Chapter One, The Strangers She was scared. Her father was pointing, shouting, yelling instructions rapidly as he pushed her toward the takeoff pad. He had explained everything to her a few days ago, about their escape plan, about what they were going to do, but the reality was so much more frightening. Her mother was typing in instructions, her slender fingers flying over the keyboard. “What’s going on?” Her father shouted. “Malfunction!” Her mother yelled back, “The last tremor damaged a small part of the capsule. It’s fixed now, but two-thirds of the air supply is gone.” “You’re kidding.” “Would I be kidding in a time like this? Only one of us is going to be able to go.” The father stared at his wife for a long time, absorbing the information. It was hard for him to believe that after three months of planning, something this ridiculous was happening at the crucial moment. He looked at his daughter for several seconds as the planet around them quivered and trembled. Then he shook his head and pointed one finger toward the door of the capsule, “Young lady. Get in. Now.” “Dad, no,” She begged, “I don’t want to go without you and mom. Please don’t make me…” “Now.” He repeated, the quiet voice having unmistakable power behind it. “Dad.” He hit her over the head, once, knocking her unconscious. Then he picked up his daughter, holding her for the last time, and shook his head. “Listen to me.” He whispered to the unconscious form, “One day, you’ll be able to avenge our race, destroy the ones who so willingly destroyed us.” He laid her on one of the three cots of the capsule, “One day, you’ll become a great warrior, the kind that people tell stories about for years after.” He pushed a lock of hair away from her face, gently, and walked out of the capsule, returning to the side of the mother. “This is so awful…” The mother said softly, as he held her. “She’ll live. She’s all that matters now.” “That’s not the point.” “I know.” The earth shook violently as the capsule took off. Spouts of molten fire rose in the air around the two lone figures standing there as they watched their daughter head to somewhere in space. Flames rose around the two, but they didn’t make a sound. They had accepted what would happen to them. “Someday…” The mother murmured. “She’ll understand…” The father finished. * * * * * She stood up, brushing dark hair away from her eyes. She was dirty, tired, but that was okay. The fact was that she now had enough supplies to get her through the winter, and that was all that mattered. She sighed and picked up the last pile of wood, carrying it to the cave. Six years ago. She had found this place six years ago. The cave was an amazing stroke of luck in itself. She only had to do a little blasting to get the rooms, the compartments, the space that she wanted. It was near a good water supply, being next to a waterfall, but it was out of sight, being forty feet above the ground and surrounded by a thick canopy of trees. Not that there were many people around to come around the place anyway. The nearest house was four miles away. Also, the place was beautiful, especially in fall. The trees were a riot of color, and the waterfall, although small, was an amazing cascade all year round. She hated it. She hated the memories it brought back, the images that flickered in her mind every time she saw the falls. A week ago, she had decided to only spend winters here, because she would die of the cold if she didn’t. The forest would be far too cold during winters and she didn’t have the time to find another cave and relocate before the winter began. Although it was particularly warm today, she had lived here long enough to know that the days would start getting chilly soon. Otherwise, she would have lived as far away from here as physically possible. She didn’t plan on dying yet. Not until she had her revenge on a certain handsome young man with long black hair and pale blue eyes… An explosion rocked the ground. Birds rose in the air with a flurry of wings as another blast sounded. The forest was suddenly dead silent. She closed her eyes for a second, reaching out to sense whatever created those blasts. Opening her eyes, she dropped the pile of wood and rose in the air. * * * * * He didn’t want to be here. It was too risky. What if the wrong person saw him and guessed who he was. What if Vegita or Bulma recognized him? But it was a risk he had to take. His mother had told him about how everyone had gotten all fired up about Frieza, but when they did show up, Frieza was nowhere to be found. There was no trace of what happened. Frieza had just, as far as everyone knew, disappeared, but his ship had remained, so everyone had ended up just destroying the ship and forgetting about it. But he wanted to come here for the battle for two reasons. One- figure out the mystery behind Frieza’s disappearance. Two- end the battle so that the other Z fighters could trust him. Frieza was standing in front of him, an emotionless look on his face. He hated people like them, people who hurt and destroyed for no reason other than to see pain. They were arrogant types, always on the prowl for a new challenge. He just happened to be Frieza’s experiment