Under a storm of cheers Caulifla and Kokoa reappeared in the middle of the colosseum, the former supporting the latter despite her missing arm.
The second they reappeared though the numerous wounds Kokoa had began to immediately close, while a team of healers appeared to reattach Caulifla's arm as it returned with them. Meanwhile the previously thrown away Kou Bat also returned, and settled on its usual perch atop Kokoa's head.
As they were being seen to, the announcer cried out,
"LETS GIVE IT UP FOR OUR FOUR SEMIFINALISTS!"
As he said that, the images of Goku, Pikkon, Bardock, and Caulifla all appeared in the middle of he colosseum.
This sparked numerous debates as everyone discussed who among the four of them was more likely to win.
To several Pikkon was the more likely since he had displayed the most raw strength, while several others argued that they hadn't seen any of the Saiyans truly get serious yet. Though they had seen Goku and Caulifla both use their SSJ transformations, they both almost immediately ended the match after doing so.
Even as they discussed potential winners though, almost everyone agreed that it would be either Goku or Pikkon, as they were both seeded contestants. But with the other two also being Saiyans, one of which was Goku's own father, people were expecting that the remaining matches to be exciting.
After allowing the audience a few minutes to debate amongst themselves, the announcer continued,
"ALRIGHT THEN! LETS SEE WHO THE FIRST OF OUR SEMIFINALISTS TO DUKE IT OUT WILL BE!"
The spectators waited with bated breaths as the remaining four names rapidly flashed with light, before finally coming to a stop on the two that appeared to be identical.
"AND THE NEXT LINEUP IS, GOKU VERSUS BARDOOOOOOOOOOOOCK!"
As the announcer declared who would be fighting next there was flurry of muttering and discussion. After all, with the general information available regarding each contestant, it was fairly well known that Goku and Bardock were father and son.
Some believed that the lineup had been rigged to give Goku better odds, since there was no way a man would fight his own child at full strength. Those who knew about Saiyans disagreed though, and were more than eager to see the two of them duke it out.
"Guess that's us dad. Good luck!" Goku exclaimed as he started heading out to the arena, with Bardock following him as he quietly uttered,
"You too son."
Together the father-son duo stepped out of the tunnel to be welcomed by the roar of cheers and applause, which Goku responded amicably to while his father remained cold and stoic. This attitude however had actually earned Bardock numerous fans of his own, especially amongst the female demographic.
As the duo stepped up onto the stage the announcer declared,
"AND NOW FOR THE STAGE THEY WILL FIGHT UPON... THE SLEEPLESS CITY!"
As the projection showed a futuristic city at night with numerous skyscrapers, and roadways on different levels, Bardock and Goku found themselves instantly transported to the top of the tallest building around. The lights of the city spread out below them clear until the horizon, making it seem as if it truly was endless.
"I hope we don't hurt anyone..." Goku uttered as he looked around at all the people going too and fro, making Bardock sigh while he shook his head in exasperation. It was obvious they weren't real people since he couldn't feel any energy coming from any of them, but it was apparent that Kakarot didn't realize that.
"FIGHTERS READY?"
At the prompt the duo got in their respective stances, both eyeing the other for signs of openings.
Goku and Bardock had been sparring against one another constantly ever since Alex revived the latter, and both had learned nearly everything about how the other fought. There was no room for messing around or testing the waters here.
"FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!"
The second the fight started both Saiyans instantly transformed into their SSJ2 forms so that they became beacons of light in the dark night, lightning arcing off of them as their clashing energy created a superstorm.
*KABOOM!!!*
Thunder sounded to match the lightning as the two clashed, vaporizing the top of the skyscraper from the force they produced while the entire night sky lit up in a brief flash that illuminated the two of them before they disappeared.
*KABOOM!!!*
*KABOOM!!!*
*KABOOM!!!*
*KABOOM!!!*
Over and over again the night sky was filled with light when Goku and Bardock clashed, thunder echoing a second later as the force of their clash wrought destruction upon the city below them.
Sirens wailed and people screamed as destruction rained down upon them, reaping their illusionary lives as the 'gods' continued their clash above.
It was when Goku was briefly distracted by the carnage they were causing below that there was a shift in power, and Bardock landed a hit on his son that sent him flying down into the ground below.
*BOOOOOOOOM!!!*
A shockwave spread out from where Kakarot hit that leveled more buildings and claimed more fake lives, before Bardock followed up by carpet bombing the area around the crater, destroying and claiming many more lives.
