Kakarot rocked back on his feet as if the words had struck him with physical weight. His eyes widened and he struggled not to hyperventilate.

"Wha..? Hell? But how!?" He asked incredulously. The Orcs scratched their head in response before one of them shrugged and said, "well you died, you see.."

Kakarot's face twisted into a sour expression. "I know that.. but I.. was good." He mumbled in disbelief.

"Not good enough." The red Ogre said, giving him a sad, knowing look before beginning to walk away. He waved over his shoulder, gesturing for the saiyan and his fellow Ogres to follow.

Goku ambled numbly after the group, trying to come to terms with what he had just learned. One of the blue Ogres saw his downtrodden expression and took pity on the man.

"Look…" He began cautiously. "... My brothers and I have been guarding HFIL for over three thousand years." He said surprising Kakarot and causing him to stumble in shock.

'3000 years!?' He exclaimed internally. Well that certainly explained their crazy strength at least.. he wondered how powerful he could become if he were to train here for that long. Then he realized that would be 3000 years away from his friends and family. Away from his son. He had already lost so much time..

The other blue Ogre spoke next, shaking the saiyan from his depressing thoughts. "Good and evil are just points of view you know." He began with a shrug. Kakarot merely nodded. He had heard that line before.

"My brothers and I aren't horrible people who want to see the world burn." He insisted, giving the man an almost pleading look.

Then he sighed and closed his eyes even as they walked. "We were just doing what we thought was right to protect the ones we love. For me personally, that was my wife and son. I know now what I did was wrong but I don't regret it for a single second, Even after all this time." The Orge said sincerely. "Because I know that wife and that son lived full meaningful lives before passing on to otherworld. All because of my actions."

Kakarot couldn't help but to feel utterly and completely overwhelmed. At the same time, he was amazed by how much the guard's story resonated with his own. They continued the rest of the trip in silence, with Kakarot beginning to wonder where exactly the trio was taking him.

No sooner than he'd had the thought he sensed it. A group of nearly ten thousand Ki signatures that were incredibly difficult to parse apart due to their density and proximity. Nevertheless something about them seemed familiar to the spiky haired man…

"Yo!" The red Ogre grunted, waving as they approached the group.

There wasn't much light here and the atmosphere seemed to be covered in a faint red mist. But as they drew closer, the leader of the group's more distinguishing features became visible.

Kakarot did a double take, pointing his finger and reflexively exclaiming his disbelief.

The Ogres ignored him as their defacto leader continued speaking. "I think maybe we found one of yours. Says he's recently deceased. I thought you guys all died ages ago?" The red man asked in confusion while scratching his head.

The person he had been speaking to had his back turned, but now he finally turned around. When he did so his eyes widened, his mind whirring in an attempt to ascertain the meaning of all this. "... Why in the fuck do you look just like my son, Kakarot?" Bardock shouted accusingly.

Planet Earth, Kami's lookout

"Welcome back my boy.. No. You are no longer a boy, are you? You've become a man." Kami said with a proud smile.

This in turn caused Piccolo's eyes to widen in surprise. He and Kami had never been particularly.. close. This was of course due to their past history and while Piccolo Jr. Wasn't technically the same evil being his father was… He did still represent the negative aspects that were originally half of Katas.

For Kami to suddenly be praising him as if Piccolo were a son who had made him proud felt a little unsettling. Piccolo swallowed and looked sheepishly to the side. He really didn't know what to say. Thankfully he didn't have to, as Kami continued the conversation quickly.

"You grew incredibly powerful on your own but you no longer are on your own, are you? That is the reason for this indomitable strength you have obtained, isn't it?" The old man asked gently.

Piccolo for whatever reason felt a very childish need to become defensive. Was Kami somehow implying that he hadn't worked hard enough to deserve all this power? That most of it was a hand out?

But then he shook his head, eradicating those negative thoughts. The tall, green man thought about it calmly, and rationally.

