Chapter Eight – Gaian Versus Saiyan
Back on the mother ship, Ayaleia had shaken off Raditz and Nappa's condolences and retired to her room. She collapsed on the bed, and succumbed to her body's demand of sleep.
Ayaleia dreamt.
She was back on Gaia again. Everyone was there. She laughed.
"It's all here, I'm back!" she cried.
She skipped over to the palace and flung open the doors.
"Mother, Father, I have returned!" she yelled.
The King and Queen of Gaia turned to her.
"Aya, you can't come back." her father said gravely.
"What?"
"You've been tainted." her mother explained. "Gaia cannot accept you any more, Saiyan." She shook her head sadly. "You are no longer our daughter."
"But Mother!"
Ayaleia reached out and caught the Queen by the arm. The Queen screamed and pulled back her arm.
"What have you done?!"
Aya watched horrified as a black mark appeared where she had touched skin, and started spreading up her arms."
"Pollunia!" the King caught her as she fell, and the blackness started spreading over his flesh. "Aya, why?"
Ayaleia looked her hands, tears welling in her eyes.
"Please, I didn't mean for this."
"Guards, Guards!" the King managed to yell as he slumped to the floor.
Ayaleia saw the guards enter, headed up by Enyuka.
"Enyuka!" she called.
"Back Saiyan traitor!" Enyuka shouted, "This is treason!"
"No, that's not right…!" Ayaleia pleaded.
"Seize her!"
Ayaleia stepped back as the soldiers pounced. But, as they held her she suddenly felt that red rage flare up inside. The guards were flung back as Ayaleia threw them away, and started destroying everything in sight. She stood there horrified, until the redness washed away.
"I-I didn't m-mean for this to happen!" she stammered. "Somebody help me!
Vegeta also dreamt.
Vegeta looked around him. He was a boy again, walking around the former Saiyan palace.
"Father?" he called.
"Vegeta, come and join us."
"How is Mother?"
King Vegeta sighed.
"She's still not well." the King replied. "My son, you must promise you will look after her if anything happens to me."
"I will, but what do you mean?"
"These are turbulent times, young Vegeta, who knows what the future will bring?"
His father smiled, and turned.
The scene faded into ruins. Vegeta was himself again.
"Father, I have failed you, but I swear that I will make the Saiyan race the most feared again!"
He woke up with a start, and glanced at the clock. It was the start of the day. He got up and dressed, and headed outside. He wasn't completely surprised to see Raditz waiting outside.
"What do you want?" Vegeta asked gruffly.
"You know what this is about." Raditz countered.
"You're overstepping the line, Raditz."
"Vegeta, I…" Raditz tailed off.
Vegeta stared at him for a minute, and then it clicked.
"Of course." he said. "I had already considered this, and judging by your actions, it looks like I'm right."
Vegeta shook his head.
"A weak fool like you would fall for a girl like that."
Raditz clenched his fists.
"And so what?" he demanded angrily. "It is allowed. Your mother and father must have loved each other."
He suddenly found himself slammed up against the wall with Vegeta's hand twisting his collar.
"Don't mention my parents." he hissed.
Vegeta let go, and stepped back.
"She's no concern of yours any more – you won't be training her again."
"But…"
"But nothing! She stays with me."
Raditz gave up as Vegeta left him leaning against the wall for support. He wondered if his confession would make things better or worse.
"Time to get moving!" Vegeta called, banging on Ayaleia's door.
He waited a few seconds, and hearing nothing, tried again.
"Wake up Ayaleia!"
He folded his arms.
"If you don't come out, then I'm coming in!"
Nothing.
Vegeta shoved the door open and found Ayaleia unconscious on the floor. He stooped down next to her and checked over her. Her pulse was weak and rapid, and her breathing shallow. He put a hand to her head. She was dangerously hot. He tapped his scouter.
"Get a doctor and a stretcher up here now." he demanded.
Within minutes, a stretcher team had arrived, and they put Ayaleia on the stretcher. Vegeta followed them down to the medical bay, and watched the doctor check over her.
