Chapter 17
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The month following Mia's resurrection were peaceful ones. Years had passed since the six had destroyed Talis, and just under two since Serori and Tomma had returned home. The two Saiyans and their daughter had settled in a home Capsule Corp had provided for them in the country near the family home of Gohan and Goten. The sons of Goku had settled back in with their families and jobs. Day-to-day life returned as per normal in the life of the Z Warriors. It had taken Mia some weeks to return to a more normal state. She had returned to life with significant psychological damage. It had been hard on their family - their children did not understand why their mother clung to them so tightly at times, and at others was completely despondent. Daily sessions with Vegeta had helped some. Trunks had sparred with her soon after her return, and her attacks were swift, vicious and lethal. It had been a hard moment for the both of them - Trunks with the realization of what exactly had happened to his mate, and herself realizing the same thing. Sparring with Vegeta had significantly decreased not only her flares in anger, but also taught her how to fight for the simple pleasure and release that a fight can bring. She had not spoken much of what happened to her in the genetics lab where she had died, however she had asked for genetic testing. They had taken samples from all of the pure-blood Saiyans to compare her to, and they could not find any significant difference. Mia had reacted oddly to the news - at first she was relived, and then very angry. After much coaxing, she revealed that she had let her guard down after the Talisian she was battling had made her doubt her lineage. Even though she was met with understanding from the others, she still carried shame about her defeat - she had been so certain Ix'bet was correct, that there was something different or wrong with her, but it had been a ruse. A distraction...one that Mia did not understand. Ix'bet had been too calculating, too careful... She still had nightmares of that battle, and the many she experienced in the bowel of Hell. She often woke in the night, unable to sleep. At those times, she would seek out Sekkai, who also was often awake at night. The two would often just fly together, or spar, or both. Sekkai understood her daughter. She had been brought back to life twice, both times confused and angry and with no way to cope. The day began like any other day - both Mia and Trunks arose early. Trunks had to get ready to work, and Mia had to prepare a meal for herself and three other ravenous Saiyans. After the children and Trunks had left for their respective places, she would change into her exercise clothing, normally large pants and a sports bra, to go down and limber up before meeting with her Mother for a round of strength and agility training, and then normally with Vegeta for sparring - that is, if Tomma or Serori were not visiting and fancied a round or two. Today, both Serori and Tomma had traveled to the Capsule Corp buildings. All it took was a look from the four Saiyans, and they blinked away to somewhere deserted where they could fight without fear of hurting someone. Sekkai did not follow; she had other things to attend to and she knew she would not be able to keep up. She had only gotten worse. She now ached after most spars with an adult, so much so that she was entirely devoted to working with the children. The little ones would come after their lessons at their human schools and she would work with them. The daytime however, was her own to work on her projects - she disappeared quickly into a hallways and made her way to her lab. She walked into the room and took a look at her charge. She had been trying unsuccessfully for years to create a new Saiyan and it had only been a matter of time until she got it just right. She had always been able to get the samples to fuse, but in early development things would go wrong but each failure got her closer and closer to her goal. She had no way to increase aging - the tank was acting as a womb for the child - so each failure had cost her precious time. She had forgotten which samples she had used to make this little one, but it sat inside the tank, growing normally. It would only be a matter of time now. She was busy constructing a second tank for a second child. The sun lazily held itself in the sky as the children came home from lessons to meet with Sekkai, and the other four returned, scuffed and bloody. Serori and Mia went to the kitchens to help prepare larger meals, and by the evening bellies were full and the senses were dampened - perhaps why they were not the first to realized that something was different in the world.
They all stretched - the first time in months. They were well rested, alert, and ready to start the mission. Ix'bet faced Ume, and clasped his shoulders. The two looked at each other for a moment, then Ix'bet clapped Ume on the left and let the embrace go. The Talisian man considered going over the mission again, but they'd all memorized it...no. It was time. Ume was ready. His story was set, and he had the evidence to prove whatever he said. Instead of his new armour, he wore an old, scuffed and worn chestpiece, gloves caked with dirt, grime, and blood, and scuffed boots. He kept his circlet, but they had ground it into the dirt, scratching and dulling its sheen. His hair was mussed and dirt was smudged on his cheeks. A modern scouter was clipped over his ear. Ix'bet and Ume walked around to the back of the space craft, where there was a row of eight smaller, one-person ships. They lifted open the hatch, and Ume stepped inside, settling in. Ix'bet peered into the craft, looking over the child he had created and raised. "Speed. Strength." He reached down, and Ume reached up and they grasped each other's forearms. "Speed. Strength" Ix'bet released his hold on Ume and stepped back. The clear cockpit hatch lowered down and sealed the boy in. Ume's eyes flicked to Ix'bet, then up to the sky. The ship hummed to life, and after a second, it made a blip noise as it ejected into the atmosphere. Ix'bet watched. It was a matter of time now.
