Chapter 14: Regroup

"So what now?" Vegeta asked as Bardock lighted down beside him.

Bardock rubbed his chin in thought. "That depends on what Freeza chooses to do."

"Ginyu Force, probably," Nappa said, eyes on the wrecked ship.

"What makes you think that?" Bardock asked, both older Saiyans ignoring Vegeta's noise of derision. "He's probably in orbit. In the system, at the very least."

"Yeah, but you gotta remember," Nappa said, turning to face them. "He's not like us. He doesn't enjoy fighting, and he doesn't need to prove his own strength."

"What does enjoying fighting have to do with anything?" Vegeta act, dropping his feigned disinterest, looking as Nappa curiously.

"It's the incentive to deal with us personally." Nappa explained. "This isn't about him, it's about the Empire. There's no way what we're doing is a total secret by now. The galaxy's gonna be watching to see what happens. Freeza needs us to lose, but if he handles it himself, it's gonna give him trouble later."

"Politics weren't really my thing," Bardock said, a little bewildered by Nappa's sudden scholarship. "Why would it give him trouble later?"

"We aren't the biggest rebellion the Empire's ever seen," Vegeta said. "But we are the strongest individuals to fight back. Freeza might be the most powerful being in the Universe for now, but he can't be everywhere at once. Once people think they can get away with it, they'll cause all kinds of chaos."

"If he were the kind of guy who liked handling things himself, it wouldn't matter that he fought us himself," Nappa continued. "But he's not - hell, he's the opposite. He sits in his… whatever that thing is, and let Dodoria or Zarbon deal with anyone that approached him, and he sends the Ginyu Force to deal with problems far away. If people find out that those guys can be opposed - and I mean hell, they might even be able to oppose them: the Ginyu Force came from somewhere, after all - then they'll start to cause trouble from one end of the galaxy to the other, and just go hide when Freeza starts to move."

"So if Freeza is forced to deal with anything, he'll be forced to deal with everything?" Bardock asked, and Nappa nodded in confirmation.

"That's what the people will think, in any event." Vegeta's tone was skeptical. "It won't work out that way. We might tear down the reputation of his elite fighting forces, but his personal reputation will be undamaged for as long as he is. There are overconfident fools all over, but the powerful few with a survival instinct will see this opportunity differently. With the power vacuum we've left, there'll be a lot of opportunity for promotions."

"You're saying we might've strengthened his army in the long run?" Bardock asked in disbelief, but Vegeta laughed scornfully.

"Ha! Hardly. Didn't you learn anything from your time in the Freeza forces? It means conflict, infighting, jockeying for power and backstabbing politics as everyone fights for the most powerful position they can reach. If we kill the Ginyu Force and go dark, the entire Empire is liable to fall apart."

"Okay, but the Empire isn't really our primary concern," Bardock said slowly. "So long as Freeza's alive, he'll regain control and rebuild. Nothing we do is important until he's dead."

"But it does give us an idea of what to do next," Nappa said. "The Ginyu Force is almost certainly the next ones coming, so we have time to plan for them, and figure out how to get off this rock afterwards."

"Dragonballs could handle that," Bardock muttered, before clearing his throat. "And, uh, if you're wrong?"

Nappa shrugged. "Well then shit. It's been a good run." He grinned at them. "But more than anything - you guys feel it too, right?" He knocked his fist against his chestplate. "He's the final boss, ain't he? You know we're gonna face him last."

Bardock and Vegeta exchanged a look, but neither disagreed.

"Well, guess we should call the others then," Bardock said, reaching up to his scouter. "Figure out a place to meet up."


Tien held up a hand, coming to a stop as the other two slowed behind him.

"It's Bardock," He said shortly, pressing a button on his scouter to open communications. "Hey, what's the situation?"

"Bombed out structures and smoking corpses. But in a good way."

"You're hilarious." Tien rolled his eyes. "We know you won. I meant what's happening now."

"Should've called Yamcha. He has a better sense of humour than you. Anyway, we're pretty sure we have some time before the next wave. We should meet up and go over things."

"Well, we're on our way to one of the last villages. The Namekians have all been gathering in a cave system, and they have the Dragonballs with them. Which reminds me, they told us their Dragon can grant three wishes, not just one."

"Really?"

"Yeah!" Krillin chimed in. He and Yamcha had apparently joined in the call. "And they're huge, too! As big as our heads. Guess that's to hold all the extra wishes."

