[To Shadowwriter01: First off, thank you! Secondly, the Kaioken x25, you'll be glad to know, was a one-off trick Goku tried. He did it just for the sake of testing to see if his body could handle it after the Tournament of Power and Broly. It didn't help him out too much, though, huh? Don't worry, I'll be sure not to dampen its value.]

[Author's note before you read: Some fanfics sure are crazy with their multipliers and their power scaling. Mine's hopefully gonna come across as a more reasonable and slower journey to greater strength. Let it be known, it won't be a walk in the park. Earth in the Dragon Ball series is much more dangerous than it has any right to be, haha!]

Chapter 15: New Frontiers

Trunks returned to Capsule Corp the morning after, and Chichi insisted that Bardock come over to her house for breakfast, lunch or dinner. She told him, "It reminds me of my old routine, cooking for my Goku and Gohan!"

Bardock retorted, "Lady, cooking that much food in one day is insane. I've known how to make my own meals since-"

Chichi interrupted, "Bardock, I owe you for when you looked after my youngest son, and when I asked you that very personal question the other day. So I insist." She resumed her preparation of the food.

Bardock scoffed at her persistence. It wasn't the first time someone willingly shoved free food in his face, not taking "no" for an answer. Would it be the last? He doubted it. The people on these planets he'd helped had ludicrously generous attitudes.

He spent the next half an hour standing beside a window, looking out at the scenery while Chichi cooked all the delicious food. He looked very distant, and not even the mouth-watering aromas distracted him during his vacant state. Instead, the clang of a dish snapped him out of his darkened mood. He walked over to the food that was yet to be cooked, and watched Chichi season some of the meat. It reminded him greatly of his wife, the subject of his previous pondering.

The kids had told him something very important while on the ship - There was an afterlife. They passed it off as some place your soul gets sent to when you die, and you get to talk to lots of people. Good or evil, your conscience lives on for quite a while longer. This was what plagued Bardock, as he started to realise just how long it had been since Gine had lost him in this time.

And here he was instead, still alive and kicking, when in reality he should have been right beside her in whatever afterlife she was cast off to as well. Presumably, that would also be where all the other Saiyans were, including his eldest son. It hurt more than he thought it would. In his eyes, it wasn't fair. He wondered how she was doing on the other side, but he guessed he wouldn't find out for a long while.

Bardock turned his head away, crossing his arms. "…She died along with the rest of my race."

Chichi's eyes widened as she turned to him, halting her food prep.

"All at once. From Frieza's sudden attack. Gine and I knew he would, but… there was little I could do for us. I tried to change our fate, but Frieza…" His teeth clenched as he sent a death glare at the window.

Chichi looked sorrowful. "You don't need to say any more. I'm glad you told me. I'm sure Gine was a lovely person, Bardock." She gestured towards the dining table behind her. "Please, come and sit at the table in an hour and you can feast on the lunch I'm preparing." She then drew closer to him in an instant, telling him in an almost demanding tone, "I… insist!"

He sighed and begrudgingly nodded in acceptance, and proceeded to walk outside. As Bardock gazed at the majestic blue sky, he whispered to himself, or rather, to the Heavens and Hells above, "You were one of the greatest people I ever met, Gine. We needed more people like you. I bet you're still waiting up there for your old man, but unfortunately, I haven't aged all that much." He thought curiously, 'Wait… do people even age in the afterlife?'

After the hearty lunch courtesy of his daughter-in-law, Bardock decided that it was time to explore the world for the day. He took off to leave, but he then looked down at his attire.

'Judging by what those other guys wore when I arrived, I assume armour isn't exactly a common sight for these folk… Bah, I'm wasn't plannin' to look like 'em, anyway.'

He flew in a random direction at high speed in search of something of interest. As he journeyed across the vast green plains, he noted they were mostly used for cultivating crops and keeping livestock. He flew over mountains and ravines that had glistening waterfalls and even some natural crystals embedded in the sides of the rock. Some fauna he saw were grazing on the shrubbery, while other fauna had wings and flew high above the cliffs, tending to their nests.

Not a bad-looking place he sent his youngest son to, all things considered.

The forests, fields and rocky land gave way to a plethora of strange domed buildings ahead. 'A settlement. Hmph, why not. Let's see what these weaklings tend to do in their lives.'

He descended and landed on one of the flat, square-shaped roofs with no one noticing his presence. He leaned over the ridge and rested an arm on his upper leg, the ends of his bandana swaying in the light breeze. It was a notably quiet part of the city, and only the occasional swoosh of a passing hovercar could be heard.

