Chapter One: Journey to Earth
Author's Note: Hey everyone, this is my first Dragon Ball Z fanfiction so don't yell at me if it's not good at first, I'm trying to improve my writing! I got obsessed with Dragon Ball Z ever since I watched it this summer and I got inspired to write again because of it! Reading other Dragon Ball Z fanfics have helped me to become inspired, as well. I've been planning this out for a little bit, like really planning out, I don't want to abruptly leave this fanfic on a cliffhanger so I'm planning out every chapter. I'm not sure how long this story is going to be, I want to try to keep it up with the anime if that's possible! I hope you enjoy this story, I've been working hard on it and I'm passionate about it. I will try my best to keep all the characters in character, but there could be a couple times when they go out of character, so bear with me. I may slightly change the time of events and ages of certain characters mostly because I want time for OC character development. This story will begin during the three year time gap between the Frieza saga and the Cell saga. Oh and one more thing, this chapter will be longer since I'm adding a prologue (okay that's enough information!). I will occasionally write author notes on certain chapters if I need to address something! By the way, there is an OC in this story that is a major character, I hope you come to like her character, thank you and enjoy the story!
Disclaimer: I do not own or have any affiliations with Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, or Dragon Ball Super. All rights and ownership to the characters, shows, and mangas go to Akira Toriyama and Toei Animation.
Prologue
She had her head tilted towards the afternoon sky, her onyx eyes wide in curiosity, just giving it a quick scan. She had stopped her afternoon chores because she had felt a sudden disturbance in the air, but she couldn't find who or what was causing this disturbance. Whatever it was, it felt evil and incredibly strong, it started to intimidate her a bit, she became nervous about it. She had kept looking in the sky for a couple minutes it had seemed like until a voice interrupted her.
"Kassava, sweetie, what are you doing?" The young Saiyan turned around and saw her mother in the doorway of their small home. She gave her mom an innocent and confused look when she called for her attention. She looked so much like her mom in a lot of ways, such as hair, eye shape, and figure. But she also had her father's determination, personality, and skin color, which was a little more tan than her mother's milky white skin.
"Oh, um, I stared off again," Kassava quickly replied as she picked up her empty water bucket with her tail, which had spilled when she got distracted. Having a tail made doing chores so much easier, she could hold so many things at once because of it.
Her mother smiled and shook her head, "You're always staring off into space, aren't you? It's like you're in your own little world in that head of yours," she explained. "Aww sweetie you even dropped the water bucket, your father needs that to water the plants you know!"
Kassava scratched the back of her head and gave a chuckle and smile, "I'm sorry, Momma, I won't let it happen again!" She then ran off to the pond near her house to gather the water in the bucket once again, this time she vowed to not spill it. Her mother watched her run off, chuckling at her young five year old daughter and how silly she could be. She then returned inside the house to continue the housework she had been doing for half of the day.
Kassava was quick to get over to the pond where she would normally fetch the water for her family. She released the bucket from the grip of her tail, then placed the bucket in the water for a few seconds, and it eventually filled up to the top. When she took it out of the water, she found it to be heavy, but that was to be expected, water is heavy after all! She began to slowly carry it back to her house, being cautious to not spill it again. However, she felt the disturbance again and once again found herself looking towards the sky, where the sudden energy was coming from.
"What is this energy I'm feeling?" She asked herself, becoming rather defensive because of how powerful the energy felt. "And why does it disappear and come back? This is the second time I've felt it today…"
Something else broke the young Saiyan girl's thoughts that troubled her a lot more, she felt her parents' ki increasing and felt their power increasing, as well. Before Kassava had time to think, she once again dropped the bucket, letting the water spill on the forest floor, and raced towards her house; there was something happening to her parents.
The closer she got to her house, the more clearly she could hear her mother's voice yelling out for her. "KASSAVA!" She screamed as loud as her voice could possibly go. When she saw her daughter emerge from the woods, she felt slight relief. However, it would not stop the fear she felt right, the planet was in grave danger.
