Disclaimer: Well, you read this in the last chapter didn't you?
Dragon Ball X
Chapter Two: Azuri's Story
"I am Azuri, a saiyan from Planet Xenon."
Her words echoed in Vegeta's head as she flew up and landed in front of them. What could she possibly mean, he wondered. Saiyans were from the Planet Vegeta, and it had been destroyed by Frieza long ago. She couldn't be telling the truth about who she was.
"Wh-what do you mean?" stuttered Gohan.
She looked back at him, fear surfacing in her eyes. She remained silent for a moment as she thought about his question. Then she spoke.
"I-I don't understand," she returned, shaking her head in confusion as she tried to steady her voice. "I mean what I say. I am a saiyan from Planet Xenon."
"But that can't possibly be true," interjected Vegeta. "Saiyans are from the Planet Vegeta, and it was destroyed long ago."
She realized then what the similar trait between herself and them was. "Then you, you must be a saiyan."
"We all are," replied Goku, "or at least part saiyan," he continued, glancing at Gohan, Goten, and Trunks.
"And you," she began, looking at Goku, "your name is Kakarrot?"
"It was," he replied, amazed.
"How could you have known that?" demanded Vegeta, his impatience growing.
Undaunted, she then turned to face Vegeta. "And you... your name is Vegeta?"
He stared back at her, a gleam of mistrust in his eyes; slowly, he nodded his head.
"You seem to know who we are, but we don't know anything about you," said Goku.
"Then I'll explain," she replied as she pushed a stray strand of long black hair out of her eyes. She took a deep breath before she continued. I can do this, she reassured herself.
"It's true, originally the only saiyan planet was Planet Vegeta, but the population grew, and there were more and more battles between rival groups. There were two groups: a large group of semi-skilled fighters and a smaller group of very powerful warriors. The battles continued for years until finally, the smaller group decided to leave Planet Vegeta and find a new home. They left and found another planet suitable for them. They took it over and named it after their leader, Xenon."
"But how--" stammered Vegeta. "I mean, why did no one on Planet Vegeta know of its existence?"
"They did know, before, but these battles took place a long time ago. The two groups were rivals, but neither of them could destroy the other, so it seems that the people of Planet Vegeta chose to simply forget about the existence of the second saiyan planet, Xenon."
"But none of that explains why you're here," interrupted Goku.
At that, her gaze dropped to the ground again. Her quick recitation of the history of her planet had been easier for her to tell. After all, history was only facts, easily memorized, easily referenced. Her reasons for being here were unclear, even to her.
"I..." she paused, looking up at Goku for a brief moment. She looked back down, as if she had changed her mind, but then she spoke again. "I came to warn you. You are all the only remaining saiyans from Planet Vegeta. They've decided to come to try to get you to join them."
At their silence, she paused again. "You must not join them," she suddenly pleaded. "They-they fight only for greed and-and power. They destroy planets and peoples' lives."
"If that's true, why are you here? You're one of them, aren't you?" questioned Vegeta, looking her over with his usual severe glare.
"No," she replied, unnerved though she was, "not anymore."
"What do you mean?" asked Goku, his voice gentler now.
"I-I ran away," she answered, looking past them. Anything was better than meeting their stares. "I wasn't like them. I don't want to destroy things. I couldn't agree with what they taught me, what they stood for. I just..." She paused and then continued more quietly. "I just couldn't take it anymore."
Something in Vegeta's expression actually softened. He knew that if Planet Xenon was anything like Planet Vegeta, then she had been through a lot. He looked at her differently now; he no longer saw her as an enemy. He could tell that she was still scared of them. Of course, she would be. She had no way of knowing whether they were like the saiyans from her home planet or not.
"She's not our enemy," he said, abruptly, turning to Goku.
"What?" asked Goku, surprised.
"She's not our enemy," repeated Vegeta.
"You sure about that?" questioned Goku.
Vegeta nodded and then observed, "She's scared."
Goku looked at her and nodded, seeing what Vegeta had seen. He started to walk towards her, and Vegeta followed him.
She looked up at them and drew back. I don't know if I can trust them, she thought wildly. What if they're like the rest of them? Then what do I do? I can't fight all of them. She drew a deep breath to calm herself before stepping forward again. She couldn't let them know she was afraid.
