The Daughter of a Prince

8

Gohan stared at the corpse of his mentor, who had just died to save him. After everything sunk in, he screamed towards the sky. As he jumped to his feet, Vegeta looked at the scouter to see the boy's power level raise, along with listening to the stream of insults that came from his mouth. He raised his hands above his head and aimed at Nappa. "MASENKO!" Gohan yelled as a pale yellow beam went towards his foe. Nappa used his hand to block and push away the blast, but after it hit some rocks his hand shook in pain. 

"I'll give you credit, that hurt. But, that will be the last thing you ever do." Nappa started to walk over to the boy, who had his arms hanging limp as he panted. "I'm... sorry... Mr. Piccolo..." he huffed, fell to his hands and knees, and prepared for the end. Nappa raised his boot and brought it down. When he removed it to see his good work, nothing was there.

Nappa looked around confused, but finally saw the boy riding atop a yellow cloud. Before him, Goku landed. He looked around at the destruction before heading over to his best friend and son. "Hey guys, what happened?" Krillin and Gohan began recounting the tale while feeling guilt at their helplessness in the whole ordeal. Goku gave them each a senzu bean that he picked up on the way, before looking at the Saiyans with rage in his eyes.

"Come on! I want to see what the great Kakarot is made of!" Nappa taunted as Goku approached. "You want me, come get me," was Goku's simple response. He then began to power up, causing the ground to shake and rocks to rise from the ground. Gohan and Krillin ran over to a rock formation to hold on for stability, while Nappa and Vegeta just watched on in a mix of surprise, confusion, and amazement. Vegeta mumbled to himself as the numbers on the scouter only increased. Eventually, Goku stopped and the earth returned to its normal state.

"Vegeta, what does it say about his power level?" Nappa asked his partner. Vegeta took the device off of his head and crushed it in his hand out of rage. "It's over 9,000!" Nappa looked on in disbelief, then tried to convince himself it was just broken. Enraged, he charged at Goku, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't land a single punch or kick. Goku even let him launch a ki blast, but it had no effect. 

As Nappa's rage increased, Vegeta had to remind him to keep calm, otherwise, he would keep messing up. The Saiyan took a small second to take a deep breath and powerup, before continuing his attack. Now, he started forcing Goku to actually block more. Even with the powerup, he still landed no hit on Goku. "That's it! Nappa, you are done! Get down here, I'll handle this." Nappa was reluctant at first but eventually started to lower to the ground. Then, he set his sights on Gohan and Krillin. He charged towards the two, forcing Goku to use the Kaioken technique to attack Nappa. 

Goku's attack crippled Nappa to the point where he couldn't even move as Goku tossed him over to Vegeta. Nappa looked up at his partner and finally started to be able to lift his hand towards his prince. "Vegeta.... I can't get up." Vegeta grabbed his hand, but then an evil smirk made its way onto his face. Vegeta threw Nappa into the sky, then launched a blast at him, killing the brute. Goku, Krillin, and Gohan looked at him in horror as he killed his ally.

"Now Kakarot, it is time for our fight to begin," Vegeta stated as he looked at his fellow Saiyan. Goku nodded, then turned to Krillin and Gohan. "Krillin, take Gohan and go away from here."

"But dad, we can't just leave you!" Gohan cried as he flew to Goku. Goku's expression turned soft as he rubbed Gohan's head. "Hey, it'll be ok. I need you to go make sure your mom is ok, I bet she is worried sick! And how about after this, we take a fishing trip. Now go grab your friend and leave ok?" Goku said. Gohan nodded and hugged his father, but before he got close to Arlice's unconscious body, a blast was shot in front of him, making him stop. Goku turned and saw Vegeta with his hand out. He looked back at Goku.

"I don't care what you do with your friends or a pathetic half-breed son. They'll just die along with the rest of the planet when I have finished with you anyways. However, don't you or anyone else go anywhere near my daughter, or I shall kill them before they can even blink. Do I make myself clear?" Vegeta said, his smile now replaced with a frown. Goku looked at the girl, and at his son's expression that showed he wanted to help his friend. However, Goku knew Vegeta would follow through with his threat if his demands were not met. Not wanting to cause any more trouble and fighting than needed, he nodded. "Gohan, leave Arlice for now. We can get her when the fight is done. For now, you and Krillin are to get out of here."

Gohan went to protest, but Goku sent him a look that said he should do as told. He eventually nodded and started to fly away. "Goku, you better win this," Krillin said to his best friend before joining Gohan and flying off as well.

---Time Skip---

When Arlice finally started to wake up, the sun was just about down. She felt pain all throughout her body as she drifted back into consciousness. Then, it all hit her at once. The Saiyans! She jolted upwards, but that only sent more pain throughout her small body. She looked around to see no one there, except dead bodies. As she scanned the area, her gaze fell on that of a green corpse about fifty feet away. She gasped and ran over to the body, despite the pain that came with the sudden movements.

Arlice fell to her knees when she got over to the body of what she recognized as her mentor. "Piccolo..." she breathed out, tears starting to line her eyes. She tried desperately to find his ki, but there was nothing but her, and the emptiness of the clearing around her. She screamed and let out a burst of energy, but she realized it was hopeless. As the clearing around her descended into darkness, lit only by some weird ball of light in the sky, she sobbed next to her dead mentor.

Don't cry! All that tells me is that you are weak. Only pathetic creatures cry when they are upset. Emotions are the clearest sign of weakness. She recalled her mentor teaching her years ago when she was crying at how hard one lesson was. Then it dawned on her: she was weak.

She was too weak to stop the Saiyans from killing Yamcha, Tien, and Chiaotzu. She was too weak to stay awake after Nappa struck her neck. And worse of all, she was too weak to save what was most dear to her. 

Her mentor, her role model, her father. That is what Piccolo was to her. She finally understood how Gohan must have felt all those months ago. What made it worse was knowing it was her blood father who had organized the whole thing. Finally, she began to feel the tail on her butt. 

That tail linked her to him. It told others that she was a Saiyan by nature. The very thought made her blood boil. She hated Vegeta for attacking her family. She hated Saiyans for their cruel nature. And she hated herself for being not only one of them but a member of their royal family. 

Once more, Arlice screamed out, but this time she gathered ki around her hands. In one swift motion, she sliced her hand behind her, effectively cutting off her tail. 

The tail laid behind her, as she sat kneeling in front of her dead mentor. She heard no noise. She felt no life other than her own. And, as she sat there and closed her eyes, she felt nothing as the light in the sky cast her shadow onto the ground.