Dragon Ball Z: Dynasty

Written by: Feraligreater328 and StevenBodner

Chapter 17: Changes Within

Within the Grand Elder Guru's Home…

Bardock grunted as Nail shoved past him on the way into Grand Elder Guru's house. He glared at the back of Nail's head the rest of the way. As they ascended to the second floor of the home, Bardock expressed his annoyance. "Why the hell did I have to wait to enter this dingy little hovel again?"

Nail responded. "Still your vulgar tongue. You are about to be in the presence of the Grand Elder of Planet Namek, the most venerable of Namekians. I will not have you negatively affect his health."

The two warriors stepped off of the lift to the second floor and Nail turned around. "Lord Guru, another visitor has come to seek an audience with you."

Bardock turned and was immediately caught off guard. He had seen the Grand Elder in his visions, but seeing the massive Namekian in person was a much different matter. Grand Elder Guru was towering at easily 20 feet tall, able to look down on all his guests even while sitting, and his every breath was audible as he took them in.

The Grand Elder smiled at his latest guest. "Welcome to-"

Bardock quickly interrupted. "Cut the bullshit. I don't have time for any 'ancient wisdom' you have to offer. I'm just here to get the Dragon Ball and get it into hiding so that Frieza doesn't gain any more advantages."

The older Saiyan stuck out his hand. "Just give it to me so I can be on my way."

Guru's smile faded and he sighed. "Such a troubled mindset..."

Bardock cocked his head. "What?"

Guru spoke again. "You have such a clouded mind. Your body language is tense and your thoughts are clearly troubled..."

Bardock sneered, annoyed at the admittedly true accusation. "Piss off with that. My mind is fine. Just give me the Dragon Ball before Frieza finds you here!"

The older Namekian frowned at Bardock and rested in his chair. "You will not be receiving a thing until you are willing to open your mind and your heart..."

Bardock shot an annoyed glare at the massive, old Namekian. Guru remained stone-faced. The Saiyan stared down the old man, his temper slowly bubbling underneath his cooler demeanor. The older Saiyan gripped his fist tight enough that his knuckles went pale, but Guru did not budge. Finally, with a sigh, he spoke. "Why in the hell are Gohan and Krillin suddenly so much stronger than when we arrived here? What did you do?"

Guru smiled once more, beckoning Bardock to come closer. "Please, join me and I will explain everything."

The aged Namekian motioned to the open space next to his chair. "Please make yourself comfortable, my child."

Bardock growled under his breath and stepped over to Grand Elder Guru's chair. He roughly sat down and cringed as the wizened Namekian smiled down on him. "Now, let us start from the beginning..."

Meanwhile, at Frieza's Ship…

Frieza reacted with droll surprise as Zarbon stepped into the bridge of the ship with his surprise guest in tow. "Ohohohoho! My oh my... what is Vegeta doing here?"

Zarbon tossed the unconscious and thoroughly beaten prince onto the ground. "Yes. From the looks of things, he is responsible for both the death of Dodoria and our inability to open communication channels with Planet #79. The little brat appears to have caught the traitor bug."

Frieza shrugged. "Nothing irreplaceable has been lost, Zarbon. And I must admit that I am quite happy to see Vegeta has shown up so punctually for his own torture..."

The sadistic emperor raised his tail into the air and whipped it down onto Vegeta's ribs. The prince let loose a dire gasp and Frieza smiled. "Lovely stuff~"

Zarbon watched as Frieza whipped Vegeta several more times with his tail. He remained silent as his master had his fun.

After a few minutes, Frieza chuckled. "So, why do you suppose Vegeta has jumped headfirst into the lion's den, Zarbon? It must be for the Dragon Balls, yes?"

Zarbon glanced away from his master. He mulled the information around in his head and tried to decide how best to phrase what he knew. Frieza's smile faded. "Zarbon, is something the matter?"

The posh attendant sighed. "L-Lord Frieza... Vegeta did mention one other name being on this planet as well. Although, I am unsure of how this can be true..."

Frieza sneered. "Well, Zarbon, come now! Don't keep me waiting for too long. I tend to get violent when I get bored of waiting..."

Zarbon flinched in fear and then immediately blurted out the info. "According to Vegeta, the Low-Class Saiyan Bardock is alive and scurrying around Planet Namek as well!"

The lieutenant tensed up and waited for some form of retribution. But... it never came. The lieutenant cracked his eyes open to see his master standing there, with the most utterly stunned look on his face. It was rare to see Frieza so silently contemplative, but his face showed no fear. The emperor instead looked quite serious.

