A blast sounded out on the open field that was heard from miles away and the ground shook with its force, pebbles and rocks moving back and forth on in the dirt. A bubble of red, with streams of pink running through it like cords of lighting bloomed up instantly, shooting debris up into the cloudless sky with wicked force. From out of the center of a brilliant flash of red light, a figure came barreling out, her hands out in front of her like claws as she attacked. She shot up into the air with a burst of energy and placed her hands tight at her side, locking her fists. Her adversary was just ahead of her, flying with a smirk on his face, his clothing torn nearly to bits with scratches and lacerations all over his green body. She took a moment to spit out the blood that was accumulating in her mouth, and then turned her eyes to Namek as if she were locking onto a target. Nevertheless, the blood continued to trail out of the corner of her mouth, swirling behind her as she raged after Piccolo. He fell to the ground in an attempt to escape her and as he turned to face her, gathering ki in between his hands in another attack, she disappeared in a burst of speed and adrenaline. She skidded to the ground and dropped a hand to touch the earth, spinning around as she kicked hard and swift at the left side of his head, aiming for the maximum amount of damage. The ki attack that he had started disappeared as he ducked to avoid the attack, bringing out his own leg to sweep her feet out from under her. She leapt up and turned herself upside down just in time to reach out and grab onto his calf. Gripping tightly with both hands, she flipped back to her feet and started spinning. Piccolo spun helplessly through the air in circles, all the while he tried frantically to reach down and get her hands off of him. With a hard, strong motion, she flung him into the rock formation at the left of her. She didn’t wait for the crash, but followed his flailing body like a missile. He smashed into the rocks and so did she, nailing his face with a flurry of hits and kicks. The two of them were sent through the rocks in a sudden explosion, and the smoke and dust momentarily blinded them while they continued to fight. His eyes looked almost cross-eyed and she could tell that he was having trouble, but still she attacked with the ferocity that she would normally have used. He managed to land a kick on her shoulder, and the instant that it connected, she could feel the bones shattering. The sudden, sharp pain was enough to take her breath away, and her eyes came alive with fury. She elbowed him in the gut, and as he doubled over, she brought both of her clasped hands together on the top of his head, all the while snarling with anger. He fell to the ground and looked up at her with dizzy eyes as she towered over him. In one last pitiful attempt, he swept an arm out to knock her feet away from her.

Koronu jumped up and flipped back, then faced him again with a smug look on her face. In one sudden motion, her coal black eyes turned jade and pupil less and her hair lit up around her shoulders in gold. Piccolo turned his head and partially covered his eyes from the golden flames. She took the opportunity to nail him straight in the side with a kick that was so vicious it made his eyes bulge. He was shot back violently and crashed into the dirt with his arms sprawled and his mouth gasping for air.

She stood watching, her arms crossed over her chest. The surrounding clouds of smoke and dirt dissipated, and as she titled her head and squinted, she saw that Piccolo remained on the ground unmoving, breathing shallowly.

As quickly as she had transformed, it faded, and her hair fell down to her shoulders in a deep black mass. She strode forward, bent down and reached out a hand towards the Namek, smirking. “I really kicked your pickle-green ass that time, didn’t I?”

“You were lucky.” He grunted, taking her hand as she helped him to his unsteady feet. He paused for a moment, looking weak and defeated. “You get lucky an awful lot, actually. I think I need to practice more often.”

Korono placed one hand on her hip and gestured around to the craters and smoking grass around them. “What do you call this?”

He put his hands around his stomach, spitting up into the dirt and wiping the dripping green blood off of his temple. “I would call this an exercise in masochism.”

She smiled. “You always know just what to say.”

Korono had her own injuries too, but she would wait until later to take care of them, preferably when Piccolo wasn’t around to see how much damage he had really caused. She would simply wait until after she was safe inside the Son house, and then ask ChiChi to take care of the injuries. The woman was used to it by now. More often than not, she came home looking as though she had been repeatedly smashing herself against a concrete wall. She actually found it quite humorous to have ChiChi scold her and swat her with an apron, yelling at her to be more cautious from now on. Months ago, that same woman used to cower in her presence. If someone had told her then that before long she would be taking orders from the Earth woman, she would have killed them. Literally. She didn’t mind now, however. She took it all in stride, telling herself that this was her place now and that this was her life. All in all, it wasn’t an unhappy life. Earth was a truly beautiful planet, full of things that she had never in her life imagined. The people here were kind as well, though most of them seemed to be frightened of her.

