(Happy New Year from me!)

[To Shadowwriter01: I guess you'll find out below!]

[To Josnacio: I really appreciate that! I'm trying my best to make Bardock and everyone else behave in-character, and have them interact in fun ways.]

Chapter 17: Dr. Briefs' Quest to Amend His Boredom

Yamcha and Puar lounged on a leather couch in complete comfort, watching interviews of baseball players from different teams on TV. Yamcha heard his phone ringing and looked at the caller.

"H- Huh? Bulma's dad wants to talk to me?" He had a confused expression, while Puar looked curious. He put the phone to his ear. "Hello?"

"Hello, Yamcha! How are you and Puar?" Dr. Briefs responded cordially.

"Hi, Dr. Briefs! Puar and I are doing great after the grappling tournament I won last week! Uh, what's up?"

"Well, I'm busy helping with something at the moment for the kids and Bardock. It gives me something to do, after all. They wanted you to meet with them by the Gravity Chamber."

"…They want me to meet them there, of all places?…Why?" he asked completely dumbfounded. He started to get a very bad feeling inside.

"Well, this is between you, me, and the three of them; I told them about your attempt at 300 times gravity years ago," Dr. Briefs stated straightforwardly.

Yamcha fumbled the phone a moment while Puar looked on confused. "Gah! You know about that?!" He admonished himself, "Just great, Yamcha. You really went and blew it all those years ago, after all…"

"Heheh, I certainly do know about it! All things considered, you should have been boasting about your experience. Or at least, that's what I would have done!" Dr. Briefs chuckled. "Back on topic - Do you think you could spare some time to try out the latest gravity room with them?"

"Look, I… I really couldn't. I don't train as often anymore, and-"

"Would you say you're stronger than you were back then?"

This gave Yamcha pause. "Well… yeah, for sure…" he answered thoughtfully.

Dr. Briefs told him, taking on a more serious tone, "What you did was frankly astounding, y'know. If you can survive 300 times gravity for a whole minute, including lifting yourself back up to turn the machine off… Well! Can you imagine the amount of potential the human body, or at least your body, might be hiding? Since it should've realistically killed you, it caused me to think about it for years. It makes me wonder if Tien Shinhan or Krillin could do what you did back then, as well. It's a shame that Tien can't be easily contacted, though."

Dr. Briefs continued, "Not only do I have a doctorate in physics, I also know a lot about other areas of science too. When I saw Trunks challenging Bardock's limits with the gravity, it rekindled my desire to learn about how you did it." 'Since Goku's father struggled at around half of 300 just before,' the scientist thought to himself.

"Therefore, I'm personally requesting for you to train yourself in the Chamber even after today's meet-up. I'll pay you however much is necessary too, for this little side project of mine."

Yamcha was awestruck by the level of praise he was getting from the Dr. Briefs of Capsule Corp. And here he thought he was being forgotten by everybody over there these days. "I… Wow. I get where you're coming from, Dr. Briefs. Alright… I've decided. I'll take you up on that offer! I'll head over to Capsule Corp right away!"

"That's good to hear!" Dr. Briefs responded.

"But, I've got a question," Yamcha began, "That Gravity Chamber's usually used by Vegeta, right? I doubt he'll be pleased to see me of all people using his special training room for myself when he comes back," he said in a concerned tone.

"You don't need to worry. We can just work around his training hours when he eventually does return. Besides, once I explain this deal to him, he won't mind, I'm sure," Dr. Briefs assured him.

"You say that…" Yamcha eyed Puar sceptically, who had been listening in to Yamcha's phone call. "…But, I'm still one of the guys he respects the least, considering I used to be with Bulma…" He winced.

He could just imagine all the nasty glares he'd get every time he'd go in and use the room…

Yamcha was walking through the halls of Capsule Corp in his orange gi towards the Gravity Chamber for his scheduled training session, when he spotted a certain Saiyan standing nearby, gazing out of a window with his arms crossed. Yamcha could always tell what mood he was in whenever he stood around like that.

Yamcha eyed his form for a moment, before proceeding towards the chamber door. Just because the prince got a little softer over the years, it didn't mean he'd wanna be near him while he used one of Vegeta's prized possessions.

"Try to ignore me, will you? That's my training room you're using."

