Disclaimer: I do not own anything in this fanfic except for Katt. Dragonball Z and all related characters belong to some japanese guy. I am of Scandinavian desent...see my point?
Remembering the Past,
Reclaiming the Future.
Part 1: Gathering Storms
..............................................................................(Episode 5: A Threat Revealed)........................................................................................
~(Capsule Corporation Holding Cell)~
All there was, was the darkness. It was embracing, comforting, it didn't judge her or accuse her of anything. It was just there. It was all there was. All there would ever be.
And then the darkness started to fade as she became dimly aware of voices nearby. Crying out softly, she tried to block them out, but they would not go away. As the darkness finally receeded all the way, she opened her eyes, only to shut them again quickly against the onslaught of bright light that glared down at her. She then became acutely aware of a sharp pain in her head. Trying to lift her arms to rub the spot, she found she couldn't move at all.
'What?! Why can't I move?! What happened?! Where am I?!' She thought the questions as loudly as she could, still not able to form them in her mouth. 'What is this place?! Why-' She stopped as it all came rushing back to her, everything that had led up to her being here. 'I-I failed my mission...I have been captured by the enemy...they will make me betray my master...NO! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!'
"NOOOOOOOOOO!" She finally gave voice to her denials, in one burst of sound. This seemed to make the voices of her captors stop at once, but she couldn't stay to appreciate it. The darkness was creeping up on her again, lulling her quietly to blissful unconsciousness.
~(Capsule Corporation, Outside Holding Cell)~
Bulma looked worriedly at Gohan for what had to have been at least the fifth time. "You're sure you're okay?"
Gohan grimaced as she said this. "For the last time Bulma, I'm fine. It was only a little blast, I don't think she meant to kill me." He looked thoroughly exasperated by this time. "And aren't we kind of forgetting the point of why we are all here?"
Bulma looked indigent for a moment, before she sighed and said "You're right, of course. I just can't help but worry, it was-"
Vegeta interupted her at this point. "-a little scratch. The brat will be fine woman. Now, if we could finish this pointless meeting so I can get back to training?" He had an edge to his voice, not suprising considering the half hour they had been standing there.
The indignant look returned to Bulma's face. "Don't you care at all that some new girl just showed up and blasted Gohan through the side of the building?!" She practically screamed in his face.
Vegeta took this calmly as always. "Of course I care woman! But do you think that we will get any ANSWERS out of someone who's UNCONSCIOUS?!"
Bulma, a bit mollified, blinked. "I suppose you 'do' have a point..."
"Damn right I have a point! If we could just do a-" He was interrupted by a loud scream from inside the holding cell, which cut off almost as quick as it started. "What the hell was 'that' all about?!" He walked angily over to the window in the holding cell, but all he saw was an unconscious redheaded woman laying there. "Hmph...must have woken up for a second..." He turned back to the others, who were just kind of staring. In his opinion, they looked like dead fish. "Hello? Earth to Woman and Kakarott's first brat? WAKE UP!"
Whether it was Vegeta's insult that roused them, or just the tone of his voice, both Bulma and Gohan snapped out of it. Gohan was the first to speak. "What was 'that' about? Is she okay?"
Vegeta's eye twitched. "OF COURSE SHE'S NOT OKAY! WOULD YOU BE OKAY IF YOU WERE KICKED IN THE FACE, KNOCKED INT0 A STATE OF UNCONSCIOUSNESS, AND WOKE UP IN A FUCKING CELL?!"
Gohan blinked. "I guess not..."
Bulma, not one to be left out of conversation, intervened at this point. "Geez Vegeta! He was only showing concern! Calm down already!"
"Woman! You expect me to calm down when I'm supposed to be 'training'?!" Vegeta practically shouted at her.
"YES, I DO! AND IF YOU CAN'T DEAL WITH THAT THEN GO TRAIN OR SOMETHING!!!" Bulma did scream this at him.
Vegeta smirked, "Why thank you woman, I think I will." He was already out the door before he finished the last word.
Bulma frowned, thinking for a second, then her eyes widened! "VEGETA! GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW! I DIDN'T MEAN THAT!!!"
But either Vegeta was out of hearing range or he just didn't answer, for all that greeted Bulma's shout was silence.
Gohan coughed lightly, "Well, I hate to go...but my family's got to be getting worried..." Without another word, he ran out the door, flying by the window outside a few seconds later.
Bulma stood there speechless, not sure what to do, then huffed and marched out of the room also, muttering something about ungrateful people and phone calls to others.
~(Capsule Corp. Holding Cell, 3 hours later)~
The darkness was still there, soothing her. It felt like a pillow, soft, feeling like velvet, all around her. She opened her eyes to the blackness. 'Where...am I?' The darkness in front of her swirled, taking on colors and features even as she spoke.
It formed itself into a picture, shadowed figures moving around silently, gaining color as they moved. A young redheaded girl was in a field, picking flowers. She floated up into the air to pick one from the chalob tree that had some of the most beautiful flowers around this time in the year. A brownish-red tail uncurled loosely behind her as she giggled, one of the flowers tickling her nose.
'Who is...that? Why am I seeing them?'
The young girl then delicately picked a flower from the tree, landing lightly on the ground and putting the flower in the basket she was bringing for her mother. Seeing that the basket is now full, she picks it up and starts back towards the temple where she lives. Her mother had been getting bad visions lately and had told her to be very careful when she went outside. The scene slowly fades to blackness as another one forms.
'What? Another one? Who is that, and why am I seeing them?'
The darkness again takes color and shapes appear. Now a picture appears of a slightly older redheaded girl. She looks to be around 11 or 12 and is talking to an older redheaded woman, one who still can't be in more than her early thirtees. They are talking, but no sound is heard. The older redheaded woman looks worried. You cannot tell the girl's expression as she is turned away. She finally turns away from her mother, looking exasperated, and walks off down a corridor.
'......that's......that's me! How....but....' Her head seemes to explode with pain, jolting her out and away from the darkness and into consciousness.
"Ugh..." She groans as she wakes up, wondering what just happened, her head feeling like a teroni was using it as a dueling ground. "What...happened...?" She was answered as all the memories again appeared in her head, which only made it feel much, much worse.
