Unexpected Fate: Version 2.0
Chapter 28-Whispering Doubts
Several days passed since Bardock had last dared transform into a Super Saiya-jin around everyone else. He was still uneasy about what had transpired during the incident and his son had only attempted to get to know him better regardless of the situation that they wound up in. For the moment, he was training alone; trying to find a way to control the state without losing control of the form again. Throwing a fist through a column of ice, it cracked and made a creaking sound; slightly giving into droplets of water that converged and ran down his fist in a small stream. Even the coldness he felt wouldn't stop his passion for fighting.
A hand soon grasped his shoulder and Bardock turned to see Scrix standing there. For the first time since entering the time chamber, the God of Strength had ascended into a Super Saiya-jin almost though he were anticipating a fight of some sort.
"Do you mind having a sparring partner?" Scrix asked.
"It would be better than punching these spires of ice," Bardock turned and slid into a fighting stance. Since Namek, he had hardly sparred with anyone besides his son, Piccolo and Gohan, so this would be a change of speed.
"Whenever you're ready," Scrix slid into his own stance. Bardock recalled his previous times sparring against the God of Strength on Namek when he granted the cursed warrior a chance to do so, but that was too far in between since he spent most of the time back then growing stronger on his own account. Now, he wanted to see what Scrix's fighting style; study it to the best and see if he could incorporate some of his style into his own.
The warm water felt wonderful running down Bardock's shoulders while he stood within the shower. Every muscle ached and he had to admit that he might have overdone the training a bit when he spotted bruises littering his arms and upper torso. He refused healing and retired in the bathroom where he cleansed his body of the sweat and grime that clung to his skin.
Turning off the tap, he turned to grab a towel from the rack before emerging from the shower. A heavy mist wrapped around his form and fogged up the bathroom's wall-sized mirror. Walking to where his torn clothes were, he realized how fragile they had become during his sparring sessions. Even the chest plate he had sustained a great deal of damage.
'I think I'm going to need armor if I'm going to continue training,' Bardock thought. It had been two months since they had started and he knew at this rate, their clothes wouldn't last much longer since they hardly covered much anymore. 'Kakarrot and Gohan should be wearing some as well since their outfits are a wreck.'
Walking out with a towel around his waist, he noticed Goku and Gohan were in the living area eating and talking about their training for the day when they noticed Bardock walking out.
"Dad? Why are you not dressed?" Goku quizzically looked at his father.
"In case you hadn't noticed, our outfits are pretty much trashed," Bardock stated plain as day.
"I suppose you're right, but we didn't bring any spare clothes," Goku admitted.
"I haven't either, but maybe Scrix could conjure us some armor." Bardock answered.
"Armor?" Goku looked rather uncomfortable with the idea of wearing it.
"It's only for training," Bardock reasoned. "Besides, it will protect you better so you won't get hurt as bad and would last longer. I mean look at how your clothes are in rags Kakarrot!"
"Grandpa has a point dad," Gohan looked at the rags of his own clothing. He hardly had a shirt left and his pants were reduced to shorts.
"I guess we can try wearing armor," Goku caved; knowing that his preferences were to wear the normal outfit he grew up wearing.
"It won't be that bad Kakarrot, trust me," Bardock noticed the discomfort on his son's face. He knew his son was reluctant in learning about his roots, but he felt that Goku had every right to try something at least once.
"Are you still not comfortable wearing it Kakarrot?" Bardock asked his son while the younger warrior was examining the spandex-like armor that he wore. He felt rather awkward wearing the white and yellow-shoulder pads over the blue body suit, but in a way, it was an improvement compared to the torn clothing.
"It's kind of weird because it feels like you're wearing almost nothing," Goku stated his discomfort rather clearly.
"Eh, it's better than those rags you were wearing," Bardock muttered.
"Kind of wished I packed more of my regular outfits," Goku complained slightly.