Yamcha's facial features turned to surprise as he swivelled back around to face a scowling Saiyan Prince. "Well, I've been given permission to use it by Dr. Briefs, who also happens to be the one who asked me to use it in the first place-"

"That's not what I'm referring to, you oaf. You know I'm leagues above most on this planet, including you. It is especially important for me to use it as much as possible in order to become the strongest. However, you-" Vegeta moved closer to the human, pointing at his chest. "You haven't trained nearly as much. And you know why, don't you? It's because you know you're utter trash compared to m-"

"…Yamcha?"

"Huh?" Yamcha snapped out of his daydreaming. Puar gave him an unimpressed look, shaking his head, and started eating a fruity granola bar.

"Sorry, Dr. Briefs, I spaced out for a second. What were you saying?" Yamcha asked sheepishly.

Dr. Briefs reiterated, "I was saying how much Vegeta's attitude has changed over the years. He's much more of a gentleman than he used to be. Now, don't let me keep you! The kids want to see you!" he said.

"Alright. I guess I'll be going then! It was nice talking to you, Dr. Briefs!"

"And the same to you! It'll be a little like old times, with you being around more often," he said with a more neutral tone than before. "Goodbye!"

"Goodb- Huh. Hung up already... Hey, Puar?"

"Yeah, I heard it," he verified, "Go ahead, Yamcha! I believe in you!"

Yamcha laughed nervously, "Thanks a lot, Puar. I'll try my best to survive in that chamber of theirs…" At least he felt a little better than before about the request after that pep talk from Bulma's dad.

Yamcha flew and landed around two minutes later at Capsule Corp. He walked up to the entrance where the door automatically opened for him. He sauntered inside and was greeted by two excited-looking children.

"Hey, you two! Seems you heard about my little incident with the Gravity Machine, huh...?" He scratched his head as the children giggled. "Trunks, your grandfather told me to come here 'cause you wanted me to try the Gravity Chamber, right?"

Trunks responded with a grin, "Yep! I gotta ask you, though… Did Grandpa lie about you surviving it? Or did you actually die from it and had to get revived-"

Yamcha held his hands out in mild frustration at Trunks just as Bardock appeared around the corner, walking towards them. "I… Look - Yes, it was something I just so happened to live from, even I don't fully understand how the heck I did it. I was… just thinking to myself over and over that I had to survive and overcome it. I got myself into that situation and I simply managed to get out of it."

Goten tilted his head. "Grandpa Bardock just tried 185 times gravity and struggled-"

"At first!" Bardock snapped loudly at the kid and Goten blinked at him blankly, knowing that his grandpa struggled the entire time under that level of gravity.

Goten pointed at Yamcha. "But you did double that! And you're not even a Saiyan!"

A static came over the speakers on the corners of the ceiling. "And that's why you, Yamcha, are going to be training!" Dr. Briefs chimed in. "You know, you could even train with your Saiyan friends here to see if you can tolerate the gravity along with them."

Yamcha slouched. "…I'm so dead."

"And," the doctor continued, "I'd also like you to send in a blood sample for research purposes."

"…Actually, y'know what, I'm too tired for this already-" Yamcha turned around to leave.

"No, you're not! Don't be chicken!" Trunks grabbed Yamcha's arm and the four headed towards the dreaded chamber, after some of Yamcha's blood was taken.

On the way there, Bardock had a question. "So, you know how Earthlings are utterly weak compared to Saiyans?"

"What a way to start a conversation with one…" Yamcha sighed.

"Well, I figured your heart can't take as much as ours can. So can I expect a cardiac arrest at some point during this upcoming 'ordeal', or do you think you're gonna be able to miraculously survive this?" Bardock phrased it as though it was merely casual conversation, though Yamcha could sense a little bit of mockery had been thrown into the mix.

Yamcha paled as he considered the possibility. "I… Uh… Huh. That's a good point…" He couldn't hide his trepidation. "I really hope something that serious doesn't happen."

Bardock humphed. "No one's gonna even think about doin' mouth-to-mouth. You know that, right?"

"Wh- Wha? But that saves-! Gah, anyway…!" Yamcha turned his attention towards the kids ahead instead. "Hey, you two! What the highest gravity that you've managed to reach?" Bardock was also curious to hear this.

Trunks responded, "Just under 345! But I had to power up as high as I could to do that."

"345…?!" Bardock muttered in disbelief. He thought to himself, 'Unbelievable. Trunks' limit would've been laughable if he'd said it back in my time, because it would've been impossible, even for us. If that's just what Vegeta's son's limit is…'

Bardock looked thoughtful as he pondered something else. 'Hold on a moment… Kakarot is currently training and sparring with Vegeta on some planet of the gods, if what the kids said is even true. So, just exactly how powerful is Kakarot, then…?'

