A Very Happy Author's Note: Wow! Okay, so I got the 10 reviews that I was quietly waiting for. Thank you so much! I wanted to make sure this story would hook you, and I guess it did. I'm so proud. I really think this is going to be my best story, at least I hope!

Elvewin Darkdragon- You got to be my first reviewer! Thanks! We're definitely going to see the other Z Fighters down the road. They're all going to come into the story in different ways. I especially love how Chichi comes in, but my favorite is Juuhachigou and Juunana. You'll see!

SilverWing145- I have no life outside my job, so I just come home and write. Pathetic! I know. Thanks for reviewing. I hope this next chapter hooks you even more!

Kataan- Yep. Vegeta has a younger brother, 3 actually and a sister. Did I forget to explain what Akira looks like? I'm a dork. Sorry! She's the only one with silver hair and eyes. ;-) This chapter is a little longer than the prologue. Enjoy!

DBZ-fan-JESS- I can't help it. I've got to put Akira into all my stories. Hope no one minds! Glad you liked this new story, and hope this next chapter keeps you interested.

Zicke- I feel so honored! Thank you, Thank you! I hope you like this new chapter just as much.

Mustang07- Thanks for reviewing! Enjoy the new chapter! ;-)

Melina- Yeah, B's gotten into some trouble hasn't she! Hahaha. Thank you for the review and enjoy!

Amy- Hey! Thank you! I'm happy you like, and I hope I can keep it up!

Shades of Crimson- And so we've finally come to you! Hahahaha Hey, what's going on! I'm going to figure out ages and put them at the end of the next chapter for you. Some of the characters I hadn't decided on yet. Akira did kick some ass, huh? I thought it was great. Guess what! Vegeta's about to come in! hehehehe…

Garowyn- Hey, don't be sorry. At least you reviewed, right? That's all I'm asking for. Thank you very much and enjoy!

Chapter 01: The Banished

Goku, or Kakkarot as his Saiyan comrades referred to him, entered the bar with his twin brother, Turlis, at his side. They grinned at each other when they spotted Nappa, Brolly, and their two older brothers, Nor and Radditz, sitting around a table drinking some local ale and laughing. It was definitely good to be off the ship for a change. They spent far too much time in space in Goku's opinion, but they didn't really have a choice in the matter. It was part of their job. The two of them quickly sat down and joined in on the conversation.

"There you two are," Brolly shouted over the noise of the afternoon crowd. "Where've you been?"

Turlis snatched a sweet roll off Nor's plate before answering, "Loading supplies onto the ship."

"In other words," Goku chimed in happily. "We were working, unlike all of you," he teased.

Radditz swatted him upside the head. "I do more work in an hour than you do in a day, brat!"

"Ouch, man! That hurt, Rad," Goku whined, but at least he had the common sense, for a change, to not use his brother's full name. They had to keep a low profile!

Nor rolled his eyes. Why'd their brother have to act like such a baby at times? Sometimes you couldn't even tell he was a Saiyan. "Enough! We're here to unwind, not to listen to you act like a little girl."

The others nodded and lifted their mugs, silently agreeing to toast to that little speech. Goku just pouted and shoved a piece of meat in his mouth. Once the taste of it took over his senses, he grinned and began to shove more in his mouth at a disgustingly fast pace. Turlis scrunched up his nose and smacked a potentially sloppy piece from his twin's hand.

"What would mother say if she saw you, Kak? Straighten up," he scolded.

Goku frowned sadly. "Sorry," he muttered and slowed down his eating habits.

Nappa leaned back in his chair and scanned the room. His eyes landed on a pretty alien woman. She was humanoid with dark skin and greenish brown hair. "Hey, that Xeajin woman is checking you out," he told Brolly while nudging the man beside him.

Brolly was the youngest of the group and had a reputation as a playboy. The young Saiyan smirked and picked up his drink. "Well, in that case, excuse me gentlemen." His comrades chuckled and toasted to him as he walked across the room to hit on the woman.

(Change scene)

Akira flipped several switches on the overhead panel with one hand and managed to steer the ship with the over. Next to her in the co-pilot seat, Bulma sat, nervously wishing she could do something to help, but she had never been allowed to learn to fly. There were far more important things according to her parents, but if you asked Bulma, right now it seemed like a damn important thing to know!

