A/N: This whole story originally started as an idea for a one-shot for a prompt week (GoChi Fall Week 2022 - Day 2: Pumpkins/Apples/Cinnamon). However, once I started writing it kind of snowballed and now here I am with my own multi-chapter Space Adventure AU!

It has consumed me at times, but I love it and I'm so glad to give Chi-Chi (Chia) the opportunity to be the badass warrior that we all know she is. You'll find out more about her back-story as we go along. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Also posted on A03: RobynX_x

***Thank you to the brilliant Kipke (on FF & AO3) for your support, you do more good than you know 😉***

Chapter 1

Feeling the acidic taste, running down the back of her throat, she held her head up with her mouth firmly shut and eyes closed whilst she savoured the familiar burn. Bringing her head back down to eye level with the barkeep, she slammed the glass a little too hard on the bar; causing the glass to splinter and a new dent to be added to the surface of the bar - which was already littered with them. Although she had been trying to avoid drawing attention to herself, she was beginning to give less fucks the more she drank.

Almost instantly, she received a familiar grumbling strained whisper from the other side of the bar, "C'mon now Chia! Don't start wrecking my place again." As the barkeeper hurriedly cleared up the debris and surveyed the crowd for any raised attention.

"Someone pipped me to my claim. Again! Of course I'm pissed." Opening her hand to scan for any injuries, nothing as usual, not surprising her as she barely felt much of anything anymore. "Be glad that the bar is the only thing that's dented, I'm that pissed", she added, continuing to rant to herself.

"Well, that and your ego." He sighed, wondering how far down the raven-haired woman was going to sink this time. He'd had to put up with many a tantrum from this one woman over the years, but as long as she didn't wreck his establishment and him, then he actually considered her to be a good creature to have around, if not a little temperamental. Most others tended to keep in order with her around, so he often let her outbursts slide.

"The only reason I'm still allowed here is because I'm still in favour with Zarbon, without that I'd be very dead already." Chia admitted dejectedly.

"So how are you planning to pay for today's bill? Sounds to me you were desperate to get that claim." His eyes trained firmly on her hunched form.

Rolling her head to look up at him with that winning smile of hers, "Ah you know me Tien, I'm good for it, I always pay my debts."

The triclops leaned quietly towards her, "Well… I might be able to help you", knowing that if he helped this female warrior in the right direction, he might just avoid having her latest bad mood spiral out of control; and maybe even see his bills get paid sooner. "I heard about a task."

"What kind of task?" She retorted instantly, uninhibited by the copious amounts of alcohol she'd already consumed.

"Well if you had let me finish, we would've already got to that part!" Tien answered in a clipped tone.

"Alright, alright…" she sighed irritably, giving the triclops room to talk.

"So there's a list of items and if you get them all, you get paid."

"Like a shopping list?" Now being offended she snorted, "I'm not going to be someone's snack bitch, if that's what you think."

"No-no," Tien shook his head, trying to get his point through to her, "It changes every time. And trust me, you'll get your adrenaline rush. Most people don't even make it back but the reward is more than worth it."

"And… How exactly do you even know this?" Chia eyed him suspiciously.

"I-I just do, I - uh - hear things…" he tapered off. His nervousness could be read from his facial expression.

"You heard all of that?"

"Yeah… I'm a barkeeper, I hear things... What's so unbelievable about that?"

Chia rolled her eyes, "That's not what I find unbelievable. It's that I don't believe that you haven't taken part in it yourself. Have you?"

Leaning in closer, he nodded his head to signal for Chia to do the same. But she met his eyes with a crinkled and confused face, practically squinting with one eye out of distrust as she did not understand his hint.

"Oh for fuck's sakes…", he mumbled to himself - not always having the patience to deal with intoxicated people - as he made a move to yank her towards him. However, massively misunderstanding the situation, Chia's response to Tien's actions was just too fast for him. Her swift movement - even in her inebriated state - allowed her to grab his wrist, twisting it into a lock and pin it to the bar in one discreet and seamless motion. As the moment caught up with Tien, he tried not to let out the shriek that was desperately trying to escape his mouth.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you", the female warrior growled with a sudden sobering menace.

