Dragon Ball Z: Dynasty

Written by: Feraligreater328 and StevenBodner

Edited by: StevenBodner and SparkerLightning

Chapter 125: The Reunion

The Fuki-Fukitsu Asteroid Belt. A tender hive of the wretched detritus that inhabits Universe 7. A lawless colony of criminals and deplorables that even the Galactic Patrol cannot hope to stand up to. Controlled by various criminal factions that wish to be free of the constraints of law and the ever-spreading influence of a certain super-powered Lord, this is one of the habitats that keeps the Western Galaxy both free and dangerous. It is here that our hero, Bardock, finds himself in search of his long-lost brother...

Bardock set the sealed flowerpot down onto the ground and sighed, opening the ki-restricting handcuffs and gripping them in a position that will make his task go more smoothly. He growled under his breath. "Okay, here goes. No water around. One shot at this..."

Bardock shot a beam from his finger that split the flowerpot in two. It burst apart with a massive explosion of energy and, when the dust cleared, there stood a dazed and confused Zangya. She groaned and pressed her hand to her head. "...What's going..."

Bardock rushed in, getting a cuff around Zangya's left wrist and yanking her arm behind her back. She tried to fight Bardock off, but he proved too strong as he grabbed her other free arm and securely locked it in place. Zangya fell forward onto her face and cried out. "What the hell is going on?! What is this?!"

She tried to summon her power, but the red sensor on the cuffs locking her hands shined brightly. She laid on the ground uselessly, wriggling and flopping like a freshly caught fish. Bardock reached down and grabbed her by the collar of her jacket, yanking the former Galaxy Soldier into the air. "One chance, woman! Tell me everything you know about Turles! Now!"

Zangya snapped at him. "Or what?!"

Bardock slammed her against a nearby rock, wrapping his free hand around her throat and giving a firm, harsh squeeze. Zangya's eyes went wide as she felt Bardock choking her. For a moment, a glimmer of fear sparkled in her eyes. But then, that glimmer faded as she felt Bardock's grip loosen a bit. She chuckled, though with just a bit of difficulty. "Oh...this is just precious...~"

Bardock gritted his teeth, trying to intimidate with a look. Zangya sighed. "You're trying, I'll give you that. But...this is about it, huh? You...aren't going to kill someone that's utterly helpless~"

Bardock's breathing became labored. He attempted another squeeze on Zangya's throat, but he found he couldn't summon the power. Zangya chortled. "Yeah~ I can see it in your eyes, Saiyan. There was a cold-blooded killer in there...once. But now...now it appears that a once raging fire has been snuffed by, what, love or some shit~?!"

Bardock snarled. Zangya smirked. "Strangle me to death. Do it. I want you to! I really do!"

The older Saiyan roared and summoned a ki blast into his palm. He held it less than an inch from the side of Zangya's head, causing some of the hair from her sideburns to singe. She sighed. "It's a shame. I love strong men. And you're pretty damn strong from the feel of it. If you could bring yourself to press that blast against my head, I'd die. You could kill me~"

Bardock shouted. "And I will, if-"

She retorted. "No, you won't. You could kill me, but you can't make yourself do it. Doing that to someone as helplessly hogtied as I am would require cruelty. And it appears as if you're fresh outta that, buddy boy! You could kill me...but you're not a killer. At least, not anymore~"

She got close to his face, smirking. "But, once again, feel free to prove me wrong~"

A tense silence. Bardock's face was frozen with rage, Zangya looked smug even though she was the prisoner. And then Bardock let her go and turned away, screaming at the top of his lungs and smashing his fist through a rock. Zangya laughed at his little tantrum, laying back against the cool rock. "Where are we anyway, chuckles? This isn't the planet we were fighting on. Where's that blonde bimbo at?"

Bardock didn't answer, squatting down next to the Attack Ball and putting his face in his hands. Zangya rolled her eyes and shakily got her feet under her. She started to walk away, only for a hand to suddenly seize one of her bound arms. She turned to glare and Bardock glared right back. "You aren't going anywhere. I need information that you have!"

She cocked her head. "Oh? And how do you plan to get that info? Huh? We've already taken torture off of the table because you don't have the stomach anymore. So, what's left, Mr. Saiyan? Hm?"

Bardock clenched his teeth. Deep down, he knew she was right. He had nothing. The thought of barbaric torture actually disgusted him, a thought that he found both surprising and a little refreshing, but ultimately was quite inconvenient. And he equally disdained the thought of letting her loose and beating her fair and square. She was a tricky opponent and fighting her would be a pain in the ass, even in a relatively dry place like this.

Bardock pressed his index finger to his forehead, trying to think. But as he did, an opportunity arose. Zangya's stomach growled and she made a cringing face as she suddenly realized just how hungry she was. She doubled over. "H-How long was I locked in that stupid vase?"

Bardock glared down at her. "Six months and some change."

She glared up at him. "Barbarian. Didn't even let me out for a meal in that time?!"

Bardock retorted. "I don't give a damn if you starve."

Zangya groaned, every part of her suddenly feeling very limp. She moaned. "Fine. If you get me something to eat, I'll tell you everything I know about Turles. Okay?"

Bardock was taken aback at first, but then he nodded with a grunt. "Fine."

The older Saiyan reached down and heaved Zangya up, throwing her over his shoulder. Zangya was confused. "Where are you going, dipshit? I can sense that there are people the other-"

Bardock heaved Zangya into the Attack Ball like a sack of potatoes and then quickly closed the hatch. He tapped on the window like one would tap on a fish tank and called in. "Stay put! I'll be back!"

Bardock could see that Zangya hated that. She glared at him and then began to thrash around, trying her best to break out of her restraints. Bardock turned away and scratched his head. "Bulma made those. They should hold tight."

Finally, Bardock reached into his armor and pulled out a thin cloak. "I look like Turles and he's made a lot of people angry, apparently. So... I should probably hide my face for now..."

He wrapped the cloak around her shoulders and pulled up the hood far enough that nobody could see his features. Bardock leaped off of the edge of the asteroid he had landed on and began to march across the next. "Hopefully there's a decent restaurant down there. I'm hungry too..."

In the restaurant district of Fuki-Fukitsu...

Bardock wandered around the various streets of the Fuki-Fukitsu restaurant district, sniffing the air as he did. Most of the food here smelled anywhere from burnt and greasy to flat out rancid. It was almost enough to make his stomach turn. Almost.

He sneered and crossed his arms over his chest. "This is ridiculous. I should just beat the information out of her. It might be a hard fight once I remove the cuffs, but..."

Finally, Bardock's eyes locked with a food stall that seemed appealing enough: Big Al and Salty Joe's Burgers and Fries. The two windows to the stall each had a fellow standing in them, a large rhinoceros creature and a skinny fox-like creature. Bardock nodded. "Good enough. Now, I...I..."

Bardock's eyes went wide and he scowled. "...I don't have any money."

Faced with this newest roadblock, Bardock started to panic. How could he forget that he didn't have any credits?! Too long spent on Earth, that's how. Bardock had a few thousand zeni in his wallet at home, but he hadn't needed common currency in a couple of decades. Vegeta and Raditz had paid for most of their expenses on the trip from Planet Cold back to Earth, and-

Bardock snapped his fingers. "That's it! Vegeta and Raditz both have bank accounts!"

Shifting his head back and forth, Bardock eventually spied a Galactic Bank ATM with a rather large gatling turret mounted to the top. He nodded. "Safe and secure transactions, I'm sure. That's great."

Moving quickly, Bardock marched up to the turret and selected the "Forgot My Card" option. Not wanting to rob either his biological son or his adopted one, Bardock chose to punch in his information first...

ACCOUNT RECLAIMED: 10 YEARS INACTIVE. PLEASE VISIT YOUR LOCAL GALACTIC BANK BRANCH!

Bardock scowled. "Damn..."

Next, he tried Raditz's information. It was easy enough to enter that, Raditz didn't even have a PIN set up. He looked at his son's meager account and grimaced: only 10 credits. Bardock cringed. "Oh...Oh Raditz..."

Next, because the idea popped into his head, Bardock tried Nappa's account. Nappa only had 5 credits to his name. Following that, he tried Vegeta's.

ACCOUNT LOCKED. PLEASE ENTER PIN.

Three tries at guessing, three utter failures. And lo and behold, Vegeta's account was locked for a month. Bardock roughly ran his hand across his face. "Shit..."

