Lines of Blood and Time }{ Gohan & Bardock

[Son Gohan]

The great desert of planet Vegeta, also known as the Desert Wasteland to the populace of the planet. Gohan knew all too well that the majority of the planets surface was covered in it. It was one of the least inhabitable planets he’d ever been on or heard of, though granted his knowledge and experiences wasn’t particularly big in this retrospect. Nevertheless, this didn’t change the fact that it was very hard for any life to sustain itself on planet Vegeta, when venturing outside the confines of the city walls. In contrast to its surroundings, Vegeta city was a bastion of paradise.

All the same, Gohan once again had little choice but to venture out into the blistering heat and uncomfortable environment, although this time it was a choice of his own doing.

During his meeting with King Vegeta, Gohan had learned of an annual event that was held on the planet, one that was just about to happen in fact. It was called many things, depending on who you asked, but the King had referred to it as the Great Hunt. The premise was that people spread out across the planet in an attempt to hunt the indigenous life forms and whoever returned with and having slain the largest and most deadly beast within the allocated timeframe, which apparently varied each year to keep things interesting, would be honoured as the victor of the hunt and receive unprecedented honour.

It was an opportunity to prove himself, to both his people and the King, that Gohan could not afford to pass up on. So Gohan had advised Goten to remain within the city, to explore it and learn more about his Saiyan heritage; he’d also made a large point of warning Goten off of any Saiyan women, no matter how pretty they were, if it was clear they had very large boyfriends with large friends. He had no doubt that the latter part of his advice would go unheard, he just hoped he came back to find that his brother was still in one piece.

The starting point for the Great Hunt was said to be the centre point of the desert wasteland, southeast of Vegeta City, where it would begin in little over a weeks time. Having lost his ability to fly, Gohan decided to get a early start; if he arrived early then what harm would it cause? He had already planned out his route, to better take into account his inability to get to his location as quickly as he was used to. He would travel around the lake outside the city, a lake that he was yet to hear the name of, and then follow the river that sprung from it south, after a few hundred miles he would then cross the river and head east until he reached the location.

Easier said than done.

After almost a full day of travelling, having left during the night while it was still cold and far more comfortable, Gohan was annoyed to admit that he wasn’t sure if he had remotely travelled far enough yet. He was heading south, the shore of the river to his immediate left, yet had he gone far enough south yet? He had heard that when he had gone far enough south he would be in line with an old Tuffle settlement, to the west, but every time he glanced in that direction he saw nothing but endless desert; he didn’t even see the distant mountains he knew to be a great distance in that direction.

And so without incident the young hybrid continued his journey, which was ever increasingly becoming even more uncomfortable and intolerable. By now the sun had reached its highest peak in the sky and had began to set, though Gohan was positive it was still getting hotter. Was his mind playing tricks on him already? He hoped not…at any rate he decided that it was time for a rest. Cooling himself down in the river a little would likely do wonders for his morale.

With that Gohan moved to the edge of the river, kneeling down on its bank and splashing the cool, surprisingly clean water onto his face. It felt so amazing to finally have something cool and refreshing touch his heated skin; even the breeze in this desert was scorching hot. Gohan proceeded to dunk his head into the river, completely submerging it. Though everything was upside-down to him now, under the water he could almost perfectly see the plant life and creatures that lived within it. It was amazing to see so much life in the desert, where all around him he had little to none since the city.

The water, he could not tell, was free of salt, which coupled with its clearness meant it was fresh and most likely safe to drink. He did not hesitate in using this opportunity to save his own reserves of water and to re-hydrate himself on the ample supply that stood in front of him. After some time Gohan had drank his fill of water and now his stomach was growling something fierce, which caused Gohan to look down at it in bewilderment; he hadn’t realised just how hungry he was. “I guess I’ve been neglecting you, haven’t I?” he said to it, speaking to it almost as if it were an old friend. “Well, lets see if we can do something about that.”

With that he moved over to his bag, which he had dropped down on the soft, somewhat cool and moist ground that was the bank of the river. Searching within it he pulled out some of his food supplies, consisting of a large chunk of bread and an even larger chunk of salted meat. He had no idea what meat it was, but right now meat was meat. He’d selected these types of food because they were the most likely to stem his appetite enough for the journey, and to keep his body functioning properly. He just hoped they lasted long enough; he hated rationing food, it just seemed like sacrilege.

And so Gohan sat on the edge of the river, with the sun high above his head, enjoying what little food he could afford to spare at this point in the journey. With each mouthful he became more and more content, and began to notice the beauty of even a harsh environment such as this one. “Maybe life isn’t so bad.” he muttered to no one but himself, though in truth he feared he didn’t honestly believe it. Not after losing her.

Word Count: 1,100.

[Bardock]

Bardock was becoming exhausted from the extreme heat that came with the Desert Wastelands on the great planet.... damn. He still couldn't remember what the name of this planet was, despite all of the memories he was able to recover during his adventures. Yet the heat was so intense he would believe that he was only inches away from the damned sun. He and Gumi had a small spat at the Volcanic Region, causing him to lose his ability to fly. It was over something trivial, just killing a couple saiyans in the middle of the night. It was Gumi who taught him those morals in the first place, so he should have punished himself if anyone.

