Chapter Two - The Mysterious Arrivals

The sun glistened off the mechanical parts of Frieza's new body as the Changeling looked around him. "Alright, I want you to spread out and kill everyone!" he ordered. "Leave no one alive!"

"Wow... he sure does like barking out orders, doesn't he?" a voice sounded from up and to the left of where Frieza and his men were, echoing off the other mountains. The sudden and unexpected voice drew everyone's attention in its direction, but none of those in the canyon could spot the source. From the higher vantage point where Bardock and the others stood, however, they were able to make out a figure leaning against the rock. Although, from their distance they couldn't make out any details. The voice, which clearly sounded female, continued. "You sure this is him? He doesn't look all that tough to me."

"Yeah, it's him." came a new, male, voice coming from the opposite side of the canyon as the girl. None of those present, either in the canyon below or up on the ledge with Bardock, could spot the source of the second voice. "It's the right location, and he matches mom's description."

"Cool. Guess that means it's show time." The girl pushed away from the ledge and floated leisurely down into the canyon, as though the presence of two of the most feared and powerful people in the galaxy was as inconsequential as that of an ant. As she descended to the canyon floor both those above and below got a better look at her. She had on a pair of red knee length shorts, a red t-shirt with blue trim on the sleeves, a purple tank-top over the shirt, white sneakers, and a pair of fingerless black gloves. However, as nonchalant as her body language was, her black eyes were alert, watching Frieza, his father, and the soldiers they'd brought with them as the breeze ruffled her silver hair.

From the other side of the canyon emerged her male companion, stepping out from behind a rock outcropping. He had on a pair of yellow boots, light gray slacks held up by a yellow belt, and a black tank top over which he wore a jacket that looked alternately blue or purple depending on how the light hit it, and bore the Capsule Corp. logo on both shoulders. There also appeared to be a sword strapped to his back. His lavender hair shifted slightly in the light breeze but his blue eyes remained motionlessly locked on Frieza and Cold.

"Who are they?" Bardock wondered. "I never even realized they were there. I can still barely even sense them."

"No clue." said Appla, equally stunned by the appearance of the unknown pair. "I don't recognize either of them. Though, the girl's hair..."

Hotaru nodded. "She looks Tanarian. It could just be coincidence, though. Do you think we should help them?"

"Let's wait and see what happens, first." said Piccolo. "Even if they are intending to fight Frieza and his father we still may not be on the same side."

Frieza had arched an eyebrow as the two had emerged into view and begun their descent to the canyon floor. He found it interesting that they had, apparently, been waiting for him. He knew the Sai-jins had probably detected the arrival of his father's ship, but neither of these two appeared to be Sai-jin. They certainly weren't Bardock or Vegeta, though the girl looked to be a Tanarian, like the one he'd killed on Namek. Perhaps they were friends of those he'd fought on that planet, in which case this could prove to be entertaining.

"Is there something I can do for you?" he asked as their feet touched the ground.

"You could leave." said the girl. "I'd rather not have to kill you. Evil as you are, I've seen enough death."

Frieza blinked a couple of times, and then laughed. "I don't think we have to worry about that happening." he said. "But you obviously don't know who I am."

"Oh, we know all about you, Frieza." said the boy. "We've heard all of the stories, all of the atrocities you've committed."

"Though you're not nearly as impressive in person as I'd expected." the girl added. "Maybe it's the patchwork prosthetics?"

Frieza scowled but it was his father who spoke up.

"This is getting boring." said Cold. He pointed to one of the soldiers. An orange one with scales and a fin on its head. "You, what's their power level?" he asked, and the soldier reached up and activated his scouter. Yellow numbers danced across the green glass as the device locked onto the pair, outlined them, and then displayed their powers. The soldier blinked and stared at the reading in complete disbelief.

"Well?" demanded Cold. "What is it?"

The alien suddenly smirked and looked as though he was attempting not to laugh. "They're both at 2." he said. His fellow soldiers didn't share in his restraint and a chorus of laughs broke out from the crowd.

As Frieza joined in on the laughter Cold scowled a little. The reading was impossible. The two of them had flown down into the canyon. Or at least, slowed their descent through use of energy. With a power of only 2 it would be impossible for them to control their energy, let alone for them to perform any sort of flight. That paradox left only two possible answers. Either the scouter was faulty and giving a false reading, which seemed unlikely, or the two of them were capable of suppressing their powers to a degree he'd never before heard of.