She groaned again. "....I failed...." Craning her neck, she took note that she was in some type of cell, her arms and legs strapped to a table. Blinking against the bright light above that seemed determined to make her headache worse, she started talking to herself. "Either I'll die at my master's hands for failure, or be killed by the ones that've captured me...." She closed her eyes again against the pain that seeing caused.
There was some kind of commotion outside the cell, a few curse words, and then someone opening the cell door. Even though it hurt, she opened her eyes and looked towards the door, revealing someone with spikey hair standing there that looked oddly familiar. She realized who it was when the figure turned it's head and spoke something to someone behind him. It was her prey, the same person who had put her in this situation. She groaned again.
~(Capsule Corporation)~
Vegeta looked down at the woman who had tried to attack him and snorted when she groaned. "I know you're awake, so you might as well get up." When she didn't comply, Vegeta's eye twitched, never a good sign, and he reached over and ripped off the restrains, barring the restraining collar, and threw her roughly out of the cell onto the ground outside. This caused many assorted reactions among those gathered there.
He walked briskly from the cell, looking down at the redhead that was squinting against the light in the room, waving away Bulma's objections before they could even start. "Okay, state your name, race, and mission." He glared at her as she blinked.
Bulma finally managed to get in a word, "Vegeta! There's no reason to-"
"Shut UP woman! Do you think I don't know how to interrogate a prisoner?" He glared back at the girl before him. "If you do not answer me, you'll be getting much worse than a kick in the face." He smirked as he saw the slightest flicker of fear on her face.
"My name...is Katt. That's all you'll get from me." A stubborn look now adorned her features as she stared intently at Vegeta.
Goku, who was now attending, being jerked rudely away from his training with Uub by Vegeta's call, now stared in fascination at Katt, the same kind of fascination a three-year-old would show to something like a lizard. "Wow..." If he hadn't been so far removed from the captive, he probably would have poked her. "She sure looks young to be a bad gu-um...girl. Usually they're either freaky aliens or old guys with alot of wrinkles that build freaky androids that sometimes look young, hey she could be an-"
He was rudely interupted by Vegeta, "KAKAROTT!! SHUT...UP!"
Goku made a pouty face, and as soon as Vegeta turned away, stuck out his tongue at him, but remained silent nonetheless.
"Now," Vegeta looked down at Katt, "Don't think we don't have ways to make you talk. It would be much easier on you if you'd just tell us." A sadistic smirk crossed his face before he was smacked in the back of the head by his blue-haired wife.
"Vegeta! We should try to be nice to her."
A look of annoyance crossed his face in place of the smirk. "WOMAN! This...is...a...PRI-SON-ER! Get it? A prisoner! Not a guest for one of your idiot mother's tea parties!"
"I MEANT...THAT MAYBE IF WE'RE NICE TO HER, SHE'LL BE MORE WILLING TO TELL US!!!" Bulma screamed in his face.
"IF WE 'ARE' NICE TO HER, SHE'LL PROBABLY JUST STAB US IN THE BACK!!!" Vegeta screamed right back at her.
Meanwhile, everyone else in the room, including Gohan, Krillen, 18, Goten, Trunks, Tien, Yamcha, and Piccolo just sweatdropped. Goku was currently fascinated by a small trinket that was sitting on a table, totally oblivious to the arguement.
Goten was the first to glance away from the argument and towards Katt, and noticed something that hadn't been brought up in the conversation yet. "Hey..is that a tail?" A few more of the gathered people turned their attention towards Katt, ignoring the arguement. Goten continued. "So...does that make you a saiyan?"
~
Katt's eyes widened as the word Saiyan registered. Memories flashed past, long forgotten, lessons by an instructor, the history of her race. She jumped up and grabbed a very surprised Goten by the collar. "Don't you dare think I'm the same as you, Kri'ue!" She glared into his eyes as he gulped.
Vegeta, hearing that last word as it registered in some distant part of his mind, turned from the argument, leaving Bulma sputtering, and grabbed Katt by the collar, altogether making for a slightly comical scene, as Katt still had a hold on Goten's collar. "WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" He was now the one glaring into her eyes.
Katt looked directly into his obsidian eyes without blinking her own now-violet ones. "I said: I am not the same as you, Kri'ue monkey!" As soon as she said this, her eyes closed and she collapsed, eyes shifting colors to blue again before her lids covered them.
Vegeta stood frozen, dropping Katt to the floor as he stared, seeing what only he could see. Finally, after what seemed like forever to Vegeta, but in reality was only a short while, his eyes refocused and he fixed a hard, albeit slightly bewildered gaze on the woman before him, taking in for the first time her tail combined with her red hair. "Kri'ue...she called me....but she couldn't be...." He was interrupted by Bulma's loud voice.
"Well? What was that all about?" She tapped her foot impatiently on the floor, snapping numerous people out of their daze.
Vegeta's eye twitched. "WOMAN! CAN YOU NOT GIVE ME HALF A SECOND TO THINK!?"
"I'M NOT THE ONE THAT STOOD THERE STARING INTO THE DISTANCE FOREVER!"
"I WAS RECOLLECTING, WOMAN!"
"WELL WHILE YOU WERE STANDING THERE 'RECOLLECTING', THE REST OF US ARE SITTING HERE UNINFORMED!!"
"IF YOU WOULD GIVE ME A SECOND TO THINK!?"
"FINE! MAKE IT QUICK!"
~
A vein again throbbed on Vegeta's forehead as he struggled to get his anger under control. "Sometimes...swear, worse than Kakarott's banshee...." He again looked off into the distance, trying to regain his concentration from earlier. 'She called me a Kri'ue....and she has red hair....and a tail...but it's slightly different than....would that mean she was...Zelith or Akan'ieth? ...she can't be either though...they died out....almost four thousand years....' He shook his head in bewilderment. For one of the Fallen Tribes to appear now...four thousand years after they had been destroyed....it was definately something he would have to think on. Finally he looked up. "I have to have more time to think." With this, he walked from the room. Bulma's protests could be heard following him down the hall even as he paid them no mind.
