[To Shadowwriter01: Thank you! I'm glad you think so!

Atea1793: "Why would Bardock wait to talk to Raditz until after he dies? I figure that Goku would bring up the idea of bringing both Raditz and Gine back to life after meeting his dad and seeing how much he misses them. Goku would probably head to Namek with Instant Transmission and use the Namekian Dragon Balls after the Namekians use one wish to lift Bardock's time curse." - You're right about one thing. Seeing as Bardock is open to the idea of having a whole wish granted just for himself (though it was really something the Namekians offered to do for him in return for saving their planet), he'd be just as likely to want to eventually wish back his wife, or speak with Raditz early (not revive him just like that, though). I don't think Goku would suggest bringing Raditz back whatsoever. In fact, he'd advise against it. To Goku, Raditz was nothing but pure evil, taking Gohan away from him and being dead-set on exterminating the lot of them, even Goku himself, with Raditz laughing about it all the while. Of course, Goku's all about giving people (villains included) second chances, but Raditz used up all his chances after his tail was released and he instead violently beat up Goku. Goku knew after that moment that this guy was too dangerous to be kept alive, thus he didn't make the same mistake twice, ultimately willing to have Piccolo kill them both in order to stop this invader.

With regards to future events, some things won't pan out the way you expect, and there will be some changes I'm sure you'll like! You'll understand once it all comes about!]

Chapter 21: Squeaky Skirmish

The next day, Bardock went over to Chichi's house to update her on what her son had been up to.

"Bardooock!" The man in question flinched slightly from her screaming right in his face. "I've got a few things to ask you, mister! What have you been up to with Goten, and why haven't you been updating me?!" Chichi dragged him inside her house. "You're gonna answer me! Sit down!" She pointed to the couch.

"I think I'll stand." He scowled at her authoritative behaviour. He wasn't gonna be pushed around by his son's wife like that every time. 'So this is what she's like when she's mad, huh?'

"Rrrgh…!" she growled angrily at him, "Fine. Be like that with me! You're going to hear me out regardless!" Chichi put her hand on her hip after squeezing a nervous Goten to her side.

"Goten, tell me again what you two were up to," she demanded as she glared at Bardock.

"Um…" Goten looked at Bardock uncomfortably. "Well, we were… uh… dishing out justice on evildoers? For the greater good! We were busting that nasty organisation Zoodobu who were behind Icarus getting kidnapped."

"Yes, that's not all though…" She brought out Goten's gi he wore on the day of his unfortunate wrist injury. She eyed Bardock critically. "What, was he really doing?" She looked back at the heavy blood stain on his gi's sleeve.

"Listen, woman. You can't expect a fight to go exactly the way you want it to every time. There's bound be an injury of some kind at some point," Bardock explained in a gruff and dismissive tone.

"Yamcha took care of it, Mom!" Goten reassured her. "Besides, it was only a liiiittle cut." He put his finger and thumb together to emphasise just how small it was.

"This sleeve is soaked, Son Goten!" She frowned at him. "Are you lying to your mother?"

"N- No…" He looked away shyly.

"You were responsible for making sure my boy didn't get himself in deep trouble, Bardock! Just look at this! What do you have to say for yourself? You better not be teaching him it's okay to…"

'…Good grief, this woman is startin' to give me a headache. Is there no end to her yapping?' Bardock thought as she continued her tirade.

"…And it's certainly no excuse to say you'll both be fine because you're Saiyans! My Goten-"

"Woman-" Bardock cut in.

"It's Chichi!" she corrected, almost in hysterics.

Goten kept turning his head back and forth between them.

"Chichi. Wouldn't you have done the same thing? Or would you have simply let these dangerous 'poachers' keep infiltrating your region? I know for a fact that they would've continued to do all of their stupid, asinine activities if it wasn't for us intervening."

Goten added, "We managed to defeat practically everything they threw at us, and some of the things they used were definitely illegal! We made them have an investigation into them, too!"

Bardock said, "Even Trunks' grandfather Dr. Briefs said he didn't think he would've been able to stop them through any meaningful methods on his end. Besides, we're expected for an… 'official' meeting with the boss of Zoodobu herself. I want her to pay for disturbing my well-earned peace time here on Earth. And I'll also have to thank her personally for the challenge her lackeys gave me…"

"You've gotta be kidding me… I already have one too many battle nuts in this family. But I digress; I don't think you can protect Goten well enough," Chichi stated confidently.

Bardock studied her. "You really mean that, don't you?"

"I do! The proof is in the pudding, mister!"

The door creaked behind them. A low voice spoke, full of vigor, "Did someone mention pudding?"

"Dad!" Chichi exclaimed, turning her head in surprise at the open door.

"Grandpa Ox!" Goten beamed.

"When did you get here?" Chichi asked.

"Oh, I took a stroll around the woods for a bit and went fishing before coming here just now," Ox King explained. "Am I… interrupting something?"

"Well, you might have been, but I'm feeling too worked up to continue the conversation we were having just now. Since you're here, how about we do all have some 'pudding' together?" Chichi responded with a tired sigh.

"That sounds like a great idea!" He smiled broadly. The Ox King turned to Bardock. "Why, you look so much like my son-in-law, that you absolutely have to be his father that Chichi mentioned! Well, it's awful nice to meet ya. My name is Ox King. I'm Chichi's father."

He held out a massive hand for Bardock to shake, which Bardock did, albeit a little stiffly as he didn't do that gesture very often. The large man didn't seem to mind, however.

