Chapter three – Z Warriors Prepare
The sun was setting when Yamcha, Bulma, Puar, Vegeta and Tara landed at Capsule Corp. Piccolo, who heard the whole conversation between Trunks and Goku, told them about the androids. Everyone decided to go and prepare themselves for the fight. Trunks left and went 'back to the future'. The remaining warriors went some place else to train. Vegeta waited impatiently until everyone else went inside and then turned to Tara.
"Now tell me."
"Alright, alright. Just don't interrupt me, I hate it when people do that.
I assume you remember our lives back on Vegeta-sei, don't you?"
"Of course."
"Well, your father had a special purpose for me. As you have seen on Earth, certain races exist that are weak in themselves, but they can become very strong once mixed with Saiyan blood. Humans, for example, are no match for us. But once a human mates with a Saiyan, an even stronger species will rise."
"What are you saying? The other part of you is human?"
She shook her head. "Your father never found out about the humans, Kakarot's son is a mere coincidence! But the King was experimenting with a Saiyan-Magician hybrid – I'm the first one that actually met the high standards he had set. That's the reason you and I got acquainted when we were kids; otherwise, he would only allow purebloods around you. He sent me away when I was six years old though. I was to be trained on another planet, to become a Royal Guard."
"A Royal Guard?" Vegeta looked surprised. "Only the strongest fighters are allowed to participate in that order! Pure blood is a prerequisite for entering the training sequences!"
"Well, your father decided I was good enough. My Master was killed by Frieza shortly after I had become a Master myself. I was lucky enough to escape and went to Earth, where I lived a peaceful life. Until one day I was contacted telepathically by King Kai, who told me that a couple of Saiyans had set course to Earth. Kakarot was already training on his planet and King Kai asked me to be there as backup when Nappa and you would arrive. But because I concentrated on Kakarot's ki as my cue, I was too late and you had already killed Nappa, not to mention several Z warriors. Kakarot and his son almost defeated you – almost. Luckily I was there to finish what they had started and to save you from Krillin's rage. If it weren't for me, he would have struck you with Yajirobe's sword. You got away in your spacepod. Soon after that, we found out there were more Dragonballs to be collected on Namek. Part of the Z squad went there to get them so we could wish back Piccolo. Too bad that Frieza also found out…"
"Why weren't you there?"
She sighed. "I was to remain on Earth. The prophecy told me to. In order to destroy Frieza, Kakarot had to transform into a Super Saiyan. The fact that you died contributed to his rage, pushing him hard to cross the line of his power. Krillin's death did the trick in the end; then it became perfectly clear to Kakarot that there was no good side to be found in Frieza, only pure evil." Her eyes were filled with tears when she said: "I owe you an apology, Sire. It was my duty to protect you and I failed."
"Forget it," he answered. "I was revived and Frieza was killed. I'd say you made the right choice."
She looked surprised, but then continued her story. "You were revived with the Namekian Dragonballs and wished back to Earth immediately. You stayed here for a while, then decided to take a spaceship and go look for Kakarot, dying to know how he became a Super Saiyan."
"Don't remind me. I never found him and eventually ran out of gas so I had to return to Earth. Would you stop telling me things I already know?"
"I'm sorry. This time it was Trunks who came to warn me that Frieza was still alive and out for revenge. We arranged that he would stop Frieza once and for all while I was to be his backup. Well, that's pretty much it."
"You still haven't told me where he's from and how the hell he became a Super Saiyan too."
"You thought that Kakarot and you were the last Saiyans that survived, but you were wrong. You never found out about me either…"
"You're not a pureblood and neither is Trunks," Vegeta interrupted.
"You have to trust me, Sire. I cannot tell you where he's from, but it'll become clear someday, I promise."
She wanted to walk away, but he grabbed her arm.
"When will I become a Super Saiyan?"
"That depends on too many things, Sire. I cannot say anything for sure about that."
"One more thing: why are you still alive?"
"Sire?"
"Royal Guards are to be eliminated as soon as their protégé reaches adulthood. You know that as well as I do."
"There was no one left who could perform the ritual, Sire. And to be honest, I think the rule is ridiculous. It was created only to take away the threat for the Royal family."
"Are you calling us cowards?" His eyes were burning with rage.
"Not really. I'm only saying your family took the easy way out by wasting other people's lives. Just think about it, Prince. I'm not here to challenge you, on the contrary! The reason I'm here is because I dedicated my life to you. I don't expect gratitude, but at least show me some common sense."
She left him standing there in astonishment.