"Go to the back. I want you to get in one of the escape pods and lock yourself in. If there's an explosion, you are to hit the orange button under your seat. Do you understand?" Akira asked as she sent the ship into an evasive dive to avoid a heavy wave of laser fire.

Bulma shook her head. "I can't leave without you."

"I don't have time for this. I have to stay in here and try to keep us in the air. Now, get your ass in that pod!"

"Akira, please. I can't."

The silvery haired woman glared at her angrily. "I made a promise to your father to get you to safety, damnit, and where I come from, we keep out promises no matter what."

The princess reached down at each side and grasped the safety belts, strapping herself into the co-pilots seat. "I won't survive on my own, so this bickering is pointless," she shot back stubbornly.

Akira shook her head irritably and returned her concentration back to the task at hand, getting them away from the fighter ships that were trying to take them out. "Your stubbornness is going to get us killed one of these days," she muttered.

A well-targeted blast hit them on the starboard side of the ship, jolting everything on board. Bulma was very glad she had put on her seatbelt; her neck was already feeling the after affects of whiplash. "Do you have a plan?"

"No! I'm just flying around aimlessly," Akira shot back sarcastically. She pulled back on the controls and the g-force pushed them back into their seats painfully.

"You've always got a plan, Kir. Come on! What is it?" Bulma went on anxiously, needing to know that there was at least a small chance they would get out of this alive.

Dodging another blast, her bodyguard maneuvered the ship toward a nearby planet. "The ships firing at us are small, short-ranged fighters. Their engines aren't equipped with powerful thrusters, like our ship. If we can get into the orbiting track around that planet, its gravity will suck them in. They'll either retreat back to their main ship, or stupidly follow us and be pulled out of targeting range," she explained quickly.

"Wow," Bulma whispered in awe. "How do you know it'll work like that?"

Akira gripped the controls. " I don't know for sure."

"What!"

"Just kidding," she told Bulma with a hint of a smirk on her face.

Bulma dug her nails into the armrest as the ship plummeted toward the planet. "Why is it you only crack jokes or show the slightest hint of expressiveness during a battle!"

(Change scene)

He hated this planet. He hated every planet that wasn't his homeworld. He wasn't even sure why he had given orders to land here. They had enough provisions to last them until Mercessei, so why was he here? He pondered this thought as he walked into the small town where his crew most probably was. It certainly didn't make sense to him. There was a contact on Mercessei that was promising a very large amount of credits for merely transporting a couple crates to a neighboring planet. Sure the amount seemed a bit high, inclining that whatever was in the crates must be highly expensive, possibly even priceless, but the risk didn't bother him at all. Who was he to be afraid of taking a little risk? He was a Saiyan!

As he approached the outside of a particularly run-down looking bar, he couldn't help but smirk. It was obvious Radditz had dragged the others here. They'd be able to keep a low profile in here. At least, that's how thing normally worked, but he was disproved as something crashed through the window and landed a few feet in front of him. Vegeta glared down at the scrawny alien before lifting his gaze to Nappa, whom just happened to be crawling through said window.

"What's the meaning of this?" He demanded harshly of Nappa.

"He dared to insult our race," Nappa answered, his tone angry and harsh. He stalked toward the cowering alien man intent on ripping him limb from limb.

The alien, a Xeajin from Vegeta's estimations, struggled to get on his feet. "It was no insult, Saiyan. You're just a filthy animal," he spat. "A damn monkey!"

Vegeta moved so quickly, that only his comrades were able to register the action. He kicked the Xeajin hard in the back, flinging him to ground, and then, he knelt over him and grabbed him by the collar. "You've got balls, space-rat," he growled. Vegeta drove his fist into the man's face repeatedly, until the Xeajin lay bleeding on the ground unconscious. Turning to his men, Vegeta motioned for them to follow him, and he led them out of the town. Before he was just in a bad mood, and now he was pissed! No one insulted his race while he was around to do something about it.

Nor and Radditz caught up with him as the group entered the woods where their ship was located. Vegeta keep his eyes straight ahead as he walked. The urge to go back and kill that pathetic alien was gnawing at him, but he was trying his hardest to set an example to his men.

"Do we really have to leave so soon?" Radditz inquired cautiously.

"We do now," Vegeta replied loud enough for everyone to hear. "We're supposed to be cautious, and starting fights with locals isn't being cautious!"

"Great. Now, we'll never be able to come back here," Turlis muttered. "This is just perfect, Brolly."