"Uh-huh, that's great Krillin." Yamcha did a poor job smothering his laughter. "Well, that solves one problem, but we don't need to involve them in this."

"We don't?" Tien asked. "This is their planet."

"But it's not their fight. All they need to do is keep their heads down and stay out of the way. In exchange, they get to not be conquered by Freeza." Tien frowned, but didn't raise any objections. "Do you have any idea what Kakarot and Raditz are up to? They're pretty far out."

"Yeah, they're going after a Dragonball," Yamcha explained, bringing out their radar. They'd brought two: one was in the hands of the humans, the other with Goku. "But there isn't a village out that way."

"Either someone's hiding their energy or one of the Dragonballs is just off by itself," Tien said. "And considering all of the other Dragonballs have been in the hands of the villagers, it's probably the former."

"Hmm… I doubt anything on this planet is particularly hostile, but… Raditz," "Raditz," They said at the same time. It was Krillin's turn to smother his laughter.

"How about this then? We'll go meet up with them. In the meantime, you three go get the rest of the villagers, send them to that cave system you mentioned, so we know they're all in one place, then come meet up with us."

"Alright. But it doesn't seem right to leave the Namekians out of all this."

"If they were a whole race of Piccolo's, I would agree. But as wise as Kami can be, if I had to pick one of those two to be here, I'd pick Piccolo. They'd just get in the way."

You mean you just wouldn't listen to anything they say.

Tien didn't say it.

"Roger. We'll get moving then."

"Be careful, and move quickly. We're on a timer."

"Understood." He cut the communications, nodded to the other two, and they took off.


"That looks… important," Goku said as they looked at the large spire with a single building at the top.

"I'm guessing we've found their leader," Raditz said, frowning.

"There's two of them in there, right Dad?" Gohan asked, focusing on the building.

"That's right!" Goku said, patting Gohan on the shoulder. The boy grinned at him, but Raditz didn't seem to be sharing in the moment.

"It's good you could sense them." The older Saiyan was surprisingly generous, but he continued to frown at the building. "But there hasn't been a single member of this race giving off so little power before. They're obviously suppressing their energy."

"Why is that bad?" Gohan asked, looking back and forth between them, curiously.

"If this is the boss's place, then he's probably strong," Goku explained.

Raditz rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe, or he might have a bodyguard. Old King Vegeta was one of the strongest Saiyans around, but that because of the kind of race we were. These Namekians don't really seem the same."

"Well, that depends on if he's a member of the Warrior clan or the Dragon clan, doesn't it?" Gohan asked. Both of the adults looked at him, puzzled.

"The… what? Clans?" Raditz asked.

Gohan seemed surprised. "You don't know?"

Raditz shook his head.

Goku grinned. "Learned about it from Piccolo?"

At that, Gohan shook his head. "He didn't know either. Kami explained it while we were still training on the Lookout. Namekians are either in the Warrior clan, like Mr. Piccolo, or the Dragon clan, like Kami. The Dragon clan have mystical power, like the ability to make Dragonballs, and the Warrior clan have natural fighting power."

Distracted as they were, none of the Saiyans noticed the door to the building open as someone stepped outside.

"Wait, but weren't Kami and Piccolo the same person? How can they be in different clans?" Goku asked, frowning.

"Kami said it was the kind of energy they were both left with after they split. Piccolo had all the negative, violent energy, so he became more of a warrior, while Kami was left with all the pure, mystical energy. And then when the old Piccolo made the new one, he made it a true Warrior clan member."

"Implying the first version wasn't?" Raditz asked critically,

"Actually, that makes sense," Goku said, looking thoughtful. "The old one used weird powers and could make weird little monsters. Our Piccolo has never done that."

"Make little monsters?" Raditz asked curiously. Gohan was also watching him expectantly.

"Yeah! He would swell up huge, right around the throat, and then spit out a huge egg! Then these fully grown demons came right out of then, ready to fight!"

"A perversion of our natural means of reproduction, then." They all started in alarm, whirling to face the Namekian, floating in the air above them. "Negative energy indeed."

"Who the hell-" Raditz began to growl, before Goku threw out an arm between the two of them.

"You sure gave us a start!" He said cheerily. "Pretty good of you to sneak up on us like that!"

"You were absorbed in your conversation. I did not wish to interrupt."

"Because you wanted to pick up on any information on us, I'll bet." Raditz glared at the Namekian, scowling.

"Raditz, come on," Goku whispered, giving his brother a pained look.