For a Zelith or Akan'ieth to still be alive was disturbing enough, but for one to be so young? Even if they had been living on Vegeta-sei in some hidden caves or something like the children's tales said, it would be impossible for her to be here. Vegeta-sei had been destroyed when he was still a young boy, and this...this girl was barely out of childhood.
He closed his eyes, trying to soothe his own mind as his imagination ran rampant with possiblities on why she was here. It was a bit of a shame that he had no one to compare notes with, as he hadn't payed all that much attention to his lessons in history when he was a boy. He lowered his head, trying to recall all that he could of the lessons about the lost tribes.
~
The 'Grand War of Vegeta-sei', as it came to be known, had happened over four thousand years ago. Vegeta remembered that there had been many battles, which were the main thing he had listened about, remembering little of the politics of the time. He did, however, remember that there had been five tribes in all of Saiyans, each distinctly differing from each other. The Kri-ue generally had black or brown hair, and turned into Ozaru when the moon was full. The Anarkins were the smallest of the races, only coming up to about 5'4 at their tallest, and that was considered a giant to them. They, too, had black or brown hair, but usually had green eyes, unlike the Kri-ue. He couldn't remember their transformation. The Zelith were next in line. They generally had red or reddish-brown hair, and didn't transform in the full moon. They were only slightly smaller than most Saiyans, and, seemingly to make up for the lack of a transformation, had some type of psychic abilities. Then there was the Liogren. They could command vast amounts of energy, or so the books had said. He had found their 'Gezien Ball' particularly interesting, as they could focus all of their power into a tiny point that they collectively controlled as if it was a part of their body. The last were the Akan-ieth. They were generally taller than the Kri-ue, and had light colored hair, usually blond or silver and the like. They were the most powerful of the Saiyan races, but were also the least in number because of constant fighting amongst themselves. Both the Zelith and the Anarkins were their slaves. During the great war, both of those races broke free of their masters and fought in the great war for their right to live. The Akan-ieth were supposedly the first 'Super-Saiyans', possessing powerlevels at birth that some of the other races couldn't achieve in a lifetime. Of course, the Akan-ieth supposedly lived for over a millinia...
For thousands of years before the great war, the Akan-ieth and the Liogren ruled over the planet, the two tribes constantly warring. The Kri-ue were apart from the other tribes, living as they did in mostly the deep deserts of the planet. Little from that time was known, only that during it, the Zelith and the Anarkins were enslaved by the Akan-ieth, to act as servants to their 'immortal' masters.
At the time of the great war, the conflict between the Akan-ieth and the Liogren was spiralling out of control. The Liogren developed many great and horrible techniques to control even the elements themselves during that time, and the Akan-ieth, seeing that they would be destroyed by this new threat, banded together instead of being the solitary warlords that they had always been before.
Thousands of Anarkins, under the Akan-ieth, fought the Liogren and buried them under sheer numbers. The Akan-ieth used the Zelith as field commanders and otherwise higher-up officers than the Anarkins, having both superior strength and psychic abilities. Only a handful of the Akan-ieth died during this first phase of the war.
Then the slave races of the Akan-ieth rebelled, either killing or running from their masters, or dying. The Anarkins fled to the deserts, where they found the Kri-ue, and a long and bloody conflict, short compared to how long the rest of the war was, which resulted in the extinction and absorbtion of the Anarkins into the Kri-ue ranks. Always before, the nomadic tribes of Kri-ue had wandered together, but the threat of the Anarkins forced them, too, to band together and fight back.
After they had won against the Anarkins, the Kri-ue leaders came to the conclusion that they would have to conquer the other races before they could be truly safe. When the Kri-ue hordes, as they came to be known, came onto the 'field', they found the conflict between the Akan-ieth and the Liogren still going strong. The Kri-ue had never witnessed such a massive conflict before, as the skies themselves seemed to be constantly on fire from the fighting.
At the time, the Kri-ue did not know how to control Ki, but they quickly learned as they studied the Liogren. From the Akan-ieth, they learned to be even more prideful than they were, shaping their culture as a mixture between the Akan-ieth and their own ancient customs. Only after killing several hundred Liogren in a battle, and at least a dozen Akan-ieth, did the other two races begin to consider the Kri-ue as more than a nuisance.
This realization came far too late, however, as the Kri-ue attacked all the other races viciously. Thousands of Kri-ue fell to the collective might of the Liogren, and the power, technological and otherwise, of the Akan-ieth, yet still they pushed onwards. The great citidels of the Akan-ieth crumbled at the Kri-ue's might, and the masses of the Liogren were slaughtered by the Kri-ue onslaught.
In the final battle against the Liogren, thousands of Saiyans attacked their last stronghold, having slaughtered every last one of the Liogren elsewhere. The Liogren, however, knew that their hour was at hand, and in a massive blast that wiped out most of the Kri-ue attacking them, sacrificed themselves and vanished from the face of the universe.
After the endless battles with the Liogren, then the Kri-ue, there were only a few hundred of the Akan-ieth left, where there had once been nearly ten thousand. Seeing the fate of the Liogren, they still bravely fought back, wielding their swords and technology against the Kri-ue. They did not prevail, however. After all but a few of their once mighty citidels had fallen to the Saiyans, the last of them gathered at Tier-kalon, in their language, 'The Great Citidel', built when they allied together, and made a last stand there. Before the Kri-ue arrived, some reported on bright lights traveling upwards into the heavens, but that was never confirmed. Suprisingly for the Kri-ue, who were expecting a huge battle against hundreds of Akan-ieth, there was only about a dozen there that opposed them. Still, that dozen were the most powerful of the Akan-ieth, and many thousands of Kri-ue were lost in the battle.
After the last of the Akan-ieth, Reir-Kalo, was defeated, the citidel was left in ruins. The Kri-ue now turned their attention to the last of the Saiyan tribes left on the planet besides them, the Zelith. Thousands on both sides died in the battles that raged on for years, the Kri-ue finally defeating the Zelith at Tier-Nalith, one of the Akan-ieth citidels that the Zelith had taken from their former masters. The Zelith fought what seemed like a battle for time, and was later realized to be just that, as the last surviving Akan-ieth starships took the surviving Zelith into the heavens, never to be seen again.
