"Forgotten ones rise
from their troubled sleep
Buried deep in memory
Grasping a future untold
and stolen from their hands
Beware the myths of old"
~Old Saiyan prophecy

Part 1
The Reluctant Warrior
(A DBZ fanfic)

The Earth cast a gloomy shadow on the orbiting alien ship. Long and slender, it brooded silently among the stars. Very dull lights, almost useless as illumination, glowed eerily on the dark bridge.

"Adjust orbit forward 50 karns," a voice commanded from the shadows.

A silhouetted figure moved slightly near the front of the bridge, momentarily blocking some of the weak display readings. "Sir, that adjustment will break us out of geo-synchronous orbit."

"Is our operative in place?"

"Yes sir."

"Then do it," the first voice stated. "I'm not ready to announce our presence yet and dawn is catching us fast."

The silhouette nodded and turned back to the control panel. The ship slowly moved, staying in the safety of the Earth's shadow.

***

Soft snoring stirred with the light breeze, while the first rays of dawn touched the world and turned it golden. Two tiny butterflies flew in the open window, the curtains waving hello.

Gohan yawned and stretched. A muffled thump causing his eyes to open with curiosity. He looked around sleepily until he spied a book lying on the floor. Turning on his side, he retrieved the tome from where it had fallen next to his bed. He'd been studying late into the night and must've drifted off with the book still in his hands.

He carefully straightened the bent pages and set the book on the nightstand. Yawning again, he snuggled back under the covers, wanting to enjoy the peaceful morning a little longer.

"AAAAAAAAWWWAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" A piercing cry shattered the silence.

'Well, good morning to you too, Goten," Gohan thought a bit sourly as he stuffed his head under his pillow. The baby cries continued for another half minute before coming to an abrupt end. "Finally..." Gohan left the thought unfinished, burrowing deeper under the covers.

"Heh. That kid has a set of lungs," a deep voice commented.

Gohan couldn't suppress the groan that escaped. Any other time, he would have been glad to see his friend. But having gotten little sleep, he wasn't ready to get up and face the day. Besides, he knew what the other man wanted. It was about the only reason they saw each other nowadays.

Tossing the pillow aside, Gohan managed a smile for his friend. "Hey, Piccolo. Up bright and early, aren't you?"

The Namek leaned against the wall, beside the open window, his arms crossed and cape fluttering a bit in the breeze. Without looking at Gohan he said, "We did agree to spar today. I didn't want to waste any time."

Gohan studied Piccolo's profile for a silent moment. He almost asked if he could beg off this time. But the last year or so had been hard on his friend, heck on both of them. He knew his friend needed this little bit of social contact, whether he admitted it or not. And Gohan was feeling stressed himself. Maybe some good old exercise was just what he needed.

"Ok," he said, "But let me get some breakfast first." He hopped out of bed and threw on the first things that came to hand. He just hoped his mother, Chichi, wasn't going to blow a gasket or something. He'd been careful to let her know what was planned for today, but sometimes she just forgot things. And he hated having to remind her when that happened.

Gohan stepped quietly out into the hall. He crept over to his parents' bedroom, hoping to see his mother still in bed. No such luck. The room was empty, meaning she was probably in the kitchen already. He actually considered skipping breakfast. 'No food and no sleep, that's make a great start' he thought grimly. Sighing, he decided to hope for the best. He quickly made his way to the kitchen.

Chichi stood before the stove, stirring a pot of miso soup. She had just finished sprinkling in some seasoning or other, when the small plastic bottle slipped from her hand. "Oh!" Chichi huffed.

Gohan noticed the slight tremor in her fingers as she reached for the errant container. When the bottle slipped a second time, he made a beeline for it. "I've got it, mom," he said, picking it up. He gave Chichi a smile. "Good morning. That sure smells good!"

Chichi ran her hand absently through her limp black hair. She gave Gohan a slightly blank look, then realizing her hand was still shaking, she hid it in her apron. She returned Gohan's smile. "Good morning. You're up so early, breakfast isn't ready yet."

