The Legacy of the Saiyaness

Chapter 21: The Announcement

Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ, but I do own Letish and her techniques.

Dear Followers, Favoriters, and BLAH, thank you so much for all that you've done! I love all of the support you've been giving me! It's really amazing and I love you guys so much! I would thank you all individually but I would have to go into my mail and search through all of the pre read crap. But know that I notice every time someone follows DBR and LOTS:COL. Anyway, I do appreciate you following and favoriting me, I encourage you to continue. But I would ask if you want to compliment on a chapter that you would make a little review, long or short, regarding any chapter. I just really want to hear some feedback from you. I wanna know what's on your mind, what you enjoyed, what you thought about it, suggestions, etc. So if you could review and let me hear your thoughts, that would be much appreciated. Thanks! :D

Vegeta stood by the wall watching Trunks and Goten as Bulma tended to their injuries. He wanted to have one of the employees take care of the boys until Bulma found out and did the job herself. Of course she wanted to know what happened and Vegeta had no problem filling her in. Though he respected the sanctity of Saiyan bonds and spared his wife the details of why what went down went down, in spite of his resentment for Letish. It wasn't until sometime after this that Goku came by to see how his son and Trunks were doing.

"Bulma, what are you doing here?" he asked, not excepting to find her there.

"I found our sons beat up so I'm here to take care of them," she scowled while tending to her son first.

Goku scratched the back of his head nervously.

"Oh, right... about that—" he began.

"Vegeta already told me about what happened. I know it was an accident so Letish doesn't have to worry. She isn't in any trouble."

Goku looked over at Vegeta, surprised. He assumed Vegeta would have told Bulma everything about the spar. Maybe a part of him did care about her after all, he thought smiling. "Thank you, Vegeta," he said.

"Don't thank me," Vegeta sulked irritably.

"Why not?"

A little smile crept its way onto Bulma's face. "I must say, Goku. Letish is quite the strong little girl with being able to whoop both Goten and Trunks's butts. It appears she might be stronger than them granted they haven't been training a lot lately." Bulma bursted out into a laugh after trying to hold it in for a long time.

Vegeta growled both at her and to himself over such a possibility.

Goku had to give Letish props. As brutally as she was beating on them, he did find it quite impressive of how much fighting experience she had. A teen Saiyaness in a tween body and still able to unleash that much power on two experienced demi-Saiyans. Sure it didn't turn out the way they had planned but neither had Goku's spar with Beerus the Destroyer. He was certain more than ever that he wanted to train Letish. She was good, had her own signature fighting style, but she was missing a few things. And Goku would definitely be the one to teach her.

He laughed, "Maybe..." His smile dropped a little. "Listen. When you get the chance I need to talk to everyone about something." He started to walk towards the door.

" Need to talk?" Bulma repeated. "Do I need to make a few phone calls?"

He stopped and looked back. " No, just you guys, Chi-Chi and Gohan. I'll tell the others the next time I see them." He left the room.

While everyone was going about their business, Letish was still resting up. Between the spar and the "mid-transformation", she worn out for the day. But this time to herself wasn't very ideal. She was turning in her sleep and wrestling with her sheets while having a nightmare. She could feel herself getting hot. Her breathing became irregular and rough. Why was this happening, she wondered. Couldn't she have a break, just for once? Was that honestly took much to ask for? She wanted to let her past go and move on to a better life. Feeling pain and guilt hurt her more than having to keep it to herself. The answer to that question was more than evident and lied within her dream, focusing on her past and present...

Letish was in a dark room, alone. Suddenly two golden flashes of florescence appeared in front of her which belonged to that of Super Saiyans. She gasped before growling and positioning herself to take action. She leaped forward at them in a haze and threw punches at them, which had no effect on them. Grunting, and cursing them, "Damn you!" The Super Saiyans multiplied into four now. She persisted with her fight, wanting all of them to leave her sight. Still the Super Saiyans grew in numbers, to the point where they surrounded her in a crowd. Their faces were unrecognizable and almost faded out with the exception of the warriors' sinister smirks. She panted, looked them all over, and growled. Energy blasts fired from her hands and at their intended target. Letish slumped over again, feeling exhausted. She could barely keep her eyes open. But that wasn't enough as were still not effected by her efforts. The populous was even bigger now.

"Why won't you stop...?" she questioned. She finally collapsed after having had enough of them. The Super Saiyans' flames came together as they seemed to flow into one another. Now there was one solitary Super Saiyan left. He walked to Letish as she tried to get on her hands and knees. She felt herself being picked up by her hair and grunted. The Super Saiyan held her up to his face and smirked. She recognized him. That hair, those bangs that covered his forehead so elegantly, those innocent eyes that were now evil. Letish caught her breath and began panting nervously. "Goku...!?" He grabbed her by the neck and started to choke her. She latch her hands onto his wrist and scratched it to get him to release her.

