The Bardock Effect

Chapter One: Delays

Bardock, Saiyan warrior, awoke next to the bodies of his comrades in a daze. The last thing he could remember was Dodoria opening his mouth and firing a massive ki blast at him. Shaking the cobwebs from his mind, Bardock attempted to get his thoughts back into a semblance of order. Things had changed massively in his life since Kanassa, since he got the ability to see into the future. Frieza wanted to kill his people...Frieza! That's what he'd been trying to remember!

"Tora, Fasha, Shugesh," he said solemnly. "You won't have died in vain. I'll kill that bastard, Frieza, and get you guys the vengeance you deserve!"

He moved as fast as his battered body would carry him to his pod. His whole body was one giant, throbbing ache. He was covered in dirt and blood and his body was littered with crusted-over cuts. How long was I out? Bardock wondered to himself as he eased into his pod, setting the coordinates for Planet Vegeta. Thankfully, the trip from Planet Meat to his home world would be a short one, as Bardock knew that he didn't have a moment to spare if he wanted to stop his home from being destroyed.

As he neared Planet Vegeta, his anticipation built. He would soon be face-to-face with the tyrant who had turned his people into his lackeys. He would rally King Vegeta and the rest of the Saiyans and, together, they might just stand a chance. That's what he thought...before he started to see the space debris. Bardock's eyes widened in horror as his pod closed in on its destination. I should be seeing Planet Vegeta, by now, he thought, frightened.

"No," he choked out as his pod stopped where his home had once been. "I'm too late...I'm too late...I failed."

A mixture of depression and exhaustion overwhelmed him, and his mind was soon drawn into the inky blackness of sleep. It was several hours before hunger awoke Bardock. He was out of food, hadn't thought to bring any rations on his trip to Planet Meat. Now, it was gone...they were gone. His whole planet, almost every single member of his race, was gone.

"What do I do now?" he asked himself morosely. "I can't risk trying to access the Planet Trade Organization's databases to find out where my sons are, they'd know it was me and Frieza would probably try to kill me...and my sons."

Bardock searched his pod's own, personal database of planets and space stations in the current sector, trying hard as he could to find something. He'd heard tell of a space station his people had built a few years ago, trying to establish an off-world colony of some sort. Frieza likely would have had the Saiyans there killed, too, but maybe it was still intact...at any rate, it was as good a place to start as any.

"There it is," he said, finally finding its location. "Space Station Vegeta. Arrogant jerk just had to name everything after himself..."

As he neared the station, Bardock's spirits lifted a little. The lights were off, but the station was still there. If his luck held, maybe there would still be some food there...maybe he could even turn the power back on and get a healing pod working. As he thought about it, turning the power completely back on would probably be a bad idea. Frieza might get a signal from there and know someone was squatting on a piece of property he was planning to sell. But, he might be able to get the pantry and recovery areas working without anyone being the wiser, at least.

Sure enough, when Bardock docked and entered the station, there was nobody there to greet him. Frieza probably had his goons throw the bodies in the incinerator and clean the place up, nobody wants to buy a space station they actually had to clean first. As luck would have it, a single terminal on the room's far corner was still active.

"One of the upsides of having a race with a lot of morons," Bardock remarked at the incredibly simple interface. All he'd had to do was bring up a display of the various areas of the station, and hit the little light bulb icon on the mess hall and recovery areas. Both areas were, mercifully, on the inside of the station, so a casual, passing observer wouldn't know anybody was here. As much as it galled him, Bardock knew he had to be careful. If Dodoria was powerful enough to nearly kill him, then Frieza would likely be able to annihilate him, and he couldn't allow that to happen; there were too few living Saiyans as it was.

After stuffing himself with as much rare meat and cold ale as he could fit in his ravenous stomach, Bardock stalked off to the recovery wing across the way. The healing pods were ready for use, though they were an older model than the ones back home. As he put on the breathing mask and prepared the machine, something about this felt...off, to Bardock. As the gelid fluid rapidly filled the tank, Bardock's eyes widened with shock as he realized that, in his exhausted state, he'd accidentally wandered into a stasis tank! His mind sent into a state of panic, Bardock reached forward to try and work the internal controls, but before he could stop the process, the fluid inside froze in an instant. The display on the inside of the pod read "20 years."

