Wow! I got some good reviews for the last chapter. Well,here's the next installment:
(Oh, and by the way, I still don't own Dragonball Z)

Where am I? thought the young girl as she dreamed. Dark gray eyes swam before her, their identity unknown. Syria, pull yourself together. You're not in that awful tube anymore. At least, I don't think I am.

Syria thought for a moment. Since I'm having cognitive episodes, I guess I must assume that I am concious and therefore out of the tube. But who awakened me? And what planet have I landed on?

To the onlookers of the girl, she appeared exhausted, lying face up with a look of deep concentration.

"Who is she, Goku?" asked a short, bald man who stood at the saiyan's feet. "She looks to be saiyan, but why does she have blonde hair like that? And that wierd tail? It certainly doesn't look like the one you and Gohan had."

"Maybe we'll get the answers when she wakes up, Krillen. As for right now, we have no idea."

A few men stood outside her door. One, a tall, black haired man, appeared concerned at her condition. The smaller one seemed to be more interested in her tail for the moment. A woman also stood beside the two men, concerned for the young girl.

Full of concern for the girl, a young boy stood watch beside her, his gray eyes never wavering. Outside, another saiyan stood watch, not really concerned with her well-being, but her existance.

I must wake up and evaluate my surroundings, thought Syria to herself. This unconciousness does not help my curious mind.

Syria's green eyes fluttered, then shot open. Upon her concious return, she looked to the left and saw the boy looking at her, hopeful. She jumped out of bed, in a ready stance, fearful.

"Who are you?" she asked the young boy, whose look of hope and worry had turned quickly to one of apprehension.

"What am I doing here? And where is here?" she asked the men at the door, who all jumped when she barely turned her head to acknowlege their presence.

Her tail flicked impatiently. "Well, any of you have an answer? Or are your tongues merely silent?"

"Maybe I can help, little girl," a thick voice came from the door. Syria turned around cautiously to find herself face to face with..

King Vegeta! But what's he doing here? Shouldn't he be on his planet??

"King Vegeta," she bowed in respect. "I had no idea I would be honored with your presence."

A stifled laugh came out of the short bald man. The others also were trying not to laugh as the saiyan man's temper started to flare.

"SILENCE!" the man yelled at them. "I will not be laughed at!"

At this, the bald man just doubled over laughing, and the saiyan appeared so mad that he looked like he could've killed the guy.

Wait, thought Syria. King Vegeta looks much older than this man. I know I must have spent some good time in space, so the only person that this could be would be..

"Prince Vegeta?" she asked him, witholding a bow. "You're the prince of Vegeta?" Her tail was twitching a lot now, annoyed.

"Yes, so what's it to you?" he asked the girl. By now, all the people present were all-and-out laughing. It was hard not to laugh with them as Syria also stifled a giggle.

"WHAT'S SO FUNNY?" asked the saiyan prince, now really annoyed.

Syria stopped giggling long enough to say, "I met you when you were around five years old, Prince Vegeta, and may I say that I wonder where your tail is?"

Vegeta's face paled. "It.. It can't be you. No."

Syria's face became very serious, yet mischievious. "Oh yes, Prince. I remember that day very well. You came up to me and made some little comment on how girls weren't supposed to have blonde hair. Then you told me that I had such an ugly tail it should be pulled by its roots. So, where's your tail, now, Prince?"

The entire house seemed to shake with laughter. Finally the prince spoke. "Then it was you who.."

"Yes, me who knocked you out so hard that your aide had to come and take you back to the palace for medical treatment."

"Why you little-" Vegeta started.

"Ah, ah, ah." Syria shook her finger at him. "I wouldn't do that, Prince Vegeta. You're no match to me."

"Oh really? Your power levels compare nothing to mine!" he boasted.

"That's because I keep them at bay," she said. "I'm not a killer, unlike some."

Vegeta had no answer to this. He turned on his heel and walked out of the house, then flew out of sight.

There was a period of silence as no one knew what to say to this mysterious girl. Then, the young boy with gray eyes finally spoke up.

"So, what is your name?" he asked, friendly.

Syria's head turned, not letting her guard down, but feeling a bit assured that she was not in bad company as her women's intuition suggested.

"My name is Syria. And yours?" she asked politely.

The young boy smiled. "Nice to meet you, Syria. My name's Gohan. That man over there's my daddy, his name's Goku. The shorter guy is Krillen, he's a good friend of the family, and that's my mommy, her name's Chi-Chi."