"What? It's not my fault," Brolly countered angrily. "How was I to know that was his woman!"

"Actually, it's Nappa's fault," Goku interjected with a cheerful grin.

"That rat had it coming to him," Nappa shouted back.

"Enough! I don't care who is to blame," Vegeta cut in, turning to face them all.

He opened his mouth to berate them further, but something flew over their heads filling the air with smoke. The trees swayed violently back and forth as the object's wake-path sent a hard burst of air through the forest. They all coughed and glanced around to see what was happening.

"What the hell was that?" Nappa growled.

"Looked like a ship," Nor spoke up.

Vegeta dusted himself off. "It doesn't matter. I want off this rock. Let's go."

"Wait a sec," Radditz cut him off. "We might be able to salvage the parts off it to fix the hydraulics on our ship."

Nor perked up. "Rad's right, and we can confiscate any useful supplies, too."

They all waited for their leader's orders. Vegeta rolled his eyes. "Fine, but let's make this quick."

(Change scene)

"Ow, my ankle," Bulma groaned, trying to lift the heavy scrap of metal of her foot.

Next to her, Akira tossed aside a few crates, making room for her to get to Bulma. "Hold still. I'll get it off," she told her.

Bulma watched as her bodyguard effortlessly lifted the metal. "Thanks," she muttered, pulling her leg out from under it. She looked up at the gaping hole in the roof of the ship. "I don't know how we managed to survive that last blast," she commented.

Akira looked up as well. An unsettling sensation welled up in her stomach. "Someone's coming," she whispered almost to quietly for Bulma to hear.

"A retrieval team," Bulma whispered back.

They locked gazes for a split second before Akira jumped up to her feet and pulled Bulma up as well. Neither one said a word as they stumbled through the ship and over crackling electrical wires. Akira kicked open the hatch and helped support Bulma as they both limped out.

"I thought you said that if any of the fighter ships survived the gravity-pull, it'd be unlikely that they could land," Bulma grumbled.

"Unlikely, but not impossible! Take this," Akira said, shoving a small box into the princess's hands.

"What's this?"

"Just listen to me for a moment, okay?" Akira pleaded. "Whoever it is, they're coming from the north." She pointed off to her right. "I want you to head east. Find some kind of cover and stay there. If I don't come for you within an hour, I want you to stay put at least ten hours."

"You want me to wallow in a dirty cave for ten hours? Are you crazy!"

Akira glared at her. "Do you want to live?" Bulma gulped and nodded quickly. "Alright then. Do as I say. There are some extra provisions in one of the capsules in that box. Barter your way off the planet and find a way to reach Vegetasei. When you get there, I want you to contact Princess Indara or the High Priestess Ava. Tell them what you heard and give them the schematics for the Icesei fortress. You got that?"

Bulma shook her head. "Why don't I just take it to the king himself?"

"They'll never let you have an audience with him," she lied quickly. "Now, go. They're getting close."

(Change scene)

Vegeta frowned. He could sense someone was watching them, but he wasn't sure where the person was. Turning to Radditz and Nor, he nods his head once, signaling them to start scavenging quickly. On the other side of the clearing, Brolly patiently scanned the area. About fifty feet above him, Akira was perched on a branch. She couldn't see much through all the foliage except the left side of his body. She didn't know how many men were with this guy, and he could be armed, but she had to at least give Bulma time to get away if nothing else. Without a second thought, she allowed herself to fall forward and drop through the air.

She landed gracefully on her feet, slowing her fall at the last possible second with her ki. She quickly reached forward, circling her arm around Brolly's neck and unsheathing a knife from where it rested against her hip. He tugged at her arm, which was cutting the air supply to his lungs in half, but the cold prick of the knife against his jugular vein stopped him immediately.

Akira leaned forward and whispered into his ear. "Tell me how many are with you, and I might let you live."

"You're far out numbered, wench. You kill me, and my comrade's will rip you apart," he warned her.

After a second, both their brows furrowed, and they released each other. There was something familiar in the air Akira hadn't noticed before. Brolly turned toward his attacker and was startled by what he saw. Needless to say, so was Akira.

"Akira!" He laughed and smiled broadly.

"Brolly!" Akira laughed as he pulled her into his arms and whirled her around.

By now, Vegeta and the others had come across them and were also dumbfounded by what they saw. Goku and Turlis glanced at each other before running over to greet their little sister. Akira hugged her two brothers and gave them each a quick peck on the cheek.

