Chapter 18: The Heist

Within Bardock's Head…

Bardock's mental plane was surprisingly calm this time around. He was always confused by how the visions presented themselves, damning the Kanassan that cursed him with this bullshit, uncontrollable power. But despite his curses, the older Saiyan watched as the latest visions raced through his mind.

These visions were all very clear.

Within Frieza's ship, five Dragon Balls glowed and flashed. Bardock watched the Dragon Balls with intent as a very familiar voice echoed in the background. Vegeta's cocky laugh rang out through Bardock's mind loud and clear. The older Saiyan watched as Vegeta ran rampant through Frieza's ship, making off with all five Dragon Balls. Bardock rolled his eyes at the sight, unmoved at Vegeta's little tantrum... but then the vision smashed straight to a bloodied, beaten corpse. Vegeta was dead and the Dragon Balls were in new hands. The hands of the Ginyu Force!

Inside the Capsule House…

Bardock's eyes snapped open to the sound of sharp, electrical chirping. The older Saiyan sat up in his chair and roughly rubbed his face. His blurry vision slowly cleared and the sight of Bulma came into view. Bardock glared at the woman as she stood over him, fiddling with the discarded Scouter that he had stolen from Vegeta. "What the hell are you doing?"

Bulma didn't answer, fiddling with the various buttons on the side of the Scouter. After a few, silent minutes of Bardock glaring while Bulma used him as the device's target, Bulma pulled it from her face and sat back at her workbench.

Bardock scowled. "Hello?"

Bulma sighed and rubbed her temple. "Yeah, sorry. This thing is just... so much more advanced than the one Raditz had..."

Bardock sneered. "Yeah. Frieza's cheap ass only ever gave decent equipment to his personal entourage and to his five pet mercenaries..."

Bulma smiled. "Well, at least it's working again. So, that's good... right?"

Bardock nodded. "Yeah. We can make good use of that for spying and tracking purposes."

The older Saiyan leaned forward in the chair to better stretch his arms and shoulders, and then he glanced at the Scouter with a bit of curiosity. "So... what's so advanced about that thing anyway?"

Bulma turned to Bardock, a bit surprised that he even cared. But she wasted no time in explaining the new-model scouter and its features. "Oh! Well... in addition to its power level analyzing handling much higher readings... it has several other functions, including a multi-channel communicator. There's also a digital topographical scanner with GPS, a radar and early-warning setup, and a tracking function... which I've disabled. Its scanners also distinguish and record energy signatures and alterations, determine water and air quality, thermal and electromagnetic readouts, and it has a medical scanner for vital stats and anatomical health. It has multiple optic modes including night vision, x-ray, telescope, and infrared. It has a video recorder for all sights and sounds in the area. It even tells time and has an alarm for scheduled events."

Bardock leaned back in his chair, giving a small whistle with a genuinely impressed look on his face. "Well... shit. Scouters have gotten a lot more complicated since I was around..."

Bulma nodded and began to fish in the pocket of her vest. "Yeah, Frieza must funnel a ton of money into technological advancement. It's multifunctional and compact."

Bardock shook his head. "Nah. Frieza's a greedy prick. Only ever spends his money on wine and vacations and shit that makes his life better. Probably King Cold's doing... or maybe his brother..."

Bulma leaned back in her chair as well, pulling a pack of cigarettes from her vest and lighting one up. "Frieza has a family, eh? Are they all bastards like him?"

Bardock nodded. "Yeah. Basically..."

The older Saiyan glared over at Bulma and cocked his head in confusion. Bulma cocked her head back at him. "What?"

Bardock, unsure of what she was doing, was blunt. "What the hell are you doing?"

Bulma scoffed and rolled her eyes, blowing smoke into the air. "Look, I put up with a lot from you, but I already have my mom on my back about this. I don't need you scolding me too, asshole!"

Bardock shook his head. "No no no! I mean... what the hell are you doing? What is that?"

Bulma was momentarily confused, but then she looked down at her cigarette. "Oh... it's a cigarette. I use them to calm down and relax after I've worked for too long."

She took another drag and crossed her arms. "They didn't smoke on the Saiyan homeworld?"

Bardock snorted. "Hell no. Saiyans have no use for such weak, pathetic crutches. Stupid human..."

