Chapter 20

Staring at Kid Buuly now, Bardock knew whatever plan he could've come up with would fall flat. Kid Buuly's strength hit a point that he didn't know existed. Even if he did turn into Oozaru, there was no way he was going to be able to take Kid Buuly down.

There wasn't much they could do now, but they could get him off the planet so they wouldn't have to wish for it back.

"We have to go," Bardock whispered as Kid Buuly slowly approached.

Gohan stepped back, furrowing his brow. "How? Wherever we go, he'll more than likely find us."

Bardock breathed deeply, tensing his body in preparation, "It's not about hiding, it's about saving the planet from being destroyed. I'm gonna take us to the Kai planet. Unfortunately, Grandpa, Buu, and Vegeta are staying here. Hopefully Supreme Kai can see what's happening so he and the others can leave and come here to collect them before we get there." He cracked his neck. "Now let's do this."

He charged at Kid Buuly who seemed a bit surprised at the first attack being so head on and reckless. When arms wrapped around his waist, the pink Saiyan wasted no time in grabbing Bardock's waist and lifting him up and slamming his knee into his gut.

The pain was immense, and in one of Bardock's favorite places, but he held on. He kept one arm around Kid Buuly, one hand gripping the pink skin tightly as he fumbled to get his other hand free to put two fingers to his forehead.

He grunted as Kid Buuly struggled in his grip, "Now, Dad!"

The moment he felt his father grab his ankle, he teleported them to the Kai planet and hoped that his memory of it would get them there safely.

On Namek…

Several minutes after Goku teleported them to Namek, the gang went on to look for the dragonballs and fast. The expedition took a bit longer to get started since Tekka almost hyperventilated at the fact that he was on another planet, one not in their solar system, and because he wanted to be introduced to every single Namekian there was, as if any of them, minus Dende, knew them.

Gine was a different story. She was quiet most of the time but Pan knew her best friend long enough to know that she was overwhelmed with everything that happened the past couple of days. Still, she was just happy she hadn't fully freaked out yet.

The quest for the dragonballs didn't take that long, much to everyone's relief. Once they had the coordinates from the dragon radar, they set out to find them. They had more flyers in the group than they did in the past so it made splitting up easier.

Tekka rubbed his chin as he watched Dende put the dragonballs together. "So…when was the last time you guys came here?"

"My dad came here after Bardock destroyed the androids to bring every good person who was killed by the androids back to life as well as fixing every city they destroyed," Pan explained. "We couldn't use our own dragonballs since Piccolo was killed. Back then, he was connected with Kami, our past guardian. When he died, so did Kami and the dragonballs."

A shocked gasp escaped Tekka's lips, "Wait, we have dragonballs on earth? Why didn't we just use those?"

Resisting the urge to rub the bridge of her nose, Pan answered, "Porunga gives us three wishes and brings back people however many times he sees fit. Since the people of earth have been killed before, Shenron probably wouldn't bring them back. Also, we get 3 wishes here and 2 wishes on earth."

Gine addressed her best friend as Dende began chanting in his native tongue, "So you can wish anyone back to life?"

"As long as they didn't die by natural causes," Pan answered with a slight grimace. "We only got Grandpa back after a lot of persuasion which also costed us 2 wishes. We had to use Shenron to bring the earth back to normal."

A large crack hit their ears as lightning shot out of the dragonballs. The sky darkened as the lightning slowly turned into a dragon Pan had never once laid eyes on. She breathed in awe as Porunga floated above them, "Wow."

"Yeah," Tekka croaked with his eyes wide and his jaw on his chin. Gine fared no better next to him with her face pale and her hands shaking at the sight of the dragon.

Porunga's voice boomed around them as he spoke, "You have summoned me. What is it that you want? I will give you three wishes."

Dende turned his attention to the rest of the group, his eyes questioning, "Bring everyone Buuly killed back and restore the planet?"

Piccolo nodded solemnly, "That's what we need."

As Dende recited the wishes to the dragon, Krillin raised an eyebrow, "So what do we do with the last wish? Do we need it to get back to earth?"

"Goku or Bardock will take us back when they defeat Buuly," Piccolo stated. "What I want to know is how the fight is going down. I can't sense anyone other than Buuly from here. If he's still alive, that means the fighting is still going on."