today. He grinned. Frieza really didn’t know what he was in for. “I’m sorry.” A soft voice said, “But Frieza and I have a prior dispute that I would like to settle now.” He turned his head slightly. The speaker was young, thirteen or so, slender, and small for her age, maybe five-two or five-three. She was wearing sunglasses, and her clothes were dirty. Her black hair was cropped almost as short as a boy’s, but it was layered, so that the effect was undoubtedly feminine. “Like the rest of her,” He thought, but then shook his head. It had been ages since he last had a date, but the idea of a girlfriend didn’t appeal to him. All of the girls he knew were empty minded, and after his best friend’s untimely death, he had lost interest. “Well?” She said, jolting his thoughts back to reality. Is she crazy? he wondered, considering the slender figure before him, She has no chance of- He stopped. There was power rising off her body in waves, whipping the air around her into a frenzy. Her ki signature was growing by the second, rising until it was as powerful as a person could possibly get without clicking up onto the second level. It was hard to believe that such force was coming from a girl as young as she was. “Well?” She repeated. “If you can handle it.” He said. “So now it’s two against one?” Frieza asked sardonically, “I think I’ll just…” “Die.” She whispered. Her energy level flared up sharply, to a level that only a few had ever reached before. She walked slowly toward Frieza. Fresh power shivered around her with each step. “I don’t blame you if you don’t remember me, Frieza,” She said, taking off her sunglasses and putting them in the pocket of her jacket, “It’s been a long time. Fourteen years.” Fourteen? That can’t be right. Fourteen years ago she couldn’t have been more than- “My father always told me,” She hissed, her voice rising, “That you were the one to blame for destroying everything. And now…” She rose two feet in the air, “Now you pay.” “Am I supposed to be scared?” Frieza drawled. “Yes.” The wind picked up all of a sudden, and all of a sudden, he realized that he knew what was happening. But this was impossible. There couldn’t possibly be that many of us around, he thought as he brushed a pale strand of hair away from his eyes. She was still hovering in the air, eyes closed. The debris on the floor around her was rising from the ground, floating in mid-air. She’s beautiful, he realized all of a sudden. It was true. It was impossible to tell that she was a girl just by looking at her, since she was wearing loose clothing, but the voice, the way she acted…so graceful. It was the face, the hair, the quiet calmness, but most of all, the eyes. They were a pale blue green, set off by long black lashes, slanted. Exotic eyes. Predatory eyes. “You!” Frieza screamed, “You! I took care of your family a long time ago! I killed you!” “You almost did.” She said, “I’ll admit that. I almost didn’t make it in time. But being alien does have its advantages.” Alien… He turned the word over and over in his mind. I’m partly alien. Did she mean that she was a… “You’re that, that…” Frieza was saying. “Bingo.” She whispered. Then her breath caught, became sharper, harsher. Her eyes changed somehow, going from a pale blue-green to a deeper color as black locks of hair rose to form shifting strands above her head. That look in her eyes, fierce, unforgiving. She didn’t make a sound, but her whole body tensed, then- Her hair color changed, going from black to blonde as a golden aura sprang up around her. She looked at him, the level gaze seeming to ask whether he was capable of doing something like this. He shook his head, then began to draw on the memory that would raise his power to levels that no human could ever hope to obtain. Yes. Being alien does have its advantages… * * * * * What the hell’s going on? Vegita thought as he stood there and sensed two power levels raise, one after the other. They were both much stronger than Frieza, but it seemed as if one of them was just slightly more powerful than the other. The margin, however was so slight that it was almost unnoticeable. I have to see this. He realized. I have to see who these powers belong to. He gritted his teeth, ran a few steps, then shot up in the air, not caring that Goku’s friends would follow him. Let them. * * * * * She watched the boy as he transformed. Not a boy, really, She reminded herself, Almost a man. Eighteen or so. Straight hair, so blonde it was white. Well built- broad shoulders, narrow waist, but unlike many of the Saiyans she knew, or rather, used to know, he was more compactly built, without the bulky muscles that would hinder movement. Pale eyes a shade of light blue. Human looking, missing the trademark signs of a Saiyan. None of the disorganized black hair or coal black eyes that usually ran in Saiyan blood. But he had to be Saiyan. There was no other race that she knew of that was capable of this sort of power. Frieza definitely had to be getting nervous. He now had not one, but two Super Saiyans to deal with. Although he didn’t know it, Frieza didn’t have a chance of defeating them. Is the enemy of my enemy my enemy? Or is the enemy of my enemy my