Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Wish For The Past ❯ Calm Before The Storm ( Chapter 12 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

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Bardock winced in pain as he took another step. It felt like he'd broken some ribs during that fight. Probably bruised some vital organs as well, from the feel of it. Nappa hadn't really been that hard to beat, but the big brute had packed a mean punch. He probably shouldn't be walking around right now, but he didn't exactly have much of a choice. He and the boys needed to find someplace to hide for the next day or so. Bardock was taking them to such a place now.

"Are you okay, Bardock-san?" Trunks asked as the older Saiyan bit back another gasp of pain.

He'd be damned before he admitted his weakness, especially since it was something as insignificant as pain. "Just fine," he grunted, pushing aside a tree branch. He wished they could fly to where they were going, but that wasn't possible. You had to use your ki to fly, and if they used ki, any Saiyan with a scouter would be able to find them. Thus they had to resort to traveling on foot. "Just... a little sore, that's all," he lied.

One look at Trunks's and Goten's faces told him that they didn't believe a word of it. Thankfully, though, neither one called his bluff. He felt that he needed to be strong for them, since he was the only adult. Even if they were physically stronger than him, they were still children who needed someone to be 'in charge'. It wouldn't do if they had to carry their so-called 'leader' to their new hiding place.

"How much farther, grandpa?" Goten asked. It wasn't that he was complaining. He asked because he was worried about Bardock. He recognized the stubborn Saiya-jin pride for what it was and hoped that Bardock had enough sense to know his limits and not let his pride rule his actions.

"Not too far," Bardock replied. "It should be over this next hill."

Just as they neared the top of the hill, Goten's ears pricked up. Was that running water he heard? He sniffed the air experimentally. Yes, he could smell water in the air. They must be nearing a stream or river. His suspicions were confirmed when he reached the top of the hill and looked down on a small valley which was bisected by a curving river. The plants on either side of the river suddenly grew taller and greener (or redder, in the case of some plants that had red leaves instead of green) and the air seemed fresher somehow.

Bardock smiled at the looks of wonder on the boys' faces. "If you go downstream a bit, there's a waterfall with a cave hidden behind it that should make a good place to hide. I used to play here when I was younger. The river provides water and fish, as well as a kind of moss that really tastes pretty good once you wash all the river mud out of it." His eyes lost focus as his thoughts drifted back to those days of relative innocence. Shaking his head to clear it of the memories, he continued, "After we check the cave out to make sure it's still there and that there hasn't been a cave-in, you two can go catch some fish for breakfast. You do know how to fish, right?"

"I do! I do!" Goten jumped up and down in excitement. "Tousan and me have gone fishing lots of times." Three Saiyan stomachs rumbled at the thought of fresh fish and it was all the boys could do to keep themselves from running ahead in excitement. Bardock chuckled at their child-like enthusiasm, then winced as pain shot through his chest.

Damn it... Now I'm sure I broke at least one of my ribs, and that rib seems to be poking into one of my lungs. I need to stop moving around as soon as possible, before I get a punctured lung. That would be bad, especially without access to any regeneration tanks. Taking a painful breath, he moved on, heading downstream towards the roar of the waterfall and the refuge that it held.

Growling in frustration, the young Prince Vegeta impatiently flicked his tail around his waist as he left the throne room. Where isthat idiot Nappa?! he mentally raged. Nappa hadn't reported in since early this morning. It was nearly noon and no sign of the errant bodyguard was to be found.

More frustrating than that was the feeling of actually being in charge. Until recently, he had always taken orders from someone else, even if that person was his father. Someone had always been higher up than him. Yes, people listened to him and obeyed his commands, unless countermanded by the late King Vegeta or the late Frieza, but this was different. Now he was actually expected to take command, no questions asked. Vegeta didn't know if he was ready for this kind of responsibility.

On top of all that, he was expected to remain behind, safe and sound. Like a coward. Everyone else would be taking the risks and having all the fun, and the chibi prince wanted nothing more than to join them in the search for the three fugitives.