'Hm. Cheery guy…' the Saiyan thought. He responded aloud, "I see. And yes, I am Kakarot's father, Bardock."

The Ox King then placed one of his enormous hands on the Saiyan's shoulder. Bardock looked at it, surprised by the sudden familiarity the man was displaying. ""Kakarot"… that's what Vegeta tends to call him, isn't it? Well then, in any case, it seems we've got a lotta catching up to do, don't we? Hehe, our family grows even bigger!"

The Ox King then declared, "I'll fix us up with a hearty meal, followed by pudding of course, and while it's being prepared, we can all have a good chat!" He lifted up a bag he brought with him. "I just so happen to have some freshly caught fish in my bag. It'll surely help to feed the bottomless stomachs of you hungry Saiyans!"

Goten opened the bag. "Wow, those are some huge fish, alright! They'll be really tasty when you cook them! Thanks, Grandpa!" Goten looked behind himself and then back at Ox King. "Wow. I have two Grandpa's here now! Neat!" He skipped over to the couch and sprawled across it in excitement. Bardock walked over and sat on it.

Chichi asked her father if he wanted any help preparing the food (so she didn't have to be near Bardock at the moment). But, he declined her offer as he sensed there was an ongoing dispute between the two adults that needed resolving.

After the food was prepared and popped in the oven, the large man made his way over to the silent trio. "So Chichi, what's been troubling you?" he asked as he sat down.

"Oh, it's… it's a whole thing Bardock and Goten have been doing these past couple days." She shook her head frustratedly. "They've been attacking this company that's been kidnapping animals and mistreating them. And I noticed that Goten's gi has a lot of blood on his sleeve from an injury he got! I was asking Bardock about everything that happened… and I just don't think he can keep Goten safe at all!"

"Goten, you got an injury?" Ox King checked him over, and Goten held his hands out.

"Grandpa! It's okay! It's all healed now!" Goten assured him.

"Oh. Well that's good," he sighed in relief. He turned to Bardock. "So you've been with him teaching this group a lesson then, huh? You look like you've had your fair share of fights, judging by that scar and armour."

Bardock crossed his arms and responded to him, "Yes. But you must know that I can't just babysit Goten the whole time during a fight. Your daughter here thinks I'm not strong enough. I hate to say it, but she isn't entirely wrong. She's probably seen the full extent of what Kakarot is capable of compared to me, to think that way. But, I think Goten himself needs to train much more, too."

"It's all training, training, training with you Saiyans!" Chichi grumbled, "I honestly don't get how your Super Saiyan form isn't strong enough to handle these guys!"

"Huh, is that so? You're a Super Saiyan too?" Ox King asked Bardock. Bardock nodded, disliking the current topic about his lack of strength.

"Well, if there's one thing Master Roshi taught me, it's that you gotta train both your body and mind to overcome any obstacle. It's one of the most important aspects to becoming a good fighter," Ox King recalled. "So from what you've told me, Goten and Bardock here weren't strong enough to defeat the threat on their own. So, why don'tcha just train more? In fact, if you really wanted to, you could go and visit Master Roshi yourselves to see if he can give you any tips."

"That's not possible, even if we wanted to. We're plannin' to confront the leader of the whole company tomorrow," Bardock explained.

"Oh, well, at least keep it in mind." Ox King leaned back contentedly.

Bardock proceeded to chug down a bottle of-

"Hey! Where did you get that?!" Chichi pointed at the bottle he was holding.

"Your shelf."

"It's eleven o'clock in the morning!" Chichi berated him, "I don't want you teaching Goten that what you're doing is normal!"

Goten looked at his mother. "But… I drink in the morning, too…?"

Chichi paled in shock. "You… You drink that stuff?! BARDOCK, I'LL KI-"

Goten added, "No, I drink water and juice… What's that stuff you're drinking though, Grandpa Bardock?" Goten tilted his head at the bottle, oblivious.

The other grandpa, the Ox King, commented, "Looks to me to be some kind of beer. It's certainly not for you just yet, young man."

Goten looked at the Ox King. "Beer? Ew, that stuff tastes terrible!" Chichi wondered just when he'd had the chance to taste beer, glancing at the men in the room with suspicion.

"Relax. What's one bottle to you guys? This won't affect me in the slightest." Bardock finished the entire bottle like it was nothing.

"You Saiyans are hardy fellows, I'll give you that!" Ox King chuckled. "I'm fairly certain that's Chichi's homemade beer."

"Hmph. Tasted strong, but I've had stronger." Bardock shrugged nonchalantly. "Not bad, though."

Everyone blinked incredulously. Woah. That beverage Chichi made was far too strong yet, and she was still working on it in order to sell it alongside her vegetable harvest.

Ox King changed the subject. "Anyway, I'd like to get to know more about you, Bardock. Goku's family line's always been a mystery to me."

Bardock replied, "My lineage is a bit of a mystery too. I never had a close-knit family like a lot of you Earthlings do. It was rare for Saiyans to develop one with any real feelings involved. I suspected at one point that I had a couple brothers, but only because they looked a hell of a lot like me. Later on though, I found out that a lot of Low-class Saiyans tended to look alike because of our genetics." Bardock leaned an arm over the side of the couch. "I think Cooler encountered one of those lookalikes - He was called Turles. Not that I care about what happened to him, though. He was a cunning guy, had his own motives, very secretive, et cetera. The few times we met, we argued."

Bardock cleared his throat. "Enough about him, though. I had a wife - Gine. And you've no doubt heard of my eldest son Raditz."

"Oh, yes, we know about him." Ox King turned to his daughter. "He caused a real mess for us, didn't he, Chichi?"

