A/N: Heyo Mayo! I'm back! I have no idea how long there will be between updates, but this is not a surefire indication of that...if any of you follow any of my other fics, that is a very true statement. Now that that's out of the of the way, let's get crackin! We have a planet to get to- and you won't be expecting this one soon!

Standard Disclaimer Applied.

Viel Spaß!

Chapter 2: From Lost To Stranded And Gone (Again)

Soul was, safe to say, one of the most unlucky Saiyans in the cosmos.

Not only was his luck with most of the Saiyan race deplorable, his luck with women was even worse...

Especially when it came to what was now happening. Chaos, mayhem, and unintentional destruction may be a part of the equation that he was now forced to accept as his overly complex life- but the women of their hastily thrown together pack were bound to make it hell for him.

And the Azorean looked like she was itching to kill him.

The glares hadn't stopped since he had made his earlier comment about women and cubs, earning a look of annoyance and disgust from both the Azorean and the Morionra, Maka and Tsubaki, and since then, he felt shivers chasing each other down his spine.

But that had been earlier, before going to stock the ship.

Looking over his shoulder to find the Azorean currently engaged in trade with a Bactan meat merchant, hair neatly tucked into a sidebraid to account for the sweltering heat, her overcoat left behind in the flagship to let her cool down faster. Black Star's errant swearing was coming from the nearby Auruman-operated food stand as the owner screamed back that they had no fish dishes due to having little seafood in stock -Fish migration season was likely, as it turned out that they were still somewhere in their own star system's habitable zone- before the Zircontic demanded proof. Liz, Patty and the Methystan from earlier were engaged in conversation and Tsubaki was trading currency for vegetables grown near the volcanic mountain range near the ocean when Soul suddenly remembered something about the fuel tank- despite the full Viotelkan tank giving a sizable amount of fuel, the main tank in the flagship was nearly thrice as large as to account for the ship's main functions.

That being said, he went to find directions to the next fuel station planetside, hopefully to get more fuel for the ship so they could get home sooner.

"Okay, now I just have to bring the ship over, and we'll have enough fuel for at least fifty round trips across the solar system. Not a problem."

Soul went over to the door and opened it with the access code he had secretly recorded into the ship's database, collecting himself as he went to the pilot's seat and flipped the power switch. A smirk made its way to his lips as he pulled the thrusters, slowly ascending to not tip anyone off, and used the direction gears to navigate his way to a nearby Erinitic-operated way station(which he found strange, because like the Southern Continent, the North was almost always covered in ice and snow).

Upon landing, Soul noticed an Ambren female waiting for his ship, having likely been informed beforehand of the fuel job coming in.

"I've gotta ask- how long is the job going to take?" Soul inquired, knowing that his pack would be pissed when they found both him and the ship missing.

"Oh, just a few minutes, don't worry about it. Why, needed something to do?" The Ambren replied, a knowing smirk on her face as her navy eyes danced in mirth.

"No...we left without enough fuel to fill up the tank. Truthfully, I'm surprised that you speak Galactic Common."

The Ambren chuckled. "I'm used to all of the skepticism, frankly."

Soul felt relieved- he had no idea what would happen if she had tried to kill him right then and there. "Oh."

"But I never thought that I would see a Miasmic here on Khayal." The Ambren added before going over to the fuel panel, beginning with the fueling process.

Right at that moment, Soul's stomach began to growl, signaling his hunger. "...I'm going to get some food."

Maka looked around for the sole Miasmic of the group, not having seen hair nor hide of him anywhere. Strapped over her back was a Bactan meat basket chock full of different cuts, each one wrapped up for later storage and preservation.

"I don't suppose that you've seen our resident albino anywhere, have you?" Maka asked of her closest friends, who gave a reaction between a shrug(Black Star) and a shake of the head(Tsubaki).

The blonde Saiyan hummed. "Liz? Patty?"

