Pain erupted throughout Tarine's body before everything went blank. That was the last thing she could remember. Deathly darkness suffocated her for an unknown length of time before she finally got her senses back. She woke with a start and stared at the ceiling, unable to move, eyes wide. Her body was wrapped in bandages and rendered nearly immobile. She was beginning to hyperventilate, eyes darting around the unfamiliar room as fear built within her. She had no recollection of anything before the sudden darkness.

'Where am I? What happened? Who did this? Help…' Tarine's mind raced but no words broke past her throat. Though, while attempting to get her body to listen to her, her tongue responded by revealing a rancid taste stuck on her waking taste buds. She rolled her tongue over the backs of her sharp teeth and recoiled the muscle at the taste. 'Blech..?'

Tarine could finally move her eyes and mouth, but everything regained so slowly. Too slowly. Tarine's heart continued to race, but she saw nothing that truly would threaten her. The room was bright with sunlight pouring in from a window out of her immediate view. Stems and stray leaves of a plant nearby. The bed she laid on was soft, though the blanket was relatively thin. Not much she could do about it. At least she wasn't wasting away in the wild. Overall, the room was rather cozy.

A door clicked open. Her eyes snapped to the new presence. Though more of her muscles were returning to her use, she stiffened at the newcomer and kept still as if to hide in plain sight. A thick, white cape hid most of his form, but his skin was such an eye-catching green. A turban rested atop his head in the same shade of white as his cape. Tarine blinked as he approached, breath hastening with a mixture of fear and intrigue. He easily towered over her. Her eyes traced up his large frame.

'Ooh… tall…' was her only thought.

"You're awake." He noted. His voice was so low Tarine could feel the base vibrating her bones. She remained silent. Her body now fully awoken, she attempted to sit up. Her jaw set tight with the effort. She was awfully lopsided as she rose, shaking under her own weight as if she was doing it for the first time. The man placed his large hand on her shoulder and laid her back down.

"Not yet. We have to check your wounds first." He stated, leaving the room. Tarine furrowed her brow and watched him go as the cape fluttered behind him.

"We?"

After a somewhat extended silence, more people filed into the room and surrounded the bed. Tarine pulled the thin, baby blue covers up to her face with her only responsive hand. The many worried faces and wide eyes peered at her with overlapping questions from all angles. She pulled her tail around her leg and shrunk away from them, hugging her knees to her chest. The several voices attempting to speak over each other grated her ears. She folded them back against her head with her discomfort.

"We need to give her some space, back up." A stern woman barked, pushing the men away from the bed and out of the room despite their protests. She returned to the bedside and tossed her blue hair over her shoulder, "alright… How are you feeling?"

"Confused," Tarine answered.

"Makes sense… How about we start with introductions, then? I'm Bulma." She said with a smile. The other two women stepped forward with calm, reassuring grins. Both were dark brunettes.

"I'm Videl." The kind, young one waved. Her hair was shoulder-length with straight bangs.

"I'm Chi-chi." The annoyed one nodded. Her hair was tied up in a bouncy bun on the top of her head.

Tarine looked between them all and slowly lowered the protective blanket. She relaxed, but only a little bit. Her shoulders carefully released the tension from her shoulders. Her tail slipped from around her legs and slumped back onto the floor beside the bed. There was an extended silence between them as the trio stared at her revealed limb. Only for a moment before they returned eye contact, trying not to appear rude.

"I… Call me Tarine." She nodded. Bulma unwrapped Tarine's shoulders and arms, tossing the bandages aside in a nearby bin. Once they were all removed, she looked over the miraculously healed flesh. Bulma was unfazed by the mystical sight, but Tarine was increasingly lost with each inch of clear, purple skin. With all the bandaging, she had assumed she had been seriously messed up. But no evidence of any messing up remained. She rolled her shoulders, stretched her legs, and flexed her hands. Everything had fully regained strength and control except for her left hand. Curious, she glanced over at where it rested. It…

"Where the hell is my hand!?" Tarine screeched, gripping the nub at the end of her elbow and reeling. The women flinched. They tried to hush and calm her down, but their attempts didn't get very far. She didn't want to hear it. Tarine's long ears flattened against her skull, her tail lashing and whacking the hardwood floor hard, "what happened? What did you do to me!?"

