A Mysterious Power Level! Gohan's Special Discovery!
"Gohan! Go wake up your brother! It's almost noon!"
"Huh?"
"I SAID GO WAKE UP YOUR BROTHER IT'S ALMOST NOON!" Gohan jumped up from the table, where he was filling out his transfer papers to Orange Star High School.
"Alright, Mom!" He called back to her, as he opened the door to his little brother's room. He peered in. His brother was curled up under a large puffy comforter on his bed, snoring softly. Gohan went over to him and looked down into his face. Sometimes even Gohan was amazed how much his brother looked like their father, the way his hair stuck out at odd angles, and he just had that carefree air about him that made Gohan think of his dead father. He shook himself, reached down and grabbed his little brother's ankle, lifting him into the air. The boy woke instantly, wriggling in his brother's grasp.
"Gohan! Lemme' Go! I was sleepin'! Put me down!" He yelled, swinging his little fists at his elder brother.
"Goten, quit squirming!" Gohan dropped his brother back onto his bed. Goten looked up at him, his lip jutting out in a pout.
"I was sleeping!" He said angrily.
"You slept through breakfast, Goten. It's almost noon." Said Gohan, ruffling his brother's hair.
"Breakfast?" Said gotten, jumping up and running out of his room, "Mom! I want Breakfast!"
Gohan laughed. He followed Goten out of his room to the kitchen. His mother was pushing gotten to the table.
"Sit down, sweetie. I'll get you something to eat." She said, smiling. She then turned to Gohan and said, "You better clear your Transfer Papers off the table. Are you about finished with them?"
"Yes Ma'am." He said, scooping up the piles of papers and setting them on the counter. "Can I take a break and go fishing?" He asked.
"Oh! Oh! I wanna' go too!" Said Goten as his mother placed a bowl of rice and some eggs in front of him. He immediately started shoving the food in his mouth, still talking to his mother and brother. "I wanna' go too! Can I mom?" He said, with a mouth full of egg and rice. His mother shook her head.
"Goten, you have schoolwork you have to finish." She said, putting a bowl of fruit on the table. "Gohan, you can go, you've been working so hard lately, but Goten, you aren't even dressed yet. You stay home."
Goten looked down at his bare chest and sleeping shorts. He jutted his lip out again, but then went back to eating.
"Try to catch a big one for dinner…" He grumbled, wiping his hand across his rice flecked face.
"Goten use your napkin, that's disgusting!" Said Chichi. She placed her hand on her forehead. "You're just like your father…No table manners!"
Gohan smiled and he turned to leave his mom and brother.
"I'll be back in a few hours at most. Bye!" He called, running out the front door and jumping into the air, flying off towards the stream he and his father had fished at when he was a kid. As e flew through the trees, past rocks and down cliffs, he slowed. Something was not right. He could feel a strange pulse of energy coming from above. He looked up, and to his horror; he saw something he hadn't seen in many years. A small space pod, battered from travel was headed straight for earth. The power coming from inside was weak, but it was definitely not familiar. He watched as it glowed bright as it entered the atmosphere. He watched as it wobbled in the air, broken and unsteady. He could feel the power level inside the pod drop. His eyes followed the pod until… The ground shook when the ship hit the ground. A tongue of flame shot up from the tree line a couple hundred feet away. Gohan felt the power level drop again. Whatever it was, it was hurt, and hurt badly. With a burst of energy, he flew off towards the billowing smoke, worry and fear coursing though him. What would he find? The energy was like nothing he had felt before. It sort of felt like…But it couldn't have been Vegeta in the pod. And the power level was much too low. He scattered dirt and charred leaves as he landed. He stared in awe at the wreckage. Several trees had fallen, the ship was nothing more than a pile of charred metal, and as he looked at it, it didn't look as sturdy as the Saiyan style space pods he had seen in the past. It looked like it was crudely made, and it clearly wasn't held together very well, the way it had split. The inside pieces were far less technologically advanced as previous ships he'd seen. He looked around. There was no sign of the pilot. Its energy was close, very close. A piece of charred metal shifted. Gohan leapt at it, pulling it aside. He jumped back in surprise at white he saw. A long, furry tail, attached to a piece of grey material flicked feebly, caked with fresh blood. He stared at it. It was the same shape. He remembered when he himself had had a tail like the one that was there, looking sad in the pile of metal, except his had been brown, not black with a white tip. He then realized that the owner of the tail was in danger. He moved the debris away from the person beneath. As he cleared away most of the debris when he realized that the pilot was a child. His worry reached its peak as he pulled away the last plate of metal. The pilot was a little girl.
