Dragon Ball Z: Dynasty

By Feraligreater328

A/N: Hey everybody! If you've stuck around this long...thank you so much for giving this fic so much attention! Your comments and reviews mean the world to me. Next chapter will be a MEGA CHAPTER (so it might take a bit longer) but then the chapter after is the main event of Planet Namek! I hope you all stick around to read it and I cannot wait to hear from you about what you think! :)

Chapter 29: Epiphany

Outside of Frieza's Ship...

Gine stood in front of the ramp to Frieza's ship with a plaintive look on her face. She watched as Krillin and Nail both walked towards the shore. All three of them were grim in the face of what they had seen within Frieza's ship.

Gine flashed back to that miserable sight, finding Nail just kneeling there, surrounded by the corpses of his fallen brothers. There was a massive dent in the wall as if the grieving Namekian had tossed a Dragon Ball into it in a rage. After they had helped him out of the room and had removed the Dragon Balls, Gine and Krillin had requested that Vegeta simply seal the room shut and lock the door tightly.

Gine shook her head, trying to get her mind off of the Emperor's brutality. "A-are you two sure that you'll be okay? I could go and retrieve Bulma and the others so that you two can rest..."

Nail doesn't turn to face her, but his tired voice at least sounds grateful. "I am fine. But your concern is appreciated."

Krillin turned to face Gine, shooting her a reassuring smile. The monk slapped his hand against the breastplate of his new armor that Vegeta had gotten him and shot a thumbs-up. "I'm not too banged up. And Vegeta got me this armor, so I should be good..."

Gine nodded and shot a thumbs up back. "Good luck then. We'll be here when you get back, hopefully..."

Krillin and Gine shared a nervous laugh, and then Krillin and Nail took off. Once they were out of shit, Gine turned and walked back into the ship.

Inside Frieza's Ship...

Gine walked down the hallway towards the Medical Bay. She looked into each room as she passed, finding various messes and states of disrepair. It looked as if several bombs had gone off in the ship fairly recently. Eventually, Gine came upon the former locker room and heard a rustling noise. "Wh-who's there?!"

Vegeta popped his head out from behind a row of lockers. He was clad in a freshly stolen set up armor, a slightly older model with a lack of shoulder protection or stretching shoulder straps, and glared at Gine. The two of them stood there for a moment, regarding each other with silent disdain. Eventually, Gine separated her gaze from his and continued her march. Wordlessly, Vegeta went back to digging for fresh armor.

Gine continued along until she came to the entrance of the Medical Bay. Walking in, Gine looked over the state of her family. She sighed at the sight of them.

Bardock and Raditz were laying on either side of the one functional healing chamber. Bardock was barely conscious, laying there with several damaged muscles and broken bones. He was stressed and fatigued, but his life was in little danger. Raditz was a much different story. The older brother was laid on the ground with several layers of bandage wrapped around his torso. They had managed to bandage him up well enough, but those wrappings didn't take long to become stained a deep crimson.

But, neither of those two were anything compared to what had happened to Goku. The Saiyan from Earth had to be put in the healing chamber. Between the wound from the Special Beam Cannon and how badly Ginyu had wrecked his body through pushing the Kaioken, Goku was nearly dead by the time they had put him into the pod. And, while he was slowly being repaired by the medical fluid in the chamber, it was quite the slow process.

Gine pinched the bridge of her nose and sat next to her husband. "I really hope that that Namekian child is able to heal all of you..."

Gine grabbed Bardock's hand and gave it a loving squeeze. Bardock flinched and cracked his eyes open, glancing up at his beloved wife. "Hey Gine..."

Bardock shuddered in pain. "Are they back with Dende yet?"

Gine shook her head, massaging her fingers over Bardock's. "They just left, Love."

Bardock groaned. "Damn..."

Bardock laid back and squeezed his eyes shut from the pain. And then, he looked around. "Where's Vegeta?"

