Status: Daily Updates

The Bond

Arrival

“One year… that’s all we have and they’ll be here… We have to train harder than ever if we can even hope to survive…”

It was that dream again.

Katima watched as the man with the tail was snatched from behind and held, while a third man with green skin charged his ki, developing a spark of energy at his finger tips and blasted it at the two struggling before him. The beam went straight through them both. It was the green-skinned man that spoke the warning. That spoke of more coming…

Screaming, Katima sat bolt upright in her bed, a cold sweat across her forehead. She had been having the same dream for nearly a year. She had no clue what it meant, or why it kept repeating. But there was one thing that kept her interest. The man’s tail. That man had obviously held deep evil in his heart, and the man that held him had sacrificed himself so that this tailed man could be destroyed.

Katima twisted in her bed to eye her own tail, brown furred and twitching. She knew that the dream meant something, and she had been preparing ever since they started. It was the key to her past, that she was certain of. Whoever was coming would have answers to who and what she was. But they were also most likely going to try and kill everyone. The look of fear in the green-skinned man’s face… It spoke more that his vocal warning ever could.

Ever since the death of the old woman that had taken care of her, she had lived on her own in the forest within a log home they had built in the trees. She was in her twenties now, but still she never truly liked life in the city, preferring to hunt for her food and live off the land.

When Katima entered the main room of her home, intent on gathering her gear and go hunting, she felt it. The mere shock of how high the power levels she was feeling was alone enough to make her freeze in her tracks.

It had to be them. Who else could it possibly be? She rushed to the window of her home and yanked it open before diving out and landing skillfully on the ground twenty feet below. It was coming from the city. Katima jumped into the air and flew above the trees, making a B-line for the closest civilization she lived by, East City. As she approached, she could see the towering buildings sharp against the horizon, a great plume of smoke rising up from it.

What were they? Aliens? She paused and landed, focusing on hiding her own power level. Surely such strong beings had the ability to sense her like she could sense them. Several people were running, either toward the source of the smoke or away. Katima was about to join the ones to investigate the situation when she felt a sharp spark of power.

It was then everything around her was bathed in a brilliant white light. The blast sent her sailing back into the forest where she managed to grab hold of a tree and hold on tightly. What brilliant and awesome power! Katima felt the itch to battle, something she had struggled with her entire life, but she knew she stood no chance.

As the light died away, Katima fell to the forest floor, gasping and feeling as if her raven black hair had been singed, as well as every speck of her skin. She blinked rapidly to clear her eyes from the blinding flash and looked out at the giant crater that used to be East City.

There were no bodies, no rubble. All that Katima could see were the two figures standing in the center of the crater. Katima felt the darkness, the evil that lay within their hearts, and it made her shudder. As she watched, the two figures went airborne and shot off northward. Katima thought for a moment, slowly getting to her feet. She had to do something. She couldn’t let them get away with so much murder.

Katima leapt into the sky and shot after them, trying not to let the anger pulsing through her take over.

***

“They’re here.”

Piccolo glared up into the sky, and was surprised that all he could manage to feel was anger that they had arrived sooner than he had estimated. Beside him, Gohan was shaking slightly, fear in his eyes. The child had come a long way in his training, and Piccolo knew the tiny half-Saiyan was ready. But Gohan didn’t know what he held inside him.

“You’re ready,” Piccolo assured the boy, “Just keep your guard up. They’re heading straight for us.”

Gohan swallowed and gathered a look of determination on his face and nodded. Piccolo was pleased at the bravery he showed. They would need every bit of it.

“I’m not late, am I?”

Piccolo turned to see a short man in orange clothing land a few feet away, his bald head gleaming in the sun, the six freckles on his forehead more obvious than ever.

“Krillin!” Gohan cried in glee, smiling widely, “No, you’re just in time.”

“You’ve improved,” said Piccolo, noting the slight increase in the human’s power level, “Good.”

“I’ve been training with the others with Kami and Mr. Popo,” said Krillin proudly, holding up a bicep and flexing, “They’re on their way too.”

“Good,” said Piccolo, “We just have to keep the Saiyans at bay until Goku returns.”

“I know that Master Roshi and the others have already wished him back,” said Krillin, a slow frown coming to his face, “But he’s not here yet…”

Piccolo opened his mouth to reply, but he felt the Saiyan’s presence. He turned and saw them soaring through the sky toward them. There was nothing to do about it now. They would have to fight.