"Well?" he asked impatiently.
"I honestly don't know." the doctor replied. "All the symptoms point to a fever, but I have no idea what's causing it. We need someone more learned in Gaian physiology."
Vegeta paused for a minute, and then decided a course of action. He marched outside and grabbed the nearest soldier.
"You! Get this message down to the Captain of the Guards on Gaia this minute!"
He relayed the message.
Enyuka put her palm on Ayaleia's head and frowned.
"What are you doing?" Vegeta asked.
"Nasty temperature. Maybe…"
Enyuka raised her hands, and Vegeta saw lots of little streams of green energy form above Ayaleia. Then it spread itself out into a mist and slowly turned to a murky red. Enyuka turned on him.
"What have you done to her?" she demanded.
"I haven't done anything, I just found her there."
"You see this?" Enyuka pointed angrily at the red mist. "This is a Gaia screen. It resonates with the Gaia in the patient and mimics the state of the patient. Ayaleia's Gaia is under severe attack. Imagine being poisoned only ten-fold. She's extremely ill."
"So? Can you heal her?"
Vegeta put a hand into the mist. Green sparkles flashed over his glove.
"Don't do that!" snapped Enyuka. "You'll damage it."
"What is this Gaia, anyway?"
"All life on our planet is made form Gaia. It is an energy that determines how long we live, given by the planet when we reach adulthood – that's sixteen years. Gaia can be used to heal and to defend, but not normally to attack. You must have seen our army with their Gaia weapons and armour."
As she spoke, she waved her hands, and more Gaia gathered into the screen. She stopped and stared at Ayaleia's head.
"Someone's cut her hair." she said, mortified. "Was it you?"
"Why would anyone do that?" he asked.
"It's only a little, but… You see, a Gaian woman cannot cut their hair, as it is part of what Gaia flows around. If a Gaian woman cuts their hair after they are sixteen, they lose their Gaia in proportion to the loss. It's only a very small amount, so you wouldn't notice, but I could tell her Gaia was ever so slightly smaller than it should be."
She sighed.
"Plus the stress she's under, plus the fiasco of the coronation. I think… yes…"
Enyuka put her hand on Ayaleia's forehead, and Vegeta saw the familiar Gaia sparkles. The Gaia screen was returning back to green, but it stopped about three quarters of the way.
"That's it." she said.
Vegeta studied the Gaia screen.
"Isn't it supposed to turn green?" he asked.
"I've done all I can. To heal her any better, we would need a stronger healer."
"And is there one?"
"Yes, but she's unconscious with a fever. All we can do now is wait, and pray she wakes up…"
"Wake up, Ayaleia."
The voice was soft, and it reminded Ayaleia of home. On closer examination, the voice was attached to a face.
"Hey, wake up sleeping beauty."
Enyuka was looking over her.
"What on Gaia?"
Ayaleia sat up, and saw she was again in the medical bay.
"Enyuka, what are you doing here?" she asked.
Enyuka grinned.
"Seems that the doctor here hasn't met a Gaian before. Your Gaia confused him, I think."
"I remember going to bed, and I fell…"
"You've had a fever. You're Gaia was under attack – have you been feeling down?"
Ayaleia gestured to her surroundings.
"Can you blame me for getting a little depressed?" she asked rhetorically.
In reality, Ayaleia had been cracking under the pressure of being both Queen of Gaia and a warrior in Frieza's army. The two conflicted with each other so much that, totalling with her own feelings; it had given her a nervous breakdown. The coronation disaster had taken its toll.
"I thought this might cheer you up." Enyuka said, passing her a small square of paper. "I didn't get to hand it over earlier."
Ayaleia took it and stared at the image. It was the photograph that had been taken on her induction to Gaia. It clearly showed the three faces of herself and her parents.
"Oh Enyuka…" she sobbed.
"Keep it safe." said Enyuka.
Ayaleia nodded, and tucked it away in her uniform.
"So what happened?" Enyuka asked.
