This story is set in an Alternative Universe… as most of my fics are because I can -insert wicked grin- so things like character ages might not correlate to the cannon show.
I don't own DBZ or any of its characters! I only own my OCs…
Chapter Two – The Truth
"I need to tell you the real reason why I gave you the internship…"
Bulmas words had me stare wide eyed at her what does she mean, the real reason? I thought to myself in a panic before managing to stutter out "The r-real reason…? I… I thought I got the i-internship because of my work…"
Bulma nodded slowly, sighing as she rubbed her forehead "Yes… real reason… I mean don't get me wrong! Your work is amazing, like I said on your first day, it's the best I've seen aside from my father's work… but in truth, that wasn't the reason I chose you…" she reached across her desk and pulled a small file towards her and flipped it open. "You remember the application process yes?" I nodded slowly and she continued "then you remember that you had to provide me with a sample of your DNA and blood…"
I swallowed hard "why did you want samples of those?" it came out weakly and I was almost ashamed at how frightened I was in this moment, that everything was about to go downhill.
"We ask for these samples from all our employees… it's just a standard thing… we examine the DNA and blood samples to make sure that our staff and of course our interns when we take them on, aren't doing things like drugs, they aren't alcoholics, that they don't use enhancements… that sort of thing" she paused "well we test the blood for those things… The DNA is taken so that we have a record of it in case something gets stolen… well I always examine the DNA when it comes to the lab… since there are a few… organisations that are after our work… we have records of their DNA structures on file" she sighed softly "in case they decided to apply to work here as an undercover agent for their company… as you know by now, we don't just work on Capsule technology here… we do work on other things too, things that other organisations would love to get their hands on…"
I nodded slowly, still somewhat nervous as she seemed to be rambling a little and taking her time to get to the point of this 'chat'. Bulma must have realised she was straying when she spoke up again.
"Sorry, I'm straying from my point… Well my point is, that I check the DNA of any applicants and well… I have to ask you something" she leaned forward in her seat a little, her cerulean eyes burning into my oddly coloured ones. "Were you born on earth?"
I nearly fell out of my seat at her question "I… I think so? I don't remember much of when I was a kid… but my parents never said anything about where I was born… W-why?" yep there was that frightened feeling setting in again, like a thick, suffocating veil.
"Well…" she pinched the bridge of her nose, exhaling slowly "well your DNA doesn't… it doesn't match up with the typical human strain… in fact it matches up almost perfectly with an alien race that you might be aware of…" she chewed her lip nervously "your DNA pretty much says that you are Saiyan"
I blinked, stared and then began to laugh "Oh Bulma… I think you might be mistaken… I mean, I'm not an alien, I've lived here all my life as far as I remember and… and I don't look like a saiyan… I mean look at me" my laugh simmered out a little.
"I am looking at you Azula…" she pushed the file towards me "see, look at these two DNA structures and you will see how similar they are… there is just a few differences in your DNA that suggest there is something special about you."
"I… I have silver hair Bulma and I guess you could call them, opal coloured eyes with dark flecks through them… I don't have the dark hair and dark eyes of the saiyan race…"
I watched Bulma as she ran a hand through her hair "I know… I didn't believe it at first either, there's only two known full blooded saiyan's alive in the universe; Goku and Vegeta… I mean I looked over your DNA and then I looked at the ID sized picture you sent with your application and at first… at first I thought maybe you coloured your hair" she paused "… but when you turned up here and I laid my eyes on you, I could see that your hair is naturally silver and I began to doubt what I had seen in the DNA structure… so I tested it and re-tested it and then re-tested it again, each time it came out the same and so I began to research"
"Is that why you would usher me out of the lab at the end of the day and stay behind?" This whole moment felt so unreal, like maybe somehow I was dreaming. I mean sure I had always wondered why I looked so different from other people, and why I felt like I never belonged.
"Yes… I would sit here all through the night and research this DNA structure and I even researched your name… in the Saiyan language, Azula means Saiyan Goddess…" my eyes widened more at that "basically… to cut a long story short… the gods would choose a female child to bear a unique power, much greater than any other legendary saiyan would ever possess…" she picked up a sheet of paper from the file and began to read "this child would be blessed before birth and would be born with hair as silver as the stars in heaven, and eyes of opal, with greenish blue hues and dark flecks from her heritage. The child will be named Azula, which means Saiyan Goddess, she will possess the ultimate powers long forgotten by the saiyan race…" Bulma trailed off and then "in essence you are the ultimate royalty when it comes to the saiyan's."