***

Katima stared down at the group of five below her. Two were the men, and the other three were obviously there to fight them. She had felt their power levels as she followed the figures, and figured that these invaders were looking to fight the strongest on the planet, which was sadly still no match for them.

Katima lowered herself to the ground and touched down lightly behind the two men that had destroyed East City. One was a large, bulging man with a bald head and a thin line of hair around his mouth. The other, the source of the highest power level was three feet shorter than the first with long spiked black hair. The two of them turned to look at the newcomer with curious eyes. Katima found herself gazing at the shorter man. The darkness within him was staggering, and his strength… it nearly made her shudder.

“My Scouter didn’t pick her up, Vegeta,” said the larger man, frowning.

The one called Vegeta’s eyes widened slightly, “Nappa… look closer.”

“I- but- a tail?” Nappa shook his head and stared at the tail swishing behind the her, “I thought the only Saiyan sent to Earth was Kakarot!”

Katima looked closely and saw brown furry belts about both of their waists. They were tails.

“So, mystery of where I came from is finally solved,” Katima whispered.

“There’s three of them?!”

Katima took notice of the three beings behind the two men, and to her shock she spotted the green-skinned man from her dream. He was smiling.

“No, Krillin, she’s on our side. While I was training I sent a message to one other high power level that were on our planet in hopes that it would help us. Turns out I was right,” he said.

The short bald one called Krillin gaped at him open mouthed, “You- how could you do that?”

“Nappa, do you remember an infant Saiyan being sent to destroy the planet Namek?” asked Vegeta, beginning to smile, “I think its trajectory may have been off a bit.”

“You think she’s Bardok’s youngest?” Nappa blinked, “But we got word that ship was destroyed in an asteroid belt… but that would be the only explanation…”

“How convenient,” laughed Vegeta, “We lost a Saiyans a year ago and now we found one more. I just hope she wasn’t dropped as babe like Kakarot.”

“What’s a Saiyan?” Katima demanded.

Nappa began to laugh, “Maybe she was dropped, Vegeta.”

Vegeta smiled in amusement, “You don’t know?” he chuckled, “It’s what you are. Tell me, have you experienced the itch of battle? The need to kill?”

Katima remained silent. She struggled with that urge every moment of her life.

“I see,” Vegeta laughed, “Now, why don’t you exercise that need and get rid of these pests for me?” he gestured to the three behind them, making the child and the short one flinch, “I’ll tell you the entire story of our race then.”

Katima slowly strode forward, walking through Vegeta and Nappa and looking at the three before her. The two smaller ones were shaking slightly, but the green-skinned man stood his ground, glaring at them as if daring them to attack. Katima smiled at them and then turned on the spot, facing the two Saiyans.

“I won’t let you hurt any more innocents,” Katima glanced back at the child, “I witnessed what you did to East City.”

Vegeta narrowed his eyes, “Fool. You could have everything. Do you have any idea of the power you hold? I could help you unlock it.”

“I think I’ll manage just fine without you,” snapped Katima.

Just then, there was a voice from above.

“Hey!”

Katima turned to see two figures land beside Krillin. One was tall, shirtless and muscular, looking entirely human besides the third eye in the center of his forehead. The one beside him was smaller than the child, with paper white skin and red circles on his cheeks, a black hat hugging his round little head.

“I thought there were only two Saiyans coming,” said the little one, looking up at the three-eyed man.

“What gives, Piccolo?” he turned to the green-skinned man, raising an eyebrow.

“She’s with us,” said Piccolo, smirking.

“How convenient,” said the three eyed man, bowing in her direction, “I’m Tien, and this is Chiaotzu,” he gestured to the little one.

“ And I’m Yamcha.”

A third figure landed beside the child on the other end of the line up, his long black hair flipping in the wind about his scarred face. Katima wondered vaguely why he seemed so cocky, a broad smile on his face as he glared at their enemy.

“It’s Yamcha!” Krillin called, “I guess the gang’s all here. Unless you warned other random Saiyans through dreams, Piccolo?”

“Afraid it was only this one,” said Piccolo as Katima went to join the others in their line to face Vegeta and Nappa.

Vegeta chuckled, shaking his head slowly. There was a device attached to his left ear, connected to a red screen that went over his eye. Katima wondered what it was for as he pressed a button of the side of it, and looked at each of them in turn.

“It appears that with all your power levels together you make a whopping Eighty-five hundred. Impressive…” he laughed again, this time Nappa joining in.