Ayaleia hesitated to gather her words, and slowly began:
"I went straight to my quarters when we came back. I went straight to bed – I felt exhausted after… you know. I dreamt about home, and it turned into a nightmare. Then I woke up. I tried to go out to get some fresh air, and I fell. The next thing was me waking up here."
Ayaleia sighed.
"You know there are two little Ayaleia's inside of me. There's the Gaian Aya and the Saiyan Aya. They keep conflicting. I almost lose my self sometimes. There's several times where I've nearly… killed."
Enyuka gasped.
"No, no, no, Aya, you can't let them win! You have to fight back!"
"It's difficult sometimes. You have no idea; it's so intoxicating. Now I know why power corrupts so easily. At first I couldn't understand why the others would be so caught up in the battle, why they would want to conquer others. But then, I experienced it first hand. The rush you get from fighting. It makes me feel sick, but at the same time excited. To know you have power over someone else is incredible. And Raditz, Nappa, Vegeta, Frieza, and all the other strong fighters. They must feel like it all of the time. And why go back to Gaia? There's no way I would be accepted. Perhaps it's better just to sever all my ties, and go."
Enyuka shook her head, horrified.
"Aya! You don't know what you're saying! Stop it!"
She shook her friend by her shoulders, trying to snap her out of this strange mood.
"You're frightening me, Aya!"
Ayaleia blinked and shook her head.
"I'm sorry." she said. "I didn't mean to cause you any distress."
Enyuka looked straight into Ayaleia's despondent eyes.
"You can't let it win. If your mother and father thought you could be a Gaian, then a Gaian you can be. Becoming like them is the easy way out. Are you going to let them win that easily?"
"You're right." Ayaleia said. "I have to stop it."
"Now that's more like it. Come on, Aya! I'm counting on you!"
Ayaleia smiled.
"Let's get out of here." she said.
"Sure." Enyuka replied. "You can show me around this big ship of yours."
It was nice to have someone from home with her. Ayaleia felt less intimidated as she strolled around the spaceship. They passed Frieza, followed by Dodoria and Zarbon.
"Who's your new friend, Ayaleia?" Frieza asked.
"This is Captain Enyuka. She's looking after Gaia whilst I'm away." Ayaleia replied.
"Another weak Gaian?" Dodoria mocked.
"I'd watch what you're saying, if I were you." Enyuka snapped. "Not all of us are as weak as you think."
"Now, now." Frieza said. "Dodoria, don't be so rude to our guest. Do make yourself at home."
And with that, they left.
"Well, I didn't like the spiky guy, but the other guy was cute." Enyuka remarked once they were out of earshot.
"Don't even think about it." Ayaleia warned. "I've seen what he's capable of."
She stopped.
"There's nothing down here except the training rooms." she said.
"Why don't we borrow one?" Enyuka suggested.
"Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt." Ayaleia agreed.
They practised staff fighting for a while, one of Ayaleia's preferences. They stopped when Vegeta entered.
"I never thought I'd find you here of your own free will." he remarked. "But do carry on."
They shrugged and continued. Ayaleia could really see the difference in fighting styles now. Gaian fighting was much more refined and flowing in contrast to the brutal and demanding Saiyan style.
They fought for a while more, until Vegeta said:
"Aren't you tired?"
They looked at him, confused.
"It's half-past two in the morning. You've been practising for nearly a day."
"You're kidding!" Ayaleia exclaimed. "I don't even feel tired."
"That's because you've grown a lot stronger. Weak fighting like that won't tire you out."
Ayaleia looked to Enyuka, who shrugged.
"Well how about something to tire us out?" Enyuka asked. "Why don't you and I try a round?"
"What?! Enyuka, are you insane!" cried Ayaleia, trying not to choke.
Vegeta shrugged.
"Suits me." he said.
"Enyuka, there's no way you're strong enough!" Ayaleia warned, dreading that her friend would end up the same way she did every training lesson.
"Relax, Aya. I've had a lot more practise now Frieza's soldiers are on Gaia."