Not wanting to alert the attention of the handful of people standing at the bar itself, but especially not the crowds that dominated the rest of the busy establishment. The triclops knew that this misinterpreted gesture could easily be a catalyst for more unnecessary carnage, so he regained his stoic nature once more in an attempt to mitigate the risk.

Having sharply taken a breath by the sudden pain she'd inflicted on his joints, Tien hissed through his teeth, "I only know, because I won once… that's how I managed to buy this place."

Chia smirked contently, having finally received the truth behind his vagueness. Satisfied, she instantly released him and leaned back taking in the sight around her. It may be a bit shabby now, but she knew Tien's place had been around for many years and that it happened to be located on an unusually large plot for this area and in a prime location for customers. The establishment was positioned just on the edge of main Arcosian territory. It was enough distance away to not attract trouble from the Colds, but close enough to afford protection from the Galactic patrol as they seldom visited these parts. Many would have killed to get such a perfect location and she'd always wondered how a three-eyed former engineer managed to get his hands on such a place.

Studying his face and each of his eyes that were now back in their normal steadfast positions, hiding his wariness and frustration at their latest altercation. Chia could see in his honourable eyes that he was telling the truth.

"Okay, say I believe you," she replied in a more subdued tone, Leaning on the bar again, not wanting to admit she might have overreacted a bit just now. "How does this list work? Where would I start? And most importantly, who has this list?" She started to become more eager with every passing minute.

Tien frowned disapprovingly whilst flexing his newly freed injured wrist; to him she seemed like she didn't understand how privileged she was hearing about this opportunity. "It's not an advertised event, it's for the best of the best."

Seeing a chance to wind up the triclops, "So how did you get in then?" She beamed at him with a teasing smile.

"Look I don't have to tell you shit", he scowled, "Especially if you're gonna keep that attitude up!" He was almost beginning to regret helping her out.

"Okay okay, I'm sorry", rolling her eyes exaggeratedly with her last sentence. Chia now looked at him, giving a honest friendly smile, the kind he knew was only reserved for the few that she respected.

He replied to her frank demeanour with a fake scowl from the corners of his mouth, "Fine, but you leave my name out of it, understand?"

For the first time in a while, she laughed.

Looking through the beings that made up the small crowd around her, Chia attempted to survey every single one of her prospective competitors. Sizing each one up based on their size, choice of weapons and reading their energies. None that she had seen so far were too much for her to handle, so the raven-haired woman confidently strutted through them towards the front, asserting her position as a formidable warrior and not someone that anyone should consider fucking around with.

It had been just over a week since Tien had given her the details and despite all of her research, she couldn't find a shred of information about the clandestine competition. Initially, Chia had quickly gathered her supplies, including a small arsenal of weapons and copious amounts of food - she had grown up around warriors like the Saiyans after all.

Over the last couple of days, Chia had staked out the meeting location in the hopes of garnering more information, having made good time travelling across her quadrant; but what she found on arrival was a whole lot of nothing. In the interim, the warrior continued to train frequently to keep her body and mind sharp ahead of whatever was going to happen.

As she moved through the jostling group, she felt the rough skin brush up against and stroke her arm. Chia shuddered and slowly turned her head at the voice that crept up beside her and breathed heavily into her shoulder. The stench of the breath that passed through his purple lips could only belong to one odious being.

"Dodoria", she whispered as her eyes widened in abject horror. Taking a moment to reclaim her senses. "What are you doing here?" Ripping her shoulder away from his pawing hands, whilst still facing forward not wanting to see his vile face.

"Now, now, that's no way to greet an old friend." She didn't have to see to know the grotesque smile that he was wearing, the kind that she would gladly punch through into the back of his head. "I didn't expect to see you here, you're looking just as delicious as ever Chia", moving to place his hands on her hips whilst licking his lips.

The barely audible low trill of the energy gun that she carried was now firmly positioned in the hateful being's crotch. With a deathly side glance, Chia tightened her grip, poised to commit to the revenge she'd yearned for over the years.