With the formal introduction completed, Syria put down her guard, and got out of her stance. "Nice to meet you Gohan. Although I must wonder, why does your hair stick down like that? I've never seen any saiyan boy's hair so straight."

Gohan laughed. "I'm half-saiyan. My mom's a human."

"Human? What's a human?" Syria looked confused at the term.

"I am a human," replied Chi-Chi. "That's what most people are on this planet."

"Your hair-it's straight, too!" exclaimed Syria.

These straight haired people do not possess a high energy level, however. Except for the small one. His readings are enormous, but then again, he is half-saiyan.

Syria pondered these things for a moment, then asked the short guy, "What planet are you from? You have no hair. I've never seen such a thing."

Krillen laughed. "Oh, I'm from this planet too. I have hair, I just shave it."

WHAT? He shaves his head? Well, it doesn't seem to affect his energy readings, so as long as it doesn't affect him..

"I came here with a ship- do you know where it is?" she asked the man Goku.

"Oh, that- yeah. Vegeta got you out of there, otherwise it would've taken us longer to figure it out. He looked really suprised to see a female saiyan."

"Why? There are a great many on the planet Vegeta. Being a prince, I feel that no matter his personality, he should have been able to find a mate."

Goku's eyes looked downcast for a second. "Well, actually, no. Planet Vegeta was destroyed by Freeza."

WHAT??? My homeworld- my friends- all destroyed by a single entity? Pentei! Aamol! My mother, my unknown father! All gone in a single second! Syria's eyes clouded and she fell to her knees on the floor. Her tail went limp, and tears started to form in the corners of her eyes.

No. This cannot be. Freeza was not as strong as the king. Or so Pentei told me.. unless he was lying. But why? And how? Pentei!

The saiyan girl put her face in her hands and started to silently cry. Chi-Chi came and sat down with the girl, and held her as her tears fell to the floor to form a large puddle.

"Pentei! You fool!" she cried. Chi-chi motioned for all the men to leave the room.

I could've saved you all- you all knew it! But you knew I wasn't a fighter, and didn't make me. But why? You'd still be living if I had!

"Shh. It's all right now. You're among friends," soothed Chi-Chi to Syria. "We won't harm you, and we'll try to help you in any way we can."

I'll never have a saiyan mate! I'll never start a family! The saiyan race is dead! Our greatest warriors.. And I didn't help!

The young girl shook with pain all through the afternoon, Chi-Chi never leaving her side. Finally, Chi-Chi stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her to face Gohan, Goku, and Krillen.

"Well?" asked Goku. "How is she?"

"The poor thing's cried herself to sleep. For some reason, she seems to blame herself for not helping. I tried to tell her it wasn't her fault, but she said she could've done something." Chi-chi sighed. "Her heart's been broken. Apparently, all her friends and family lived there and.."

"And she'll never see them again. Geesh, poor girl," said Krillen.

"Well, Vegeta didn't help. I think she's kind of sensitive about her looks," added Chi-chi. "Something about she's never fit in."

"Well," said Gohan, deep in thought, "I was born with a saiyan tail, right? It was brown and furry. My hair was also black. But what if everyone on Vegeta looked like that? Brown tail and black hair and gray eyes? I can imagine why she'd feel she didn't fit in."

Alone in her room, Syria wept long into the night.
Pentei, why did you lie to me? Why?


The next morning came with a gentle sunlight coming in through the window.

Pentei..

It finally settled on her eyes, which, as yesterday, blinked once, twice, then shot straight open. She sat up in bed, no longer afraid of her surroundings, and looked around.

Light gleamed and sparkled upon every edge of the room. Syria yawned and stretched her arms. She stood up from her bed and blinked.

Pentei, why? Why did you do this to me? Now I shall live with this pain forever..

Cautiously, Syria opened the door to the room. Lying on the couch was a very tired Goku, with his wife in one arm and his child in the other. The small man What was his name? Oh yes- Krillen lay upon a chair, sound asleep.

She sighed. I guess this will be my family after this. I have no more family here to relate to.

Being sure not to make a sound, the young warrior tiptoed out the front door, closing it without a single noise.

Now where is my ship? she wondered to herself. And how do I get there?

"Looking for something, girl?" a voice startled her, but she recognized it at once.

"Yes, my ship, if you don't mind, Prince Vegeta. I need to secure my things before any bandits take them."

Syria smiled at him slyly. "Would you be willing to help me find it?"