"Hmm?" Liz vocalized, turning to face the Azorean.

"Have you seen Soul? Albino, kind of lanky, Miasmic?"

Liz pointed in the direction of the ship, raising a brow in confusion.

Maka sprinted off, but not before sending a quick thanks over her shoulder to the ship- only to find it gone.

At that moment, she was reminded why she hated most of the male species.

A shiver wracked Soul's body, an overwhelming sense of dread washing over him like the waters surrounding Zircontic and Azorean Territory, as he got the feeling that the Pack had realized that he had taken the ship to who the fuck knew where.

'I'm a goner, I just know it.' Soul internally bemoaned.

The Ambren female from before walked over to the waiting boy. "Do you want the bad news, or the good news first?"

The Miasmic gulped. "Let's get it over with."

"Bad news, your main fuel tank's mostly rusted through. Good news, I can have it replaced and running in ten minutes."

Soul groaned in dismay, holding his hands over his face.

So much for getting the fuel tank filled to make up for earlier.

Maka was pissed.

Scratch that- she was livid.

"When I get my hands on that bastard, I'm going to kill him!" Maka seethed, emmiting steam from her ki reserves as she visualized ripping the Miasmic piece by piece.

Tsubaki held her hands up towards the furious Azorean. "Who knows? Maybe he just went on a fuel run?"

Maka stopped for a moment. "What?"

Tsubaki started to sweat a little. "Y-you know, he probably went to get the fuel tank looked at before leaving. Probably."

And no sooner than had she said that did their ship fly back over to them, landing gently enough to not crash. Thirty seconds passed before the main door opened and revealed Soul, who stretched himself out to rid himself of the stiffness between his joints.

Maka delivered a lightning fast corkscrew to his jaw, sending him hurtling through the air like a rag doll.

"WHERE THE FUCK WERE YOU?!"

Soul nursed his throbbing cheek, having been unprepared for the punch that had been thrown at him at full force. After explaining just why he'd been gone with the ship, things seemed less tense -still hot, but not as tense as it had been before,- between them. The Methystan from before had opted to join them, making it a group of seven teenaged Saiyans to take home, and Soul was soon to lock in the coordinates for Planet Vegeta when Kayam, alternatively known as 'Kid' for some reason, walked over to the front panel, he pressed coordinates for a planet out of the Rey system.

Liz noticed first, holding up a hand and beginning to panic.

"WAIT, KAYAM! YOU'RE ABOUT TO SEND US OUT OF THE STAR SYSTEM!"

Too late, Soul had already pressed the lock-on button.

They were thrown into their seats as the ship went top speed ahead, away from the stars they knew to be home.

Maybe letting Kid enter the coordinates for Planet Vegeta was a bad idea.

He knew that after they realized their destination was locked into a star system with only one sun and only one habitable planet- Earth.

Now he was ready to kill himself, mainly in part of locking in their destination. Why he hadn't listened to the elder Viotelkan, he had no clue, but with the fact that they were still in hyperdrive still made him deal himself blow after blow for it, cursing his idiocy for letting it happen.

Because while Earth was a place with a healthy population, there were still the paranoid natives to consider- they would likely be stranded if their ship was taken.

And that's something they could not afford.

Luckily, their landing was smooth, much like it was on the way to Khayal, only with far lighter gravity- had they been even one degree off, they would have crashed horribly, and with actual casualties.

Soul opened the door to let everyone off, himself being last, and creating multiple access codes for the group of Saiyans to get in- Black Star included, as he had no idea how to open the main door unless it was from the inside.

"Well. I hope they speak Galactic Common here, otherwise, we're going to end up as test subjects." Kid supplied, a rough, but light accent being his voice. "Liz, Patty. Stay with the ship."

"Yes, Kayam. We'll stay out of trouble. Call on us if you need us- we're going to set up camp." Liz and Patty went to look for any usable firewood and stones to start off their campsite and get it in working order along with some game, having lived their lives alone in the woods next to the main village of their tribe next to the Erinitic Territory border.

