Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball Z

Author's note: Thanks for the good reviews so far. I appreciate it.

Also: Maes is pronounced Mayz, for near future reference.

A Second Chance
The Ramen Saga

Chpt 3: Maes Maturin

Radditz stared up at the giant, hairy creature. He wrinkled his nose as he caught the troll's unpleasant stench. He looked over at the strange red haired man, but he seemed more amused than afraid. With a sudden start, Radditz also realized that he wasn't alarmed either.

"WHO DISTURBED MY SLUMBER?" The forest troll roared. Red Hair muttered something as he scratched his head. He then gave his staff a twirl before giving the monster an annoyed look.

"That's so cliché and did anyone ever tell you that you have very repulsive breath my friend? You should try chewing on some eila mint, it'll really freshen you right up..."

"SILENCE!"

For a brief moment, Radditz was glad that the troll had yelled. The red haired man seemed to have a little problem with running his mouth off. Red Hair waved a hand in front of his face before launching into another breathless tirade.

"Really now, Mr. Troll, that breath of yours is so repulsive perhaps you should listen to my advice and..."

Radditz and Red Hair jumped out of the way as the troll slammed a fist down at them. The heavier gravity was still slowing the Saiyan down; however, the lack of a tail was no longer causing balance problems for him.

"You're too slow Mr. Wild Man!" Red Hair shouted. Radditz dodged out of the way as the troll whirled a mace at them. Fortunately for the Saiyan, most of the giant's wrath had become focused on the quick talking red haired man. Red Hair leapt up into a tree and grinned at the troll. The troll bellowed in rage before tearing down the tree. Red Hair did a somersault and landed nimbly next to Radditz.

"You just going to stand there all day Wild Man? If you don't keep moving you'll..."

"Don't you ever shut up?" Radditz finally yelled.

"No, I'm afraid not. It seems to be an unfortunate ailment that drives many to..."

The jumped out of the way as the angry troll leapt at them. The ground shook at the impact of the heavy body. Radditz suddenly found himself becoming vastly irritated. He was irritated by the fact that this strange creature was attacking them and he was also annoyed by the nimble elf eared man who was dancing circles around the two of them.

"You're slow, Mr. Wild Man!" Red Hair taunted. Radditz whipped around to glare at him.

"Shut up!"

Radditz blanched as a huge fist came crashing down at him. He thrust his hands out and blocked the attack. To his surprise, the fist only pushed him back about a foot. The Saiyan stared in surprise, as it seemed illogical to him that he would be stronger than a creature that was five times his size.

"What are you waiting for, the sun to shine?" Red Hair shouted. Radditz growled as he gripped the troll's fist and swung the giant around. The troll crashed back a short distance and teetered on the edge of a drop off. Red Hair ran at him, swung up, and kicked the troll in the chest. It gave a yelp and crashed over the edge. The ground quaked as the giant troll hit the ground, then silence.

It had been knocked unconsious.

Red Hair peered over the edge and Radditz, after a moment of hesitation, joined him. The troll twitched down at the bottom, but showed no signs of getting up. The young red haired man chuckled as he leaned on his heavy staff.

"And thus goes the proverb, 'Let sleeping trolls lie'," he said dryly.

"You made that up," Radditz accused.

"How would you know? You're an amnesiac wild man."

"So you were listening..hey! Wait a minute! I'm not a wild man!"

"How would you know? You just said you didn't remember anything," Red Hair said calmly. Radditz opened his mouth and closed it. As much as he hated to admit it, the strange man did have a point. The other man seemed to give him a considering look before stepping closer.

"You don't seem to be one of Ramen's men, you're a bit too odd..."

"Hey!"

"...let me take a look at you. Don't worry, I may not look it but I am a doctor. You might have a head injury that's caused your memory loss..." Red Hair paused and frowned as he looked at Radditz's mass of unkempt hair.

"Although," Red Hair muttered. "I don't know how I'll be able to tell. Perhaps I should shave your hair off." Radditz glared at him.

"No," he said flatly. Red Hair shrugged as he went back to studying Radditz. After a moment, he stuck out his hand to the surprised Saiyan.

"By the way," Red Hair said. "My name's Maes Maturin. I live over in the village of Xenotyne." Radditz stared down at the hand in confusion and Maes finally reached out and shook it.

"This is how we say hello," he explained. "You don't fight too bad for a wild man."

"I told you already," Radditz said icily. "I'm not a wild man. Are you deaf?"

"No, I'm afraid I just have selective hearing," Maes answered truthfully. Radditz sweatdropped a bit. Well, at least he's honest.

"So...if you're not a wild man, how did you get that messy? Or don't you remember that as well?"

"I woke up a little while ago, not to far from here," Radditz explained. His heart beat faster again in a rush of panic and he pushed it down. "I...don't...remember anything." Maes rubbed his chin as he studied the Saiyan's face. The doctor believed him; the clear confusion was too evident on the taller man's face. He really didn't remember anything.

"Did you look like this when you woke up?" Maes asked. Radditz blinked at him. The doctor had suddenly become much calmer and more patient than he had been before.

"No," the Saiyan said. "There were these little white things that..." he paused as the doctor started to laugh. Radditz glared icily at him and Maes rushed to explain.

"Don't feel offended, my friend. You don't need to explain any further, the kodama are tree spirits and they delight in tormenting unsuspecting travelers. I think anyone who's actually done some traveling has had at least one run in with them. Not to worry though, not much harm done. I suspect that your pride more than anything else was injured."

"Where...where am I?" Radditz finally asked.

"You're in the Hiten Forest, a magnificent place really, it doesn't quite have the reputation that it deserves..." Maes broke off as Radditz's stomach gave another loud rumble. Maes blinked before shrugging his shoulders and turning around.