"Deal Kakarrot, we have to keep training and there's no time to worry about clothing," Bardock reminded his son. "Besides, you still have your lessons to learn afterwards."
"Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me, taristo," Goku easily forgotten about the whole ordeal of the spandex and followed his father out into the white void.
Halfway through the year, Bardock and Goku had spent every waking moment sparring, eating or speaking in Saiya-go. The younger warrior was clumsy about how he spoke some words and phrases, but Bardock, being patient as possible, did not gripe about the horrible way he butchered some of the words. After all, he doubted that his son would use it any other time besides talking with him anyway, so it wasn't any fur off his tail.
"Father, mind if we take a break?" Goku questioned while they were training. Both of them had been sparring for a while now and during this, Bardock had lectured his son while throwing punches.
"Fine, take a breather for about ten minutes," Bardock replied in return. Goku sat down on the white ground while Bardock looked up at the colorless void above him. The whiteness of the room was something he had begun to adapt to and in all honesty, he was grateful he lasted as long as he could within the room without losing his sanity. He felt the sweat running down his face and before he knew it, he felt the air around him growing hotter.
"Yeow!" Goku's voice cried out in shock when the fire burned his tail. Bardock's gaze fell on his son while the Earth-raised Saiya-jin hopped off the ground holding the sensitive appendage in hand.
"You should keep it wrapped around your waist Kakarrot," Bardock reminded his son.
"I don't like it right there…" Goku muttered, but did so anyway. "It always cramps up like that…"
"Doesn't matter, you should keep it closely guarded to keep others from grabbing it and using it as leverage to make you surrender," Bardock lectured. "Any Saiya-jin that wouldn't conform to that practice would have it removed painfully."
"What? Why would they remove it painfully?"
"It wasn't proper to keep them loose. Unless it was a nursing mother or an infant, this was never permitted."
"Was it the same everywhere?"
"Not everywhere," Bardock thought back to the villagers in the tribal village that kept their tails unbound from their waists and wondered how they managed. "But if you are going to keep it Kakarrot, you need to make sure not to leave it exposed for the enemy to grab and condition it so no one tries to paralyze you like I did the other day."
Goku nodded. Bardock slid into a fighting stance again while the fires began to surround them.
"Break's over Kakarrot," Bardock flared up his power and the flames veered away from his aura. "Let's get back to it!"
The fire danced around them before both of them vanished for a fleeting moment and appeared as fragmented images throwing punches and kicks at one another. Shockwaves were formed by the thundering blows while the two fought at heightened speeds that the human eye could not keep up with. Soon, a blast nearly struck the two and they were forced to pull away from close quarters when Gohan came out; transformed already and eager to fight with them.
"Hey Gohan, want to join us?" Goku called down to his son.
"If you and grandpa would let me," the boy cheekily replied while lowering his hands from when he fired the blast.
"Well next time, don't try to blast both of us to get our attention brat!" Bardock hissed angrily at the half-breed who seemed eager to join in on the action.
Hours later, Bardock was laying there trying to sleep, but for once, it wouldn't come easy for him. He glanced at the hour glass and noticed that more than half of their time was already gone; time he had spent training and improving alongside his son, grandson and the God of Strength. In a sense, he wondered how much time had passed outside. Ten hours? Fourteen hours? He honestly had forgotten the equivalent of time that transpired compared to the months of time he had spent inside of the place. In either case, their time was slipping away and soon, they would be forced to deal with Cell.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Scrix's voice interrupted Bardock's inner musings. The cursed warrior glanced up at the god in irritation, but did not really mind all that much.
"Ever since I arrived on Earth, I thought nothing would surprise me all that much, but apparently, I was wrong," Bardock admitted. "There are still plenty of things I wasn't even sure of beforehand and now, I'm starting to wonder if there's anything else I should know."
"You still worry about Turnipa," Scrix asked. It was not a question, more like an observation that had been nagging in the back of the warrior's mind for some time now.
