The Legacy of the Saiyaness

Chapter 28: The Namekian/Saiyaness Spar

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball Z, but I do own Letish and her techniques.


[Author's Note: Wow, this is a long time coming... Don't think I haven't noticed all your support! Thank you so much! I hope you like this one, may or may not edit it for errors and whatnot. But I wanna know what you guys think of the chapter and the story in general so far, suggestions, questions, improvements, theories, etc. Thanks again and enjoy! :)]


Day 1

"Get up. It's time to start your training," Letish could hear Piccolo telling her as she started to wake up. "We may have a whole week, but I don't intend on wasting a minute."

Her eyes shot open, now awake. She kicked up and crouched low, grinning with her eyes closed "Well then that's something we can agree on because neither do I," she said in a mature voice.

Piccolo gave her a look, not expecting her to be so quick to begin training, even after seeing how excited she was when he agreed to train her for the next week.

"... Very well. Let's get started," he said, resolute.

They met far from the cave and stretched before taking their fighting stance. Piccolo lunged at her and threw punches and kicks. Letish dodged them and watched his moves very closely. Once again the advantage of having a brain that operated like a super computer came in handy. However she knew he was quite the intelligent Namekian and could very well keep up with her mentally. Realizing how much of a challenge being trained by him was going to be made a smirk spread across her face, but for now she focused on studying his fighting style and the different techniques he would use.

"You sure are all smiles today. What is it this time?" he asked her.

"Wouldn't you like to know..." she retorted then snickered. "I'm certain you'll find out within the week."

Letish caught his fist and pushed him back. His heels dug into the ground, leaving behind two long impressions. Piccolo stopped himself and flew back at her. She blocked his kick with her arm and they sped up the pace from there. They ignored all their surroundings as they kicked and threw each other into mountains and occasionally blasted them to bits when they were aiming for the other.

Hours went by and they were still fighting. Even so, Letish felt more and more fueled by the hour while Piccolo was put off by this. 'When is this girl going to stop?' It was already getting dark and they needed to recoup and rest soon. When he saw how much she was enjoying herself fighting him and realized she wouldn't call a quits, he took it in his hands to cease the fight.

Piccolo smacked away one of her blasts and hit her with one of his. Letish grunted, falling flat on her face. She quickly budged to pick herself back up and staggered toward him sloppily and snickering insanely, almost tripping over her steps. He stopped her with his palm against her forehead while she flailed her arms defensively.

"Enough," he said. "We're done for today."

"What are you talking about?!" she cackled. Letish grabbed his wrist with both hands and peeled his hand off her face. Her pupils were tiny and she had a wicked grin that was too big even for her. "I don't wanna stop here! We still have the whole night to train!"

Piccolo saw the crazy look she had in her eyes. "You're tired. I should've known not even you can train non-stop despite your obsession to do so anyway. We'll continue this the same time tomorrow morning."

"You know, brilliant people really shouldn't say stupid things!" she said as he lifted his arm, bringing her up to his level. "Come on, man...! Just let me have a few more hours and I'll be good―I swear...!"

"I don't think you're understanding me, this isn't up for discussion. You need food and rest," he tried reminding her in a more calm tone in hopes that it would soothe her.

"And I don't think you're understanding me...! Either you keep training with me, or I'll just have to kick your―"

Piccolo pressed one of the pressures point in her neck, causing her to become limp and quickly lose consciousness. "Finally."

He took her back to the cave and laid her down before going to sleep.


Day 2

Letish rolled up, waking up from hours of hunger-filled slumber. "What happened?" she groaned. "Did I eat last night?"

"No," he answered.

"What?! Why not?! I've haven't eaten in two days! How could this have happened?!"

"You wouldn't stop fighting, so I had to knock you out," he explained simply.

"Oh really? Well thank you for that. Yeah, I do that sometimes when I've been training extensively. Mother used to hate it when I did that. She thought I was pushing myself too hard, but I know she was proud." She looked up at him. "I can't help it. Fighting someone who can keep up with me is very entertaining."

"Just get your food and eat so we can get started."

"Yes sir!" After she ate, they flew down to training base. "So what are we going to do today? Are you ready to fight any one of my emotions? It's hard to say which one will take over seeing that each one has their own trigger."