The Prince of all Saiyans wearily trudged up to his room. He would never admit such weakness, but he missed his father. Bitterly he recalled that Frieza had killed his father. He was glad the murdering alien bastard was dead, but, in a way, he wished it were otherwise. He would never be able to have revenge against the one who had wrong him, his family, his people. Hell, Frieza had wronged the whole universe! Vegeta flopped onto his bed, letting his depression get the better of him.

His mind wandered over the past day or so, stopping as he came to the point where that strange purple haired Saiyan boy had popped into the throne room out of nowhere. Something about that boy bothered him. He seemed eerily familiar to the prince, as though he should know him but couldn't remember where he had seen him. He could swear that he'd never met the gaki before, nor had he heard of anyone with such a ridiculous name as 'Trunks', but the feeling that he knew the boy could not be dismissed.

He almost acted like he knew me, the spiky haired prince mused to himself. He even seemed pleased to see me there. Why is that, I wonder? Sitting up suddenly in a gesture of frustration, the Saiya-jin no Ouji made up his mind.

He was going to go out and personally search for Bardock, Kakarot, and Trunks, and no one could stop him. He was, after all, in charge, and if he couldn't command his subjects to allow him to participate in the hunt himself, then what good was having power?

Bardock leaned gratefully against the cool, slanted stone wall, breathing in the cool, moist air of his childhood lair. Everything was as he remembered it. Light filtered in through the rushing water, playing on the walls and floor in ever-changing patterns. Moss grew everywhere, some green, some orange, some yellow, all emitting a soft, earthy smell. The large, flat rock he had often used as a make-shift table sat to one side of the puddle that had formed in the center of the cave. It was perfect.

Except for one thing.

Bardock was in pain. Each breath hurt more than the last, making him wonder if his ribs had splintered and a shard of bone had worked its way into his left lung. He cursed himself for an idiot. He had known that walking with broken ribs was asking for trouble, but had ignored himself in favor of his damned Saiyan pride. Now he was suffering the consequences.

At least the boys weren't there to see him like this. They had immediately taken off to go fishing, promising to come back with the biggest fish Bardock had ever seen. The warrior smiled at the memory.

Sighing, he reflected that staying still helped ease the pain somewhat. He truly hoped that he was wrong in his assessment of his ribs. Broken ribs healed. A bone shard in his lung was another matter entirely. Such things took regeneration tanks, and occasionally an actual surgery had to take place to remove the offending sliver. If such was the problem in his case, he knew that he would be in trouble. He had no access to either a regen tank or a skilled physician.

Closing his eyes, he did the only thing he could do. Sleep.

"Trunks, I'm worried," Goten whined as he lugged the cow sized fish back to the waterfall cave. He could have caught a bigger one, but Trunks had reminded him that the cave was only so big. If they were still hungry, they'd just have to go catch more. "Grandpa didn't look so good when we left him. I think maybe he got hurt when he was fighting that ugly guy."

Trunks gave his friend a sidelong look. He had noticed that Bardock was a few shades paler than he should have been and that he seemed to be trying to hide his pain from the two chibis. Trunks knew that he was far from fine, despite what the older Saiya-jin said. He was slightly surprised, however, that Goten had also noticed his grandfather's condition.

"I think you're right, Goten," the older boy stated, concern evident in his voice. "I think Bardock-san was lying when he said he was all right. Y'know, to keep us from worrying?"

Goten nodded solemnly. "I don't know what to do, Trunks," he pined. "I don't want my grandpa to die!"

"He's not gonna die, baka!" Trunks protested. "Our dads have been hurt worse before and lived, remember?"

"But our dads are stronger than my grandpa, Trunks!" the younger boy whimpered.

"Quit being such a baby, Goten," the purple haired demi-saiyan chided. "Your grandpa will be fine. Trust me!"

