**A/N: Hey guys! Just letting you know, chapters are probably gonna be a lot longer :)
also lil reminder MC's name is pronounced as Zy-luh-s/Zai-luh-s ! <3
I'm putting a lot of effort and love into this story— thanks for sticking around for this long!
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The sky is darkening into evening as Xylias paces around a tree, hidden in it's shadows, in front of the large Capsule Corp building. She glances up at the congregation gathering on the upper level balcony and feels anxiety swelling in her chest along with the continuing dull ache in her belly. She knew she had to face the Earthling's curiosity at some point, but she was nervous— Xylias didn't want to make a fool of herself or make a bad impression.
The Prince had arrived before Xylias, landed on the upper balcony, and sat down at the table without speaking to anyone, nobody saying anything to him either.
After about 10 minutes or so, the sun began to move lower, and Vegeta looks around the group of Earthlings and the area surrounding Capsule Corp, She should've been here by now, what's taking her so long?
Xylias takes a deep breath and stealthily strides over to the side of the building, under the left side of the balcony, deciding to make a quiet entrance. Knowing she is the last to show up, she didn't want to make an arrival that would draw attention upon herself. She silently glides up the side of the building and hoists herself over the railing of the balcony. Xylias spots a large potted tree plant against the wall near her, and goes over to stand beside it, surveying the crowd before she's ultimately noticed.
Krillin, a small floating blue-colored Cat, a Pig wearing a white t-shirt and green pants, and an old man wearing sunglasses with a purple turtle shell on his back are standing nearby having a casual conversation with one another, but are soon approached by Gohan and an older dark haired woman wearing a purple dress that has an orange cloth tied on the top and a yellow sash wrapped around her waist. Beyond them, Piccolo stands by the railing looking out over the area, seemingly lost in thought.
Her eyes trail to the table where Bulma and several people dressed in white uniforms are laying out several steaming trays full of items Xylias had never seen before, the aromas wafting from them makes the ache in Xylias's stomach grow. She shrinks back against the wall, feeling terribly uncomfortable with uncertainty, not understanding why her body is reacting this way, are her nerves that bad?
As her eyes roam the table she spots Vegeta, who is already looking at her. She flushes in surprise, nods to him, and shifts her gaze back over to Piccolo.
Xylias wanted to say something to the Namekian, they had got off on the wrong foot back on Namek, she said something pretty callous to Piccolo that she regrets now, and since coming to Earth she had been wondering how to work things out with him. Xylias is still riddled with guilt over the destruction of Planet Namek, still feeling like she could've stopped Frieza's reign of terror over the peaceful population, if she would've acted sooner— the Namekians would still have a home.
Piccolo's watching the dwindling evening sky, he didn't eat food, as his species survives on water, but he had been invited by Gohan to come, and he couldn't bring himself to say no to the boy he held dearly.
"Hey," a resonant voice says softly from beside him, jolting him from his thoughts. He looks over and see's Xylias standing beside him, gazing out at the city, the twinkling lights reflecting in her bright eyes.
Where did she come from? Piccolo thinks irritably, he didn't hear her approach, and it annoyed him that she caught him off guard.
He didn't know how to feel about her, after merging with Nail he feels the disdain a lot of his fellow Namekians have towards her. Yet the other side of him knows she had clearly helped them on Namek, and although he couldn't follow it due to the speed at which it happened— he saw a glimpse of the mysterious power-up she had when Frieza attacked Vegeta and that was intriguing to him, but learning that she was another Saiyan made him hesitant towards her, unsure if she was cold and selfish like Vegeta or carefree and truehearted like Goku.
He remembers how she suggested they leave Goku behind while he was fighting Frieza, then squared up to him when he protested against the idea, she basically called him a weak distraction, and that's what started the bitter feelings towards her. He didn't want to admit she had been right in that situation, as she was following Goku's righteous request.
