SAIYAN FURY: TRUE MORTALS
A/N:Okay so this is my first take on a Dragon Ball story and I'd been itching to get this off of my mind for a very long time. Now please don't flame me if I didn't scale the power right, I just wanted to have some fun with this and I wanted to see how a battle like this would play, AS FAR AS I KNOW I don't think anyone has ever thought of this scenario. I wanted to give it a shot and I wanted to make sure I was on target with portraying the characters, so please tell me if I did something wrong. I'm pretty sure I messed up with the antagonist of this ONE SHOT and I know certain characters are far stronger than others thanks to things like GOD KI. Please understand that I am a Novice when it comes to Dragon Ball.
Please enjoy the story. I recommend the song 'Superstar' by Saliva for when a certain character appears in this in this story, if you know the Dragon Ball Movies and Specials (and The Fast and the Furious) well enough then you might know the song. Otherwise feel free to ignore this part of the A/N.
If this ONE SHOT is well received then I may continue it in the future.
Blame any wording or spelling errors in here on the site's document editor.
-UNIVERSE 7 EARTH: PRIME TIMELINE: SON FAMILY FARM: EARLY MORNING-
Chi Chi stared at her husband's apparent new form; his body had mysteriously changed into a green stranger. "Goku is that actually you? What happened?" She asked in a concerned tone.
The Z-warrior nodded; a confused look was on his new face. "Yeah, but I don't know what happened. One second I was me, and now I'm not."
Goten cocked his head to the side. "Dad? Are you sure that's really you?"
The elder pinched his green cheek to check again that he wasn't dreaming. "Ouch!" He whined and recoiled in pain. "Yep it's really me." He his face tenderly.
Suddenly a stranger appeared behind the family of three and cleared his throat. "Ahem." They turned their attention to the newcomer and were immediately stunned by his appearance. Standing only a few feet away was Goku, but it wasn't really the Saiyan himself.
"What the heck?! What's my body doing over there?!" Goku exclaimed in surprise, he pointed a finger his doppelganger.
"He no longer has his body, but he still possesses his mind." Said 'not Goku' in a smug tone.
Goku took a fighting stance, he could already tell that the thief would not have stolen his body for no reason. "Who are you and why did you steal my body?!" The former Saiyan demanded.
"I…" 'Not Goku' smiled in a wicked manner and pointed his index finger at Goku. A beam of energy shot straight through Goku's heart, the former Saiyan froze for a brief second before his body collapsed on the ground. "I am a god."
"GOKU!" Chi Chi kneeled down at her husband's corpse; tears rolled down her cheeks as checked the body for signs of life. But there was nothing to show even a slight glimmer of hope, her husband was dead. "NO! GOKU!" She cried in horror at the loss of her husband.
Despite his mother's grief, Goten was silent. Nothing could kill his dad, he'd beaten Buu, saved the earth from bad guys and come back to life. All that remained now was a body he couldn't recognize and the familiar face he loved was standing behind him. The boy's eye twitched… his dad couldn't be dead again, he just couldn't, not without a fight like this.
After everything he'd done and lived through this shouldn't have happened. His hand clenched and a tear rolled down the child's cheek. "Dad!" Cried the young boy and he was just about to kneel beside his mother in grief. But something changed immediately, instead of just sadness in his heart there was a boiling anger. He'd only felt this mad back when he was Gotenks, it was a hazy memory due to his status as entirely different being but he could vaguely recall what he felt when he'd found out evil Buu had killed his family and friends. The boy turned to face the body thief; his face was twitching in rage. "You… you killed my dad!" Goten shouted in fury as he powered up to super Saiyan, the ground shook from the amount of KI he was producing at that moment.
'Not Goku' merely stared at the mortal child's outburst of emotion. Such a paltry thing did not bother him at all, the pain of a worthless mortal was beneath him. In his hubris he did not understand or know of the history of the Saiyans, including the potential of the Saiyan half breeds and the well of power that the angry child possessed. From his perspective the spectacle did amuse him somewhat, if he was going to carry out the Zero Mortal Plan then he might as well enjoy dispensing his justice upon the mortals and it would pay to observe what another Saiyan could do. Unfortunately, that was a huge mistake on his part, to underestimate a Saiyan was to court death, especially one of the sons of Goku.
A massive amount of power continued to radiate from the boy and the pace at which it increased was astoundingly faster than even his older brother had done years ago against the monster known as Cell. His brother had told him about the creature only once, and during the brief time he'd seen this thief he could already feel that same vibe Gohan had felt when he faced down Cell. Sparks of electricity danced across the boy's form in bright blue streaks that singed the ground beneath his feet. A small crater had started to form due to the boy's energy output. When it seemed the rise in power had begun to slow to maxed out level another cry erupted from the child's throat in anger, raising his power even further beyond the limit. It was unreal just how much potential was laying dormant within the youngest of Goku's sons.
Chi Chi took a breath in surprise at her son's display of raw power, she'd seen this kind of strength only once before during her elder son's younger years. She flipped onto her back and began to crawl away from the erupting child, all she could do was watch as her child's rage forced the amount of energy in his body to grow at an exponential rate. Comparing it with Gohan's own power at that age was barely a comparison to her, and in a way, she was sort of proud of the son whom she had actually taught martial arts to was this much stronger than her eldest son at the time of the Cell games. Perhaps Goten could have both brawn and brains if she kept up the boy's education and balanced it with fighting.
"As amusing as this is… The time has come for me to exterminate you both." 'Not Goku' said calmly as he raised his hand and produced a ball of Ki.
The boy's head was lowered so that his eyes were concealed by his golden locks of super Saiyan energized hair. "*sniff*You killed my dad, …I won't let you hurt my moooom!" Goten cried out right before he disappeared in a quick flash, leaving behind an after image as the ball of KI passed through the image. A few seconds later the energy ball hit a nearby hill which caused an explosion off in the distance.
The self-proclaimed god went eyed in surprise when the child vanished from sight, that kind of speed was something he hadn't been expecting from the mortal child of the man he'd stolen a body from. Suddenly a powerful force struck him in the face and the god's perception of time slowed to a crawl. To his surprise, the small fist of a mortal child had done this kind of damage. If he hadn't swapped bodies with Goku he might have been in far more pain since the Saiyan's body was trained to its peak.
