The flicker of the flames illuminated the faces of the old man and the wounded Saiyan in contrast to the dark woods of Mount Paozu. As the fire continued to crackle and pop, Gohan decided to break the silence after taking a moment to soak in how the man next to him came to be.

"A time traveler," the old man scratched his mustache and blinked. "By God, I never thought I'd see the day."

Bardock, now wearing one of Gohan's long sleeved black shirts with an orange vest over his navy Saiyan armor pants, sunk low into his chair. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, he was finding himself able to relax. His favorite scent of burning wood filled his nostrils, which were no long flared out in anger. Something about being in this man's presence was eerily calming.

"Ee-yup, behold me in all my glory."

Gohan smiled sadly at the broken man. After they had laid his son down to sleep in a small box of sheets and pillows, Bardock spoke a lot of his past, present, and future but was still keeping so much at bay. "You know what a wise man once said?"

Bardock's laugh was short and dark. This guy was a gentleman's Master Roshi. "No, but let me guess. Is it something about practicing one kick 10,000 times?"

"Although that is a great one, that's not the one I'm thinking of," Gohan chuckled. "A wise man once said, 'Defeat is a state of mind. No one is ever defeated until defeat has been accepted as a reality.'"

The warrior smirked when he glanced at the old man. "When you're cursed like me, defeat is always the reality." At this point, Bardock wasn't sure what the hell the next step was. He'd never be at peace because even when he was begging for death, death won't come. He'd continue to wake up in a new place, a new world, until he found what he wanted.

Refusing to believe that, Gohan placed a firm hand on Bardock's shoulder. "What if what you have isn't a curse, son. What if it's a blessing that you've been blinded to?"

Bardock's eyes narrowed, but he didn't knock the old man's hand away. "Oh yeah, biggest fuckin' blessing of my life was becoming an amputee."

Gohan's demeanor remained unchanged. "Although what happened to you was unfortunate, you were given the opportunity to come face to face with a force of pure evil and see how it changed the entire world upside down. That was a lesson of humility."

Bardock began to sit straight up so he was no longer slouched down. His eyes remained hard. "It was humiliating alright."

But Gohan had a feeling he knew exactly what he meant. "You gave your life for a woman you weren't too close to. That was a lesson of compassion."

"But I didn't die."

"You ended up here," Gohan smiled. "Where your son's life on Earth had begun. We found each other. You were brought here so I could help with your next plan of attack. This is a lesson in victory."

Bardock stared at the old man for a good minute, watching the light from the fire dance across his face. "And what exactly do you mean by that, old timer?"

Gohan bent down in his chair to snatch up two rocks from the ground. Keeping them tight in his fists, he held them in front of Bardock. "Imagine that in my hands, I hold two journeys you are allowed to take. In my left hand is the choice for you to return from where you once came, the place where your family and everyone you have ever loved could get back to where you left off."

Bardock eyed the old man suspiciously. Where the hell was he going with this? "And the right?"

"And in the right," Gohan sighed before giving his right hand a good shake. "In the right is the choice for you to return to the world that was on fire, lost in the darkness. The world where your limb was taken from you. The world where a monster continues to murder the innocent and weak. There's a chance you may never see your family again, but you are victorious in your battle and save mankind."

Bardock was visibly shaken by the old man's hypothetical visions. Post-traumatic stress overtook in thinking of Black's maniacal laugh as he tore Bardock's flesh apart. "The left!" the Saiyan blurted out while jumping out of his chair. His chest was heaving as if the whole 'choice situation' was real. "You know damn well I'd take the left!"

Gohan raised his hands in front of his face, looking like a tamer trying to control his lion. The rocks had dropped to the ground beneath them. "It's alright, Bardock. It's alright. I understand that for some people, the easy way out is the better choice. I guess I had you pegged wrong."

The Saiyan's breathing was controlled now, but his eyes were growing as wild as the fire. "It's not about the easy way, old man! Shit! You only hear the words I'm telling you, but if you were actually there, you'd know how impossible the situation is back in that hellhole! I can't defeat that motherfu-"

"Not yet. But you will."

"WITH A SINGLE ARMED KI BLAST!?"

"I know someone that can fix that for you," Gohan gestured towards the Saiyan's right side and spoke calmly. "It'll take a few days, maybe weeks. But I can help you."

Bardock searched the old man's face with tired eyes. He was being genuine and honest. Although the broken warrior was doubtful, he decided to humor him. "How? How could you possibly help me?"

Gohan held up a single hand and raised a finger with each sentence he spoke. "First, we get your mind into a state of absolute tranquility. Second, we get your heart into a state of absolute self-assurance. Once the mind and the heart are ready, we get your body into a a state of readiness. You possess a power unknown to the world at this moment, unknown to me, but I will guide you to the best of my ability. I will bring you back to that fighter you were. And then, I will help bring you back to the world that broke you."

"How."

"You ever heard of a thing called Dragon Balls?"

Of course this timeline had the Dragon Balls. Everyone was alive here. Bardock felt that uneasy pain swell up in his chest remembering Goten unselfish act of love that had gone awry in the long run.

"The last time the Dragon Balls were used on me it was completely useless," Bardock kicked the ground and stared down at the slight damage he caused. "Thanks but no thanks, old timer. I'll get a badass metal arm, though."

"You'll never know if we don't try," Gohan tried persuading the warrior one last time, but could tell by his body language that he needed some rest. "Can you at least sleep on it? If in the morning you still feel the same way, I won't ever mention it again."

Sleep.

That was definitely something he could get behind.

Bardock reached his hand out to shake Gohan's, silently agreeing to the deal. They worked together to put the fire out before heading inside the small house. When they had left to start the fire, everything was neat and organized.

Now, it was a giant mess.

The mattress where Gohan slept was completely torn in half, as was the sofa where Bardock planned to crash. The makeshift crib was completely destroyed. The little angel to blame for the mess was now charging towards the old man.

"H-He's walking!" The old man rubbed his eyes to make sure they weren't playing tricks on him. "Did that little baby make this mess!?"

Before baby Kakarot could claw out Gohan's eyes, Bardock lifted up him up by his hair and slammed him head first onto the floor. The brute force from the impact formed a large crack in the tiles, and the baby Saiyan to knock out completely cold.

"Ahh...AHHHHH!" Gohan placed both his hands on his head and screamed out in horror. He looked between the unconscious baby, to the emotionless father, back to the unconscious baby, and then back to the emotionless father. "Y-you... He's just a baby! How could you!?"

Bardock grabbed a piece of sofa to use as a pillow and laid down on the floor next to his drooling son. "In my world, you dropped him down a ravine. It was gonna happen at some point. G'night."

Gohan stood frozen in silence as Bardock began to snore. Slowly, he knelt down to the piece of mattress near him and sat straight up. He never took his eyes off the Saiyan as he held onto a stick he would use to beat scavengers.

Just in case.

"He's going to be a lot of work..."