Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Some Life... ❯ The arrival of the flame-haired man ( Chapter 4 )

Vegeta's eyes snapped open as the pod's computer interrupted his state of suspended animation. The tinny sounding female voice of the unit alerted him, "Five minutes to planetfall on Earth." He checked his harness to make sure it was secure. He wasn't going to lie to himself-landing without a harness was not fun at all. Over the next few minutes, he looked out the portal of the pod, watching the tiny planet grow larger and larger until it encompassed the whole window, then as the ground grew closer and closer. "Thirty seconds to planetfall: please brace for impact," droned the computer. Yeah, I know the drill, he thought. Though it jarred him a little, it was a relatively soft landing. After detaching his harness, he exited the pod and stretched himself out, still a little groggy from the long days of suspended animation.

He looked out at the scenery of the area. He had to admit, it was rather aesthetically pleasing. Hills of bright green flora rolled out as far as he could see, and to his right was a forest of darker green foliage. He could hear the rush of a river off in the distance, and small winged creatures chirped merrily from the branches of the forest. Ok, this is a little TOO pristine. I'll probably end up destroying something just for the sake of livening things up a little. He chuckled a little as he walked back to his pod. Grabbing his scouter and some dry rations, he shut the pod, keying in the security code to lock it. He hooked the scouter over his right ear and eye and began munching on a nutrient bar as he checked for powerful life forms. From what he'd studied of this planet, the inhabitants looked very much like discolored Saiyans with no tails, but were comparatively weak in power. As he scanned the distance, he spoke to himself, "This planet is full of weaklings! It's a wonder no one's conquered it yet…" He kept scanning. Vegeta would be very disappointed, to say the least, if he came all this way to find that Bardock was not there. Let's see. A 200 that way. Impressive, compared to the rest of the population, but still not high enough for even a low-level Saiyan. His scouter beeped at him. 927, that's more like it! I'd heard Bardock was pretty powerful, though… He could be suppressing his power... I'll never know until I find out for myself. With that, he pushed the rest of the nutrient bar into his mouth and blasted off in the direction of the larger power level.

Kori waved goodbye to her friend Melissa as she started her jog out of town. Once she was far enough into the countryside, she took off, enjoying her routine flight home. She was wearing her shirt tucked in, so she decided to not worry about letting her tail out until she got home. This past week, she and Coach Ohm had been working on a new technique that allowed you to raise your chi while fighting. They'd had a particularly rough session on Wednesday and she found that the technique had gotten easier the next day. It seemed that whenever she got hurt, after healing her strength and speed would increase, depending on how bad the injury had been. She was also getting better at controlling her "chi blasts", as she had labeled them. She could change the intensity of the beam or the direction, or even fire small blasts rather than a beam. All in all, she was very pleased with her progress. And the Coach was learning right along with her. He had finally gotten the hang of flying, and since then, their sparring had gotten a lot more interesting. She flew along, thinking about how much progress she and the Coach had made since that first day. All of a sudden, she felt that familiar presence. She'd been feeling that it was coming closer and closer every day, but now it was finally here. She didn't know whether to be happy or scared of what was going to happen. She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't notice the figure to her left and slightly ahead of her that was matching her pace until she actually looked in that direction. What she saw then almost made her fall out of the air.

It was him-the flame-haired man, as she'd taken to thinking of him. She stopped abruptly, as did he, as though he anticipated the move. He flew closer to her, and she finally saw his face. He was the most gorgeous person she had ever seen. His face was chiseled, yet not hard-lined. His black hair was upswept and a few bangs fell forward on his forehead, but behind them was a rather pronounced widow's peak. His eyes were onyx, a reflection of her own. His royal blue spandex suit under the odd suit of armor she remembered from her other vision accented his perfectly sculpted muscles. Her breath caught in her throat, and a feeling she didn't recognize burned her insides. Her stomach did a somersault, causing her to shudder and feel weak at the knees. It's a good thing I'm not standing, cause I think I'd probably have fallen down. He hung there in the sky with his arms crossed, smirking at her. We're going to get in a fight… He wants to kill me! That feeling she'd had went away as her face hardened into a scowl.