How could a mortal of such low power best him so easily? Such savage power in the hands of a mere child was unthinkable to him, even if the boy was of Saiyan blood. Less than a second later Goten slammed another fist into 'Not Goku', the fury in his eyes was unmistakable from that of a wild animal in a frenzy. The boy followed up the punch with a roundhouse kick that launched the body thief flying away. A gold streak of light flared to life as the enraged boy chased down his target, intent on getting payback at the stranger.
But just as Goten closed in to deliver his frontal assault, the body thief recovered and kicked the boy aside. He returned the favor to half Saiyan threw several punches into the child's gut. "You, mortal scum! How dare you strike a god?!" The body thief roared as he held the super Saiyan child by his throat. A smirk crossed his features yet again as an energy blade formed on his free hand. "Hehe, you'll perish here and now like the worm you are."
"Not. Like. THIS!" Goten exploded with more power and kicked his attacker in the face. "You stole my dad's body, but you don't fight like him!" the boy shouted, his super Saiyan aura began to even out though the sparks of energy continued to pop off around him. "I'll get you for this!"
A trickle of blood dripped from the body thief's nose, he wiped away the drop and glared at the half Saiyan child. "Hmph, a mortal imp like yourself could not comprehend the power I hold. You're not powerful enough to stop my quest."
"You're not stronger than my dad, you big jerk! I said I'll beat you up for what you did, and that's what I'm gonna do!" Goten snapped and flared his super Saiyan 2 KI. The child got into a very familiar stance and a blue glow began to form in his hands. "KAAAA MEEE HAAA MEEE HAA!" He pushed his hands out and fired off the blast energy at his father's killer. What followed his father's signature blast was a flurry of KI bolts as the boy fired off a volley at the place where the thief was standing. Smoke and dust rose into the air, the cloud grew as the boy kept up his raging blast of energy bolts.
Chi Chi watched in shock and awe at her son's show of power against the man who'd killed her husband, in all her time raising the boy she'd never seen Goten ever lash out so violently. A boy so sweet held that much burning rage inside him, it was unbelievable.
After a moment of non-stop blasting at the ground, Goten ended his barrage of KI bolts. Fatigue had begun to set in on the boy from the sheer power drain of his newly acquired super Saiyan 2 form. Seconds passed as the wind kicked up and blew the dust cloud from view, when the air had cleared the only thing left in view was a large crater. Goten knew it wasn't going to be that easy and sensed around for any trace of the thief. "Where did he go?! I've got to find him, quick!"
"I must say, that was quite a spectacular waste of energy." Said a voice from behind the child.
The hairs on the back of Goten's neck stood on end, he jumped forward to avoid an energy blast from his enemy. Blasts homed in on the little super Saiyan as zoomed across the radish fields with explosions right behind him.
Despite the rain of fire on his heels, Goten couldn't help feeling a rush in the heat of this fight. Goten knew he wasn't strong enough to win the battle but he couldn't lose to this guy, he was going to fight for as long as he could to keep his mom safe. The false Goku in front of Goten and the two of them collided with a loud boom. Immediately the fighters broke into a brawl, their images turned into a blur of punches, blocks, and kicks. But Goten ended up doing most of the blocking in the clash of fists, he'd dueled his father before in sparring matches but this was proving to be the match of his life. What ended the clash was a fist in Goten's gut, which knocked the wind out of the 12-year-old super Saiyan. A hard smack on his back knocked Goten to the ground, forming another crater in the scarred fields of the farm.
The body thief flew down at the injured and stomped down on the boy's chest, which elicited a cry of pain from the injured Z fighter. "AAAAIIIIIIEEEEE!" Struggling to remain in his super form, Goten still refused to back down and accept defeat at the hands of his opponent. Audible crunches came from Goten's ribcage as the villain repeatedly stomped down on the boy's chest, seeming to take delight in the child's misery.
"Now I believe it is time to end this farce. You should rejoice and embrace justice." The thief smirked as the energy blade manifested once more in preparation to end the boy's life.
"It can't end this way…" Goten whispered with tears streaming from his eyes as he waited for the end to come. 'I'm sorry dad, I couldn't beat this guy.' That was thought running through his mind while the energy blade closed in on his throat.
Suddenly a loud scream could be heard in the boy's mind. "Don't give up Goten! It's up to you now!" Shouted the familiar voice of the real Goku.
"Dad?" Goten whispered. "I'm scared. Where are you?"
"Listen son, I know things look bleak right now but you have to get back up." Goku told his youngest boy in a serious tone.
"I'm going to die!" Goten whined mentally. "Help me!"
"I know you can do this Goten, use the pain of loss. I'm gone but you can still do this." Goku encouraged his youngest boy to fight.
"But what can I do?" Asked the child warrior.
"That power you had earlier, reach down and find it again. Use that and you can keep fighting. I believe in you son. Focus on the energy and draw it out, like how Gohan taught you to fly." Goku explained.
"I… I'll try dad." Goten replied and did as his father had instructed him to. In that short second the two had to speak, a feeling of understanding overcame the boy as he reached around for the well of energy he possessed. It was faint but he could sense it deep down, now he just had to grasp it.
"Good work son! Now let it out!" The voice of Goku cheered on his son.
"RRRAAAAAAGGGGGH!" With a sharp spike of energy Goten's KI level shot back up to its earlier height. His eyes shot open and a kiai wave flung the Goku imposter off of him. Slowly Goten stood back on his feet and placed a hand over his wounded chest, the blood trickled from his wounds but he could still fight. More energy sparked off of him as he re energized into his super Saiyan 2 state. A fierce glare overcame the boy's gentle features as he stared his opponent dead in the eye. "I'm not going to let you beat me! GOT IT?!" In the light of the sun Goten seemed to be the splitting image of his father when he first became a super Saiyan, though at a much shorter stature.