Sniffling, Goten nodded, though he remained pensive for the rest of the trip back to the cave.

Both boys dropped their fish on top of the large flat rock that served as a table. Goten was immediately by Bardock's side, worriedly looking into the older Saiyan's face. Bardock was asleep, his face pale and drawn, his breath coming in shallow gasps. This, of course, did nothing to soothe the younger boy's fears. Goten's eyes welled up with tears as he turned to look at his friend.

"Trunks, he looks even worse than before," he cried softly.

Hiding his own worry for the sake of his friend, Trunks scowled at Goten. "I told you, he'll be fine! He just needs something to eat. You know how bad it feels to be hungry, don't you?"

Goten nodded, though he was only half-convinced that this was the real problem. "I guess we should cook that fish, huh, Trunks?"

Trunks nodded sharply and set about attempting to fry both fish. Cooking with ki blasts wasn't really the best idea, but they didn't have any wood nearby. Neither boy wanted to wait the time it would take to gather the necessary firewood, in case it was hunger that was making Bardock look so terrible. Trunks took a deep breath, then carefully gathered a small amount of ki. Even if a scouter was pointed in their direction, the amount of ki being used was so insignificant that it would barely register. It was enough, though, to completely fry both fish, charring the edges slightly. The older boy eyed the fish warily, then shrugged.

"Goten, wake your grandpa up."

"Hai, Trunks-kun!" Goten put a hand on Bardock's chest and gently shook him. Unfortunately, he placed his hand directly over the ribs that had been cracked during the fight with Nappa. Bardock screamed in agony, his face contorting in intense pain. Panicking, Goten pulled his hand away and gripped it with his other hand. "Grandpa, grandpa, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you! I swear!" he whimpered.

Panting heavily, the wounded Saiyan opened his eyes and forced his lips into a smile, which looked more like a grimace of pain. "Ie. Ie, Goten-chan. Don't worry about it. You didn't hurt me too badly." As naive as he was, even Goten didn't believe a word of it. His eyes watered and tears slid down his cheeks.

"I was only trying to wake you up, grandpa," he sobbed. "So you could eat and get better. I didn't mean to hurt you!"

Bardock reached out and ruffled his grandson's spiky black hair affectionately, his smile becoming more genuine as the pain subsided to a dull throb. "It's all right, it's okay," he murmured. "I forgive you. I know you didn't mean it." He sniffed the air, the scent of cooked fish tickling his nostrils. "I smell fish," he stated the obvious in an attempt to change the subject.

Trunks, who had up until this point remained silent, took the opportunity to speak. "Hai! Goten and I caught two big fish and I cooked them!" he said proudly. It was a well-known fact that his family had... difficulty... cooking. And that was understating things immensely. He grabbed one of the fish and brought it over to Bardock. "Here! You need to eat so you can get better, Bardock."

Chuckling weakly, Bardock gestured to the other fish. "Will that be enough for the two of you?"

Wiping his tears away, Goten smiled at the older man. "Prob'ly not, but we can always catch more, right Trunks?"

"Right!"

Bardock, Goten, and Trunks all began to eat ravenously. Hunger overrode Bardock's pain, enabling him to eat despite the complaints his chest gave him. Once his stomach was full, Bardock settled back against the wall and drifted off into sleep again. Goten and Trunks had gone to get more fish and maybe forage for some fruit or the moss that Bardock had told them about.

"Status report."

"Estimated time to arrival is nineteen hours, twenty-two minutes, sire!"

"Good. Soon we will be there, and I can avenge my son...."

Smirking with glee, the Prince of all Saiya-jin flew off in the direction of the location that Nappa had last reported from. Decked out in full battle armor, complete with a flowing red cape, the boy made an impressive figure, despite the fact that he was just a boy. Behind him, four more Saiyans follow, also dressed in their finest battle gear. With the air whistling through hair that looked like a black flame, the prince grinned predatorily. It was time to go Saiyan hunting.