A few minutes later, everything became a lot more lively. He heard two passing women conversing about something he'd never heard of, a man talking into a small device in his hand, and some children being escorted by some adults across a lined, black and white path, where the hovercars usually stuck to.

Bardock frankly found it rather mundane. You would've seen at the very least somebody lugging something heavy around on Planet Vegeta. Heck, even a couple spars took place in the busiest parts, whether it was for fun or for petty revenge. Additionally, there was no talk of fashion or 'movies' where he came from. That stuff wasn't useful to discuss on his old planet.

'I know I wanted Earth to be some kind of peaceful place, but this place looks so peaceful that it's irritating. None of these guys look like they've ever punched anyone before, either,' he thought, sighing in disappointment. He narrowed his eyes at a far-off pedestrian. 'Wait. Is that an animal walking on two legs?'

Meanwhile, Trunks was out shopping with his grandmother, Mrs. Briefs. She held one of his hands in a firm yet loving grip.

"Those sweet treats you brought back with you were abolutely delicious, Trunks! You remembered how much of a sweet tooth I have! Oooh, we'll have to get you something special from the stores today!"

Trunks always felt a tad overwhelmed by her overbearing, kind presence, so much so that he couldn't help but blush in embarrassment. "Thanks, Grandma," Trunks responded politely.

Mrs. Briefs turned her head towards a building. "Oh! We're here! Let's head inside the bakery first and then we can go to the sushi parlour and order a few dozen of your father's favourites for when he comes home!"

Trunks smiled. "That's a great idea!"

Mrs. Briefs then told her grandson excitedly, "And while you're buying some fertiliser and a new wheelbarrow from the garden centre later, I'll go and get you your little surprise!"

Even though the Briefs family was extremely wealthy and could have everything they ever wanted delivered right to their door, Mrs. Briefs loved heading out shopping in-person. It was one of her favourite hobbies. If Trunks was being honest, the activity made him come across as more relatable to Goten, so it was fine with him.

Mrs. Briefs continued to waffle on about exactly how their shopping trip would go, and Trunks still wasn't used to everything being relatively back to normal, except for his mother and father's absence. It was a great relief to him that he had just finished school for the summer break a month ago. No homework to catch up on! He felt bad for Goten who was forced to study the Summer School curriculum thanks to his mother. He thought to himself, 'I've kept up my training. Now I have nothin' to worry about. More or less.'

After an hour, he sensed a high ki signature in the vicinity. "…Grandma?"

"Yes, Trunks?"

"Is it okay if I go and have some lunch in the buffet area? I'm a little hungry."

Mrs. Briefs smiled and gestured for him to go ahead. "Of course, sweetie! We've gone this way and that way, so you must be starving by now! I'll be on the upper level!"

Trunks headed in the direction of the buffet, but then turned to run outside of the shopping centre entirely. Who was emitting such a high ki signature around here?

Trunks looks around, then he spotted a familiar man up above on a rooftop. Bardock seemingly hadn't noticed him. Trunks darted around the back of the building and flew up behind him. Bardock turned around after sensing his ki.

"Kid. What are you doin' here?" Bardock asked him.

Trunks replied, "What am I doing here? I'm shopping with my grandma." Trunks smirked, and gave a look that told Bardock to explain himself.

Bardock humphed, and crossed his arms. "Just discovered this place. I was goin' on a little tour of my own. So far, it's just been green and orange everywhere. D'you know any interesting spots on this mud ball?"

Trunks hummed thoughtfully. "Well… you could try heading south." He pointed. "There's a lot of cool tropical islands that way. Or if you fly over that way, you can go where we first arrived back. But I think you should ask Goten to show you around the mountains near his house too."

Bardock nodded. "Alright then. See you around."

He took off, and Trunks smiled, shaking his head in amusement at Bardock's abrupt exit. "Must really wanna go sightseeing, huh?"

Bardock breezed past a lot of buildings in the city without being noticed and eventually came across a sandy coastline with people dotted about. Beaches… Now those were something Saiyans didn't tend to go to. The bugs that hid just under the sand were nasty, meaning no fun for anyone. Any time a Saiyan walked on the sand, they would feel a lot of firm bumps, and then their feet would get bitten if they didn't dodge fast enough. Indeed, Planet Vegeta's bugs were no joke.

He raised a brow at the several strange 'flags' of all shapes and sizes flying high above them attached by a string. 'What are those for? Is there some kind of celebration?'

He noticed a sizeable wave approach the beach goers and was amused at those who cried out when they got soaked unexpectedly.

