The Time-Keeper

A Dragonball Story

Prologue: Captive

Arame opened her eyes for the first time in a long time. Her head was pounding, and she was almost blinded by the light from above her. At present, she was in some kind of sphere...like a caged animal. She was wearing a simple jumpsuit of dark gray with a strange gothic hourglass symbol emblazoned upon it.

Aside from this, she knew nothing about her immediate situation, and her headache was getting worse. Her amygdala was flaring, bringing her rage to uncontrollable heights. It was likely a result of that tone she kept hearing at the edge of her senses.

She yelled and crashed into the side of the cell. It did nothing but make her angrier. Arame pounded her fists against that same wall with blinding speed. Still nothing happened.

As she was frenzying, a door opened across the way and a strange individual walked in. He was tall and thin, with long white hair and skin that glowed a strange silvery color. His eyes were menacing and yellow, and he wore a strange black robe with the hourglass symbol on its chest. The same symbol adorning Arame's jumpsuit.

"My favorite specimen, awake at last," said the new arrival. "Allow me to make your acquaintance. My name is Chronos, the Time Keeper..."

"I'm Arame," the other hissed, "and I'm gonna kill you!" She punched the cell again, with such force that a mountain would have felt it.

Chronos stared at her blankly. "Ah, yes, you are truly a member of such a brutish race. Thankfully you're an endangered species."

Arame yelled, channeling great power through her body, building her Ki to immense levels.

"I appreciate that," said Chronos. "I use your energy to power my ship, you know. The same with my other specimens. But you have the most, by far."

The wave of Ki energy she fired at the door was blinding, and so powerful that the wall of the cell began to glow and quiver slightly.

"I see that you are ready at last," said Chronos.

Arame stopped, her energy levels depleting rapidly. "What?!"

"The stabilization," Chronos went on, "is almost ready to begin."

Arame's rage had built to unmanageable levels. She felt like she was about to explode, and her Ki was building again. She couldn't stop it from overflowing to the point of eruption.

Her eyes glowed a brilliant white, pupils vanishing. Her energy burst outward in a brilliant flash of yellowish-white. This time, the cell couldn't hold the power she put out. It was crushed, and the room she was in cracked. Chronos had already vanished in a twinkle of light.

Arame heard air seeping out and realized that there was vacuum on the other side of the walls. No, the hull. She was in a vessel of some kind. She burst into the other room with incredible speed and sealed the door behind her as the hull of the room she'd been in was finally shattered.

An alarm blared.

"Hull breach in sector B-2!" said a voice over an intercom. "Get down there and investigate!"

Arame was already moving. Her brain was still frizzing out on the anger she'd just endured, her gray matter dosed in enough adrenaline to power her through an army.

As she rounded a corner, she found a few helmeted soldiers with armor bearing that same hourglass symbol from before.

"What the hell is this?" One asked.

"It's her!" said the other. "Look!"

The first guy finally noticed it. Even Arame looked at where they were pointing.

Her tail had finally pushed out of her now disheveled jumpsuit.

"Why's the master keeping a saiyan on board?" The first guy asked frantically. "Aren't they extinct?"

"I'd wager she's the one responsible for the hull breach," said the second. "Take her down!"

"She's a saiyan!"

"Doesn't matter!"

Arame yelled again, and dashed forward with such speed that she seemed to be invisible. A few quick strikes, and both soldiers were broken and on the floor.

It wouldn't be long before the entire ship was locked down, and Arame needed to get out of here. There would be escape pods somewhere along this way, she knew.

"Attention, all crew! The saiyan subject has escaped! Do not attempt to apprehend. Kill on sight, I repeat: kill her on sight!"

Arame blasted open a door on the left labeled C-1. There were three men on the other side, and beyond them were the escape pods she was looking for. She obliterated the men without a second thought, and with a single Ki wave.

I don't know what the hell is going on here, but I need to get off this ship. A rational part of her brain was telling her that something was off, even though her saiyan blood was itching for a fight with that Chronos bastard. She had a feeling that that time would come soon though.

