Dragon Ball ZGX

Rated T: Blood, Cursing, Suggestive themes.

Description: The conflict between Bardock and the Elite Assassins is over, and Turles has met his end at the hands of his most trusted ally, Tundra. With the knowledge that Gine is still alive, Bardock is bound and determined to find her. But how? Without any clues, Bardock feels the search could take years. However, he receives a willing hand from an unexpected ally. The adventure continues, now.

Act 4: Reunions Saga

Chapter 45: Welcoming Party

xXxXxXx

Even though Tarble's royal military was surrounding them, for Bardock and Gine, it was like nobody else was there. The white noise from the chattering of Tarble's soldiers and Bardock's allies had faded away as the long estranged couple stood across a field from one another. Gine hadn't moved yet, but Bardock had walked a few yards towards her before freezing from the wave of disbelief that washed over him. Gine was really alive, and standing in front of him. But he just couldn't move. He'd only been out of his coma for little over half-a-year, but thought her dead until the Transekian Eternal Dragon, Kyodaina, was unable to revive her.

Gine's situation was far different. She had experienced every single day of those lost thirty years, from the day Frieza blew up Planet Vegeta, to their first resettling on a faraway planet, to being hunted down by the PTO and being forced to relocate again. Arriving on Vortano, aiding in the revolution, and raising two kids that weren't even biologically hers. Her life had changed for the better, even without Bardock, and she had accepted that a long time ago. But seeing her long thought-to-be-dead husband alive and in the flesh had her so off guard that she couldn't even think. All she could do was stare.

Thanks to Saiyan biology, neither of them looked a day older than the last time they saw each other. The shock would've likely been more if they had, but either way it wouldn't have mattered. Bardock was staring at Gine, and Gine was staring at Bardock.

"It's really you…" Bardock said.

Gine slightly gasped. "I can't believe it."

Tarble heard her and looked at her curiously. "Gine?"

Gine heard him this time, and briefly looked at him. "It's my husband, Tarble! It's really him!"

Tarble blinked a couple times and looked across the field for a moment, then back to his friend. "Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure!" Gine replied.

Tarble looked across the field at Bardock again. He then lightly nudged her. "So what are you waiting for? Go!"

Gine glanced at Tarble briefly. Then, she started walking towards Bardock. This snapped Bardock out of his frozen trance, and he too started approaching. The surrounding soldiers reacted in defense, but Tarble raised a hand and waved them off, putting them at ease. Bardock and Gine were closing in on each other, and their speed increased the closer they got.

"Bardock!" Gine called out as she broke into a sprint.

Bardock didn't make it very far since Gine was moving so fast. He stopped and opened his arms to her, and Gine locked him in a tight embrace once she reached him. Bardock closed his arms around her and nuzzled the top of her head with his face.

"Gine!" Bardock said as his embrace grew tighter. She squeezed him more while the side of her face was pressed to his chest.

"I never thought I'd see you again, Bardock." Gine said with a tremble in her voice.

"I thought you were dead." Bardock replied.

They released one another and held each other's hands while looking into each other's eyes. Gine was smiling like she'd never smiled before, and Bardock couldn't hold back the widest smile he'd ever had. He was happy, she was happy, they were happy. They leaned in towards each other, and they shared their first kiss in thirty long years. Gine brought her hands up and held Bardock's face in her hands, and Bardock wrapped his arms around her waist. The kiss lasted several seconds, and they didn't care at all that they were being watched. This moment was theirs.

They had to part eventually, and soon they did. They were both experiencing rushes of happiness like they'd never felt before.

"This is incredible, I can't believe you found me." Gine said excitedly. "Oh, I have so much to tell you! It's been such a long time, I…"

Gine stopped as she noticed the smile on Bardock's face start to fall. She cocked her head, feeling a little worried.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you last time we saw each other." Said Bardock.

Gine blinked at him, then started laughing. This confused Bardock, but Gine tightly hugged him again.

"You think I'm still upset about that after all this time? You're alive, you found me, I didn't even think about that!"