Then right before Frieza killed Krillin, Goku and Piccolo had got into a small disagreement when Goku told him Xylias would be coming back to Earth with them. Goku was adamant in saying she would be a good addition to their group, after only knowing her for a few short hours. Piccolo hadn't liked the idea, especially when Goku told him that he had promised Xylias that he would ensure Frieza's death, which ended up prolonging their stay at that particular time when they could've escaped. At that time it seemed they were no match to the Emperor, even if he had wanted Frieza to die.
It was very unlike Goku to seek out the death of another being— and Piccolo had worried in that moment that Xylias had manipulated Goku's naivety to make him go against his core belief of mercy and second chances, and now Goku was gone. His sacrifice had cut deep into the Namekian, who had just formed a bond with the Saiyan, and Piccolo couldn't help but think about how things could've been different.
He still didn't know whether or not they could trust her, if she had ulterior motives.
Turning to look into his eyes, Xylias could see Piccolo's hesitance to speak to her, so she decides to be upfront. "I just wanted to say... I'm sorry for what I said to you back on Namek, it wasn't right for me to insult you and throw the death of your people into your face, it was a heartless thing to say in the heat of the moment." she says earnestly, her golden orbs imploring him.
Xylias takes a deep breath, "I also can't help but feel... guilt over how everything turned out on Namek... but I want you to know that I intend to make things right with you and your people, for Kakarot's sake." she says with sincere conviction.
Her voice drops lower, almost to a whisper. "It... should've been me who stayed, I should've been stronger, Kakarot deserved better."
Piccolo is taken aback by her upfront apology, and is humbled to find that he appreciates the sentiment, and a newfound respect for the Saiyan is gained. Looking back on their previous interactions the picture is suddenly clear. He always found it difficult to admit when he was wrong, but here she was bearing her shortcomings and guilt to him with ease. There was more to her actions than he had originally saw, things she probably couldn't have helped, and he realizes his anger might've clouded over seeing her true intentions from the beginning.
"Hey! There you are!" the high pitched voice of Bulma calls out to them before Piccolo can respond, the blunette suddenly appearing beside Xylias, clutching her arm.
"You didn't think you could sneak in here without me noticing, did ya?" Bulma says to Xylias with a wink, pulling her away from the Namekian.
Xylias looks back to Piccolo as Bulma leads her away and their eyes meet. Piccolo gives her a small smile and nods to her firmly, conveying his forgiveness. A corner of her mouth curls up into a smirk and she nods back at him, feeling somewhat lighter now that she had voiced a piece of the guilt she'd been holding inside.
When she turns back to look out in front of her she is suddenly aware of everyone's eyes being on her. Gohan and Krillin wave at her, which she nods to them in response.
"Now that we're all here, you guys can officially meet each other! Xylias, this is the group! Or well... most of it." She chuckles
"You already know Krillin and Gohan. This is Master Roshi, Puar, Oolong, and Chi-Chi!" she adds excitedly, pointing to the person after she says their name.
Xylias pulls her arm from Bulma's vice grip, brings her hands together and bows her head slightly to the group in-greeting to them. "Thank you for having me. Earth is a truly beautiful planet, I hope to make a home here too, and perhaps get to know you all better."
Chi-Chi steps forward first, grasping Xylias's clutched hands, "A Saiyan with manners?! How refreshing to see! Pleased to meet you Xylias, I'm Gohan's mother." She smiles warmly, earning a soft smile and nod from the Saiyan.
Xylias pulls her hands away as Chi-Chi goes back to stand beside her son, Master Roshi steps forward to Xylias, taking off his sunglasses and extending his hand to her.
She looks at him puzzledly, then looks at Bulma, who grins at Xylias's unworldliness. "It's a hand shake, Xylias— standard greeting here on Earth."
Xylias nods and grabs Roshi's hand firmly, and he moves their hands in an up-and-downward motion. "I may look like an old man, but I taught Krillin and Goku everything they know, great to meet you!" he says eagerly, his hand still shaking hers, a glazed look comes over his eyes as he examines her— conveying an expression that's unfamiliar to Xylias.
Xylias begins to feel uncomfortable as several silent seconds pass under his misty gaze, his hand continues to shake hers, then a lowly giggle sounds from the old man as his cheeks lightly pinken, "What a strong grip you have..." his mouth contorts into a wicked smile, his eyes avidly rake over her, which makes her eyes widen as she shifts her weight from side to side in discomfort. She didn't want to be impolite, but Xylias was fighting the urge to yank her hand back from Master Roshi.
