Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball Z.

Please read the Author's note at the end.

Chapter 25

Bardock

Goten stood off to the distance as Trunks spoke with the small purple natives. He'd caused quite a commotion on his arrival. The second he'd touched down in the village, the little aliens had begun chattering at him, bringing food and drink and little trinkets. Goten had thought it was amazing. Trunks however, was suspicious and was now trying to find out why they had been showered with gifts and anything else they may know about the Saiyan they were looking for. Goten happily ate the fruit the natives had given him, especially the large purple soft ones that tasted like grapefruit. He had left the little red ones which were rather bitter. He watched his friend who was talking animatedly to the small people. Trunks really had the best of both his parents. He had Vegeta's face but Bulma's colouring. Vegeta's strength and Bulma's confidence.

Thinking about Bulma and Vegeta made Goten sad. It made him miss his own mother and father. He missed having his mother standing behind him, watching like a hawk. At times it was annoying but he felt protected. He missed his father's laughter. Life had definitely gotten better when his father had come back to life. All of Gohan's stories about him had been true. He was a great man and a fun, loving father. Goten never passed an opportunity to hug his father, not having missed out for most of his life. The first night Goku had been back from the dead, in the early hours of the morning, both Gohan and Goten had crept out of their rooms at the same time and gone into their parents' room. Both Goku and Chi-Chi had been asleep so, silently, the two boys had lain down on the floor on Goku's side of the bed and slept there. Come morning, Chi-Chi had found all three sleeping on the floor, Goku having gotten up and joined his sons. Goten had been sleeping with his head on Goku's chest. Gohan had been touching Goku's leg with his foot as if he was making sure it hadn't all been a dream and his father was going to disappear when he woke up.

Goten missed Gohan and Appura too, and his little nephew Kabu. The fruit in his hand exploded as he felt anger swell inside himself. He had grown up listening Vegeta tell stories about the Saiyan people. These stories were few and far between with Vegeta not being the bedtime-story kind of father but they had always held Goten and Trunks' full attention. But these Saiyans that had turned up, the ones who had killed Ima, who had torn his family apart. He couldn't reconcile them with Vegeta's stories. Had Vegeta lied? Or was Bulma closer to the mark? He'd overheard Bulma once saying that Vegeta had been very young when the Saiyan home world had been destroyed, leaving only a handful of Saiyans alive. Goten knew the names of the survivors. His own father and Vegeta, Vegeta's bodyguard, Nappa, and Raditz, his uncle, a man who, to this day, still terrified Gohan. Of course there was Broly and his father, he remembered the stories about them. Then he had learnt about Ima and Appura. Appura, the last full-blooded Saiyan to ever be born.

Appura had taken the events of the past year very hard. She'd lost her mother, almost lost her baby and now her father had been taken away. When they'd gone to hide with Dende, it was impossible not to hear her arguing with Gohan. It had been a daily occurrence. Within a matter of weeks, he'd learnt the warning signs. That had been when he and Trunks had started taking Kabu and hiding out of the way. Gohan and Appura's tempers had never flared at their brothers or son, only at each other, but when your family had halved in a matter of hours and the two people you relied on to look after you were at each other's throats at times…Gohan had just wanted to curl up in a ball and block it all out at times, and at others, he'd wanted to scream at them, that they were hurting their son. And then it had stopped, rather suddenly. Appura had vanished deep into the lookout with Kabu whilst Gohan seemed to maintain a constant vigilance outside with Piccolo. They didn't look at each other, didn't speak to each other and then one day, Gohan had been gone. That had been the first time Goten had felt truly alone. It felt like his world was falling apart, he expected the very floor he stood on to crumble away at times. Trunks hadn't understood. He still had his sister there. Goten had no one. Appura had done her best to treat him exactly the same as Trunks but without Gohan there, it just wasn't the same.

Goten's thoughts were interrupted by Trunks coming back.

"Well?" Goten asked.

"I know where he is, the caves we passed on our way here," said Trunks, "C'mon." Goten put down the fruit he hadn't started yet and turned to the villagers. He bowed his head.

"Thank you for the fruit," he said.

