Hi, another chapter here. Took me long to write, but I'm satisfied D.

R&R please

Inspired by: May it be by Enya

Gohan was in his room of the spaceship again. The dozens of ships that had transported him and his men to Tasshik, had now set course to Tauvega, the capital of planet Vegeta, and where the king and his family resided in the royal palace. Gohan and most of his men would be welcomed by the citizens and the royal family, as was usual after a victory. But that would be after the 26 hour journey.

Thank god they got off that hellhole quickly. Immediately after his small speech, he and his men set out for their camp, where Gohan contacted the ships, that floated in the planet's atmosphere. A quarter of his men and some high ranked Saiyans were ordered to stay, while he and the rest were going home. King Vegeta would send more soldiers, but right now that wasn't needed, since all Tasshik's defenses and armies were taken down.

The general sighed. When home, he probably would get orders within 2 days, to conquer another planet or to take down some rebellion. The orders never ended. When the empire didn't need to be expanded, there was a rebellion that needed to be stopped and vice versa. Yes, the job of a Saiyan general was definitely not an easy one. Not a moments rest, always away from home and the huge responsibility. How Gohan sometimes wished he was still an ordinary soldier. Life was so much simpler back then.

Gohan had already thrown off his scouter and his armor, which had for sure seen better times. It was made of some sort of metal-like elastic material, which made the armor flexible and light but at the same time as hard as dragonskin. It was green, brown and the darkest shade of blue. It covered his chest and the thigh plates attached to it protected his thighs. The usual shoulder plates were not attached.

Now pieces had broken off and it was drenched in blood and dirt. But it had done his duty: it had protected him and even saved him often a long time ago. He was proud to wear it, because it was the same type of armor his grandfather Bardock wore and died in, in the battle against Frieza.

With the light of the fire in the fireplace, which was the only source of light in the room, enlightening his face, he thought with fondness about his grandfather. Bardock had been a great man. Strong, loyal, courageous, wise. That and many other qualities had made him an honorable man.

When Gohan was young, his father used to tell him many story's about Bardock. He told him about the battle which was commonly referred to as "The Last Battle of the Old Race." The story began two years after Gohan was born.

Bardock was captain of a special crew which assassinated important enemies of the empire. One day, when he was ordered to assassinate the High Priest of Grenorha, the priest passed on his supernatural powers to Bardock right before he died. From that day on, Bardock had visions of the future, a future that would be dominated by the emperor of an empire west to their own. The emperor was Frieza and Bardock's visions told him that the emperor would invade the Saiyan empire and eventually conquer everything.

When he got home, he immediately asked for an audience with the king, which he got permission for. Bardock told the king, who was the father of King Vegeta, everything about his visions and recommended a large scale gathering of troops throughout the empire and to prepare for an invasion anytime soon. The king, who had friendly connections with Lord Frieza, refused to believe Bardock and he fired him.

But Bardock didn't stop when he got fired. He gathered his own army, though very small, of men who had always been loyal to him, of men who simply believed him and distrusted Frieza and of slaves who had nowhere else to go. After a few months, Frieza did invade the empire, and with a huge army. Bardock and his man fought the army to win time, so that the king could gather all his troops. They all died in that battle.

If it wasn't for Bardock and his men, the Saiyan empire would have been overrun completely before the king could strike back. Instead, he was given the time needed to mobilize his troops and the opportunity to face Frieza's army with everything he got. Frieza was eventually killed by Kakkarot, Gohan's father, who avenged the death of Bardock.

The Saiyans won the battle, but their king was very badly wounded. Minutes before his death, he asked for his son, Vegeta. He said to him that Bardock changed the entire race with his courage and death, and that he and his family were to receive the highest honor, in an attempt to make amends for not believing Bardock in the first place.

His wish was granted and Bardock became a legend after his death.

Bardock died 4 years after Gohan's birth, so Gohan remembered very little about his grandfather, only from vague memories. Memories of a calm man, friendly in his own way with lots of knowledge from what seemed everything.

Bardock was very interested in science, chemistry, math and biology, and also very fond of nature, where he spent most of his free time training, meditating or simply sitting there, on a meadow, or at the riverbank, or at the seashores, thinking about the past, present and future. Sometimes Gohan went with him for a few hours or even a couple of days. His grandfather was not a very talkative person, but it was alright, Gohan always found something to keep him occupied, like swimming, or practice flying and sometimes even training, though he was very young.

But sometimes Bardock would speak for hours, telling his grandson stories about other worlds, other races, or history and myths, but he talked most about what the stars were made of, or how gravity works, and why everyday the sun would rise from the east and set in the west. And Gohan would listen, intrigued how for every mystery there was an explanation. And thus, Bardock created the fundaments of Gohan's own interest and curiosity of knowing everything of everything. Sadly enough it wasn't useful for anything, since his mother made him to join the army, and the army didn't offer opportunities to learn something besides weaponry and how to use it, martial arts, chi training and surviving on distant planets. And as you grew in ranks, one learned more about their and foreign technology, spying on one's enemies etc. But that was about it.

