A/N: As Promised here is another chapter, I hope you guys are enjoying the story thus far. now that i'm spending more time on it i feel like i can finally get this ball rolling hahahaha. Hopefully i'll have another chapter within the next week ^_^
Previously: "We need to talk woman!" Max sighed "Look Vegeta, now is not the time. If its about last night don't worry about it. I egged you on, and besides its not like i was hurt! As to the rest of the questions you may have they will simply have to wait until my mission is over. i'm not ready to talk to you about my parents, myself, or anything else you might want to know. I'm trying to stay calm right now and not punch you in your ugly ass face, but if you continue to push me on the subject i'm going to have to beat the shit out of you." Max then walks out, leaving Vegeta befuddled behind. *WTF* is all that is running through his mind.
Chapter 7: A Friendly meeting
Bulma smirked to herself as she watches Max walk out the door. She looks to her husband and barely suppresses a laugh at his bewildered face. "Well," she begins haughtily "it's about time someone sets your arrogant ass straight, other then myself of course. Now, why don't you go and take the kids to school while i clean up. Unless you would much rather do it?" She turns to look at the empty place where her family was sitting a second ago. "HAHAHAHA! No surprise there. Well time to get started.
After 30 min of washing dishes and wiping down the table, Bulma was all set to go to her lab and start on her daily work when she heard the door bell ring. "Wonder who that could be?" with a sigh she begins to walk towards the front door.
She opens it to find none other than Gohan and Goten at the door. Bulma smiles brightly "Hey there boys, Whats up?" Before Gohan can open his mouth Goten yells out excitedly "CAN I GO PLAY WITH TRUNKS?" "OH i'm sorry Goten. But since its Monday he and his sister have already left for school. You can come back later this afternoon if you want." Bulma said apologetically. Goten frowned and went in to play with Professor Briefs many pets. Gohan watches his brother take of, shaking his head he says "Actually Bulma, that's NOT why we are here." Bulma can tell its something serious and beckons him inside. Once they arrive back in the kitchen, Bulma makes some tea. Goten waits patiently for her to finish, they sit down and he began "There is someone here. We don't know who or where, or even what they want for that fact. All we know is that whoever it is, they are strong. And it has us all worried. The reason we are here today is because Dende believes the person who has landed on earth has landed in the area. Have you or Vegeta seen anything or heard of anything?"
Bulma thought long and hard before she answered "So, basically what your saying is we have yet ANOTHER alien among-st us? You don't know if they are evil, only that they are strong and that they are somewhere around here?" Gohan nods slowly. "I don't know about any alien, but we do have a new house guest. We found her a couple of days ago downtown looking for a hotel to stay at. Trunks has said she is quite strong, he said she has been working out with Vegeta in the GR. Oh and last night she took a punish from Vegeta through the walls and was laughing..." as she was speaking Gohans eyes kept getting bigger and bigger. "Where are they?" Bulma blinks "Oh well Vegeta should be back soon, he took the kids to school. But i don't know where Max went to." "Max? i thought you said she was a girl." "Oh she is! Don't be fooled. She just has a boys name, i think it might be short for something but she hasn't mentioned what yet. " "Oh ok. Well if its all right with you then, i'll wait for them to get back." "Sure sweety, how bout some breakfast while you guys wait?" Without another word, or even waiting for a response, Bulma got up and began making a giant breakfast for the two hungry Sayin boys.
In the Mountain region, Max is searching for the water source that she can smell in the air. She pushes through the thick brushes of trees, till she came upon a waterfall. She marvels at the beauty of the water, and becomes quickly homesick for Namek. Brushing past the sadness, she gets closer to inspect the area. Behind the waterfall she finds a cave, the walls are solid and thick and the waterfall was thick and strong flowing, enough to hide the cave from prying eyes and from anyone who might come across it. *Now all i need is the materials to make a giant door and to start building my own Gravity chamber*
Satisfied with the location, she begins to gather some fire wood. She caught some fish from the lake from which the waterfall flows into, and begins to fry them on a nice fire. Lost in thought, Max almost would have missed the power that was coming from the West. *The Dessert! There is someone there with a familiar life force!*
Whoever it was, they were not trying to hide. She could sense great power coming from there. Abandoning her meal, she decided to check it out. So she took off in the direction of the power she was sensing.
After 30 min of flying West, she came to a complete stop right in front of a Mountain top that was surrounded by water from all sides, almost as if the mountain itself was protected by a moat only of larger proportions.
She is frozen in place, amazed at her luck of finding a small piece of home here, on this underdeveloped planet. Staring at the magnificent man in front of her, she can't help but feel mesmerized. He exudes strength and confidence to such a degree that he makes her deceased fiance look positively weak.
After what seemed like hours, but was only minutes. The man spoke in a harsh tone, filled with so much disdain in his voice that she could hardly suppress a shiver "Who are you!? What do you want?"
"I'm Max. I sensed you from miles away, i was rather impressed with your strength that it drew me near. I must ask however, what is a Namek doing here of all places?"
The mans eyes became slits as he narrowed his sight on Max, "What do you know of the Namek?" Max smiled for the first time since she landed on this planet "Actually i know plenty, I grew up on Namek. I haven't been back in a long time, so seeing you makes me feel calmer then i have since i landed on this rock. Whats your name? I gave you mine, its only fair that i get to know your"
"Piccolo" "Don't play me for a fool! I know that Piccolo is the Namekian word for Open!" "Hmph, is that so? It also happens to be my name, and i should tell you that I am from this miserable rock and don't in fact speak Namekian." Piccolo and Max stare at one another for a long time, sizing each other up. When all of a sudden he smirks and Max burst into laughter.