Bulma narrowed her eyes at him. "Yeah. Stupid human. That Scouter would be scrap without me. Or are you saying your dumb, knuckle-dragging ass could've fixed it?"

A long pause filled the room. Bardock glared away from Bulma and blushed. Bulma, knowing that she had called him out and he didn't have a response, simply sat there and continued to smoke.

Eventually though, to Bulma's surprise, Bardock sighed and nodded in agreement. "Yeah... you're right. Being a fighter isn't all that impressive without some sort of brains backing you up..."

Bulma flinched and watched as Bardock's stare grew distant. "Guess I've been a bit of a hypocrite. I was always telling my team we need to plan ahead and think things through before we go into battle if we want to survive. And Gine and Fasha... they always used to tell me I needed to keep my cool or I would have died if not for my team watching my back. And they were probably right. So... I guess... good job... uh... Bulma..."

Bulma was utterly shocked. She sat there for another long silence, smoking a bit more, before she finally thought of something to say. "Well... thank you too. Um... sorry for calling you a moron. I guess when it comes to fighting, you're pretty smart. You've kept us alive all this time so, I mean... I..."

She frowned. "I was wrong when I instantly decided that you were a bad person. You... aren't a bad person, Bardock."

Bardock scowled. "Would everyone just cut it with that morality crap?! I swear to-"

He paused. As he was about to go on another rant about people deciding whether he was good or bad, he remembered the words of the Grand Elder. Bardock's brain seemed to go static for a moment, but then he took in a deep breath and sighed. "I'm... tired."

The older Saiyan stood up from his chair and stretched his shoulders some more. "And it looks like I have some more work to do. Hold down the fort, 'kay? I mean... if you can without some sort of stupid, human crutch to get you through it..."

Bardock walked by Bulma, punching her lightly in the arm and chuckling. Bulma rolled her eyes. "Prick..."

She glared at Bardock, watching as he left. As the older Saiyan reached from the doorknob, Bulma called out to him. "Hey, Bardock..."

Bardock turned and faced her. Bulma appeared to be mulling something over... but she ended up just smiling. "Good luck out there, okay? Hope everything goes well..."

Bardock sighed and turned away, waving her off as he walked out the door. "Yeah yeah yeah..."

Once the door was shut, Bulma turned back to her desk. She took one last drag of her cigarette and then put it out in the nearby ashtray. Truth be told, a lot was weighing on the scientist's mind. She picked up the Scouter again and shifted it back to the test she had done with the medical scanner. Bulma leaned back in her chair with worry casting a shadow over her brow. She clicked through the Scouter's readout of Bardock until she got to the scan of his head. "What the hell is going on with you...?"

Bulma sat there at her desk and stared at the read out of Bardock's head, observing the sheer amount of heat radiating from within Bardock's skull as he slept.

Outside of the Capsule House…

Bardock stepped into the Namekian cave encampment and scanned around for Gohan and Krillin. He eventually came across the two of them sparring with one another while several of the Namekians watched on. For just a moment, Bardock leaned against the side of the house with a prideful smile on his face. Gohan caught one of Krillin's kicks and threw the monk into the air, only to be caught off guard by Krillin faking him out.

As his grandson was takento the ground with a solid punch, Bardock sighed. "You're getting there, kid..."

Gohan stood up and he and Krillin bowed to each other. Then, the young half-Saiyan looked over and noticed his grandfather. "Grandpa Bardock!"

Bardock smirked at Gohan and motioned for him to come over. Gohan happily did, walking up to his grandfather and chuckling. "How was your nap, Grandpa? You seemed tired after the trip to Grand Elder Guru's place..."

Bardock shrugged. "It was good, I guess. Hey, where's that Nail guy?"

Gohan pointed to the entrance of the cave. "He stepped out a little while ago. Why? Is something wrong?"

Bardock shook his head. "Nah. Just need to talk to him about something. Might be gone for a bit. You and Krillin hold down the fort, alright?"

Gohan nodded. "Yes, sir!"

Bardock chuckled and shook his head, ruffling Gohan's hair before going outside to look for Nail.

Outside of the Cave…

Bardock stepped out of the cave and looked around, eventually finding Nail and Talus standing next to the vast, Namekian ocean.