Gohan didn't answer right away. He couldn't help but notice his mom's pale face, a waneness that hung about her. 'She works too hard' he thought 'She should be resting like the doctor told her'. He put a hand on her shoulder and tried, gently, to guide her towards a chair. "It looks almost done. Why don't you have a seat and let me finish it?"

"What?!" Chichi yelped. She gave Gohan a frown, looking a bit more like her old self. "No way. If you're anything like your father, you'll eat most of it instead of letting it cook. I'm not going through another disaster like that!"

"Eh..." A little drop of sweat trickled down Gohan's temple.

"Did someone mention me?" a cheery voice called from the doorway. Goku stepped into the kitchen, a baby held against his shoulder. "Wow, miso soup, Chichi? Looks great."

"Ooohh, there's my little Goten!" Chichi cooed. She ruffled the baby's already thick tuft of black hair. Goten promptly belched, then proceeded to drool on Goku's shirt. Chichi chuckled, "I see Daddy's fed you, but he needs to work on the burping."

Goku gave a lopsided grin. "Well, give me a little while and I'll get it right."

Chichi laughed again. "I just hope he's not in school by then," she kidded. She sighed a bit, then turned back to the stove.

Gohan was by her side immediately. "Really, mom, I think I can handle it. Why not sit and hold Goten a bit?"

Chichi was about to retort that she wasn't a breakable doll, but Gohan had effectively stemmed her irritation by bringing Goten into it. She sighed again and sat in the proffered chair. Goku carefully settled Goten in her lap, then hovered nearby, keeping on eye on the two.

Gohan quickly finished up the soup and set the table before his mother could protest. Everyone settled in for the meal.

***

"Oooooh! Look what you've done!"

The loudness of the pronouncement belied the cultured voice which uttered it. All eyes in the dining room turned toward the source of the disturbance.

An overdressed man stood beside one of the white-clothed tables, the remains of a just finished breakfast before him. He made fretting motions, causing a flurry of lace cuffs and ruffles. The excitement, it seemed, was caused by a miniscule amount of sauce which a nearby waiter had accidentally dripped on the man. The man produced an oversized handkerchief and proceeded to dab daintily at the spot.

"You oaf! Look! Look, this will never come out!" The man's eyes closed, his long black lashes creating quite a contrast next to his pale skin. He moaned and seemed about to pass out.

"Ah...sir? Sir!" The waiter who had been the focus of the ranting became concerned and placed on hand on the patron's arm.

Immediately, the man snatched away his arm and glared at the waiter. "How dare you?! Do not touch me! I want the manager immediately! Manager!"

The waiter blushed, embarrassed by all the attention his customer was getting. At least his voice wasn't high and shrill, still the dramatics were bad enough.

Finally, the manager made his appearance. "Get out of here," he commanded the waiter. The waiter complied, he didn't care that he would catch it later, he was just happy to be out of there.

The manager tried to calm down his irate customer. "Please sir, an accident I'm sure. Just send us the cleaning bill."

"Cleaning bill?" The man seemed shocked by the suggestion. "As if I would wear this again after having sauce spilt on it and then that grubby waiter's fingers touching it!"

The manager sweated a bit. "We-we could replace it, of course. And your breakfast is free."

"Hmph." The man lifted his chin but seemed to be a little calmer. "Very well. No payment for the breakfast. And you will pay for ruining my favorite suit." With that, the man turned and left.

***

An uneasy silence enveloped the diners. Gohan and Goku went at their meals with seemingly appreciative gusto, but anyone who had a discerning eye would see the furtive glances they cast towards Chichi.

Chichi spent most of the time either offering Goten little bites or pushing her breakfast around her plate.

'Who does she think she's fooling?' Gohan asked himself, then grimaced inwardly. Well, she had fooled them in the beginning. It was Gohan who first caught on to her act, while Goku hadn't thought much of it. Gohan couldn't blame his father. Goku wasn't one for subtlety, he acted and spoke rather forthrightly and generally expected others to do the same. After Gohan had alerted him to the fact Chichi wasn't eating well, though, Goku didn't seem to miss a morsel of food that she left uneaten.