She jumped into a pod and launched it off at the nearest planet.

Meanwhile, Chronos watched as the pod went down to the planet's surface. The planet she was heading for had been the site of multiple fluctuations in space time over the course of its recent history.

The destructive force contained within Arame would see to it that this stabilization was a resounding success.

One: A Rough Landing

When the pod crashed, the nearest one to it happened to be Piccolo. The shockwave startled him at first, but something like that usually meant trouble. Trouble had a way of finding Piccolo too, so he decided to meet it head on.

The pod was spherical in shape, not unlike ones that he'd seen before, years ago. As he watched, the pod began to open. Before the door was open however, something burst out, roaring with ferocity. It was a teenage girl in a battered gray jumpsuit, her black hair had spikes facing forward and backward, and her voice was powerful enough to shake the stars.

She took off at a blinding speed, heading for...something. He went after her at once.

This doesn't look too bad, but I can sense a lot of power coming from this one. Need to bring her down quickly so I can find out what's going on.

She was fast though, and he could only keep up. He'd never be able to catch her.

Then, she landed on a rocky plateau and stared out at East City in the distance. It looked like she was struggling to stand. Piccolo landed behind her. Then he got a good look at something that he'd missed before. Protruding from her back was a long furry tail.

A saiyan?! Piccolo was thunderstruck. There are more?

The girl lowered her head and turned to face Piccolo. She had the eyes of a saiyan for sure, grim and menacing. There was no doubt about it. This was a pure-blooded warrior, young as she was. Yet she didn't take a battle stance, and Piccolo actually felt her energy level dropping.

She took one step and collapsed.

Piccolo took the girl back to the lookout, where Dende promptly started his healing work. "I don't need to do much for her," he told Piccolo. "She's mostly just exhausted. Mentally and physically."

"I called Goku and Vegeta here," Piccolo replied. "They need to see this."

"Hey, Piccolo!"

"Speak of the devil," Piccolo turned to see Goku waving at him. Vegeta had his arms folded and, as usual, was grim faced.

"What's so important? You interrupted me at the worst possible time, Namekian."

"You need to see this," Piccolo replied, pointing to the girl.

Vegeta and Goku approached her.

"Huh," said Goku. "It's a girl...anything special about that?"

Piccolo lifted the sheet over her body, revealing the tail that was twitching ever so slightly.

Goku and Vegeta both started in shock. "A Saiyan?!" Goku almost yelled.

"She landed near me some time ago," Piccolo told them, "and her power levels were off the charts. She was wearing this strange jumpsuit with an odd hourglass symbol, and I assumed I'd have to subdue her, but she collapsed right in front of me before she could even make a move. I thought it best to bring you two here before she woke up, just in case."

"Good call," Goku replied. "Wow...another saiyan. Is she from Universe 6?"

"No, idiot," Vegeta spat, "the saiyans of Universe 6 don't have tails. She's a survivor of this universe." He looked her over. "I didn't think there were any of us left after Paragus and Broly."

"Huh! She's waking up!" Dende said.

The girl opened her eyes slowly. Then they went wide. "Dammit!" She sat up and gripped her left side. "Ow...must've hit harder than I thought." She looked up at everyone. "Who are you people? And where am I?"

"You're on Earth," said Dende. "My friend Piccolo says you crash landed here a while ago. He brought you here to the lookout to recover."

"What's this Earth? And why are Namekians here?" The girl asked.

"Earth is the planet we're on now, and I'm the guardian," said Dende. "But why don't you tell us who you are?"

She closed her eyes. "My name is Arame."

"That's a proper Saiyan name alright," said Vegeta. "She's the real deal."

Arame looked up at him. "You know about Sai-" Her eyes went wide. "Prince Vegeta!"

"No formalities," Vegeta immediately told her. "That time has long since passed."

Arame blinked. "Why is our prince on Earth?"

"Because our home planet was destroyed."

"Oh…so that did happen?"

Goku scratched his head. "Wow...you must've really been out of it. Where've you been all this time?"

