Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Soul Blues for Bardock's Son ❯ Labrynth of the Soul ( One-Shot )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Raditz has learned his mate's mind well, but now he must introduce her to his. Will she comprehend or will she run in terror from all things Saiyan?

Anime/Manga: Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Supernatural / Romance / Psychological | Type: One Shot | Uploaded On: 12.29.2006 | Updated On: 03.01.2007 | Pages: 5 | Words: 9.7K | Visits: 1.2K | Status: Completed

Labyrinth of the Soul

By Trynia Merin

Genre: Spiritual/Romance/Drama

Pairing: Raditz/ OC

Rating: PG for language/some mature themes

Disclaimer: I don't own the Manga or the Anime Dragon Ball Z. Toriyamacreated it and Toei Animation Company owns it. I make no money from writing this story and my character Dr. Stellari, Fermi and Bohr mean no harm to the series.Dedicated to Cantare, and thanks to Butterfly V!

***

In the recesses of the scientific fortress he strode, as he had once before. To know that she had constructed this simacrulum to represent her mind was intriguing. Raditz had heard legends about the depth of bonds from his father and mother, yet had no direct experience with such matters till now. Training had prepared him for many things, but not this. It was up to individual families to prepare their children for domestic matters. What superseded all else was the importance of obedience.

Most males outranked their mates. Third Class culture had its own norms that were pounded into Raditz head since going out on his first mission and returning in 'triumph'. Warriors telepathically communicated with one another seldom, but with their commanding officers often. Family members sometimes directed thoughts, but mates shared the deepest bonds.

From observing his brother Kakkarot Raditz had seen firsthand the fruits of random bond deepening. Kakkarot had bumbled upon his rapport with Chichi over ten years, whereas Raditz had deliberately forged his bond with Stellari. Ever since they first slept together Raditz had slipped tendrils into her subconscious mind to probe. He listened to her dreams and sent hints of his own culture through deep periods of sleep. In turn she had broadcasted those pieces of herself willing to surface. Bonding was instinctual and both their lower brains had swapped information that neither was aware of. At least Stellari wasn't, and Raditz sensed it was happening. While he wasn't exactly lying, he was withholding the true nature of the bond till she could comprehend its nature.

He knew she was telepathic rudimentary like many mothers were with children. Woefully underdeveloped in humans there were some that still had sparks of promise. Her sons were telepathic, and she was already accustomed to the links forged with them. As Raditz astral form drifted to the courtyard into the outer rooms he saw gleaming threads shooting up from walls here and there. Overhead curved a glittering void of resplendent stars. Equations and chemical symbols drifted randomly like snow in resting sate. While awake they were always churning and tumbling. In other areas he passed through Raditz saw the creative centers of her mind categorizing memories. Where he'd expected a random jumble he was pleased to see order and discipline. Red Ribbon training no doubt, and the result of her education.

"Raditz, you may stay," echoed her thoughts.

"Where are you, love?" he asked, stepping more deeply inside.

"Here, inside. As you've seen before. Will I enter your mind as you have mine?"

"That's why I've come here. You're used to your environment, and I must see how you think before I allow you into my own mind," Raditz answered. "It is not a pleasant place by any means."

"This can also be a prison," Stellari answered. She strode out of the inner walls, her astral embodiment clothed in a Red Ribbon uniform. There was a harsh aspect to her hairstyle and severe glasses that Raditz respected from his own militaristic upbringing. Then it morphed to the usual aspect of her in lab smock and work clothes.

"Are you ready? It's high time you entered my mind, woman," Raditz said, holding out his hand. "I know you will be shocked and thrilled with what you are about to witness. But don't stray from me or you might be lost."

"You've learned to see my mind, and I've glimpsed yours from afar. I've studied it," she whispered.

Raditz seemed to levitate in the air, pulling her astral form along with him. He saw the twin strands spiraling out that represented her bonds to Fermi and Bohr. Two smaller threads were being spun, which he realized must be the bonds developing with their whelps. Other paths seemed closed off, and he saw one wide artery that had rubble blocking it.

"A bond that was forced but never finished," she explained as Raditz glanced at it in question.

"From the husband who had betrayed you?" he murmured. She hung her head and glanced away for a moment, confirming his suspicion.

"You see there at the heart of your representation the bond that we share," he pointed up at the gleaming column of light shooting up from the heart of her maze. "I see that it's very deep."