Finally, the great war had come to a close. The Kri-ue, now calling themselves the Saiyans, as they were the only 'Saiyans' there after the great war, now numbered less than two thousand. Hundreds of thousands of lives had been lost during the war.
The planet, once lush and full of life, was now mostly a desert wasteland, it's green forests and rivers destroyed during the war. The Ularin Sea was the only body of water to survive the war, and it was only a fraction of it's original size.
The Kri-ue survivors, now without anyplace to call home, retreated into the hills and moutains that still held some reservoirs of life. A thousand years later, a race known as the Tuffles discovered the ancient Akan-ieth technology, and started work to restore the planet, thinking little of the Saiyans that dwelled in the caves of the wilderness.
~
Vegeta looked up from his recollection of Saiyan history as Trunks walked into the room, which he realized belatedly was the kitchen, and poured a glass of water. He looked over at his father. "Hey dad, you done thinking yet? I think Mom's going insane from the waiting." He laughed as he turned of the faucet, cutting off the flow of water into the now-full cup.
Vegeta would have smirked if he hadn't had so many things on his mind. He waved Trunks away. "I'm almost done...I'll be back to the room in a few minutes..." He said distractedly, thinking.
Trunks shrugged, "Suit yourself, but I wouldn't want to be in your shoes when you get back up there..." He gave an involantary shiver and proceeded back upstairs to where the prisoner was being held.
Vegeta turned his thoughts back to what he had been thinking about as Trunks' footsteps faded. 'From what I remember, judging by her hair color, she'd be a Zelith. After all, the books said they did take off in ships before they were destroyed...' He pondered for a moment how one had shown up on Earth, then dismissed it as having too many possible answers to deal with at that moment. He thought instead on how she was alive. 'It could be that they found a planet which they landed on...or she could be one of the last of her kind after some kind of ship-wreck. It says that Akan-ieth technology was advanced...so maybe they put themselves in cryo-sleep...?'
He shook his head to clear it. He was starting to remind himself of his wife. He blasted something to assure himself that he was still 'him' as he walked back upsairs. He thought he might have hit a cat, but couldn't be sure.
~
Letting the door slam loudly into the wall announced Vegeta's entrance into the room where the prisoner was still unconcious, thankfully re-strapped to the table. Kakarott was now counting the dots on the ceiling, much to Vegeta's annoyance.
"Nine thousand two hundred fifty eight...Nine thousand two hundred fifty nine..."
"KAKAROTT! SHUT UP!" Vegeta screamed, instantly shutting the other Saiyan up and drawing grateful looks from everyone else, most of which had been desperately trying to get him to stop for the last hour. Yamcha was huddled in a corner, shaking and laughing insanely. Vegeta blasted him. "Now then, I've thought about it, and I think I know who our new...guest...is." As if to signify he was speaking, Katt moaned in her sleep.
Goku looked suddenly serious, his annoyingly childiish attitude of a few minutes before gone. "Is she a threat?"
Vegeta looked annoyed. "Of course she's a threat, she's Saiyan." That drew startled gasps from a few people in the room who somehow either hadn't heard or hadn't absorbed the fact that she had a tail and was a Saiyan. Vegeta's eye twitched. "Furtermore, she's one of the lost tribes." This drew confused looks from everyone, with the exeption of Yamcha, who gave another bout of maniacle laughter from his corner. Vegeta blasted him again. "Since none of you seem to know much about Saiyan history..." He glared at Goku, who tried to look innocent, "...I'll explain. About four thousand years ago, the planet Vegeta-sei was engaged in a great war, which spanned the entire planet."
He was interrupted at this point by Goku, who scratched his head. "Where's that? It sounds familiar..."
Vegeta bashed him over the head, Goku uttering an 'ow' while Vegeta realized his folly while trying not to massage his fist to get rid of the throbbing pain. He had forgotten how hard Kakarott's head was. He bit back instead with sharp words. "IT'S OUR HOMEWORLD YOU BAKA! ARGH!" He struggled to get his anger under control, and, finally suceeding, continued, "There were five different Saiyan 'tribes' at the time, each one different. The two main ones were the Akan-ieth and the Liogren..." He went on to tell them the history of the great war, start to finish.
After nearly an hour of explaining, he leaned back. "...and that's why I believe she's a Zelith." He was greeted with silence, and one pathetic, insane chuckle from Yamcha in the corner. He blasted him again.
Goku was the first to pipe up. "So...you're saying...she's an alien?"
Yamcha wasn't the only one who got blasted that day.
(Okay, now to clear up a few things. Yes, this is an A/U fic...though I'm trying to keep everyone in character. If Goku was a little...ah...himish...who can blame me. It's fun to do to Vegeta, at any rate. No, I really don't hate Yamcha all that much, but...Vegeta doesn't like him...and...well...anyway! I thought that was a good place to finish it. Will there be romance in this fic? I'm not telling. Will there be more characters than are introduced right now, and some that aren't taking a central role now moving into the spotlight? Yes. I have a chart listing three of the Saiyan tribes, the Akan-ieth, Kri-ue, and the Zelith. The chart shows info on them. I might decide to put it up later, once I introduce...ah...not saying what I was just about to say! *Wags finger* Nope! You'll all have to wait! Oh, and Katt has DARK red hair, not light red, dark red. Okay? That's it then! ...wait! One last thing. The different tribes: Kri-ue is pronounced Cry-you. Zelith is pronounced Zee-lith. Liogren is pronounced Lie-oh-grin. Anarkin is pronounced An-ar-kin, just how it looks. And Akan-ieth is pronounced Ah-can-ee-eth. I'm sorry this chapter was so long in coming...school, and more than a few personal and social issues. But it's here, and I hope you enjoyed it! Please review, it will make the writing go faster. Uub wasn't there...he was..ah...elsewhere. Last thing! I'll do something...um...let's see...would influencing the story with one suggestion/idea be enough of a reward? Well, if you get this question right. And there is no guarentee that I will accept the idea...but if you keep giving me them, I will do something you say. If you get it. Okay then! Here's the question: Can anyone guess where I got the basic idea of the Akan-ieth from? There was a species in a book by Raymond E. Feist...and that's your hint. Well, I've got to go! Bye! Please review!)