Bardock had finally returned with the blood all over his Saiyan armor. Only minutes ago, he literally took two lives from the world of the living, one tumbling down the side of the volcano and the other whose flesh was burning in the fiery, burning lava of the largest volcano of the area. Now he was back at the camp they had set up with a surprised Gumi on the sidelines, wide eyed and staring at the blood upon Bardock's armor. He didn't react and try to cover the blood, but actually looked to the young man in confusion, thinking that he was okay with this since they were his very own morals in the first place. "What are you doing!? You killed my friends! Why did you do that!?"

The renegade was still looking at Gumi in confusion. He wasn't sure what he had did wrong. "Gumi, dude, I thought these were your morals. Wasn't our race born to fight? For the blood, for the thrill. Oh, you couldn't imagine the thrill, the excitement I felt as I tortured those two. It was amazing." Gumi still looked at the veteran Saiyan as if he were diseased.

"Okay then, you wanted to kill my friends without reason!? Let's see how well you can do without your flight!" Without skipping a beat, he pushed a special energy wave at Bardock, hitting him and sending him back into the wall. He was dazed for a moment, trying to make sense of what had just happened to him. He got angry at Gumi and tried to rush at him, missing once. Gumi smiled at the Saiyan while Bardock was still confused. He tried to fly into the air but his energy was failing him, almost welding his feet to the ground.

"What did you do to me!?" Bardock was simply enraged by this attack that Gumi put onto him. He couldn't even fly at him anymore because of the odd ability. A Saiyan without flight may as well not be a Saiyan at all. Aerial assaults were Bardock's specialty, and now that power was stripped from his arsenal of techniques. He looked to Gumi with rage in his eyes, his eyes flickering between the dark blackness that usually filled his eyes and the blood red of crimson that represented his soul and his battle ready energy. He was ready to burst with anger as the young man began to explain his actions.

"I took away your ability to fly. You will have to relearn if you ever hope to fly again!" Bardock was taken aback by this special power, but more taken aback that he wouldn't be able to fly. Out of anger, he tried to rush at the young man, but he quickly jumped up and sped ahead of him, flying away from the volcano at a high speed. Now Bardock was left behind to get off of the volcano by himself. He looked down the steep ledge, knowing that there was a long journey to come in the future.

Bardock could only sigh at the mellow memory, especially how much of a pain it was to get off of that damned volcano. Now that he was in the Desert Wastelands, he was in the intense heat of the planet, which meant he needed to find something to do to distract himself from the intense environment. But he stopped cold in his tracks, seeing a pond ahead of his trail. He began to put energy into his step, running through the sand to get to the oasis. He jumped into the air and dove head first into a pile of sand, something that really pissed Bardock off. It had been the third time that his brain had been giving him optical illusions. It truly began to pose a problem for him, so he decided to spike his energy and close his eyes to see if he could sense another power level. Maybe he could just kill someone and drink their blood as a liquid. It wouldn't be something he hadn't done before.

Suddenly he sensed a high power level, one extremely close to his full power. He decided that someone so strong might have some supplies that they could share with Bardock, so he sped up in that direction, only able to make jumps over the sand as he neared the strong power level. He then spotted a body within the distance, only speeding up his pace as he finally found someone in this damned hell. He stopped in his tracks though as he noticed something very peculiar about this man. His haircut was one of a spiky sort, much like his own but more alert, and his eyes were very serious like. His attire was familiar as well, like he had seen it once before.

He slowly approached the man and tapped him on the shoulder, hopefully not alarming him in any way. "Hey, I'm sorry for asking this, but you seem very familiar. Do you happen to know me, or have we met at any point in time before?" It was a very odd question, now that he heard it come out of his mouth, but he needed to ask it. This was going to wrack at the renegade's brain if he didn't ask it. Now he awaited his answer with open ears.

Bardock Word Count - 1,010
Gohan Word Count - 1,100
Total Word Count - 2,110

[Son Gohan]

As Gohan continued to enjoy his meal, if it could even remotely be called such a thing, he allowed his mind to drift aimlessly from thought to thought. He had decided to allow himself to relax, if even for a few minutes, which meant trying not to focus on any particular thought as he always found that whenever he thought about things specifically, he’d always over think them and just end up worrying over fine details. Taking in a deep breath of the dry and humid air, Gohan closed his eyes and allowed his mind to drift into the cloudy planes of his mind.

