BARDOCK TV SPECIAL
Released: 17 October 1990

[Note: I wrote this somewhat as if it were coming from Bardock's point of view, so later on, familiar faces will show up, but since Bardock doesn't know their names, we don't know their names. Hopefully you can discern their identities from their descriptions, though.]

Planet Vegeta rotates slowly, a pink planet revolving around two suns. "On Planet Vegeta, a baby boy lets out his first cry." The child's cry is heard while the view remains in outer space. Slowly, we move in on the planet.

The world is tinted green, looking out from within a tank at the high-tech room around. "Kakarotto? So this is Bardock's son, then?" An old, bald man with a beard approaches the capsule and rests his hand on the glass. An alien of some sort walks across the room behind him to a computer terminal. "Yeah. He sure is the kid of a lower class warrior. He's barely got any potential abilities at all." He turns around to face the old man. "I guess all we can do with him is send him off to one of the frontier planets." Old man, "I suppose so." He hits a button on the front of the capsule, and the glass canopy begins to rise. The child contained inside wails. Kakarotto lies naked, crying.

A FINAL, SOLITARY BATTLE
~THE Z SENSHI SON GOKU'S FATHER CHALLENGES FREEZA~

Planet Kanassa sits with three moons orbiting. Small dots of light shine from the planet, generated by the major cities. In one such city, oddly shaped high-tech buildings stretch into the sky. A full moon hangs in the night sky. Suddenly, an Oozaru fills the screen. He leans back, roaring into the sky, arms held up in the air. A Kanassa-jin jumps back, joining three others. The repitilian creatures fire simultaneous ki blasts at the Saiya-jin. The blasts strike, but have little effect on the one Oozaru they do hit, and they completely ignore the other two Oozaru behind this one. One Oozaru opens his mouth, roaring. A ki blast emerges and instantly incinerates the four Kanassa-jin. Flames erupt in the city. The Oozaru tower over everything. A fist smashes down on one building, reducing it to rubble. Screaming Kanassa-jin flee, but are quickly disposed of with another from-the-mouth ki blast. An Oozaru steps forward, crushing an already ruined building and nearly stepping on some Kanassa-jin. More ki blasts from the mouth. The entire city is nothing more than ruined buildings, flames, and frightened Kanassa-jin.

A ki blast flies up, cutting through one Saiya-jin, but doing little more damage than a small facial wound. The Oozaru roars angrily as blood leaks from the wound, running copiously down the side of his face. The culprit breathes heavily, arm still outstretched, making no attempt to escape. The Oozaru roars once more and squashes the Kanassa-jin underfoot. Smoke rises from the leveled city. The Oozaru loom above everything, even the few ruins that still resemble buildings. A few explosions go off here and there, but for the most part, the battle has ended. The Saiya-jin have won. One explosion expands, filling the entire screen with bright light. The view changes to outer space, and the explosion is clearly visible on the surface of the planet, engulfing a large area of northern Kanassa. It slowly begins to fade.

The sun hangs low on the horizon. The ruins of an entire civilization lie on the ground. Hundreds of dead Kanassa-jin are strewn about the area. A crater sits in the middle of what was just a few hours prior, a great city. Five Saiya-jin, no longer Oozaru, sit in the crater. Two large (wide) men, one with a bowl-shaped haircut, one who is bald on top of the head, but with hair around; a female Saiya-jin; another male, sitting on a rock, called Toma; and a final male, lying on the ground with a small stick in his mouth. The large man with the bowl haircut rubs a cut on his face. "That bastard."

Toma laughs. "That's what you get for dropping your guard." He turns to the man lying on the ground. "So Bardock, don't you think you went over the top there, even celebrating your son's birth and all?" As he speaks, he turns from Bardock to survey their work.

Bardock replies, "Celebrating my son's birth?" Toma turns back to him. "What a ridiculous farce."

The female suggests, "We're finished on this planet. Why don't you head back to Planet Vegeta and meet him?"

"Hmph. To see a lowest-class warrior without any promise at all?" He sits up, spitting out the stick and giving us our first good view of him. "What kind of fool would make that trip?" Bardock looks almost exactly like Son Goku. A large scar on his left cheek is really the only difference between them. "And who asked you what I should be doing anyhow?"

She turns away. "Heh, I see." The larger, balder male laughs, chewing on a piece of food.

The not-so-bald larger male, "We ought to be grateful to Freeza-sama. He's been putting us to work for him quite often."

Bardock looks away. "So what does Freeza-sama want with a crummy little planet like this?"

"You know what I heard?" Toma asks. "This Kanassa is supposed to have some sort of energy that grants you psychic abilities. I don't know whether he believes that rumor or not, but apparently Freeza-sama has been thinking of taking this world for a long time."

