Chapter One:

Hidden Enemies and Allies

"Who's there?" I called out. I wasn't afraid. I knew that there were people watching me in this dark forest, and I was trying to taunt them and force them to come out.

The forest was suddenly silent, and then a loud snap echoed around the forest. Someone had broken a branch or stepped on a twig. Most likely, it was the latter.

"Thanks for blowing our cover, Krillin," a voice hissed from my left.

"It's not my fault!" the one called Krillin hissed back. From the tree I leaned on, I smiled. Their cover is blown, and they know it.

I chuckled at their misfortune and yelled, "Your cover's blown, so come out! I know you're in there! There's no use in hiding!"

Branches parted over to my left, and six, no seven figures appeared. They varied in size, but I could tell they're powerful. All of them had power levels over 39000, and a few have levels over 62000. Man, they're powerful. But I can't trust just that alone. They most likely can raise and lower their power levels at will.

"What are you?" one of the tall ones asked. The moon glinted off his skin in an odd way. I looked straight into his charcoal eyes, and it hit me that he was a Namekian. What would a Namekian be doing here on Earth?

"Usually, you greet someone by asking, 'who are you,' or 'what's your name.'" My voice was light and it seemed as if I was going to break out in laughter at any moment. I hated my accent at times like these; I could make even the worst announcements sound like a joke.

The Namekian took a step a closer. "We don't care about being polite. Tell me: what are you?"

"Piccolo," another voice snapped. "Calm it down, okay?"

That's the mighty Piccolo? I thought. "First off, I'm not an Android."

Piccolo snorted in disbelief and crossed his muscular arms across his chest. "Yeah, right."

I smiled a cool, deadly smile. "Don't believe me? I'll show you, then." I fished a small silver dagger out of my jeans pocket. I made sure that it caught the light of the moon and then I brought it down on my upturned palm. I dragged it though the soft skin of my palm, bright red blood appearing out of the wound on my hand. I pulled the dagger away from my bleeding palm and showed them it. A few scarlet drops splattered onto the leaf-covered ground.

"See, I'm not an Android. Androids don't bleed." I enunciate each word with controlled malice.

Someone in the crowd shifted. I caught a glimpse of silver hair and bright blue eyes. Is that . . . No, it can't be . . . His face looked familiar. I swore I've seen him once on a grainy surveillance video from one of my father's many ships.

I suddenly noticed the dead silence. No one has moved an inch. I decided to use this silence to my advantage. "So, why did you follow me out here in the woods?" I asked, spreading my hands out in a questioning gesture.

"We felt a huge power source coming from the woods, so we decided to investigate," one of them explained. It sounded like the one they called Krillin.

I chuckled. "So you decided to just waltz into the woods and find whatever power source you felt earlier?" Were they that dumb?

One of the smaller figures shrugged. "Pretty much."

"That's quite ignorant of you. What if it had just been an animal or a lost hiker? Wouldn't you feel stupid?"

A different voice answered this time. "The energy felt . . . familiar." This voice was quiet, much like a patient mentor.

Familiar energy? That was interesting. "Tell me, whose energy did it feel like?"

They were silent for a moment, and then someone replied, "Frieza."

The corners of my mouth turned up into a small smile. "Ah, Frieza. He was so hot-headed and rash . . ." My sentence drifted off.

"I have a question. Why was your energy like Frieza's?" This voice was younger than the rest.

"Good question. The reason is because Frieza and I are of the same blood."

Almost everyone gasped. "S-so you're related to F-Frieza?" Krillin spluttered.

I nodded once. "Yes, Frieza and I are related." Jeez, why do earthlings have to be so stupid?

The next question changed the subject. "Why are you here in the middle of the woods?" It was the same person that told Piccolo to lay off.

"My ship ran out of fuel, and I landed here, knowing that there'd be fuel somewhere nearby," I replied.

"How do you know there's fuel on Earth?" The voice had a rich quality to it that no earthling could ever dream of achieving. It suddenly clicked in my head. He's Saiyan!

"I've been here a few times."

I didn't think the Saiyan was buying it. "Uh huh . . ." But who could that Saiyan be? Nappa? Raditz? Vegeta? No, no it couldn't be Nappa or Raditz; they were both long dead. He sounded like Raditz, but the voice wasn't as raspy as Raditz's. Or . . . could it be that Saiyan that slipped under Frieza's radar all those years ago? Could it be Raditz's younger brother, Kakarot?

This time, I took the opportunity to change the subject. "I've told you a bit about me, so why don't you tell about yourselves?"

They started rambling off names: Piccolo, Krillin, Tien, Gohan, Trunks, and Goku. I counted the numbers in my head. Six names, seven figures. That's not right. "I know there are seven of you. Who's hiding?"

The last voice had the deep, rich tone of a Saiyan. "Vegeta." Vegeta?! Why was he here? The other names clicked in my head. Goku, Krillin, Gohan, it all made sense now.

I smiled. "It is a great honor to be in the presence of the mighty Prince Vegeta." My tone became mocking. "And, my, I've heard a lot about you, Goku."

"Like what?" he asked.

"That you are the Super Saiyan of legend—pure of heart and awakened by rage."

"Well . . . I don't know about that. Other Saiyans have achieved Super Saiyan form as well."

My eyes widened in mock surprise. Of course I knew that Goku wasn't the only Saiyan to reach Super Saiyan form. Gossip traveled quite fast in the universe. "Oh, really? I know that achieving Super Saiyan form is rare, and when the Saiyans were many, less than one percent of the Saiyans in the whole universe had achieved it. The last time I checked, the most Saiyans in our universe at one time was about five million, so there were about . . . hmmmm . . . three Super Saiyans, I believe."

"Wow, I never knew that Super Saiyans were that rare," Trunks whispered.

I smiled and brushed a strand of sapphire-blue hair out of my face. "It's true."

"What's your name?" Tien asked. He sounded curious.

"For your information, my name is Mari." One of them—Vegeta, I believe—stiffened. Of course he would know my name.

We lapsed into silence once again. If they would attack, now would be the best time to strike. I registered that the dagger was still in my hand, my blood dry on its tip. It seemed to pulse, saying: oh, by the way, I'm still here, and I'm really sharp.

Suddenly, they attacked. Four of the figures flipped into Super Saiyan form. Their hair turned gold, their pupils disappeared, and the irises turned turquoise. A golden halo of semi-transparent flames surrounded each Saiyan. The others moved away, knowing that a Saiyan can be almost impossible to control in Super Saiyan form.

"So, that's how you want to play?" I taunted. The first one to come at me is Tien. He aimed a few punches to my face, but I dodged them by ducking my head and moving to the side. He then tried to knee me in the gut, but I dodged that too. A few punches and kicks later, he wasn't even scratching me. My left hand rose above my head, and a mass of energy formed around my fingertips, creating a sharp point over each finger. After a moment's hesitation, my hand came down hard on Tien's face. It dug through his flesh, and his eyes, even the third one on his forehead, widened. I pulled my hand away and Tien stumbled back, his hand covering the bleeding wound. He was done fighting.