When Kassava had gotten out of the woods, she had saw her mother and father standing in front of the house, heads tilted back so that the were looking towards the sky, similar to how she was earlier that day. "Momma! Daddy!" She called out to them as she ran over to them in and hugged their legs in fear. Her father then reached gown and lifted the young girl up and cradled her on his arm as him and his wife hugged each other and their daughter.
"Kassava…" her father said quietly, there was fear in his voice. Kassava looked at her father, she knew something bad was happening by the way he was looking at her. Her strong, strict, stern, proud Saiyan warrior of a father was now looking at his five year old daughter with fear in his eyes. "Do you remember when I told you about that really evil person that destroys planets without any effort?" He asked as he began to pet her head.
Kassava looked at her father with her rounded eyes, "Y-You mean Frieza, Daddy?" She asked, her voice was shaking a little. Her father had told her the horror stories of Frieza and how he has been traveling from planet to planet attempting to take them over and destroying them if anyone had tried to fight him.
Her father had slowly nodded, "I need you to listen to what I'm about to tell you, I'm sure you're old enough to understand this, but what I'm about to say is going to make everything scary," his voice had gone low and serious, Kassava slowly nodded, she was becoming really scared now, she was starting to shake in her parents' grasps.
"Frieza is here and us as the Saiyan warriors are going to try to stop him, we can't let him destroy this planet too, not after what he did to Planet Vegeta many years ago," He gave his daughter this information that he had already told his wife a few minutes prior. He looked at his wife and there were soft tears brimming her cheeks. When he looked at his daughter, she was doing the same, but she was also frowning.
"No Daddy! You can't do this! You always told me that Frieza was the strongest, that no one could beat him! You told me that the Saiyan warriors on Planet Vegeta tried fighting back, but they were killed along with the rest of their planet, you can't!" Tears were flowing down her face and she hugged her father around his neck, burying her face into his muscular shoulder. Her father didn't say anything, which signaled to her that his decision was final. "Daddy, please promise me that you'll be okay," She said, her words being muffled from having her face still buried into his shoulder.
"Hey, you need to be strong for Daddy as well," he began explaining, Kassava lifted her head to listen to what he had to say, "You're a Saiyan, you've always lived up to that, it's who you are and you should be proud to be a part of a strong race".
"I will, I'm proud to be a Saiyan, I promise to be strong for you, too! But do you promise to be okay?" She asked, a hopeful look grew upon her face.
There was some hesitation as her father answered her question but he nodded, Kassava accepted that answer and a small smile was shown on her face. She hugged her parents again, she had a feeling in her heart that they would be able to survive this, she had faith in her father and the rest of the Saiyan warriors that Frieza could be stopped and the planet cold survive.
"I'm going to be fighting too," her mother had joined the conversation wiping tears from her eyes and cheeks, "It's been years since I've fought with the Saiyan warriors, but I know that they're going to need all the help they can get".
"I want to help too! Please let me help, I'll do anything!" Kassava pleaded she wanted to stay with her parents and help protect her parent which is in peril. During the time they were talking, Frieza's army was already on the planet wreaking havoc. There were numerous explosions and fires being heard and seen in the distance.
"You're still too young to fight against stronger enemies," Her father looked at his wife and she nodded, "But we do know how you can help and also stay safe."
The three of them were standing in the back of the small house and have gone into their shed, Kassava's father, while still holding her in his arms pressed a few buttons on the wall to open the wall up and reveal two space pods. Kassava has seen them before in the past while sneaking around the shed without her parents' knowledge, her father had explained what they were and what they were used for. "I had planned to use these at some point in our lives, in case of an emergency, but right now seems like the perfect opportunity," he explained, pressing another button outside of the one of the space pods, opening the large glass door of it.
He looked at his young daughter in his arms, she had looked so small. He hugged her again and placed her inside the cushioned seat in the pod. Kassava was confused though, "Wait, what are you doing?" She asked, tears brimming her eyes.
"Your mother and I came to a tough decision, we didn't want you involved in the fight, but we want you to be safe, so we're going to send you away from this planet and you can land on the nearest one, so that you're safe from this destruction," Her father had explained, placing his hand on her head.
"But what about you guys? Will you be coming too?" She asked hopefully, she didn't want to leave without knowing her parents would come too.