He saw images of times since long passed. People he once knew or still did. Places he had visited, or always wanted to visit. Images of Videl and Pan briefly appeared in front of him, but he rapidly pushed them deep into the depths of his mind, focusing on other images; he could not think of them right now, he just…couldn’t. However, it was too late. Images of his dads death flashed to the forefront of his mind. Memories of all the times he had failed or let down people…his wife’s death, Legion…

He felt his body tense and his fists clench, and in that moment he realised that instead of breaking away from the images, he was purposely pushing deeper into them. Thankfully, before he could be consumed by the negative thoughts and emotions swimming throughout his mind, something tapped him on the shoulder and brought him rapidly rushing back to reality in a startle. Without thinking, Gohan shot up onto his feet from his seated position, dropping his food onto the ground and turning with clenched fists held high, in preparation to defend himself. However, who he was faced with was the last person he expected.

"Hey,” the person said cautiously, clearly not wanting to startle Gohan as much as he had done. “I'm sorry for asking this, but you seem very familiar. Do you happen to know me, or have we met at any point in time before?" he finished with. The question confused Gohan at first, but as he tried to think about what this man meant his thoughts began to clear and everything came rushing back to him in an instant.

“…You…” Gohan muttered, squinting with his eyes as if trying to spot something over an incredibly long distance. “Yes…I know your face…” now Gohan remembered everything perfectly. He had fought against this man back on Earth, in the first round of the Worlds Martial Arts Tournament, but most of all this man was a spitting image of his father, albeit more battle worn and older. Gohan had meant to speak to him after their match, to enquire about his appearance and who he was exactly, but he had never managed to find the chance; now he could, especially if this man remembered anything of what had happened and how they had got here, though considering his initial question, that seemed unlikely.

“My name is Gohan. Your name is Bardock. Isn’t it?” Gohan asked, remembering the name. Gohan’s stance softened and his fists lowered to his side, unclenching. This was another Saiyan, a potentially powerful one at that if he was still as strong as he had been during the tournament, though that was also unlikely. However, Gohan did not think this man would attack him. Now that the situation had been somewhat defused, Gohan continued to speak.

“Yes, I do know you…I think…at least in part.” he realised he wasn’t making very much sense, but then again the entire situation didn’t make very much sense. “I believe we met once before, in a competitive battle, on a planet a long way away from here called Earth.” he sideways glanced at Bardock, waiting to read the elder Saiyan’s reaction to his potentially outlandish comment. “But I don’t just know your face from us having met, there’s something else…” he added cautiously.

Turning to face Bardock completely, Gohan looked at him with a stern face. He needed to know that what he said next was meant seriously, and not as a joke or a lie. “Your face…you look like my father, only, a little different.” it was a poor description of what he was trying to say, but under the unusual circumstances he could hardly be expected to have done better. It was odd, looking into Bardock’s face he saw his fathers, and in his fathers his saw himself; it was an unnerving experience, so say the least.

Word Count: 756.
Total Word Count thus far: 1,856.

[Bardock]

Bardock have off a surprised look at the man tensed up, rising from his small meal and getting into a defensive stance, as if he wanted to brawl in this kind of weather. It was quite the bad idea, up until he began to speak the veteran Saiyan after taking a closer look at his face, as if he was instantly recognized after a good look. He began to squint his eyes at the renegade as his voice filled the heated air of the Desert Wastelands. “…You…” He said it as if the memories were slowly flooding into his mind, a past encounter long forgotten by time, most likely. It would be the same for Bardock, thinking that he met the man long ago, some time in the past. But soon he would realize that is the exact opposite of the situation.


“My name is Gohan. Your name is Bardock. Isn’t it?” This 'Gohan' unclenched his fists and softened his defensive stance, as if Bardock was just a long lost friend that he hadn't seen in a while. Bardock put a little brain power to the name, thinking hard to see if that matched up any memories. He ended up hitting something within his cranium as the name clicked on a memory that quickly flooded his mind with brand new images, ones that he hadn't seen until this moment.

Bardock noticed that the golden particles were beginning to flow from Gohan's hair, feeling the immense energy that was going to follow. They were in the middle of a power struggle, both of them holding one another's fists to try and win the struggle between them. It looked as if Gohan was going to push it to his limit as his eyes turned to a light green, signaling a transformation that was privileged among his race, the Saiyans. With a large burst of energy, the man's aura turned to a bright gold, as well as his hair going to a blonde color. He had become a Super Saiyan, a transformation of unimaginable power, only attainable by the race known as the Saiyans.

"Well, no holding back over here then." With that statement, Bardock's energy began to spike. He began to yell into the air while looking into Gohan's green eyes, ready to intimidate him as his power rose to heights unimaginable by man and woman alike. His hair began to rise into the air, defying gravity and flickering between the regular dark black color that made up his hairstyle and the blonde color of Gohan's hair, signaling what was about to happen. His right eye went to a light green, but his left went into a blood crimson color, showing a corrupted form of the transformation. His hair turned blonde as a final yell left his strong lungs, the ground indenting three times, each indent reaching farther and farther throughout the ring until they hit the edges of the concrete.

With the power now ever and the restraints lifted, the two warriors broke away from each other in a blur of smoke and energy, each reaching a side of the ring. Bardock began to charge his energy up to the fullest, his golden aura spiking into the air as he brought his hands in front of his body. He began to bring his energy from his center into his arms as he brought his hands behind his body, cupping them together. His crimson sphere of energy began to glow throughout the ring as a golden sphere of energy was charged on the other side of the ring by his opponent, Gohan.