As he approached, he heard the two of them speaking to each other in very rapid Namekian. Mid-conversation, Nail noticed Bardock's approach. Both he and Talus turned and the two warriors glared at the approaching Saiyan. Bardock didn't even flinch. Nail grunted to himself and ushered Talus away. The fellow warrior complied, walking back towards the cave and nodding at Bardock as he walked by. Bardock nodded back and stepped up to Nail.

The two warriors stood there for a moment, silent and scowling as they sized each other up. The boost that Lord Guru had given put him at least on Nail's level in terms of power. Eventually, Nail spoke. "I must say, your aggressive actions gave me pause in considering you for any modicum of trust... but I will follow the Grand Elder's command nonetheless."

Bardock smirked at Nail. "Eh, I'm used to not being trusted right off the bat. Can't even be pissed about it, you're certainly smarter than most, Nail."

Nail nodded. "Hmm..."

Bardock placed a hand on Nail's shoulder. "So... how about we try a trust exercise, eh?"

Nail was blunt. "Is this about a vision of the future you have been granted?"

Bardock flinched, a bit surprised. Nail elaborated. "Lord Guru told me all that I needed to know telepathically. Your mind is a truly fascinating tool. It is a shame you cannot properly control it or you could be quite the force for progress."

Nail's summation annoyed Bardock, but he did not allow it to make him lose his temper. "Yeah. You're right, it's related to a vision."

Nail nodded. "I see. Well then, explain to me the content of this 'trust exercise'."

Bardock smiled. "Now we're talking real some sense. Come on, Nail. Let's go get the last five Dragon Balls."

Nail was taken a bit aback, but he immediately followed along as Bardock took off.

Meanwhile, on the bridge of Frieza's Ship…

Frieza sat in his hover chair, his mood souring more and more by the second. Over in the corner, Zarbon stood stalwart. He tried to maintain his normal air of calm, but the emperor's attendant was sweating bullets. He knew that Lord Frieza was growing impatient and he knew that that meant his chances to live were growing shorter and shorter. Finally, with venom flowing through his voice, Frieza spoke. "Zarbon..."

Zarbon snapped into attention. "Yes, My Lord?!"

Frieza didn't speak after that. Zarbon began to stammer in fear, trying to explain himself. "Lord Frieza, I am so sorry that Vegeta is taking so long to heal. I don't know what exactly Appule is doing wrong, but-"

A Death Beam zipped by Zarbon's head, splitting several hairs from his scalp. Frieza spoke slowly and clearly. "The next beam will not miss, Zarbon."

The lieutenant was scared silent. Frieza lowered his hand and began to chastise. "Vegeta mentioned the Saiyan Bardock, before you began your thrashing of him. That was the Low-Class Saiyan that was quickly and steadily reaching the same level of power as King Vegeta III. Apparently, that same Low-Class Saiyan somehow survived my personal eradication of Planet Vegeta and the entire Saiyan race, and you decided to pummel into an incoherent state the only person who could verify such a story. How could you do something so stupid before gaining the full intel on such a troubling matter? You idiotic, worthless-"

Outside of the closed doors to the ship's bridge, various Frieza Force soldiers stood and muffled their snickering as they listened to Frieza lay into Zarbon. The jackals all took great joy in hearing their stuck-up boss being so close to pissing his pants in fear. It was such an enjoyable show that every soldier, minus Appule and the perimeter guards were listening in.

In the Medical Bay…

Appule stood from his seat and checked the monitor that was keeping track of Vegeta's vitals. "Damned monkey... hurry the hell up and heal. Zarbon is probably throwing my ass under the bus right now you short, selfish asshole!"

Appule slammed his fist onto the glass of the healing tank. "Worthless Saiyan! Your entire species was always so pathetic! Can't you just heal already and do us better species the service of facing your torture so Lord Frieza doesn't kill us all?!"

The medical tech sighed and rubbed his face. "Shit... maybe it's just... I need to change the fluid?"

Appule pressed the drain button of Vegeta's healing pod and turned his back to it to look for another tank of fluid to load into the filter pump. But unfortunately for Appule, the Saiyan Prince's eyes snapped open. The medical tech never saw it coming as Vegeta shoved his fists through the glass dome of the healing tank and grabbed him by the mouth. A quick snap later and Appule was dead.

Vegeta stepped out of the pod, fully healed and with a new purpose. He smiled down at Appule's corpse and cracked his knuckles. "Now... time to leave."

