Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ? Hmm… we'll just have to see what we can do to change that…
Please R&R! PLEASE! You'd better do it, because I did say please. I don't own any of the music that is used. But that too will change! Or at least, I hope it will.
Alyss was walking through the park, quietly humming to herself. She was humming one of her favorite songs. "Hey! What ya singing, Dorkus?" Alyss turned head slightly. She was the new girl, and everybody seemed determined to take advantage of it. "Well? Sing the words if you don't know the name." Alyss saw no harm in this, so she replied: "It's Green Day. Boulevard of Broken Dreams to be exact." Her aggressor snorted. "I told you to sing, ginger, and you're going to sing!" The group of girls that bothered her glared at Alyss viciously. "I will do no such thing." She said softly. The girls turned away. The red-head could hear them whispering. "I didn't think she'd be that brave." They all seemed absorbed in some petty argument, so she walked away. She made it home before they could bother her again. Alyss unlocked the door and slipped inside, relocking the door behind her.
Alyss lived alone in her small new house. There were no family portraits. As a matter of fact, no pictures at all. She set her book bag down next to the couch. There was no television either. Just some book shelves. The red-haired girl plugged in her stereo, which had a mixed CD in it with all her favorite songs on it. She pressed play, and Unwell by Matchbox 20 was the song that was emitted from the small speakers. Alyss walked into the neat, tidy little kitchen. She produced a package of Ramen noodles from the makeshift pantry. With practiced ease, she prepared her dinner. The girl ate her supper as the music floated throughout the house. Occasionally, she would sing along. With a stretch, the red-head rose from her chair and went over to the sink to begin washing dishes. As soon as that chore was finished, she strolled into the living room and picked a book at random from the shelf. She sat down on the green couch and proceeded to read her chosen book. Alyss glanced up at the time. 'Oh, geez! It's 10 already?' Quickly, she turned off the music and put the book away. The red-head darted down the hall, into her bedroom, where she jerked on her pjs. She brushed her teeth with all speed, and then between her covers. 'I've got school tomorrow. Maybe it will be better than today.' Alyss lay in bed, looking up at the ceiling. Slowly, she fell asleep. Her dreams were trouble as she tossed and turned. She had impressions of sorrow and joy, and faint images of faces haunted her.
Her alarm clock woke her up on time to get ready for school. She spared a glance into the mirror as she was walking by. Alyss froze in shock. 'Is it just me, or do I look like a cartoon?' Now, she thoroughly examined her environment. The red-head picked up the details she hadn't noticed before. 'It's like everything's been… anime-fied?' She shook her head in disbelief. "But how did I end up in a manga?" That nights' dream came flooding back to her. She pondered what she should do next. 'I should probably take a look around.' And with that last consideration in mind, she opened the door and went outside. The red-head inhaled deeply, looking at the stunning forest around her home. The house was situated on a hill, in a field, surrounded by trees. Barely remembering to close the door behind her, she proceeded to explore this new world. "It's so beautiful here." Alyss breathed softly. Her dark green eyes took in everything eagerly.
Her hand trailed lightly across the trees alongside her. 'I may not know where I am, but at least it's gorgeous here. The only thing that would make it better is if…if nobody cares that I'm different.' A song popped into her head. One of her favorites, naturally. Nearly every song she heard became her one of her favorites. The red-head began to hum Gotta be Somebody by Nickelback. She spends a lot of time humming, because her head is always full of music. So distracted by the music and the sights, she didn't notice the person watching her. Alyss glanced around quickly, then, seeing no one she began to sing softly. "Because nobody wants to be the last one there, and everyone wants to feel like someone cares; Someone to love with my life in their hands, there's gotta be somebody for me; Nobody wants to go it on their own, and everyone wants to know they're not alone; Somebody else that feels the same somewhere, there's gotta be somebody for me out there; Because nobody wants to be the last one there, and everyone wants to feel like someone cares; There's gotta be somebody for me out there…"
To say the least, she was shocked when she heard a voice say: "Wow! You're-you're amazing!" Alyss had nearly jumped out of her skin. She spun about on her heel to stare at the intruder. He was rather short, very bald, wearing baggy orange clothes, and had six little dots on his forehead. "And who might you be?" The man chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his head. "Oh, right. I'm Krillen. And, uh, who are you?" The red-head watched him nervously. "You can call me Alyss." With a shrug, she moved away, back toward the house. She realized that she hadn't eaten any breakfast yet. "Alyss, huh? Is it, like, short for something?" He inquired, following her. The red-head gave him her best death glare, which was really pathetic. "No." she muttered. Krillen shrugged. Alyss continued on for a bit, then stopped and looked at the man who was behind her. He halted as well, and studied the girl closely. 'Her power level is really high. She could probably beat Yamcha, and would probably be an even match for me or Tien.' he thought. "So… do you do any martial arts or anything?" The red-head raised an eyebrow. "Not really. I mean, I know how to take a beating, but I'm not able to win a fight or stuff like that. Why?" Krillens' face fell. "Oh. I-I was just wondering."
There was silence for a few minutes, then Alyss said: "Nice to meet you, but I've got junk I need to get done. Later." Krillen hesitated, and then blurted out: "Hey! I'll come back soon with some friends of mine, 'k?" And with that, he flew off. 'Did he just…fly…away? Weird…' she shook her head to clear it. At last she made back to the house. With a glance at the clock she assured it was still a reasonable hour for breakfast before making some chocolate chip pancakes. (A/N: Yum! I have zero clue if they have pancakes there, but they do now!) With her stomach full, she dumped out her backpack and stashed a couple of water bottles and some granola bars inside. Alyss swung the bag onto her shoulder and resumed her explorations. It had been several weeks now, and Alyss had pretty much forgotten about her encounter in the woods. She had quickly brushed it off as a chance meeting, and thought she would never see the little bald man again.