I smiled smugly. "Who's next?"

The Namekian, Piccolo, ran towards me, a snarl on his face. He rapidly tried to punch my face, but to no avail. This continued for a minute or two, and then he shot a ball of snow-white energy from his palm. I blocked it by planting my feet, crouching down, and crossing my arms over my head and chest in an X pattern. The blast hit me full on, but I managed to keep my position. After the dust settled, I stood up straight and laughed.

"Is that the best you got?" I asked.

"Barely," he growled. He attacked again. And again. And again. I kept dodging and blocking all of his attacks. I waited for the right moment, and then, BAM! I punched Piccolo in the gut, and he crumpled instantly. He was unconscious, and won't be waking up for a while.

"Piccolo, no!" Gohan cried. He and Krillin were the next ones to face me. It's two on one, but I could handle them, even if Gohan was a level above Super Saiyan and brought Cell down to his knees. They came at me in sync, alternating between hand-to-hand combat and energy blasts. They put up a pretty good fight, but they were no match for me. This fight ended quicker than the others, ending in me kicking Gohan in the jaw, and punching Krillin in the chest. Both flew backwards and Krillin just happened to come in contact with a tree.

"Four down, three to go," I taunted. "Who's gonna face me next?"

Trunks took a step forward, eager to take me on. But, hey, he's a Super Saiyan. Super Saiyans love battle. It's the air they breathe. He came at me with a punch to the face. I dodged it and remembered that I had pocketed my dagger as soon as the battle began.

"Where's your sword?" I asked. "It took down Frieza, didn't it?"

"Yeah, it did," he replied, "but it broke after the first battle with Android 17." We circled each other, waiting for the other to make a move.

"Oh . . . that's interesting. Saiyan metal is supposed to repair itself when in contact with air." Slowly but surely, I grabbed my dagger.

His eyes widened and he stopped and stared at me. "Really?"

I nodded. "Really." And then I attacked. I advanced on Trunks and pushed the dagger deep into his shoulder. It wouldn't kill him, but it would hurt a lot, maybe crack a bone or two, and leave a very ugly scar.

Trunks looked up at me with wide blue eyes. I kept my face cold. He was one of the last of his kind . . . but he killed Frieza. I knew it in that moment. He was the one that cut Frieza into tiny little pieces and then decided to blow him up. In my mind, that's just not forgivable.

"Be thankful I didn't do anything worse that stabbing you with that dagger," I spat, and then looked up at Vegeta and Goku. "Who's my next victim?"

Vegeta sauntered forward. "Just like old times?" he taunted.

I leered at him. "Yup. Just like the good ol' days." Our fists met, and the forest rippled around us. We exchanged multiple punches, and Vegeta managed to punch me in the chest. The air rushed out of me, and I stumbled back, clutching my sides.

"Just because we were friends all those years ago doesn't mean I'll go easy on you," he said.

I stood up straight and blasted Vegeta in the chest. I made sure that it was a harmful but not deadly blow. Vegeta's armor cracked and he crumpled to the ground. The Super Saiyan essence bled out of him, and his hair turned back into the regular black.

"You're next," I spat at Goku. "You make the first move. Or, as Frieza liked to put it, 'the ball is in your court.'"

Goku didn't say anything. Instead, he came at me, a feral snarl on his face. I dodged most of his punches, but he did manage to hit me hard a few times.

"What's your special move?" I taunted. "Are you going to create a Sprit Bomb?"

Goku shook his head. "Not even close." He crouched down, connected the heels of his palms together, pushed them behind him, and started saying, "Ka . . . Me . . . Ha . . . Me . . . HA!"

A golden beam of energy shot towards me. I crouched down and put my hands in front of me, making a shield with my hands. When the energy finally hit me, I planted my feet and made sure there were no cracks between my fingers. The energy beam split off into two, one on my right and one on my left. The two energy beams massacred trees, and set them on fire.

Goku looked very shocked. "Wha—what was that?"

I shrugged. "I diverged your Kamehameha."

Now, the look in Goku's eyes was dead serious. Menacing even. With the fiery background, he looked deadly. I knew now what Frieza must've felt as he watched the Super Saiyan on dying Namek. Pure horror . . . and awe.

"I let Frieza go, but I'm not letting you get away," Goku said, taking a step closer.

I took a step back. "You shouldn't judge people just by who they are related to. Your friends could have abandoned you when they found out you were Saiyan, but they didn't. You can trust—"

"I don't care. You are related to Frieza, and you have to be taken care of." I shrunk down. He was serious. Dead serious.

"Please! I'm a good person, really. So what if I'm related to Frieza?!" My voice rose to a pleading cry. I was scared out of my wits. The 'Saiyan who showed mercy' wasn't planning to show mercy to me. Not even close.

He took a step closer, and one of his hands grasped my neck. He squeezed hard, and all of the air in my lungs rushed out. I was unable to take a breath in, and it made me panic even more.

"Please, I'm begging you!" I whimpered. Hot tears streamed down my face.

Goku smiled, but it isn't friendly. "Frieza said the exact same thing, and I gave him some of my surplus energy, and what did he do? He tried to blast me. Well, I'm not going to give you anything."

"Stop! Please!" The world around me blurred, and I knew I was losing consciousness. I needed to stay awake. My life depended on it. In a blood rage, the Saiyan could easily kill me if I was unconscious.

"Don't you have some little trick that could get you out of there?" Goku taunted. "Can you do Instant Transmission like me?"

I wanted to make a snide comment, but I had little air left. My eyes started to roll up inside my head and the tip of my tail started to thrash uncontrollably.

"Danas irs Segu tana shuta nith." May Segu guide my spirit safely to the shadows. It was a prayer to the warrior-goddess Segu. I prayed she heard me before it was too late.

I blacked out, but a second before, a voice growled, "Kackarot, drop her."

For some odd reason, I dreamt of my father.

My mother is preparing shatik, a stew-like dish usually made when a member of the family comes home from war. But who could have come home? Could it be one of my sisters' mates, a cousin, an uncle, or a brother?

"Who came home today?" I ask in my native tongue.

Mother smiles widely. "Your father."

I blink a few times. "What?"

"I said, you father is home from war."

This doesn't make sense. My father has been dead for over eight years now. "But how?" I am seriously confused.

"It doesn't matter how. The thing is that I'm home," a voice says for the doorway. I look back and see my father leaning against the doorway, a few new medals pinned against his armor. He is in his "normal" form, with no horns. I'm surprised he's in his normal form, because he is usually in his "warrior" form.

I step forward and hug him hard. "It's good to see you home, Father."

He pats me on the back. "It's good to see you too, rantiz," he says, using the native word for beloved one.

I step back and wipe at my face. Hot tears of joy and relief stream down my face in tiny rivers. "It's just great to have you home, Dad."

