Acia was not happy.

Things had been going well for nearly two months. She was really starting to get the hang of telekinesis, even able to move Dende and Chiaotzu, whom she had befriended against his will, at least a little bit. Training with Piccolo and Goku had taught her a lot, and she could feel herself getting stronger. Working with Bulma was fun too – although their first real conversation had been tense, since then they'd been getting along really well. Bulma had taken it upon herself to introduce the Saiyan teen to the world of 'girl talk,' as she called it, and the social norms that governed life on Earth. She was really popular with the younger children for reasons she could only guess at. Bulla and Marron seemed to love training with her, Goten hugged her every time he came over, and even Trunks had started to warm up to her after she'd let the kids touch her tail. Acia had been adamant that it was not going to happen, but the four curious kids had worn her down with weeks and weeks of constant nagging. Eventually she'd given in, allowing each child a small pet to her furry appendage. Even Vegeta didn't seem to be as insulted by her presence as he once was.

Then Gohan had shown up.

He'd come one day with Goten and Acia, seeing her chance, had cornered him as he came out of the bathroom.

"What?!"

"Kami!" she'd hissed at him. "Who is he? And how did he remove your tail?"

"Oh." He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Kami used to be the Guardian of Earth." Acia's eyes widened. "I don't know how exactly he got rid of my tail, but…"

"Wait," she interrupted, "now you have a different guardian." Gohan nodded. "What happened to Kami? Is he dead?"

"Oh no! It's actually kind of a long story – he fused with Piccolo."

The color completely drained from her face. "What?"

"Piccolo and Kami used to be the same person," Gohan explained, "but they'd split into two separate entities. Then about nine years ago they fused back together."

"So Piccolo is Kami?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"And he has all the same powers as Kami?"

"I guess so."

So many emotions surged within her – confusion, anxiety, fear – but finally she settled on the one that was most familiar. Anger.

Her next visit to the Lookout had not gone well.

"I don't care how strong any of you are, if anyone so much as touches my tail I'll kill them where they stand!"

"Acia, please calm down!"

"I didn't even think Namekians were capable of such deception!"

"No one deceived you, you little brat! You never asked any of us about Kami. If you had we would have told you."

"I should have razed this place to the ground the first time I got here! But better late than never!"

"Oh my."

Eventually Piccolo had been forced to restrain her, and she'd screamed bloody murder and some very graphic threats as she fought against his hold. Finally Dende and Chiaotzu had managed to talk her down, making everyone at the Lookout vow that they would never harm her tail. But ever since that incident almost a month ago, Acia had isolated herself. There would be no more reminiscing about Bain or Quelda or Base 469 with anyone, she decided. There would only be training, work and more training until her parents finally came for her.

And so Acia was not happy. She was angry and frustrated and lonely, and Bulma was holding another one of her get-togethers which would only serve to highlight to Acia just how angry, frustrated and lonely she felt. And where the hell were her parents already?!

"Hey Krillin!"

The former fighter looked up to see his best friend's eldest son high in the sky, waving at him. He was followed closely by his brother and Nimbus carrying Goku and Chi Chi.

Krillin gave him a big smile and waved back as the family approached.

"Gohan!" Marron squealed excitedly as she jumped up and down.

As Gohan and Goten landed on Capsule Corp's front yard, Trunks and Bulla came running out to greet their friends.

"Hey guys!" Gohan said as the kids swarmed around him. "Where's Acia?"

Gohan had visited Capsule Corp. a few times in the two months since he'd decided to observe the Saiyan girl, and he could tell that Acia was deliberately avoiding people – she didn't seem to want to talk to anyone older than Trunks. Dende had told him about her outburst over Kami at the Lookout and, although she continued to train with Piccolo, she was barely speaking to any of them.

"This is all my fault. I'm so sorry Dende," Gohan had said to the Guardian as he rubbed his head sheepishly.

Dende smiled at his friend. "No Gohan, you mustn't blame yourself. There was no way you or any of us could have known she would react the way she did." He sighed sadly. "It's just disappointing because I thought she… Oh well." He shook his head.

Gohan took the opportunity. "Why are you guys all so interested in her anyway? Is it because you think she'll change like Piccolo and Vegeta?"

"Everyone has the capacity for good within them Gohan, don't you think so?"

"Of course!" Gohan said hurriedly. "It's not that I don't think she can change. But I mean, eventually her parents will return and she'll go back to her old life. I don't think there's anything any of us can do about that."

Dende had only smiled sadly at that. After a moment he squeezed his friend's hand. "Don't worry yourself about this Gohan. Fate will play its cards soon enough."

But Gohan 'Personal Responsibility' Son was determined to contribute to whatever rehabilitation program the Guardian was trying to implement for the Saiyan girl, and Bulma's latest party would provide him with the opportunity he needed to help.

As they made their way inside, the gang was greeted by Bulma and the always cheerful Mrs. Briefs, followed closely by Acia in a short, loose-fitting green dress.

"Acia!" Marron cried, running towards the girl and wrapping her arms around her, burying her face in her stomach. To Gohan's surprise, Acia put a hand on the little girl's head, smiling at her in amusement. Marron looked up. "I'm gonna fly today!"

