Hey! Hope you all have a great weekend; I'm going to see some pimped out old school cars race tomorrow with Smile-bestthingintheworld and another good friend who does not participate in our love of fan fiction. That's beside the point. Hope you enjoy this chapter :) PLEASE BE WARNED. THIS DOES INVOLVE GRAPHIC AND DEATH. IF YOU DO NOT LIKE THAT, PLEASE SKIP OVER THE DREAM (it will be marked.)

Disclaimer: You know the drill; I don't own DB/DBZ/DBGT. This includes characters and scenes.

Overcoming the Past

Bulma and Chi-Chi began firing questions at their beloved friend as soon as the three young women were securely behind Lena's broken bedroom door. Chi-Chi had no issues entering the locked bedroom; any mother of a teenaged son wouldn't.

"I understand that you are a mature young lady, but locking us out is just rude!" Bulma started, "I know you're not completely loony, but damn Lena…I'm worried. You have no idea how fragile you were two years ago and just because you have physically healed doesn't mean that the emotional scars haven't grown any less deep. Lena, the box you were so keen in keeping away from us had nothing in it. Are you sure…that you didn't…I don't know, have a panic attack and believe that you saw what you are afraid of exposing?"

Lena understood that her brilliant friend had a valid point and did not mean to be offensive, but the notion that she didn't have any "idea of how fragile she was" boiled her temper. She knew damn well how pathetic she was when she first met Bulma, and fragile was not it. The thought of Bulma thinking that she had a mental breakdown irked her in many ways. There were a lot of things Lena called herself and insane was not one of them…yet.

"Maybe you're right," Lena sighed in defeat. In the end, years of living with the CEO of Capsule Corp. taught her that it was best to just agree with everything she said. Agreeing with her friend also meant that the shopping trip would be exactly that and it also meant that she could continue to hide her shady past a little while longer from her wise friend. Raditz was a different story, but at least this would by her some more time.

"Would you like to talk about it?" Chi-Chi softly voiced.

"Not right now. Maybe another time if it happens again," Lena awkwardly smiled. Her friends directed their attention to her current attire.

"Were you going to work out with the guys or what? You sure as hell aren't going shopping where we are looking like that," Bulma spat.

"I'm sorry that I was not informed of your last minute desire to spend money and was busy sneaking around trying to retrieve an empty box! What do you propose I change into then?" Lena replied back with a little bite in her tone.

"Well, considering the last man you brought home is an alien as ruthless as Vegeta, let's find something similar for you to wear. That way, we know you'll catch any male attention and give you more human options to choose from. The last thing we need are more half Saiyan babies running about," Bulma teased.

Once again, Lena knew not to take offense to her friend's scolding. However, due to the bewildering amount of stress and surprises she had endured in less than two full days, she was irked nonetheless.

"What if I want a half Saiyan baby with wild, black locks of hair running around?" Lena smarted as her inner goddess cursed within her.

'First, she calls us crazy! Now she's telling us who we can and cannot fuck around with? Especially when she is wed to the worst one of them all! Hell no.'

"Agh! Lena you cannot be serious right now! You have such a bright future! Pleeeeease don't throw it away over some big headed fool you don't even know! He's a monster for crying out loud! Sure, the Saiyajin are by far the most appealing men around here, and sure their looks match their untapped ferocity. But, that doesn't mean you should settle for that! Not when there are so many decent, intelligent, and well-rounded men who deserve a sweet girl like you," Bulma berated.

Lena's ears turned as hot-red as the temper she was struggling to keep at bay swung loose from her grasp. She stormed away from her supposed friends and ran as quickly as she could outside. She then popped out her favorite candy-apply red motorcycle she welded, soldered, built, and painted all on her own. She turned to see her best friends chasing her down and the three men they were discussing earlier break away from an argument they were having themselves.

"Goku?! What are you doing here? I thought you were at home sleeping," Chi-Chi asked as her husband looked at her wearily. Vegeta and Raditz focused their own attention on Lena and Bulma fiercely.

"I was until Vegeta woke me up about some strange Ki nearby. It was coming from the house when I got here…from Lena's room…" Goku explained.

"Huh?" The three women asked unanimously.

"It's still radiating from…" Goku said before Vegeta kicked him hard enough that he doubled over from the impact. That didn't go over very well with Chi-Chi who then began to shout at Vegeta. Chi-Chi's attitude escalated when Bulma started to yell at both her and her own husband with equal amounts of hostility. The current situation and previous arguments only intensified Lena's pure disgust with them all as she watched her friends and family bicker over whatever the hell was going on in her bedroom.

Raditz's blazing coal eyes went from Vegeta's, to his fallen brother's, and then landed anxiously on Lena's. The change of emotion behind them startled Lena.

Am I responsible for all of this? Like I was then…? She thought coldly.

"YOU!" Vegeta roared at Lena, making her nearly jump out of her own skin. He ignored the endless threats Bulma and Chi-Chi charged at him as he continued to glare at Lena earnestly, "What are you?!"