"He kidnapped my little Gohan…" Chichi started to appear a little distressed as she recalled the aftermath of the Saiyan's arrival. "And then Piccolo took Gohan to train him up, and I didn't get to see him for a whole year!"

"What was Gine like?" Goten took the opportunity to ask Bardock.

"She wasn't like most Saiyans - She was kind, and a little soft. She was once a member of my squad, but I had to keep saving her ass. Eventually, she quit that line of work and worked in the meat industry instead. We were a sort of happy family unit for a while, despite being under the rule of Frieza, and despite me being away for long periods of time. We managed. But… all of that stopped when most of us perished to Frieza. She…"

"She was one of the ones that died when Frieza destroyed your planet," Chichi finished for him.

"…Yes." Bardock frowned. "I'm sure you would have all gotten along with her just fine."

Bardock sniffed, but not because he was getting sentimental. "Think somethin's burning."

Chichi dashed into the kitchen. She returned and said, "Phew! Don't worry, it was just the meat in the frying pan burning! Most of the food is still cooking just fine in the oven."

"Thank goodness," Ox King chuckled.

"Hey, was this Raditz guy always bad?" Goten asked Bardock.

"Hmph. Curious today, aren't you?" Bardock rolled his eyes. "No, he wasn't always bad, especially under your grandmother's watchful eye. Your uncle was a bit of a cocky little kid, since he'd been designated a Mid-class Saiyan. Although he had a temper like I told you before on New Namek, he remembered everything I taught him, because he had a lot of respect for me. He always kept trying to impress his peers, which he succeeded in doing, 'cause he ended up joining the Prince's team."

Goten then asked, "So… he became bad after he joined Vegeta's team?"

"After our planet got destroyed, I think that's where his downfall began," Bardock said with a hint of anger. "From what I learned about his visit to Earth, he really had been changed by Vegeta and Nappa. It was… strange… to hear how enthusiastic he was as he beat up his brother in the recording I listened to. I know for a fact that Gine would've tried to stop him, and I would have too. But enough about him."

'Without that visit, who knows if you would have been born, Goten,' Bardock wondered to himself.

The morning became afternoon, and everyone had stuffed themselves with food, which included the pudding. Everyone was now a little more knowledgeable on each other, with Bardock having had the chance to learn more about his brother-in-law and daughter-in-law's pasts.

Ox King rose from the armchair. "Well, it's been a terrific little gathering! I better be going now, though."

"Oh, okay, Grandpa! I'll see you soon!" Goten hugged him.

"See ya, kid! Take good care of your mother, okay?" Ox King patted his head. He turned to Bardock and Chichi. "You gotta tell me when Goku and Gohan are back. Then we can have a whole family reunion!" He smiled and opened the door, picking up his bag. "Goodbye, for now!"

"Bye!" his daughter and grandson called and waved.

Tomorrow morning had arrived. Bardock was up early at the crack of dawn using the Gravity Chamber to his heart's content, when Trunks and Goten jogged inside. What the two kids didn't expect was for the gravity strength to be higher than they thought.

"Oof! Wow! What setting do you have the gravity on, Bardock? That's gotta be at least 190!" Trunks wondered.

"…250…" Bardock panted through his arduous and slow sit-ups in Super Saiyan.

"Awesome! If you're getting used to 250 now, just think how much stronger you'll be in a year!" Goten said excitedly, "I'm sure my Dad would wanna come and watch us spar to see how strong we've gotten!"

"Hell no… He ain't gonna be just watchin'…" Bardock stated, "…he's gonna be fighting us too… I came here to fight strong opponents… and that includes every Super Saiyan. I'm gonna aim for his level and then some."

"That's…" Trunks paused, searching for any word in his mind that might fit. "…admirable?"

"Oh, you think I can't do it?" Bardock asked him with an arrogant tone.

"Well… there's no way you can, yet," Trunks answered truthfully. "I mean, you haven't even achieved Super Saiyan 2. I haven't even achieved Super Saiyan 2! I think I'm gettin' there, though. Y'know, Goku's got like, Super Saiyan 3, Super Saiyan God, Super Saiyan Blue, Ult-"

Bardock interrupted, "Yeah, yeah… But does he use this room to get stronger?"

"Um, not really, no," Goten answered.

"Wait, were you about to mention one after Super Saiyan Blue, Trunks?" Bardock pointed out and stopped his sit-ups.

"Yeah, I was gonna say Ultra Instinct."

"…Ultra Instinct," Bardock repeated with a suspicious expression. "Why does it sound so grand?"

"Because it is! It's even more powerful than Blue!" Goten explained enthusiastically. "Dad told us about it after he fought in the Tournament of Power! We haven't seen it though. Wait a sec, have we told you about it before?"

"No."

"Oh," Goten said, scratching his head.

Trunks proceeded to sit in front of Bardock, followed soon after by Goten. "Okay, story time!" Trunks began, and ignored Bardock's half-lidded look. "So basically, all these gods arranged a tournament, and Goku and my dad took part in it. They fought someone seriously strong called… was it Jiren? Yeah, Jiren. Jiren pushed Goku to his limits and he got Ultra Instinct, where you dodge attacks without even thinking!"

""Without thinking?" I've fought plenty of weaklings who I could dodge without lookin' at 'em. Are you sure it didn't just boost his own power level or something so he could do that?" Bardock asked sceptically.

"It's like some kind of zen mode… I think. I mean, I'm sure it also boosted his power and stuff, but I dunno all the details. I wasn't invited…" Trunks lowered his head.