Bulma narrows her eyes at the Old Perv, "Ooookay, you can let go now Roshi..." Bulma says warningly, and Roshi promptly releases Xylias's hand, not wanting to get hit in front of the Saiyan Woman.
Puar and Oolong just wave at the Woman, Puar cringed inwardly in second-hand embarrassment from Roshi's greeting. The Pig held his own comments back, as the striking woman with hair resembling an angels intimidated him, everyone was well aware of a Saiyans immense strength, and after noticing the scarring on her arms, he didn't want to find out how strong she was the hard way.
Bulma grabs ahold of Xylias's elbow, leading her towards the table, "C'mon, I can hear your stomach growling, you must be starving! Our food here on Earth is outstanding, really— and my cooks really outdid themselves tonight!" she says full of delight, leading Xylias to a chair sitting across from Vegeta, who scowls at her hesitance to sit down.
The growling from my stomach is hunger... of course. Xylias mentally slaps herself, she is so out of tune with her body's wants and needs, the thought of eating hadn't crossed her mind in ages, she couldn't even remember the last time she physically ate food.
"Sit, Xylias!" Bulma barks encouragingly while sitting down in the chair beside Xylias's. The Saiyan Woman slowly lowers herself onto the seat, still slightly flushed from all the attention she's been receiving, and examines the copious amount of food laid out in front of them.
Various Breads, different kinds of meats, vegetables, grains, and other dishes unknown to Xylias seem to sparkle in front of the woman, and her hunger increases tenfold looking at all of the delectable food. The moment everyone is seated everyone begins filling their plates, and the sounds of clinking plates and silverware and multiple conversations fills the air instantly. The noise makes Xylias flinch, and she suddenly feels slightly overstimulated.
There's so much going on, and Xylias isn't quite sure where to start, or what the etiquette here is. The plate and silverware look strange to her, and she picks up the piece with 3 prongs coming out of the top, examining the shiny silver. She notices two small sticks on the other side of the plate and picks them up too, feeling the smooth wood.
She looks around the table and observes how they all conduct themselves and handle the utensils, figuring out how they're used rather quickly.
Vegeta, with his mouth full of chicken from the drumstick he's eating, puzzledly watches Xylias tinker with the plate and silverware. What the hell is she waiting for?
He and everyone else notices that she's not eating, but don't say anything, some in fear of embarrassing the Woman, others are wondering if she has the same 'Saiyan Appetite' they've seen from Goku and Vegeta.
Except Bulma, after becoming aware of Xylias's reluctance she assumes the Saiyan is just being shy and starts shoveling food onto Xylias's plate without asking, which makes Xylias frown— she is perfectly capable of choosing her own food.
Vegeta scoffs at Bulma's presumptuousness, "Incessant Woman, do you ever stop being so overbearing?"
Xylias and Vegeta's eyes meet briefly, the corner of her mouth quirks up and a trace of humor flashes in her eyes, causing the Prince to smirk back.
Bulma's jaw drops as her face turns a bright crimson, she looks around the now-quiet table, clutching her fork.
"Vegeta... " she sputters, a small protruding vein makes an appearance on her forehead. "Will you ever stop being such an asshole?! I'm just trying to help her!—"
"Actually—" Xylias cuts in, "I appreciate it, but I'm ... able to feed myself..." She says while looking around the table, her cheeks turning pink under the staring eyes of everyone. "I— uh, this is all very.. different than what I'm used to..." she trails off, not too sure how to explain herself.
Bulma's eyes widen, realizing she might've overstepped. "Oh! I see, sorry bout that..." the Blunette's face contorts into a forced smile, she laughs to play it off but there's a twinge of awkwardness lingering in the air.
Chi-Chi clears her throat, "So Xylias, Gohan tells me you're quite strong and an excellent fighter! Who taught you?" She smiles, trying to break the tension.