Mother makes motions with a spoon for us to sit down at the table. We sit down, and the smell of the shatik is absolutely amazing. "Well, start eating. I didn't make this so we can just stare at it." My mother glances at my father with a critical eye. "They haven't been feeding you enough, have they?" I notice how his armor hangs off his emaciated body like the shell of some giant insect.

"Dvugna, it's fine. They feed us enough."

I smile. "So, how has it been on the warfront?"

"Pretty good. We secured another five planets."

"Five?! Which ones?"

"Well, it was quite the adventure . . ."

My dream started to blur at the edges, and soon enough, I was awake. The first thing that came to my mind was: where am I?

I opened my eyes wide. The first thing I noticed was the bright sunlight streaming down through a window to my left. There was a desk to my right, a dresser next to it, a bookcase next to the window, and the door was right in front of me.

I shifted, and noticed that I was under covers. I sat up, and my aching muscles screamed in protest. How long was I out? I thought. It must've been more than three hours, because I usually wake up sore and achy when I oversleep. And for you uneducated earthlings, my kind only has to sleep for a few hours. It's a defense mechanism, I think.

I stood up and stretched. Yup, I've been asleep for too long. From what I could tell, it was about noon. I really was asleep for too long.

Suddenly, a noise made me tense. I listened for it again, and soon enough, it happened again. I paused, and then thought, oh, duh, it's someone laughing. See, that's why I didn't like sleeping more than I had to. My brain tended to work five times slower, and I was taught to be on alert at all times, even if I'm at a place I know.

But this, this wasn't a place I knew. I heard the laughing yet again and crept towards the door. I put my ear to it, and with my heightened sense of sound, I picked up on a conversation.

"Yeah, it was so crazy. Mari is an amazing fighter. I didn't even scratch her." It was Tien's voice.

The other voice laughed. "Well, I can she scratched you."

Tien and the other person laughed. "Yeah, I know. Dende healed the wound, but the scar is permanent."

Who's Dende? The name didn't seem familiar, but it sounded Namekian. "Buddy, you're more scarred than me now. Congratulations." The second voice was dripping in joking sarcasm.

"Thanks, Yamcha."

Tien and Yamcha laughed again. I got the feeling that they've been friends for many years. "But don't you think it's kinda odd that Goku comes back alive and then all of a sudden Mari shows up in the middle of the woods? I don't think it's a coincidence."

I imagined Yamcha shrugging. "Who knows?"

A third voice entered the conversation. "Boys, what are you doing now?" The voice was female, and it comforted me a bit. It felt good that I wasn't the only girl here. Because when you're surrounded by males twenty-four/seven, it gets very annoying very quickly.

"Oh, ah, just talking," Yamcha replied quickly. I caught something under his tone. Had they been lovers in the past?

The woman wasn't buying it at all. "Uh huh, yeah . . ."

"I still can't believe that Vegeta had to stop Goku from killing Mari. It's usually the other way around. Goku usually has to tell Vegeta to stop." Oh, so Vegeta saved me? I wasn't going to let him live that down, not in a million years.

"Yeah," Yamcha said.

"And when we brought Mari here, Vegeta was acting really strange."

"What do you mean by 'acting strange'?" the woman asked.

"Well . . ." Tien paused. "He was being quiet—"

Yamcha snorted. "He's always quiet."

"And he kept glancing at Mari as if he'd seen her before, and would randomly smile and laugh at nothing."

"Wait, didn't you say that when Mari and Vegeta were fighting, they mentioned stuff about the past?" Yamcha asked.

"Yeah. I think that they were friends in the past."

"Well, that wouldn't surprise me. Vegeta was once part of Frieza's army, remember?"

"True, true. But the creepier thing that Mari looks like Frieza. She said she was related to him, too. I don't know if we can trust her. Cruelty could run in the family." From behind the door, I tensed even more, and my hands balled up into fists. Of course they made assumptions. Pretty much everyone does.

"Okay, okay, let's stop picking on Mari and Vegeta," the woman interrupted, cutting their conversation short. I imagined the woman glancing towards where I was. "Mari looks like she's been through a lot. She seems young, but her eyes show a very different story. They show years and years of pain and trial and hurt. And remember, Vegeta's been through a lot, too. I don't think it was fun when he found out the man he was serving under had destroyed his planet and wiped out his kind."

Yamcha snorted again. "I don't count Frieza as a man. More like a blood-thirsty monster."

From farther away, a door opened and closed. I heard a few footsteps and the soft whoosh of the wind. "Hey, guys!" Yamcha called out.

"Hey, Yamcha," a voice said. I thought back to the confrontation in the woods, and realized it was the small one with no nose and the marks on his forehead—Krillin.

"So, how's the thing?" someone asked. It was Goku. He said 'thing' like I was some science experiment gone horribly wrong. Jeez, I'm not that bad.

"She's recovering," the woman replied. "Has anyone seen Vegeta?"

"Nope," Krillin replied. "He flew off after we dropped Mari off, and we haven't seen him since."

"Oh . . ." the woman murmured, her sentence fading away. For some reason, she seemed really concerned about Vegeta. Why was that?

Then it hit me. A rumor had spread many, many years ago that Vegeta had a son with a human woman. No one really knew for sure if it was true or not. But in that moment, I know it was true. But who? Who is Vegeta's son?

Oh, duh.

It's Trunks.

I had noticed that Vegeta and Trunks had looked somewhat familiar, but I hadn't put two and two together, mainly because I was preoccupied (a.k.a fighting).

"Hey, don't you think someone should check on Mari?" Gohan suggested. Add in some food, a flat screen TV, football, and we'd have a tailgate. Isn't that great?

Everyone paused. After a few moments silence, the woman said, "I'll do it."

I heard footsteps heading towards my room. I moved away from the door and walked towards the bed. I sat on the edge, making sure that I could get out in a hurry. Like my old mentor said: "If you're in an unknown place, find the nearest exit, wait, and if nothing happens in five minutes, get the hell out of there."

A small woman with light blue hair poked her head through the door. I stared at her and after a moment, I realized that her hair grew out of her scalp in that shade. "Ah, hi, Mari," she said.

I nodded. "Hi."

The woman shifted nervously. "Just to tell you, we have food in the kitchen."

I suddenly noticed that I was super hungry, and I smiled. "That sounds really good." My smile was genuine.

The woman walked out, and I followed her. "Oh, by the way, my name is Bulma," she added after a moment.

I smiled. "It's nice to meet you." We kept walking down a long hallway painted a pale green. It reminded me of one of my friends back home, and a stab of pain hit my heart.

"I just hope they're not too hostile to you," Bulma said, and I wasn't sure if she was talking to herself or me.

"Trust me, I think I can handle them. I've dealt with angry Saiyans before." I bit my lip to hold back a chuckle. Saiyans had very short fuses, and it obviously showed.