"I've noticed that forming. Part of me couldn't stop it, and it seemed natural. But I've never seen you travel here on it."

"That is the core of your being. Where its' connected to my own. But I only travel a bit of the way before I remove myself and stop here. It is the path, but the final destination is far too deep and private to explore. But we will join with it from above to enter my mind," Raditz explained. The vast structure of her thoughts merged into what seemed like a circuitry board or labyrinth, and then they rushed forwards to the huge pillar of golden light. Raditz was forced to pass through the core of her being which blinded him seriously before they shot down the long path to another mind.

Lightening seemed to crackle and she felt darkness surging around her. Inside her mind was the sort of darkness like the light of a night illuminated by stars. But this was a miasma that pulled down and trapped her. Loud thunderous crashes slammed and assaulted her senses, and then dropped to a low rumble once she felt she had arrived.

Large spires of rock seemed to rise up around them. A wind whipped her hair and she saw what she thought were high trees, and then vast rolling planes. All the scope of the land was covered by that thick dark fog undulating. For a moment she was alone, seeing the vast emptiness one moment, and the black smoke the next. What seemed like savage beasts and gleaming eyes watched her from behind the spires of rock and the distant forests to the left? It dawned on her that the landscape was forever changing definition, without one specific form.

"Raditz?" she asked.

"I am here, precious one," murmured the voice from around her. "But you must find me. Explore my mind as I've learned your own. Saiyans are hunters and you must pursue me…"

"Why now?"

"It is part of the sealing of the bond," he answered. "Stay for a time and experience it. Know it, feel it."

"What? Memories, sensations, what?" she said frustrated. "You said to stay with you. And I did!"

"But I did not tell you how much work it would be? Get to know my mind as I have yours," answered Raditz voice. She wrapped her arms and patted herself in the cold wind, then started to walk slowly to explore where she landed. Parts of the landscape seemed accusingly familiar like she instinctively knew the way. Using instinct she traveled where it simply felt right.

"Very good," Raditz answered as she slowly strode among the part of the scope that most resembled desert. Suddenly the fog rolled away, and two blinding sources of light blazed down from above. All around her for miles the clouds lifted till the sky above seemed clear and bright azure. Glancing down she saw her feet trod upon blood red sand and rugged hills and jagged cliffs. Each step grew far more difficult, and she had to shade her eyes with her hand.

"No more darkness," she whispered.

"Come closer, love," answered Raditz voice. It was like an instinctive growl, and she tensed as if expecting something to attack. The weight of the world pressed down from all sides, and Stellari realized where she must be.

"Planet Vegeta," she whispered. Spires from what appeared to be an ultramodern city became visible behind the mountain ranges the further she walked. Wispy cirrus clouds drifted across the burning twin suns that were twice the size of the Earth's single sun. Rust, orange, and amber bands striated and painted the desert. Large trees and scant vegetation were visible in some places, but it was arid. If she squinted she could see caves carved into the slopes of many of the mountains.

"Not towards the city," Raditz answered. "That is where the Elite live. Not for us."

"Of course, the suburbs," she nodded, striding towards the cliffs. Of course the Third Class would live in the deserts, in the most sparse of accommodations. Much like their ancestors before them, she guessed as she slowly made her way up the scraggly inclines. It reminded her of the Anasasi cave dwellers. She could discern the semi modern gleam of metal around some openings like doors or blinds, while others indicated force fields. How would the Saiyans reach the higher carved caves unless of course they flew?

She gathered her energy as Yamcha had taught her. Slowly she levitated up, gaining speed as she climbed in altitude. Closer to the face of one sheer wall she flew till she drifted only a foot from it. Then Stellari willed her body to fly steadily up till she reached one of the most likely rooms. Whatever felt right or familiar directed her movements. Raditz wanted her to come to him, and she guessed this was where he must have lived as a child.

Through a tangible force field she passed, feeling the crackling energies give way. Natural light gleamed from holes carved far up in the hollowed out rock. Bright paintings adorned the walls, depicting ancient scenes reminiscent of the tales Raditz related about the Legendary and Great Father Oozaru. Cave dwellers were what she saw the Saiyan to have been. The Third Class had retained most of the old ways, uncorrupted by the wealth and privilege of the cities. Forced to dwell or perhaps they chose to hold onto their Spartan lifestyle due to lack of income they still inhabited their ancestral lands.

"That is correct, love," said Raditz. It sounded full of flesh not transparent like spirit and flame. Had she at last found him?

