In the living room of Capsule Corp, Jadali's unintentional entourage waited none too patiently for news from Bulma

In the living room of Capsule Corp, Jadali's unintentional entourage waited none too patiently for news from Bulma.

They were suitably surprised when Bulma stuck her head round the doorway.

"I think this is someone you guys want to meet."

She walked in the room, followed closely and uncertainly by a dark-haired girl in an unfamiliar outfit who attempted to stay hidden behind Bulma.

Grow up, Jade snapped to herself. Some part of her went into an automatic diplomacy mode, and stepped forward, surveying her startled crowd of onlookers.

"I believe I owe some of you my life. My name is Jadali, although you may call me Jade."

The room looked at her in silence. Her accent was noticeable, theirs was obviously not her language, but the thing they stared at was her. With her gleaming purplish hair, slender frame and dazzling attire, Jade looked quite attractive, but that wasn't all. Jade's face, although creased with concern, was strikingly beautiful.

Impossibly deep, clear green eyes narrowed with discomfort, but she withstood their visual assessment of her without obvious complaint.

Hands as elegant as the rest of her clenched a little, and unobtrusively moved into a slight defensive blocking position.

Gotcha, Goku thought to himself. You must be a warrior if you do that on impulse.

"Quit being so rude! How would you like it if everyone stared at you like that?!" Bulma's irritated voice cut the silence and eyes studied shoes.

"And have some manners!"

This was met by shy raisings of hands and quietly spoken greetings, until Goten and Trunks pushed their way through.

"I," said Trunks in an exaggerated effort to sound regal, "am Prince Trunks, of the Saiyans, and this is my companion, lord Goten." Goten blushed and nudged Trunks in query as the purple-haired boy performed a dramatic one-armed bow.

"Trunks! Stop that." Bulma chided her son and turned to a rather disconcerted Jadali. "His father is a Prince, so he gets carried away with new people."

"Sorry." Trunks apologised half-heartedly. "I suppose I should introduce you to everyone. This is…" the little boy, aided occasionally by comments from his friend, introduced each and every person present quite politely to Jade in a manner that startled even Bulma. Where'd he learn to do that? Bulma thought.

Trunks had dropped his attempt at a regal tone, and was finishing his list.

"And this is my Uncle Goku. He's Goten's dad."

Goten suddenly became shy, and ran to hold onto his father's loose pants. Jade's eyes met Goku's over his head, and exchanged a silent dialogue that was noisily interrupted by Vegeta storming into the room.

"KID! How many times do I have to tell you that KAKAROT IS NOT YOUR BLASTED –" Vegeta paused, noticing the newcomer.

"And who the hell are you?"

"Vegeta!" Bulma snapped at him. "No wonder Trunks has a mouth like a sewer pipe, nice example you're setting for him! And why are you being so rude?! The poor girl just survived a crash and got out of a tank on a strange planet, and the last thing she needs is your bloated ego – " She trailed off, trying to make sense of whatever was passing between Vegeta and Jade.

Jade dropped her eyes, mouthing silently the name she'd just heard.

"Tell me, are you Prince Vegeta of the Saiyans?"

Vegeta gaped in open-mouthed shock. The girl had addressed him correctly, and in his native language. The confused people surrounding them seemed to fall away, and all that existed was the two of them.

"I am," he said, falling comfortably into his first language, "and who wants to know?"

Jade walked to within a metre of him, then dropped down gracefully on one knee. She reached for the dagger at her hip, and held the handle out to him.

"Forgive me, my Prince. Forgive my impertinence. My name is Jadali, and I come to serve you. Dispose of me as you see fit, my lord."

Vegeta took the dagger from the kneeling girl and ran his fingers over the shining blade.

She knows the protocol. She pledges her life to the monarch, as any good warrior does. And she speaks fluently, as thought this was her first language, and yet her blood is obviously not pure. Who is she? I have to find out.

Trying desperately to break the intensity of the scene and to make his father speak so he could understand, Trunks called out, confused.

"Jade?… Jade? I was only joking, you don't have to do that. Jade? Daddy?" when this elicited no response, his lip began to tremble and his mother put a hand on his shoulder.

"Leave them be, son. I want to see where this is going." She mumbled.

Vegeta looked at the bowed head before him, ready to service his every whim. It had been a long time since someone had showed him the respect befitting of his status, let alone done it right, and besides, he was curious. He adopted his more princely voice and tapped Jade on the shoulder with the hilt of the dagger she'd offered him.