It must read power levels. Katima was amazed that they couldn’t do that without a device.

“I’m sure we don’t have to scuff up our armor to fight these ones, Nappa. Don’t you have a few more Saiybamen?”

“I think I do, just about seven,” Nappa pulled out a satchel and poured some seeds into his palm, “How perfect.”

Nappa knelt and buried each seed before pouring liquid on them from a small vial. The earth where they had been planted cracked and bulged, and one by one, tiny strange green men sprouted from the earth, each with enlarged skulls and red eyes, clawed hands and feet, and sharp fangs.

“What the hell are those?” Krillin cried.

“Tada,” Nappa said gleefully, “One for each of you.”

“Why don’t we make this into a little game?” asked Vegeta, smirking, “We’ll go one at a time. One of yours versus one of ours.”

“Are you nuts? We aren’t playing your sick games!” shouted Krillin.

“No,” said Piccolo softly, “We’ll do it.”

“Wh-what? But Piccolo-” Krillin began.

“We need to by time for Goku to get here,” said Piccolo, glancing at the short man, “This may just be the perfect thing.”

“I’ll go first.”

Tien stepped forward, all three eyes gleaming with determination.

Vegeta and Nappa laughed.

“Good sports,” Vegeta said softly, “You,” he looked at the Saiybaman closest to him, “You’re first.”

The Saiybaman smiled gleefully and went to face Tien. Katima could tell each Saiybaman alone wasn’t too powerful, but still she lashed her tail in anticipation. Who was this Goku they were waiting for? And why wasn’t he already here?

The battle began. Tien and the Saiybaman were quickly locked in a fight that for a while appeared evenly matched, but Katima could see that this Tien was getting the upper hand. She watched as he dodged attacks and landed them as if he was merely dancing. Tien managed to put some distance between himself and the beast when he held his hands to his face and screamed, “SOLAR FLARE!”

A blinding light erupted, making the Saiybaman screech and clutch its eyes. Tien rushed forward and landed several blows. However when the green being recovered, its strange head split in two, spitting out a strange liquid toward Tien. He quickly twisted away to dodge it, and he and the others watched in horror as where the juice had landed burned a rut into the ground.

“I would suggest that you don’t let that stuff touch you,” Katima called.

“Great advice,” scoffed Tien, leaping forward and engaging in battle once again.

He managed to grab the Saiybaman in his arms and go airborne. For a moment the two were struggling up in the air before Tien managed to gain the upper hand and send the monster sailing toward the ground. The impact shook the earth slightly, And when the dust cleared, Katima saw the Saiybaman twitching within a great crater in the earth.

The people around her erupted into applause, cheering Tien excitedly, especially the little one called Chiaotzu. Katima smiled at him as he rejoined his ranks. A skilled fighter. Her smile faded as she turned back toward the two Saiyans. He wasn’t going to be skilled enough, however.

Vegeta seemed unfazed by the defeat of one of his minions.

“You must have gotten a bad batch, Nappa,” he said, smirking.

Nappa seemed a bit more peeved by the loss of one of his green soldiers than his comrade. “Impossible,” he snapped, “I know these ones are good, each one has a power level of twelve hundred- the same as…”

“Yes, Nappa?” Vegeta prompted.

“Raditz,” said Nappa, straightening and looking over at him.

That name struck something in Katima. She suddenly saw her dream again, and with a jolt, she knew that the man with the tail was this Raditz

“Now you see why we won’t be wasting our wish from the Dragon Balls on him,” said Vegeta.

“What’s a Dragon Ball?” Katima asked Piccolo, frowning.

“Long story,” said Piccolo, “It’s what they’re after. And we can’t let them have it. It’s why we have to hold them off until Goku returns,” he met her gaze, “He was the one who sacrificed himself to kill Radditz.”

“But he died,” said Katima, blinking, “didn’t he?”

“We used the Dragon Balls to bring him back. But he’s late,” said Piccolo.

Whoa. So these Dragon Balls could bring someone back from the dead. Yes, Vegeta had said something about a wish. That would definitely be bad if he and Nappa got a hold of something that could grant such power.

The Saiybaman that Tien had defeated was slowly getting up, bleeding purple blood and shaking madly.

“Watch out, Tien, it’s getting up!” Chiaotzu called.

