I'm back! I forgot that you have to actually work during an internship. Crazy, right? Anyway, here's the chapter. Enjoy! (if you didn't, I'm very sorry.)

For Bardock, death was a fact of life. He's personally put an end to thousands of lives, and has contributed to the genocide or subjugation of entire species as an attack dog for the Planet Trade Organization. His line of work also meant that he's become intimately familiar with the mortality of his comrades and friends. People died, and no Saiyan died of old age.

If they were his enemies, Bardock found pleasure in their deaths. If they were his comrades, Bardock would honor their memory in the only way that a Saiyan could, by killing the thing that killed them. He couldn't offer that same honor to Gine, however. Even if he could, Bardock wasn't sure that Gine would find true satisfaction in the death of Frieza. She was too different from the other Saiyans to appreciate the gesture of friendship that was murder. No, if she could ask one thing of Bardock now, it would be to help Gohan against the Androids. To ensure a safe future for her grandson.

I'll do what I can, Gine.

Bardock left the bedroom with renewed purpose. Saiyans didn't grieve for long, and he knew Gine wouldn't have wanted him to wallow anyway. Only one thing was on his mind now, and that was finding Gohan. Or that would have been, if not for the delicious smell that was caressing his nostrils. Bardock's stomach roared. He followed the smell to the end of the hallway. Exiting the hallway, he found himself in a kitchen, where Chi-chi was stirring something in a pot. His mouth began to water.

For a second, Bardock wondered how to approach the woman. Her back was to him, and it seemed like she hadn't noticed him yet. It was clear from their previous interaction that she didn't know who he was, just that he bore a strong resemblance to her husband. So, his first course of action should be to introduce himself. The next step, obviously, would be to get a taste of whatever was in that pot. Then, he would find Gohan. Initiate step one.

A deep rumbling growl came from Bardock's stomach, breaking the silence. Chi-chi continued stirring, but Bardock didn't miss the subtle tensing of her shoulders. He cleared his throat.

There's no point dancing around this.

"My name is Bardock, and I'm Goku's father," Bardock plainly stated.

The wooden handle of the stirring implement cracked in Chi-chi's hand.

"What!?" Chi-chi whirled to face Bardock, cracked ladle in hand, flinging delicious smelling droplets across the kitchen.

"My name is Bardock," Bardock slowly said. "And I am the father of Son Goku." He scratched the back of his head as he watched Chi-chi'si shocked expression morph into a scrutinizing glare.

Chi-chi tossed the broken ladle onto the counter behind her with a huff, dropping the glare and pinching the bridge of her nose.

"I… I heard you the first time," Chi-chi said with a sigh. "That's not the problem here. Do you have any idea how crazy that sounds? No. You know what? When it came to Goku, this was about what I could expect."

"Goku had to come from somewhere," Bardock pointed out.

Chi-chi fixed him with a flat stare, then sighed again, heavier this time.

"I don't even know what I was expecting," Chi-chi began. "I think I was hoping that Goku actually came back. It wouldn't have been the first time he pulled something like this, you know."

Bardock nodded along.

"When I was treating you, it was obvious that you and him were different people. You two have the same face, but your physique was just different enough to make me suspicious. Not to mention the scars and tail. Still, I think I had some hope that you were Goku, until you woke up."

"Sorry."

Chi-chi chuckled, some of the tension leaving her shoulders. "Sorry for what? Being alive? It's fine, I'd rather you live than have false hope that my husband is still alive."

"Right," Bardock replied, glancing at the pot behind her.

Chi-chi glanced behind her, then chuckled again. "You Saiyans really are all alike. Go take a seat at the table, and I'll get you a bowl. You can tell me how you got here while we eat."

/-/

Gohan burst through a cloud, the world beneath him a blur as he sped towards, and beyond the horizon. He closed his eyes, extending his senses to their limit, but found nothing of note. He could feel Trunks's suppressed energy on the other side of the planet. Somewhere to the west, he could feel two sources of energy far higher than the average human. Probably Yajirobe and Master Roshi. To the east, far closer than those two, was another smaller, but still large source of energy. More familiar than the previous two. His mother.

Gohan opened his eyes and swallowed, the air suddenly tasted bitter.

He began to veer towards the west, until like a switch being flipped, he could sense Bardock's energy, and it was to the east.

You have got to be kidding me.

Gohan stopped, hanging in the air as he faced the direction where Bardock was supposed to be. He could see the peaks of Mount Paozu in the distance. Once more, he closed his eyes, and focused in that direction. The two largest energy sources in the area were right next to each other.

"How does he fly halfway across the planet, and just end up at my mom's house," Gohan grumbled as he ran a hand through his hair.