"Hi Tara!" Bulma greeted her as soon as she walked into the living room. "Let me show you your quarters. I bet you and Vegeta had a lot of catching up to do, huh?"
"That's none of your business, woman." They didn't notice that Vegeta had walked in as well.
"Oh, excuse me for existing. I was just curious," Bulma said.
"And tell your father to fix my training equipment before dawn." He got out of the living room and went to his own quarters.
"Is he always like that?" Tara asked in disbelief.
"Yes, and sometimes he's worse. But don't sweat it, we can handle him. At least he's not killing people anymore. But you knew him when he was a kid, you should know what he's like."
"Guess I forgot… If he causes trouble, just let me know. I will not allow him to harm the ones that offered him shelter!"
"We're used to his behaviour, Tara. As I said, we can handle him."
Tara looked at Bulma and saw she wasn't joking.
"You're very brave for a human," she said.
"That's not very hard if you have a friend like Goku!" Bulma laughed out loud. "Here, these are your rooms. If you need anything, the service robots will get it for you. They're voice controlled."
"Thanks, Bulma. Good night."
"Good night!"
Even though the three warriors were training for the same purpose, they trained alone. Vegeta wanted to be left alone while training; Yamcha couldn't stand Vegeta because he was always rude to Bulma. Tara figured she'd better train alone since she didn't want to hurt anyone. She was by far the strongest of the three and found she missed Trunks.
"He was the only one who came close to my abilities… I hope he got back to his timeline alright."
Her thoughts were interrupted by a huge explosion.
"What the…" She flew straight to the place where the smoke came from. The gravity capsule Vegeta was training in had collapsed and was literally blown to pieces. She tried to contact him telepathically, but didn't find any trace of him.
"Oh no…"
Yamcha arrived at the spot and shook his head. "I knew this was going to happen! He's been pushing himself way too hard."
Tara fell down to her knees and dug into the ruins in front of her. She startled when Vegeta's hand came out and backed away. Vegeta made his way out of the remainders of the capsule and tried to get himself together.
"You were blocking me?" Tara yelled in disbelief. "How could you?"
Vegeta collapsed and Tara got to him immediately.
"You baka, you're injured. You need to rest."
"I don't need your help. I have to get stronger!"
"You're obsessed with becoming a Super Saiyan. If you keep on going like this, you'll kill yourself."
"I'm a pureblood Saiyan. I can take a little pain, it means nothing to me!"
"Oh, shut up. Despite what you may think, you are made of flesh and blood and your body obviously cannot take this any longer. I don't care if we have to restrain you, but you will rest."
"I don't take orders from you!" He tried to break free, but found that he couldn't. She tightened her grip on his shoulders and whispered: "See? You need to heal, Sire."
He grit his teeth but didn't resist when she picked him up and took him to the infirmary. He lost consciousness as soon as she put him to bed.
"It's unbelievable that he has survived such a terrible explosion," dr. Briefs said. "Those Saiyans are practically indestructible! If he rests for a week or two, he'll recover fully."
"I'll make sure that he stays in bed," Tara said.
"All by yourself?" Bulma asked. "Are you sure?"
"I'll be fine, relax."
"Okay then, but I'll check on you every day! And when you need anything, just say so."
"Thanks Bulma."
They left the room.
"Even now he's trying to trick me," Tara thought. "Unconscious? Maybe he was for five minutes, but he's already trying to find a way past me to escape. His will is so strong… Amazing."
"Got me all figured out, haven't you?" he asked, opening his eyes. "You can't keep me here against my will!"
"I sure can… and will. It's my duty to protect you."
He got out of bed faster than she had imagined possible and he attacked her head on. She had no choice and kicked him in the stomach. He fell to his knees coughing his guts out.
"So much… for… protection," he groaned.
"I'm sworn to protect you, even from yourself, Sire." She picked him up and put him back to bed.
"I don't know what's going on inside your head, but you'll have to change if you want to stay here," she said.
"I'm Prince of all Saiyans, I do as I please."
"You know, you got that wrong!" she said, raising her voice. "We're not on Vegeta-sei anymore and the people here are not yours to command! You're a guest in this house and on this planet, so you'd better start acting like one!"
"Give me one reason why I should listen to you!"
"Because I'm the only one who knows how to grow your tail back… Prince."
He looked at her in amazement, then turned his back to her and growled: "Fine, I'll rest. One week, not a day more!"
"Thank you ever so much," she grinned. "I guess you want me to leave now?"
"I thought you'd never ask."
"I'll be watching so don't even think about trying to leave this room," she said before closing the door behind her.