Most of all, she was happy with her family. ChiChi of course was her daughter in law, but Koronu thought of her more as a trusted friend. If it weren’t for that lovely woman, she wouldn’t have ended up here in the first place, but it was more than that. The two of them had a very special link and she couldn’t have imagined anyone more suited to marry her son. Kakarroto remained dear in her heart from the very second that she met him again. He was the kindest, purest Saiya-jin that she had ever heard of. Nothing seemed to anger him or make him frustrated, except of course threat to his family’s well being. He was a protector, a guardian, and a very special being. She was proud as hell to know that he was her son. She admired Gohan’s intelligence, and his gentle nature. He was as pure and good-hearted as well, though in a quieter, sweeter way. Though most would compare him to Kakarroto, she saw more of ChiChi in him. They both preferred to be powerful in a subtle way. And she was fond of Goten of course, the grandson that she had come to know best. Much like Kakarroto, he was bright and cheerful, always full of laughter and smiles. Just being around him made her want to smile as well, and sometimes she couldn’t help herself, captivated by his innocence and optimism. Despite the fact that she was a tough, cool Saiya-jin female, she still felt the warmest of feelings in her heart when sitting down to dinner with her new family.

Her stomach chose that exact moment to rubble and growl as if there were a lion trapped inside. Hunger hit her instantly, and she felt like she just might starve if she didn’t get some of ChiChi’s food soon. The woman could cook like a demon too, which was good because with three healthy, adult Saiya-jins to feed, she needed skill.

“Stupid Saiya-jins. I think the only thing that matters to you more than fighting is food.” Piccolo admonished. “If you weren’t so hungry now, we could continue this fight.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he collapsed to the ground, obviously in pain.

She gave him a look, taking in all of the injuries and bleeding. “If you weren’t half dead, it might be a possibility. But in case you’ve haven’t noticed, you look like you were just run over by a capsule car.”

Of course, she felt as though she had been run over as well. She could feel her body cursing at her for the constant abuse. Her sparring sessions with Piccolo were healthy, though. It was good for her to release some of the tension that had been burning in her heart since she was born. Every Saiya-jin (with the exception of Kakarroto and his litter) felt that anger inside of them; it was as much a part of them as vicious fighting and uncontrollable appetite. Even when she was faced with all of the beauty and cheerfulness of Earth, she still felt it, and she knew that it would never go away. So instead of taking it out on her family at inappropriate times like a certain Saiya-jin Prince that she knew, she chose to purge it out of her with heavy sparring.

Vejiita was another source of confusion for her. There was no doubt in her mind that he was exceedingly powerful and a resourceful fighter, and she admired him for that, but he was also a seemingly terrible person. He had lost his mate, and she knew that was indeed painful, but she would never have treated her children as he was treating his now. She couldn’t say anything to him of course. The Saiya-jin Prince demanded respect and even though she was older and most likely wiser, she gave that respect to him, because she knew that it was her place. After all, she was well used to having some idiotic prick giving her orders --- She had been Sukuashi’s mate. At certain times Vejiita reminded her of Sukuashi, though she knew there was no comparison. Vejiita might be a prick, but no one would ever call him stupid. His mind was amazing, something that she would have given up her left arm for. Vejiita was proud and acted superior as well, but he had a right to. He was the rightful prince of the most powerful race in the universe. And unlike Sukuashi, she saw that his heart was good. It was very, very small of course, almost miniscule, but he did have a heart and it was nothing but pure. He was just so used to being a bad guy that he didn’t know how to change. Memories of the past probably crept up on him all the time as well. She knew what it was like to have the deaths of those killed by your hand come back to haunt you. Being a Saiya-jin, he would always have a cold, black wall surrounding his soul; they were raised to be this way. But she knew that he could be decent if he tried hard enough, and according to Kakarroto, he often was. Her son was very fond of Vejiita, and had endless respect for him, although he never treated him as if he were a prince. The two of them had already experienced several confrontations since he had come to Earth, and he was certain that there would be more.

“Vejiita thinks of me as his greatest enemy.”He had told her with a sloppy grin on his face. “I guess that is what makes us such good friends.”

Vejiita truly was a mystery and someone that wished to get to know very well. She had no plans of leaving the planet, so she had time to spare. Vejiita wouldn’t let her in yet; he still ignored her as if she were nothing more than a blade of grass. There was still time however, to see the true Saiya-jin that was behind his façade. Until then, she would just have to get to know the people that were willing to let her in. The Son family was of course, wonderful, and although Vejiita wasn’t fond of her, his family was. Tayhei, the snappy little witch that lived with them had taken a particular shining to her. The biggest surprise though, was indeed Piccolo. Out of everyone, she thought he would be the last person to befriend her. He didn’t seem particularly unfriendly, but the thought of a Namek and a Saiya-jin becoming friends was just laughable.

She laughed about it now as she patted him on the back with her hand, then grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and flung his huge body over her good shoulder. “Come on, Namek. Let’s go get you stitched up so I can kick your ass again tomorrow.”

Tayhei looked over the writing on the computer screen once more, then grabbed the pen from behind her ears and made another note on the file that she had set out before her. Her sharp, neat handwriting was scrawled everywhere in the lab, little notes stuck on nearly every available surface. The lab itself had grown far more complicated during the last few months. She had expanded it, brought in new, up to date equipment. She had thrown herself into work, determined to make Capsule Corporation bigger and better than it had ever been. Nothing else mattered to her at the moment, except for increasing sales and developing new products for the community. Nothing else was nearly as important as staying in the lab all day and night working as hard as her body allowed her.

