A/N: Hello! I know I really should update my other fanfics, but this chapter was just sitting around while the next chapters of my other fics lay partially complete. I promise to get back to them and finish them, but right now I would really like feedback on this chapter to determine whether or not I should continue this. So, here goes the summary:
Firstly, this is not an OC/Vegeta story. I want to make that clear. I will introduce a main OC, and she does interact with Vegeta quite often, but they are no way intended as a couple.
Secondly, this is my attempt at a long story, upwards of 50,000 words. In order to write such a story, I believed an AU would be the best fit. I have not written AU since my horrible fangirl days, but I am going to do my best to do justice to the characters and the story.
Thirdly, as this is an AU, I would like to explain the concept briefly. Frieza has not made use of the Saiyans as soldiers, nor has he destroyed them. He is, however, trying to destroy them now. The Planet Vegeta made an alliance with another powerful planet and the alliance has kept Frieza at bay for awhile now. Now they have only three months before Frieza's forces break through. Also, shit has gone down on Earth. The time is right after the Androids appeared. This is original, non-Trunks Androids appear.
Fourthly, every question you may have should be answered eventually. If you have one that has not been answered, ask me and I will either tell you or put it into the story.
Fifthly, the pairings are canon, save for Piccolo. (He has no one and I have a special place in my heart for the green guy.) Bulma/Vegeta, Goku/Chi-Chi, Krillin/18 (at some point), Gohan/Videl (at some point), etc.
Okay, I am now done with the -ly's. So, please read and leave feedback, and I hope you enjoy.
Disclaimer: Dragonball Z belongs to Akira Toriyama.
Note: I know this is rated M, but it will take a little time before the raunchy stuff appears. Do not read it only for the sexy stuff. Thanks.
"The planet was barren, Your Majesty. We looked everywhere, but it seems as though all the inhabitants just stopped what they were doing and left." The scout knelt before his king, the unfortunate bearer of the unhappy news. "Is it possible Kakarot came to his senses, destroyed all life and then left? It looked to be dead for quite some time."
The king sat back in his throne and clenched his teeth. "No. Our allies confirmed his presence there five Earth years ago, at which point he was in an altered mental state that made him unaware of his heritage. I highly doubt a natural change." Then he swore, viciously. The scout winced noticeably. "You are dismissed." He watched the scout bow and hastily retreat from the throne room. No surprise: he had been rather cross as of late, but he had yet to physically reprimand a scout for poor findings. Still, the idea of throttling someone sounded appealing.
He stood from his throne and made his way to the closest communications room, soldiers and servants alike dodging him. No one wanted to be around him. The communications officers scrambled to attention when he entered without any notice, sweat beading at their foreheads.
"Put me through to my son."
"Y-yes, Your Majesty." A few seconds later, the large communications screen displayed the crowned-prince.
"Vegeta, there has been a slight change in plans."
The prince growled under his breath. "Don't tell me that I have to come back? Two days in this pod had better not be wasted." Yes, his elder son had certainly gotten his mother's temper. The servants might flee from him, but they did so much more quickly when the queen was around.
"No, the trip to the Amazonians is still intact. However, I need you to discuss another matter with them. Earth has turned up barren, not a single soul left. The Amazonians have the resources to scour the galaxy for the Earthlings, and I needn't tell you how important it is to find Kakarot. I would like you to negotiate with them on this matter." The prince's growl was more prominent now. "Son, this matter is not open for discussion. Do not anger our allies by being an ass. You are a prince, so act like one."
The transmission ended and he rubbed his temples. Now to see how well his son could hold his tongue.
Damned Amazonians. They were a ridiculous lot, thoroughly backwards and quite grating on the nerves. And yet they were the reason Frieza had not been able to destroy Planet Vegeta. Physically, the Amazonians were inferior to Saiyans, but they possessed incredible defensive abilities. Technologically, though, they were far superior. Relations between Planet Vegeta and Amazonia had been strained since the Amazonian king took a Saiyan bride, most ardently against all proper rules of Saiyan society. Fortunately, the disapproved marriage turned out to be very fortuitous for Planet Vegeta. When Frieza's troops were spotted on the fringes of Amazonian scanners, the Saiyans were alerted and a meeting was held, thus securing a tentative alliance with the inferior species.
Being the crowned-prince of the Saiyans held many responsibilities, one of which was ambassador when his father was preoccupied with matters of the state. He would hardly call looking for a third-class mongrel proper terms for preoccupation, but his father's will was to be respected no matter what. So, he was stuck in a cramped space pod, on his way to deal with people he could not stand, all because he respected his father enough to do as much.
The tight defensive ring in front of the planet before him loosened to allow his passage, and neatly reformed once he was through. Amazonia was a lush planet, continents of endless green forest a stark contrast to the barren, rocky world that was Planet Vegeta. It was difficult to see buildings on approach until he was nearly upon them. The Amazonians had been accommodating enough to install a few Saiyan space pod receivers on their landing deck, and there he found himself already assaulted by the people.