"So, girl," he said mockingly. "You are the most powerful being this planet has to offer? I'm sorry if I seem unimpressed." Something in his voice told her he wasn't particularly sorry… "You wouldn't happen to know someone by the name of Bardock, would you?" He raised his eyebrow questioningly. Something tugged at the back of his mind. This girl looked so familiar somehow…

"No. Sorry," somehow it came out more curt than she'd meant it to. "I've never heard that name in my life."

"Too bad. I was hoping my trip to this planet wouldn't have been a total waste of my time. I guess I could still have some fun while I'm here, though." He chuckled and smirked almost menacingly. Before she could puzzle out what he meant, he flew straight at her, faster than anything she was used to. It was the best she could do to duck and block, but it didn't help much. A punch landed on her ribs, probably cracking one or two. I couldn't even see it! He's too fast! She tried to land a punch or a kick, but he blocked or dodged them as if it were child's play. He got in a couple more hits, leaving her bleeding and panting for air.

"You've got spirit! It's been a while since someone has tried this hard against me. It's just too bad you're not strong enough to give me a good fight," he sounded almost sincere on that sentence.

Kori decided this was the time to use her new technique. She concentrated on raising her chi. Combining it with the Kamehameha might stun him enough to let her get away or hide… or something. She pulled her hands back and started charging up for the blast. "Ka… Me… Ha…"

"What's this," he asked, sounding amused. His scouter beeped at him. "1400! I must have really gotten you angry!" He laughed openly now. He just stayed there with his arms crossed.

"Me…" Let's see you laugh after this, asshole! "HAAA!!!" She released the blast at him, channeling as much energy into it as possible. He hadn't anticipated a blast coming from her, so it hit him before he had time to dodge or put up his guard. YEAH! I HIT HIM!!! As the spots in her eyes cleared out, though, she saw what she thought was impossible. He was still there, though his armor was cracked a little across the chest, and parts of his suit were ripped. He… He didn't even need to block it… He's barely got a scratch, and that was my most powerful attack… I'm done for…

He smirked at her and laughed a laugh that chilled her to the core. "That was quite surprising! You really caught me off-guard. Even chipped my armor, and believe me, that's no easy feat." His expression turned to one of anger. "But I'm afraid it's time to end this." He was upon her faster than she'd ever thought anyone would be able to move. And suddenly she was hurtling towards the ground. The impact formed a miniature crater in the earth around her, jarring her to the teeth, and she struggled just to get to her hands and knees. She knew what was coming next. He landed next to her and formed his fists together like a club. "Such a pity," he mocked, "I never even knew your name," he chuckled. Then she realized how to get out of it. Her shirt had come untucked, and her tail was free. She reached back with it, grabbing his ankle and pulling his feet out from under him. Then she leaped onto him with strength she didn't know she possessed, pinning his shoulders with her knees and pushing her thumbs hard into his windpipe. He was obviously an expert at dealing with pain, for there was no yell or even noise of discomfort. But his eyes squinted and his face flushed out with the lack of oxygen.

Kori's tail flicked out triumphantly behind her, and she saw his eyes widen. He was trying to say something, but couldn't get it out, due to the fact that she was choking him. "WHAT," she roared at him. "Are you trying to cut me down once more before I knock you the hell out?!" He kept struggling to speak. He mouthed something but she couldn't make it out. His face was purplish now. She looked down into his eyes. Something in them was actually genuine, not cold and mocking as she had seen before. His eyes pleaded with her, stirred something deep within her, and she felt her grip on his throat loosen slightly. I… I can't do this… She let go.

And he threw her off, rubbing at his throat. He looked extremely pissed off, and she wondered for a moment if she'd made the right decision. Then he looked down at her and pointed behind her. "Tail," he rasped out. "You've got a tail. The inhabitants of this planet aren't supposed to have them." Not to mention you held me down when I'm more than ten times your strength… I wish I could've gotten a scouter reading on her while she was trying to choke me…

She seemed fairly peeved at that. "Yeah? So I'm a freak, so what? Is that all you wanted to tell me?" She'd never really spoken to anyone the way she was speaking to this man, but for some reason, she felt emboldened enough to put herself out on the line.