When they reached her, she stared back at them, her chin raised. She started to reach for her sword.
"Wait," called out Goku, "we don't want to fight you."
"You don't?" she asked, surprised, as she drew her hand back from the hilt of her sword.
"No," he answered. "Actually, we want to help you if we can."
"You'd... help me?" she asked, confused by their readiness to trust.
"Well, sure," replied Goku. "If you're running away from them, that means you're on our side."
"Then... you won't make me go back?" she asked, her voice trembling.
"Make you go back?" questioned Vegeta.
"Please, sir," she pleaded, desperation in her soft voice. "Please don't make me go back. I'll do anything you want, anything. Just please, please, don't make me go back." Her blue eyes filled with tears, and she dropped to the ground. She fought to control her emotions. She knew she was making a mistake by letting them see how scared she was, but she just couldn't help it.
Vegeta watched her as she tried to hide her tears. He would never admit it to anyone, but he actually felt sorry for her. Goku looked confused and turned to Vegeta as he tried to figure out what to do about the scared little girl before them. Great, thought Vegeta sarcastically, he doesn't know what to do. Guess it's up to me.
"You don't have to go back," he assured her, his voice astonishingly gentle, for him anyway. "Not if you don't want to."
She looked up at them, a glimmer of hope arising in her for the first time. "I-I don't?" she questioned, unbelieving. He shook his head. She looked down for a second as she rubbed her sleeve across her eyes quickly to hide her tears.
Goku looked at Vegeta, surprised at his actions, but decided to say nothing for the time being.
"Th-Thank you," she said quietly, smiling for the first time in a long while.
Gohan, Goten, and Trunks, who had remained quiet since she had begun explaining, now walked over to where Goku, Vegeta, and she were standing. She turned to look at them. Goten ran over to her, with Trunks trailing only slightly behind him.
"I-I don't think I know who you are," she told them, her voice still a bit unsteady.
"I'm Goten," he answered. Then he turned around to point at Gohan. "He's my big brother Gohan, and--"
"And I'm Trunks," concluded Trunks for him as he held his hand out to her. "Want some help up?"
She drew back, her action barely visible. She looked at his outstretched hand, and in her mind, she flashed back to Xenon. She was lying on the floor, holding her left ankle and closing her eyes against the pain shooting through her leg. Before her stood a dark figure; he stepped into the light, and his saiyan armor and tail soon came into view.
"Get up," he demanded sharply. He watched her from a distance, blind to her obvious pain. She struggled to get up, but as soon as she put the slightest bit of weight on her left leg, she gasped and fell back down.
"Well," he prompted impatiently, "what are you waiting for? I said, get up!"
"I-I can't sir," she protested, her voice faint.
"Why not?" he demanded as he strode over to her.
"I think I twisted my ankle," she answered.
"Stop making excuses. I decide when it's time for you to stop. Now get up."
"I can't sir," she insisted, her voice shaking. Normally she wouldn't dream of disobeying him, but the pain in her left leg was too great to ignore. She remained on the ground, fearful of what he might do to her.
He reached down, grabbed her roughly by the arm, and pulled her up. She winced in pain as he stood her up, putting weight on her ankle. When she was standing up completely, he released her. She stood there for a half second longer before falling back down to the ground. She bit her lip to keep from crying out. That would serve no other purpose than to anger him even more.
"Go on back to your room," he ordered as he turned his back to her. "We'll continue your training tomorrow." Then he walked off, leaving her alone in the darkness.
"Um... are you okay?" asked Trunks, his voice calling her back to reality. His hand remained outstretched. She finally reached up slowly for his hand and got up.
"Yeah... I'm fine," she replied softly. "Thanks."
"What were you saying before?" asked Gohan. "About them coming here to Earth?"
"Well, I'm not really sure when they'll be here, but I think it'll be anywhere from a month to a year," she answered. "I overheard them talking about coming to Earth, but they never actually said when they'd come. All I know is, that when they do come, they'll try to get you to join them any way they can. They'll destroy this whole planet if they have to."
"But why?" asked Goku, curious as to their motives. "Why do they want us to join them?"
"You're all the only remaining survivors from Planet Vegeta, and that makes you their enemy that is, unless you join them. They would simply destroy this planet, but they'd never turn down a fight."
