Peace was bliss. It had been three years since some evil being had attempted to destroy the earth. The events involving Buu were the last thing on the Z fighters minds as they melded in with regular human life. Gohan was on his way to becoming a Scholar like Chi-Chi had planned, but still saw a few hours a day to train with his father, Goku. They couldn't deny their saiyan heritage, no matter how peaceful it got. They had to fight, it was in their blood.
With all this peace came plenty of time to think about the past, especially for Goku. One day, whilst training with Gohan, he began to wonder how Gohan would have turned out without him there. Would he still fight? Would he even know his father?
This led Goku into somewhat of a depression. He himself had only heard of his father, Bardock, who had died trying to protect his home from Frieza many years ago. His first thought was to wish him back with the dragonballs. But Bardock had been dead for way more than a year. He longed to see his father, to know who he was. He loved his Grandpa Gohan, but he needed to know his birthfather.
After many weeks of thinking, he finally came upon a conclusion to his dilemma. Waking up early, Goku put on his gi and snuck out of the house, kissing Chi-Chi goodbye as he left. Putting his fingers to his forehead, he made sure to picture his location clearly. In the blink of an eye, he was there. At Baba's palace.
It was early, but Goku didn't care. He knocked on the door twice. They were old and wooden, and made a loud clanking noise. Moments later, a short, stubby old woman dressed in a black nightgown opened the door. She rubbed here eyes and looked around, before looking up to see who had knocked.
"Goku! What the hell are you doing here at this hour? Are you insane?!" She yelled.
"Listen Baba, I need a favor"
"Such as"
"I..." He stopped and took a deep breath.
"I want to see my father." He finished, looking at her confidently.
"Bardock? Why on earth would you want to see him, he's been dead for years!" She asked, now fully awake.
"I've never known him. I think it's only right that I should at least know my father, and Gohan should know his grandfather." He said. "I know you can grant the dead life for one full day. I want you to bring my father here for a day."
Baba looked stunned. She looked as if she was about to respond by yelling, but stopped. She nodded and motioned for him to come in. Goku ducked his head as he walked through the door and found himself inside a treasure trove of magical items. The whole place reeked of incense. Baba made her way to a large, heavily decorated table and lifted her Crystal ball from it. She took it and, walking past Goku, went outside again.
Goku, looking puzzled, followed. She sat the ball down on the ground, but it quickly began to levitate. She looked into it and poked at it, but the inside stayed foggy.
"King Yemma wake up!" She yelled. Immediately the ball went from cloudy to clear, showing the bright red bearded face of King Yemma, clearly annoyed that he had been woken up.
"Baba, do you know what time it is?" He asked, rubbing his eyes.
"Yes, and I need a favor." She said. She looked at Goku from the corner of her eye and turned to him.
"A little privacy, please!" She asked. Goku shrugged and walked back a few yards, turning his back so he couldn't hear.
He cought bits and peices, mostly hearing the high pitched whispers of baba, interrupted by King Yemma's deep voice.
"Are you sure?" Yemma asked.
"Yes" Baba responded.
"Well...he has saved us quite a lot...Fine. One day," He said. Goku turned around just in time to watch Yemma stamp something in the crystal ball.
"Uh...Baba, what just happened?" He asked.
"Nothing, Goku. Now we wait"
And wait they did. They waited for what seemed like an hour, before everything began to get dark. It was like nighttime, only to be broken by a bright flash and a loud 'pop'. Goku turned to the source of the noise.
There, standing in the center of a large black ring, was Goku's father, Bardock. He was a perfect mirror of Goku, his hair, face, and body structure surprisingly similar. He had a glowing halo above his head, and looked positivly dumbstruck.
"W-Where am I?" He asked, looking around. He turned a complete 360, until his eyes rested upon Goku.
"K-Kakarot?? Son? Is that you?" He asked. He slowly walked up to him and reached out his hand, poking Goku in the chest to make sure he was real.
"Yeah" Goku said, tears in his eyes.
"It's me, dad!"