As he continued choking her, Letish whipped her head back and forth. She hissed and couldn't help shaking. She felt like she literally couldn't breathe, and what was worse was seeing Goku as the one taking the life out of her. From the moment Letish came out of that pod and saw Goku for the first time, she knew there was something different about him. Even after this, she saw that fact. In the way he welcomed her, reached out to her, and much more. His eyes were a reassurance of her opinion of him. So why was he trying to kill her? He isn't that kind of person, she thought. Letish didn't understand what was going on, thinking it was all real. Seeing that evil look on his face made her want to cry. Her locket started heating up as she thrashed around.

Just before her eyes could shut, the Super Saiyan laughed. Letish opened her eyes a little, suspicious of his response. The laugh didn't belong to Goku. It was far too different to be mistaken. Goku had a cheery and harmless laugh, but this one was deep and dark. Her eyelids pulled themselves up even more in terror. The Super Saiyan was different now. In fact, he wasn't a Super Saiyan at all. Just a man, a horrible man. A monster. Tears poured down her cheeks in utter terror and her head fell back a little. Letish couldn't take it anymore: the pain, the guilt, the manipulation that man played into her life. She wanted it to all go away, especially him. She would take fighting the Super Saiyans over having to see him again. She snarled in his grasp. Her nails plunged into his skin and pierced his wrist. Blood shot out out of his arm, which made him loosen his grip on her. She lifted her head back up to see him once again, and with stiff determination and pure hatred, she mustered with a screech, "You monster! I'll kill you!"

Letish shot up from her nightmare in a cold sweat. She was still growling, thinking she was still dreaming. She threw her arms around, clawing at the air. She stopped when her hands caught the sheets. The tears that were stuck in her eyes finally escaped and her brows furrowed. Her vision was blurry from the crying too. Letish suddenly felt lonely, crawling up into a ball. She was scarred by her dream. The Saiyaness had no idea her grief was this strong. It scared her to believe for a moment that her past wouldn't stop following. She launched out of bed and ran out the door. She was on a search to go find someone who could ease her of pain, whom she knew in her heart and her gut could only be Goku.

"What is this about, Goku?" Chi Chi asked her husband.

"There's something I should have told you as soon as I found out... it's been hard to even wrap my mind around it."

"What is it you brought us in here for, Father?" his son Gohan urged him. He sighed then told them about the bond and everything Vegeta said to him the other day. Bulma was shocked and dumbfounded by the news, but that was nothing compared to Chi-Chi's reaction.

Letish was listening to it all. She wanted to talk to him alone and was overjoyed when she heard his voice. Plus, she was curious as to why she woke up in her room

'What?! No, this isn't true! There's no way we're bound together by oath! This can't be happening!' She backed up into the wall behind her and slid down to the the floor. "First Mother, now Goku... Yet another person I care for will fall victim to being linked to me..."

"Goku... are you telling us you could die if new threats come to Earth and see Letish as expendable? Are you saying we could lose you forever?"

"Chi-Chi, I don't think he meant to—"

"Answer me, Goku! Did you really save her life at the expense of yours?"

"Mother, please. He's trying to explain."

"All of this is could or could not happen, Chi-Chi. The whole thing is really hard to explain... I promised her that she would be safe here and I guess that's what started all of this..."

She growled. "You guess?! For years, ever since we had Gohan, you've spent your training and fighting villains, and ignoring your duties as a father and a husband! And when you weren't fighting some alien free, you were in Other World, still incapable of tending to your family! Now granted there were a few occasions when we didn't have to worry about whether or not you would come home, and it was all I ever wanted for us. But finding out you could die and leave us for good... Ugh, it always seems to be one thing or another with you, Goku!"

"But it's not all bad, Chi-Chi. Vegeta said he would teach me how to manage my bond so I'm not throwing my life away over every little thing," he explained.

"You need to keep in mind that this isn't his fault, Chi-Chi," Vegeta spoke up.

"There was no way around something like this."

"That's pretty big talk coming from the guy who's been potting against Letish since he woke up," Goku blurted out.

"You're what?!" Bulma shouted.

"I've already explained my reasons for wanting her out of here to Kakarot! Letish has proven to be a threat to my family!"

"What are you talking about?" she asked him. "Want her out? But she hasn't done anything wrong."

"I'll say," Letish said as she finally stepped in. She pushed the door shut. Her eyes were fixed on Vegeta with a sternness.

"Letish!" Bulma gasped. The Saiyaness took another step.

"You know, I don't appreciate people who talk about me behind my back. If you've got something to tell me, say it to my face. Just because I'm a kid doesn't mean you can treat me like one." Her words made the prince snarl because he knew she was addressing him, but she overall hated such behavior.