"How strong exactly are they?" questioned Vegeta.
Azuri closed her eyes, focusing on the group in front of her. She could feel the energy they each had, and she tried to figure out what their combined fighting power might be. When she finally finished, she opened her eyes.
"They usually send about five people to take over a planet. The group they send here will probably be about five times stronger than all of you combined," she answered, her voice finally steady though still soft.
"F-five times stronger!" stuttered Gohan.
She nodded slowly.
"But, how could you sense our power levels?" inquired Vegeta. "You don't have a scouter, yet you know how to detect it?"
"Yes sir."
"How did you learn to do that?"
"I-I'm not really sure," she answered, unnerved again at his harsh tone. "I've been able to do it for as long as I can remember."
Goku's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "Can they all do that?" he asked.
"No, I don't think so."
"Is that good?" asked Goten, innocently. His statement relieved the tension. Gohan sighed; Vegeta groaned, and Trunks smacked his forehead with his hand. Goten looked around and realized his mistake. He grinned sheepishly.
Goku smiled at his younger son before continuing, "One way or another, if they are that strong, then we'll have to be ready for them."
Goten and Trunks looked curiously at Gohan who explained, "It means we've got to start training a lot harder if we're going to beat them."
"Right," confirmed Goku. "Especially you two," he continued, looking at Goten and Trunks.
"Why us?" asked Trunks.
"Because," answered Goku, "neither of you have ever used your powers to their full extent."
During this conversation, Azuri turned to leave.
"Wait," called out Vegeta, suddenly. "You don't have to go." He looked surprised that he had spoken.
"I've done what I came here to do," she returned, still facing the opposite direction.
"Well, you're the only one who knows what they're like," reasoned Goku. "We could really use your help."
She turned around slowly. "I-I don't know," she replied uncertainly.
"You could stay with us," he continued. "See if you like it, and if you do, you can stay."
"Well... I... um..." she stumbled for a moment before she finally looked up.
"Okay."
* * * * *
"What!" exclaimed Chichi and Bulma in unison.
They had all just arrived home, and now it was up to Goku to explain why they had an extra person.
"All right mister," demanded Chichi, as she took a menacing step closer to Goku, "you better have a really good explanation for this."
"Well, you see..." began Goku as he backed away.
Vegeta stood leaning against the wall. He'd leave all the explaining to Goku. Bulma was usually less hysteric when it came to surprises. She wouldn't ask him about what happened, but rely on what Goku said. He finally had some time to think about what had happened. He still couldn't believe that there was another saiyan planet. How could no one on Planet Vegeta have known of a second planet's existence, he wondered.
He turned to look out the window. Azuri was outside with Trunks, Goten, Gohan, and Videl. It was hard to believe that she had traveled all the way to Earth just to warn them.
Vegeta reflected back to what had happened earlier. He couldn't understand why he had sensed her fear when usually he would not have noticed a thing like that.
He thought back to his own past on Planet Vegeta. He had very few happy memories from his home planet, and he had been just like the rest of the saiyans. He hadn't opposed what they said; he had simply accepted what they taught him, grew to love fighting, and hate all who challenged him.
But she, she had stood against them. They wouldn't have liked that at all and would probably have tried to break her spirit in any way they could. He could only wonder at what she had been through.
Vegeta turned away from the window abruptly. If I don't keep up my guard, he thought, a bit annoyed with himself for this useless speculation, I'm going to be as soft as Kakarrot... er... Goku.
"And, that's the whole story," concluded Goku, giving Chichi a nervous grin.
Chichi and Bulma remained silent for a moment as they thought about what he had said. Then they both began speaking at the same time.
"What do you mean there's going to be another battle!" demanded Chichi, clearly upset.
"There are more saiyans? I thought you were the only ones left," said Bulma.
"And what about her?" Chichi finished, pointing out the window at Azuri.
"Aww... come on, Chichi," appealed Goku, "she's just a little girl. And anyway, she's all alone and has no place to go."
"What about you Vegeta?" questioned Bulma, looking pointedly at him. "Do you want her to stay, too?"
The question caught him off guard. He thought quickly. "She could be useful in the battle," he responded, shrugging.