Next, he began to rapid-fire punch in every name he could think of. Toma, Fasha, Totepo, Panbukin, Taro, Leek. All reclaimed due to inactivity. In his mind, Bardock considered others. Perhaps the Ginyu Force? No, Ginyu was still alive and Bardock didn't want that coming back to haunt him. Frieza or Cold? Even if they had accounts, Cooler probably had those accounts now and Bardock really didn't want to deal with that at the moment.

Taking a deep breath and sighing, Bardock tried another name: Cassava. This one did pull up an account, one that didn't even have a PIN. Bardock mumbled. "Of course not, that airhead would forget a PIN in a second..."

But, when Bardock pulled up the account, a message flashed.

ACCOUNT EMPTY. FUNDS TRANSFERRED TO RELATED ACCOUNT.

Bardock pressed his head to the glass with a groan. "Of course. Vegeta probably took all of Cassava's money after the planet was blown up..."

Now a line was forming behind Bardock and he was getting uncomfortable. With a dry lump in her throat, Bardock punched in another name. "Well, I know he's alive...so how about Turles?"

PLEASE ENTER 20-DIGIT PIN

Bardock was stunned. "Are you fu-"

?

"-king kidding me?! Who would try to hack my account?!"

Sitting in a workshop, surrounded by machinary, a certain individual stared down at the communicator built into his robotic arm. He scowled. "What the hell is going on?!"

Back with Bardock...

At his wit's end and with nothing else left to try, Bardock was ready to just give up and move on. He figured he would either have to steal the damned food or just find an alternate way to interrogate Zangya. But, as he turned and saw the annoyed face of the long-haired woman behind him, Bardock had one more thought pop into his head. "This is stupid..."

With an almost reluctant hand, Bardock typed in Tursa's information. And then, to his shock, the account was actually active! But it was also PIN locked. Four digits. Bardock growled and pressed his finger to his forehead. "What would she have...?"

It dawned on Bardock. He couldn't think of four other numbers that would mean anything to his long-dead sister. Bardock typed in 3-6-3-7 and stood with a hitched breath as the ATM processed. Finally, the account opened up to a screen that displayed an almost asinine level of credits and even more in accrued interest. Bardock's eyes went wide, the number on the screen was six digits long, nearly seven if you added the interest into the available funds. It also displayed several withdrawals and several deposits, like someone was borrowing money and then putting that exact amount back. Bardock nodded, reckoning he knew who it was doing that too.

With quickness, he typed in the amount he wished to withdraw and then scooped the rewarded credits up from the tray. Bardock turned, mumbling an apology to the lady patiently waiting behind him, and scratched the back of his head. He looked up at the stars and sighed. "You got us both to the West, Tursa. I hope that lets you rest easy, wherever you are..."

?

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! HOW WOULD THEY EVEN KNOW TO ACCESS THAT ONE?!"

The same individual from before sounded less annoyed now and more genuinely angry. He stood from his spot and shouted towards the door. "SLUG! GET THE GODDAMNED BANK ON THE LINE! ALSO, GET THE MEN READY! WE MIGHT BE BURNING IT TO THE GROUND!"

A little later, back at Bardock's Attack Ball...

Bardock sat atop the Attack Ball, a basket of greasy food sitting in his lap. He had taken a couple of scant bites, but otherwise found himself lacking an appetite. He just sat there, lost in thought and vaguely picking up the sounds of Zangya chowing down in the seat below. To Bardock's surprise, she didn't complain when he brought her back the lackluster slop. She didn't even struggle when he was re-cuffing her hands in front. She almost looked grateful. Almost.

Bardock sat there, looking up at the stars. His mind was moving a million miles an hour. He had an uneasy look on his face as dreadful realizations slithered down the surface of his brain like raindrops on a window. "Tursa and Turles' bank accounts are easy to explain. Turles is alive, so he's using them..."

Bardock pressed his face to his hand, biting the side of his tongue almost hard enough to draw blood. "...would Vegeta really raid his mother's bank account? He takes money from Bulma...but Bulma is also there to offer it..."

The older Saiyan looked troubled. "Would he...? But, if he didn't, what would that...that couldn't...I...?"

Bardock remembered one tiny conversation he and Gohan shared, one where Gohan talked about that Alpha Saiyan power of his having other "Fight Buddies". Living "Fight Buddies". Bardock cringed. "Living...alive...she's...this..."

Feeling a lump build in his throat, Bardock slammed his fist down onto the top of the Attack Ball. "ARE YOU DONE YET?!"

Bardock watched as the carton that contained Zangya's food came flying out of the front of the Attack Ball. It was followed by a loud, satisfied belch. Bardock rolled his eyes. "Ladylike..."

Zangya shouted back. "Suck my ass, scarface!"

Bardock leapt down and glared into the Attack Ball at Zangya. She glared right back. Bardock groaned. "You act just like my daughter-in-law when her hair turns blonde. You even kinda look like her..."

No response. Zangya merely flipped him off. Bardock responded dryly. "Charming. Now tell me what you know."

A brief pause. But then, to Bardock's disdain and horror, Zangya simply chuckled and shrugged. "I'm sorry. Did I ever say I knew anything~? I told you I'd tell you what I know, so here it is: Nothing~"

Bardock's face went stony with anger. He gripped his hand around the doorway of the Attack Ball, creasing his fingers through what was meant to be an exceptionally durable alloy. Zangya laughed at him, right in his face. She glowered at him with a disturbing level of cruelty. "Haven't you ever heard that phrase about what happens when you assume? Ass? U? Me?"

She cackled again. "Though, I will say, I certainly don't feel like an ass right now! Thanks for the food, you-"

Bardock punched Zangya right in the center of the face, sending her head snapping back and making it bounce off the headrest of the seat. He snarled to himself, his hand shaking. He had barely been able to pull his punch and, with her wearing those cuffs, he would have popped her head like a grape if he had hit her full-force. Zangya groaned, pressing her hand to her face as blood poured from her nose. Talking to herself, she scowled. "It would be nice if this still hurt as much as it should..."

With an almost mundane reaction, Zangya simply grabbed her broken nose and forcibly set it back in place. She had a nostalgic sadness sparkling in her eyes. She looked up and saw Bardock stomping away, his voice hoarse with anger as he screamed at the top of his lungs. She smirked. "That's what you get for locking me up, asshole~ That's what you..."

Zangya continued to listen to Bardock scream. Sure, he was angry, but she also heard something else beneath that anger. Sorrow...? Longing...? Maybe both? She couldn't quite place it, even as she watched him stomp his foot through a massive rock, but she could tell it was some kind of hurt. A long-lasting hurt. A real kind of hurt, like a broken heart hastily mended that was breaking all over again.

Zangya's smirk faded.

"I don't know where he would be, but I do know he has a habit of making enemies wherever he goes..."

Zangya had spoken quietly, but Bardock heard what she said. He turned to her in the Attack Ball. "What?"

Zangya's face was less scornful, more serious. Her eyes had a certain level of kindness Bardock hadn't seen in them prior. She still looked angry, perhaps even hateful, but also just a bit understanding. She spoke. "We found him through another mortal that we met in our plants to invade the Sacred World of the Kais. Called the guy a duplicitous, self-server. Bojack liked the sound of it. Turles sounded like someone sneaky and unlamentable enough to be the perfect fall guy while we tried to steal the Zeta Sword..."

She groaned. "Bojack only ever saw the worst in people, because he could use that as a tool for his own interests..."

As before, that last remark had a level of nostalgic sorrow to it that Bardock almost inherently understood. Zangya finished. "So, hey, if you wanna find him...just go around here and mention his name. I'm sure someone will respond and then you can take your fist to their nose..."

Bardock took a deep breath and sighed. "Right..."

An uncomfortable silence. Zangya lifted her hands up. "Let me go. I gave you your information. I want to get on my way."

Bardock shook his head, pressing the button to close the door to the Attack Ball. "Not yet."

The door sealed shut and Zangya began to scream and shout from within. She was muffled by the steel-plating of the ship, so Bardock couldn't exactly make out whatever horrid things she was saying. He lifted the ship over his shoulder and began to walk back towards the civilization of Fuki-Fukitsu. "Okay...he makes enemies out of other scumbags...so I'm bound to find someone here who knows him..."

Deep within the Fuki-Fukitsu Pleasure District...

Bardock had been walking through the various slums built on the various asteroids of the Fuki-Fukitsu cluster for over three hours now. Now, his trek had brought him to what could be most politely described as a Red-Light District. The older Saiyan looked from booth-to-booth, storefront-to-storefront, and found himself hesitating every time he went to enter.

