Chapter 7

What Dreams May Come

On blackened soil, fingers laced behind his head, Bardock lay amidst the ruin of Kanassa Prime. At the bottom of a crater he and his squad relaxed after conquering yet another world for Lord Frieza. The rest of his crew were laughing and celebrating their victory. Bardock lay contemplating the past.

Five years had passed since the taking of Rygal VII, and Friezas' empire had continued to grow. For his part in the affair Bardock had gained some degree on notoriety among his peers and, unbeknownst to himself, Frieza. Despite whatever fame he possessed, however, Bardock knew that he would never be accepted into the higher castes.

A veteran soldier, Bardock was born into a family of low social standing. No matter how many victories he achieved, no matter how many of his "betters" he defeated, he would always be considered a low-class peasant. It didn't matter though. He didn't fight for fame or glory, but for the pleasure of it. Their violent disposition in addition to Friezas' grooming had turned the saiyans into a cruel and intolerant people.

Coming out of his introspection, Bardock began to pick up the thread of the conversation his men were having. He heard Borgos speaking first, "…agree with you Fasha. You start to transform, and the next thing you know you're you again. You kinda remember it, but then it slips away like a dream." "Yeah, but I remember the fish-faced little bastard that gave me this." said Shugesh as he thumbed a cut under his eye.

Bardock continued to stare up at the sky as Fasha spoke, "Bardock says he remembers everything." Tora laughed, "Bardock may remember every second of every battle, but he remembers absolutely nothing of his personal life. I'll show you what I mean. Hey, Bardock! When was it that your son was born?"

Still remaining on his back he replied, "I don't remember. But, that was a long time ago." Fasha gave a brief chuckle, "You liar, when was it? Two, three days ago?" Bardock cocked his head to the side, "No, she hasn't given birth yet." Fasha gave him an are you serious? kind of look. "Yes, Bardock, she did." "Oh, and how would you know?" Tora burst out laughing, "See, I told ya so!" Slapping her hand to her forehead Fasha replied, "Because, dummy, we were all standing around when she sent you the message. You spoke to her. For the love of…do you even remember the kids name?"

"Nope."

"You named him!"

"Did I? Must be good then."

All the others were rolling with laughter. Fasha sat both frustrated and astonished by his willful ignorance. "Well anyway, you aughta go see the kid. You aught to have plenty of time. Who knows when our next mission's gonna be." At these word Bardock sat up, his voice harsh, "Go see him? What for? You know as well as I do he'll be put into the harvest program. Toss him in a pod, pump him full of drugs to grow him up quick, have a computer fill his head with Friezas' bullshit. He'll blow the hell out of some poor bunch of bastards like a good little drone, but he won't be a saiyan."

The others averted their eyes as an uncomfortable silence filled the air. Clearing his throat, Shugesh looked around saying, "Speaking of Frieza, why are we here? I mean, what does he want with this dump anyway? Is he out of his tiny little mind?" Happy for the change in subject Bardock answered, "Yeah, but there's a method to his madness. His scouts picked up an unusual energy emanating from the planet, and they say the inhabitants are telepathic. Y'know, read minds, see the future, pick winning lottery numbers, that kinda shit. He thinks the energy and the locals' ability are related. In short, he wants to be able to get into other peoples' heads. Paranoid little freak."

Borgos whistled, "…Now that's a scary thought. Frieza poking' around inside your head." "Well, at least youdon't have to worry about him finding anything in your head." Tora jabbed. Everyone laughed as Bardock got up and dusted himself off. He turned to walk away when Tora asked him where he was going. Bardock shouted over his shoulder "Gotta take a piss." as he made his way over to a distant pile of rubble.

Stepping up to the mound, but before he could relieve himself, one of the surviving inhabitants emerged from the debris and grabbed his head. The creatures gaze seemed to hold him in place. His muscles froze, time felt as though it had stopped, and the feeling of groping tendrils writhing through his consciousness took hold. To his eyes all the world lost it's color, there was no sound. Only the thing before him existed.

Vaguely amphibian, but totally alien, with webbed hands, a scaly hide, sharp, dagger-like teeth, and aquamarine eyes, the creature held him firm. Suddenly Bardock heard the aliens' croaking voice hissing in his mind. At first he only heard what must have been it's native tongue, but soon the foreign sounds were echoed by Bardocks' own language.

You have come here at the behest of your master to seek the gift of foresight and to see into the minds of others. It is my wish that you could have heard the despair of my brethren as you and yours slaughtered them.

Images flashed in Bardocks mind, glimpses of the creatures' sights and thoughts in rapid succession. An endless ocean, a sunrise, more of it's people, a full moon, flames, death, and the transformed saiyans towering above. These and other things Bardock saw, and he felt crushing anguish like he had never endured before. He returned to the present and again the creatures' voice echoed.

