Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ. DBZ is owned by various individuals and companies world wide not by me. Insert the usual disclaimer here.

Author notes: I find fight scenes very difficult to write, so I'm a little uncertain as to how this one works. I've rewritten it so many times I've nearly gone cross eyed, so I hope it works now! Also I've not had any reviews since I started up dating this fic again. Not that I'm surprised after the massive time lapse between chapters but I'd really love some feedback. While I can't say I love flames, constructive criticism will be well noted and all comments are avidly read. Again my thanks to Doramouse. Please read and review.

"Double quotations indicate conversations."

'Single quotations in italics indicate thoughts.'
:: indicate telepathic conversations::

Glossary :

Ohayo: Good morning

Baka: Idiot

Kuso: (Generally) damn or shit.

Hai: Yes

Iie: No

Otousan: Father

Katana: Literally a Japanese sword, generally refers to the typical samurai sword.

Sensei: Teacher

Gomen: Sorry

Ten: Heaven

Ken: (a) Sword, not necessarily a Japanese one.

Saishuu: The last

One year ago.

Korin had been wrong it was the only conclusion she could come to. Months had passed and nothing untoward had happened. In fact everything had carried a long rather peacefully, except of course for two flies in the ointment. Gokou's apparent lack of desire to return, and Vegeta.

Between them, the senshi kept a very close eye on the saiya-jin prince. To the point where he'd become a nervous, panicky, wreck. Vegeta had found being tracked more or less constantly very unnerving and Maya who was very good at tracking people without them being aware of it had frightened him more than he liked to admit. Finally, perhaps in a fit of frustrated anxiety he'd taken a spacecraft from the Briefs. Apparently to find Gokou but the senshi weren't convinced.

The house was silent and empty again, with Chichi and Gohan at home and Ranshi back with Tien, it seemed more lonely than peaceful. Leaning over the railing watching the slowly darkening sky. Maya pondered again at the strange phenomenon that was the dragon balls. The idea of someone being dead then suddenly alive again was an odd one. She was so use to death being completely and irrevocably final that the whole thing seemed decidedly surreal. Still the memory of Ranshi so impossibly happy made it easy to bush aside the whole surreal feeling. The relief and joy in Ranshi's eyes at the sight of Tien had been more than enough of a reward for any amount of inconvenience or frustration on her part.

She sighed, on the surface everything was back to normal, but there was still that niggling thought that things weren't settled. She rubbed Socrates under the chin with a single crooked finger. At least only Yajarobe had heard the conversation between Korin and herself. With anyone else, it might not have died so quickly and quietly. She still noticed Yajarobe giving her the occasional curious glance but he wasn't one to pry. Slowly almost imperceptibly she'd accepted things, and Yajarobe was making semi regular visits again. They got along so well, so comfortably, it relieved her growing loneliness, and anyway by now it seemed to be totally out of her hands. Socrates slipped up on to her shoulder, it was pleasant just to watch the world turn. Now if only Gokou would make reappearance things would be back the way she liked them.

It came as a cold shock in the back of her consciousness. She stopped in her tracks, wire cutters poised over a half curled strand of wire. It wasn't even a remotely pleasant feeling. Quickly she finished tying the wire and clearing up before flying back to the house.

Maya crouched behind an outcrop of earth and split rock, fingers gripping her sword hilt. Ki suppressed to nothingness. She doubted anyone was aware of her presence. She wasn't entirely sure what was going on but judging by what she'd heard this was Freezia. 'On the hunt for Gokou no doubt.' Maya tensed trying to decide what to do. Off to the west she could feel the rest of the senshi and more worrying still, Vegeta. 'All together like a flock of sitting ducks.' She'd been training, Korin's words had galvanised her into it. There were two of them, both impossibly strong. She pressed her hand against the rock, just as she felt she'd better do something, though she wasn't quite sure what, she sensed another person. Crouching down she edged forward and peered through the rocks. He was young, more a boy than a man. His body still in the last stages of awkwardness. Only short, with pale hair and a sword across his back. His posture radiated quiet confidence. He reached for his sword and as Maya watched his swordsmanship a growing sense of shock and concern filled her. 'Who taught him this?' His ki spiked and his aura flared brightly gold around him and her anxiety only grew. He was so very powerful and so young.