Her heart pounded to see a dark shape crouched before a heap of warm stones at the hearth. A great chimney supported several spits where game was roasted. To the immediate left she saw the kitchen area complete with great flat surfaces for cutting and huge hooks to hang game from to let the body fluids drip into troughs along the counters. Other shelves carved into the cave rock not decorated with murals held metal and stone bowls lovingly painted with strange symbols. On the floor she felt the pelts of animals carpeting underfoot. Carved wooden chairs sat in what seemed a central gathering area around a flat stone table. Small stools sat next to huge generous chairs, and she wondered why.

"Not as elaborate as a Second or Elite home, but nice enough for our family," Raditz answered. He rose from fussing over the fire to tower over her. Red hues illuminated by natural light let in by carved shafts in the cavern cast a blood overtone to his features. Except the green scouter lens contrasted over his left eye. Dark brows arched along with the upward twist of his lips into a Saiyan smirk she knew so well.

"Your home," she said with wonder. "It's so beautiful."

"Our home, before Vegetasei was destroyed," Raditz said, resting his hand on her shoulder. He led her towards the vast table, and sat on one of the huge chairs. Strangely she had the impulse to sit on the small stool that was half the chair height, and it was rather awkward.

"Females sit here, or on the laps of their mates," said she, looking up at him. "Male dominated society."

"But the females are our strength and treasure. There were very few of them. Many died giving birth in the later years. Till it was easier to use gestational tanks and birthing centers. Still the Third class would whelp full term and the females would come to the medical centers in the cities. And there the young would be processed for being sent out on their missions after birth. Very few could remain at home till they had proven their worth."

"How sad," she whispered.

"To return in triumph was our way. Not always, but in the last days," Raditz said, glancing down at her. "Now you know much of why I am what I am."

"Where did you go?" she asked.

"All will be revealed in time, precious one," Raditz said, cupping her cheek with his hand. "This is the ideal that I would have desired. But the reality is not so pleasant to look at."

She heard the breaking of pottery and angry shouts. Backing away she saw the tall figure of Burdock standing angrily over a small figure with his head pressed to the wall. Lifting her eyes she saw the long hairs of the woman gently smoothing Raditz locks away, and the gleam of dark brown eyes.

"You don't DARE give me that kind of lip, boy!" snarled the voice that she heard in her dreams.

"Father no! It wasn't my fault!" yelled a little boy's cry.

"You weak tailed scum! I'll teach you to talk back to me!"

"If I was to talk back, what would I say old man! You who failed to return on time!" yelled the teen voice. "Or are you weak like all the rest of your team?"

"You will respect my authority in this house or leave! I don't know where you DARE say such things, but while I'm around…"

"Bardock, stop it! He didn't know any better!" came a female voice. A loud cry echoed and she saw the sniveling youth with his tail in the grasp of a larger figure stooped over.

"Kinoha, you coddle him too much!" Bardock shouted.

"And you're never HERE!" Kinoha hissed, baring her fangs. "He has only just returned and you MISSED his ascension! Because you just HAD to get those last aurites!"

"I need the income! Do you want me to sell the dwelling?" Bardock snorted. Angrily he dropped into one of the chairs and glared at her. Around her she saw others moving in the cave, and saw the anger and pain in the eyes of the small boy with hair trailing down his back.

"Raditz, go to your room while I speak with Father," Kinoha urged. The youth rushed off, clutching his tail in his hands. Whether unseen or not, Stellari rushed after him, hearing the sniveling sob in his voice. She saw the spiky hair dragging the ground and the rough armored vest, which was black and joined with brown-segmented bands.

"What happened?" she asked.

"He wouldn't believe me. The damn old man wouldn't believe me. He thinks I did it… I was the one who said his team was weak and disobedient. But I didn't," growled the youth. He couldn't be more then twelve years old by the look. Angrily he smashed something against the wall, and Stellari moved to stand over by where he huddled on the bed of animal furs.

"Why, what did they say, why did he yell?" asked Stellari.

"They said I was a disgrace like him, and his low powered team. And then when I told him, he punished me for daring to confirm their lies," whispered Raditz.

"That can't be all can it?" asked Stellari, leaning over to touch his whimpering body.

"Do you think that is it, woman?" he snarled, pushing her hand away. "It was just the tip of the iceberg1 I was a plaything who likes to be pushed and beaten by the others because he looks more like a female? That he'd never be Saiyan enough to have a mate to please him? That his tail is too weak to let him pass any assignment?"