"Tell me the truth," Bardock began. "If I had gone after her the minute I learned she was in danger, would Kakarrot have followed me in a heartbeat?"
"He would have," Scrix answered. "Even though he has no actual recollection of his mother, his instincts would have guided him to do the right thing."
"Hm…" Bardock remained silent. His blonde hair danced before him. Ever since his son had convinced him to remain in the transformed state, it had become almost second nature to him; almost though he was born to be within the form for an extended period of time. The strain had lessened to a point where he could hold it without even thinking about it.
"There is not much time left," Scrix reminded the cursed warrior. "What will you do once he dies?"
"I don't know… get angry at Cell I suppose," Bardock shrugged his shoulders. "I mean I feel like it would never happen, but every time I look at Kakarrot, I… my heart aches… like I'm being affected by the heart virus…"
Scrix knelt down at Bardock's side and pressed a firm hand on the warrior's chest directly over his heart. A slight bit of energy swept over the organ before he pulled away. For a moment, he wondered why the God of Strength did such a thing.
"Your heart is fine," Scrix told him. "There is no trace of the heart virus anywhere."
"Good," Bardock released a breath he hadn't realized that he had been holding.
"You should get some rest though," Scrix added. "Staying awake for long periods of time is not good on the body."
"Right," Bardock closed his eyes, but sleep still eluded him. 'With all of the time we spent training in here, will it be enough?'
"Dad! Hang on!"
'Eh?' Bardock heard Kakarrot cry out. He found himself near a ship on some foreign planet and he saw his future variant holding Turnipa in his arms in a protective manner. Smoke was billowing from his back from what seemed to be an attempted attack on his mate. He was shaking violently; breathing hard with every breath while his teal eyes scanned the female over with concern.
"Pinelve maisen, are you alright?" Turnipa questioned with concern etched in her voice.
"I'll live…" Bardock spoke in irritation. "Damn Brolly, he was being reckless and nearly killed…"
"It wouldn't be the first time," Turnipa spoke as her lifeless gaze fell upon his face and she gently ran her hand through the golden locks of hair. "It's alright if I do die… as I am, I am partially resurrected… I doubt anything could…"
"Scrix warned that your soul would be erased if you were killed like this right now," Bardock hissed while his mate gasped in shock. "You aren't fully alive, so that would put such a huge strain on your soul that you wouldn't return to normal."
'What? Then she can't return to life?' Bardock thought sadly. The thought of having his mate again pained him; however, he knew that whatever caused this unnatural resurrection was taxing her soul even during the battle.
"Let her go," Brolly demanded.
"Over my dead body!" Bardock sneered at the lumbering giant only a few strides away. His tail lashed against the ground while he gathered his mate into his arms. "Kakarrot!"
"I've got you covered taristo!" Goku was suddenly between Brolly and his parents before throwing a punch at the behemoth. "Get her out of here!"
"Kakarrot!" Turnipa cried out in horror when Brolly grabbed him by the throat.
Bardock awoke in a panic before realizing that he had another vision during his slumber. He groaned and flopped back against the mattress.
'Stupid visions…' Bardock thought silently to himself. 'Even in my damn dreams do they have to bother me…'
He had no idea how long he had been asleep, but he realized it probably hadn't been too long since his son and grandson were still out of it. Deciding he would get little sleep, he climbed out of bed and walked out of the pagoda to continue training alone. Raising his power to the max, he began to throw punches and kicks at a rapid pace in the silence of the void all around him. Every single one he imagined that he was hitting Cell; juggling the body with the combos he threw in quick succession.
Soon, he lost track of time of how long he was doing this and he felt every muscle burn from overuse. Even his power had dropped significantly since he started training by himself. He knew without a doubt he was close to falling to the ground and not budging an inch. Turning, he sought for the sanctity of the room's only exit only to find that it was nowhere behind him.