The next sensation to pass through Bardock's mind was a quick jolt of electricity jarring his body awake. He shivered as the cold air touched his bare skin. He looked down at the display on the inside of the stasis pod and ripped the breathing mask off his face in anger.

"Thirty years?!" he yelled to the empty room. "I've been on ice for twenty years?!"

He punched the machine that had caused him to lose so much time as hard as he could. Frieza could've tracked down the rest of his race and exterminated them, by now! But, maybe...maybe not. His mind clouded over, and Bardock saw a vision of his son, Raditz...

"Kakarot might still be alive," Raditz said to the other two figures sitting in front of him. It took Bardock a moment to recognize them: Prince Vegeta and his comrade, Nappa. Apparently, Nappa had lost his hair in the past three decades, not that he looked very good before, either.

"Think he'll join us?" Nappa asked in his normal, gruff voice.

"I think so," Raditz said thoughtfully. "Even if he doesn't, all I have to do is beat him into submission. Then, he'll have no choice."

"Go get him, then," the Prince said after a few moments. "Do you remember where he was sent?"

"Yeah," Raditz replied. "Some planet called Earth. It'll take me a few years to get there from here."

"Then, get to it, Raditz," Vegeta said quickly. "And he'd better not be a liability, or I'll kill him myself."

"G-Got it," Raditz replied, getting up and running into his pod. The last thing Bardock saw before the vision collapsed were the coordinates Raditz put into his pod's navigation controls.

"So," Bardock said, getting to his feet. "My sons are still alive. The little Prince is, too. Good."

Bardock dressed quickly and ate everything he could fit into his stomach. His pod could suspend him for long enough to get to Earth. After shutting the station back down, Bardock input the coordinates he recalled from his vision. Apparently, Raditz was on the opposite side of space from where he was with relation to this "Earth," but his navigation system told him that he'd arrive there at roughly the same time. He honestly didn't know what to do when he got there, but he'd figure it out as he went along. As his pod sped off away from the now-vacant space station, Bardock initiated the suspension systems. As the sedatives mixed with the air, Bardock drifted off to sleep, hoping to arrive in time to keep his sons from killing one another.

Another electric jolt awoke Bardock from his slumber. Checking his navigation systems, he was only a few hours from Earth. He could almost make out the trail that Raditz's pod left as it streaked toward the blue planet before him. Once again, Bardock's mind started to cloud over, and he felt the now-familiar sensation of a vision forming.

He saw his two sons face-to-face, poised for battle. Next to Kakarot was a green alien. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but Bardock got the distinct impression that Raditz and Kakarot were fighting. This was later confirmed as they started to trade blows, the green alien joining in the fray shortly after Kakarot. Raditz easily outmatched the two of them, but Kakarot kept fighting hard as the green alien stood off to the side, charging some kind of attack. A few minutes later, Kakarot got Raditz in a full nelson and yelled something inaudible to the green alien. The green alien unleashed his attack and a spinning, purple beam of energy hit Raditz in the chest and, soon, penetrated through both him and Kakarot and, in a moment, both were dead.

"No," Bardock said, determined. "I won't let that happen! I'll be damned if I'm losing my sons, too!"

Bardock slammed his fingers on to the navigational controls, setting his pod to the highest possible speed he could get out of it. He might not make at the same time as Raditz, but he wouldn't be more than a few minutes behind him.

On the planet, Goku was preparing to square off against this Raditz guy with Piccolo when he noticed an enormous ki speeding towards the planet. "Piccolo," he asked in a hushed voice. "Do you feel that?"

"I do," he said in a tense voice. "He'd better not be on this guy's side, or we're screwed."

Raditz's scouter pinged as it picked up a large power signature moving rapidly toward their location. It was...it wasn't possible, the power level it was reading was over 10,000! An instant later, something crashed into the ground, sending debris flying everywhere as the three warriors stared at the smoking crater. As the dust settled, a Saiyan space pod could be seen in the middle of the crater. The front of the pod opened and out of it stepped the last person Raditz had expected to see: his father, Bardock.

"F-Father?!" Raditz said, astonished. "I thought you'd died when Planet Vegeta was hit by that asteroid?"

"So," Bardock replied, walking over toward the battlefield. "That's the story Frieza concocted to cover for his destroying our planet and killing our people? That's kind of lame, if you ask me. He could've at least blamed it on his brother or something."

"Why do you look like me?" Goku asked in an amazed tone.