"Oh Man…OH MAN!" He knelt down at the little girl's side. She was covered in dirt and ash, and blood glistened here and there across her small body. Her clothes were torn and burned in places, and her exposed flesh was laced with cuts and burns. He black hair was caked with dirt and blood, and her arm was curled in such a way it couldn't have been natural. Even as he stared at her, he felt her energy drop again. He put his fingers to her neck for a pulse. It was very weak. He gently lifted her from the pile and laid her out on the ground. Her eyes were closed and her mouth was slightly open, a trickle of blood dripping down. He absentmindedly wiped it away. His brain was whirring, trying to think of something to do. If he flew, the different atmosphere, even so slight as ten feet in the air, could cause her lungs to collapse, as if her breathing wasn't already labored.
In the end, he decided to splint her twisted arm and prep her for travel. He approached a tree, and with a single punch, he knocked it over. He gave it a few quick chops, and he had two perfectly sized planks of wood. He then proceeded to pull down some vines and tied the boards so her arm was straight.
The girl's eyes twitched tighter as if in pain, but relaxed again, so she looked asleep. Gohan stared at her, taking a moment to take in her features. She had short black hair that was dirty and messy and plastered to her head from mud and blood. She was very tiny, and he could have easily counted her ribs, even through her torn shirt. Most importantly, she had a long furry tail, not unlike that of a monkey's, black and tipped in white. He gently opened one of her eyes, and a rather lifeless looking black iris stared back at him. That's when Gohan decided it would be better to move her now than later. He gently lifter her into his arms and floated about a foot off the ground.
"I just hope she can handle this…" Gohan flew off, back in the direction of his house. He slowly maneuvered around bushes and trees, going much slower than he would have liked, but it was faster than walking. There was a rumbling sound above him. He looked up. An air car! It must have been Bulma's, because he could clearly make out the Capsule Corp. logo on its side. It was headed away from the direction of his house. She must have dropped Trunks off at his house or dropped by to see Chichi or…something. He wanted to short an energy blast up at the car, but he would probably end up taking it out of the sky. He flew on, hoping he'd make it home before dark.
He DIDN'T make it home by dark; it was six-thirty when at last he landed on the doorstep. He could hear the sounds of eating from inside. He tried to shoulder the door open, but it didn't budge. He kicked it.
"MOM! OPEN UP! QUICK!" He yelled.
"Gohan?" She called back, "The door's open!"
"I can't! My hands are full- Mom, just open the door!"
The door opened. Chichi gasped. "Gohan! Who-? What-?" She stared up into her son's face.
"I found her in the woods mom. She's hurt really bad."
Goten and Trunks (Gohan was right about Bulma's car earlier) appeared behind Chichi.
"Woah! Gohan, you found a kid in the forest?" Said Goten, looking surprised.
"It looks dead to me." Said Trunks, looking up at the girl. Chichi shoved them both aside, leading Gohan in, shouting orders to them as she went.
"Goten, got get the First Aid Kit from the closet, Trunks, you go start the bath. I don't think we can do anything until she's clean.
"Yes ma'am!" They both said, suddenly rigid. It wasn't often that Chichi got like this. In fact, Goten had only seen her like this when they trained in the woods.
Gohan carried the girl to the bathroom, where Trunks was getting the water started. Gohan sat her up gently on a stool, as Chichi tried to pull off her clothes. However, because of the girl's crooked arm and unconsciousness, Chichi took a scissors to them, cutting through the flimsy material with ease. She almost didn't seem to notice the girl's tail in the intensity of the situation. Goten came in a minute later with the first aid kit, and Chichi said to the boys;
"Strip down and get in with her. I'll need you two to hold her up for me." The boys looked at each other with a look of disgust, but obliged, not wanting to get in trouble. They both climbed into the bath tub as Gohan lowered the tiny girl into the bathtub.
"She's really puny.' Said Goten. He held up her non-broken arm for Chichi to scrub. Trunks compared his hand size to the girls.