"Calm down! We can get it back!" Chi-chi cried.

"Or I can make you a replacement!" Bulma added. Tarine shook her head and hid her face in the pillow. She was starting to fume, but these people were helping her and she didn't want to take out her growing fury on them. After a few tense moments, Tarine took a breath and pushed her lengthy bluebell bangs aside. With a chance to let it truly sink in she calmed down.

"Please tell me what happened…" She requested in a low voice. Her downcast eye flickering over her shortened appendage. Tension tingled in the air, but the bated breaths were released. They murmured quietly among each other trying to parse their words and explain in a way that wouldn't freak Tarine out more. The door was shoved open, distracting them. A male stepped in, taller than the women with wildly spiky black hair. He waved as he approached, smiling brightly without a care in the world. Chi-chi glared and waved him away.

"Goku, don't barge in!" She chastised.

"Sorry, I heard the scream. That," he gestured to Tarine's arm, "was my fault. We went out there because it's uninhabited so we didn't think anyone else would be around." He laughed nervously, offering a short and embarrassed bow. Tarine glared at him for a moment, but her prolonged silence elicited an annoyed throat clearing from Chi-chi. Tarine grumbled. She could read his sincerity, but it wasn't enough.

"… It'll take a lot more than that to atone." She muttered as she clenched her fist.

"We can get you a new arm. Or we can wish for your old one back. That might take a while though," He offered as he turned to Bulma, "Do you see the Dragon Balls on the radar yet?" She shook her head. Tarine folded her legs and rested her arm in her lap, tilting her head one way and then the other while she mulled it over. Her ears flicked slightly and her tail finally relaxed and laid under the covers beside her. The humans awaited her answer, though Goku was starting to get impatient and jitter a bit.

"Alright… Can I get it replaced? Please?" Tarine finally decided, casting her gaze at the floor. 'As if I weren't a freak enough…' She sighed internally.

"Great! I'll just need to get y-" Bulma started.

"But! I want one of you strong guys to train me. If you're using crap like that willy nilly on each other you must be strong enough to handle it." She added. Goku slanted his mouth and nodded, going out to the rest of the group. Chi-chi and Videl left the room as well. Shouting and argument sounded on the other side of the door causing Tarine's ears to fall flat in irritation. Bulma started measuring and messing with Tarine's damaged limb. Tarine remained still as she worked. Watching the door and wondering which of them would aid her. Most of them appeared to be simple humans. She didn't think herself to be too weak…

"Alright, I'll get one of the boys to fetch me the materials I need. We'll be able to get it done in a few days," Bulma said as she straightened and stretched her arms over her head, "you can get up, if you'd like, and meet everyone. And I'll have a room made at my place for you so you can wait for it to be done." Tarine silently nodded at every statement. She was hesitant and she trembled slightly as she slid the blanket off and pushed it aside. She dangled her legs over the edge. Her padded feet touched the cold hardwood sending a shiver up her spine.

Bulma watched her curiously, studying the inhuman aspects of her new subject. Three sharp nails clicked on the wood as Tarine stepped away from the bed and she rose to her full height. She glanced down at her new clothes. A pair of loose shorts and an oversized t-shirt. Curious. These weren't hers. Whose were they? Tarine was met with eyes and silence upon leaving the room. She frowned and gave a small wave to her onlookers.

"Hey, ahh… What was your name again?" Goku asked.

"Tarine." She said softly.

"Right. We haven't introduced ourselves yet either." He smiled and went down the line-up. Tarine followed along. Gohan, Vegeta, Yamcha, Krillin, hm… all human. They looked like they'd pack quite a punch, though. Then he finally addressed the tall, green inhuman. He had a stern- and kinda scary- look, very mature and wise. Tarine found it hard to meet his eyes and turned her gaze to Goku as he was introducing the youngest members of the team. Cute little kids, obvious which ones they belonged to. They weren't much interested in Tarine, choosing instead to run off and continue playing.

"Nice to meet all of you," Tarine said, shaking a couple hands, "have you decided who will be teaching me?" She cleared her throat with a bit of nervousness in her tone. Not all of them had the look to them, but most of them felt incredibly powerful causing her to coil her tail around her leg. She had a lot to learn.