Bardock had entered several other establishments and asked around about his brother, but all he had gotten were dirty looks, requests to leave, or simple denials of any knowledge at all. Perhaps some of the businesses in this place would contain what he needed to know, but even getting near the doorways made him shudder.

At heart, Bardock was a loyal husband. He wasn't meek by any means, but he also wasn't too keen on doing anything that could be misconstrued as unfaithful. He had a perfectly good Gine waiting for him on Earth, he wouldn't want her to think his eye wandered while he was away. Bardock cringed as he looked from place-to-place.

He stood in front of the doorway to a slave market. Hearing the clink of chains and metal within, Bardock attempted to screw up his nerve. He didn't know any of the people in there, so it shouldn't be an issue. But, in spite of those thoughts, Bardock couldn't get his feet to move. He thought of what his youngest son had done for those two girls on Planet Cold, Genoa and Salam. He gripped his fist as Zangya's words echoed through his head. There was a cold-blooded killer in there...once.

Bardock moved on. He couldn't afford to blow his cover at the moment, not for pointless heroism. He stepped up to the next building, a whorehouse. Bardock sighed. "Might be information in there, but I'd probably have to partake of their services. And..."

Gine's smile. Bardock's face turned bright red and he moved on without a second thought. Next up came an escort service where the various woman, men, and others stood in the window, dressed in their finest and attempting to entice. Bardock groaned. "Just a whorehouse with more expensive paint. Damn it..."

Bardock continued his walk for another ten minutes, dodging past people and trying not to knock anyone over with the Attack Ball. Zangya was still throwing a fit inside. Finally, Bardock stopped. He was still uncomfortable, but he finally found a place he could walk into and search for information: Pole Cats, an Adult Dance Studio. Bardock stared at it with disdain and wiped his hand over his eyes. "Am I really going to go in there...?"

Up in the Attack Ball, Zangya's shrieks of anger suddenly shifted to mocking laughter. She was still muffled, but Bardock could make out what she said. "You think you're going to find answers in a strip club?! Really?!"

Bardock shook the Attack Ball. "Be quiet!"

Zangya shouted back. "Make me, chimp!"

Bardock looked around, even more embarrassed. People were staring at him now. Inside, he heard Zangya call out. "Someone help! This guy said he was gonna do naughty stuff to me! He-"

Bardock quickly raced into a nearby alleyway. Out of sight and out of mind, the gawkers around him quickly forgot he even exited and went about their debauchery as planned.

In the alleyway...

Bardock was heaving breaths in and out as Zangya cackled within the pod. Bardock glared at her through the glass, seeing that her nose had apparently started to bleed again. She didn't seem to notice as she mocked him. "Aw, what's wrong? Embarrassed?!"

Bardock sneered. "You're just going to be a hassle, huh?"

Zangya slammed her fists against the glass. "Less of a hassle if you'd just let me go."

Bardock almost obliged her, but he stayed his hand as he went to open the door. Zangya was the only actual person he had that had laid eyes on Turles. She was his only real connection to finding his brother. Hands shaking, Bardock drew his finger away from the button to open the door. Zangya cocked her head, watching as Bardock walked over to a dumpster and flipped open the lid. He nodded. "Looks big enough..."

Zangya's eyes went wide. "No! No no no! Don't you dare! You hear me?! Don't you-"

In one smooth motion, Bardock lifted the Attack Ball and heaved it into the dumpster. Bardock peered in, seeing Zangya screaming at him through the glass. He shrugged. "Sorry, it would probably draw attention if I carried you into that club. Be back soon, bitch."

With a smug little smirk on his face, Bardock closed the dumpster lid. He chuckled as he vaguely heard Zangya's furious screech from within. He called out. "Just hang out here! I'll be back~!"

In the Attack Ball...

Zangya was angry and nauseous as she continued to pound her fists ineffectively against the glass of the Attack Ball. "Stupid, ugly, hairless, knuckle-dragging, filthy, brainless, stupid friggin' chimp!"

Zangya buried her face in her hands and screamed to herself. "I CAN'T STAND SAIYANS, GODDAMMIT!"

She looked down at her palms and saw speckles of blood oozing down them. She had thought she staunched the bleeding from Bardock punching her, but it would appear she had failed. Zangya gripped her hand-cuffed fists tight as her stomach roiled. She felt like she was going to be seeing that meal she enjoyed again soon. Enraged and mentally drained, Zangya lifted her hands as far as she could in the cramped space and started smashing them against the Attack Ball's control panel. "LEAVE ME IN THE TRASH, WILL YOU?! FINE! SCREW YOUR SHIP! SCREW YOUR SEARCH FOR YOUR STUPID BROTHER! AND SCREW Y-"

Zangya's stomach churned. She gagged and heaved and then, to her genuine surprise, she vomited up a massive jet of blood. She was shaking as she wiped her mouth. Suddenly everything inside her body felt like it was on fire. Her vision began to blur. "Wh-What's happening? W-Wai-"

Another gusher of blood, this time right on the window screen. Zangya hacked, shivering like a wounded animal. The nosebleed got even worse, having progressed to two steady streams flowing from her nostrils. As she started to curl up, the realization of what was happening dawned on Zangya. "The water...the Water of the Kaio-Spring...I... I almost...forgot..."

In Pole Cats, an Adult Dance Studio...

Bardock tried to walk into the strip club with a bit of confidence in his gate. He squared his shoulders, took a deep breath of the outside air, and then plunged head-first into a cloud of aerosol sweat and stale smoke.

Bardock pressed his fist to his mouth and coughed. Smoking wasn't a Saiyan custom, though he had observed Bulma do it enough on Earth to know what it was. He certainly didn't enjoy the smell of it and it was very thick here. All manner of pervert sat around the various stages of the establishment, puffing cigars as they hooted and enjoyed the show.

At least, he thought they were enjoying the show. Bardock felt both second-hand and first-hand embarrassment as he watched dead-eyed women cavort on stage, most of them looking like their thoughts were elsewhere as they were showered with praise and credits from the sickening crowd surrounding them. One girl had at least 8,000, if not more, tucked into the lining of her tight-fitting underwear. Bardock sat on a stool at the bar and groaned. "Maybe I should've brought Gine. This might feel less miserable..."

The older Saiyan took a moment to take in his surroundings. It was an okay bar, various spirits and hard liquors sat in row on a shelf on the back wall. To his left, Bardock saw an old coot that reminded him almost too much of Roshi. He sighed. "I guess perversion is a universal language..."

To his right, Bardock saw two others: one of them was definitely a Winnian, a species of bear-like aliens with rubbery bodies that withstood blunt force quite easily; the other was not an alien he recognized, a grassy-green imp with spiky tendrils atop his head. The Winnian, a panda-type from outward appearances, was eating what could only be described as slop from a massive bowl. The other was drooling and cat-calling to a girl on stage wearing a tiara made of credits. Bardock mumbled to himself. "These three wouldn't know shit..."

Bardock pulled 100 credits from his pocket, holding them in a single-filed row and tapping them on the countertop. "Yo, barkeep! You serve drinks in this dump?!"

Quickly, the bartender rushed over. He was a shifty-eyed little man in a cheap suit. He looked like he expected a customer to kill him just any old time. He spoke in a stammer. "Y-Y-Yes, s-s-sir?!"

Bardock sat the 100 credits down on the bar. "I want three drinks. Gine and juice to start things clean, chaser of brown liquor for my gut, and then I want a mixed drink."

The bartender nodded. "O-Of course! Any mixed drink in mind, or did you want the house special?"

Bardock shook his head. "I have a special drink in mind. You might've heard of it before. It's called a Turles."

The bartender shuddered, looking like he'd just been grabbed by a ghost. Bardock smirked a knowing-smirk. "That last one gonna be an issue?"

The bartender was still shivering. "I-I-I-I-I..."

Bardock waved at him. "It's fine. We can get to that drink when we get to it. The night is still young, after all~"

As Bardock became engrossed in watching his drink be prepared, he failed to notice the two to his right stand up. The Winnian and his green imp companion both walked towards the stairs leading up to a VIP lounge with positively furious expressions on their faces.

The upper floor of Pole Cats, VIP Private Rooms...

The door to the VIP lounge swung open and the imp and the Winnian both marched in. They looked around, taking in what the rest of their compatriots were up to.

Two women, a pale one with pigtails and glasses and a dark-skinned one with a side-buzz sat around a bottle of sour cherry vodka and watched at the third of their group, a drunken woman with a shaggy mohawk, cheered and hooted. She pulled a big handful of credits from her shirt and tossed them at the totally naked woman on stage. "Whoo! Tha's what 'am talkin' 'bout~!"