"Tch. Saiyans certainly are hard to perish, another mistake of the gods that I shall correct." Fake Goku narrowed his eyes at the determined half Saiyan. He raised his palm and fired a blast of Ki at the mortal child, only for Goten to immediately vanish. Fake Goku raised his arm in anticipation of the incoming attack and managed to block the strike from the enraged boy. "That's not going to work a second time, boy!"
"I wasn't trying hard enough last time." Goten snarled as he reared back a fist and began to clash with his opponent in another blur of fists. The body thief got the upper hand and struck Goten with an uppercut, sending upwards in dazed state. Goten recovered and blasted downward meet the imposter head on.
Fake Goku made the first strike and Goten countered with kick to the imposter's jaw, stunning him. A quick burst of jabs into the imposter's gut worsened the dazed state he was in for the brief moment, something Goten capitalized on with a pile driver to the imposter's skull. Intense pain rushed through the head of the body thief as he fell to the ground like a sack of rocks on concrete. Goten flew up into the air and quickly fired a Kamehameha wave at the spot where the body thief was laying in pain. He poured every extra ounce of KI he had into the wave as it impacted with the ground.
The blast from the half Saiyan tore into the ground with a fierce roar of power coming from the boy's lungs. Blazing light from the size of the Kamehameha blast could be seen miles away as the bubble grew in size with all of Goten's Ki pumping into it. All that power had to be doing something against the imposter, Goten believed it did. He didn't have reason to think otherwise with his blast being so large in scope and energy output. Slowly the power in the blast began to subside and Goten put his hands down, though the bubble of energy remained for a moment. He breathed hard to recover his stamina after all that he'd done, all of his strength was still clinging to him but that couldn't last forever with his new form draining it away. Expending all of that energy so quickly certainly didn't help his fatigue, but what mattered was that he was going to keep fighting, that was all he could do and he wasn't going to give up.
But when the blue sphere of power had faded Goten went slack jawed at what he saw, his opponent had erected a barrier to shield himself from the blast. His eye twitched in annoyance, that just wasn't fair. Fake Goku turned his attention back on the super Saiyan boy and lowered the barrier, he rolled his shoulders and then disappeared in blur of speed. Goten knew was going to happen and listened hard for any trace of the thief. He moved just in time to avoid a downward strike from the body thief and delivered a roundhouse kick to his opponent's stomach.
Fake Goku tumbled backwards and recovered, firing off energy blasts as charged at Goten. Goten batted aside the blasts as they came at him but did not know how long he could maintain the defensive action; it was all he could do know to keep up with his enemy. To Goten it seemed like his foe was learning as they clashed with one another, and wasn't a good thing for the 12-year-old super Saiyan. His enemy was still in base form, and here he was in super Saiyan two like his brother, this guy was using the stolen body really well.
The imposter raced forward and Goten moved to block the hit but it wasn't enough, his opponent broke through his guard and knocked the boy backwards. What followed that block break was an upward kick that launched the super Saiyan up, then the imposter locked his fingers together and smashed his fists down on Goten. From there the attacker outpaced the dazed Goten and caught up before the boy had a chance to recover, he was kicked up wards again and then for the finishing blow the imposter fired an energy blast down at the half Saiyan. Goten felt the full force of the blast as it forced him down onto the ground and his sight faded as he collided with the earth below him. Golden light faded away and Goten's hair returned to its normal state, his KI was gone and the strength disappeared with it.
Goten struggled to open his eyes, he could feel the end upon himself and he knew it was over. But just before his closed he saw a blurry visage in front of him and he could feel something wrap around his waist. Whatever it was, he was too tired to care by that point and let himself fade into an unconscious state.
A short distance away from the battle site was Chi Chi sitting beside Goku's tractor. She felt her heart shatter upon witnessing Goten's supper Saiyan light fade out and seemingly collide with the ground. Her baby boy was dead, she kneeled forward and began to cry her eyes out in agony over the lost of her youngest child. All she could do was watch as her beloved son died in a flash of light, it tore her apart to see that happen right before her eyes.
The body thief smirked in confidence that he had finally put down the pesky super Saiyan and looked down upon the destruction he'd wrought upon the once peaceful farm owned by the Son family. Scars littered the land, making it appear as if the apocalypse had come and gone, in a way it had. "So that was the power of the legendary super Saiyan transformation I've heard about, how… irritating." Satisfaction at the result of the carnage crossed the mind of Goku's killer took a deep breath while he basked in the rush of victory brought on by his new body.
However, within the smoke and fires of the crater that Goten was supposedly buried in, a shadowy figure stood approximately where the boy was last seen. The god blinked when he spotted the shadow and threw a Ki blast down into the crater just in case, he hadn't finished the job. But instead of hitting the ground, something punted the blast aside into the distance. The god waited for the dust concealing the crater to fade. When the dust had settled it revealed a figure in Saiyan armor that was kneeling over the unconscious half Saiyan child.
"You fought like a Saiyan, kid. I'll say that much." The mysterious warrior chuckled to the boy, even though he knew the boy was in no position to answer.
Confusion struck the body thief and he recoiled in shock at the sight of who was tending to the child. "What?! How can this be?! Two of them?"
The figure turned and faced the god with serious glare, his striking appearance marked him as yet another look alike of Son Goku but that was where the similarities ended. Red wraps adorned his forearms and a red band of cloth hung around his head. His armor was black with sections of green on the lower torso and waste, and a Saiyan's tail wrapped neatly around his waist. On the man's cheek was an X shaped scar and a green scouter covered his right eye and ear. "Hmph, I could say the same thing to you, jackass." Was the man's smug reply.
Perhaps it was simple coincidence that he resembled Goku, it would be nothing more than another nuisance to deal with. "You don't seem to understand that you've interfered in the justice of a god, that will end now. Now you'll burn like all the other mortals in the creation of my perfect world." Fake Goku with his arrogance in full view for the newcomer.
"A god huh? From where I'm standing, all I can see is someone with a death wish." The newcomer cracked his knuckles and flared his Ki in anticipation of a battle. "Still, you'll get a better fight out of me than the kid if that's what you want. But I'll humor you, if you're really a god then I'm a true mortal." Chuckled the Saiyan warrior with a sarcastic grin on his face as he gestured to himself with his thumb.
