone's faces and a cry of shock. When he finally looked, Vegeta was flying towards the ground from a blow from Cell and crashed with such an impact that it left the Saiya-jin prince stunned.

"Now it's time for you to join your son in hell!" Cell roared before throwing his hand forward and launching a blast. Movement was seen from the corner of Bardock's eye and he noticed Gohan lurching forward in order to intercept the blast; however, it easily overpowered the half-breed before it forced more dust to fly in the air.

"First Kakarrot…" Bardock heard his future variant say with anguish in his voice. "…now…" A choked cry and a harsh energy flared; one that spoke volumes and the cursed warrior's chi sense was overwhelmed to a point where he couldn't make heads or tails of what was going on.


Jerking out of the dream, Bardock saw the concerned expression on Goku's face. The younger warrior still seemed pale compared to the day prior.

"What is it Kakarrot?" Bardock asked angrily.

"You were muttering something in your sleep…" Goku explained.

"It's nothing…" Bardock would have said more, but he glanced at the hand and felt that strange feeling he had yet to name begin to nag him again. A pregnant silence seemed to fill the air and both father and son said nothing for what felt like an eternity.

"Gohan's transformed into a Super Saiya-jin while you were asleep," Goku thought to change the subject. It was probably for the best since he felt uneasy around his son.

"I see," Bardock muttered. "That's good."

"Why do you seem sad?" Goku asked. "Did that dream really bother you?"

"Kakarrot, I dreamed that you were gone and Trunks… he died…"

"I know dad," Goku touched his father's hand with his scarred one. "I had seen Vegeta go off and…"

"Why aren't you bothered by the fact that you are going to die?" Bardock shouted angrily at his son.

"I am bothered by it dad," Goku stated calmly. "That's why I wanted to spend as much time as I can with you before I die, but you seem to keep pushing me away…"

Bardock looked up at his youngest son and saw the pain reflected in the Earth-raised Saiya-jin's eyes. While the cursed warrior was wallowing in his own guilt of his son's possible demise, he hadn't thought of how the savior of Earth was taking matters.

"Kakarrot, can I ask you something?"

"What is it dad?"

"Do you still hold doubts in your heart about being a Saiya-jin?"

"Why are you asking me that question?"

"Just answer the question."

"I… I do…"

"Why?" Goku looked at his scarred hand as Bardock saw the pained look on his face.

"When you attacked me, you looked like you were possessed by something, almost like you were a monster."

"We're not monsters," Bardock stated in a defiant way. "Just because we have tails does not make us monsters." Goku's tail shifted slightly from behind him when Bardock mentioned 'tails' in front of the naïve warrior's presence.

"I never told anyone this, but I killed my grandfather when I transformed once," Goku confessed rather guiltily.

"You never met your grandfather…"

"No, it was my adopted grandfather," Goku confided with his father. "I named Gohan after him and after all he did to raise me, I repaid him by murdering him in cold blood."

"Kakarrot, why are you telling me this?"

"Because I still feel guilty knowing what I did. Knowing that I have my tail back, it brings back the painful memories of how I nearly killed my friends when I transformed."

"So that's why you deny your heritage…" Bardock realized. "You're afraid of becoming the monster you were…"

"I… I am…" Goku admitted.

"Kakarrot, what we are, we cannot change." Bardock looked at his son with determination. The Earth-raised Saiya-jin looked up at his father listening intently at what he had to say. "You are who you are because of the blood flowing through your veins. Don't ever let those negative experiences make you deny what you are my son."

"Taristo…" Goku spoke the word rather softly.

"You said that earlier, when the hell did you learn that word?"

"What? Taristo?" Goku repeated the word. "I… I don't really remember… it just came to me out of the blue."

"Kakarrot, even though you still doubt you are a Saiya-jin, you are learning Saiya-go. Why?"

"I… I guess it would make it easier to get to know you better…"

"Kakarrot, are you that determined about learning this?"

"Yep," Goku confirmed.

"Fine, I'll start teaching you from the basics, but don't you dare use it unless it's necessary, understand?" Bardock warned.

"That's okay with me, taristo," Goku grinned.

The father and son moment came to an abrupt end when the Earth-raised Saiya-jin's stomach began to growl. Sheepishly, he rubbed the back of his head before laughing uncomfortably at how awkwardly this conversation had to end.

"I suppose you are hungry," Bardock commented; noting the hunger pains in his own stomach were starting as well.

"Yeah, I can't wait until we start," Goku got up before walking out of the room. Bardock stared after his son's retreating form.

'Kakarrot, were you trying to reassure yourself after all that's happened?' the cursed warrior thought before he climbed out of bed and decided to get something to eat as well. For now, the question itself would remain unanswered.

To Be Continued…