Bardock looked down at her with an awkward smile for a moment before letting out a sigh of relief. Then he started laughing. He felt ridiculous for being worried that she wouldn't want to see him. His laughter grew more intense, and soon Gine was laughing with him. She didn't know why he was laughing, but she couldn't help but join. They just laughed in each other's arms for a while.

"Matto! That's Bardock! That's her husband!" Luffa said excitedly while floating next to her brother, watching Gine and Bardock together from the sky.

"Hmrph. He just shows up after thirty years." Matto said with an obvious lack of enthusiasm.

"Come on, bro. Don't be like that." Luffa said before elbowing him in the arm.

"Oww! What was that for?" Matto complained.

"Don't be such a downer. Miss Gine's always wanted to see him again. It's a dream come true for her!"

Luffa took off towards Tarble, Paragus and Broly while Matto watched. He shook his head and sighed.

"What's that mean for us?" He mumbled.

Luffa landed next to Tarble, and Matto landed shortly after. Tarble looked at both of them and raised an eyebrow.

"You two are lucky this isn't dangerous like we first thought." Tarble said. He looked over at Gine and Bardock and smiled. "She won't be as upset with you now."

"'As'?" Inquired Matto as he put his hands on his hips.

"Oh yeah, you're definitely still in trouble. But for now, let's just let her enjoy this."

Matto and Luffa both turned their attention to Gine and Bardock. Luffa was excited, but Matto was annoyed. Paragus was studying the other members of the group, and spotted a man with a familiar appearance. He nudged Tarble, who looked up at him, and pointed across the field. Tarble looked across to see who he was pointing at, and once he realized who it was, his jaw dropped.

"Vegeta?" He said in shock.

Vegeta was staring back at him from across the field. He'd been watching him ever since he got off the ship, and had spotted him in seconds by following his ki. Even though he had never felt it before, it was familiar, it stood out. Vegeta knew they were surrounded, he could tell just by sensing them that they were a formidable force. But they weren't formidable enough to impress the prince.

Tarble was in double the amount of shock. Not only was Gine's husband on that ship, but his own older brother was aboard as well. This didn't make sense on the surface, but he knew their alliance of sorts must've materialized out of mutual benefit. He noticed the others too, the Namekian, the other three Saiyans and the lizard-man. He especially noticed the lavender haired Saiyan, his face similar looking to Vegeta's. Then it hit him.

"I think that long haired guy is Vegeta's son." Tarble said.

Paragus looked closely at Trunks, easily comparable to Vegeta since they were next to each other. And he saw it too, it would've been obvious if not for the hair.

"This is all very fascinating." Paragus said while stroking his mustache.

"We should go welcome our guests." Said Tarble.

While still locked in each other's embrace, Gine could just barely see around Bardock. She saw a young boy with black hair, styled similarly to Bardock's, with a face bearing an uncanny resemblance to her husband. She looked at him for a moment, and then they finally parted, and she looked up at Bardock.

"Hey, that boy over there…" Gine said. "He looks a lot like you, but he's way too young to be Kakarot."

Bardock glanced back at the boy and beckoned him. "Hey Gohan, come here!" He called.

Gohan blinked a few times, smiled and nodded. He quickly made his way across the field and stopped next to Bardock.

"Gine, this is your grandson." Bardock said.

"Hi, I'm Gohan. It's nice to meet you." Said the young hybrid with a bow.

Gine gasped at the news and looked down at Gohan again. "My… grandson?"

Bardock nodded. "Yeah. He's Kakarot's boy."

Gine smiled widely at this, and just barely had tears forming in her eyes from her growing joy over this unexpected development.

"Kakarot's a daddy!" She said excitedly. "That's so awesome! I'm so glad things worked out for him!"

When she said that, both Bardock and Gohan exchanged knowing looks, which didn't go unnoticed. Gine then looked behind the boys and searched the rest of the entourage for her son, but she didn't see him.

"So… where is Kakarot?" Gine asked, already starting to fear the worst.

Bardock sighed as he looked at Gine, but before he could say anything...