Fake Goku made a ball of Ki in his hand and charged up for a blast. "Spoken like the brutish trash that pollutes the rest of this tainted reality."
"Bring it on!" The Saiyan warrior barked as he fired his own energy wave at the body thief.
Claps of thunder boomed in the air when the two beams of energy collided in the skies over the field. Bright colors bathed the world around the two fighters as their beam struggle lit up sky. With a grunt of anger, the Saiyan warrior jumped into the air while he continued to push his blast at the same time. Fake Goku grimaced as he began to get pushed back by the Saiyan, this mortal was proving to be far stronger than the boy if he could face him while still in base form.
Suddenly the Saiyan warrior backed off from the blast duel and rushed at the body thief. "RAAAAAAGGGGH!" He launched his enemy backwards with a punch in the gut, then pursued and got behind the Fake Goku and grabbed him by the neck. Next was a brutal trio of knee hits to the target's spine for extra punishment. He finished the assault with a backflip kick and then a downward slam that put both fists together. "Be gone!" The Saiyan shouted. The body thief careened into a boulder, shattering the rock into thousands of stone shards.
Blood dripped from a gash on the impostor's forehead, he'd groaned as he moved to stand himself back up. Underestimation of the Saiyan was not going to end well for his plan, it became clear very quickly that he would have to put more effort into eradicating the warrior who'd given him a beating. The thief powered up while the newcomer just stared down on him expectantly with a battle hungry grin on his face. "Don't look down on me mortal!"
"Then by all means, get up here and see if you've got what it takes to wipe the grin off my face!" Replied the Saiyan warrior in his confident tone.
Irritation began to take hold of the god a he stared into the eyes of the arrogant Saiyan. This was supposed to be simple, take the body of Son Goku and erase the man and his family. He hadn't expected the child to put up a fight nor did he anticipate the arrival of the Saiyan who appeared so much like the mortal he'd appropriated the body from.
"Patience, if you wish to see the beauty of my new form, give me time. I'll enjoy showing you my newly acquired power." The body thief hissed with a calm aura, his new body seemed to want this battle and he would be happy to oblige.
"Fine, I guess I'll go to you!" Shouted the Saiyan warrior as he charged down at the body thief.
"Witness the power I hold, the power of a true god!" A second later the two fighters had clashed fists with a loud boom from their hits shaking the very ground itself.
Both fighters traded blows with each other at an almost imperceptible rate, their forms darted all throughout the battlefield. Some of the blows made visible flashes as the KI of both fighters clashed in their opposing colors. Both fighters locked into a grapple and flared their Ki wildly like two forces of nature battling it out for dominance.
Heat from the fight burned into the souls of the clashing Saiyans, almost as if the battle seemed like it was meant to be and under different circumstances it might have. Fighting was in the blood of these two combatants and with each strike their desire to fight grew into a roaring blaze. After another short clash in the slugfest, the clashing Saiyans broke off and powered up to unleash their next attacks.
The Saiyan warrior fired off a blast volley at his enemy and the impostor did his best to avoid the random balls of explosive Ki. Not being one to waste an attack, the Saiyan warrior rushed to meet his opponent head on.
Caught off guard by the sudden appearance of the veteran Saiyan, the god received a dropkick directly to the face. The Saiyan warrior battered his enemy with several punches to the torso and a kick to the side. In response to the barrage of hits, the god recovered and countered the next hit from the Saiyan warrior, grabbing him by the arm and slashing into his chest several times with a red energy blade before knocking him back. The Saiyan launched backwards for a few yards before bringing himself to a halt and powering up a bit. He tossed a bright blue Ki ball at the god followed up with a full powered energy blast. Both of the attacks missed their mark and with the opportunity available to retaliate the god fired off his own blast wave at the Saiyan warrior.
Dodging the blast by an inch the Saiyan flew in close and took the chance to throw a heavy punch. The god reacted just in time to counter the strike and kicked the Saiyan's fist hard enough for both sides to recoil from the force.
By this point both fighters seemed to be on even ground in their base states and either side was well aware their own powers could soar even higher. A primal roar of anger came from the Saiyan as he powered up even further to continue his fight with the self-proclaimed god. For the first time in a long time the fighter was enjoying his battle, just as he did on so many missions in times long since passed. He felt alive, and as a bonus he'd defended the boy who had put up such a good battle for him to see. In fact, to the Saiyan this wasn't just any other battle, it was a war, and he intended to win. "Come on! Is this all you've got?! Otherwise you're going to bore me!" A flash of gold tinged the Saiyan's hair as he spoke.
"Fool, you're outclassed. As a mortal I should expect that you would not accept your end and burn in creation." The god retorted with a sigh as he stared down the unknown Saiyan. "Do you think yourself a hero, perhaps? A misguided notion, I am the savior of this world."
"Go to hell, bastards worse than you have tried to kill me and I survived. I'll keep surviving, because that's who I am!" Roared the Saiyan warrior as he reached the max power level of his base form in a magnificent display of Ki control. "I'm NOT a hero, I never was. And I'm not just a mortal either… I'm a survivor!"
An amused look crossed the god's face, yet another mortal who stood as the reason for why mortals needed to be purged. "So, you say, but justice is a far greater force than your need to survive." The god chuckled darkly as he powered up to match the Saiyan warrior in the escalation of the battle.
"Enough talking! Shut up and fight!" The Saiyan warrior howled with a vengeance as charged in to shut the mouth of his opponent.
Once again both fighters were locked in a stalemate of punches and kicks, until the Saiyan warrior managed to grab the god by throat and delivered a headbutt. He followed with a stream of rapid jabs across the entire upper half of his opponent's body, not slowing down for a moment as his rage burned even hotter. The glow in the Saiyan's hair began to shine even brighter until it was bright golden hue, following that transformation the strength behind the Saiyan's attacks increased dramatically. Such newfound strength began to wear on the god, forcing him to try and block each hit as he was being overpowered by the more experienced Saiyan.