friend? She rose in the air, “How sad.” She said, “You don’t even remember your victims.” “You’re hilarious, kid,” Frieza laughed, “How old are you? Twelve? Thirteen?” “Seventeen,” She whispered, “Almost eighteen.” Frieza stopped laughing, “You’re kidding.” “Am I?” Frieza just stared, and then he growled. She could see the ki blast he was forming in his right hand. “It’s all starting to make sense now, neh, Frieza? My appearance, my age, everything. Took you a while.” “You bastard…” Frieza screamed, throwing the energy he had formed toward Ender. She put her hands in front of her, splitting the energy into a hundred different shards, all of them flying away to land somewhere else. She looked at her hands. They weren’t even scorched. “Not bad…” She murmured. Frieza hissed and formed a bigger blast, once again flinging it at her. She caught the ball with one hand, then swung it upwards. The blast shot off into the air, where it exploded spectacularly. “That was two.” She said, “You’ve got another chance to destroy me. Then it’ll be three strikes. You’re out.” Frieza grinned, then rose in the air, her eyes on him the whole time. He slowly created a glittering red-gold ball, that looked more like molten lava than anything else. It grew larger and larger, blocking out the sun, and still Frieza was making it bigger. “You really like this attack, don’t you?” She said, “You’ve been using it often.” “I’m sure you would know all about it.” Frieza said. “….” * * * * * He was impressed. Very impressed. She had unmistakable power behind those soft words, and she was definitely much more powerful than Frieza. Hell, she was almost as strong as he was. But he wasn’t sure of that. She could still be hiding her true power level, but he doubted it. You don’t make allies by concealing information from them. Is she an ally, though? He wondered to himself, She’s quiet, in all likelihood she was introverted- a loner. Could I trust someone that would never really give me an answer? The girl was watching with a dispassionate air as Frieza continued to make the blast he was about to use larger. The hugeness of it startled him. And she’s not even worried, he thought. She’s so cold. Like Juuanna-gou. He shook the thought off. She doesn’t even know him, for Chrissakes. She’s nothing like him. No one is as cruel as Juuanna-gou. At least, I hope not. Freiza threw the fiery ball in his hand toward the girl. She stood there, watching, until the blast engulfed her, sinking halfway into the ground. Pillars of debris rose in the air until the area surround her was so clogged up with dust that he couldn’t tell whether she was still standing or not. However, he could still sense her power, blazing away underneath all that debris in the air. The blast was rotating, still forcing its way into the ground, but… …it slowly rose, the waves of heat now scorching the area surrounding it. She stepped out of the huge crater the blast had created, holding the flaming ball up with one hand. “Excuse me, sir,” She said, “Is this yours?” Frieza growled and fired a small shot of power at the larger blast. The surface of the flaming sphere rippled, like waves across the sea. The girl looked at it, this time in calculation as the exterior contracted and expanded. Just as the whole thing was about to explode, she hurled it through the air toward Frieza, who barely dodged it. Infuriated, Frieza fired off a rapid number of smaller blasts, filling the air with clouds of dust. When all of it cleared, she was nowhere to be seen. Frieza smiled like he had won. Idiots. He smirked. They still don’t know what they’re in for… There was still that familiar power, continuing to raging unflinchingly. They really can’t sense her, can’t they… That takes a lot of work to allow your power only to be seen by particular people. He laughed. Frieza turned to look at him, and he grinned. “What’s so funny, pretty boy?” Frieza hissed. He pointed a finger upwards. “Huh?” “Hey, Frieza!” The girl’s voice carrying over from above just as a blast heading toward Frieza. A slow-moving blast. She can’t be tiring this quickly. Probably wants to play around a little more. Frieza shot up in the air, “You little…you’re going to pay for that!” The girl’s ki level shot up, translucent golden flames shooting up once again around her body as she shot down toward Frieza. As Trunks watched, she clenched both hands into fists, and a blade shot out of each. Swords…She just made two of them appear out of thin air… He sure didn’t know who the hell this girl was, but he was developing a lot of respect for her. * * * * * Frieza screamed, once, as she brought the blade downs toward his head. His whole world seemed to split into two, the pieces not lining up with each other, as he drifted off little by little. The pain had ended, and there was just a sensation of going to sleep. He stopped struggling and let the darkness overtake him. This isn’t so bad… The last thing he saw was a golden blast heading toward him. * * * * * She landed on the ground and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to calm herself. Slowly, slowly, the hair color darkened to normal and the look in her eyes subsided. The golden aura around