Kid nodded, though with some annoyance as he hated his name with the passion of an artisan to his craft.

Black Star was bouncing in his boots as the chill of incoming snow came down over them, wanting to eat some fish as he floated up to search for any lakes. It took him a bit, but he found a sizable water source due south of where they landed. He dropped down to the ground, turning to the group of misfits.

"I'm going fishing! Tsubaki, be my spotter?"

The Morionra nodded and flew after him, leaving the remaining three alone to contemplate their options.

"I'm going to look for any natives around here. From what I saw of the moon's position when we reached orbit, it's going to be full in a few days, and if we have any neighbors, I'd rather not disturb them." Soul piped up, flying about in his search for human life.

Maka and Kid looked at one another apprehensively as the Azorean took her hair down and partially tied it, going back to her usual style before she spoke first. "I think I'm going to look for supplies. Watch the ship until the others get back, please!"

She rocketed off toward the horizon before he could get a word in, leaving him standing alone before he went back inside to collect some paint.

At the lake, Black Star hovered above the water in a black pair of tight water shorts before diving in straight to the bottom, his sea green eyes adjusting to the cold, dark water with ease when he saw a sizable school of carnivorous fish swimming over to the blue-haired Zircontic, eager for an afternoon meal. He swam back to the shore, blasting himself out of the water to catch his wakizashi and split four fish from jaws to tailfins in rapid succession.

Grabbing his kills, he made his way over to the grassy bank, gutting the fish quickly with Tsubaki's help after drying himself and putting his clothes back on. Deep Diving was something usually done near the ocean, but since they were nowhere near any ocean, a lake would have to do.

Luckily the fish in the lake were nearly the size of the ones on Planet Vegeta, so there was an upside to deep diving for foreign fish.

"Okay, Tsubaki, I'll spot for you this time. I didn't count how many were down there, but these were a small amount of the school down there. Hopefully, you can get as many as you want," Black Star's voice carried an undercurrent of cheekiness to it, and if Tsubaki hadn't known the boisterous Zircontic for as long as she had known Maka, she would have thumped him over the head.

Like Black Star's swim shorts, Tsubaki had on a sleeveless undersuit made of a similar material, and it would help her in moving around underwater more than her parka would.

Luckily for her, she had done a few deep dives before.

She flew 50 feet into the air, close in height to the trees that surrounded the lake itself before positioning herself dead in the center above the water, tilting forward and cutting off the flow of her ki so she could go straight into the depths of the deepest part of the water.

She found the school of carnivorous fish already gunning for her- she hadn't exactly been quiet when she broke the surface- and she once again summoned a tanto to use for killing her prey before she leapt out of the water using a rock near her foot and slicing through six fish to Black Star's four.

Said Zircontic let out a shout of approval, having likely been waiting to finish and get to camp- knowing him, he was probably vying to eat some fish like he had been since before leaving Khayal.

Maka walked into the nearest village in search of a trading outpost to get supplies, having gotten some gold on her hands from the many different traders that visited her father's shop and melting them down to use on Earth as viable alternative for money. She had washed off the crest on her cheek so to not really stand out as much as she would if she had kept it on her face any longer- it had started to itch anyways.

And while she had heard of humans being like Saiyans, she had been expecting to see tailed people, but beggars can't be choosers. Not every species would really look the same as the Saiyans, though humanoid races were among the more common types if races among the cosmos.

After asking around for the trading post of the bustling village and finding it, she steeled herself before entering and being greeted by the sweet scent of vanilla and birch shavings put into a candle. She briefly wondered how they could make them like that, as the ones on Planet Vegeta were dreadfully boring and only used for light.

Making her way over to what she assumed were fur pelts on sale, she checked them to make sure they would be beneficial for the Pack.

Maka stopped.