Ayaleia had a feeling of dread as she watched Vegeta and Enyuka fighting it out. She was surprised to see Enyuka putting up quite a good fight. But still, Vegeta was far stronger than Enyuka, and it wasn't long before she fell to the ground.
"No!" Ayaleia cried, stepping in front of her friend. "That's enough."
"Out of my way." Vegeta snapped. "She challenged me."
Ayaleia brought up a Gaia shield.
"Let her go. You've proved your point."
"Alright, I'll do you a deal. You swap places with her."
Ayaleia looked down at the floor.
"Alright." she agreed.
Enyuka woke up just in time to see Ayaleia sprawled out on the floor.
"You Gaians just can't seem to last." Vegeta commented. "Think yourself lucky."
Enyuka glared at him, and healed herself. She went over to Ayaleia, and carefully picked her up.
"She needs to rest. To recover." she said. "I have to go, but I don't want her being disturbed, understand? And that's doctor's orders."
Enyuka exited to Vegeta's resounding laughter.
"Ah!" Ayaleia screamed, sitting bolt upright.
She glanced around. "Aya!"
She looked towards the door.
"Who's there?"
"It's me, Raditz. Are you alright?"
"Uh, yeah, fine."
"What happened to Enyuka?" she called.
"She had to go home. Trouble or something." Raditz replied.
'Oh well.' thought Ayaleia. 'It was good while it lasted.'
"Well," continued Raditz, "Did you want to come out with me?"
"What, now?"
"Uh, yeah."
"Well, I can't sleep, so I may as well. Alright, I could do with some company."
She pulled on her clothes, and stepped out into the corridor.
"So, where are we going?" she asked.
"I thought maybe just for a walk?" he suggested.
Ayaleia looked at him strangely. The cogs in her brain were turning.
"Are you feeling alright, Raditz?" she asked. "You look a bit peaked."
"No, no I'm fine." he replied, but something about the way he spoke made her unsure. They ended up on the observation deck. Ayaleia looked out to the stars. Gaia wasn't visible from here.
"Tell me," queried Ayaleia. "What was life on your planet like?"
Raditz paused, collecting his thoughts. The question caught him off guard.
"Well, it was…" he thought harder. "It was… I don't know how you'd explain it. It was pretty rough I suppose. Hierarchies were made with the strongest as the leader. We are a warrior race, and the strongest Saiyan is King – or Queen. Most of our rulers have been Kings, but we have had a few Queens."
Ayaleia laughed.
"Doesn't that damage your male pride?" she asked.
"Not really. We're quite fair. Nappa's mother was the head of their household. I only met her once. She was a terror. He was an only child, and his father wasn't half as strong as she."
"What about your family?"
"My mother died when I was still a kid. That left my father, Bardock, and myself, and my two little brothers, Talis and Kakarot."
"So did you and Nappa know each other?"
"We didn't know each other that well. I'd seen him around a few times before, but I only really got to know him after the comet came. You have to remember, my family wasn't very strong. My father and I were only low-class soldiers. Talis did a bit better. He managed to rise up enough for Frieza to trust him. Then one day – gone. Talis just disappeared, along with a few soldiers. He is the only one who ever escaped."
Raditz stared out at the huge void of space.
"When Frieza came, we had no choice but to work for him. My father sent Kakarot away to conquer other planets. Talis escaped from Frieza and my father died when the planet was destroyed. I'm the only one left form my family now."
There was silence for a moment. To break the silence, Ayaleia asked.
"Do all Saiyans fight all the time?"
"No. Look at me and Nappa. We get on fine. We established the pecking order, and now we get on great."
"So why does Vegeta hate me so much?"
"That is a more complicated subject." Raditz sighed. "He just isn't a people person."
"He's egocentric, arrogant and cruel." Ayaleia snapped, and then quickly added. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."
"Aya, I know you think that there must be a nice part of Vegeta in there somewhere, but you're wrong. Vegeta is Vegeta. You've gotta remember that he was brought up by Frieza. Nappa looked after him most of the time, but it was really Frieza who taught him."
