"Ha! You thought it was over." - Matty B Raps

You know how after you take a hard hit, or fall, you sometimes have to walk it off? Yeah, that was me after finals. But I'm fine now. Well rested and all that jazz. I think every fifth chapter, I'll give myself a little more time to write.

Anyway, enjoy the chapter. Or don't… I'm sorry if that's the case.

East of West City, the mountains shook. The tremors intensified and relaxed sporadically, with no tell of when the change would occur. To anyone in the area, they may think that they were experiencing an earthquake. Others may believe that the mountains themselves were possessed.

In reality, the source of the tremors was a young man. Bardock could attest to that.

He floated above the mountains, his back to the night sky as he watched his black-haired grandson move his limbs at speeds that Bardock couldn't even begin to perceive.

So, this is a Super Saiyan.

Idly, he pulled at the collar of his black t-shirt as he watched his grandson continue to blur around. The clothes were not his choice. Bardock was perfectly happy with his battle armor. It was these Earth houses that were the problem. Their hallways were too tight, and the earthlings had an odd obsession of putting decorations and knick knacks in the most inconvenient places.

Naturally, some vases and picture frames fell victim to his shoulder pads.

Bulma was understanding the first time, but after the fifth accident, all bets were off.

Luckily, there was a dresser full of unused clothes in his size. Some options weren't really his style. Especially the all-yellow jersey/pants combo. What even was a "taitans?"

Bardock didn't necessarily dislike the Earth clothes. Sweatpants were especially nice. They were so easy to move around in, and they didn't cling to his legs like the assigned bottoms that Saiyans had to wear.

Suddenly, the tremors ceased, and then Gohan was staring up at the sky, at Bardock.

How'd he see me?

And then he started approaching. His previously serious expression shifted to a peaceful one as he waved at Bardock.

Shit!

Gohan had fallen unconscious not long into their initial meeting. Given the extent of his injuries, it was understandable. He had been asleep for the next week and a half. Bardock had been around to check on him, but this would be their second time actually speaking. In that timeframe, one would think that Bardock would come up with a better way to present himself to his grandson, but even now, Bardock found himself being caught flat-footed.

He was only out here now because he heard movement in the house, and went to investigate.

"Hey," Gohan stopped a few paces from Bardock, his breath slightly labored, "What bring you out here?"

Bardock glanced at Gohan's missing arm. He wasn't completely mummified in bandages, like he was during their first meeting, but his stump was still tightly wrapped.

"Just getting some air," Bardock lied. "You move well for someone that just got out of a coma."

Gohan laughed as his hand rose to scratch the back of his head. "Yeah, could you maybe keep this a secret from Bulma? She'll kill me if she finds out I already got back to training." His hand fell to his side, tightening into a fist. His expression was no longer peaceful. "I just can't sit back and do nothing while they're out there."

"The Androids?"

Gohan's eyes widened slightly, but his scowl remained. "You know about them?"

"Trunks filled me in," Bardock said. "They must be something if they put you in that state."

"They're monsters," Gohan spat. "They kill without a second thought. Cities worth of people, gone, just for their sick kicks."

Bardock suddenly found the terrain beneath him very interesting. "Yeah… monsters."

"It's why I train. So I can hold them off to let everyone escape," Gohan sighed. "That's all I can do."

What?

"Hold them off?" Bardock wasn't sure he heard him right.

"Yeah," Gohan scratched at his neck, "When I was younger, I thought I actually stood a chance, and would go at them with everything I had, but they'd just quickly beat me and go back to killing."

Bardock felt his pulse beginning to quicken. "So you just became their punching bag."

Gohan darkly chuckled, his scowl falling as his gaze rested below Bardock's feet. "Yeah, basically. I'm strong enough to grab their attention, and if I fight conservatively, I can even survive for a good bit. Even better if I piss em off enough for them to keep their attention on me after they beat me."

Bardock's hands tightened into fists. "Why are you telling me this?"

Gohan took a deep breath as he met Bardock's gaze. He didn't like what he saw.