"My father died…" Gohan said somberly, amidst a flashback to the last time he saw Goku. He made eye contact with his shocked grandmother. "He sacrificed his own life to protect his friends and family, the Earth, and maybe even the whole universe. He died a hero."

Gine, while tears were now visible and gliding down her cheeks, smiled and clasped her hands together. She looked at Bardock again, who nodded and placed his other hand on one of her shoulders.

"He was a great man, Gine. You would've been proud." Said an assuring Bardock.

Gine nodded and sniffled. "I am. And I'm so glad you got to see him again."

"Me too." Bardock simply said.

He then noticed the group behind her approaching, with the addition of two kids. This struck Bardock as odd since it looked like the locals were ready for a battle. As they got closer, he realized that the short man in front was Tarble, even though they hadn't met before. He'd seen Paragus in passing on Planet Vegeta, but didn't recognize the tall one, or the two kids.

Gine looked back at her friends and smiled, and waved Matto and Luffa over. "Come on, you two. I'd like you to meet someone."

Luffa smiled and started jogging over. Matto wasn't enthused, but he didn't want to keep Gine waiting, so he too sped up. Eventually, they both arrived at the growing cluster of people, and Gine positioned herself behind them with her arms around their backs. Bardock was perplexed by this, he was experiencing an emotional high that hadn't allowed him to start worrying yet. But seeing Gine and these two kids together started the come-down of said high.

"Bardock, I want you to meet Luffa and Matto. They're… well, my kids." Said Gine gleefully.

Bardock looked at them, noting their contrasting facial expressions. Luffa bowed to him similarly to how Gohan bowed to Gine.

"So, you're Bardock! We've heard so much about you!" Luffa said cheerfully.

Bardock nodded, but his confused expression was obvious. Gine said they were "her kids", and it was clear that he was starting to worry about what that meant. However, Matto scoffed, which made Bardock look at him.

"Don't worry, we're adopted." Matto said as his annoyance bled through a little.

Bardock blinked a few times and looked up at Gine. Gine applied a bit of pressure to Matto's shoulder to express her displeasure with his attitude, and Matto huffed and shook free of her grip, then walked back to the group behind them.

"They're teenagers." Gine said with an awkward chuckle. "But he's right, they're not biologically mine. I took them in after their parents died."

"We're twins." Luffa said. "We didn't get to know our parents. They died while we were little. But Miss Gine is wonderful. And I'm glad you're here. She doesn't try to show it, but she's always missed you dearly."

Bardock chuckled and looked up at Gine again, but moments later, his entourage joined up with them. Nobody had realized that they had even started approaching, and Gine's friends were closing their end of the gap too.

"You said twins?" Sheamus said as the group stopped. He was looking at Luffa, who simply nodded. "You're Kinoko and Niniku's kids aren't you?"

Luffa nodded. "That's right, how did you know that?"

Gine looked at Sheamus curiously and placed a hand underneath her chin. "I recognize you."

Bardock perked up at this, then looked at Sheamus while he studied Gine's face.

"Yeah, I feel the same way right now." Sheamus replied.

"You were there that day." Gine said. "The day Frieza blew up our home, you were running around warning people about it. I saw you talking to Kinoko and Niniku. You convinced some of the people in that bar that Bardock wasn't crazy."

"You know about that?" Bardock asked.

"Yeah, some of the survivors here were in that bar. I don't know how many times I've heard 'thanks to your husband, we wouldn't be here'. But it's more than I can count. And you…" She said, redirecting her attention to Sheamus. "If it wasn't for you, I don't think anyone would've actually listened. They thought Bardock was drunk, but he was just severely injured."

Sheamus smiled and lightly blushed. "Yeah, that was me. It's nice to see you again…"

"Wait, you knew about her this whole time and didn't tell me?" Exclaimed Bardock.

"No, actually!" Sheamus snapped back. "I didn't know her name until recently, and she never told me her name when we met back on Planet Vegeta. All I did was help anyone that would listen escape, then I rescued your ass."

Bardock slightly leaned back during this rant, and chuckled awkwardly after the fact. "Okay, okay. Sorry Sheamus."