Remembering the Past,
Reclaiming the Future.
Part 1: Gathering Storms
..............................................................................(Episode 5: A Threat Revealed)........................................................................................
~(Capsule Corporation Holding Cell)~
All there was, was the darkness. It was embracing, comforting, it didn't judge her or accuse her of anything. It was just there. It was all there was. All there would ever be.
And then the darkness started to fade as she became dimly aware of voices nearby. Crying out softly, she tried to block them out, but they would not go away. As the darkness finally receeded all the way, she opened her eyes, only to shut them again quickly against the onslaught of bright light that glared down at her. She then became acutely aware of a sharp pain in her head. Trying to lift her arms to rub the spot, she found she couldn't move at all.
'What?! Why can't I move?! What happened?! Where am I?!' She thought the questions as loudly as she could, still not able to form them in her mouth. 'What is this place?! Why-' She stopped as it all came rushing back to her, everything that had led up to her being here. 'I-I failed my mission...I have been captured by the enemy...they will make me betray my master...NO! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!'
"NOOOOOOOOOO!" She finally gave voice to her denials, in one burst of sound. This seemed to make the voices of her captors stop at once, but she couldn't stay to appreciate it. The darkness was creeping up on her again, lulling her quietly to blissful unconsciousness.
~(Capsule Corporation, Outside Holding Cell)~
Bulma looked worriedly at Gohan for what had to have been at least the fifth time. "You're sure you're okay?"
Gohan grimaced as she said this. "For the last time Bulma, I'm fine. It was only a little blast, I don't think she meant to kill me." He looked thoroughly exasperated by this time. "And aren't we kind of forgetting the point of why we are all here?"
Bulma looked indigent for a moment, before she sighed and said "You're right, of course. I just can't help but worry, it was-"
Vegeta interupted her at this point. "-a little scratch. The brat will be fine woman. Now, if we could finish this pointless meeting so I can get back to training?" He had an edge to his voice, not suprising considering the half hour they had been standing there.
The indignant look returned to Bulma's face. "Don't you care at all that some new girl just showed up and blasted Gohan through the side of the building?!" She practically screamed in his face.
Vegeta took this calmly as always. "Of course I care woman! But do you think that we will get any ANSWERS out of someone who's UNCONSCIOUS?!"
Bulma, a bit mollified, blinked. "I suppose you 'do' have a point..."
"Damn right I have a point! If we could just do a-" He was interrupted by a loud scream from inside the holding cell, which cut off almost as quick as it started. "What the hell was 'that' all about?!" He walked angily over to the window in the holding cell, but all he saw was an unconscious redheaded woman laying there. "Hmph...must have woken up for a second..." He turned back to the others, who were just kind of staring. In his opinion, they looked like dead fish. "Hello? Earth to Woman and Kakarott's first brat? WAKE UP!"
Whether it was Vegeta's insult that roused them, or just the tone of his voice, both Bulma and Gohan snapped out of it. Gohan was the first to speak. "What was 'that' about? Is she okay?"
Vegeta's eye twitched. "OF COURSE SHE'S NOT OKAY! WOULD YOU BE OKAY IF YOU WERE KICKED IN THE FACE, KNOCKED INT0 A STATE OF UNCONSCIOUSNESS, AND WOKE UP IN A FUCKING CELL?!"
Gohan blinked. "I guess not..."
Bulma, not one to be left out of conversation, intervened at this point. "Geez Vegeta! He was only showing concern! Calm down already!"
"Woman! You expect me to calm down when I'm supposed to be 'training'?!" Vegeta practically shouted at her.
"YES, I DO! AND IF YOU CAN'T DEAL WITH THAT THEN GO TRAIN OR SOMETHING!!!" Bulma did scream this at him.
Vegeta smirked, "Why thank you woman, I think I will." He was already out the door before he finished the last word.
Bulma frowned, thinking for a second, then her eyes widened! "VEGETA! GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW! I DIDN'T MEAN THAT!!!"
But either Vegeta was out of hearing range or he just didn't answer, for all that greeted Bulma's shout was silence.
Gohan coughed lightly, "Well, I hate to go...but my family's got to be getting worried..." Without another word, he ran out the door, flying by the window outside a few seconds later.
Bulma stood there speechless, not sure what to do, then huffed and marched out of the room also, muttering something about ungrateful people and phone calls to others.
~(Capsule Corp. Holding Cell, 3 hours later)~
The darkness was still there, soothing her. It felt like a pillow, soft, feeling like velvet, all around her. She opened her eyes to the blackness. 'Where...am I?' The darkness in front of her swirled, taking on colors and features even as she spoke.
It formed itself into a picture, shadowed figures moving around silently, gaining color as they moved. A young redheaded girl was in a field, picking flowers. She floated up into the air to pick one from the chalob tree that had some of the most beautiful flowers around this time in the year. A brownish-red tail uncurled loosely behind her as she giggled, one of the flowers tickling her nose.
'Who is...that? Why am I seeing them?'
The young girl then delicately picked a flower from the tree, landing lightly on the ground and putting the flower in the basket she was bringing for her mother. Seeing that the basket is now full, she picks it up and starts back towards the temple where she lives. Her mother had been getting bad visions lately and had told her to be very careful when she went outside. The scene slowly fades to blackness as another one forms.
'What? Another one? Who is that, and why am I seeing them?'
The darkness again takes color and shapes appear. Now a picture appears of a slightly older redheaded girl. She looks to be around 11 or 12 and is talking to an older redheaded woman, one who still can't be in more than her early thirtees. They are talking, but no sound is heard. The older redheaded woman looks worried. You cannot tell the girl's expression as she is turned away. She finally turns away from her mother, looking exasperated, and walks off down a corridor.
'......that's......that's me! How....but....' Her head seemes to explode with pain, jolting her out and away from the darkness and into consciousness.
"Ugh..." She groans as she wakes up, wondering what just happened, her head feeling like a teroni was using it as a dueling ground. "What...happened...?" She was answered as all the memories again appeared in her head, which only made it feel much, much worse.