Given Kami's demeanor, tone of voice and the feel of his Ki, it was much more likely that he was implying that the once hateful and lonely Namekian had made a friend. One that would always be with him.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

Kami seemed to notice the war of emotions flickering across his younger hall's face and chuckled lightly. This caused Piccolo to finally settle on a scowl with no actual malice behind it. "What's your point old man?" He asked, crossing his arms.

Kami smiled at him once more, making Piccolo feel like a kid again and once again causing him to wonder what would make the old man act this way. Finally Kami spoke.

"I am proud of all that you have done and all that you have become. But I feel something has gone terribly wrong, despite our great victory." He said with an uncomfortable expression.

"It's.. hard to explain. It feels as if the universe is slightly off balance so to speak. Like we're all leaning sideways and I'm struggling to maintain my equilibrium." He closed his eyes and shook his head, covering his aged face with his hand.

Piccolo's expression was neutral. He wasn't really sure how he felt about Kami in the end. They had managed to set aside a lot of their differences during their trip to King Kai's world. During the subsequent training that followed, he had even begun to care for the old man… Somewhat. "You're getting old, Kami." He said truthfully.

He half expected the man to try and whack him with his cane, or else fire back with some witty remark. Yet to his suprise the aged Namekian actually laughed in genuine humor, throwing his head back and clutching his sides.

Once he had settled down and caught his breath he looked at Piccolo with that same calm smile. As if he were perfectly at peace.

Finslly his smile slowly fell away. "Yes, that is true. And I fear I will be little to no help against the terrible threat that looms over the horizon. But you… I believe you are ready to hear the history of our people. It is time for you to learn about the chosen one, Katas." Kami said with a stony expression.

Piccolo's eyes widened. He had heard the name over a thousand times. He knew where he fit in the puzzle. But beyond the fact that Katas was his ancestor, he didn't think the man would ever be relevant to the life he now lived. Apparently Kami thought otherwise..

"Why?" Piccolo asked bluntly. He didn't think it was any coincidence that Kami was bringing this up after Piccolo had just recently come back from their home planet, or that he had heard the 'chosen one' mentioned by Guru while he was there. He knew that something cataclysmic had happened to the Namekians nearly 1000 years ago. He also knew Katas was involved somehow..

Coincidence or not, this all occurred around the same time Katas had left Namek and come to Earth. Was Katas the reason that the Namekian race had nearly been wiped out?

Kami stared at him with an unreadable expression. "Two reasons. First, because there's something in regards to our separation that I never told you about. You see when Katas came to this planet he was found by the Earth's current guardian at the time. Katas and his greatest friend trained together in hopes to one day become the new guardians themselves… Eventually-.."

"Yeah, yeah, you've told me all of this before, Katas wasn't worthy to be the guardian because of the darkness so he essentially split himself to create you and my asshole father." Piccolo interrupted in annoyance.

Kami shook his head. "It seems you still have some things to learn after all. Like patience." He chastised. "Where was I?.. Ahh yes. As I was saying there was one thing I had never mentioned to you before.. Katas was an especially complex Namekian." He paused, clearly waiting for his younger counterpart to get comfortable.

Piccolo growled before levitating and fixating the man with his full attention in the form of a glare.

Ksmi smiled before continuing. "His biology was unlike anything ever seen. He managed to use both the power of the dragon clan and warrior clan in perfect unison. When he split to form myself and your 'asshole father' as you so elegantly put it.." He said with dramatic air quotes.

".. The raw physical power of the warrior clan and our overwhelming potential for malice were inherited by your father. But Katas's mystical dragon clan abilities, emotional spectrum and his memories were inherited by me." The aged Namekian explained.

This was all very new to Piccolo and he quickly realized this meant that Kami was much more intimately connected to Katas than he realized.

In many ways Kami essentially was Katas, or at least his spirit. Before he could ponder the implications of these words further, the guardian of Earth continued. "The second reason I am telling you all of this now, is because I am no longer capable of protecting this planet. Someday very soon another shall fill my role. And when that happens, you are going to become his reincarnation as I fuse my soul into yours, just like that young warrior did while you were on Namek."

