Cat-Star - Welcome back!! I hope more will soon follow you.... Yes, I wanna kick Freiza's tail too! SO BAD!!

chibibaka - endless? *blushes* Aw garsh!

SSJ-Mirai-Trunks - I'll get to reading and reviewing as soon as I can!

Nyce456 - I'll see what i can do, and thanks!

Anime Crusader - Hope I didn't disappoint you!

Serafina - My friend! *hug* Glad you are out and about again! Yes, I and enjoying you not knowing!! ^_^ You know so much about my other fic, this makes up for it!! You wanted angst? This chapter has it in spades!!

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************Episode 52*************

** Freiza's Damnation; The Red Scarf **

There was darkness. Then came a flash of blinding light. In the center of it was a red planet. It spun quietly for a few moments, then BANG!! The core seemed to explode. The debris flew off in different directions, but disintegrated quickly. From that explosion also flew one round space pod. It landed on a blue-green planet. In the background, a baby cried. Discovered in the pod was a baby boy with spiky hair very much like Bardock's. The boy grew and trained. He was with a bald boy and old man. Then he was with a triclops fighting. Then kneeling and praying. Then fighting some sort of demon…

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The two boys Bardock cared for waited patiently beside the regeneration tank in the medical ward. Chile watched his legs dangle over the edge of the table. It fascinated him for some reason. Short attention spans can do that.

Radditz watched his stepbrother closely. He didn't know what his father saw that was so special about him. As far as he was concerned, Chile was a third class wuss who hated killing other aliens and loved life, whatever that meant. His eyes narrowed with jealousy. How come his father spent so much time with a kid that wasn't even his?

"Hey, Chile," said Radditz.

"Nan?"

"Can you control your Oozaru form, yet?"

"Not really."

Radditz grinned evilly. "Ya know, Bardock is startin' ta think yer a lost cause. If you can't do simpler moves, how're you gonna amount to anything?"

Chile hugged his knees. He'd thought the same thing many times, and felt like he was going to cry. "Is he really mad?"

Radditz expected Chile to cry and savored it. "Yeah. I'll bet he wishes you were dead. I heard him telling' Mom about it. Maybe you oughta just leave and never come back."

"But…" Chile strained to hold back tears. "I can't…"

"Why not?"

"B-because," he said, suddenly determined, "he's my dad!"

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Clanthor drained the synthetic Sayin DNA liquid out of the tank while Malacca opened the glass. Bardock opened his eyes to see the doctors, Chile, and Radditz standing around him. "Are ya alright, Bardock," asked Radditz.

Bardock blinked a few times, trying to fully wake up. He took off his mouthpiece to breath real oxygen. "Uh, yeah." He stood up and put a hand to his head. "Still a little dizzy, though."

Chile got a towel. "Here. Maybe you oughta chill for a bit. You've been out a while."

"Well, I gotta go," said Radditz, not really caring about his father's health. "Can't keep the prince waiting!" He puffed out his chest and marched out of the room.

Bardock looked at Chile questioningly. "He was chosen to go with Prince Vegeta and that yahoo Nappa on a mission." Chile couldn't help but smile. Prince Vegeta must have chosen Radditz only to get on his nerves.

Bardock stayed unusually silent. He began putting on his leotard and gear. His mind rolled over the senses he had witnessed in his dream. It looked so real, like the planet exploded only moments ago. And that boy…

Chile wondered if this was a side effect of the extra brainwaves, or if Bardock really had lost favor in him. "Um, Bardock-san, are you okay?"

"I've been having these strange dreams."

"Maybe just hallucinations," said Malacca. "It would be wise if you-"

"I wouldn't know," muttered Bardock. "I'm not wise."

"Oh, I think you're wise," said Clanthor. "How else would you be able to take on the assignments you do?"

"I can fight well, that's all," said Bardock. "It doesn't take a lot of brains to fight. Speaking of which," he said with a wink at Chile, "where's Tora and the others?"

Chile smiled at the joke. "They went off to Planet Meat. Lord Freiza himself sent them!"

"FREIZA!?!" Bardock turned around with a smile. "So! We're finally getting' the respect we deserve! From Freiza no less!" He grinned evilly. "Celipa must be pissed!" He put on his scouter. "And those assholes just up and left without me?" With that, he began to run off.