"I hope they're okay," Chi-Chi said worriedly, clutching Goten in her arms.

Trunks smiled reassuringly, one arm around Minako while the other held a sleeping Blouse, "They'll be fine, Chi-Chi. Bardock knows what to do."

Pan bit her lip, a part of her desperate to believe Trunks, to have the utmost faith in her brother. She had seen what it was like when Bardock doubted himself and it was never good. As long as Buuly didn't get stronger or somehow turn into Kid Buuly, she knew he and the others would be fine. He couldn't lose when there was so much at stake.

She sucked in a breath when she felt it; that looming feeling of terror as the dark ki grew in her senses. No, there was no way. Bardock wouldn't…

"What is that?" Piccolo questioned horrified.

Bulma held Bra to her chest tighter, her lips in a deep frown. "What is it, Piccolo? What's wrong?"

"Buuly," Pan let out in a shaky breath, her chest feeling like it was caving. "He's Kid Buuly now."

"How did that happen?" Trunks inquired in shock. "I thought you said that they would have to take out the first Buu to bring out the last form."

Videl shook her head numbly, "There's no way Bardock would do that. He hates Kid Buu and still has nightmares about him. He would never bring him back willingly."

Piccolo clenched his jaw, his body tense, "Something must've happened. But if Kid Buuly is now here, are they even strong enough to beat him?"

"No they are not." The group gasped and turned quickly to find Kibito, Supreme Kai, Goku, Vegeta, Buu, and an older looking Shin.

Old Kai smiled politely, a crystal ball in his arms as Goku and Vegeta were crowded by the group in an instant, "I know you are all curious about what's going on with Bardock and Gohan, and since they are so insistent on destroyed our planet, I decided to come here to show you everything that's going on."

He sat down, placing the crystal ball on the ground. "Tell that dragon to wait. We got a fight to watch."

"KAMEHAMEHA!" Bardock shouted aggressively as he thrust his hands forward, shooting out a strong, bright blue beam at Kid Buuly. He pressed his feet into the ground and poured his power into the attack.

However, his efforts were for naught. Kid Buuly caught the beam with his hands and shot his own attack, overpowering the half Saiyan's. Bardock canceled his blast and jumped out of the way, wincing when the blast clipped his shoulder.

Gohan, who had been knocked away moments before, charged right back into the fray and began throwing every combination of punches, kicks, and elbows he knew. No move seemed to work. Kid Buuly blocked and dodged each one, and came back stronger with his own physical attacks, bruising and more than likely fracturing Gohan's skin and bones.

A kick to his leg had Gohan crying out in pain. A harsh blow to the face sent him to the ground roughly, his nose bleeding profusely as he hacked out another glob of blood from his mouth.

He set his blurry gaze on Kid Buuly and felt his chest seize when he saw the powerful blast appearing in his hands. He couldn't move with his leg like this; bleeding with the bone sticking out. He'd have to take the blast and hope that he wouldn't die and leave his son to fight this monster alone.

The blast was suddenly shot in the air. Gohan blinked, his eyes focusing on Kid Buuly's rigid body as he tried to get the mass that latched itself onto him off. A pinch of relief hit Gohan when he realized Bardock had grabbed the pink Saiyan in a choke hold.

Bardock gritted his teeth as Kid Buuly struggled in his arms. He knew his Super Saiyan 2 form wouldn't be enough to hold him but he couldn't go Silver Saiyan; he'd die before he could get real damage done in that form.

He tipped his body backwards and slammed Kid Buuly into the ground. He placed two fingers to his forehead, gathering his ki. "Special beam cannon!" He shot out a blue and red beam towards his opponent.

Smoke billowed all around Kid Buuly, consuming his form. Bardock's eyes darted around the area frantically, trying to figure out the pink bastard's next move. He knew he wasn't dead so what was he waiting for. Any moment now he'd come out stronger.

Any moment now-

Blood suddenly spurted out of Bardock's mouth as his body slowly fell to the floor; the beam that pierced his chest disappearing after hitting its target.

Gohan's eyes widened in shock, his heart pounding in his chest causing his broken and fractured bones to cry out. "Bardock!" He shouted hoarsely, tears streaking down his bloody wounded face.