He fidgeted with the hem of his shirt, slowly rotating himself through the air.

"Alright Gohan, what are we doing?"

/-/

Bardock set his comically large bowl on the table after draining it of its contents for the third time. His ribs and lungs screamed as he took a satisfied breath, but how could he not? The food was just too good!

"Thank you for the food."

Chi-chi smiled at Bardock as she set her spoon down.

"I should be thanking you. It's been a while since I've gotten to share a meal with someone else."

Bardock quirked his eyebrows at that.

"What about Gohan?"

Chi-chi's smile immediately dropped.

Whoops.

"Gohan and I don't talk anymore," Chi-chi said, her voice wavering. "It sounds like you've met him though. Is he doing alright?"

Chi-chi took another bite of her soup.

Up until this point, the two of them had covered Bardock's trip to the future, and his life leading up to that point. She didn't know how much time he had spent in the future, or who he'd met. Bardock recalled Gohan's missing arm.

"Yeah, he's alright," Bardock replied as his hand lightly caressed his sore ribs. "You raised a strong boy, you should be proud."

Chi-chi chuckled dryly, then muttered, "Yeah… lucky."

Bardock hummed as he leaned back in his chair, the two settling into a silence. That wasn't the reaction he was expecting. Then again, Trunks, and even Gohan from the little he saw of him, were very different from the Saiyans that he knew. It would make sense that their parents had a hand in their different demeanor. He couldn't blame Chi-chi, she was a native of this planet.

He'll just have to correct her shortcomings as a parent of a Saiyan.

The silence lasted for a few more moments, until three sharp knocks broke it. Bardock was broken out of his thoughts, and directed his attention to the door.

"Were you expecting anyone?" Bardock hunched forward, resting his elbows on his legs.

"Nope," Chi-chi replied as she began to make her way to the door. "Aside from half-dead Saiyans dropping from the sky, visitors are rare."

Bardock snorted in response, then got up to peer over Chi-chi's shoulder as she opened the door. The visitor was unexpectedly, someone who Bardock knew.

Trunks?

"H-hi Ms. Chi-chi, how's your day going?" Trunks fidgeted with the hem of his Capsule Corp shirt as his eyes stayed locked onto the doorframe.

"Trunks? What are you doing here?" asked Chi-chi.

Bardock wanted to know that too.

"Well, um… I was um… in the area, and sensed a large energy near you, so I just wanted to see if you were okay," Trunks stammered before yanking his eyes from the doorframe to meet Bardock's. "Oh, hi Bardock! Didn't see you there."

Sure you didn't.

Bardock didn't know why Trunks was here, but it was obvious to him that the story about a large energy being in the area was full of crap. The kid didn't even have a scouter, so how could he have known that there was something strong in the area?

"Trunks." Bardock nodded at the younger Saiyan. "Just tell us why you're actually here. No point in wasting everyone's time."

Trunks flinched, a slight blush dusting his cheeks. "Alright, fine. I was sent to check on you, and lead you back to mom's if you wanted to come back."

Bardock approached the doorway, scooting past Chi-chi so that he was closer to the boy.

"You were sent to check on me? Why not Gohan?"

Trunks's eyes returned to the door frame. "Gohan's… busy…"

"Too busy to check on the guy he buried in a mountain?" Bardock asked as he shoved past Trunks, wincing slightly as the sun assaulted his eyes. "Is he nearby? Gohan! Gohan! Get down here you coward!"

Bardock's chest screamed with each shout, but he kept going.

Trunks called out, "Bardock, I don't think that's-."

"Can it Trunks, I know he's out here," Bardock replied.

Bardock didn't actually know for sure.

A few shouts later, a figure began to descend from the sky. As he got closer, Bardock took note of the icy expression on his grandson's face, the stiffness in his shoulders. Great. Chi-chi gasped.

Gohan touched down in front of Bardock, meeting his eyes, but not saying anything. A smile tore its way across Bardock's face as he stalked towards the half-Saiyan.

Then, he smashed his fist into Gohan's face.

So that happened. I also just wanna make it clear that Bardock is the one that thinks Gohan needs fixed, and stuff like that. I like Gohan being a well rounded human being, and while super giga chad Saiyan Gohan is cool sometimes, I am an overall bigger fan of the Gohan that isn't obsessed with fighting. Bardock might disagree with me, but he's not real. Future Gohan probably needs a kick in the ass though.

I have no ETA for the next chapter. I'm thinking of ditching the challenge part of this, and just writing this as a normal project. It was neat, and got me motivated to do some writing, but at this point, I think I'd benefit more from just building on a chapter every few days, instead of going crazy and/or stupid for 90 minute sessions. I ignored the challenge for this chapter, and the writing experience was way better.