There was the faintest trace of amusement in the Namekians expression. "I was curious as to the extent of knowledge you had of our people, not about yourselves. And besides, Namekian hearing is clearly much better than yours. I could hear you from the spire." Ignoring Raditz's anger, he turned to Gohan. "You are very knowledgeable, young one."

"O-oh, thank you. Um…" the boy shook himself, then bowed, the action looking rather comical so far above the ground. "I'm Son Gohan, mister. It's nice to meet you."

A small smile touched the Namekians features. "Polite as well."

"Yeah, he gets that from his Mom," Goku said, laughing. The Namekian ignored him, keeping his attention on Gohan.

He inclined his head slightly. "I am known as Nail, member of the Warrior clan and guardian of our Lord Guru. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Is it a pleasure to meet the rest of us too?" Raditz grumbled, crossing his arms. Nail ignored him as well.

"Our Lord Guru wishes to speak with you, young one." Nail said, before throwing the adults a distasteful glance. "You are permitted to come along as well."

A vein started going in Raditz's head, but it was Goku who spoke next.

"Why does he want to speak to Gohan?" He asked, frowning.

"I have not been apprised of his reasoning," Nail answered stiffly. "I am merely the messenger."

"I'm sure it's not anything bad," Gohan said reassuringly. "I mean, he's probably like Kami, right?" He looked back and forth between Nail and his father, apprehensive.

"I guess…" Goku said reluctantly.

"You may enter the building to listen, but please keep silent unless you are spoken to," Nail told the adult Saiyans, before beckoning to Gohan, and flying down toward the dwelling. Gohan, after a second's hesitation, followed him.

"I wish someone would just tell us what's going on for once," Goku growled, clenching a fist.

"Maybe they will, now. We're allowed to listen," Raditz reasoned, though he seemed equally unhappy. "Come on."


"Come in, friends."

Gohan walked forward slowly, wide-eyed as he stared up at the Grand Elder of the Namekian people. Goku, Raditz, and Nail stood at a distance, next to the entrance.

"Come closer child. Tell me, who are you?"

Gohan glanced back at the men by the entrance, his father giving him an encouraging nod. Gohan swallowed, stepped forward, and bowed.

"I-I am Son Gohan, um, sir."

The old Namekian let out a small chuckle.

"So polite. But there is no need to stand on ceremony. I welcome you into my abode as friends. Regardless of your original goals, you have saved my children, and now stand between us and a terrible evil. Truly, the Saiyan race has evolved in a direction I have not imagined."

"The Saiyan - you know about us!?" Raditz burst out, and Nail took a step forward.

"Silence! You were allowed in only to observe!"

"Calm yourself Nail, they will not harm us." The Elder said. "Yes, I know of your people. Long ago, the Namekian people flourished, and met many of the galaxy's inhabitants. Now we are few in number, as are you, but we carry on the spirit of our people."

"What happened?" Gohan asked.

"A terrible shift in the planet's climate resulted in tremendous devastation. Our people were ill-equipped to survive, and in the end, there were only two left. Myself, and one other, sent off into the stars in hopes of finding a place where he could survive." He smiled down at Gohan. "I believe you've met him. I would like to hear of his fate."

And so Gohan explained, with a little help from his father, the history of Piccolo and Kami, how they had split from the same being and took up on opposite sides in the battle between good and evil, Piccolo's sealing, his release and defeat by Goku, and the fate of his offspring, up until his sacrifice to protect Gohan.

The Elder remained silent for a moment, before beckoning Gohan closer.

"You have been through a great deal, young one, and I sense an even greater burden still resting on your shoulders."

Gohan stopped at the foot of the throne, and the Elder placed a hand on top of his hand.

"Do you trust me, child?"

Gohan swallowed.

"Yes sir, I do."

The Elder didn't speak, but a faint light was visible around his hand.

"Hmm…" The Elder hummed in thought. "So much has left its mark on your soul. Your heritage is discordant, your instincts combating a gentle nature. You strive to fulfill both, to balance your life's journey and please those whose respect you crave. It remains to be seen whether you will succeed. An otherworldly power has touched your soul as well, bringing with it a power as both blessing and curse, one you should never have been forced to grapple with. But still...you keep your head high, moving forward, confident those that care for you will protect you." The Elder looked over at the two adult Saiyans, and he smiled. "Your faith is well-placed." Gohan grinned up at the old Namekian. "And yet, you wish to protect them as well? A brave child."