The Saiyan warrior made an upward knee strike to break the block and swept his opponent's legs out from under him. Next came a pile driver straight into the earth and a toss into the sky that put the god on the ropes. Visible irritation overtook the god's face as he watched the Saiyan charging head first into battle again.
"Enough!" The god shouted as he powered up even further to counter the growing power output and pushed the elder Saiyan back. "I have a plan to carry out and you will not delay it any further! Who are you to defy me?!"
"I'm Bardock!" Bardock flared his golden Ki in defiance of the arrogant god. "And we're just getting started!" In both of the Saiyan's fist were two blue Ki balls, primed and ready to be thrown.
He rushed forward and continued to hold onto the energy spheres as he closed the distance with the arrogant god. Right on cue the god moved to counter the Saiyan, but remained cautious of the Ki spheres. In an effort to throw Bardock off balance, the god showered the area in front of himself with a barrage of Ki blasts. The Saiyan warrior didn't blink and maneuvered through the field of Ki blasts until he was in range to hit with his riot javelins. When the opportunity came Bardock didn't hesitate, he threw the spheres at the god. Blasts from the dual riot javelins seemed to knock the wind out of the god for a moment.
Bardock was about to land another fist to the god's face but in a flash the god had disappeared and kicked the Saiyan from behind. A vicious right hook to the side of the Saiyan's head knocked him for a loop and the god proceeded to retaliate against the interloper. Displaying his desire for victory in the battle by any means, the god delivered a shot the Saiyan's crotch, stunning the warrior in wave of agony. To the god this was becoming a sport as he proceeded to humiliate the Saiyan warrior, batting the Saiyan around with ease thanks the shot in the family jewels.
Pain rushed through the Saiyans being as he was smacked around so easily by the god who now had him on the back foot. The god grabbed Bardock by the back of the neck and drove him into the ground, creating a trench as he dragged the Saiyan warrior along the dirt. From there the god pulled his victim back into the sky and threw the super Saiyan into the side of a mountain. Joy was the look on the god's face as he plowed his fist straight into Bardock's gut, forcing the Saiyan warrior to cough up a small amount of blood. The god pulled back and began firing Ki blast volleys into the mountain, intent on leveling the rock and killing his target at the same time.
Light and dust engulfed the area around where the Saiyan was being buried under the crash of blasts and rock. It seemed as if this may have been the end of the Saiyan's interference in the god's quest for justice, with how much effort that had been put into the attack from the god it had to be. But just in case the job wasn't done, the god formed a large ball of Ki in one of his hands. The ball grew to a humungous size as the god gathered energy for the attack to obliterate the source of his irritation.
Smiling confidently, the god prepared to toss the massive ball of Ki at the spot where the Saiyan had been seen last. "Now justice shall smite thee, and I will be able to finish what I started here. Your survival ends here!" The god declared as he tossed the energy ball down at the Saiyan's grave site. Quakes shook the ground as the ball descended from the heavens, as if it was a sign of the end for the planet earth itself. All life that the ball touched was vaporized on contact, burned in the fires of the god's ambition. Rocks and trees vanished while the wind blew violently around the entire area.
Meanwhile a short distance away from the battle, Chi Chi was running into the crater where she had last seen Goten to check on her son. Her boy just had to be alright, she couldn't lose her youngest son like this. She flared her Kaioken and rocketed over to Goten's location, and her heart skipped a beat when she saw how thoroughly beaten, he was. From what she could see, the boy's clothes had been shredded badly and blood leaked from his numerous cuts and gashes that the brawl had caused.
Chi Chi put hand to son's neck to see if there was still a pulse, she waited a moment and held her breath in suspense as she felt for signs of life. Tears of joy ran down her face when she felt the boy still clinging to life, barely. "Goten! You're going to be okay! I'm getting you out of here!" Chi Chi hoisted her son out of the dirt and began to sprint away from the battle site. Running as fast as her feet could carry her, she believed that if she could put enough distance between herself and the monster that had killed her husband, she would be safe. But she would soon find out that her hopes were in vain.
Out of the corner of his eye, the god spotted his final targets attempting to flee from their reckoning, this would not do for him. In a flash he had disappeared from view and immediately reappeared right in front of Chi Chi and Goten. "You're not going anywhere." The false Goku said calmly as he pointed a ball of Ki at woman and child. Chi Chi held Goten tightly and shut her eyes in fear of the end, it was her time and there was no escaping.
For several precious seconds time had slowed to crawl around the god and his next victims. It was finally time to dispatch the woman and child that held ties closest to Son Goku, the old identity would be obliterated and no one could interfere by this point. The end of the age of mortals could finally begin at last, all he had to do was fire one simple energy blast.
Unfortunately for the god, fate was not on his side. A bright golden light erupted from the burial site of the Saiyan known as Bardock along with a primal, drawn out cry of rage. Just as the god was about to fire his KI bolt a crack opened in the ground and tripped him up, causing the Ki blast to miss the woman and child completely. In spite of his anger the god turned his view to the outcry emanating from the location of the Saiyan warrior, and that scream of raw power was deafening to his ears.
The drawn-out cry continued to ring out for miles while the ground shook from the amount of energy being concentrated within the radius of the Saiyan. Lightning bolt s cracked throughout the skies, even directly striking at the source of golden light as if they were being magnetically attracted to it. Energy from the bolts of lightning seemed to help in fueling the transformation of the Saiyan warrior to another level of power altogether.
A twinge of fear and excitement coursed through the god as he watched the ascension of the mortal warrior. Power like should be in the hands of the gods alone, yet another mortal was gaining the strength to challenge him. There was supposed to be only one other mortal in the universe almost as powerful as Son Goku, another Saiyan who clearly not there at the moment.
Bardock felt the rush of power as he took the pain of the earth itself into his physical being, the bolts of lighting he drew in added to his stock of energy like the planet wanted to push him forward to his next evolution. He wasn't going to refuse that advantage, if the world wanted him to fight then he would take every advantage he could get. His eyebrows disappeared, his hair grew much longer than normal, and his body pulsed with Ki even more than he'd ever felt before in his entire life, even when he first transformed against Lord Chilled paled in comparison to this new power. Suddenly a barrier shattered within his mind and the Saiyan warrior felt the new level of strength wash over him like a wave within a river.
