Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Dragonball Z. The amazing Akria Toriyama does. I only own the plot and my own characters.

Bardock's story

Chapter 8: Return the favour

Tarro's death came as huge shock to both his family and his team. It was the first time since the team was formed that anyone had died. Courne and Bane had seen hundreds of saiyans they knew die, including Matrika but it was still hard to believe one of their sons had joined those unlucky people. For the first few days, they lived in a constant state of emotional shock.

Things weren't much better for Bardock, Borgos and Fasha. The lives of three saiyans were a mess, all three mostly drowning their sorrows in their usual bar. Borgos was even quieter than usual and found himself watching as Fasha and Bardock dealt with their feelings more openly. It was the first time that Fasha had experienced loosing someone so close that she could remember. She was one of the unlucky saiyan babies, she was sent out almost immediately after birth. Both her parents were killed during missions so she never got to know them enough to love them. Bardock and the others were the closest she'd ever had to family and Tarro was more than that. His death had broken her heart. As for Bardock, two things dominated his thoughts. Tarro's demise was as tragic as when Matrika died. And now guilt was all he could feel. Tarro was one of his team, his responsibility, and now he was dead. He was also the one who decided that they split up.

But the one suffering the worst was Tora. He and Tarro had been almost like one being when together. Sure, they were brothers and fighting with each other was a part of sibling life. But the twins cared about each other and were practically inseparable. Until now, that is. Since his brother's death, Tora had hardly seen his parents or his team. He locked himself away in his dorm room where he and Tarro had slept since joining the saiyan army, gathering his thoughts. Every moment of that day played in his mind. He didn't even remember hearing Tarro call for help over the scouters. Tarro and Bardock's scouters had been destroyed in their battles anyway. Every time Tora thought about the events, the shock of seeing his brother being carried over Bardock's shoulders and at the state of his body resonated in his mind. Tarro had been covered in his own blood and burns from energy blasts also littered his skin. There was also no response from Tarro when his name was called. But now, two evenings after his brother's death and after thinking the events over, something in Tora's brain suddenly clicked. All the anger, pain and rage he had built up centred on one image. It was the one thing he could grasp, the one thing he could blame. Suddenly he climbed out of bed and marched out of his room.

Meanwhile, Fasha, Borgos and Bardock were at their usual bar drinking to drown their sorrows once again. They hadn't seen Tora since the morning after Tarro's death. All three were quiet until Bardock suddenly groaned. Borgos and Fasha looked up to see he had his head firmly in his hands, his fingers gripping his unruly hair.

"This is completely my fault," He grunted, "It should've been me!"

"No, Bardock," Fasha stated firmly, "This could've been any of us. Those Ethicans were more powerful than either of us expected."

Bardock lifted his head and the anger was clear in his eyes, "It was me who had us split up, Fasha! You guys are my team, my responsibility. I should've done something to prevent this!"

"What could you have done, Bardock?"

He turned and looked in Fasha's amethyst eyes. She may have been hurting but there was no blame aimed towards him. It was true, death and serious injury was expected for every saiyan warrior that fought in Frieza's name. If anyone was to blame it was the ruthless tyrant.

Finally, Bardock swallowed the rest of his drink in a single gulp and stood up. Borgos and Fasha watched as their leader marched solidly out of the bar.

"Bardock," Borgos called, "Where are you going?"

"Somewhere to think" He called back.

The two remaining saiyans looked at each other worried. They understood how close Tora, Bardock and Tarro had been, growing up together and all. They just hoped their leader wouldn't do something stupid. But a few minutes after Bardock left, they got an unexpected surprise.

"Fasha, Borgos" A voice called.

They turned and their eyes widened.

"Tora?" Fasha said, "What are you doing here?"

"Where's Bardock?"

"He's just left. A few minutes ago, he just got up and stormed out."

"Where?"

The two saiyans shook their heads, telling Tora they had no idea where Bardock was. He suddenly growled and turned, leaving the bar. But the nature of the growl worried Borgos and Fasha. Tora seemed ready to kill someone. The two saiyans looked at each other and they were both thinking the same. Panicked, they both got up and chased after Tora.