"That explains a lot. Perhaps I was too rash in my judgement."
"But still. He shouldn't treat you the way he does." Raditz muttered darkly. "I wish I could teach him a lesson."
"No." said Ayaleia firmly. "I don't want anyone fighting for me."
"Aya…"
"Hmm…?"
Ayaleia took her gaze from the window, and looked at Raditz. He was looking at her with that strange look again. She frowned.
"What's the matter?" she asked.
"I don't really know how to say this…" Radditz replied, turning red.
He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
"Uh, well I, uh wanted to ask you…. I mean you can say no if you want, it's fine. I just, ah…"
Ayaleia felt confused, and suddenly her brain kicked into life.
'Oh.' she thought. 'Poor Raditz.'
"Raditz stop." she said. "I know what you're going to say."
"You do?"
Ayaleia nodded.
"About you and me." she replied.
Raditz blushed.
"Well…"
"It's alright, you don't have to say it." she said, and sighed. "Raditz, I'm really sorry, but I don't think of you like that."
She looked at him, and felt awful. It was like kicking a puppy.
"You're really nice to me, and you've helped me a lot." she continued. "But I can't… it just won't work. We're just too different."
Raditz turned his head back to the stars.
"It's okay." he said, trying to hide his disappointment. "I understand."
"But we can still be friends." she said, putting a consolatory hand on his arm.
He put a hand on hers.
"Sure. I guess I can settle for second prize."
"Oh, please don't be like that!" she pleaded.
"It's alright, Aya. I'll be okay."
"But, I think it was very sweet of you." she leant over and gave him a peck on the cheek. "You've cheered me up no end."
She smiled, and waved goodbye. She disappeared out the room. Raditz put a hand to the place where she'd kissed him. He smiled weakly.
'Oh well, it was worth a shot.' he told himself, and returned to his star gazing.
Ayaleia sat down on her bed and fiddled with her hands. She felt so horrid, refusing Raditz as she did. In truth, she did care for him quite a lot. But she knew she would never be able to accept his fighting and killing. Her heart felt heavy, but she had been cheered by his emotion, and his story of Saiyan life.
'Perhaps,' she thought 'There is still hope. Perhaps if even Saiyans can love another and have families then all hope is not lost.'
She smiled to herself briefly, and took the photo of her and her parents out from her hiding place in her armour. She traced the outlines of the three of them.
"Yes, perhaps all is not lost." she whispered.
Ayaleia slept fitfully that night. She kept dreaming of being operated on. In her dream, someone was cutting her open to see the Saiyan and Gaian part of her.
She awoke with a start and found herself in the medical bay.
"Another fever?" she asked Doctor Laine.
"Don't you remember?" he replied, astonished. "You came down here asking for some sleeping tablets. The next thing I knew, you were out for the count."
"I don't remember anything." she said, climbing off the bed.
"Hmm. Do you feel bad at all?"
Ayaleia put a hand to her side.
"Here." she said. "It's just an ache, but I've been having it for a while."
The doctor examined the patch, but there were no visible marks.
"I don't think it's anything serious. Does it stop you from doing anything?"
"No."
"Then I wouldn't worry about it. You must just have been over tired last night. That can cause memory loss, if you needed sleep badly."
"If you say so." she said. "Am I good to go?"
"Of course. But take these with you."
He handed Ayaleia a bottle containing some pills.
"These are those medicines I've heard about." she said. "I think they're called tablets?"
"That's right. Take one or two whenever it gets bad."
She took the bottle, and put it away.
"See you soon." Laine called after her.
"Sorry?" she asked, surprised. "What does that mean?"
"Given your current rate of progress, I'll probably be seeing you again – after you get knocked out again form training."
"Oh, yes." she stuttered.
But as Ayaleia exited, she felt something niggling at her. The way the doctor had said his last line, it was if there was no doubt she would be back. And she had the same feeling she'd had after waking up from the Omega Room, and it wasn't the first time she'd had a dream like that. She checked herself over. Nothing seemed to be out of place.