'Heheh. How 'bout another one for the road…' He zoomed a ways away from the humans to further out to sea and, hovering briefly above the water's surface, he darted horizontally in one direction, creating a ripple that would eventually reach those on land. He proceeded to wait as his wave approached the unsuspecting beach goers, and as it drew near, he realised just how big of a wave he actually made. The wave crashed onto almost everyone there, even those near the stone border, inciting a chuckle from the Saiyan.

'Eheh… Okay, okay… maybe I went too far. Those two pipsqeaks seem to have rubbed off on me. Time to go.'

Bardock's next stop in his exploration took him to where Trunks described - A bunch of tropical islands.

He skimmed across the translucent blue water for a good while before stopping as he sensed something. Something from… underneath him?

Bardock darted straight upwards as a huge maw almost made contact with his feet. On reflex, he sent a ki blast towards his attacker only to look down and realise that it had disappeared beneath the water. 'What was that? A fish? With that much power and size? Finally - Something interesting.'

Bardock flew over and fetched a coconut from a nearby island, dropping it onto the water's surface where the fish was. On cue, the ferocious fish re-emerged and Bardock once again fired at it, this time striking it dead-on, blasting its head clean off. As the fish's body bobbed on the water, Bardock picked it up and carried it over his shoulder to the island, starting a large fire to roast it. He sat munching on the fish which tasted pretty good in his opinion.

'With creatures this huge, it's no wonder I didn't see many sea vessels around here. Wonder if there's anything that powerful inland. If so, it might be a good challenge.'

Bardock continued munching, unaware that a crab was about to pinch his leg.

It struck.

"Agh! Damn pest!" He flung it high into the sky and turned around in all directions to catch any more of them that might try something. 'Ugh, fantastic - Just like on Planet Vegeta, some of the animals here are seriously annoying. Why did Trunks say this place was "cool"? It's clearly only 'cool' to look at, nothin' more.'

He ate the last of the fish and departed back towards Goten and Chichi's house. He wasn't really in the mood to go to some wasteland next. He'd seen enough of those for a lifetime.

He got there two hours later and when Bardock went to talk to Goten about the mountainous area nearby, Chichi stepped in. "Oh, no. He's not going to go on some expedition when it's nearly bedtime! And he can't show you around tomorrow. He has to study his Summer School curriculum! He's already almost a month behind. You're going to have to wait." She put her hands on her hips.

Bardock grunted in dissatisfaction, but nodded and said, "Fine. I'll just take a look around myself tomorrow."

Goten complained with his arms stretched out, "Aw, but Grandpa! If you do that, I won't be able to show you anything!"

Chichi sighed, realising Goten probably wouldn't be able to concentrate on his schoolwork if he didn't go. "Alright Goten, let's compromise - How about you and your grandfather head out tomorrow morning, and then you can come back here in the afternoon and study?"

Goten's face brightened considerably. "Really Mom?! Yay! Now I can't wait to go!" He jumped up and down.

Bardock held the top of Goten's head him to stop his bouncing, and grumbled, "Calm down kid. It can't be that exciting." He turned to Chichi. "I'll come here around… eight, then."

Chichi was somewhat surprised that he caught onto Earth's clock system so quickly. She replied, "That sounds fine. You'd better be up and ready before then, Goten!"

Goten nodded and smiled. "Yep! No problem!"

Bardock turned to leave. "I'm going to train now." He nodded at the two, and left the house.

"Bye Grandpa!" "Bye, Bardock!" Goten and Chichi shouted respectively.

Bardock reflected some more as he trained intensely, performing one-finger push-ups. 'From what I've seen so far, Earth's not too shabby. The food's great, for one, and it certainly looks peaceful enough. That peace better last.'

From that train of thought, he was reminded of when the kids told him about the Saiyans coming here out of the blue and terrorising the Earth. And, how at five years old, Gohan had to fight a then-evil Vegeta, who was still a slave to the Frieza Force.

Could there have been a better outcome if he had been there? …Actually, what kind of question was that? Of course it would've been a better outcome. He's wasn't the Super Saiyan for nothing, was he? He also considered, what would it have taken for Raditz, Nappa and Vegeta to join him in taking down Frieza?

After mulling over it all, he then wondered, would there be other folks out there in the future that would descend on the Earth, like that wizard who came here? The more Bardock dwelled on this, the more he quickened his one-finger push-ups.

The next morning, Goten was brimming with enthusiasm. "Okay! So, follow me, and I'll show you all the places in our region, called Mount Paozu! It's not just us who live here. It's a huge place! And did ya know that Gohan, Videl and Pan live right next to us sometimes?"

Bardock sensed the kid was going to prattle on and on like this for the duration of their time together. He cut in, "Lead the way, kid."