Unfortunately, his forthrightness and concern decided to manifest themselves at the same time this morning.

"Hey Chichi, aren't you going to eat more than that?" Goku asked, pointing to her plate. "You've fed most of it to Goten."

Chichi puffed out her cheeks and countered, "I'm not very hungry, Goku. Besides, Goten is a growing boy, he needs his food."

Goku was about to point out Goten had already eaten when Gohan cut him off with a quick shake of his head. Goku gave his son a slightly confused look, but kept quiet. Gohan could tell his mother wouldn't give in on this particular argument today. He usually counted on one acquiescence a day, and they'd already gotten her to take a break from cooking earlier.

When he had finished his own breakfast, he gathered up his courage and said, "Well, I'm done. I have to go. Piccolo's been waiting for about an hour for me to join him."

Chichi looked up at her son. "Piccolo? Are you two going to train today?" She looked genuinely puzzled, as if she hadn't known.

Gohan took the fact she wasn't shouting down the roof as a good sign. "Yeah," he answered, "We've had this planned for a while now."

"Well..." Chichi looked uncertain. Then sighed, "Ok, but you will be home by supper, right Gohan? You can't let your studies slide!"

"Yes, mom," said Gohan. It was an old pet peeve of hers, him training instead of studying. She used to rant and rave about it. Sometimes still did. But he wasn't training as much anymore. Gohan waved goodbye to his parents, leaving with memories of the past occupying his mind.

"Oomph!" Gohan, distracted by his thoughts, ran right into Piccolo, who was standing right outside the door of their house. Gohan rubbed his nose ruefully as he stared up at his friend. "Hey, Piccolo. Why were you standing there?"

"You were taking your sweet time eating," Piccolo growled. "I was about to haul you outside, finished or not."

"Ah...Sorry I took so long," Gohan offered.

Piccolo stood silent for a moment, then asked, "How's your mom, kid?"

"Oh, ok. She's still not eating enough though."

Piccolo didn't comment on that. Apparently satisfied that necessary pleasantries were out of the way, he said, "Well, let's get moving. We've wasted enough time already." With that, he turned on his heel and flew off towards the east.

Gohan scratched the back of his head, shrugged and took off after the Namek. They landed in a field quite a distance away. Piccolo immediately dropped into his battle-ready stance. Gohan followed his lead. Without a word, the sparring match began.

***

Jump, block, kick, punch, punch, block, jump, fall down, get up, block, punch, kick, get hit, die.

"Ha! You lose again!"

"Huh?" Hasu blinked as her video game character died a rather gruesome death by getting a hole punched through his chest. She sighed, then looked down at the boy who she had been playing against. He grinned up at her and flashed the peace sign. She smiled at him. Oh well, she never could get the hang of these fighting games.

"Ha, you're right, Shiido," she admitted. "That's the fourth time, I think."

"Fifth!" declared the tow-headed boy, his grin growing wider.

Hasu laughed. She was a terrible player, and she suspected that was why Shiido kept challenging her. She continued to chuckle until a single beep caught her attention. Looking at her watch, she saw that nearly two hours had passed. "Oh my! Sorry, Shiido, I've got to run now. I'm going to be late!"

Shiido pulled a face. "You adults always have to hurry off somewhere," he complained.

Hasu's smile turned slightly sad. "Yeah, I guess we do." She brightened again and ruffled Shiido's hair, chuckling again when he pulled away. "You have fun for me today, ok?"

Shiido smiled and nodded. "Bye Hasu! Come tomorrow!" He waved to her as she left the arcade. The last thing she heard as she stepped out the door was his voice calling, "And bring lots of money!!"

Hasu laughed, considerably cheered by Shiido's youthful antics. Had she ever been that precocious? She couldn't honestly remember. It wasn't that she was old, she'd only been 'officially' an adult for a few years, it was just that she tended to push her memories away until they dimmed and died. She preferred it that way. Unfortunately, it did sometimes make her feel as if she'd already lived a long while.

