Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball Z.

Author's note: I'M SORRY! I really am. I fully intended to upload this a month ago but due to wedding planning (getting hitched March 2014!) I've not had much enthusiasm for anything, hence this chapter taking forever and a day as well as numerous knitting projects laying dormant and my copy of Storm of Swords gathering dust. But I'm beginning to emerge from my writing hibernation and I fully intend to complete this story by Christmas!

Chapter 24

In A Heartbeat

Trunks was getting more and more like his mother as he got older. He and Goten were on an alien world, the remains of the Saiyan home world glittered in the night sky above him and he was sat cross-legged on the ground, tinkering with his mother's Dragonball radar. Goten, on the other hand, was more like his father. He was bored, filled with nervous energy but still, he couldn't tear his eyes away from the debris field near the planet. His father had been born on that planet, sent away from it mere hours before it was destroyed. Gohan had told him about Frieza once. "What are you doing, Trunks?" Goten asked with a sigh.

"Hang on just a minute, Goten, I think….Got it!" Trunks cried. He reattached the back of the radar with a click and stood up. Goten walked over and looked at it as Trunks switched it on. It was blank for a second and then a blip appeared on the bottom of the screen.

"What is it?" Goten asked.

"I modified the radar," Trunks explained, "It was set to look for the energy given out by the dragon balls, but now I've changed it to pick up on any energies that stand out against the native stuff."

"So, a single Saiyan amongst all the people and plants on this whole planet?"

"Uh-huh," Trunks confirmed, clearly delighted with himself.

"That dot is really small," said Goten frowning, "We had better hurry."

Meanwhile, on Earth…

Appura and Gohan blended in with the crowd. They had become masters at hiding their ki. No Saiyan would know they were in the middle of a major city. After the events of the previous day, they had come to the conclusion that their fathers were not being held in any military prison. Which meant they were being held in a well-populated area, one where large numbers of people entering a single building would not be out of the ordinary. Central City had seemed a logical place to start. Even more so when announcements came over the big news screens around the city, requesting everyone make their way to the city centre. Gohan clasped Appura's hand tight. In such a huge jostling crowd it would be easy to get separated and just as difficult to find each other again without attracting attention to themselves. He could feel the tension in every single one of Appura's muscles, even the little ones in her hands were poised, ready to leap into action at a moment's notice. She'd been a tightly coiled spring since Kabu had disappeared. All she wanted was her baby back. And if Videl happened to be in the way, well, Gohan was pretty certain that Appura hoped she was.

They reached the main square. Gohan noted Appura's frown. He looked up. The big news screens were oddly blank. No further information, no video being played. Then he saw a huge stage set up on the western side of the square. His grip on Appura's hand tightened and made his way closer, weaving between the people also stood, looking at the stage.

He froze when he saw the armed soldiers stood either side of it, every instinct in his body screaming 'trap!' But he didn't dare turn around. It'd look suspicious and they wouldn't have gained anything. A hush fell over the crowd as three soldiers in dress uniform climbed up. Gohan tensed. Videl was one of them. She looked so weird in her uniform. He barely recognised as the girl he had saved from the falling tower, the girl he had once…but it didn't matter what happened in the past. She was now on the side of his enemy. The back of his neck prickled and he saw black dots appearing in the sky. Saiyans. Videl now stood on the right hand side of the man Gohan recognised as General Greed as six heavily armed soldiers walked onto stage, half-dragging three miserable-looking figures. Appura gasped next to him when the prisoners were forced to kneel on the stage. It was their fathers and Tarble. They were out in the open. If only the Saiyans weren't there, they could have grabbed them and been gone by now. But where was Kabu?

"People of Central City!" General Greed's voice boomed out, "There are those amongst you who doubt that the Saiyan menace on our planet is a real threat. Who doubt the Saiyan's are even real! Well, I give you three of them." He gestured dramatically at Vegeta, Goku and Tarble.

"The Princes Vegeta and Tarble and their cohort, Kakarot," he shouted, "Sent to this planet to destroy us, enslave us! They have taken human women to breed humanity out of existence." Gohan really wanted to punch Greed by that point.

"Apple Vee, is the daughter of Prince Vegeta, her music contained subliminal messages to make us sympathetic to their cause. The son of Kakarot attempted to seduce Videl Satan to get access to Hercule! Vegeta took Bulma Briefs as his mate to get access to the most successful corporation on our planet. Everything they have done has been to gain control of our planet. These three are the sons of rebels, who fought to oppress their own people and lost. Then they moved on to us. Now we have the ringleaders in custody, we need the foot soldiers. So far, they have evaded us and attacked our military sites, but not for much longer." He signalled to the soldiers. Vegeta was dragged to the front of the stage. He looked so weak and helpless. There wasn't anything about him that was the man Gohan knew. Vegeta's head hung like he was too weak to even hold it up right, his shoulders were slumped. Everything was telling Gohan that Vegeta was exhausted and couldn't even defend himself anymore. Appura's hand slipped from his grasp as one of the soldiers handed something to General Greed that looked like a cattle prod.

"But we will prevail! We will find the last of the Saiyan menace and send them back where they came from. We will find them by any means necessary. Any means." Another soldier pushed Vegeta's head forward so he was slumped over, his back exposed. Gohan realised what Greed was going for. The tiny lump that was all that remained of Vegeta's tail. Greed pressed the prod to it and Vegeta let out a scream, the only thing he had the energy to do. Tarble and Goku cringed as Greed prodded Vegeta's tail stump again. Vegeta's scream ripped through the crowd. Gohan could even see some of the humans were upset by what was happening but nothing compared to Appura. The blood had drained from her face and was dripping from between her fingers as her fingernails dug into her palms from her clenched fists. Her gaze was locked on the stage, at her father. Gohan moved in front of her, blocking her sight. His hands moved over her ears to muffle the sounds of her father's screams. Her eyes scrunched closed as she tried to ignore it. But it didn't work. She began to shake her head. It wasn't going to work. It had been a year of running, fearing for their lives, their son's life. This was the final straw. Gohan lowered his hands.

"I can't do this anymore, Gohan," she said softly, barely audible over Vegeta's screams, "I can't keep running. He's my father, I need to help him. We need to help them." Gohan nodded. He stepped away from her. They took to the air. A scream came from the crowd.

"That's enough!" Appura shouted down at Greed who promptly dropped the cattle prod. Vegeta slumped onto his side.

"No more! We're not hiding anymore!" Appura continued, "You've taken everything from us, our parents, our friends, our son. We've nothing left to lose now. You wanted us desperate. Well, you've done it!" A bang sounded from one of the buildings and Gohan grunted as a dart hit him in the neck. Appura looked at him. He gave her a wink and began to fall from the sky. It was the same stuff that their father's had been dosed with…but Gohan wasn't vulnerable to that stuff. It suddenly clicked for her. Gohan was faking to lull them into a false sense of security. She sped after him, catching him by the arm before he hit the ground. She gently lowered him onto the floor and stood over him.

A deep, booming chuckle made Appura look up as Kuda landed in front of her.

"Hello, Princess," he said, grinning, "You have proven most elusive. But, I'll be generous. If you can defeat me, I will free your friends. It should be interesting, a Saiyan Princess with no warrior training and a unconscious Half-Breed. Do you even know who I am?"

"Kuda," replied Appura.

"King Kuda."

"Not to me. The true Saiyan King died years ago. You're just an imposter!"

Kuda's grin vanished, his forehead crinkling as he frowned.

"We'll see about that," he said softly, standing up straight. He towered above Appura, who stood firm. She just hoped Gohan's plan worked.