"Please forgive us, Letish. We know that was rude of us. How much did you hear?"

"Well," she started, taking a step forward. "I know that Goku is linked to me as my Protector. Wanna take a crack at what else I may know." If her first comment wasn't hint enough that she knew what they were talking about, that sure did the trick. And Vegeta sure wasn't very fond of the way she was talking to his wife.

"You heard everything?" she heard Goku ask her. She snapped out of her trance and looked over at him.

That's when it all set in; that they were bound forever, or at least until one of them died. It made sense now; why she felt instantly close to him, why she kept wanting to seek him out, why it was so easy to talk to him, why he was always asking if she was alright, and so on. Letish was just relieved she finally got her answer. She couldn't help but notice the look in his eyes: the fear, the concern. It was normal for someone in his shoes to feel that way. He only knew very little about Saiyans, which hardly covered their culture and traditions. He looked so scared, she thought. But the more she pondered over it, the more she was convinced the responsibility wasn't the reason why...

Letish opened her mouth then paused before saying, "Yes."

"Great. That means you can finally join the conversation," Vegeta butted in.

She scrunched her nose up at him. "Excuse me, but I don't want any part of this conversation! I want it to end! Where do you get off wanting me out of your house?! You said I could stay here!"

"Letish, it's alright," Goku told her. "Just calm down."

"Where do you get off talking to me like that?" Vegeta demanded.

"You ask that as if I don't have a reason to be angry... Bulma's right. I did nothing wrong!" Letish looked very convincing. Then again so did Vegeta. "But you did." "What?" she asked.

"Something did happen," Goku said "You went on a rampage last night and attacked Piccolo, Vegeta, me, and our sons."

Letish and Chi-Chi exclaimed in disbelief before Letish cut in. "That's ridiculous! I was asleep, I couldn't have done what you're saying—" She saw the truth in her protector's eyes and slowly reached her hand up to her locket. "My necklace... I took it off. I tried to get to it, but..."

He laid a hand on her shoulder. "Letish, I know what you may be thinking and it's ok."

She brushed his hand off her shoulder. "Maybe you provoked me, Vegeta. Why would I waste a trifling scuffle on you?"

"I'll tell you why, to kill him!" He said simply, pointing at Goku.

Letish immediately back tracked and stood in front of Goku defensively, even though she only came up to his hip. "Why in Mecheta would I do that?"

"That's what wanted to know..." She turned her head back at Goku in confusion then switched back, narrowing her brows.

"Well you must have knocked a few of my screws loose—" "You confronted me with the same mentality, Letish." She scoffed. "Liar!"

Bulma had to separate the two and tell them both to calm down. "That's enough! Stop arguing already!"

"I'll stop as soon as he quits insinuating that I tried to kill Goku on purpose! That's stupid! Why would I do that?! He saved my life! And even if I didn't know he was my Protector, I would still act the same way towards him as I am right now!"

"Then why did you ever took the necklace off?" the prince challenged "I thought you said you had to wear it at all times."

"I was taking a bath. It would have been ruined if it got soaked."

"It managed just fine when you were completely submerged within the rejuvenation tank," he mentioned.

The Saiyaness forgot about the instance and tried to rebound with a perfect explanation. Fortunately it was her lucky day. "The Mechetan scientists must have reengineered my necklace so it could withstand contact with water."

Veget didn't buy her story and Goku became more tired of his behavior. "I don't think Letish meant to attack us. She wasn't wearing her necklace, but I'm sure she thought she couldn't get her necklace wet—"

"Stop trying to defend me, Goku. I know that's your job but I can take petty remarks from someone like Vegeta." She didn't notice until now that her necklace was burning hot and the stone was red. She held in tightly in her hand to get her temper to calm. "I don't care what you say. I know my tendencies in and out of my necklace and I didn't mean for any of this to happen."

"And what about earlier?"

"Earlier? Are you kidding me?! What else did I do, Vegeta?" She looked around the room. "And where's Trunks and Goten? I thought we were training. One minute I'm fighting them, the next I'm waking up... in my bed..." Her scowl slowly dropped and her eyes grew, remembering why that was.

Goku bent down to her level and put his hands on her shoulders. "Letish, it's-" She shoved him off her with tears in her eyes.

"No it's not, Goku! What about any of this is alright?" She tried to run away but he grabbed her hand to stop her. She was caught off guard.

"I know you're scared and don't know what to do, but let me help you. Please. You're just a kid. This is a lot to ask, but you have to trust me."