He didn't speak, but the belt on his armor slowly unfurled of its own accord and started waving in front of her face. "You have a tail. Which means you're not human. At least not all the way. Your hair is a human color. Your parents, do they have tails?"

She was so stunned at his tail. She wasn't alone anymore, she wasn't a freak. To him, she was normal. It took her a few seconds to regain enough composure to answer his question. "M-my mother… She doesn't. She's human. I… I don't know who my father is. My mother's never even told me his name. But she told me… She told me he had a tail. That's why I have one." She wasn't normally one to confide her secrets in people she didn't know. But for some strange reason, she trusted him with it. She got to her feet and looked him square in the face. "Who are you?"

What came out of his mouth was the last thing she expected. "Prince Vegeta. Your Prince. At least, half your Prince. I'd be willing to bet my title that your father was a Saiyan from the planet Vegeta, and further that his name was most likely Bardock. What happened to him, I do not know. That is what I'm currently trying to find out. Your mother may know. Take me to her, now."

Kori's face hardened. "Why should I? How can I know that you won't try to kill her for sport the way you did me?" She shot daggers at him through her eyes.

"Your mother will not come to any harm by my hand, you have my word as a Prince. And as for trying to kill you for sport, that was just to see how afraid I could make you. I would have knocked you out cold and been on my way, but not killed you. I'm under obligations not to start any commotion during my stay on your planet. You put up quite a good fight. It's not often I find people courageous enough to enter into battle with me," he said, no arrogance, just sincerity in his words. "Our people are a strong people, and widely feared across many solar systems. But, we too are being oppressed by a stronger being, Frieza," his face belied his rage at saying that name. "That bastard has enslaved us and used us as a means to gain profit for his empire. But I mean to put a stop to it. That is where Bardock comes in. He was a genius, and was inventing some things that could possibly turn the advantage against Frieza to our favor, but he fled our home planet years ago to complete his inventions in peace."

This was a lot for Kori to assimilate. Earlier today, she'd been a weird human, with a few problems that were very small respectively. Now she was half-Saiyan? And a galactic Emperor was enslaving her people? And her father was an inventor who came to this planet for peace? He continued talking, "Word is that he came here, to Earth, and that was the last we've heard. So I came here in search of him." He looked to her to see if she would buy the story. It was probably a bit much for someone who had lived on the same planet their whole life, believing that they were just a freak of nature. But he had been straightforward with her.

She thought for a few more agonizingly long seconds. He could be lying about everything… But why would someone fabricate a story so crazy, just to go and kill the person you made up the story for? And in the other vision, it seemed as if I was on good terms with him and that other one. I guess I should trust him, until he gives me reason not to. She let out a sigh, then, her face looking very determined, held out her hand to him. "I'm Kori. And I'll take you to talk to my mother. But she doesn't really like to talk about my father much. It upsets her. So if she starts crying, just leave her alone. Deal?"

"Deal. Kori… That name even sounds Saiyan." He looked down at her hand. "What do you want," he asked almost peevishly.

"Shake hands. It's the human way to seal a deal or to introduce yourself." She took his hand in hers and gripped it firmly, shaking it once. He gripped back, and grinned.

"Humans are very peculiar. We usually seal a deal by threatening the other person with death." The look of shock on her face was priceless to him. This culture is too nice. I'll have to teach her the ways of her people. "Take me to see your mother. I'm not a very patient person."

She just nodded and said, "Follow me," while pushing off into the air. He did just that, following just next to her and slightly behind.

Vegeta was getting more and more certain that she was familiar somehow. Her face… Where have I seen it before? KAKARROT! That's it! She's his half-sister… She looks like him, but feminine. He looked over at her discreetly, noticing her in a way he hadn't thought to when he believed her to be just a weak native. She definitely had Saiyan blood running through her veins. Her hair, though discolored, was spiked and disorderly, and her eyes were dark pools of onyx. She was strongly built, yet smaller and shapelier than normal Saiyan females, with a grace unnatural to the race. Her tail was waving out behind her, a light brownish hue with different shades accenting it in colors he'd never really seen before. He felt himself blush slightly and his stomach fluttered a little. Yes, she's definitely waaay more feminine than Kakkarot… He realized that his discreet look had become more of a stare when he nearly flew into the branch of some indigenous flora. He recovered quickly, cursing himself and hoping she didn't notice.