"I just don't get it," Bulma said as we turned a corner.

"Don't get what?"

She sighed. "I've never seen Goku so angry. He was so mad he was shaking. I didn't know what to do, and I felt really scared."

I smiled and put a comforting hand on Bulma's shoulder. "I was scared too. A Super Saiyan in a blood rage is not a laughing matter."

Bulma frowned, confused. "Blood rage? What's that?"

"Well . . ." I bit my lip. "There are two kinds. The first is when you find out someone close to you has died, and you're so upset that you go into a sort of blind rage where instinct overpowers common sense. This is usually the kind that creates Super Saiyans."

"And what's the other one?"

"The second is the one that Goku experienced. Usually, it happens when someone you meet is related or knows a person that you know who is cruel and ruthless. I'm related to Frieza, so Goku just assumed that I was like him." I stuffed my hands in the pocket of my jeans, and I was glad that I was still wearing them. They were a bit burned and singed in places, but it wasn't that bad. I was still wearing the black v-neck tank top I had been wearing when I landed, and it was singed as well but it covered what needed to be covered.

We then entered the kitchen. It was very big, and I noticed that everyone was staring at me. I recognized everyone from the woods, but one person that I didn't. He was tall, lean, and had spiky black hair. A few scars ran down his face, including one that crossed right through his left eye.

Hey, that's just like Uncle Cooler's scar, I thought with a chuckle.

Everyone stared at me as if I was supposed to a trick or something. Yup, that's me. Freak show Mari.

Bulma was the one to break the silence. "Come on, guys. Mari has just been through a lot." She held up a bag, and handed me something wrapped in paper. I opened it, and found out it was a chicken sandwich. I took a hesitant bite of it. It tasted really over-processed, but food is food. It wasn't my mother's shatik, but it was good enough to actually stay in my stomach.

"Hey, we're really sorry about what happened—" Krillin suddenly blurted out.

I held up a hand to stop him. "No, no, it's fine."

Krillin tried again to apologize. "No, I'm serious—"

I cut him off rudely. "If this is one of those I-really-shouldn't-punch-a-girl things, just don't say anything." It was supposed to be a joke, but I could tell he took it to heart. I suddenly felt really embarrassed and ashamed. I probably looked like a really mean person to them now. If only Vegeta were here, he'd understand . . .

"Hey, where's Vegeta?" I asked, playing dumb.

Tien shrugged. "We haven't seen him since we dropped you off here."

That sucked. But . . . maybe if I got my laptop from my ship, I could log onto the army's database, find Vegeta and maybe convince him to come here. But there was only one problem: I needed to get to my ship.

"Hey, I, ah, need to get some things from my ship, so can I go get them?" I asked. I wasn't really sure who I was talking to.

Pretty much everyone shrugged and murmured "sure," except for Goku. He just stared at me with a look of pure hatred and loathing. If Vegeta were here, I'd remind him of the 'Saiyan death stare.' And that's what Goku was doing to me. I have to admit, Saiyans can do really good death stares.

I started to move towards the door. No one tried to stop me, so I pelted out the door like I had seen a ghost. The others followed me out and watched in amazement as I took off into the air. After a few moments, I turned invisible. From the ground, the others were very confused. I had just vanished into thin air without warning.

I laughed. "Idiots."

I veered towards the woods, and headed towards my ship. After a minute or two, I finally found it and landed in the clearing. I opened the door and headed in. It's was medium-sized ship, not too big and not too small. It was an A661 Delta Speeder. Oh, right, I forgot you earthlings don't really know about different types of galactic ships. Let's just say it was about the size of a large tank. Is that better now? Do you humans with puny brains understand?

"What should I bring?" I muttered to myself. I tended to do that a lot when I'm alone. I decided on bringing clothes, my drawing pad and pencils, my laptop, my iPod, my camera, a few home-grown zhungensi fruits and a bottle of izumika (for when times get tough), and a few other things. I also took the time to put some new clothes on and fix my hair. I put on a new pair of jeans and an Evanescence concert t-shirt that had been slightly ripped when the Ginyu Force and I ran into a bear while we were doing reconnaissance here on Earth. Just don't ask; it's a very long story, and I don't want to bore you with the details.

My hair was another problem altogether. I hadn't really been paying attention to it lately, and it showed. It was all ratty and disgusting and had bits of things in it. Gross. I just brushed it out and put it into a loose braid. If I had time, I would do something more elaborate, but time was of the essence.

I sealed up the ship and headed back towards Bulma's house. I decided to not turn invisible but instead I flew very high in the sky so that the humans won't notice me. When I got to Bulma's house, I dropped down on the front lawn. I stuck the landing, and I was surprised because I tended to fall when I land.

The door was closed, so I hesitantly knocked on the door. The bag at my side suddenly became twenty pounds heavier and it seemed to say: I carry most of what you hold dear, and you want to show it to them?!

I knocked again, this time louder. Krillin opened the door. "Hey, Mari," he said in greeting.

"Hi," I said. He led me into the main area where mostly everyone was sitting down and relaxing.

"Hey guys, Mari's back," Krillin announced. Everyone looked straight at me, even Goku. He was pacing irritably in the background. I had the feeling he'd been ranting about me while I was gone.

I sat down and pulled out my laptop. I turned it on and waited for it to warm up. The stupid thing was always being a pain and as slow as a sloth. I was due for another one, but it refused to die.

"Wait, is that a SkyBook?" Bulma asked.

I nodded. "Yup."

"Wow," she murmured. "Those things are rare. There's only ten in existence."

I smiled. "Yes, there is on Earth. But the SkyBook is all the rage in the universe." The laptop was finally on, and I clicked on the 'Army Database' icon. After a few seconds, the login screen popped up and I typed in the encrypted password. The system said my password was valid, and the lists started to appear. I started scrolling down them, looking for any active ones. Everyone stared at me expectantly.

"Okay, I should probably give you a brief history before I show you this," I explained. "About twenty or so years ago, Lord Frieza decided that he needed to keep track of his massive army. At that time, it numbered in the hundreds of thousands. So Frieza decided that the best plan of action was to microchip everybody enlisted in his army."

"Microchip?!" Yamcha exclaimed.

"Yes, I said microchip. Although it's not common on Earth, it's found all the time in the rest of the universe. It's a really big place, and it's hard to keep track of a lot of people in a lot of places. Anyways, Frieza had microchipped everybody, even the Saiyans."

Krillin glanced at Goku, who was still pacing. "Do you think that Goku has one?"

I shrugged. "He could, but it wouldn't be activated." I kept scrolling down, looking for number 9325—Vegeta's code number.

I decided to show the others the lists. "As you can see, most of the names are red."

"What does that mean?" Gohan asked.

"It means that those people are dead."

"That's a lot of people," Bulma murmured.

