The Saiyan Heritage and the Loneliness of the Warrior

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***

LETTIE

Bulma was staring at me with wide, unblinking eyes.

We had decided to follow Vegeta before he made the mistake of reaching Dr. Gero's lab first and awakening Androids 17 and 18 to fight them instead of doing what any sane person in his place would do: kill them.

However, before we left, we revealed to Bulma the identity of the lavender-haired boy who had saved her life and her baby's.

Poor thing… Her shocked reaction was understandable.

By this point, teen Trunks had already sped off after Vegeta to try to stop him, leaving Bulma staring at the trail of clouds he left behind, a look of utter bewilderment on her face.

"Wow…" Krillin sighed, also gazing at the sky. "Now I understand why that boy— I mean, why Trunks can transform into a Super Saiyan. His father is the Prince of the race."

"Let's go!" Piccolo urged impatiently. "There's nothing more for us to do here, and we need to find the lab before Vegeta and Dr. Gero and destroy the Androids. Both of them seem to have lost their minds! Idiots…" He then turned to my nephew. "Gohan, take Bulma, the baby, and Yajirobe to Capsule Corporation as fast as you can. You'll be safer there than at Goku's house. You don't need to come with us to the lab. We have enough adult warriors." Piccolo lowered his voice and grumbled like an old grumpy man, "I'm sick of having kids on the battlefield! For heaven's sake!" And he walked off, kicking rocks as he went.

I didn't say anything but laughed internally at his behavior. My fiancé certainly didn't feel that way when he insisted on training Gohan to fight against the Saiyans years ago.

Anyway, the plan was set. We said our goodbyes to Gohan and Bulma (I kissed baby Trunks' chubby cheeks, and he responded with a toothless smile), and we took off to search for Dr. Gero's lab in the mountains near North City.

The journey was extremely long, with thousands of miles to cover. We spent most of the time in silence, each of us lost in our own thoughts, until at one point, my fiancé flew closer to me and said: "You're anxious."

Once again, he seemed to know exactly how I was feeling. I responded with a small, embarrassed smile.

"Yes, I am."

"Baby Trunks is safe now," Piccolo said in a reassuring tone. "There's no reason for you to worry about him."

"It's not the baby I'm worried about," I sighed. "It's the teenager."

"Oh," Piccolo raised his eyebrows.

After a moment of silence, I shook my head and confessed, "This isn't going to work…"

"What isn't going to work?" Piccolo looked puzzled.

I gazed deeply into his eyes and replied, "What Trunks is trying to do with Vegeta."

Piccolo furrowed his brow. Krillin, flying alongside us, said, "I don't get it, Lettie."

Tien then cleared his throat and, from the other side, explained, "Trunks seems like the kind of person who will try to get close to his father. He'll do everything he can to earn his approval and love." He looked at us with great sorrow. "But he won't succeed."

My heart sank in my chest, and with a trembling voice, I replied, "Exactly. He's just a kid…" A huge lump formed in my throat. "And he's already been through horrifying things in his timeline that we can't even begin to imagine." I lowered my head and closed my eyes. "And there's absolutely nothing we can do to help him in his future. Nothing."

***

Located right in the middle of a mountain range, the sprawling city of North Capital came into view.

"Has anyone been able to locate Vegeta?" my fiancé asked over the noise of the wind.

"No," Tien replied. "I can't sense his Ki."

"Good," I added. "Maybe Trunks is managing to stall him."

"Even so," Krillin chimed in, "we can't take too long."

Everyone nodded, and we sped up.

We finally stopped, hovering and observing the city. Ice covered the mountain peaks. It was only then that I realized how cold it was. After all, we were in the north, so the temperature was quite low. Poor Krillin started shivering from head to toe.

"Do you think we'll find the lab?" Tien looked at us with concern. "There are so many mountains here, and the caves are pretty small. Plus, we can't sense Dr. Gero's Ki, but he can sense ours."

He had a point. As far as the eye could see, the landscape looked the same. It could take hours, maybe even days, to find the lab! And if Dr. Gero was as clever as he seemed, he wouldn't leave his cave with a warning sign saying: 'LAB ENTRANCE HERE.'

No… His lab would be well hidden. That much I was sure of.

"Well…" Piccolo sighed. "The only way is to split up and search. Whoever finds it first, alert the others."

"Alright," I agreed. "What kind of signal should we use?"

"We can raise our Ki," Piccolo replied. "That way, we'll know immediately." Then my fiancé turned to me. "But you're coming with me."

"Don't worry," I said with a reassuring smile. "I'm fully recovered and—"

"Love, I'm not leaving you on your own like last time," Piccolo interrupted firmly. "Please, just come with me and—"

"Love???" Krillin cut it short, glancing back and forth between the two of us.