Tien turned but it turned out he didn’t have to do anything. Vegeta held out a hand and a great blast burst from his palm, making the Saiybaman dissolve into nothing within a heartbeat. They all stared with wide terrified eyes at where the thing had been.

“Vegeta- why?” Nappa cried, looking shocked.

“It had been defeated,” said Vegeta simply, “He wasn’t going to win. A useless ally isn’t an ally at all.”

“But he was still alive!” Nappa said, staring at Vegeta with wide eyes.

“Yes,” said Vegeta softly, “And now he’s not. Which shows what the rest of you,” he snarled at the remaining Saiybamen, making them cower in fear, “can expect if you fail like he did!”

They all bowed wildly to him, and Katima felt her heart pounding. This guy was ruthless. He just killed that thing in a blink of an eye.

“Who’s next?” Nappa demanded once he recovered from the shock.

Katima rolled her shoulders and stepped forward, her tail lashing, “I’ll go,” she said.

Vegeta smiled at her, “Okay, little Saiyan girl, let’s see what you’ve got.”

A Saiybaman jumped forward to meet her challenge. Katima frowned at it thoughtfully as it giggled madly at her. She could toy with it to buy them time. But something in her wanted to really scare Vegeta- to show him just how much she was capable of.

As the green thing approached her, Katima took a deep, cleansing breath. The Saiybaman took a swing at her, and Katima blocked it swiftly, twisting its little arm up and slamming her fist into his side, cracking several ribs. She then grasped the sides of its head and slammed it down on her up thrusting knee, making it fall onto its back. She then held out a hand and shot a heavy beam of energy at it, making a clean hole appear in its chest. The little green monster wasn’t moving after that.

Katima brushed off her hands and looked up at Vegeta and was pleased to see the glint of surprise in his eyes. Nappa was gaping in shock as well. Katima twitched her tail and smiled lightly.

“I was expecting a challenge,” she said.

“I’ll give you a challenge!” cried Nappa, making to charge forward.

“Nappa, no,” snapped Vegeta, “She got lucky. Our game isn’t done yet.”

Nappa growled but relaxed.

Katima smirked and returned to the others. All of them except Piccolo were staring at her in awe.

“Th-that was amazing,” breathed Krillin, “Where did you learn to fight?”

Katima furrowed her brow at him, “I taught myself.”

That got a collective stroke of surprise.

“Well, then, I guess I’ll go next,” said Krillin, stepping forward.

“No.”

They all turned to look at Yamcha, who was smiling, “I’ll go,” he said, “You’ve already been wished back once with the Dragon Balls, Krillin. Let me take this one.”

“Are you sure?” asked Krillin, “You don’t have to.”

“Trust me, I got this one,” Yamcha smiled and strode forward to meet the next Saiybaman.

“Let’s go!” Yamcha cried, and suddenly, the two leapt into the air and began to brawl.

Katima watched as they flipped and flailed through the air with decent speed until Piccolo’s voice distracted her.

“Gohan, you can’t see them.”

Katima turned to see him addressing the young boy beside him. Gohan was looking up at the sky with a confused look, and Katima realized that Yamcha and his opponent were moving too fast for the boy to see.

“Everyone is watching the battle but you, Gohan,” Piccolo snapped.

Katima went to him and knelt beside him. Gohan seemed nervous about her closeness, fear in his young eyes.

“I won’t hurt you, child,” Katima assured, and pointed up to the sky, “You can’t look where you think you’ll find them. You must listen and look for where you know they’ll be. If you are one step ahead, even at their speed your eyes will see them.”

Gohan looked up at the sky with a look of determination. After a moment, she saw a flicker of surprise in his eyes.

“There, see?” said Katima, turning to see Yamcha blocking every blow with practiced skill, but only landing half of what he was dishing out.

“Wow,” said Gohan softly, his eyes twitching quickly to keep up with the battle, “Yeah, I see them!”

Katima smiled and placed a hand on his head to ruffle his wild black hair before she stood and nodded at Piccolo, “He’s your apprentice?”

“You could say that,” said Piccolo, looking down at him, “He has great potential. But he has to be pushed.”

Katima turned to watch as the Saiybaman finally fell from the sky. Yamcha, victorious, landed beside its body and placed his hands on his hips, grinning proudly.

The group around Katima cheered, but she saw the being at Yamcha’s feet beginning to twitch.

“That wasn’t bad at all!” Yamcha cried, looking toward Vegeta and Nappa, “I’ll take all of those little freaks on! Come on!”

