Unexpected Fate: Version 2.0

Epilogue-Uncertain Future

Bardock watched the remainder of the tournament with little expression on his face. His son had left with the reincarnation of Majin Buu some time ago. While it had upset him that they would not get their rematch in, he was somewhat curious about what his son had been doing prior to the tournament when he disappeared again. He had attempted to corner Goku earlier, but was interrupted the minute Vegeta appeared out of nowhere demanding answers.

"Pinelve maisen, it's your turn," Turnipa poked him. The cursed warrior knew that the last match would end quickly since he was up against his great-granddaughter Pan. The only daughter of Gohan and Videl stood in the ring waiting for the older warrior to come out and fight.

While he could have easily won against her, Bardock found the young girl to leave a strong impression on everyone she meets. Throwing the fight for her sake was something he did not mind in the slightest since he always seemed to enjoy the smile that graced her face. Yet, a sense of Saiya-jin pride was on the line for even showing weakness of any sort.

"Grandpa! Let's fight!" Pan grinned up at the elder warrior.

"Actually, can I ask for a slight rule change?" Bardock called the announcer over. "I want this battle to be a best two out of three rock paper scissors battle…"

"Eh?" the audience was perplexed, but Bardock would be damned if he ever raised a fist against his own granddaughter. He had a small hand at training her, but he would never take it as seriously since she was still relatively young.

"I suppose the exception could be made," the announcer sweat dropped. Then again, he had called stranger matches that involved dangerous situations, so this was tame compared to the one that was about to take place.

"Alright Pan, are you ready?" Bardock called across the ring. He was still rather shaky at the rules, but he assumed that his granddaughter was better at this kind of thing than he was since he did not really care about the game itself as long as she was happy.

"Yeah Grandpa! Let's do this!" Pan exclaimed joyfully.

"Rock!"

"Paper!"

"Scissors!"

Long after the tournament ended, Bardock was lying beneath the stars by himself in a field outside of his home. The cloudy sky obscured the moon that hovered overhead, but for some reason, Bardock felt antsy. Instinctively, he felt as though something was completely out of place.

Sitting up, his vision blurred suddenly when he saw a figure obscured in a dark cloak standing before him with a red tail. The only thing Bardock could see was part of a tribal tattoo on the man's left cheek.

"You should leave this place, son of Kalif."

'What's going on?' Bardock saw his son's unconscious body on the ground and his eyes widened when two soldiers picked him up.

"Who are you and what are you doing with Kakarrot?" Bardock turned and saw his future self confronting the man.

"Nothing you should be worried about follower of Infr," the man replied. "You can walk away and let us take him or die."

'Why the hell would I…?'

"Taristo?" Bardock's eyes cleared when he saw Goku kneeling across from him. "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost?"

"Kakarrot, how much of the future have you seen?" Bardock asked his son.

"I… I haven't really seen much after the fight with Buu…" Goku frowned. "Why? Is something wrong?"

"Nothing…" Bardock almost sensed something was amiss when his son flinched slightly. "Do you want to spend the night at my place?"

"Actually, I wanted to just check on you before I head back to the island so I can start training Uub as soon as possible, goodnight!" Goku was quick to leave and Bardock did not stop him. Something was totally wrong with his son.

"Infr, is something going to happen Kakarrot?" Bardock asked the heavens silently. "If so, why is he hiding the truth from me all the sudden?"

Silence was Bardock's only answer. Standing in the field, he felt the breeze brush against his hair, but for once, he wanted nothing more than to ensure that tomorrow would not be the end of the world. The only solace he had was the fact that the future was still undetermined.

"Taristo… be careful… the future is still not set in stone…"

Bardock's eyes widened and he turned around. He thought he heard a voice calling his name, but no one was around that he could sense. Was this another figment of his imagination?

Fin

Authoress' Note: Yes, this story ended differently than the original telling, and that is what is leading into the Redemption Arc. Whose story will this follow? Well, hints were dropped, so now you probably can guess who it is (and I am horrible at hiding characters for long periods of time). I maybe the queen of cliffhangers, but I suck at hiding characters in the shadows.

Speaking of cliffhangers, I was meant to throw one in the last chapter, but gave up easily because it would have made the next one much shorter. Doesn't mean I am enticing the readers to check out the next part of the story that will be coming out shortly.

Where does Redemption fall in the Unexpected Fate universe? Well, chronologically, it starts at the end of the last chapter and goes until the beginning of the Fallen Hero Arc. It won't be as long like the other stories I've written, but I am hoping that it does generate some interest following someone different for a bit. I promise I will posting most of the story in 2017 and finish it in less than a year compared to this one that took nearly a decade.

Other than that, I do wish to thank everyone for reading, liking, and following this story. It's been one crazy rollercoaster of a ride rewriting this story, but I'm glad I finally reached the end of this one.

Until the next arc, feel free to leave your guesses.

~Chibi Mirai Gogeta