The prince smiled wide. "But... I need some souvenirs before I go~"

Stealthily, the prince exited the medical bay and began to duck in and out of rooms. The entire ship seemed abandoned, but he knew that that couldn't be the case. Vegeta soon came upon the empty security room and saw what was going on: the majority of the ship's staff was standing near the entrance to the bridge listening to the commotion going on within. Vegeta looked at the screen that spied into the bridge and smirked at the sight of Zarbon with tears of fear building up in his eyes, almost tempted to stay to enjoy the show for as long as possible.

But even more than Zarbon in pain, Vegeta was fascinated by the sight of the five, massive orange orbs next to Frieza. "If I were to place a bet... I'd put my money on those being the Dragon Balls..."

The Prince rubbed his chin. "But... they're right next to Frieza and he would kill me without a doubt if he saw me..."

Vegeta stared at the screen and sat down in a nearby chair. "How to do this...?"

Within the Bridge…

"I SHOULD HAVE TAKEN YOUR SISTER OR ONE OF YOUR BROTHERS AS MY SOLDIER WHEN FATHER CONQUERED YOUR WORTHLESS PLANET! YOU IGNORANT EXCUSE FOR A WARRIOR! YOU WOULD HAVE MADE A MUCH BETTER CORPSE THAN THEM!"

Frieza was angry enough to be frothing at the mouth at this point. And much to his dismay, all Zarbon could do was stand there and take it. It was better than dying, he supposed. But before Frieza could hurdle more critiques and insults as the cowed attendant, a massive explosion shook the entire ship.

Frieza took a break from his ranting and turned towards the door. "What the devil was that?!"

Zarbon went running past Frieza and slammed his fist into the door switch. The panels opened to reveal most of the ship staff standing there, bewildered at what was going on.

The pretty boy snarled at the troops. "What are you ignorant bastards doing?! Get back to work and find the source of that explosion right now!"

And then, to Zarbon's disdain, a very familiar laugh echoed over the intercom. Both he and Frieza stared up at the speaker in a rage as screaming also began to echo through the ship. "Oh no no! Please no! King Cold almighty! Please don't-"

A sickening crunch and a terror-filled scream later and the voice, most likely Monrei, was silent. And then the laugh came again and Vegeta spoke. "So, a riddle for you? How many cowards and idiots does it take to let a ship go to hell while they bicker?!"

Another heavy explosion. "Well, Zarbon and Frieza, how many cowards and idiots does it take?!"

Frieza was furious, he turned to his dumbfounded soldiers and screamed at them. "Find Vegeta right now!"

The minions all began to fearfully scramble in both directions down the hallway. Frieza turned to Zarbon and prepared to say something, but was cut off by all of the soldiers running back, slamming into each other and being sandwiched and killed by two massive, pink blasts.

As Zarbon stared at the giant, scorched pile of corpses, Frieza reached up and snatched him down to eye-level by his braid. "Zarbon! Find Vegeta! Now!"

The emperor pulled Zarbon by his braid and practically threw him the opposite way down the hallway. The two of them searched every room as they stalked down the halls. Surely, Vegeta didn't think he'd just be able to slip by them.

Unfortunately, the two of them were so distracted by their own thoughts and the sounds of explosions and wreckage, that neither noticed the sound of a falling vent grate from the bridge. Vegeta fell from the ducts, pulling the intercom headset from his head and crushing it. And then, he took a moment to stare at his five, massive prizes with manic glee. He picked one up, bouncing it up and down in his hand, and then aimed his free hand at the viewing glass.

On the other side of the ship…

Frieza and Zarbon met up. Both of them were empty-handed and Frieza was very angry. Zarbon flinched back in terror. "I-I checked every room on the way here, My Lord! Vegeta wasn't in any of them!"

Frieza gripped his fist and snarled at his attendant, scaring the hell out of Zarbon. But before either could react, an explosion rocked on the distant side of the ship. Zarbon's eyes widened, but Frieza instantly caught on. "MY DRAGON BALLS!"

Back on the bridge…

Vegeta reared his arm back and tossed the final Dragon Ball out of the hole that he had made. He stared back at the ruined bridge of Frieza's ship with pride and then he did a giddy backflip out the hole and to the outside.