"You two must be delusional." one of the soldiers laughed. "Challenging Lord Frieza and King Cold with such pathetic powers."

"If you have that much faith in your superiority, why don't you try us?" asked the boy. "Though, I think it only fair to warn you that you don't stand a chance against either of us. You have no idea what you're dealing with." At his words several of the soldiers snickered, others just smirked.

"You," Frieza said, smirking, pointing to a nearby soldier covered in green fur. "Get them out of the way so we can get down to business. We have an appointment to keep."

"Yes, sir." the soldier said, raising an arm and pointing the gun he wore at the pair. "Tough luck." he said, pushing the button twice in quick succession. Two blasts of golden energy shot out, one straight for the girl, one for the boy. Neither bothered to move, the energy slamming right into their chests and exploding leaving them... completely unscathed. Their clothes weren't even torn. The furred alien blinked in confusion and Cold's scowl deepened as he glanced over to the orange alien again. He'd heard the sudden beeps of the scouter as it picked up the power increases. The finned alien's eyes had widened and he was now shaking in fear, which told the Changeling the pair had to have powers of at least twenty thousand.

"Your appointment with Goku has been canceled." said the girl. "We wont let you and your men slaughter the people of Earth."

"You know Goku?" Frieza asked, eyes still wide from the pair's unexpected survival. Then he smirked. "So, the two of you are friends of his."

"Something like that." said the boy.

"All of you, attack and kill them!" Frieza ordered. The soldiers, still stunned by the fact the two had survived the previous attack despite their low powers, were wary of the pair. However, wary as they were of the two before them, they were terrified of the two behind them. And so, as one, they raised their arms and opened fire, some with energy weapons mounted on their arms and others with energy blasts.

The boy and girl both frowned, but while the girl stood her ground the boy disappeared. The girl seemed utterly indifferent to the hundreds of energy blasts surging toward her. Many of the incoming attacks missed wide of her, either due to bad aim or because they'd been meant for the now absent boy, while those that came close suddenly changed course, surging off in some other direction as she easily and effortlessly swatted them aside. The barrage of blasts ceased a few seconds later as the soldiers realized the futility of their attack.

A moment later the boy's voice rang out from about a hundred feet above the girl. "Burning Attack!"

The soldiers all looked up, their eyes widening in shock and fear as they spotted the large energy ball surging toward them. They barely had time to register its presence before it was upon them. The attack slammed into the center of their group and exploded, instantly incinerating over half the group and flinging the rest of them hundreds of yards into the air, and into the distance. Whether atomized or sent flying, however, the result was the same. They were all dead two seconds after the explosion.

"This is your last chance." said the girl, as the boy floated down to land beside her again. "Leave this world and never come back."

"Don't get cocky just because you can take out a few weaklings." said Cold. Judging from the display he'd just witnessed, he estimated the boy's power at about 80,000. It was, of course, possible that he was still holding back, but if so the Changeling doubted it was by much. Being able to suppress his power from 80,000 down to 2 was already absurd enough. Any more was well beyond improbable. "Our powers are on an entirely different level."

"We know." replied the boy. "But then, so are ours."

Frieza scowled and then purple energy flared up around his right hand. These two nobodies and their superior attitudes were grating on his nerves. Plus, they were delaying him from his plans. With all of the soldiers he and his father had brought with them now dead they'd have to clear the planet themselves. Which, honestly, he didn't mind in and of itself. His issue was with the fact it would slow them down. It was unlikely everyone would be dead before the Sai-jin returned home, unless they blew up entire cities at a time. It was time to get rid of these two and get down to business. He wanted as many of the natives dead before Goku's return as possible.

"I grow weary of listening to your drivel." he said. "It's time to say good-bye." With that he thrust his arm forward and unleashed a powerful stream of purple energy.

Up on their ledge, Bardock's eyes widened and he tensed. The attack wasn't nearly as powerful as the Changeling could have made it, but it was more than enough to easily kill the unknown boy and girl. He was just about to transform, to launch down into the fray to try and save the pair, when the girl suddenly thrust her arms forward as if to catch the attack and let out a yell, her power climbing rapidly as a red aura flared around her.