She groaned again. "....I failed...." Craning her neck, she took note that she was in some type of cell, her arms and legs strapped to a table. Blinking against the bright light above that seemed determined to make her headache worse, she started talking to herself. "Either I'll die at my master's hands for failure, or be killed by the ones that've captured me...." She closed her eyes again against the pain that seeing caused.
There was some kind of commotion outside the cell, a few curse words, and then someone opening the cell door. Even though it hurt, she opened her eyes and looked towards the door, revealing someone with spikey hair standing there that looked oddly familiar. She realized who it was when the figure turned it's head and spoke something to someone behind him. It was her prey, the same person who had put her in this situation. She groaned again.
~(Capsule Corporation)~
Vegeta looked down at the woman who had tried to attack him and snorted when she groaned. "I know you're awake, so you might as well get up." When she didn't comply, Vegeta's eye twitched, never a good sign, and he reached over and ripped off the restrains, barring the restraining collar, and threw her roughly out of the cell onto the ground outside. This caused many assorted reactions among those gathered there.
He walked briskly from the cell, looking down at the redhead that was squinting against the light in the room, waving away Bulma's objections before they could even start. "Okay, state your name, race, and mission." He glared at her as she blinked.
Bulma finally managed to get in a word, "Vegeta! There's no reason to-"
"Shut UP woman! Do you think I don't know how to interrogate a prisoner?" He glared back at the girl before him. "If you do not answer me, you'll be getting much worse than a kick in the face." He smirked as he saw the slightest flicker of fear on her face.
"My name...is Katt. That's all you'll get from me." A stubborn look now adorned her features as she stared intently at Vegeta.
Goku, who was now attending, being jerked rudely away from his training with Uub by Vegeta's call, now stared in fascination at Katt, the same kind of fascination a three-year-old would show to something like a lizard. "Wow..." If he hadn't been so far removed from the captive, he probably would have poked her. "She sure looks young to be a bad gu-um...girl. Usually they're either freaky aliens or old guys with alot of wrinkles that build freaky androids that sometimes look young, hey she could be an-"
He was rudely interupted by Vegeta, "KAKAROTT!! SHUT...UP!"
Goku made a pouty face, and as soon as Vegeta turned away, stuck out his tongue at him, but remained silent nonetheless.
"Now," Vegeta looked down at Katt, "Don't think we don't have ways to make you talk. It would be much easier on you if you'd just tell us." A sadistic smirk crossed his face before he was smacked in the back of the head by his blue-haired wife.
"Vegeta! We should try to be nice to her."
A look of annoyance crossed his face in place of the smirk. "WOMAN! This...is...a...PRI-SON-ER! Get it? A prisoner! Not a guest for one of your idiot mother's tea parties!"
"I MEANT...THAT MAYBE IF WE'RE NICE TO HER, SHE'LL BE MORE WILLING TO TELL US!!!" Bulma screamed in his face.
"IF WE 'ARE' NICE TO HER, SHE'LL PROBABLY JUST STAB US IN THE BACK!!!" Vegeta screamed right back at her.
Meanwhile, everyone else in the room, including Gohan, Krillen, 18, Goten, Trunks, Tien, Yamcha, and Piccolo just sweatdropped. Goku was currently fascinated by a small trinket that was sitting on a table, totally oblivious to the arguement.
Goten was the first to glance away from the argument and towards Katt, and noticed something that hadn't been brought up in the conversation yet. "Hey..is that a tail?" A few more of the gathered people turned their attention towards Katt, ignoring the arguement. Goten continued. "So...does that make you a saiyan?"
~
Katt's eyes widened as the word Saiyan registered. Memories flashed past, long forgotten, lessons by an instructor, the history of her race. She jumped up and grabbed a very surprised Goten by the collar. "Don't you dare think I'm the same as you, Kri'ue!" She glared into his eyes as he gulped.
Vegeta, hearing that last word as it registered in some distant part of his mind, turned from the argument, leaving Bulma sputtering, and grabbed Katt by the collar, altogether making for a slightly comical scene, as Katt still had a hold on Goten's collar. "WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" He was now the one glaring into her eyes.
Katt looked directly into his obsidian eyes without blinking her own now-violet ones. "I said: I am not the same as you, Kri'ue monkey!" As soon as she said this, her eyes closed and she collapsed, eyes shifting colors to blue again before her lids covered them.
Vegeta stood frozen, dropping Katt to the floor as he stared, seeing what only he could see. Finally, after what seemed like forever to Vegeta, but in reality was only a short while, his eyes refocused and he fixed a hard, albeit slightly bewildered gaze on the woman before him, taking in for the first time her tail combined with her red hair. "Kri'ue...she called me....but she couldn't be...." He was interrupted by Bulma's loud voice.
"Well? What was that all about?" She tapped her foot impatiently on the floor, snapping numerous people out of their daze.
Vegeta's eye twitched. "WOMAN! CAN YOU NOT GIVE ME HALF A SECOND TO THINK!?"
"I'M NOT THE ONE THAT STOOD THERE STARING INTO THE DISTANCE FOREVER!"
"I WAS RECOLLECTING, WOMAN!"
"WELL WHILE YOU WERE STANDING THERE 'RECOLLECTING', THE REST OF US ARE SITTING HERE UNINFORMED!!"
"IF YOU WOULD GIVE ME A SECOND TO THINK!?"
"FINE! MAKE IT QUICK!"
~
A vein again throbbed on Vegeta's forehead as he struggled to get his anger under control. "Sometimes...swear, worse than Kakarott's banshee...." He again looked off into the distance, trying to regain his concentration from earlier. 'She called me a Kri'ue....and she has red hair....and a tail...but it's slightly different than....would that mean she was...Zelith or Akan'ieth? ...she can't be either though...they died out....almost four thousand years....' He shook his head in bewilderment. For one of the Fallen Tribes to appear now...four thousand years after they had been destroyed....it was definately something he would have to think on. Finally he looked up. "I have to have more time to think." With this, he walked from the room. Bulma's protests could be heard following him down the hall even as he paid them no mind.