"Get up, girl. That's enough."

She rose to her feet, keeping her head respectfully bowed. For some reason he couldn't fathom, Vegeta was bizarrely moved by her display of faith and loyalty.

"It's okay, you know. You can look at me."

Jade flashed a quick look at the stern features, then her eyes focused on her feet again.

"I said look at me. And tell me who you are, and why you're here." More sharply, and Jade held his gaze while she spoke as he directed.

"My Prince, I am Jadali of the planet Ismir. I am here because my father told me that should he die, I must seek out the Prince, so that I may be of use to him. To you, my lord."

Vegeta chewed his lip thoughtfully.

"Very well. But it is obvious to me that you are no full-blooded Saiyan. Why should I bother with a halfbreed?"

"It is, of course, up to you what you do with me. But I think, my Prince, that you may find me useful." Jade did her best not to let fear show in her eyes. Prince or not, she didn't really want to die, and this man might very well kill her on the spot.

"How powerful are you?"

The inevitable question.

"My Prince, I surpassed my father in strength when I was ten years old."

Vegeta snorted.

"And who was your father? A mercenary, I suppose."

"No, my Prince. My father was Broly, and he was a Super Saiyan – and I surpassed him with ease." Jade had started to snap a little, and caught herself.

Kid's got some spunk after all, thought Vegeta. And it seems Broly didn't waste his life up until the point that we killed him.

"Alright. You've satisfied me so far. But it seems you're still weakened by your accident. I suggest you stop the formalities, I never liked them anyway. Also, the armour is not necessary, but otherwise I'm pleased to have you. Now run along, and we'll speak later."

"Yes, my Prince."

Vegeta turned on his heel, folded his arms and went to leave the room.

"Jadali." He said her name lowly and followed it in a split instant after with the dagger he'd taken with him accidentally. She raised an arm and caught the blade easily between two fingers. Had she missed, she would have lost an eye.

Vegeta almost smiled, half-smirking.

"Good." Was all he said, and left the room.

Jade half-smiled herself. Mission accomplished.

"N—Nice catch," Bulma stuttered in bewilderment.

"What in Kame's name was that?!" Yamcha blurted.

Jade continued her half-smile and sheathed the dagger.

"I found what I came here for, and it was right under my nose."

Videl stood up and eyed Jade suspiciously, then her expression softened and she beckoned to the other girl to join her, Gohan and the older version of Trunks.

Bulma watched with satisfaction as Jade moved toward the group of young people, and was unintentionally surprised by the girl's outfit once again.

What she thought had been a full catsuit was joined at the back only to her shoulderblades – from there it was open to the small of the girl's back. Even though Bulma was no warrior, she had noted the incredible quality of the armour Jade wore, and it seemed strange that her back was so unprotected.

And there was something else: on Jade's back there was a tattooed picture of a small phoenix and a barely visible scar that ran neatly above it in a perfect horizontal line. Bulma opened her mouth to query the girl, but then shut it again. The kids would ask her about it eventually, and Trunks would tell her. Best not to meddle – let the girl make some friends.

Uncomfortable as the idea made her, Jade sat down with the strange other people. They won't hurt you, she reassured herself, so stop acting like a baby. Besides, you're in the Prince's service now, and you don't want him to think you're a coward. Also, there was something imperceptibly comforting about the faces of the two youths that seemed ready to protect the other girl. Something familiar about their structure that made Jade feel at home. A-ha. They've got Saiyan blood like me. But where are their tails? Prompted by this impulse, Jade was compelled to ask them.

"You have Saiyan blood in you veins, just as I do. Am I correct?" she cast her green eyes on Trunks and Gohan, who looked shocked.

"How do you know that?" Trunks had been fairly convinced he looked more human than Saiyan, and someone pointing out his heritage without being told was rather disconcerting. He looked at Gohan, and they both looked back at Jade.

"I've always been trained to pick up on such things. You look very much like the Prince in the face, you know, Trunks. I assume he is your father?" Jade picked her words carefully, not wanting to alienate potential allies before she'd made them.

Trunks bowed his head, giving her a sad half-smile.

"Yes. He is my father."

Noticing her companion's shoulders stiffen, Videl tactfully changed the direction of the conversation.