A few minutes ahead of Tora, Bardock was mindlessly walked through the citadel, lost in his own thoughts. He wasn't paying attention to where he was walking; his feet were just taking him where ever he was going. His thoughts were on Tarro, Tora, Courne and Bane. They had all been a brilliant second family for him. He knew he wouldn't have managed to get this far after Matrika's death if it hadn't been for them. Although he had lost his mother and her love, he had gained the friendship of two great guys, a true father figure and motherly wisdom from this unusual saiyan family. They had helped him through his darkest times but now, they were in theirs and Bardock wasn't sure what to do.

"Its times like these that I wish you were still alive, Mother."

He stopped and looked upwards towards the darkening sky. The stars were just starting to shine. One, the same star every time he looked up, held his attention. It was as if Matrika was watching her son from this one star. But before Bardock could get lost in his thoughts, he heard his name being shouted in an aggressive manner. He turned just as a hard fist made contact with his face. He stumbled back to see Tora stood in front of him, fist raised. His best friend had punched him squarely in the jaw.

"You bastard!" Tora shouted.

"What the hell, Tora!" Bardock demanded.

"If it wasn't for you, my brother would still be alive."

Before Bardock knew it, he was trying to defend himself from blows delivered from a very angry and raging Tora. When Fasha and Borgos finally caught up, Tora had got Bardock on the ground, the two saiyans grappling. They tried to split them up but Tora was seeing red and was determined to hurt Bardock.

Tora's punches came hard and fast, Bardock could feel his body vibrating with each hit, his heart pounding with adrenaline. Finally, Bardock got his senses together and managed to kick Tora hard between the legs. The larger saiyan stopped punching and folded in pain, giving Bardock the opportunity to push Tora over on to his back.

"Tora, stop this!"

"No! You were the one who said to split up! You were in charge, it's your fault!"

Tora tried to push Bardock off him, his arms thrashing and legs kicking. But, despite being shorter than his grieving friend, Bardock was stronger, managing to hold Tora in place. Eventually, Tora stopped enough to stare up in to Bardock's eyes.

"Tora, there was nothing any of us could do. It was a horrible accident. It could've been any one of us. I'm sorry."

Tora glared deeply in to Bardock's eyes. It was there he saw it. It was look he had seen before, but not on Bardock, on himself. Like it was yesterday, Tora could remember Bardock being on his knees in a training centre, pounding the ground as he let out the pain of losing his mother.

"It's ok, Bardock," Tora assured, "Let it out buddy."

"Why? Why did it happen to me? What did I do to deserve this?"

"Nothing, trust me, nothing."

If Tora hadn't been so patient and persistent with Bardock at that time, Bardock wouldn't have made it this far. And right now, Bardock was returning that favour. Tora's glare turned to hurt, his eyes welling up. Bardock sighed, almost sharing Tora's pain.

Finally, Tora calmed enough for Bardock to stand up and pull his friend to his feet. Fasha and Borgos could breathe a sigh of relief as Bardock pulled Tora in to a firm, manly hug.

"It's going to be ok, Tora."

"I'm sorry, Bardock."

"Me too, Tora, me too"

Bardock patted Tora on the back, a gesture the taller saiyan returned, and then they parted the hug. When they looked at each other, dirt covered both of their faces and armour and bruises were starting to appear on Bardock. He also had blood appearing from his nose.

"We'd better get cleaned up." Tora suggested.

"Yeah," Bardock agreed, "We'd better."

With a sad smile between them and a sigh of relief from Fasha and Borgos, the four saiyans set off to their barracks. On the way, Tora turned subtly to Bardock.

"Bardock," He asked, "Does the grief totally go? I mean, does Matrika's death still hurt?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Because I can't tell with you sometimes and I need to know for myself."

Bardock didn't respond straight away. He thought deeply as they walked. Tora waited patiently.

"It's less hurtful than when it initially happened," Bardock finally answered, "But the hurt doesn't always go away. You just learn to move on."

Tora sighed deeply. Bardock reached over and patted his best friend shoulder. Tora understood that his friends were going to be there for him, like he was for Bardock. But there were still challenges ahead for the whole team.

In the next chapter, Shugesh joins the team and nobody is not happy about. Then it gets worse. How? Wait and see.