The thought made him once again mull over the stupidity of the mandatory power level readings of Saiyan infants, that laid the foundation of the Saiyan class system. He reflected on more than that, too. 'I was born a low-class, and so were my teammates. Then, we got sent… there. Kanassa. Then came those premonitions… Kakarot as a grown man… later, of him and Frieza. All of us were told to head back to Planet Vegeta, only for Frieza to successfully blow it up since I was too weak to stop it. And no one except my wife tried to help me. Not even my team moved a muscle. Did they think I'd gone mad? Or were they too scared to get involved? …At least I sent my youngest son away beforehand so he could survive.

And after the supernova… I got sent to Planet Plant - The past. Then after a year, I found myself on New Namek in the future… And during the time my world got blown up until now, my son has become a walking powerhouse - The goddamn Super Saiyan - the likes of which made Frieza seem like a joke. And he's so much more than even that - a Super Saiyan God.

Sending him to Earth? Best decision I ever made.' He tilted his chin higher as he continued walking. 'And now, in the future, my race is almost extinct, but half of what remains lives on through my youngest son's family. My family. My bloodline. My son had one of the lowest power level readings of any Saiyan child, yet his family is the strongest Saiyan family I've ever heard of.

What kind of game is fate playing with me here, regarding Kakarot? Is it because of my decision to send him to Earth, or is it because of some 'wish' I made on Planet Cereal, where I wished to see that my sons ended up thriving?

But then, what about Raditz? Did he get to thrive at all in his life? Did any Saiyan think that serving under Frieza's heel was the kind of life you could thrive in? I wish I knew what Raditz thought about it as a grown man. Hell, there's a chance he even enjoyed it. And if he did, it had to have been through Nappa and Vegeta's influence, right?

What would she think about all this…? That wish had to have not even been granted in the first place, right?

Vegeta also worked under those Frieza Force bastards, destroying entire populations. And look how he's thriving now, while my other son is dead. In a lotta ways… Vegeta's been much more of a brother to Kakarot than-'

"Hey, Bardock? We're… uh, here," he heard Yamcha call.

Bardock snapped out of his deep thinking, and focused his attention on him while clearing his throat. "Yeah, I can see that. Ready to get squished to near death?"

"Hey, c'mon! I'm way stronger than I was back then!" Yamcha argued.

"I still won't believe you lived through 300 'til I see it. In the chamber!" He shoved him in and Yamcha yelped acutely from the unexpected motion.

"Wait! We're not seriously putting me in 300 times gravity right off the bat?!" Yamcha questioned, alarmed.

"But that's what you did last time though, right?" Goten argued.

Through intercom, Dr. Briefs debriefed the group on what he wanted to see. "Now now, we're not going to be doing that just yet. Just a simple 20 for this session-"

Bardock groaned in dissatisfaction.

"-to test the waters. Then, we'll scale up from there. Be responsible with how you control the gravity. I'd rather not find out that you got seriously injured."

"Got it, Grandpa!" Trunks replied.

Yamcha began to sweat at 1 times gravity. "Hey, um, I think I left my… uh… phone! In, the… house. I'll have to go get it-"

"Oh, no you don't. This phone of yours ain't gonna help you survive this, is it?" Bardock grinned darkly.

"You ready? You know what, of course you are! Here we go!" Trunks called out.

"Dang it-" Yamcha cursed himself and his own rotten luck before the gravity began to yank him towards the ground. Yamcha steeled himself in response, flaring a smidgen of his ki to adjust to the 20 times gravity on reflex. "Phew…! That's… actually better than I thought…" he breathed out. His breaths were a tad unsteady and his muscles were strained, but he persevered and slowly adjusted to it.

He eyed Bardock who had begun doing sit-ups a few metres away. He scowled and wished that he could be as hardy as a Saiyan. 'But with training…' Yamcha thought of some kind of exercise to do and settled on doing warm-up stretches.

"Wow. You're already getting adjusted? Way to go, Yamcha!" Goten cheered. "Can I join you?"

Trunks rolled his eyes, as he was going to suggest to Goten that they could both spar. 'Whatever. Guess I'll do some push-ups or something.'