"You would be making an unwise choice here", Dodoria spoke gruffly as he shifted uncomfortably, but still tried to maintain his composure in the crowd, "Have you forgotten your place? Remove that before you try something that I promise you'll regret." Ending with a threatening tone.

Weighing her options in a split second, Chia lowered her weapon and quickly holstered it on her thigh.

"Good, now where were we, my little pet."

"You were just fucking off." She finally turned to face him, with a stony expression ready to maim the bastard.

A deep bellied laugh filled the area around them, as he threw his head back. "Have a safe trip, I wouldn't want anything unfortunate to happen to you along the way." With that, he turned and began to bulldoze his way through the crowd.

Breathing hard, Chia clenched her trembling hands tightly in an attempt to assuage her anger.

Focussing once more on her surroundings, Chia still couldn't quite fathom the place that she had found herself in. It was just an abandoned terraforming station on the outside, but inside was like a palace. One single interior hall was adorned with the finest materials, precious metals and jewels that were likely not from this planet.

Still staring ahead and feigning interest in the ornate mouldings, she spoke out to the being lurking behind her, "You can stop stalking me and we'll leave it at that or you can leave here minus an appendage."

Coming closer into her space, but not in the way he had observed Dodoria had, carefully he kept a clear boundary. "Oh you're good, sensing me like that, but that attitude isn't very friendly, you know." The observer commented, whilst moving round to position himself in front of her.

Catching sight of him, "Okay then, I'll let you choose which appendage you'll soon be deprived of." Sizing him up, she instantly recognised his distinctive style of armour, the mannerisms, the way he carried himself and maybe even more notably - how handsome he is. However, she did not want to let any of that distract her from her stance, she had a job to do.

"Ouch, I get the message." Placing his hands up in front of him to show that he meant no harm. "I just thought you might need some backup or something." The man raised his hand to place somewhat nervously on the back of his neck and offered an anxious smile.

Noting his apprehension, Chia couldn't help but wonder why he had left himself potentially open to attack in his current position in front of her, and why her brief altercation with Dodoria had piqued his interest. "I do just fine on my own, thanks. Now leave."

Smiling at her assertion, he glanced over Chia's familiar, yet unique armour; his onyx eyes following the protective gear up to meet her dark eyes that burned right back at him. "You look, talk and act like a Saiyan, but you're not. What are you?" He stated in a surprisingly soft tone, whilst cocking his head to the side in an inquisitive manner. This man was beginning to find himself slightly mesmerised by this quasi-Saiyan.

She drew a breath to answer, unsure of what was going to pass through her lips. When a large hand slapped the shoulder of the man in front of her, even startling him slightly.

"Kakarot, quit your flirting! There's no time for quick fucks, they're going to start soon." The tall broad man with a long mane instructed him.

Wholly offended and ready to challenge the assumption, Chia burst out with, "I am not fucking anyone!"

With a charismatic smile now plastered across Kakarot's face, "Well that's good to know."

Completely indignant and trying to contain a blush, she growled before seeing an arm grab him and the voice accompanying it demanding, "Now!"

"Goodbye Kakarot." She spoke in a much lighter voice and mockingly waved at him, watching with a smile as he was being pulled away by the tall man.

"Goodbye Chia." He managed to say with a smirk before he was lost in the crowd.

This left her standing wide eyed that he'd somehow known her name and this left her wondering how much more he knew? How long had he been following her?

Shaking her from her reverie, the sound of Dodoria's voice echoed throughout the hall. He was speaking of the honour and privilege that the competitors present have, to participate in this select event. In her frustration, she found her eyes wandering the crowd whilst Dodoria outlined the parameters, as she found the sound of his voice continuing to grate on her ears. Chia's roaming eyes stumbled across a familiar sight. Prince Vegeta? No way! But there's no mistaking that hair and that air of arrogance. How is he even still alive? I thought they killed him years ago. Urgh that lug next to him, must be his bodyguard.

