Chapter 18

Pacing seemed to be the only thing Bardock could do at this point in time. Everyone, save for Mr. Popo and Vegeta, was gone from the Lookout. Goku had taken them all to New Namek after Vegeta got them the dragon radar. There were some tearful goodbyes and some constant reassuring Bardock had to deal with, but they all took the next move in stride.

Now all he had to do was wait until Goku got back. He was more than likely greeting the Namekians jovially and forgetting about the mission at hand. Bardock only hoped Pan or Trunks would be able to help him realize they had little time to socialize.

The tell-tale sound of instant transmission caught his attention. He released a deep sigh when he saw his sheepish grandfather, "Finally. I thought I was gonna have to go to Namek and get you myself."

"Sorry, sorry," Goku chuckled, waving his hand. "I wanted to greet some of the Namekians but Goten took up most of my time. He wanted to come back with me but I told him he couldn't. It took Trunks, Pan, and Tekka to get him off my leg so I could leave."

"Poor kid," Bardock stated as Vegeta walked over. "But it's not like they're gonna be gone for long. Now come on, I need you guys fused before we get to Buuly."

Goku nodded, his eyes carrying the same serious look they always got when he was about to head into battle, "Right." He and Vegeta promptly got into position.

"Fuuuusion ha!"

Lifting a hand to cover his eyes, Bardock grinned slightly, "Good. Now let's ride." He gave Mr. Popo a nod before putting his hand on Gogeta's shoulder. He put two fingers to his forehead and sensed out Buuly's ki.

It wasn't long before they disappeared from the Lookout and reappeared in one of the cities that had just taken the full force of Buuly's wrath.

Sensing their presence, Buuly turned to them with a wide, toothy grin that sent chills down Bardock's back, "If it isn't the merry band of Saiyans." He raised an eyebrow as he took in their appearance, "Seems like your numbers have dropped. Where is Kakarot? He's the one I want to kill."

"Right here," Bardock answered as Gogeta floated forward.

"My name is Gogeta and I'm here to kill you," Gogeta voiced once more. He glared at the pink being, "Prepare yourself, Buuly. I won't hold back."

Buuly barked a laugh, "Then let's have it. Go all out!"

As the two hit head on, Bardock jumped back, barely escaping both of their attacks. All he could do now was watch and hope that Gogeta was strong enough to at least injure Buuly enough that he could jump in and defeat him in case the fusion wore off.

Just from watching them fight, Bardock felt a sense of pride swell in him; Gogeta was winning. Every hit he dealt on Buuly was stronger than any of his, and it took the pink bastard a while longer to recover from them. Hell, he was even bleeding from Gogeta's endless strikes.

This could be it. They could win.

Despite you saying it, you don't seem convinced.

Bardock snapped back to reality, his eyes taking in Gogeta slamming Buuly into the ground before kicking him up in the air. He swallowed dryly, "Last time, my dad punched Buu so hard the old Buu came out. Kid Buu was the last form he took and it wasn't pretty. I couldn't lay one punch on him until I changed into Oozaru."

So, as long as Gogeta keeps his punches above the gut, you'll be able to beat him.

"I can only hope," Bardock mumbled, his heart beating faster as he watched Gogeta ready an attack he had never seen before.

Gogeta stretched his arms out as a bright ball of ki formed in front of him. "Big Bang Kamehameha!"

The large ball flew at Buuly, almost devouring him. Unfortunately for them, Buuly got back up, his form barely injured despite the relentless attacks Gogeta dealt on him.

The fusion scoffed, "Well then, I guess we have to take it up a notch." He gave a shout as his aura flared wildly. His hair became more defined while electric bolts flew around his harsh aura.

Bardock blinked, "I shouldn't be surprised he can go Super Saiyan 2." A grin tugged at his lips. "This is getting interesting."

With his bigger power reserve, Gogeta wasted no time in throwing move he had at Buuly who finally seemed to realize the fusion wasn't someone to sneeze at.

The sight reminded Bardock of when his father in his Mystic form took on Buu in the past. Buu begged desperately for mercy after he got brutally beaten by Gohan. He could only hope Buuly would give up soon; there was no way he had something more up his sleeve.

"Damn," Bardock muttered as he gazed at the watch Bulma had given him. There was only 15 more minutes left before the fusion split. By the looks of it, Buuly didn't seem to be going down anytime soon.

Suddenly he was almost thrown back by the sudden gust of wind that picked up. His ears rang at the sound of Gogeta's screaming and his blood pounded in his head as he was overloaded with the sense of his growing ki. He carefully opened his eyes against the harsh wind and took in the sight of Gogeta's hair growing longer as he powered up.

His heart jolted in realization. "He's going Super Saiyan 3. I didn't even know Grandpa and Vegeta were this powerful in this timeline." An elated grin came onto his lips. "That means we might win this. We might be able to finish this before Dad gets here." He laughed, cheering boisterously, "Come on, Gogeta! Show him what you got!"

Gogeta smirked and did as he was told. He slammed his fist into Buuly's face, taking immense joy when blood spurted out of his mouth from the force of his attack. He grabbed Buuly by the strands of pink and yellow hair and kneed him in the face. He then proceeded to lay into with a wild variety of punches and kicks.

Everything moved so fast. Bardock could barely keep up. He rarely ever watched from the sidelines, and while it always irritated him knowing that he couldn't help out in any way, he made an exception for this battle. This was the most entertaining fight he had ever seen; double for the fact that it was the only one that made him extremely happy when he thought about the outcome.

However, the uplifting feeling in his chest fell when he realized there was only 5 minutes left of the fusion. He winced, lifting his hands up to his mouth and shouting, "Gogeta, hurry up and finish it already! We don't have much time!"

"Right," Gogeta nodded. He made to throw another punch. His eyes widened when it was caught easily in Buuly's hand.

Buuly chuckled lowly, his hand slowly crushing the fist, "You put up a good fight, Gogeta. I can't deny that. But let's stop playing games." He became screaming as he powered up. His power level increased tenfold. It soon dwarfed Gogeta's and continued to rise.

Buuly's beady black eyes disappeared, leaving only the white in Buuly's eyes. The yellow part of his hair turned green, for a reason Bardock could not understand. His huge aura turned green and so much more powerful that the harsh wind it kicked up sent Gogeta flying into Bardock. The fusion split into Goku and Vegeta once more as the three of them hit the shaking ground.

Holy shit.

Bardock grunted, sitting up. He gazed at Buuly's new form and released a harsh sigh, his eyes stinging with unshed tears, "Damn it. We were so close."

Goku rubbed his head, a heavy frown on his lips, "This must be the Legendary Super Saiyan form Trunks was talking about."

"It pains me to admit it but even Gogeta couldn't match that," Vegeta stated gruffly.

"Well," Bardock swallowed as Buuly began walking towards them. "Grandpa, Vegeta; you made me really proud with how quickly you got the fusion dance down. Thank you. I hope to see you in the afterlife."

"Me too," Goku whispered, clenching his jaw. Vegeta nodded in agreement, his body tensing as the pink Saiyan got closer.

They were all suddenly blinded by a flash of light. Each one of them covered their eyes or looked away quickly. It soon died down, revealing a very familiar back.

Bardock breathed in disbelief and awe, "Dad!"