Goten fisted his hands saying, "Right! Let's go!" He took off into the air excitedly. "So this place is specifically called the East District. It's got a lot of trees and fields for farming. Oh, I forgot to say that Mount Paozu is part of the Southeast Mountains Area! Mom taught me the geography of where we live, you see!"

Bardock realised that while the two were flying, he wasn't going to hear peace and quiet for a long while. Goten was still talking and making wild hand gestures even after five minutes.

"There's Dragon Rock to the west, then if you go past that there's Diablo Desert. Then if you go northeast," he pointed, "You have Satan City and then East City, which is huge!" Bardock guessed that he'd gone to this 'Satan City' the other day.

"I wanna take you to the North Valley 'cause I want you to meet the dinosaurs!"

Bardock asked, "Dinosaurs? They some kind of family friends o' yours?"

Goten laughed, "No, silly! Not in that way! Haha!" Bardock looked at him, slightly offended. Goten continued, "They're huge beasts that we know! Me an' Gohan used to tame ones like Ferocisauruses and Paozusauruses, and they're usually hunted for food. Mom doesn't like them very much because a T. Rex attacked her when she was little."

Bardock asked with disappointment evident in his tone, "So am I gonna get a crack at one? Or are they all just tamed pets now?"

Goten answered, "Well, if you really wanna fight one, I'll tell you which ones are the really nasty ones that don't wanna be friends with us."

Bardock uttered, "Might just bring some of the meat back for Chichi…"

Goten looked at him shocked. "Huh? You only wanna fight one for food? But…"

Bardock retorted, "You just said they're hunted for food. I don't see the problem."

Goten relented, "Okay, Grandpa, I understand. Gohan said he once ate a dinosaur's tail to survive, so I guess it's good… It's just that Dad likes to take me fishing for food instead of hunting land animals with me."

Bardock responded, remembering what Goten told him about the size of the fish on this planet, "And those fish are pretty large, aren't they?"

Goten replied, "Yeah, they are! Oh, we're here!"

This northern section displayed many mountains, some adorned with snow in winter, but always dotted with thick forest too. Goten and Bardock descended into a random patch of forest.

"Oh, I also want to you meet a dragon me and Gohan know! He was Gohan's best friend when they were little. I'll call for him!" He cupped his hands as Bardock crossed his arms, "Icarus! Iiiiicarus!" Goten shouted for his dragon friend. There was a moment of silence.

Goten cleared his throat. "…ICARUS! You here?" Goten pouted when more silence followed.

Bardock scanned his eyes over the area. "There's no dragon 'round here, kid," he stated.

"Hm, Icarus is usually here around this time though… I wonder where he could be?"

"Well, you did say this place was huge. S'probably on the other side of the mountains."

Goten frowned. "I guess you're right. You'll come with me to try and see him again, right?" Goten gave a hopeful gaze at Bardock.

Bardock rolled his eyes and made a 'pfft' noise. "When I'm not busy."

To this, Goten grinned, and put his fists in the air, giving a little 'yippee'.

They took a hike around a fast-flowing river and Bardock noticed yet another massive fish in the river, fighting the current. He smirked, yanking it out by the tail with his two bare hands before launching it high into the air, then blasting the head to nothing and catching its body.

Goten gawked a little at how brutally but effectively Bardock caught the fish. He pointed. "Wh- Whoa! You caught that fish so fast! Dad doesn't do it that way though. He uses a tail Bulma made."

Bardock blinked down at the kid, brows furrowed. "He… uses a tail… Bulma made? To fish?" Bardock could only imagine how he would look if he tried that himself.

Goten replied, "Yeah! And he's really good at it! Mine's at home, so I can't show you. It's a lot more fun doing it our way. Hey, are you gonna cook that?"

Bardock grunted in response and started walking towards a sheltered area surrounded by trees, and he created a bonfire. Soon enough, the two were rapidly munching on the fish.

"Yum! This is great! By the way, the fish you got is called a Giant Salmon. They love to swim in rivers. There's also-"

A bang was heard. Bardock dropped the meat he was holding and stood up immediately, scanning his surroundings.

"Grandp-?"

"Zip it, kid," Bardock hissed and vanished with Goten behind a tree, closing his eyes to try to sense where the bang could've come from.

Another bang. Bardock snapped his attention to deeper inside the forest. He raced inside, with Goten following after him. The sounds of crickets and shuffling animals were all around the duo. As they crept forwards, Bardock whispered to Goten to stay low. Goten nodded and looked around with wide eyes.

Two more bangs. At this, the two hastened towards the sound dead ahead of them. As they got closer, shouts from several men were heard, followed by some kind of roar.