Hasu shrugged away the pensiveness that had settled over her. No sense wasting time on things you couldn't change. Time to look to the future! She smiled again. At least she had managed to land an assisting job that interested her. Working in a development lab never was dull.

Hasu turned to her right as she came to a small walkway. The path led to a small building huddled in some trees. She punched in a code at the touchpad beside the door. A muted click signaled the release of some kind of lock. She pushed open the door and entered.

"Hello, Dr. Ayame!" Hasu called after she closed the door. There was a startled exclamation from beyond another door. Seconds later, a head full of gray hair peeped out.

"Hello, Hasu," Dr. Ayame said. "You're here early today, aren't you?"

"Eh..." A sweat drop made its way down Hasu's temple.

"Oh, it is morning...isn't it?" The doctor looked perplexed at Hasu's silence.

"Uh, yes, doctor," Hasu said. "I'm actually a little late today."

"Oh?" said Dr. Ayame, his eyebrows hiking up to his hairline. "Then why-ever did you tell me?"

Hasu blinked in surprise, then giggled. "Too honest for my own good?" she guessed.

Dr. Ayame chuckled. "Well, let's not worry about it, eh? I've made a breakthrough and we need to get to work right away."

"Yes, doctor," Hasu said as she made her way into the back lab.

***

"Where the hell is that lab?" muttered a voice. A few people on the sidewalk turned toward the speaker, a man wearing a peacock blue coat. When he noticed their stares, he gave them back a disdainful one of his own until they left him alone. Then he sighed.

Normally, he would never use such crude language, but he was tired of walking around the city. It was visually displeasing, the architecture atrocious and no shades on the walkway to protect his delicate complexion. And the people were just as bad! They had no sense of fashion, he decided as a teenager in t-shirt and blue jeans skated by.

He had to find his destination quickly if he was too survive this horror. He walked over to a tree and stood in its shade. He shuddered to think what sort of creatures might fall in his hair, but he wanted out of the sun. With another sigh, he pulled out a what appeared to be a compact.

A shiny silver with unusual etchings, it glinted in the sunlight that shone through the leaves of the tree. The man began a close inspection of the damage he was sure his face had received.

"Adabana!" A voice nearly yelled as a face appeared in the mirror of the compact.

Adabana jumped, so intent he had been on studying his reflection. "Ah! You almost gave me palpitations, Azami! Please, do warn me next time!"

The face in the mirror grimaced. "Have you arrived at the lab yet?"

"Nooo..." Adabana drew out the word. "How do you expect me to arrive at all quickly when I have to walk?"

"Grrr..." The face was not pleased. "What? You've had hours already!"

Adabana gave a delicate snort. "I had to make my way through wilderness just to reach the city. Then I got hungry, so of course I had to stop and get something. Not that it was what I would refer to as food. Nearly tasteless, seasoned all wrong and..."

"SHUT UP!"

Adabana immediately closed his mouth. A hurt expression crossed his face, his lower lip quivered, then a full-fledged pout settled in.

".....all right. All right! Quit that!" Azami grumbled, but his own expression seemed to be a little less harsh. "Just get there as fast as you can. Remember, both our butts are on line here, so don't screw up!"

"Yes, Azami!" Adabana said, sounding eager now. "I will prevail!"

Adabana continued smiling as Azami's faced blipped off the screen. His smile melted into a petulant frown. "How could you do this to me? Abandoned on a barbaric planet! Oh!"

He stuffed the compact back into a pocket and set out again. His gazed searched the buildings he passed. He couldn't believe his rotten luck, getting stuck with this assignment, walking around like a peasant and.....

"Oh!" Adabana halted in surprise. He had nearly passed by his destination while mulling over his fate. Straightening his coat and brushing off his sleeves, he headed toward the building nestled in a grove of trees.

This was finally going to be done with.

***

Disclaimer - Dragon Ball was created by Akira Toriyama and the anime Dragon Ball/Z/GT is licensed/distributed by Toei, FUNimation and various entities. This is a fan page, no infringement is intended.

All original content copyright © 2003-2007 Devon Aster