"I… I don't know what to say…" this was all so much to take in and clearly this wasn't some joke that Bulma was trying to pull since this had gotten a lot deeper than some prank.
"The information I found also states that the child would be hunted down by various factions from around the galaxy, in order for them to destroy the goddess that the Gods had created within the Saiyans..." she read down the sheet some more and then "it says here that there would be but only one way to save the child… a veil to shroud her powers and keep her safe for eternity, until her power is needed to save the galaxy." Bulma looked me over and then pointed to the locket about my neck "I noticed that locket from the first day you came here… I noticed you never took it off…"
"It was a gift from my mother…" I spoke quietly, my fingers moving to play with the chain "she and my father died when I was 3 years old and she told me never to take it off, that it would protect and guide me when I needed it most."
Bulma raised a brow "your parents… are dead?" I nodded some "do you remember how they died?" she asked curiously.
"I don't… I had therapy as a teenager to help with night terrors due to something traumatic happening when I was a child… I don't remember much of anything before I was 17"
Bulma nodded slowly "I think that locket… I think that is the veil that the scripture talks about, look" she pushed a sheet of paper towards me and upon it was a symbol "It's the same as the symbol on your locket…" I looked from the locket to the paper on the desk and I couldn't deny that part.
I curled my fingers about the locket and sighed softly "what happens if I take it off?"
"I would imagine that, because you have never been… trained, your Ki signature would ping about the galaxy like sonar and all manner of aliens would come looking for you…" she tapped her chin in thought. "Tell me what you remember about your childhood…"
It took a couple of hours but I told Bulma what I could remember from my childhood, about how I had been shafted from foster home to foster home and children's home to children's home; and then about how I got my therapy, all the while she was nodding and taking notes in the file she had in front of her.
"Okay… I think we need to undo what that therapist did and find out what really happened when you were a child…" she sighed softly.
"I… I don't know Bulma… I'm not sure if I want to unearth what he locked away…" I fiddled with the hem of my shirt as I contemplated the idea of letting Bulma unearth all those hidden memories. Sure, if she unearthed them, I might be able to find out what caused my parents death… the reasons behind me being shafted about and then forgotten by Child Services. I mean I had always wondered what I had done to make families afraid to take me in and dump me back off into the care of the Child Services department.
Bulma watched me a moment "Azula… we need to… if not for my curiosity, at least do it for yourself so that you can find out who you really are…"
I thought about it for a few more moments and then I nodded "…okay" I swallowed "let's find out what he locked away…"
Bulma stood, taking my arm and leading me off to another room at the back of the lab, where she pushed me down to sit in a chair "This is not going to hurt you, neither will it make you remember it all in your head… what's going to happen, is I am going to put these on your head" she showed me some small medical electrodes which she began to stick to my forehead. "These electrodes will transmit the memories through the wires and into that machine over there" she pointed to the computer next to the chair "what the computer will do is sort the memories, clear up any foggy ones and allow you to remember"
"Wont it overload me?" I blinked.
"Oh no… the machine implants the memories back in and it will be as if they had never left you… it will also take the trauma out of them so they will feel like old memories that you have healed from" she paused as she began to start up the machine "Now… once it has filtered and sorted the memories it will display them on this monitor" she waved to the large screen attached to the wall. "It will display them as if you are watching a television show, all the while it will be implanting them back into your mind so that it will be a seamless adjustment."
I watched as she began inputting commands and loading up settings, all the while I was trying to prepare myself for what I would be seeing.
"Ready?" she asked, turning in her seat to look at me and I nodded.
"I'm ready"
"You might feel a small discomfort as the machine begins to draw your memories forward… other than that, it shouldn't hurt" Bulma smiled at me encouragingly as she booted up the program.
I took a deep cleansing breath, exhaling slowly as the machine began to bleep and buzz and I could see lights flashing and flickering as it began. This isn't so bad… I thought to myself as the machine hummed, running the commands that the bluenette had instructed, my breathing remained even until I felt an odd sensation roll over me and I closed my eyes. It felt as if I was floating in the clouds, a somewhat pleasant feeling until a shock rolled through my system, forcing my eyes open, a gasp rolling from my lips as the shock travelled from my head down to my toes and back again. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Bulma watching me and then watching the computer, tapping the keyboard and adjusting the tuner until finally the shock subsided and I could breathe easy again.
"Looks like the machine has found its way into the core of your mind… it should be relaying the data back any… moment… now!" she turned in her seat to look at the large monitor, her face full of hope and no doubt mine was too as we waited to see what the computer had discovered. "It should be starting at the beginning… from the first memory that you would be able to naturally remember and then it has been instructed to draw out anything of other importance… although you will remember much more than what we see here…"
The screen flickered to life, a field of static for a moment or two before a fuzzy image began to materialize within the flickers of grey and white snow.