Dr. Briefs researched on his computer in the meantime about the culprits behind Icarus' kidnapping. "Hm… hrm…"

As he typed, he discovered links between past poaching incidents. A major player in the poaching business was Mr. Musuka. Once he was exposed, however, his company was forced to surrender all of its owned animals to the authorities. When he was placed in jail, the ownership and control of his company was handed over to his wife, Mrs. Musuka.

Since that point, there had been a string of poaching attempts in the remote northern regions, specifically on and around Monster Island. So far, there wasn't enough evidence to suggest that these events had any clear relation to Mrs. Musuka's company, as the poachers themselves testified that they were not under anyone's employ, and were just doing it for their own benefit.

Dr. Briefs wasn't entirely convinced, so he typed some more, and noticed that a suspicious amount of storage sites in the northern regions were owned by Musuka's company, called Zoodobu.

Dr. Briefs, being the genius he was, narrowed down from these locations the closest Zoodobu site to Mount Paozu. "There's one just a few kilometres away from where Trunks said they fought… This has got to be connected. If my guess is right, then Zoodobu must be hiring independent muscle to carry out their work in secret, and restoring the family business back to how it was under Mr. Musuka's control."

"Can I interrupt you four?" Dr. Briefs talked through the intercom about an hour later.

The four in the Gravity Chamber stopped what they're doing except for Bardock, for he was a man who liked to live without interruptions.

"What's up?" Yamcha asked out-of-breath.

"Trunks, Goten and Bardock were waiting for any information I could give on those responsible for Icarus' kidnapping. Icarus is Goten's dragon friend he visits in the mountains. Come closer and see what I found out!" Trunks and Goten came closer to a screen that popped up on the gravity console, containing a web page. Yamcha took a look at it as well because he was curious about what they were investigating.

"This is the website for a company called Zoodobu. As the name implies, they deal with animals. And I have suspicions they are the ones who orchestrated the kidnapping operation by hiring people in secret to do so. The site where you fought is extremely close to where a Zoodobu-owned building is," Dr. Briefs explained.

"Who's the guy that's in charge of Zoodobu?" Trunks asked.

"Her name is Mrs. Musuka, wife of Mr. Musuka, who was jailed a few years ago for stealing an officer's handgun, before the Police later found other evidence to keep him in there longer. He was charged with poaching, trafficking and the mistreatment of animals in his care, which he was exploiting for his circus business. I think even the Great Saiyaman was involved before his arrest!"

"Oh! I remember! That guy stole Chobi from his parents, and Gohan saved him! Chobi's a pterodactyl," Goten explained.

"Right… So she's doing shady stuff like he did back then. We can do something about it, right, Grandpa?" Trunks asked his grandfather.

"Well… officially, I do not condone illegal investigation into reputable companies. But personally? You go and do what you feel is the right course of action. Maybe find Mrs. Musuka and her closest associates, or simply find a way for them to stop their malign operations. I'm not sure I would get even half the picture if I arranged to speak with her, and I doubt I have enough evidence for the Police to take the matter seriously," Dr. Briefs told them. "Who knows, I might end up getting rejected outright by both!"

"This'll be easy. We can just blow the place up and find the woman," Bardock commented casually, walking towards them, having finished his training for now.

"That's way too extreme," Yamcha looked at him, disappointed.

Bardock huffed. "Is it? I recall those guys they hired - They fought seriously underhandedly, and that gets on my nerves. This ain't about that dragon or any animals for me - This is personal. They think they can mess with me? Well… they're certainly going to regret it."

"Uh, how about we just sneak inside? Y'know - espionage! It'll be more fun that way," Trunks suggested, silently hoping Bardock would take up his idea.

"Oh, like that one game we play in your room!" Goten helpfully added. "We could hide in boxes… I bet you all my pocket money that it's a foolproof strategy."

Yamcha looked at the trio, especially Goten, and was extremely concerned. "Look, guys," Yamcha sighed, "At first I wasn't gonna get involved in whatever this little mission is you gotta do. But now? I think you need to have some sort of backup. I mean, two kids and a S-"

Bardock glared.

"-sssssSingle adult? You get what I'm saying?" He felt that proper adult supervision was required, but not the Saiyan kind. He knew very well what trouble Saiyans could get into.

"Trunks," Bardock said, while maintaining his glare at Yamcha.

"Yeah?"

"How powerful is he, really?"

"Isn't that the whole reason he's here?" Trunks looked puzzled.

"I mean right now, obviously."