'Since when have I considered our ragtag group to be a pack?'

She mulled over it for a moment before looking over to the adjacent shelf, finding pelts of different colors neatly folded into stacks sorted by hue.

One gray, three brown, and three tan pelts later, she moved over to the cooking equipment for some metal skewers before she was done with her shopping, paying with one nugget of gold, much to the owner's shock, and walking out without a word, headed back to the ship.

Safe to say, she hadn't exactly been expecting a bonfire a sizable distance away from the ship.

Soul found a small cottage on one of the mountains belonging to an old man, touching down to the earthen soil before him.

"You live here?" The Miasmic boy questioned, jabbing a thumb over to the chinese-style cottage he stood beside.

To Soul's surprise, the old man laughed. "Why yes, I do, lad. A new neighbor of mine, maybe?"

"...In a sense, I am. For the next few days, at least." Soul hesitantly replied, crossing his arms to ward off the winter chill.

"You must be freezing cold, sonny, come on in. I can give you one of my old coats for the weather!"

Soul opened his mouth to decline, but the man had already started to drag him inside of the house with strength not unlike that of a Saiyan's.

"Call me Gohan, my boy." The chipper man introduced, remembering his manners.

"...Soul."

"Soul, huh. Unique named for a unique young fighter." Gohan laughed.

Soul's eyes nearly popped out from surprise, not knowing how the old man was able to tell so easily.

"It's the way you carry yourself," Gohan said, as if he read his mind. "Only a true warrior holds himself tall and with dignity."

Soul grinned slightly. "You're the first to say that to me. My family tree looks at me like I'm a plague on their entire bloodline- except my grandmother, she actually cares for me."

Gohan tutted with sympathy for the young man, knowing his pain in a way. He himself had lost his family over the years.

The boy before him was shunned by his own, a victim in unfair judgement and favoritism.

Gohan rose to walk over to the wardrobe beside his window, pulling out an orange and tan fur tunic not unlike the tunic he wore at that current moment.

"Here you go, son. Keep it, it'll do you better good than it will for little old me." Gohan offered, the albino reluctantly taking the tunic and unsure on how to wear it. He looked over to Gohan for some help and the old man was happy to oblige the tailed boy, turning him around to put the sleeves on him before showing the Miasmic how to close it up.

Soul grinned as he observed his new coat, his tail reflecting his wonder.

Gohan cleared his throat to get the slightly taller male's attention. "I'm going to make a guess and say that judging by your tail, you aren't from Earth. Are you, boy?"

Soul shook his head, telling the truth. "You're not wrong."

Gohan nodded. "That explains the tail."

Soul then realized that Gohan knew he was an alien from the get-go. "Wait a moment, how do you know that?"

"Your ship is in the woods behind my house, actually," Gohan explained. "I saw it land while I was getting firewood."

Soul took the time to let the new information sink in.

After staying a little longer, Soul finally said goodbye to Gohan and left to reunite with the others at the ship (It needed an actual name soon, he noted dryly).

And like Maka, he hadn't been expecting to see a fire the size of a funeral pyre.

Nor did he expect to see Kayam opening a container of paint the color of the Methystan Crest standing next to the ship.

When Black Star and Tsubaki returned to camp with their fish in tow, scales and all, they weren't expecting the sight before their eyes like the Miasmic and Azorean of the Pack.

"I think I found my people." Black Star blurted in awe.

Almost immediately, every head turned to him in terrifying sync.

He almost immediately took a step back. "What's gotten into you guys?"

Soul shook off his reverie and went over to collect the fish and prepare it for cooking, using Maka's knife with her permission and a large sheet of paper to ensure that the fish didn't collect any dirt before cooking. Using the knife, he cut the bare filets into square chunks to put onto the metal skewers for kabobs.