There was a beautiful woman, dark hair, dark eyes and soft features peering down at… me I guess? and a large muscular man, good looking with wild hair and a wild spark in his eyes… we were on a spaceship and from what I could see from where I was standing, we were in the deep recesses of space.
"Azula sweetheart, now I know this will be a big adjustment but our new life on earth will be amazing" the woman's voice filtered down to me and I heard my small voice reply.
"Yes momma!" I clung to her leg with a small giggle.
"You talk to Azula like she is older than two years old" I heard the man laugh some and I guessed he was my father from my response.
"I'm not a baby daddy!" which had the man laugh heartily…
That was until all manner of alarms began to go off and my mother picked me up off the floor, holding me to her form "Terka, what's going on?" she yelled to him as he began to mash commands into the console.
"We are being tailed again Korra…" I watched from my vantage point, my tiny hands grasping into my mother shirt for all it was worth.
"Now Azula…" I could tell she was trying to draw my attention from the noises of the alarms on the ship "When we get to earth we won't have to run anymore… that's good isn't it?" she smiled, running a hand through my hair "we just need to take a small detour to a little planet to pick up something important okay? Something that will stop all those mean people from following us around the galaxy"
The memory faded out and another dropped in
"Azula… you need to promise me that you won't take this off okay?" my mother was speaking to me and I couldn't have been much older than the first memory. I nodded, clasping tiny fingers around the locket about my neck, giving her a firm nod. "It will protect you from those mean people and guide you when you need it most… it's really important that you never take it off…"
"I won't take it off momma… promise" I was looking up at the woman who was smiling happily down at me.
"We will be arriving on earth soon… and then you will get to have a normal life… I know you are special and a gift from the Gods…"
"is that why the bad people hunt me?"
"yes baby… exactly why the bad people are hunting you. You are a very powerful gift from the Gods and there are mean people in the galaxy that don't want that because your power is to be used in the name of good… not evil" she paused a moment "these people will do anything to get to you… I don't want you to be afraid baby… your daddy and I have put somethings away for you… for when you are older, in case anything happens to us" I felt her lift me and place me into bed "now baby, time to sleep, tomorrow is going to be a big day for you… goodnight sweetheart"
"ni ni momma…" I yawned as my father peered round the door.
"Good night Azula… my precious baby girl…" he came and kissed my forehead and I smiled softly.
"ni ni daddy…"
This memory too, faded out and gave way to the next, which seemed to be about a year later.
"Terka no!"
I heard screaming, there was fire, smoke clouded my vision as my mother ran to me, pulling me up into her arms "Azula… baby… they found us… they tracked mine and your fathers Ki signatures to earth…" she buried her face into my hair, kissing the top of my head "TERKA! We need to leave NOW!" she shouted and I could hear footsteps approaching through the dense smoke that filled the area.
"Come on, this way" I heard my father's voice as he grabbed my mother's arm and tugged her along "We need to get Azula somewhere safe!"
I clung to my mother like my life depended on it and well… it kind of did, didn't it? I could hear the firing of laser guns in the distance and incoherent shouts for my parents to submit and surrender. "Surrender the child and we will leave you in peace!" came the gruff voice of a purple skinned alien as he rounded the corner, coming face to face with my father, who shot off a Ki blast into the man's chest, sending him sprawling into the wall.
"NEVER!" he roared viciously, turning to my mother "Korra get her out of here! Hide her somewhere… just don't let them take her!" he shoved my mother away from him and ran off into the smoke.
"DADDY!" I screamed after him, tears coursing down my face as my mother began to run too, ducking and dodging under the ruins that used to be our home… deep in the country, far enough from the rest of the world that they need not know about our existence.
"Momma…" I whimpered, my small hands grasping her shirt tightly, head buried into her shoulder as she continued to run… the smoke seemed to continue forever until finally fresh air filled my lungs. My mother was about to take off into the air, when there came shouts from behind us… instead of taking off and fleeing with me, she made the mistake of looking back. There was my father on his knees, the captain of the alien group was pointing a gun to his head about to pull the trigger when he saw my mother clutching me.
"Give us the child and we will spare you and your husbands lives…" his voice came out in a hiss, a serpentine tongue flickered out as he finished speaking.
My mother looked to my father with tears in her eyes "Take her and get out of here, I swore from the day you told me you were pregnant that I would die for you and our baby… get out of here! GO!" he yelled, grunting as the captain smacked him with the butt of the gun.