I turned the laptop back towards me. "Well, most of these people died during battle, and remember, this list was posted twenty years ago. It hasn't been updated since the army disbanded, so it would make sense if it wasn't up to date." I finally found 9325, and clicked on it. Vegeta's info page popped up. The info page pretty much told everything about him, mainly because there was a wire that extended from the microchip to the brain.

"Okay, I found Vegeta's page," I announced.

"Well . . ." Piccolo said, "where is he?" The Namekian had been all but silent until now.

From what I could see from the live video feed, he was flying over a lake of some sort. "I'm not actually sure, but . . . I think can get him over here."

"How?" Goku asked. He kept pacing with quick rhythmic strides. When a Saiyan is very, very mad, they tend to act more ape-like, and that's what Goku was doing now. It's sort of a precursor to the Great Ape form, but Goku's tail is missing, so that's impossible. But still, it was menacing.

I scrolled down the info page, and stopped when I saw a large red button on the screen. It had the word "TALK" on it in white. It was Frieza's way of being funny.

"Let me show you," I said, and clicked on the button. "Hey, Vegeta!" I cried into the laptop's mic. "It's me, Mari!"

The video feed showed me that he'd lost a bit of altitude and almost fell into the lake.

Mari? Is that you? The question wasn't said out loud, but it appeared in the thought box right below the video feed.

I smiled as I pushed the button again. "The one, the only."

Vegeta chuckled. It's good to talk to you again. Hey, how are you communicating with me?

"The database," I replied.

Oh, I hate that thing. So, why did you contact me?

I glanced up at the others who were staring at me intently. "We need to ask you a few questions."

Do mean "we" as in "they"? He was talking about the others.

"Yeah."

Vegeta was somewhat reluctant to come. Seriously, I have no idea where I am. I could be halfway across the world by now.

"You're flying over Eagle Lake," I said curtly.

I am?

"Yes, you are."

Do I have to come? Now he's just making excuses.

"Vegeta, I'm serious. It's either you come over here or I'll show them some of the Jackass videos we created." The threat was actually a joke, but I would show them if it came to that.

You wouldn't dare!

"I would."

Vegeta gave in. Fine, fine. I'll be there as soon as possible.

"Thanks, monkey."

You're welcome, lizard. It was an old joke, but it felt good that Vegeta and I hadn't become distant.

"So, ah, what are you?" Krillin asked. It had been silent for a while.

"I'm Atakian," I replied.

"So . . . was Frieza Atakian as well?" Yamcha questioned.

I nodded. Can't they put two and two together? "Yes. He was Atakian. King Cold was Atakian too."

"Are all Atakians cold-blooded murderers and liars?" What was Goku's problem? What did he have against me and my people?

"To answer your question, not all of us are as cruel as Frieza. We can be very kind if shown kindness." I locked eyes with Goku, and he stared back. It will take a very long time to break his shell.

"How old are you?" Trunks asked.

Damn, they had a lot of questions. "Are you guys interrogating me or something?" No one got the joke, and I stopped laughing. "Oh, and for your information, I'm fifteen." It's the truth. I am fifteen, but not in Earth years. One Atakian year is about . . . 3,350 Earth days, and if you do the math, it comes out to 6.4 Earth years. That's a long year, huh? And if you do a little bit more, you'll find out that I was born in 1874. Crazy, isn't it?

"Wait, what?!" Bulma exclaimed.

"Yeah, I'm fifteen. I'm not kidding."

Suddenly, the door opened, and in it stood my best friend.

"Hey, Vegeta," I said.

I walked over to the door, and embraced him in a hug. "It's good to see you," he said.

I let go of him and smiled. "It's been way too long." I motioned to sit on the couch. "We have a lot of catching up to do."

After we're all comfortable, the interrogation continued.

"So, how do you two know each other?" Bulma asked.

"We went to the Academy together," I replied. "Those were the four craziest years of my entire life."

Vegeta laughed. "So many memories . . ."

"Wait, what exactly is the Academy?" This question was from Tien.

"It was sort of a school for Frieza's goons-in-training." That was the simplest way of saying it.

"Ah . . ." Trunks murmured.

"Did they teach you how to kill people in inhumane ways?"

Okay, this was seriously getting on my nerves. "Seriously, what's your problem, Goku? I'm not a bad person. If you'd look past that—"

He rudely cut me off. "I repeat: I don't care."

I stood up and got in his face. Cold, uncaring black eyes stared back. "Don't get me angry, Kakarot. You will pay dearly."

"First of all, my name isn't Kakarot. And second, you're going to be the one who's gonna pay."

My hands balled into fists, and my tail lashed in annoyance. I was positive that there was going to be a fight on our hands if something wasn't done soon. "I thought you were the Saiyan that defied most beliefs." I walked back towards Vegeta. I glanced back at Goku, who was radiating pure hatred. "I can see I was wrong."

I sat down, fuming. An angry Atakian was worse than an angry Namekian and even an angry Saiyan. A Namekian may have amazing battle sense and little room for error, a Saiyan may be able to transform into a giant monkey and turn gold, but an Atakian has a power greater than that—the power to change its form.

We lapsed into awkward silence.

"Okayyyyy . . . that was weird," Krillin murmured.

The silence continued. It gave me time to think. I know for sure that many years ago, Goku had been a very gentle spirit and only harmed people when necessary. What had changed? Did bringing him back change him in any way?

No, that was stupid. He was the same Goku, the one who had killed Raditz and died in the process, brought Frieza to his knees but spared him, sacrificed his life to defeat Cell, and a whole bunch of other things. I just didn't understand why he hated me so much. He should've been warm and welcoming, but it was the other way around.

Should I have brought him back with the dragon head piece? What if it had changed him, and now he really was a Saiyan, not a Saiyan who showed mercy to his enemies? What if he turned out like Vegeta?

These thoughts and many more swirled around my head, and in return, it gave me a pounding headache. I guess that the person who created the saying 'thinking so much that your brain hurt' was on to something. I suddenly noticed that the others are immersed in a spirited discussion, but I didn't feel like joining in.

"Hey, Krillin, has Android 18 contacted you yet?" Yamcha asked.

Krillin looked down in embarrassment, his cheeks bright red. "No, she hasn't. Not yet."

"It'll be fine, Krillin. She'll come around eventually." Yamcha patted him encouragingly on the shoulder.

"Yeah," Krillin muttered. He didn't seem so sure.

"So, what's happened since I died?" Goku asked. This was the first question that hadn't trained at me.

Tien shrugged. "Nothing much. It's been fairly peaceful."

"Now that you're back, we're sure to have loads of trouble coming our way," Bulma muttered, a sour look on her face.

Goku snorted. "I don't think so. I learned a lot from the masters in Otherworld."

Now this got me interested. "What masters did you train with?"

He started rambling off names. Most of them weren't familiar, but some ring a bell. "Wait, you trained with Segu?" I asked. Segu was the only Atakian ever to become a god. Or should I say goddess? I'm not sure.

The Saiyan nodded. "Uh huh. I learned a lot from her."