Suddenly, some rubble behind the Saiya-jin separates as something emerges from underneath. The Saiya-jin spin around. A single Kanassa-jin stands before them. Off guard, Bardock only manages to get out, "Wha-?" The Kanassa-jin runs forward to attack, but to Bardock's surprise, he suddenly disappears. He reappears behind Bardock and drives his hand right into Bardock's neck. Bardock cries out. His silhouette is shown, a large yellow point where the strike occurred, and then spider lines running out from it as if Bardock's entire body has been shattered. Bardock falls forward to the ground, the Kanssa-jin jumps back.

The larger man with hair yells, "Rotten scum!" He kicks the Kanassa-jin into the side of the crater. Toma holds out his arm and blasts the Kanassa-jin.

Bardock climbs back to his feet. The Saiya-jin watch curiously as the Kanassa-jin glows from the ki blast. He struggles to step forward. Bardock straightens up. "Looks like I dropped my guard, too. You lousy rat!"

"Listen to me!" the Kanassa-jin implores. "I just struck you using a technique giving you knowledge of the future through visions!"

"Knowledge of the future?"

"You will see the future fate of your own people."

"What is this guy talking about?"

"I will warn you now, that you have no future save that which is cursed! As it is with my own people, there will be nothing but destruction for yours! I condemn you to see your own future, and agonize over the form it takes!" He laughs.

"Enough!!" Bardock fires a ki blast at the Kanassa-jin, killing him. As the attack concludes, small pieces of the Kanassa-jin shower down over the spot where he just stood.

The bigger non-bald man steps forward. "That's pretty funny. What do us invincible Saiya-jin have to watch and agonize over, I ask you? Right, Bardo-" He stops when he suddenly notices Bardock falling to the ground. The group together begins yelling at him, "Hey, Bardock! Bardock! Hey, Bardock! What's wrong? Shake it off! What's the matter? Hey, Bardock! Hey! Bardock!" The Saiya-jin lies face down on the ground, unconscious.

Meanwhile, on another planet, a group of Saibamen advances on a young warrior in a sealed room. One lunges forward. The boy dodges. Another, dodged. A third, also dodged. A couple men watch the fight from a control room. "He's avoiding every one of their attacks! He's incredible!" Nappa, with hair, leans back against a wall on the far side of the room. He grins as he watches; a small chuckle escapes.

All of the Saibamen jump into the air to converge on the warrior in the middle of the room. The young Prince Vegeta looks up. He throws his arms out to either side and shouts, sending an expanding dome of golden ki out around him. Every Saibaman is killed at the same time as they fly back, embedded into walls or falling to the floor with a thud. Vegeta holds out his hand and blasts each one a final time, grinning. The controller is amazed. "Unbelievable! He finished off those strength-enhanced Saibamen in a matter of seconds!"

Nappa chuckles. "What's so unbelievable? Vegeta-sama wasn't even giving them his best."

"What a fearsome kid!"

"I'm done! Hurry and open the gate."

"Right!" The controller leans forward to work the controls. Nappa stands by a metal door holding a small piece of Saiya-jin armor with a cape on the back. A light above the door turns from red to green, and it slides open. Vegeta steps out.

Nappa laughs. "Impressive, as always."

"Hmph. Cut out the ridiculous boot-licking."

Vegeta, now in his armor, and Nappa ride a moving sidewalk. "As long as I stay on this world, I won't ever get stronger. Maybe I should ask Freeza-sama about letting me have another one of his worlds slated for conquering."

"Again?" Nappa asks.

"You'd rather I didn't?"

Nappa laughs, clasping his hands together. "Of course not!"

Freeza stares straight ahead, emotionless. Footsteps echo through the room. Zarbon approaches, and Dodoria is already present. Zarbon bows to Freeza. "Freeza-sama, we have just received word that Planet Kanassa has been conquered."

"Oh?"

"We have acquired it fully one month sooner than had been forecast."

Dodoria asks, "Who was it we sent to take over Kanassa?"

Zarbon answers, "Some nameless lower-class Saiya-jin warriors."

Freeza shuts his eyes. "Saiya-jin?"

Dodoria, "Those latest guys have been working pretty hard, don't you think?"

Zarbon, "There's certainly something remarkable about them."

Dodoria, "Particularly when it comes to Vegeta, their prince, with whom Freeza-sama has taken such an interest. I can't hardly believe a kid like that has such a battle power."

Zarbon, "It's more than just him. Individually, there's nothing special about them, but when they team up, they demonstrate incredible power."

Dodoria laughs. "What are you afraid of?"

Zarbon, "Nothing. I just think that if we leave the Saiya-jin alone like this, it will mean a lot of trouble for us later on. You never know when another guy like Vegeta may appear. Let's suppose they were to team up against us."

Freeza opens his eyes. "Hm. You think they might become unpleasant, then?"

Zarbon, "Yes."