Gohan smiled within as he remembered the words Bardock once said to him and which he would never forget: "All I know…is that I know nothing. I know not how I may seem to others, but to myself I am but a small child, just like you, wandering upon the vast shores of knowledge, every now and then finding a small bright pebble to content myself with" At first, when he was just a child, the words didn't make sense to Gohan. His grandfather knew everything, how could he say he knows nothing? And what does he mean by shores of knowledge…they don't exist, do they? But as he grew older, he started to understand them. It is impossible to know everything. The world is so big, and there is so much to see and to do, and as it changes and new knowledge is born, knowledge only makes the world become even bigger than it already is. But he also knew that his curiosity is like hunger, and knowledge is the food. Gohan did not only learn many things from Bardock, he also learned how to think from him, and that was of more value than any weapon or victory.

With now his chest bare, Gohan could see if he had any serious wounds. He hadn't, only a few minor injuries. After cleaning the wounds and the rest of his body, he put on some sweatpants and lay down onto his bed, his tail curled around his waist. Absently he watched the light of the flames dancing on the ceiling. He let out a small chuckle at the thought of a fireplace in a spaceship. It was kind of a useless invention, a spaceshipfireplace, especially considering the fact that there is electricity, but then again, the one invention of today was more wicked than the other.

After a few minutes he dozed off into a slumber. He dreamt of battles and especially the battle that he recently fought on Tasshik.

There he stood, on the windy field, thousands of men behind him, waiting for the enemy. Some men behind him were talking with subdued voices, but most were silent. They thought about the battle they were about to fight, none of them afraid. After all, it was not in the nature of a Saiyan to be afraid of battle.

Suddenly Gohan's ears heard a low and deep sound. And as suddenly as it came, as suddenly it went. After a few seconds the same sound resonated over the field, now being closer. After a few repeats of the same sound, the same tone, the same duration, Gohan realized that it couldn't be anything but a horn. Or more a few

After a while, not only he sound of the horns could be heard. Shouts and yells came across the hills in from of them. After a short while, the ones who were making all the noise became visible. More and more men reached the top of the hills and walked down in their direction. They were the Tasshikian warriors. They had little armor, only a few plates and pants and the rest of their body was either naked or painted, so Gohan saw when they fought each other. After one huge shout, they came running towards Gohan and his men. Gohan remained calm and ordered everyone to keep the line. They came closer and closer, their expressions now visible on their faces…expressions of hate and desire to slaughter them. However, it did not scare Gohan, nor banish his fate. They were now only a 30 meters away. Gohan ordered to draw weapons. Swords, axes, spears, all were ready to clash. Closer, closer, and…the battle begun.

He heard the screams, the clash of weapons, the bashing of fists, the noise of the Ki blasts. It was like reliving that battle.

After hearing one most terrifying scream, he shot up from his sleep. He was panting and he felt the sweat on his forehead and chest. He groaned and used his scouter to see what time it was. He had only slept half an hour.

Since sleeping again only brought bad memories, he decided to stay awake. He left the bed and placed himself in front of the fireplace, where the flames still danced cheerfully. Sitting cross-legged he watched the flames. He loved the fire, with it's warm radiation, it's mild light and it's crackling sound. It was stupid, but he could watch endlessly to flames, even if it was from a little candle. Nobody else seemed to see that the flames were always different and never constant. Sometimes they had a brighter shade of orange than usual, sometimes they were almost red. They could change from huge to tiny in a matter of seconds. Gohan inhaled the smell of the fire, the smell of burned wood. It reminded him of his home, with the dozens of fireplaces.

Home. What a strange feeling that word summoned. It was like mentioning a friend you haven't seen in ages, or talking about a memory. It was so familiar, and yet so unknown, so close, yet so far away. He thought about the high, white ceilings, the red carpets, the wooden floor, the candles, the chandeliers, the warm colors. He thought about the countless books in his library, the silk sheets on his bed, the marble floor in the huge ballroom, the horses in the stables. He thought about the breathtaking nature surrounding his house. The majestic snow-topped mountains, the green forests, the meadows, where carefree slave children ran though, the lakes like mirrors, with it's mysterious blue colors, the ever moving rivers. He couldn't deny that he missed his home, even though militants, and especially the general, shouldn't be attached to their homes.

The ironic part is that he got his home because of his function. Three year ago, after an important victory, the king was so grateful towards him, that he gave the old royal summer residence to Gohan. The residence was a beautiful, white castle: Crystler Castle. Initially, Gohan refused the gift, saying it was too much. But since the king wanted it and the king's will is law, he was forced to take it. When he walked though the wooden doors for the first time, he thought that this castle was too elegant, too luxurious, too fairy-tale like for him. But he grew attached to it, partly due to the beautiful nature surrounding the castle and the excellent and lively staff.

To his regret, he came to Crystler Castle very seldom and if he came there, he only stayed there for a few days. But when he was allowed to go home, he always found that little piece of peace, which he could receive nowhere but there. He would sleep till noon, read books in front of the fireplace, train in the fields, ride on his horse through the nature, swim in the lakes and watch the pink and orange sunsets.

Eventually, after a while of thinking about his home, he felt his eyelids getting heavier. Gohan decided to try to sleep again, it would be no good if he arrived in Tauvega tomorrow without getting any sleep. So he lay down on the bed again and closed his eyes, and he listened to the crackling sound of the flames and he felt it's warmth on his skin, which, after a few minutes, rocked him to a peaceful slumber, dreamless this time