Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ nor do I own Zoids Chaotic Century. I do own Lorren.
A/N: In honor of my girl's birthday (which is this upcoming Saturday, August the 22nd), I give you two new Abnormal Childhood chapters starting with this one where we finally get into the fight with the saiyans. So sit back, relax, and enjoy. Here goes!
'Today Lorren, I will teach you how to control your power level,' announced South Kai as he walked around his pupil. 'That way the saiyans' scouters will not be able to measure your energy effectively which will give you an advantage.'
'How come?' Lorren asked, tilting her head to the side.
'Their scouters can only detect the energy you are giving off at that exact moment,' he explained.
'And if I learn to control my power level, I can give their scouters a false reading and the saiyans' a false sense of security,' Lorren realized, smirking. 'I like the sound of that.'
South Kai smirked back. 'Yes, that is the idea. By learning to concentrate your energy, you will not only be able to give the scouters a false reading, but you will also be able to power up quickly which will prove useful in battle.'
'That would be handy,' Lorren admitted.
'Shall we get started then?'
~ Abnormal Childhood ~
"Are they ever going to come down?" I muttered, flexing my fingers impatiently as I continued to stare at our unwelcome guests. There were two of them. One was tall and bald. The other was short with spiky black hair. They both wore scouters and had their tails wrapped around their waists. "What are they waiting for?"
"Maybe they've changed their minds and are going to leave," Krillin replied doubtfully.
I rolled my eyes. "Somehow I doubt that's it."
"Can't blame a guy for hoping," he murmured, shaking and sweating. "Their power levels are enormous."
"Brace yourselves," warned Piccolo through his teeth. "They're coming down."
"It's about time," I said, trying to sound cocky though I could feel their power levels too. Unlike us, they weren't concealing them. Unlike Krillin, however, I refused to freak out. I was a warrior, after all.
The saiyans finally landed on solid ground. The short one had his arms crossed against his chest. He laughed darkly. "So we meet at last."
"Believe me, the pleasure's all mine," Piccolo assured him with a smirk. "I'm only going to warn you once: Leave this planet now while you still can."
The short one's eyes widened. "That voice. So you're the one who killed Raditz."
"How'd he know?" I wondered aloud.
Shorty turned to me and smiled unpleasantly, tapping his scouter. "This radar also works as a communicator."
"Hey Vegeta," interrupted the bald one, staring at Piccolo. "He's a Namek, isn't he?"
"Yes Nappa, he's a Namek," replied Vegeta. "The green skin and pointy ears are usually a dead giveaway. No wonder Raditz had such a hard time with him and Kakarot."
Gohan, Krillin, and I turned to stare at Piccolo who was staring at the saiyans in shock with his mouth hanging open. "I'm from Namek."
"Wow," said Krillin. "I didn't know you were from outer space, Piccolo. Makes sense though."
"You didn't know?" Vegeta sneered. "You were the one who told Raditz about the Dragon Balls. Now you're going to tell us, green man, where are they?"
"No one knows where they are, idiot," I told him as if it were obvious even though I knew he couldn't possibly know that after you made a wish, the balls turned to stone and remained that way for an entire year while the eternal dragon rested. "Not for an entire year. Until then, they're completely useless."
It was Nappa's turn to sneer at me. "You think we'd actually believe that load of crap? Now tell us where they are or we'll kill all of you."
I cocked an eyebrow. "There's not much going on inside that shiny bald head of yours, is there?"
Vegeta snickered as Nappa's face turned bright red.
"Um, Lorren?" Gohan murmured, watching me with round, nervous eyes. "I don't think insulting them is a good idea."
I shrugged. "A little banter won't hurt anyone."
Krillin shook his head. "Just like your mom."
"Enough," growled Piccolo making Krillin flinch. He took a fighting stance and faced our enemies. "Now listen up. Though I've always wanted to know where I came from, this is my planet now. We're not here to bow down to your demands. We're here to fight."
I whistled. Now this was more like it. This is the way it had been for Goku, according to Mom's stories anyway.
"Let's go," I was taking a fighting stance when I suddenly heard a whirring sound above me. "They couldn't be that stupid, could they?"