Two lines of guards stood at either side of the pod and stared when he stood from it. A sharp set of clicking boots alerted him to the very tall woman at the end of the lines of guards: Princess Raia. He disliked dealing with the Amazonians, but he thoroughly despised the princess. Raised by the new queen after her mother's death, Raia grew up with the typical Saiyan mentality. Most Amazonians were haughty and proud, but add Saiyan upbringing and that threw everything off-balance. It was fortunate she only had the personality and not the bloodline, but that barely made a difference.
He made a short, curt bow and she mirrored a curtsy. "Prince Vegeta, so good to see you again," she bit.
"I wish I could say the same, but we are not here to exchange pleasantries. I am here to speak with your father, so let's not waste anymore time."
A sly smile crossed the woman's pink lips. "Unfortunately, my father is away. We have been having trouble with the eastern blockade, and he has gone to see to reinforcing it. In his stead, however, he left me with full authority to update you on the situation and address whatever issues you have come here to discuss. If you will follow me, we can continue this conversation in a proper setting."
He growled, loudly, and she merely laughed. Damn her, she was enjoying this. He had no doubt that her father had conveniently excused himself on the pretense of other pressing matters simply to not have to deal with the Saiyan prince: he had a suspicion the Amazonian king felt uneasy around a stronger, younger male of his temperament. And the princess was brilliant, as much as he hated to admit it, and was quite fit to rule in her father's stead.
Inside was more welcome than outside, the oppressive heat less so within the stone walls. Just one more reason he hated the planet and its inhabitants: high heat for most of the year, and scantily clad people running around without a care in the world. Most of the men wore little more than breechcloths and sandals, while most of the women wore gossamer gowns, very see-through and very distracting. The princess, due to either her step-mother or penchant to goad his ego, wore a modified set of Saiyan armor, solid red with a short skirt instead of pants. Still less-clothed than his people, but at least she was not hanging out everywhere.
She led him to a familiar room, where they sat towards the end of the very long table. "No generals this time?"
"The war has escalated since you have been here, as you well know. The generals are in the field, doing their jobs and keeping Amazonia, Planet Vegeta, and all the other worlds in our alliance from being taken over by Frieza and his men. My father is seeing to it that the eastern front is fortified, and my mother is supervising the technology overhaul on your main base." She was being serious.
"You have been left behind to rule, haven't you?" The situation was much different than he thought. The Amazonians usually had matters neatly under control whenever he or his father visited, but things had recently gotten worse.
She nodded her head and pulled up a view screen between them. "Bombardments of our eastern and northern fronts have increased five-fold within the past few months. If you take a look at this footage, you can see two vessels breaking through the northwest corner of the eastern blockade." She pointed to the tiny, white ships racing around the wreckage of Amazonian defense satellites. "Our forces were able to subdue the invaders, but if two ships could get through, just think how many more could come in."
He scrutinized the layout and the data before him. "How long will your fortifications hold, including any future reinforcements?" She gave him a serious look and pulled up a simple diagram.
"Based on an exponentially increasing rate of attack, correlated with our rate of repair, Frieza's forces will effectively break through our defensive line in less than three months. It will likely be only another few weeks to a month before he breaks through your defensive lines, shorter if he manages to obtain our access codes. Large-scale offensive participation in this war is imminent." He growled and sat back in his chair.
"Looks like my father was right."
"Your father knew about this? How could he? We've only just recently extrapolated this ourselves."
"Not everything has to be about science and numbers, Princess," he huffed, her title flowing off his tongue like poison. "My father is not an idiot, he has been paying attention, noticing our slow but steady retreat." He crossed his arms. "My father has a plan, but I doubt you will like it."
"Anything is better than nothing, and we have run into a whole lot of nothing at this point."
Closing his eyes, he breathed in slowly. "Saiyans are very versatile, we can increase our power levels by training, fighting, even being beaten. We have discovered over the past decade or so that our lower-class members are more capable of vast power gains in short periods of time. Some of our third-class teams have produced elites. One family in particular interests my father. Bardock was a third-class warrior, assigned to multiple planetary missions. After each mission, he gained more power. Now, he is even stronger than my father, and has qualified as a super elite. He has become invaluable to our defense, but he is only one man. With only a handful of super elites, it is crucial we find and train everyone capable."
The princess was giving him a skeptical look. "Believe it or not, it is the truth. Now, Bardock has two sons: Raditz and Kakarot. Raditz qualified immediately as first class and his rate of power gain is mediocre at best. Kakarot, on the other hand, tested to be third-class."
"I have heard that name before. Didn't we do a scan for him a few years back? He's on a planet called Earth, and not doing the Saiyans any good."