Carefully she watched the quick decisive battle, her mind busy. He was very strong and confident in his own strength but there were rough edges to his form and his sword handling was slightly sloppy for all its impressiveness. 'Who is this boy? This immensely powerful but half-trained boy.' Her eyes watched every movement, analysing and filing them away for future reference. He didn't hesitate, he wasn't over confident, and he didn't mess about. After the dust settled, she stood up and looked at the battlefield. Deep in thought, 'something very odd is going on here'. She could still feel his presence. He was with the senshi. 'Ah well maybe it's time to make an appearance.'

Kuririn rolled the soft drink can with his foot. Listening intently to the conversations going on quietly around him. The wind blew a little dust around and as it settled Maya appeared. Trunks felt a faint barb of panic run through him. He didn't recognise this woman but he couldn't fail to see the heavy sword at her hip glinting in the sun. As disconcerting as being amongst all these people who'd died so long ago was, the appearance of this unknown woman was even more unnerving.

"So you decide to make an appearance then." Vegeta's tone grated with an implied insult. Maya's eyes twinkled. She'd been lurking about listening to the conversation for a while. Eavesdropping was another thing she was good at and it had its points.

"Hmm, at least I don't let myself get bundled into clothing more suited to a toddler." Vegeta scowled. Maya ran her eyes over Trunks thoughtfully. His blue eyes, lavender hair, and the Capsule corp jacket, all so strongly reminiscent of Buruma. He was tense though this one. He stood up, very straight but his eyes were wary and uncertain. Her fingers twitched toward her sword's hilt unconsciously. 'Stupid, stupid, he feels threatened enough no need to set him off.' Gohan broke the quiet stand off.

"Maya-san! Did you see this guy, he turned into a super saiya-jin and killed Freezia just like that? And he said in an hour, Otousan's coming back!" His voice bubbled with excitement but Maya glanced at him, eyes narrowed. Aware it wasn't just excitement he was trying to break the tension too. Gohan just grinned up at her apparently innocent. 'Too old for your years aren't you little Son.'

"Hmm, I saw." She regarded Trunks with increasing interest. 'Super saiya-jin…. Hmm.' She'd heard Vegeta's various aggressive comments. A Saiya-jin with Buruma's hair a vague thought crossed her mind accompanied by a certain amount of amusement. 'Oh surely not.'

"You saw! Were where you anyway?" Yamcha demanded, eyes wide and just a little annoyed. Kuririn gazed up at her thoughtfully.

"Yeah Maya, where were you?" She could feel the prickle of their eyes on her.

"Not far. Fairly silly to all stick together, if Freezia had taken it into his head he could have killed the lot of you then where would we be?" The silence was deafening. The thought hadn't even crossed their minds. Well it had crossed Vegeta's but he didn't really care one way or the other. Maya folded her arms and sighed. Dust swirled up again. Maya watched it swirl quietly out of view.

"What would it have mattered Freezia could blow up the whole planet anyway, and then everyone would be dead if we stuck together or not." Buruma folded her arms and nodded. Maya smiled.

"Could doesn't mean would. Do you think he would have landed if he'd intended on doing that straight away? Of course, not he wanted to play with us. He wanted to punish Gokou as much as he could and so…"

"He landed with the intention of killing us off slowly…..to make Gokou suffer?"

"Hmm, I would think so." Silence again. Heavier this time. They looked at her looked at the ground, but most of all she could feel two sets of eyes burning into her. Vegeta's and the bright blue ones of the young man. She shot Vegeta a savage little glance. Vegeta scowled back.

"Who are you?" Trunks sounded defensive. Her eyes swung back to him, thoughtful. Two bright blue eyes followed her warily as she stepped down off the rock and across the stretch of barren earth between them. He couldn't help wondering if she was some sort of threat, the others seemed to know her, but if they did, why hadn't his mother mentioned her. Or Gohan. He fidgeted.

"I could ask the same thing." He voice was cool, smooth and totally neutral, but her eyes meet his with a dead level gaze. It chilled him too the core. 'Who is she?'

"You don't know Maya? Yet you know the rest of us." Kuririn frowned. Trunks looked uncomfortable. An uncertain light in his eyes, 'so like Ren's'.

"Never mind it doesn't matter. Since in theory I don't exist anyway." She retreated a bit and lent against a sun warmed slab of stone. Trunks sat back down and glanced at her now and then between appraising Vegeta. Maya was prepared to wait, to see if Gokou really did turn up.

Gokou arrived just as the boy had said he would, but surprise and suspicion clouded their combined pleasure. Gokou had gone off a little way to talk with the young swordsman in private. Maya strained to listen but all the while an unpleasant presence clawed at the back of her mind. No one else seemed to notice and anyway it wasn't ki, it was a dark oppressive weight. As sickeningly familiar as it was unpleasant.

