"Who are you?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Gohan replied, taking a defensive fighting stance. "Who are you and what are you doing in my head?"

The tall, tanned man looked familiar. Gohan was certain he had had a vision of him before. He just couldn't quite remember which one- it must've been one of the first. Either way, the boy felt weary after his glimpses into the Saiyan invasion became true.

Ignoring his hostile expression, the man simply stepped forward. "You're not… Kakarot's son, are you?" the man asked in a strangled voice.

The boy blinked. "How did you know my dad's Saiyan name?"

The plains disappeared around him. The duo now stood face-to-face on some sort of tournament stage, framed by four pillars curving to a point. The Saiyans and the immobilized Z-Fighters nowhere in sight, and Gohan looked around to find only a rocky wasteland.

Who would build an arena in the middle of nowhere?

"I am Bardock," the man said, his head shaking in disbelief. "I am a third-class warrior of the Saiyan Army under Planet Trade Organization rule, leader of the Five-Person Land-Shark Team, mate to Gine, father to Raditz... and Kakarot."

With a gasp, Gohan stepped backwards. He silently cursed himself for not having made the connection sooner, though the man's demeanour had certainly thrown him off. While Goku held himself tall as a byproduct of his training, Bardock held himself high with a subtle sense of honour and pride.

"Wow, you're still alive?" Gohan marvelled. "I thought Frieza had killed all the Saiyans-"

"He did."

The two stood silently, taking in one another's alien appearances. Gohan wasn't sure how to respond so he didn't. The realization that he had met his dead grandfather through psychic foresight almost outweighed the blistering panic of being out of the battle for so long.

Almost. That is, until Gohan's vision shook and a blinding light obscured his view entirely. He squeezed his eyes shut and threw his arms up in a late attempt to block the painful light.

As the brilliant ray filtered down and the haze cleared, he became dimly aware of heavy, agitated breathing. Opening his eyes, he saw Piccolo standing in front of him. With his back to the boy, Piccolo looked grievously injured, and smoke drifted from the remains of his charred gi.

"Piccolo?" he stuttered.

With a grunt, the large Namekian tumbled forward, exhaustion overtaking him.

"You… you took a blast for me?" Gohan cried out, not quite believing his eyes. He scrambled to his mentor's side. "But we… we need you, Piccolo. Just hold on. You're going to be okay!"

"I've done what I can," Piccolo said, wincing with a sharp inhale. "You need to finish what we started."

"Don't talk like that!" Gohan said. "Just hold on. My dad will come and then-"

"This is how I die," his teacher softly interrupted. "Saving you."

Tears leaked from Gohan's eyes, despite Piccolo's many past reprimands. A new emotion flooded the child's chest. For the first time in his life, he realized he had never truly experienced loss before. Sure, he had technically lost his father, but he had known that the situation wouldn't be permanent. Intense fear clouded Gohan's mind. What if he never saw Piccolo again? With all the things Piccolo had done, would they even meet in Otherworld?

The thought was suffocating.

"Gohan," the Namekian said. "You're the only friend I've ever had. I want to thank you for that."

"No, Piccolo, don't-"

"When I first trained you, you were small and helpless. I thought it was weakness that made you unwilling to fight, but perhaps I was wrong," he admitted. "But you've changed. A lot. And I think you changed me, too."

The little boy shivered as he saw pale, green tears begin to fall from his friend's face. He had never seen Piccolo show so much emotion- so much humanity.

"You're like the child I never had," Piccolo finished. "I'm proud of you."

"No!" his resolve finally breaking, Gohan began to bawl. His first friend's lifeforce took a nosedive, and then faded completely in just seconds.

Nappa watched the boy clutch the corpse, still muttering empty promises and weak assurances, all while sobbing uncontrollably.

"NO!" Gohan yelled, his strong voice reverberating off the nearby mountains.

Jumping to his feet, the boy turned his grief-driven rage toward Nappa. His teeth clenched tightly, he seethed as the larger Saiyan stepped forward. Flinging his hands into the air, the boy crossed them above his head.

"Masenko!"

A terse silence punctured the air as the attack began to charge.

"Watch it, Nappa!" Vegeta shouted as his scouter whirled with new power readings. "The Earthlings can hide their strength!"

Nappa shrugged the warning off, interested to see what the twerp would do next.

"HA!" Gohan yelled, his blast heading straight for Nappa's face.

The hulking man swiped the energy from the air, redirecting it into one of the mountains. The large rock formation exploded on impact, thick smoke gushing out onto the battlefield.

Clenching his wrist in pain, Nappa forced a laugh. "Wow, kid, that sure tickled."

Gohan slumped forward as he finally felt the drain on his energy.

"Run, Gohan, run!" Krillin yelled from somewhere behind Gohan. The dwarf clutched at the ground, trying to stand, but couldn't.

But the boy wasn't listening. His ears were ringing, and he watched silently as Nappa strode toward him.

"Run while you still can, kid," the large man said, a casual smirk playing across his face.

"No way," Gohan breathed, clenching his fists tightly to his sides. "Piccolo's counting on me."

"Nice knowing you then!" Nappa sneered, raising a giant foot above Gohan's head. As the shadow overcame him, Gohan felt more tears sting at the back of his eyes.

He had failed. Piccolo was dead, and Gohan knew he was next. The knowledge hit him all at once, and he couldn't hold back the tears anymore.

On the verge of a breakdown, he nearly toppled over completely as a fluffy cloud swept him from the ground. Nappa's foot hit solid rock, missing Gohan's head by half a second.

"Nimbus?" Gohan croaked.

Heads turned as a figure dropped from the sky, only to land lightly on his feet. The bright, orange gi, and the wild hair was a dead giveaway.

He had frozen- he had messed up. He had let down Piccolo, but Gohan knew the new arrival would turn the tides of battle.

"Daddy!"