"So, you saved all of us, and you saved Bardock too?" Gine said, and Sheamus and Bardock both nodded.

"The specifics are a bit complicated." Sheamus said. "But if I didn't find him when I did, he wouldn't be here today."

Gine placed her hands on her hips and nodded. She then looked at the other faces and smiled at them, then she saw Vegeta. Her smile weakened slightly, it was quite the shock to see him of all people. Especially on the same ship as her husband, but she had no time to dwell on this.

"This is quite the unexpected surprise!" Tarble said with radiating enthusiasm as he and his group joined the others. He looked at his brother and nodded at him. "I can't believe you're actually here, Vegeta."

"Hmrph. I'm surprised you are ruling over a planet." Vegeta replied. He looked around at the many Saiyan faces mixed in with the Vortanian soldiers. "I'm quite disappointed that nobody's recognized me as their prince yet. Not even a bow."

"Well, Vegeta, these are my people." Tarble said calmly. "Things don't work the way they did back home."

"I am their prince." Vegeta replied, clearly trying to assert dominance.

"These people aren't yours just because there's Saiyans here, Vegeta." Bardock said with a brief glance.

"Your friend here is right." Paragus said before clearing his throat. Vegeta briefly glared at Paragus, then looked down at his younger brother again.

"Say, are you ruling the planet you live on?" Tarble asked.

"Ha!" Bardock loudly laughed, annoying Vegeta and catching the attention of everyone else.

"I could take control of Earth any time I want." Vegeta said threateningly.

"Gohan would stop you before you got very far." Bardock retorted.

Vegeta's eyes widened slightly after this as he glanced over at his dead rival's son. Gohan didn't like the attention, and he awkwardly looked away.

Trunks sighed heavily. From his own relationship with Vegeta, it seemed like he was actually settling on the inside. But he still deferred to the "hard man" act whenever he was confronted with a situation he didn't like.

"Oh, father." Trunks said.

"Ah, yes! You're my nephew aren't you?" Tarble said excitedly.

"Oh, yeah!" Trunks replied. "My name is Trunks, it's nice to meet you." Trunks walked closer and reached out for a handshake. Tarble smiled and reciprocated.

"If it wasn't for your face, nobody would think you're Vegeta's son." Tarble said with a chuckle. Vegeta rolled his eyes.

Tarble then looked up at Piccolo and nodded at him. "Nice to meet you. You're a Namekian, right?"

Piccolo nodded. "Seems our reputation reaches even the deepest depths of space."

"The Saiyans knew about Namek through Frieza." Vegeta said. "Namek was low on the priority list until we learned of the Dragon Balls. Of course, that is your fault since you couldn't keep your mouth shut about them while Raditz was dying."

"Says the one that never stops running his mouth." Piccolo snapped.

"Dragon Balls?" Tarble said curiously.

"Raditz?" Gine said in shock. She looked over at Piccolo briefly while he was glaring menacingly at Vegeta.

Bardock looked at Piccolo, realizing that without the context, this was gonna bother her a lot. Piccolo had shifted his attention away from Vegeta and briefly looked at Bardock and Gine. Bardock looked back at Gine and sighed.

"We have a lot to catch up on." Bardock replied. Gine looked at him with sadness in her eyes. "Gine."

"Sorry, it's just… it's a lot to find out that both my boys are…" Gine said before sniffling. "What happened?"

Tarble sighed. This big arrival and reunion seemed to have fallen off the rails a little bit. Still, it was better than Frieza showing up and killing everyone. Since he wasn't so stressed out anymore, Tarble decided it was time to dismiss his soldiers and invite his new guests to the palace. Tarble then floated upward so he was in view of his soldiers. The large group on the ground all watched him, as did his surrounding army.

"I want to thank everyone here for being prepared for battle. However, this is no longer a Code Red situation. Therefore, you're dismissed. Please return to your respective outposts."

The soldiers all saluted Tarble in unison, then they all started flying off and heading in several different directions. Tarble smiled, then landed and looked around at his new guests and his allies.