Distracted as they were, the Saiyans barely noticed Nail exiting the building.

"I can't possibly ignore a child such as yourself. Allow me to do for you what I can."

There was a moment's silence, then a light appeared around the Elders hand. The Namekian let out a grunt of effort, and Gohan suddenly erupted with power. Goku and Raditz let out involuntary gasps of surprise as the Elder removed his hand.

"I have unlocked your hidden powers," the Elder said, as Gohan looked at his hands in wonder. "It will take time to adjust, but you will greatly increase in strength as you do. I have also done what I can for your other abilities, to make them more available to you. There is no controlling your visions, but they are not all you are entitled to."

"Visions!?" Goku burst out. "What visions?" He turned a pleading look to the Elder. "I know Dad knows, but would you please tell us what's going on? What is this special power Gohan has?"

Gohan looked at his shoes. The Elder considered Goku for a moment.

"Not all powers were intended for mortal hands, or for mortal use. They cannot always be trusted to act properly with them. Still, some races have developed abilities outside of the realm of normal mortals powers. Some were harmless - others were warned. They knew of the punishment inflicted on those who would meddle with our universe itself."

"They were called Kanassans."

The others all jumped in surprise as the entrance closed, Bardock, Vegeta, and Nappa standing on the circle.

"Dad?" Goku asked hesitantly.

Bardock glared up at the Elder.

"This wasn't your story to tell." He growled, not bothering to hide his anger.

"Peace," The Elder said. "I do not know your story. I can merely sense the power."

Bardock glared at him, but was distracted by Gohan approaching him.

"Grandpa…"

Bardock found the strength the smile down at him.

"Hey, that's a pretty good power boost, huh?" He reached down and ruffled the boys hair, who gave him a small smile in return.

Goku walked up and placed a hand on Gohan's shoulder, giving him a quick smile before looking at his father.

"Dad," he started, sounding tired. "Just… what?"

Bardock sighed. "I'll tell you everything. But let's wait for the others. So I don't have to say it twice."

Goku frowned, but nodded.


Bardock leaned against the wall of the building, eyes closed. He was somewhere between meditation and simple dozing, but either way, no one was bothering him, and he was free to gather his thoughts.

He could sense Kakarot and Gohan outside the hut, sparring to pass the time, Gohan getting used to his new power. The Elders bodyguard had flown off without explanation after letting them into the building, and was still gone. The last of the Namekian villagers had reached the cave system, and Tien and the others were on their way.

He had no idea what to say.

He repressed a sigh. When it had been Gohan, Kami and Chi-Chi, there had been proof at hand. Gohan's vision, and Kami's knowledge of more arcane powers. Trying to tell Vegeta he had been able to see the future for two days before losing the power, which then inexplicably passed to his grandson, but only in dreams? He barely believed it himself, and to call the Prince a skeptic would be generous. He didn't understand it well himself, even. Perhaps the Elder would know more - he seemed to recognize Gohan's abilities.

He started slightly as he realized someone had approached him. He opened his eyes to see Raditz turning around to sit beside him.

Bardock closed his eyes, Raditz not having him seen him open them. There was silence for a moment, before his eldest spoke.

"I know you said you wanted to wait to tell the story," Raditz said quietly. "But just tell me this: did you know Planet Vegeta was going to be destroyed?"

Bardock opened his eyes. At the other end of the building, Vegeta and Nappa were playing with the modified chess set he had packed in with his things. Raditz had pretended it had been his, as Vegeta would likely have refused to use Bardock's set on principal.

"Yes," he said quietly.

Raditz sucked in a breath at the admission. Silence settled back between them. Bardock examined the wall of the building, waiting.

"You…" Raditz stopped, closed his eyes, and then forced himself to continue, voice shaky. "What about me? What about mother? How could you-" he stopped again, bowing his head as he attempted to rein in his temper.

"I would've failed." Bardock said quietly.

"So you didn't even try!" Raditz spat, though he had the good sense to keep his voice down.

Bardock turned his head to meet the rage burning in his son's eyes.

"That's right." He said quietly. "I knew Kakarot could oppose Freeza. I had to make a choice."

Raditz stared at him, expression a peculiar mix of anger and helplessness.