Then the aura suddenly flared up into a column looking almost like fire. Orange sparks began to float up along it as the entire thing began to shift to orange. Her power rocketed upward and a second later the column shattered apart, just as Frieza's energy attack reached her. The blast slammed into her outstretched hands and pushed her back a few feet, her arms strained against the force of it, and then with one last cry she pushed the attack off into the sky where it flew off harmlessly into space. Frieza, startled, brought the attack to an end as it was deflected.

"That... that..." Yamcha stammered. "That's the Tanarian transformation!"

Hotaru nodded, at something of a loss for words. Shocked not only by the fact that this unknown girl could transform, something Hotaru had thought only she and her mother were presently capable of doing, but also by the girl's power. It had taken her so much to get to the power she was at now but this girl, who looked to be a few years younger than her, was more than three times stronger.

"She's a lot stronger than I'd thought." said Piccolo. "But even so, she's still not a match for Frieza, so what's she thinking, confronting him?"

None of his allies had an answer for him. Meanwhile, Frieza had recovered from his surprise and took in the girl's new look. She hadn't changed much, though clearly her power must have increased a good deal to deflect his attack like that. Her short silver hair was tinted blue, her eyes were solid blue, and she had tiger-like orange stripes coming from under her hair, across her cheeks, and under her eyes. He'd assumed when he first saw her that she had been a Tanarian, though now he wasn't so sure. As far as he was aware their race couldn't transform.

"Impressive." said Cold, giving her an appraising look. "You're more skilled and powerful than I'd assumed, it would seem. However, I'm still not worried. But it would be a waste to lose a fighter of your caliber. Especially these days, with the Ginyu Force dead and Avo and Kado deserted. We are seriously short on high level warriors."

"A job offer?" the girl asked, arching an eyebrow. "I don't know if I should be flattered or offended, but either way the answer is no. We came here to stop you, not to help you."

"That's too bad." Cold said with a shrug. "If you wont join then I suppose I have no choice but to be rid of you." With that the Changeling raised his arm and pointed a palm toward her. The girl tensed, showing the first sign of concern since arriving in the canyon. The boy, however, stepped between her and Cold and she relaxed.

"Sorry, but your fight isn't with her." he said. "It's with me."

"Her, you, it doesn't matter to me. I can be rid of you both with just the one attack." replied Cold, though he made no further moves to launch such attack, but neither did he lower his arm.

The boy shook his head. "You've ignored the number one rule of any fight, know your enemy. You don't know anything about us, but you've made some pretty big, and costly, assumptions. You're too arrogant for your own good, so sure of your superiority."

"And why shouldn't we be?" laughed Frieza. "We are the strongest beings in the galaxy!"

"Are you?" asked the boy. "As an Oozaru, King Vegeta would have both of you severely outclassed, and on Namek you did lose to a Super Sai-jin."

"Why you..!" Frieza growled, but before he could say or do anything more Cold spoke, at last lowering his arm again.

"You are well informed, aren't you?" asked the Changeling.

"Like we said," began the girl. "We know all about you."

Cold shook his head. "If you knew as much as you think you do, you wouldn't be here now, thinking you could beat us. Yes, the Oozaru is an amazing transformation, one of the most powerful I've ever heard of, and the King would greatly out strip us in power in that form, but it is far too limited to really even be considered. A full moon is required, and a tail. Sever the tail or destroy the moon and no more Oozaru. Not much of a threat when you can disable the transformation quite easily, and doing so renders the Sai-jin unconscious, even if only momentarily.

"As for the Super Sai-jin on planet Namek, luck was all that allowed him to survive, though he did not truly win. Super Sai-jin is an even more impressive transformation than Oozaru, I'll admit, but it's still nothing compared to us. I can assure you, had it been I he'd been fighting things would have turned out quite differently."

"Oh? Think you could take a Super Sai-jin, do you?" asked the boy.

"Of course."

The boy smiled. "Well, how about we find out?" he asked. With that he clenched his hands into fists, hunched over a little, and then let a loud scream. The ground began shaking and cracking as a rush of wind blew out from him around the area. His hair began to flap up as a golden glow formed around him. His eyes went pure white as his hair flashed gold once, twice, three times and held. When the golden light faded the boy straightened up and raised his head to look at the two Changelings. His hair now stood up in golden spikes and his eyes were teal.

"What!?" cried Vegeta, eyes going wide in shock.

"He's... he's a Super Sai-jin!?" Krillin stammered, also wide-eyed.

"And a lot stronger than Gohan or I." said Bardock, equally surprised. "Who are they? I didn't think there were any other Super Sai-jins besides my family, or any Super Tanarians outside of Hotaru's family..."

