[To JohnDoes and The God Of War Kratos: I love both SSJ4 designs, and I think you're right JohnDoes, it does look less powerful than GT's version. However, we have to consider that there's a big year gap between Daima and GT, so it's only natural that Goku would be stronger overall in GT.]
Chapter 27: Coming To Terms With The Future
Bardock let out a strained groan, clutching his forehead as he sat up. "What… What happened?"
Everyone looked between each other with very apprehensive gazes. Trunks faced him and said, "Uhm… y'know, uh, you freaked out because of-"
"FRIEZA!" Bardock shot up to his feet in a nanosecond, and his sudden shock was enough to puff up his tail for a moment. He slowly lowered his head as he took in the knowledge that the space tyrant was still roaming the cosmos. He clenched his fingers into his fists so hard, that they cut through his skin and bled.
He growled in a low tone, "He's dead… I'm going to tear him ap-!"
"Enough," Piccolo demanded with an authoritative tone. "Here's how it is: Yes, it's true that Frieza's still out there somewhere in the universe. And yes, your desire for revenge is completely understandable, because I want that villain dead too. But here's the thing - No one knows where he is right now."
Bardock grimaced, his eyes threatening to turn teal as his frustration once again grew.
Piccolo continued, "Even if you did decide to try and find him, you can bet he'll most likely come back to Earth at some point anyway."
Bardock thrusted his index finger at him. "H- How can you be so relaxed about this?!" He then broadcasted to everyone present, "You should have been planning to kill the bastard from the very moment you knew he lived! These two…" He pointed at Trunks and Goten. "…told me that you've all faced him before. You've seen what he can do, and you damn well know what he's done already! You are completely outta your minds if you think leaving him be to terrorise the universe is absolutely fine! He'll just get stronger and stronger, and gather more and more soldiers for the Frieza Force!"
Goten had never seen his grandfather look so rattled. Bardock warned them, "He'll ravage this world. Hell, he'll do more than that - he'll atomise this whole damned rock to dust! Just like he did to mine!"
"How can you be so sure he'll destroy us all? You've no doubt heard about how powerful Goku and Vegeta have become," Piccolo questioned with his arms crossed.
"That's just it. Frieza… He… I saw him kill me, just now," Bardock growled angrily, his heart rate undoubtedly too high. "If those two are so "powerful", then how the hell will Frieza get the chance to off me?!"
"What?! Y- You saw him kill you?! D- Did you get a vision?" Goten asked in shock.
Bardock nodded. "I don't know how far ahead of time it'll be, but yes. I know for a fact that he's going to."
Gohan wondered, "But can't you change the outcome of what you see in these visions?"
His grandfather lowered his head, closing his eyes briefly. "I don't know. I once thought I might be able to, but… now, I'm not sure."
"Shame there aren't any of those Kanaasans around to confirm it for you," Piccolo commented.
Bardock blinked. "Wait. How do y-" The kids put their hands up with guilty expressions. "Ugh. Right… So I guess you're all clued in on me now. Fantastic." Bardock patted himself down, looking around him. "Scouter's gone-"
Yamcha handed it to him from its resting place on the ground, as it was blown off the table thanks to Bardock's ascension into Super Saiyan 2 earlier.
Bardock put the scouter on his ear. He exhaled loudly and asked Piccolo and Gohan in a demanding tone, "How? Tell me how Frieza is still alive!"
"We… needed him for the Tournament of Power, so he was temporarily revived," Piccolo spoke truthfully.
"You needed him?!" Bardock repeated incredulously, his eyes comically wide. "What kind of goddamn scenario-" He paused as he considered the implications behind why they might have actually needed someone so dangerous for some universal tournament. "Hold on just a minute! This tournament… what were the stakes?"
Gohan explained seriously, "Well… the truth is…" He glanced at Goten, Trunks and Yamcha too. Perhaps it was time to tell them what really took place earlier in the year. "The Tournament of Power actually decided the fates of every universe that took part. The Omni Kings, who are both called Grand Zeno, have the power to erase anything in the blink of an eye. And believe me when I say that I'm not exaggerating."
"What?!" Yamcha, Bardock and the kids yelled, and their faces paled.
Trunks' voice quivered slightly as he asked, "D- Did the other universes get…?"
Gohan nodded grimly. "Yeah, they did. It was only after Seventeen won the tournament that he was able to use a wish to restore the erased universes by using the Super Dragon Balls."