"I know this is an unexpected surprise, but I would like to invite you all to dinner at the Royal Palace." Tarble said. "I'd like to get to know you all. You're the first guests we've had here, well, ever."

Bardock looked at Gine, who gave him a smile and a nod, then to Gohan, who did the same. He then looked at Tarble and nodded. "Sounds good."

"Great!" Tarble said excitedly.

"In that case, Broly and I will fly ahead and give the kitchen a heads up." Paragus said. "And he has a fight to prepare for later."

"Right, of course. Thank you, Paragus."

Paragus nodded at Tarble, then gave the others a brief wave as he took to the sky. As Broly turned to follow his father, he made very brief eye contact with Vegeta. He huffed out his nose as he took off, which went under the radar for everyone. Vegeta watched them fly off, and was particularly interested in Broly.

He has the highest power level out of all of them. Thought Vegeta. Yet unlike the rest, his power seems to be suppressed.

Tarble turned to face his new arrivals. "Alright, follow me everyone!"

xXxXxXx

Gallance, Tarble's Palace

The table everyone was seated at was enormous. The dining room was large and cavernous, it was longer than it was wide, and had a very tall ceiling. Three chandeliers hung from the ceiling over the table, which lit the room evenly, and it reflected beautifully off the blood red painted walls. Tarble was seated at one end of the table, Paragus was in the seat to his right, and Broly to his right. Across the table was Vegeta, with Trunks to his right. Next to Trunks was Gohan, and beside him was Piccolo. Sheamus sat next to Piccolo, with Gummo to his right. The seat next to Vegeta on the left was empty, and next to that was Bardock. Beside him was Gine, and next to her were Luffa and Matto, which put Matto in the seat next to Broly.

The chefs were finishing dinner around this point, Paragus had arrived early enough that they wouldn't have to sit through the entire prep. Tarble wanted to be a good host, and he knew that Vegeta wouldn't have been there if he didn't want to be. But this posed an opportunity for him to tell his story to everyone all at once.

"I'll be honest, I am a little nervous right now because we've never had extraterrestrial visitors on Vortano." Tarble said. Everyone turned their heads to look at him. "I already know that my brother is wondering how a 'weakling' like myself came into power over a whole planet."

He used "weakling" ironically to mock his older brother's perception of him. He wasn't doing this spitefully, he realized that Vegeta was still stuck in the past, but Tarble wanted him to see things in a different light.

"My father, King Vegeta, sent me away from Planet Vegeta because I was born weak. I didn't have an exceptionally high power level like my brother, and my father couldn't just accept that."

Tarble paused and took note of his guests' expressions. Nothing he was going to say wasn't familiar with Gine and Paragus. Broly couldn't be asked, he was just there because the fight wasn't too far off. Luffa and Matto were vaguely familiar with the story thanks to Gine, so hearing it from Tarble was going to be interesting.

"Later on," Tarble continued, "Paragus' son, Broly, was exiled and sent away. Coincidentally, Broly was sent to the same planet that I was. I had managed to survive that hot, desolate planet for a while before Broly landed there. I didn't know he was even there until Paragus showed up looking for him. When they found me, it was the dead of night, and I was running away from a pack of wild monsters that were trying to eat me. They found me by mistake because Broly had looked at the full moon and transformed into an Oozaru, and he was on the loose. Broly killed all the monsters, and Paragus had to cut off his tail so he wouldn't kill me. Paragus took me in after that."

Paragus looked at Tarble and raised an eyebrow. He left out the part where Paragus was about to kill him before Broly got between them and told him not to. Broly was right to stop him too, but Paragus figured that Tarble didn't want to risk drawing Vegeta's wrath even though he was allies with Tarble.

"I basically grew up with Broly." Tarble said. "Paragus brought us to a Saiyan settlement he knew about on a planet that we thought was off Frieza's radar."

"I wasn't there the day that Planet Vegeta was destroyed." Paragus chimed in. "I left after the king ordered my son sent away. I hijacked a ship and chased after him. I found out about that settlement thanks to some radio chatter, so that's where I took them. Frieza's army didn't find us for years, it makes me wonder if they ever picked up those transmissions. On our new world, Broly's tail grew back. But thankfully, the planet only had a full moon once a year, so it was less of an issue."