Yamcha put his hands on his hips. "Are you saying what can I do? I'll have you know, I'm one of the strongest humans around! I've made my own special techniques too, like my Wolf Fang Fist! And, you'll love this one-" Yamcha settled into a lowered stance. He raised his arm, pointing two fingers outward. "Spirit Ball! Hyah!"

Suddenly, a small ball of light appeared above Yamcha's two fingers, and he sent it forward towards the back wall. But then it swiftly rebounded and began to dance around the room in a dazzling display of ki control. "Zu- zu- zu- zuah!" Yamcha yelled for dramatic effect.

"Not bad," Bardock commented, "But can it even hurt anyone-?"

"Duck!" Trunks shouted.

Bardock did so, and the ki ball hit the far wall, detonating on impact, resulting in scorch marks on the white metal plating.

Yamcha laughed nervously, "Whoops! I probably should've reigned it in a little."

Bardock looked back at the wall, very surprised by the power and velocity behind the attack. He said thoughtfully, "That's impressive for an Earthling, especially considering we're still in 20 times gravity."

"Huh… You're right, I suppose. I've still got it!" Yamcha fisted the air.

"I guess he's strong enough. What do you think?" Trunks asked Bardock.

"He can come along. If he can keep up, that is."

"Just how many more times am I going to need to prove to you all that I'm a capable fighter?" Yamcha groaned, recalling his exclusion from the Tournament of Power earlier in the year.

"Going Super Saiyan for fights seems to really help you out 'round here," Bardock said informatively. "I needed it for a squad of these poachers with their guns, which really tells you something about how dangerous this planet is becoming, even if they're just using tranquillisers and cheap shots with bullets. You Earthlings may be generally weak as hell compared to Saiyans, but your technology is really impressive. I have no idea how those capsules of yours even function."

"That's a secret!" Dr. Briefs chimed in.

Yamcha nodded after he considered Bardock's doubts about him. "I understand what you mean, man. But me and the gang did pretty well against Frieza's army when they all showed up on Earth a bit ago," Yamcha recalled.

'So the remnants of Frieza's forces showed up for revenge, huh? Shows how much his death at the hands of my son had an impact on his empire,' Bardock thought.

Trunks remarked, "You said, "It's well placed tactics that win battles, and not just strength", right, Bardock? Well, our tactics are really good. So, no need to worry too much!"

"I'm not worried!" he established, though he did take a quick glance at Goten and became a little more unsure. Did Goten know how to strategise at all? Well, he guessed he might have to teach him if Kakarot foolishly hadn't done so already.

"When are we going, you guys?" Goten asked enthusiastically.

"Well… I suppose we can head out now," Yamcha said, "But, first… can I go get my phone? Please?"

Bardock and the others were about to leave Capsule Corp, when Dr. Briefs handed the kids a bunch of capsules. "You can never be too prepared. There's some water, first aid kits and snacks, and capsules with spare clothes."

"Thanks, Grandpa!" Trunks smiled.

"Hm. It's times like these that I wish I still had my scouter," Bardock reminisced aloud.

Trunks wondered, "Why do you need one of those? You can sense ki."

"They had other uses besides reading power levels, y'know. Long-range communication, heat vision, translating, downloading schematics and they could record audio files," Bardock explained.

"Oh! Yes! That device! That takes me back a good decade or so. It looked like it was made with very solid craftsmanship from what I saw of it back then. I'm sure it's somewhere in Bulma's lab…" Dr. Briefs muttered something about it being a shame they couldn't salvage more from when Frieza's men showed up as he quickly headed to Bulma's lab.

"You… have a scouter?" Bardock asked to no one in particular in disbelief.

"Huh… I didn't know that," Trunks commented. "Dad told me how he used to have one before he could sense ki. He didn't tell me anything else about them. It sounds like a neat device."

"Yeah… real neat. Frieza and his father loved 'em so much that every soldier in their army wore one," Bardock replied, a scowl gracing his features.

"I found it!" Dr. Briefs returned, walking up to Bardock. "Yes, I remember how we obtained it now. Bulma took it from a Saiyan to study." He adjusted his glasses. "It came from Goku's brother Raditz, I believe."

"…Raditz's scouter?!" Bardock looked genuinely surprised as he stared at the green-tinted device.

"Indeed. Oh, hold on, that means it's your son's scouter! Well, here you go." Dr. Briefs gave it to him and backed away politely. After a while, he spoke up again. "Bulma modified it for human use, so we could read it. She also cut it off from the rest of the network so no one from Frieza's forces could listen in."

