Hello all! Here's the new chapter! It's the beginning of finals week for me so here's a chapter to tide you over for the next week or so. Lemme know what you think!

Enjoy!

Vegeta watched from his window as she vaulted over the back gate with ease, a scowl on his face. He had his arms crossed so tight across his chest, he could feel his ribs strain; he couldn't help but be anxious. After her ki had faded to just a vapor in his mind's eye, he nodded to Kakarot, who gripped his shoulder and placed two fingers to his forehead.

They watched from the trees as Kumi hurried through the woods, retracing her steps from the clearing, they followed her into a compound a few miles east. The prince was almost impressed at how easily she could find her way back, but his nerves outweighed his pride. She slid in through a small hole in the tall fence that surrounded the compound and easily navigated through the searchlights and guards patrolling in the grassy yard to a side door.

The two saiyans watched this with confusion; this child just snuck back into a base with the skill and ease of a warrior. Kakarot voiced this quietly to Vegeta, who only shrugged in return; how was he to know how she did it…unless…

"He knows she's here. It's a trap."

OoOoO

Kumi scurried across the metal hall, narrowly missing the patrolling guards as she turned the corner to a familiar hall and came to a familiar door. She pressed her hand against it and it eased open, surprising her. The room was dark when she walked in, it was quiet, but she recognized the old pink blanket on the small cot that sat against the far wall. She stepped towards it, "Momma?" she whispered, her small voice echoing in the dark room. She pulled the blanket from the old mattress and held it to her chest for comfort. Just as she turned to leave, she saw a figure in the doorway.

Suddenly, the door slammed shut and the room was filled with bright lights, and she cried out as it blinded her. Kumi tried to open her eyes to look around, but her vision was blinded with white lights; she could only see the shadow of a figure before her. It must be…

"Ahh! My eyes! Help me, Momma!" The girl cried reaching for her mother. A deep, masculine chuckle filled the room and sent chills down Kumi's spine; Mr. Red sounded just like that.
"Oh, I'm not your mother, Number 2156," A hand grabbed her by the backpack and began to drag her out the door. She struggled and escaped the straps of her bag, but another hand grabbed her by her long hair and pulled hard, "Behave yourself now, 2156. I may just let you see your mother, if you're a good girl."

Kumi screamed but allowed herself to be pulled out the door, tears streaming down her face, "Momma,"

OoOoO

Vegeta lunged for the gate that he saw the girl go through but the saiyan next to him grabbed his arm, holding him back, "Wait, Vegeta, we need a plan; we don't even know what could be in there."

The prince growled, "I don't care, I'll tear that Mr. Red limb from limb!" Goku nodded but didn't release him, "Look, I want to get Kumi back as much as you do! But you know we have to be smart about this."

At that, Vegeta shrugged off the other mans hand; he knew Kakarot was right, even though he'd never admit it. He glared at the compound before them, "Then what do you think we should do? Can you sense her ki and instant transmission to it?"

Goku looked thoughtful for a moment, "Yes, hang on." He shut his eyes and concentrated, "Got it!" Putting his hand on the other man's shoulder, he pressed his fingers to his forehead and they were inside the compound.

They appeared in a dark room with a small cot in the corner and a pale pink blanket on the floor. Next to it sat a small bookshelf with stacks of books, one read fairy tales across the cover. A metal desk sat in the other corner with papers and folders strewn across it haphazardly. On the walls were crayon drawings of stick figures with odd blobs of color and dolls lay abandoned on the rug. Kumi's ki was all over everything.

This must've been her room.

Goku walked over to the desk and began to sort through the messy papers. Vegeta's eyes remained glued to the drawings on the wall, particularly the one with three stick figures, two tall ones and a shorter one. The shorter one was obviously Kumi, with her black hair and green eyes and was labeled "me" with a little arrow. The two taller ones were on either side of her, one with blonde hair and green eyes and a bow in its hair; this one labeled momma. The other was drawn in red crayon and had black hair and black crayon where it's eyes were supposed to be, "Well that must be Mr. Red." He murmured, his fingers tracing over the drawing.

"Vegeta, you might want to look at this," The other saiyan called, looking through the documents. Vegeta walked over, snatching the paper out of Goku's outstretched hand, his eyes scanning the page.

Words like 'experiment' and 'DNA injection' caught his attention and, in disgust, he handed the pages back to Goku, "Hang on to these, the woman will probably want to look them over." Goku nodded and folded them up, sticking them in his pocket.