"We settled down and thought we were home free." Said Tarble. "But they showed up after several years and started slaughtering everyone. Neither the natives or us refugees were safe. But they selflessly allowed as many of us to escape as possible while sacrificing themselves. To this day I'll never understand why, but we'll always be indebted to them. Then, not long after, we wound up here."

"Hold on." Vegeta said before his brother could talk anymore. "It took us a month to get here. And without the advanced upgrades our ship received before we left, it would've taken more than two years."

This shocked Tarble a bit as he looked at his brother in awe. Before he could say any more, the kitchen doors opened up and the lead chef and waiter had arrived with an entourage of cooks and waiters bringing out platters of food and beverages. This took everyone's mind off of the conversation as they eyed the incoming dinner. The waiters neatly spread everything out on the table, going almost end to end, and yet not in everyone's personal space. The variety was incredible, multiple roasts, steaks, different types of poultry and fish, fruits and vegetables, noodles, rice. It was all mouth watering, and every Saiyan in the room aside from Gine, Vegeta, Paragus and Broly, were salivating over it. Even Sheamus, who felt like the biggest outsider of them all, couldn't help but gawk at the feast before his eyes.

"Well everyone," Tarble said as he gave glances to all of his palace guests, "Let's dig in!"

As expected, this turned into a mess real fast. Piccolo didn't need to eat, and watching how everyone else was eating made him feel nauseous, so he would've chosen not to anyway. Matto and Luffa were notoriously messy eaters, and Gohan, who ate like his father, could only chuckle while watching this as he enjoyed his meal. It reminded him of his father. Paragus and Gine were eating at a steady and relatively normal pace, but Vegeta and Broly were both eating like pigs. It's like when Tarble said "dig in", a switch was flipped. They were just different people while they tore apart meaty legs, fish and kabobs.

And thankfully, Tarble had plenty of janitorial staff to keep up with it all. Miraculously, they all stayed pretty clean in spite of the disaster the table and floor were becoming. They each had drinks, which somehow they managed to avoid knocking over in the midst of this feasting. The only people who didn't have some sort of alcohol in their glasses were the kids, Trunks, Gine and Piccolo. For as much as they ate, this all took place in around 30 minutes, and that wasn't counting dessert. After their meal, they resumed their conversation over beverages.

"So, about how you got here so fast." Vegeta said while staring across the table.

Tarble was mid-sip. He set down his glass and looked back at his brother. "Yeah. I can't explain it. It happened seemingly overnight. One night, we're all aboard this ship we built on our last planet, and the next morning, we're crash landed in the middle of nowhere on this planet. We were in space for about six months, then we were here."

"Impossible." Said Vegeta.

Tarble sighed, then looked around the table and took note of the confused faces coming from his new guests. "I know, it sounds crazy. We don't understand how we got this far out in space so fast either."

Sheamus was especially interested in this. Tech wise, it didn't make any sense. But then he remembered something he learned in his own timeline, something that wasn't known in the past yet, and in his head it was the only thing that added up.

"It sounds like you got sucked into a wormhole." Said Sheamus.

Everyone looked at him curiously, which made him realize he hadn't thought out a way around the time travel conversation. He sighed and shook his head.

"Look, as crazy as it sounds, I'm a time traveler. I came here from nearly 200 years in the future." He said, opting not to hide it.

Those that didn't already know, gasped. Matto and Luffa found this exciting, while it simply threw Tarble, Paragus and Gine for a loop. Broly, as usual, didn't react.

"Isn't that what a hyperdrive does?" Vegeta said. "That's what got us here."

"Yes, but it's not exactly the same." Sheamus replied before looking at Tarble again. He then looked at Gummo, the hyperdrive expert. "In my time, scientists proved the existence of wormholes in space. But here, it's just a theory; the theory that made hyperdrives possible in the first place."

"If that's true, how could we have missed it?" Paragus asked.