"You're welcome, Saiyan," said the leader of the village who went by the name of Berry. Goten followed Trunks. The mountains weren't far away. Goten could already see signs of a battle from years before. Big chunks missing out the side of mountains and hills, in some cases, the results of ki blasts, perfectly round holes in the sides of them. Scorched trees and earth became more common the closer they got to the large central mountain. He wondered if the Saiyan they were looking for had been involved in the battle. Trunks began to descend and Goten followed. They landed outside a large cave. Huge empty bowls lay scattered around the entrance with the remains of fruit and meat in them. The bowls had drawings carved into the sides of them. They seemed to depict the battle. It was almost as if they had been offerings or tribute left by the natives. Trunks started heading into the cave with Goten close behind. It was a long, dark tunnel but they could see a faint light in the distance.

"Trunks, what are we going to say? This is a Saiyan! He might not be like our dads! What if he tries to kill us?" Goten asked.

"We'll tell him King Kai sent us," Trunks replied, "I'll tell him who my dad is too, he might kneel before me." Trunks grinned. Goten was confused for a moment before he realised what Trunks meant. Sometimes he forgot that Trunks and Vegeta were Princes. The light was getting closer. Goten's stomach began to tie itself in knots.

The tunnel turned a corner. That was where the light was coming from. Goten could hear someone moving about too. He paused as did Trunks. Neither of them wanted to go round that corner first. They just stood there. This was clearly a strong warrior they had been sent to find. What if he wasn't on their side? What if he was loyal to King Kuda?

"Who's there?" came a voice, "Show yourself!" Goten felt Trunks squeeze his hand before letting go. The two boys took a deep breath before rounding the corner together. The light was brighter than expected and Goten had to raise his arm to shield his eyes so he didn't see the Saiyan at first. But the Saiyan saw them.

"Kakarot?"

Appura stood firm, feet planted either side of Gohan's faux prone form. He was relying on the element of surprise. Kuda was a lot taller than her, probably the same height as her grandfather had been. It had always been a sore subject with her father. He recalled his fathers six feet something height and always been frustrated that he hadn't inherited it. He had been cursed with his mother's height. She had only been as tall as Appura was and had come from a family of short Saiyans, who had worked their way up in Saiyan society from being used in small spaces to lay cables. One had saved the life of a previous King and had been honoured for it. It had taken two centuries but they had worked their way up to the point when Appura's Royal great-grandfather hadn't batted an eyelid at the suggestion that his son and heir be married to one of them. The result had been her father, who was now lying slumped on his side from exhaustion. His muscles had diminished and he looked a little emaciated.

It was Kuda who made the first move; a chop to Appura's neck. She hadn't been slacking during her time in hiding. When Kabu was quiet or napping, she had been training, continuing what Goku had started. She had believed him when he had said she had the potential for greatness inside her. She ducked to avoid the attack, almost kneeing Gohan in the back. Missing her threw off Kuda's balance and he stumbled, only for Gohan to land a well-aimed punch to his stomach. The blow sent Kuda flying backwards. Gohan stood up straight next to Appura. Kuda recovered and looked at Gohan.

"So, the Hakai doesn't affect half-breeds," he grunted, "That's very interesting." His gaze shifted over and landed on Greed and the other cowering human soldiers.

"I'm going to say this once and once only," Gohan said menacingly, "This is my home. I was born here and raised here. I'm as human as the next person. I just got lucky with my DNA." Whatever cameras that had been used to film Greed were now trained on Gohan. This was Gohan's chance to rally the people of Earth to their side.

"The people of Earth deserve to know the truth," Gohan said, "The Saiyans that are held prisoner, they are not here to conquer. Their home was destroyed and they are all that remains. They found home and refuge here on Earth. They settled down, started families, and have fought to defend the Earth and it's people against those who would destroy it. I will not let you take that away from us. I will not let you tear us apart. My name is Son Gohan. My mother is Chi-Chi, the daughter of Ox-King, my father is Son Goku. I am of Earth and Planet Vegeta. This is my home. I won't let you take that away from me." Gohan's face tightened in concentration as he focussed. Appura could tell that he was summoning his energy to go Super Saiyan. Only nothing was happening. His ki wasn't altering at all.

"What's wrong?" Appura whispered.

"I don't know," Gohan hissed back, "It's like there is a barrier between me and my Saiyan ki…I can't transform! Of course, that must be how the Hakai works. It blocks off a Saiyan's ki! But I'm half-human. I'm running on my human half right now."