Vegeta looked over to him and then back down at the boy, growling. "He can't be a Sai-jin. No Sai-jin has hair like that."

"Maybe... another hybrid?" suggested Hotaru. "One we didn't know about before. It's farfetched, but..." Her eyes shifted from the newly transformed Super Sai-jin boy and back to the girl.

Down below Frieza's eyes had widened in shock and fear as he recognized the look. The tyrant took a step back, and his father looked down at him and then across at the boy. "So then... this is a Super Sai-jin I take it?" He turned his head back to Frieza and frowned. "Get a hold of yourself Frieza, he's still just a monkey."

Frieza recovered and nodded. He couldn't act like a frightened child around his father. Especially not over some rotten Sai-jin! "Alright, Sai-jin, time for you to die!" he cried, lunging in at the boy and cocking back his metal fist. However, the boy suddenly vanished and Frieza's punch missed him. Frieza now stood a couple of feet in front of the girl, fist still outstretched from the intended attack, while the boy was now behind him and walking casually toward Cold.

"Sorry, Frieza." the girl said. "But he's not your opponent. I am. Itsutsu Kinryoku!" she cried clenching her hands into fists. Her orange aura exploded into brilliant silver as her muscles bulked up a little as well. Her hair blew about in the draft from the breeze created by the energy as she landed and smiled sadly at the tyrant before her. "Don't worry, I'm a nice person. I'll make this quick."

"Unreal!" Yamcha cried, eyes going wide, as he felt the girl's power skyrocket.

"She... she knows the Kinryoku." Hotaru stammered. "And she can use it while transformed, too... I can't do that..." Her eyes shifted back and forth between the two unknown fighters. "Just what in the world is going on?"

"They're incredible." Gohan said, wide-eyed. The girl wasn't as strong as the boy, but both of them were stronger than him, stronger than Bardock, stronger than Cold, stronger, even, than his dad had been on Namek.

Down in the canyon the boy continued walking toward Cold in the same relaxed pace as before the girl's sudden power spike. Ahead of him, Cold was scowling. Both at him and at the girl behind him. He wasn't sure what she'd just done but the color shift of her aura implied to him some further change to her current state, possibly some increase to her power. He wasn't sure how much power she'd had before, or how much she may have just gained, but he wasn't particularly worried. Not for himself, anyway.

These two held more surprises than he'd expected, but he could deal with any Sai-jin, super or otherwise, and there was no way a complete unknown like the girl could match his power. Still, it would be better to deal with this now, instead of risking it snowballing into something bigger down the line. He had nothing to fear from any Sai-jin, or anyone at all. His power was unmatched. But Frieza, however, had already struggled against one Super Sai-jin, and Cooler wasn't nearly as powerful as his brother.

In fact, based on what he'd seen the girl do after transforming, it was entirely possible she was already stronger than Cooler. Perhaps it was time to stop being so nice. He'd been too benevolent, too generous, too tolerant over the years. He'd been debating it ever since the probes had rescued Frieza from the ruins of planet Namek but now, witnessing the emergence of a second Super Sai-jin and the appearance of some unknown who might be stronger than Cooler, he made his decision. This visit to Earth would only be the first stop on a mission to cleanse the galaxy of all agitators.

First would be this boy, this girl, the Sai-jin Goku, and his friends and allies. Then they would travel to planet Vegeta and he would personally deal with the Sai-jin King and the Rondo, Pug, as well as any Sai-jin whose power, in Oozaru, surpassed a million. And then anyone else on the planet that attempted to resist them. After that, he would keep a tighter watch over the galaxy. Any powers, anywhere, that exceeded the one million mark would be eradicated. It was time to show the galaxy that no one challenged his family without severe consequences.

With those thoughts in mind Cold pushed off and lunged at his opponent, cocking back his left arm and gathering energy in his fist. He had no interest in dragging out this fight, he would end it now, before it even began. He would remove the Sai-jin's head with this attack and put an end to all of this Super Sai-jin nonsense. The boy didn't seem to give the Changeling's charge any consideration, however, as he continued walking forward at the same relaxed pace.

Cold reached him a moment later and swung his arm forward. The attack missed, however, and the Changeling's eyes snapped open wide in shock, and pain. The boy had ducked under the swing, drawn his sword, and plunged it up to the hilt into the Changeling's abdomen. Still holding the hilt of the sword the boy lifted into the air, twisted around, and then slammed the soles of both of his feet into the Changeling royal's chest.