"Did you meet someone named Tenghzi?"

Goku cocked his head, confused. "No, I don't think so." I had a faint glimmer of hope that he was still alive. Horribly sick and on his deathbed, but alive nonetheless.

"Well, he was my master when I was younger, and I learned a lot from him."

Vegeta glanced at me. "You mean Old Man Tenghzi? I didn't know that you learned from him."

"That was a long time ago."

"So, what have you been up to lately?" Vegeta asked.

"I did a lot of things," I replied. "I went back home for a while. I also visited Namek, Nor-Yan-Kai, Regunta, Hapti, Daniz and a few others. I also learned that there are two other Saiyans in the universe that Frieza overlooked."

Trunks gasped. "Two? Two more Saiyans are out there?"

I nodded. "Uh huh. There's one male and one female." The female was really the link between the dying Saiyan race because without her, the race will most likely dilute over the years and someday fade. That would be a sad, sad day.

"Where are they?" Gohan asked.

"The male is on Daniz right now, and the female in on Earth."

"Earth?!" everyone cried out in unison.

"Yeah, I said Earth. The only problem is that she's in a cryogenic tank deep underground. And I think that she's in one of Doctor Ghero's labs."

"Wait, we destroyed Ghero's lab years ago," Krillin said. "How can that be possible?"

"He had multiple labs." No shit, Sherlock.

"So we could have more Androids on our tail?" Piccolo asked, his eyes narrowing.

I shrugged. "Who knows?" Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a black shadow form near the door. It took shape, and the spirit of my father appeared. His voice echoed in my mind.

Right my wrong, Mari, he says. Only you can make peace with them.

The shadow faded away. I suddenly felt alone and incredibly sad. I missed my father dearly, and it was a cruel joke that he appeared to me. The others had lapsed back into another conversation. I watched closely but don't say anything. They have some catching up to do.

After a few more hours, the sun had set, and a few of them left. Only me, Bulma, Vegeta, Piccolo, Tien, and Yamcha stayed.

"Well . . . that was fun," I said, my voice flat. I felt emotionally drained.

"Uh huh . . ." Bulma said.

"Santusi teganhi ishtka?" I asked Vegeta in Saiyan. So, how've you been?

He shrugged. "Reshsti." Pretty good.

We started a conversation in Saiyan, mainly because we didn't want the others to overhear. The others stared at us as if we'd turned into dragons.

"There's been a lot of gossip about you, Prince Vegeta."

"Like what?"

"I can see that the rumors about your son are true."

Vegeta's eyes widened. "That became a rumor?!"

I nodded. "It was all the rage a few years ago. No one would shut up about it."

"Well . . . it's true."

I rolled my eyes. "Vegeta, I'm not an idiot. I can put two and two together. Trunks is your son."

"You could tell, couldn't you?"

"It was pretty obvious."

He chuckled. "You're always observant. Too much sometimes."

"At least I don't let my guard down like you always do."

Vegeta bared he teeth at me. "Be quiet, or I'll have to fight you!" It was a joke, but the sound of his voice was menacing, and the others shrunk away.

"You know, you're a lot scarier in Great Ape form."

"If I still had my tail, you'd be dead meat."

We laughed. It's been a long time since I've had a really good laugh. Ever since Ginyu . . . oh, never mind. I glanced at the others, who looked scared out of their wits. "Oh, sorry about that," I apologized in English.

"No, it's fine," Bulma replied.

"Wait, what language were you talking in?" Yamcha asked.

"Saiyan," Vegeta replied nonchalantly.

Piccolo's eyes widened. "Does it always sound so rough?"

I nodded. "Yeah, it's a pretty savage language."

After a few minutes, mostly everybody decided to call it a night. Everyone except Piccolo, that is. I suddenly remembered that Namekians don't have to sleep.

I walked back to my room and closed the door behind me. I leaned against the door and sighed. I'd given way to much info about myself. I was planning to leave after today, but that plan was totally out the window now.

I put my bag on the desk, and started to unpack it. I kept my laptop out, and brought out a few other things like an iPod and a digital camera. I turned the camera on and searched for a funny video. After a while, one of them caught my attention, and I clicked PLAY.

It was the video I filmed when Ginyu, Jase, and I went to Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois. I watched the whole thing, and almost died of laughter when Jase screamed like a little girl on the Raging Bull. Those were the good days, when no one really cared what their rank was in Frieza's army. I probably woke some people up, but did I care? No, not really.

I decided to go to sleep after a while, because I knew that by the time I would be awake, it would be later in the night. As I crawled under the covers, I thought of ways to make a quick escape just in case something comes up. But my gut said I'll be here for a while.

I fell into a dreamless sleep and woke up three hours later. I felt a lot better than I did earlier. From what I could tell, it was about one in the morning. The house around me was relatively quiet, and I really enjoyed it. Being alone allowed me to get my thoughts in order and I had some serious stuff to think of: Vegeta, Kakarot, my father's spirit, and many other things.

"Oh, spirits," I moaned.

Sunrise was far off, so I decided to just chill out and do some reading. Just like my father, I loved to read for the pure fun of it. Just thinking of my father brought sad, remorseful thoughts to mind. If I had stopped him from going to his enemy's home world, maybe he would've still been alive.

Don't think like that, I thought. The past is the past, and I can't change it.

I was suddenly irritated with myself, thinking that dwelling on the past won't do anything good. I then focused back on the book, Inheritance, by Christopher Paolini. It was about dragons and elves and magic and had a lot of action. Well, it was the last book of the series.

Halfway through the book, I suddenly felt really disgusting and decide to do something better about my hair.

I walked over to the mirror above the dresser and look at my reflection. My face stared back. My skin was a shiny white, like a pearl. My eyes, which had a cat-like angular look to them, stared back at me with bright red irises lacking pupils. My shaggy hair was the color of sapphires, and it barely brushed my shoulders. It used to practically come down to my ass, but someone (also known as Ginyu) had cut it in a drunken rage. Two black lines extended from my eyes to my jaw. My lips were a dark red, and always seemed to quirk up to the right. Everyone at home always said I looked like a blue version of my father.

I suddenly noticed the hand-shaped bruise on my neck. "Nice one, Goku," I muttered.

I started to work on the mess that is my hair. I had more time, so I do an enti braid, where you make a tight braid and pin it up in a bun. It took a lot of trial and error, and by the time I was done, it was at least four in the morning. My hair looked fine, but the rest of me didn't. I decided to put on a blue and black flannel shirt and jeans. I didn't wear any shoes, mainly because my three-toed feet didn't fit into normal earthling shoes.

I knew that everyone will be up after the sun is up, so I decided to do some tenghzi, named after the famous Atakian master. It's a mix of tai-chi and yoga, used by warriors to loosen up muscles and to calm the mind.

As I went through the moves, I listened to my iPod. It's a very mixed thing, with almost anything imaginable on it. Pop, Rock, Rap, Country, you name it.