Gine rolled her eyes. "He's stealing from dead Frieza Forcers. Rummaging through lockers and stuff. You'd think a Prince would have more decorum..."

Bardock shook his head. "Egh...where's Gohan? And that mother of his?"

Gine frowned, looking guilty. "Once we managed to get Kakarot into the tank, Vegeta left and Chi-Chi wanted to talk to you. But you had already passed out. So, she got angry and took Gohan to get a bath..."

Bardock snorted. "What's she so pissy about?"

Gine's eyes became harsher. She shook her head at how thick her husband was acting. "You know why. She's angry because you sent our 5-years-old grandson to fight RECOOME! You sent Gohan to fight RECOOME, Bardock!"

Bardock sighed. "And I was supposed to babysit while Ginyu was trying to kill me? Sorry Gine, but I was a bit too busy trying to keep us all alive to dote over him like he's a 5-month old..."

Gine flinched and buried her face in her hands. "Look, I get that Bardock. But-"

Bardock interrupted. "And I had an eye on him the whole time. And it might've killed me, but I would've kicked the Kaioken up as high as possible to go and stop Recoome if I thought he was gonna kill the kid. He was just never in danger of that happening, I felt."

Gine turned to Bardock. "How much higher can you go than Times Two?"

Bardock shot Gine a serious look. "Ginyu pushed Kakarot's body to Times 100, right? So... I guess I would've gone at least that high to keep the kid alive..."

Gine was shocked. "Kakarot barely survived that experience with Times 100!"

Bardock nodded. "Like I said, it might've killed me..."

Gine's face softened. She began to gently massage the top of Bardock's hand again with a small smile. She didn't enjoy the thought of her husband dying, but it had been quite a while since she had heard such genuine care in his voice. She snickered. "I wouldn't ever try going that high. King Kai was frantic when I told him that Ginyu pushed Kakarot's body to Times 100. He'd go through the roof if you tried that..."

Gine frowned. "Kakarot is strong, but it takes so much conditioning and focus to expand your power that far. Even Times 20 is a dangerous risk. King Kai said that Kakarot is lucky his body didn't pop like a bloody water balloon..."

Bardock scoffed. "Old fool has no faith. Kakarot is stronger than some singular technique. He'll be at the Times 100 level in no time. Or, if he doesn't reach it...someone will..."

Gine groaned at Bardock's glib attitude towards that dangerous technique. "You mean and your constant..."

The door to the Medical Bay opened and Gine trailed off. She and Bardock both looked towards the entrance and were surprised to see Gohan rushing in with a brand-new set of Saiyan armor. Gohan chuckled and leapt into the air, showing how stretchy and flexible his new outfit was. "Grandma Gine! Grandpa Bardock! What do you two think?"

Bardock chuckled. "You look like a Saiyan, kid! Should be sending you out to takeover a planet or something!"

Gine was smiling, but she averted her gaze away. She sighed. "Yeah...you look just like a young Saiyan..."

Gohan frowned. "Is something wrong, Grandma?"

Gine crossed her arms. She gave her bicep a squeeze as she flashed back to the sight of a scared, young Kakarot inside his Battle Pod. She remembered how scared he looked. But, she swallowed that lump in her throat and smiled towards Gohan. "No. I'm fine. You look strong in that armor, so I think if you like it...then it looks great..."

Gohan smiled, his confidence boosted, and began to throw punches and kicks into the open air. But the easy-going mood was soon broken by a much harsher voice. "Well I hate it."

Chi-Chi walked into the room with a look of grim anger on her face. She marched past Gine, Bardock, Gohan, and the unconscious Raditz before sitting right next to Goku's Healing Chamber. She reached over to Goku and Raditz's tattered clothes and began to sew up Goku's pants. "I absolutely hate that my baby has to wear that hideous battle armor! He shouldn't even have to know what battle armor is, much less wear it!"

Gine and Gohan both flinched back at Chi-Chi's tone. But, they both shied away to allow Chi-Chi to vent. However, Bardock was never one to back down from a challenge. "So, you'd rather he fight naked or in those tattered clothes?"