"Well, before we decide anything, I think we're at least entitled to meet her," stated Chichi, her hands on her hips.
"I agree," said Bulma, equally adamant. They made quite an intimidating pair, standing there with such grim expressions on their faces.
"Okay," conceded Goku, "I'll bring her in here." He went outside, glad he was not the one who had to face them. When he returned, Azuri was following him.
A moment later, she stood in the middle of the kitchen. She was staring down at the floor, trying hard not to be completely overwhelmed by Chichi and Bulma, who were circling her like vultures.
Finally, Chichi decided to speak, and the interrogation began.
"How old are you?"
"Where are your parents?"
"How long have you been on your own?"
The list of questions went on and on.
"E-eight," she answered, trying to answer the first question. "I-I don't know. I, um..."
"You're scaring her," warned Goku.
After that, they lightened up on her a bit. She answered their questions as best she could as she stood there with her hands clasped tightly in front of her. They could tell that she was frightened, but she was trying very hard to comply with their wishes.
"Well, if you're going to stay with us, then you have to go to school," Chichi finally said. She placed incredible importance on an education, a fact Gohan could attest to quite well.
"School?" asked Azuri, confused.
"Yes," confirmed Bulma. "You can probably be in the same grade as Goten and Trunks."
"So, then it's settled?" asked Goku.
"I suppose so," answered Chichi. "One last thing, though," she began as she turned to face Azuri. "As long as you stay here, you obey the same rules as Goten and Trunks. Understand?"
"Yes ma'am," replied Azuri, softly.
"Well," said Bulma, giving Azuri a smile, "welcome."
Azuri managed to smile back at them. Everything was happening so fast, she hardly knew what to expect.
But anything had to be better than Xenon.
"Good," said Goku. "Then, let's go."
"Wait a second!" protested Chichi. "Where do you think you're going?"
"To the training room, of course," answered Goku, as he edged towards the door. He motioned for Azuri to follow him, which she did readily. Vegeta was already outside, and Goku left quickly before Chichi could complain any further.
"Let's go," said Vegeta, to everyone outside.
"Where are we going, dad?" asked Trunks, running to keep up with his father.
"The training room," was Vegeta's concise response.
* * * * *
Inside the training room, Goten and Trunks were getting ready to fight. A moment later, Goku walked in with Azuri following him.
"Okay, you two," he said to them. "One of you, get ready to fight her."
"What?" they asked, confused. Then they turned to face each other.
"You do it," said Trunks.
"No way! You should," countered Goten.
Azuri laughed softly, "I'm not that bad."
"Trunks," intervened Vegeta.
"Yeah, dad?" Trunks responded, looking up.
"You do it."
"Um okay," conceded Trunks, looking her over. She was at least four inches shorter than him, and, truth to tell, she didn't look like much of a fighter.
Trunks and Azuri moved to the center of the training room. They looked at each other, sizing each other up. That done, they got into a fighting stance.
"You sure you're ready?" asked Trunks, raising an eyebrow doubtfully.
She only nodded.
From the sidelines, Goten asked, "Are you sure she won't get hurt?"
"Uh-huh," answered Goku, confidently. "She may be smaller and younger than Trunks, but she can fight."
Suddenly Trunks dashed at Azuri. Right before he reached her, she disappeared.
"WHOA!" exclaimed Trunks, as he slid to a stop, inches from running into a wall. "Where'd she go?"
He searched the room quickly, seeing Goten by the sidelines looking extremely surprised. Gohan looked surprised as well, but Vegeta and Goku seemed perfectly calm.
Okay, thought Trunks, I've got to focus. There was no way he was going to lose to a girl.
Suddenly, she reappeared directly in front of him.
"Hey!" called out Trunks, as he jumped back quickly. "How'd you do that?"
"Same way you can," she replied, gaining confidence in her voice. "I may be a girl, and I may also be smaller than you, but don't underestimate me. I've been taught to fight my whole life."
Trunks looked back at her. This could be a lot of fun, he thought. He grinned saucily at Azuri, who this time smiled back at him.
That's it for the second chapter. Well, what'd you think? I know Vegeta was a little out of character, actually that's probably an understatement, but I'm working on it. ~_^ Heh heh. Guess that's it.
~Azuri
dbzazuri@yahoo.com