Piccolo realized he'd accidentally called me by a very intimate and affectionate nickname in public and turned as red as his fighting gi.

I admit I was caught off guard too, feeling my cheeks heat up. Tien, on the other hand, was watching us with great interest and, dare I say, a small smile.

"Well… uh… I…," I stammered. "I know this may not be the most appropriate time to say it, but…" I gave a timid smile. "Piccolo and I just got engaged. I figured you should know."

Silence.

"HA!!!" Krillin pointed at us, his face lighting up. "I knew it!!! I always knew you two liked each other!!! HAHAHA!!!"

"Congratulations, my friend." Tien patted Piccolo on the back as he gradually returned to his normal color.

"Th-Thanks…" Piccolo muttered, embarrassed.

"Wow, that's amazing news!" Krillin exclaimed after shaking my hand as well. "I wouldn't miss that wedding for the world!"

"I didn't invite you," Piccolo said flatly, looking at him with boredom. "Tien, you are invited."

"Oh, thanks!"

Krillin looked desolated.

"Don't be silly," I laughed, giving my fiancé a playful shove. "Krillin, of course you're invited. It would be an honor to have you celebrating with us."

Krillin bowed in gratitude, but a freezing gust of wind blew past us, forming ice crystals along his bare arms, and he froze in place for a moment.

"Oh, w-what I wouldn't g-give for a j-jacket right now…" he lamented, teeth chattering.

"I'm cold too," Tien said, shivering in his single-sleeved green gi. "But we'll have to endure it and focus on the mission."

I found myself huddling against the cold as well, the icy air seeping through the sleeves of my kimono. That's when I remembered—I was literally engaged to a walking wardrobe. A single glance was all it took for Piccolo to understand.

"Oh, no, Lettie!" he protested indignantly.

One minute later, Krillin, Tien, and I were wearing warm versions of our fighting uniforms, made of soft fabrics with thick, silky fur. Piccolo, however, remained in his purple gi as a silent protest against having his powers used for such trivial purposes.

"Enough stalling!" he grumbled. "We have to hurry before 17 and 18 awaken!"

"Wait," Krillin interjected. "I think we should divide the Senzu Beans among us. What do you think?"

"Great idea," I agreed, and the others nodded.

There were eight beans left, so we each took two, to be used only in extreme emergencies. Ideally, it would be better not to use them while fighting the Androids. They were a scarce resource, after all.

Finally, we split up.

Piccolo and I flew for about half an hour searching for the lab or Dr. Gero himself among the mountains, but the only life we encountered were the region's wildlife—bears, foxes, and deer.

"Gohan would love to explore this area." I smiled nostalgically at the sight of a family of brown rabbits. "Remember when we used to play explorer during that year of training against the Saiyans?"

"I do…" Piccolo chuckled under his breath but stayed focused on our search. "I'll admit, sometimes I miss those days—camping at night, eating your soup…"

"I miss them too," I replied, though my eyebrows soon lifted. "Hey, I've got an idea! Since we're getting married, how about we start a family tradition of visiting our old Camp once a month with Naíma and spending a weekend there? We could take her to the hot springs! Imagine how much she'd love playing there!"

Piccolo turned to me, his eyes glinting with excitement. "I think that's a perfect idea." He then chuckled.

"What is it?" I asked, curious.

"It's just…" Piccolo curled his lips into a satisfied smile. "In the dream I had when I died, we actually had that tradition of visiting the Camp and going to the hot springs."

My heart swelled with joy at the thought of that hopeful future, despite the situation we were in. Slowly, I flew closer to him, so close that our noses nearly touched. Piccolo's eyes widened at the sudden proximity.

"Then it's settled," I whispered. I took his face in my hands and pressed my lips to his in a soft, sweet kiss. "It'll be a family tradition. And later, we'll take the twins there too."

Piccolo blushed at my kiss but broke into a wide smile a second later. Gently, he slid his hands to my waist and back, pulling me closer, intending to kiss me again. But then…

Krillin's Ki spiked dramatically.

We stopped, our mouths slightly open, staring at each other.

He had found the lab!!!

Without a second thought, we sped off toward Krillin. He was in a very remote location, near a discreet cave, almost impossible to spot.

"There it is!" Krillin pointed to a subtle opening in the rocky mountainside. "That's Dr. Gero's lab!"

"Wow, well done, Krillin," I praised, squinting to get a better look.

"Indeed," Tien added. "You did an excellent job searching."

"I wouldn't say that," Krillin replied. "I only found it because I had a not-so-friendly encounter with Dr. Gero a few minutes ago, and that's how I discovered the location of his secret lab."

"That doesn't matter." My fiancé gritted his teeth. "LET'S GO!!!"

Piccolo, Tien, and I charged toward the cave entrance with determination.