"Get down!" Her hands reached out shoving Gohan and Buruma into the dry earth a moment before a blast erupted close by. Buruma was sharply aware of the faint tremor that ran though Maya's tense body. Surprise and shock drove away any other feelings she might have had. Before the dust had cleared Maya sprang up and glanced around. Tension rippling through her as her mind searched straining for that all too familiar presence. Sickened at the weight of it, menacing, dark and oppressive. And close. She dug her heels in, stood up very straight and tracked him in her mind. 'Fuck it all!'

"Maya what is it? What was that?" She shook her head. She didn't want to think about it. Normally she was all for thinking first, but foreboding filled her. She'd have to act, and quickly.

"I'll deal with it." She shot off before anyone could say anything. Swiftly. Tracking the source of the blast with a bloody minded relentlessness. Her stomach churned. They'd found her here, now, after all this time. She flew rapidly driving herself forward as swiftly as she could. Urgency pounding in her blood, wind ripping at her skin and hair. She had to over take him, cut him off before he caused any more damage. There was something close to desperation within her, below her Maya could sense him, somewhere. She skimmed in eyes raking the vista and dropped down in front of him. Blocking his path.

The senshi startled to immobility, stared at Maya's fast disappearing form. Gohan twitched in an agony of indecision before following her with the rest of the senshi reluctantly trailing along behind. As Yamcha lifted into the air Buruma grabbed at his shirt.

"You aren't leaving me behind!" He sighed and wrapped an arm around her. Gokou and Trunks were both left flat footed, in the dust of the fast disappearing senshi. Gokou frowned and sighed before setting off after his friends with Trunks in his wake. The half saiya-jin wondering why he was getting involved.

"Cassandra, the Saishuu ten ken." His still human face smirked at her, his eyes glinted. The sneer in his voice grated on her nerves. Long ago, he'd given up his humanity and taken to hunting his own kind down like vermin. He towered above her apparently human to the untrained eye, perhaps 6 foot 2, certainly no taller than the tallest of the senshi. Broad too but no broader than Tien. He didn't look much. Only his hazel eyes gleaming with an almost inhuman cunning and bloodlust showed him for what he truly was. Maya stood tense, but resolute. She just had to finish this here.

"Finally we meet again"

"So we do."

"Not even faintly surprised are you. Well that's good at least you realise how fruitless this is. My brother and I promised we'd eradicate our opposition from the earth and now. Now Cassandra there is just you." He looked well pleased but Maya said nothing, she just watched him. Never missing a thing, even when as he sprang towards her, the senshi caught up. She waited until the last possible moment to move. Strong as she was her energy and strength were by their very definition finite.

As his fist reached out for her, a blade sprang from his wrist with a bright metallic clink. The light played along its sharp edge as it skimmed barely a breath away from her skin. Maya circled back watching, wary knowing he always had something up his sleeve this, the weakest of the remaining deavel. The breeze tugged thin tendrils of her hair free and whisked them playfully about her face.

He was just the same. The last time they'd crossed paths he'd almost killed her, she wasn't in a hurry to repeat the process. It had taken her two days to drag herself back to base. He had done something then she couldn't remember what it was, but it wasn't pleasant. She frowned. She'd learnt from her mistake but she couldn't hope to win if she continued fight on the defensive like this.

"Still quick I see." He gazed at her appraisingly. Maya straightened and stayed silent. The senshi looked at each other. They couldn't understand a single word, but the tone told them all they needed to know.

"Just as quiet too." He glanced up at the senshi. His eyes lighting on Gohan and Buruma. He smirked, his eyes narrowed and sparking. Maya tensed, a dull burning in her belly, heart drumming. All too well aware of his cruelty and cunning. He shot off towards Gohan, but Maya appeared in front of him before he got to them. And the senshi closed rank.

"None of your tricks." There was a dull rattle in her breath, her heart thudded against her ribs. As fast as she was, he was almost as fast and he was stronger. Much, much stronger, but still she'd spent half her life fighting those who more than outstripped her in strength. She had a chance. A slim one, but still it was chance.

"Don't go involving them you came here for me. Well then fine, but you know from experience I won't just lay down and die." There was no anger, just a calm firmness. He smirked.

"Still wound up about that foolish boy aren't you." Maya's eyes narrowed, cold fingers clutched at her heart. The sword sang a long drawn out keening as it slid free.