Zarbon mumbled in a low voice. "L-Lord Frieza...?"

Frieza glared down at Vegeta and then up at Zarbon. "Place Vegeta into a healing chamber at once. He needs to be fully healed and cognizant for the horrific interrogation that awaits him."

Zarbon very quickly read the tone of his master's voice. He swallowed a lump in his throat and nodded. "By your command, Lord Frieza."

Then he grabbed Vegeta by the collar of his busted armor and lifted the prince into the air. They both quickly exited the room as Frieza seethed. The emperor then immediately climbed back into his hover chair and flew it back to the viewing screen. "You! Orange one!"

Orlen, the orange soldier, quickly snapped into attention. "S-Sir?!"

Frieza snapped his fingers. "Bring me a glass of wine at once!"

Orlen saluted and quickly ran out of the room. "By your command, Lord Frieza!"

And then, Frieza snapped at the other soldier. "You!"

Namole also very quickly saluted. "Yes, My Liege?!"

Frieza sneered. "Open a Priority One channel of communication. I must speak to Captain Ginyu immediately."

Back at Guru's House…

Bardock was very quickly tiring of his current situation. For the past hour... no, 2 HOURS... the ancient, seemingly senile Namekian had just rambled on. In this slog of words and gesticulations, Guru told Bardock the entire history of Namek from the times before the Great Cataclysm to modern history. He told him of the rich history behind Ajisa farming and of just what the Dragon Balls represented within the Namekian spirit.

Guru continued. "The orbs represent hope... a promise made to the Namekian people by a long-forgotten friend... they are meant to be a boon to this universe passed down from on high..."

Bardock impatiently tapped his finger against his cheek scar and glared over at Gohan and Krillin. His two partners looked just as confused as he did. Apparently, the old man hadn't gone through this spiel with them. Meanwhile, Nail and Dende simply stood to the side and listened to their grand elder speak, seemingly hanging on to his every word.

As Guru droned on, a vein popped out of Bardock's head. His temper was frothing as the old man continued. The Saiyan had tried to keep cool for the sake of tact and for the sake of the mission on Namek as a whole, but he had his limits. Finally, Guru finished talking about the Dragon Balls... only to start droning on about life within the Namekian seas. "One of the biggest contributors to the lively Namekian seas are our local Namekian crabs. They create a very special foam that we use to nourish Ajisa crops and-"

Finally, Bardock erupted. "GODDAMMIT! WHAT IS THE POINT OF ALL OF THIS?!"

Bardock stood and shot a death glare at Guru, summoning a ki charge into his hand. "I swear... you old, rambling bastard... ENOUGH WASTING MY TIME! GIVE ME THE GODDAMNED DRAGON BALL OR I'LL POP YOU LIKE THE OVERGROWN, GREEN BALLOON YOU ARE!"

Nail was quick to react, immediately taking an aggressive stance. Dende, meanwhile, cowered over to Gohan and Krillin for protection. Nail began to approach Bardock. "You will lower your hand at once or-"

But to everyone's surprise, Guru waved his bodyguard off. "Be calm, Nail..."

Nail glanced over to Guru in confusion. The grand elder gave a kind smile. "Please forgive my rambling and misdirection. I simply wished to view the man underneath the shell, so to speak..."

Bardock was also quite confused, but Guru was quick to explain. "I had the feeling that you were repressing yourself for this meeting. Keeping your more natural instincts quiet for the sake of the mission you are currently on. I simply wanted to see the real person hiding under that persona."

Bardock was still angry and annoyed. "You wasted my time because you wanted me to start yelling?!"

Guru smiled. "You might see it that way, yes..."

The older Saiyan gripped his fist tight, clearly livid. But Guru did not discourage this. Instead, he motioned for Bardock to approach him once more. The Saiyan did and the Grand Elder smiled. "I would like to see your story, if you don't mind. May I have a look at your mind?"

Bardock sneered and crossed his arms. "I don't give a damn. Just get this over with so I can take the Dragon Ball and go!"

Nail remained cautious, staring a hole through Bardock as Guru placed a hand onto the Saiyan's head. Gohan, Krillin, and Dende all watched on as well. Bardock closed his eyes and the grand elder sighed. And then, Guru entered Bardock's mind.