"That is not so," she said quietly. "You're talking to the nerd who wore braces and glasses. Who didn't have a boyfriend because she was fat and ugly?"

"I'm a boy who had long hair and a weak tail," the teenager glanced up at her. She smoothed away the dirt and mess from his face and gently extended her arms to him.

"I need no weak affection," he growled softly.

"Nonsense," Stellari snarled back, grabbing the boy and squeezing him tightly. She felt the heaves of his sobs and the tears he tried to force back. Like he was her own son she rocked him and softly soothed him with noises in his ear. The teenaged Raditz looped his arms around Stellari, sobbing into her neck. His small body trembled in her arms as they sat on the edge of the Saiyan equivalent of a bed.

"My father was a low class Saiyan Guard. One who dared think things that were beyond the ken of a third class scout? He was allowed to work on secret projects but others got the glory. And I was considered inferior because of my power rating. I was content to serve, but I asked for harder training. But the low class son of a low class to have too much ambition is dangerous," he whispered.

"You disappointed him?" she asked, smoothing away the thick dark hair from his face. Because he was so young his widow's peak was not yet visible. Small spiky whips of bangs covered his eyes giving him a bedraggled appearance. She began to groom his hair in a further effort to calm him. Raditz drew back, his young face staring up into her concerned one. Stellari nodded, rubbing his temple and stroking his back just like she would for Fermi or Bohr. Her maternal side came on with a vengeance to accept and understand this part of him.

"Yes, and no," Raditz whispered. "He and Mother argued much. She was too soft on me, he said. And Bardock wanted strength. But he didn't like that I desired aurites over loyalty. I wouldn't join his team, and he resented me for it."

"He expected you to purge at his side?" she asked.

"But when I refused, he was furious. I preferred to train on Vegetasei and hope for an opening in an Elite-purging unit. Where I would be noticed. I worked in the Whelping center, where many of the elite would come and see the promising young ones who had returned from missions or who would be sent out. And then there was Tomoku,"

"So he thought you were a wimp for working in a whelping center instead of planet busting with him. When you were really just trying to get noticed by an elite who would just happen to have mentioned a slot on their team in passing?"

"Mother said it wasn't what you knew, it was who you knew. Who you impressed," he whispered.

"It's like that with me too, Raditz," she said. Then she drew back and saw that they were no longer in his childhood home. Was each transition happening because she had understood this part of him? Stellari's scientific brain leapt to fill in the gaps. Somehow the phrase 'inner child' came to mind from reading many self help books. She had her own demons to face being the wife of an emotionally abusive husband with post traumatic stress syndrome from being a mindless pawn of the Red Ribbon army. The best psychologists Capsule health benefits could by had finally helped her come to terms with her years of trauma, but the best therapy had been focusing on her two sons and improving their lot. They had kept her sane and whole when there was nobody or nothing else. Despite the vast differences in Saiyan and Human societies there were many constants that explained Raditz behavior.

Peering around she saw jungles snaking around tall ruins. Birds and strange creatures chattered in a hot steamy atmosphere. A baby's cry echoed in her ears and she rose to trip over a dense forest floor. Her path took her through what seemed a jungle much like one of earth, except the colors were far from normal. Pushing aside vines she finally came to a natural clearing overlooking a vast valley.

Red leaves and purple ones stretched for miles and shielded a hot blue sun burning down from above. Stellari looked up into an alien trinary system with a huge hot blue star the size and diameter of a quarter in the sky with a smaller blue star and a yellow dwarf. They formed a scalene triangle in a sky of deep brassy amber. The baby's cry mingled with the natural cacophony of the planet, and she headed towards it. Soon she reached the huge bowl shaped crater steaming newly from the object that had punched it. Casting triple shadows the round gleaming metal pod's door hung open. She could see its padded interior and the twin pistons that operated the oval door with its red porthole.

Slowly the little infant pulled himself up on his hands to try and stand. Long strands of a fierce mane covered his head and shoulders, and Stellari realized it was he. Quickly she slid down the slope till she reached the infant trying to pull himself up on two legs by grabbing onto the side of the pod. He had stopped crying and was looking around while standing on shaky legs. Such a small youth shouldn't be able to walk, but the fuzzy brown tail swishing behind him gave him the necessary balance to take small steps.