Xylias had just stabbed a chunk of grilled potato, but glances at Chi-Chi upon hearing her question before taking a bite— she looks around the table and sees everyone's eyes on her again.
She swallows, putting down her fork. "Well... in the beginning it was my Mother, there were other Saiyans too. But I've spent the majority of my life teaching myself."
Chi-Chi nods, "Do you enjoy other hobbies? Or are all Saiyans obsessed with training?" She chuckles, and the rest of the Earthlings join in on her laughter.
Xylias looks around at everyone, confused over their reaction, she hasn't really known anything else for the majority of her life— as it's in a Saiyans nature to work at becoming stronger.
But she's free now, she has the ability to explore her life and beyond training— she is curious to find out what living has in store for her. Maybe she will pick up a hobby.
Vegeta growls, "We Saiyans are a warrior race, built to fight and endure, a weak race such as yours would never understand."
Everyone stops laughing and stares at the Prince with contempt, but Krillin bursts out in nervous laughter, "Oh...Lighten up would ya?" He says while smiling and scratching the back of his head, causing Gohan to giggle.
The Prince glares at them, then turns back to his food, deciding that he doesn't care what they think anyways.
Xylias picks up her fork again, smiling to herself, now-understanding that they had been joking. As she raises the fork to her mouth, the smell of rosemary hits her nostrils and she feels her stomach growl again, yet Krillin speaks up this time.
"So Xylias, you never told us how you got to Namek— how did you get mixed up in all of this?"
She stops before taking a bite, lowering her fork and glances at the bald man before looking back to her food, longing to eat it.
"I came on Frieza's ship." She says bluntly, before shoving the potato in her mouth. It's crunchy but soft on the inside, and the flavor is rich and savory. Xylias couldn't compare a more exquisite taste, before she can think about it the Saiyan gives into her ravenous hunger.
Her mind tunes everything out as she samples everything on her plate, savoring the flavors with every bite. Before she knows it her plate is clear, and as she reaches to help herself to more is when she realizes the table is completely silent, and everyone is gaping at her.
Xylias drops her fork, the loud clink makes her flinch. She grabs a napkin that's by her plate and wipes her mouth, worried that she might have food on her face.
"Frieza's ship...? Why?" Chi-Chi asks finally, suspicion laced in her voice.
"Because... that's where I was... where I've been since I was a child..." Xylias flushes while busying herself with refilling her plate with new dishes.
"A child? So did he—"
"Take me from my home, yes. But I'd rather not go into it, if that's alright." Xylias chides as the last empty part of her plate is filled, and she immediately begins to consumes the food— relishing in the new flavors, and tries to ignore the sideways glances from the Earthlings.
They fall back into casual conversation with one another, but Xylias doesn't join in. She'd listen in here and there but she was mostly focused on the food in front of her, eating plate after plate.
After too many plates to count, Xylias is more full than she'd ever been in her life. Completely satiated for the first time in a long time, she leans back and relaxes a bit.
She looks over the table and sees Vegeta watching her with an unreadable expression.
"Xylias would probably know more about it, right?" Gohan says suddenly, looking at her, and Xylias realizes she hadn't been aware of the conversation. She jerks her eyes away from the Princes penetrating gaze and clears her throat.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention, know more about what?" She says, glancing around the table.
"Er— I was telling them about Dad turning into a Super Saiyan, and they wanted to know what it is!" He answers, causing Vegeta to roll his eyes.
"Oh! Right. Well—" Xylias starts, she scratches her chin, formulating her thoughts. She recalls a few stories she was told by the Saiyan Elders, and decides to give them a little history lesson.
"It's a transformation, one as ancient as the beginning of our time, a power so overwhelming it can only be maintained in a transformed state. You see, we are the descendants of a race of Golden Warriors, their light gave way for our ancestors to survive and evolve. It was a power that was necessary for their survival, until it became too dangerous. Many wars broke out amongst themselves, a large portion of powerful Saiyans died, over time the power became increasingly rare— then it's knowledge became hidden from most. Our society evolved down a different path and we didn't see this power for over a thousand years... until now."
