Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ, no matter how much I wish it. There. I've admitted it.
Summary: A girl goes flying at night ad thinks about her ancestors and what they did for Earth. Landing in a hidden graveyard she completes a task that was set to her by her Grandfather and finds out that a lot of things went on inside the Z Warriors heads that no one really knew.
Easier To Run
By SerenitySaiyan
Soft padded footsteps echoed throughout the corridor. They stopped and a door opened and closed silently. The person, a girl with long black hair and smoldering onyx eyes wearing only pajamas, walked through the room the door had opened to. Her bare feet hardly making any sound on the tiled floor of the kitchen.
She quietly leapt up and stood on the counter four feet above the ground. She peered over the top of one of the cupboards and quickly found what she was looking, a small cylinder device; her capsule.
She sat down on the counter, her legs hanging above the ground, and opened the capsule. Inside were three boxes, each with different words etched on the front. On the first one TRAINING was written in bold capital letters. The girl placed that aside and looked at the second one. BATTLE. She shook her head and placed that aside as well and turned her attention to the last one.
Nothing was written on this box. It was blank save for a small picture in the bottom right hand corner. It was a picture of a gravestone. She smiled lightly and opened the box, shutting her eyes tight as the box glowed in white light. The light overtook her body and when it died down and she finally opened her eyes, her pajamas were gone.
Instead she found herself wearing an ankle length black skirt, tiny silk pink rosebuds scattered around it, with a black and pink top with a monkey on it. It wasn't too fancy but it wasn't under dressed either. Her feet were still bare but her hair had changed from its mess to being pulled back into a half ponytail, two strands of hair falling in her face.
The change hadn't shocked her at all, none what-so-ever. She was used to it by now, anyone could after doing it for almost two years straight. Kami, had it been two years already since she had found that hidden place? That place that held the answers to all her questions. She jumped off the counter and landed quietly, her feet hardly making a noise as they touched the floor.
She walked over to the door and pushed it open, the cold night air instantly hitting her and rushing through her house. She quickly walked outside and shut the door, blocking the air from entering through that passage. It could find another way in, there were plenty more. Slowly she walked down the front lawn, the grass was slightly wet and it soaked her feet but she didn't seem to care.
For someone who had gotten up in the middle of the night she didn't seem too concerned about time. She had figured out, from a small age that time didn't matter to her. People always said there was time to eat, time to play, time to sleep, time to work and time to do everything else. But she had never found something that said time to relax from time, time to be healed, time to search, time for answers.
So she had left time out all together. Time wasn't her friend, it was her enemy. It had made her grow up too fast, from an innocent kid to a questionable teenager. She had changed in those ten years, from five to fifteen. Each year she had changed more, more than any other kid on this planet. For she had found out she was different but no one would tell her why. That was why she had started looking. That was how she had found this place. That was why she woke up at three each day to dress up and go down there.
She arrived at the end of the garden and looked back up at her house. It looked so dark and big and scary it was a wonder she wasn't scared of it as a child. But she wasn't scared of anything. Her friends always joked that she had been born with out the fear gene, but that wasn't true. She was afraid of things, she just didn't show it. Her pride was too stubborn for that.
She tore her gaze away from her mansion, her prison cell, and back to the city before her. With a small smirk she leapt up into the air as high as she could go and when she felt gravity pulling her back down she shrugged it off and remained air borne. It was a trick she had learnt from her grandfather. Something she hadn't told anyone else about, something her own father didn't know about.
She flew north, heading towards her place. The wind played with her hair, making it whip her face and get into her eyes. It found its way through her clothing and attacked her skin making her freeze. Setting her face in a scowl she seemed to scare the wind off her body as it left her alone and continued past her, ignoring her completely.
Finally the place she was looking for came into view. She sped up and soon she had touched down in a clearing in the middle of the forest. There was a circle of headstones inside the clearing. She had landed right in the middle of them and now she looked around at each of them in turn, bowing her head slightly at each one.