Suddenly, the double door at the back of the room slides open. Zarbon and Dodoria spin around. Prince Vegeta enters, and both of them immediately advance on him.

Zarbon, "What do you think you're doing?"

Dodoria, "Why are you here? This isn't the sort of place where you belong."

Vegeta, "I've just come to pay my respects to Freeza-sama as I depart."

Zarbon crosses his arms. "There's no need for that. Just worry about clearing your assigned planet for now."

Vegeta glares at him. Freeza, "It's quite alright, Zarbon-san."

Zarbon turns around, surprised. "Freeza-sama?"

Freeza is silent for several seconds. "Vegeta, please do a thorough job."

Vegeta bows. "Thank you very much."

Freeza chuckles. "There is no need to thank me so." Vegeta stares straight ahead, still bowing. Freeza sits silent for a few more seconds, then his mouth widens into a grin and he chuckles once more.

Bardock rests in a rejuvenation tank, still unconscious. Bubbles travel upward around him. Old man, "Bardock is as surprising as ever. It's only taken him several days to fully recover."

The green alien man looks up from his computer terminal. "Yeah. He may be a low class warrior, but every time he goes off to clear some land, he always manages to nearly get killed before returning."

The old man stares straight ahead at Bardock. "By now, his battle power should be pretty close to 10,000."

The alien turns back to his computer. "He's quite a guy."

One of Bardock's team, Toma, walks into the room. "How is he?"

The alien brings up some readouts on his screen, including two wire models of Bardock's body and a graph. "Physically there's nothing wrong. He's in perfect shape." The screen display changes to just the head of the models, and the graph disappears. "However, the computer is picking up a fluctuation in his brain waves."

Toma, "I see."

The smaller of the two big males, the one with the bowl-shaped haircut, stands in the door with the rest of the crew. "Oh well, this time we'll have to leave Bardock behind."

Toma turns around. "Yeah." He starts to walk out.

Old man, "What planet are you headed to this time?"

Toma stops. He looks back, smiling. "Planet Meat."

Four Saiya-jin space pods lift off. The apparent second in command, Toma, sleeps in his pod. The larger, balder man eats something and stares out the window. The female sits, staring straight ahead, her arms crossed. The larger man with the hair sits in his pod, grinning. The four speed off until they're nothing more than four dots of light far off in space.

Back in the hospital, baby Kakarotto lies asleep. Bardock remains unconscious in his tank. Suddenly, Kakarotto begins to cry. Bardock makes a few subtle movements, as if about to regain consciousness. And Kakarotto wails. Bardock's eye's narrow, but don't open, like having his eyes shut normally and then squeezing them shut tighter. A monitor displaying wavy lines shows a sudden fluctuation. Alien guy, "Hm? Is he regaining consciousness?" Kakarotto screams. A sudden burst of bubbles escapes from under Bardock's breath mask.

A blue/green ball sits on a white background. Suddenly, the ball expands and explodes into a black blob of nothing, which fades back into a large blue/black explosion. The explosion fades away into a cloud of black dots. Another burst of air escapes the breath mask. Kakarotto writhes and screams. A reality tinted in red shows a single pod racing through space. Kakarotto screams as the pod nears a blue planet. "I just struck you using a technique giving you knowledge of the future through visions!" An old man recovers a small baby boy, Kakarotto, from the space pod. Kakarotto bites the old man's finger, kicks him in the face, struggles against being fed. Toma stares straight out, bloody and beaten. A young Kakarotto approaches a blue haired girl with his stick. She holds her hands up. He walks around her and she watches him go. "BULMA" is printed across the front of her shirt. "You will see the future fate of your own people." The girl and Kakarotto ride on a motorcycle. Kakarotto hangs on, frightened at the high speed. "I will warn you now, that you have no future save that which is cursed." Bardock's second in command lies on the ground, face wiped clean of blood, eyes shut with a smile on his face. An old man carrying a stick leads Kakarotto and a small bald boy forward. Kakarotto and the bald boy both carry boxes labeled "MILK." The old man talks to them as they both lay spread out on the ground, apparently exhausted. "As it is with my own people, there will be nothing but destruction for yours!" Two men in Saiya-jin armor watch concerned, speaking silently. Kakarotto races forward, then disappears. He fights a strange, old, green alien. Kakarotto kicks the alien in the top of the chest, right below the neck. "I condemn you to see your own future, and agonize over the form it takes!" Kakarotto stands with his hands folded, praying. A fat little black man in strange clothing stands next to the praying Kakarotto. A younger looking green alien rushes forward. He disappears, then an older Kakarotto disappears. Many more bubbles rise up out of Bardock's breath mask.

The old man hits the button on the rejuvenation tank. The liquid drains out, Kakarotto suddenly stops crying, and Bardock's eyes open. The top of the tank lifts up and away. "Are you alright, Bardock?"

Bardock pulls the mask away. "Yeah." He stands up. "I'm still a bit dizzy in the head, though."