"Hmm," he uttered to himself. "You sure do refer to your emotion as though they're real people."

"Yep," she replied nonchalantly.

"Today's training will go a little differently than yesterday. The way you were acting as the day progressed tells me you need a "special" kind of training.

"Ooh! What will that be?!" She started jumping up and down before Piccolo put his hand on her head to get her to stop. "I'm not in trouble, am I?"

"Not at all, but I really do believe you could benefit from this new form of training. We'll fight for a few hours before you start."

"Sounds fair enough," she smiled.

Later, they were finished fighting each other and Letish was still anticipating what he hadn't told her yet. "Ok, we're officially done for the day as far as fighting goes. Now can you tell me what this special training is already?"

"Well, it's simple really," Piccolo started by sitting her on the ground "I want you to sit there and meditate."

Letish paused, trying to see if there was more to what he was saying, which did her nothing. "Really...? Just meditate...?"

"Yep, just that."

Letish wasn't liking the sound of this. "... And nothing else?"

"That's it," he answered, sitting down cross-legged. "You are to meditate while focusing on your emotional energy and only that."

"Oh..." She frowned, feeling the pressure of the situation. "Alright, Piccolo. I'll try." She closed her eyes and began meditating. It wasn't long before her head filled with a thousand voices as she muttered small groans to herself.

Piccolo could obviously hear this and it threw off his focus. "Stop doing that."

"I'm trying..."

"Then try harder."

"Why don't you trying kissing my"―Piccolo shot her a death glare that pierced through her―"head... and bless me with your infinite wisdom so that I may become more patient like you..." Little did Piccolo know that it would take Letish a lot longer to comprehend the importance of his demands.


Day 5

While Piccolo was going over the plan for the day, Letish was flat on her back, looking to the ground upside down. She saw an animal come into view. Licking her lips, she turned over on her stomach keeping her eyes on what would be her source of food for the day. "You have five minutes to eat, max. That's it. No slacking off."

The Saiyaness prepared herself, getting on all fours and arching her back, anticipating the delectable taste of the animal's meat. "I promise to take no longer than that..."

She zoomed out of the cave and darted after the animal. Eventually, Letish tackled it to the ground and was back to sink her teeth into it until she saw a look of terror in its eyes. Hesitating Letish pulled away, letting go of her grip and releasing the animal.

Piccolo flew down, wondering why she was wasting her time. "Hey, what's going on? I was serious when I told you five minutes!" She got up slowly, facing him but not making eye contact with him. He saw the distraught look on her face. "Letish? Aren't you going to eat?" he asked in a less aggressive voice.

She looked to be lost in thought to him, but she was able to give him an answer. "I'm not hungry anymore..."

Later on after they had begun their sparring, Piccolo noticed that she wasn't putting much of her effort into it. The next thing Letish knew she had taken a hit to the face.

"Hey! Stay focused!" he shouted, speeding up his pace which took her off guard. She was barely dodging his punches. He started to back her into the side of a plateau. "Fight back already!" He put hands in front and blasted her straight through, blowing it to bits. Letish grunted as she scraped against the ground. He kicked her onto her back. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"I'm sorry...! Today is just... one of those days..."

"Tough! Goku told me to train you and you're wasting my time!"

"No, you're wrong! He didn't tell you train Letish!" Sorrow snarled as she took over, "He asked you sincerely to do it! But you didn't ask for this... All of this was forced on you, and you had no say in how it was going to turn out―no choice, no running away...!"

"I think it's best we stop training today. Work on your meditating until nightfall."

"What?! No, please! Just let me continue for a little bit more!" Piccolo sat down a great distance away from Sorrow and began meditating, ignoring her pleas. "Piccolo, please! Keep training with me! I can't do this without you!"

He had completely blocked her out while she was tugging on his clothes to get him to listen to her. She stepped back and reluctantly walked over to begin her session. Her hands trembled and she bundled them up in her lap to relax herself. She closed her eyes. Immediately, memories of the man who attacked planet Mecheta and their fight flooded inside her mind. She started to become paranoid of the thought of more people coming after her, tearing pouring out of her eyes.