"And who're you?" Arame asked Goku.

"My name's Goku, I'm a Saiyan who was raised here on Earth," he told her with a grin.

Arame blinked. "Goku? Doesn't sound very Saiyan."

"Well, we're both Saiyans so you can call me Kakarot," replied the one called Goku with a firm smile.

"Oh," said Arame, crossing her legs. "Can you...start from the beginning? I've been out of the loop for a long time."

Arame sat and listened through the explanation. They mostly covered the basic points, but Piccolo, Goku, Vegeta, and Dende filled her in on every event from the Saiyan attack on earth through the Tournament of Power some five years before.

She was disturbed by the information she was being given. When they finished, the first thing she said was, "So...a lot has happened. Frieza was the one who brought us to near extinction? Not surprised." She looked to Goku. "And Kakarot defeated him on Namek right before it was destroyed. I didn't think that was even remotely possible. From the way Prince Vegeta speaks of you, you're supposed to be a warrior on the level of my late father, but..." She looked back at the prince. "You also tell me that Kakarot was the first Saiyan in millennia to become the legendary Super saiyan. And now there's not just one...but several?!"

Goku laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah...it's kind of an inherited trait among saiyans now. We can do it, and our kids can too."

"Indeed," said Vegeta. "Of all the saiyans still alive, you'd be the only one who isn't a Super saiyan."

Arame's jaw dropped. "Huh?!" She shook her head. "That's outrageous...but there's one last thing I've been meaning to ask you. You didn't seem to mention it in your story." She peered around them. "Where are your tails? I was told that Saiyans without tails were considered worthless."

Vegeta harrumphed. "That may have been the case long ago, but no longer. A Saiyan's worth is judged differently now. Kakarot lost his tail when he was younger. I lost mine when I attempted to invade Earth decades ago." He paused. "In addition to being the only non-Super Saiyan left, you're also the only saiyan left who still has a tail."

Arame looked down at the floor. "Wow...it's like adjusting to a whole new way of life."

"Well, we still do a lot of training," Goku said cheerily, "and we're always fighting something or another, so that hasn't really changed. We even pushed ourselves to the level of Super saiyan gods, Vegeta and me."

Arame's mind snapped for a second, breaking from reality at what she'd just heard. "I-I'm sorry. Did...did you just say...Super saiyan...g-gods?"

"Saiyan potential is limitless," said Vegeta. "We can access the power of god Ki with enough training and battle experience, or in Kakarot's case...through some farcical ritual. As far as I can tell, only pure-blooded saiyans have this power, but there's no way to be certain if our half-blooded children can or cannot attain this same level."

"Yeah...and compared to us, your power is paltry," said Goku.

"Oh, right...you can sense energy," Arame noted. She sprang up suddenly, her tail twitching. "Show me! I wanna get stronger! I want this power for myself! It might help me fight Chronos!"

Goku and Vegeta watched her for a second. "Well, now it's your turn then. Why don't we start by having you tell us where you've been all this time, and who exactly this Chronos guy is?"

Arame grimaced. "He's a Time Keeper. From what I was told, they were once a force of warriors tasked with policing the timelines, making sure nothing was out of sync, seen as how time travel was strictly forbidden. Their power is greater than that of even the gods, and it was that way so that even if a deity tried to meddle with time, the Time Keepers would punish them with destruction." She paused. "But they were all different beings, each with his or her own idea of how the timeline should be kept whole. They had a war amongst themselves, and in the end only Chronos was left. He had been sealed away by his fellow Time Keepers for some reason, but he returned to this universe some three years from now."

Vegeta and Goku were listening intently. Arame was trying to recall all of this from memory. Or at least, she thought she was. She wasn't entirely sure.

"When he returned, he found the timelines distorted...and the distortions all rippled outward from a single planet. Earth, I think. So he traveled through the ages, in search of a warrior of some kind. Or some relic maybe...I don't know. Along the way, he found me.