"STOP! Can't you see the destruction you're causing!?" Kakarot cried as he crawled out of the rubble, only for Bardock to suddenly appear directly in front of him.
"So?" He answered calmly, as Goku crossed his arms to block his next hit, which sent him flying back even more.
*CRASH!*
More buildings came crashing down as the younger Saiyan was blasted through their lower levels, kicking up storms of dust from the debris that was quickly dispersed by the pressure of Bardock's energy as he casually walked through the destruction.
...
"Man... Goku's getting his butt kicked..." Krillin uttered as he watched the projection alongside the rest of the Dragon Team, as well as with the Kamikaze Fireballs.
"Kakarot's losing because of how weak and soft he is. He had no one else to blame but himself!" Sneered Goku's own elder brother, Raditz, who didn't seem concerned at all about his baby brother's predicament.
Krillin rounded on Raditz as he exclaimed, "big talk for a guy who couldn't even get into the tournament!"
Raditz snarled back at Krillin for the dig, but, before he could respond, someone else said,
"He's not entirely wrong though." Everyone turned to see Vegeta Sr approaching them with future Trunks at his side, both watching the projection intently.
"You just wanna say you're better than Goku too." Krillin scoffed at the former king, who surprisingly shook his head as he stated,
"Not at all. Kakarot is one of, if not THE strongest Saiyan that exists outside of his majesty's family. However he IS too soft if he allows something like this to impact his fighting." There was a moment of silence as everyone thought on the former king's words, before Piccolo uttered,
"Maybe he's got a point though. I mean, Goku isn't exactly a killer like the other Saiyans are." Krillin however surprisingly waved away Piccolo's comment as he stated,
"No no, Goku has killed quite a few people..... Literally an army's worth at least." Yamcha nodded in agreement as he added,
"Remember when he singlehandedly wiped out the Red Ribbon Army? We all got ready and geared up to go to war, and only got there to find out he had already destroyed them..." Tien also agreed as he said,
"He's never been too remorseful about when he does it either. Remember when he killed my master's brother, and didn't care at all about the consequences of doing so?" The stories told by Krillin, Yamcha and Tien surprised the Saiyans and Piccolo, as they couldn't imagine the 'soft' Goku taking a life, while the only person Piccolo knew he had killed was his own father, the evil King Piccolo.
"W-what happened then?" Vegeta Sr. asked, as he couldn't figure out why Kakarot would grow softer as got older.
At first no one had an answer as they watched Goku take a beating from his father, until Piccolo surprised them by saying,
"Actually.... It might be mine and Kami's fault Goku got so soft..." With everyone looking to him for answers, Piccolo groaned before explaining,
"The entire time Kami was training Goku it was specifically to fight me. But, if Goku killed me then he also killed Kami. It's possible Goku began trying to find ways to avoid killing his opponents because of that."
Though it took them a moment to think on Piccolo's theory, Krillin, Yamcha and Tien all released a groan when they realized the truth in his words. Someone else however refuted them, as Raditz stated,
"Bullshit! Kakarot had no problem killing me at the time! And I'm his actual brother!" Piccolo however looked at Raditz like he was an idiot as he said,
"No, I killed you. Goku just held you in place so I could do so." Krillin nodded as he stated irritably,
"Plus you didn't really give us the option for an alternative at the time!" With Yamcha, Tien, and Chiotzu nodding in agreement with while giving Raditz dirty looks, the Saiyan just scoffed while looking away pointedly.
Vegeta Sr however just nodded slowly, as if he expected as much.
"That sounds about right. I've been learning more about Kakarot's past to investigate his strength and background, and to me it sounds as if he's been repressing most of his Saiyan instincts his entire life."
Surprisingly, Raditz spoke up again as he added,
"He also hit his head as a child. It was one of the first things I confirmed after seeing he hadn't taken over that pathetic little planet." Vegeta Sr groaned as he massaged his temples, and said,
"That's gotta be it, or at least the main reason."
As he said that they all turned their attention back to the projection to see Goku take another hit from Bardock, which sent him skipping through numerous buildings into a fresh area of the arena to be destroyed.