"Foolish? Perhaps he was, but brave for all that." She could remember Ren clearly. His green eyes bright with his taunt teenage anxiety to do what he felt he had to. Just a boy, the bastard said. Just a boy, but at 15, he'd been closer to a man that the inhuman twist of metal and blood before her had ever been. He had cried, because he'd been unable to fix the world for her, little knowing her heart bled for the self same reason. 'Such a waste. Such an unnecessary waste.' Her eyes flashed with anger. Her sword was driven by it, it swept him back away from Gohan and Gokou and away from the young boy whose eyes had the same troubled light she'd seen so often in Ren's. Even the wind of that blow told volumes and she was angry, so very coldly angry.

If he killed her, he killed her. She'd fought long and hard, but if he tried to kill her she'd drag him down with her. His eyes grew flinty, he braced himself and stopped his backward passage and came toward her in a rush. Maya braced herself. He raked at her first with one sharp blade then another both emanating grotesquely from the back of his wrist. She blocked one, sword up lifted, dodged the other and sprang away. She didn't even glance back at the senshi all of whom were watching her completely silent.

"Don't let him touch you what ever you do! You chose followed me here so mind you keep out of harms way." It was an order sharp and clear and the senshi knew it but oddly, they complied. They respected her, she'd tracked this thing that they'd all been unable to sense and she was holding her own. The wind flicked the dust they thrown up into long earthy banners.

He coiled back and regarded her. She was very still. In many ways she remained unchanged but she seemed younger, stronger, and faster. Yet something was missing in her demeanour. Even just standing there, he knew that something was different. He tried rushing at her again. Again she blocked him and this time she countered by snapping off one of the blades with the edge of her sword he sprang back and appraised her again, something was undoubtedly odd. He ripped the broken blade off and from the depths of his arm produced another. Maya sighed.

She edged forward. He rushed at her as she moved forward to strike. The long shining blade connected with her own. Light slipped down the locked blades. Maya twisted the sword putting strain on the blade, she forced her weight against it. It groaned and he tried to pull back but only succeeded in dragging Maya back a few paces with him before the blade snapped. It clattered on the ground, his eyes flared, he lunged forward. Maya pulled away she couldn't completely avoid the blow. She slipped sideways dragging her sword into his body as she did so. The sharp edge of the second blade just caught her lower ribs. Blood hit the earth. They drew apart, their breathing heavy and laboured. Gohan leapt up ready to spring into battle but Piccolo's strong hand descended on his shoulder. He just faintly shook his head. Gohan drooped.

The pain was a shock more than anything. It only added to her hard, cold, anger and resolve. Maya's eyes glittered more gold than brown. Strong, controlled, hard and accurate. Her sword flew forward faster than Buruma could see. A rapid dance of movement. The sharp keening of steel on steel, as blows meet. At last they parted, by mutual consent, both bleeding and Maya's hair fluttering loose on the breeze. A little puddle of blood formed drop by drop at Maya's feet. Buruma shivered, Gohan fidgeted. The senshi stayed motionless, silent and faintly surprised. Only three of those standing on the cracked rock ledge had seen her fight at the limit of her abilities. And now, now, she was angry, coldly angry and completely focused. She was also tired and bleeding and each scarlet drop brought her closer to defeat.

"Well still as good as ever aren't you, but your hurting never mind it won't be for much longer." He tried to smirk but it was lost in his strained breathing. They came together again both a little desperate. Both breathless, both bleeding. Maya adjusted her direction ever so slightly at the last moment. Her sword slipped past his blade and met his body. Maya braced against the impact, twisted and cut a path through him to freedom. They parted both heaving. He staggered several paces leaving a little river of blood that drained almost instantly into the parched earth in his wake. Then he fell the grotesque man made metal working in his body cruelly exposed to the bright sunshine. Maya stood over him, sword raised, panting, blood dripping on the dry earth.

"Ben the hounds of Hades have been waiting for you for a very long time." His eyes widened with shock and the sun dazzled them. For along moment his vision was filled with the sun's warm golden light. A bright flash metal cut short his vision.

Maya stood breathing hard, her heart heavy. Blood running down her arms, down her legs. Weight resting on her sword. Tired, so tired. She crouched down and pressed her hand into the corpse. Shuddering inwardly in disgust all the while. she drew out a pair of flat metal components. She frowned half in disgust, half in uncertainty. She sighed. 'Well, Korin, I stand corrected.'

(2004)