"Alright, Gohan! Let's go out... WITH A BANG!" With that powerful statement thrown into the air, his beam followed it, the large crimson beam making its way to Gohan. It was quickly stopped as his golden beam of energy collided with Bardock's, a large light show following the struggle of energy. Now it was a battle of energy and stamina, a fact of who would be able to last longer in this battle of energy. It was soon decided as both of the warriors yelled as they pushed out their full power, the two beams exploding in the middle with a large shock wave bursting from the middle of the ring.

The smoke slowly began to clear from the ring, showing that both of the warriors were still standing after that large show of power. But Gohan showed a weakness in his condition as he fell to one knee, feeling an earlier injury that Bardock put onto his arm. The renegade smiled at the prospect, seeing that he could now rush out and win this horrific first match. That attempt was quickly crushed as Bardock took his first step, slipping under his own weight and falling to the ground without a sound except for the sickening thump of his body hitting the cold concrete. It was over, Gohan had won the match.


“Yes, I do know you…I think…at least in part.” Bardock was brought out of his memory trance by the sound of Gohan's voice. Yes, he knew that pain that Gohan caused him very well. Truly a formidable opponent. A great ally as well, if convinced. “I believe we met once before, in a competitive battle, on a planet a long way away from here called Earth.” Yes, this 'Earth' was the location of this tournament. He remembered his match very well now. Yet he kept going with this. “But I don’t just know your face from us having met, there’s something else…”

Suddenly, the air got tense as the question was about to be thrown out there, Gohan's face turning to a more serious one as his voice began to fill the air once more. “Your face…you look like my father, only, a little different.” His father... 'Goku' was the name of his father. Yes, it could quite frankly be him if his hunch was correct, so Bardock decided to counter Gohan's question with one of his own.

"Your father... Goku, was it? Was he ever called Kakarot at any point in his life? If so... it is quite possible that I am your grandfather, Gohan." Yes, it was quite the bombshell for the young man, but Bardock couldn't help but give off a weak smile. He had such a tough and strong grandson, if his question proved to bring about the outcome he expected.

Word Count - 1,067
Bardock's Word Count - 2,077
Gohan's Word Count - 1,856
Total Word Count - 3,933

[Son Gohan]

Despite Gohan’s somewhat outlandish statement, Bardock didn’t appear to caught off guard by it at all. Perhaps Bardock had also seen the remembrance while Gohan had been fighting his dad in the tournament? It would have explained a thing or two, at the very least. However, it did not take the elder Saiyan very long to reply at all.

"Your father...Goku, was it?”

“Yes, that’s right.” Gohan responded with a nod. That pretty much answered his earlier question; Bardock must have seen Goku at the Tournament, how else would he know such information without being told? It meant that in some form or another, Bardock remembered everything that had happened, just as Gohan did. Perhaps he would finally gain some answers surrounding this huge mystery?

“Was he ever called Kakarot at any point in his life?” this question caught Gohan a little by surprise. Of course he’d heard that name before, it was all Vegeta referred to his father as, claiming it was his rightful Saiyan name. There was no denying that Bardock now knew something.

“Yes…Vegeta has always called him that. How…” but he never managed to finish his question, as Bardock answered it before he could.

“If so...it is quite possible that I am your grandfather, Gohan."

Gohan’s mouth must have dropped open at the revelation of his heritage. Now he knew it all made so much sense. He could see it as clear as day. As he looked on at Bardock, the shock still clear in the young hybrids expression, the elder Saiyan allowed a softer smile to form from his lips. In that moment Gohan could see his father in Bardock, hell his Grandfather even. Then again, it didn’t mean’ it was true…though Gohan felt it probably was.

What were the implications of it being true though? What would it mean? It meant Gohan had an even stronger link to his Saiyan heritage. That reminded him of his original reason for staying on planet Vegeta, his dream or premonition of Saiyans wreaking havoc on Earth. Perhaps on some level the Saiyans were responsible for the events that had led to him being brought back here? What if his dream or premonition was no longer destined to come true, thanks to the Great Catastrophe? Or maybe he was just looking into things too much.

“You’re my Grandpa?” Gohan muttered, asking rhetorically. He glanced down at the floor, allowing his thoughts to drift from one thing to the next, when he spotted the food that he had dropped. There wasn’t a lot left from when he had been eating, but he suddenly realised that Bardock was also out in this harsh environment and he didn’t appear to have any supplies on his person. Pushing all else aside for the moment Gohan took a few steps forward and picked up the bread and the wrapped salted meat he had been holding, blowing some of the dirt off of it from the floor, before looking back up to Bardock.

“You must be hungry,” He began, looking up at the older Saiyan. “It’s not much, not for a Saiyan, but it should help.” he extended his hands, holding out both items of food until Bardock had taken them both, before moving over to his supplies and remove his canteen of water. “And here,” he added as he tossed it in Bardock’s direction. “We can refill it in the river before we leave.” he finished, taking a seat back on the floor and relaxing a little.