Letish wanted to pulled away so bad. So much was happening she could hardly breathe. It was bad enough there were past demons still being dealt with, now a man she's known for a day has vowed his life to protect her. Why so soon? Why did all of this have to happen back-to-back? Her leaving her home planet, the formation of the bond, the fight, and the spar too? She wanted to pull her hair out at that moment. And then she started to think more about it. Sure she had endured a lot of pain before she came to Earth and now was bound to Goku who would give up the upmost important things for her safety, and how kind he was to offer up something so willingly. However it was still a lot to take in. Sure she had the intelligence of a wise fifteen year old and the combat skills to match, but she was still innocent in the heart as a child. So were the circumstances really as bad as they pegged them to be?

Taking this question into consideration, she didn't pull away or try to run. Instead, the Saiyaness finally accepted what the universe had given her and stopped ignoring what was right before her eyes. She now had new people to care for, a new family so to speak. She trembled at the thought of having a new family; she could never forget or replace her previous family and didn't want to acknowledge them as her new one. Regardless of this, she stuck to what she was always good at all her life: adapting.

"Alright, I trust you." She stepped back. "You don't have to worry about informing Goku of what having an Oath Bond will be like for him. I will teach him myself."

"That won't be necessary," Vegeta said. "I'm more than capable of doing that myself. I know a lot more about Saiyan bonds than you. You just a kid." She grumbled.

"Don't doubt my knowledge on Saiyan bonds or my ability to teach my protector about them! I may look little but in here is the brain of a well education Saiyan," Letish informed him, pointing at her head. She crossed her arms. "And let's not forget I've spent my life wiring it to work like a computer. But I'm sure yours does too," she said sarcastically.

"I get it!" Vegeta yelled. "Fine. Teach your protector."

"And another thing. You're going to stop trying to get me out of here because I'm not leaving. In fact, until you banish your resentment for me I will be staying here at Capsule Corp. And after that only then will I decide if I really want to go live with Goku."

"I'm sure you wouldn't pass up the chance to be closer to Kakarot."

"I take offense to that. I'm not just some predictable little brat. I thrive off of people not knowing my next move. So maybe I shall remain here, building relationships with your son and the employees who work here. Trunks's opinion of me has seemed to change, and I do love being surrounded by technology and living in a big house. Or maybe I'll ruff it out on my own. After all I have always wondered what it's like to lively solely off of the land." She gave him mocking smirk. "Either way, you'll never know."

Vegeta was about to say something before Bulma grabbed his hand to calm him. "My husband may be grumpy and bitter, but I would still love to have you here. I hope you don't feel threatened to leave."

She muffled a laugh and smiled. "You don't have to worry about that. I've face far more terrifying things and this doesn't even come close to them." Her smile dropped when she noticed Chi-Chi hadn't said anything in a long time. "How do you feel about all of this, Chi-Chi? I know you must have an infinite number of questions running through your head. You're the wife of my protector, so I do care how you feel about all of this."

The housewife tried to produce words but couldn't think straight.

"I understand what you're going through, at least a little bit. This has happened to me before but under different circumstances, and it changed me forever when they fulfilled their duties... but I don't want to see that happen to you!" Everyone was taken aback when she raised her voice. "I heard everything you said about what your family's been through! I don't want to be the cause of another loss! I'll do whatever I can to ensure that I don't put Goku in any position to risk his life for me, even though I know he won't stand for it...!"

Chi-Chi didn't have the words for Letish. Here she was furious at Goku for getting himself mixed up in more drama and afraid of the possibility that he would leave her for good. And now standing in front of her was a girl—an innocent stranger who owed nothing to any one of them, holding her head high at their insensitivity and prejudice—who was willing to defend the man who rescued her and cared about her well being. And not only that, Letish cared as much for her protector as he did for her that she was concerned for his wife's well being. She was quite brave and selfless for a kid.

She could tell Letish wasn't expecting to be linked to her husband and was handling it reasonably well. She also had to consider that Letish was still young, she was a stranger to them and Earth, and she had no home other than Earth now. Meanwhile she's had to endure plenty since she and Goku got married. You would think she would be used to things like this by now. But still, it hurt her to the core to think she could lose the man she loved forever...

Even Vegeta was moved by her proclamation, not knowing she cared about Kakarot to that extent. What was it about that made her so protective of him, and so loyal? A Saiyan such as herself wouldn't normally take what was happening so seriously; yes it was true that Saiyans were bound by their word, but they did not possess a strong sense of family with the exception of the royal family. Not to mention she could be such a brat, he thought. The prince pondered over why Letish would be concerned for his wife and sons. Even though she did an impressive job of convincing everyone of her intentions, Vegeta still had a sick feeling in his stomach for her. He still didn't trust her. There was no negotiating her leaving the premises without his wife unleashing her wrath upon him or losing the respect from his comrade. He would just have to keep his eyes peeled when Letish is around and wait until she did something to screw up her chances.