With a final cry the Saiyan let off a burst of Ki that exploded outward as if a star was being born. What little rock remained of the small mountain that had surrounded him was blown away in the explosion. Bardock's appearance had changed so much, acting as a reflection of his assent to the third level of the Super Saiyan transformation. He looked directly at the god, in his eyes… the calm fury on Bardock's face made the god feel a chill down his spine, the rush of anticipation of facing a powerful opponent. After waiting a moment to take in all that power, Bardock took off with a blast of Ki trailing behind him as he dashed in the direction of the god, kicking up large dust clouds in his wake.
The god turned attention back to his original objective and readied another Ki ball to kill Chi-Chi and Goten. But just before he could launch the blast a fist rammed into the side of his face, knocking the god tumbling for several feet across the ground.
"You're not laying a hand on them." Bardock said calmly as he stood up straight and rolled his shoulders.
"It can't be…" Chi-Chi muttered.
The veteran warrior turned his head slightly to Chi-Chi and Goten while maintaining most of his focus on his opponent. "If you and the brat want to live, you should get moving… now."
"G- Goku? Is that really you? How can there be two of you at once?" Chi-Chi muttered in shock as she stared at the Saiyan warrior who had been busy keeping the body thief from killing her and her son.
"I told you to get out of here! If you stay here, you'll end up dead!" Bardock snapped at her right before he took a stance readied himself to continue his fight with the god.
"DON'T YOU TELL ME WHAT TO DO!" Chi-Chi roared back at the Saiyan, Bardock flinched a bit as the earth woman spat fire at him. "I'LL LEAVE AS SOON AS I FEEL LIKE IT! WHY DON'T YOU BEAT THAT GUY INTO THE GROUND ALREADY?! IN FACT, I CAN'T GET VERY FAR ON OWN TWO LEGS! I'M SAFER NEXT TO YOU!"
'Here I thought she'd be more worried about dying.' Bardock thought to himself while he took a tongue lashing from Chi-Chi. "What do ya think I've been doing?"
"Then keep doing it and take him down!" Chi-Chi hissed as she stared into the eyes of the Saiyan warrior.
"Right… I'll take care of that." Bardock decided not to continue the disagreement with her and turned his attention back on the god.
The god had already stood back up and recomposed himself, staring down the three Son family members with less than pleasant intentions on his mind. "You should have taken the chance to flee when you had it. But then I would have found you anyway." He told them coolly.
"Why in the hell do you want these two dead?" Bardock questioned the god.
The god waved a hand in a dismissive fashion. "You have no grounds to demand answers of me."
"Humor me." Bardock said calmly.
"If I must. The woman and child have a connection to this body that I seek to remove, the new Son Goku must have a fresh start for a new chapter in the history of reality. Perhaps you should call me Goku Black, yes I think that is a fine name… fit for a god." The god replied in a business-like tone as he spoke to the Super Saiyan.
"Good to know." Bardock grunted.
"Perhaps you'll provide me with some answers of your own, just where did you come from?" Black asked out of genuine curiosity about the origins of Bardock.
"Time travel… lots of it, a hell of a lot more space travel for training, and… searching for my son Kakarot, that's all you need to know." Bardock said with a hint of spite to his tone. "Now let's get back to it." Bardock grinned as he powered up his super form.
"It's pointless, trying to resist justice from the divine. Your limited power will run out and then it will all be over." Goku Black said as he stared back at the Saiyan warrior.
"Are we gonna fight or are you going to talk me to death?!" Bardock snarled as he powered up his super Saiyan 3 form even further. He would need every ounce of extra Ki within himself at his disposal to keep up the fight with Black going.
"Then let us begin again." Black smirked and took a fighting stance and in an instant both fighters were at each other's throats again to wage their war of fists. Bardock tried to knee Black in the stomach again but the god caught the blow and slammed an elbow into the back of Bardock's head and kicked him downward. The Saiyan managed to get a palm on the floor and somersaulted back onto his feet, he then flew at Black with a high kick that slammed against the god's arm with a loud boom. Black grunted in pain from the force behind the hit and grabbed Bardock's leg.
Smirking with pride, the god tossed Bardock over his head onto the dirt and moved to stomp on the Saiyan's back. Bardock rolled to his side and swept his legs to bring the god down to his knees. Black landed face first on the ground in a pile of mud as a result of the leg sweep and Bardock got on top of the god, slamming his head into the ground repeatedly. Black struggled to break the Saiyan's grip for a moment but finally managed to throw the monkey off of his back.
Bardock skidded back for several yards, creating another trench in the ground from the force of Black's counterattack. The Saiyan warrior shot forward at the god with a feral war cry and his fist reared back for a hard punch. Black side stepped the Saiyan's attack followed with a Ki blast that struck the super Saiyan in his back. In spite of the searing pain Bardock recovered and spun around to fire a blast wave at Black. Black fired his own blast to counter Bardock's blast wave and the two engaged in a huge beam struggle.
Desperate to keep the momentum going on his end Bardock threw all his extra power into the blast to push back the arrogant god, he could not hold back if he wanted to survive. Progress was being made on Bardock's end as his beam began to overtake Black's, pushing it back to a few feet in front of the god. But Black was not about to give in so easily and put his own reserve power into the blast, pushing back all of Bardock's gains in the beam struggle and even reversing the tables on Bardock. The Saiyan could feel his feet sliding back ever so slightly as Black's beam forced its way forward to just a few feet from Bardock's hands. If this effort on Black's part kept up then Bardock would lose the blast battle and either end up maimed or dead.
Just as the beam was about to engulf Bardock the Saiyan noticed another presence beside him, it was the boy whom he'd saved. "Where did you come from kid?! Leave now!"
"No, we're going to beat this guy together! And my name's Goten!" Goten replied sternly as he transformed into a super Saiyan 2 again and performed a Kamehameha to add his own power into the beam struggle. Suddenly the odds began to change in the favor of the two Saiyans who were steadily pushing Black's beam back onto him.