Bardock finishes dressing. "I was having these strange dreams."

Old man, "Dreams?"

Bardock, "Yeah." He ponders, "I wonder what they were all about."

The green man looks back at him. "Are you sure you're alright?"

Bardock, "I'm made of tougher stuff than you guys are, much tougher. Nevermind me, what happened to Toma and the others?"

Old man, "They were ordered by Freeza-sama to the planet Meat."

Bardock, "What? Damn it, how could they leave me out?" He puts his scouter on. "Planet Meat, eh? Alright, that's pretty close." He turns and runs out.

Old man, "Hey, Bardock!" The green man turns to watch him go.

Bardock races down the corridor to his space pod, smiling. Suddenly, a baby's cry catches his attention. He stops to look into a window on the corridor. A young Saiya-jin baby rests inside. "I condemn you to see your own future, and agonize over the form it takes!" Bardock stares out at the child.

Hundreds of beams of light rain down on the planet. They merge into one giant beam that spreads out across the surface of the planet, engulfing everything. The planet breaks into several fragments as it explodes in a bright flash of light. Bardock covers his face with one hand, shielding himself from the vision. He shuts his eyes tightly and shakes his head. He suddenly notices the name of the baby. "Kaka...rotto?" He gets a readout on his son. "A battle power of just two? What scum!" He turns and runs off, leaving the screaming baby behind.

The larger, bald man rushes forward to attack. Blood stains his face, running down from his forehead and under his eye. He screams...then suddenly flies straight back again. He lands on his back, grunting. Rocks fly up around him and his pupils disappear. Toma struggles up, blood running down his face. "Damn..." He looks at his scouter, damaged and lying on the ground. Behind it in the background, four black shapes. He reaches out for his scouter, but a foot stomps down on it. He gasps. "Wh-why? Why are you guys...?" The four men laugh. The apparent leader is a half-human looking guy, except he has orange skin and horns coming out of his head. There's a purple/blue fish man, then a green guy and a yellow guy.

"You Saiya-jin, you're as tough as I expected." The group parts as Dodoria walks up to the fallen warrior. He can barely even look up at Dodoria. "However..." Dodoria reaches down and picks him up by his armor. His arms shake as if he's trying to fight back, but can't even summon the strength to move his arms. "...You'll have to let us toy with you a little more."

Toma, "Why?! Why are you doing this?"

Dodoria, "Is that bothering you?" He chuckles. "Alright, you can take this to hell with you." The others behind him laugh. Dodoria's mouth widens into a grin. "This, you see, was ordered by Freeza-sama!"

Toma, "Wh-what?"

Dodoria, "Freeza-sama denounced you Saiya-jin as troublesome!"

Fish man, "You sure you didn't do anything to upset him?"

Toma, "I-it's untrue! We've always acted exactly as ordered by Freeza-sama! Never once have we..."

Dodoria, "Nevertheless, if you fall out of favor, this is what happens!"

Toma, "This? After all the hard work we've done?"

Dodoria smiles. "That's..." He tosses Toma into the air. "...right!" He punches Toma, throwing him back through the air.

Bardock smiles, staring out at the ruins of Planet Meat from his landing site. Destroyed buildings and dead Meatseijin litter the entire surrounding area. Smoke still rises up from some areas. "Looks like they got carried away again. Those guys..." His scouter suddenly goes off. "Hmm? There they are! All caught up in the moment rioting around, no doubt." He jumps up and flies off toward the battle ground.

Bardock arrives to find his dead team littered around the area. The big man with the hair lies sprawled over some rubble. The female is in a similar position nearby. The large bald man lies between some large slabs of rock. Bardock stands nearby, surveying the damage. His mouth hangs open in shock. "What the...?"

A voice, "Ba...Bardock?"

Bardock turns and runs to the barely-living Toma. "Toma!" He crouches next to Toma and cradles the Saiya-jin's head in his arms. Toma smiles up at him, bloody and beaten. "What's going on here? What happened?"

Toma, "What a fool I've been. We should have stayed home tucked in our beds like good children." He shuts his eyes.

Bardock, "Nevermind that, don't tell me the Meatseijin got the best of you?"

Toma opens his eyes again. "No. We eliminated them quickly."

Bardock, "Then who did this to you?"

Toma, "Freeza! He's stabbed us in the back!"

Bardock, "That can't be possible!"

Toma, "That rotten Freeza's just been using us." He coughs. "I-I've already had it, but before long, all Saiya-jin are going to be killed by that rat Freeza. Listen to me, listen well. Go back to Planet Vegeta right now! Once there, gather our comrades and defeat Freeza!" He smiles. "Let him know... how strong the Saiya-jin... really... are..." His eyes slowly close and his head rolls to one side as he dies in Bardock's arms.