He seemed to ponder for a second, then responded, "On one condition. Once we get there, you tell me your name, girl. I have no desire to keep calling you 'girl'."

"Ah. I shall take your offer then. Please lead the way," she told him, ready for a long hike.

Vegeta bounded into the air, floating. He looked confused for a moment when she didn't follow suit. He then asked, "Don't you know how to fly?"

She stared at him. "There was no need to on Vegeta."

The Saiyan prince rolled his eyes. "Aw, great. Now I have to show you." He jumped to the ground.

"Spread out your energy like so," he showed her, "then give it a boost. It's not that hard. Even Kakarot can do it."

"Who's Kakarot?" she asked, curious.

"Never mind that! Just go!"

Spreading her energy as the prince had shown her, She bounded off the ground into the air, then floated, amazed at her own strength. A light shone beneath her, colored gold.

This is neat! she thought.

"Let's go!" she ordered the prince, who grumbled something unheard, then bounded off as well, leading the way to the shuttle.

They landed in a deserted area, full of plant life. There, on the hillside, Syria saw her ship.

"Thank you, Prince Vegeta. Now I shall gather my items."

Vegeta wasn't happy, however. "What is your name, girl? I must know!"

Syria sighed. He still had a problem about getting his way. He really hadn't changed much.

"It's Syria," was all she responded with before entering her ship.

Vegeta looked puzzled for a second at the name.

Syria. Where have I heard that name before? he asked himself.

Meanwhile, Syria was busy unloading her stuff. She discovered that her gift clothes and sword had been put into a chamber on the far side of the room.

"Lights on," she muttered to the console. "I can't really see too good in here."

The girl then discovered a secret compartment at the top of the chamber- one filled with freeze-dried Saiyan food! Syria licked her lips as she saw all her favorites.

I should take this back and share it with my adopted family- I'm sure they'd like that.

She also came across a view scape message holder. A simple note on it read, 'To be read when at base'. Slipping it into a bag with the rest of her items, she decided she'd read it once she came back to the home.

"Ah-hah!" The saiyan girl had found her training equipment. Another good find.

Last but not least, she saw a compartment containing the rest of her personal clothing. She stuffed it into her bag, then stepped out of the ship.

Vegeta was still thinking. Where have I heard that name before??

"Prince Vegeta? Oh hello?" she waved her hand in front of his face. "PRINCE VEGETA!" she yelled at him, finally.

"What is it, you impertinant brat? Can't you see I'm busy thinking?" the prince retorted.

"Can you lead me back to Goku's? I'm not sure I can remember the way on my own." She carried all her items in a huge bag, easily four times bigger than her.

"Sure, girl, I'll take you back to Kakarot's," he grumbled.

OH! So Kakarot is Goku! I wonder why the Prince calls him that name.

They bounded once again back towards Goku's home only to find Goku, Krillen, Gohan, and Chi-Chi frantically searching the premises for Syria.

"OH KAKAROT!" yelled Vegeta.

Goku stopped in his tracks to see Vegeta and Syria floating mid-air, Syria with a very large bag, Vegeta with a very large smirk.

I wonder which weighs more, that smug look or that bag, chucked Goku to himself.

"Chi-Chi! I found her!" yelled Goku, as Syria bounded down to the ground.

"Oh my goodness! Thank heavens! I thought she'd run away!" Chi-Chi bounded out and hugged Syria to death, ignoring her pleas for breathing space.

"Now don't you do that again! You had us so worried!"

"Tell me about it," said Krillen, his hand rubbing his head. "We all got headaches from hearing her scream."

Syria smiled. "I'm sorry I worried you all. I just went to the ship to gather my things. Prince Vegeta here escorted me."

"Vegeta.. escorted.. you?" Krillen was about to explode with laughter again.

"I only did it because I wanted to know the girl's name," retorted Vegeta. "Right, girl?"

"Why do you keep calling me girl?" asked Syria. "You know my name, it's Syria, I.."

"Don't bother," said Chi-Chi. "He calls his own wife 'woman'. You should feel honored. He calls me 'Kakarot's mate'."

"What did you get, Syria?" asked a curious Gohan. "Can I see?"

Syria smiled down at him. "Sure! I even may have a surprise for you!"

"Oh wow!" yelled Gohan, who helped Syria by taking her bag inside. The rest of the gang also followed suit, even (much to Syria's surprise) Vegeta.