"Where's Nor and Radditz?" She asked Goku.

"We're here," Nor called out from behind her. "Vegeta, too."

Akira turned around and took in the site of her two eldest brothers. "Goddess, I can't believe this," she said. She turned to Vegeta. "How've you been?"

"Busy. I thought we left you on Vegetasei." His tone was a little harsh, but Akira overlooked it. She was too happy by this reunion to let Vegeta bring her down.

"Oh, shit," she cursed. Everything crashed around her so fast as she remembered her mission. "You wouldn't by chance have a ship, would you?"

Radditz gave her a questioning look. "Yeah, why?"

"It's a long story, so I'll make it short for now. I'm on the run from the Cold Empire. I need to get off this planet before they send someone to find us."

"Us?" Nappa asked.

"My ward, Princess Bulma," she explained. "I sent her off into the woods. I thought you were a retrieval team. A fighter squad shot us down. I need to go find her before she gets lost."

"I'll go with you," Vegeta said. "The rest of you, finish up here and head back to the ship."

(Change scene)

Curling up in a tiny ball, Bulma clutched the small, metal box to her chest. She wasn't sure how long it'd been since Akira told her to run. It felt like days, but she was sure it was only really a few minutes. She'd never felt so alone in her entire life! To make matters worse, she could feel the damp earth seeping through her dress. This was no place for a princess. What the hell had Akira been thinking! Bulma brushed back some stray strands of hair from her face and let out a sigh. She had faith that Akira would beat whatever soldiers the Colds sent after them. She was a Saiyan after all, and they were some of the strongest beings in the universe.

"She'll beat them," she whispered aloud.

"Don't be so sure of that."

Bulma jumped at the sound of this stranger's voice. "W-who's th-there?" She stuttered.

"You know this is no place for a lady such as yourself," the man went on, seemingly ignoring her.

"Don't come near me! I have a guardian, you know," she called out to the darkness. "She's a Saiyan, and she's really strong."

"You mean that weakling in the forest? How pathetic. She hardly lasted a minute against me. Pity I had to dispose of her. She was quite beautiful."

Bulma let out a sob and hugged herself tightly. "I don't believe you! Akira's a Saiyan elite. Y-you probably ran away from her like a, a coward!"

Her tormentor chuckled with amusement, circling around so he was behind her. "It's too bad you can't see in the dark, woman," he whispered close to her ear. "I can see you though."

Bulma quivered with fear as a calloused hand caressed her cheek and intimately brushed away her tears. "Leave me alone," she whispered back.

Suddenly, the cavern light up with a burst of light, and Akira was standing before her, holding a glowing sphere of ki in her palm. She shot Vegeta a deadly glare over Bulma's shoulder.

"I asked you to help me find my ward, not scare her to death."

Vegeta laughed and stepped out from behind Bulma, giving the princess her first glance at him. He simply smirked at her. "You mean," she started talking but couldn't quite come up with the words she was trying to say. She was getting angry. He had been messing with her!

Akira gave her an apologetic look. "Vegeta was helping me find you, and as I can see, he's still his usual self. Nothings changed after all these years," she scolded him.

Bulma turned with a shocked expression on her face toward him. "Vegeta? As in the banished prince of Vegetasei?"

At the mention of his banishment, the ex-prince's face turned to stone, and his eyes seemed to gleam dangerously. There was no doubt in Bulma's mind. This was definitely the once heir to the Saiyan Empire, but what was he doing here? Why did her bodyguard seem to be friends with him? Shouldn't she shun him as all other Saiyans were supposed to?

"Come on, Bulma," Akira said, coaxing her out of her thoughts. "Vegeta's agreed to give us a lift off the planet, but we need to get going now."

(Change scene)

Once on Vegeta's ship, Akira took Bulma to the med-bay. As she sat on the examining table, Bulma tried sorting through all the questions that were running through her mind. Absently, she watched Akira bandage a gash on her forearm that she hadn't even noticed until now.

"It shouldn't scar now that I put that salve on it," Akira assured her when she noticed Bulma eyeing the cut.

"How do you know Vegeta?"

Akira lowered her eyes back to her work and began wrapping Bulma's arm with thin, white gauze. "He was the prince of my home world."

"There's more to it than that," she argued.

"It's not really important right now. Follow me. I'll show you to our room. You need to get some rest."

(End chapter 1)

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