"Why do you think?" Bardock said, arching an eyebrow. "I'm surprised you don't recognize your own father, Kakarot."

"My...father?" Goku said, coming up short.

"Raditz," Bardock said in a serious tone. "Why are you and Kakarot fighting?"

"Kakarot hit his head!" Raditz yelled. "Until today, he didn't even know he was a Saiyan! He failed in his mission to destroy the life on this planet, and is now refusing to come with me!"

Bardock walked calmly up to Raditz and smacked his son hard on the back of his head. "Of course he's not going to join you, dumbass!" Bardock yelled. "To him, you're just another stranger trying to push him around! You'd be pissed off, too!"

"Father-!"

"Don't 'father' me!" Bardock continued. "Is Frieza still alive?"

"Of course!" Raditz said, exasperated. "Everyone knows that!"

Bardock smacked his son upside the head once more for good measure. "I obviously didn't, you idiot," he said. "More to the point, why is he still alive?"

"What?"

"WHY IS FRIEZA STILL ALIVE?" Bardock yelled. "You and your pals, the little Prince and Nappa, didn't even bother to fight him, did you? Just rolled over for the bastard like good little dogs!"

"Piccolo," Goku whispered to the fighter standing next to him. "Do you have any idea what they're talking about?"

"Family matters," Piccolo whispered flippantly.

"I," Bardock said, turning toward his youngest son. "Am talking about the tyrant who killed our race. Its our job to kill him, and yet, three of the strongest Saiyans left alive are little more than his yes men!"

"We didn't know he-" Raditz began before his father cut him off again.

"You're still a Saiyan, damn it!" Bardock demanded. "Where the hell is your pride? At least Kakarot has an excuse! What's yours?"

"I..." Raditz began, ashamed. "I don't have one, father. Except that Frieza is stronger than all of us put together."

"Well," Bardock replied, somewhat less angry than before. "At least you're right on that one."

"Sounds like little Raditz is getting a scolding," Bardock heard from his eldest son's scouter.

"Is that the Prince?" Bardock asked Raditz, to which his son replied with a nod. "What's his frequency?"

"7-3-6-8-0, father," Raditz said simply.

Bardock tuned his scouter to that frequency. "Prince Vegeta?" he asked in a serious voice.

"Who else?" the Prince replied.

"Are you going to help me put an end to Frieza?"

"When I'm good and ready," Vegeta replied flippantly.

"That means 'no,'" Bardock said in an angry tone. "Do any of you so-called warriors have the balls to fight against that bastard?"

"How dare you-!"

"Shut up!" Bardock yelled. "You pathetic, lily-livered excuse for a Saiyan! You worthless disgrace! Your cowardice dishonours the memory of our people!"

"I will stand for this no longer!" Prince Vegeta yelled back. "I'm coming to that little backwater toilet to teach you and your low-class scum sons a lesson in respect!"

"Bring it on," Bardock said, taking his scouter off. "You worthless, little shit," he finished, crushing his scouter.

"Father," Raditz began, in awe of what he'd just heard. "You just started a feud with Prince Vegeta!"

Bardock wasted no time, and shot a ki blast at Raditz's scouter, destroying it. "I'm well aware of that," he said. "Are you going to cause me any problems, Raditz?"

"Of course not!" Raditz said after a moment. "But...he's stronger than all of us! His power level is 18,000!"

"So," Bardock replied, thinking on the battle ahead. "How far away is he?"

"Last I checked, he was on a planet about a year's travel from here," Raditz said, scratching his chin.

"Right, then," Bardock said, turning toward his youngest son. "Kakarot, are you willing to fight the Prince?"

"If he threatens Earth," Goku said firmly. "Then, he's my enemy. Piccolo, what about you?"

"Can't very well rule over a heap of rubble," Piccolo said plainly. "Besides, it might be interesting. I'm in."

"Right, then," Bardock said, turning toward Raditz's pod. "Last I saw, there was a small power in your pod, Raditz. Who is it?"

"Its my son!" Goku said angrily. "He tried to use him to get me to join him!"

"No fighting!" Bardock said firmly. "We have other things to focus on, right now. Raditz, let the boy go."

"Yes, father," Raditz said. Walking over to his pod, he hit the release just above the hatch, allowing it to open. "You're free to go," he told the cowering boy inside.