Syria started to unpack, much to Gohan's delight. He 'oohed' and 'ahhed' at her clothing, and looked especially excited by the training gear. But it wasn't till Syria got a mysteriously sly look on her face that his excitement reached its peak.

"What is it, Syria?" he asked her.

"Yes, do tell us.. girl," muttered Vegeta.

"It's Saiyan food! Freeze-dried straight from home!" she showed the parcels to Gohan, who looked excited by the prospect of the foods inside, which held enough to probably feed a hundred Syrias.

If Vegeta could show an emotion such as excitement, he would've. Instead, he grumbled with a sour expression, then asked,"Do you mind if I have some too, girl? I haven't had anything from Vegeta for a while now."

There was a tense moment that could've been cut by a knife. Krillen surveyed the situation nervously. Suddenly, Syria smiled.

"Why, sure, Vegeta. Be sure to invite your wife, too."

Vegeta almost balked at the invitation, but regained his cool. "Thank you, girl. You may be higher than a third class after all."

Syria ignored this remark, and gave the food to Chi-chi. "Keep it safe," she told her, with a twinkle in her eye. "I know how much male saiyans eat."

While Chi-chi took the food to the kitchen, Syria removed her sword and gift clothes. Vegeta said nothing but Krillen looked impressed by the sword.

"This looks like a custom job. Keep it safe- I'm sure it means worlds to you," he said with a knowing smile.

"Thank you," she said.

Finally, she pulled out the message holder.

"If you don't mind," she said to them all, "I'd like to hear this. I have a notion who it's from and I.."

Krillen got up to leave, but Syria stopped him.

"Please. It might be better if you stayed. I have no idea what he will say."

Chi-chi re-entered the room, finished with the food, when Syria entered the 'play' command.

A fuzzy screen appeared for a few moments, and then a familiar face came on.. Pentei.

Pentei..

A small tear trickled down Syria's cheek which she brushed away.

"Miss Syria. If you have landed on the planet perscribed, then I know that Vegeta has been destroyed."

The Kiansian continued, smiling.

"I know this is hard for you. We've suspected for some time that Vegeta would be destroyed by Freeza. We lied because we did not want you to fight. It would have only caused more problems; you know what I'm saying."

Syria nodded, another tear fell down. This one was not swept away.

"I want you to know that we all cared about you very much. We may have hid things from you, but we did care. That's why we didn't tell you these things until you were ready," the man on camera sighed.

"Truth. It's such a hard word. But I know there is a certain truth that you've wondered since you were created. Who your parents were. Well, we told you about your mother. Miss Syria of Gethsa. That much is true. She participated because she thought she could be of service to the project. She wants you to know she loves you very much."

A look of comprehension came upon Vegeta's face. So that's who I was thinking of- Miss Syria! This girl has some noble blood in her!

The blue-haired man continued.

"When it comes to the subject of your father, we avoided this question for a good reason. As you were not born a boy, he requested that you would not be associated with him. However, we did send him progress of your training and growing up. Your father was very proud of you."

Syria's face held a healthy glow. My father was proud of me!

"Syria. Your father later had a son, and if the boy is still living, you have a half-brother. You don't know how special you are, Syria. Your father was the King of Vegeta, King Vegeta himself."

Syria paused the recording. WHAT?? I'm related to the stinking Prince Vegeta? NO NO NO NO NO!! She ran from the room, angry, followed by Krillen, who looked concerned.

Goku looked up at Vegeta, who was dumbstruck.

I have a sister? the prince wondered. Why'd I get stuck with her! Why didn't I know about this?

Syria calmed down and re-entered the room, Krillen behind her. She re-activated the recording.

"Syria, I know you will do us proud. The noble blood of Vegeta runs through your veins, and your special 'conditioning' makes you our strongest asset. Do not blame yourself for Vegeta's demise. Instead, do us proud by leading a happy life."

"You were the truest friend I ever had, Syria, and you have no idea how hard it was to hold this all from you. Be true to us, and never forget that warrior or not, you are beautiful. Goodbye, Syria."

The message ended there, leaving a roomful of Saiyans and humans not knowing what to say to the poor girl.

She stood up and looked at the prince, whose face also appeared confused.

"So," she said to him.

"Hmmph."

Vegeta got up and left the house, and took off once more. Syria sat down and cried.

"Why? WHY ME?" she wept. "WHY HIM?" Chi-Chi, nor anyone else knew what to say.

Ooo.. (saberpilot smiles) please review & let me know what you think! (please no flames!)