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One day, as Yamcha, Tien, Chaozu, Goku, Piccolo, and Krillen were all training together, Tien brought up a peculiar subject. "Hey, Goku, why do think there aren't any women with enough power to train with us?" Goku paused, thinking of Bulma and Chi-Chi. "Maybe it's because none of them train for it. Ya know, 'cause most girls aren't interested in this stuff." Piccolo was wearing his usual facial expression. "Hmph. I don't see why it matters." The others all shrugged were about to resume their training session, when Krillen exclaimed: "I'd nearly forgotten! A while ago I was just kind of wandering around and I ran into this girl. Her energy level was higher than Yamchas'!" The others all looked at him, disbelieving. "Hey, Krillen, are you really sure about that? I mean… well… you know…" Goku smiled at his bald friend kindly. "I can prove it!" Piccolo frowned. "This ought to be interesting." Krillen rolled his eyes. "Look, I can take you to her." The others all shrugged, and Goku said: "It's not like we've got anything to do but train."
X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X
The next morning, Alyss rose with the dawn as usual. After a quick breakfast, she went outside to stretch. Her routine consisted of various gymnastic techniques. With a last reach for the sky, she turned and faced a pine tree. Slowly, the red-head relaxed her muscles and released some of her Ki. Nearby, Krillen had led the others to where he had last seen the woman. The group stood, waiting for some sign of this strange person their friend had spoken of. They all felt the sudden burst of energy close by. "What is that?" Yamcha exclaimed. Krillen replied excitedly: "That's gotta be her! See, I told you!" Piccolo grunted. "We should probably check it out before we jump to conclusions." With nods of consent, they headed toward the strange Ki. They arrived in time to see the end of the red-heads' routine. Alyss inhaled deeply, her body tensing. With a practiced ease, she ran straight at the tree, then up it. She ran right up the trunk, until she reached a point, where, all of a sudden, she pushed off. As she flipped over right-side up she caught sight of her audience. The red-head landed cat-like on her feet, then turned towards them.
Alyss studied the strangers carefully, recognizing the short bald one. He looked flabbergasted. "But-but… you said you didn't do martial arts!" Krillen stuttered. The red-head nodded. "I don't. I'm a gymnast. Or, I used to be." Tien spoke carefully. "But how does an acrobat get such a high power level?" The women shook her head. "I don't know what you mean." Now the whole group looked puzzled, except for Piccolo, who wore his normal expression. While she'd been distracted with the others, Piccolo had created a small energy ball, which he now launched at the red-head. Alyss saw it coming out of the corner of her eye, and raised a hand to deflect the orb. 'That-that actually worked! I can't believe it! I mean, how is that possible?' The girls' surprise and puzzlement showed on her face. "What just happened?" She looked at Goku and company in confusion. However, her inquiry was ignored as they all turned to Piccolo and began to crack down on him. She heard things along the lines of: "What were you going to do if she couldn't deflect it?" To which the Namek did not reply.
Alyss took the chance and proceeded to sneak back into the house. The groups' argument was jerked to a halt. "What the-? Where did she go? People can't disappear into thin air!" Yamcha exclaimed. Krillen shook his head in bewilderment. "I didn't see Alyss leave." When everyone looked at him, he explained: "That's her name; Alyss." When the red-head heard her name she had to stop herself from answering. The young women resumed her search for an object. 'Now,' she thought, 'where did I put that picture?' Unfortunately, during her frantic combing for the photograph, her hip nocked into a tray with dishes on it. The tray then hit the floor with a loud crash. Ignoring it, Alyss moved upstairs to continue her search. When the group outside heard the noise, they all turned toward the house. "Even if she went inside, we should still be able to feel her Ki." Tien stated calmly.
The group hurried up to the house. The door was open. They all looked at each other, and then stepped inside. The first thing that hit them was just how barren the place was. Other than the couch and the book shelves, there was no other furniture in the living room. There were no photos, nothing that would suggest comfort. Krillen heard the clatter from up above them. "She must be upstairs." They slowly moved toward the staircase. Before the group could reach it, a very flustered Alyss darted down. "Hey, are you alright? We heard something breaking-" Goku said good-naturedly. With a flutter of her hands the red-head interrupted. "Yes, yes. Just fine." At last, she spied what she'd been looking for on the bookshelf. Pushing past Yamcha and Chaozu, she triumphantly reclaimed the framed photograph from the bookshelf. As Alyss spun about, the others tried to get a good look at the picture. "Wait-what is that a picture of?" Goku exclaimed. The red-head paused, hiding the photo behind her back. "Nothing." She slowly inched her way towards the staircase. Alyss bumped into Piccolo, who was blocking her way with his arms crossed. 'I wish I could glare like that. Maybe then these crazy people would leave me alone.' she thought wistfully.
A/N: ! I KNOW THE ANSWER! I will give my psychotic friend back her flamethrower! Oh. Wait… bad things happened last time… on second thought…. Right! On to plan B! DUCK AND COVER! (Because I just gave it back… it'll take a week to get that thing away from her…oops.)