Lifetimes

A DBZ Flash Fiction

The lonely hill looked the same it had for the past six centuries. Slowly the figure nearing it landed. She walked toward the top of the hill. Golden hair gently flittered in place as she stood there. She looked at the grave there, and she gently touched the headstone. She came here every single week. It had been daily, but a promise had made her cut it down to once a week. She smiled at the stone, remembering the one that laid in the ground behind it.

"I'm here," she said softly to the empty space, "I know that I should have been here earlier, but I had to stop and help with a few small situations."

She studied the old marble stone. Like the hill it had worn the centuries well. The name was kept in good condition, and it was polished. Of course that was because she polished it once a month. Moving she traced the name, brought her fingers to her mouth, and let the tips touch her lips. The sensation was almost like getting a kiss. She closed her eyes, "We've still got family," she said, her voice soft, "There's some overlap from both Vegeta and Goku. I don't think that you'd mind."

She laughed softly, "Actually, our great, great, great, a few more greats granddaughter is the spitting image of Seventeen. Well, without the nose," she said with a small laugh, "He's got his temperament as well."

She breathed out as she looked at the stone, "I know that I should be thankful that I've been able to see all of this," she said to the empty space, "I mean I've watched over our family, I've seen the rise and fall of multiple empires, and I've seen the return of an entire saiyan civilization."

She laughed softly, the sound was almost mirthful, but at the same time it sounded lonely and sad, "I've met others like me," she confessed after a few moments, "Other experiments done by Gero. I've even seen Sixteen returned to us."

She looked at the empty place before her, "I wanted to join you when Marron passed," she confessed as she sat there, "I wanted to join you so badly. I actually started looking for the strongest to fight. I thought that maybe if I was killed by something powerful, if I was acting to protect the world, then maybe I could go to where you were."

She laughed softly, "It was actually Sixteen that helped me," she said gently, "He told me that what he could remember of you was someone that valued life. That you chose to give us a chance instead of destroying us. He said that my actions would make you sad."

She breathed out, "He was right," she replied, as she gently touched the stone again, "He was right, and I hated him a little for it. Now, now I act to help protect the Earth, but I don't really feel all that connected to it anymore. I'm something of a reminder of a far more untamed time."

"There's stories you know," she said, a half smile crossing her face, "Stories about the heroes that helped stop the destruction of the world, stories about the dragonballs, stories about the legends that have long since passed."

She grinned as she looked at the headstone, "There's even stories about Hercule Satan, and how he rose to become one of the defenders of the Earth," she laughed at that, "Just think, that overblown egomaniac managed to become part of an actual legend."

She felt the wind, and it felt like a hand caressing her, "I miss your touch so much. I miss waking up to see you looking at me. I miss our bathes together, our little sparring matches, I miss all of it."

She grinned, "Eighty years together, and it was too short."

She looked longingly at the headstone for a few moments before she heard the sound of footsteps. There was no power levels present, and that meant that it wasn't one of their descendants or anyone else.

"I'm glad to see that it has been kept up."

She turned to look at her brother, "It's something that feels right to do," she replied from where she sat, "I was just talking to him, filling him on everything."

There was a slight laugh, "I'm sure that he would listen to every word. He practically lived and breathed you."

He smiled at her, "So, did you tell him that you've become a recluse?"

She looked at her brother and shook her head, "I told him that I didn't feel connected to the planet anymore."

He smiled at her, "He'd be upset that you don't want to be part of the world anymore. Especially now that there are ninja clans running around. Strange, they have far more control over their ki than most of the humans I remember, but they are limited pretty much the same way. Except for that one little blond haired boy. I swear, he is related to you and Krillin."

She gave a short snort at him, "The Hidden Leaf Village, right?"

He nodded, "Exactly," he replied, "It's funny, they don't know that I'm watching them, but then I suppose that if there was anything Gero did well it was design flawless stealth tactics in us."

She huffed at his name, "You know, I once wondered if I could have taken him to one of the labs, injected him with the nanobots, let him become like us."

"Would he have wanted it?"

She shook her head, "no," she admitted, "He'd want to let life exist exactly as it was meant to."

She stood, and looked at the grave again, "So, are you here to tell me that I need to cut back even more?"

She saw him shake his head, "No," he replied, his voice sounding a little more tense, "There's something brewing. I've seen it, and to be honest it has me worried."

She looked at him, "What is it?"

He looked at her, considered his thoughts for a moment, "There's someone that's able to bring back the dead, in a fashion, and he's binding them to his will. I don't know if he could do it to any of them, but there's a chance. So, we agreed that someone needs to guard their graves."

Her eyes narrowed, "They'd dare to touch him?!"

"Who is it?" she seethed, "Who?!"

He studied her for a moment, "He calls himself Orochimaru," he said, "I've had trouble tracking him, but it's very possible that he's as gifted as they say."

She looked at him, and then back at the grave, "I'll stand guard, they won't touch them, any of them."