After a chuckle to herself at the thought of the Prince needing a boost to be able see Dodoria up front. She continued to peruse the crowd, and unexpectedly, she caught sight of Kakarot who was staring back at her. Locking eyes, neither of them able to look away while the noise around her faded into the background. What is this? Am I going to pass out or something? Why am I still looking? Why is he? Is he smiling, am I? Look away damn it! You are in control of your own body. Thankfully the shifting crowd closed the gap and severed their gaze. Oh thank fuck for that!

Just about catching the end of Dodoria's speech, "Each one of you was given a device on entry. It contains the list, the consequences of forfeit and it is also fitted with a tracker. It will not activate until you have left this planet's atmosphere. There's another electrical storm on its way, so you best get your asses moving or you'll suffer the same fate as the workers here who were wiped out by the last one." Finishing with a vicious smile.

Without any further prompting, the crowd quickly dispersed; with everyone only out for themselves, Chia steered clear of the masses that were now fighting each other at the exit. Scanning the room for an alternative escape, she noticed that Dodoria had disappeared from the steps that he gave his little speech at. The raven-haired woman nimbly and discreetly made her way over to the steps, with the thought and maybe even the hope that there was another exit. Once she had reached the spot that he'd used as his podium, Chia regarded the area and sure enough, she could see an opening in the wall that had been obscured by one of the gilded figures that lined the hall. Looking back over her shoulder at the crowd that was now bottle-necked at the only perceived exit, seeing a flurry of fists as they beat at each other in a desperate attempt to secure their escape first. The warrior returned her sights to the opening in the wall, edging closer and quietly slipping behind the figure, she disappeared from the view of the other competitors.

Following the darkened passageway, that was a far cry from the decadence of the grand hall that Chia had just been in, she continued until she heard the echoing sounds of a disgustingly familiar voice.

"Yes of course my lord. I am leaving the planet now, Zarbon is in position and ready to obliterate it once I've vacated. That'll take care of any weak stragglers."

Her eyes shot wide at the realisation of what was about to come. Immediately a turmoil began to rage within her, on one hand she could quite happily leave the others to their own fates. It had served her well in life so far and would propel her ahead in this competition, with an opportunity to lay her hands on the listed items first. On the other hand, there was this horrid feeling that was bubbling up within her again, the one that had plagued her most of her life, one that others around her growing up did not seem to struggle with. She wrestled with her creeping desire to help others. It somehow felt alien to her and yet she had been informed that it was completely natural for her species. Human. It still didn't feel like it belonged to her. Even the thought turned her stomach, of being perceived as pathetic, weak and fragile. Who knew that she could feel like this?

Hearing that Dodoria had moved on further through the passageways, although she briefly hesitated - that awful feeling tugging at her again. Chia began to follow the direction that the ghastly being had left, knowing that she wouldn't have long before she would perish like the others in the hall.

Reaching the end, she was met with several tunnels, trying to sense his energy she struggled to focus with his energy being distorted, Chia was left with absolutely no signs as to which option was the correct way. Her head began to fill with sudden remorse for the others and even herself. She would be gone, all for the sake of competition. With that dizzying realisation, she turned around with a thought to at least inform the others of their fate.

On swiftly rotating herself to return the way she came, Chia found herself bumping straight into a blue-haired individual. The force of walking into a warrior such as herself, caused the other woman to be knocked straight over backwards, scattering a collection of devices onto the ground in the process.

"I was calling after you!" The blue-haired woman told her curtly, while getting back up onto her feet. "Didn't you hear me?" She asked while dusting the debris from her clothes.

"I-uh-"

"Well I was trying to say that this exit is a good find, but it looks like there are loads of tunnels and it's easy to get lost in. Is that why you were coming back?" She spoke so quickly and resumed before Chia could even respond, "Anyways, this should tell us where to go", bending down to collect the rest of her devices, seemingly checking them over. She then began tapping on the screen.

"Us?" Chia could just about let out.

"Yeah me and the warriors from Earth. Although they're waiting for me on the ship because I assumed I'd probably have to make some kind of quick exit, but typically they all like to fight! And judging by what I've just seen in that hall, I'd have never got them away."

"Earth?"

"Look, as scintillating as this conversation is, we've got to go. It says this way. Let's go!" She raised her arm pointing to the one of the tunnels behind Chia.

