[Cover art change! I've redrawn parts of Bardock to look better. His eyes glow teal now, too!

(Also, I just saw episode 18 of Daima. Mr. Toriyama… thank you. It was peak fiction!)

Timely Arrival has reached over 100k words! I have an additional 100k words or so remaining to be posted, and even then, there's plenty more that I have planned! I hope you stick around and enjoy what's to come.]

Chapter 23: Grandfather Vs. Grandson

Gohan, Goten, Trunks and Bardock ate like ravenous beasts, much to Panchy's delight. Everyone else, though, felt like they would never get used to the appetites of Saiyans.

After they all had their fill, Bardock stood up, took his scouter off and put it on the table, and locked eyes with Gohan intently. Gohan looked back at him, surprised by the sudden attention on him.

"Hey. You agreed to spar, remember? Let's do it now we've eaten," Bardock stated in a gruff tone.

"Hold on a minute, tough guy!" Bulma shouted at him with sarcasm in her voice, "You haven't explained anything to us yet!"

"It's okay, Bulma," Gohan said, shaking his head at her, placating her once again. He turned back towards Bardock. "As we all know, Saiyans love to fight. And I guess you're going to tell us your story once we've gotten to know each other through our fists, right? Well then, let's go somewhere quiet."

She huffed as the two proceeded to fly off to a private spot. Piccolo, Yamcha, Trunks and Goten followed, with Goten shooting off the ground excitedly, creating a dust cloud.

Launch's nose twitched.

"Ah…"

"Ahh…"

There was suddenly an instinctual sense of panic among most of them.

"Achoo!" Launch sneezed from the dust, her hair and eyes turning blonde and green respectively. She looked around and then saw the fighters flying away. "…Aw, great. I wanted to watch the fight too, dammit!"

Bulma said, "Hold on! You can remember what the Blue Launch was doing here?"

"Yeah, that's old news… but I guess I haven't seen you in forever, so I'll explain. We've gotten better at handlin' our shared life over the years," Launch responded with the stronger accent that came with her blonde form. "It was kinda thanks to Tien, really. But I ain't seen him in a bit, not after I left his farm to do a tour of the Earth, ya see. The other me's makin' the dough with all that restaurant cookin', and I'm takin' us to see the sights!"

"Yeah, by "seeing the sights" you mean carrying out your 100th jailbreak. I saw that on the news last year, y'know," Bulma interjected with a sarcastic tone. "Looks like the amount of money the other you makes isn't enough."

"Shut up 'bout that, I was still talkin'! Though it is impressive, ain't it?" Launch responded wistfully with an hint of arrogance. "Anyway, Tien left to go places in the past, so now it's my turn. And honestly, I think he appreciates it."

"What do you mean by that?" Bulma asked.

"Are you saying that Tien doesn't want you around?" Videl asked after her.

"I think he's always struggled to handle the switchin'. He tries to hide it, but he's still got the jitters 'round me, even now. Can't blame him, I suppose," Launch sighed with a shrug. "To tell ya the truth… I've been travellin' in the hopes of findin' somebody else. Our relationship's as stale as a one thousand-year-old loaf'a bread, these days."

Chichi approached her and took a sandwich from the table. "Are you sure Tien isn't jittery around you because he disapproves of you getting into trouble?"

Launch grumbled a response, which the others assumed to be her considering that side of things too.

Chichi still felt sorry for her. "Don't worry, Launch. It's never too late to go out and hook up with a new man!"

Launch got her gun out. "And what the hell d'ya mean by that?! You sayin' I'm gettin' OLD?!" She let Chichi have it, until Chichi managed to kick the gun away.

"No gunfights in the garden!" Bulma yelled.

"Alright, suit yerselves…" Launch groaned, folding her arms.

Pan and Bulla started crying from the gunshot noises, so Videl and Bulma hurried on over to their little girls to calm them down.

"Hmph! She's such a delinquent sometimes…" Chichi folded her arms as well, sharply turning away from the troublesome blonde to help comfort the two infants.

As the fighters flew to Gohan's desired spot, Piccolo looked over at Yamcha, surprised to see he was tagging along. Before he could ask, Yamcha explained with a chuckle, "I just have to see this for myself!"

They all landed in a rocky area devoid of plant life, except for the occasional tumble weed or dead tree around.

Bardock wasted no time and quickly got into a battle position. "You ready, kid?"

"You call me a kid, but you don't look that much older than me," Gohan remarked.

Bardock told him, "Whatever, you're two generations below me. I don't see the problem."

"Well, it's just that you look so young to me, that's all. You might wanna explain that later. Anyway, just so you know, I've been training while I was on Bulma's ship. My studies weren't exactly going anywhere since there's no library or internet access in space."