"….WHAT?! What am I? What kind of stupid ass question is that? I have already answered you at least a million times regarding that same question! I AM HUMAN. For the love of all things holy! What is with you and not accepting that truth?!" Lena oozed anger, she could feel it radiate from her bones. The last time she was this angry was…that incident and that was only because she had almost destroyed planet Earth.

"Is that so? Then what is your earliest memory then, Earthling?" Vegeta hissed.

"I…this is stupid! I don't have to prove my status as a flesh and blood human to you, you psychopathic, arrogant, foul-spirited, SHORTER THAN ME alien!" Lena hissed right back. She had spent all of her recalled life proving to others of whom and what she was, could do, and would be. She didn't have to do that anymore when she graduated college the same time she received her high school diploma. Now, she was right back to the beginning; all thanks to some random Ki shaking its ass in her room. It felt good to yell, so she kept on.

"Fuck YOU, no fuck THIS! I am not crazy, I am not some Ki brewing freak, and I am not changing my perfectly fine clothes for some shopping mall trip that I am only invited to so that I can carry Bulma's bags!" Lena burst. Those were honestly the least of her cares, but a girl whose life was just turned upside down for the umpteenth time of her memory can't help but to let it all out. Her fuse was lit and at that point, no one was slowing her down. She brought her bike roaring to life to block out her verbal abuse at those around her as she sped away from the hype. Vegeta, being a prince of everything rude, was not going to let her get away with her comments and ran after Lena's retreating dust trail.

"No, Vegeta! Just let her go! She will come back and apologize when she is ready to! Let her go blow off steam!" Bulma begged as Chi-Chi cheered Goku into an upright position. The four left behind peered at the two racers nervously, hoping beyond hope that Lena wouldn't get hurt. No one expected what happened next.

Vegeta flew past the blonde speed demon and landed in front of the escaping woman with his hands expanded at her approaching bike. Normally, she would have veered but that would more than likely result in her motorcycle swerving. That would force the bike to become unmanageable and then lead to her inevitable death. She threw that option away before she even contemplated it. Death didn't matter to her; but she wasn't going to kill herself without taking someone with her. She was pissed off enough to run over the fool in her path and fully intended to.

Vegeta raised his eyebrows in shock as he realized that she was not going to push on her breaks but ever-so-gladly smash into him instead. Unfortunately, she was not met with the result she anticipated. Instead of smashing over the short alien, she was flown head over heels off of her motorcycle as he grabbed it and lifted it over his head. Once she was free from the fast machine, he then crushed her precious transportation into a cube of metal and threw it at her, threw it at her hard.

She barely worked up enough sense to dodge the oncoming danger, but did so as the sharp edges ticked her right cheek.

"I said, what is your earliest memory, girl?" the approaching beast sneered. Lena trembled with a fear she hated to admit.

"I'll answer, but only if you tell me why…why it matters," she replied in her normal berry-sweet voice.

"I'll tell you why if I see fit to tell you why. I really don't think you deserve the right to know after your little stunt of attempted murder of your prince, Catsearia," He growled. Lena closed her heavy lids in aggravation. Maybe she was going crazy after all.

Wasn't that the dark haired girl I dreamt of recently?

"What?" Lena asked when she reopened her eyes to see a bruised fist nearing her face. She choked in surprise when her face was then blocked by a curtain of black hair. At the same time, her attacker was flown back with such force that a sonic boom bleated and expanded to the surrounding area.

"Lena, we need to talk," a voice from in front of the coarse hair that tickled her nose said.

"Raditz? I don't understand. You were there and now you're here and you just did that and he always ranted about how weak and and and…"she began to shakily trail as her voice was overwhelmed with nerves.

"Come on, I'm taking you back to rest. We'll discuss this tonight. Fuck that stupid shopping nonsense, I'll allow you to do that feminine shit on a day you haven't been bombarded with confusion," her savior said as he lifted her into the air alongside him with his tail.

"Uhm…I'm not very fond of heights," Lena whispered exhaustedly as she began to doze into a light slumber the soft wind patting at her face lulled her into. Raditz ignored her worry; she couldn't be that dense to think that he would allow her to fall.

When was the last time I actually slept in my bed? The silent girl questioned to herself.

XXXDANGERXXX

I must be dreaming again. The sand is purple like it was before. Wait, I'm running. Where am I running?

'The escape pods!' An odd voice she remembered speaking with before cried out. The voice that spoke became one with Lena as she took on the role of the escaping, pregnant Saiyan. Lena became the outsider as this Catsearia woman took control of her mind and body that wasn't all together hers. Catsearia zeroed in on her target as she entered a vacant building and crawled through a dilapidated storage room. She began loosening the door to the hidden pod and quickly used her skills as the top mechanic of her dwindling planet to start the machine up.

"So it's true," a young voice admitted.