"But what about the others?" Chia asked, trying to see just how moral humans should be. She couldn't help but wonder what this woman's reaction would be, maybe even measuring it against her own choices.

But before she could receive her answer, thundering footsteps closed in on them. "You, woman. Is there an exit this way?" Came the voice that Chia couldn't place, until he came out of the shifting shadows. The Prince. He was followed by a few others that she could just about make out the silhouettes of behind him.

"Yeah, it is but my name is Bulma, not woman!"

Prince Vegeta began staring the blue-haired woman down and curling his lip in disdain for her impertinence.

Without realising what she was doing, Chia's body went on autopilot and she began to lower herself and place her fist over heart, pledging allegiance to the royal house. "Prince Vegeta, please accept our apologies."

"Ah see, that's how you treat royalty. I'm relieved to see someone still knows their pla-"

"I am sorry my Prince, but we have to leave now, like right now!"

"Whaddya mean?" Came the response from behind the Prince. She recognised the voice straight away, it was the Saiyan man she had met earlier, Kakarot.

Standing back up to her full height and trying to see into the darkness beyond them, "I mean that creep Dodoria is going to blow this planet up as soon as he gets far enough away."

"They're thinning the herd already." Came the deep voice of a tall, balding man that approached the side of the Prince.

"Shit, well let's go!" Announced Bulma. There wasn't a single disagreement amongst them all with that statement.

The group moved as one, making their way following the tunnels and being led by the device that Bulma was wielding. The infernal beeping of the equipment as its sound reverberated off the walls, was fast becoming almost too much to bear until the signs of daylight began to beckon to them in the distance. Finally an end to this labyrinth.

Stumbling out into the daylight - of which was far more dulled than the shining beacon had eluded in the darkness of the tunnels. As every one of them started regaining their senses, they began to sprint away in the direction of each of their own vehicles. Well, except for Kakarot. He stood gleaming one last look at Chia and for a moment she stared back again, still trying to work him out. But that moment passed almost in an instant as the longer-haired Saiyan dragged him off once more grumbling about beating the shit of his little brother if he didn't get his ass in gear. They're brothers, that's actually kind of sweet.

"Hey, do you need a ride?" Bulma offered, instantly reminding Chia of the urgency of their current situation.

"No thanks, I'll be fine." She responded while shaking a DynaCap at Bulma, then quickly pressed the plunger and tossed it onto the ground.

Amongst the rocky debris strewn across the floor, the DynaCap began unfolding itself at an unparalleled speed, whilst strategically reorganising every single element of her ship back into its robust and swift design.

"Nice model", Bulma smiled knowingly and began to run off towards her own ship, then turned and continued to jog away backwards while shouting, "You know, I think he likes you!"

"Who? Oh him. Nah, he just wants a fuck!" Chia called back to her with a laugh.

Running straight up the open walkway and onto her ship, Chia jumped in her pilot seat and activated the quick start programme while she jabbed in the coordinates of a local star system. Once there, she would be able to run a system check and diagnostics, then plan the best way for her to attain whatever was on that list. She eyed the device house the list as she began to ascend into the atmosphere. What the hell was she letting herself in for?

Chia had watched other ships make their ascent along with her and a number of others after that too, but it wasn't long before the planet - that she had not long been standing on - practically imploded. She had seen many ships caught in the initial blast as well as those that perished as a result of the shockwaves. All she could really do is stand at her ship's window, observing the carnage that began to fade into the distance. While she toyed with the device housing the all important list, curiously jabbing at buttons in the hope that it might release the vital information that was crucial to her decision making for the next leg of her journey.

For a moment, she thought about Bulma and actually hoped that she had made it off the planet alive. Hmm, hopefully Kakarot too. She found herself thinking, but quickly steered away from that ridiculous notion. He wouldn't care either way and neither would she. Probably.

The trilling beeps alerted her to the activation of her now prized device. She was finally going to find out about these so-called forfeits and consequences, but most importantly what was on that list. She confidently began reading through the parameters and then her eyes revealed the task at hand.

"Oh you've got to be shitting me!"