The young hybrid had a lot on his mind, questions he wanted to ask, but the task of sorting them all out was already proving more difficult than he had expected it to be. With a sigh he decided to leave all that for now. If Bardock was really his Grandfather then they’d have plenty of time to discuss everything else, so instead he would keep it nice and simple.

“What brings you out to the Desert Wasteland?” Gohan asked, attempting to be somewhat casual. “Was it the Great Hunt? That’s why I’m out here.” he continued. “As soon as King Vegeta mentioned it to me, I knew I had to take part and win it if I was going to be able to take another step towards earning the respect of the rest of our people.” and doing just that always seemed to be an uphill battle for Gohan. No matter how many of them apparently changed their views on the ‘half-breed’, there always seemed an equal amount ready to hate him purely because his blood wasn’t pure.

I’ll show them all though. he briefly caught himself thinking. Despite having lost his powers on two separate occasions, he had twice previously been the most powerful Saiyan in the universe, at least to his knowledge, and he had every intention of getting that title back…how else was he supposed to protect the ones he loved? He would never fail in that duty again.

Word Count: 827.
Total Word Count thus far: 2,683.

[Bardock]

Bardock could see the shock that overwhelmed his grandson's face as the bombshell was dropped. And how could this man not be shocked by the fact that the both of them are actually related? It could be both a blessing and a curse, considering they were both a couple of the strongest men of their kind, but also because they were once at each other’s throats over evil acts. Bardock would try to restrain himself from doing evil things in front of Gohan. Yet, Gohan's jaw felt like it was still at the floor from this news, so he made a feeble attempt to lighten the mood by giving him a soft smile. It clicked something in the hybrid's brain as he began to speak once more.

"You're my Grandpa?" Bardock slowly gave a reassuring nod as the question reached his eardrums. He was indeed his grandfather, there was no more doubt within Bardock's mind. This strong man, one who he had fought with in the tournament of the strongest fighters in the universe, was of his blood.

In that moment, a low-pitched growl took over the airspace, causing the renegade to take an offensive stance, ready for any kind of animal, beast, or rebellious Saiyan to come at the both of them in the middle of the desert. The growl came back once more, Bardock's ears hearing where it came from at this time. Yes, it was below him, and it turns out it was his gut.

A Saiyan was one who had a limitless appetite, and he didn't bring any supplies out here with him when he headed out to the Desert Wasteland. It was a part of training, but maybe he should have had a decent meal before he left. He put both of his hands to his stomach and rubbed it a little in a childish attempt to try and calm his growling gut down. Gohan had other plans though, as he went to the side of Bardock to grab something. It was revealed that it was a small piece of bread and some salted meat that fell in the sand. "You must be hungry." He brushed the two pieces off on his clothes and extended his hands to the renegade as some sort of offering. "It's not much, not for a Saiyan, but it should help." Indeed it was not enough for any member of his race, especially with Bardock. A race that needed much food to keep up their immense strength, this was just small offerings. But it was nice enough of his grandson to offer him food in the middle of the desert in the first place, so he accepted the small pieces of food as he took them in his own hands. He simply ate the meat in one gulp so he could free up a hand for anything he might have to do.

As for the bread, he would make an attempt to savor this piece of food. He looked to his right to see a small canteen flying his way, so he raised his free hand and caught it easily. "And here," He opened the small canteen and it was revealed that it was full of refreshing water, truly a necessity in a place of such intense heat. "We can refill it in the river before we leave."

Gohan took a seat in the middle of the sand, so the crimson warrior decided to do so as well as he took a small swig on the canteen. The water began to rush down his dry throat, refreshing the dry surface around it. He felt refreshment like no other in that moment, but he kept it short-lived so that Gohan would have some as well. He took a small bite of the bread he received only moments ago, the flavor taking over his many taste buds.

Now that he thought about it, he never really sat down to take in how something tasted. A sweet sort of taste with this bread, he wanted to experience it more often. Bardock made a mental note to start enjoying his food instead of eating it so barbarically. "What brings you out to the Desert Wasteland?" What was the renegade doing out here? He searched him mind for a few moments to come up with an answer, but Gohan kept going with his reasoning to be out here in the desert.

"Was it the Great Hunt? That’s why I’m out here." The Great Hunt? Bardock had never heard of such an event. Then again, with his memories being shot, there were probably a lot of things that he wouldn't know about in this new world. "As soon as King Vegeta mentioned it to me, I knew I had to take part and win it if I was going to be able to take another step towards earning the respect of the rest of our people." Okay, that is where Bardock was going to have to stop Gohan. There were way too many questions to be asked, so he started at the beginning.

"Well, the reason I would be out here is my own personal training. To beat the heat of the Desert Wastelands with no food nor supplies on my person. As you can see, I wasn't able to go for long." Yes, it was training in vain, for sure. He was not able to go very long without his necessities, and he knew that it would require more pushing to become stronger. Maybe like the young man, his grandson, that sat before him, he was looking for respect among his people.

