The calm of a dark night, irrevocably shattered by the roar of a giant ape towering over the trees in this remote mountain region, his dark body outlined by the light of the full moon above him.

"Goku! Goku stop!" An elderly man ran after the monster, who was tearing up trees and as he made a destructive path towards a small village at the foot of the mountains.

"Listen to me! Goku it's me, your grandpa! Stop this at once! GOKU!"

The beast turned in the direction of the man, his large, empty eyes seeming to focus on the man trying desperately to reign him in.

"Goku! Goku, can you hear me? It's grandpa!"

The beast roared.

"Goku?"

As the judge of souls and the undisputed ruler of the check-in station between the Mortal World and Otherworld, King Yemma rarely had a bad day. Why would he? He had a fleet of little blue demons at his beck and call to do the grunt work required, and he was, by default, the strongest being in this in-between place. And if he came across a stronger being who also happened to be a bit of a troublemaker, he simply stripped the little bastard of its physical body and sent it straight to Hell where it belonged.

So King Yemma rarely had a bad day, insomuch as a 'days' existed here. This, however, was becoming a bad day.

"This is extremely irregular," he grumbled at the short, slim man standing in front of him. "The man you're referring to hasn't even merited keeping his physical body, let alone being allowed to return to the mortal realm!"

"I know it is irregular, King Yemma," the Supreme Kai replied, a smug smile on his face. "I am not suggesting that we make this a regular occurrence. I simply need the man for an important task in the mortal world."

"Why him though?" King Yemma asked, trying to force his face into a passive expression. He rarely came across beings who outranked him at the check-out station, and wasn't used to being in a submissive position. "Is there no one else you could choose? I mean, this guy hasn't done a good thing in his life!"

"Come now, surely he must have done a few good deeds?"

"Nothing truly selfless," King Yemma muttered.

"Regardless, I've made my decision. Now enough of this delay." The Supreme Kai glared at the large man, his voice taking on a more serious tone. "Bring the man over at once. I have much I must explain to him before he can complete this task."

Bardock was extremely confused and disoriented. His soul had been wandering the depths of Hell barely aware of itself, and then, suddenly, it wasn't.

He stared down at himself, the body he was so intimately familiar with wrapped in the battle uniform he'd been wearing for more years than he could count. If it hadn't been for the strange place he was in and the large, horned, red-faced man looming unhappily over him, he would have thought that the years he'd spent in Hell and his face-off with Frieza had all been some bizarre dream.

But there was a large, horned, red-faced and strangely familiar man looming over him, clearly displeased with him, although over what Bardock had no idea. He'd never had much of an imagination anyway, and his current circumstances were putting a strain on his mental faculties as it was.

"Ah!"

Bardock turned towards the voice to find a slim man with pale purple skin, white hair, pointy ears and a very self-satisfied look on his face.

"So you're Bardock. Well, there certainly is a resemblance."

Bardock glared at the man, unconsciously falling into a defensive stance. "Who are you? And what is this place?"

"I'll get right to the point. I am the Supreme Kai, which means that I oversee the entire universe, including Otherworld."

"What?"

"You had," the Supreme Kai continued, ignoring Bardock's wide-eyed expression and obvious confusion, "in the mortal realm, an infant son named Kakarot. Prior to your death, you saw him in visions of the future, and it was those visions that encouraged you to stand up against Frieza in the hours and minutes before your death and that of your entire race at his hands. Your son escaped by a miracle, and is living on the planet Earth with an elderly man who cares for him. Or at least he did," the Supreme Kai tilted his head a little, "until about one hour ago.

"Your son was exposed to the full moon and underwent the transformation unique to your people. In his rampage, he killed his caretaker and destroyed his house. This is where you come in." The Supreme Kai took several steps forward, closing the space between him and the stunned Bardock. "Your son is now eight years old. I fear what may happen to him if he wakes to see the carnage he has caused, and it is in the best interests of his planet and the universe as a whole that he remain the innocent, unscarred boy he is now.

"You will be sent to Earth, where you will bury the old man and clean up the wreckage of your son's house. In this way you will repay your son and his caretaker, and you will ensure the future of the Earth and the galaxy. Then you will return to Hell."

"I…I don't understand." There was, in fact, a lot Bardock didn't understand, including what exactly this strange person meant when he said he oversaw the entire universe, but he decided to focus on the thing that was bothering him most. "Why me?"

The Supreme Kai shrugged, a move that looked strangely odd on his form. "I thought you would appreciate this opportunity. Do you not wish to see your son?"

Bardock opened his mouth but found no words. He had never been a good father, he knew that much. Even on those rare occasions when he and Raditz had been on-planet together, the boy had made him uncomfortable. The only thing he could think of to do with him was train, but Raditz had always seemed to want to talk and ask questions, personal questions, and the boy was infuriatingly weak. It was too late now to salvage his relationship with Raditz, but if Kakarot needed help, needed him so that he could become the man who would kill Frieza and avenge his race…

He took a deep breath. "So how do I do this?"

"It's very simple," the Supreme Kai said, smiling mischievously. "But first, your outfit is entirely inappropriate for this task." With that he snapped his fingers, and Bardock found himself in a loose-fitting white shirt with a blue tunic and matching loose pants, and, for some reason, little round earrings.

In the blink of an eye, Bardock found himself in an unfamiliar forest that had clearly seen some action. The Supreme Kai must have transported him here by some kind of magic, he reasoned to himself as he looked around at the destruction. Yep, he thought, smirking, this is definitely the work of an Oozaru.