"I'm honestly not sure. Maybe it's because you look like him. Maybe I just want to make sure you don't have any false ideas of who I am." Gohan sighed, "I'm not the strongest in the universe. I'm not the hero that will save the planet. I'm not Goku."

Don't look at me like that.

"What are you then?"

"A loser."

Bardock's fist smashed into Gohan's face, sending the half-saiyan flying into a mountain. With a scowl, the older Saiyan rocketed towards the crater, then flipped, orienting his feet first as he flew through the dust cloud, and slammed them into his grandson. A jolt went through Bardock's body as he stared down at Gohan. He didn't budge this time.

Gohan's hand wrapped around Bardock's leg, and before he knew it, he was embedded in the rock, with a boot on his chest. He gasped, his body shaking from the impact.

"What's wrong with you," Gohan bellowed as he glared at the older Saiyan.

Bardock took a second to catch his breath, meeting Gohan's gaze the entire time.

Disappointing.

Bardock grabbed Gohan's ankle, and pushed, but the pressure remained.

"You have all the power a Saiyan could ask for, and you waste it acting as a punching bag for some machines," Bardock spat. "I've never met a Saiyan who goes into battle hoping to lose. Where is your pride as a warrior?"

"My pride?" The pressure increased. "Don't give me that. I was there when Nappa and Raditz were killed. I saw Vegeta die, twice. What good did their pride do for them? I've fought the Androids over, and over, and fucking over for over a decade! In that time I've been beaten, humiliated, tortured, and thrown aside like a piece of garbage!"

Gohan panted as he glared at Bardock. Despite the glare, Bardock scoffed.

Even when he's like this, he still doesn't have the look of a Saiyan.

Gohan snapped, "What?"

"You're still alive, aren't you?"

Bardock suddenly found it very hard to breathe.

"How dare you!?"

Bardock's arms strained against the boot, but it held fast.

"You... hah… you're still alive," Bardock wheezed, "You've survived this long… and you're just going to let them win? They took everything from you… will take everything again, and you're just going to let that happen? Your friends… Your family… Your pride… Don't you want to get revenge? To win?"

The pressure lessened, slightly.

"Of course I do," Gohan sighed, "but it's not gonna happen. I'm not strong enough, and I feel like I'm reaching my limit."

Bardock internally sighed, bracing himself for the strike that is sure to follow his next words.

"If that's the case, then I'll save you the future grief, and kill Bulma and Trunks now."

The mountain below Bardock shattered, along with his ribs. He coughed, and spat out a glob of blood as he fell with the rubble, meeting Gohan's glare. And despite the pain, he found himself grinning like a mad man.

There he is.

Yikes, Bardock's a dick. I honestly don't agree with the way he went about this, but Saiyans gonna Saiyan.

Let me know if Gohan's too ooc here. My interpretation of Future Gohan is that he's held back a lot by his mentality and nature. I mean, at this point, Gohan has had no real substantial wins. As a kid he was helpless against Nappa, barely stalled against Vegeta, got nae naed by the Ginyu Force, was ultimately ineffective against Frieza, then lost against the androids for 10 years straight. It makes sense why he would see himself as a loser. He's a broken man, just trying to save as many people as he can before he dies.

Dragon Ball has put a lot of focus on mentality in fights, and how tapping into your emotions can help you overcome opponents. This was very obvious with Gohan in DBZ, but also in Super where Goku and Vegeta saw massive gains in the middle of their fights because they got worked up, or were hellbent on surpassing their limits. Then there is also Bardock, who legit got multiple times stronger cause he really wanted to win against Gas, someone who thought no Saiyan could beat him. I could also go into my experiences as an athlete, and how my mentality has affected my own performance, but these notes are getting rambly, I apologize.

TLDR: Mentality is everything.

Anyway, sorry for the lull in updates. Finals sucked, then I relaxed too hard and lost all motivation to do anything. I'm back-ish though, let's see how long I can ride this wave for.

Happy holidays, and thanks for reading.