'Why couldn't I train with you first, Goku? At least you would be here for me...' Her fingertips and shoulders began to slowly freeze over, moving up her arms and neck. 'Where are you?! I don't know how much of this I can take this training! I know I have to do this but the memories are too painful. They're winning, Goku!' By now, her legs and arms were encased in a shell of ice as it was traveling up passed her abdomen.

She snapped out of it once she heard Piccolo's voice call for Letish. The ice shattered into pieces, shooting out in all directions. Piccolo shielded himself with his arm against the sudden chilling blast. Letish fell backwards on the ground now entirely covered in snow. She breathed deeply as her tears appeared to stop.

That night, Letish sat across from the fire staring into it and keeping warm. Piccolo was eyeing her from the other side. "You want to tell me what all that was about? Why did you let Sorrow take over back there? Don't tell me it was because of you letting that animal go earlier."

"No, my emotions don't overcome me for little things like that, only when something means a lot to me."

"It didn't appear that way to me―"

"Well it wasn't like that!" she snapped.

"Then what was it?!" he snapped back, annoyed.

"I didn't want to kill that creature, I'm not that cruel!"

"Oh come on! I've seen you kill and eat your meals before!"

"When I was wearing that damn necklace, you jerk! It was easy for me to not act like my true self with it on and I hated it! I don't kill animals mercilessly like that!"

"'Mercilessly'? It's called the circle of life, kid. You do what you have to in order to survive. Even a Saiyan like you can understand that."

"Survive maybe―sure I eat meat, but I'd never hurt something so innocent."

"And what happens when you have no choice but to fend for yourself, which would include finding your own food?! How can you be so stupid and stubborn?!"

"Because I know what it's like to be hunted after! I had my life turned upside down when that bastard killed everyone I ever knew! I lost my family, my friends, my home and it's all my fault! I couldn't even protect them!"

Letish slammed her fists down into the fire and sent a vibration into the earth. The flames shot up high and grew in size slightly. She was seething with anger so much that she was shaking and too distracted to notice her hands were being burned. "That is a mistake I will not make again! Even after losing them all, I was smart and strong enough to fight for my life! I relished in eradicating that monster; someone with a lifestyle such as his has no place in this world! In my world! As far as I care, taking his life was the exception!"

She looked down and pulled her hands out of the fire immediately. Letish held her arms close to her.

"Are you alright?!"

"Of course I am... I've made it this far, haven't I

"Here, I brought along some senzu beans―"

"Don't be stupid, I'll be fine without those."

"I doubt that, you have second degree burns on your hands, which you still need for tomorrow."

She grunted, flexing her hand. "Then I'll fix it."

Piccolo watched in awe as a metal surface covered her hands from their wrists to their fingertips. This reminded him of how she did a similar thing when they fought, except her entire body appeared to be covered. He pondered over the functionality of this technique as Letish got up and walked into the mouth of the cave. "That's much better. I'll be up at our regular time. Night.


Day 7

The Saiyaness resumed her training with the Namekian. She felt embarrassed about her breakdown and was going through the motions while dodging Piccolo's moves. He could tell she was distracted.

"Stay focused!" he shouted

"Huh?" she paused to think for a moment. "No..." she trailed off

"Not this again. Look, you've got to get over what happened to you! It's no reason to let that take control of your training, much less your life! Goku's brother came to earth to convince him to help conquer the earth and he took Gohan as leverage!"

"T-that really happened to him?"

"Yes, and Goku sacrificed his life to protect the earth from the monster!"

"I only wish I could've protected my people from their destruction―"

"Well there's nothing you can do about it. They're gone. All you can do is move forward and make a better life for yourself, but you clearly don't want to."

"What are you talking about? Of course I want to put it behind me!"

"Then why do you keep dwelling on your past? You think that's going to bring your friends back?"

"I know it won't! That's not what I'm doing! If you hadn't noticed, losing everyone you've ever known can be hard on anyone!"

"Big deal, every one of the Z Fighters have lost someone important at one point or another!" He pressed his fingers against his forehead and began to charge his Special Beam Cannon. "What makes you so special?! "

Piccolo fired his attack at her head on. Letish stared into the attack, thinking about his statement. He had a point in what he said in that everyone had grieved over a loved one.