She walked out of the circle and looked towards another straight line of headstones set just outside the ring. She went over to them first and stood before them each, staring down at the names carved into the rock saying whose eternal resting place this was. There were only nine graves here but there was room for more. As more came, more would be buried here.
She walked down the row reading each name as she passed. Yamcha. Tien. Chiotzu. Yajirobe. Hurcule. She smiled at the last one. Truth be told he really didn't belong here but he had helped in his own way so she guessed it was only fair. She continued down the row, now arriving to the special people in this row that did a lot to this planet. Krillin & 18. Marron. Ubbu. Piccolo.
A small smile graced her lips at these names. These were the people that really helped out in times of need, especially when her great-great-grandparents had needed them most. These had been the people to bring back the courage. These had been the people who had persuaded them to go on. These had been the people to finish the job when they could no longer move because of energy exhaustion. These were the people she owed with her life.
With one last glance at the row and all the names she turned back to the circle and stood in the center of it. She turned slowly, reading every name here and sounding it out with meaning, remembering what these people had done. They had done more than just protect the Earth; they had made its inhabitants stronger, or at least started to.
She remembered when she had first found this place. How shocked she had been but how amazed as well. Finally she could learn about herself, her past and her ancestors. Finally she could learn about why she was different. And, most importantly, she could learn about her heritage.
There was only one headstone left to go to now. She had been to all the others, listened to their tales and had slowly learnt about the greatest people in the history of the world. She had also learnt about herself in the process. Beginning to get an understanding about every question she had ever asked about herself. But there were still holes and she hoped this last person could fill them for her.
She walked over to the first headstone, the first person, or at least the first of her type, she had been to when she had first found this place. She traced her fingers in the indents of the person's name. Bra Briefs. This girl had been the watcher instead of the fighter. She had shared with her insights on the others and how to manipulate each to get the information she wanted. Bra had been a big help to her and she's never forget her.
She moved on to the next one, the second person she had visited like her. Before she had even come to the circle she had been to the row of 'others' and had received their words and their memories. Then she had come here and had begun her slow trail around the ring. She stared at the name engraved on this stone with a goofy grin. Son Goten.
Boy oh boy did she have a fun time talking with him about everything. Goten had such a fun outlook on the world that she couldn't help it when if rubbed off on her. Now every time she was depressed he would always be there with some funny joke or comment to make the world seem better. He had been the one to tell her that they were her guardian angels or guardian demons depending on whose turn it was at the time. But he had also explained that until she had used her 'gift' to talk with that person they couldn't watch over her and help her.
Her grin faded as she left Goten's grave and moved to the next. Trunks Briefs. With a small sigh she shut her eyes and thought about him. He had had so many things going on in his life that no one knew about. When he told her he had finally lightened up and she had met the real side of him, the side no one else had ever seen. But she and Trunks had become tight friends and he was always there for her in times of need, like exams, family problems, boy problems and more. Even though no one could seem him or ever meet him it was comforting for her to know that she had at least one admirer. Even if he was already dead.
She left Trunks' grave and moved to the next one. Son Pan. Here another small smile came back to her as she thought about the amazing woman she had talked to. The first female Saiya-jin to fight in this planet and she was only a quarter. Pan had shared all of her adventured with her, from when her Grandpa had found Ubbu to when she, Trunks and Goku had gone after the black stars to dealing without her Grandpa and more. She had so many stories to tell and it was fun because she had heard about Pan from her own Grandpa who talked about her with a lot of pride. Pan was her gal pal. She got along better with her than Bra because Pan was a fighter where Bra wasn't. Plus she liked to rub it in that she was better than her.
She looked at the next grave and her smile softened. The first couple plot she had had been to. Son Gohan and Videl. These two she had talked to at the same time, but only these two. It was difficult to talk to and receive memories from two people at the same time so she stopped doing it after, but none the less she had gained some valuable information from the two. Especially about how to be the Great Saiya-man and manage to have a life. She had learnt about how hard it was to raise a quarter saiya-jin daughter and had grinned and thought back to her own parents with that comment. Videl and Gohan occasionally checked up on her but not as frequently as the others.