"Not bad." He inspected it more. "It's in… a decent condition. In fact, I think it's a newer model than the one I used to have. Well… at least it's in his father's hands now." Bardock flipped it over. 'And wouldn't you know it, it's green,' he thought mirthfully as he donned the scouter over his left ear and turned it on, a beep coming out of it.

"Wow! It looks so cool! What does it say, Grandpa?" Goten asked.

"Currently it's on power level reading mode, and it's also displaying the current gravity in Universal Standard Units," he answered.

"So that's what that gauge on the bottom left was showing…" Dr. Briefs murmured.

"Target located," a female voice spoke from it.

Bardock recoiled. "What the heck? Why does it have some woman's voice?" Bardock complained in confusion.

"Hm, that might be Bulma's doing, but are you sure that couldn't just be how it was beforehand?" Dr. Briefs wondered.

Bardock shook his head, 100% positive on this one. "No way. Now how do I take that off?"

Dr. Briefs waved his hand in dismissal. "We can work on it together later when you return."

Bardock sighed, "Alright, fine…"

Yamcha said, "Huh. That device sure does bring back… memories… Uh, anyway! Are we ready to head out?"

Trunks replied, "Yep. Let's go!"

Dr. Briefs said, "Oh, one more thing - If your power levels go over a certain number, the scouter will break. Be careful!"

"Hold on, that's bound to happen!" Yamcha exclaimed. "Maybe you better come back for it later, Bardock."

Bardock was miffed that he had to hand back a family item so soon, but obliged, knowing how fragile they could be; they tended to explode when facing an extremely high power level, though he'd rarely experienced that himself, if at all. "Would've been useful for the mission…" he grumbled.

"I'll have it upgraded so it can withstand a higher power level for you, Bardock. And also, I'll remove the voice," Dr. Briefs offered with a smile.

"How could you do that alone? You barely understand the technology behind it." Bardock looked sceptical.

"Don't be so sure! If my daughter could repair it so quickly, what do you think I can do with it in a day or three?" he chuckled.

Bardock turned away. "Well, whatever. Take good care of it, old man."

The others waved goodbye to Dr. Briefs and they all shot off towards the Zoodobu base.

Bardock decided to turn Super Saiyan. As the others looked at him questioningly, he simply said, "I still need to get used to this form." They nodded in understanding.

As they flew, with the kids racing further ahead, Yamcha attempted to get to know the mysterious father of Goku better. "You know, I think it's kinda funny. You've shown up as soon as every adult Saiyan's gone off-world. It's like you're an Earth-sitter or something!" He laughed lightheartedly.

"Tch." Bardock rolled his eyes. "I didn't have to come here, you know. But I know how much this planet means to my remaining family. Gravity's poor here, but at least Vegeta was smart and got himself a Gravity Chamber to train in. And it seems you've got strong opponents here, even if they're underhanded buffoons who only know how to fire a blaster, and not fight with actual fists."

"I'm an exception at least, right? Besides, I'm sure someone like Krillin would give you a run for your money." Yamcha chuckled. "In any case, you're like one of the missing pieces of the puzzle - the puzzle that is Goku!"

He continued, "I've known Goku since he was a little kid. He's been the same all his life, always wanting to fight, whether it's to hunt food, enter tournaments or protect our friends and even the entire planet from harm, which he's done a whole lotta times. Most of all, though, he fights for the thrill of it, especially against opponents that are seriously strong like him."

Bardock glanced at Yamcha, his interest piqued. "You've known him that long? So I assume you've fought him too?"

Yamcha grinned hesitantly. "Yeah… He was one strong kid. Though, when we first fought, I actually won the fight until something else happened. Oh, uh… I- I wasn't out to kill him or anything! Not at all, hahahaha…!" He inhaled a breath before he spoke again. "You see, I used to be a bandit. But that was many years ago. I started a baseball career and I'm a grappler on the side. He and Bulma really turned my life around."

"That so?" Bardock responded. "But have you beaten him ever since he became an adult?"

"Well… no. Buuuuut, Puar and I did beat his giant monkey form when he was a kid too."

"You beat a Saiyan in the Great Ape transformation?" Bardock questioned a little sceptically.

"Puar had to turn into a pair of scissors and cut his tail off, and that made him turn back to normal. Apart from Goku, I was the only other fighter in our group at the time. It was… really scary."