'Where in the hell is it?' Bardock thought before focusing on any power levels that were familiar to him only to realize that he couldn't feel anything. Sinking to his knees, he wondered if he had finally succeeded in wandering too far 'I can't feel Kakarrot, Gohan, not even Scrix… what the hell was I trying to accomplish?'
'Too much,' a voice whispered in his mind. 'Like always Bardock, you only seem to care more about yourself and nothing of your son…'
'I care about him…' Bardock argued with the mental voice. He was starting to wonder if he finally lost it; if he was starting to go insane from the very room's atmosphere.
'You? Care about Kakarrot? When was the last time you told him how proud you were to have him for a son? To tell him that you are devoted to him? Hardly ever you liar…'
'Of course I care about Kakarrot! Who wouldn't be proud of their son and show them devotion?'
'Lies… if you were honest, you wouldn't be trapped out here alone like this… look around, there's nothing here…'
'No shit…'
'You should have died long along with the planet…'
'No, I… I was spared…'
'Just to be brought to yet another hellhole as you called it…' Paranoia began to set in and the seasoned warrior was starting to wonder if this voice was his doubts or some form of insanity he was starting to crumble under.
'This isn't real…'
'Oh, so you deny the truth of the matter that you're once again fucked? Well seems you're doing that quite a lot lately.'
'I'm not denying anything!' Bardock gripped his hair. His eyes scanned the area for anything that looked remotely familiar to him; a landmark or anything he could use to get back, but saw nothing before him.
'Sure, deny to the end… I'm sure no one's going to miss you, not even Kakarrot…'
'Shut up you stupid voice…'
'Or what? You'll attack me? Go ahead… fire your best attack… I doubt you'll succeed in touching what you cannot see…'
Bardock powered up the strongest attack he had and aimed it in the direction he could have sworn he heard the voice. Angrily, he focused what energy he could spare in this; knowing he would be exhausted afterwards.
"Wrath of Vermillion!"
The crimson and golden lightning-bolted beam tore through the endlessness of the white abyss; temporarily staining it in its reddish glow before it faded off in the horizon. Trembling with exhaustion, Bardock fell to his knees breathing ragged breaths while trying to reorient himself to his surroundings. Spent, his vision blurred and he passed out on the ground.
Warmth surrounded Bardock and he nuzzled closer to the comforts of the bed before the last memories of what transpired came back to him. Sitting up, the cursed warrior felt pain raking up his body from the extent of his recent training. Fresh bandages wrapped around his chest and he noticed a potion sitting on the nightstand. Grabbing it, he swallowed the liquid before feeling the pain lessen somewhat, but still burdensome for him to deal with.
'How in the world did I end up back here?' Bardock thought before stepping on the ground. He had to admit he pulled a dangerous stunt, but at least he was safe and not lost within the time chamber like he had been. The question is who found him and brought him back?
Walking to the bathroom, he noticed how damaged the chest plate of the armor was, but shrugged it off. The armor lacked the left shoulder pad and cracks were in the side from when he fell to the ground earlier. Still, if he lost only that much from his recent training, it wouldn't be a big deal to continue training with what he had. Washing his face, he started to dry it when he felt a power level behind him. It wasn't his son or Scrix, rather Gohan this time around and Bardock wondered when he came in.
"Are you alright grandpa?" Gohan asked. "You used up a lot of energy and dad was worried about you."
"I'll live Gohan," Bardock affirmed. "How long was I out?"
"About a week," Gohan explained.
"What? I was out that long? Why didn't anyone try to wake me up?"
"We did, but Scrix said you expanded a great deal of energy and when dad found you, he said you were completely out of it," Gohan told his grandfather.
"Shit, I was hoping to get stronger, but now I've fallen behind on training," Bardock cursed. 'And I doubt I'm able to transform right now… this isn't going the way I planned at all…'
"Dad said we should be leaving soon since we made a lot of progress," Gohan continued.
"We hadn't even stayed here a year yet, does he even have a clue about what he's doing?"