Everyone is hanging on to every word she says, even the Prince— who had never heard this information before, and found himself fascinated with this unknown side of his people's history.
She continues, her expression serious. "The true knowledge was still there though, most of our society believed it to be a myth— but this was on purpose. The information of this power was passed down generations of certain Saiyan families, I knew the remnants of these families as 'The Elders'. They were sworn to secrecy, even from the King, to not reveal the information of our true power. To them, it was for our own good. They understood the real history of our people, our power struggle, the inclination to wage war upon one another, and when the wars weren't so much of a problem— our race was enslaved by King Cold then eventually his son Frieza. When they entered the picture the Elders thought they had to continue keeping the secret of our power. Our race - in comparison to our ancestors - had weakened over time, and there was the belief amongst the Elders that there were no Saiyans strong enough to withstand the power without going mad... They also knew how powerful the Emperor's were, and understood that we would be immediately destroyed if King Cold or Frieza found out about this powerful form, which ended up being why our planet was ultimately obliterated." She finishes, exhaling a deep breath— at the same time a sharp pain shoots up her right side, and her stomach begins to hurt a little.
I definitely went overboard with the food.. She groans inwardly, suddenly feeling slightly dizzy. Before she can excuse herself, everyone begins to talk at the same time, firing questions towards her.
"He did feel very powerful.. Do you think my dad could've survived the implosion of Namek?" Gohan asks excitedly
"Uh.. Well—" Xylias tries to answer, but gets cut off by the Old Teacher,
"Why would the Elders keep it a secret, if the power could give them the ability to take back their home?" Roshi inquires, the light reflecting off his sunglasses.
A couple more questions were shot at her, but Xylias doesn't hear them. She begins to feel a tingling sensation in her jaw, her body temperature starts to rise too, it was hard for her to follow all the questions, and her dizziness intensified.
"How dare they keep this secret from the Royal Family, we are the only ones worthy of this power!" Vegeta fumes, crossing his arms haughtily.
The Saiyan Woman can feel bile rising in her throat, combined with the overwhelming anxiety from the mass of questions and comments being thrown her way. She needs to leave now, as her dinner's threatening to come back up.
Xylias stands up suddenly, looking a bit green in the face. "E-excuse me..." she says while bringing her finger to her forehead, using Instant Transmission she transports to a secluded area on the opposite side of Capsule Corp, back on the ground, now looking at a courtyard.
"Wha- Where'd she go?" Bulma asks quizzically, looking around the balcony, but the Saiyan is no where in sight.
Xylias dashes over to a tree nearby as her stomach begins to empty it's contents, she grasps onto its solid trunk as she retches, the sheer force making tears stream down her face.
The Saiyan had gone more than a decade without eating solid food, Frieza pumped her full of the necessary nutrients she needed to survive via tubes and IV's. Her body had been overwhelmed by the amount of food she had consumed in such a short timeframe, mixed with her nerves her stomach didn't stand a chance.
When she finally finishes puking, she wipes her mouth and staggers over to the water fountain nearby that she had seen while running to the tree, she dips her hands in and splashes her face, then washes her mouth out before closing her eyes and plopping down on the ground, leaning back against the hard cement of the fountain.
"I've never seen a Saiyan vomit like that before." A deep robust voice says from in front of her.
Xylias's eyes snap open, she looks up and sees the green face of Piccolo standing in front and looking down at her with his arms crossed. She curses at herself for letting her guard down and not watching out for people in the area.
The Saiyan shrugs, wiping her face again. "Erm— think I ate too much.." she mumbles
Piccolo chuckles, grinning slightly, "What is it with Saiyans and stuffing their faces?" Xylias senses humor in the comment, and she instantly realizes Piccolo lighthearted joke confirms his forgiveness.
She smirks back up at him, "Yeah, being my first meal in ages, I probably should've paced myself." She laughs quietly, shaking her head at herself.
Piccolo cocks his head to the side, a bemused expression on his face, "If you can keep from choking yourself, come find me to spar sometime— you seem like an interesting match."
He turns to leave but pauses, looking over his shoulder, "and by the way, it wasn't completely your fault for how things turned out. Goku made the decision to stay on Namek, I can imagine that the Super Saiyan power-up gave him the confidence to think he could handle Frieza."