They soon landed in front of Kori's door, and she opened it, only to get tackled by her dog. She was weakened from her fight, so Donny actually managed to get her on the ground. Vegeta, thinking it was some kind of vicious wild animal, prepared to fry him to a crisp. Seeing him, though, she threw Donny off and stood directly in his way, spreading her arms to block his shot. "What are you doing, girl?! Move out of the way! That animal was attacking you, and I intend to dispose of it!"

She tried to contain her laugh. "No, it's ok, really… He's my pet. He was just excited to see me." She looked back to Donny, who pushed against her legs to get a better view at the newcomer.

"A pet? What for? For protection? He's considerably weaker than you, obviously…" He looked critically down at the canine, as if appraising a piece of machinery.

Kori allowed herself to chuckle a little. "No, he's just here to keep me company. And to lay on my feet to keep them warm." She bent down and ruffled his ears, receiving a lick on the chin in response. "That's right, isn't it, Donny?"

Vegeta looked at her as if she were insane. "Why are you talking to him? It's obvious he doesn't understand…"

She just shrugged. "I think he does, just not on a verbal level. Well, enough of this, you need to talk to mom, and I am also kind of anxious to see what else about myself I have absolutely no clue about." She turned and walked into the house, Donny at her left, and a very confused Saiyan Prince at her heels. She found her mother in the back yard, hanging wet laundry out to dry. "Hi mom. I… Uh, I'd like you to meet a… Friend. Vegeta."

Her mother looked up from her laundry to see her daughter, rather bloody, with some bruises forming on her face and arms, and her clothes ripped considerably. Next to her was a very handsome man with a very weird hairdo, but then she noticed his tail flicking out behind him, and nearly fell backwards. Kori grabbed her, holding her up. "What's the matter, mom? Are you allright?"

"He… He's a S-saiyan…" She pointed at Vegeta.

"Yes, that's right. And I'm surprised that you haven't told your daughter that she's one, too. Or half of one, at least. Am I correct in assuming that her father was named Bardock," he asked in the most polite tone he could muster. He was almost angry with this woman for withholding the girl's heritage from her.

"Yes. He hasn't been on this planet for a very long time. You're royalty, aren't you?" She pointed to the insignia on the left chestplate of his armor. "The King-that was why Bardock left your planet, to get away from the King and some guy named Freezer."

"My father, the King, is a horrible ruler, and Frieza is a tyrant who has enslaved half of the galaxy to do his bidding. A large faction of Saiyans and other races that have been enslaved by Frieza means to gather together and rise up against him. We believe that Bardock was in the process of inventing some technologies that could give us the advantage in the event of a war. Do you know where he is? Or where he went to?" He was actually very polite… It must have been the dignitary in him, for this woman could very well be the difference between the rise to power or the demise of his people.

"I can't tell you, because I don't really know. He left because some of Frieza's men came after him. He left a laboratory, though. I can show you where it is, but getting in is up to you. You may be able to find out where he went, or you may even find what you were looking for in there." She looked back at her daughter and realized how beaten-up she looked. "Honey, what happened? If you were human, I'd say you look like you got run over by a truck…" She remembered then, how much she had just said in the presence of her daughter that would probably come as a shock.

Kori's expression was, for the most part, unreadable. "So it's true, then. My whole life, I thought I was just a freak. And no matter how much I asked about father, you never told me anything. And now it turns out that I'm half alien, and the person who has to tell me doesn't even know me," her voice went up half a level as she gestured to Vegeta. Her mother made a move to come closer, opening her mouth to give a rebuttal, but Kori stepped back quickly, cutting her off, "No. Don't try to apologize… Just show me where the lab is, mother."