"Wow. Tiny." Said Trunks, who then shuddered a minute later. "Yikes! Something furry brushed up against me!" He cried out. He reached into the water and lifted her tail, and let out a scream, as did Goten, and Chichi, who leapt back, falling off the stool she was sitting on.
"SHE HAS A TAIL!" They all cried in unison. Gohan instantly shoved his mother back onto the stool.
"Can we worry about that later? Her life is at stake!"
The boys in the tub, although creeped out by the furry thing floating in the water with them, they helped Chichi clean the girl off. As Chichi dumped a bucket of water on the girl's head to rinse out the soap, Gohan was surprised to see that the grayish highlight in her hair was actually a snow white fringe that streaked through her hair.
"Well, she's clean. Gohan, can you grab her?" She turned to the boys, who were already climbing out of the tub and drying themselves. "You two go set up a futon for her."
"Where?" Asked Goten.
"The room off the kitchen where the TV is." She replied. The boys nodded, yanking on their clothes and going out again to find the futon.
"Stay with her Gohan, I'm going to go get her something to wear."
Gohan nodded as he wrapped the girl in a towel. Her energy level was low, but at least it wasn't going down anymore. Maybe the heat of the bath had done her good. He wondered where she came from, who she was.
His mother returned a few minutes later, holding an oversized T-shirt of Gotens and the gently dressed her.
"Ok, Now we can fix her up." Said Chichi, drawing her hand across her forehead. Gohan hadn't noticed how much energy his mother was putting into this girl's health. Gohan carried the girl to the room off the kitchen, where Trunks and Goten had just finished setting up the futon. Chichi opened up the first aid kit, taking out bandages and bottles. The cleaned off the girls wounds and bound her arm and put it in a sling, she wrapped a bandage around her head to stop the swelling of a rather nasty egg sized lump on the back of her head.
"Trunks, you should call your parents." Said Gohan, not looking at him, his eyes were still focused on the girl's face. "If there's another Saiyan on the planet…Your dad would want to know."
"So she is a Saiyan?" Asked Trunks, his blue eyes widening. Goten's eyes widened too.
"I think so…but he'd know better than me."
"The phones In the Kitchen are sure to dial the area code first." Said Chichi, as she wiped the girl's forehead with a cold cloth. Trunks got up and ran to the other room, bringing the phone back with him. He dialed in the numbers and listened for a minute.
"Hello, mom?" Pause. "Yeah, it's me. Is dad there?" Pause. "Mom, I need to talk to him." Pause. "Mom, it's REALLY important!" "No, it's not something you could deal with- mom I'm fine just let me talk to dad!" He looked at Goten and rolled his eyes, mouthing the word "mothers." Goten giggled. Trunks listened into the Phone. "Dad? Can you come over to Goten's house?" He looked at Goten. "Can I tell him you found a Saiyan?" He whispered. Gohan nodded. Trunks returned to his father on the phone. "Gohan thinks he found a Saiyan in the woods." The entire room could hear Vegeta's yell from the other end of the phone, and Trunks dropped it, as if it had bitten him. A rough "Stay where you are!" could be heard before the dull note of a disconnected line droned out of the phone's speaker. Trunks picked it up gingerly.
"Sorry for dropping your phone..." he grumbled, taking it back to the kitchen. There was no reply. Chichi was trying to force feed the girl some pain pills. The girl had starting clenching her muscles in pain, and Chichi knew that wouldn't go over well for a sleeping invalid.
"Gohan, could you go get me some water?" She asked. He nodded and went. Goten was watching his mom tend to the girl and Trunks looked at the girl. She looked kind of like Goten in a way, but also…there was something. Gohan called out from the kitchen. "I can feel Vegeta's Energy from here… man; he's coming in really hot." He returned with the water. "He'll be here in minutes, without a doubt. He must be in super Saiyan form."
"Trunks, your dad is fast!" Said Goten, smiling at his friend. Trunks smiled.
"Duh, where do you think I get it from?" Replied Trunks smugly.
Gohan went to the door and opened it. He had been right about one thing; Vegeta was in super Saiyan form. He skidded to a stop, scattering dirt as he landed, the blonde Saiyan hair reverted back to its regular black. He pushed past Gohan.