Again, there was hesitation, "Y-Yes, we'll be in this one right here," he glanced over to the other empty pod, "We'll leave a little after you do, we need to try to fight first, but yes we will be coming, we promise."
Kassava then lifted her now balled up fist and lifted her pink up, "I need you guys to pinky promise me that you'll be okay and that we'll be together again," she explained, her parents did the same and they all locked pinkies, marking their promise. Fina hugs were given, some tears were shed, but it was critical that Kassava left immediately. He began to set up the pod and plug in coordinates to a planet that was a great distance from Planet Planta, but still had inhabitants that would be trustworthy and safe for his daughter. Her mother had used this time to give her daughter some important items such as her favorite stuffed animal, which was a monkey, and a picture of her family, just in case. Her father pressed a button outside of the pod, closing the door to it, so that there was now a window in front of Kassava, now blocking her from her parents. She put her small hand on the window and her parents did the same, knowing that this would be the last time they see their little girl's face.
"We love you, Kassava," Her father told her, although his voice was muffled from the door, she was able to tell what he said.
"I love you too!" Kassava replied, tears going down her face. Before she had a moment to react, her parents began to take a few steps back from the pod, and watch their only child take off from the doomed planet into the safety of space. The speed and technology of the pod had caused the young child to fall into hypersleep, hugging her stuffed animal, signaling that wherever she was going would take a while to get to.
Present Day: Approx. One Year Later
The sun was blinding to the young Saiyan, who was still in her pod, but the door was now open, facing the sky, which was a bright blue, as compared to the light green color she was used to. She was rubbing her half asleep eyes with the balls of her fists as she sat up from her laying down position inside of the pod. She then yawned, stretched her arms a little, and scratched the back of her head. She tried opening her eyes more but the sun was so bright, it forced her to close her eyes again; this process went on for a couple of minutes.
When she was finally a little more awake, she decided to look around the area of where she was. She had almost forgot that she was not on Planet Planta anymore because this planet already had similar features to it. She noticed this area she landed in was right next to the woods, which put her at ease a bit, since she lived next to woods all her life. She put on her sandals and cautiously climbed out of her pod with her beloved stuffed animal embraced to her chest. She noticed made quite the crater in the grass, how fast was this thing even going to create that much of a crater? She climbed out of the crater near looked around, she seemed to be in a middle of a field, it was really quiet and peaceful, too. She continued to observe the area in order to find a person, town or even a city nearby; she couldn't see one.
"Hello?" Kassava cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled out, trying to see if there was anyone nearby who could help tell her where she is. Her voice echoed in the distance, she waited a few moments to see if she would get a response, but she didn't hear anyone. "Anyone here? Please, I need help!" She yelled out again, "I don't know where I am, someone please help me, I'm just a kid, I'm scared!" Kassava began to get really overwhelmed and scared, she had no idea what planet she was on and she missed her parents, she just wanted to be back on her home planet and with her parents.
There were tears brimming her eyes as she thought about her family and her planet, she wondered if her parents made it out like they promised and if they were able to lure Frieza away from Planet Planta. She wondered if everyone on the planet was safe. She wish she knew what was happening on her planet and if other people escaped in pods like her. She hugged her stuffed monkey with shaking arms, tears had started streaming down her face.
Kassava began over thinking some more, "what if this planet had no people? Who would help me? If someone did come, would they offer to help? How would they treat me? Would I die? How can I defend myself and fend for myself? I don't know how to get my own food, what food could I eat? What about-"
Something rustling in the forest disturbed her thoughts, this made Kassava hopeful yet cautious, she thought it might be a person that finally heard her yells for help. She got into a defensive stance, one leg spread out from the other in front of her, her knees bent, hands balled into fists held up to her chest. Kassava remembered her father taught her this stance and told her to use it if she ever felt like she was in danger. Her father did teach her a little bit of basic martial arts when he had the time to, he was always busy being a Saiyan warrior, so she only knew basic moves. She frowned and put all her focus in the direction of the woods to see if whatever was hiding in there would come out.