“No, Yamcha, don’t get a big head!” Tien cried.

“Relax!” Yamcha laughed, “I could take on all of those things with my hands tied!”

The Saiybaman at Yamcha’s feet suddenly launched upwards, latching its arms and legs around Yamcha’s torso, pinning his arms to his sides. The little Saiybaman seemed to grin at him before there was a blinding flash of light, and an explosion enveloped them both.

“YAMCHA!” the people around Katima screamed as she stared on in horror.

When the dust cleared, Yamcha was curled in a small crater, his clothing smoldering, his body horribly still.

Krillin pushed past Katima, rushing to Yamcha’s side.

“No!” Krillin groaned, kneeling and reaching down to take a pulse.

Katima knew he was dead. His power level was gone, vanished with the flash of the Saiybaman.

“Kamikaze,” muttered Tien, “He never stood a chance.”

Krillin was shaking. “Yamcha you proud fool…” Katima heard him mutter, “You should have let me go… it should have been me… It should have been me!”

Krillin twisted around, a look of pure rage bathing his face. He jumped to his feet, shaking with anger.

“I’ll take all of you on!” Krillin cried, “And I’ll kill you all! Just like Yamcha was going to do!”

He lifted his hands above his head and a great orb of energy formed in each one. Katima felt a massive spike in his power level before he launched the attack, bathing the remaining Saiybamen and the two Saiyans in light. The blast made Katima raise a hand to shield her face, her hair blown back as if in high wind.

When the light faded there was a great cloud of smoke and a crater where their enemies had been. Krillin began to laugh wildly, and everyone but Katima and Piccolo cheered. It was obvious that they thought that Krillin had killed the Saiyans too.

But Katima felt their power levels like nothing had changed.

As the smoke cleared, they were revealed, cutting Krillin and the others short, making them fall into a horrified silence. Vegeta and Nappa stood there, not even a smudge of dirt on them.

“How?” cried Krillin, “I put everything I had into that shot!”

“Aw, it looks like he killed all the Saiybamen,” said Nappa, beginning to grin.

“Well,” said Vegeta, also smirking, “I suppose you’re up.”

Nappa smirked and flexed, “Sure thing, Vegeta. Which one should I kill first?”

Katima made to step forward, but Tien jumped forward, all three eyes glazed with anger.

“Yamcha was our friend,” Tien snarled, “You won’t get away with killing him!”

Nappa smirked, “Fine, then, three eyes, show me what you got.”

Tien let out a roar and launched himself at the Saiyan, one arm stretched out to make the first blow.

But it never landed.

There was a flash, and Tien was suddenly past Nappa, who had one hand down as if he had just swiped out like a cat. For a moment, Katima thought they had passed each other, but then Tien began to scream.

His left forearm was gone, laying twitching at Nappa’s feet.

Little Chiaotzu let out a scream of rage and terror, “Tien!”

Nappa was laughing as Tien fell to his knees clutching the bleeding stump that was his arm.

“You got spunk, kid, I’ll give you that!” Nappa sneered and laughed again.

Krillin was shaking, his eyes wide with horror. Gohan had tears in his eyes and Katima wanted to step in front of the boy to shield the awful sight from him.

“NO!” Chiaotzu suddenly launched forward, and latched his small body on the back of Nappa, clinging tightly, and his little body beginning to glow.

“Hey! Get off you pest,” Nappa’s bulky arms couldn’t reach Chiaotzu, no matter how he reach for him. Nappa took to the sky and flew to a great rock spire, slamming his back into it so hard that it shattered at the top, rubble scattering down.

“CHIAOTZU NO!” Tien screamed, struggling to his feet and staring up in horror.

But Chiaotzu was still on Nappa, his body glowing brighter and brighter.

“What is he doing?” Katima asked, looking at Krillin who had rushed to her side.

“He’s going to sacrifice himself to kill that monster,” Krillin hissed, “Chiaotzu stop! We’ve aready wished you back to life once, we can’t do it twice!”

“I have to do this,” Chiaotzu’s voice echoed in Katima’s mind, and she saw that he was communicating to them all in this manner, “For the people of earth, for Tien! Goodbye my friends!”

There was a blinding flash of light, and an explosion consumed him and Nappa. Katima looked away, her gut twisting. Such bravery and dedication. She wondered what the little thing and Tien had gone through to make them so close.

