Unexpected Fate

Soul Searching

Unexpected Fate

Chapter 19-Soul Searching

The world around Bardock spun and he felt the dull pain in his chest while he struggled to breathe. His eyes opened slowly and he found himself in his own bed. Confused, he glanced around before seeing his son enter the room with a concerned look on his face.

'How long has he been here?' Bardock noted the dark circles under his son's eyes.

Gasping at the new wave of pain that struck him hard, he hissed; eyes falling shut and grimaced from the severity of the situation. He was helpless and felt a hand grasp behind his head. Moments later, the feeling a smooth object pressed against his lips and a bitter taste filled his mouth. His eyes snapped open and he realized what he was doing. He turned his head away from the vial immediately despite the firm grasp behind his head.

"Kakarrot, stop giving me your medicine..." the cursed warrior muttered.

"Dad, you need it more than I do right now," Goku attempted to reason with his father.

"That's... beside the... point! Trunks brought... that for... you, not me..." Bardock hissed in pain while his breathing became ragged. He glared at the bottle and then his son.

"I gave Bulma some of it so she could make more..." Goku explained. "That way, if I do end up having it after you do, I would have more than enough..."

"That's... a stupid plan..." Bardock felt the pain ebbing slowly while the medicine worked its way through his system. "You... of all people... should have... just let... me die..."

"I can't..." Goku's voice suddenly became garbled. Bardock saw his vision darkening again before he passed out; the abysmal darkness stealing the warrior away from the physical burdens he had to deal with.

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Darkness. It was so dark that not one iota of light could be distinguished let alone any object. It was where Bardock found himself when he awoken and found nothingness all around him. A hint of fear, anger and confusion crossed the warrior's face while he rose to his feet within this void. The minute he did, he felt as though the ground beneath him vanished altogether; leaving him suspended haplessly in the strange phenomena.

'What the hell's going on?' Bardock thought while floating there in confusion.

A small flitter of light was seen crossing his line of vision and he followed it; unaware of where it was going and why it flew by without stopping. Attempting to catch up, it had begun to fade away and vanish like it was an illusion that his mind created. Frustrated, he paused in his flight and began to assess his situation.

'Wherever the hell I am, I want to get the fuck out of here now...' Bardock glanced around; attempting to find a light source, ground, anything that would be better than where he was hanging out at that moment.

Suddenly, there was a strange pull that he felt in his stomach. Whatever it was, Bardock decided to follow this oddity of a feeling and trusted it to lead him somewhere else. Moments later, he felt a strange sensation encompass him and a bright light temporarily blinded his sight.

What felt like an eternity of brightness only lasted a few minutes. Slowly, his eyes opened and he found himself on a familiar terrain. The very forests, the heavier air, and even the alignment stars that shone within the heavens above made him realize where he was.

"No way... this... is this V-Vegeta-sei?" Bardock muttered aloud, confused on how he had found his way to a planet that had been long since destroyed. A part of him wondered for a moment if this were a trick; that this was a planet that had similar aspects. Yet another almost wished it were; the part of him that had failed to defend the very planet from the tyrant that heartlessly destroyed it and his people.