"Telekinesis huh? That's interesting! It's definitely a useful technique."

Piccolo and Acia had agreed to keep the details of their training sessions to themselves, but Goku had shown up suddenly using instant transmission and caught them red-handed, so to speak. And so Goku joined their training sessions, and Acia began a new, more stimulating routine. Piccolo would pick her up in the mornings from Capsule Corp., since Vegeta still refused to allow her out by herself, and together they would fly to the Lookout where they would meditate for an hour or so. Piccolo was a lot like Bain, Acia thought, and not just in looks and propensity for meditation – it was that desire to teach, to pass on their knowledge and skill to someone else even if they weren't particularly fond of that person. Then Acia would attempt telekinesis, and later she would spar with Piccolo or Goku, who would show up later in the day. Sometimes Gohan would come along too, although he spent all his time chatting with Dende.

Acia was surprised to find that after a few days she had actually started to think of him as Goku, not Kakarot. The more time she spent with him, the less he reminded her of her father and the more he reminded her of…someone else, someone she preferred not to think about.

He was really starting to get under her skin.

One particular afternoon a few days into her new routine, Acia was going at Goku as hard as she could. Her movements were a blur and she was pouring sweat, her muscles burning with exertion. But she didn't care; she was going to shut him up if it killed her.

"That's right, come on!" Goku yelled encouragingly as he blocked her attacks. "Faster, you can do it!"

They had a little audience: Piccolo of course, but also Dende, , and Chiaotzu, who had been summoned by the older Namekian on pain of pain. Acia had done a little prying and learned that the small human, while one of the weaker fighters in the group, was an expert at telekinesis and often used it to his advantage in battles, and she had asked, then demanded to speak with him. "After all," she'd told Piccolo, "I've been at this for days and it hasn't worked; maybe it's not worth the effort."

Piccolo grumbled. He'd be damned if he knew where the girl got the idea that she somehow had the upper hand here, but he was not interested in dealing with another one of her outbursts.

Acia aimed a kick for Goku's head. Blocking it easily, the older Saiyan took advantage of the momentary lapse in the girl's guard and punched her in her now unprotected stomach.

Acia blinked. The world went black.

Acia woke up to Goku's concerned face hovering above her own. "Are you alright?"

The teen groaned as she lifted herself into a sitting position. A hand reached out to steady her elbow; she turned to meet the smiling eyes of Dende crouched beside her.

"I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to hit you that hard," Goku was saying. "Are you okay? Can you get up?"

"I'm fine," she said as she pushed herself onto her feet, making a mental note to ask Chiaotzu if it was possible to disembowel someone telekinetically.

Goku wrapped an arm firmly around her shoulders, steadying her still shaky movements, and Acia began unconsciously leaning into him, resting her head on his chest as he led her towards the palace and the waiting group, Dende following close behind. Suddenly she realized what she was doing and recoiled from him, pushing him away with one hand as she looked up into his friendly face, those warm eyes and that gentle smile…

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked softly.

Acia grunted in assent, pushing herself away from him and making straight for Chiaotzu, plopping herself next to him on the floor and bombarding him with questions, determined not to make eye contact with the Saiyan.

She was still asking questions when Mr. Popo announced that lunch was ready, and the group had trooped into the kitchen of the Lookout's palace. Several minutes passed in silence as Acia and Goku stuffed themselves, Chiaotzu nibbled at his rice, Dende looked on, amused, Piccolo looked on, disgusted, and Mr. Popo looked – well, like Mr. Popo.

"You know," Goku said suddenly, "you've been asking us all sorts of questions, but we don't really know all that much about you. You should tell us about yourself."

Acia looked at Goku as though he'd asked her to stand on her head and squawk like a chicken. "I was only asking Chiaotzu."

"Not true. Remember at Bulma's party, I told you all about how I met Krillin and Bulma, and Gohan told you about Namek."

Acia chewed slowly. "What do you want me to tell you?"

"What do want to talk about?" Goku countered, smiling encouragingly.

What should I do Finn?

What do you want to do?

"You remind me of someone."

"Oh yeah? Who?"

Acia swallowed. Had she actually said that out loud?

"Perhaps we should…" Piccolo began, but before he could complete the thought Goku reached out a hand and placed it on the girl's head, his fingers tangling in her thick hair.

A flood of memories swept over her, images she thought she'd locked away and buried deep down where they couldn't hurt her. A man, tall and dark with bright green hair. A tiny version of herself sitting in his lap on the captain's seat, pretending to pilot the spaceship and making whooshing noises while he laughed. Sitting in his lap again in the same chair, but this time she's a little older and he is teaching her how to fly the ship for real. Sparring with her, encouraging her, telling her she was great, really, strong, that with just a little more practice she'd be stronger than him. Defending her when her mother complained that she wasn't improving fast enough. Screaming at her father, cursing him, when she'd ended up in a healing tank after a training session got out of hand. Walking with her through a Queldan trading outpost, showing her all the different spices and foods, and then, when they got back to the ship, demonstrating how to cook with them.

And then him, dead, his body mutilated and dumped in front of their ship, a note left on him that said they were all next. Her father, looking like a part of him had died, gripping her shoulders, promising her that they would avenge him. But it didn't matter, she didn't care because he was gone and nothing they could do would bring him back…

Goku's hand slid from her hair to her face, his calloused thumb gently wiping the tears that were sliding down her cheek. "Oh man," he said softly, "you really loved him huh?"

Acia looked up into his dark eyes, those eyes that were just like her father's and yet somehow more like Finn's gray orbs in the way they seemed to smile at her, and felt a surge of some inexplicable emotion – the desire to scream, to cry, to throw herself into Goku's arms, to throw herself off the Lookout, to slap him, hurt him, scratch his eyes out…

Instead, the young girl slowly but deliberately moved his hands away from her tear-stained face. Turning to Piccolo she said, "I'd like to go home please."

"Yes," he agreed, "I think that's enough training for one day."

"Why don't I take you?" Goku was looking at her with pity and tenderness, and she hated it. But she'd lost the energy to object.

The group watched as Goku and Acia flew away from the Lookout. None of them had seen what Goku saw, but they'd all felt the fear, the anger, and most of all, the overwhelming sadness that had emanated from the Saiyan girl.

"That was…unexpected," Chiaotzu said when they were out of sight.

"Indeed." Mr. Popo was standing once again with his hands behind his back, his expression unreadable. "The girl has suffered and lost, but she is no innocent. Suffering can purify, or it can corrupt. Her fate remains to be decided." With that, he walked back into the palace.

Dende looked up at his fellow Namekian. "She needs a friend, someone to talk to. Perhaps Gohan…"

"Let's not drag Gohan into this. Why can't you be her friend?"

"I am," Dende said, tracing the grains of wood in his staff with his finger. "But she maintains a distance from me, I'm not sure why."

"So let Chiaotzu be her friend."

"Me?!" the little human squeaked. "Look, I agreed to help out with this telekinesis stuff, but that's it! Do you have any idea what this is doing to me? The last time I got this close to a Saiyan I died!"

"You go to Vegeta's house all the time!"

"Not alone!"

"Gohan is closer to her in age and in heritage than either of us," Dende interrupted.

"It's just not a good idea." But even as Piccolo swept away, his cape billowing behind him, he knew that with Goku involved he was unlikely to be able to keep his protégé away from the volatile girl for long.

Damn Saiyans, he thought to himself.