'Maybe I should ask Bulma to install a digital library next time?' Gohan pondered. 'Though, it's not like I'm going to leave the Earth anytime soon… I hope.'

"So, I'm more than ready!" Gohan finished, giving a cordial bow before the fight, and getting into his own battle position.

"Glad to hear it-!" Bardock responded with fervour as he charged forwards to attack. His attack was blocked by Gohan's forearm, and Gohan then shoved Bardock's arm downwards and landed a blow to his face.

Bardock touched his own cheek, and grinned with his teeth showing. He dove right back in and attempted a spin kick from above, but that too was blocked by Gohan's forearm. Bardock backed off and powered up some more in his base form, then shot a barrage of small ki blasts his way. Gohan effortlessly dodged some and batted others away.

"Is that all you got?" Gohan asked.

"Tch… cocky brat," Bardock grumbled with a chuckle. He then steeled his gaze on his eldest grandson. "If you're so eager to see what I can do, then how about this?!" he yelled.

Gohan watched in awe as his supposed grandfather, the self-proclaimed first Super Saiyan in modern times, transformed into said form, his golden hair standing on end and his teal eyes practically glowing with excitement.

"Raaaagh!" Bardock shot forward with an explosion of speed, going in for a mighty punch to the jaw. But of course, it wasn't that simple to land a punch on Gohan. In an impressive display of accuracy and skill, Gohan grabbed Bardock's extended arm and quickly threw the Saiyan's whole body over his shoulder, using his opponent's own momentum against him.

Bardock swiftly got up from the dusty ground, and ran up to Gohan at full speed, somersaulting right over him. He shot a blue ki blast aiming for his back while he was still airborne, but Gohan leaned back, dodging it entirely.

Bardock turned to look back at him and was starting to become a little disgruntled. 'Oh, come on! What the hell? He hasn't even turned Super Saiyan and I haven't even landed a solid hit on him yet!'

Bardock decided that he needed to boost his power some more. A golden gust of wind billowed, moving his hair rapidly, and his aura flared more strongly, causing the stones surrounding him to levitate before flying away. Bardock was annoyed he hadn't achieved the next level of Super Saiyan yet; this would have to do for now.

Once he was done powering up, he caught Gohan by surprise. In a sudden move, Bardock lunged forwards with a Rebellion Spear, hitting Gohan directly in the stomach. Gohan skidded back on the coarse ground and clutched his middle.

Now it was Gohan's turn. He dashed quickly towards the Saiyan, arms poised, and delivered a flurry of punches and kicks Bardock's way. Bardock tried to dodge and counter them all, but he ended up getting grazed by most of them, and getting directly hit by the last punch, sending him flying towards a rock wall.

Before he could make contact, he righted himself by flying and stood up. But as soon as he looked back up ahead, Gohan was rapidly closing in on him again, and kicked him in his side into a different wall. The resulting boom caused debris to fly everywhere.

Bardock made his way out of the rubble, spotting Gohan looking over at him expectantly. Bardock grimaced, realising he'd bitten into his lip by accident when he hit the wall.

Gohan wasn't concerned. The warrior he was fighting practically oozed Saiyan. Therefore, some little cut like that would mean nothing to him.

"How 'bout I bury you in a pile o' rocks?!" Bardock roared as he shot a powerful Rebellion Trigger towards Gohan, intending to send him flying into the rocks behind him. But, yet again, Gohan was prepared to counter. He fired his own blast that travelled right through Bardock's. Bardock had little time to react so he shielded himself using his arms.

He was pushed to the floor by the force of the counterattack. As he lay there, he sensed Gohan approach him for another assault. Bardock reacted quickly by swivelling his legs around like he was breakdancing, and then managed to kick Gohan's shin, knocking him to the ground. Bardock acted fast and fired a ki blast at him, hitting him directly.

Piccolo saw this and groaned in disappointment. Yamcha cheered, not really expecting it. The kids gasped wondering how Gohan could let that happen.

Gohan, upon realising his glasses had been blown away, shook his head and flew a ways off from his opponent, before deciding to turn Super Saiyan. "Haaa!"

Bardock stood there, smiling with pride and satisfaction.

Gohan spoke, "I remember what you said about wanting to fight every Super Saiyan. Well, here's another one to tick off your list."

"Heh. Appreciate it. But I'm sure you don't even need that to win," Bardock responded, wiping his mouth.

Gohan scratched the back of his head, and chuckled. "Well, truthfully, maybe not. But, I can't underestimate you. You're a Saiyan, after all."

"You got that right." Bardock flew towards him and attacked, but every attack he dished out was dodged by his grandson. Every, single, one.