Chi-Chi's gaze snapped up from Goku's pants to Bardock. Bardock didn't flinched, glaring right back at her. Gohan and Gine both immediately became nervous as a weird energy filled the room. Chi-Chi sneered. "I would rather my Son not have to fight in battles you so-called 'Saiyan Warriors' should be handling!"

Bardock snapped back, struggling to sit up. "Oh! We're going there, huh?! Well guess what, you're right! Saiyan Warriors are meant to handle the tough fights! And that boy is a Saiyan Warrior!"

Chi-Chi recoiled at that and Bardock continued. "Yeah, I said it! He's a Saiyan! Fighting is in his blood! And no matter how much you think you can mother that out of him, his latent instincts and Saiyan potential will eventually over-write the bullshit pacifism that you're trying to instill onto him! That's just nature, sweetie!"

Chi-Chi was shaking with rage. Bardock continued. "The boy is already showing anger issues and a hair-trigger temper because he hasn't been allowed to work through it properly! Your attempts to muzzle his more natural instincts are only clashing with his Saiyan Heritage and they just show that you have no idea how to properly rear a Saiyan child!"

Finally, Chi-Chi had had enough. She threw Goku's pants to the side and cut off Bardock before he could continue to speak. "So what if I don't know how to rear a Saiyan child?! I'm not trying to!"

Bardock flinched back. Chi-Chi glared at him. "Was your life as a Saiyan child anything to write home about it to the point that your criticizing me for not doing the same thing to my Son?! Do you really have anything that good that you remember for me to replicate from the Saiyan Book of Raising Children?!"

Bardock clenched his teeth and Chi-Chi stood up. "Gine and I talked all the way here! I know what you were like as a kid! A troublemaker! A screw-up! A hooligan! And little hoodlum who was made that way because of his shitty relationship with his two miserable parents!"

Bardock glared at Gine, who looked genuinely apologetic. And then, he glared back at Chi-Chi. "What does that have to do with anything?! How my parents were doesn't change that the boy is a Saiyan! And, more importantly, yeah, my childhood sucked, but at least I grew up to be strong! So, I'd say that the ends justify the means!"

Chi-Chi was angry, but she spoke in a calm voice. "Would your little brother say the ends justify the means?!"

Bardock's pupils shrunk and he sprung up from the ground. He pulled back his fist and shot it towards Chi-Chi's head, but Gine and Gohan both quickly caught him. In spite of Bardock's angry outburst, Chi-Chi didn't flinch. She stood there, glaring just as fiercely at Bardock as he was glaring at her. Once Gine and Gohan had wrestled him to the ground, Bardock snarled at Chi-Chi. "You fucking listen to me. I don't give a shit how you feel or what you have to say...you leave him out of this."

Chi-Chi shook her head. "See how that feels, Bardock?"

Bardock sneered at his daughter-in-law. But she continued. "See? It doesn't feel great, does it? Knowing that you've lost someone precious to you because you weren't around...Now do you see why I hate this?!"

Chi-Chi took a deep, long breath. "See how it might feel to me, knowing that my Gohan...or my Goku...or even one of the three of you that I just met might be taken away from me and I would have nothing I could do about it?! You're all my family! I love you! I don't want to think about even the POSSIBILITY that some bastard alien might take you from me!"

Chi-Chi gripped her fists. She swallowed a lump in her throat and then began to tremble. "I was doing what a Mother does...I was giving my baby a bath..."

She glared down at Bardock. "And when I went to wash his neck, he flinched. And you know why he flinched, Bardock! I know you do!"

Bardock's face remained with a scowl painted on it, but he shoulders sagged just a bit. Chi-Chi's voice was wavering. "That same yellow brute that I found him fighting...that monster broke my baby's neck..."

Chi-Chi glared down at her father-in-law. "You're right, I'm not a Saiyan. I don't know how a Saiyan is raised...but I'm still a parent. And I don't want to think about my baby being hurt like that..."

