The next morning Sitara woke up to the sun. Blinking, she opened her eyes. Her head was leaning against Piccolo's right shoulder. She couldn't remember resting her head there.

"Good morning." Piccolo's voice reached her ear. Hastily she detached herself from him and brushed her hair back. Sure enough, it looked all tangled. Hopefully she didn't have the folds of his cloak against her cheek. Quickly she covered the lower half of her face with her left hand.

"Morning," she mumbled, scanning her surroundings to make sure she didn't have to look at Piccolo. She had a feeling he was grinning.

That was when she spotted Gohan. He had just picked himself up and was peering cautiously down over the edge of the cliff. Whimpering softly, he took a few steps back again.

"Aren't we going to get him down?"

"No!"

"But how else is he going to ...?"

"He'll be fine on his own," Piccolo barked at her. His tone brooked no argument.

Sitara considered for a moment. "Then can I at least cook him something to eat?"

"Don't you dare."

Sighing, Sitara stood up. The blanket Piccolo had conjured up for her during the night slipped off her shoulders as she did so.

"But I'm going to eat something now, if that's allowed." She knew she sounded like a little offended child, but she didn't care. She didn't give Piccolo a chance to say anything back and flew off to her hut.

Sitara did not return to Piccolo, who sat unchanged on the flat rocky outcrop, until sunset.

"Have you been sitting here all day?" she greeted Piccolo. Her mood was much better after she had eaten something and done some strength exercises in the afternoon. She had not liked sitting for so long.

Piccolo just nodded.

"Has anything happened?" Shaking his head was the answer.

Sighing, Sitara sat down next to Piccolo again. This was going to be another long night.

When the sun had fully disappeared from the horizon and it was getting dark, she began to shiver again.

"You know you don't have to shiver, right?" Piccolo looked down at Sitara. He was right. The weak energy shield that protected her from the cold was still there too, but she still felt cold.

"I know. Somehow..." She hesitated to say it. It sounded absurd even to her. Piccolo waited patiently. "It's like the cold is coming from inside," she said softly, looking to the side. Piccolo would surely start laughing in a moment.

"It's not surprising. You learned things yesterday that probably wouldn't be easy stuff for anyone."

Sitara looked at Piccolo again, who was looking her straight in the eye. He didn't think she was crazy. Sitara felt a slight warmth forming inside her. As if by itself, her mouth twisted into a smile. Piccolo smiled back and leaned towards her slightly. He grasped her hand. Goosebumps spread all over her body. Her cheeks seemed to glow.

Piccolo leaned even closer when suddenly a deafening scream rang out to them.

"What the...!" Piccolo jumped to his feet. Sitara followed only a blink later.

Gohan had , there was now a huge ape. Instead, there was now a huge ape. He towered several yards high, baring his teeth and glaring around from red glowing eyes. He drummed his fists on his hairy chest and let out another scream.

The rock could not withstand the weight of the ape and collapsed beneath him. Boulders came loose and the monkey tumbled onto the plain. He landed on his feet and seemed unharmed. Instantly he began to destroy everything in his path.

Sitara could not believe her eyes. Where had this monkey come from? And where was little Gohan?

"The moon!" exclaimed Piccolo. At Sitara's questioning look, he continued speaking. "Raditz told me that Saiyans only show their true powers when the moon is full."

"So you're telling me that this..." she pointed a finger at the destructive monkey, "...is the little boy who wanted to go back to his mama?" Incredulous, she looked again at the huge animal.

Instead of an answer, Piccolo gathered energy and hurled it at the moon, which disappeared only moments later. The rocky plain now sank back into darkness.

The shape of the monkey shrank. Its hair disappeared, its face reshaped. Gohan lay on his stomach on the ground. Completely naked. He did not move.

Sitara flew to him and took him in her arms. Relieved, she realised that the boy was asleep. She looked at Piccolo, who now landed beside her. "Now the earth no longer has a moon," she remarked dryly.

"Better than the peck destroying the whole planet before the Saiyans arrive," came the equally dry reply promptly. Piccolo grabbed Gohan's back and ripped off his monkey tail with one tug. Sitara looked at him indignantly. "That's the key to this transformation. Better not let it happen again."

Somewhat reluctantly, Sitara agreed with him. "Can you at least give him something to wear?"

"A suit, like his father. Only with a different detail." Piccolo grinned as a battle suit appeared on Gohan's body, the same orange as his father's suit. Instead of the mark for "Goku", the mark of the Demon King was noted on his chest and back. A sword was also lying on the boy. Carefully Sitara laid him under a rock overhang so he could sleep there for the rest of the night.

"I will make a beautiful demon of him yet," Piccolo said as they turned away from the boy. Sitara rolled her eyes and rose into the air.