"Neither was I," Goten added. "We got to be park rangers on Seventeen's island that he protects instead. They had some weird little Cell guys there too that were really strong!"

"Cell guys? Never mind… So is there gonna be another one of these tournaments?" Bardock asked.

"I don't know. I hope so, so I can take on really strong opponents," Goten said, unaware that universes had to get erased when they lost in the tournament. Luckily, they were all wished back. "But we're still too young to do it. I'm only 13 and Trunks is 14."

"That old, huh? You're both nearing your growth spurts. It happens pretty quickly. You'll be a lot taller, meaning that soon you'll look old enough to enter it. If there is another one, that is." Bardock stood up and walked over to the console to change the gravity setting. "So who won this tournament?" he asked as he configured the settings.

"Our universe won! Well, specifically, Android Seventeen was the guy who won," Trunks answered.

"What do you mean by "our universe"? You mean there's more than just this one?" Bardock looked at him with a very intrigued expression.

"Yeah. Mom mentioned that there are 11 other ones besides ours. And guess what? We live in Universe 7!" Trunks told him.

"Universe… 7? And who the hell is this Android Seventeen you keep mentioning?" Bardock asked in disbelief.

"He's Krillin's wife's brother," Trunks responded, "He got really strong for the tournament! I heard he can hold his own against Goku! I don't know what form Goku was in, though."

Bardock was confused. "If Kakarot has this 'Ultra Instinct', why did this 'Seventeen' guy win and not him-?"

"Hello, everyone! Ahem, minus Yamcha, it seems… Where is he…?" Dr. Briefs interrupted through the speaker system.

"I'M COMING! I'm coming! Hah!" Yamcha bolted through the door with a mock-Wolf Fang Fist for no reason. "I'm here!"

"You were almost late there, Yamcha!" Dr. Briefs told him.

"Sorry!"

"Anyway, since you're all here now, I'll give you some things to take with you, like food and such. Can't have Trunks and Goten going hungry! Do you all have your scouters?" Dr. Briefs asked.

"Yeah, mine's right here, Grandpa!" Trunks said, whipping it out of his baggy pocket.

"I got mine here too," Yamcha confirmed.

"And me," Goten spoke up too.

Bardock simply showed his.

"Also… do you all remember where you're headed?" Dr. Briefs questioned.

"Highgrove Mansion," Yamcha and Bardock answered at the same time, though Bardock was saying it mockingly.

"Alright then," Dr. Briefs acknowledged. "I'm not sure there's much more I need to say, other than the fact I uploaded the schematics of the mansion to your scouters."

"You got the layout of her whole home?!" Yamcha asked with his brows raised.

"I wouldn't even bother acting surprised anymore - He's proven to be a brilliant scientist," Bardock muttered to Yamcha, rolling his eyes.

Dr. Briefs didn't catch that bit of praise. "Well, good luck out there!"

The four exited Capsule Corp with confident smirks. It was time for the Z Fighters to move out once again!

Madame Musuka was on edge. Not only had Operation Clawhide been greatly hindered, she lost a great deal of assets for her workforce in Zoodobu. That dinodroid had been part of a deal with one of her newest business partners.

She really wanted to ignore the problems. Let her other staff deal with them - That was what they were being paid to do. She wanted to kick back and relax for once. Maybe she could this time. 'The security I've hired will sweep those ruffians off my porch so quickly that I won't even notice. Then, I won't need to think about them ever again. The wonders money can perform…!' she thought blissfully as she lounged on her chaise longue, swirling a glass of wine.

Suddenly, a loud explosion rattled through the entire building, causing her to drop her glass, making the contents spill everywhere and causing the glass itself to shatter into many tiny pieces.

"Bardock, are you serious?! What happened to espionage?!" Yamcha looked at him, bewildered by the sudden attack.

"Well I ain't takin' as long as I did last time I was at these Zoodobu locations," he explained. "We're gonna get found out anyway. This time, we take 'em head on from the start. You know the layout from your scouters. Let's get inside! And Goten - don't get soft, you hear me?" Bardock commanded.

The four Z Fighters descended from the sky and quickly dispatched the patrols guarding the garden areas. The soldiers' faces were that of disbelief at the speed they were being taken out. Most didn't see the fighters coming as they each got hit in the head.

It turned out that Bardock had deliberately blasted a convenient entrance into a main hallway. As they entered, a battle royale ensued with soldiers coming in from all doorways to subdue the four. Bardock, Goten, Trunks and Yamcha had a renewed resolve to end this quickly, lest one of them get hurt badly again.

Trunks watched Goten briefly and saw how much more focused he was when he was fighting. When Goten had a bit of a breather, Trunks called to him, "Hey Goten, you're doing great! I think our sparring will be way more intense after this!"

"Thanks Trunks! I can't wait for our next spar!" Goten called back.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Madame Musuka yelled at her assistants.

"Madame Musuka, it appears we have a group of attackers present within the building, presumably the four that attacked the sites further north. Should we arrange a helicopter to transfer you to a safer location?" her assistant 06 asked politely.

Mrs. Musuka didn't know what to think of this. Those brutes from a couple days ago… they were already inside her walls?! What were her personnel even doing to stop them? She grew angry, but intrigued. "I will stay for now. Subdue them as quickly as you can. If the attackers do not accept my demand for them to stop, then I will leave."

"As you wish, Madame Muskuka."

"Bardock, on your right!" Yamcha shouted.

Bardock turned just in time to dodge an attack from a guard. He decked the guard square in the cheek, and he was out like a light. Bardock nodded at Yamcha and moved to another target.