The dark-skinned woman facepalmed. "Oh, Miza..."

Pigtails cringed. "We aren't buying you food if you waste all of your cut on strippers! I swear we won't!"

A banana-skinned fellow wearing no shirt sat at a table nearer to the back. He wore a massive, golden chain around his neck and puffed away at a massive cigar as he counted through a box of credits. Next to the table, seven more crates all stuffed with credits sat in an organized pile. The yellow fellow smirk and blew a smoke ring. "Oh yeah~ That last heist was almost too profitable! That Tuffle-betrayer Goichi won't be able to ignore us when we send him numbers like these~"

At a table across the room, a teal-skinned fellow with dark aqua hair sat with two women on either side of him. All four of the girls took turns stroking their hands over the muscles on his arms and chest, each of them smiling appreciatively as a handful of credits were laid in front of them. One of the girls cooed. "Tell us more about how manly you are, Yuzun~"

Yuzun smiled wide, a sparkle twinkling off of his pearly white teeth. "Of course, sweeties~! Now listen closely..."

Next to Yuzun's table, a large robotic man sat and appeared to be eating his credits. The metal crunched in his toothless mouth and then broiled into a fine stew in his lava-fille guts. He listened to Yuzun prattle on and rolled his eyes as he continued to tuck into his cut of the profits.

Finally, in the center of the room, a massive mountain of a man sat with a satisfied look on his face. He planted a cigar into his mouth and angled it towards one of the smaller women sitting in his lap. The girl lit it and the man chuckled, blowing a funnel of smoke from his mouth. He sat there with his pink skin, hairy arms, blonde mohawk, gold-rimmed sunglasses with rose-tinted lenses, and open-chested white dress shirt and laughed. "Ya think that's the case, Zauyogi? I think so to! That old man can't say no to that much cash~"

The man suddenly noticed the two approaching and laughed, pulling the sunglasses off. "Shimorekka! Yunba! How's it goin' down there?! The floosies give ya the ol' one finger salute yet, Shim?"

Shimorekka, the green imp, shook his head. "N-No! I was just waiting for Yunba to finish stuffing his face so he could wingman me!"

The imp blushed and shook his head. "B-But that's not the point, Saganbo! There was this one guy down there and he ordered a drink..."

Saganbo rolled his eyes and groaned. "Did you already spend so much of your cut on rented-ass that you can't even afford a drink, Shimorekka?"

Shimorekka shook his head, looking quite serious and quite angry. "No, this dude ordered a special drink. Called it...a Turles."

The room fell silent immediately and everyone suddenly came to a halt. The girls in the room all seemed confused at their loaded clients went from jovial and joking to suddenly intense and angry. Saganbo stood, knocking both girls out of his lap. One of them glared up at him, annoyed. "Hey! What's the-"

Saganbo shouted with stern authority. "OUT!"

The floosies all immediately obeyed, getting out while they could on their own legs. They filed out the back door of the room like rats escaping a sinking ship. Once they were gone, Sanganbo pulled the cigar from his lips and crushed it in his fist. Smoke whispered out from between Saganbo's fingers and he sneered. "Hey, Shim, that drink sounds interesting. Bring that guy up here so he can tell us what he knows about it..."

Shimorekka smiled devilishly. "Whatever you say, Big Boss~"

Downstairs...

Bardock downed his shot of brown liquor and licked his lips. He shot his hand into the air. "Yo, barkeep!"

Nervously, the bartender shuffled back over. Bardock chuckled. "Now, about that mixed drink..."

The bartender spoke in a hushed tone. "S-Sir, I beseech you...please don't cause any trouble...I..."

Bardock smiled. "Not out to cause trouble, man. I'm just thirsty after a long trip. I came to this place looking for a special drink, and you seem to know how to make it going by your reaction~"

The bartender shook his head. "I swear we don't! I swear, I swear, I swear! That drink is dangerous! It causes barfights at best...and building burnings at worst..."

Bardock nodded. "Yup. Sounds about right. But...I just gotta have it, man! You gotta get it for me!"

The bartenders shook his head. "I ca-"

His eyes went wide. "Ca-ca-ca-ca-ca-ca-ca-ca-ca-ca-ca-ca-ca-ca-ca..."

Suddenly, the green imp from before was on the stool next to Bardock. Bardock glared at him and the imp smirked. "Name's Shimorekka. I've heard of that drink and I'm pretty thirsty too~ You, Yunba?"

Bardock turned and the Winnian was standing behind him, cracking his knuckles. "I could go for a drink..."

Bardock's hood was still up, his face cast in heavy shadow. But his smirk was visible. "Well, my wife has always told me I could use more drinking buddies. Might as well have a round with you fellas..."

Yunba motioned to the stairs. "Our whole crew is upstairs. Why don't we all share a drink, stranger?"

Bardock stood, turning his back to the bartender and tossing a few more credits over his shoulder. "Swell~"

As Bardock marched away, the shaking bartender reached down to pick up the credits. However, the second his fingers hit the metal, foreign fingers, tipped with razor-sharp claws, dug a massive trench through his throat. The bartender fell back, wheezing and gasping as blood poured from his neck and flooded his windpipe. Shimorekka grabbed the credits that Bardock had thrown with his bloody hand. "Oh yeah, swell..."

In the VIP room...

The door to the VIP room swung open again and Bardock marched into a den full of icy glares. The older Saiyan chuckled. "Oh boy~ I love when I walk into a room and I'm already popular~"

Bardock sighed. "Oh well, let's just cut through the bullshit right away then~"

With a single hand, Bardock pulled down his hood to reveal his face. He had a smug smirk spread across his lips. "So, do I ring any bells for ya?"

Still drunk, Miza immediately flew off the handle. "OH, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

She charged forward and threw a single punch. Bardock caught it single-handed and roughly twisted Miza's arm behind her back. She cried out in pain, only for a louder and deeper voice to call out. "Miza! Stand down!"

Somewhat sobered, Miza regained her cool. She snatched her arm away from Bardock and rubbed it in a way that suggested pain and embarrassment. Quickly she rejoined her two compatriots, both of whom hugged her tight. Bardock, meanwhile, turned and glared towards the source of the deeper voice. "You...you look familiar..."

Saganbo chuckled. "Yeah. I'm on a few posters. Like a goddamned movie star, or least what qualifies for one in this dump. You got a famous face too, my friend. But it's pretty clear that you sure ain't Turles..."

The hulking, pink brute motioned to the chair. "Come on! Take a load off! Come share a drink with Big Boss Saganbo~"

Bardock's eyes fluttered. "S-Saganbo! As in The Saganbo?! As in... THE SAGANBO?!"

Saganbo chuckled. "Heh. That's a nice response. My reputation precedes me, eh?"

Speaking genuinely, Bardock sat down on the opposite side of Saganbo's table. "I mean, well...yeah! You're famous! Y-You were famous when I was a kid and that was over forty years ago! Like, holy shit...I can't believe I'm actually meeting THE Saganbo!"

Saganbo chuckled, a bead of sweat running down the side of his head. "Now you're just makin' me feel old..."

Bardock shook his head. "No! Nothing like that! It's just, like...you were a goal for us, ya know? Me and Turles and our sister Tursa. We heard about the kind of life you lived here in the West while we were stuck on Planet Vegeta. And... we wanted that, ya know?"

Saganbo's face was serious at first. But then he cracked a smile. The hulking, pink mountain chuckled. "Well, why don't we share a drink then? Eh, fella? Celebrate you finally making it here~"

Saganbo snapped his fingers. "Quoitur! Bring us a bottle of the good shit!"

The Metalman quickly obeyed, grabbing a bottle of booze from the back counter and bringing it over. Saganbo poured both himself and Bardock a shot and slid one over to the Saiyan. He lifted his. "Fuckin' salut!"

Bardock lifted his shot. "Fuckin' ay!"

They clinked their glasses together and then downed them each in one gulp. Bardock shuddered a bit. Saganbo dragged the tip of his tongue through the glass and then tossed it over his shoulder. "Good. Now then, about that drink you were asking about downstairs..."

Bardock nodded and slammed the glass down on the table. "Yeah, about that..."

He cleared his throat. "Look, I don't know what Turles did to you...but let me just apologize on his behalf, cool? I'm the older brother here, so I gotta shoulder the blame on whatever it is he did..."

Saganbo looked behind Bardock. He saw his men all standing back there, scowling like they wanted to tear the Saiyan's head off. Saganbo chuckled and picked up the bottle, taking a long chug from it. He belched and wiped his mouth. "Must be some pretty big shoulders you got there..."