'I'm imagining things.' she scolded herself.
She went down to the training hall – she suspected Vegeta would be waiting for her. Sure enough, when she entered, Vegeta was waiting – with Raditz and Nappa.
"You took your time." was the greeting she received. "Where have you been?"
"I had to go to the medical bay – I wasn't feeling very well." she explained. "But I'm alright, the doctor gave me some medicine."
"Let me see."
Ayaleia obediently handed him the bottle. Vegeta frowned at the label. Something was familiar about it, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He passed it back to her.
"What is it supposed to do?" he questioned.
"Just painkillers." she replied. "I keep getting this pain right here."
She pointed to the place near her waist where, even now, it was hurting. Vegeta heard the alarm bells ringing in his head, but he didn't know why. He knew he got a similar pain sometimes. He dismissed the thought.
"You're here for another test, but this time we might as well start with Nappa." Vegeta said, motioning Nappa forward. "Same rules as before."
Ayaleia nodded, and pocketed her medication. She had gained more confidence than when she had had to fight Raditz. And she knew Nappa didn't let up as easily as Raditz did, so she was prepared to get her attacks in first, and keep light on her feet.
She was ready for when Nappa charged in immediately after the commencement of the battle, and she concentrated on learning his attack patterns. Having seen them out in the field, she was at an advantage.
Nappa was finding it difficult to land a hit on his opponent – wherever he tried to strike her, she always managed to be somewhere else. He was getting frustrated – but he didn't realise how fast his energy was going down, until he found himself getting weary. Ayaleia had not survived intact, but she was far better off than Nappa.
It must have been gradual, but to Nappa it felt too soon, that he couldn't fight any more. Ayaleia had exhausted him with the fight. Now she played it to her advantage, and Nappa was stunned when he found himself beaten.
"I win?" she asked Vegeta.
"I'd say so." Vegeta replied. "Get up Nappa."
"So now what? Am I strong enough for you?" she questioned, healing Nappa's injuries as he passed her.
"You've proven yourself to be quite a strong fighter." Vegeta acquiesced. "But you're not ready to face me like that. Nappa, Raditz, you can go."
Vegeta waited until they had left, and crossed over to the corner of the room. Ayaleia had not noticed the staff propped up there. He picked it up and stood a little way away opposite her. Ayaleia threw him a curious look.
"From what your Captain was telling me, you're the best staff wielder on your planet." he said.
"Oh, I wouldn't say that." Ayaleia replied modestly.
"So I'll make this one allowance. This fight will be using staffs. Not my favourite choice of fighting, but I want to see how good you really are."
Ayaleia nodded, and summoned the Gaia staff.
"But no other Gaia, got it?" he said.
"I understand." she said.
Ayaleia actually found herself enjoying this fight much more. She had not used her staff in a long time – except for when Enyuka had come aboard – and the Karaf style of Gaian staff fighting was an agile, but flowing one. It had always relaxed her when training. To her surprise, Vegeta was quite skilled with a staff – she would not have put him down as that type – it was more of a defensive weapon.
If Vegeta was a little weaker, a little slower, then it they would have been equal in skill. As it was, Vegeta had an advantage over her. Ayaleia did not give up. She changed from the fast and agile Karaf to the more offensive and slower Hne. This seemed to have more of an impact, and for a time, she was beating Vegeta back. He changed his style, though, and Ayaleia resorted to her defence based skills of Utsen. To free herself from simply blocking, she used Xalan, misdirectional skills, that freed her from the stalemate. She changed back to Karaf again, and stepped up the pace.
They were still in full swing, when Vegeta suddenly pushed her away and lowered his staff.
"It's time to go." he said.
"Huh?" Ayaleia was confused.
"It's time to go." he repeated. "The ship should be here by now. This was just something to fill the time."
"Oh." Ayaleia said, and dismissed the Gaia staff.
Vegeta propped his staff up on the wall, and turned back to her.
"You're not too bad, I suppose." he commented, leading the way.