"Wait, Bardock-san," Chile yelled. "I want to go with you!"

As Bardock ran down the corridors of the medical center, he heard a baby cry. He stopped to listen. It was the same crying voice from his vision! He ran over to the nursery and looked into the window. There were two babies crying. One was marked as "Broli, Son of Paragus." [1] The other, which was the source of the cries he had heard was marked as "Kakkarot, Son of Bardock."

"Kakkarot, huh?" Bardock stared at him for a moment. "Of all the things for Olivia at name 'im! It had at be the male version of my mother's name!"

Then a voice came into his head. "I have given you a little gift. I have given you the ability to see your cursed future, as well as the downfall of the Sayin race." He shook his head hard to get rid of it and looked at the boy again. The scouter was activated. "Humpf! Level 2! Dammit!"

Chile came up. "Bardock-san?"

Bardock looked down at Chile. "Make sure that Kakkarot doesn't leave here. Understand?"

"Y-yes sir," nodded Chile looking confused.

Bardock took one last look at his youngest son. 'If I can change the vision is just one way, maybe it'll stop the whole thing.' "Oh, and Chile?"

"Yes?"

"Don't listen to Radditz. He's only jealous that I like you and hate him." Bardock continued off, leaving Chile to wonder how the hell he knew about that?

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Panbukin made one last desperate attack, but it was no use. His enemy let out just one more punch and he fell back dead. His resting place was only feet away from Totepo's and Fasha's.

Tora looked up at the body of his mate from the ground, choking on his own blood. "Fasha!" He glared at the men attacking them. "W-why? Y-you're . . . on our s-side!"

Freiza's men just laughed. "Stupid monkeys," said Dodoria. "You were as tough as I thought you'd be." He picked up Tora by the front of his armor. "Not able to hold a candle to us."

"Why are you doing this," Tora asked weakly.

"Is that what's bothering you? Fine you can take this to Hell with you." He paused and smiled. "Freiza has marked you as troublesome. I'm afraid he wants you dead."

"W-what?"

Dodoria laughed. "Yes. You did prove yourself to be too powerful to keep around."

"You sure you didn't do anything to upset him," asked another soldier.

"Of course not," exclaimed Tora. "We've… done everything… he asked us and more!"

"Oh well," said Dodoria. "When you lose favor with Freiza-sama, this is what you get."

"So," Tora said more to himself than the others. "This is what we get for decades of loyal and devoted service. Death!"

Dodoria laughed again. "That's . . ." he wound up, "right!" he punched Tora. Tora went sailing through the sky.

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Not far away, Bardock landed and surveyed the Meatians' carcasses. "Look's like they got a little too carried away. Those blockheads," he chuckled. He checked his scouter and saw four high powers a few miles to the west. "Probably out celebrating still." He flew off in that direction.

What he came to was almost the exact opposite of what he expected. Amid the broken buildings were Fasha, Totepo, and Panbukin, all dead. Fasha was lying face down on a jagged piece of stone. Totepo was face up, but body down. Panbukin was back down in a pile of broken rubble.

Bardock was in complete shock. He stood there with his jaw open. "What the…?"

"B-Bardo…kun," came a weak voice to his side. He turned and saw Tora, bloody but still barely moving.

"Tora! Tora!" He bent down on his knees and propped up his best friend's head. "Tora, what the Hell happened?!"

Tora coughed up a little blood and smiled. "What a fool I was! We should have stayed at home tucked in our beds with Chile like good little children."

"Don't tell me those bastards got the better of you!"

"Of course not… you know us better then that. Is Chile here?"

"Just tell me who did this to you," screamed the frustrated Bardock.

"Freiza-sama! It was Freiza who set us up!"

Bardock's eyes went wide. "But... he... are you sure, Tora?"

Tora closed his eyes. "We've worked so hard and never asked for anything in return… We were his best fighters… and now he's paid us back in our own blood." Tora coughed again. "He wants to dispose of us all. We were first so we couldn't stand against him directly." He opened his eyes and looked into his friend's. "Hurry, Bardock! Go back to Planet Vegeta! Gather our comrades and launch an attack... before it's too late." He smiled weakly. "Go and show... them what we... Sayins... can really... do…" His body went limp, and he died with a smile on his face in Bardock's arms.