"If that document is anything to go by, we have to find the kid as soon as possible." Vegeta said, making his way to the door, feeling for her power level as he did. Goku nodded and followed him into the hallway.

A shrill shriek rang through the corridor, stopping them dead in their tracks, "Kumi!" Goku shouted, running towards the sound, Vegeta right behind him. The prince gritted his teeth as he ran, plotting the demise of whoever dared hurt a hair on that girls' head.

OoOoO

Kumi was dragged into a cold white room and hauled onto a cold metal table. She struggled and kicked blindly in the bright white lights as she was roughly strapped to the table. A cry escaped her lips as the leather bit into the skin on her wrists, "Help! Momma!" Kumi screamed as fresh tears fell from the corners of her eyes.

The shadow above her tsked, "Now, now, 2156. Is that how a good girl acts for Mr. Red? Don't you want to see your mother?", the chilling voice tried to sound soothing but failed. The girl whimpered quietly, her eyes shut tight as he put the cold electrodes on her body. She missed Veggie, he wouldn't let Mr. Red do this to her. He would make everything okay.

The doctor finished typing in some commands on the machine and tied a tourniquet on her left forearm. Kumi squirmed uncomfortably at the tightness but kept her mouth shut; she wanted to see her momma. She used to tell Kumi to be brave when she got shots from Mr. Red. She would smooth her hair away from her sweaty forehead and tell her soothing things. No matter how much pain Kumi was in, her momma always made her feel better.

Suddenly, she felt a sharp prick on her arm as the doctor injected the shot and white-hot pain bloomed from the spot. Kumi shrieked and thrashed against her bonds as the burning heat enveloped her body. Her screams turned inhuman as a deep growl tore itself from her chest and her vision went red. She felt her bones shift and expand and her teeth grow too big for her mouth. Her hand clenched and her nails extended into claws. A deep monstrous roar escaped her, and a shiver ran through her changing spine as she ripped herself from the straps holding her down. Her form burst through the clothes she was wearing, and thick black hair covered her body.

The creature leapt from the table and turned its' red gaze to the doctor, stalking towards him carefully, almost curiously, "Easy, 2156. Easy, girl." His voice shook with fear.

Vegeta and Goku crashed through the silver doors at that moment, scuffed from fighting though guards and scientists. The good doctor pressed himself against the wall as the two fighters entered the room, his eyes going between them and the small creature in front of him. The creature had stopped its' advance on him and turned its' attention to the newcomers; they smelled familiar.

The prince stepped forward, glaring at the man against the wall, "Doctor Redford, I presume?" he growled. Redford flinched at the dark tone and Goku looked around the room, taking in the overturned table and shredded bits of clothing before letting his gaze settle on the ape like creature. It was small, but it looked just like he and Vegeta had when they went into their ape form. He felt a growl rumble in his chest.

"Where is Kumi?" He snapped, making the doctor whimper and point a shaking finger at the creature. Vegeta's eyes went wide and he felt a red-hot rage boil up inside, "What have you done to her?!" he shouted as he flew towards Redford, grabbed him by the collar and punched him in the face, relishing the way the bones caved under his fist. The doctor screamed as blood bubbled from his broken nose and the prince threw him aside in disgust.

The creature roared at the sudden burst of movement and barreled towards Vegeta, slashing at him with her claws, catching him off guard. Goku lunged towards her, "Kumi, wait! It's us!" The creature turned and batted the saiyan away and into the hall like he was a toy ball. Vegeta groaned, feeling where her nails had raked at his middle and looked to where she was stalking towards Kakarot, "Kid! Over here!" Her head snapped in his direction and for a moment, he thought he saw a glimpse of green in her eyes.

She stopped when she saw the red staining his uniform, "Veggie…" the deep, gravelly voice sounded wrong coming from her. But as Vegeta struggled to stand, she took a step closer, "Veggie…hurt…I hurt Veggie." The inhuman voice sounded a little clearer and higher pitched. It sounded sad and it made the prince's chest squeeze. "Don't sweat it, kid. I'm okay." He gave her a small smile and stood, using the wall as a crutch. Kakarot had recovered from being thrown into the other room and slowly made his way over to Vegeta.