her faded as she opened her eyes again. He stepped forward, now, still in Super Saiyan mode, “My turn.” As he stepped away from her, she saw the blade strapped to his back. It was large, heavy, too heavy for her to handle. She personally preferred to use two smaller, lighter blades. They didn’t hinder movement as much. But the style of the whole sword resembles mine. Who made that sword, anyway… He rose into the air, and rapidly fired several blasts toward Frieza’s ship, and it exploded in an extravagant show of red, orange, and gold. * * * * * Trunks was feeling slightly ticked off at the girl. He had gotten powered up for no reason, for she had ended up taking care of Frieza. He was also a little angry with himself. He could have waited until a time that Goku was alone and talked to him them, instead of coming here to play detective. Never mind. What’s done is done. Have to get moving. The girl’s eyes were flickering over him, moving from the sheathed blade strapped to his back, the face, and the Capsule Corp logo on his jacket. She could be anything, at this point. He didn’t know yet, didn’t know her long enough yet. A female Saiyan. No tail, or at least none that he could see. Removed? It was very likely that she was a pure Saiyan, so… The girl turned away, sat on a nearby rock, closed her eyes deliberately. He was sensing several power levels to his left. There were a multitude of small dots in the air, too far away too clearly see, but he supposed they were Goku’s friends. He shook his head, smiled. “Hey, c’mon!” He called, “I won’t bite.” They didn’t move at all. “I know where Goku will be landing.” He continued. The girl’s eyes opened at that, looking at Trunks. “He’ll be showing up around two hours from now. Follow me.” Trunks said, but although he was still shouting, he was talking to the girl more than anyone else. He could almost see the calculation taking place behind those eyes of hers, then she stood up, nodded as she rose in the air, an aura, paler than that of a Super Saiyan’s, once again rising up around her. Trunks raised his power level, and shot forward through the air. * * * * * It was done. She’d gotten her revenge on the being that had destroyed her planet and her family. So why the hell am I following this complete stranger? She mused to herself as the wind whipped through her hair. Absently, she brushed her bangs away from her eyes, unaware of how the young man next to her had his eyes on her. Because she wanted to see Goku, that’s why. Because she wanted to finally see the face plastered on a million newspapers across the country, the celebrity that people took care to avoid, out of respect for him. Because she wanted to see the power that she heard about so often. Maybe she wanted to challenge him, or just to meet him. She wasn’t sure. But whatever it was, she was going. * * * * * Trunks still wasn’t sure what to make of her. She was small, almost fragile looking, but she was anything but fragile. She was capable of clicking up to the second level, as he liked to call transforming into a Super Saiyan. But her movements, the way she talked, even that simple motion of brushing hair away from her eyes- all feminine. Mother never mentioned anyone like her in our time… So she’s the one that killed Frieza off single-handedly, then disappeared before the Z fighters showed up… So then, if she’s so powerful, and if she’s on our side, which she seems to be, then why didn’t she show up in the fight against the… His watched beeped. He opened up the face, looked at it. Then he slowly descended toward the ground. She was following. So if she deliberately avoided the Goku and the others in my timeline, then why is she here to meet Goku now? Because of me? Probably. God, I never anticipated anything like this. Here she is, a perfect stranger that even my mother doesn’t know and didn’t mention. I don’t even know her name. * * * * * She landed near the stranger, sat down immediately, and watched as the others showed up. When the Z fighters, as everyone called them, were all together, she watched the young man to see what he would do. His eyes… Very pale blue. Almost exactly like someone else she knew… Cold as ice. The all-too familiar memory rising up in her head again. Cool fingers touching her skin, tracing her cheek almost tenderly… Without thinking, she turned her back to everyone, gritting her teeth, forcing the image in her head back until it reluctantly retreated into a corner of her mind. There were voices talking behind her. Damn. How much time had past, anyway? She thought for a few seconds. From the bits and pieces of the conversation she could pick up from behind her, she guessed that she couldn’t have missed more than a few minutes. Four or five at the most. The wind picked up, blowing strands of hair away from her face. She forced her eyes open, letting the wind sting her eyes, trying to drive away the sudden rise of nausea in her mind as the memory struggled to resurface. God, I hate it when this happens. * * * * * Bulma was wondering what the hell was going on. First Vegeta had shown up at her place unannounced, acting like the spoiled idiot he was, and now there were two other complete strangers. At