The blow drove Cold back, sliding him off the sword and sending him sailing into one of the legs of his saucer ship, which cracked but held and stopped his backward momentum. During Cold's backward flight the boy had launched up into the air, raised his arms over his head, and quickly began to gather his energy.

Meanwhile, as Cold had lunged at the boy, the girl had grabbed hold of Frieza's still outstretched metal arm. Holding it firmly she twisted around three times and then pitched the startled Changeling up into the air. At the same time that the boy was plunging his sword into his opponent the girl placed her index and middle fingers against her temples. Frieza came to a halt in the air, a hundred feet up, at the same time the boy kicked Cold in the chest.

"Kuro Omoi Seichuu!" she cried, her eyes flashing. Frieza, who had just been about to lunge down at her, suddenly froze in place. The girl turned sideways to him and raised her right arm, pointing her open palm at where he floated. Instantly, blue and green energy began to flow up from the ground and from the air around her and gather in front of her hand. She knew she didn't have long before he could move, and dodge, again, so she quickly focused some of her own power into the forming attack as well.

Three seconds later, as golden energy bathed the ground from up in the sky, her voice rang out, "Wakusei Okaeshi Bakuha!" The energy in front of her palm swirled around and then flared out. A massive stream of bright blue energy surged up from the girl's hand and engulfed Frieza. The attack only lasted a moment and then faded away leaving no trace of the Changeling. As she changed poses, into the traditional Tanarian prayer for the lost, the boy's voice sounded from above.

"Finish Buster!" She glanced up in time to see him bring his arms down and launch the attack. The large ball of golden ki surged down toward the stunned King Cold, whose eyes widened as he saw it coming. It hit an instant later and exploded savagely, the blast obliterating both Cold and his ship. As the glare was still fading the boy dropped back to the ground to land beside the girl, his hair switching back to lavender and laying back flat on his head, and his eyes turning back to blue. The girl's silver aura faded and she flashed orange as she, too, reverted back to normal.

"No, no way!" Krillin cried. "They just... they beat Frieza and his father like it was nothing! It didn't even look like they were trying!"

Bardock simply nodded, stunned as well by how quickly the battle had gone.

"She said 'wakusei', didn't she?" Yamcha asked looking over to Hotaru. "Could she have learned that from Aiko?"

Hotaru shook her head. "I don't know... This doesn't make any sense. And how does she know the Kuro Omoi Seichuu? I invented it, and I've never taught it to anyone..."

In the canyon, the girl sighed. "I still wish we hadn't had to do that." she said.

"Couldn't be helped." the boy replied. "I know how you feel, but we're going to need every edge we can get. Besides, it's a lot better than the alternative."

"Better than the only one they left us, you mean." she corrected. "But not better than them leaving."

"You could have stayed home." he said. "I would have been ok on my own."

She shook her head. "No." she said. "I didn't want to miss this." Her eyes shifted to the right as she spoke, in the general direction of the ridge where Bardock and the others were still in hiding, but from her angle and position she still couldn't see the location.

The boy nodded. She didn't need to explain it any more than that. That single word, "this", carried so many meanings in that sentence, and he knew them all.

"So, which way?" she asked, looking to him again.

The boy brought his arm up and looked at his watch. "Alright, the tracer still works with the old satellites. Way to go Gramps. Let's see, we should head... about seventy miles... that way." he said, turning and pointing to the north east.

"Alright." she said, nodding, then turned to look toward the ridge where the others were at.

Krillin's eyes widened. "I... I think they know we're here..."

"Looks like we may have a fight after all." Appla said shifting her position a little.

"I don't know, I don't think so..." Piccolo said slowly.

"Hey!" the girl called up waving one arm while cupping her other hand around her mouth. "Hey up there! We're heading off to meet Goku!"

"Wh-what? Dad!?" Gohan cried, stepping out from behind his rock.

She nodded. "If you want to come, just follow us!" She turned then from the ridge to her friend. "Ready?" she asked. He gave her a nod and then the two of them lifted into the air and shot off to the north east, a light purple aura around the boy and a red one around the girl.

"Should we follow?" asked Yamcha.

"Of course we should." said Bulma. "How else are we going to get any answers?"

Piccolo smirked. "She has a point. Come on."