Bardock lays him down, then looks down at his blood-covered hand. He closes his fingers once, then opens them back up. He takes a white rag off of Toma's arm. Bardock wipes the blood from Toma's smiling face, then stands up, watching his dead friend. He looks around at the rest of his team. The bald man. The girl. He clutches at the rag, and blood from his hand slowly runs down through the rag, turning it red. Bardock turns to see the larger man with hair. The blood finishes its run through the rag, and it is now completely red. Bardock clenches his fist tighter. His scouter suddenly goes off and he turns around to see the four men who killed his team. "You!" The leader laughs. "Now comes your turn to die!"

Bardock clenches his fist tighter still, then ties the blood-soaked rag around his forehead. The other men chuckle. Bardock slowly raises his head, glaring at them. He rushes forward, screaming, but all four of them separate and jump into the air as Bardock reaches the group. The fish guy throws several ki blasts in quick succession, and it seems he's killed Bardock. He chuckles, but soon stops when his scouter goes off. He looks up to see Bardock right above him. His face meets a two-fisted smash that crushes his skull. He falls to the ground, already dead. The three remaining throw simultaneous ki blasts at Bardock. He jumps up, dodging the attacks. Leader, "You lowlife! Where did you go?!" Bardock appears behind the yellow man, but before the man can even react, Bardock grabs him by the throat and strangles him. The leader looks back and forth for Bardock. "Damn it!" His scouter goes off. He looks down, sees someone through the smoke. "You fool!" He throws a ki blast at Bardock and scores a direct hit. As Bardock falls through the smoke, the leader gasps and notices that he just hit (and killed) his own yellow man. The dead man falls to the ground and the leader looks up to see the real Bardock in the clearing smoke. Bardock smiles. The leader's mouth hangs open in shock.

Green man, "Th-this can't be! He's supposed to be a lower-class warrior!"

Leader, "Regardless of his level, he's still a Saiya-jin! Stay on your toes! Let's go!" Both of them rush Bardock together. He flies straight at them, screaming. Suddenly, something goes off in his head.

Kakarotto, now grown up, flies straight forward. "Kaio-ken!"

Bardock gasps and gets a knee to the face from the leader. The green man catches him and locks his arms in place, then the leader jumps in front of him and hits him hard in the stomach.

Kakarotto and Prince Vegeta, both grown up, fly into the air, fighting. "What's the matter, Kakarotto? I know you've got better than that!" Vegeta smashes Kakarotto over the head.

Bardock takes another punch to the face. "Not again! Damn, what's going on in my head?" Even as he has his little inner conflict, he takes more and more hits to the face. Finally, the leader pulls back for a really strong punch. Bardock yells, then forces himself out of the green man's lock. He flips the green man over his back and ducks below him. The leader's fist goes straight into the green man's back, and the green man grunts as he's hit. Purple blood flies out of his mouth. Bardock jumps away and throws a blue ki blast at them.

Leader, "No, wai...!" He screams as the blast engulfs him. As the beam disappears, small pieces of the green man and the leader shower down on the ground.

Bardock drops to the ground, breathing heavily. His scouter is cracked, but still functional. "Why?" Suddenly, his scouter goes off. He spins around and sees a grinning Dodoria. "Do-Dororia!" He yells, "Why?! Why are you doing this to us?!" In response, Dodoria chuckles, then takes a deep breath and fires a ki blast from his mouth. Bardock gasps as it flies at him. The force of the blast picks up the bodies of his dead crew and lots of debris. Still smiling, Toma is lifted into the air. Bardock screams as the blast throws him back and tears his scouter away. Each of the dead Saiya-jin and lots of rocks follow Bardock on his ki blast ride several hundred feet backward.

As the blast subsides, what's left is a cloud of dust and a clear path cut through the ground that ends at a pile of debris and bodies. The dust clears; the victim doesn't make any movement. "That was all too brief." He laughs. "I wish he'd have entertained me a bit longer."

Suddenly, his radio kicks in. "Come in, Dodoria. You are ordered to return."

Dodoria, "Ah."

Zarbon, "Rendezvous with us immediately. We're headed for Planet Vegeta."

Dodoria, "Understood." He laughs, then flies away.

Bardock slowly throws his dead team off of the pile. "Damn it..." He sits up, blood now running down his face. "Freeza-sama really is after us." Bardock finally climbs out from under everyone and stands up.

"Launch this one off, if you would." A long corridor that ends in darkness before it reaches an opposite wall stretches out with waiting space pods on either side. "Target directional coordinates: FX-50." A sleeping Saiya-jin baby sucks on his thumb, sitting naked in the capsule. "Name: Kakarotto. Bardock's son, hmm? Rank: Lowest-class warrior. Planet of destination..."

Freeza's ship flies through space. Dodoria walks into the room, but Freeza doesn't bother to turn and greet him. Dodoria bows. "I have returned." Freeza is silent. Dodoria looks up, unsure of why he's being ignored.