Chi-Chi pointed her finger directly at Gine. "And I know she doesn't want to think about things like that! When the two of you had Raditz and he turned out the way that he did, she wanted nothing more than to protect him and keep him safe! And I know that's how you both felt about Goku! Sending him off was your idea!"

Bardock shook his head. "What does that have to do with-"

Chi-Chi shouted. "LOOK AT THEM! Goku is in that healing pod wounded to the point he'd be dead without it! And Raditz is hanging on by a thread waiting for a child with magic healing powers to save his life! Are you telling me that, as a parent, this doesn't make your stomach turn?!"

Bardock was silent.

Chi-Chi marched up to Bardock, grabbing him by what little of his chest armor remained and pulled him close. "HEY!"

Bardock glared at Chi-Chi and, to his shock, saw a desperate and saddened look in his daughter-in-law's eyes. "I barely know you...but Gine swears that you're a good person and that, underneath it all, you love your family and you care..."

Tears started to flow from Chi-Chi's eyes. "Can you look at your sons or my son, your grandson, and tell me that you're okay with them all being hurt just because they're Saiyans, they're Warriors, and the greater good called for it?!"

Bardock glanced past Chi-Chi at his unconscious eldest son and then at the job containing his youngest. Chi-Chi let him go and shook her head. "I don't want that to be what my Son's life becomes, Bardock. He told me that he doesn't want to fight, he just wants to impress you...but I don't want that to be his entire life..."

Gohan and Gine both glanced at each other. Gohan bowed his head and Gine lovingly rubbed the back of his head. Bardock was still silent, looking pensive as he tried to think of how to respond. Chi-Chi shook her head. "And it's shameful that you, as a grandparent, sent him off by himself just to try and when a brawl with that body-swapping weirdo and his team of freaks!"

Bardock snapped at Chi-Chi. "I was ready to jump in and save his ass if he needed me!"

Chi-Chi snapped right back. "THEN HOW DID HIS NECK GET BROKEN?!"

Bardock gritted his teeth. And then, he thought back to the aftermath of that fight. He didn't want to show it to the others, he needed to preserve morale among the group, but seeing the kid as banged up as he was bothered Bardock. He sat there for a moment, after Dende had healed him, and watched as the Namekian began to heal Gohan, with Krillin and Bulma both huddled around him. And... he had to leave.

Bardock gripped his fist as he thought back to that, and then he did something that shocked Gohan and Gine and even Chi-Chi: Bardock bowed his head to the ground.

Bardock took a deep breath and spoke in a clear, calm voice. "Up to this point, I didn't have a choice. Gohan had to fight, or all of us would be dead. And it would be permanent. Frieza would have the Dragon Balls and we all would have been gone for good."

Chi-Chi flinched back, still looking rather cross. Bardock continued. "But I agree that that isn't an excuse. Letting Gohan brush against death like that was irresponsible and the fact that I wasn't strong enough to prevent that is a disgrace on me as a Saiyan..."

He lifted his head and glared at Chi-Chi. "You and Gine wanted me to keep the boy safe, and I failed. But that's the last time. From now on, I'll make sure that he's not put into that position again. So long as I can fight, and even if it kills me. I'll make sure that he has someone to help him fight against things he isn't strong enough to handle on his own..."

Chi-Chi and Bardock glared at each other for a long while. Slowly, the majority of the anger left her face. Chi-Chi knelt down and placed her hand on Bardock's aching shoulder, and then she helped him to his feet. "You swear to me? You swear that you'll keep him safe?"

Bardock nodded. "Yeah. I swear on my life."

The two shared a nod of solidarity and Chi-Chi shot Bardock a friendly smile. He sighed and groaned in pain. A small peace seemed to have been made. Then, a familiar annoyance rejoined the conversation. "Is this pathetic display finished?"