He shrugs," And who knows, maybe he survived and found a way off the planet. Goku's always had a way of getting out of the worst situations. A common trait with Saiyans it seems."
Piccolo smirks, then nods to her. He turns and begins to walk back towards Capsule Corp and Xylias watches him go, then stands up to start the trek back to the dinner party, smiling to herself, feeling like she might've just made a friend.
⋆.ೃ࿔*:･
When everyone left after dinner, Xylias lingered around to watch the sun set— the first one she'd seen in a long time, and it was just as ethereal as a sunrise. A sunset is the perfect conclusion. She thinks to herself as she sees the silky, smooth collision of skyburst reds and yellows winding down into the calm of night.
While watching the darkening sky she found herself thinking about Super Saiyan, comparing the stories she had been told as a child and the memory of Kakarot's transformation, trying to figure out the correlations, the key to obtaining the form.
Xylias leans against the railing of Capsule Corp's large balcony gazing at the bright waxing gibbous moon that's finally made its presence amongst the stars, It'll be a full moon soon... she thinks excitedly. The full moon gives Saiyans immense power, but she wasn't interested in the Great Ape Form— as she had surpassed the power of that transformation a long time ago. Looking at the moon made her think about the different potentials of the Great Ape power, she began to mull over hypotheses as she watched the night sky blossom into complete darkness, wondering if she could transcend the Great Ape form into something else, something stronger.
Xylias shakes her head, "Look at me, fantasizing about other transformations that might not even exist... I should keep focusing on Super Saiyan first." she mutters, laughing lightly at herself, simultaneously— she feels the vibrations of footsteps coming up behind her.
"You got that right." A familiar gruff voice says, "Which by the way— have you figured it out yet?" Vegeta says, leaning back against the rail, crossing his arms and fixing his stern gaze upon Xylias.
It's barely been a day... relax. She rebukes to herself, not really up for another inquisition.
"I have some theories." Xylias states without taking her eyes off the luminous moon.
"Hmph!" Vegeta rolls his eyes, Typical enigmatic response..
After a few moments of blissful silence the Prince's eyebrows furrow, "What happened to you at dinner?" he asks
Xylias shifts around uncomfortably and looks at her hands on the rail, "I got sick." she mumbles, embarrassed over her weakness.
Vegeta narrows his eyes at her, "How is that possible? Saiyan's don't get sick so easily, you didn't even eat that much!" he admonishes, in comparison to himself— she had ate a considerably less amount than he had.
Xylias grits her teeth and grips the rail harder, why did it feel like she was constantly having to explain herself?
She jerks her head up, her pupils flaring at him, "Because I'm fucked up, Vegeta! I stopped being a 'normal' Saiyan the moment Frieza took me. Hell, I've probably never been one! So stop comparing me to what your idea of a Saiyan is!" She snaps, the Prince's eyes widen and she instantly feels guilty, where did that come from?
She sighs, looking down at her hands, "I'm sorry Prince. I didn't mean to blow up on you like that— this evening was pretty stressful for me, so many questions, constantly having several pairs of eyes on me... I know I keep saying it but, I'm really not used to any of this... it's gonna take a while for me to adjust." She bites her lip, shifting her gaze back to the moon.
Vegeta brings one of his hands up to his forehead, closing his eyes and scrunching his brows together in exasperation, "I'm just having trouble understanding why your time with Frieza has effected you so... negatively. I was taken by him too, you know— it just doesn't make sense to me." He says curtly
Xylias squeezes her eyes shut, remembering how she was called sensitive a lot as a child, is she really that weak in comparison to other Saiyans? "What happened after he took you?" she finally asks.
Vegeta raises an eyebrow, "Frieza told me if I didn't do what he wanted he'd kill my father, so I did what he said. I captured and destroyed planets, worked for him like any of his other underlings. After our home was destroyed I climbed up the chain, I was waiting for my moment to strike, he favored me up until I came here to Earth." He says plainly, as if it wasn't that big of a deal, but Xylias remembers the pain he shared in the story he told back on Namek— what happened to their planet and people effected him just as emotionally as she, but that seemed to be a rare slip— as Vegeta's usual guarded attitude had returned since being on Earth.