"You got guts kid! Now let's blow this guy away!" Bardock shouted with pride as the two Saiyans began to overwhelm the god.
"Damn you mortals! I'm not losing to you!" Black snarled as he put more power into the beam, getting the power struggle back to a stalemate between both parties.
From what could be seen by Chi-Chi it was almost as if she was struggling to look at the sun itself as the point of contact between both beams grew in size to a massive bubble of energy. She couldn't believe it, the nerve of her youngest son to risk his life again, even if it was to protect her and himself. But scolding the boy would have to wait until after the battle was over… if they survived.
Bit by bit the struggle was beginning to inch back in Black's corner as Goten and Bardock began to run low on Ki. Their newly acquired super forms were putting a massive strain on their bodies and the excessive Ki drain of the combined beam certainly didn't help their predicament. But it seemed like their opponent could just keep pouring in more power like he had far larger pool of energy in that body to draw from.
"Hold on! We can win this!" Bardock screamed while fought with ever drop of Ki in his body to keep the fight going.
"I'm trying!" Goten grunted as beads of sweat ran down his forehead.
"Now this farce ends!" Black yelled gleefully as his beam overtook the two Saiyans. The Saiyans screamed as the energy beam washed over them like a tidal wave, Bardock acted on instinct and put himself in front Goten, using his back as a shield against incoming blast. Both Saiyans were hurled in the direction blast and Bardock grit his teeth in agony while the blast wave continued to sear his back. Cracks formed in the Saiyan armor Bardock as the blast burned through its flexible padding. For several seconds the energy beam continued to rush into the distance with Bardock acting as a rock that held against the force of the wave.
For the veteran warrior it was like getting caught in Frieza's death ball all over again, he could recall exactly how that felt and this wasn't far off. Most fighters would perish but Bardock refused to let his end come, he was protecting something for a change, and for that he was determined to live. Bardock focused all his remaining energy into a barrier around himself and Goten, hoping that it would be just enough to cushion the impact.
When the beam had finally stopped Bardock was still standing, he bled profusely from a few gashes that hadn't been cauterized by the heat of the energy beam. Smoke wafted off of his body as he twitched in pain and shock from what had just happened to him. He tilted his head and looked down at the 12-year-old that had grabbed onto him for safety.
The boy looked up at his protector with a frightened expression on his face, Bardock struggled to make a smile but did so with a slight chuckle. "You alright, …Goten?"
"Y-you saved me." Goten said in childish wonder.
"Yeah I did." Bardock grunted with a calm smirk.
Behind the two Saiyans the triumphant god marched forward with a calm swagger in his step. Now the Saiyans had witnessed true power at the hands of a divine being, their resilience was admirable but the time had come to finally put them down. Black approached the two of them and Bardock slowly turned around to face.
"That was quite intriguing. It seems the game is over, though you have played it well for a mortal." Black said as he looked over the Saiyan warrior, covered in wounds and battered to pulp he was still unbroken.
"I still have plenty of fight left in me." Bardock growled his retort to the god, he would die standing in his new super form if it was going to be the last thing he did. Goten clung the older Saiyan's side while the two adults spoke, he stared straight into the blood thirsty eyes of his father's murderer with a burning vengeance in his own.
"Your appearance says otherwise." Black retorted in a coy manner as he readied a spirit sword for the final blow. "I should remind of your place, …I did all of this without accessing any transformations unlike yourself. I had predicted that you would lose this battle, …and I was not wrong."
"Don't miss…" Bardock growled with anger filling every fiber of his being. He was used to looking death in the eye, so it wasn't going to undermine his acts of defiance in his last moments. Black flashed forward to impale the elder Saiyan with his spirit sword, the blade was stopped just over an inch from Bardock's throat.
Like so many times before, Bardock would be defiant to the end in the face of his very possible death. The elder Saiyan held Black's forearm tightly in his fist and glared into the very pit of the god's soul with his bluish green eyes. But Black was not deterred from the opportunity to finish what had been started and before Bardock could block the other energy blade he'd been stabbed gut. Agony froze the Saiyan in place as he stared down at the wound in his gut and released his grip on the god's arm, but even in that situation Bardock did not allow his knees to buckle. He would not bow before this tyrant as his people did for Frieza, at least that was what ran through his mind.
Goten clung even tighter to his protector's side while the man defied the odds and continued to stand, it didn't matter anymore if he cried, the end had come and he was afraid.
Black chuckled at the sight of Bardock's agony and smiled as he spoke down to the lowly mortal who'd given him so much trouble. "Defiant to the end I see, how foolish. All this struggle you mortals cause is something I just don't care for; you don't even deserve to exist. I've beaten you and yet you still refuse to accept that truth. Like all the other mortal beings you are a mistake, a killer, …a murderer that perpetuates all the violence and war that pollutes and desecrates the many worlds your kind touches. I'm saving the universe by exterminating all of the mortals in existence. it will be a universe clean and pure."
Bardock scowled at his newest mortal enemy and coughed up a gob of blood while he fought just to keep breath in his body. "Not…. not foolish, ….just determined to live. The only fool here is you." He whispered softly.
"I'm afraid I didn't hear that. What did you say?" Black put hand to his ear.
"Killing everything that breathes…" Bardock wheezed as a trail of crimson liquid dripped from his lips. "That sounds like an echo chamber for a deluded moron. ….If that's your idea of paradise, then I'll enjoy tearing your plan apart." The Saiyan spat some of his blood onto the god's face out of spite for the divine being.
"You speak so much for someone with so little breath to spare for their last words." Black remarked in an indifferent manner. "But how are you going to do that? I've won here, you had no chance of defeating me and the only reason you could defy the way you did me was because I had not become accustomed to this body yet."
Bardock smirked as he used his remaining brute strength to hold out. "I'll only be the loser when I stop breathing, …that means we're still fighting. Never underestimate the power of a Saiyan."
While the two super warriors engaged in their standoff, several other figures appeared on the horizon. Immediately the group of newcomer closed in on the battle site and bore witness to the carnage wrought by Saiyan and the god.