"So, you can't transform?"

"Nooo, look out!" At the last second, Gohan threw himself and Appura clear of Kuda's ki blast.

"I grow bored of your games, half-breed," Kuda growled, "Let's play one of mine instead. It's called Half-breeds Die!" He threw another ki blast at them. The pair managed to dodge it. Appura tried to summon her ki, desperate to change to her Super Saiyan form. Her hair flickered for a second and then failed. She hadn't transformed since the day her mother died and it wasn't for lack of trying. She flung herself clear of another ki blast. Maybe if they avoided the attacks, Kuda would wear himself out.

So she and Gohan began leaping from blast to blast, avoiding them barely. They could see Kuda losing patience and night was starting to fall. Eventually the sun vanished beyond the horizon. Kuda grinned and made a guttural sound. It was Ancient Saiyan and sounded familiar to Appura. Transformation. What was he planning? The human soldiers had fled and the Saiyans had retreated too. Gohan's eyes darted back and forth. Escape was possible but it was too easy. There had to be a trap somewhere, keeping them here. That's when he felt a pull way down at the base of his spine where his tail used to be. His gaze immediately fell upon the cause. A false full moon, projected onto the night's sky. Vegeta had used that same trick once. There was the trap. In a city, it was going to be harder to take down a Great Ape. But the transformation still took time. They could still flee, taking his father, Vegeta and Tarble too.

"Go…Gohan…" his father spoke, weakly, "Aaa…Apppuraaaa…" Gohan frowned and then looked over at Appura. She had gone completely rigid in mid-air. There lay the problem. The full moon was going to transform Kuda into his Great Ape form…and Appura was going to transform too. Gohan often forgot she still had a tail. He could hear her whimpers and grunts as the Great Ape began to take over. She finally let out a scream of pain as fur began to burst out of her skin, her bones began to elongate and reshape. Her skull stretched and her ears pointed. Her eyes turned red and she began to fall from the sky, her clothing ripping as she fell. By the time she hit the ground she was no longer Princess Appura, she was fully-transformed Great Ape.

Kuda stood before her in his Ape form. They were matched for height and size. They were still for a moment before launching at each other. 'I have to do something,' Gohan thought. But right now, he was of very little help to Appura. What they needed, was a miracle.

"Kakarot?" the voice said again as Goten blinked rapidly to adjust to the light. Finally the person they had been looking for, began to take shape. He was tall like Goten's father. In fact he looked a lot like him save for a long scar down one cheek. Kakarot he kept saying. Wait, that was his father's Saiyan name, the name Vegeta always called him.

"I'm not Kakarot," he said gently, "I'm his son, Goten."

"Goten," repeated the Saiyan.

"And this is Trunks, son of Prince Vegeta," Goten said quickly, remembering what Trunks had said. The Saiyan seemed to ignore what he was saying and just stared at him. He knelt on one knee in front of the two boys, still staring at Goten. The two boys didn't know what to do as the Saiyan grabbed Goten's chin and turned his head from side to side, as if inspecting him.

"If you are Kakarot's son, that makes me your grandfather," the Saiyan said before standing, "I'm Bardock."

"Bardock," Goten repeated.

"Kakarot was sent away at birth to some planet…" Bardock started.

"Earth," Trunks interrupted, "He's still there and so is mine."

"Earth," Bardock repeated, "Yes, King Kai offered to send me there many years ago. I had no idea why."

"King Kai sent us to find you," said Trunks, "We need your help. It's Kuda…"

"Kuda?" said Bardock, his hand reaching up to touch the scar on his cheek.

"He's taken our fathers prisoner and my uncle Tarble," said Trunks, "And now he has our nephew, Kabu."

"Nephew?"

"Oh, my sister, and your older grandson, Gohan," said Trunks, "But we don't have a lot of time. Kuda's going to kill them all!" Bardock was silent for a moment before looking upwards.

"King Kai! I think it's time I paid my son a visit," he said.

Author's note: I know this doesn't fit in with Episode of Bardock, where he is transported into the very distant past and I want to apologise for that. I had the idea for this story before I knew about it and because I really wanted to include Bardock in this, I kept some of the details i.e. Planet Plant and his big battle with whatshisname, Chill was it? Anyway, thanks for reading!