"If dad wasn't sure, he would have said something by now, but I guess after what you went though, he doesn't want to chance having that situation happen again."
Goku eventually announced that they were ready to leave. Bardock wasn't thrilled by this news, but decided to exit the Room of Spirit and Time with the others. The minute they got outside, the cursed warrior was immediately overwhelmed by the various power levels and had to stop outside of the room until his head stopped spinning. When he recovered, he followed the others out of the palace where Karis stood with Trunks and Vegeta.
"Tell me Kakarrot, how long were you going to keep this plan of yours to yourself?" Vegeta sneered with disgust.
"What? What are you talking about Vegeta?" Goku questioned.
"This method where you grow stronger in a day, I want to use it for my own training!" Vegeta demanded.
"Well, it's available if you want to go in," Goku stammered.
"You should have told me of this sooner," Vegeta threatened. "Instead, I learn about it from this goddess and she told me where you have been. Trunks, let's go inside. I am not wasting another moment with these idiots; especially you Bardock."
"My apologies my prince, but I held my own doubts of this method until I witnessed it first hand," Bardock explained.
"It doesn't matter, what's done is done and soon, you will be once more bowing before my might," Vegeta promised and he vanished. Trunks lingered behind for a moment longer.
"By the way, Cell gave us ten days to prepare," Trunks explained. "We will need all the time we can get and…"
"Trunks!" Vegeta's voice yelled from within the palace.
"It's alright, train hard," Goku smiled and Trunks ran inside after his father.
"Did your training go well?" Karis asked Scrix.
"It did, but we left early due to Bardock having a mental breakdown in there," the God of Strength confided in the female.
"A mental breakdown? Really? I don't think that's possible…" Bardock rolled his eyes.
"When Kakarrot found you, I had attempted to heal you, but you resisted," Scrix replied. "After that, you were barely conscious for long periods of time."
"That's bull," Bardock hissed. "I doubt that happened."
"Believe what you wish then," Scrix glanced over at Goku. "Do you wish for a change in armor?"
"Actually, if it's alright with you Scrix, can I have the normal outfit I usually wear?" Goku asked in kindness.
"Very well," Scrix waved his hand and the broken armor and shredded spandex changed into the Earth-raised Saiya-jin's normal outfit. "And what would you prefer Gohan?"
"Um… I would like an outfit like Piccolo's if you don't mind." Gohan stammered.
"Easy enough," Scrix changed Gohan's outfit as well to a replica of his first master's outfit along with a cape.
"Wow! Thanks Scrix!" Gohan smiled up at the God of Strength with gratefulness.
"You know what I want," Bardock bluntly told Scrix next and moments later, he was wearing the repaired version of the armor he normally preferred over the humanized clothing. The only difference was the lack of scouter since he had grown used to sensing energies.
"Now that we have clothes, we should get back to the others," Goku smiled.
"Wait, what?" Bardock questioned before dragging his son to the side. Gohan and the others watched while the cursed warrior dragged Goku away to have a private chat with his youngest son. "What about Turnipa?"
"Oh, you mean mother? We don't have many clues of where she is yet…" Goku admitted.
"What about your visions?"
"I have only seen so much of the future father. It's hard to figure out what you seen…"
"We'll compare later then," Bardock flew off towards his home.
What felt like months was only a few days and Bardock didn't waste time settling in when he got home. Passing a mirror, he noticed how his blonde hair stood on end and examined himself closer since he wasn't used to transforming.
'It doesn't feel any different than when I am in my normal state…' Bardock touched the freestanding hairstyle that defied gravity with ease. 'I suppose that's a plus, but it can be annoying trying to restrain my power…'
Going into the kitchen, Bardock grabbed a glass when the slightest pressure shattered it. He saw the shards fall all over the counter and floor and cursed before searching for a broom. Unfortunately, the broom itself broke the minute he tried using it when he snapped the stick in half.