"Where is it? Where is the Saiyan you found in the woods?" He growled to Gohan. Trunks waved him over.
"Over here Dad!"
Vegeta went to Trunks, who was kneeling on the floor by the girl on the futon. Vegeta stared at her. Her eyes were closed; the shadow of a pain look was etched on her pale face. She would have looked dead if it weren't for the steady rise and fall of her hollow chest.
"This girl can't be a Saiyan! Look at her, Gohan. You go to school, don't you? You should know how to use it!"
"What do you mean, Vegeta?" asked Gohan, a little stung.
"The only pure blooded Saiyan alive is me, and you three boys are the only others in the world with Saiyan blood, and I'm SURE none of YOU have children. This girl is clearly a five year old you found in the woods."
"Do normal girls have TAILS, Vegeta?" Yelled Gohan angrily. Even now, Vegeta was thick and didn't like listening. As if to prove this point, Chichi gently pulled the girl's tail from underneath the girl's back and let it fall. THAT is when Vegeta began to wonder if what Kakarot's boy was correct, but he couldn't see how. But then with a sudden jolt of realization, he remembered the Saiyans living on the fake planet Vegeta when he had encountered Broly. Perhaps one of them had had a mate, and perhaps they had offspring. There was silence for awhile as the all just watched Chichi bandage up the rest of her wounds. When she finished, the pulled a blanket over the girl.
"Now she should rest easier." She said. The little girls arm moved, tucking itself around the edge of the blanket and going up to her mouth. The girl stuck her thumb in her mouth, and for the first time, a look that could only say relaxed spread over her face.
"Aw! That's cute!" Said Goten, laughing. "She's like a baby!"
Trunks laughed.
"She pretty much is a baby. Look at how puny she is!"
Vegeta glared at his son. Vegeta remembered Nappa calling him that as a child. Puny.
The girl stirred at the sound. Everyone looked to her. However, she seemed to have fallen back into unconsciousness. The rumbling of a car engine could be heard somewhere not too far away. Gohan looked out the still open door.
"There's Bulma!" He said. Vegeta looked up.
"I told her to stay home…she never listens." He grumbled.
The car landed lightly on the ground, and Bulma climbed out.
"So, is it really a Saiyan?" Was the first thing she said when Vegeta, Trunks and Gohan emerged from the house.
"We think so." Said Gohan. "Actually, Bulma, I was wondering if you'd come with me to pick up some of the parts of the ship she landed it, I was hoping you could tell me what it was made of."
Vegeta looked at him. Maybe Gohan did know how to use his head.
Bulma nodded.
"I was thinking the exact same thing!" She said. She ran back to her car, and called back to him, "Come on! We should go get it now! I'm itching to find out what this Saiyan flew in!" Gohan followed, calling back, "Be back soon, everyone!"
They both climbed into the car, and they flew off into the darkness.
Trunks and Vegeta went back inside to see Goten and Chichi leaning over the girl.
"I think she's waking up!" said Goten excitedly.
They all leaned over her. The girl's eyes twitched. They slowly opened; her wide black eyes flickered and popped wide open. She registered the four faces looking down at her. They blinked a few times, flickering to each face. Then, the girl opened her mouth, and screamed. She flung her fist forward, hitting the closest person, which was Goten, and sent him flying across the room into the wall. Chichi ran to him, leaving Trunks and Vegeta with the screaming, violently writhing girl. Vegeta thought fast, raising his hand and giving her a sharp blow to the neck. The girl's eyes went blank, and she fell back down onto the futon, once again unconscious. Chichi returned, a bewildered Goten followed, rubbing his head, where a large lump was starting to form.
"Thanks Vegeta." Said Chichi, wiping her forehead. "Not my way of doing things, but thanks."
He grunted in return, looking into the girl's face. He remembered the look in her black eyes. Fear and horror. What could this girl gone through to get here? What had she seen to make her so scared?
"She's really really strong." Said Goten, rubbing his head, and looking to Trunks. "That really hurt…"
"You baby." Said Trunks, smirking.
"Maybe you should try getting punched through a wall Trunks." He grumbled to his friend.