"Y'know, I'm kinda glad that I wasn't chosen for that tournament, after all," Yamcha muttered with a sweatdrop, his mouth agape.
Piccolo added, "Without Frieza's help, we would have most likely been erased, assuming that the winning universe didn't wish to bring the others back. We couldn't think of anyone else strong enough who would be willing to cooperate, at the time."
"I'm going to take a guess here and say that the one who suggested to recruit Frieza was my son," Bardock grumbled.
Piccolo nodded awkwardly.
Bardock had no words for this. Sometimes his intuition was too good; he had really wanted to be wrong, there.
He hated this timeline right now - Couldn't he just quickly go a little further back in time and stop Frieza from returning? …No? How cruel fate could be.
"I heard that Broly is still alive. Why didn't you recruit him for this 'tournament'?" Bardock questioned, his headache returning.
"We didn't know he existed back then," Piccolo answered. "Listen, just know that it was the best outcome for everybody involved. We'll defeat Frieza once he shows up again. I can promise you that, Bardock."
"Tch. Kakarot had better promise the same thing to me too, Namekian, or else I might start thinkin' he has a soft spot for the bastard."
Piccolo humphed as well. "I hardly think that Goku is going to let him get away again. Even he knows how much of a threat Frieza is."
"Frieza…" Goten spoke the name quietly and fearfully. Trunks and Goten became a great deal more afraid of that name, having come to terms with what this tyrant was really like all along.
"Trunks, I think we gotta train more so he doesn't kill Grandpa…" Goten whispered to his friend with a concerned expression.
"Yeah…" Trunks whispered back. "And if there's another tournament like that one… we have to help protect everyone in the whole universe, too!"
"This is gonna be tough…" Goten uttered to himself, thinking about the arduous path ahead of them all. "Now that I know there's tons at stake, I have to try my best so that we can all have a good future!"
"Say, uh, Grandfather…?" Gohan started.
"Almost every time I get called that, I forget that I'm only 33…" Bardock muttered to himself, but Piccolo heard him and blinked slowly at this revelation. "What is it?"
"Do you realise that you went Super Saiyan 2 earlier?" Gohan asked him.
Bardock's face became quite surprised, which was much better than his earlier look of pure rage. He clenched and unclenched his (bloodied) fists in awe. "I… did? About damn time. Maybe we need to have a rematch-"
"WHAT IN THE TWELVE UNIVERSES WAS THAT?!"
Everyone jumped in surprise from the screaming, which just so happened to come from Bulma. Piccolo groaned, and attempted to hide the fact he'd been spooked.
Bulma rushed towards the Saiyan responsible and slapped him, right on his scarred left cheek. Everyone gasped except Launch, who chortled quietly in surprise.
Had Bulma not learnt her lesson the last time she slapped someone leagues above her in power?
"You idiot! Asshole! I can't believe you! You nearly gave us all a heart attack! And look at what you did to the place!" Bulma screeched.
Bardock merely stared down at the woman with cold eyes. Bulma backed up a bit, feeling a little more self-conscious. Gohan placed a hand on her shoulder, and pulled her back.
"Bulma, he just found out something terrible, so, please cut him some slack?" Gohan requested in a placating manner to Bulma once again. He looked at Bardock apologetically.
"What did he…?" After a moment, Bulma suddenly realised what Bardock had discovered. "Oh! This is about Frieza still being-"
"Yes, you screechin' loudmouth!" Bardock yelled in her face.
Bulma pouted angrily, her eyelids narrowed, while amused coughing from a certain woman could be heard in the background.
Bardock snapped, "You know what I think would be a good idea? If I could talk to either my son or the Saiyan Prince who are out there somewhere in space right now, and find out why the hell they haven't hunted down Frieza yet, if they're these great and powerful Super Saiyan Gods!"
Yamcha spoke up, "Hold on a second. Uh, are you planning to leave Earth to find him, too?"
Bardock responded, "Initially. But, it's like the Green Man here said - Frieza's supposedly gonna return to this planet anyway, isn't he? Can't possibly take any chances now. If I go out there and he comes here… No. It's outta the question. Guess I'm stuck here getting stronger 'til he shows up."
"It's good to have an extra ally to help us take him down for good," Piccolo commented, giving him a grateful nod. "No doubt we're gonna need all the help we can get."
Bulma's mother and father approached, as well as everyone else. "Is it safe?" Chichi asked.
"Yep, it's all good," Trunks said. "Bardock just found out about something pretty bad, but he's calmed down now."