Apparently they could. Hovering above my head were three media helicopters.
"Look Nappa," Vegeta said, glancing at his teammate. "We have more guests. Greet them would you?"
Nappa grinned and, with one raised finger, blew up one of the helicopters while Vegeta laughed. Gohan and Krillin took fighting stances while the other helicopters flew away.
"Smart," I muttered, resuming my stance. "Now, where were we? Oh, that's right. We were about to destroy you."
Vegeta laughed once. "You've got spunk, girl. I'll give you that."
"Why thank you," I replied sweetly.
"Let's check your power levels and see if they can back you up," suggested Nappa as he raised a finger to his scouter and pressed a button. "The boy is at 1,000. The Namek is at 1,400. The girl is also at 1,000 and the bald one is at 1,100. Do you really think you can beat us with such puny power levels?"
"Hey Nappa," interjected Vegeta, taking his scouter off. "Take your scouter off."
"What?" Nappa stared at him. "Why?"
"It seems they know how to concentrate their energy to increase their power levels making these readings unreliable," he explained.
"It's good to know that one of you has a brain," I noted.
Vegeta ignored me. "Get the Saibamen, Nappa. We should have six left."
Nappa grinned and took out a vial containing six little green balls which he dropped into his palm. He then took them out one by one and planted them in the earth before sprinkling them with water. A few seconds later, six little green men about Gohan's size popped out of the ground.
The Saibamen surrounded us and ran around us in a circle with incredible speed, shrieking at the top of their lungs before jumping over our heads and showing off their strength by destroying small mountains.
"Is that really necessary?" I muttered.
"They're just trying to intimidate us," Piccolo said unnecessarily. "Stay focused."
"Right," nodded Gohan, reminding me of a puppy. I couldn't help but smile despite our situation.
Once the Saibamen were finished with their warm up, they came back to line up before us.
"Krillin, you take the two on the left," Piccolo ordered. "I'll take the two in the middle. Lorren and Gohan, you two take the two on the right."
"Got it," said Gohan, nodding again.
"It's about time," I said with a grin. "Let's do this. I can't wait to see how much I've grown."
~ Abnormal Childhood ~
Piccolo and Krillin were busy fighting their two Saibamen while I was about to engage with my own when I noticed that Gohan was just standing there, wide-eyed and shaking.
"It's okay to be nervous," I told him, making him stare at me. I smiled encouragingly. "You'll be fine, Gohan. You just need to believe in yourself. You're more powerful than you realize. You're the son of Goku, after all."
"You're right," Gohan said after a moment with a shy smile. "Thanks Lorren."
I was about to respond when the Saibamen suddenly jumped us. I grappled with mine. We rolled on the ground until I kicked the creepy thing away from me and turned to see Gohan take a hit. "Gohan!"
I jumped to my feet to help him but Piccolo got to him first. I walked over to them. "You okay, Gohan?"
"Yeah," he replied, smiling at Piccolo. "Thanks to Mr. Piccolo."
"Stay focused, Gohan," Piccolo told him instead of saying 'you're welcome'.
"Piccolo's right," I agreed. "Don't let the enemy scare you. You got this. I know you do."
"Hey guys," said Krillin abruptly. He was grinning broadly. "We've got more company."
"The good kind or the bad kind?" I asked warily.
"Definitely the good kind," he assured me with a wink. "You'll see."
Confused I raised my eyes to the sky as I sensed two new presences. I found myself grinning too as I realized who they were. "Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu."
"Hello everyone," greeted Tien. He had three eyes and a shiny bald head. Besides him was a small white man hovering in the air. He nodded at Krillin before turning his gaze to Gohan. "So is this Goku's little boy?"
"Yeah, his name's Gohan," Krillin confirmed, staring at Gohan too. "He's been training with Piccolo for the past year, poor guy."
Tien nodded sympathetically making me laugh. He turned to stare at me curiously. "And who is this?"
"My name's Lorren," I replied before Krillin even got the chance to open his mouth. "It's nice to meet you, Tien Shinhan and Chiaotzu."
"She's Bulma's adopted daughter and a half saiyans like Gohan," Krillin explained further. "She's here to fight with us."
