The next evening, the games began. The full moon was such a glorious sight to all of them. They let themselves be seen by the Canovans. Their frightened reactions only fed the Saiyans' excitement.

The assault on Canova was quite successful. It had only taken a matter of hours. The Canovans did not anticipate their arrival, and were easily overpowered. The battle was just the thing Bardock needed. He was feeling a little more like himself. He and his crew were basking in the Canovan sunlight, sitting in one of the craters they had created the night before.

"Well that was quite a riot," Fasha said. Her voice had taken on a happier tone. She wasn't half as harsh as she'd been acting mere days before. Bardock had a feeling that all of them had needed this attack. "I only wish it hadn't been so easy."

"As long as we keep getting missions, I'm not one to complain," Tora said.

"Oh, come on Tora," Fasha said. "You have to admit that battle was a little beneath us."

"How do you know? Do you remember it?" He asked her, already knowing the answer.

"Hell no, I don't remember it. But obviously it was quickly won," she said, smiling. She flicked her bangs out of her eyes and looked over at Sona. Her attitude towards the newcomer had greatly improved since their first meeting. "What do you think, Sona? Easy?"

"Well, for a peaceful race, they put up a pretty good fight. But, yeah, they didn't stand a chance," Sona agreed. Fasha looked shocked for several seconds.

"You mean, you actually remember what happened?" Sona shrugged.

"Yeah, bits and pieces." She didn't see what was so impressive about this. So she could remember some of her battles while she was in her Oozaru form. It wasn't like the bloodshed was any more invigorating than when she was in her human form. "It's not like any of it was super exciting."

"Well, at least we got it over with quickly. You think they'll send us off on another mission straight away?" Fasha asked.

"We can only hope," Tora said. "If I have to wait that long for a mission again, I think I'll go crazy. That was murder." Tora said it, and everyone else silently agreed. All of them shared the same undying thirst for bloodshed. This fight had only temporarily satisfied that thirst. And Bardock knew that the satisfaction wouldn't last long, especially seeing as how it wasn't even a particularly good fight.

"Well, sitting around her e isn't going to get us another assignment. We'd better head back to Vegeta," Bardock said, standing. His crew followed suit. They quickly stomped out their fire and began walking in the direction from which they had come. The journey back was a lot less scenic, since most of the forests had fallen the night before. They trudged on in silence for several minutes until Shugesh spoke up.

"I always love coming back after a successful mission," he sighed, a smile in his voice. "It can make you pretty popular with the ladies." Bardock tried not to roll his eyes. Shugesh had made it a ritual to talk about women at some point in a mission. Usually it was at the most inopportune moment. At least this time, his timing wasn't horrible. "You just tell 'em a war story or two and-"

Bardock tuned out his voice. In all honesty, Shugesh wasn't at all popular with women. He'd had maybe one or two girls show some sort of interest, but it never went anywhere. Especially since the only women Shugesh chased around were of the upper classes. Sometimes attraction across classes was possible, but it was rare. In Shugesh's case, it was impossible.

Bardock glanced furtively toward Sona. She was listening to Shugesh's drastically exaggerated stories about his experiences with women, and smiling to herself. She lifted her eyes and met Bardock's gaze. Her smile widened ever so slightly, but she quickly looked back toward the ground.

Shugesh finally shut up once they reached their pods. Bardock wordlessly thanked whatever higher power caused this fortunate turn of events. Their flight back to Vegeta was just as dull and uneventful as their flight to Canova. The silence was maddening. Bardock almost wished that Shugesh would start talking again. Eventually, he became comfortable with it, realizing how tired he was. His body ached, and his eyelids were heavy. Since they had a good few hours left until they arrived at Vegeta, sleep was the best option. The second he closed his eyes, Bardock fell in and out of different dreams, not remembering, nor caring about, any of them. He was jolted awake what seemed like mere seconds later. His pod door hissed open. He was back at Vegeta's shipping station. It was a relief to finally be home.

The others quickly made their way to the tavern. Bardock's eyes followed Sona. She took a different path from the others, not looking back. Bardock found it strange that she had hardly acknowledged him since the night before. He stood in his place, unsure of what to do.

"Bardock?" Tora asked, his voice stealing Bardock's attention away from Sona. "The rest of us are heading up to the Tavern to celebrate."

"Thanks, Tora. But I don't feel like being around a crowd right now. I need to clear my head," he lied. Tora's eyes flicked in Sona's direction and watched her retreating figure for a fraction of a second.

"Oh," he said, flicking his eyes back to Bardock's face. "Okay. If you can, stop by, eh?" He grinned boyishly and clapped a hand on Bardock's shoulder before followed the rest of his friends.

Bardock ran after Sona, not really sure of the reason why. He wasn't sure what he was going to say when he caught up with her. He wasn't thinking clearly at all. In fact, he was almost positive his legs were moving of their own volition. He followed Sona into the healing facilities. She seemed to be well known there. Many of the doctors greeted her jovially as she passed. Bardock tried desperately to catch up with her, but always seemed to be several feet behind.

After wandering around aimlessly for several minutes, Sona finally found Planthor. He was monitoring one of the rejuvenation chambers, taking notes on a clipboard. She entered the room silently so as not to break his concentration.

"Hello, Planthor," she greeted quietly once the furious scribbling of the pen had ceased. Planthor looked around and laid eyes on her. His elderly face stretched into a smile and his eyes lit up.

"Sona," he said. "You're back alive. I'm assuming things went well," he said. He turned his back to her so he could continue his examination.

Bardock felt awkward from the outside looking in. Obviously Sona knew this doctor. He wasn't familiar with the man himself. It appeared that Sona had a tight connection with this man, almost like father and daughter. He couldn't be Sona's father, though. This man wasn't a Saiyan. Still, Bardock felt that he shouldn't be looking in on them. He would talk to Sona some other time. He strode off, bracing himself for the tortures of the tavern.

"They couldn't have gone better," Sona said cheerily. "We were done in a few hours. And believe me when I tell you, that was not a small planet."

"Your father would be proud of you," Planthor told her. "I'm sure Raditz would be, too." Sona smiled. She knew that her father and brother would indeed have been pleased by her work. She wasn't entirely sure that she could claim it as entirely her work. It seemed, sometimes, that her father and brother were lending her some of their strength.

But if her father and brother would be proud, then she must be doing something right.