"WAIT!!!!" Krillin yelled, making us stop abruptly.

"What is it, man??" I asked, exasperated.

"It's just…" He lowered his head awkwardly. "Dr. Gero is already inside."

"WHAT?!" we exclaimed in unison.

"Sorry…" Krillin apologized, looking downcast. "I couldn't stop him."

Oh no! This was terrible news! If Dr. Gero was already inside, it meant he could be awakening the Androids at that very moment!

"Damn it!" Piccolo growled. "We don't have any more time to waste; we need to destroy this place immediately!"

Everyone agreed, and we rushed toward the cave. A thin layer of ice covered the ground, echoing our anxious footsteps, while the cold wind whistled through the cracks in the mountains. After passing through a dark, rocky archway, we found ourselves facing a large, sturdy iron door blocking the passage. At its center, a digital numeric panel blinked with a red light.

Locked.

Dang it. We were too late!

In our desperation, we started pounding on the door with brute force—kicking, punching, and ramming into it—but nothing could break through the fortress.

"Stand back!" my fiancé commanded. "I'll try to blast it open!"

Stumbling and gasping for breath, we stepped aside to give him room. Piccolo took a few steps back and raised his arm in front of him. A small ball of energy began to grow in the palm of his hand.

"Well, well…" said a voice behind him. "So, you've found the lab?"

The energy ball dissipated from Piccolo's hand, and we all turned to see who the voice belonged to. But even before I turned, I already knew it was none other than Vegeta.

He scrutinized us from the entrance of the cave with a daring smile.

Trunks stood just behind him. His blue eyes met mine, clearly saying, "I tried everything. Please, forgive me."

I let out a long, weary sigh and looked at my fiancé. He seemed just as fed up with Vegeta as I was. So, ignoring his presence, Piccolo stepped back in front of the door, raised his arm, and began forming another energy ball to break it down.

"Piccolo," Vegeta threatened, "if you destroy the Androids, you'll have to deal with me."

"Oh, shut up!" I rolled my eyes at him.

"You shut up!" he retorted. "You should've stayed in that dump of yours playing dollhouse!"

For the second time, the energy ball in Piccolo's hand dissipated. He turned to Vegeta with a dark glare, nostrils flaring and chest puffed out.

This wasn't good.

"Guys, please, calm down!" Trunks stepped between them. "This isn't the time for this!" He looked at my fiancé with a pleading expression. "Mr. Piccolo, hurry! Destroy the door! Let's take out these Androids now!!! You have no idea how terrible they are!!!"

"YOU SHUT UP TOO!" Vegeta barked, shoving Trunks so hard that he stumbled and fell at my feet, visibly stunned.

"Trunks!" I knelt to help him. "Are you okay?!"

He was trembling all over. Maybe from the shock, maybe from anger, maybe from fear—or perhaps all three combined. I exchanged nervous glances with Krillin and Tien.

The mood was awful.

But something made it even worse: voices. They were coming from the other side of the door. One of them, I recognized as Dr. Gero's. There were two more: one sounded like a man's, the other a woman's. Their tones were aggressive and hostile.

A chilling shiver ran down my spine. It was… It was them…

"It's the Androids!!!" Krillin exclaimed desperately beside me. "Dr. Gero has already awakened them!!!"

Piccolo and I exchanged terrified looks.

"STAND ASIDE, YOU WORMS!" Vegeta stepped forward, raising his hand. "I'll break this door down right now!"

Trunks ran up to him. "Don't do this! If the Androids are already awake, we have no choice but to retreat! We need to wait until Goku recovers, and only then—"

"WE DON'T NEED KAKAROT!" Vegeta snapped, and a bright blue light erupted from his hand, blinding me for a moment.

BOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!

A cloud of smoke rose with the explosion of the door, and I could only make out Piccolo's arms wrapping around me protectively amidst the mix of debris.

"Lettie!" he said, worried. "Are you hurt?!"

"I've taken… cough! cough!… worse hits…" I grimaced as I leaned on him. A piece of metal had struck my thigh. It was going to leave a nasty bruise for sure.

"Is anyone else injured?!" Piccolo called out, his voice rising as he searched through the smoke. I could hear our companions coughing somewhere in the haze, though I couldn't see them.

The silence that followed was heavy. Only the creaking of the door's remains echoed above us, accompanied by the soft hiss of the dissipating smoke.

That's when we saw them: three figures standing near the blasted door—Dr. Gero, now joined by a pair of young adults who couldn't have been older than their twenties. The young man had long black hair, and the other was a pretty blonde woman. Both had cold eyes and wore earrings.

"When you see them, you'll know exactly who they are." Trunks' voice echoed in my mind.

Yes. It was them.

Androids 17 and 18 had been awakened, and they were standing right there in front of us.