Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Second Chance ❯ Chapter 2

Second Chance

Chapter Two

By nycscribe46

Vegeta stated with just as much conviction, "That's impossible. The only Saiyans left are myself, Trunks, and Kakarot's offspring. And what led you to that conclusion?"

Aki approached Bulma with caution, and asked, "What is a saiyan?"

Bulma replied, "Saiyans are a race of people. And I wouldn't just say that as a guess. There are certain properties of your blood cells that strongly resemble saiyan blood cells. In particular, the blood cells that someone would have if they were only part saiyan. That's why your blood looks like Trunks'. Can I ask you a question, Aki? What do you know about your parents?"

Bulma couldn't help but feel for the girl. She looked so pale and skinny, she was hardly a threat to anyone. Vegeta still glared at the injured girl, as if daring her to try something.

Aki decided to ignore him, and attempted to answer Bulma's question. "My mother is-was-a member of the royal family of the Eastern Empire. She is dead. She was in self-exile before that. She never told me anything about my father, at least not directly." She hesitated. Bulma urged, "Go on. What did she say, indirectly?" Aki continued, "She told me a story when I was young.

'There once was a prince whose entire planet was destroyed, and all his people lost. He felt as though he had failed, and guilt consumed him. He fought senseless wars and destroyed millions of lives in an attempt to forget the past and begin a future of dominating others. Finally he had his vengeance, when he was able to kill that which had taken his people and his land from him. The prince sought redemption at last, and wished to spend the rest of his life searching for peace. He found a new planet, and tried to fit in among the royals there.

His riches attracted the attention of the king, who sought the prince as an ally. The prince was not eager to join this king, for he had sworn to forsake war altogether, with nothing to fight for. The only reason the prince remained was the king's daughter. She was kind and forgiving and cared nothing of the prince's money or past. She only wanted him for the future, a future they would build together. They met in secret, until the prince felt he was ready to try and strike a deal with the king.

He would give the king everything he had in exchange for his daughter's hand in marriage. The king refused. Apparently the prince was good enough to attend court and supply the king with goods and services, but not good enough for his daughter. He called the prince a barbarian, from an extinct planet of barbarians, and ordered him to leave.

The prince was angry, but knew better than to try and argue with a king in the middle of his court, surrounded by guards and soldiers who would kill him if the king ordered it. He instead appeared to leave amicably, and left a message with a trustworthy palace servant for the princess. 'I will wait for you.' She must have known what he meant, for within two days she was gone. Rumors abounded. He was dead; she had run off with him, they were both dead. No one knew where they had gone. The king sent out search parties until he received a letter on stationary that could be found only in his own rooms.

It was unsigned, but as he knew the handwriting, a signature was unnecessary. It said simply, "I am with child. Would you want me now?' He ordered the searches to cease. He had no more use for his own child, for she could no longer be married off to the highest bidder. The princess waited in a small village far from her father's land. She never heard from the prince again, but she knew that he would have returned if he could. So she concluded that he must have perished. She raised his child as best she could, and never forgot him.'

That is where my mother ended her tale. I was unsatisfied, and asked her what happened to the princess after that. She told me that hopefully the child ate her vegetables, trained until she was as strong as her forefathers and went to bed on time. My mother never told me anything without a reason. I was not a particularly stupid child, or very gullible either. The story was too similar to my mother's own life for me not to realize that this was her way of telling me about the past. It's what fueled me to fight in the first place, trying to regain what she had lost, in terms of her status as rightful ruler. Since I was old enough to understand, she was trying to prepare me for the day when I was to go to the palace and take the throne.

Unfortunately, my training had to be put on hold when the rebels threatened to overthrow the government. Mother insisted that she use her powers to help defend against the rebel army. I agreed, thinking that if she were to be seen using the power that only the highborn and those in power had, the government would have to acknowledge her as the rightful ruler. Most ignorant people talk of witches and sorcery and other such nonsense, but really, it's ridiculously obvious that since the beginning of civilization on our planet, a more advanced race of people evolved and sought to rule over the less powerful races, and over time, selective breeding guaranteed that only those in power possessed the energy. It's really just a coincidence-"

Vegeta interrupted her ramblings. "This energy you spoke of. Do you possess it?" Aki thought for a moment before answering. "I'm not nearly as powerful as my mother was. All I can do is fly, maintain shields and repel energy attacks. And only weak to moderate ones at that. She was teaching me more, but she was-" Aki bit her lip. "She was killed by the rebel army. That was three years ago." Bulma tried to comfort her. "I'm so sorry, Aki. So you've been on your own since then?"