"I know you're in there! Show yourself! I'm n-not afraid of you!" She stuttered, she was afraid, she didn't know why she was going to attempt to fight whatever was in there. If that thing had a size advantage on her, she'd be dead for sure. Who knew how vicious that creature could be? She began to raise her ki so that she could better protect herself just in case of attack. With her eyes deeply focused on the forest, she heard the rustling again, and noticed the bushes about ten feet in front of her were shaking. Her stance kept her still, other than her hands which were slightly shaking, as she awaited to see if the creature would come out.
The next thing she knew, the creature had rustled the bushes again and jumped out of them. Kassava screamed in fear, extended her arms and hands in front of her, closed her eyes, and fired a decently sized ki blast at the animal. The animal barely had time to react before it was hit full on with the ki blast and its dead body fell over on the ground, dead.
Kassava opened her eyes and immediately noticed the animal's dead body on the ground, among the destruction from the ki blast. She was surprised to see how much damage her ki blast had caused, it had destroyed the bushes and a few trees. Kassava looked at the damage with her mouth gaped open in awe, "D-Did I do that?" She asked herself, looking down at her hands, which were covered in dirt. She then looked at the now dead animal that she fired the ki blast at, she noticed that the animal seemed harmless and small. She had killed an innocent animal out of fear.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Animal, I didn't mean to do that, I r-really didn't," Kassava picked up the dead animal and proceeded to put it in a nearby hole to bury it. She had a few tears welling up in her eyes as she place the dirt on top of the dead animal. "You didn't deserve to die, you probably had a family to get back to, it's my fault you're dead. You died because I was afraid," she explained. Kassava picked up her stuffed monkey again and made her way back to the pod she was on. She felt like a monster for what she had done. She killed a harmless animal with her own power, her strength. She didn't realize the amount of strength she had until she had seen the damage. Kassava clenched her fists to her chest, stuffed monkey still in her arms, she felt lost.
Her stomach growled signaling she was hungry, but she knew that if she were to find food, it probably wouldn't satisfy her voracious Saiyan appetite. She whined because of how hungry she was, but also because she was lonely and afraid, she didn't want to be on this planet anymore. She began to feel all this energy building up in her as her frustrations had caused her to raise her ki even more than she had before. "I DON'T WANT TO BE HERE ANYMORE!" She screamed and felt her aura surrounding her as she screamed out her frustrations even more as she felt her power increase. Some tears had began to fall down her cheeks as she continued to scream, her power creating some wind around her and the area she was standing in.
Meanwhile, a couple of Saiyans who lived in the mountains were sparring with each other outside of their small home as they had felt an unfamiliar ki from a far distance. The older Saiyan tilted his head in the direction of where the ki was coming from, it didn't feel strong to him, but he sense that whatever was setting off that power was small and the power seemed a lot for someone of that size. "Whoa, something's putting off a good amount of power," Goku explained, he turned towards his young son, "Do you feel that Gohan?"
The half-Saiyan boy nodded, "Should we go see what it is?" He asked, preparing himself to fly as he awaited his father's reply.
Goku nodded, "Let's check it out, it could be dangerous, we need to make sure that it's taken care of," he powered up a little and took off into the sky towards the ki, Gohan did the same as he followed his father.
After a short amount of time, the two Saiyans had reached a large field area with a small forest, it reminded Gohan of where he was sent to train by Piccolo when he was younger. They both noticed a large crater in the ground and some damage to the trees in the forest, they decided to land to further observe the area.
Kassava felt an unfamiliar presence very close to where she was, it had caused her to stop her powering up that she had caused from her frustrations. She began to become very nervous and defensive as she frantically looked around trying to figure out where the ki was coming from. However, she did notice a figure walking in her direction, wait, no two figures, she was sensing two ki's now that she had seen them. They both felt powerful, more powerful than her, she had a feeling that she was going to be attacked by them, so she ran into the forest and hid behind a tree. She kept her ki up so that she would be be to sense where the two were.
As Goku and Gohan got closer to where the crater was, they both began calling out to see if anyone was nearby, "Hello! Anyone out here?" Goku cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled.