Goten gasped at the sounds and rushed ahead of Bardock who tried to get him back behind him. Goten stopped when he saw several men armed with rifles, pointing at a purple dragon, who was restrained by some glowing wires on the ground, and was seemingly being tranquillised too.

"Ic… Icarus?!"

The armed men turned around to find the new voice. "You! Boy! Get out of here! We are conducting an operation. Leav-"

Goten kicked away two rifles from two men at the same time, and zoomed towards the other men. Bardock arrived at the scene and cursed under his breath. "'Course the kid causes a scene before I can even get here. At least the action's not over already."

Bardock eyed a man going to pick up a blaster of sorts. He vanished behind him, holding him in a full nelson.

"Gah! Who-?! What-?!"

Bardock kicked the man's ankle, demanding, "Hey. Tell me what's going on here."

The man began sweating, trying to turn his head to see his aggressor to no avail. "W- We… This dragon… Takin' it down to… make… the area safer…"

Bardock tilted his head, doubting the man's words thanks to seeing Goten's desire to protect the captured dragon. "That so? You-" Bardock stopped and flinched when he heard Goten yell. '…The hell?' he thought in alarm.

He dropped the man after knocking him out, and rushed over to Goten. A man held his rifle shakingly at the boy, who he had just shot at. He had somehow managed to get a lucky hit as the kid had been distracted protecting Icarus from another rifleman. Goten held his shoulder as he tried to pry something out of it.

Bardock knocked the standing man down from behind before swiftly making his way over to Goten. Bardock worriedly asked, holding the kid's forearms, "Goten! Where does it hurt?"

Goten pointed to his left shoulder, sliding his arm out of his gi.

Bardock noticed a pointed metallic projectile, and yanked it out, causing Goten to yelp a little. Bardock stared at the small object, before widening his eyes in sudden realisation. "You've been hit by a tranquilliser dart. I'm getting you outta h-"

"Halt! You're unauthorised to be here! And you've taken out our hunters! Come quietly, or you'll regret it!"

Bardock bared his teeth at the new voice, and immediately his hair turned golden.

That is, until a man who regained consciousness from Goten's attack shot him in the back of his neck with a tranquilliser. And unfortunately for Bardock, he had been assaulted with a sudden vision at that very moment, unable to avoid the hit.

—

A man in a purple gi stepped towards him. "You barely even know me, Grandfather. I've earned this peace… this life."

—

Bardock flinched as the shot collided. "You… You bastard…!" He trembled in anger as his shining green eyes faded back to black. "Cheap shot!" he screamed, and flung himself into all of the new armed soldiers.

He took out a bunch of men while fighting the effects of whatever he'd been hit by. Goten was out for the count, though he had tried to stay awake. Bardock soon found he was unable to tap into any of his Super Saiyan power from the strain of fighting the tranquilliser.

One soldier noted to the leader of the group, "This man… He was hit by a high-dose tranquilliser! He should be out already! How is he still-"

"Fire at him again! With everything!"

"Yes sir!"

Bardock yelled in rage, attempting to dodge bullets as well as darts now. His ki and his breaths became erratic and his balance faltered. "Keep it together…" He swept at a man's legs and kicked the gun away. He then ducked an incoming attack and sent a ki blast at the attacker. The leader's mouth dropped, as well as a couple of the soldiers' mouths.

"Wh- What was that… light?! It came from his hands! He's one of those kinds! Take him down… NOW!" the leader screamed.

"We're trying!" one of his men screamed back as he unloaded his clip on Bardock.

With unyielding rage, Bardock crushed the man's gun with his hand, and socked him in the face with his other hand. Soon, only the leader was left standing.

It soon became a standoff, as the man held a pistol in his right hand. With all the energy he had left, Bardock vanished behind the man, grabbing his right wrist. The man dropped the pistol in surprise. Bardock grappled him in a choke hold.

"You know, I could've put 'em all down if it weren't for that lousy dart one of your men shot me with. At least I have enough energy left to kill you right now before I pass out." Bardock tightened his grip, inspecting the man who lead the group.

"Tch…!" The leader struggled, genuinely surprised by the gripping power his aggressor possessed. The leader's metal-laced arms were very strong, and he wondered just how strong this armoured man's grip would be if he hadn't been hit by a dart.

Bardock added, "You probably think of yourself as the head of some elite crew or something, don't you? Well guess what, pal… you're not that special. From one squad leader to another… you're as good as dead."

The leader twisted and turned in order to shake him off. However, he was too late to get himself out of Bardock's grasp, and was hit in the side of the head by a lightning-fast punch, and killed.

Feeling his stance waver out of his control, Bardock collapsed surrounded by some unconscious men and some dead men, Goten and the dragon Icarus.