Bardock cocked his eyebrow. "What exactly did Turles do to you, anyway?"

Saganbo could see his men about to pounce, and he could tell that Bardock was aware of their malice as well. He groaned. "He stole from us. Plain and simple."

Bardock nodded. "Kay. What'd he steal...?"

Saganbo shook his head. "Ain't what he stole that's important. Though he did steal something big. It's the principle of the matter, ya know? We were actually plotting revenge against him once we got done with this job we're pulling. Were gonna hunt him and that Namek of his down and give 'em the ol' one-two-steel-drum-full-o-lyme...if you catch my drift..."

Bardock nodded. "Yeah. I catch your drift. You..."

Bardock glared over his shoulder at the others. It was a wild, animalistic glare that made them all shudder. "You were planning to murder my little brother?"

Saganbo could feel the pressure coming off of Bardock. He knew in that moment that most of his men didn't stand a chance. Even he might have trouble with this one. So, Saganbo simply smiled and sighed. "Past is the past, I guess..."

Bardock snapped his attention back to Saganbo. Saganbo shrugged. "Look bud, I can tell that you're a pretty strong guy. And I ain't out to put my gang in traction for the foreseeable future. So, just this once...I'll let it slide. Kay? You seem pretty alright and I'm sure that you'll set Turles straight when you find him. So, we'll just call it even this time."

Bardock was leery. He might have been a bit awestruck by Saganbo, but he certainly wasn't gullible. "Just like that? Really?"

Saganbo shrugged. "Believe me or don't, fella. I don't really care either way. I'm forgiving Turles for this transgression, but that don't mean he's offa my shit list. You tell him his childhood hero is gonna break his face if he ever sees it again. We clear?"

Bardock narrowed his gaze. "Crystal. I'll make sure to pass the word along whenever I find him..."

Saganbo nodded, leaning back and taking another nip from the bottle. "Excellent. Well then...might as well help ya look for him, so you can tell him what I said..."

Bardock cocked his head. "Oh? Really?"

Saganbo nodded. "Yeah. I ain't sure where he is myself. He'd be skinned alive if I knew that. But, I have a general idea."

Bardock crossed his arms. "All ears."

Saganbo smirked. "Turles has been slumming it on another guy's ship for as long as he's been famous in these parts. Fella by the name of Slug. One of those old money types that used to own the West before more and more gangs started showing up..."

Saganbo snapped his fingers. "Zauyogi! Map me!"

Zauyogi marched forward, carefully giving Bardock a wide berth. He spread the map on the table, a map of the Fuki-Fukitsu asteroid belt, and Saganbo traced his finger along the southern edge. "This is the main ship port of Fuki-Fukitsu. Spans a few hundred miles. Bitch and a half to explore when you got things to do, so we haven't done it yet. Your brother and Slug, clever and sneaky bastards that they are, are hiding somewhere in here..."

Saganbo chuckled. "Hope that helps. Good luck finding him~"

Bardock didn't drop his guard, but he chuckled right back. "Thanks, Saganbo. You're all right~"

And then, after a handshake, Bardock stood and walked back out the door as Saganbo's petrified subordinates meekly watched on. Once he was well and gone, the lot of them breathed a sighed of relief. Miza cried out and rubbed the pulsing bruise on her arm where he had twisted it. "That son-of-a-bitch! Ow!"

Saganbo stood. "You good, Miza?"

She nodded, sniffling. "I'm fine. It just really hurts boss."

Saganbo groaned and pressed his hand to his face. "Iwaza! Kikaza! Take ya dumbass sister to the hospital and check to make sure her arm ain't broken."

Kikaza, the one with glasses and pigtails, nodded. "Yes sir, Big Boss."

Iwaza, the dark-skinned one, carefully picked Miza up off the floor. "Come on, sis..."

Sanganbo snapped at Zauyogi. "Hey, Zauyogi, call Goichi and tell him the transaction might be delayed. We'll be picking up our OG73 a bit later than expected."

Zauyogi nodded. "Yessir."

Sanganbo snapped again, this time as Shimorekka and Yunba. "Shim! Yunba! Load the credits into our ship! We can finish counting them there!"

He snapped again. "Quoitur! Go downstairs and kill everybody! Workers, sleazeballs, floosies. I don't want a single person to be able to tell anyone we were here! If Turles catches wind that this meeting just happened, little bastard'll flee!"

Quoitur saluted and immediately went marching downstairs. As the sounds of people screaming and lava sizzling started to echo out, Saganbo snapped his fingers at Yuzun. "And you, Yuzun!"

Yuzun nodded. "Sir?"

Saganbo spoke in a grim tone. "Tail that Saiyan bastard. And the moment, and I mean THE moment, he finds Turles' ship, you message us and we'll come charging in!"

Yuzun nodded. "Yes sir, Big Boss Saganbo! You can count on me."

Back in the alleyway...

Bardock wasn't stupid. He could tell that he was being followed almost immediately. As he stepped into the alleyway with the dumpster, he closed his eyes and felt the presence hiding behind him. He mumbled. "It's that Zarbon-looking, blue-haired fop...Yuzun, I think his name was..."

The older Saiyan held up his hand and began to gather ki. He could kill Yuzun fairly effortlessly. But, as he prepared his attack, he suddenly sighed and let it disperse. "No reason to cause a scene here..."

Bardock continued his march to the dumpster. He flipped open the lid covering it and reached in, fishing out his Attack Ball with some effort. The grime that had caked on its surface nearly made him fumble the ship, but he easily enough sat it on the ground. Bardock nodded. "Let's see what she can tell me compared to what Saganbo said."

Bardock knocked on the door to the Attack Ball. "Yo! Zangya! Wake up in there! We need to talk!"

No response from within. Bardock cocked his head. He kneeled down and tried to peer into the window. "Zangya!"

The glass was opaque. Odd, he knew quite well that it was supposed to be clear. Bardock stared at the window as the gears turned in his head. "Looks viscous...like..."

Bardock's eyes went wide. "Blood!"

Quickly, he pressed the button to open the door. The hatch to the Attack Ball squeaked and squealed as it labored open. Sparks shot from the panel on the door, which had been smashed to pieces. Eventually, the machine gave out and flopped open. A thin ribbon of smoke rose into the air, but Bardock didn't seem to care at that moment. He peered into the ship and saw Zangya laying there, covered in her own blood and quite unconscious. Her body was almost still, but every so often it was rocked by a hideous convulsion, as if someone were shaking her with all their strength.

Bardock cringed. That was at least two pints of blood, if not more, pooling on the seat around and beneath her. Bardock reached in and carefully dragged her out, sweeping garbage out of the way with his foot and setting her on the ground. "Zangya! Hey, Zangya!"

It took a minute, but Zangya's eyes eventually rolled back into place. She looked at Bardock, her vision clearly unable to focus. The vein in her right temple visibly bulged and she cringed as a fresh wave of pain shot all the way down her body. She screamed. "AGGGGGHHH!"

Bardock pressed his hands to her shoulders, pinning her. She glared at him. "What are you doing?"

He responded. "You looked like you were going to convulse again. Was trying to make sure you didn't break your skull against the ground or anything."

She snickered. "Such a gentleman..."

The smile remained, but Zangya's eyes became quite sad. "...your wife is a lucky woman, ya know?"

Bardock shook his head. "Forget that for now. What's going on? Did someone attack you, or-"

Zangya began to cough again, she gagged and a small spray of blood came shooting out of her mouth. Bardock was taken aback. "What's going on?!"

She wheezed, enjoying a raspy laugh. "Ain't it obvious...? I'm dying, idiot..."

Zangya laughed again, it was clear that she was barely lucid. She shuddered. "I guess you were too busy...staring at rent-a-tits and you lost track of time, huh? Naughty, naughty~"

Bardock growled. "Sh-Shut up! And get your shit together! I got a lead, we're going to discuss it and maybe we can find Turles using it!"

Zangya looked at Bardock through half-lidded eyes. "...s'too bad I'm dying, huh? You're gonna have to tackle that lead alone, buddy-boy..."

Bardock sneered. "You're not dying! Don't be overdramatic! You just have food poisoning or some shit! We'll take you to a clinic or a hospital and-"

Zangya shrieked with laughter, and even that came with a fine mist of her blood carried in it. "You're gonna take a handcuffed, bleeding girl to a hospital?! You trying to attract the Galactic Patrol?!"

She wheezed. "Oh wait, we're in the shitty West...those punks don't patrol here..."

Bardock snarled. "What's going on?! What did you do?! You were fine when I put you in the ship!"