"Hey dad, check this out!" Gohan jumped into the crater and pointed to the pod, he had recognized it from when Raditz had landed on Earth and kidnapped him and also when Vegeta and Nappa landed on Earth about a year ago. "I think it's similar to the pod that Vegeta came in".
"You're right, son," Goku jumped into the crater and took a good look at the pod himself, "This has to be a Saiyan pod, but where did it come from and how long has it been here for?"
Kassava was getting antsy as she listened to the two people talking in the crater, she wanted to know who they were and how they knew about her pod and Saiyans in general. They looked like normal people but they definitely knew about Saiyans, which alarmed her. But something about the situation also put her at ease, if they knew about Saiyans then that means there are Saiyans on this planet and they could help her. She still kept her guard up though. But she couldn't take it anymore, she didn't like how they were searching her pod and it was getting really suspicious to her.
It was like her body had a mind of its own for a moment, but she jumped out from behind the tree and into the open. "Get away from my pod!" She shouted as she fired a ki blast into the crater, which rebounded out of the crater and into the sky. "Huh?" Kassava looked into the crater to see the two people she had been observing before. She noticed that the older one had his arm up, which meant that he deflected her ki blast. She stood at the edge of the crater with a confused look on her face, "Who are you two!?" She pointed at the both of them.
Goku and Gohan looked at her dumbfounded, both confused of the situation that just occurred. Goku gave a small laugh with a smile, "Oh hey there! I'm Son Goku!"
"And I'm Son Gohan!" Gohan jumped into the conversation, waving his ever so slightly to Kassava. She noticed that the younger one didn't look to be much older than she was. "What's your name?" He asked, smiling at her.
"Kassava," Kassava replied to him, frowning, and raising her fists a bit, "What are you doing here and what are you doing to my pod?" She asked. Goku and Gohan too observations of the young girl. They noticed her round shaped, onyx colored eyes and black, long, bushy hair, it looked like a more wavy version of Raditz's hair. They also noticed how young she was, she couldn't have been much younger than Gohan. She was wearing a gray, dirt smudged, tattered dress that fell just above the knees and old sandals. She was small, but according to her ki, she did have some power.
Goku scratched the back of his head and smiled, "Well, we felt your ki and wasn't sure what it was so we came to investigate," he explined.
It all clicked in Kassava's head once she thought about it for a few seconds, "Ohhhh… oops. Yeah that was me wasn't it?" She asked, "I'm sorry for that, I was just mad, also sorry for the ki blast, I was just scared".
"It's all good!" Gohan replied, "So what are you doing here on Earth?"
"Earth? That's a funny word," she chuckled, "What's an Earth?"
"It's the planet we live on, you know, the planet were currently on," Gohan explained.
Kassava didn't know what to make of this information, if anything she was more confused than before. She gave the two boys a puzzled look, "Earth, huh?" She asked, "How far away is that from Planet Planta?"
"Planet what?" The two Saiyan boys asked simultaneously.
"Planet Planta, that's my home planet, my parents put me in that pod to leave the planet so that I would be safe," Kassava explained, her tail wagging slightly behind her, the two other Saiyans were able to notice it immediately.
"You have a tail!?" They both pointed at her with surprised expressions on their faces.
Kassava glanced at her tail, "Yeah, so what? I've always had it," she explained as she grabbed it and stroked it with her thumb before letting it go again.
"That means you're a Saiyan, too!" Gohan pointed out excitedly.
Kassava raised her fists again, "How could you two know about Saiyans?" She asked defensively.
"Because we're Saiyans, too!" Goku exclaimed. Kassava then decided to use this moment to jump into the crater to observe these other two so-called Saiyans.
"You two kind of look like the Saiyans on my planet, but you two don't have tails, I don't know if I believe you," She crossed her arms and turned away from them. Goku and Gohan then began to explain how they were both born with tails as well but had gotten them removed early on in their childhoods. Kassava tried her best to take in this information but she was confused about why their tails have been removed. They didn't tell her this information, she became concerned and then grabbed her tail, "Will my tail have to be removed someday?" She asked.
"Well, that all depends on what's going to happen to you," Goku began explaining.