"Prince Vegeta! You scared me! May I ask what you mean by 'so it's true'?" Catsearia replied with as much respect as she could muster onto the teenaged prince of her people.

"You're running away to save yourself and the disgusting impure fetus inside of you, aren't you?" the boy asked.

"Yes, those are my intentions. With all due respect, I can tolerate the derogatory terms about myself, but I refuse to listen to you insult the child within me that is more Saiyan than I will ever be." The adolescent prince reached out and struck the youthful soon-to-be mother and laughed as she doubled back.

"I suggest you come with me now or I will kill you. Frieza has already found, interrogated, and destroyed your father. I will do worse to you than he if you do not follow me now."

The prince was young. The prince was ignorant. Catsearia was going to die regardless of what she did now. There was only one last thing she could do. The truth was, her mother was full Saiyan and the man they called her father was not her biological one. Her "father" had managed to hide that up until recently. If only she had pretended to be bad at her job and didn't gather the attention of the elite of her class and bonded with him. If only she had been born with her mother's eyes. None of that mattered now.

Her mother once told her that when a fully bonded and mated female of her race is about to die before they are ready to, they can transport their soul into a womb of a stranger. It was the root to their race's continued existence. Men dominated the women reproductively, so to insure that there would always be women, females developed a way to release their soul and start again. The only issue with that now is that Catsearia was currently the only pregnant female remaining on her home planet. The others had long since been destroyed or sent off to invade other planets. As a result of no other wombs, where would she be able to send her soul?

She urgently thought of any other options while Prince Vegeta led her out of the hideaway and straight to the mansion that housed Frieza. The laughter echoing from the nearing building sent her stomach churning with disdain. Frieza was laughing because someone was suffering; or about to be.

"It's about time. I was beginning to think that you had failed in capturing the runaway, Prince," The high shrill of Frieza called out.

"I was almost too late, but I convinced her to come with me. It seems she does value her life over my race's freedom after all. Now that I have brought her to you, can you please commence the beating so that we can move on past this, let her back to building our weapons, and freeing my people. I don't have time to sit around for this," Vegeta snarled.

The high pitched laughter tripled in volume as Vegeta realized his stupidity. Frieza motioned for Catsearia to stand before him and strip down to where all she was allowed to wear was a thick grey collar over her exposed neck. Next, Frieza motioned for the back door to open which forced out Raditz, Nappa, Bardock, many other Saiyans varying in class, and King Vegeta himself. The look of pure hatred mirrored the faces of all the Saiyajin present while the men of Frieza's armies that were of other races laughed on eagerly at Catsearia's strip tease.

Vegeta began to vomit as his fellow people were shielded away by an invisible barrier from himself and the girl he had so easily handed over for humiliation to the vilest creature to ever exist. Raditz continued to pound on the barrier as his knuckles began to show through his opened wounds. His father stared dangerously on at the scene playing before them while other, younger Saiyans also beat at the impenetrable wall.

Frieza chuckled and beckoned for the naked female who glowed with beauty that was only given to women expecting a child to stand directly before him. He then nodded at her to remove her arms that she shielded her rounded stomach and hid it away from the gawking men surrounding her as they poked and harassed her. She refused to obey and was met with a sharp crack at the back of her head from the guard to her left. She held her head high and fought the urge to scream out in pain. She refused to show any weakness. She was half Saiyan and would be damned if she didn't act like it. More rage bellowed from the walls beside her as the other Saiyajin ruthlessly fought to bring them down. She continued to receive the blows until the back of her head, torso, and legs were black from the welts. When the whips ceased, she spoke.

"Why do you prolong my agony? I am going to die anyway. Just kill me, you little purple bitch." The room responded to her demand with shocked silence. Frieza raised an arm and aimed it at her honey toned womb. Before he fired, a tiny palm with five tiny fingers revealed itself as her unborn child stretched inside its shelter. The shelter she failed to keep safe. The sight of the hidden hand lighted the fire among the already burning Saiyans as Raditz and his father glowed with gold. The barrier fell. Frieza fired.

XXXEND DANGERXXX

"Nooooooooooo!" screamed a mourning Lena from her sleep as she sat up and clutched her stomach. Bulma raced to her bedside as Lena silently thanked Kami for Bulma being the only one present at the time she awoke. There was no way she could have explained that reaction to him.

How? Oh how am I supposed to look at Raditz after having that nightmare? Sure, it was only a dream…but something about it seemed real. Not to mention the fact that Vegeta had called her that other girl's name before she dozed off.

"Lena, this is getting ridiculous. Ever since Raditz showed up, you have done nothing but have bad dreams. I think it's time you act like a normal twenty-two year old and have a drink. Who cares if it's a Monday night?" Bulma suggested.

"I think I can finally agree with you on something. A drink is exactly what I need," the dumbfounded girl replied.

So, we know what haunts Raditz. Now what about Lena's human past that she fears? Maybe we can find that out soon too!