least they didn’t demand room service. The first was a girl, a young one at that, maybe thirteen or so. Bulma had only gotten a glimpse of her face before she had turned her back on the group, but from what she saw, the girl was strikingly beautiful. She wouldn’t talk to any of them, and none of them tried to talk to her. Just like Vegeta, Bulma thought wryly, turning her attention to the second person. The second person was much more open with them, despite his refusal to even tell them his name. Still, he was friendly, seemed to be willing to talk. He was tall, a head taller than her, with pale hair and eyes. Like the other members of the Z gang, he was well built. She didn’t know him at all, but he did remind her of someone… She wasn’t sure who. Do I need to know who? I mean, who cares? * * * * * “Are you alright?” She didn’t move, didn’t jump, didn’t say anything. Damn. This was such a bad time for him to be talking to her. “Well?” “I’m fine.” She whispered. She forced the memory away from her head, forced herself to turn around and talk to this tall stranger, “Do you need something?” “Yes, in fact,” He said, putting his hands in his pockets, “A name, an address, a phone number…something along those lines.” “That’s not important.” “To me it is.” “…” * * * * * Gohan looked at both of them, talking to each other. The youth with the pale hair was nice enough, he decided, but the girl… she’s so…odd. She’s been living in a forest near this area, which is somewhat close to my home, near enough so that I should have been able to sense her power level a long time ago, but I never did. She’s my age, but she seems so old at times. She’s introverted, unwilling to talk, and her whole behavior reflects independence. Sounds a lot like someone I know, he almost smiled, his eyes flickering over at Vegeta. But all we can do is wait, he concluded after a few more moments of debating with himself. Wait for two hours. Wait for father to show up. Wait for those two to reveal what they are here for. * * * * * “Look, don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to pick up on you or anything.” “…I never said that you were.” “I know that. All I’m asking for is a name.” “What’s yours.” “What?” “I asked a question. What’s your name.” “….” * * * * * Do they know each other? Where are they from? Why haven’t they shown up before now? Why haven’t I ever sensed their energy levels before now if they’re this powerful? A million questions surged through Vegeta’s head, each one producing a multitude of new ones. This boy said that Goku would arrive in two hours. Fine. This boy said that he knew Goku by reputation only. Fine. This boy said that he couldn’t tell them his name. There was something seriously wrong there. A name was something expendable, something meant to be given away without too much trouble. He should have just made up a name and gotten it over with. The idiot. * * * * * “Well?” “….” * * * * * His mother had always told him that if she had a second child, and if it were a boy, then she would have named him… * * * * * “…Alec.” * * * * * His mother had always thought that his father’s views were funny. “He always insisted on giving you a Saiyan name, or at least something that sounded like one,” She would smile, “So I let him. I let him pick out a name for you just so that he’d shut up.” “And,” She would add, in a softer voice, later on, when Trunks grew older, “I loved him too much to say no.” * * * * * “Alec. That’s a human name.” “What’s your point?” “It’s not probable.” “It’s not probable, but it’s not impossible.” “…” * * * * * No, Piccolo decided as he watched the two of them, They didn’t know each other before this. Her behavior wasn’t hostile or rude, but it had a coldness about it that fairly radiated, “I don’t care.” And in order to talk to her, the other stranger had also donned a new appearance as well. That girl’s as cold as ice…and he…he’s intense. Very intense. Fire and Ice… I wonder what they went through as children to think that they have to act like this. * * * * * “Now. What’s your name?” “…” * * * * * She had always been a loner. Ever since she was just a small child, maybe two or three, she had always preferred to be alone. While other children needed each other, she was always off on her own, exploring the forest around her home. Her mother and father had always teased her about it….then worried. Parents never knew how much their children overheard…or guessed. So she would go off, make a few friends who never really were friends. All they cared about was training, blood, war. Typical Saiyans. She’d stick around them for a while before her parents began to worry about her friends, then she’d slowly drift away to the forest she knew so well. So she remained a loner until the day Frieza destroyed the planet and her parents sacrificed themselves in order to save her. She still wasn’t quite sure when she began to hate the name she grew up with. * * * * * “Call me Ender.” * * * * * Her mother’s nickname for her had always been Ender * * * * * “Ender’s a human name. And a nickname for Andrew.” “What are you trying to say here?” “It’s not possible.” “Neither is Alec.” Was that a trace of a grin on his face?