"God, this is wrong. You shouldn't be here all alone," she whispered, dropping down to kneel before him. Glancing up the youth turned dark eyes up at her in confusion. Stellari despite herself followed maternal instinct and reached down to pick him up in her arms. He was twice as heavy as she would have expected, but she settled him on one hip, and smoothed his dark hair.

The baby squirmed, and she gently rocked it as he started to fuss and cry. With practiced ease she staggered out of the crater and carried the infant toddler to the forest floor. Hands seized her hair and tugged. Stellari took a better look at him, and then sat down on a rotting log to bounce him on her knee. This seemed to please the boy, for he reached up with little hands to grab at her glasses. She pressed a kiss to his brow while rocking him. The infant Raditz dark eyes gleamed up into hers while his mouth curled in a very human smile. She

"You were a cute thing," she laughed, pushing hair out of his eyes and pressing her forehead to his. She brushed her nose playfully to his own, again like she remembered doing to her own sons after they were born.

Little Raditz cooed and grabbed her glasses. She pried his little hands off and kissed each one. Eyes moistening she whispered, "And they expected you to survive here all alone?"

The only answer was a gurgle and a whoop from the infant Raditz. He squirmed and she let him slide down to investigate something wriggling on the forest floor. Stellari watched him grabbing anything in sight, and then gasped to see him tense up. He toddled out of sight, his black eyes fixated, and she rushed after him. For a toddler he moved quickly, and by the time she caught up with him he'd grabbed hold of a long undulating serpent lizard. Small hands crushed the neck and he held it up to her with a look of glee.

"Good grief," she panted, as he held it out to her. Just like Fermi or Bohr sharing a crayon he wanted her to have it. To see such innocence mixed with killer instinct tore at her, and she dropped down to one knee to wrap her arms around him.

"Someone should have looked after you," she whispered, hugging him though he squirmed and complained.

"All Saiyan youths were capable of surviving. We had the necessary information programmed into us," answered the voice of the man she had seen before. Glancing up she saw the figure in gleaming black and green armor glaring at her with irritation as she held the infant Raditz in her arms. Stellari lifted Raditz with a grunt, balancing him on one hip despite his weight. Little Raditz clutched the folds of her lab coat, pushing his face against her clothed breast. His tail twined around her arm and tightened.

"You again," she glared at him.

"I guess you've seen me before, haven't you?" he asked.

"In a way, yes. In Raditz memories that he's shared with me so far. Your name's Bardock, isn't it?"

"Yeah that's me. You're a persistent girl, aren't you?" he glared back, shaking his head. The scar along one cheek added to the rugged handsome quality of his sleek muscular figure encased in long skintight pants, and the flexible vest of a lower class Saiyan guard. He stood roughly Goku's height, the top of her head coming to his chin, and the dark eyes sparkled with anger and irritation. Still she couldn't help but find him very attractive.

"Yes. Let me guess you represent something here like everything else does. The side of Raditz that's obsessed with being the perfect Saiyan warrior?" she glared up at him.

"It's what he makes me, girl. This is his mind, these are his memories. This whole experience is fashioned from bits of his own memories, presumably for the Sealing of the mating bond," he snorted, arms folded across his chest. A wry smile twitched up his grin, and his furry tail spasmed around his waist as if wanting to unfurl but not quite making it.

"I had to admit I didn't think he'd ever take a mate. He was so obsessed with just getting ahead," Bardock said, pacing a half circle around Stellari. It seemed like he was sizing her up, studying her like a scientist would.

"So I gathered. But I'm sure you had something to do with it?" Stellari asked.

"Is that what you believe, woman?" Bardock said mildly. "What has my son been filling your head with?"

"Saiyan culture, presumably, Bardock."

"That bum wouldn't know true Saiyan culture if it hit in on the head. Not till he spent seven years in Hell did he even give a damn to learn how things were before Freiza screwed things up," Bardock snorted.

"I know that too, Bardock," said Stellari, glaring at him. Bardock's dark eyes lowered to face hers. "And I also know you're more then just a 'low class warrior'."

"Maybe, but that didn't make a difference to Freiza. He didn't like anyone who could be a threat to his power. By the time most Saiyans his age were born, most of them had lost sight of the old traditions. Not that they did us much good when we discovered the truth," Bardock admitted.

He strode past her, and slid down the side of the crater to stand before the space pod's open door. "There it is. The perfect craft for the job. Telepathic relays, automatic food storage. Though its pretty much crap compared to fresh kill. This kid can do the job as he grows up."