Vegeta landed with a smirk and two of the perimeter guards tried to run up and stop him. He turned to them with a wicked smile and shot a blast through each of their chests. The Prince took a moment to spit on one of their faces before happily leaping into the water, sinking under the surface and swimming away.

Mere seconds later, Zarbon came flying out of the hole and scanned the grounds for Vegeta and the Dragon Balls, seeing nothing but two recently-deceased soldiers still smoldering on the ground. After a moment, more confused soldiers ran up and asked Zarbon what was happening.

Zarbon snarled at them, clearly panicking as he did. "FIND VEGETA, GODDAMMIT! FIND HIM NOW! RIGHT N-"

Zarbon was frantic, but his attitude and his blood both chilled upon the utterance of one word from Frieza, within the ship. "Zarbon."

Back on the bridge of Frieza's Ship…

Frieza stood in the burnt wreckage of his bridge and examined all of the work Vegeta had done. The cameras were taken out, so no hope of viewing what Vegeta had actually done. 90% of his soldiers were dead, so no sending out a search net. Frieza took a deep breath and somehow maintained his composure as Zarbon landed in front of him.

Zarbon hastily began to explain himself. "Lord Frieza, I will personally go and-"

Frieza raised a single finger. "Ah tut tut tut."

Zarbon flinched back. "L-Lord Friez-"

The finger bent forward and fired a Death Beam right into Zarbon's right eye, burning it out of the socket and sending the attendant reeling back. "AGGGGHHHHHHHHH!"

Frieza sneered down at his disgraced Number-Two man. "If I catch you in the healing chamber to repair that eye, I will boil you alive in it."

The emperor climbed into his hover chair as Zarbon rolled on the floor and screamed in pain. "Call in the perimeter guard and tell them to get to cleaning and repairing immediately. I do not wish for the Ginyu Force to see this embarrassment that you have caused."

Meanwhile, miles away…

Vegeta surfaced from under the Namekian sea with a satisfied, toothy grin. Quickly, he scurried onto dry land and shook himself off before he began to look around. "If I'm correct about the trajectory... they must have landed somewhere around here..."

"Well wouldja look at that, Nail? The little prince knows how to do math!"

Instantly, Vegeta's head felt hot. He recognized that voice and he was ready to kill the second he heard it. The Prince ran in the direction of the voice, rounding a corner to a little alcove hidden behind a mountain and came face-to-face with Bardock and some unknown Namekian trash.

Vegeta snarled. "You!"

Bardock smirked, patting the Five-Star Dragon Ball he was using as a chair. "Sup, Vegeta?"

The Prince was shaking with rage. Bardock chuckled. "You know, I'm not your papa... but playing catch with you was fun! We should totally do it again sometime..."

Vegeta summoned two massive ki blasts and aimed one each at Bardock and Nail. "Do you think you're cute?!"

Bardock winked. "Bitch, I'm adorable!"

He stood and held up a staying hand. "But I'm not here to fight with you right now. We need to have a talk about-"

Vegeta roared at Bardock. "NO! NO MORE TRICKS! NOT THIS TIME!"

He reared his hand back and Nail immediately took a fighting stance. "I swear, I'm going to kill you and this worthless Namekian and take my goddamned Dragon Balls back! Prepare to die, you sc-"

Bardock sighed. "The Ginyu Force."

The blasts immediately dissipated and Vegeta's eyes widened with fear. "Wh-What?!"

Bardock said it again, this time staring Vegeta directly in the eye. "The. Ginyu. Force."

Vegeta began to tremble. But he maintained a bit of his cocky demeanor. "Like Frieza would actually call Ginyu to this backwater slum! How could you even-"

Without any hesitation, Bardock reached up and tapped his head, glaring at Vegeta. Vegeta fell silent for a moment as he let it register that a known seer of the future was telling him that the Ginyu Force was coming to Namek. And then his shoulders went limp. "Motherf-"

Bardock's smirk returned and he clapped his hand onto Vegeta's shoulder armor. "Why don'tcha come back to our base and we discuss how we're gonna deal with this crisis? Huh?"

Hate poured from Vegeta's eyes as he practically glared a hole through Bardock. But... the prince eventually conceded to Bardock's suggestion. All it took was a nod for Bardock to chuckle and hand Vegeta a Dragon Ball. And then, the two Saiyans and their Namekian ally took off back towards the base, knowing that a hellish fight was to come.