Tien nodded after a few moments. "It's about time we had a female Z warrior."
"If you're all finished catching up," interrupted Vegeta mockingly. "I believe we have unfinished business."
"Wait for me," called an all too familiar voice above me. I groaned as Yamcha, my mother's on again off again boyfriend, descended. "Now that I'm here, everything is going to be alright."
"I think you just stole Goku's line for when he gets here," I muttered, rolling my eyes.
"So you are here, Lorren," noted Yamcha.
"Where else would I be?" I challenged.
Yamcha shrugged. "She's been missing you, you know. Your mom."
I swallowed. "I know. South Kai kept in touch with her."
Yamcha nodded. "She'll be glad to see you again when this is all over."
"Then let's get this over with," I replied as I returned my attention to the saiyans.
"Look Nappa," Vegeta was saying. "They now have seven while we only have six."
"Doesn't seem fair now, does it Vegeta?" replied Nappa.
"Why don't we make a little game out of this then?" suggested Vegeta.
"Game?" I repeated.
"One on one matches," Vegeta explained.
"We didn't come here to play your stupid games," Piccolo growled.
"Now hold on a minute, Piccolo," cautioned Krillin. "We can buy ourselves some time if we play by their rules."
"Stall until Goku gets here," I murmured.
Krillin nodded. "Exactly."
"I'll go first," offered Tien, stepping forward.
"You there," ordered Vegeta, pointing to one of the Saibamen. "You go."
The Saibaman grinned creepily and walked out to meet Tien. They squared off. It was all over in a matter of seconds. Either Tien was really strong or these Saibamen were really weak.
"I don't get it," muttered Nappa, staring at his defeated little green man. "They all have power levels of 1,200. The same level as…"
"As who, Nappa?" asked Vegeta sarcastically. "Raditz?"
Well that explains a lot.
"Tien, watch out!" Chiaotzu suddenly cried as the Saibaman started to get up and attack again.
Tien turned to defend himself but the Saibaman blew up. Vegeta stood behind it, lowering his finger.
"Why?" I demanded angrily, taking a step forward. Yamcha laid a hand on my shoulder, restraining me. "Why did you do that? He was your teammate, wasn't he?"
"He was no longer useful," Vegeta said simply while Nappa also stared at him confused.
"But he was still alive!" I shouted, grinding my teeth.
Vegeta shrugged unconcerned. "Which one of you is next?"
"M…," I began to say.
"I am," announced Yamcha, letting go of me and striding forward. "Though one of you isn't going to be much of a challenge. Maybe you should all come at me at once."
Vegeta laughed. "Quite the cocky one we have here."
"What are you doing?" I asked Yamcha.
"Protecting the daughter of the only girl I've ever loved," he replied with a wink. "Don't worry, Lorren. I've got this."
I bit my lip but said nothing.
"You go next," Vegeta told one of the remaining five Saibamen. "Let's see if he's as tough as he thinks he is."
They squared off for a few seconds then they suddenly disappeared. No, wait. They were just moving very quickly, so quickly that it was hard to tell what was going on.
"Feel their energy," Piccolo was instructing Gohan. "Don't just focus in on a single point. Take in all of your surroundings. Look for the light their energy gives off."
Gohan and I did as he said and soon we could see the two fighters. Yamcha had the upper hand as they broke apart. He hit his opponent with the Kamehameha wave, Goku's signature move.
The blast hit the creature square in the chest causing it to fall to the ground and create a small crater.
"Not bad," I admitted as Yamcha landed.
"Well that was easy," Yamcha noted, grinning like an idiot. "How about the rest of you charge me all at once?"
Nappa growled but Vegeta waved him off. "Relax, Nappa. The fight's not over yet."
I cocked my head to the side then I saw the Saibaman get up out of the crater and jump Yamcha. Do these things ever stay down? "Yamcha, look out!"
Yamcha spun around, but it was too late. The Saibaman grabbed him and blew them both up, creating another small crater where Yamcha lay unmoving.
Krillin ran to check on his fallen friend but he was already gone.
A/N: And there you have it. Hope you enjoyed. Chapter 4 will be right up with this so don't forget to check it out. Until next time, read review and show the love!