"So what?" Stellari said, unimpressed as she rocked the now silent Raditz on her hip. He had grabbed hold of her hair and was glancing at his sire with bored black eyes.

"Saiyan men aren't pushovers. We don't need to be coddled and smothered with all sorts of things that would hold us back," Bardock shook his head. "We're not like you humans. Although you do have some qualities that would make good purgers I'd trust."

"Is this how Raditz sees you? The paragon of authority or is this how you are?"

"You see what you see, woman," Bardock chuffed, glancing down at her. "We didn't talk much. It's his mind you're entering. His thoughts you're seeing. Whatever he's sharing is what he wants to show you. Didn't the bum explain what this is all about?"

"Yes and no," she shrugged. "The sealing?"

"Idiot, it just figures that I have to clean up his messes," Bardock groaned, clapping his hand over his head. "I suppose I'll have to explain since he's hell bent on taking you back this far."

"You crushed his tail when he was a teenager. I assume that's like a spanking?"

"It's standard Saiyan discipline. Just like you'd do. The kid had a smart mouth. He never knew when to shut up and respect authority. I was reasonable. But he had to push my buttons. Just to see if he could piss me off. Always had to think of the right thing to get me going," Bardock snorted.

"Kids do that," Stellari said, unimpressed. "You're not the one who lived with him day in and out. You're not the mother. It's easy for a father to pass judgment."

"Maybe so. But our societies are different, woman. Don't deny that your husband and father left to earn the bread while you women cared for the kids. But Saiyan youths care for themselves," said Bardock proudly.

"More's the pity," she said, shaking her head. "Maybe it worked for you, but it's sad to see a society that regards its children as little more then resources."

"Didn't yours? Doesn't your society see children as something to exploit? Where if the child doesn't perform to your standards he's considered a disappointment? Are your expectations so unreasonable that a kid can't meet them if they'd only LISTEN?" Bardock snorted.

"I've heard that before," Stellari huffed.

"My point exactly," Bardock said, and then the scene faded. Instead of holding Raditz, she now stood in a dark space where the voices of many echoed.

"Where now?" she asked. Then she stared up at the buildings overhead. A silvery orb of light rose form the horizon and Stellari fixated on the frightened shouts of people scattering.

"Run for your life!" cried the alien beings whose forms she couldn't quite make out because they were running past her. Stellari ducked into the shelter of a tall overhang like a ledge then heard a loud bellow. Masonry cracked and the earth quaked under her feet. Huge thumps pulsed the ground like a heartbeat, and she saw red flashes and heard the thunderous whoosh of explosions.

Gritting her teeth she held her hands over her ears. The roaring was dastardly familiar, and she felt the vibration of crumbling buildings. Around her the structure creaked, and she screamed as she rushed out of the way of it falling on her. A huge hairy paw swept down and smashed the nearest piece of building to dust. Running quickly she moved in the direction the people had gone. Glancing up and back she saw the massive shape of a Giant Ape towering overhead. Ruby eyes gleamed. Its muzzle opened, and a huge blast of red energy torched across the spires of the city. In its wake the buildings disintegrated to dust. There was more then just one of these, for she saw a second large shape, and a third battering down buildings to the left and right.

"Oh no," she whispered. Images of her own experience raced back, and she saw her squad. Throwing huge blasts of energy as they ripped into the nearest town of their rival factions.

One large paw came down and seized her. Kicking and screaming Stellari was grasped up and held before the face of the enormous apelike muzzle. Hot breath pulsed against her, its stench horrible with the eating of meat or anything else.

"Monster, is that what you see?" echoed Raditz voice.

"This is part of you too, isn't it?" she asked. The city faded, and she was still standing up in the palm of the Oozaru Raditz glancing down at her.

"I AM a monster, woman," Raditz snarled.

"The man that I married was more of a monster then you were, Raditz," said Stellari.

With a loud roar the creature set her down, and then backed away. The moon overhead changed its phase, and she was staring at the undulating fog of the miasma in which she had just passed through when first arriving in this dreamscape or nightmare. Trembling she forced herself to look up at the rampaging beast that was smashing through the buildings.

"Raditz, this is what you are. Are you trying to scare me away from something I shouldn't see? Why are you showing me all these things? What am I supposed to know?" she shrieked this as loud as she could to drown out the roars. Then the moon vanished.