"As for the Great Hunt, I have never heard of such an event. Maybe you could refresh my memory?" No, the mere name did not bring up a new memory. Perhaps he had never participated in this event in the past, and needed to know more. Maybe a name change was what caused the mix up. But he had to prepare himself for what question came next.

"And as for my last question, exactly who is this 'King Vegeta'?" Such a bold title, a king. Bardock had no idea that there was loyalty upon the planet. If so, he wanted more details on said loyalty, to know who he had to respect. Answers would come his way soon enough though. All he had to do now was wait.

Word Count - 1,100
Bardock's Word Count - 3,177
Gohan's Word Count - 2,683
Total Word Count - 5,860

[Son Gohan]

It was clear that Bardock could see Gohan’s surprise, despite the young hybrid, eventually, doing his best to hide it. His emotions could betray him, and had in the past. He had been raised to believe in his emotions, to use them as a frame of reference, to use them to guide him and help him through the most difficult of situations. The Saiyan way was to hide them away, almost entirely, and to draw upon the emotions that gave them strength; anger and hate, more specifically. It was one of the things about being a Saiyan warrior that he was still not quite accustomed to, if he ever would be fully. In truth Gohan hoped he never grew fully accustomed to it. It was good at times, to help him fit in to a greater degree, but how could he hope to teach the Saiyans a new way to live if he gave up everything he was trying to teach them? It was a vicious circle.

All the while Gohan was speaking he couldn’t help but notice that his Grandpa, wow it was weird thinking of this practical stranger that way, merely listened in silence more than anything else. Perhaps he was just as equally shocked by the revelation of their shared blood? Perhaps he merely preferred to listen in silence when someone was talking, then add whatever he had to say at the end, rather than in-between?

It then struck Gohan. He knew hardly anything about Bardock, his own Grandpa, if he knew anything at all past the obvious. He was a full-blooded Saiyan, a somewhat low class one by the looks of his armour, and of course he was Gohan’s blood related Grandpa; but beyond that? Now that he thought about it, he realised that he had heard the name Bardock long before he had ever gone up against his Grandpa in the World’s Martial Arts Tournament back on Earth. While he and Vega were training with General Zorn on planet Vegeta, the first time he had been here, the General had mentioned the name Bardock when he had been explaining who had been the one to invent the Moonshine Blast technique, otherwise known as the Power Ball. So his Grandpa had been responsible for the technique that had changed Saiyan warfare? It was quite the honour to be related to him, as Gohan understood it.

However, Gohan had not forgotten some of the lower-hand tactics that his Grandpa had used against him in their Tournament battle. At one point he had even attempted to attack the audience, just on the off chance that Gohan would lower his defences to help them out, which he had naturally done. He was disappointed to think that a member of his family would be so heartless, so ruthless in battle, but then he couldn’t ignore that his Grandpa was a Saiyan and had been raised that way. It was in his blood, just as much as helping people was in Gohan’s, and it wasn’t something that would change overnight. If he couldn’t change his own Grandpa’s way of thinking about things, how could he hope to change how any of his other people thought?

Bardock gratefully accepted the food and the water when he was offered them, before also taking a seat upon the ground and resting himself. He seemed to enjoy the small morsels of food that Gohan had to offer, and the cool thirst quenching water even more so, but he still remained quiet while Gohan continued to speak. However, eventually Gohan finished speaking, and as Bardock passed back the water canteen back to his Grandson the hybrid took a long, drawn out gulp, as his Grandpa finally decided to speak.

"Well, the reason I would be out here is my own personal training. To beat the heat of the Desert Wastelands with no food or supplies on my person. As you can see, I wasn't able to go for long."

Gohan nodded. “Is there a more difficult foe to defeat than nature itself?” His Grandpa was brave to undertake such a dangerous task, though Gohan couldn’t help but think that perhaps it was too much of a task. Training was one thing, but training on this sort of scale? It was dangerous, deadly even. In truth Bardock was lucky to have stumbled upon his Grandson when he did; otherwise he may very well have died.

"As for the Great Hunt, I have never heard of such an event. Maybe you could refresh my memory?" Gohan raised an eyebrow at this. "And as for my last question, exactly who is this 'King Vegeta'?" That was it, something was definitely wrong. His Grandpa was a famous Saiyan, in many minor respects, one who had served his Empire all of his life, yet he did not know about the annual Great Hunt or the ruler of their people? Perhaps he had not remembered everything after the Great Catastrophe

Gohan looked down at the ground briefly, considering how he would explain things to his Grandpa. He decided he begin with the Great Hunt. “The Great Hunt, it’s an annual event that’s held on our planet – or so I’m told.” he looked back up at Bardock. “Warriors go out into the Desert and hunt the great beasts of the planet. The warrior who kills and brings back the biggest beast is declared the winner of the event, and the rightful owner of the glory and respect that comes with the victory.” Gohan looked out over the desert. “Apparently it’s an old tradition, going back countless years.”