"What brings you here? i have been to Namek once, its nice there. what could possibly make you leave that place?" Max shrugs "Honestly its a long story, and i'm not quite ready to share that tid bit of information. Lets just say i am on a mission and its brought me here. But i can honestly say, its a pleasure to meet you. I'm feeling a bit stressed, would you happen to be up for a bit of a training session?" Piccolo smirked and got into position for a training match. "Hope you can fight as well as you think girl, because i don't plan on taking it easy on you simply because your a woman." Max gets into a fighting stance of her own, smirking just as wide as Piccolo is "Oh no! I'm a woman? i had NOOOO idea! Well, guess i'll just have to show you what I've got then huh?"
Without any further banter, the two of them rush at each other, exchanging blows left and right.
Back at Caps Corp, Vegeta has arrived and sat down with Gohan to listen to the concern of the others. *No doubt about it, he is talking about Max. But i'm not done with her yet! I haven't received the answers that i need from her...however, Kakarot has a way with people. He might be able to get the necessary information out of her that she is clearly not willing to share with me*
Vegeta, after much consideration, decides to share some of the information that he has learned about their new visitor. "Well, i haven't learned much from Max yet. But i DO know that she is a capable fighter. She can suppress her energy Level so i'm not sure just how strong she is. She also said something about being on a mission, which has brought her here. Yet, we cannot confirm if she is the 'Alien' you have mentioned as she looks like anyone from around here"
Gohan thinks about the information he has been given so far. "Where is she? I would like to meet her, possibly take her back to Dad and Dende."
Bulma shakes her head "We don't really know, she left this morning like i said earlier. OH! She did asks about some locations near by, something she could use as a Base of Operations. Ummm i think she said something about wanting to go check out the Desert. she mentioned the ocean and a cliff so i'm guessing it'll be in the West. Vegeta why don't you go with him?"
Before Vegeta could snap at her for trying to boss him around, AGAIN, Gohan and him both looked to the West as they felt two strong powers rise. Gohan is the first to break the silence, "One of them is Piccolo for sure. But i have no idea who the other power source is. Vegeta?" He nods, "Yea, that's Max"
Without another word they both rise up from the table and run out of the yard before taking flight and going in the direction of their energies.
Once they arrive, they are both struck silent as they watch both Piccolo and Max fight.
Piccolo is rather impressed by the woman's capabilities. *For a female she isn't bad, though i can tell she is holding back. Same as me of course but still, i find it rather frustrating.* They both stopped to catch their breaths after having shot off a few energy blasts, both are slightly bruised but with nothing too severe. Max smiles as she wipes a little blood off the corner of her mouth. *YES! This is exactly what I needed! A good workout*
Just as she was about to launch for another attack she realized that they were being watched by Vegeta and another person. Piccolo looked in the direction she was looking in. "Vegeta. Gohan." They both nod and begin to land, waiting for the others to follow suit. "Max. This is Gohan, and he has some questions for you"
As Max listens to Vegeta, she begins to put herself back on guard. Hardening her facial expression, crossing her arms, and standing strong and tall. She looks at Gohan and looks him up and down. Gohan, being polite and friendly as always, holds out his hand in an attempt to shaker hers "Nice to meet you Max. I'm Gohan." He smiles and waits patiently for Max to reach out to him. Max however, doesn't trust him. She looks at Vegeta, who just glares back, and then she looks up to Piccolo. There she saw a sliver of love towards the boy, he notices her looking up to him and gave a small nod. So, she grabs his hand and gives it a tight squeeze. "What do you want from me?" Gohan is taken aback by her brusque way of speaking, *Reminds me a LOT of Vegeta, in fact...she looks a little like him. She even has the same hair style...*
"Well, i was hoping to ask who you are and where you come from? But before you answer i would like you to come back with me and meet my father and we can discuss your intentions here further. What do you say? I promise we don't bite." Gohan then smile his most charming smile, one that has gotten him far before. Max however just raises her eyebrow in a high arch, much like Vegetas, and just scuffs. "Piccolo, a little help here?" All eyes turn to the Namek, while he looks shocked "What? Why would you think i have any sway over what she does or doesn't do? We just met an hour ago" "OH! Ummm ok Vegeta?" Vegeta just returned a look similar to Max's, "Your kidding right? This woman hasn't done a damn thing that i have asked her to do, so why on earth would she go just because i suggested it?"
"Well, not that this hasn't been fun...but i'm out." Max begins to walk away, when she overhears Piccolo ask Gohan "What would Goku want with her?"
Max stops in her track. *GOKU! HE SAID GOKU! GOHAN IS GOKUS SON?* Max turns around and stares at Gohan with renewed interest. She smirks, and walks back to them. "You know what, ok fine. I'll see what your father could possibly want with me. I'm not making any promises though."
Max goes through her check list once again, making a few adjustments and skipping over a few
To Do list:
1: Locate map (check)
2: find a new secure location (check)
3: Begin building new HQ
4: Gather Materials for GR
4.5: Meet Goku! (soon)
5: Gather information on Goku
6: study Goku
7: kill Goku
8: return to Namek
She could sense that everything was bout to fall into place! Yet, she had to dampen down her excitement, for she didn't want the others to know what she had planned. Gohan beamed "All right! Lets head out then, we should be able to make it back to the outlook in 2 hours from here."
Everyone took to the air and began to fly south.