"I think we can agree she's a Saiyan." Said Vegeta quietly. "To bad there isn't a moon on this planet anymore, we could check for sure…" He sighed. "Saiyan children are very strong, and she has shown she can take down a powerful half Saiyan who's larger than she is." He smirked. "I myself could take out elite Saiyan warriors at her age." Trunks and Goten looked at each other.
"I wonder where she came from…" said Trunks.
"From space, if she came in a space ship." Replied Goten.
"No, Duh Goten." Said Trunks, punching Goten on the shoulder. "We've guessed that."
"Boys, stop." Said Chichi sternly, not wanting a fight to break out. She rubbed her forehead. She was tired, and she wanted to go to bed, but she didn't want to leave the girl in the hands of Goten and Trunks. She sighed and went into the kitchen, returning a minute later with a cold rice ball. She knelt at the girls side, looking to Vegeta.
"Do me a favor and hold her up. She should eat something."
"She's unconscious." He replied, but she gave him a stern 'wife' look and he shoved the girl into a sitting position. He head flopped forward, and Chichi gently lifted her chin, holding the rice ball to her slightly open mouth. Nothing happened.
"She's sleeping." Said Goten, watching. But he hardly had enough time to say if before the girl's tiny hand lifted, taking the rice ball from Chichi. Her eyes remained closed, but she sat up on her own, slowly eating the rice ball. When she finished, she wiped the stray rice grains from her mouth and opened her eyes.
"That's how I used to get Goku out of bed." Said Chichi softly. The little girl, whose eyes were still wide with fear, glanced around. Her eyes fell on Goten, and her eyes popped wider as she looked at the bump that had risen off his head. She stared around her nervously, and then she rammed her head onto her knees, shaking with silent sobs.
"Oh…" Said Chichi softly, wrapping her arm around the little girl. "It's ok…"
The girl wriggled away, as if burned. She swung her fist at her, but Vegeta caught it. He gave her a frightening glare and she made a quiet squeaking noise as he squeezed her fist.
"Vegeta! Let her go!" Said Chichi, pushing his arm away from her. "Can't you see she's terrified!"
Vegeta rolled his eyes. The girl was not looking at them, but she was looking at the young boys. She gently crawled over to Trunks. He stared at her. She had a round, childish face and wide black eyes. She might have been cute, if she didn't look so scared. She sat in front of him. She cocked her head to one side, looking at him. She gently raised her tiny hand and touched his hair, looking fascinated.
"Uuuh…?" mumbled Trunks, looking to his Father for help, who just rolled his eyes again. She then placed her hand on her own head, feeling the bandages that covered it.
"Uh, miss?" Said Goten shyly. Now that she was awake, he felt a sudden shyness towards her. She blinked, looking to him. Her black eyes bore into him. He blushed under the intensity of the gaze. "What's your name? Where did you come from?" He asked. She gingerly stood up.
"Oh, No! Don't get up!" Said Chichi, taking her hand to help her sit back down, but she wiggled away, taking a few wobbly steps to the window. She looked out into the starry night. Her wide eyes searched the black night dotted with stars. Minutes crawled by. Then, without warning, the girl slammed her fist down hard onto the window sill, causing the glass to shatter. She sunk to her knees, shaking with more sobs. Broken glass fell on her, cutting her hand and face. Chichi ran over, grabbing the girl and pulling her from the window. She did not try to escape this time. She grabbed Chichi for support, sobbing into her. Chichi carried her back to the futon and set her on it. She grabbed some band aids for her cuts from the first aid kit and laid her down again.
"Goten, go get some blankets. And another Futon. I think I'll sleep in here with her for tonight." Said Chichi. Goten nodded, running off with Trunks. Chichi turned to Vegeta.
"You can stay too. You can sleep in Goten's room with the boys."
He grunted, looking to the shattered window. The boys returned, hauling another futon and a bundle of blankets and pillows. The set up the other futon and Chichi wrapped a blanket around the girl.
"Try to get some rest." She said. The girl stared up at her, scared, and still crying. "We'll take care of you." Said Chichi kindly. The girl slowly closed her eyes and nestled down to sleep.
The boys had spread out on the other futon, looking tired themselves. Chichi managed to squeeze in too, herself exhausted. Vegeta looked down at them, then he turned and sat on the couch.
"I'll wait for Gohan and Bulma." He said.
But Chichi, Goten, Trunks and the girl were already fast asleep.