"My mother had a bad intuition when Frieza summoned every Saiyan back to planet Vegeta. She was never a warrior...only manual labor because her power was so weak. She snuck me into a pod...I was about six years old at the time. She sent me off with coordinates to a habitable planet...but along the way I was captured by Chronos.

"He kept me prisoner on his ship, in a little spherical cell, torturing me with musical tones that wired my brain, waves of radiation, trying to unlock some hidden power within me or something like that. I forget the details there. Those waves messed with my head and made me angrier than I'd ever been in my life.

"It went on for years, I think...but I was probably jumping through timelines on his ship as he did his searching. It only stopped earlier...today? I broke out of his grasp and found my way to a ship...and I ended up here. Those waves took a lot out of me though. I thought your Namekian friend might have been one of his agents, but I had no energy left to fight." She flared her Ki. "But now I do! I'm going to find Chronos and tear his head off for what he did to me!"

"Settle down!" yelled Vegeta. "Getting enraged now won't solve any problems. You need to focus that anger."

Arame closed her eyes and focused her mind. "Alright..." She opened her eyes. "I get the feeling that Chronos won't sit still for too long though."

"We need more information about this Time Keeper," Piccolo said. "And if he has power over even gods, then-"

"Hey!" Goku cried cheerfully. "Today is Trunks's birthday, right Vegeta? I'm pretty sure Bulma invited Lord Beerus and Whis to eat. We can go ask them!"

Vegeta smirked. "So, you can come up with good ideas from time to time. We should do this carefully though, considering Lord Beerus's temperament."

"Right," Goku replied.

Arame raised an eyebrow. "Uh...Lord Beerus?"

"We'll fill you in later," said Vegeta.

"See you later," Goku told her. He touched Vegeta's shoulder, put his two fingers to his head, and vanished.

Arame started. "The heck...?"

"Instant transmission," said Piccolo. "It's one of Goku's most useful skills. If he gets a lock on a location in his mind, he can travel there at the speed of light."

"Wow," Arame sighed. "So, who is Lord Beerus...um...Piccolo?"

Piccolo inclined his head. "Lord Beerus is this universe's God of Destruction, opposite the Supreme Kai. He's one of the most powerful beings in our universe."

Arame blinked. "I'm just going to accept this stuff at this point. It's a lot to wrap my head around."

"We've had years to get used to this," said Piccolo. "You're trying to take all of that in in just a few minutes. It can be mind boggling, to say the least."

Dende stepped up next to her and handed her something small. "Here. I had Master Korin bring a senzu bean up here. Eat it."

Arame stared at the small green pod for a second, then popped it in her mouth and swallowed it. Immediately, she perked up, her energy restored. "Wow! That's incredible."

"You should be back at one hundred percent now," said Dende.

Piccolo started in shock. "Agh! That power! There are multiple unfamiliar power sources on Earth now...and they're all heading for Capsule Corporation!"

Dende looked out at the horizon, also shocked. "I sense them too. They're incredible."

"Goku and the others might get surprised," said Piccolo. "It's like these power levels are fluctuating...I can't tell just how strong they are. This can't be good."

Arame gritted her teeth. "It must be Chronos. He's sent his soldiers down to Earth...probably looking for the strongest power levels...or me."

Dende closed his eyes. He opened them in horror a second later. "Guys, something bad is happening at Capsule Corporation! Everyone's...frozen!"

Piccolo growled. He turned to Arame. "There's a lot of power out there, and I need help. You remember how to fight right?"

Arame raised her fist and smirked. "My dad showed me a few tricks once or twice. I can hold my own."

"Good answer," he told her. "Follow me." He took off in flight. Arame did the same thing. Their destination: Capsule Corporation. But time wasn't running out. It had completely stopped for everyone there.

Two: Who is the Time Keeper?

Bulma and the others could only watch as the soldiers floated above them. They were wearing a strange armor the likes of which she'd never seen before, and their skin was shiny for some reason. It was like they were made of metal, yet they still seemed organic.

One of them, the one in front, was carrying a strange device in his hand.