Who the hell was this Puar? ""Turn into a pair of"-? Never mind. That reminds me…" Bardock asked, "The lunar cycle of this planet." He phrased it like a statement.

Yamcha blinked at him, but then remembered the tail around the Saiyan's waist. "Oh, right! You've still got your tail… Well, our moon revolves around the Earth every 28 days. I think it should be a full moon in a week's time, but I'm not sure. Did you know Vegeta didn't need to rely on the moon to become a Great Ape when he first came here?"

Bardock nodded. "Hm. He must've made a Power Ball."

"Yeah. That's what they told me he did after I died. Can you do that too?"

"You died? You know what, of course you died. Seems like a thing everyone does here and then they get up n' shrug it off." Bardock then answered, "I never had the chance to learn the Power Ball. Only the Elites and Mid-class really used those. Us Low-class had to rely on the real moons of planets we went to, or ones created by our 'superiors'."

"To… kill everyone?" Yamcha asked in a darker and more hushed tone.

"Like I explained to the kids, though what I told 'em was more of a vague idea, one of the only professions our race offered was to work as a soldier under Frieza. And since Saiyans are just that powerful, he had us purging planets to sell to the highest intergalactic bidder."

"I can't tell you how much that concept makes my blood boil…" Yamcha expressed angrily.

Bardock explained, "That was King Cold and Frieza for you. And Cooler and Chilled. Hell, that's probably what their entire goddamn race is like. Didn't help that us Saiyans conquered by nature anyway, so it's not like we would've deviated from that life even without those bastards ruling over us."

"Huh… I'm glad the surviving Saiyans are all good guys now though, yeah?" Yamcha asked with a little apprehension.

"Even if I was evil, I bet I wouldn't get very far taking over this planet. Seems I'm outclassed at the moment," Bardock commented.

""At the moment"-?"

"If you doubt I'll get stronger, then you'll just have to watch," Bardock declared.

"You mean, you wanna become a Super Saiyan God or something?"

"Of course!" Bardock snapped, "And I'm gonna go even further beyond that!"

"Alright, dude, I get it! Chill!" Yamcha held his hands out as a sign of peace.

Bardock looked at him pointedly. "Ugh, don't remind me of that word…" he commented in an agitated manner.

Yamcha laughed hesitantly, and the two fell into silence, until Yamcha spoke up again a little later. "How did you manage to turn Super Saiyan anyway? Did you know about it?"

Bardock looked distant. "I didn't understand what happened the first time. I knew of the legend, but I never thought someone like me would ever achieve it. I just got… so mad at Chilled. I thought he was Frieza at first and that he'd killed Berry who tried to save me. Berry was a guy who kept bringing food to me when I wound up in the past, helping me survive when I told him not to. I snapped for a completely different reason than I usually did. It was just the… sheer unfairness of it. And how wrong it all was. I thought of my crew, and the rest of the Saiyans that I've lost to those freaks of nature." He shook his head. "And Chilled smiled, even laughed, when he took down Berry… looking right at me with those eyes… mocking me. I learned afterwards that Berry survived, but it didn't shake the feeling of regret that I held for some reason."

After a period of silence, Yamcha commented, "That sounds awfully similar to the first time Goku turned Super Saiyan. Did the kids tell you about that?"

"Yeah. That Earthling Krillin died right in front of him, so he turned Super Saiyan. Our paths turned out to be a little similar, I suppose. I'm glad us Low-class Saiyans managed to achieve the legend first. It bugged the hell out of every Saiyan - especially the Elites - for hundreds of years, but especially while under the rule of King Cold and his son. But now I realise they had entirely the wrong mindset to achieve the legend. That, and they were probably not strong enough to achieve it either."

"Hey, you guys! What's the holdup? We're fallin' asleep over here! Speed up!" Trunks called from in front of them.

"Haha!" Yamcha laughed, "Guess he's right. Let's pick up the pace!"

The two proceeded to zoom past Trunks and Goten who looked on in surprise. They chuckled and swiftly caught up, blasting into the summer sky.

[Author's notes: In Yamcha's imagination segment, Vegeta was purposefully written to behave nastier than he actually would at this point in time. Don't worry, I know how to write the Prince of all Saiyans, lol.

Also, you might have noticed that Puar is written as a male, because there is more evidence to suggest that he's male than female, especially as Akira Toriyama himself saw Puar as male.]