Xylias exhales a breath she didn't realize she was holding, giving him a knowing look. "I'm grateful to say we didn't have the same experience... Physically." she says grimly.
Vegeta frowns, "and what does that mean?"
Xylias stares at him, her face neutral yet her eyes burned with a deep sadness, "Like I said, Frieza tried to find out what my mark means, wanted to know why I'm different, why I displayed power yet their scouters couldn't sense my energy. They—" she stops, the air suddenly gone from her lungs. Xylias turns away from Vegeta, clutching her hand to her chest, shaking her head.
"I don't think I can talk about it, —" She whispers after a while, "but I can show you, if you want to know so badly.." she drops her hand, turning back to look at the Prince.
Vegeta freezes, does he really want to know? Would it solve anything? He goes back and forth with himself, half of him wants to just leave it be— the other wants to understand her.
After a short time of inner turmoil, he gives into his morbid curiosity and nods. Xylias straightens up and steps closer to him, looking at him intensely. His breath hitches as the gentle breeze blows her scent by his nostrils, a natural musk with a lingering hint of earthy jasmine from her shower earlier.
"I will have to touch you, if that's okay." She says, searching his eyes for approval or denial.
"Tch! Just get on with it." Vegeta scowls, clutching his fists at his sides to hide his impending anxiety, he has no clue what she is about to do.
Xylias takes a deep breath, "Alright, just... don't resist." She says in a soft yet stern manner.
The Saiyan Woman recalls how she last transferred thoughts, what Kakarot did when he read her mind, and the piece of advice he gave her. This will be her first time trying to show her memories using telepathy, but she's more confident in her ability this time since she had reconnected with her true ki reading abilities, sure it would work properly.
She raises her hand and gently places her palm on his cheek. Vegeta's eyebrows raise, as he gazes into her golden orbs they seem to pierce into his, and he immediately becomes transfixed in her stare.
Colors in her eyes he didn't originally realize were there start to flicker in her irises, specks of green and orange encased in a lustrous yellow. His vision becomes tunnel-like, the world seeming to slip away from him.
Just how Kakarot placed his hand on her head to read her mind, Xylias placed her hand on Vegeta's cheek, nearer to his eyes, to make him see.
Xylias visualizes the weeks it took for Frieza's men to subdue her when she was seven years old, the endless beatings, how the Emperor tore her open and ripped her body apart countless times until she stopped undermining him. How the cuffs they invented made her too weak to fight back. Vegeta feels the sensation of laying in a pool of hot crimson blood, the wind being knocked from his chest.
Xylias remembers what she can when they first started inserting the mind-altering microchip into her head, and the gruesome experiments they did on her that followed for more than a decade.
Even being in a trance, she still saw them taking her DNA in the most barbaric ways, her screams of agony filling her mind watching Frieza and his scientists slice her open and take samples from her body or tail in a haze. Feeding wires, rods, and various devices inside of her from several different points of her body to run tests too painful for comprehension in order to study her cells and bodily reactions closely, trying to find and investigate her source of Ki, as they were unable to puncture her mysterious mark. Over the years her screams ceased, her soul became numb to the pain.
She remembers how they would put her in a recuperation tank and discard her into a cell, never feeding or letting her bathe, just pumping her full of the necessary nutrients needed for her to continue to live, treating her like an animal. How Frieza forbade everyone that knew of her existence from speaking or looking at her in a strange way of coveting her, how he stripped her identity and humanity away, manipulated, and brainwashed her for mindless loyalty. The only part of her Saiyan identity she kept was her tail. Vegeta feels the cold touch of fingers tracing her face while hearing the whispers of sweet fallacies Frieza would murmur into her ear, as if it was happening to him.
How she became a killing machine for him, yet was punished severely for minor mistakes, how over time she would black out for months as her life became an endless blur of capturing or destroying planets and civilizations, along with the torture. Never ending pain consuming her for more than a decade. The Prince feels a profound emptiness in his heart, a depravity so wicked it freezes the blood in his veins.