"Where are you flying to?"

"Home. I'm going to put some food down for Gohan."

Piccolo didn't protest this time.

The boy had woken up confused the day after the transformation and had wondered why he was no longer on the rock, but he had come to terms with the situation surprisingly quickly. He taught himself to hunt and also used the sword. He even managed to start a fire and roast his food. Sitara was proud of him. Piccolo would not admit it, but she could see that he was also amazed at the little one's progress.

Almost half a year Gohan had now spent alone in the wilderness. At first, Piccolo and Sitara had checked on him every day until they increased the intervals and now only checked once a week to make sure he was all right. The rest of the time they practised their skills. The boy had moved quite far from their forest by now, but had not yet encountered anyone else.

Piccolo had announced that he would start the actual training the next day. After dinner he set off to fetch him. He was to spend the night with them so that they could start training at first light.

After Piccolo flew off, Sitara was seized by a restlessness she could not explain. She wandered up and down by the fire, racking her brain for an answer. She walked to the river, squatted down and looked at her reflection in the clear water. She touched her left cheek.

That was it! Determined, she jumped up and ran deeper into the forest, away from the waterfall.

After a few yards she found what she had been looking for. Her capsule. It was barely recognisable among the plants that overgrew it. Nature had taken back what had belonged to her. She created a small ball of energy in her hand, released it from her palm and let the ball float above the capsule. Now that the moon was no longer there, it was pitch black in the forest. But she could not and would not wait until tomorrow to examine the capsule.

Carefully, Sitara pulled at the branches and grasses to free the capsule. She gulped when she could see the capsule in its entirety. The crack that went through the entire vehicle illustrated the force of the impact. It seemed like a miracle to her again that she had not been more seriously injured or even killed in the crash.

She grabbed the two ends of the crack and bent it further apart. The sharp-edged metal cut into her hands. She felt no pain and proceeded with determination. When the crack was large enough, she pulled the energy sphere closer to her to illuminate the interior. She saw a padded area where she had probably sat during the flight. On the side were several buttons and knobs. On the other side of the buttons, on the side facing the ground, she saw something flash in the corner of her eye and reached for it.

Her hands trembled and her breath caught. She touched the object. The glass visor was a different colour, but it was clearly the same device Raditz had been wearing. Sitara stumbled a few steps away from the capsule, tripped and fell. Disgusted, she looked at the device. The discovery took her back a few months, when she had crouched beside Raditz's body, full of anger and grief. Now, however, another realisation hit her: she was a Saiyan. She had been sent to Earth to destroy it. She was a monster.

Full of despair, she cried out. She still couldn't remember anything, but her finding left no room for speculation. She had murdered and tortured and destroyed. And certainly she had enjoyed it. So how could she be here on Earth? She was a danger. She had to leave. But she couldn't. After the scream of rage, all her strength seemed to have gone out of her and she sank down. Tears ran down her cheeks and she began to sob. She shook and wrapped her arms around her upper body, unable to do anything but sit there.

A warm breeze brushed her, then she took in Piccolo's scent and energy. He stood in front of her, saw the scouter and immediately grasped the situation. Then he saw her bleeding hands, her stained suit. He knelt in front of her, tore pieces out of his cloak and wrapped it around her hands. He took Sitara in his arms and pressed her against him. She sobbed, unable to utter a word.

Piccolo sensed her distress at their connection. She had realised that it had been her task to destroy the earth. That this realisation had hit her like a blow was all too understandable. He could imagine what was going on inside her. To have a predetermined fate as a killer and to fight against it was not at all strange to him.

With the trembling Sitara in his arms, he walked to her hut, opened the door, entered her small bedroom and sat down on the bed with her. He leaned against the headboard, Sitara still on his lap. The closeness between them was so familiar to him, even though there had been little touching outside of training over the past few years. Without giving it any further thought, he stroked her arm. She closed her eyes and leaned her head against his shoulder. Gradually the trembling became less until it stopped altogether. Her breathing became calmer and deeper until Piccolo was sure she had fallen asleep.

Motionless, he sat on the bed with her, breathing in her scent and thinking about all the things that were buzzing around in his head. Why had Sitara come to earth? What happened if she could remember? Would Gohan be able to control his power? What was Kami planning to do with Goku? Would they be able to defeat the Saiyans? What would happen to Sitara if he could no longer be with her?

The last question made him swallow hard. He searched his father's memories, but found nothing there that even remotely resembled that feeling. Fear of losing someone. His father had only had underlings, no allies and no confidants. They had only done what he wanted because they were afraid of him. Piccolo could have taken that path too, but with Sitara by his side he had experienced so many other things.