"Nullification field active," he said, his voice crisp and menacing. "You lot won't be going anywhere." He looked them over. "A smorgasbord of the strongest power levels on Earth. Even the legendary saiyan prince Vegeta and the Super saiyan Son Goku." He looked again. "And Lord Beerus!" The soldier laughed. "Oh, my master has long sought to take care of you for your impertinence!"

"I...can't...move!" Bulma managed to say. Even talking was difficult.

"Now then," said the chief soldier. "We should take this time to get a reading...the timeline fluctuations are strong here."

The soldiers began taking positions around Capsule Corporation with strange instruments in their hands, apparently analyzing the time travel signatures left behind by Trunks when he'd come from the future.

"This place is a hotbed of time activity," said one soldier.

"It's inconceivable," said another.

Suddenly, the chief soldier looked up. Something was coming.

"Men! Battle ready!"

Arame and Piccolo arrived a moment later, floating high above Capsule Corporation with the soldiers. Arame saw a lot of people frozen in their tracks below, and she could feel them watching her with curiosity.

These must be Vegeta and Kakarot's friends, she thought. Then she returned her attention to the soldiers with Piccolo.

"And just who are you?" Piccolo demanded.

"We are the loyal servants of Chronos, the Time Keeper," said the soldier in the fanciest armor. "And you are a Namekian. Why are you here on Earth?"

"Sir!" Yelled one of the soldiers. "It's her! The escaped saiyan subject!"

The chief looked at Arame. "Ah, yes...I see it now. She has those saiyan eyes...and the tail. You'll pay for defying my master."

"I'll tear your master's guts out for what he did to me!" Arame yelled.

"Such brutality," the chief said. "You simians aren't known for anything else though." He and his men took combat stances. "But if you and the Namekian think you have a chance, then go ahead."

Piccolo braced himself for a fight. Arame charged her Ki. "You're dead!" She yelled. "I'll kill you ALL!" She blasted forward with incredible speed, and her fist literally took the head off of one of the nearest soldiers.

"Dammit!" Piccolo called, "we needed a strategy!"

Three soldiers attacked Arame at once. None of their strikes got through her guard, but she sent two of them flying to the ground at Mach ten. The third she blasted a hole through.

One soldier came up behind and grabbed her tail with one hand, pulled her back, and sent his other hand into the back of her head. When he'd grabbed her tail, she felt her energy leave, which rendered her unable to fight back. But his grip slackened a bit right after he hit her head.

Arame used the momentum to roll under him, come up on the other side, and grab his arm with her left hand. She then used her right hand to completely sever his arm from his body. Then she grabbed his leg and his other arm and smiled maliciously.

With a roar, she tore those other two limbs from his body with a shower of blood. He fell to the ground far below with only one leg still attached.

Piccolo was tearing through the soldiers with abandon as well, but the chief was giving him a bit of trouble. His power was on a different level entirely.

Arame rushed him from behind, but he caught her with a kick to the gut.

"You're fighting a losing battle, saiyan," he said. "This Namekian has more power than you, and even he's having difficulty against my power. What hope do you have?"

Arame charged again, and fired a wave of her ki energy at the foe. He was forced to dodge, which made him and easy target for Piccolo, who hammered him a few times. But the soldier made a recovery rather quickly, kicking Piccolo across the head as he twirled.

When he did this, Arame saw something fall from his armor. It looked like a strange remote of some kind. She dove and grabbed it before the enemy could react to its disappearance, but as she held it up his eyes widened in shock.

"So..." he said. "The battle is decided by luck. Pity."

Arame smirked and crushed the device in her hand. Vegeta was up there first, and promptly grabbed the chief by his throat. "You know what I can't stand? Cowards who refuse to fight without the help of some battle altering devices or powers." He crushed the alien's throat, threw him in the air, and destroyed him with a massive burst of energy from his right hand. "Idiot creature."

"Nice!" Arame whooped.

Vegeta looked at her, and then returned to ground level. Piccolo did the same, motioning for Arame to follow him. Goku was the one who spoke up for her.