"I need to talk to them as soon as possible," Bardock reiterated impatiently to Bulma. "I need to know how to get as strong as them, so I can take down that scumbag."
"Language…" Chichi sighed.
Bulma explained, "Vegeta and Goku usually go away for a couple months at a time training with Whis. We agreed not to contact them for anything that isn't an emergency-"
"Frieza breathing air sounds like an emergency to me," Bardock countered.
"Let me finish! As I was saying… Anything that isn't an emergency, or isn't a food offering."
"Well then… Maybe if you offer food, Bardock could go there and meet them?" Dr. Briefs suggested.
"Well, I suppose…" Bulma nodded, mulling it over in her head. "Though now that I think about it, they're supposed to be coming back in a couple days. Can't you wait?"
Everyone turned to the exasperated Saiyan. "Pfff. You're kidding me. More waitin' around…?"
"If we did manage to send you there, we might not see those two for another whole month! My Goku would probably want to fight you or train you, or something! I want him to come back and so does Goten!" Chichi explained, who was starting to really miss her husband again. Goten looked towards her with blinking eyes for including him in this, though he supposed she wasn't wrong. He missed his Dad a lot.
"Fine. I'll wait for my son and the Prince to return, and hopefully they can come up with a great training regime for me," Bardock said, sounding sarcastic due to his very sour mood.
"Oh you bet they will!" Bulma got in his face. "Besides, I was there the last time that alien freak came, so I made sure to upgrade Vegeta's Gravity Chamber. Say, do you want me to tell you what happened back then?"
"…Sure."
Bulma moved to a table and sat down on a chair. She gestured for him to sit as well. Bardock rolled his eyes and did so, still feeling spent on all accounts from today's sparring.
"The Tournament of Power took place several months ago, and each team from each of the twelve universes needed ten participants. Our team had nine, but we really needed to fill the last spot. It needed to be someone who could turn the tide and guarantee our universe's survival, so of course, Goku chose Frieza-"
"I know that. Don't remind me," Bardock interrupted quickly, holding out a hand with his head down.
Bulma responded with a sigh, "Yeah, we all know that now, don't we?" She added nervously," Frieza only did it to ensure his own survival… and to get his life back…"
"Did you seriously use the Dragon Balls to revive him afterwards?!" Bardock questioned with his brows lowered.
"No. Although Goku bribed him with them, it was actually Whis who brought him back to life."
"What?" Bardock shook his head in disbelief, his eyes wide once more. "Isn't that the guy Kakarot and the prince are training with right now?! That supposed 'God' revived that monster?!" He clutched his head in confusion and exasperation. He muttered, "None of these gods can be trusted…"
Bulma was about to explain how although Whis was a somewhat neutral party, he was also nice, but Bardock swiftly got up from the table.
"Grandpa-" Goten spoke, debating whether to place a hand on his grandfather's arm.
Bardock shook his head in anger snd disbelief. He'd had enough. "That's it. I'm leaving-"
Goten exclaimed, "Wait-!"
"-to train," Bardock clarified. "If you all know what's good for you, you'll train 'til you drop. Our lives depend on it." He glanced at Gohan for longer than the others.
He then flew away, making the plastic cups topple over and making everyone's attire billow from the force of his departure.
There was a long silence…
…Until it was broken by Panchy saying, "Oh look! The sun's coming out!"
Everyone except her and Dr. Briefs groaned and went their separate ways.
Most of them had troubled dreams that night.
The next day soon came, and Bardock had been training inside the Gravity Chamber for the entire morning, ever since the crack of dawn. Goten approached the door, and knocked politely.
It appeared that Bardock hadn't even heard him knocking at first, seemingly absorbed in his vengeful thoughts as he trained.
After a moment, though, Goten heard the gravity mechanisms shutting down with a whir, and the lights turned back to white from their previous red. Before long, Bardock, drenched in sweat, now sporting his arm band as a red bandana again, opened the door with a grumpy look on his face.
"Yeah, kid?" he 'greeted' him.
"Uh… Grandpa? Can we talk?" Goten fiddled with his fingers.
"…Hmph. Alright. I was about to take a break anyway." Bardock then gestured for him to come inside the chamber. He stood by the control panel with his arms crossed. "So what's the matter?"
"Well, it's about your past job. Y'know… those expedition… missions," Goten answered, gazing up at his grandfather.
"…What about 'em?" Bardock asked with his brows lowered.
"Big Brother and Piccolo told me something about what the old Saiyans used to do. They said that they used to kill a lot of people, and-"
"That's right," Bardock admitted straight away.