Sheamus looked at him. "They're only visible when you're up close to them, and they're nearly indistinguishable from black holes. You'd never be able to figure it out without getting close to it. You need special equipment to detect them. And if you can't figure it out beforehand, it's roulette. It's a lot more intense than a spaceship's hyperdrive system, and you move a lot faster through it. I'd say, you're all lucky that your ship wasn't torn apart along the way."

"That information would've been useful four months ago." Vegeta snapped.

Sheamus glared at him. "We still don't know how to find them, Vegeta. Capsule Corp was working on mapping them out in my time, but that got shot to shit when IVA destroyed everything. They exist, we just don't know where. So knowing about them doesn't really matter."

Gine thought this was fascinating."So… without you, none of this would've happened."

"I guess not." Sheamus said. He shifted his eyes away and decided to drop it. He didn't feel like explaining himself. He didn't like the attention,

Matto wrinkled his nose and looked at Bardock. "Why didn't you come sooner?"

Bardock looked over at him briefly, then at Gine, who he could tell shared his sentiment. "Well, I was in a coma for thirty years."

Gine gasped at this in horror. "Oh my god!" She exclaimed.

"I knew Bardock was going to confront Frieza thanks to archives in my future." Said Sheamus. "So I took my ship up to space to try and find him with the ship's built-in scouter system, but Frieza had already thrown his genocidal fireball at the planet. I got to Bardock just in time. I was able to open my pod and grab him before Planet Vegeta exploded and landed on Planet Transeki."

"I don't know how I survived the attack, but I wouldn't have made it had we not gotten there in time. The next thing I know, I'm seeing visions of Kakarot's life. I saw him meet his brother, fight his brother, fight Vegeta, fight Frieza. Then, I wake up. It's thirty years later, I'm on a strange planet with a Saiyan that I didn't even really know, and Frieza had a blood thirsty son on the loose in the universe."

"What!?" Tarble exclaimed fearfully. "Frieza has a son?"

Sheamus scoffed. "Yeah. And he's still out there somewhere."

"You aren't starting this again right now, are you?" Bardock said with a hint of aggression.

"No." Sheamus said. He looked at Tarble. "He won't find this Planet any time soon."

Tarble could feel the tension between the two of them, as could Gine and Paragus.

"Even so, that's a little worrying." Tarble said as he brought his glass back to his lips.

"I beat his ass. If Eyce knows what's good for him, he'll stay in hiding." Bardock said.

"Is Frieza… still alive?" Tarble asked nervously.

"No." Vegeta said immediately, before giving anyone else a chance. "My son here is responsible for his death."

Trunks chuckled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, well…"

"Goku fought him first, on my home, Planet Namek." Piccolo said. Vegeta glared at him, but Piccolo ignored him.

"Goku?" Inquired Tarble.

"After Kakarot landed on Earth, he hit his head and forgot who he was." Vegeta said. "'Goku' is the name the Earthlings gave him."

"I see." Tarble said.

"Goku huh?" Gine said. She looked at Bardock and smiled. "I like it."

"You're the one that chose his name." Bardock said.

"I can like both." Gine said as she crossed her arms. She raised her eyebrows at him, and he couldn't help but chuckle.

"Goku won that fight on Namek." Piccolo continued. "Unfortunately, Frieza survived the planet's explosion and came to Earth for revenge. Then Trunks showed up and finished the job."

Tarble smiled. "Well, that's a relief." He looked at his other guests and clasped his hands together. "I'd love to know more about you guys."

Vegeta snickered at his brother's statement. Is this how he rules his kingdom? Tch.

Piccolo started explaining the Cell situation on Earth and how Bardock got wrapped up in all of it. How Bardock aided in their efforts even though he didn't have to, which earned him their trust. And how he was dealing with his own problems in the form of the Elite Assassins while he was on Earth. It interrupted his chance to get to know Goku better, but his loyalty was made clear. Bardock however, was satisfied with his time with Goku, it's all he needed to know who his son was, and it made him proud.

"So, while this android, Cell, was running amuck on Earth, you were battling off a bunch of assassins?" Tarble asked Bardock.