Everyone in the room turned to see the unwelcome sight of Vegeta walking into the room. The Prince tossed two sets of armor next to Raditz and next to Goku's healing chamber, respectively, and then he tossed a third and final set to Bardock.

Bardock glared at Vegeta and then glanced down at the armor in his hands, the same as Vegeta's, but with a black and green coloration. Vegeta spoke up, expressing his disdain. "Bowing your head to some Earth woman. Ridiculous. Do you have no Saiyan Pride left at all?!"

Bardock scoffed. He turned and began to limp over to Gine. "Vegeta, just...piss off until Dende and the others get back. I need a few minutes of peace and your voice isn't helping..."

Vegeta cocked his head, narrowing his eyes. "Oh no! Bardock needs peace! I'm so worried about you and your ability to relax..."

Vegeta was then caught a bit of guard. He showed no outward surprise, but he was inwardly a bit taken aback when Gine suddenly put herself between Bardock and the Prince. Gine glared at Vegeta. "Seriously. Go away. We need a minute of family time and we don't need you here being a jerk to everyone, Vegeta!"

Vegeta paid Gine no heed. He glanced past her and opened his mouth to shout at Bardock again. But, Gine was quick to step forward and shove Vegeta back. "I asked you to leave!"

Vegeta nodded. "I heard you."

Gine clenched her fists. "So, why don't-"

Vegeta cut her off. "I just don't care. Why should I take anything the likes of you has to say seriously? Huh? I mean, you must be aware of what you are right? Little more than-"

Gine rolled her eyes. "Little more than what? A woman? A food prepper? A Low-class? Is your book of insults really that small, Vegeta? Can you not be bothered to at least be creative with you insults?"

Vegeta paused. But then, he smirked and began to chuckle. "No no, you have it all wrong! While women and food staff and Low-class scum have no right to question me, the Prince of all Saiyans, you're something much worse that any of that!"

Gine flinched and Vegeta snickered. "Tell me, why exactly do I have to listen to anything the Makyan Disgrace has to say again?"

Gine gasped and, immediately, both Bardock and Chi-Chi started to get up. Vegeta didn't notice as he laid into Gine. "My Mother and Father used to tell me and my brother stories to make us laugh. They'd entertain us with stories of notable washouts from the Saiyan Army."

Vegeta chuckled. "My favorite was always the story of Gine, the Makyan Disgrace! A loser who froze up at a crucial moment and cost hundreds of Saiyan lives in the process! A pathetic piece of scum who only barely avoided execution because her mate gave up a commendation to save her pathetic life!"

Vegeta leaned in close. "Tell me, can you still see it? The flash of red from the Makyo Star? Can you still hear all of their screams? All because you froze up and couldn't pull a trigger?"

Gine clasped her hands over her mouth. She began to tremble and tears streamed down her cheeks. Vegeta smirked. "I can imagine how you must have felt. You probably wished you could just shrivel up and die, eh?"

Gine's mind began to race. Everything was hitting her at once, like a hurricane of blood and destruction raging through her mind. Gine fell to her knees and began to sob as the PTSD began to set in again. Vegeta continued, unaffected. "So that's why I shouldn't have to listen to you! You're nothing! A piece of trash! An embarrassment not just to your mate, not just to your offspring, not just to your entire class, but to the entirety of the Saiyan Ra-"

A fist smashed into Vegeta mouth and the Prince went flying. He crashed into a window across the hallway from the Medical Bay and tumbled to the ground below.

Outside of Frieza's Ship...

Vegeta crashed into the ground hard. The wind knocked out of him by falling flat, Vegeta stood up and glared at his attacker. Bardock landed on the ground and stumbled, still quite injured from the battles beforehand. But then, to Vegeta's shock, Bardock rushed at him with a feral roar. The older Saiyan grabbed Vegeta by his hair and began to beat his face in with his fist. "I TOLD YOU TO STOP RUNNING THAT GODDAMNED MOUTH OF YOURS! THAT YOU TALK TO MUCH! THAT IT WAS EVENTUALLY GONNA GET YOU INTO A SITUATION THAT YOU COULDN'T SLINK YOUR ASS OUT OF!"