Her eyes snapped to the new movement and Goku was quick to hold his hands up non-threatening, "It's alright Kumi, it's just me." He kept his voice soft and calm. She took in his battered form and her eyes flickered green again, "Carrot…I hurt Carrot too." The deep voice sounded sorrowful but there was an angry edge to it. Vegeta caught Kakarot's eye; they couldn't afford to lose this much of her. She had to know they were okay, so they could calm her down. Goku nodded and gave Kumi a wide smiled, standing to his full height, as relaxed as he could be, "Aw, come on, Kumi! You couldn't hurt me! I'm the strongest there is! Haha!" He said and scratched the back of his head.

A small but deep laugh escaped the creature and it turned into a full-blown giggle fit as she flopped on the ground laughing. As she rolled around the floor, her form began to shrink, and her skin began to appear through the disappearing hair. Then there was just a giggling toddler rolling on the floor; a naked giggling toddler. The saiyans breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of her and made their way towards her.

She chortled as they approached, "Carrot, you can't be the strongest there is!"

Goku pouted at the jab, "What?!"

Vegeta smirked as he took off his shirt and slid it over her head to give her some decency. It was way too big, and the collar hung off her shoulder, but it was better than the remaining shreds of clothes that lay scattered on the floor.

Once she was covered, she threw herself at Vegeta hugging him tightly, "I'm sorry, Veggie! I'm sorry I ran away!" she muttered into his neck. He rubbed her back, holding her just as tight, "It's okay, kid. You're safe, that's all that matters." Goku ruffled her hair and she giggled, looking up at him. She leapt up and into his arms, muttering the same apology to Kakarot, Vegeta assumed.

He scanned the room for the crumpled form of Dr. Redford, finding him in the corner of the room crawling to the safety of the back door.

Vegeta crushed the man's fingers beneath his boot, grinding them into the floor, "Where is the girls' mother?" He shouted over the doctor's pained scream.

Redford's eyes snapped up at the question and gave the prince a hysterical, bloody smile, "2156 doesn't have a mother, she was a miracle." A growl escaped Vegeta and he grabbed the doctor by his throat, pushing him against the wall, "Where is she?"

The previous fear in the doctor's eyes disappeared and an odd confidence replaced it. Developing a professional tone, Redford said, "Experiment 2156 was artificially designed in my lab 5 years ago, the only parents she knows are myself and the other scientists."

Taking in this information, Vegeta turned to look at Kakarot who was keeping Kumi occupied; he'd kept the pink blanket from her room and she was cuddled with it, asleep in his arms. They nodded to each other and Kakarot walked into the hall with the napping toddler, "Give us one reason why we shouldn't destroy you and this entire lab."

Dr. Redford visibly swallowed, "You seem to care for her, would you destroy the only cure for the serum I injected her with?"

Vegeta grip on his throat tightened and he slammed him against the wall again, denting the metal, "Choose your next words carefully."

The doctor coughed and said, "Through that door are the experiments that came before 2156." He weakly pointed at the door he had been crawling to. Vegeta's hold on the doctor didn't falter as he drug him to the door. The scratches Kumi left on his chest pulsed with every movement but he pushed through it as he kicked open the door.

The room was dark but the sound of rattling cages and inhuman roars and growls met his ears. Vegeta stopped cold, a hot rage burning through him as the doctor uttered the words, "These are my children."

A red button glowed next to the door that read 'Cage release' caught his eye. In the dim lighting, he could make out the various cages that held small ape-like creatures like the one Kumi had been. But they were deformed in different ways, some were slumped in their cages, some whimpered as others roared and growled.

'She could've been them,' was the only thought in his mind as he tossed the doctor into the middle of the room and slammed his hand on the release button. The cages slid open and for a moment everything was quiet.

Then, the experiments descended on the screaming Redford as Vegeta slammed the door shut. He shivered at the thought of Kumi being in one of those cages, being a mindless creature. Kakarot walked around the corner as the prince turned away from the door and raised a brow at the distressed look on his face, "You okay, Vegeta? Where's the doctor?"

Vegeta nodded absently, "Don't ask. Let's just get out of here, we should get the kid back." Kakarot shifted Kumi into his arms so he could instant transmission them outside. The toddler nuzzled her face into Vegeta's neck and grumbled in her sleep; a ghost of a smile graced his face as they teleported outside of Bulma's house.

Hopefully you all enjoyed! I wanted to make Kumi a truly original character instead of being like a long lost sayian kid, thought it was an interesting idea to explore.

The next chapter will probably be the last one, but you guys will have to wait a week or two, I got finals and projects and stuff this week and then I still need to finish writing it and editing and yada yada.

It's all very exciting.

Until Next Time Lovelies,

~Shikamaru'sLove