Chi-Chi looked in the direction of the new group and her face lit up with joy, at the forefront of the group was none other than her elder son Gohan, right beside him was Vegeta, Piccolo, and Krillin. "Gohan!" She she shouted at the top of her lungs as she ran to greet her son.
Bardock glanced to his side and caught a glimpse of the prince himself among the group that had arrived on scene to investigate the brawl at the Son family farm. The warrior's grin widened at the sight of some powerful reinforcements to aid in his fight for survival. "Heh heh, ….Looks like the odds are in my favor."
"A minor set-back. I suppose I can finish this labor at some other time, that's all I need is time and that is what I have." Black said coolly as he built up God Ki in his body and dispersed the energy blade. With the blade now absent blood began to gush from Bardock's open wound and he moved to cover it with one of his hands.
"It's like you said to the kid and his mother, you're not going anywhere." Bardock growled as he tried remain upright. Black didn't reply and merely flared his Ki, thus knocking away the weakened Bardock and Goten and giving him the much needed room to escape. Not wasting a moment, Black flew into the sky and opened a time portal.
"On the contrary Saiyan, I have other matters to attend to. I have places to be and… opposition to remove." Black said as he slinked away into the portal.
Bardock erupted in fury. "You coward!" He got to his feet and launched a final blast wave at the edge of the portal. Black flinched for a moment when that energy collided with the rim of the portal itself and the time ring began to heat up and discharge sparks.
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" Black cursed as the portal twisted and bent violently.
Bardock didn't care, if it was going to spite the god then he was glad he did it and threw a final riot javelin at the God, forcing him into the unstable portal. That turned out to be mistake when the portal began to grow into something akin to a black hole a minute later. Suddenly three bolts of electrical energy struck out from the portal at Bardock, Chi-Chi, and Goten. All three of them were immediately sucked into the rift after Black disappeared through the event horizon.
"MOM! GOTEN! HANG ON!" Gohan shouted in horror as his mother and brother vanished before his eyes. In this case even a super Saiyan was powerless to resist the situation, or rather an out control rift in reality.
"Stop! Let them go, Gohan!" Piccolo held Gohan back. "They're gone!"
"But Piccolo?!" Gohan struggled against his mentor in horror at the sight his family disappearing.
"We'll find out what happened, panicking won't help the two of them." Piccolo replied.
"What in the heck happened here?" Krillin said as he looked at the tractor that had been hit by a stray energy blast. "Whoever was fighting here wasn't messing around, I mean we all felt that energy."
"Someone was using God Ki, it didn't feel like Kakarot." Vegeta remarked.
"Mom, Goten, Dad… I'll find you guys." Gohan sighed as he picked up a scrap of his little brother's clothing.
-IN THE RIFT-
Meanwhile, as the Z fighters investigated the scene of destruction, the mysterious Goku Black's three victims hurtled through the wailing void within the time-space rift. Bardock faded in and out of consciousness as he watched the woman and child tumble alongside him down rabbit hole. Whatever would become of him this time, he accepted the consequences and allowed the current to carry him away. Goten and Chi-Chi cried out as the gravitational forces of the rift split them apart and they were flung in different directions within the howling darkness.
Bardock could hear their cries for help but felt the embrace of death grip him to the point where he could hardly move. Lights flashed by him every so often, they seemed to be flashing images of events he'd ever seen before. Fate's plan for him didn't matter though, whatever he saw pass by was just another mess of meaningless pictures if he was going to finally die.
Eternity stretched out for Bardock as he listened to the incessant howling of the void, if this was death then he really hated all the noise. He supposed it was the universe's way of payback for his time as a Saiyan warrior. Still, he would not change one minute of his life to this point other than how he'd lost to Frieza and failed to save his people… and Kakarot's mother, Gine.
After a long time spent by Bardock in the void, a bright light appeared in distance, closing in on the Saiyan at rapid pace. Bardock tilted his head to the light, widening his eyes slightly as he reached the exit to the rift. He was greeted the feeling of a cool breeze and warm sunlight as he was catapulted out of the dark void.
While it was a welcome change to see a blue sky above him instead of the darkness of the rift, Bardock didn't feel so glad to see a building coming towards him at ramming speed. He braced himself for more pain as he crashed into the crumbling tower of steel and concrete. The building collapsed in response, burying the Saiyan under a pile of rubble and twisted metal. Hours passed for Bardock while he slept underneath the fallen building, all he could hear was the sweet sound of silence. Winds whipped at the piles of rocks and steel beams as the sun passed overhead with a calm warmth. Eventually night fell over the dead city and storm clouds had settled into their place in the sky.
Bardock woke with a start from his troubled slumber to find himself still breathing under several tons of debris. Surprise was the predominant feeling on Bardock's mind at that moment, he was genuinely shocked to still be alive after what he'd gone through in his fight with Black. He twitched his limbs to check if he still had feeling in his extremities, and to his relief he could move though his stab wound still hurt very much. The Saiyan took a deep breath and use a few pulses of his Ki to loosen some of the rock he was buried under. After he'd done that, Bardock crawled out of the hole in the rubble into the open air. In front him a large city that appeared to be completely abandoned stretched on into the horizon.
It was eerily quiet in the area around where Bardock had landed, a ruined city filled with crumbling skyscrapers and vacant homes was foreboding to the Saiyan. Not a single living person walked the empty streets that had the occasional overturned or rusted out car occupying space in the deserted lanes of traffic. Rain poured down onto the pavement, a few sets of human bones were uncovered by the water washing away piles of dust and rock that had been left sitting for quite some time. A rusted gun was clutched by the remains of a dead civilian, a large hole had been blasted through the chest cavity of skeleton… eerily similar to what would be caused by a Ki blast.
"Where the hell am I?" Bardock muttered to himself as he stared out into the world beyond.
-THE END?-
A/N: For anyone who may raise the Question, there may be 3 versions of Bardock in this story:
Prime Bardock (Broly Retcon), Xeno Bardock (Xenoverse), and Chrono Bardock (Father of Goku/Episode of Bardock). The version being focused on in this story is Chrono Bardock.