The next grave was one well visited over the years. Son Goku and Chi-Chi. She smiled and rested her hand on the head of the gravestone. She loved these two as much as her own family. She had spoken to Chi-Chi first and she had told her what it was like to be a female martial artist with ordinary human skills and then what she needed to do to be a good wife. She remembered she had laughed and had told her times had changed but Chi-Chi wouldn't hear anything of it and wouldn't let her be until she knew how to cook her own meals, do her own laundry and clean up after herself and a family. When Chi-Chi finally left her alone and she was able to talk to Goku she pretty much embraced him and asked him a million times how he could deal with her everyday. He had just laughed and admitted he wasn't sure.
Goku had been the most fun person to talk to so far. He was fun and loving yet was serious when it came to battles. Goku had been her role model for most of her childhood life until her Grandpa had found out and had told her about the others that made Goku such a great hero, and then she had started finding info on them and started worshipping them too. But once she had met and talked to the real Goku she could see why the world had, and still did, love him. He was the strongest man that had ever lived and yet was as modest as anything. He didn't care he could crush you in the palm of his hand and treated you as if you were the most important being on this planet, even if there was a group of you at the same time.
Goku had given her his Flying Nimbus and she loved it and respected him more. Goku was always there to cheer her up and retell his stories when she was bored or needed something to keep her mind off things. He was probably one of her most favourite people to talk to and one of the reasons why she loved her 'gift' and didn't kill it or rip it out from herself. He was the one to help her get through things and she always found herself wishing after their talks that he was still alive to train her and be around her.
With a wistful smile she got up and removed her hand and went to the next, and last, grave. This was her last stop. The last one she ever had to go to until she got all the memories. She knelt down in front of the grave and read the names on it. Vegeta and Bulma Briefs.
The last person she had talked to was Bulma and she had been interesting to say the least. She had helped her boost her grades in math, science, DT and pretty much every subject she took. Bulma was a genius and wouldn't let you forget it. She shared with her all her inventions she had ever made and what made them tick as well as some ideas she had been having before she died and then, while she was dead. She told her how to make everything and what made it run so if she ever got stuck she could invent the things she had never gotten around to making.
Now there was only one person left. She placed her right hand flat on the name and raised her left hand up to her temple then shut her eyes, concentrating on that one name. Vegeta. Within a second he was there with her, in her mind. This was the first part of the transfer, getting to know one another. They would learn the basics first and then, in a few minutes, move on to the memories. Or rather his memories.
That was how this 'gift' of her worked. She could contact the dead as long as she was by their tombstone and their coffin was below her. She would first place a hand on their name to let them know it was them she was trying to reach and then her other hand would be at her temple telling them that was where they had to go. Then they would come and join her inside her head and they would get through the basics. Then she would absorb their memories. That whole process altogether took just over an hour.
Once that was done she could remove her hand from her temple and place out to her side, palm facing outwards, flat. Then the person could materialize next to her and they could have a conversation. They would stay with her for the maximum of two weeks while she got their memories sorted and understood. Conversations would be had and they would help her as well. Once the two weeks were up she would return top the grave and kneel in the same place with her right hand over their name and her left hand over her heart. Then they would disappear but become her angel and watch over her, checking in on her now and then.
She lost track of time as she sat there and let Vegeta's memories flood into her and become a part of her. Everything about his life became something she had been through, something she had witnessed, something she had experienced. She remembered feeling the sadness when he found out his home planet had been destroyed, even though he had hidden it. She remembered all the torment and torture he had gone through as a child in Frieza's court. She remembered the first time he had come to Earth and had been fighting Goku. She remembered all of that.