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[Commercial Break]

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Bardock froze. He stared at his friend's body. First Zucina, then Cole, his crew, but worst of all, Tora? Was this real? Tora used to be so full of life…

Silently and carefully, he set him down. Blood was still on his hand. It seemed a trivial observation. He could hear Tora saying, "Keep your face clean! You never know if you'll wash it again!" His bud had always joked. Now he lay dead with a smile on his face.

He took off Tora's white scarf from his arm to wipe it off. But he stopped. This was once Cole's, wasn't it? Cole gave it to Tora as a symbol that their feud ended. Tora wore it on his arm as a symbol of his pride. Cole's pride. Sayin pride.

Bardock wiped off Tora's face almost clean with the scarf. The smile shone more brightly. It was so filled with hope on his friend's success…

Bardock, captain of the team, stood and stared at his teammates. This scene was not a dream. It was the harsh reality of the result of their allegiance to Lord Freiza. His hand clutched the scarf, now soiled with Tora's bright red blood. He then looked off into the distance where the Meatians lay dead. Then he looked back at his crew. Everything they worked for fell down onto Freiza's head. The lizard-creature had corrupted their race beyond recognition from the proud warriors they once were. Cole died from a nonsensical feud over politics. Zucina died protecting her son from a madman blinded by power. Now lay his crew, ambushed by disposable soldiers following their orders.

Just like he had.

A tear rolled down from his cheek and onto the scarf which he still held. 'Cole-san… Zuni-chan…' He clenched the scarf harder so his nails cut into his own hand. Blood trickled onto the scarf. 'Tora… Panbukin…' The scarf began to change from white-red to pure red. 'Totepo… Fasha…' The scarf was now a deep, rich crimson. Bardock clenched his fist around it even harder. 'By my blood, you will be avenged!'

A beep from his scouter brought him back to reality. He turned his head and saw Freiza's elite standing a short distance away. "Temeo," Bardock snarled. [2]

The four warriors laughed. "And now, you will join them." "Yeah, you won't be separated long!" "Monkeys should stay together."

As they continued their taunts, Bardock just stared at them. 'The fools… They still follow Freiza… But I them no pity!' Slowly, he took the scarf and tied it around his head like a headband. 'They killed my crew, and for that, they shall die!' He then slowly tilted his head back, eyes not moving from them.

With an roar of hatred and grief, Bardock charged at his enemies. All four leaped into the air. One sent out a shower of ki energy balls straight at Bardock. A cloud appeared, giving the blue alien the impression that the job was done. Suddenly, his scouter beeped. He looked up just in time to see Bardock bring his fists together and ram them into the alien's skull.

The three remaining sent out single balls of ki from each. They all hit Bardock and created a thick, purple cloud around him. The green and yellow alien searched through the cloud, trying to find their prey. But Bardock found him first. He came up from behind and got the soldier in a back arm-lock. Bardock smiled with a savage satisfaction as the terrified alien struggled.

The orange, horned creature saw a dark image in the cloud and fired. He laughed, thinking that he had finally taken care of Bardock. Instead, he realized with horror that his own comrade fell through the sky. The cloud finally thinned out to reveal the Sayin captain still unscathed and smiling.

"W-what is this guy," screamed the red and green alien. "He's only supposed to be a low-level!"

"He's still a Sayin," called out the other. "Stay on your toes! Lets go!" The two charged in the air toward Bardock.

Bardock was about to do the same when a strange thing happened. His vision was blinded by a picture of a man who looked like him screaming "Kaiou-ken!!" and attacking something. He cried out in surprise, just as the red and green alien got him in a back arm lock. His comrade flew forward and began pummeling Bardock's face and upper body. Bardock struggled to free himself, but then another vision came to him. It was two men fighting, and one was a fully grown Prince Vegeta fighting the same man from his earlier vision. Vegeta shouted, "C'mon, Kakkarot! You're holding back! You're pretty good… for a low-level!"

"Damn," moaned Bardock, still being beaten up. "What the Hell is going on in my head!?!"

The horned soldier was about to release a final strike, but Bardock flew down in an arch. The result was that the horned alien punched his hand directly into the back of Bardock's captor. Purple blood flew out the alien's mouth as Bardock freed himself from the corpse's grasp. He then turned around and blasted both aliens into dust.