"What do you mean?" Kassava asked.
"Well considering that you're on this planet now with no way to leave, you might as well live here like us," he finished.
Kassava took a look around the area, this place didn't seem that bad, plus she was feeling a little more at ease knowing that there were a couple of other Saiyans on this planet. "I mean, I wouldn't mind living here, it doesn't seem too bad," she looked down and twirled her fingers shyly, "Plus you guys seem really nice and it seems like you're offering to help me".
Goku and Gohan nodded, "I'm just throwing this offer out there, but you can feel free to say no, but how would you like to live with us?" He asked. "From that energy I felt from you, you do have potential to become stronger and a good fighter, I could train you so you can have better control over it!"
Kassava's eyes lit up as a smile formed on her face, "Wait r-really? You'd be fine to let me stay with you until I can find out about where my parents are and if I can go back to my planet?" She asked frantically. Goku crossed his arms and nodded. "Thank you!" She said excitedly.
"Well, we might as well take you to our home now, my wife ChiChi's going to be excited to know that a little girl is coming to live with us for a bit!" Goku explained excitedly.
Kassava was getting really excited now, she expected this encounter to end up with her fighting them, but instead they were so kind to her. It reminded her of the people on her planet, they were always so kind and peaceful until a conflict would come about. She quickly grabbed the stuffed monkey and picture of her family,
"Well, let's get going then," Goku said as he began to float n the air a bit, preparing to take flight; Gohan did the same.
Kassava just stared at them in awe, "Wait what!? You can fly!?" She asked, "That's no fair! I can't do that, I wanna do that!" She had her hands balled into fists on the side of her body and she frowned up at the other Saiyans.
Gohan laughed at Kassava's reaction, "We can teach you how to do this, ya know!" He explained. "But I know a way for how you can fly with us for now!" Kassava just stared at the young Saiyan boy in confusion, it seemed like she was going to be confused by a lot of things if she was going to be living on Earth for a while. Soon enough, Gohan cupped his hands around his mouth, "Flying Nimbus!" He yelled out loud.
"What the heck is a Flying Nimbus?" Kassava asked, but before she knew it, she saw a small yellow cloud coming from who knows where, it descended and landed right next to her. "I've never been so confused in my life until now, there's flying clouds on this planet!?" She grabbed her head in confusion as she stared at the cloud.
Goku and Gohan tried to hide their snickers from the poor confused Saiyan, "Just hop on, if you have a pure heart ten you'll be able to ride it and we can all fly back to our house!" Gohan explained.
Although Kassava was confused about what it means to be pure of heart, she decided not to question about it. She's already asked so many questions as it is and she was getting really hungry. Plus the sun was starting to descent a bit, signaling it was late afternoon. She was definitely going to be asking lots of questions about this place.
Kassava hesitantly touched the cloud, it felt soft to the touch, just like how it looked. She then hopped onto the cloud and was staying on it, which meant she was pure of heart or whatever that kid Saiyan was saying. "This is so weird, but I think I like it," she said in a quiet voice.
"Alright, let's go then! Nimbus, follow us to the house," Goku told the cloud as he and Gohan took off into the sky, the Flying Nimbus took off into the air as well, rather quick for Kassava's liking, she was gripping onto her stuffed monkey and the cloud for dear life without saying anything. After a few minutes, though, she relaxed and was sitting criss crossed on the cloud enjoying the breeze hit her face and push her hair out of her face. The three Saiyans spent their time flying by talking to each other some more, a lot of it consisted of Kassava pointing at certain things and asking about them. She was enjoying her time right now, her first encounter with people on Earth had been interesting but she was glad to find such kind people who would help her out and provide her a home for some time. She couldn't wait to get to the house to train and experience living on Earth.
A/N: Well this is the first chapter, I hope you all enjoy it, these first few chapters will most likely consist of Kassava and her training and learning more about planet Earth. But she will meet the other characters, as well! These chapters will consist of a little bit of character development for Kassava but there will be much more once she's training. Stay tuned for chapter two, I'm trying to make the chapters relatively long, so I hope you guys like that! See ya!