Finally the stream of memories drew to a close. Automatically she waited a few minutes then put her hand that was on her temple to her side and Vegeta appeared next to her. He was dressed in his usual spandex suit with white gloves and boots with an arrogant smirk on his face and his arms crossed. She opened her eyes and get to her feet. The sky was turning from black to orange and red as the sun was beginning to rise. She had been out here all night and she knew she had to get home. She looked down at the grave and smiled then leapt to the sky and headed home with Vegeta hot on her tail. She looked over her shoulder once or twice to make sure he was really there and gave him a few smirks of smiles of grins. Their flight back to her house was quiet, but not uncomfortable. Both had a lot to think about now and over the next two weeks.
The two weeks went by quickly for her as she grew accustomed to Vegeta's memories. He was certainly different from all the others and it showed but he was very interesting. As her protector, for now, he was hostile and ruthless and made sure hardly anything bad happened to her unless it was by his own doing. While she enjoyed not being teased and picked on she hated the fact that her friends were becoming scared of her.
Vegeta's attitude was also melting into her own. She was becoming sly and cocky and thinking she knew everything and was stronger than everyone. While the later was probably true she knew she had no reason to feel this way. Her parents had put it down to her being a teenager and it being a phase but she knew better and was trying to lessen it.
When the final night of the two weeks was upon them she stayed up late writing something down on a piece of paper that she wouldn't let Vegeta see. He was sitting on her window seat glaring at her while she wrote. When she stood and pocketed the paper and turned to look at him he raised an eyebrow and she gave a small nod. He grunted and opened her window and leapt out of it into the air and she quickly followed suit.
She had changed earlier into her regular clothes that she wore down to the graves. With the skirt billowing around her they flew to the graves in silence, her going over his memories one last time, making sure she hadn't forgotten to ask him something, anything. She was satisfied that she hadn't.
Finally the grounds grew closer than a speck and they had arrived. He walked impatiently over to his grave and stood there with his arms crossed. Waiting. She slowly walked over, wondering what their farewell would be. With Bra, Pan, Videl, Chi-Chi and Bulma she had given hugs. For Goku, Gohan and Goten it had been a big bear hug and with Trunks it had been a hug with a small kiss on the cheek. But what would she give Vegeta, what would he give her?
She stood beside him, looking down at the grave. They stayed like that, silent for a few minutes then he moved. His hand went under her chin and lifted her gaze to meet his. Both their eyes searched the others. He found that she admired him the most, honored and respected him for being who she was and wasn't afraid of him in the slightest. She found that he was proud of her and accepted her without a doubt.
Vegeta gave her a small smile before pulling her into his arms for a rib-braking hug. It didn't hold the compassion that Trunks' had and it didn't hold as much friendliness as Goku, Gohan's and Goten's had. But it did have care and the chance for her to prove herself even more to him than she had already. It showed her that he was willing to accept her in any shape or form as his great-great-however many greats it was granddaughter.
When he finally let her go she looked up at him. "Are you ready to join the others now Vegeta-kun?"
He looked down at her and smirked, "You know what brat? I think I am."
She nodded and kneeled down in front of his grave. She shut her eyes and placed her right hand over Vegeta's name and her left hand over her heart. Thankyou Vegeta, for everything. Then she concentrated and he was gone in an instant, up to where his family and friends were waiting for him. Up to join the rest of her guardian angels.
She opened her eyes and looked around, making sure he was really up there with them and not fooling her. He was no where to be seen. She reached out her mind to her angels and he brushed against her mind, thoughts and ki. I'm here brat. Now go home. She smiled and stood up, looking down at the grave again.
She felt the air ripple behind her and felt a familiar ki appear. A hand rested on her shoulder and she did not move a muscle except for the fact that a small smile appeared on her face.
"Is it all done? Have you completed your task?"
She nodded and turned around so she was facing the person, the man, her Grandfather. "It is. I've got all of their memories, every last one of them for every person. They all lived amazing lives in their own ways. Each and every one of them." She smirked. "You were right, Grandpa, you were right."