Xylias recalls the endless instances when there was no point to the torture, times when Frieza just wanted to have fun or let off steam. Testing new moves on her, exerting power over her to validate his own ego, or to just cause her pain and bodily harm, as he resented what she represented, a power he could not obtain.
Vegeta sees the transition of a young child with bright cinnamon-colored hair grow into the woman with hair the color of snow that stands in front of him now, a sullen and empty look slowly taking over her marigold eyes as she grew older.
You've inspired a life goal of mine, to break the Saiyan spirit... Vegeta hears the familiar high pitched evil voice of Frieza say.
When she finally stops, as the pain of remembering had started to overwhelm her, Xylias realizes The Prince is gripping her forearm tightly. His eyes glossy, and both of them are trembling.
Her bottom lip quivers as she yanks her arm away, "I survived... but at what cost..?" She croaks, turning to grip the rail, her legs threatening to buckle from underneath her.
Vegeta drops to his knees in shock, his entire being aches— he feels Xylias's scars burn on his body as if they were his own. He had felt every single cut, everything that she'd went through.
He finally realizes that the doctors were right, but the truth had been more horrible than he could've imagined.
As the lingering psychic connection fades, he stays there for a moment, processing her experience. It was almost unfathomable, so close to unbearable for him.
He looks up at her and sees the misery etched onto her face.
Xylias's voice wavers, "I showed too much... I shouldn't have—"
"No." Vegeta interrupts, "I... had to see it, to believe... no understand, but I didn't think..." he trails off, still feeling overwhelmed with the emotions of Xylias's past.
It all made sense now, her detachment, her uneasiness around people, conversations, and eye contact. Her aversion to touch and innocence to the way of life, why she had risked her life for him and Kakarot, then threw herself in front of him seeking his respect that first day on Earth. She knew nothing else other than pain, and sought the security of her people.
Vegeta realizes he has been too harsh on her, and that he needs to extend the same graciousness she has to him.
He slowly stands up and joins her at the rail, gripping it slightly to steady himself. "I didn't want to believe the doctors when they examined you. I knew how deplorable Frieza was, but I never knew he was capable of this, that he would go so far. I'm sorry for how I've treated you Xylias." He finishes, and they lock eyes.
She shakes her head, "Of course I forgive you Vegeta, how could you have possibly known?" She tears her eyes away from his to look back at the moon, "What did the doctors say?" Xylias asks quietly
The Prince hesitates, but decides she deserves to know. He tells her about about the old broken bones, the condition that made her hair white, and how the extensive scar tissue has made her unable to have children. By the end of his explanation he feels wildly uncomfortable, but Xylias seems unfazed by this information.
Xylias chuckles, "Children... that's a thought that never crossed my mind. My whole life is ahead of me now, I can worry about that later." She smiles softly, the moon reflecting in her eyes.
She turns to Vegeta grinning, her tone playful. "Y'know... since I just shared my inner damage with you, that makes us friends— by default."
Vegeta scoffs, crossing his arms in front of his body, "Don't count on it." he says indignantly, but finds his mouth twitching into a smirk back at her, then he turns around and walks back to Capsule Corp, heading in for the night.
Two friends made today , Xylias smiles broadly while she watches the Prince walk away, then retreats to her own room.
⋆.ೃ࿔*:･
Somewhere out in space...
A small, sleek, metal orb with a circular red window makes it's way through the galaxy at a fast pace. Time felt unreal to its passenger, he couldn't tell how long he'd been flying— days.. weeks.. months? Going through many planes of space meant traveling through time as well, his inner clock was out of sorts.
He drifted in and out of consciousness for the most part, as the last battle he fought left him more drained than he'd ever been. He had some injuries, but with all the rest he's been getting he's healing at a good rate too.
During his slumber he sees flashing images of ethereal yellow eyes, and sometimes an illuminated figure. One surrounded by an opalescent aura, with magenta fire swirling in it. Every time he wakes from one of these dreams, he's further determined to return home—to feel that energy again.