Five motions later, "Sick" by Evanescence started to play. I loved Evanescence mainly because of the dark, edgy music they create. But this song in particular hit home. It reminded me of when we were abandoned on the safe-house on Earth and Ginyu treated me very, very badly. Just thinking of those five months sent shivers up my spine.

I advanced to the westrik, where I went into a handstand and kept my body perfectly still. I did the first part without trouble, but the whole 'keep every muscle in your body still' concept will be hard. The others will be up in about two hours, and I knew from experience that it was really hard to keep the westrik when everyone was up and moving. But I still had a good two hours. That would be more than enough time.

After twenty songs, the house started to come alive. I was still in the westrik form and I hadn't moved ever since I started the form. I strained to hear anything valuable, and after a while, I picked up on a conversation between Piccolo, Tien, and Yamcha.

"Seriously, I don't trust her," Yamcha hissed. I imagined the three warriors talking close together, making sure Bulma and especially Vegeta don't hear them.

"I still don't like the fact that she looks so much like Frieza. When she stood up to Goku, I swore Frieza was in the room with us," Tien said.

"Why did you bring her here in the first place?" Piccolo growled. "If you had just left her in the woods, we wouldn't be in this mess. We should've just left her there and see what fate dealt her."

"Calm down, Piccolo," Tien murmured. "It was the right thing to do."

The Namekian grunted. "Stupid humans and their stupid emotions." I suddenly remembered that a Namekian's brain was wired differently, where survival instincts were more important than emotions.

"Anyways," Yamcha continued, "I don't know if we should believe anything she says. Is she really fifteen? Did she and Vegeta really go to that academy place together?"

Vegeta finally noticed them and butt in rudely. "For your information, Mari is fifteen and we did go to the Academy together. Both of us have proof. And, I don't think Mari likes people talking behind her back, so don't do it anymore."

I imagined Vegeta walking away. "Uh, I hate you, Vegeta," Yamcha muttered under his breath.

"I heard that!" Vegeta yelled. I laughed silently. That would be Vegeta. Even though a Saiyan's hearing isn't as advanced as a Namekian's, it's still pretty acute. Unlike humans, who notice nothing.

"Hey, do you think Mari's up?" Bulma asked.

Vegeta chuckled. "Of course she is. She's probably been up since three, maybe earlier. She doesn't have to sleep as much as we do."

"Weird," Tien murmured.

Back in my room, I finally broke my form. My tail twitched. That was a new record, I think.

"So, ah, Vegeta?" Bulma started.

"Yes?" he asked. I noticed that he seemed gentle towards Bulma.

"Did you and Mari . . . ever . . . ?" Her sentence faded. My eyes widened, and it clicked in my head. Was Bulma thinking of that?!

"No. We're good friends, that's all."

"Oh, okay." That conversation ended, and became quiet.

I started to fidget. I couldn't keep the westrik form and decided to end it. I did a backflip and landed safely on my feet. They made a loud thunk when they hit the floor, and I assumed that everyone heard it.

"She's up," Vegeta said. "And I think she was in the westrik form."

"What are you talking about?" Yamcha asked. He sounded confused.

"It's a long story," Vegeta replied. "And you humans are a bit too stupid to follow."

"What did you just say?" Yamcha snarled.

I opened the door, and by the time I get to the kitchen, Yamcha and Vegeta are already fighting. It was much too fast for a normal human to see, but I followed them every time they moved.

"Guys, stop it!" I yelled out. Yamcha and Vegeta paused. Vegeta's fist was poised a few inches from Yamcha's face.

"Dammit, you ignorant monkeys," I growled. I swore a lot, but most of it was in my mind. When it hit my mouth, it was pretty bad. "You could've torn down the house! How would you like that?" My hands balled into fists, and a ball of energy formed a few inches from my hand. If I had to do the Mantis or any other energy blast, I would definitely do it. Vegeta glanced at me and stepped back. He knew when I was pissed out of my mind, and now was one of those times.

"Oh, sorry," Yamcha apologized.

I didn't say anything. I had a nagging feeling that Yamcha and I wouldn't get along very well in the future. After another moment of the stand-off, Bulma glanced at a watch on her wrist. "Hey, we gotta hurry. We're meeting the others at Master Roshi's place at ten."

Roshi? That name didn't sound familiar. "Master Roshi? Who's that?"

"He's Goku's and Krillin's master," Tien replied. "He taught them the Kamehameha."

"Ah . . ." I murmured.

We lapsed into silence. It's so thick I could've cut it with a knife. A few minutes passed by. I could sense that everyone's power levels were at a normal size, but Vegeta's and Yamcha's were very close to jumping higher.

"Guys," Bulma said, breaking the silence. "Let's go. We got a long way to go."

We agreed. As Tien, Yamcha, Piccolo, Vegeta and I blasted off, Bulma got into a ship and followed us. It was an Earth ship, but the craftsmanship was really good. I planned to ask her about it later.

Tien and Yamcha started a conversation. I tried to listen in, but the wind in my ears was too loud. I picked up bits and pieces, but nothing good. I started to focus on where we are. We were flying over a coastal city, and soon enough, the land gave way, and the ocean stretched before us in all directions.

"Hey, Vegeta, doesn't this remind you of T'kheri?" T'kheri was a very watery planet that was overtaken by Frieza a while back. Vegeta and I just so happened to be part of that siege, which was actually harder than it looked.

"Yeah, I remember," he muttered.

I laughed and did a loop in the air. "C'mon, it wasn't that bad. You were unconscious for what? Five, maybe six days?"

Vegeta stiffened. He may not have been in a good mood, but I knew I was. "Seriously, Vegeta, why are you acting like going to T'kheri is the worst thing you did in your whole life?"

He caught up to me. "Because Cui outdid me that day."

"Ugh, you're still mad at that? Cui is dead. You killed him yourself. Why are you still resentful?"

Vegeta looked away. "You wouldn't understand."

I rolled my eyes. "Saiyans and their pride. Jeez, just get over it, Vegeta."

He looked me right in the eye. "I can't, Mari. I just can't."

"Just like you just have to have a rematch with Kakarot?"

A shadow of a smile reached Vegeta's lips. "Exactly."

"Hey, guys, we're here," Yamcha called out. I looked down and saw a small island. On it is a small beach, two palm trees, and a house that has the words, "KAME HOUSE" painted on the side in bright red letters. We landed on the beach, and Goku, Gohan, Krillin, and a small old man greeted us. Trunks was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey, guys," Tien said.

"So, who's this?" the old man asked. He studied me carefully, glancing me over. From behind dark sunglasses, I could tell that his eyes were cross-examining me.

"My name is Mari, sir," I said, bowing to him.

"Don't need to be formal here, Mari," he said. "Oh, by the way, my name is Master Roshi."

I nodded. "Nice to meet you, Master Roshi."