When the ship reached its proper position in orbit, the mission program activated and brought the ship down. It did exactly as it was supposed to, and Ume did exactly was he was supposed to - fluctuate his Ki so he would be found shortly after landing. The ship's trajectory created a shallow line of disturbed earth and a crater when it impacted. The moment the hatch open, Ume gulped in air, leapt out, looked around briefly and ran for a more wooded area, turning on his scouter. Far away, Goten felt a disturbance ripple through the normal hubbub of Ki that swirled in the world around him. Something was wrong, something was different. Something powerful was nearby. He quickly changed into a different set of clothes, quickly explained to his wife, mussed his son's hair and took to the sky. He exhaled as he relaxed into his Ki, using it to pinpoint where the disturbance was...and he had a general area. He veered to the left and pushed harder to increase his speed, and then he noticed his pocket was vibrating. He pulled out his phone, covering the part over the mouthpiece to drown out some of the wind noise, "Hello?" "What is that?" It was Gohan. "I don't know, but I'm already heading towards it." Goten practically yelled to hear his own voice over the wind, "Call the rest of them for me?" "Will do." Goten closed the phone and slid it back into his pocket. He reached out again and got another location - whoever it was, it was moving. He looked around - this area was familiar - it was somewhat close to his childhood home. He wasn't concerned as he'd found that his mother could more than defend herself, and this thing probably wouldn't go after her. He didn't even know what it was... He knew he was close however. He could now feel movements. Goten decided to stay overhead for a better view. The comet's tail faded behind him as he slowed down. Whoever was down there was still, suppressing their Ki. Goten relied on another ability that he had learned when he had joined the Team for the attack on Talis - his hearing. He was still and started to listen for a heart beat, something fast and rapid, and raspy breaths... Ume could see the figure in the air. He knew it had to be one of the Saiyans. His heart was pounding, and the reality of this mission set in. He'd never been in real combat before - yes he had been beaten in sparring matches and badly hurt, but who knows what these creatures were possible of. They'd killed thousands of his race...he looked down for a moment in thought, and when he looked back up, the Saiyan was coming towards him. Ume teleported far enough away to not clearly be seen, but still noticed, powered up and shot across the horizon. He wanted to seem like he was panicking, like he was fearful. It was easy to act the part because he was scared. He was fearful. He was on a world and expected to interact with those who would have him and all he loved killed. His scouter blipped. The Saiyan was in pursuit. Ume smirked slightly, trying to shake his anxiety and decided to really get acrobatic. He curved upwards while slowing slightly, and just as the Saiyan adjusted, Ume turned sharply to the left and surged forward with a massive burst of speed. He grinned, and just before he was going to executed another move, his scouter blipped again. And Again. And once more. He looked up and could see them on the horizon. His eyes darted down to see a thick forest and he dove sharply, at first blasting through the canopy and then dodging the trees. He eventually slowed to a stop, and suppressed his Ki as much as he could while moving on foot. Goten had seen enough of the boy to know that he wasn't from Earth, and wearing unmistakable armour. When he had gone into the forest, Goten went to meet with the others approaching, which turned out to be Tomma, Serori and Mia. Goten quickly relayed what he'd seen and felt, and they all started to spread over the forest, searching for Ki and using their acute sense of hearing. Ume heard the crash of the canopy - someone was close. His scanner blipped to his left. He moved in the opposite direction, leaping over logs and navigating the rough underbrush terrain. He stole a moment to look behind him, and when he looked forwards again he impacted with something hard, but with a bit of give as well. The boy stumbled backwards and fell on to his backside. He looked up into a pair of dark eyes placed on a weathered, scarred face and a long mane of wild black hair. He knew who she was, and his eyes widened in shock and fear. He'd only seen pictures on projectors - one very old holo-projection. She was older, but her face was still fierce. He was frozen in place, staring at the infamous Serori.
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