"Come on Mr. Wild Man, I guess I can't leave you here. We'll go back to the village and get you cleaned up so I can examine you better. We'll get something to eat at my house. You know, my wife is the most wonderful cook, you should try her...oh! Just wait until you meet my daughter, she's such a little angel of cuteness..." Maes rambled on as the two men walked off through the forest.

…………………………………………………………………………………………….

A small creature peered around a tree trunk as the two men faded into the trees. It hopped closer before tapping a key on the cell phone. This was no ordinary cell phone; it connected directly to the Spirit Realm.

"This is Vadra," the creature said. "Tell King Yamma that everything appears to be under control. Tell him that I will continue to observe the Saiyan and will report back to him later."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Are you feeling better?" Maes asked dryly. They had reached Xenotyne, stopping only once along the way so that Maes could pick a handful of wildflowers for his wife and daughter. After their arrival in the city, Radditz had cleaned up and put on a new set of clothing that the smaller man had found. It hadn't been easy to find something for someone his size, so he'd had to borrow the black pants, the white shirt, and the red tunic from a neighbor.

After that, they had eaten. The Saiyan had put away a considerable amount of food and had exhibited, to the distaste of Maes's wife, horrible table manners. Maes however had been amused by the other man's large appetite. There was only one other man he had met that came close to eating that much. It might be amusing to watch them have an eating contest.

The two had walked outside now and Radditz found himself gazing curiously around at his surroundings. Maes Maturin's house was on the edge of the village, on top of a high hill that overlooked the residents below. It was a tall house that had two full floors and a smaller floor on the top. The top floor opened up into a sort of balcony, with a rounded roof over head. Maes had called it his observatory. There had been many strange pieces of equipment in there, including what the doctor had called a telescope. He also had many medical tools and medicinal herbs set up on one side of the observatory.

Outside the house several gardens ringed the foundation. Flowers, herbs, and vegetables filled the air with a wonderful aroma. A neat stone path wound its way down the hill to a neatly cobbled street below. Tall trees ringed the property and the path below. Maes smiled as he joined the Saiyan, holding his three year old daughter in his arms. Fae had been excited at the arrival of her father and the stranger, but had now drifted off into sleep. He took her inside before coming back out to speak with the strange, wild haired man.

"This place is a bit like paradise for me," Maes said quietly. "Just wait until tonight. The fireflies come out on warm evenings like this and the stars are really bright. It's especially lovely if all three moons are out." Radditz looked up and saw that indeed, there was more than one moon.

"Who is this Ramen guy?" Radditz finally asked. "You accused me of being his spy." The Saiyan glared at him and Maes chuckled before growing serious.

"He's a warlord," he explained quietly, however, Radditz could detect the hint of anger in the voice. "No one knows where he came from, he just showed up suddenly about two years ago. He's been conquering country after country, killing innocent people as he pleases. He enjoys destruction and creating terror."

"Hasn't anyone been able to stop him?" Radditz asked. Maes frowned as he stared down at the village.

"No," he said finally. "But not because people haven't tried. Countries that have formerly been at war have allied to fight against him. His main base of operations is the desert city of Sardonia in the country of Krassk. The people there are a nomadic people and didn't have much of a chance. Sardonia is an ancient city though and is still the center of numerous trade routes."

"If it's a desert city, how do they get around?" Radditz asked. "That seems like an inconvenient place to have a base."

"They say...they say he can fly."

"Fly?" Radditz asked in surprise. "How can anyone do that? People don't have wings." The doctor's lips twitched as he clenched his fists.

"I don't know if that's true," Maes admitted. "It's just what I've heard. They say that back in ancient times, people had machines that they used to fly. You can still find remnants of their technology scattered around the different nations, but no one really knows what any of it was used for. However, Ramen and his men supposedly are able to fly without any such aid. Although..." Radditz looked over at him.

"Although what?" he asked.

"I don't know, people have seen some strange things, including me. A few months ago I saw two round ball shaped objects flying across the sky."

"What were they?" Radditz asked curiously.

"I don't know, but they were fast."

The two men stood there for a time, looking down at the village. Radditz wasn't sure what to make of all the things that had happened to him. As he didn't remember anything before he had woken up, these were the only memories he had. He suddenly realized that the thought of this peaceful place being destroyed disturbed him.

"Maes...when you first saw me, you said I didn't look like a Lahanian. What did you mean?" the Saiyan asked. Maes looked over at him before crossing his arms.

"This planet is called Lahan, although you'll get some challenges from some other people. People in Krassk call this Lenore and the city-state of Citan calls it Leilhan. Lahanians all have pointed ears like mine and all of Ramen's men; well...they're very different. I don't think most of them belong to what you'd call the same species, if such a term can be used. That is why you yourself are such a mystery, my new friend."

"Do you...do you think I'm really one of his men?" Radditz asked. The doctor hesitated before looking gravely at him.

"I sincerely hope not, but it is difficult to tell. It's quite possible." Maes looked at him for a long moment before breaking into a smirk. "We still don't know you're name, so I guess we'll have to come up with something to call you." The doctor stood there for a long moment, with his long fingers resting on his chin.

"How about Sanyu?" he asked finally. "It means 'wild man' in ancient Verdu I believe. Hmmm...or is it Quantish, oh dear, I can't remember!"

"How do you know it means 'wild man' then?" Radditz asked, a bit annoyed that he still couldn't get rid of his unfortunate new nickname.

"Because, I, my friend, am a learned scholar and know such things as this. I have a brilliant mind that has no equal among..."

"You need a serious reality check," Radditz said.

"Funny," Maes said curiously. "That's what my wife always says. Anyway I think Sanyu will be a good name until..." The doctor continued to ramble on to the Saiyan, who was still wondering what the future held for him.

The future would be very interesting indeed.