Glancing back to his Grandpa once more Gohan decided to continue to the more serious of the two questions. “King Vegeta is the ruler of our people, the Saiyans, and the Empire that they rule over.” Gohan explained, simply. “From what I’ve been told he was a Saiyan warrior who lead the final attack against the Tuffles in the Saiyan and Tuffle war, and because of his strength and leadership skills he was granted the title of King, in honour for his actions.” Gohan was sure there had to be many more details he was missing out, but everything he had ever known about that topic was from word of mouth or scattered documents; there was still a lot more he needed to learn on it.

“He has ruled since then, and besides the events revolving around an alien tyrant by the name of Frieza, his rule has been without major issue.” Gohan thought back to Frieza and all the terrible things that the evil tyrant had done, especially on planet Namek. Gohan could still remember the absolute terror he had felt when going up against him, and the unadulterated rage that had consumed him when Krillin had been impaled by one of Frieza’s horns, and Piccolo was being slowly killed.

Gohan had absentmindedly clenched his fist, and so slowly releasing his grip, he took a deep breath and continued. “Since first coming to this planet, also named Vegeta after the King, I’ve been in the service of King Vegeta and his army.” he disliked the thought of himself serving in an army, being a soldier who had to fight and kill, but he had long ago realised it was a necessary step to achieve a much greater good. “I’ve slowly been attempting to gain our people’s respect and rise to the rank of a Saiyan Elite, and in that time I have steadily come to earn the King’s trust.”

A slight frown appeared on Gohan’s expression, though it was not one of anger or negativity, but rather slight concern. “Do you really remember so little about your own people and history?” Gohan was surprised that his Grandpa would remember fighting in the World’s Martial Arts Tournament, yet very little of his Saiyan culture and past.

Word Count: 1,310.
Word Count thus far: 3,993.

[Bardock]

His grandson was now sitting in front of him. His very own blood paced upon the soil of Vegeta once again. The renegade had very few memories of his own family, not able to reach memories of his mother or his own father. He couldn't even recall their names. Yet, now his bloodline went so far down, he had grandchildren on another planet. A small memory, a quick one, flew through Bardock's mind.

Bardock just finished getting out of the rejuvenation tank that healed him from his recent mission on Kanassa. He and his teammates were able to take down an entire race of aliens in a matter of days by scheduling their arrival with the full moon, turning them into Ozaru. Though, one of the Kannassians survived and was able to land a single blow on the back of Bardock's neck, which apparently gave him this special power that would allow him to see into the future. Though, Bardock was able to quickly recover and turn the Kanassian into mere ash. With the entire population assimilated and his energy spent, he passed out on the ground and left his well-being to his teammates. With that victory behind him and his body stronger than ever, he was heading out to get to his pod and head out for Planet Meat. He was told by the doctors that his teammates were heading to Meat for a special mission given to them by Frieza himself.

He was about to head out of the hallway when he stopped suddenly to take a look to the day care center. He saw that a carriage that held a baby that donned Bardock's hairstyle was within the window's view. This carriage had the name 'Kakarot' engraved into it. This was Bardock's second son. The crimson fighter clicked a few buttons on his scouter and it began to give off a few clicking noises to show that it was calculating the infant's power level. His right eye was met with a disappointing sight. A power level of only two. With this one digit of disappointed painted into his mind, he ran back down the hall to get to his pod and assist his teammates.

Bardock closed his eyes to really think about that memory. Who knew that his own son would go on to become a strong warrior, or even have children that would grow up to become so strong? The renegade was honored to be the start of such a strong bloodline. He explained to Gohan what his purpose was in the middle of the Desert Wastelands, that this was a method of training that would push the limits of the Saiyan's survival. He was able to go a few days without food or water in this intense heat, which was a great feat in itself, but he had to admit that he was lucky to meet up with his grandson in the middle of this area. He was assured that he would have died if he hadn't. Gohan gave him a reassuring nod to this statement, as he agreed with him. “Is there a more difficult foe to defeat than nature itself?” Bardock could read the emotions that stirred within Gohan. One of disbelief that the Saiyan would take on such a dangerous task. Yes, it was difficult, but Bardock needed to become strong to where no one would oppose him. His ultimate goal... it still wasn't clear, not even to Bardock's eyes. Maybe traveling with Gohan would reveal the path that the renegade was destined to follow.

When Bardock raised a question about the Great Hunt to his grandson, the warrior met his question with a mere eyebrow raise. Ignoring this small and subtle action, he kept going by asking him a question about this 'King' Vegeta. This obviously raised some concern in Gohan's mind, but he was good at hiding his emotions. He must have been put through great training to do such. Though, the will of his emotionless face was broken as he focused his gaze onto the ground. Bardock could only look at his grandson as he decided to put answers to the renegade's questions. “The Great Hunt, it’s an annual event that’s held on our planet – or so I’m told.” Gohan brought his gaze back up to the veteran warrior's face. “Warriors go out into the Desert and hunt the great beasts of the planet. The warrior who kills and brings back the biggest beast is declared the winner of the event, and the rightful owner of the glory and respect that comes with the victory.” His blood took a look over the horizon of the desert. On the other hand, this event sounded like the perfect oppurtunity to make Bardock's name known throughout the planet as one of the strongest Saiyans on the planet. “Apparently it’s an old tradition, going back countless years.” Bardock definitely liked the sound of this sort of event, so he mentally made himself a note to participate in this event to see if he could come out as a victor with ease.