'Shit! I can't believe I can't even clean my own damn kitchen!' Bardock muttered. 'I hope this is worth training Kakarrot, or I swear you owe me!'
"So, we had the same visions of the fight with Brolly," Bardock summarized while the two compared their visions. "I feel like something else might happen during the fight, so be on your guard Kakarrot."
"Of course taristo," Goku grinned.
"By the way, I broke about half of my dishes in the house Kakarrot," Bardock continued.
"Oh yeah, Gohan and I did the same along with the table and chairs," Goku admitted.
"Seriously? You're that reckless?" Bardock shook his head. "Maybe we should revert to our normal forms and…"
"No dad, we'll just have to exercise restraint," Goku reassured. "Besides, if we return to our normal forms now, it would be all for naught."
"Fine, I guess I could ask your friend for a cleaning bot or two in order to ensure the floor's not littered in glass."
"She could also design some strength proof silverware too if you really wanted dad." Goku smiled at the thought.
"The question is will it withstand a blast?" Bardock wondered out loud.
"Why?"
"Sometimes, I like to flash fry my own food."
"What's that like?" Goku asked.
"You never tried it?" Bardock asked.
"Nope."
"Come on, I'll teach you how to flash fry food so in case you ever have to cook again, you'll know the basics."
At the end of the day, Bardock returned home. Opening the door, he stretched before heading to his room. Without warning, he found himself in yet another vision.
Bardock found his future self on the edge of a stage-like object while his son was outside looking up at him. Thousands of people gathered all around them and his son was smiling warmly at him. For a moment, he thought Kakarrot was alive, but he noticed a faint halo over his head that indicated otherwise.
"You won dad," Goku explained.
"I did? But you fell out of the ring…" Bardock was perplexed.
"Yeah, so you won…"
"I still don't understand, what does you falling out of the ring mean with me winning?"
'Why was he out of the ring in the first place?' Bardock thought while his future variant was just as clueless as he was.
"Dad, a ring out is when someone is no longer in the ring and if you are still in the ring, then you win."
"Doesn't make sense, but I guess if you say so," Bardock offered a hand to pull his son back up in the ring. Without a word, the younger Saiya-jin wrapped his arms around him.
"I missed you taristo," Goku whispered.
"I missed you as well… Kakarrot," his future shade choked slightly.
'When does this happen?' Bardock thought while taking this moment in. It was then he saw movement and before his eyes, his son pushed his father away before he was stabbed in the gut.
"Kakarrot!" Bardock heard himself yell. "I can't move… what the hell's going on?"
"I'm sorry, but you can't intervene," a voice spoke behind him. He sought to know who said such a thing only to see some strangely dressed purple-skinned male with a white Mohawk. He was holding his future variant hostage under an unnamed power that dissipated after the men had managed to get what they wanted.
"No… Kakarrot…" Bardock heard the despair in his voice. The future variant collected his son in his grasp; noting the telltale signs of his corporal body beginning to vanish before his very eyes. "It should have been me…" Angrily, he glared at the one who allowed this to happen despite his wishes. "If he vanishes, so help me…"
"The fate of the universe is more important than one man's existence…"
"You know NOTHING!" Bardock heard himself roar before his power began to rise uncontrollably. He saw nothing but a bright golden light that engulfed the area; blinding him as his animalistic cry reverberated throughout the area.
When the vision ended, Bardock felt wetness on his face. Wiping it away, he noticed that he was shedding tears. For some reason, he had no idea why he was crying let alone so emotional about the scene he had just witnessed moments ago.
'Why in Infr's name would I be so emotional about that vision?' Bardock thought. 'I doubt it would happen… I mean Kakarrot being dead and everything, so why am I tearing up over this stupid series of events that has little chance of happening?'
Turning off the light, Bardock decided not to worry about the vision he had seen; not knowing that in time, he would learn the truth of the matter.
To Be Continued…