"Not at the moment, but the plan was to retrieve him and recruit him to the cause. Unfortunately, Earth has turned up barren. The Earthlings have fled, Kakarot along with them, we hope. My father wanted to request a scan of possible planets where they may have gone. With more of your focus on local defense, however, I am not sure you have the ability to carry out this task."
She considered. "It seems as though your father is going through a great deal of trouble to find this one man. Realistically, how much of a difference can he make if my people can find him?"
"Apparently a major difference. My father seems to believe this Kakarot, as well as his father, has the ability to achieve what so many others could not: the legendary power of the Super Saiyan." The princess gave him a side-long glance.
"But you don't think so?"
"No one has been able to achieve it, which is why it is a legend. Why should some low-class soldier be able to become a Super Saiyan over me? Besides, by the time we found him and convinced him to come with us, the war might be very close to over, according to your calculations."
"You know we possess time-altering equipment," she mentioned, giving him a knowing smile. She was too damn smart for her own good. Most of the other Amazonians were rather straight-forward, annoyingly so. But only a Saiyan-raised Amazonian princess could make a simple fact sound like a taunt. "That is why you arranged for this meeting, to negotiate the usage of our time chambers. Though, you do not seem too fond of this idea."
This was becoming tiresome. "If your father thought some warrior would make more of a difference than you, would you be fond of the idea?" She gave a light laugh and shook her head.
"No, I suppose not. Exactly how not fond of the idea are you?" she asked slyly.
He decided to bite. "Why do you want to know?"
"Because I know where the Earthlings are."
"Moori. I need to speak with you." She stood alone in the dark abyss, calling out for the Namekian elder.
A light intruded the space. "Who is this?"
"Princess Raia, of the Amazonians."
"Ah, yes. Forgive me, the recent situation has been very taxing and my mental status is less than desirable. What is the reason for this contact?"
"Allies of our confederation, the Saiyans, have been looking for a man named Kakarot to help in the war effort. Apparently, he has the potential to be a great asset if trained properly. Years ago, my people were asked to locate Kakarot and keep tabs on him. We found him to be living among Earthlings. Unknown to the Saiyans, we kept a current log of his whereabouts in the years since. Our knowledge of this is the only reason he and his people were allowed entry through your defensive line."
"We had been wondering about that. We were worried your troops were slacking." She felt his relieved laughter.
"Per our agreement, no tracking equipment has entered your orbit, so the specific state of Kakarot is unknown. His life-force was fluctuating badly the last time we had a reading on him, as were many other life-forces surrounding him. I would like to know if he still lives, else I will need to inform the Saiyans to change plans."
There was a long pause before the Namekian elder responded. "None of the Earthlings are known by that name. Not dead or alive."
She thought for a moment. "We never documented an alias, but we were able to detect him via specific Saiyan energy signatures. A few pictures were captured as well. He is tall by Earthling standards, though shorter than I or prime adult Namekians. His hair stands in wild tufts and spikes, like that of an asymmetrical galaxy. He has always worn an orange-red uniform with an Earthling character above his left breast. Do any of the Earthlings match that description?"
"That does sound very much like one of the men who came here, but his name is Goku. I very much doubt he would be very helpful right now. He, and many of the Earthlings, is very ill. You may not have known this, but Goku and a few of his compatriates arrived months ago. The ships you let through had left before the disaster that occurred on Earth was fully realized, but only recently arrived. In those months Goku was here, he and others contracted something. We have been doing the best we can to help them, but illness is beyond our healing abilities."
"Were those that arrived first injured?"
"Yes, very badly. We were not able to tend to them for about a day, since they arrived suddenly in the middle of nowhere."
"Are the sick ones very warm, perhaps sweating?"
"Yes! Do you know what this is?"
"Not precisely, but I believe they have an infection, probably caused by the local fauna. Are any of the newcomers ill?"
"Some have mentioned feeling ill, but nothing to the extent of the first arrivals."
"Good. If it is indeed an infection, I may be able to help."
"Princess! This is insufferable!" Loud pounding and the rough voice of the Saiyan prince pervaded her mind. "I am about to be interrupted. Please expect my arrival within the next week. In the meantime, I will have one of the station doctors meet you and give you what they can spare for medicine. It will not be much, but it should keep the sickest from dying before I get there." And like that, the light faded and she once again found herself in the dark abyss of her mind.
Opening her eyes, and ignoring the incessant calls by the prince, she took a deep breath and slowly stood from the floor.
A/N: Oh, and I know the OC might seem uber-intelligent (she seems that way to me too), but remember that her race is verrry intelligent to begin with. I was going to explain somewhere that all Amazonian children learn medicine and whatnot in school, but that seemed silly and didn't really fit anywhere. I hate Mary-Sues, so do not fear: she will suffer. *Evil laughter.*
Please leave feedback, critiques and whatnot. I have a lot of the story planned in my head, I just need the motivation to write it. Thank you.