Yamcha did the same and brought out a Spirit Ball attack to thin the numbers a little. This little trick made the other soldiers become distracted as they fought the other three fighters, and were defeated much more easily by them.

"Pfff. These guys are weaklings compared to those guys we fought at the other place!" Trunks commented.

"Did we really get that much stronger after only a few days?" Goten asked confusedly.

"I think it's more likely that the stronger guys are in reserve right now, probably thinking these weaker ones we're fighting should be enough to deal with us," Yamcha mused, kicking away two more soldiers.

"Too bad for her, we're the strongest fighters on Earth! She really has no idea what's gonna hit her!" Trunks laughed.

Bardock attacked with a Rebellion Spear, hitting several soldiers, and making them fall down like dominoes. He then ducked an approaching fist on reflex and shoved the attacker's head into the ground.

Yamcha sent out another Spirit Ball which helped reduce the numbers even further. At this point, only a few soldiers remained standing in the hall. Their shoes squeaking against the varnished floor now made a louder sound than the combined efforts of the remaining fighters.

"All of you better give up! We got you!" Trunks exclaimed in triumph.

"Requesting backup!" one of the remaining soldiers said into his earpiece.

"Requesting backdown!" Goten pointed at him in an attempt to show off.

As the soldier raised his weapon, Bardock blew it up in the soldier's hands. Bardock rolled his eyes at Goten's childish wordplay and patted his shoulder. "Come on, you can do better than that. Gotta try harder with your fighting words or you won't be able to become a true Saiyan warrior in the future," he said in amusement. Goten looked up at him and pouted.

They soon heard a dozen or more footsteps (with a couple squeaky steps on the varnished floor) and got into battle stances, ready to engage the enemy once again.

"Are they still fighting?"

"Yes, Madame Musu-"

"I told you to defeat them as fast as you can! Send them all in!"

"All in-?"

Musuka glared at her assistant.

"…Right away," the assistant acknowledged.

"Transformation!" a soldier shouted. The current troops backed off as ones with riot shields and batons entered, covered head-to-toe in pitch black gear. They formed a ring around the four. "Cease your assault or we will engage!"

The four looked between each other, smirking. Bardock adjusted the cloth on his bicep while Yamcha brushed a hand through his messy hair. The kids jumped up and down, warming up for the new opponents.

"Now why would I possibly want to end it here?" Bardock asked confidently, getting back into a battle stance. He commented to his allies, "Here's where things get more interesting."

"Engage!" the leader of the troops ordered.

"Take this!" Bardock yelled as he hopped back and lobbed a blue ball of ki at a bunch of troops, making others nearby scatter. The ones hit by the blast fell down, but they seemed to be the cybernetically enhanced kind of soldiers.

"Heh. Finally, there's some of you round here with a little endurance." Bardock proceeded to dash forward and kick two in their sternums and punch another right through his helmet, shattering it. "Too bad it ain't enough to stop me this time!"

"Augh!" the soldier cried, clutching his face. Bardock bonked him on the head with the bottom of his fist and he was out for the count. He turned to another four guards. "I wonder if you guys'll fare any better. Come on!"

The four guards rushed forwards and tried to perform a tandem baton strike but Bardock leapt into the air and did a downward kick, hitting one of them right on his shoulder. "Ack!"

Bardock kicked his side. "Think you might need to go see a medic for that one. I'm sure I broke a bone there."

The other two stood firm. "You bastard!"

Bardock said nothing as he beckoned them to step right up. One of the two quickly brought out a small handgun and fired, but Bardock caught the bullet between his thumb and forefinger. He inspected it before flicking it back at him.

The bullet flew straight through the man's vulnerable torso. "Aaaagh! Augh!"

Bardock huffed. "That's what ya get for comin' at me with such a measly little blaster."

"They have blasters?" Trunks shouted over from his part of the hall, sounding excited.

"I think he means guns," Goten commented with an unsettled tone, having seen what Bardock had just done to the screaming man. 'I gotta tell him to stop doing that… Killing is supposed to be a last resort, isn't it?'

The other soldier backed off a little as his comrade writhed in pain. No one he knew could catch bullets. "You… You freak! Just how?!"

"If you're done being so fragile, I'd like some tougher competition. You're borin' me here." Bardock gave him a glare.

"We are the toughest! We have trained and fought in the most elite divisions of the army! S- Sooner or later, you'll all be neutralised!" the soldier exclaimed.

Bardock rolled his eyes and zipped right up to his face, stealing his weapons in an instant. The soldier gasped and fell onto his backside, staring up at the man in shock. Bardock scowled at him. "Look at you. Some elite soldier you are; your fancy equipment is the only special thing about ya, as far as I can see. Where's your actual fighting strength? Let me guess - You haven't trained to increase your own power level now, have you?"

"What the hell are you talking about-?"

Bardock drawled, "Open your damn eyes, and look over there. My comrades are outnumbered four-to-one at the least, yet they're defeating all of you with just their fists and their own power."

Bardock then talked to himself, shaking his head, "Pfft. What am I even doing wasting my time talking to you? They're hoggin' all the fun." Bardock knocked the man he was speaking to out with a kick and dove back into the fray.

Yamcha looked to his left and saw Bardock knee a man in the gut. "Yo, where've you been? I thought I was gonna have to steal your share of the bad guys!"

"As if you would be able to take down more than me," he responded, kicking another soldier away and through a wall.

"I got 67 so far," Yamcha boasted.