"Hush you… prepare to meet your maker, saiyan scum" was all the captain hissed in response.
My mother refused "No Terka… I won't leave you to die! We are from a strong, proud race! What would this be teaching our daughter?!" she clung tighter to me as she watched my father shake his head. "Azula sweetie… I'm going to put you down… when I shoot off a Ki blast I want you to run and hide… okay baby?" my mother whispered softly enough for me to hear and I patted her arm in response to let her know I understood. "They won't find you because of that locket… so don't take it off… I love you"
"I love you too momma…" I whispered "I love you daddy…" I looked directly at him as I whispered the words and he smiled, catching the movement of my lips and he mouthed it back, getting butted by the gun yet again.
"Last chance saiyan… the kid, or you die…"
My mother looked from me to the captain and back again "Okay… okay…" she spoke in a defeated tone as the captain grinned. Giving my father a look to suggest she knew what she was doing, she nuzzled her face into my hair, whispering softly "ready?"
I gave the slightest of nods to her words and with that she fired off a series of Ki blasts, letting me wriggle from her arms. Small feet hit the floor and I ran, well as best as I could for a three-year-old… but I ran. My father began shooting off Ki blasts too and in the commotion I was able to run and hide back inside the house, in some of the wreckage from the attack. From my hiding place I could hear the screams and yells of the purple skinned aliens along with my parents as they battled it out; I could see exactly what was going on and it took all I had not to scream out when I saw my mother cruelly executed, along with my father, their lifeless bodies hitting the dirt. Curling up tighter I jammed my hands over my ears and closed my eyes. After what seemed like an eternity, I heard the captain of the alien patrol talking to his soldiers "we have lost the power reading of the child and we can no longer track her with our numbers so low and damaged… we will wait this out even if it takes another 20 damned years! The child will show herself sooner or later… without the parents to show her how to use her powers, she will never match our skill!" I chewed my lip softly as I stayed as quiet as I could until I heard the enemy spacecraft retreat and it took me a good few minutes to get up the courage to climb out from under the debris.
I wandered through the ruins of what was once a beautiful family home, stumbling and slipping as my tiny feet carried me in my mission to find safety. I stumbled to my parents' lifeless bodies and being that I was only a three-year-old I curled up next to my mother's body and cried myself to sleep.
A short while later, after the smoke had died down, a couple taking a walk through the area came upon the burnt out building, or rather what was left of it and they found me curled up next to my dead mother. They took me into their home for the night and turned me over to Child Services the following morning…
From memory to memory the machine sorted and picked through them, showing me the childhood I had all but forgotten, reminding me of how horrible it had been growing up an orphan. It did however answer a few questions as to why I was never adopted, or fostered for very long… Turned out that each time a family took me in, something would happen to make me feel threatened and things would accidentally get blown up… or set on fire… or frozen… yeah so I was a nervous kid it seemed and who could blame me? Finally, the memories caught up to the present day and I finally managed to blink, tears had been silently pouring down my face as I had watched them over, a mixture of relief and sadness washed over me. Relief because I now knew where I had come from and what I was... and then sadness because the memories were still somewhat painful, even though they weren't traumatising anymore.
"Azula…" Bulma spoke softly "It's over…" she stood and moved to me, removing the electrodes one by one, all the while I just sat there, staring at the blank screen, until finally I lifted a hand to wipe the tears from my eyes.
"Thank you Bulma…" I spoke in barely a whisper before pulling myself to my feet "I think… I think I need to be alone right now… I'm going to my room…" I mumbled.
"Okay Azula… call if you need anything… okay?" she reached and gently squeezed my shoulder with an understanding look on her face.
I turned and wandered from the laboratory, my footsteps carried me through the building until I found myself standing outside my bedroom door. Opening the door, I welcomed the cool, quiet atmosphere the room held, letting the door swing shut with a click behind me; my shoulders began to shake and I stumbled to the bed, dropping down onto it and heaving a huge sigh before the tears came. Curling up tight on the bed I sobbed uncontrollably into my pillow until finally I fell asleep.
Now I know what I really am… and what my parents died to protect… where do we go from here…?
The truth has come out! Bulma revealed to Azula why she picked her for an internship at Capsule Corp, Azula got to find out the truth about her heritage and why she is so different from other people… but what happens now? Where does she go from here and what lies in store for her and the others now? Want to know? then stay tuned for the next chapter of Lux Intus Tenebras!
I really hope you guys like this story so far, please leave me a review and let me know what you think!
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-Also on a side note, if you liked this, please check out my other stories that I have written for Dragonball Z and Card Captor Sakura!
~Sunni-Chan