The corner of Bardock's mouth hitched up into a small smile. "You're actually resembling me a bit, you know?" That seemed to catch Raditz off guard, and he took the opportunity to continue speaking. "I didn't know you had survived, Raditz. I swear, I would've dropped everything to find you if I'd known. But if I had gone to Vegeta, I never would've left. Call me a coward if you want. I won't deny it. But I loved her too, you know. Don't think for a moment I don't wish things could've gone differently. But I did what I had to do. Would you have done differently?"

Raditz looked down, thinking, before looking back up at Bardock, steel in his gaze. "Yes. I would've."

Bardock smiled, and nodded. "Good. That's good. Children should outgrow their parents."

Raditz didn't seem to know what to say to that, and after a moment, he got up and walked over to the exit. Bardock closed his eyes, and he could sense Raditz joining in Kakarot and Gohans spar.

That's good. Even if I'm not your family, you still have one. You'll all have each other, whatever happens.

After all, they hadn't been the ones dying in Gohan's vision, had they?


Silence reigned around the small table, Gine removing her hand from King Kai's shoulder.

"Interesting, how they've matured," Kami said quietly. "Its taken such a turn that I'm confident Bardock's plan will fail."

Gine looked up at him sharply. "What do you mean?"

"He wants to push events back to the original timeline, to as closely as possible replicate the events that supposedly would have pushed Goku to stand against Freeza. However, as we've said before, we don't know what those events were supposed to be, or if Goku was meant to be victorious in the fight Bardock foresaw."

King Kai continued. "They're too different now. Raditz acts less like a Saiyan with each passing day, Goku is plagued by doubts that developed from comparing himself to his father, and even if that could be overlooked, the steps Bardock's taken playing into Gohan's visions are diverging them more from the timeline, not less."

"Bardock is behaving as though his old vision and Gohan's new ones are equal," Kami explained. "But they aren't weighted the same at all. One is a single vision from 2 odd decades ago, the other a set of visions from the present, that have been actively changing as the lot of them take steps to improve them." Kami shook his head sadly. "Not to mention he's turned that image of his death into a personal self-fulfilling prophecy."

Gine bit her lip. No one needed to explain that one to her. She'd been little more than a passive observer for the past decade or so, but she still knew Bardock better than anyone else, even their children. The man had every expectation of dying at Freeza's hands, and she didn't see how it could be avoided.

"I suppose…" she said slowly. "So long as the Dragon Balls are intact after this…"

After a seconds consideration, Kami nodded. "Yes, but it is a grim hope. As things stand, they don't seem to intend to use Nameks Dragon Balls until after dealing with this "Ginyu" force." He glanced at King Kai, and the God shrugged.

"They're named after their leader, if that's what you're asking."

"How do you think they'll fare?" Gine asked.

"I'm not sure. I'm not a martial artist, you know. As things are, just about everyone down there have surpassed me by now. Bardock and Goku have outpaced the others by quite a bit, but I don't know how they'll fare against Ginyu himself. If the other Saiyans had had a longer trip..." he trailed off and gave them a small shrug again. "They didn't. It's hard to say."

Gine nodded her understanding of his words, before looking down at her hands. They were faintly calloused from her sparring with Piccolo. That was new to her: the callouses, as well as the reason why. She clenched them into fists and took a deep breath.

She was not a fighter. She never would be. And there was no need for her to be - her family was nothing but, after all. But she would do what she needed to in order to aid them.

With the thought in mind, she got up from the table and walked over to where Piccolo was meditating.

The Namekian cracked an eye open as she approached.

"Ready to go again?" He asked, and she nodded.

"You're getting stronger at an incredible rate, but you still haven't mastered the Kaioken." Gine said, as Piccolo stood up, stretching as he came to his feet.

"It's unlikely you'll perfect it before you're revived," King Kai said, walking over to them. "Namekian biology does make some allowances for dealing with its backfiring, but you can't escape the consequences altogether. You need as much practice as you can get."

Gine met Piccolo's gaze, and saw the same fire burning in them.

"So we should get started."


For a glimpse into my thought process, I count Instant Transmission as part of what Guru was referring too when he talked about powers mortals weren't meant to have. In a lot of ways, Instant Transmission 'breaks the rules'-Goku can not only technically travel faster than, say, Whis, he can also move between the living world and the other world. I'm lumping in the future visions with that power-something that mortals just shouldn't be able to do, but can anyway.

As for the particulars...we'll get to those next week! This chapter went on for waaay too long when I first wrote it, so I'm splitting it into two more digestible chunks. Chapter 15 will be out next week. Brace for incoming headcanons!

Thanks for reading!