Zangya sighed. "I guess...you could call it suicide...I did do it to myself after all..."

Bardock flinched. "Y-You're committing suicide just to inconvenience me?! Are you serious?!"

Zangya laughed again, but this laugh was quite bitter. It stung the heart of even a hard-hearted man like Bardock. She shot him a cutting glare. "You think way too highly of yourself if you think what I did is about you. I...I didn't even know you when I first made that decision..."

Bardock was visibly confused. Zangya sneered. "Half-assed bystander. I can't...believe that I'm dying with you..."

Zangya's lip begin to quiver. Her eyes were shiny. "This was supposed to be revenge. Final revenge. Damn you and your stupid Earth friends for giving all of them the easy way out..."

Bardock was utterly taken aback. "What are you talking about?! What revenge?! What's happening to you?!"

Zangya solemnly smirked, tears still welled in her eyes. "The Water of the Kaio-Spring is only meant for the Gods. Any mortal arrogant enough to drink it will only find poison sliding down their throat. Th-That's what my predecessor told me during my training...to be the Spring Maiden back on Hera. It was...a secret that we were never supposed to tell...no matter what..."

Her breathing was labored. "...we were never to tell a soul. Even fellow Herans. We were just...supposed to tell them not to drink...and let their faith keep them on that path..."

Bardock gasped. "Y-You mean the water that all of you drank on Earth?! The water that made you all so much stronger?! It was poison?!"

Zangya nodded, though it wasn't clear if she actually heard what Bardock had said. "Arrogant fools only wanted power. Nothing else. I nearly broke the bond that I was taught to warn them, but..."

Zangya cringed. She hallucinated that massive, blue fist crashing towards her face. "...but..."

Blood began to run from her nose again. "...but..."

She heard their mocking laughter. "...they wouldn't hear me. They just...wouldn't..."

Bardock sat cross-legged. He nodded. "I see. So, in revenge, you just let them all drink the water. You knew they'd all die eventually. But...why'd you drink it then...? If you knew..."

Zangya bit her lower lip. The welled tears in her eyes finally began to flow, streaking through the dried blood on her cheeks and pooling in her ears as she laid on the alley floor. "...bruises and broken bones...torn muscles and twisted joints...bloody noses and... black eyes...those are things that heal. They don't matter. But..."

A small sob escaped her, accompanied by a clot of blood that trailed from the right corner of her mouth. "But Bido...and Bujin...and Gokua...and Iroykago...and... and..."

She burst into full-on crying, her nose turning red and tears streaming down her face. "...they lied to me. He lied to me! He told me that he loved me! And that I meant everything to him! And that he wanted to be with me forever! And that that would never change! And that he cared about me! And I gave it all up for him, Bardock! I gave up my life and my position and now I'm a pariah and everyone on my planet hates me and they want me dead for betraying them! All for him! HIM! HE SAID THAT HE LOVED ME!"

Her breathing became a shallow wheeze. "B-But..."

Finally, Zangya's eyes went dull and her lids fell shut with all of the weight of the world. "...he didn't."

She went still as a stone, as did Bardock's face. He sat in silence for a moment, and then he pressed his hand to Zangya's chest. Her breathing was so shallow if was almost unnoticeable. Her heartbeat was slow and dull. Bardock scowled. "She'll be dead in less than a day..."

The older Saiyan looked over at the Attack Ball. It was ruined. Zangya had definitely destroyed it, most likely out of spite. Did I deserve that? Bardock thought that thought and eventually decided that he did. Carefully, he picked up Zangya's limp body and moved towards the ship. He set her into the seat and then went to close the hatch. "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust Zangya."

And yet, he couldn't make himself press the button. Why? Why couldn't he-

...help her...

Bardock flinched. He knew that she wasn't here, but it was almost like he could hear Gine's voice. Almost like she was right there!

Bardock looked down at Zangya and imagined his wife kneeling next to her, checking the pulse on her wrist with tears in her eyes. We have to help her, Bardock! We can't just leave her here! That's too cruel!

Bardock roughly scratched the back of his head. "And just what am I supposed to do?! What doctor is going to know how to cure God-water poisoning?! They'd think I was nuts! Who in their right mind...?"

Turles.

The realization hit Bardock. Turles went along with Bojack to steal that water. He had to know something about it, right? He had to.

Bardock looked down at Zangya again, weak and helpless. She'd die and rot inside that ship before anyone cared to look inside. She'd be a skeleton: nameless, lonely, and unlamented. Bardock gripped his fist and thought about Zangya's taunt one more time: There was a cold-blooded killer in there...once.

Bardock groaned. "Goddammit..."

Hours later, at the space docks of Fuki-Fukitsu...

Space-Dock No. 46. This was the 46th in a line of nearly three-hundred docks that Bardock had come to check out. The older Saiyan walked along, hood pulled over his head and Zangya thrown over his shoulder. He felt the steady, rhythmic thump of her cuffed wrists bouncing off of the small of his back as he marched forward.

Zangya's body was becoming cold. The shadow of death loomed on her face. Bardock scowled. "What the hell am I even doing? Carrying a corpse that Turles would have no idea how to fix?!"

Bardock stopped in place, looking annoyed. He sighed. "But...then again, he might know how..."

The older Saiyan continued to walk. He was listening intently. The various crates stacked in the shipyards served as a great hiding place. He weaved around them, using them as a barrier between him and the various low-lives stalking around these parts. They allowed him to eavesdrop without worry of reprisal.

Bardock had listened in on so many conversations that he nearly jumped out of his skin when he finally heard a relevant word.

"Lord Slug said he wanted us to get the supplies on the Planet Cruiser in less than an hour! Move your asses or lose 'em!"

Bardock stopped in place, crouching down. He clenched his teeth. "That name again. Slug. I know I've heard it before, and not just in relation to Turles. Why...why does it sound familiar...?"

The explanation was on the tip of Bardock's tongue, but he didn't have time to sit and think. He had to find that ship they were talking about and he had to do it fast. But what would be the best way to approach these fools. And how would they react if he started asking-

*click*

Bardock felt the barrel of a gun pressed to the back of his head. He smirked. "I see I've been careless."

The gun-wielder, a man wearing a black jumpsuit, white chest armor, and a visored-helmet spoke bluntly. "Damn right you have. Lord Slug and the Captain don't take kindly to spying rats. Now stand up!"

Bardock did as told, standing up slowly. The soldier behind him spoke into a radio. "Contact the ship. Tell them we have a guest. I'm sure Amond or Angila will-"

Bardock quickly turned and hammered his fist into the soldier's gut. The guy dropped his gun and crumpled like a sheet of paper to his knees. Bardock grabbed the radio from the fellow's hand and spoke into it. "Yeah. Tell the ship. Tell 'em I'm coming quick. And tell your Captain I'm coming for him!"

A bit blunt? Yes. A tad threatening? Definitely. But only threatening enough to draw interest. If this "Captain" was who Bardock thought he was, then he knew this would encourage him to stay put. He was always a curious one. Bardock dropped the radio and stomped it. He heard the tromping of boots on the other side of the shipping crates. "Oh good. An army. Enough people that I can follow them when they start to beat a hasty retreat~"

Bardock cracked his knuckles and looked to the unconscious woman slung over his shoulder. "Hang tight, Zangya. Just a bit longer and I'm sure he'll be able to save your ass..."

Bardock chuckled and then rounded the crate. He saw a crowd of hundreds waiting for him. Feeling his blood rush, he called out. "ALL RIGHT THEN, FOOLS! WHERE'S YOUR DAMNED CAPTAIN!"

On the ship, the Planet Cruiser...

A wounded soldier came running up the gangplank of the Planet Cruiser: a massive space galleon sporting twelve cannons on port and starboard, three massive solar-sails for interstellar travel, a sharpened lance bowsprit for ramming into and skewering other vessels, and a massive black structure in the center containing the various systems that kept the ship running.

The soldier collapsed onto his knees and called out. "Commanders! Please help! We're in trouble! This guy's insane!"

Standing atop the black structure, holding a hose connected to a pump connected to some sort of machine on the top, a massive orange demon with shaggy red hair called out. "What's the meaning of this?! What guy?!"

The soldier looked out through his broken visor as the ogre leapt down to the ships deck. He cried out. "Please, Commander Zeeun, help! We can't stop him! He's defeated hundreds of us!"

Zeeun looked annoyed at the soldiers whining. He reached behind and unhooked a massive club strapped to his back. He was going to give this one something to whine about. "Hold it, Zeeun!"