Just before sunrise, he carefully laid Sitara on her bed, tucked her in and left the hut. He didn't know how he would react if she woke up, so he preferred to avoid it altogether. Besides, he wanted to meditate a little more. Maybe that would bring some order to his thoughts.

At dawn Sitara awoke. The memories of the night slowly came back. Her hands were bandaged, her suit dirty and bloodied. She had found a scouter. She was a Saiyan. A killer. A monster. She felt herself drifting back into panicked thoughts and tried to calm herself. Breathe in, breathe out. Deep and even.

After a few breaths she stood up and left the hut. By the river, Piccolo knelt and drank. Sensing her presence, he straightened up. Indecisively, she stopped a few steps in front of him.

"Are you going to kill me now too?" Piccolo's eyebrows shot up in astonishment. She immediately followed up with the explanation, "Because I'm a Saiyan." Piccolo's shoulders began to vibrate. When Sitara looked up, she saw that he was laughing. He was making fun of her. Angrily, she wanted to turn around and disappear back into the hut to indulge in her self-pity, but Piccolo held her by the arm and forced her to turn towards him.

"Sitara, do you actually think you are a threat to Earth?" She shrugged weakly. "When I allied myself with Goku, I first listened to the conversations held between Goku and his friends for some time. According to this, Goku came to Earth as a child to destroy it. He was found by an old man in the mountains and adopted. But he showed very aggressive traits, which made it almost impossible for the man to take care of him. Until one day he fell and hit his head hard. Since that day he was like changed. Apparently, it made him forget his Saiyan past and his mission."

"Well, I apparently fell on my head too because I don't remember anything, but what if my memory comes back and I ..." she couldn't say the words.

"If that happens, we will deal with it," was Piccolo's reply. He was still holding her tightly. Gently he put his free hand to her chin to lift it. Her eyes swam with tears as she looked up. He sensed her fear. "You're not a monster like Raditz. Do you remember what I called you? The woman who came from the stars and showed me the good. How can you have such thoughts when you may have even saved the earth? Who knows what would have happened if we had not met?"

Sitara floated up to bring their faces level. "You would have made it without me. You didn't want to become like your father."

She touched his cheek. Slowly he closed his eyes and leaned his head towards her hand. Sitara slowly brought her face closer to his. Should she dare?

Then a thought flashed through her mind. "Where is Gohan, anyway?"

Piccolo's eyebrows drew together. Was he upset? But the expression disappeared as quickly as it had come. "I didn't find him yesterday."

"What, and you're only telling me this now?" Sitara flew high above the treetops. "We have to look for him!"

"You haven't even had breakfast yet," Piccolo called up to her.

Despite the tense situation, Sitara had to grin. Piccolo just knew her too well.

"I'll have something to eat later. Now come." Without turning around again, she flew towards the mountains to the spot where she had last seen Gohan about a fortnight ago. Piccolo followed her.

As was to be expected, they were unable to discover Gohan. A search of the area where Piccolo had seen the boy just a week ago also proved fruitless.

Piccolo cursed. "Damn it. We have to find him!"

Sitara thought she heard not only anger in Piccolo's voice, but also concern for Gohan, that something might have happened to him. She landed and sat down on the ground. She propped her elbows on her knees and rested her head on her hands. Piccolo, who had only noticed after a few yards that she was no longer beside him, landed beside her.

"What are you doing here? We don't have time for coffee dates!" he blaffed at her.

"I'm thinking about where Gohan might have gone. There's no point in flying around headless." She paused, then spoke more to herself. "A four-year-old boy who's been alone in the wilderness for six months. Where could he go?"

Piccolo paced back and forth. Sitara realised that for the first time they had swapped roles. Otherwise it had always been she who had paced impatiently while he had sat quietly, seemingly untouched by anything.

As if stung by an insect, Sitara jumped up so suddenly that even Piccolo, startled, took a step to the side. "I've got it!" she cried.

Piccolo looked at her questioningly.

"He's certainly gone to his mother's."

"But he shouldn't leave the area and ..."

"...concentrate on training. I get it," she interrupted the green one. "But he's a little boy who was feeling lonely. We need to fly to her house." Sitara ran a few steps, then pushed herself off the ground and flew a few yards before pausing in mid-air. She looked to Piccolo. "Uh, do you know where she lives?"

Piccolo had to grin. He closed in on her, took her hand and gestured for her to follow him.

They flew over another mountain range and soon reached a small house that stood at the foot of the range. It consisted of a small wooden hut that had been extended by a much larger dome-shaped structure. Behind one of the windows Sitara noticed a black-haired woman standing at a cooker preparing food.

"This is Gohan's mother, Chichi," Piccolo informed her quietly.