Bardock saw that Gohan's glance had drifted back to him, and he went on with answering the second question that bothered Bardock. "King Vegeta is the ruler of our people, the Saiyans, and the Empire that they rule over.” While his grandson was very blunt with his explanation, Bardock did not like this idea at all, to be ruled over by a single man. “From what I’ve been told he was a Saiyan warrior who lead the final attack against the Tuffles in the Saiyan and Tuffle war, and because of his strength and leadership skills he was granted the title of King, in honour for his actions.” Yes, Bardock could remember that day a little more clearly now. He remembered about the Saiyan-Tuffle War, it was where he had to remind everyone that he wasn't someone to be messed with or taken lightly. Yet, he was still treated as an outcast and cursed with the name of a low-class warrior all because... of his father's mutiny. But that was a story for another day, maybe a story that he could tell his grandchildren. That thought simply made Bardock laugh as he looked to his grandson once again. "He has ruled since then, and besides the events revolving around an alien tyrant by the name of Frieza, his rule has been without major issue.”

"Fr... Frie..." The sheer name of that alien, the one that...

"I will change my fate, the Saiyans' fate, my son's fate... and your fate... Frieza!" With those words thrown into the vastness of space, he charged up a sphere of great power in his right hand. Bardock had almost the entire army of Frieza behind him as he made this declaration, this act of mutiny against the Cold Empire. Frieza replied with a single finger lifted into the air, which was soon paired with a small spherical form of orange energy. This pissed Bardock off that Frieza thought he could be defeated with a small blast like that. "Now face the power... of the Saiyan race!" The renegade threw his spirit's shot at the tyrant as he yelled with great force. The sphere sped toward Frieza as the alien was thrown into a fit of laughter. The small orange sphere of energy slowly grew into a large ball of energy, almost one third of the size of Vegeta. Bardock's sphere of energy simply disintegrated into Frieza's blast. Bardock could only look in surprise as the energy ball grew bigger and bigger. Frieza brought his finger down and the ball of death quickly approached Bardock and the entire army. He could do nothing to deflect the blast, he could only float there, frozen in fear. One last word was uttered from his mouth as the ball of energy engulfed him.

"KAKAROT!!!"

"Frieza!!!" He threw the tyrant's name into the heated air of the desert as his blue aura spiked, the sand surrounded him being blown away by the power he was able to summon up. The rage that Bardock felt when this memory entered his mind was indescribable, he almost wanted to kill anything in sight. But he also exercised something that most Saiyans could not have the privilege of learning. That skill was self-control. After a few seconds of yelling, his aura slowly turned to mere air once more, and his energy was slowly brought down to a low level, a resting state. He sat down again on the sand and looked over to Gohan. "I'm sorry about that. I don't have the best history with the man named Frieza." Bardock saw that Gohan was clenching his fist, so it was possible that Gohan hadn't had such a good history with the changling either, so maybe they could relate in this sense. But his grandson also knew self-control as he took a deep breath and exhaled, talking once more after Bardock's small apology.

“Since first coming to this planet, also named Vegeta after the King, I’ve been in the service of King Vegeta and his army.” His grandson was a soldier to the Saiyan Army, a befitting title to such a bloodline, but he worried for Gohan's status. To be related to a low-class soldier like Bardock must have tainted the warrior's image to the other Saiyans. Hopefully either Gohan could prove himself, or Bardock could clean up his bloodline's curse. “I’ve slowly been attempting to gain our people’s respect and rise to the rank of a Saiyan Elite, and in that time I have steadily come to earn the King’s trust.” Yes, the King. King Vegeta sounds like a man that Bardock would have to... have a spirited conversation with sometime. Though, a look of concern befell over Gohan's face. “Do you really remember so little about your own people and history?”

Bardock gave off a small sigh and began to speak. "Yes, I am afraid that would be the case here, Gohan. I am unsure of my own origins, but I seem to remember things as others remind me of such memories. For example, my memories of King Vegeta were brought up as soon as you explained to me about him. And as with Frieza, I remembered my final stand against him and his army. It was a sad sight, but I seemed to have survived it. But... I'm unsure of my purpose here and now. I just woke up on this planet, and now I don't know why I'm alive, or what my purpose for living will be. I'm a lost soul." Bardock was able to confide in Gohan, as he was his own blood. Maybe the young Saiyan hybrid would be able to shed some light on Bardock's existence.

Word Count - 1,868
Bardock's Word Count -

[/color] 5,045
Gohan's Word Count -[/color] 3,993
Total Word Count - 9,038[/center]