Back at Frieza's Ship, the Medical Bay…

Zarbon stiffly stood next to Appule as they both watched Vegeta heal. The lieutenant was nervously tapping his foot, watching the healing fluid bubble around the injured prince. Zarbon turned to Appule and snapped. "Appule! Why in the hell is this taking so long?! He should have been healed well before now! Lord Frieza's calm will only last so long before he starts taking his mood out on us!"

Appule shrugged. The technician walked up to the healing chamber and pressed a few buttons on the readout monitor. "Vegeta seems like he might be resisting the healing process. Maybe... Lord Frieza is inspiring so much fear that he's trying to prolong his stay in the pod?"

He stepped back and shot Zarbon a sideways glance, mumbling under his breath. "Or... ya know... it could be that a certain overzealous suck-up took it too far when he tried to snap Vegeta in half..."

Zarbon sneered at Appule. "What did you say to me, cretin?!"

Appule rolled his eyes and shrugged. Zarbon snarled. "Expedite this process as quickly as possible! I demand results, Appule!"

Zarbon stormed out of the room and Appule sighed. "Whatever man. My ass isn't the one on the line here. I'm gonna live a long, happy life by not pissing off Lord Frieza..."

The tank technician took back to his easy chair, pulling out his medical tablet and immediately pulling up his favorite book. As Appule read, he was totally unaware of the smirk underneath Vegeta's breathing mask.

Meanwhile, on the ship's bridge…

Frieza stared out at the Namekian wasteland, deep in thought. He held out his empty wine glass and allowed Orlen to pour him another. He was not paying attention to the groveling that came along with it. Frieza was too deep in thought for that. It... It couldn't be him, could it? He killed that monkey... the one monkey other than King Vegeta III that he had even bothered to remember killing.

Frieza swirled his wine and stared into the ripples he was making before bothering to take a sip. Captain Ginyu would be here in the equivalent of 2 days. Surely, he would help solve all of this business. With Scouters in tow and his men ready, Frieza relaxed a bit. The captain never let him down and that settled the emperor's stomach. But even with the grand reassurance of Ginyu, Frieza was still quite uneasy at Bardock's name suddenly being relevant again.

Calmly, Frieza turned to Orlen. "Forgive me. I know I have used it before, but what is your name again?"

Orlen immediately tensed up. "P-Private Orlen, sir!"

Frieza nodded. "Orlen..."

The emperor smiled. "Tell me Orlen, would you like to hear a fable from my homeworld?"

Orlen was immediately confused. But he took no time to say yes, not wanting to offend his master. "Yes sir, Lord Frieza! I happily accept this gracious offer!"

Frieza nodded and took a sip of wine. And then, he began. "Father used to tell a tale to scare my brother and I in our youth. It was the fable of the valiant Lord Chilled. You see, Lord Chilled was the first to try and expand the empire out from our solar system. He conquered all in his path and took our species from a mere tall tale to an absolute force. He made our name one to be feared by lesser men..."

Sitting at his console, Private Namole chimed in. Attempting to suck-up, he made his comment. "Lord Chilled sounds almost as amazing as you, Lord Frieza!"

Offhandedly, Frieza reached over and shot five rapid Death Beams into Namole's chest. The soldier sputtered and fell over. As he struggled not to bleed-out, Frieza sighed. "I do detest rude people who speak when not spoken to..."

Frieza cleared his throat and continued. "Lord Chilled continued his great conquest until the fateful day he came across a lone, deserted planet. Thinking he could make an anchor from which he could launch more efficient invasions, Lord Chilled landed. However... the planet in question contained one, sentient lifeform. A single, glowing warrior. Lord Chilled, as was normal, demanded that this creature bow to him... and yet it refused."

He took a deep sip of his wine and continued. "Lord Chilled immediately attempted to kill the impudent fool, but was instead assailed. From teller to teller of the resulting battle, the length differs... but my father reckons that it only lasted moments. Regardless, it ended with Lord Chilled being struck down."

Orlen gasped and Frieza nodded, a small smirk on his face. "Indeed. I used to gasp in just the same way. It is incomprehensible that one of our own could be beaten so quickly and by a single foe in direct combat. And yet, it was so. Lord Chilled's loyal subjects quickly gathered his broken body and carried him away. But as they fled, the warrior apparently smirked and told them to spread word of his name: Yamoshi, the God of Super Saiyans!"

Frieza sighed and took yet another sip. "And then... he vanished. Lord Chilled, even in his death throes was taken aback by this. He was carried to our homeworld where his last writs were given. On his death-bed, the mighty and all-conquering lord demanded that all of his 40 children were gathered. He told each of his heirs the tale and ordered that each of their descendants be informed of these 'Super Saiyans'. And then he died."