Gohan's mother raised her head and looked outside as if something had caught her attention. She stared at the nearby edge of the forest for a moment, then shook her head and turned back to her work.

Sitara now looked around to search for the cause. That was when she spotted Gohan. He was standing at the edge of the forest and seemed to be fighting an inner battle. For every now and then he took a step forward, only to step back again. Sitara tapped Piccolo, who was still looking towards the house, and pointed at Gohan. She was unable to suppress the look didn't-I-told-you-so.

Piccolo wanted to confront the boy directly, but Sitara held him back and gestured for him to be quiet. They watched the boy for a few more minutes. Then finally he seemed to have made his decision. With clenched fists and tears in his eyes, he turned away from his parents' house and ran into the forest.

Sitara and Piccolo were waiting for him. Piccolo's cloak fluttered in the wind. He had his arms folded in front of his chest and wore his usual grim expression. Sitara had her arms hanging down and was looking kindly at the boy.

"You have a mission to fulfil. Do you remember what it is?" asked Piccolo of the little boy.

"Yes." Gohan replied in a firm voice. Sitara marvelled at the determination the four-year-old showed.

"Then go back and train."

Gohan nodded and walked towards the two. Piccolo turned without another word and flew off, while Sitara walked towards the boy.

"Come, I'll take you on my back. We'll go back to the plain where we left you alone in the beginning."

Hesitantly, Gohan took her hand. Sitara swung him around so that he landed on her back.

"Hold on tight!" she called to him and flew off.

She landed with Gohan next to her hut in the forest. There was no sign of Piccolo. Gohan let himself slide off her back and looked at the surroundings. The waterfall that plunged many yards from the cliff edge and flowed into the glistening riverbed, the dense forest that cast a beautiful play of colour with shadows and light on the ground and finally the hut he pointed to.

"Do you live here?"

"I live here. Piccolo lives..." Sitara thought for a moment, "...mostly in the cave." She finally said, pointing to the waterfall. "Come, I'll make us something to eat first."

She set up the fireplace, built the pot over it and gathered the ingredients. Gohan helped her. In no time it smelled pleasant and she heard Gohan's stomach grumble. Her stomach was also craving food. Leaving without breakfast was never a good idea.

They sat down by the fire and ate in silence. When the greatest hunger was satisfied, Gohan said, "This tastes almost as good as my mama's."

Sitara smiled at the compliment. "Thank you." She filled her bowl of steaming stew again, then said, "You've done very well on your own in the wilderness. I'm sure your father would be proud of you."

Gohan nodded briefly and then looked sadly at the ground. His eyes glistened with tears. She put a hand on his shoulder. "I didn't mean to make you sad. Your father will be back here soon, when his friends have found the Dragonballs."

"I know," murmured the little guy, who suddenly seemed so much older than when Piccolo had taken him for training.

They chatted some more. Gohan told her that it was his dream to become a scholar and that he would therefore learn a lot, that his mother could be exhausting sometimes and that his father always wanted to train. At some point, the little man's eyes became heavy. Night had already descended on the earth again.

Sitara helped him to get up and led him into her hut. She laid him on her bed, covered him and stroked his head on impulse.

"Tomorrow we will begin training," she said softly.

Gohan only made a sound of agreement. Sitara looked at the boy for a moment more, then turned out the light and left the bedroom. She stepped outside again and breathed in the fresh night air deeply.

Piccolo sat by the fire and looked over at her.

"Are you spoiling the boy?" His question sounded harsh.

Sitara couldn't stand it when he talked to her like that. Furious, she stomped towards him, reared up in front of him and hissed, "It certainly won't hurt the training if he's well fed and slept in. Unlike you, he needs food and sleep. And by the way, I can't bear it when you talk to me like that!" Her eyes flashed with anger, then she crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked demonstrably in another direction.

Piccolo remained silent for a moment. He had never witnessed such an outburst of anger. She was not playing it. He sensed her feelings very clearly about their connection. Then he cleared his throat.

"Please forgive me. I'm sorry."

Sitara's tension eased. "Okay," was all she said and sat down next to him. "How do you want to do the training?" she asked now reconciled.

They spent the rest of the night working out a training plan. They agreed that Gohan would sleep in Sitara's hut at night so that he could regenerate after the training days and have regular meals with her. Sitara agreed that she would then miss training time during the day by preparing the meals, but she would make up for it in the evening when the boy was in bed.

At some point Sitara's eyes fell closed and her head sank to Piccolo's shoulder. She no longer saw the smile on his lips.

Half a year remained for the fighters before the arrival of the two Saiyans. While Goku was still on his way to king Kai after a detour to the Princess Snake and Hell, Krillin, Tien Shinhan, Yamcha and Chiaotzu had climbed the Korin Tower to train with Kami.