"You've been counting? Really?" Bardock muttered.

"Hey, I gotta count for something, right?" Yamcha quipped. Bardock ignored that lacklustre pun.

Meanwhile, Trunks and Goten were dealing synchronised blows to the soldiers. "Gosh, there's only a few of 'em left standing, now!" Goten observed.

"They should've tried harder. I'm only just getting warmed up here!" Trunks commented in response.

One by one, the soldiers fell. Once the last man on the enemy team was no longer standing, a female voice spoke through speakers dotted around the room. "Attention, enemy attack force. You are to cease your assault on Highgrove Mansion at once."

"Oh yeah? Who's asking?" Bardock taunted, already knowing who it was.

She recognised that voice. "So it is you. The man who showed nothing but disrespect towards me on that little call of our's."

"You'll be glad to know we've got no intention of quitting just yet, not after all the trouble your men have put me through," Bardock stated.

"Yeah! We're gonna keep slapping you all silly!" Goten declared.

Musuka gasped in surprise. "You brought children to attack my mansion?! You're the ones that need to be dealt with, damn you!"

"Nuh uh," Goten disagreed. "You hurt Icarus and a ton of other creatures, and you hurt my Grandpa. Why wouldn't I wanna stop you?"

Musuka spoke angrily but dismissively, "Seeing as common sense evades you, I'll be taking my leave of you ignorant thugs-"

"I don't think so!" Bardock shouted, zooming down the corridor at high speed. The others began to follow him. He shouted to them, "You see those life signatures on your scouters, don't you? That'll be her!"

"You're right! Let's get to her before she gets away!" Yamcha replied.

It wasn't long before the four found themselves outside at the rear of the mansion. There, a helicopter started to whir its engines, and the propeller blades began rotating slowly.

They saw Mrs Musuka, who was dressed in purple with auburn hair and sunglasses, getting escorted to the helicopter. However, she turned around in alarm when she heard the four approach. A bunch of elite guards with metal-clad arms and legs began shielding her.

"Got you!" Yamcha declared, pointing at her.

She was silent for a moment as she regarded each of them. "How did you get here so soon?"

"Alright, lady. It's time to pay the price for crossing me," Bardock told her with a sinister smirk on his face.

She responded hatefully, "You dangerous, barbaric interlopers! If it weren't for Yaroff's poor performance, you would already be dealt with, and I wouldn't have had to see your faces in person."

"Stop complaining! Don't you understand what you've done by kidnapping my dragon friend Icarus?" Goten shouted at her. He elaborated, "Icarus isn't just some wild beast you can catch and keep for yourself! Icarus was my brother's best friend before I was born. He even saved my brother's life once! Even though he's from the wild where he belongs, he's still our loyal friend."

Musuka studied the boy as he continued to speak. "H- How would you like it if your friend just got taken away all of a sudden? It wouldn't be fair, would it? You'd wanna stop it, right? Rescue your friend and make everything return to how it was before?"

Musuka looked away from him with an impatient huff as he kept talking. "You shouldn't take away any animals from their homes if they don't need rescuing!" Goten glared at her, hoping he got through to her.

Mrs. Musuka looked back at him cooly. "I must admit, you would make a great lecturer. Ugh. I cannot believe I have to be privy to all this nonsense. If you must know, this whole operation was not my idea to begin with. It was my husband's. I am merely continuing his business while he's spending time in jail."

The Z Fighters regarded her with pensive expressions. Was she shifting the blame to appear less involved?

"I usually don't bother to look into the finer details of his business plans. Plans such as Operation Clawhide, the one you are looking to prevent, are conducted based on a tight schedule which was already preestablished before I took the reigns."

She took a step towards them, her guards looking rather tense. She closed her eyes and positioned her hand mid-air. "However, I am aware of the inner workings of some operations more than others. I will simply halt this one just so you can quit giving me so much trouble-"

"You'll stop it? Really?" Trunks asked.

"-is what I would say if I didn't need the resources obtained through this operation for certain high-value business trades! Guards!" Musuka shouted, retreating back to watch her remaining defense force (consisting of only four people) move forward to hold back and defeat her opposition.

"Stay sharp, team!" Yamcha advised. "These ones are those tough cyborg types we've been seeing!"

"Where did she even get these guys from?" Trunks wondered.

"Shut up and fight one each!" Bardock ordered, and soon enough, the four-on-four battle began.

"Alright, time for me to focus," Goten whispered to himself, crouching down a bit and waiting for his enemy to attack first.

"Hyuhhh!" The guardsman swung his electric baton above him, which Goten correctly interpreted to be aiming for his head. The half-Saiyan deftly shifted his position and kicked the man's side, which only made the man stagger a little. It seemed that mysterious armour plating he was wearing was quite impenetrable.

'Super Saiyan it is!' Goten transformed and performed a front flip to knock the guard on his own head, sending him tumbling to the floor inelegantly.

"Haha! Whaddya know! I found your weakness already!" Goten cheered.

The guard's hand swiftly circled around a miniature pistol by his side to shoot the kid. Goten noticed his sneaky little trick, dodging the electric bullet. The bullet smashed through the glass of the building behind them.

Meanwhile, Yamcha was exchanging blows with his melee-focused combatant. "How are you guys so strong? It's almost unnatural!"

"The same could be said for the likes of you," the guard retorted. "At least I have a simple reason why - The body augmentation industry is advancing like you wouldn't believe. It's incredibly valuable to us hired guns. You're the freakish ones! You shouldn't be able to contend with us without any metal upgrades to your name!"