For a Zelith or Akan'ieth to still be alive was disturbing enough, but for one to be so young? Even if they had been living on Vegeta-sei in some hidden caves or something like the children's tales said, it would be impossible for her to be here. Vegeta-sei had been destroyed when he was still a young boy, and this...this girl was barely out of childhood.
He closed his eyes, trying to soothe his own mind as his imagination ran rampant with possiblities on why she was here. It was a bit of a shame that he had no one to compare notes with, as he hadn't payed all that much attention to his lessons in history when he was a boy. He lowered his head, trying to recall all that he could of the lessons about the lost tribes.
~
The 'Grand War of Vegeta-sei', as it came to be known, had happened over four thousand years ago. Vegeta remembered that there had been many battles, which were the main thing he had listened about, remembering little of the politics of the time. He did, however, remember that there had been five tribes in all of Saiyans, each distinctly differing from each other. The Kri-ue generally had black or brown hair, and turned into Ozaru when the moon was full. The Anarkins were the smallest of the races, only coming up to about 5'4 at their tallest, and that was considered a giant to them. They, too, had black or brown hair, but usually had green eyes, unlike the Kri-ue. He couldn't remember their transformation. The Zelith were next in line. They generally had red or reddish-brown hair, and didn't transform in the full moon. They were only slightly smaller than most Saiyans, and, seemingly to make up for the lack of a transformation, had some type of psychic abilities. Then there was the Liogren. They could command vast amounts of energy, or so the books had said. He had found their 'Gezien Ball' particularly interesting, as they could focus all of their power into a tiny point that they collectively controlled as if it was a part of their body. The last were the Akan-ieth. They were generally taller than the Kri-ue, and had light colored hair, usually blond or silver and the like. They were the most powerful of the Saiyan races, but were also the least in number because of constant fighting amongst themselves. Both the Zelith and the Anarkins were their slaves. During the great war, both of those races broke free of their masters and fought in the great war for their right to live. The Akan-ieth were supposedly the first 'Super-Saiyans', possessing powerlevels at birth that some of the other races couldn't achieve in a lifetime. Of course, the Akan-ieth supposedly lived for over a millinia...
For thousands of years before the great war, the Akan-ieth and the Liogren ruled over the planet, the two tribes constantly warring. The Kri-ue were apart from the other tribes, living as they did in mostly the deep deserts of the planet. Little from that time was known, only that during it, the Zelith and the Anarkins were enslaved by the Akan-ieth, to act as servants to their 'immortal' masters.
At the time of the great war, the conflict between the Akan-ieth and the Liogren was spiralling out of control. The Liogren developed many great and horrible techniques to control even the elements themselves during that time, and the Akan-ieth, seeing that they would be destroyed by this new threat, banded together instead of being the solitary warlords that they had always been before.
Thousands of Anarkins, under the Akan-ieth, fought the Liogren and buried them under sheer numbers. The Akan-ieth used the Zelith as field commanders and otherwise higher-up officers than the Anarkins, having both superior strength and psychic abilities. Only a handful of the Akan-ieth died during this first phase of the war.
Then the slave races of the Akan-ieth rebelled, either killing or running from their masters, or dying. The Anarkins fled to the deserts, where they found the Kri-ue, and a long and bloody conflict, short compared to how long the rest of the war was, which resulted in the extinction and absorbtion of the Anarkins into the Kri-ue ranks. Always before, the nomadic tribes of Kri-ue had wandered together, but the threat of the Anarkins forced them, too, to band together and fight back.
After they had won against the Anarkins, the Kri-ue leaders came to the conclusion that they would have to conquer the other races before they could be truly safe. When the Kri-ue hordes, as they came to be known, came onto the 'field', they found the conflict between the Akan-ieth and the Liogren still going strong. The Kri-ue had never witnessed such a massive conflict before, as the skies themselves seemed to be constantly on fire from the fighting.
At the time, the Kri-ue did not know how to control Ki, but they quickly learned as they studied the Liogren. From the Akan-ieth, they learned to be even more prideful than they were, shaping their culture as a mixture between the Akan-ieth and their own ancient customs. Only after killing several hundred Liogren in a battle, and at least a dozen Akan-ieth, did the other two races begin to consider the Kri-ue as more than a nuisance.
This realization came far too late, however, as the Kri-ue attacked all the other races viciously. Thousands of Kri-ue fell to the collective might of the Liogren, and the power, technological and otherwise, of the Akan-ieth, yet still they pushed onwards. The great citidels of the Akan-ieth crumbled at the Kri-ue's might, and the masses of the Liogren were slaughtered by the Kri-ue onslaught.
In the final battle against the Liogren, thousands of Saiyans attacked their last stronghold, having slaughtered every last one of the Liogren elsewhere. The Liogren, however, knew that their hour was at hand, and in a massive blast that wiped out most of the Kri-ue attacking them, sacrificed themselves and vanished from the face of the universe.
After the endless battles with the Liogren, then the Kri-ue, there were only a few hundred of the Akan-ieth left, where there had once been nearly ten thousand. Seeing the fate of the Liogren, they still bravely fought back, wielding their swords and technology against the Kri-ue. They did not prevail, however. After all but a few of their once mighty citidels had fallen to the Saiyans, the last of them gathered at Tier-kalon, in their language, 'The Great Citidel', built when they allied together, and made a last stand there. Before the Kri-ue arrived, some reported on bright lights traveling upwards into the heavens, but that was never confirmed. Suprisingly for the Kri-ue, who were expecting a huge battle against hundreds of Akan-ieth, there was only about a dozen there that opposed them. Still, that dozen were the most powerful of the Akan-ieth, and many thousands of Kri-ue were lost in the battle.
After the last of the Akan-ieth, Reir-Kalo, was defeated, the citidel was left in ruins. The Kri-ue now turned their attention to the last of the Saiyan tribes left on the planet besides them, the Zelith. Thousands on both sides died in the battles that raged on for years, the Kri-ue finally defeating the Zelith at Tier-Nalith, one of the Akan-ieth citidels that the Zelith had taken from their former masters. The Zelith fought what seemed like a battle for time, and was later realized to be just that, as the last surviving Akan-ieth starships took the surviving Zelith into the heavens, never to be seen again.