HFIL

"I see. So that's the way of things…" the saiyan Bardock mused as he dangled his leg over the large boulder he sat on.

"... I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you through all of it. But it looks like you really didn't need my ass after all, look at the man you've become." The saiyan beamed at his son.

Kakarot scratched the back of his head sheepishly not really knowing how to respond. His father's vocabulary was certainly colorful.

As he described his life's story from the day he was found by grandpa Gohan, all the way up until his untimely death, his father had been cursing like an Earth sailor. But it was clear he was just passionate about finally meeting his son, even under these circumstances. It was clear Kakarot got his boundless energy from this man.

Bardock hopped off his perch and landed in a squat with a dull thud. He stood up, cracking his back, neck and shoulders. "Well son, it's about time I introduce you to the rest of the clan, but before that.." He said rubbing his hands together. ".. it's just about supper time! How would you like to meet your mother?" He asked with a humorous smile.

A few minutes later…

"Hey Gine! That fire better be as hot as you are, I brought a special guest." A loud voice called from outside a simple stone house.

Typically Gine would have ignored her husband's foolish antics, but the fact that he had brought what he considered a 'special guest' caught her off guard.

Her husband never brought guests over, the man was as social as a rock. Turning away from the boiling cauldron where she was cooking some sort of exotic meat, Gina wiped her hands on her armor and made her way outside.

"Nice try dear husband, but we both know you don't have any.. friends…" the petite, dark haired woman trailed off as she saw the man standing beside her husband. She looked back and forth between the two, even rubbing her eyes as if this were some sort of trick. It looked as if a younger, less rugged version of the man she married was somehow smiling at her.

Seeing the woman's uncomprehending expression, Kakarot spoke nervously. "Umm, hi there.." He waved. "Uhh.. my name's Kakarot. It's nice to finally meet you.. Mom." He said sincerely.

Bardock said nothing, but he fixed his wife with a knowing smirk as he watched the interaction unfold.

"Kakarot?" The woman mumbled, placing a hand to her mouth. "This.. is my boy? My son? My goodness.. What a man you have become!" She admired happily. "You look just like your father." She remarked with a thoughtful expression.

"That's what I said." Bardock quipped, looking disinterestedly off into the distance.

A tick mark appeared on Gine's forehead and she closed her eyes in annoyance. "I sure hope you don't act like him." She decided.

Bardock facefaulted indignantly before scrambling to his feet and pointing at the woman accusingly. "Hey you're the one that agreed to marry me!" He yelled defensively.

Gine shook her head and laughed softly. "That is true." She chuckled with a wink. Kakarot looked back and forth between the two with a large smile. Despite the gravity of the situation he couldn't help but feel happy and serene for just this moment. He finally got to meet his parents. And he already loved them.

The newly united family ate supper and conversed for the next several hours. Most of the conversations involved Kakarot describing his life on Earth with his friends and family, as well as his more recent adventures with the saiyans.

The news of general Nappa and the space pirate Turles's deaths came as somewhat of a shock to the two other saiyans. They hadn't yet seen the two of them here, but if Kakarot had only just arrived they may have just not found their wayet the rest of the saiyans yet.

HFIL was quite large afterall…

"Well Nappa and Turles certainly aren't here.." Bardock concluded, scratching his chin. "But still you should come with us to our base of operations. You can meet the former King Vegeta and we can get a reading on how powerful you've become too."

"Former king?" Kakarot asked in confusion.

Bardock shrugged. "He kind of stepped down and made me the de facto leader once I became a Super saiyan." He said as if it were no big deal.

Kakarot gawked at his father, unsure if he had heard him correctly. Beside him Gine chuckled. "Your father practically begged Vegeta for a year to take the position back before he finally gave up trying." She teased. "Believe it or not he's actually done quite a good job as the leader of the saiyans trapped in HFIL." His mother bragged.

Bardock rolled his eyes and picked up his pace. "Just because a farmer is good at shoveling shit doesn't mean he enjoys it."

End of chapter 64