The one who seeks our power will never obtain it, but I have given it to you as a gift Bardock. So that you too might see the horror of your end, just as my people had to. You needn't wait long, the sins of your kind shall be paid for in full.

With these final words the aliens' eyes went lifeless and gray, just as Tora and the others ripped Bardock from the creatures' grip and utterly destroyed it. Standing shakily for a moment Bardock asked in slurred speech, "What took you guys so long, taking a nap?" The others looked at each other confused. Tora looked into his friends' eyes, "What are you talking about? That creep only had you for a second. Are you okay?" Bardock brushed him aside saying, "Yeah I'm fine." A moment later he fell to the ground unconscious.

Bardock found himself alone on an unfamiliar world. All about him were the signs of a recent battle. Buildings lay in ruins, towers of smoke rose in the distance, and the stench of burning flesh hung in the air as charred bodies lay burning in the embers. Confused, he looked around. Where is this, and how did I get here? His scouter alerted him to the presence of several formidable powers to the south; he took to the air and made for the source of the reading.

Closing in he noticed lights flashing on the horizon, just as several of the powers he detected earlier faded from his display. Someone's having a hell of a fight, sounds like fun. Nearing his objective he descended, landing roughly half a kilometer from the remaining powers. As he walked a feeling of dread began to grow, although he couldn't explain why.

Four bodies were sprawled out on the ground ahead and a sickly feeling churned his stomach. The sound of laughter stopped him before he could get close enough to identify the bodies. Through a plume of smoke nearby were four of the energies he'd picked up earlier, and they soon resolved into shadowy figures. Without reason he lunged at the shapes, and suddenly the scene changed.

No longer on the alien world, but in a medical facility, he heard the sound of an infant bawling. He wandered the halls searching for the child, but he never seemed to get any closer. When he tried to ask for help from the people around him, they grew angry and blamed him for the noise, demanding that he make it stop. He screamed and ahain he was in a different place.

What the hell is going on? What is this? He now stood before King Vegeta, then outside, then in the air, mayhem everywhere. Finally he saw his home world from orbit, surrounded by warships, a pair of gleaming red eyes filled with malevolent glee, again the infant wailed, the planet erupted, and the words of the creature from Kanassa Prime echoed in his mind once more. "The sins of your kind shall be paid for in full."

Bardocks' eyes snapped open and he found himself immersed in liquid. Reaching out, his hands touched glass. There was something on his face. He thrashed around, disoriented and panicked. Grates opened in the bottom of the chamber he was in and the liquid drained. There were two figures on the other side of the glass, their voices muffled.

Bardock backed against the rear of the chamber as the glass swung upward. The two figures came into focus, they were races familiar to Bardock, and were dressed all in white. Understanding dawned, and the saiyan relaxed. He was in a hospital. It was obvious that he was in a recovery tank, though he was unsure why that was. I don't remember getting injured. But…something did happen…

Removing the respirator mask and various electrodes, Bardock emerged from the tank.

"That was some dream you were having." said one of the doctors. Bardock looked at the man and asked, "Why am I here?"

"You lapsed into a coma on your last mission, though I can't figure out why."

The second alien spoke, "Your team said you were assaulted by one the inhabitants of Kanassa, but you weren't hurt physically and we couldn't find any trace of toxins in your system."

"Where am I, and where are they?" Bardock demanded.

"You are on Vegeta. They were here yesterday, said something about an important mission. Wanted to see if you were awake yet." replied the first doctor.

"Awake yet. How long have I been here?"

"Twenty-three days."

"What? I gotta get out of here. Did they say where they were going?"

"No, but I imagine you could find out at the docks."

"Hang on a second," said the other doctor "If you're thinking of going that's a bad idea. You've been exhibiting unusual activity in your occipital lobe. There's no way to tell whether or not you'll relapse, or what could trigger one."

"Gotta die of somethin' doc."

Bardock dressed and made his way out into the corridor. En route to the exit he heard a sound that stopped him in his tracks, a baby crying. That's the cry I heard in my dream. Rushing to the sound he found the infant, the small placard on it's crib read "Kakarot".

Kakarot? My son? But, what has he got to do with my dream? I've never seen him before today.

Raising his hand, he activated his scouter to get a reading on the childs' power. Only one, humph. I thought maybe you were special, but you're not even average. Without warning another flash of unfamiliar sights came to Bardock. Kakarot in a pod, a small blue world, the boy training with an old man, and then locked in combat with a tall green alien. Am I hallucinating? What the hell is wrong with me? Bardock turned aside and strode away quickly.

Making his way to the docks, Bardock accessed his squads departure log. An insurrection on Torjan III huh? And they went with one of Friezas' elite squads? Well well, looks like we're finally getting the respect we deserve. Hell, if I hurry I might not miss out on all the fireworks!

Without delay Bardock ran to find a ship, and pursue his teammates.