"Finally. Thought he'd dropped off for a second there," Piccolo mused aloud.

"I didn't think Gohan would bother turning Super Saiyan," Trunks commented.

Piccolo responded, "Remember what this Bardock guy wants? He wants to fight every Super Saiyan. Gohan's giving him a golden opportunity to do so."

The kids and Yamcha stared at Piccolo. Yamcha asked, "Did… Did you just make a joke?"

Piccolo sweatdropped, and stuttered, "N- No, of course I didn't… Not intentionally!" The three laughed, momentarily turning their attention away from the fight below, while Piccolo crossed his arms with an awkward expression.

Back with Bardock and Gohan, the two Saiyans were locked in a fierce clash, with both of their hands pressed against the other's. Bardock and Gohan had different ideas of how to come out on top in this situation.

Bardock went first, going for a headbutt to Gohan's forehead. However, Gohan thought he might do this, so he tilted his head back before the blow came. Gohan then swung both of his own legs in front of him into a tight position, and kicked Bardock in the stomach, sending him flying.

"Ack-!" Bardock's eyes went wide from the force of that two-legged kick.

"Aw, c'mon, Grandpa! You haven't been using the Gravity Chamber for nothing!" Goten complained. "Show my big bro how hard we've trained!"

Piccolo looked at Goten. "So you've been training with him, huh?"

"Well, yeah! He's pretty fun to train with, most of the time," Goten explained. "He's taught me a lotta things."

Trunks added, "We taught him things too, like how to sense ki."

"I see," Piccolo responded. "Are you absolutely sure he's on our side? A lot of the Saiyans I've met haven't exactly been the most cooperative."

"To be fair, Piccolo, you hardly know the guy yet," Yamcha pointed out. "But when you hang around him a little, you'll see where he stands. And guess what? He even respects my battle skills! He's alright in my book."

"Heh. Now that's something," Piccolo joked intentionally this time.

"Aw, c'mon, knock it off!" Yamcha slouched.

"Say, Yamcha, why exactly have you been training again? I can tell you're a lot stronger than you were at the beginning of the year," Piccolo questioned.

"Well, let's just say it's part of my new job to get stronger. It's kinda to do with the Gravity Chamber at Bulma's place," Yamcha told him. "I'll tell you more about it back there, later."

Bardock breathed in and out heavily, clutching his stomach. That attack from Gohan earlier would leave a bruise tomorrow. He slowly glanced up and saw Gohan walking towards him with a pensive expression.

Gohan had been thinking a lot about the history of this guy during the fight. Where he'd come from, how old he was… But there was something more important that he wanted an answer to first.

"If you're really who you say you are, then I need to know something."

"Ugh… what?" Bardock snapped, feeling aches all over his body, especially in his gut.

Gohan stopped walking, standing three metres away from him. "How much did you raise Raditz?"

Bardock looked into Gohan's eyes, surprised at the question. He surmised in his head, 'I get it. Since Gohan remembers what happened when Raditz showed up on Earth, he's trying to determine how much of a threat I am because he assumes I helped raise the brat."

It was Gohan's turn to be surprised when Bardock responded, "Quite a bit, actually, compared to other fathers."

"What?!"

"But only up until he was 8 years old," Bardock added with a eye roll. "He'd always been quite a confident kid. He had a big mouth on him - Dunno where he got that from."

Gohan was silent, regarding him while in deep thought. He then asked with wariness in his tone, "And what exactly have you been teaching Goten and Trunks?"

'So that's another reason why he asked about Raditz just before. Smart kid,' Bardock thought. He answered, "Why don't you go ask them? Besides, I think I've been learning a lot more from them than they have from me. Seems like they've been taught how to fight well enough already. I've mostly just been giving them a couple pointers with tactics."

Bardock added sarcastically with another eye roll, "And no, I've not been teaching 'em how to purge planets."

"I… Alright," Gohan relented with a nod, scratching his neck with his eyes shut. "Is our fight over?"

Bardock found he was still breathing heavily, and the pain in his stomach hadn't subsided yet. He powered down from Super Saiyan. "…Dammit." He admitted defeat, shaking his head. "It isn't worth fighting you as I am now. But just you watch - I'll get stronger before you can blink, and then we'll have a fight you definitely won't forget."

"I'll hold you to that… Grandfather," Gohan responded in a neutral tone, giving him a slow nod.

Gohan offered to help him to his feet by holding his hand out towards him. Bardock didn't move to take it, clarifying in a dismissive, coarse tone, "I'm not that beaten up." He got up on his own and Gohan shook his head while gazing nowhere in particular.

As they arrived onto the plateau where the others stood, they received praises for their awesome battle. Bardock waved them off to deny the praise. "That was abysmal compared to what I wanted our fight to be like," he complained.