"Everyone," he said, "this is Arame! She's a pure blooded saiyan who just arrived on earth...but she's friendly."

There was a moment of stunned silence, and then the crowd was a buzz of activity.

Before any pleasantries could be exchanged, Arame was introduced to Lord Beerus and his attendant Whis by Goku and Vegeta. After the niceties were observed, Beerus said, "Just what have you saiyans gotten us into this time?"

Arame flushed with embarrassment.

"My Lord," said Whis, "it's hardly their fault at all. Chronos would have been drawn here regardless, saiyans or no saiyans."

Beerus scratched his head. "Well I'd imagine it would still have some connection to all the time travel Bulma had Trunks doing in the future. In any case, it's still a very serious problem. We're all at risk so long as that mechanically minded buffoon Chronos is hovering over Earth."

"What's his deal anyway?" asked Goku.

"He's a Time Keeper," said Beerus, "Their kind was tasked with keeping the timelines in order, preventing anyone from meddling with them, should anyone find a way to break the rules, as Bulma did."

"It was a matter of saving the world!" argued Bulma.

"We've already discussed this!" Beerus retorted angrily. He calmed a bit as he continued. "Now, I'm curious as to why he had this particular saiyan in his custody." He got really close to Arame. "She doesn't look all that remarkable, and her power is more on the level of Goten's than Goku or Vegeta."

"She does still have her tail, Lord Beerus," Whis noted.

"Ah, yes," Beerus remarked. "So she does."

A few of the people gathered around them gasped. "How did we miss that?" gasped Bulma.

"That's a serious problem," replied another, an individual with three eyes, whose name would later be revealed to Arame as Tien Shinhan.

"Correct assumption," said Beerus to Tien. "Someone grab a big knife and hold her down."

Arame got visibly scared. "Uh...wait! That's not-!"

"It's better than the alternative," Bulma said. "Goku, grab her!"

"Ahh!" Arame tried to run, but Lord Beerus grabbed her tail. Arame felt weak, her power instantly drained. "Maybe this will work faster for you?" His power flashed, blinding everyone there. When the light finally faded, Arame was on the ground, skin smoldering, face contorted with pain, but her tail was still there.

"Oww..." She groaned. "...is...is it over?"

"Odd," Beerus observed. "I could have sworn it was divine power I just used. Well, better try again with more power this time."

Arame snapped to attention at that, but she was still lying in the dirt. "I'm in a lot of pain after that!"

"Uh, wait, Lord Beerus?" Goku said, "maybe we should hold off on the tail removal until we better understand what's going on with her in general?"

Lord Beerus looked at him blankly. "You really want to take that risk after you, your son, and Vegeta all went on rampages in great ape form? You really are the densest person in the universe."

Goku laughed nervously. "I get that a lot, you know."

Arame stood. As she did, parts of her jumpsuit started to disintegrate, revealing a great deal of unnecessary skin. "Um...could I get some new clothes before this gets awkward?" She asked, blushing a little. "Or is that too forward?"

Piccolo fashioned Arame a gi very similar in color and design to his, sans the cape and turban. The sleeveless design suited Arame much better, and the only alteration she had to make was tearing a small slit for her tail in the back.

"Hey, everyone," Bulma then called out, "there's still a party going on, and an intrusion like this isn't going to stop us from enjoying it, got it? Why don't we keep eating and discuss this ordeal at the same time?"

"You earthlings know just how to keep things pleasant," Beerus said happily. "Why sacrifice good food just because your planet's being threatened?"

"We're used to it," Bulma replied.

Arame ended up at a table with Trunks, Goten, Bulma, Gohan, Videl, and their daughter Pan. Gohan was watching her through his glasses with scrutiny. "It's been a long time since I've seen a new Saiyan."

"Are you a Saiyan too?" Arame asked.

"I'm half-saiyan," Gohan replied. "My name is Gohan. The boy beside you is my brother, Goten. He and Trunks are both half-saiyans, and my daughter is quarter-saiyan."