Well, he thought, at least she's still getting along with the kids.

"I doubt it," the older girl responded. "Our lessons start today, but I don't know how long it'll take you to master the technique."

Eighteen glared at the girl. She wasn't thrilled with her teaching style – tough love would be a generous description – but Marron seemed to be enjoying her lessons and was very fond of the teenager. Krillin had suggested that it was because Acia reminded Marron of her mother, and Eighteen had decked him.

"How have your lessons been going Mar?" Gohan asked as the rest of the adults made their way to the kitchen.

"Watch this!" The little girl cupped her hands together, concentrating hard. Slowly, a small ball of blue ki began to form in her hands. The eight-year-old lifted her hands triumphantly to show him. "See!"

A smiled tugged at Acia's mouth. It was, of course, pathetic – that little thing wouldn't even scratch her – but nonetheless it was a major improvement over what the girl had previously been capable of. And it was all because of her efforts! She swelled with the sense of achievement; this must be why Bain had taught her so much.

"Wow Marron, that's amazing!" Gohan praised.

"Alright, let's go," Acia said, motioning towards Bulla to join them as she led Marron towards the backyard.

"I'll come too," Gohan said as he made to follow them.

"Aww, come on Gohan!" Trunks groaned. "I thought we were gonna play!"

"Why do you want to come?" Acia glared at him.

"Well," he said carefully, "Bulla already knows how to fly. What's she going to do while you teach Marron?"

"She will meditate." Behind her, Bulla moaned in protest.

"Hey B," Gohan said, looking over Acia's shoulder at the little girl, "how 'bout I spar with you instead?"

Bulla's blue eyes widened. "Really?! Wow Gohan, that's awesome!"

Gohan smiled at Acia, who was wrinkling her nose in disapproval. "It'll be good training for her," he said.

Acia said nothing, instead turning on her heels and marching to the backyard.

Gohan and Goten exchanged a look. "You suck Gohan," Trunks complained. "I haven't seen you in ages, and you want to play with some dumb girls instead of us."

"Aww, come on Trunks, don't get mad. You and Goten should come out and spar with us." Gohan smiled at the boy.

"Yeah Trunks!" Goten exclaimed. "It'll be fun."

Trunks pouted. He was clearly outnumbered, and he wasn't used to going along with other people's plans instead of his own. It's all her fault, he thought glumly as he followed his friends outside.

Acia glared at the little blonde girl standing in front of her, eyes closed. She was poking around in her mind, trying to see if the girl was really concentrating as she had been told. It was something she did regularly when training Marron and Bulla – it was just too hard to resist, and she figured since she wasn't actually controlling anything, just looking, it would be fine. Besides, it was the only way she could make sure the girls were clearing their minds and focusing on their energy as ordered.

Marron was currently thinking about unicorns. Acia didn't know what those were, but they clearly had nothing to do with the task at hand. She reached out and smacked the little girl upside her head.

"Ouch!"

"Concentrate on your energy!" Acia yelled.

Some distance away, Gohan watched the exchange out of the corner of his eye as he blocked Bulla's enthusiastic attack. Gosh, he thought, is she always like this?

Marron's brows furrowed as Acia poked around in her mind until she was satisfied, pulling out after a few minutes. The girl was finally doing what she was told, and Acia could feel her energy building.

Several minutes passed.

Marron opened her eyes. "I can't do it."

Acia bent down into her face. "Well if you can't do it, then why," her voice began to rise, "are you wasting my time?"

Marron squirmed under her gaze. "I want to learn…"

"Then stop whining." Acia straightened herself again. "Try again." Obediently, Marron closed her eyes and concentrated on her ki.

After some time Acia slumped onto the grass, stretching her legs out. Clearly this was going to take a while. She should've brought a book – currently she was in the middle of one called 'Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus,' which she'd mistaken for a historical account of the origins of the human race. It wasn't, and Acia was both fascinated and horrified that people were actually willing to provide such intimate details of their personal relationships. Humans were a strange bunch.

"Hey!"

Acia looked up to see Gohan standing next to her, with Bulla and the boys behind him. "We're going to go inside and get something to eat. You guys wanna take a break?"

Marron opened an eye. Acia kicked at her. "She's not going anywhere until she can get off the ground."

Gohan sighed to himself. He couldn't help but think back to the time he taught Goten and Videl how to fly. This was very, very different.

"You know," Gohan suggested, "maybe a gentler method would get better results."

"When I require your advice I will inform you," Acia snapped.

"I taught Goten to fly, and I taught a human girl too."

"When I require your advice," Acia repeated through gritted teeth, "I will inform you. Now go away!" She glared at them. "You're distracting her!"

Gohan looked over at Trunks, who shrugged at him. This was pretty much par for the course for Acia's training sessions. Well, Gohan thought, I bet her parents were really tough on her. Besides, the man who'd trained him had started off by throwing him at a mountain and then abandoning him in the wilderness for six months, and he'd only been half Marron's age. And gods only knew what Vegeta did to Trunks when they were in the Gravity Room together. In comparison, Acia was a huge softie.

"You can do it Marron!" Goten cheered.

"GO AWAY!"