After taking the twelfth consecutive punch, Vegeta managed to catch Bardock's fist. He forced his fingers under Bardock's and, with a tug, bent the older Saiyan's fingers back. And then, with all of his might, Vegeta slammed his fist into Bardock's stomach and sent his opponent soaring backwards.

Bardock was hurt, but he landed on his feet. He and Vegeta glared at each other and squared up. Both were too exhausted to fire off ki attacks, but they were ready to go at it regardless. Vegeta snarled. "I was going to save this fight for much later!"

Bardock charged forward as fast as he could, catching Vegeta off-guard with a punch to the throat. "Later is now, brat!"

Bardock slammed his fists onto Vegeta's back, forcing the Prince to the ground. Vegeta rocketed up and delivered a mighty right hook right in-between Bardock's legs. Bardock doubled over in pain and Vegeta punched him in the nose, drawing blood. Bardock responded with a brutal headbutts that sent Vegeta crashing face-first into the dirt.

This was no battle, no war, just two men who were just about done with each other brawling for dominance and pride!

Back up in the Ship...

Gohan and Chi-Chi both watched from the broken window as Bardock and Vegeta brawled. Chi-Chi smirked as the fight wore on and the two men beat the Hell out of each other. "Now that's what I'm talking about! A man standing up for the honor of his wife! It's good to see he really is as good as Gine said he was!"

Gohan swallowed a lump in his throat. "I hope Grandpa will be okay. Vegeta is really, really strong..."

Chi-Chi turned to her Son. "You can't doubt him, Gohan! He's standing up for your Grandma and her feelings! We have to cheer him on!"

"NO! YOU DON'T!"

Chi-Chi and Gohan both turned to see Gine had stood back up. The Saiyan Mother wiped her eyes of their tears and sprinted towards the door. "Damn it! We can't afford this right now!"

Gine shoved Chi-Chi and Gohan aside and leapt down from the broken window. She saw what Chi-Chi and Gohan didn't seem to see. Vegeta and Bardock weren't just brawling, they were trying to kill each other! And she had to hurry up and stop them before they did!

Back down on the ground...

Vegeta and Bardock continued to wail on each other as hard as they could. The two Saiyans traded punches back and forth, beating the shit out of one another. With each delivering a solid blow, they two Saiyan were sent sliding back. They glared at each other with true malice, and then they each charged to deliver a devastating blow.

Both Prince and soldier threw the heaviest punch that they could, but these attacks were quickly intercepted by a red flash. The two of them tried for force their fists forward, but fatigue and lack of energy prevented them from forcing against this new blockade. Vegeta and Bardock both looked down to see a Kaioken-clad Gine blocking their attacks.

Bardock was genuinely stunned by the sight of his wife, but Vegeta was haughty. "Oh please..."

He pushed his fist even harder, but then Gine mumbled under her breath. "Times Fifteen..."

Power surged from Gine's body and she shoved both her husband and Vegeta onto their asses. They each landed with a solid thud and stared up at the enraged woman. Bardock was quietly surprised by such a showing of force from his normally meek wife. "Holy shit Gine..."

Vegeta was left shaken and perturbed. "What the Hell...?"

Gine wasn't stronger than either of the men she had just flattened, but such a showing of power an aggression from her was something that was considered quite strange. This was only compounded upon when she shouted at the two of them. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU TWO?! ARE YOU FORGETTING THAT FRIEZA IS STILL LURKING AROUND SOMEWHERE ON THIS PLANET?!"

Both men seemed at tad cowed by the reminder the Emperor was still out and about. Gine began to scold them rather harshly. "Look, I get that you two both really don't like each other! But you need to keep a cool head for just a little while longer, okay?! You can beat the Hell out of each other once Frieza is gone and we've made our wishes on the Dragon Balls!"