Kid Buuly walked over to him, his arm that had been blasted off by Bardock slowly remaking itself. He chuckled sadistically as he stood over the weeping father.

"You…" Gohan shook with rage, his power level rising sharply. "You bastard!" He flew at the pink being with everything he had left.

On the other side of the fighting, Bardock's body shook as his soul held on to the last string of life left in him. He grunted weakly, desperately trying to move any limb to help him stand and fight once more. He could hear Gohan crying out in pain not far from him as he fought Kid Buuly. A sort of dark anger swelled in his chest.

He couldn't let his father die. He disappointed his family enough during the last few days he wasn't going to break them by lying down while his father was beaten to death. He just had to get up. Once he was, he would be able to ignore the numbing pain in his chest.

Come on, kid. Don't let this be the end.

Bardock let out a small breath, his head lolling to the side.

I know this hurts, but you're still alive. That has to mean something. I know you want to help your old man so do as I say.

Another breath.

You've done this before so all I need you to do is look at one of the moons.

His eyes turned to one of the full moons high in the sky. His heart, still unscathed despite the chest blast, roaring up at the sight. A slightly familiar rush of raw energy flowed through his system.

That's it. Let that power come in.

Muscles tensed and bulged. His black eyes turned pink. His heart continued to pound in his chest sending blood rushing to his ears.

I know this is gonna hurt, but don't let the Oozaru out. Just take its power and use your rage to hold onto your mind and body. It'll be a struggle but you need to do it if you want to save your father. If you let the Oozaru out fully, you won't be able to take Kid Buuly out. Now channel its power!

Back to the fighting, Gohan stood unsteadily, one leg still broken. His body felt heavy and he knew that he couldn't keep fighting coherently, but he wasn't going to stop. That bastard killed his son and he wasn't going to let him live.

He swallowed dryly, the sharp iron tang in his mouth bringing his focus back to Kid Buuly who hovered above him. His eyes widened when he saw the giant pink ball of ki that continued to grow in Kid Buuly's hand.

If that blast hit anywhere near them, the Kai planet would disintegrate with him and Bardock. Everyone had put their faith in him, including his son, so he had to fight back with everything he had.

He cupped his hands to his side, his eyes still on the pink being and his giant ki ball as he chanted, "Kame…hame…" He poured every last ounce of his ki into his hands. He thrust his hands forward, shouting, "HA!"

Right as the beam left his hands Kid Buuly threw down his ki ball and pushed it against the beam coming at him.

Gohan gritted his teeth as the ball continued to swallow his beam and bear down on him as it got closer. The ground broke beneath him in his struggle for more energy. He could feel the intense heat and power coming from the ball as it grew closer, so much so that the only space between him and it was the small ki blast in his hands.

A crater formed around him as he kept sinking to the floor with the giant ball. The end was coming now. He wished it wouldn't be this way but there was no hope left. Even if he somehow got all of his ki back, he still wouldn't be a match for the pink being.

The ball bore onto him strongly, sending him to the ground. He lay on his back as the ball slowly descended upon him and the earth. His eyes slowly closed, his ki drained and his limbs heavy with exhaustion.

He gave one last thought to his family, hoping that they were safe before he succumbed to the calling darkness.

"No, Gohan!" Goku yelled anxiously as he and the others watched the ball fall on Gohan through the crystal ball. He clenched his fists and shook his head, "There's no way Gohan and Bardock are dead. They can't be. They're the last hope we have!"

Supreme Kai let out a shaky breath, his eyes dull, "I'm sorry, Goku, but it looks like he was too strong for them."

With Chi-Chi, Goten, and Videl sobbing behind her, Pan lowered her gaze, willing the stubborn tears back. They still had one more wish. They now had a wish to use. However, before she could open her mouth to tell Dende to wish for her father and brother back, Tekka's voice cut in.

"Wait, what's going on?" Awe coated his tone. "The ball is moving away from Mr. Son."

Everyone gathered around the ball once again, wiping their tears away for a clearer vision to see what the young teen was talking about.

Pan gasped, "It's Bardock!"

Sure enough, holding the giant killing ball of ki with one hand while holding an unconscious Gohan in his free arm was Bardock, the wound on his chest seared shut and his now pink eyes glared heatedly at Kid Buuly.

This Bardock was one they hadn't seen before.