Arame blinked. "And...you're all Super Saiyans?"

"Want us to show you?" Trunks asked.

"Not here you're not," Bulma warned him. "That puts out a lot of energy and you'll blow half the party away. And we do not need Lord Beerus getting upset because you decided to show off."

"So...what's the deal with the tail...um, Arame?" Goten asked her.

She looked at him. "Oh...a Saiyan's tail is our...or it was a symbol of status and power. It allows us to transform under lunar radiation."

"Like a Super saiyan level?"

"No, Goten," said Gohan. "Saiyans with a tail who gaze at the moon are turned into great apes. Their power is ten times the base of a normal saiyan."

"Wow!" Goten exclaimed. "Didn't you have one, Gohan?"

"Well, yeah, but Vegeta cut it off," said Gohan. "It's been so long ago though."

Arame sighed. "Only one saiyan alive still has a tail. I guess that means mine is next to go."

"Don't worry," said Bulma. "We'll knock you out before we cut it off."

"We didn't with Vegeta," Gohan noted. "Yajirobe just took it off with his sword."

"Last time he was useful, for that matter," Bulma muttered.

Arame looked down at the food that had been placed in front of her. She'd never seen food like it before in her life. It was steamed...something called 'sashimi', and the fruits looked succulent and colorful. She took a piece of the fish and popped it in her mouth. The explosion of flavor had her taste buds practically dancing.

"Mmmm!" She moaned in pleasure. "It's like a rainbow of spices in my mouth!" She scarfed everything down as fast as she could shove it in her gullet.

Bulma plopped her head in her right hand and said, with a lazy 'really?' expression stamped on her face, "Oh boy...another Goku."

Arame stopped eating for a moment and asked, "Hey, where'd Lord Vegeta go?"

"'Lord'?" Bulma retorted. "The only thing he's 'lord' of is never being around. Like right now!"

Arame blinked. "Back on Planet Vegeta, he and his father, the king, were known for ruthlessness and their unyielding ferocity. I got kinda nervous when I saw him here."

"You're not a normal saiyan, huh?" Gohan said. "Most that we've met, like Raditz and Nappa, were brutal and battle hungry...loved killing people. I don't get that from you, though."

"My father was like that," Arame replied. "So was my brother. They were both on planet when Vegeta was destroyed. My mother was a bit different. She had a very low power level, so her status wasn't great. We were ridiculed a lot, and the other saiyan kids had a habit of picking fights with me. I got tougher than mom did...even got to the point where I could match my brother, but mom never wanted me to be a fighter." She exhaled. "In the time she spent sneaking me into a pod, she could have tried to find my dad, or my brother, and help them out.

"The last thing she said to me was 'you have more warrior spirit than any saiyan on this rock, because you know when to fight, not just how to fight.'" Arame grimaced. "I spent all that time stuck in a time loop with that Chronos bastard after that. I do know when to fight, and that's now!"

"Well, we can't do anything yet," Bulma told her. "We have to take this one step at a time. First thing we need to do is figure out why your tail can't come off."

"I can't take time for that!" Arame retorted. "I need to train my body and my mind more! I need to find out how to be a better warrior so I can take down Chronos! The timelines depend on it!"

"Well said," said the voice of Prince Vegeta, who had just arrived from across the lawn. "I just had a chat with Whis and Lord Beerus. They're convinced that Arame is connected to the Time Keeper somehow, and they want all of us to train her." He looked at her sharply. "We pulled lots to see who would get first dibs." Then he looked at Gohan. "Congratulations, son of Kakarot. You're her first teacher. You get three days. Then it'll be Kakarot's turn. After his three days..." He looked back at Arame, "you're mine."

Gohan started. "I'm...first?"

Arame pumped her fists at her side, as if she were building energy. "I'm ready, Gohan! Give me everything you've got!"

Videl looked at Gohan, amused. "Looks like you've got your work cut out for you. the half-saiyan trains the pure saiyan."

Gohan swallowed. "Oh man..."

-End of Part One-