Nothing at all, except….She missed Bulma. She missed Bulma so much that it felt as though her lungs had been sucked out every time she thought about her.

“Tayhei, I’m very proud of you.” Bulma had said to her on the way to Sukuashi. “I can’t think of anyone else better suited to take my place.”

“Life is so unpredictable, Tayhei. We never know what it has in store for us, or when it’s going to end.”

The pen fell from Tayhei’s hand as a wave of emotion swept over her. She blinked back tears, and stared at the file in front of her unseeing. It simply wasn’t fair. Everything in her life that she ever loved was taken away from her. Just when she was starting to be happy, starting to feel good about herself, she was slapped in the face with something like this. She didn’t even know why she bothered to fall in love with this family in the first place. When she came here, she didn’t have any intention of developing warm and fuzzy feelings. But one look at Bra’s sweet little face, one kind word from Bulma, and she fell instantly. It was as if she had always belonged here with them, had always been a part of the family. Even though she would never, ever admit it, she was fond of Trunks and Vejiita as well. She had to admire Vejiita for his pure determination and pride, and as for Trunks…..well, he was simply too handsome not to like. She had fallen for all of them, gotten sucked into family life again almost instantly. And then it was all taken away from her as quickly as it had begun.

She shook her head, pushing away the sadness, and concentrated on her work. Capsule Corporation’s newest endeavor was to be cloning. There had been several significant scientific breakthroughs in this field, and she was determined to have the largest breakthrough yet. Regular Adult DNA Cloning was old news. It was simple to inject a cell into a womb and produce another living creature, but her objective was instant cloning. Instead of waiting for the cloned organism to grow, mature and be born, she wanted to produce it instantly. That would certainly edge everyone else out of the market. These days it was all about speed. Everyone wanted things now, fast, quick, and easy. With her in charge of Capsule Corporation, she was going to take that need for speed and manipulate the buyers until the market was hers and hers alone.

But there were some serious problems with her idea. Mainly, her subjects kept dying.

With that thought, she looked over at the cage to her right, where Lenny the hamster was laying feet-up in his sawdust.

Unfortunately, Lenny had not been the first rodent Tayhei had unintentionally exterminated. There had already been a dozen Lenny's. This time he hadn’t even made it for more than five minutes. She went to get a cup of coffee and when she returned he was a corpse. And not only that, but Benny, the hamster that had been diligently giving his cells up until then was dead as well. This was something she had not expected. According to all the research she had ever done, the stem organism was not supposed to die. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that every pet she had kept since she was a little girl had died. Was it her fault that she overfed her goldfish? Or that her cats had a unique preference for running under moving vehicles?

In any case, she was going to have to start back at zero. And get a new hamster.

A bang sounded as the library doors opened and hit against the wall, and Tayhei looked up angrily, ready to attack whatever assistant had busted into the lab. Koronu entered the laboratory with a smirk on her face, dragging that detestable green man around like a rag doll. She couldn’t tell, but it looked as though he was unconscious and in a great deal of pain. There were bleeding cuts and dark bruises all over him, and she could tell that his bones were twisted into unnatural positions. Koronu didn’t greet her, but merely flung Piccolo up and onto the table right in front of Tayhei, laying his green, bloody body over all of the files and intricate notes that she had made that day.

She glared. “What the hell is this?”

Koronu dusted off her hands and looked at her. “Fix him.”

Tayhei raised an eyebrow. “Do I look like a doctor to you? I’m busy at the moment. If you want him fixed, take him to the hospital.” She looked down at Piccolo’s injured body with disgust. “Though my professional opinion is that you should take him out back and shoot him.”

Koronu tilted her head and smirked. “Maybe I should take you out back and shoot you.”

She laughed. “I’d like to see you try. I’m not afraid of Vejiita, and I’m certainly not afraid of you. If you want to intimidate a helpless female, go find Trunks. He’s certainly feminine enough.”

They shared a smile. From the very beginning, Tayhei had liked her. This was one woman with an attitude that matched hers hit for hit. They had an understanding. They both knew she didn’t really want Piccolo to be shot. As mean as she could be sometimes, she didn’t really want anyone to get hurt. Especially someone that was a constant source of entertainment, like Piccolo. It would be a shame to see the Namek go before she could try out the best of her lines on him.

She waved her hand at Piccolo complacently. “As for Pickle, here….perhaps you could take him to the infirmary upstairs. They know more about medicine than I do and I hear they have some emergency senzu as well.”

“Hai.” Koronu nodded and they smiled at each other. She heaved Piccolo up over her slender shoulder again with little effort and Tayhei dusted off her notes, absolutely revolted at the green blood that was left behind on them. It was going to take her forever to recopy all of this information. She picked up a file dripping green with his blood and grimaced. It was just disgusting.

Koronu started towards the door, then stopped to peer into Lenny’s cage, flinging Piccolo around.

“Hey….I think your hamster is dead.”

Chapter 6
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