He smirked down at her. "What did I tell you brat? Never distrust your grandpa."
"You're right. I'm sorry." She replied.
"Good. Now are you ready to go home and finally sleep?"
She was about to nod but stopped. "In a second. I just have to do one last thing." She turned back to the grave and fished out the piece of paper she had been writing on earlier from her pocket. She smoothed it out then read over it again.
"What's that, brat?" her Grandpa said walking up behind her and reading over her shoulder. He chuckled when he was done. "I think that about sums him up. Good choice. Did you do this for all of them?"
"No, only for him. He deserves it, I think. He has every right to own this but he doesn't. I think he has some hidden fans out there somewhere." She replied.
"You think too much. Now go and place it where you want and let's go home. I don't what your father yelling at me. I don't think I could retain my temper for that long."
While laughing softly she placed the list at the foot of the grave. With a spark of light she protected it and made it stay there. It wouldn't decay now and it could never be moved. She stepped back and read it again and smiled. It looked good. It fit.
She walked over to where her Grandpa was standing in the middle of the circle. "I'm ready to go home now. I think I've finally found somewhere I can fit in, somewhere I belong. A balance that is neither too much of one thing nor too little of the other. I think I'm finally whole, complete, and there are no gaps left to fill. I'm me. And I can belong now."
"Good. Let's both go home, kid. You and me. Old and young. Grandpa and Granddaughter. Vegeta Jr. and Kitara. The only two proper remaining Saiya-jins left on this mud ball of a planet." He said with a smirk.
She grinned back in agreement and took off into the air behind him. She felt a shifting on the spiritual plane and felt Vegeta enter the living realm again. She felt him go and stand in front of his grave and read what she had put here and she felt him smirk. You learn quickly kid. You now know me too well.
She smirked in return. I learn only what my teacher teaches me. Nothing more. Plus I'm very observant.
That you are, girl that you are. Very well. I'll come and see you soon. Then Vegeta was silent and she knew he was sitting in front of his grave reading the same words over and over again. The ones she had written.
And as she flew home with her Grandfather, Vegeta Jr, she replayed the words over in her head. The words of one of her favourite songs. The words for a song Vegeta had been very connected during those two weeks. The lyrics that represented him so well, that showed all of his changes through his life, she couldn't have chosen anything better to write and he couldn't have chosen a better song. And she hadn't wanted him to.
It's easier to run
Replacing this pain with something more
It's so much easier to go
Than face all this pain here all alone
Something has been taken
From deep inside of me
A secret I've kept locked away
No one can ever see
Wounds so deep they never show
They never go away
Like moving pictures in my head
For years and years they've played
If I could change I would
Take back the pain I would
Retrace every wrong move that I made I would
If I could
Stand up and take the blame I would
If I could take all my shame to the grave I
Would
Sometimes I remember
The darkness of my past
Brining back these memories
I wish I didn't have
Sometimes I think of letting go
And never looking back
And never moving forward so
There's never be a past
Just washing it aside
All of the helplessness inside
Pretending I don't feel misplaced
Is so much simpler than shame
It's easier to run
Replacing this pain with something numb
It's so much easier to go
Than face all this pain here all alone.
Wow, it's finally finished. I can't believe it. This took ages for me to write. The idea came to me as I was thinking about what happened after the Tournament at the end of DBGT. What happened to Goku and Vegeta Jr.? So I wrote this. I don't think I meant for the main character to have such a strong connection to Vegeta but the more I thought about it the better it became and the more sense it made. Plus the fact I was making her be Vegeta Jr's Granddaughter made it fit even easier. The song was easy to choose. I've always thought it fits all of Vegeta's changes and maybe all of his hidden thoughts. Incase you were wondering which song it is Easier To Run by Linkin Park. Well that's all I have to say. I hope you enjoyed it, I know I enjoyed all the time I spent writing it. If you have any questions e-mail me at with a subject of Easier To Run or something like that. Check you all later. Sayonara!