Zeeun turned and saw his two comrades, a pale-skinned demon with shaggy blonde hair and a hulking brute with tangerine skin and a hair braid, walking up to him. The injured soldier cried out. "Commander Angila! Commander Amond!"

Zeeun snarled. "Will you quit sobbing?!"

The soldier clammed up quickly. Amond sighed. "Take it easy, Zeeun. It's not his fault. Not entirely."

Angila nodded. "He's still weak and we clearly need to be more selective in who we let on this ship...but they are fighting someone exceptionally powerful. We've been watching on the monitors connected to our spy-robots. This person attacking us is quite powerful..."

Zeeun growled. "Ugh. Fine. Where the hell is everyone else?"

Amond chuckled. "Well, Medamatcha and Wings were supposed to be leading our cowering soldiers here~ But, they appear to have screwed off for an early lunch~"

Angila sighed. "Cacao is currently in a recharging stasis. Raisin and Lakasei are helping the Captain argue with the Galactic Bank..."

Zeeun sneered. "What about Daiz?"

A chuckle echoed out. A punkish-looking guy with a flattop buzzcut and a rattail came marching out of the black building. He cracked his neck. "I went to tell the Old Man what was going on while Kakuja and Gyoshu were performing his check-up. He's pissed. Wants things fixed or he's gonna fix 'em, he says~"

Angila glared at Daiz. "Hey, Daiz, we've talked about this! He is not "the Old Man". He is Lord Slug! You will address him properly!"

Daiz waved him off. "Yeah yeah yeah..."

He snorted. "So, where is our special guest? Still beating the shit out of our worthless grunts?"

An explosion blasted off right next to the ship, making the entire thing rock. Several severely beaten soldiers landed smoking on the deck of the ship. Footsteps began to march up the gang plank. Angila glared towards it. "Not anymore, it seems..."

Amond, Angila, Zeeun, and Daiz all looked towards the gangplank and saw their mysterious assailant step foot into their domain. He was a reasonably tall fellow of normal proportions. His face was hidden by a hood and he had a woman of some sort slung over his shoulder. His smug smirk shined out from the shadows of the hood. "I'm here for your captain! And let's not play games, I know who he is and I know you ugly bastards ain't him!"

Daiz whistled and clapped. "Nice, nice! Hell of an introduction!"

Angila smiled a malicious smile. "Ugly, eh?"

Amond cracked his knuckles. "This oughta be fun~"

Zeeun, meanwhile, instantly lost his temper. He ripped the club on his back from its holster and charged forward with a primal warrior's scream. "I'll teach you to attack our ship!"

The club came crashing down, but the intruder was unaffected. He smacked the weapon away with a fist and then lunged forward, kneeing Zeeun in the chest and sending him crashing back into the fore-mast of the ship. The structure creaked, but didn't buckle. Zeeun groaned and pressed a hand over a bulging bruise on his chest.

The other three looked from Zeeun and back at the intruder. Daiz chuckled and reached into his armor, producing a switchblade and activating it. "You got a name, friend?"

The stranger smirked. "Bardock."

Daiz tossed the knife from hand to hand. Amond stepped forward, slotting two pairs of brass knuckles onto each hand. Angila sneered and took a fighting stance. Daiz cackled. "Well, Bardock..."

He lunged at the intruder, shrieking with bloodthirsty delight. "HA-HAH!"

The knife came slashing down and Bardock dodged. He kicked the blade out of Daiz' hand and then followed with a forceful punch to the jaw.

Daiz fell back and Angila came rushing in! At least, his arms did! The demon's stretchy arms tried to tangle around Bardock, but he was already quite familiar with that routine. Bardock stomped on one arm's wrist, pinning it to the ground. Then he quickly seized the other and cracked it like a whip. The forceful ripple went sliding up Angila's arm, crashing into his shoulder and knocking him off-balance. Angila gasped and Bardock shot a ki blast right into his mouth, sending him crashing to the ground.

Amond leaped in from behind. He raised both hands into the air and brought them down onto Bardock's head. Bardock stumbled and dropped Zangya to the ground. He quickly turned and matched a punch from Amond, making the brass knuckles on his right-hand shatter. Amond yowled in pain and Bardock followed that with a bone-crushing knee to the stomach. Amond lurched forward and fell flat on his face, unconscious.

Bardock grumbled and rubbed the bump on the back of his head. "Hard-hitting lumox, ain't ya?"

And then, all at once, an entirely new sensation washed over Bardock. His entire body shuddered. What was that feeling? It was hateful and quite malicious. He would almost call it evil...almost. But he sensed some form of purity buried in it deep down. Bardock swallowed a lump in his throat as the source of the feeling spoke. "Ugh. What the hell is all this? Who are you? The Galactic Patrol? Cooler's Government? The Church of Arcos?"

Bardock turned and saw the source of the feeling. It was a massive, mountain of a man. Like Bardock, he was wearing a hood. From within that hood, one could see his eyes shining. Pearlescent black with slightly yellowed irises. His energy felt old...almost ancient. He had a scowl on his wrinkled, green face that would have sapped the vitality of lesser men. He sent his pitch-black cape fluttering to the side with a wave of his gloved hand and gripped his fist tight. "I asked who you are!"

Bardock licked his dry lips and chuckled. "Well, hello, Lord Slug. I know you aren't the captain of this ship either. So, would you mind fetching him for me? Need to talk to him."

Lord Slug was slightly taken aback. He glowered at Bardock with a sinister sneer. "You know the name Lord Slug and yet it does not freeze you with terror? Bah, maybe it is time for me to retire..."

The brief flash of humor in Lord Slug's faded away like a ghost from the distant past. He snarled. "I'll ask only once more. Who in the blue Hell are you and who do you think you are marching onto MY ship like this?!"

Bardock shivered and let a nervous chuckle slip out. This was different than the others before. It was almost the same feeling he got from Saganbo, a being of near-Cell-levels in power. But it was much worse than that. It felt like he was swimming in a swamp, up to his neck in devilish fury. He couldn't bring himself to look Slug in the eye. Bardock chuckled. "Man... people have been getting stronger and stronger since Frieza and Cold bit it, huh?"

Slug sneered and bowed his head. "Those pups never scared me."

Angila stood, shakily walking over to his leader. "Be careful, Lord Slug. This one is quite strong..."

Annoyed, Slug punched Angila in the face and knocked him flat. "I can tell that, Angila!"

Slug raised his head back up and his eyes flashed. Moving quickly, Bardock leapt out of the way as Slug shouted and fired off his attack. "DARKNESS EYE BEAMS!"

The eye lasers quickly stripped their way through the ship's deck, leaving two smoking ruts in their wake. Bardock nodded. "Okay then. Okay..."

Bardock stood and immediately went Super Saiyan. His golden aura surged and burned away the cloak wrapped around his shoulders. He glared at Slug; his full face exposed. "You're strong, old man! But I've come too far to let some Namekian be a roadblock!"

Both Angila and Zeeun gasped in horror. Daiz, just waking up, groaned. "Oh shit. He said the word..."

Lord Slug lunged forward with such speed and such fury that his cape and cowl ripped away from him. He crashed into Bardock, getting face-to-face with the Super Saiyan. He snarled and bared his slightly dulled fangs. "How dare you call me that?! How dare you?!"

Bardock strained. It was taking everything he had just to hold this guy back. Slug had nearly two feet on him and his arms were quite strong. Bardock was holding his ground, but he felt the wood buckling under his feet.

Slug was furious. He clenched his teeth. Bardock was holding strong and that pissed him off even more. He reared his massive, helmeted head back and headbutted Bardock hard. Bardock's knees went wobbly and he gave a bit of ground. The Super Saiyan groaned. "...shit."

The aged Namekian smirked with pride. He reared his head back for another, glaring down at this cocky little punk that came so ill-prepared to face him. Slug launched his head forward, ready to burst this one's head like a grape. But, as he did, a realization suddenly hit him and he paused. "Wait...that face. Such a familiar face. Why-"

Bardock saw his opportunity. He launched a Super-Saiyan-powered headbutt of his own and smashed it right into the bridge of Slug's nose. The shockwave from the impact shot out and shattered the metal helmet on the old man's head right in half. Slug stumbled back as his followers called out his name.

Bardock, reacting quickly, rushed forward and tried to go for a spear kick. "Gotta take this guy out while he's-"

Slug's gloved hand seized Bardock by the foot and yanked him into the air like a ragdoll. Bardock was left gobsmacked as Slug glared down at him. His Namekian antennae, formerly hidden by the helmet, flopped down in front of his face. He had a trickle of purple blood oozing from the bridge of his nose.