She's actually taking this rather well… A normal Saiyan would most likely have killed their mother were she stood, Vegeta mused. Kori's mother hung her head in defeat, and turned, walking rather quickly up the hill next to the house. Kori and Vegeta followed her, over the hill, following the small creek near her house for about a quarter of a mile until they reached a waterfall. There was a small cave on the cliff face near it, and just before they entered the cave, Kori's mother turned to them and said, "The lab's right in there. I'll let you see if you can open it." She turned back, walking home quickly.

Kori stood at the mouth of the cave, wanting desperately to go in, but also a little scared of what she might find. "What are you waiting for, girl? Start walking," she was ordered by a rather irate Vegeta. She scowled to herself, but started down the cave, nonetheless. At first the going was easy and straight, but after a couple hundred feet, it began to curve, sloping down lower into the earth. Soon Kori had to rely on trailing her hand along the wall to keep her on track. Vegeta, however, wasn't about to walk around this utterly foreign place blind. He held his hand out, palm up, forming a small ball of chi to light the area. Kori turned back, taking only a small moment to marvel at the idea chi could be used for light, then turned back to the path. With the light, they made it to the end of the path in no time. The only problem was, there wasn't anything there… Just a solid rock wall.

"Oh, great. What do we do now," she asked to no one in particular. She was just a little frustrated at being led on a wild goose chase. Seeing no other options, she pushed hard on the wall of rock in front of her. Surprisingly, a control panel opened out of the rock on her right. The symbols displayed on the screen were foreign to her. It's probably written in Saiyan. "Hey, Vegeta," she said, "see if you can make anything of these symbols."

He winced at being addressed so informally, but there would be time to adjust the girl's etiquette later. As Kori moved aside from the panel, he looked to the screen to see "Input access code" printed clearly in Saiyan. "It's asking for an access code. Do you have any idea what the code might be?"

"I don't know. Let's try my name," she said hopefully. Vegeta typed in the Siayan symbols for Kori. All of a sudden, the panel light up red, making a very loud buzzing sound. "That doesn't sound good…"

"Shit… It says we have one minute to input the correct code, or the lab will self-destruct. Is there anything you can think of that your mother has told you about your father," Vegeta asked, hoping to get an idea of what Bardock would use as a password.

"Mom hardly told me anything… What do you know about my dad from the people on your planet?"

Vegeta racked his brain for any useful hints. Kakkarrot! If it wasn't one child, maybe it was the other. No harm now in trying. Kori watched closely as he typed it into the computer. The computer panel turned from red to green, drawing back into the wall, and then the wall itself simply depressed and slid aside to allow them entrance. "Holy shit! How did you know what to put in," Kori asked in disbelief.

"Simple," he said, forgetting that they'd almost been blown up along with the lab. "If it wasn't your name, then I guessed it would probably be your brother's." With that, he walked into the dimly lit lab.

Kori stared after him, soaking up yet another tidbit of information. A brother? I've always wanted a sibling… "Wait a minute! I have a brother?! You didn't say anything about that before," she raised her voice to him while following into the laboratory.

"Be quiet, girl, and help me look around," he ordered, falling quickly into business mode. The lab was huge, as big as any he'd seen in his palace on Vegeta-sei. Equipment was everywhere, most of which he had no idea what it was or how it worked. The far back wall was filled with display screens. Kori, in awe of the sheer size of the place, kept close to Vegeta, wondering if he was making any sense out of all this… stuff…

As they approached the back wall, one of the screens whirred and flickered to life. On it was a line of Saiyan text, followed by what looked like a set of choices. For Kori's benefit, he read it out loud. "Encoded message ready for playback. Display?" He looked to her for an answer.