Bardock spoke up. "But Gine! He insulted-"

Gine clapped her hands over her face and raggedly sighed. "Bardock...I get that you were standing up for me. I love you so much! And I appreciate you caring about me...but it's fine. He's right! Okay?"

Bardock flinched and Gine shook her head. "I was an embarrassment to the Saiyan Empire. I froze up. A lot of people died because of me! Some on my best friends died because of me! He wasn't lying when he said those things! I own up to that!"

Vegeta snorted and shouted at Bardock. "She! Even she realizes how worthless she-"

Gine turned to Vegeta. "But what does that matter anymore?! Huh, Vegeta?! What does the title 'Makyan Disgrace' and everything it implies mean when the Empire that I'm a disgrace of is gone?!"

Vegeta opened his mouth to speak, but Gine cut him off. "It means nothing! NOTHING! And you know why?! Cuz it's all gone Vegeta! All of it! Every single Saiyan went straight to Hell! The Empire was blown up, and then it burned!"

Gine slapped her hand onto her chest. "And I would know because I was there to see it firsthand! Every Low-class, every Elite, King Vegeta the Third himself! Men, women, children! All in Hell! All gone! The only ones that weren't cleansed and thrown into the reincarnation cycle were me and Bardock!"

Vegeta sneered at Gine. The Saiyan woman shook her head. "It'll never leave me how many deaths my inability caused! So, if laughing at that makes you feel better in this lonely, lonely life you've probably led over the past 20 years Vegeta...then I welcome you to laugh at me as long and as loud as you'd like!"

Gine's arms fell to her sides. "But the Saiyan Empire is gone. Being the Prince of the Saiyans means as much as being the Makyan Disgrace does nowadays. So, I hope that you're eventually able to move on from all of this for your own sake. Otherwise, your life will eventually reach the point where you have nothing left but anger and hate and venom. And does any of that have any real meaning...?"

Vegeta spat at Gine, the blood from his mouth hitting her face and sliding down her cheek. "I have all of the meaning I need! Revenge on Frieza! Revenge on you Low-class clowns! Those are my drives! That's something a Low-class like you would never-"

Gine wiped her face. "And what do you do when we're all dead?"

Vegeta instantly fell silent. His pupils shrank a bit and his jaw was left hanging open. He had...he had genuinely never thought that far ahead. Gine glanced to Bardock, back to Vegeta, and then to Bardock again. Her face softened and she sighed, emotionally drained. "Let's just all try and keep some kind of peace. Krillin and Nail will be back soon and we can summon the Dragon and make wishes. Okay? Let's at least make it to that point..."

Vegeta and Bardock were both silent. Gine walked over to her husband and helped him up. "Bardock, come with me. Vegeta...please don't start trouble with anyone. Please."

With that said, Gine grabbed Bardock's hand and pulled him away. Up in the ship, Gohan and Chi-Chi returned to the Medical Bay to watch over Goku and Raditz. And Vegeta...just fell onto his back and stared directly up into the sky.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Namek...

Frieza came to a stop at the house atop the giant, mountain spire. Briefly, the Emperor considered turning his communicator back on the ask Captain Ginyu how things were progressing. But, Frieza quickly decided against it. He stepped out from his hover chair and took in the sights. This was truly the best view on this miserable, backwater planet! That much was certain.

Frieza marched towards the home atop this luxurious view and politely rapped his knuckles against the door. No answer.

Frieza glanced down and came across the sight of a marked grave near the house. He had a small chuckle to himself and then, with a massive crack, he smashed open the door. Frieza stepped into the domicile and took flight to reach the second floor.

He landed in the upper level and glanced up at the person he had come to visit. A sinister smile spread across the Emperor's face. "The Grand Elder, I presume?"

Grand Elder Guru didn't respond. He barely even reacted. The Guardian of Namek simply stared down at this intruder: the creature that had killed so many of his children.

Frieza smirked. "I am here to receive information about the Dragon Balls~"

Proofreading: StevenBodner