Katima bowed her head in respect, making her tail still. She could hear Tien continue to scream, both in pain from his lost arm, and agony for his lost comrade. Her heart ached for him, and she strode to his side, placing a hand on his shoulder. Tien didn’t even look up at her, remaining on his knees and shaking as tears fell down his face.

“It was the only way,” she muttered softly to him, “You saw them survive the blast Krillin shot at them.”

“He was my best friend,” Tien sobbed, “Why? Why did he…”

Katima squeezed his shoulder.

“Ah! Look!” Gohan cried, making Katima turn her face to the sky.

The smoke was finally clearing from the blast Chiaotzu had made. And there was Nappa, wiping his chin, and smirking down at them. There wasn’t a scratch on him. He laughed heartedly, rolling his shoulders.

“What a waste,” he scoffed.

“NO!” Tien screamed, jumping to his feet, “No! How?! HOW?!”

“This guy is indestructible!” Krillin cried.

Katima felt rage flood her, and she crouched, ready to launch herself into the air to destroy this beast, to tear his limbs from his body.

“No,” Tien elbowed her back, glancing at her, “He’s mine.”

“He’ll slaughter you,” Katima hissed, “Let me-”

“No!” Tien snapped, “I will not let Chiaotzu die for nothing!”

Nappa landed in front of them, smiling as if he were watching children bicker.

“Well hurry up and decide before I decide for you,” he laughed.

Tien let out a roar of hatred and threw himself forward. Nappa merely seemed to be humoring him, doing nothing but dodge Tien’s every hit. They brawled across the landscape, destroying any boulder or spire in their path. Katima could feel Tien’s rage bathing through her, and she felt it too, wanting nothing more than to come to his aid. But Tien needed to fight this on his own.

“This is getting a little boring, mister,” said Nappa, “Are you even trying?”

Tien let out a cry of frustration, throwing himself forward, delivering blow after blow but never landing one. Finally Nappa twisted and slammed his fist across Tien’s face, making him sail away from him, landing in a heap a few yards away. But Tien got to his feet again, ready to keep fighting. Now Nappa was fighting back, kneeing Tien in the gut, slamming an elbow in his chest, slamming fists into every available bit of the man’s body.

“We have to help him!” Krillin cried.

“I’m with you,” said Piccolo, and the two of them went flying toward the brawling pair. Katima glanced at Gohan, who was shaking in fear.

“Hey!” she called to him, “Be ready, stay there until I say!”

Gohan blinked at her and then nodded, but still looked terrified.

Katima twisted and flew after the others, who were already brawling with Nappa at their best, Tien down below laying motionless and beaten in the dirt. Just as Katima approached, Krillin landed a blow on Nappa’s head, making him soar downward to Piccolo, who spun and slammed a fist into the burly man’s side, making him fly toward Katima. She twisted and threw out a kick, making Nappa go sailing down toward Gohan.

“NOW!” Katima cried, “HIT HIM WITH EVERYTHING YOU’VE GOT, KID!”

Gohan stared up at the Saiyan coming at him, shaking with fear. Katima willed him to do as she said. She could feel the suppressed power within him, knew he was capable of doing serious damage, but it appeared that wasn’t enough. Gohan cried out in terror and ran, hiding behind a bit of rock. Nappa twisted and recovered in time to land on his feet where Gohan had been. He turned to the child and laughed.

“What’s wrong kid, I don’t scare you that much, do I?”

“Gohan, run!” Krillin shouted.

But Gohan appeared to be paralyzed with fear as Nappa approached him. However just as Nappa raised a hand to strike, he was hit by a huge blast of power that sent him flying before it consumed him. Shocked, Katima looked for the source of the blast and spotted Tien, gasping for breath and holding up his good arm.

“That was for Chiaotzu,” Tien muttered before he fell face first to the ground, and his power level went to nothing.

“Tien!” Krillin cried.

“Focus,” Piccolo snapped, “Don’t take your eye off the enemy.”

Katima looked as the smoke from the blast cleared and saw that this one seemed to actually have done some damage. Nappa’s armor was broken at the shoulders and there were several small wounds on his skin. He wiped dirt from his face and smirked at them, “Pointless,” he said.

Krillin was shaking again, and Katima couldn’t tell if it was fear or anger this time.

“You won’t keep this up when Goku gets here!” he called,

“What’s a Goku?” asked Nappa, laughing, “Is he a secret weapon or something?”

