Paragus watched as a dark green aura flared around Broly. The boy—no, the god—looked back at him with a complicated gaze.
"Shoom!"
Broly's eyes hardened. He kicked into a higher gear and, in the span of a heartbeat, vanished from Paragus's sight.
"Hey! Broly, stop! I said stop, did you hear me? I'm your father! You can't just abandon your old man here!" Paragus shouted, panic cracking his voice.
But Broly was gone.
He rejoined Ken in the high sky, and the two streaked off across the stars.
Ken neither praised nor scolded him. This, too, was part of Broly's growing up. Maybe, one day, Broly would unknot the tangle in his chest and forgive his father. Maybe Paragus would simply die here, forgotten by the cosmos. Either way, it no longer mattered.
"I think I finally get what you meant," Broly said quietly. "Most Saiyans don't do feelings. My father treats me like Raditz treats Kakarot—when you're useless, you're disposable."
"Yeah," Ken said. "That's the heart of it. And it's why the Saiyans went extinct. But the few who remain—you, Goku, even Vegeta down the line—you won't be that kind of cold again. You'll protect what's yours."
Broly didn't answer. His jaw worked, and then the tears came—hot, helpless, and childlike.
…
Universe 6, Earth – Capsule Corporation HQ
In her lab, Bulma held Ai's special screwdriver between her fingers, lips pressed tight.
Dr. Brief pushed the door open. "Bulma? What are you up to?"
"Dad… I'm thinking about deleting Ai's memories of Broly." She sighed. "It hurts her too much."
"Why?" He adjusted his glasses and took a sip of water.
"Because those memories are pure pain. If we can spare her—"
"Those moments are what made her Ai," Dr. Brief said gently. "The hurt and the joy together pushed her beyond code. That's why she has a will of her own."
"So… the pain is part of who she is now," Bulma murmured.
"Storm first, rainbow after," he said, patting her arm. Another little nudge to the glasses, and he left.
"Do you really see a rainbow after this?" Bulma stared at the brilliant blue sky, then tucked the screwdriver back into the toolbox.
She strode over and pressed Ai's power button.
"Hello, Bulma. Robot Ai at your service," chimed the familiar, childlike voice.
"Let's upgrade your voice—grow it up a notch, from little girl to young woman. How about it?" Bulma smiled.
"Will Ai grow up like Broly?" Ai asked, innocence shining in the synth.
"You'll grow up too," Bulma nodded. "I'll even build you a better body."
"Thank you, Bulma." The light on Ai's head glowed brighter.
…
Universe 7, Deep Space
Ten minutes of faster-than-light glimmer later, Ken spotted a dun-colored world ahead.
He and a steadier Broly halted above its stormy clouds. Through the sand-choked skies, Ken saw a lone figure on a peak—familiar jawline, the scar, that look.
Bardock.
Bardock tipped his face to the heavens. All he could see was grit and storm. He dropped by a battered pod and shook his head.
"Damn it… how long has it been? Is Planet Vegeta gone?" he muttered, grief and urgency twisting together.
Ken and Broly descended.
Bardock blinked, eyes sliding from Ken to Broly—and stuck. His instincts flared. The quiet one was far more than he seemed. And the other… silver hair, silver tail?
A tail. Silver?
His gaze snapped to Broly's waist—another tail.
"You're Saiyans! Tell me—what happened to Planet Vegeta?" Bardock's voice cracked with hope and dread.
"Destroyed. Twenty-four years ago," Ken said plainly.
"What? It's been that long?" Bardock's face hardened. "Frieza again, wasn't it?"
"It was," Ken nodded.
"I'll kill him." Golden light burst up Bardock's spine.
"Snap."
His hair speared upward, flashing gold. Power ripped off him in waves.
Super Saiyan.
Broly's brows lifted a fraction. He studied the golden warrior who looked so much like Kakarot.
"How did you get here? Can you take me off this rock?" Bardock asked, jaw set.
"We flew," Ken said, smiling.
Bardock stalled. "…Flew? Through space?"
"From very far away."
"You can survive in space?"
"I can."
Bardock had no words.
"You've lived a thousand years and still can't?" Ken tilted his head.
Bardock's eyes narrowed. "How do you know that? Who are you?"
"Ken."
"Ken…" He searched the name through a millennium of faces. So many fallen, most forgotten. Only family and enemies stayed sharp. After a long minute: "You're that prodigy—hit twenty thousand combat power, then it vanished. That was you, right? Can't believe you grew into… this. What's with the hair—did you dye it?"
"I'm not here to reminisce," Ken said. "I'm here to see how far you've come. A thousand years should count for something."
"You want a test? Can't you see it?" Bardock tapped his temple. "This form—do you know it?"
"I don't use it," Ken said.
"This is the form Frieza feared most—Super Saiyan." Bardock smirked. "Both of you, at once. I'll handle you with one hand."
He tucked his left hand behind his back and raised his right.
Broly didn't wait for orders. Power thundered out of him and he blitzed in.
"Boom!"
Bardock met him head-on, palm slamming into Broly's chest. Broly barely twitched—then clamped a hand over Bardock's head and drove him like a stake into the mountain.
Stone split like dry bread. Dust geysered up.
Bardock roared back out of the rubble and hammered Broly's sternum. Broly shivered—once—then swatted Bardock back into the collapsing ridge.