"When you're going around aiming to fight all the Super Saiyans, what do you expect?" Piccolo remarked with a hint of ridicule. "And it's not like Gohan is currently the strongest of them all, either. That's right, you're with strong company, believe it or not."

Trunks suggested, "Well maybe they could both train together so Bardock can have a better chance against Dad and Goku?"

Gohan held out his hands in a disagreeing gesture. "No, no, no, I've got a ton of work to do! I can't go and train with somebody just like that. I gotta look after my family on top of that, too."

"Hold on… How much do you usually train?" Bardock asked curiously.

"I can answer that," Piccolo cut in, "Nowhere near as much as I'd like him to - He barely does any training. His time on the ship did wonders for him."

"Hey c'mon!" Gohan exclaimed, now realising he was being exposed for slacking off on his training. It was time to present his defense. "I didn't wanna reveal this, but… I have been training in secret from time to time. Y'know, practicing a couple techniques. I'm always aiming higher and higher!" A bead of sweat formed on the side of Gohan's head, knowing the latter part was a lie when it came to fighting.

"So what I can gather from all this is… you're not normally this strong after all? …That's insulting!" Bardock turned away from the half-Saiyan in bitter disappointment.

"Insulting?" Gohan repeated.

Bardock then strode up to him, poking Gohan's chest with as much vigour as he had before the fight. In fact, he was very close to shoving him instead, and the half-Saiyan was still in Super Saiyan (because he couldn't see, otherwise).

"Damn straight! When I fought you just now - That's you from around a month's worth of solid training, isn't it? I can't believe I didn't even fight you at your best. Why the hell wouldn't you want to continue to surpass your own limits with that kind of potential?! And who knows who or what else might crop up on this danger magnet of a planet! They won't just wait for you to toughen up and then face 'em after a while!"

Remembering Cell and Evil Buu, Yamcha tried to correct him on that last part. However, before he could, Bardock continued, staring daggers at his eldest grandson.

"That's right, I know enough about your past problems on this planet to get a good idea. That's why I'm pissed off. You know that won't be the end of it. The galaxy is dangerous - more than you know. I've had my fair share of trouble out there. And oh, sure, you can go ahead and do whatever job it is you're doing now to provide for your family, but let it be known…" Bardock crossed his arms, turning his head to the side. "…I don't ever want to see a grandson of mine in such a weak state."

Gohan was shocked to hear his grandfather say all that about him. He spoke up, "You're right on a couple things, but…" Gohan stepped closer to him. "You barely even know me, Grandfather. I've earned this peace… this life."

This gave Bardock pause, and the others saw him jerk back slightly. They didn't know it was because he just had literal déjà vu. Piccolo and Gohan locked eyes for a brief moment, before Bardock spoke again.

"You'll ensure your peace by becoming as strong as you can get. Sure, you've got Kakarot and the Prince to deal with anything major in the future… but without them, who around here has enough power to defend this rock like they could?" He let those words sink in to his eldest grandson's brain. "…You get me now? You mark my words, kid - and don't forget 'em," Bardock warned. He then stood a ways off looking over the rocky field.

He spoke up again, still feeling the need to let off some steam, "Anyone else want to spar with me?" Everyone was surprised by this sudden question, as they thought Bardock would have wanted to rest now. Bardock looked over at the Namekian.

Piccolo contemplated the suggestion. "I will. I want to see what else you have up your sleeve, Saiyan."

Truthfully, Bardock wasn't expecting the Namekian to want to spar with him right now. He nodded with a frown, knowing this spar could either be a great, not so one-sided match, or it could leave him with even more bruises. Meanwhile, Piccolo just wanted to figure out this enigma of a guy, as well as have an excuse to stretch his legs after all that time on the ship.

[Author's note: "…I have been training in secret from time to time. Y'know, practicing a couple techniques. I'm always aiming higher and higher!" A bead of sweat formed on the side of Gohan's head, knowing the latter part was a lie when it came to fighting. - This part is a reference to something (Beast) Gohan says to his (Ultra Instinct) father in Dragon Ball Sparking Zero. He says something along the lines of, "You know me… I'm always aiming higher, beyond the beyond." - Bro's straight up lying to his face! He's been aiming higher, 'beyond the beyond' only in insect studies! (However, it makes me wonder if this is implying that after Dragon Ball Super Chapter 103, Gohan starts training again.)

Also, the part that says that Launch hit her 100th jailbreak is actually a real piece of lore from Dragon Ball Online, where she does this in Age 779.

On the Wattpad version of this chapter, I made a sketch of Bardock and Gohan moments before they duke it out.]