'Piccolo's right. How can I talk like what I've gone through is worse than anything these guys have been though? They have more years and experience under their belt than I do... but that doesn't discount that my loss has been hard on me. It's time to stop running away from my pain, I need to face it head on.'

"My pain may be no more different than anyone else's here, but it's a big deal to me! It's the best part of me! When I allow my emotions to consume me to the point where I don't know if I can take it anymore, I have no other choice but to adapt with it! It's the only way I know how to move forward, so why is that a bad thing?!" She took his blast and absorbed it into her fingers. She could feel the energy course through her. Piccolo was taken aback by her absorbing his attack. With a resolute look in her eyes, she continued, "I am a Saiyaness: the last of my kind! A woman of perseverance! Burn that into your brain!"

The pent up energy the young Saiyaness had taken into her body erupted from her being with a loud cry and shot out in a far-reaching aura that covered the training field. Piccolo shielded his eyes from a golden light emanated from her direction. He noticed she was giving off a resounding amount of her own energy along with some that resembled Rage's.

Meanwhile, the Sons were enjoying dinner when both Goten and Goku sensed a spike in energy hundreds of miles away. They went to the window and saw a yellow aura in the distance that overshadowed the eventide sky's beauty.

"Whoa! Who is that, dad?" Gotten asked.

Goku concentrated on where the energy was coming from and felt a familiarity with it. "That's Letish!"

"Really?!"

"Isn't she supposed to be training with Piccolo?"

"Yeah, this is her last day with him."

"Mom! Can we go see Letish after dinner?" Goten pleaded with her.

"You have a crewfew, young man," Chi-Chi countered, putting her hands on her hips. "It'll have to wait after you get some rest." Goten pouted, sadly.

"That's alright. I'll let you know if anything important happened."

"Ok!"

After dinner, Chi-Chi and Goten retired to bed while Goku remained up to see what progress Letish had made with Piccolo. He first saw two figures flying towards him before seeing that one of them was surrounded by a bright ki. As soon as she saw Goku's spiky hair and the carefree look in his eyes, the red tint in Letish's eyes faded away, recognizing his calm aura and relaxing herself. Goku's eyes lit up in amazement as he took in what was coming his way, as the figures came into better view and touched-down in front of him, Piccolo with his arms folded now standing next to Letish, who looked much different than how she appeared last time they encountered.

Her hair was bright yellow and swayed back and forth. Some spikes stood on end while others turned upward slightly in a curled fashion. The luminescence in her hair also gave her a paler but shimmering complexion. And as expected, her eyes were wide and now of a teal-green hue. There was something different about her other than having officially unlocked the Super Saiyan transformation. It felt different than when he or the others transformed and he wondered why that was.

"Letish... You've gotten incredibly stronger in the last few days... and you're a Super Saiyan."

"Yeah, I guess I am..." she agreed while focusing on her new found power.

"It almost feels foreign," he added, scratching his head.

"Really, why do you say that?"

"Well for one, you don't look angry."

"I don't look... angry?"

"Normally when a Saiyan turns Super Saiyan, they're overcome with an incredible amount of anger. I thought you of all people would be a pro at that."

"I was overcome with anger at first, in fact I was enraged for a while after transforming. I spent some more time fighting Piccolo in this form... It felt like I was finally comfortable in my own skin, I enjoyed the pain I felt before and after I transformed. I even wallowed in it, but some of the pain faded when I got here so I assumed it was because of your natural aura. Still..."

"Still what?" Piccolo said.

"... Even now, I can still feel the pain I felt earlier, but it doesn't hurt me like it used to. I kind of enjoy its presence... It's unbelievable―I don't know how to describe..."

Goku laid a hand on her head, making her eyes grow big. "We can talk about that more another time. Thanks, Piccolo."

"Don't mention it," Piccolo uttered before flying back to his cave.

"Come on, it's getting late."

"It is...? I hadn't even noticed... what time it was..." she yawned before closing her eyes and passing out in Goku's arms, returning to her base form. Goku picked her up and put her to bed in the guest room before going to bed himself.