"I'm sorry if I wasn't supposed to ask, but what was that thing with Vegeta? It seemed pretty intense from where I was standing." Videl asked the other girl with complete sincerity, and a small part of her gloated a bit as she saw Jade's shoulders set and her fingers curl defensively; reciprocating the discomfort the scene with Vegeta had brought on the rest of them.

"I offered my service to the Prince."

Gohan piped up in righteous outrage.

"You gave him a knife and virtually offered him your neck. He could have killed you!"

"Dagger," Jade corrected gently. "And it is his business what he does with me. He accepted my offer and I am bound to him. It is the Saiyan way."

Gohan's face hung aghast, and before he could explode again, Videl placed a restraining hand on his arm. Jade noticed the gesture much as she'd noticed the hurt in Trunks' eyes when he spoke of his father, and the disgusted look Yamcha had given when she'd bowed before Vegeta.

"You disapprove?" pointedly, with a whiff of the airs and graces Vegeta often laid on.

"He – we just don't understand it yet." Videl groped desperately for something to break the silence that followed.

"So, that was the Saiyan language? I've never heard it spoken before," she added sheepishly.

"Yes, that is Saiyan. But do the two of you not speak it?" again she addressed Gohan and Trunks.

Trunks responded to the negative.

"We've never heard it spoken before, let alone speak it ourselves. I mean, father yells at me sometimes in it, but doesn't speak it directly."

This was curious. Who ever heard of Saiyans who couldn't speak their own language? Jade was rather confused by their strangeness and discourtesy towards the Prince, but as far as she knew, anybody with Saiyan blood knew the language by instinct.

"You know it. You've always known it. I'll teach you to relearn it, if you like." Jade offered, still trying not to alienate the other young people, as peculiar to her as they were.

Videl eyed her suspiciously.

"If you speak Saiyan, how did you learn our language?"

It looked like it was time Jade spilled the beans about her origins.

"To answer you fully, I'll have to tell you about the place I come from. I was born on a planet called Ismir – a little place that had never been touched by the Saiyan race or by that white-skinned devil Frieza. That was, until my father arrived. He was just an infant, but so strong he managed to survive the explosion of Vegetasei and also protect his father. They crashed on Ismir by accident.

"Father and my grandfather, Paragus, found a beautiful, lush world compared to the barren one they'd seen destroyed. It was inhabited by a minor warrior race who, even though they were strong, were peaceable. They were settled but still rather tribal – they respected their world, and above all were skilled in the art of magic. But they didn't use it, it was a part of them, if that makes any sense. Mages, you might call them, I am unfamiliar with the words you use to describe such people.

"These people took my father and grandfather in, and as he grew up, my father took their head shaman's daughter as his mate. She was very beautiful, I am told, but she died after I was born. I was raised by my father, my grandfather until he died, and by the head shaman.

"The shaman woman, Ikura, taught me many things, among them how to read faces and to tell when lies are being told.

"From hearing my father speak his own language – on the rare occasions he did – I learnt to use my 'memories' from my Saiyan half to understand him.

"Ikura decided I had a gift for language, and began to tell me a story of her childhood. I won't go into detail, but Frieza's father, King Cold, took her as a slave when a ship she was in crashed by accident into one of his base planets. On board, she noticed all the races spoke the same language and was told to learn it, as nobody could understand her. She was told the language was universal, but rather complex. And she taught me.

"She wouldn't say why specifically, I think it was because she sensed I wasn't destined to stay on Ismir. She died just before I left, and I use the gift she gave me in honour of her."

Jade looked up from her memories into a sea of astonished faces. Despite her accent and heritage, Jade's voice was sweet and her lilting tone and lazy vowels reminiscent of an exotic language were somehow hypnotic. Goku scratched the back of his head in deep thought.

"Well, as long as it's Twenty Questions time, I have to ask: the power level you sent out just before we found you… was that really all you?"

Jade snapped out of her retell and gave Goku a tiny guilty smile.

"Not really. I was hurt, so I formed a field around myself and bounced what I had left for as long as I could, in the hope that someone could sense it. It worked."

Yamcha looked at her in a new light, ardent as always to send himself on an ego trip.

"So that huge power you manifested wasn't what you really have?"

"No."

"I didn't think so." He stretched and flexed a bit, and paraded out of the room like a prize rooster.

I'm going to have trouble with that baka, Jade hypothesised. She'd already taken a complete and irrational dislike to the human man – he was far too vain for her liking, and he reminded her of someone she'd rather forget. It was clear that he didn't like her much either.