Finally, the great war had come to a close. The Kri-ue, now calling themselves the Saiyans, as they were the only 'Saiyans' there after the great war, now numbered less than two thousand. Hundreds of thousands of lives had been lost during the war.
The planet, once lush and full of life, was now mostly a desert wasteland, it's green forests and rivers destroyed during the war. The Ularin Sea was the only body of water to survive the war, and it was only a fraction of it's original size.
The Kri-ue survivors, now without anyplace to call home, retreated into the hills and moutains that still held some reservoirs of life. A thousand years later, a race known as the Tuffles discovered the ancient Akan-ieth technology, and started work to restore the planet, thinking little of the Saiyans that dwelled in the caves of the wilderness.
~
Vegeta looked up from his recollection of Saiyan history as Trunks walked into the room, which he realized belatedly was the kitchen, and poured a glass of water. He looked over at his father. "Hey dad, you done thinking yet? I think Mom's going insane from the waiting." He laughed as he turned of the faucet, cutting off the flow of water into the now-full cup.
Vegeta would have smirked if he hadn't had so many things on his mind. He waved Trunks away. "I'm almost done...I'll be back to the room in a few minutes..." He said distractedly, thinking.
Trunks shrugged, "Suit yourself, but I wouldn't want to be in your shoes when you get back up there..." He gave an involantary shiver and proceeded back upstairs to where the prisoner was being held.
Vegeta turned his thoughts back to what he had been thinking about as Trunks' footsteps faded. 'From what I remember, judging by her hair color, she'd be a Zelith. After all, the books said they did take off in ships before they were destroyed...' He pondered for a moment how one had shown up on Earth, then dismissed it as having too many possible answers to deal with at that moment. He thought instead on how she was alive. 'It could be that they found a planet which they landed on...or she could be one of the last of her kind after some kind of ship-wreck. It says that Akan-ieth technology was advanced...so maybe they put themselves in cryo-sleep...?'
He shook his head to clear it. He was starting to remind himself of his wife. He blasted something to assure himself that he was still 'him' as he walked back upsairs. He thought he might have hit a cat, but couldn't be sure.
~
Letting the door slam loudly into the wall announced Vegeta's entrance into the room where the prisoner was still unconcious, thankfully re-strapped to the table. Kakarott was now counting the dots on the ceiling, much to Vegeta's annoyance.
"Nine thousand two hundred fifty eight...Nine thousand two hundred fifty nine..."
"KAKAROTT! SHUT UP!" Vegeta screamed, instantly shutting the other Saiyan up and drawing grateful looks from everyone else, most of which had been desperately trying to get him to stop for the last hour. Yamcha was huddled in a corner, shaking and laughing insanely. Vegeta blasted him. "Now then, I've thought about it, and I think I know who our new...guest...is." As if to signify he was speaking, Katt moaned in her sleep.
Goku looked suddenly serious, his annoyingly childiish attitude of a few minutes before gone. "Is she a threat?"
Vegeta looked annoyed. "Of course she's a threat, she's Saiyan." That drew startled gasps from a few people in the room who somehow either hadn't heard or hadn't absorbed the fact that she had a tail and was a Saiyan. Vegeta's eye twitched. "Furtermore, she's one of the lost tribes." This drew confused looks from everyone, with the exeption of Yamcha, who gave another bout of maniacle laughter from his corner. Vegeta blasted him again. "Since none of you seem to know much about Saiyan history..." He glared at Goku, who tried to look innocent, "...I'll explain. About four thousand years ago, the planet Vegeta-sei was engaged in a great war, which spanned the entire planet."
He was interrupted at this point by Goku, who scratched his head. "Where's that? It sounds familiar..."
Vegeta bashed him over the head, Goku uttering an 'ow' while Vegeta realized his folly while trying not to massage his fist to get rid of the throbbing pain. He had forgotten how hard Kakarott's head was. He bit back instead with sharp words. "IT'S OUR HOMEWORLD YOU BAKA! ARGH!" He struggled to get his anger under control, and, finally suceeding, continued, "There were five different Saiyan 'tribes' at the time, each one different. The two main ones were the Akan-ieth and the Liogren..." He went on to tell them the history of the great war, start to finish.
After nearly an hour of explaining, he leaned back. "...and that's why I believe she's a Zelith." He was greeted with silence, and one pathetic, insane chuckle from Yamcha in the corner. He blasted him again.
Goku was the first to pipe up. "So...you're saying...she's an alien?"
Yamcha wasn't the only one who got blasted that day.
(Okay, now to clear up a few things. Yes, this is an A/U fic...though I'm trying to keep everyone in character. If Goku was a little...ah...himish...who can blame me. It's fun to do to Vegeta, at any rate. No, I really don't hate Yamcha all that much, but...Vegeta doesn't like him...and...well...anyway! I thought that was a good place to finish it. Will there be romance in this fic? I'm not telling. Will there be more characters than are introduced right now, and some that aren't taking a central role now moving into the spotlight? Yes. I have a chart listing three of the Saiyan tribes, the Akan-ieth, Kri-ue, and the Zelith. The chart shows info on them. I might decide to put it up later, once I introduce...ah...not saying what I was just about to say! *Wags finger* Nope! You'll all have to wait! Oh, and Katt has DARK red hair, not light red, dark red. Okay? That's it then! ...wait! One last thing. The different tribes: Kri-ue is pronounced Cry-you. Zelith is pronounced Zee-lith. Liogren is pronounced Lie-oh-grin. Anarkin is pronounced An-ar-kin, just how it looks. And Akan-ieth is pronounced Ah-can-ee-eth. I'm sorry this chapter was so long in coming...school, and more than a few personal and social issues. But it's here, and I hope you enjoyed it! Please review, it will make the writing go faster. Uub wasn't there...he was..ah...elsewhere. Last thing! I'll do something...um...let's see...would influencing the story with one suggestion/idea be enough of a reward? Well, if you get this question right. And there is no guarentee that I will accept the idea...but if you keep giving me them, I will do something you say. If you get it. Okay then! Here's the question: Can anyone guess where I got the basic idea of the Akan-ieth from? There was a species in a book by Raymond E. Feist...and that's your hint. Well, I've got to go! Bye! Please review!)