Gleaming red eyes were lost in the swirling darkness. Then just ahead she saw a flicker of light moving. The black clouds rolled back to reveal a city rising around her under a star-studded sky. Overhead bowed the vast arm of a spiral galaxy, casting its silver illumination. Only a lonely wind whistled, and she shivered once more. Yet she sensed she was not alone for something was walking towards her with a measured pace.

A hand clamped down and she whirled around with raised hands to stare up into the face of Raditz as an adult. His brow wrinkled and both hands grasped her shoulders tightly. Stellari swallowed the lump in her throat and forced herself to stare into his dark eyes. They held an unfathomable sadness and a strange emptiness. "What did you want me to see? These are all aspects of you I know, but you didn't explain. You only said to find you…"

"You have found me in these memories I've shown you, precious one," Raditz said softly. The wind didn't seem so cold as he stood before her. It dawned on her that this environment was relatively peaceful. At least there were no smashing buildings and howling warriors. No clouds or fog obscured anything. Just a quiet nighttime like her own \mental world.

"You could have explained, but I suppose that's not a Saiyan thing, is it?"

"It is only the beginning," Raditz said quietly. "I warned you it wasn't a pretty place. But it is who I am, and what you must learn to share with me."

"I see," Stellari nodded up, raising her hand to caress his cheek. "Just a few pieces to get me going. To see how difficult things could be. But Raditz, I knew it wouldn't be easy, but I accepted this along with the rest."

"I am not an animal to be tamed, woman," Raditz warned her.

"I never assumed you were. You're a man who has a dark past, and needs someone to guide him to the light," Stellari said softly, leaning to embrace him. Raditz swallowed hard as she hugged his astral form, burying her face into his chest.

"You reached out to hold a sullen teenager who failed to please his father, and a baby who would have savagely killed you. And stood in the path of a raging Great Ape," Raditz whispered. "And yet you are still here."

"You need me Raditz. I don't know why I said yes, but now I know. There's a reason we were brought together. I don't take things lightly. God brought us together. Fate did. And I knew when I saw you that I was the one to help you," she said.

"Your redemption?"

"You don't reject me," she laughed, leaning up to look at him. "Human beings are guilty of as much as you. And there are many that have chosen another path for their life. You are no different."

"Woman, I wanted you to see who I am," he said softly. "What you're getting into. Now that you and I are together."

"And I can learn to love it, Raditz. These are the things of your past. But they don't need to determine who you are now. You can choose to keep them here in the past and leave them behind. And be a better man," she glanced up. "You can leave it all behind if you want to."

"By your religion?" he muttered.

"You're strong and brave, and you want so badly to have someone understand and accept you as you are. Don't you see I'm more then ready for the task, Raditz? That I want to know you and lead you into a better way?" she asked.

"To redeem me?" he smirked.

"Yes," she nodded. "There's a way to put this behind if you want to know more."

"Tell me, woman," Raditz said softly, as he leaned down on one knee and looked at her. "Tell me this payment."

"It happened a long time ago. And it's a long story," she said.

"We have time, Woman," he murmured. "What must I do?"

"Listen, and accept. Accept that someone paid for the price of these things a long time ago, and that they're willing to give you peace and love that you so desperately need," she said.

"I've blood on my hands woman," he said.

"His blood will wash it away. Your sins, everything. Even a murderer can enter Paradise if he believes and opens himself to love and change," she whispered.

"I don't think I'm ready," Raditz murmured. "I've done too much. And I am Saiyan, not human."

"But you're in the image of humans, who were created in His image. And He did live as a human in the person of his Son. The 'legendary' that I wear," she said.

"He was human, not Saiyan," Raditz murmured.

"You wished to know and I'm telling you," she said softly as Raditz put his head against her breast. "So just watch and learn from what I do and what I show you. That's all you need to do love. Let me love you, and let me understand you."

"See how you walk through life and learn what you shall show?" he asked.

"Yes love, yes," she whispered.

"I will learn to love you, and you will show me," he whispered.

Stellari slid down to kneel before him. Raditz wrapped his strong arms around her, feeling the brightness inside the pillar of light that bound their souls together. It seemed to warm his frigid mind. Wrapped together in their astral forms, it seemed as if their souls had embraced and locked together. Raditz lowered his lips to claim hers in a kiss. For the first time he felt the movement of her thoughts and his freely together, telling him of what was to come. And it was good.