"Is that so?" Yamcha commented as he ducked under the guard's super-powered punch. "You probably don't wanna hear this, but if my master saw what you guys have done to yourselves, he'd call it highly dishonourable."

"Who the hell cares about honour?" the guard spat as he sent out a flurry of lightning-fast punches. "I'm hired to protect my client at all costs. Honour has no place in my line of work."

Yamcha muttered, "Of course it does, but I guess there's no convincing you. It's time I wrapped this up! Ha!" Yamcha punched the man right in his forehead, making him slowly fall backwards to the ground, the metal components on him making a huge clanging sound.

With Trunks, his opponent was making good use of his kicks and his pistol. In the kid's honest opinion, the guy's fighting style was quite an eye-opener. But still, since Trunks had been trained by one of the best fighters in the universe (namely his dad), he could tell that the guard's movements were a little sloppy and needed improvement.

"Hey, you gotta be more precise with your attacks, y'know. Like, you're not bad, but that's probably 'cause your metal implementations are doing most of the work," Trunks judged.

The guard lost his temper. "You little brat! I'm one of the sharpest tools in the shed, you hear?! RRRAA!" He lunged forward with little finesse and fell right into Trunks' fist that collided with his chest, crumpling to the floor like those before him.

Trunks shook away the lingering pain from hitting him on his metal chest plate. "I changed my mind; you totally sucked."

With Bardock, his opponent was a tough brute - the kind he could never take seriously enough, as every brute that crossed his path was always just too slow to keep up with him. Things were a little different, though, thanks to the sheer volume and thickness of the metal encasing this man. He looked a little like a Metalman, meaning weak points were few and far between.

After a couple of attempts at physically hitting the metal plating, Bardock figured out that it was possible to wear the guard down, but not enough to outright knock him out.

Bardock chuckled. "Sturdy bastard. I wonder if you've got it in you to handle this next move!" He sprung over the brute with a front flip while charging blue ki in his palm, and fired it at the unsuspecting man.

"Guaaah!" the man yelled as the Super Saiyan ki made contact with his protected back. Unfortunately for the guard, the metal couldn't withstand the sheer heat that came into contact with it, and it had melted it so much that it had turned red and molten, dripping away, leaving the man's back completely exposed.

Bardock gave out another chuckle as his plan worked. "Now for the final blow!"

Goten stood next to his grandfather. "Grandpa… don't kill him."

"…Tch." Bardock looked annoyed that Goten had spotted what he was about to do, and acquiesced. "Fine. He ain't worth it anyway. How about you show me how it's done then, kid?"

Goten obliged, kicking the guard with as much force as necessary to incapacitate him, but not leave him paralysed or actually killed. "There. I did it, Grandpa. Please can you never try killing others that don't need to be killed? It isn't right!" Goten requested with a concerned expression. "I saw what you did back in the hall, y'know. You didn't need to fling the bullet back at that guy!"

Bardock expressed his view of things, "Equal exchange must still be a difficult concept for you; he was trying to kill me, so I simply responded with the same degree of care."

"That's terrible and you know it!"

"That's life, kid. You gotta be just as ruthless sometimes in order to survive. If you saw what kind of hellish battles I've been through in my life, you'd understand."

"…I'll tell my Dad," Goten simply threatened. Goten knew that his father Goku really didn't like people who killed others unnecessarily.

Bardock recoiled, not wanting to imagine that kind of confrontation with his powerhouse of a son. "I'll stop."

"Yay, thanks!" Goten gave a thumbs up.

'My supreme guards are actually losing!' Mrs Musuka realised, staying right by the helicopter to watch the fight. 'Maybe I'll have to stop them myself, and there are only two ways I can think of. One, by paying them off to leave me alone, and two, vowing to stop my Zoodobu business entirely.'

She shouted to the Z Fighters, "I'll stop it."

Everyone was silent for a moment, until Yamcha spoke up. "You will?"

"Yes. I'll stop everything Zoodobu is doing." 'I'll say this just so you'll get off my back,' she thought frustratedly.

"Like hell I believe a single word you just said. I'm no fool!" Bardock yelled. "You told us earlier that this whole plan of yours was absolutely vital for your business trades!"

He lifted a hand, angrily firing a ki blast right into the helicopter behind her so it couldn't take off.

Trunks' heart rate shot up. He knew for a fact that a blast like that could penetrate the circuitry, compromising the engines and the fuel tanks to boot. He shot forward like a bullet into the helicopter, and dragged out its two occupants - the pilot and the assistant. He threw them away from the helicopter and grabbed Mrs Musuka, making a huge leap across the helipad back to everyone.

Everyone's eyes went wide as the helicopter exploded as soon as Trunks returned. They were silent, with their mouths agape.

Bardock's eyebrows were raised slightly, having not expected there to be that big of an explosion from a flimsy-looking Earth vessel. He wondered why Trunks had risked getting caught in the blast to save these people. "Kid. You realise she's been tryin' to kill us this entire time?"

As it turned out, everyone had ignored his question.

Mrs Musuka turned back towards the boy who saved her life, with a completely foreign expression of genuine concern. "Y… You…" she breathed heavily, "saved us…"

"Yeah, well…" Trunks scratched his head. "Helicopters are fragile, and I just thought you might… y'know…"

"Thank you."

Trunks looked up at her. "Huh?"

"I am grateful for the rescue. In return…" She looked over at Bardock. "I really will cease the operation that has angered you so. And I will look into other animal business deals my husband set up."

"You'll do more than that," Bardock stated, "I want a little more than your word. How about some compensation, huh? That's the least you can do. You tried to kill me on several occasions."