Zarbon walks in behind him. "Dodoria, you bungled it."

Dodoria turns to him. "What's that?"

Zarbon, "You allowed one of the Saiya-jin on Planet Meat to escape."

Dodoria, "Impossible! I made certain!"

Zarbon turns away from Dodoria. "Then what do we have here?" Dodoria follows his line of sight and sees a Saiya-jin pod racing through space on a monitor.

He gasps. "It's him! He survived that?!" He gasps once more. His eyes slowly move away from the monitor and toward Freeza. He hesitates even to breathe. "This is inexcusable of me! I will deal with him immediately!" He turns, about to run out of the room, but Freeza stops him.

"Oh, it is alright. This Saiya-jin also seems to be headed toward Planet Vegeta anyhow."

Dodoria, "Ah."

Zarbon, "Then he will meet the same fate either way, won't he?" Freeza laughs as he watches the pod on screen.

Bardock's space pod speeds past Freeza's ship. Bardock sits inside, bloody and beaten. "T-that's Freeza-sama's spaceship." Planet Vegeta rotates slowly in space, unaware of its imminent destruction. "H-he couldn't be headed for Planet Vegeta, could he? I can't believe it!"

Freeza grins. "It has been some time since we have seen the best show in the universe. I hope the fireworks are pretty." He stares out at the planet ahead of him.

A space pod moves back to launch. A metal door slides shut behind it, and a sudden burst of steam comes from vents in the door. The pod lifts off into space. Bardock notices it as he travels toward Planet Vegeta. "Hmm?" The two pods pass right by each other. In one, a beaten Bardock. In the other, a sleeping Kakarotto. Bardock envisions three stages of Kakarotto's life. A young fighter clad in blue. "Kakarotto!" A young, but older than the first, fighter in an orange gi. Then older still, with the orange gi and a black weighted shirt underneath. The two pods continue on their journey; Kakarotto into space, and Bardock to Planet Vegeta. Bardock's pod reaches the planet and enters the atmopshere.

The pod hits one of the brown landing pads and stops. The door swings open, Bardock climbs out. He leans back on the pod for support. His eyes shut, his chest heaves, blood runs down his body. Two men in armor and helmets run out to him. Alien, "What's the matter, Bardock?"

Other guy (looks like a Saiya-jin, but from this view, it's impossible to see if he has a tail), "What a shame, you just missed your kid's launch! As I remember, he's going to some frontier planet called 'Earth'."

Bardock stops and looks back. "Did you say 'Earth'?"

The man smiles. "Yeah, it's a blue planet, part of a star system. He may be a low-class warrior, but give him a few months, and he's sure to wipe out the planet. Once you've recovered from those injuries, you ought to go meet up with him. So what happened to you? How did a guy like you get beat up so badly?" His voice is drowned out by Bardock's own thoughts, though some of his words filter in.

A space pod races toward a blue planet. "That's..."

"I thought you went to Planet Meat, didn't you?"

"That's Earth! There's no mistake. All those dreams I've had... They're really the future! Which means...!" Hundreds of beams of light rain down on the planet, merging into one giant beam that expands outward, enveloping the entire planet in its destructive power. The planet fractures and explodes.

Bardock gasps. "I-it can't be!" He turns and runs into the building.

Man, "W-what's the matter, Bardock?"

Alien, "Hey, look at this!" The man turns around and they stare in at Bardock's bloody space pod. "He's far from alright, wouldn't you say?!"

Freeza's ship nears Planet Vegeta. Bardock stumbles through a long, dark corridor. "That's really the future!" Freeza's ship draws nearer. Bardock falls down a few stairs. He lies on the floor, breathing heavily. "Everything... happens... for real!" Bardock passes out.

Baby Kakarotto lies wailing. A space pod travels through space and heads toward Planet Earth. "I just struck you using a technique giving you knowledge of the future through visions!" Kakarotto fights against an old man attempting to feed him, bathe him, play with him. He rides frightened on the back of a motorcycle with a strange girl with blue hair. "You will see the future fate of your own people!" An old man leads Kakarotto and a small bald boy across a log. The old man carries a staff, the children carry boxes labeled "MILK." Kakarotto and the bald boy lay exhausted in the grass in front of the old man. "I will warn you now that you have no future save that which is cursed!" Young Kakarotto races forward, beating an old green alien with a barrage of punches. He kicks the alien hard in the head. Kakarotto prays, his eyes shut. "As it is with my own people, there will be nothing but destruction for yours!" Another much younger green man rushes forward. Kakarotto, now older, waits at the other end of a platform. The green man disappears. Kakarotto punches him. "I condemn you to see your own future, and agonize over the form it takes!" Kakarotto hits him several more times in the face and stomach. Young Kakarotto, "middle" Kakarotto, adult Kakarotto. The three visions of Kakarotto at different ages cycles through Bardock's head at ever-increasing speeds. A giant explosion in space fills the entire area with golden light. Freeza smiles.