"Yeah." Bardock said with a nod. "Turles hired them to kill me. He was using me in this twisted scheme to make himself all powerful, but it backfired pretty hard."

"Turles tried to kill you?" Paragus said.

"You're surprised?"

"Not really. He was part of our community for a while. He and I served as Tarble's advisors together, and he seemed like a better person. But after a while, things changed. We didn't agree on a lot of things, and one day he just packed a ship full of his stuff and left."

"He was rotten to the core. I didn't think he'd like living like this." Bardock said. "Those assassins though, they gave me the hardest fights of my life. I spent a lot of time in space bouncing between planets because I had formed so many commitments by just being involved with certain people. And then after fighting Turles, his own assassins betrayed and killed him. Even they knew he was rotten. By then, Kakarot had already died, and I didn't have anything else to look forward to until I found out Gine was still alive."

Gine smiled at Bardock and placed a hand on his shoulder. Tarble was happy to see that his best friend was so happy.

"How did you find that out? And how did you find out where we are?" Paragus asked.

"I made a wish using the Dragon Balls." Said Bardock.

Tarble blinked a few times and rubbed his chin. "Vegeta said 'Dragon Balls' earlier. What are they?"

"They're magical wish granting orbs." Piccolo explained. "Up until recently, there were only two known sets of Dragon Balls. A third was discovered on Transeki, and Bardock used them. When you gather a full set of seven together, you can summon a dragon that will grant you almost any wish. Ordinarily we like to keep that information private, but Vegeta already shot his mouth off."

Piccolo glared at the Saiyan prince, who just groaned and looked away. Matto and Luffa looked at each other in awe, then looked at Bardock.

"I asked Transeki's dragon to revive Gine, but he couldn't because you're alive." Bardock said, looking at Gine. "I tried to ask him where you were, but Turles screwed all that up for me, and now, those Dragon Balls don't exist anymore. A few months later, the assassin's leader, Tundra, showed up on earth and handed me a document Turles had at his base. That's how we found out where to go."

Gine smiled at Bardock and placed a hand on his upper back. "I'm glad you found us. And I'm so happy to meet all of you."

Gine received nods and smiles from most of the party. Vegeta just seemed indifferent. Even though he wanted to come too, it was like he just couldn't be bothered to care. On the other end of the table, Broly still looked bored out of his mind. He quietly sighed, then, out of the corner of his eye, noticed Bardock looking at him. His gaze didn't last, but a few moments later, he noticed Vegeta looking at him too.

Why do they keep looking at me? Thought Broly.

Vegeta looked away too, and Broly just narrowed his eyes. They'd been doing this throughout dinner, looking at him just long enough to not be noticed while talking with each other. It was getting on his nerves, and he felt like leaving the table. But he didn't want to come off as disrespectful for Tarble's sake. Thankfully, he didn't have to. He caught a glimpse of something in his peripheral, then looked up to see a clock hanging above one of the dining room exits. He stood up suddenly, drawing everyone's attention. Paragus looked up at him curiously.

"It's time to go, father." Said the tall warrior.

Paragus briefly glanced at the clock and realized how late it was getting. He cleared his throat and stood up, then looked at everyone at the table. "My apologies, Broly and I have to go."

"Oh yeah!" Matto exclaimed excitedly. "There's a Pit fight tonight! We're supposed to go, Miss Gine, remember?"

Gine looked at him and chuckled. "That's right, I forgot. Today's just been so crazy."

"We are still going, right?" Matto asked. Gine could hear the dread in his voice at the possibility of her having changed her mind.

Tarble noticed it too, and then stood up next to Paragus. "How about we all go. If that's okay with you of course, Paragus."

"Of course." Paragus then replied. "You're all welcome to join us at The Pit. As most of you are Saiyans, I'm sure you're curious about what Vortano's strongest warrior is capable of."

Collective affirmative responses rang out across the table, and for the first time since landing, Vegeta actually cracked a smile.

I wonder how much stronger than him I am. Thought the prince while he eyed the towering Broly.

"Alright!" Tarble said excitedly. "Let's go then!"

To Be Continued...