“Nappa.”
Katima had completely forgotten about Vegeta. She turned with the others to see him sitting on a boulder with his arms crossed and eyes closed as if he were taking a nap.

“I do believe they’re talking about Kakarot.”

Nappa laughed loudly, “Kakarot? He barely defeated Radditz and you guys think he can save you?”

“You have no clue how strong he is now!” Krillin snapped.

“Well then where is he?” Nappa asked, smiling widely, “It looks to me that he found his senses and stayed away!”

“He’ll be here,” snarled Krillin, “Just you wait.”

“Do you really think he’s strong enough to beat this guy?” Katima asked.

“He’s been training in Other World with King Kai,” said Krillin, smiling up at her, “I know if anyone can beat him, Goku can.”

Katima frowned and looked back toward Vegeta who had opened his eyes and was staring at her.

“It’s a shame he won’t be here in time to see you die,” said Nappa, grinning maniacally.

“No, Nappa.”

Nappa turned to look at Vegeta, eyes wide, “What do you mean no?”

“We’ll wait for Kakarot,” said Vegeta softly, “And when he gets here, we’ll show them just how pathetic of a low-class warrior he is, just like his sister,” Vegeta looked at Katima again, making all other eyes go to her.

“Sister?” Krillin whispered, “Wha-”

“That Saiyan girl’s name is Katima,” said Vegeta, smiling up at her, “She’s the youngest of Bardock, and his only daughter. Bardock was also Kakarot and Raditz’s father.”

Katima stared. The woman that had raised her had told her she had been found in a round space pod, with the words, “Wake up, Katima, destroy all life-forms,” being repeated over and over from it. Lily, her adoptive mother, had kept the name for her and taken her in to make sure Katima never hurt anyone, which with a lot of practice in willpower, Katima didn’t.

So that Raditz was her brother… and this Goku as well. How many more surprises was she in for today?

“You have three hours for Kakarot to show up,” said Vegeta, “After that, you all die.”

“We’re seriously supposed to just stand around for three hours?” asked Katima, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes,” said Vegeta sharply, “And if any of you think about trying to escape, I’ll kill you myself.”

Katima and the others landed beside Gohan while Nappa went to Vegeta’s side.

“Come on, Vegeta, what am I supposed to do for three hours?” he asked.

“Go and occupy yourself,” said Vegeta, “I don’t care how.”

Nappa grinned, “I think I’ll go test out the military on this planet,” he said and launched up into the air and took off, with the fading words, “This is turning out to be my best day ever.”

Katima and the others watched him go.

“Well, I guess that gives us some time,” said Piccolo softly.

“Why don’t we just attack that guy while his friend is away?” Krillin asked.

“Because he’s far stronger than his friend,” said Katima, glaring toward Vegeta as he closed his eyes again, “He isn’t even relatively worried about us attacking him.”

“I’m sorry.”

Katima turned to see Gohan bowing his head toward them, “I couldn’t shoot him,” he muttered, “I was just too scared.”

“Gohan, if you’re not going to help than I suggest you go home to your mother,” snapped Piccolo.

Gohan flinched.

“Hey, Piccolo, come on, he’s just a kid,” said Krillin, “It’s taking a lot for him to just be out here.”

“I trained him better than this,” Piccolo growled.

Gohan turned and began walking away.

“Gohan, don’t go,” said Krillin, “We need you.”

“Yes, don’t go.”

They all turned to see Vegeta walking toward them, “I thought you would want to see the show, kid.”

He stopped a few yards away, smirking at them, “What did I say about anyone leaving?”

Katima pulled Gohan behind her, glaring at him.

“Oh, how cute, the aunt protecting her little nephew,” said Vegeta, and laughed.

“What?” Katima looked behind her at the child.

“He’s Goku’s son,” said Krillin, “And if that guy is right about you being Goku’s sister, then yeah, he’d be your nephew.”

Katima blinked and looked back at Vegeta, “You seem to know a lot about my heritage,” she said.

“I should,” said Vegeta, “I’m the prince of all Saiyans, girl.”

“My apologies, your highness,” Katima smirked and mock bowed, “Should I polish your boots?”

“With your blood, if Kakarot doesn’t show up on time,” said Vegeta, turning and returning the boulder he was sitting on, “Don’t make me regret giving you three hours.”
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I've had this puppy on fanfiction.net for a while, got good feedback, decided to share it with mibba readers, hope you enjoy!
Song of this Chapter: I Won't Back Down by Johnny Cash