Bardock landed softly, watching the warrior-bits be carried off in the wind. He panted quietly, trying to make sense of what had just happened. 'That was Prince Vegeta, I'm sure of it! And the other must have been…' His scouter beeped. He turned around to see his final opponent some distance away. "Do-Dodoria? Why?! Why have you done this to us?!"

Dodoria said nothing. He simply took a large breath and sent out his most powerful blast from his mouth. Bardock screamed as the large blast sent him flying backwards. Following him were the remains of his crew and some of the buildings they lay in.

When the dust settled, there was nothing left but a large, long crater made by the beam and a pile of rubble at the end. Dodoria chuckled. "I wish you could have entertained me more, you stupid monkey."

His scouter beeped and the com turned on. "Dodoria! Freiza-sama requests that you rendezvous with him. He is headed to the planet Vegeta."

"Roger," Dodoria responded. With that, he flew off.

The planet Meat was silent as a tomb for several minutes. Then, from the rubble came a red gloved hand. Bardock pushed most of the rocks off so he could breathe at last. He was very bloody and tired. "So," he said aloud, "Lord Freiza does have it in for us. He'll pay… dearly for this." He looked at his crew, all now on his lap. "You were not lower-class soldiers. You were stronger than most of their elites. I will carry out your wish, Tora!"

Bardock shakily stood up, nothing else in his mind but to get to Planet Vegeta, and fast!

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Prince Vegeta pulled on the gloves of his best uniform. Aspa, his beloved nanny, brought him his boots. "Would Vegeta-sama like Aspa to help him put on his boots?"

"I can handle it myself," Vegeta muttered.

Aspa bowed deeply, and smiled. "My Vegeta-sama look so handsome in princely armor! Aspa wish Vegeta-sama all best! Aspa also like many tales of adventures when he return."

"Aspa… I'm not a baby anymore," he said uncomfortably. "I know you don't want me to go, so cut the sentimental crap and get me my cape!"

Aspa bowed again, and went to fetch his cape. Vegeta watched as the Quenzian woman searched in his closet for a cape without mud or grass stains. He smirked. As much as he hated to admit it, even to himself, he loved his nanny and looked to her as a mother figure.

"Aspa find one," she said, and pulled out a long red cape. "Can Aspa put it on 'no more baby Vegeta-sama'?"

Vegeta gave her a rare, genuine smile. "If you so desire." He stood up straight as Aspa draped the cape over his shoulders and secured the gold fastens. She fixed the folds unnecessarily around his shoulders. "Aspa so proud of Vegeta-sama! Grown so cute!"

Vegeta blushed. 'Cute? I'm no longer cute!'

[wanna bet? =^o^=]

"Aspa miss Vegeta-sama already," she said.

"I haven't gone anywhere!"

"Vegeta-sama only Sayin who keep Aspa company. Aspa always pray for Vegeta-sama when he out on mission."

Vegeta fiddled with his clasp. "Arigato," he whispered.

Nappa opened the door. "Prince Vegeta," he called. "Time to go!"

"Wait a minute, you lunkhead," Vegeta snapped. Once Nappa had left, he motioned for Aspa to bow down to his height. He whispered, "I'll miss you too, Aspa," then hurried off.

Aspa smiled warmly. 'He reminds me so much of Mistress Zucina!'

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[1] - In case anyone forgot, Barkock's mother's name was "Kara", so "Kakarot" is the masculine.

[2] - Temeo = a very, VERY rude way to say "you" in plural

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Hey! Chile here!

Oh no! Kakkarot was sent away, and now Bardock's coming home soon! He's gonna be so mad at me! He's gonna hate me for sure! But when he returns, he's all beat up! What happened, Bardock-san? What's wrong?

Next time on DragonballBC: Like Sheep to a Slaughter; The King's Defeat and Bardock's Warning

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Fun Fact - Aspa is my play on misunderstood and usually underappreciated black servants from the Civil War. I've watched Gone With the Wind too often!

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Yugi: o_o They... died?

Yami: What did you expect?

Yugi: Well, not THAT!!

Una: Not much to say here, boys?

Bardock: You are truly sick and twisted!

Una: Don't blame me!! I would not have had them die that way!

Yugi/Yami/Bardock: "THAT WAY!?!?!"

Una: -_-' R&R, minna-san!