Frieza finished the wine and tossed the glass aside. Hearing it shatter into pieces helped to steady his thoughts.. "And so that story was passed down. Down at least 20 generations from descendant-to-descendant and eventually onto my father. And even after his murdering of the other bloodlines in order to secure his own power, he still passed the tale down to us..."

Orlen remained silent, wondering to himself why the invincible Lord Frieza would be scared by such a meaningless fable. But, in his thoughts, he was caught off-guard by Frieza suddenly addressing him directly. "So, Orlen, what do you make of that tale?"

In his shock, Orlen blurted out the stupidest response imaginable. "I... uh... well... with all of the Saiyans having died so easily, only a complete idiot would believe in something that stupid!"

Frieza's smile immediately faded. Before Orlen could even begin to correct himself, Frieza obliterated him with a massive Death Wave. The screaming, dying minion collided with the door to the bridge and both himself and the door exploded outward.

Just outside, the approaching Zarbon's face was blue. He stood over Orlen's fried corpse, breathing heavily. He was shocked even more when Frieza called out to him. "Zarbon! Vegeta had better be in speaking condition very, very soon!"

A lump swelled in Zarbon's throat. Now, the lieutenant was truly terrified for his life.

Within Bardock's Mind…

Guru and Bardock both rocketed through the tumultuous storm that was Bardock's head. It took some effort, but Guru was searching through each and every vision that Bardock had received regarding Planet Namek. The ancient Namekian was absolutely fascinated to see what Bardock had been blessed with so long ago.

Bardock, meanwhile, was quite uncomfortable with all of this. He was no fool, but he had never been one for mental endeavors. He was allowing the ancient Namekian to do as he pleased, but only to move things along.

The mental swim continued until, finally, Guru came upon the ultimate vision. Once more, the golden being stood in front of Bardock. He did as he always did, staring out in awe at the flickering wisp of a person. Guru, however, slowly reached out. The golden being glared at him and briefly disappeared before coming back as three. These three golden warriors roared and their energy overwhelmed Guru and Bardock at once.

At Guru's House…

Guru and Bardock both snapped back into reality. Bardock was breathing hard, falling to his ass and rubbing his face. Again with that metallic stench. Guru, while clearly worn, was superbly calm. After a moment, allowing both of them to collect themselves, Guru spoke. "I have seen the truth of Namek's situation and I have come to a conclusion regarding what must be done..."

Bardock shakily stood back up, groaning with a headache. And suddenly, Guru reached down again and squeezed a tight grip onto Bardock's head. After a moment, the ancient Namekian reached deep into Bardock and pulled out all of the Saiyan's true, untapped potential. Bardock gasped and quickly slapped Guru's invading hand away. "What the hell did you just do?!"

Instead of answering, Guru turned to Nail and Dende and spoke to his children. "Nail and Dende, you will accompany our visitors in order to protect the two Dragon Balls within their possession, as well as your brothers from the Four-Star village."

Krillin, suddenly pumped, immediately spoke up. "You mean... you're going to give us the Dragon Ball?!"

Guru kindly smiled and nodded. He slowly reached up and grabbed the One-Star Dragon Ball resting above him, handing it down to Krillin. As Krillin, Gohan, and Dende celebrated, Nail turned to the Grand Elder. "Lord Guru! I beg you to reconsider. With your declining health and the dangers that currently infest our planet-"

The Grand Elder broke into a coughing fit. After that subsided, he stared down at his strongest child. "Nail... I am but an old man who has not much longer left, as is the natural way of things. Meanwhile, your less powerful and more lively brothers are huddled into a cave, cold and terrified, away from the warmth of Namek's three suns. Surely, you must be able to see what must be done... for our people..."

Guru coughed more and more as Nail watched on. For the first time, the warrior showed some vulnerability. "But, sir..."

Guru smiled kindly. "Nail... it would bring peace to my heart to know you were there..."

Nail closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He let it out through his nose and spoke. "If it is what you wish, Lord Guru, I will happily comply with your desires."

The Grand Elder smiled and turned his attention to the celebrating children. Krillin and Dende continued to happily dance with one another. Gohan, meanwhile, carried the celebration across the room. He walked up to his grandfather with a massive smile. "Grandpa Bardock! We did it, we got another Dragon Ball!"

Bardock, however, was quite shaken. The older Saiyan looked down at his quivering hands and felt the new power surging from him. But he wasn't happy to feel this power. As Gohan tried to convince him to celebrate alongside them, Bardock roughly shoved his grandchild aside.