Gohan ran toward his father, and looked at the new man that was standing with them...if it weren't for the armour and scars, Gohan might have mistaken him for his dad! "Daddy," Gohan asked warily. "Who's that man that looks like you?"

"Huh? Oh!" Goku said, a little surprised. "He's your grandfather, apparently. Gohan, meet...uhhh..."

"Bardock," he said, looking down at the cowering boy hiding behind his father. "Kakarot, I take it you mated with one of the females of this planet, is that correct?"

"Umm," Goku began, thinking about what Bardock meant by that. "Oh! Yeah! My wife's name is Chi Chi!"

"So, your son's a half-breed, then," Bardock said, scratching his chin. "I don't think I've heard of a Saiyan being able to mate successfully with another species, before. No matter, you think he might be a strong fighter?"

"I think he might, yeah," Goku said, patting his son on the head. "Chi Chi doesn't want him growing up like that, though."

"Huh," Bardock replied...Earth women were apparently quite differently conditioned compared to Saiyan women. "Say, why weren't you wearing a scouter, Kakarot?"

"That thing you had on your head?" Goku asked.

"Yes," Bardock replied evenly. "It lets us detect and track ki sources, as well as communicate. That's why I destroyed ours, so the little Prince couldn't listen in on our conversations."

"I don't need it," Goku replied simply.

"Why?" Bardock said, confused.

"I can sense ki on my own," Goku said.

"That's possible?" Raditz asked, astonished.

"It would seem so," Bardock responded, deep in thought. "If you could teach Raditz and I how to do it, that would give us an advantage that Vegeta and Nappa lack."

"Wait a minute!" Goku said warily. "How can I be sure you guys won't just turn on me when this is all done?"

"Because," Bardock said, sighing. "When we're done beating the Prince and his lapdog bloody, we're going to train, then give Frieza a little visit whereupon we'll proceed with giving his head some much-needed ventilation. Besides, you're my son, and Raditz knows that, if he causes any trouble, I'll smack him senseless."

"That won't be necessary, father," Raditz said calmly. "I've been putting up with their insults for years, and now I might have a chance to make them eat every word of it, and Frieza is way overdue for a savage beating, as badly as he's been treating us."

"Good," Bardock said, finally feeling a little pride in his eldest son. "Kakarot, does this planet have any other strong fighters? We might not need them against Vegeta, but they'd be useful against Frieza."

"I know a few, yeah," Goku said, relaxing some. "If they know what's going down, I know they'll help us."

"Right," Bardock said finally. "Then, we have a plan. Kakarot, you, me, Raditz, and the green guy will train since we're the strongest ones here. The others can train somewhere else so they don't get in our way. Together, we might just have a chance at this."

"I think Kami would be glad to train Krillin and the others," Goku said happily. "I've already trained with him and Mr. Popo, but I bet they'd get a whole lot stronger like I did!"

"You," Piccolo said, annoyed. "Are insane if you think I'm training with you."

"Fine, then," Bardock said easily. "Go and train on your own, then, if you must. Just don't slow us down when the fighting starts."

"I won't," Piccolo said before taking off, speeding toward an unknown location.

"Alright, Kakarot," Bardock said, turning back to his youngest son. "How does this ki sensing thing work?"

Author's Notes

I had this one come to me in the shower. I know the "missing 20 years thing" might be a bit lame, and...honestly, yeah, it kinda is, but the idea of Bardock smacking some sense into his sons was just too good to pass up. Vegeta is right pissed, I don't mind telling ya. Bardock doesn't take anybody's shit, royal or not. He also isn't stupid, he knows that the Prince is stronger than he is, right now, so he's going to stack every possible card in his deck against Vegeta and, later, Frieza.

For those wondering how this will affect The Prince Ascendant, I can assure you that this story's effect on that one will be minimal. At worst, I'll be alternating between this one and TPA in terms of updates. However, it doesn't mean I'll be stopping the former, I'm enjoying writing my Vegeta fic far too much to let it die. That's it for now, so I'll see you guys next time for Chapter Two of The Bardock Effect: Preparations! Take care!

[ETA]

Wow! Good reviews already! I'm honoured that you guys like this, I really am! Also, you guys are right: Goku was 23 when he fought Raditz. I entered the years wrong in my calculator, lol. Remember to double-check your numbers, kids! Anywho, thanks for spotting that!