"Why is the matter of Goku's Saiyan instinct so important? Gohan and I don't have them and we're ok." Trunks finally spoke up after some thought, to which his grandfather replied,
"Except there is a difference. Saiyans are powerful warriors that will draw out every single drop of their strength when needed. Kakarot however is holding himself back due to his softhearted nature, even if he doesn't realize it."
...
"Is that all?!" Bardock demanded as Goku struggled to get back up onto his feet, his clothes shredded while numerous wounds bled openly across his body.
"I'm so.....disappointed Kakarot." He said in a low voice, before sending his son flying yet again with a kick.
Bardock didn't know what the people watching this fight thought of it, but in his mind it couldn't be considered anything but bullying. However, to him this would only go on for as long as Kakarot refused to fight seriously, and Bardock was merely using this chance to teach his son a lesson.
"H-how? How can you be so cruel to ignore this?" Kakarot asked as Bardock approached him once more, indicating the numerous people running from them and screaming from the destruction.
"I'm a Saiyan." Bardock answered bluntly, before putting an arm up to block Kakarot's wide punch. And as the duo became locked into place, the son said to his father,
"So am I!" Bardock however sneered at his son, and said,
"No, you're not." He then buried his fist into Kakarot's gut, sending him flying backwards yet again as he skipped across the rubble.
"I have cultivated my strength and will from hundreds of battles in which I could've lost my life, and participated in the extinction of numerous races that fought back against their doom just as fiercely as you have. Tell me Kakarot, how many such battles can you say you've fought in? Two? Three? I've fought in hundreds!"
Declaring so, Bardock shot forward an grabbed his son by the neck as he flew up into the air, and pinned him to one of the buildings that were still standing with such force that the entire side of it caved in, raining shards of glass down on them both.
"I've been watching you ever since we reunited Kakarot. You fight for fun, merely to test your strength and see where you measure up, no matter if you'd be the stronger or not. No Saiyan would fight for such a flimsy reason. When you fight, YOU FIGHT TO WIN!"
Shouting at his son, Bardock sent Goku flying through the building yet again, making it come down around him as it crashed to the ground below. The last thing to come falling down was a giant metal statue of a man holding up a large globe, which Bardock caught with one upraised hand.
Scanning the region where Kakarot landed, Bardock took careful aim before tossing the globe up, and kicking it as hard as he could.
Goku was trying to pick himself up from the rubble yet again as he struggled to find his footing, every word his father said ringing through his head as he did so. Goku understood that he knew nothing about 'being a Saiyan', but he had always rationalized that they were cruel and evil anyways.
To Goku fighting was about testing his strength, not proving himself superior, or simply eliminating his enemy. It was his passion, literally what he lived and died for.
If he was the weaker one then he'd just accept that and try harder the next time, unless the fate of the world hung on him winning. There was nothing wrong with that, with accepting a loss and knowing there was room to grow.
Was there?
Goku's mind was so filled with his father's words as he tried to rationalize himself, that he hadn't noticed the giant globe that honed in on him like a deadly missile, until it hit directly in the back of the head.
"OOOOOOOOOOOOH! THAT ONE LOOKED LIKE IT HURT! WILL SON GOKU MANAGE TO GET UP AFTER THAT?!"
The answer apparently was no as Bardock casually walked towards his son's unconscious body, tapping him lightly with his foot as the announcer began the countdown.
"ONE!"
'Is this it Kakarot?' Bardock wondered silently as he waited to see if his son would get up.
"TWO!"
'Apparently so.' Bardock thought to himself as he turned to walk away.
"THR-"
As the announcer began to say the last number though, he cut himself off as something latched on to Bardock's leg.
Looking down, Bardock saw Kakarot's hand holding onto his ankle firmly, as if refusing to let go. When he tried to shake off the hold though, he found himself stunned to feel the grip tightening, almost to the point of breaking his bones.
Just as suddenly though Kakarot released his hold on his ankle before slowly and steadily rising to his feet, his face shrouded in shadow as he did so.
"What is this Kakarot? Some last desperate struggle? It's too late for that!" Swinging his fist with intention of ending the match then and there as he said that, Bardock was stunned further when Kakarot caught it without even looking up.
"I think..... I understand.....now..." Kakarot uttered as Bardock tried to pull his fist away, only for it to remain unmoving in his son's solid grip.
"No......that's not it...." Looking up to reveal his expression for the first time since getting up, Bardock saw an intensity in his son's gaze that he had never seen there before, as he stated with his grip tightening even more,
"I remembered...!"