The Supreme Kai had been very accurate with his transportation. Just a few feet from where Bardock had found himself lay a broken and very dead body.

Carefully, the Saiyan lifted the body of the man who had cared for his son, turning it over to see his face. He looked very like a Saiyan, and if the creatures here were anything like Saiyans this man must be a hundred years old. At least. His face, although pretty badly mangled, still revealed deep wrinkles and a white, bushy mustache and beard.

Bardock paused. He'd seen a lot of dead bodies in his life, many in worse shape than this. But this was different. It was like seeing his crew's bodies on that gods-forsaken planet they were ambushed in, or even Gine, that one time when he'd been sure she hadn't survived, and yet he hadn't even known the man.

Gently he carried the body away from the scene of the crime. He flew over the landscape until he found a place not too far away that was calm and peaceful. Landing slowly and lowering the body respectfully to the ground, Bardock began to dig a grave for the only person who'd ever been a parent to his son.

Digging with his bare hands took some time, but Bardock relished the feeling of his muscles working, the wind gently blowing through his hair and against his skin, drying the sweat that was forming on his brow. It was as though he hadn't died at all, that he was still the (fairly) young, strong, handsome man he'd always been.

After he had buried the elderly man, carefully patting the dirt over him and saying a small prayer for his soul, Bardock made his way back to the clearing where his son's house had once stood.

Clearly the boy had stepped on it. All that was left were some planks of wood and some piles of what was probably clothing and sheets.

Bardock rounded the ruins with a frown on his face. He was no construction worker. Vegeta could get some pretty nasty sandstorms and he'd helped fix a few holes and such in his day, but he had no idea where to start when it came to building a house from scratch.

He scratched his head. Well, it's not like I have to build the kid a palace. Four walls and a roof, that can't be too hard.

Bardock was rummaging through the remains for anything salvageable when a small voice startled him.

"Hey mister!"

Bardock turned to find a small, naked boy with a tail and a very familiar hairstyle staring at him with dark, questioning eyes.

"What happened? Where's my grandpa?" The boy looked around him at what had once been his home, scared and confused.

Bardock stood up slowly. The clothes provided by the Supreme Kai, presumably to give a good impression during this encounter, were now covered in dirt. "Well…," he began, trying to remember the stuff Gine had said to him about speaking to children patiently and nicely…

"What's that thing on your head?" Kakarot pointed.

"What?" Bardock tried to look up at what his son was pointing at, tilting his head this way and that to try and get a look. He ran a hand over his head but didn't feel anything. "Um…"

"It's real nice. You must be important. Do you know who did this to my house?"

"Well, yes," Bardock began. If his years working under Frieza had taught him anything, it was how to construct a believable lie. "I was sent by…," – damn that purple freak, he couldn't tell me what the old man's name was?! – "by your, uh, father."

"I don't have a father," Kakarot said matter-of-factly.

Bardock tried not to wince. "The old man," he prompted.

"Grandpa? He sent you?"

"Yes." That does make more sense. "He sent me to you because, well, he's dead," he said, a little more bluntly than he probably should have. But why beat about the bush? The boy had to know sometime.

Kakarot's eyes filled with tears, his lower lip trembling. "Wha…what do you mean?"

Bardock sighed. They really should have gotten Gine to do this. He wasn't made for this kind of thing. "Your house was attacked last night."

"Huh? Who attacked it? Was it you?" A fire suddenly sparked in the boy's eyes, and Bardock felt a surge of pride fill him. "Did you hurt my grandpa?!" Kakarot yelled, crouching into a fighting stance. "I'll make you pay!"

"No child, it wasn't me. I just told you, your grandpa sent me to help you. Your house was attacked by a, uh, giant monster." It occurred to Bardock that without the proper training, which he clearly wasn't going to get here, his son would continue to be a monster well into his adulthood.

"Oh!" Kakarot straightened up again. "You mean the monster that comes out at the full moon? Grandpa warned me about him." Apparently he didn't warn you well enough, Bardock thought to himself. Then the boy glared at him. "Are you sure it wasn't you?"

"I told you, your grandpa sent me!"

"You didn't even know he was my grandpa!" Kakarot pointed out.

"I, uh, got confused."

"Oh, that's okay then." The boy gave him a small smile. "I get confused too sometimes." Then the smile disappeared and the little boy flopped to the ground. "Does this mean Grandpa's gone?"

"Yes."

"I'll never get to see him again?"

"Um, yes."

Kakarot began to cry, covering his face with his arms as his heartbroken sobs echoed against the mountains. "Grandpa!" he wailed, "Grandpa, come back!"

Bardock felt his chest tighten at the pitiful sight. Such wailing was unbefitting of a Saiyan, but the boy was already the last of a dead people. Was he fated to spend his life entirely alone?

No, he thought, no, remember, there was a girl with him, I saw her. He'll be just fine, and he'll be stronger than this.

He has to be.

Bardock approached his weeping son and got down on his knees in front of him. Placing his hands on the child's bare shoulders, he said in as gentle a tone as he could muster, "Stop crying boy. You have to be strong now. Your grandfather told me," he added in a fit of inspiration, "that he wants you to be strong."

Kakarot lifted his tear-streaked face slowly. "He did?"

"Yes. Now," Bardock stood up, offering a hand to his son, "wipe your tears and help me fix up your house."

"Okay," Kakarot said as he stood up, his small, soft hand nestled in his father's rough, calloused one. "I'm gonna be strong just like Grandpa!"

Bardock grinned at him. His voice was still shaky, but Bardock could see he would be fine. "Good. First though, let's see if we can find you some clothes."