He marched past the fallen Gohan and, once directly in front of Guru, Bardock shouted at the grand elder. "W-Why?! Why did you do that?! Y-You were in my head! You saw what I've done with my life..."

Bardock gripped his fists, thoroughly enraged. "After everything that you saw, why in the hell would you just give me power like that?! Huh?!"

Grand Elder Guru sighed. "I have given you nothing, my child. I have simply spurred what was within you into surfacing."

Gohan slowly stood and he and Krillin both approached Bardock, intending to calm him down. But before either of them could speak, Bardock snapped. "Cut that 'my child' bullshit! I'm not fucking kidding around! You saw into my memories! You know that, for my entire life, I've been nothing but a rotten, remorseless bastard! I would have killed you and your entire race over these goddamned Dragon Balls if I had the choice! And yet you give me more power?! What if I turned on everyone?! What if I decided to kill that looming bastard behind me and rip your goddamn head off just for fun?!"

Bardock was seething. "Why would you make a person like me... who you owe NOTHING to... why would you just make me stronger like that...?!"

After a moment, Guru solemnly nodded. "Yes. I saw all of that. Since your birth, your life has been filled with nothing but hardships and evil deeds. And having gazed into your heart, I am quite aware that you carry no real guilt for what you have done. All of these experiences combined have convinced you that life is truly about survival of the fittest and that you are alone in your journey from beginning to end..."

Bardock snarled. "Exactly! So-"

Guru held up his hand. "But through it all, you were always in your own way a man of integrity. You faced your foes with pride. You were loyal to those you cared for, always willing to risk your own life for them. And through it all, meeting your extended family recently has changed something in you. You have been presented with complex desires. Ones that were long thought unattainable by you. The concepts of love and acceptance and a mundane life have propped up from the void you faced and they are offering you a certain quality of life you had never considered before."

Bardock flinched, his hateful glare intensifying. Guru concluded. "Your life is radically changing. And as a result, you are quietly changing within. And it is quite obvious how much you loathe these changes. You can feel them and, as much as you would like to, you cannot resist their pull. You, Bardock, are slowly becoming a better person against your will and every instinct that you have had instilled in your life sincerely despises it."

As Guru finished speaking, Bardock screamed at the top of his lungs as the ancient Namekian. "Damn brainwasher! How dare you try and manipulate my mind like that! I'll kill you!"

And then, before the older Saiyan could act on his threat, Gohan spoke up. "I agree with Grand Elder Guru..."

Bardock turned his enraged glare to Gohan. The young boy stared up at his grandfather and spoke again. "You're a rough person. But... looking past that, I can see the spark of a good man inside of you. You're like Daddy, just angrier."

The older Saiyan's fist was shaking. He looked into Gohan's eyes and saw within them a level of faith that he had only ever seen from Gine and his old squad. And one other person whose memory made Bardock mind feel aflame. Gohan stared back at his grandfather, man-to-man, and waited for him to respond. As silence filled the room, Guru spoke once more. "I apologize for speaking too much. Would you perhaps forgive a rambling old man on his last days?"

After a moment, Bardock let loose a shaky sigh. He let his arm flop to his side. Wordlessly, he turned his back to Guru and walked away. The sound of the door could be heard opening and closing and then, Bardock was gone.

With that situation defused, Nail turned to Guru and spoke in Namekian. He asked his lord and father if he was sure that Bardock could be totally trusted.

The ancient Namekian smiled kindly in response. "Yes, Nail. That man has a fiery spirit, forced into a life of evil by circumstance and surrounding. But the first time he had a chance to do good, he used it to save his infant son. In his heart, with a second chance, he wants to see what his life can become. I am sure that, given time, Namek will be safe in his hands."

Guru had one last massive coughing fit and then he spoke to his remaining audience of four. "I wish all of you luck in the coming struggles. Care for one another and bask in the warmth of... the Namekian suns."

The four of them all nodded and bowed, thanking the Namekian Grand Elder for his wisdom. And then they were off.

The group of five took leave from Guru's home, flying as low as they could to avoid detection. Gohan, Krillin, and Dende were all ecstatic with how well the trip went, fawning over their newly acquired Dragon Ball.

Nail, meanwhile, couldn't help back glance back towards the highest peak, concerned for the Grand Elder's safety. And as for Bardock... the older Saiyan had never felt more unsure in himself. His face remained sour and stern, but Bardock had never felt less confident on this inside than he did at that moment.