He looked PISSED.

Slug roared like a demon and whipped Bardock into the air. He slammed the Super Saiyan against the deck again and again, making wood splinter and sending planks flying. Slug waved Bardock through the air like a lasso and then heaved him with all of his strength. Bardock crashed into the mast of the fore-mast of the ship, this time actually making the wooden beam crack down the middle. The Super Saiyan slid to the ground and groaned. "Damn..."

Bardock stood, a bit shaky. "Well shit. I never thought I'd see the day I'd be getting my ass whooped by a Namekian, let alone a senior citizen Namekian..."

Slug snarled at Bardock. He still looked quite large, but Bardock could see that he was already out of breath. A senior citizen indeed. Bardock chuckled. "Oh well, I still have my golden transformation here. I suppose that should help me outlast you..."

Slug sneered. "Any wretched teenager desperate for attention can change their hair color. I'm going to break your arms, boy!"

Bardock nodded and motioned for Slug to come at him. Slug prepared to charge, but then he scanned the ground and paused. His eyes locked onto Zangya and the old Namekian cocked his head. "Wait a minute. Isn't that that Heran trollop?"

Slug looked from her and back to Bardock. Now he was genuinely confused. He stared at Bardock's familiar face and sneered. "Who the hell are you?!"

Bardock sighed. "I told you, my name is-"

"SLUG! What's all the ruckus about?! You okay?!"

That voice stopped Bardock in his tracks. He fell silent as his eyes went wide. It was an older voice. Slightly deeper. And yet...he could pinpoint it with no issue. He watched as the source of the voice marched forward, staring in dumbfounded disbelief. He had traveled all this way to find that voice, and yet he found himself unable to believe that he was actually seeing him again. After all of these years...

Turles marched up next to Slug, staring at the intruder with a mix of bewilderment and wonder. One could see the gears turning in the man's head if they looked into his eyes. He stood there, one organic hand planted against his hip, one metal hand planted into the other. He didn't speak.

Bardock stammered. "I-It's you. I-I-It's really...you..."

Turles spoke carefully, trying to approach this situation with caution. "You...seem to know me. But do I... know..."

The face. The eyes. The stance. The voice. And... the scar. That scar on the cheek. A scar dealt by a former friend long-lost to the sands of time. Turles' exposed eye went wide and he gasped. "YOU!"

Turles' head dipped slightly. "You..."

Suddenly, all of Bardock's fears from Earth flooded back into his mind. Fears of rejection, fears of reprisal and retaliation, fears of outright hatred. Turles lurched forward, holding out his hand. "You..."

Instinctually, Bardock flinched back. He squeezed his eyes shut, anticipating an attack of some kind. After all, he was due one. Or two. Or one-hundred million. This was the young man he had left to die. One who he had sworn he would always protect. If this was where he would die, at the hands of someone he had betrayed, then it would be exactly what he deserved. Bardock shuddered and awaited the first assault.

And then he felt two arms, one warm and one cold, wrap around his shoulders and neck. And he felt a warm, wet sensation begin to stream down his shoulder. Bardock opened his eyes to see that, yes, he was indeed being hugged. Hugged rather tightly. And in his shoulder, this long-thought-to-be ghost sobbed in a steadily breaking voice. "You're alive! After all this time, you're alive!"

Bardock stood there in stunned disbelief. He watched as this man hugging him so tightly raised his head. Tears flowed out of his single, exposed eye. He was sniffling, attempting to staunch the streams of mucus flowing from both of his nostrils. Turles sobbed. "I-Is that r-really you, Bardock?!"

Without thinking, Bardock released his Super Saiyan form and that was all the confirmation Turles needed. He hugged Bardock even tighter and spoke in a wavering voice. "Oh my god. I thought you were dead! I thought you died with Planet Vegeta!"

Speaking in utter disbelief, Turles shouted again. "Are you sure this is you, Bardock?! I've had this dream before! I've-"

Two streaks. That was all it took to render Turles stunned silent. In all his years, that was the one thing he had never seen. The one thing he had never even dreamed to imagine. Two streaks of tears poured from the corner of Bardock's eyes. He raised his arms up and hugged his little brother as tight as he could, not sure how he'd ever be able to let go again. "Yeah, Turles...it's me..."

Amond, Daiz, Angila, and Zeeun were all stunned, unsure of what to say. Slug wiped the blood from his forehead with a grunt. "So, that's the long-lost twin I've heard so much about. Interesting..."

Turles was so overcome with emotion, he didn't know what to say. He peered out past his beloved older brother's shoulder and narrowed his eyes. "Is... that Zangya? From Bojack's crew?"

Bardock nodded, pulling away and wiping his eyes. "Y-Yeah. She's dying and I was hoping you might be able to help her. She said she drank something called Kaio-Water and-"

All of the sadness and emotion drained from Turles' face, replaced by shock. "SHE DRANK IT?!"

He rushed over to her, placing his metal arm onto her chest and looking at a screen that popped open on the top of his hand. "Her vitals are tanking. Her blood is flowing like syrup. SHE DRANK IT?!"

Bardock nodded. "Yeah. Tried to commit suicide with it."

Turles cocked his head. "Jeez. Hell of a way to off yourself..."

Turles whistled. "Lakasei! Raisin!"

Two purple dwarves with bulbous, segmented heads came marching up. Turles motioned to Zangya's prone body. "Get her to my lab! I'm going to have to take her blood out!"

Bardock flinched. "T-Take her blood out?!"

Turles nodded. "Yeah. Gonna have to scrub it clean of the Kaio-Water. Filter that shit out and quick, otherwise she's dead."

Lakasei and Raisin picked up Zangya, one under her shoulders and the other under her legs. Turles glanced down at them. "Hook her up to a recycling filter. Set it to 60 RPM. Any less and we're too late, and more and it might suck her viscera out."

As the two of them ran off with her, Turles smiled. "Hell yeah. I thought that water was lost forever~"

He glanced over at Slug. "THE TREE OF MIGHT PLAN IS BACK ON, SLUGGY M'BOY!"

Slug rolled his eyes. "Okay then..."

Turles chuckled. "Now then, let's set sail and-"

Another explosion! Turles, Slug, and Bardock all turned their heads starboard. A voice called out. "TURLES! I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE YOU STINKIN' RAT!"

A silent pause. Then Turles turned to Slug. "Wuzzat Saganbo?"

Slug nodded. "Sounds like."

Turles stroked his chin. He turned to Bardock and smirked. "I know you and Slug just brawled. But...you up for a fight?"

Bardock smiled wide.

Fuki-Fukitsu Space Dock No. 46...

Sanganbo and his entire Galactic Bandit Brigade stood on the dock, ready for a fight. Saganbo called out again. "Show your face you damned rat! Show it so I can break it!"

Turles stepped up on the starboard rail of the ship and chuckled. "Saganbo~ They letting old has-beens out of the home early today?"

The cocky space pirate smirked. "Or did you just wanna bring me another new toy? I heard you bought a new OG model to replace the one I liberated~"

Saganbo snarled. "I'm gonna kill you and take OF69c back! You hear me?!"

Turles sighed. "Oh, drop it! Cacao is happy where he is, he doesn't wanna hang with a crowd of losers~!"

Saganbo snarled and his power sparked off of his body. "I'm gonna gut you, you little bastard!"

Turles shook his head. "Sure, buddy. Sure. You might think that's the case, but you can't win! You ain't got a chance!"

Miza stormed forward, screaming in rage. "And why's that, you smug prick?! Huh?!"

At that moment, Bardock stepped right up next to Turles and tossed his cloak aside. Turles pointed his thumb towards Bardock. "Family reunion~ Twin brother is back and we're gonna go wild together, just like the old days~"

Bardock's grim demeanor gave way to a satisfied smirk. His Super Saiyan aura roared to life and he was suddenly shining with golden light. Turles laughed out loud. "Also, he can do whatever this shit is! Ain't that wacky?!"

Saganbo snarled. "You really think one man is going to stop us from crushing you?!"

At the same time, Lord Slug stepped up on Turles' opposite side. He stared down at the noisy flies below him with a special level of acidic disdain. Turles wrapped his arms over Slug and Bardock's shoulders. "What can I say, Saganbo? When you love your work and you love who you work with...there's not a force in Universe 7 that can stop you from going wild~"

And then, Turles leapt down and lead the charge. Bardock and Slug followed him and the rest of the crew followed them. The Galactic Bandit Brigade charged right back. And thus began a three-day conflict that would be known for centuries after as "The Great Fuki-Fukitsu Gang War"!