"Why not, there's no warning. Maybe it's my father," she said hopefully. Vegeta, proud at the girl's fearlessness, touched the lefthand choice. The display flickered again, and revealed a well-built man with a deep scar on his left cheek and spiky chunks of black hair exploding from his head. Looking directly at them, he said, "This message has been recorded in the event that a Saiyan ever finds this lab. Freiza's men are on to me, I can sense it. They're coming towards this planet, but I can't let them have my mate, and especially not my daughter, she's too important. I'm leaving for the planet Namek in one day, and I'm making sure no one is able to track me this time. Under the console you are standing at is a chip which contains the coordinates of planet Namek should you wish to locate me. This chip will fit in most scouters, if not, it'll work in the computer you're standing at. It pains me to have to move my work so quickly, and especially on the brink of some especially intriguing breakthroughs, but in the end, it will all be worthwhile. Though I have forseen Vegeta-sei's destruction, I am confident that I can do something about it. If you, whoever you are, wish to defeat Freiza and King Vegeta, find me, and I shall offer you my assistance in any way possible. Any equipment of any importance, I have taken with me. You will find some blueprints for some spaceship designs in that drawer to your right-they may aid you on your way. If this is my daughter, I'd like you to know that I love you, and even if you don't remember me, I was a part of your life during your infancy. It pains me to leave you without a father, but I have seen that you will turn out fine without me. Be strong, and learn to use your gift, for that is what it truly is. To replay this message, simply press that green button with the circle on it in the upper left hand corner of the console. Bardock out." The screen flickered once more and went black. Kori stared into it for another few seconds, burning her father's face into her memory, hearing his words to her repeat over in her head. My father loved me… She quickly wiped a tear from her eye, an action that did not go unnoticed by the prince at her side.

"I'm getting those blueprints he spoke of. Look under the console for a chip about this big," he said gesturing. She knelt down, looking first on the floor, then on the underside of the console itself. There was a small rectangular chip attached there, and she pulled at it gently, not knowing how to get it off. It came off into her hand instantly, and she held it out to Vegeta. He took it from her with a nod and inserted it into his scouter. After pressing the side of it a few times, he said, "Good, here are the coordinates of the planet Namek. I can see why he went there. It's away from any of the planets in Freiza's empire, and getting there is rough going." He pressed the button on his scouter again, and looked up to Kori. "There is nothing else of use here, but I will need assistance in building a ship that will get me to Namek. I fear that the small pod I came in would not make that journey easily."

"You could stay at my place tonight, I'm sure my mom won't mind," she said, trying not to think of how her mother had hurt her. "I think I have a friend who could help you with the ship dilemma. We can go and visit her tomorrow. Right now, I need to rest and see to my injuries. Besides, if you're anything like I am, after that fight, you've gotta be starving," she said, smiling at him.

He smirked back at her, "Yes, some rest and some real food would do me some good right now. I'm tired of field rations." She simply nodded and walked out of the laboratory. After they both exited, the rock wall slid closed behind them, and they found it hard to even see where the entrance to the lab had been. As they were walking back to Kori's house, Vegeta couldn't help but realize that the girl was probably a little more injured than he had thought. Her breathing was quick, and her walking pace was slowing noticeably. He watched her cradling her left side as they entered the house, and she went straight for the bathroom, completely ignoring the wonderful smells of food coming from the kitchen. His superb hearing picked up a few small noises of pain as she patched herself up, but all in all, she took her injuries like a warrior, which pleased him greatly. She came out of the bathroom about 30 minutes later, clean from a shower and freshly clothed, with a few bandages covering some of her more serious abrasions. She let her nose lead her straight past Vegeta, who had taken a seat on the back of the couch, to the kitchen, where her mother was preparing to feed two Saiyans (or a large army).

She seated herself at her usual spot at the table, and after a few awkward minutes of silence, she said, "Mom, do you think Vegeta could stay with us tonight?"

Her mother turned and smiled, glad that her daughter was at least speaking to her, and said, "Sure, hon. He doesn't have anywhere to stay, and it would be rude to tell him to leave. I'm even fixing enough food for two hungry Saiyans." She ruffled her daughter's slightly damp hair and turned back to her cooking.

Not having ignored the conversation, Vegeta entered the kitchen, wondering what to do. "Go ahead and have a seat, mom said you could stay tonight, and she's making enough dinner for all of us." Vegeta, not having to be asked twice to eat, quickly sat down at the table right next to Kori. In no time at all, her mother had the table filled with food, and Kori and Vegeta quickly dug into the meal.