"R… Really…?"
"If we didn't do as Frieza or his father before him told us to do, we all died," Bardock simply explained.
"Oh… I guess that makes a little sense, but…"
"And that's the irony, isn't it?" Bardock chuckled mirthlessly, looking away from him for a moment.
"Because Frieza wiped out most of the Saiyans anyway?" Goten surmised.
"Exactly, kid. What more's there to say?" Bardock told him. However, inside Bardock's mind, he was reminded of something Cooler said: "Without my family, you were savage brutes doing almost exactly the same thing as us, though you simply raided just for the promise of a fight. No ambition. No meaningful rewards!"
He decided he wouldn't mention that aspect of Saiyan history.
"So… you know that team you said you used to lead? Were you telling those guys to… kill everyone?" Goten asked in a serious tone.
Bardock sighed, pausing before he responded. "Yes, Goten. I lead them, but the orders weren't really mine, but Frieza's, and King Cold's before he came along. For some missions, though, we weren't entirely conscious of our actions."
"Why's that?"
"We sometimes used the Great Ape transformation. When a planet had a moon orbiting it, we waited until the full moon was in view, so we could finish the mission as quickly as possible for Frieza to make use of the new planet we conquered for him."
Goten gasped in horror. "That's… horrible!"
"That was life for us Saiyans back then, kid. Bet you're glad you didn't have to do all that, aren't you?" Bardock said.
"Y- Yeah, I sure am. But… wait a sec. Why did Vegeta used to do all that stuff for Frieza if Frieza blew up his home planet?" Goten wondered.
"He most likely didn't know Frieza destroyed it," Bardock said in response. "Same with his comrades who also avoided the annihilation… like my eldest son. I heard through his scouter that he thought the planet has been destroyed by a meteor. That must've been the lie Frieza told them in order to keep 'em loyal."
"That's terrible! If he didn't know… and he still worked for him, and… did all that stuff for him…-"
Bardock responded solemnly after a moment, "…Life ain't fair sometimes. I always think about how things could've been different," Bardock went on, "And I guess these visions I've been gettin' haven't helped with the amount of what-if's goin' on in my head."
Goten walked closer to him with a sad smile. "It's gonna be okay, Grandpa. Even if what happens in the future comes true, I'll revive you with the Dragon Balls."
"You'd really do that? Even after what I just told you?" Bardock stared at the boy.
"Mhm." Goten nodded, then looked a little more somber. "You're not a bad person even though you might've… uh, killed a lot. You've been a great Grandpa, and you didn't even have to come here and live around us!"
Goten looked down at the floor. "But… to be honest… I miss my Dad right now, too. Ever since he came back to life, we've done lots of fun things together! We've worked on the farm, we've gone shopping, and sometimes we've slipped out of the house to train. He likes it when we train together, but I know he loves fighting really strong guys like Vegeta…"
Goten shook his head. "And I'm not strong like the both of them…"
Bardock was curious. "How could you say that? You're a Super Saiyan, kid, just like your father. Plus, you're far stronger than most kids your age."
Goten rephrased, hoping Bardock would get his meaning, "But I'm not as strong as them."
Bardock was silent for a moment, thinking over this. He then crossed his arms and said, "You do realise your father's around triple your age? Of course he and Vegeta are gonna be leagues above you right now. Plus, you've yet to reach that growth spurt where you can really start to bulk up."
"Huh…" Goten uttered with a sigh.
"Look - From what I've heard of your father, he's an idiot."
"Wha-? Grandpa…!" Goten whined.
"What? I mean, even with that Instant Transmission trick you told me about, he doesn't come to check up on you, or I would've met him by now. He lets people live who should be dead men. And he stayed dead for no good reason, too. Havin' said that, I've also heard from certain people about what battles he's fought to protect those he cares about, so I guess his intensive training who knows where is paying off. D'you remember who told me that?"
"…Me and Trunks?"
"That's right. See now?"
Goten nodded with a sad smile. "Yeah… But…"
Bardock patted his head twice. "Kid. If you're missin' him that much, then I think you're bein' an idiot now."
Goten looked up at him in confusion and a hint of annoyance. "What do you mean by that? I haven't seen him most of my life, y'know! Isn't it normal to want to spend time with someone you haven't seen much of?"
"Fine, I take it back about you bein' an idiot then. You just want to have your father in your life more, don't you?"
"Yeah… But that's why I wanted to thank you for sticking around, y'know…?" Goten smiled at him gratefully.