A streak of gold lanced upward again—faster.
Lightning crawled over Bardock's aura.
Ken's eyes brightened; Amarella's voice chimed in his head, amused. "Well now, Goku's father isn't simple. Another power up. If that first jump is Super Saiyan, this would be… Super Saiyan Two, per Vados's naming."
"Vados came up with that?" Ken blinked.
"Mm-hmm. When you dissolved, Broly found a new form with green lightning. She called it 'Legendary Super Saiyan Two' for the moment. She did say you could rename things once you finished your angel metamorphosis," Amarella said.
"It's fine. Works," Ken said.
"…You two and your serial numbers," she muttered.
Bardock, crackling with gold lightning, ghosted behind Broly and drove a fist into his back. Broly corkscrewed through the air, righted—and found Bardock already in his face.
"You're not bad," Bardock grinned. "I needed Two to put you down. Your name?"
"Broly."
"Never heard of you," Bardock said. "Back then I was off campaigning on other planets. I didn't know what was happening on Planet Vegeta."
"Continue?" His lightning flared higher.
Broly's frame swelled, tapping the ape within. "Had to transform, or I'd start eating punches."
Bardock blinked at the sudden mass. "What kind of—"
Broly was already there. The sky filled with impacts—hundreds in seconds. And Bardock's certainty began to fray.
I'm SSJ2—and he's still matching me?
"Frieza," Bardock snapped between blows. "He still lives?"
"Seems fine," Broly answered, forearms crossed, catching a red-hot blast and batting it aside.
"You could wipe him out. Why won't you?"
"He never bothered me," Broly said. (Should I mention I tore his son in half?)
"He destroyed Planet Vegeta!"
"Not my problem," Broly said evenly. "We were exiled to Planet Vampa before it happened."
Bardock faltered, grimacing. Then: "Fine. You're strong—I'll give you that." He shot Ken a look. "You found a monster, Ken. But I'll show you a realm you've never seen."
Ken's smile tilted. "Now you have my attention."
Broly felt hope prickle. If Bardock truly had the level required, he could take a God of Destruction seat in Universe 3 or Universe 9—and Broly wouldn't have to leave Ken's side in a month.
Bardock inhaled, and a deep crimson flame roared up around him. Hair—fire-red, standing tall. The color was darker than Goku's movie-bright godhood, the feel heavier, older.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," Bardock said, every syllable edged. "This is a realm you've never witnessed—Super Saiyan God."
"Super… Saiyan God?" Broly echoed, eyes narrowing with interest.
Ken's gaze sharpened. Super Saiyan God it was—though not quite the same flavor as Goku's. Denser. Rough-forged.
"I'll end this quickly. Brace yourself," Bardock warned—kind, even now.
Broly nodded.
Bardock blurred, leaving a lick of flame where he'd stood. He reappeared behind Broly; Broly wheel-kicked—Bardock raised a forearm and the kick vanished into the sea.
"Fast," Bardock said lightly. "Too bad it's light."
His palm pistoned into Broly's chest. Broly went skidding through mountain after mountain, then cratered hard. Sand surged, trying to swallow him whole.
"He'll live," Bardock told Ken as he flashed to his side. "I pulled it. If I didn't, he'd be dead. Good talent—but still miles behind me. With training, he might earn the right to be my rival."
Ken said nothing.
"And you—how do you breathe in space?" Bardock asked, curiosity finally winning.
"How did you live a thousand years?" Ken countered, eyes glinting.
Bardock froze. Then the penny dropped. "You too…?" His gaze sharpened. "Wait—the ecological crash on Namek—was that you?"
"What crash?" Ken asked mildly.
"What wish did you make?" he pressed.
"Nothing huge. I just asked Porunga for two thousand years of life. That's his cap," Bardock said. "Left the other two wishes on the table."
Ken's thoughts clicked into place. So that's it. A thousand down, a thousand to go.
"And you two wished to survive in space, didn't you?" Bardock asked, catching up fast.
"Right," Ken said.
"Should've asked for that myself," Bardock grimaced. "Would've spared me a near-millennium on this dust ball. Anyway—get Broly out of here. He's nowhere near my level."
A golden beam punched up from the dunes. Broly hovered beside them, very much alive.
Bardock's eyes flicked, impressed despite himself. Tougher than I thought.
"Not bad. Sturdier than I expected," he conceded.
Broly's aura flared gold—his own Super Saiyan. Bardock stared, surprised, then chuckled.
"No wonder you didn't blink when I transformed earlier."
"Again," Broly grinned.
"You sure? I'm in God mode now," Bardock warned. "Super Saiyan isn't close."
"Then I'll get serious," Broly said simply.
"Suit yourself." Bardock lunged.
They collided midair, red god-flame and gold dragon-roar. For a full minute the sky rang with fists and shockwaves, neither giving an inch—until Bardock buried a fist in Broly's chest, and Broly answered with a palm across Bardock's jaw and a whip-kick that sent him tumbling.
Bardock blinked out, reappeared overhead, hammered down; Broly twisted, hooked an ankle, and spiked him into the ground like a meteor.
"Arrgh—!"
Broly didn't let go. He swung Bardock by the leg and smashed him left, right, forward, back—over and over—until the desert roared like an ocean.
(End of chapter)
[100 Power Stones = Extra Chapter]
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