Aki nodded. A day didn't go by that she didn't curse her mother for teaching her nothing but defensive tactics first. She always insisted that it was better to run and live to fight another day, than to fight and go down in a contrived blaze of glory. But Mother, Aki thought, that's exactly what you did. Sent me ahead to breach security and infiltrate the commons, leaving the armory wide open for you to sabotage. It should have worked. But instead, you were ambushed, and rather than leave, you destroyed them all. And died in the process. And where are we now? What was the benefit of your actions? Tell me, Mother. Tell me!

"What's wrong with you, girl?"

Vegeta was beginning to get annoyed. That child had been staring at him with anger and frustration in her eyes.

Aki blinked. She hadn't even remembered the other two people in the room. But there was no point in demanding answers from a dead woman.

"I-I'm sorry."

Bulma saw Aki's discomfort. Well, anyone who had been under the scrutiny of Vegeta that long deserved a break.

"Let's get you something to eat." Bulma took Aki's arm and led her out of the lab.

"No, I-" Aki started, then stopped. What was the point? There was no conceivable way for her to get home to a lost cause. What was she fighting for? She might as well take advantage of the woman's hospitality for as long as it was there.

"Never mind."

Bulma tried not to laugh. She could read the girl's emotions like a book. She didn't want to take anything from Bulma, even though she had nowhere to go, and no way to get there. Then that must have crossed the girl's mind, and she shut up immediately. Very similar to the way someone else had reacted to Bulma's hospitality a few years ago. Well, Aki had certainly brought a fascinating new concept with her. A device that could transport one, seemingly instantaneously, to another world. Amazing.

Vegeta followed them to the kitchen, a few steps behind. He could sense the girl's energy. It was high, in human standards. Higher than Krillin's, to be certain. But low for a supposed saiyan. She obviously had not been training very hard. He was sure that she had felt his energy. She was almost immediately intimidated, but not by his scowl, that he was certain of. So she could sense ki. The story was a little off. He didn't know what to make of it. Bulma was obviously convinced, at least enough to have invited the girl into their kitchen. But then, there was the blood. That could not be faked. But how? How could she be a saiyan?

Bulma stopped at a small room just off the hall that they had been walking in.

"This is not the kitchen, woman."

"I know that, Vegeta. I'm getting something."

She came out with a device that was about the size of a child's practice ledger, or chalkboard.

Aki looked at it curiously.

"What is that?"

"Hopefully, we can use it to figure out where you're from. It's kind of like a map of the known galaxies. At least, the ones I know."

They went into the kitchen, where Mrs. Briefs was making Trunks a sandwich.

"Hey Mom, you think you can make a few more of those?"

"Sure! Who's this?" Mrs. Briefs tittered and waved at Aki.

"This is Aki. She's going to be staying with us."

Aki kept her eyes on her own feet, saying nothing.

At least until we can figure out who she is and where she came from, Vegeta thought.

Aki seated herself next to the purple haired little boy who was engorging himself.

She almost felt bad for the sandwich.

Trunks looked up at her and smiled with a mouthful of food.

"Hi!"

"Hello."

Trunks was sure that this was the same girl that fell out of the thing. Except now she was wearing one of Mommy's doctor coats, and shoes. And her face was clean. He swallowed his food, and asked her,

"So how did you get up there in that thing?"

Aki wasn't sure how to answer him. He was only a child, after all, and curious, just like she was at his age. She decided to tell him the truth.

"I got into a fight that I couldn't handle."

"Oh. My dad says to be prepared for anything. You should have trained harder."

Aki felt the side of her mouth tilt upward in a mirthless smile.

"You're right. I should have."

She knew who this boy's father was. He was standing right behind her, watching her every move. It wasn't disconcerting. It was actually familiar, almost comforting in its familiarity. Being constantly measured was something she was used to. Her mother used to do it all the time. She had to; they were in a war, and she needed to be sure of what Aki could and couldn't do, and how she could be used. But why was this man acting in this way? It must have become glaringly obvious by now that she was not going to harm his family. Her power level was insignificant compared to his; even if she wanted to, she couldn't dare attempt anything even remotely hostile towards any occupant of this house. A plate was placed in front of her.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, dear. Trunks, would you like another?"

The boy nodded enthusiastically.

Aki started to eat her sandwich, and then it hit her.

"Aki's a saiyan."

"That's impossible, the only saiyans left are myself, Trunks, and Kakarot's offspring."

"…There are certain properties of your blood cells that strongly resemble saiyan blood cells. In particular, the blood cells that someone would have if they were only part saiyan. That's why your blood looks like Trunks'."

The only saiyans left…

Aki stared at the innocent looking child sitting beside her. He had inhaled another sandwich and held out his plate, waiting for more. His grandmother was currently serving his father though. He would have to wait a bit longer. He must have an incredible metabolism; he would need one, to sustain all the energy Aki felt coming from him. He was far more powerful than she. He probably could have beaten her mother, and made a sport of it.

And he was only a small child.

His father was training him to be as powerful as himself.

His father…

She would see to it that she received his training as well.