Bardock regains consciousness. He pants and slowly lifts himself up; drops of his blood fall to the floor under him. Bardock sits on his hands and knees on the floor, struggling to get up.

A large blast bathes Freeza in golden light as he laughs maniacally.

Bardock climbs to his feet, screaming. More blood reaches the floor below. He pants and continues on, using the wall for support as he walks. Freeza's ship reaches Planet Vegeta. "I won't let him do it. I'll stop him myself!" His hand reaches out, grasping a corner of the wall. He pulls himself out of the shadows of the dark corridor. "Freeza!"

Saiya-jin sit in a bar, drinking and having a good time. One man has his arm around a female Saiya-jin as they drink and eat together. The doors slide open and Bardock stumbles in. He collapses on a table, knocking it over and causing a nice commotion. "What's this?" "Isn't that Bardock?" "What's the matter?"

Bardock slowly climbs to his feet. "Everyone, come with me! We're going to kill Freeza!"

A man cocks his head. "What?"

Man 2, "What are you saying?"

Bardock stops using the table for support. "Believe me. Toma, and the others, they were all killed! Freeza is about to eliminate us...about to eliminate Planet Vegeta!" Bardock watches incredulously as the entire bar bursts into laughter.

"He says the planet is going to be destroyed!" "Are you alright?" "Get a grip on yourself, Bardock! Freeza-sama would never do something like that!" "Are you sure you didn't just have a bad dream?"

Bardock stares out at them angrily. "You...worthless...fools!" And still they laugh. "You miserable jackasses!" The laughter suddenly ceases. "I'm not asking anymore! All of you can go to hell!" He turns and runs out.

A man jumps to his feet. "Hey, Bardock!"

Another man, "Let him go, he's flipped his lid.

Bardock races up a flight of stairs. The only sounds are his breathing and his boots on the floor. Suddenly, he comes out into the open and stops for a breath, his eyes shut. He opens his eyes and looks up. The planet around him is not Vegeta. He gasps. He's on a green planet almost completely devoid of life, save for the grass and trees. He looks around Planet Namek, not seeing anyone else there. Finally, to one side, he sees his son, Kakarotto, now an adult. He reaches out to him. "Kakarotto!" Purple leaves drift by, carried by the wind. Kakarotto turns and looks at him, but just as he turns all the way around, the image fades and Freeza replaces Kakarotto. Bardock gasps. A great red explosion overtakes the entire area, and Bardock screams as it engulfs him, lifting him and large pieces of land into the air.

Bardock's eyes open again. He's stopped in the stairway, sweat and blood dripping from his face. He looks up from the ground, then straightens up. He begins running again, finally reaching a balcony at the top of the building. He steps out and looks around at Planet Vegeta around him. He takes a deep breath and looks into the sky at the twin suns that the planet orbits.

Freeza's ship moves into orbit around Planet Vegeta.

Bardock stares up at the sky and repeats his vision of death on Namek. "I... I will..." He raises his hands and clenches his fists. "...change that future!" He leans on the balcony railing for support, then throws himself into the air, flying straight out toward space.

Freeza chuckles, gazing out at the planet below him. "This will be the last time we gaze upon this planet, will it not?"

Zarbon, "Yes."

The doors behind them slide open. A soldier runs in and salutes. "Freeza-sama!"

Bardock flies straight for space. Suddenly, he notices that Freeza's ship is unloading literally thousands of soldiers into the air. They all fly straight forward toward Bardock, screaming. A group of them all fire simultaneous ki blasts at Bardock, but he flies straight through the explosion and hits one of them hard with his elbow on his way up; he ignores any that aren't directly in his path. A man flies at him, he dodges. Another attacks, he kicks him away. A third fires a ki blast; Bardock dodges and returns with a blast of his own. He kicks away another man.

A whole horde of them fly straight for him. Bardock continues forward with a large group of men clustered around him. A ki blast from within the center of the group separates all of the men and throws them away. Bardock screams, continuing forward. Freeza watches Bardock on his ship's monitor. Zarbon and Dodoria watch from behind him. "Zarbon-san."

Zarbon, "Sir?"

Freeza, "Open the upper hatch."

Dodoria gasps. Zarbon, "But our men out there..." Freeza doesn't reply, but uncrosses his arms.

Zarbon, "As you command!" He runs off to open the hatch. Freeza glares angrily out the window.

Bardock screams and continues through all of the soldiers with little trouble. One grabs his ankle, another locks around his neck, and soon he's got a second cluster of them, even larger than the first. Bardock struggles against them and looks up, seeing Freeza's ship draw near. "Freeza!!" He forms a ki blast in his hand that throws all of the soldiers off. A few more jump on him. "Freeza! Get out here!" Bardock stops above the ship. "I won't let you get away with this!" The upper hatch slides open and Freeza rises out.

