Chapter two – Welcome Back, Goku

Out of curiosity everyone followed the youngster. Gohan flew up to him and asked: "Who are you and how do you know my father?"

"My name is Trunks. I never met your father, I only know him by reputation. I'm sorry, but I can't tell you any more than that."

"Why not?"

"It's kind of complicated… I can't answer your questions. There's a good reason for it, believe me."

Gohan nodded and asked no more. They landed pretty soon and were surprised to see another person come out of the shadows in between the rocks.

"Everything went according to plan?" the woman asked.

"Yep."

"Thank goodness. Now all we have to do is wait for Kakarot."

Vegeta finally got a good look at her. Even though her hair wasn't black, the tail gave her away immediately: she was a Saiyan. His face got red when he recognized her ki.

"My name is Tara," she introduced herself. "As you can see, I'm part Saiyan. I came here today to intervene in case something went wrong with Trunks. He has a message for the one you call Goku, who will be arriving here shortly."

"And how the hell do you know all this?" Vegeta snapped.

"Patience, Sire. Your questions will be answered in time."

"You know all of us?" Bulma asked.

"You should know, Bulma. I saved your life many years ago and your parents rewarded me for it. Ask them when you get home. You probably don't remember a thing because you were unconscious."

"They told me I got lost and someone brought me back, but they never told me who saved my life that day. But that doesn't explain how you know the others."

"Trunks told me all about you guys. I met Prince Vegeta when I was still a kid. I was lucky enough to be in outer space the moment Frieza went berserk on our home planet. That's all I can say for now."

Further questions were interrupted by a spacepod that crash-landed about a hundred feet away.

"Those instruments are pretty accurate, Trunks," Tara said. "Let's go check if Kakarot is alright."

The door of the ship opened and Goku stuck his head out. Gohan flew right into his arms. "Dad!"

"What the… How did you know I was going to be here, you guys?"

"They told us," Gohan said and pointed to Trunks and Tara. Goku flew up to them and asked: "How did you know?"

"I'll tell you," Trunks said. "Follow me."

While Trunks and Goku were talking, Vegeta went to Tara and growled: "So it was you who defeated me when I first landed on this pitiful planet."

"So you figured it out?"

"You're a Saiyan! You even call me 'Sire' but you humiliated me all the same. Explain!"

"This is not the time…"

"I'll be the judge of that! Now tell me!"

"I will, Prince, but not now." She turned her back on him.

"I can't believe you're putting your life at stake for this," Vegeta said in a threatening tone.

"You're not on planet Frieza anymore, Prince. Back off. You have no idea what you're dealing with here."

"I have no idea? Hah! You're only half-Saiyan, you can't possibly be stronger than I am!"

"I have beaten you once, I can do it again. You're welcome to try. To be honest, I'm getting tired of listening to this."

The moment Vegeta wanted to attack her, he felt a huge increase of energy and got distracted by Goku and Trunks who went Super Saiyan.

"What the hell are they doing?"

"I have no idea. But since Trunks has a good reason for everything he does, it'll probably be necessary."

She noticed Vegeta's craving for more power as he watched the two Super Saiyans fight.

"Patience really isn't your strongest side, is it?" she asked boldly.

"Saiyans have always been impatient."

"As soon as we get to Capsule Corp. I'll tell you what you need to know, alright? Look, I'm sorry, but this whole mess isn't my fault. Kakarot should have finished off Frieza for good instead of leaving him on Namek. And it sure isn't my fault that you're not a Super Saiyan yet."

Vegeta looked at her in silence, then he asked: "Yet? You mean…"

"Oops, I shouldn't have said that. Damn."