Vegeta elbowed me in the side. "I'm warning you now: Master Roshi is a senile old man."

I laughed quietly. "Oh, great. First Tenghzi, now Master Roshi."

Goku looked at us and narrowed his eyes slightly. "Please, come in." He sounded irritated, and it made his sentence sound like an order.

We went through the door and sat down in the living room. Everyone seemed tense, as if a feral monster were about to jump through the door any second.

"So . . . do you know Goku?" Master Roshi asked.

"No," I replied. "But I've heard about him. A lot of people in the universe gossip all the time about him."

"What do they say?" the old master asked.

"Oh . . . just little bits of gossip here and there. A lot of people think he's the Super Saiyan of legend. Others think he's a fool for challenging the prince."

"The prince?" Krillin asked, confused.

I jabbed a thumb at Vegeta. "Duh. Vegeta was prince of the Saiyans before . . ." I cut myself off because Vegeta was giving me a look that said shut up if you know what's good for you.

The others started a conversation. I watched closely. The gist of it was that no one really knows how or why Goku was brought back to life or who did it.

If only you knew, Kakarot, I thought icily. You would be about to explode if you knew the real truth.

"Hey, where's Chiaotzu?" Goku asked.

Tien looked down. "He died."

"How?"

"Natural causes," Tien replied. Who was this Chiaotzu?

"He can't be brought back, can he?" Gohan asked.

Tien nodded. "Yeah. He's already been brought back once, and Shenron can't bring back people who died of natural causes."

"The Dragon Balls here are so weak," I muttered to no one in particular.

"What does that supposed to mean?" Goku snarled, snapping his head towards me.

I held up my hands in denial. "Nothing. Jeez, don't get your tail in a knot. I'm just saying that compared to other means in the universe, the earthling Dragon Balls are weak and bound by a lot of certain rules."

"So . . . there is other stuff in the universe that can grant wishes?" Yamcha asked.

I nodded. "Uh huh. The last time I checked there are . . . fifteen other planets that have objects that can grant wishes. And that doesn't include Earth and Namek."

"Damn," Krillin murmured.

The others picked up the conversation. I didn't say anything. Well, is this what they do all the time? All I knew was that we're getting nowhere fast. I glanced at Vegeta, and saw that he's antsy too.

How long are we going to be here? I thought.

For some odd reason, my thoughts projected to the others, and they stopped what they were doing and stared at me.

"Did you just say that?" Piccolo asked.

"Uh, no, but . . . that's what I thought," I replied.

The others just stared at me with wide eyes. Vegeta, however, laughed. "Nice one, Mari. That's the what, tenth time you've done that?"

I slapped my forehead. "Eleventh, actually. The last time it happened is when we were in port on Ekasta." It wasn't the truth, but did he need to know? I didn't think so.

"Oh, yeah, I remember that! I still can't believe that they had to take the ship apart, fix the problem, and then put it back together." We kept talking about stuff that happened while we were in Frieza's army. The others just stared at us and tried to comprehend. They failed epically.

"So, do you want to spar like old times?" I asked.

Vegeta stood up. "Oh, definitely."

I glanced at the others. "You can join us in you want." I wasn't sure if they would.

Vegeta headed out the door. I followed him at a distance. I'm pretty sure that he would get in the air and attack from above. I looked up and saw a small dot in the sky. Of course.

"So that's how you wanna do it?" I muttered to myself as I rose up into the air.

"On the count of three," the Saiyan said. "One . . . two . . . THREE!"

Our fists met, and it sent ripples through the air. The others had run out of the house and were watching our fight. They could sense how high our power levels were, with mine at 273,000 and Vegeta's at 245,000.

"You're still stronger than me?!" Vegeta exclaimed as he flipped into Super Saiyan form.

I smiled smugly. "You're getting rusty, aren't you, Vegeta?" I just had to bring up the fact that Vegeta had 'stopped' fighting after Kakarot died in the battle with Cell. I didn't know who or what made him come back.

Vegeta attacked. I met every of Vegeta's blows with one of my own. We're pretty evenly matched, and I was curious who will win this fight.

I managed to get away from him and gathered the energy to do the Mantis. The Mantis was a move I created a few years back. It was done by coiling the arm close to the head with the wrist extended as far as it can go, creating a ball of energy a few inches away from the hand, and then bringing the arm down in a quick motion while you flick your wrist, the energy ball flying out of your grip. If done correctly and with enough power, it could kill.

I did all the motions, and the ball of energy flew towards Vegeta like. He looked up a few seconds before it hit him in dead the chest.

As it hit him, he flew backwards. It made a loud BOOM and expanded, turning the whole world blood red for a few moments. After the dust settled, I saw Vegeta lying on the beach, unconscious. The others stared at me in horror. Oh, no, they probably thought I was a total monster . . . like Frieza.

I landed on the beach in front of Vegeta. He stirred slightly and opened his eyes. "Okay, you got me there," he muttered, and then lost consciousness. The others approached me hesitantly. To them, I was a live grenade right now.

"Is he going to be okay?" Bulma asked.

I shrugged. "Yeah." I suddenly felt very embarrassed and ashamed of myself. I shouldn't have done the Mantis. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Goku went back into the house and came back a moment later with a leather bag in his hand.

"What are those?" I asked. I didn't trust Goku enough for him to give me strange food. It could be poisoned for all I knew.

"Senzu beads," he replied. Goku kneeled down next to Vegeta and made him eat it. After a second, Vegeta woke up.

"Here, you have one too," Goku said and tossed me one. I grabbed it and looked at it curiously. It was fairly small and a pale green color. I sniffed the odd bean, and it smelled like thick forests and metal. That's odd, because that's what Planet Vegeta smelled like before Frieza destroyed it. Weird.

"Go on, eat it," Krillin said.

I bit it, and I suddenly felt awake and alert. The damage I'd sustained from the past two fights on Earth disappeared. Even the ache in my neck and the cut on my palm faded.

"Man, what are those things?" I asked.

"They're senzu beads," Gohan replied. "Korin grows them at the Lookout."

"Oh . . ." My sentence faded. I suddenly remember a conversation between me and Bardock (yes, I mean Kakarot's late father) a while back. It was about a Saiyan plant of legend, the oskarka plant, which could heal even the worst damages. "Wait, where are they from?"

Tien shrugged. "We don't know. Korin has never told us."

I glanced back at Vegeta, who was standing up now. "Hey, Vegeta, do you remember the legend of the oskarka plant?"

"No, not really."

"Well . . . there's an old Saiyan legend about a plant that could cure even the worst injuries. Supposedly, there were only three plants in existence and they were scattered all around the universe. I'm almost positive that your senzu beads are the rare oskarka."

"So . . . Senzu beads could be Saiyan?" Piccolo asked.

"Yes, emerald skin," I replied.

Piccolo blinked in confusion. "What does 'emerald skin' mean?"

I smiled mysteriously. "I'll tell you guys sometime soon. All in due time."