The men on Bardock separate. "Freeza-sama!" "F-Freeza-sama!" "It's Freeza-sama!"

Bardock laughs. "Now, everything changes! The fate of Planet Vegeta..." Freeza raises his hand; a small glowing ball rests on the end of his right index finger. The soldiers watch quietly, frightened. Bardock hovers in space with his arms out as if accepting anything Freeza's about to throw. "...my own fate..." Freeza holds his hand up. "...Kakarotto's fate...as well as your own fate!" He forms a blue ki blast on his right hand. Freeza watches him silently. "THIS IS WHERE IT ENDS!" Bardock throws his blast at Freeza. He watches it fly; Freeza laughs. The tiny ball of light on the end of his finger begins to expand into a giant sphere. Bardock's ki blast hits the sphere of ki with no effect. "Wh-what?!" The ball continues to expand, even larger than the ship now and still getting bigger. Freeza's men watch in fear. Freeza laughs and sends the giant ball forward.

"Freeza-sama!"

Bardock screams as the ball draws near him. It enters the atmosphere of Planet Vegeta, gaining a "tail" (more like a shell, I guess) as it goes. Inside the ball, Bardock's armor slowly breaks up. "Ka...ka...rot...to..."

Kakarotto faces Freeza on Planet Namek.

Bardock smiles. "KAKAROTTO!" The ball continues forward, killing countless numbers of Freeza's men along the way. It hits Planet Vegeta, sending out shock waves across the planet and throwing up an enormous cloud of dust around its impact site. It begins to burrow into the planet. The two men at the space pod landing site spin around and gasp at the ball. The men in the hospital have a similar reaction. The entire planet shakes.

In the bar, people jump up and watch the ball of ki. "What's this?" The floor below them explodes. Huge glowing cracks appear in the surface of the planet, converging at the hole where the ball of ki entered. Freeza's ship drifts by above. Hundreds of beams of light rain upon the planet, and they merge into one giant beam that expands outward, enveloping the entire planet. The planet fractures and explodes in a giant series of shock waves, leaving only a glowing ball at the center. The ball explodes in a bright flash of light, which collapses back into itself and explodes once again in a great flash of orange light.

Freeza laughs maniacally as he watches the enormous explosion. "How wonderful! Look at it, Zarbon-san, Dodoria-san! Behold such beautiful fireworks!" Zarbon and Dodoria watch in amazement through the bubble window in the main room of the ship. As Freeza laughs, the orange explosion leaves only a red ball which explodes once again, bathing the whole area in bright light. The final explosion is shown from a good distance away.

Kakarotto's pod travels through space. The young Saiya-jin baby inside gets a telepathic message from his father. "Kakarotto, carry out my will! You will avenge the Saiya-jin, and our Planet Vegeta!" Kakarotto awakens, and for the first time, doesn't cry. His pod continues on its journey, disappearing into the depths of space as Bardock's bandanna drifts by.

Young Prince Vegeta sits in a forest, eating. Nappa comes in over his radio. "Vegeta-sama! Do you read me?"

Vegeta, "What is it?"

Nappa, "We've just received a transmission from Freeza-sama." Vegeta takes a bite of whatever it is he's eating. "It seems as though Planet Vegeta has been destroyed!"

Vegeta, "Oh? And?"

Nappa, "Apparently, a giant meteor collided with the planet. Counting us, there are very few surviving Saiya-jin."

Vegeta, "Hmm? And?"

Nappa, "Er, nothing else in particular. That was all."

Vegeta, "Hmph. This planet is all but exterminated. I'll have to request Freeza-sama to give us worlds that will put up more of a fight."

Water runs by in a creek. A baby's cry echoes through the forest. An old man steps out and sees the child. "Well, what a surprise! A baby! Where did you come from?" He picks up the baby and a tail unfolds behind him. He looks at it and laughs. "A baby with a tail?" The tail moves a bit. "We can't just leave you here, can we? How would you like to come stay with me?" Kakarotto kicks him in the face, smiling happily. "Ow! Oh, such a spirited young boy!" The 'camera' drifts from the pair to the space pod sitting a short distance away in the forest. "Okay, from now on, you'll be the grandson of me, Son Gohan, okay? And your name will be... let's see..." He looks up, pondering. "Hmmm. Goku! Son Goku!" He holds Son Goku in the air, causing the child to laugh happily. He holds the baby up to his face. "Goku, you're going to grow up strong!" Goku reaches out toward him. "Whee!" Gohan holds him up in the air. "Whee whee whee!" He shakes Goku around above him. Goku laughs happily. "Whee!"

"And thus, the curtain rises for the grand story that is Dragon Ball." The image freezes with Gohan holding Goku in the air.

Written by Dash