"Hmph. Don't you worry, kid. I can't just go abandoning my family on Earth here. Besides, training on this rock is like nowhere else. And, who knows when Frieza will show his face here? I don't have many reasons to leave this place."
"Thanks for staying, Grandpa Bardock! You've made my Mom happier these past few weeks too."
Bardock had an embarrassed expression, which turned to annoyance. "Well maybe if Kakarot hadn't been off training with gods on some far-out planet, then maybe I wouldn't need to eat his fill that she insists I have instead! She says it "reminds her of her old routine, cooking for him and Gohan"."
Bardock then grumbled under his breath, "Why the hell have I turned into some kind of replacement for Kakarot, anyway?"
Goten heard him and laughed. "No you haven't, silly! Well, in any case, Grandpa, whatever happens in the future, I'll be right behind you!"
Bardock stared at him for a moment, feeling somewhat grateful, before looking down and frowning sorrowfully. "Y'know, I don't deserve this second chance, kid. It should've been someone with less blood on their hands, like Gine. She should've been brought here - not me."
"You said she was kind, right?" Goten asked curiously.
"Yeah. She was considered a weakling, and yet she was still friendly to everyone around her. I told you how I had to haul her ass out of missions that got too dangerous, didn't I? Well, she's the reason I got this." Bardock gestured to the scar on his cheek.
"Huh? Really? You got that scar from saving her? That's pretty heroic!" Goten smiled.
"Pff, he got a lucky hit on me," Bardock replied, referring to the enemy that gave him said scar.
Suddenly, there was another polite knock on the door from someone.
"I'll get it!" Goten declared, running over to the chamber door.
He was met with the gaze of his older brother Gohan, whose face immediately lit up upon seeing him. "Gohan!"
"Well hey there, squirt! Didn't expect to see you in the Gravity Chamber. I thought you were here to play with Trunks?" Gohan inquired.
"Uh, well I wanted to go see Grandpa first. Did you come to see him too?" Goten asked.
"I did, actually." Gohan waved at Bardock. "Is it alright if I talk to you?" he called over to him.
"First the kid, now you. Fine. Go ahead. And shut the door while you're at it!" Bardock demanded.
Gohan nodded in acknowledgement and shut the door. He then walked over to his grandfather. "So… as you know, I haven't really been training too much these past few months… or years."
Bardock folded his arms. "Hmph, go on."
"I had a lot of time last night to talk things over with Videl about the situation you warned us about… and you could say I've had a bit of a wake-up call. Frieza is a huge threat. I would know, since he almost killed me the last time he invaded," Gohan explained.
"He did? Wait, what do you mean, "the last time he invaded"?"
"He came here to get revenge on all of us, and my father most of all. He brought whatever forces he had left, and all of us tried to fight them off. We took out a great deal of them, but we were starting to get overwhelmed. That was when Frieza stopped the fighting, and wanted to wait for Dad and Vegeta to arrive."
Gohan closed his eyes with a smile, but frowned soon after. "And then they did arrive… but by then, Piccolo was…"
Goten frowned and looked at the floor, while Bardock arched an eyebrow. "So the Green Man not only fought Frieza, but was also killed by him?"
"Yes… Piccolo fought him on Namek, but he died protecting me on Earth…" Gohan explained solemnly.
"Okay. So, what exactly are you telling me here?" Bardock focused on Gohan's reason for wanting to speak to him.
"I'm telling you that I'm going to train more."
A muffled "Yes!" came from outside, which the others assumed to be just a Capsule Corp employee.
However, Piccolo had been listening in the whole time ever since Gohan had entered the compound thanks to his sensitive hearing, and covered his mouth with his hand from his celebratory outburst. He then secretly flew away to plan a whole training regime that Gohan might like to use.
Back with the trio, Bardock nodded and smirked in satisfaction. "I'm glad to hear that, Gohan. Whaddya say we start training right now?"
Three stomachs growled in unison.
"Uh… how about after lunch?" Gohan chuckled.
Goten laughed and ran out of the room. He yelled, "I get first dibs!"
Gohan shook his head and closed his eyes, but as soon as he opened them again, Bardock was already at the exit, too.
"Wait," Gohan called to him.
Bardock stopped and peered over his shoulder at his grandson. "What?"
"Thanks, Grandfather. For the wake-up call. I promise you that together, we'll defend the Earth from Frieza and any other threats that might be out there."
Bardock smiled a tad, and tilted his head down slightly.
"I'll hold you to that… Grandson."