"You make a valid point, Burdock, but-"

"It's Bardock! Seriously - It's not hard to learn!" He threw his hands up in exasperation.

"Let me finish. Just now, you almost killed my assistant and the pilot, as well as almost killing myself. I see no reason to compensate you with as much as you'd like. Wouldn't you say it's only fair if I gave you a mere hundred thousand zeni to settle this?"

Yamcha sweatdropped at that amount. "Yeesh. She calls that a "mere hundred thousand"…?!" he whispered. Bardock overheard.

"Hmph. I'll take it," Bardock said a little sceptically. He thought to himself, 'Whatever that amount is worth, it sure sounds decent. And who knows if I'll need some Earth money someday. Perhaps I could give some of it to Chichi since she always seems to complain about food costs.'

"Splendid. I assume you'll want it in cash?" Musuka offered.

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Bardock crossed his arms and turned away. 'Tch. It's a shame she can only pay us off. I guess that's the best a weakling like her can do if I can't get payback through battling her personally.'

Mrs Musuka waved a hand and her assistant ran back inside the mansion to bring them the required amount.

The kids watched this with intrigue. She was giving away a hundred thousand just like that? Did that Musuka lady have no concept of money? Trunks theorised she must just be that rich, like his family was.

Bardock flew back alongside the others with a briefcase in his hand.

Dr. Briefs' voice came through on their scouters, "I heard the whole thing this time. That woman needs to be more aware of what harm her businesses are really doing to others."

Yamcha chuckled, "Well, she sure surprised me, old man! After that huge battle against all her hired defence, it seems we got out of that mess much better than I expected."

"Yes, I agree. You'll be glad to hear that I managed to find out that her operation is no longer in motion. In fact, she really has cut ties with any dealings related to animals. I suspect Zoodobu as a business won't be around for much longer. Though, it is like she said - she will still have many other businesses to attend to," Dr. Briefs surmised.

"Good riddance," Bardock uttered. "I better not see her face again."

"Hey, let's celebrate!" Goten suggested to his grandfather. "I know - I'll show you the new video game me and Trunks have been playing! You'll love it, 'cause it's a fighting game!"

"Oh yeah?" Bardock was sure he could beat a child at one of their little games. He'd used enough computers over the years to understand how to coordinate certain movements using buttons and the like.

Oh, how he'd overestimated himself. He'd been trounced. But he'd definitely learn to play better, especially after being told that Vegeta apparently played video games on occasion, and Bardock certainly wouldn't want to embarrass himself if he ever found himself competing against him!

"Hello? Magenta?"

"Ohhh, Madame Musuka. To what do I owe this pleasure, eh?"

"Has there been any progress in your technology since our last discussion?"

"No, not yet. Besides, it's only been about a week."

"I see…"

There was a period of silence.

"Madame Musuka?"

"Oh, I'm still here. I am dissolving a… small company of mine, and I wondered if perhaps we could build up stronger business relations?"

"You're offerin' a stronger partnership after tellin' me you're dissolvin' a company?"

"Yes. It is of no concern to me and I will fare… quite well without it." She sounded a tad uncertain as she spoke.

"That seems awfully strange to me. Did you want to talk about it?"

"The finer details are nothing you should concern yourself over."

"Really now? Well, if you're embarrassed, then-"

"It's not like that!"

"Well in that case, of course we can work out some new deals. After all, my company would appreciate a little boost."

"Actually… perhaps we could discuss things over at your place?"

"I don't see why not, my dear. Now what time were you thinkin' of droppin' by?"

After their call, Magenta got up from his comfy office chair and looked out of his window, taking in the view of his private, concealed grounds. "That was a strange call from Madame Musuka, alright. Wonder what kind of trouble that small company of hers got into…?"

Magenta's right-hand man Carmine stepped into the room. Magenta turned to look at him, raising his palm out to him. "Now before you say anything about your upcoming presentation on animorphaline, I think we ought'a check something out - private-like."

"Oh? And what exactly would you like to look into?" Carmine wondered.

"One of my investors' businesses went down the drain, but she wouldn't tell me why. Think you could gather some intel?" Magenta asked.

Carmine stood up straighter at the request. "Of course, Magenta. I'll get right on it!" He went to leave the room quickly, closing the door behind him. But then, he came back. "Um, what is her name?" Magenta groaned, rolling his eyes.

/

At the same time, somewhere in the Otherworld of Universe 7…

Strong footsteps.

Sharp breaths.

Sullen eyes.

"I feel like I've been walking on this damned path for centuries… Is there no end to this thing?"

/

[Author's notes:

(Oh boy - this chapter is over 9000 words?!)

I wanted to add context to the following part: "He's Krillin's wife's brother," Trunks responded, "He got really strong for the tournament! I heard he can hold his own against Goku! I don't know what form he was in, though." - In the manga, Seventeen fights Goku who is in Super Saiyan 3, but in the anime he fights against Super Saiyan Blue Goku! It makes more sense for it to be Super Saiyan 3 in my opinion, but I kept it vague so it could be either one.

Another thing - I'm going to be spelling out the androids' names to make them seem more like actual names (like Seventeen and Eighteen instead of 17 and 18). It's just my preference.

By the way, it's kind of true that Vegeta plays video games. Akira Toriyama once drew panels of him playing a game against Goku, and there was a recent one from Super I believe, where he plays a racing game with Trunks, Future Trunks, Beerus and a few others! Even if it's not 100% canon, it's a pretty nice detail I wanted to include!]