Tsubaki went inside the open ship to retrieve some of the spices that she had bought on Khayal to season the meat in order to keep it from being entirely bland. When she came out from the back of the ship, she had three baubles of spice, one the color of the Miasmic Crest and two more the color of the Erinitic Crest, herbs in truth, and opened the red one to rub on the fish before light dusting them in herbs. Once she was done, Maka came over after setting down the pelts and taking hold of the skewers, meticulous in her approach to place the fish onto the metal rods before handing one to each pack member before sitting in front of the pyre, watching it cook with rapt attention as the pleasant aroma wafted over them like an immature adult taunting a child with candy.

Soul suddenly remembered something about what he had gone to do earlier, and cleared his throat to get their attention. "About the neighbor...he's on the other side of the forest. So no transforming for us, it seems."

They breathed a collective sigh, knowing they wouldn't have to transform on a planet that probably wouldn't be able to handle seven Great Apes at once anyways.

"Well we don't have to look at the full moon here as a requirement, so that's good news." Kayam noted.

Among the Methystan Tribe, transforming every full moon was seen as a tribute to the Gods Rey and Diyan, the latter of whom was said to have given the Saiyans the moons of their planet while Rey gave them light from the suns. Not even newborns were exempt from that particular law.

Every other Tribe just transformed every other full moon on the summer solstice.

Soon the sound of the fish sizzling alerted the Saiyans to their cooked meal, digging in before it had a chance to cool down a bit when it started to snow.

Everyone had their own memories of snow from home, especially the three who lived on the Southern Continent.

Their first meeting was the fondest of them, and none of them would dare to forget it.

Eight years ago

Azorean Territory, Bruss Village~

A young girl, no older than eleven, maybe twelve, walked alone on the streets of the busy market as she went down the path towards Yasai Bay, not seeing a streak of electric blue sprinting at her before she was rudely knocked over onto her tail, decorated with ornaments worn by those of the Morionra Tribe. She looked over to find what had hit her, indigo-blue eyes filled with curiosity instead of anger at having been knocked over when a second blur ran at the first just down the road, likely his sire, screaming "BLACK STAR!" as if it usually happened on a daily basis. Her hair was worn in a long braid to keep it out of her eyes, and she would need them if she wanted to find the blue one. An ash blonde child just a year younger stopped running next to her, hands on her knees to regain her breath. Like her own hair, this girl wore it in a braid that reached her mid-back, an azure ribbon keeping the end together so it wouldn't fall down.

"Why..in Shah's name...is he...so hard to catch?!" She panted beside her, and she decided to ask the dreaded question.

"Are you talking about...Black Star?" The Morionra cub asked the Azorean, hesitant to know if the younger cub would answer.

The young cub looked up at her with surprise in her eyes. "Huh?"

"Did you mean Black Star?" She asked again, this time less hesitant with her words.

The Azorean nodded, standing straight. "We've been chasing him from all over the Southern Continent." The Azorean cub grimaced, disdain in her emerald eyes.

She then looked over to the Morionra cub, who was wincing in sympathy for the blonde, as she had do trade runs and deliveries for her older brother while he was offworld doing who-knows-what.

"I'm Tsubaki. Tsubaki Nakatsukasa." The Morionra introduced, holding out a forearm in the traditional Saiyan greeting. The Azorean nodded and grinned, meeting her forearm to Tsubaki's.

"Maka Albarn. Nice to meet you. Now, I have a Zircontic to pound into the ice." Then she looked at Tsubaki. "You care to join me? He did knock you on your tail."

And she did care to join her- she was curious about the Zircontic cub anyway.

And with that, after Tsubaki had decided to join after the younger cub, even going so far as to drop Maka over the Zircontic, her curiously was sated about Black Star soon after she had met him- said boy happened to be obsessed with surpassing the gods, the gods Czar and Kaiser, war and death respectively.

Tsubaki was genuinely hoping to see that day, but as time went on for the three, they became fast friends within a few days' time, quickly becoming inseparable when tragedy struck all of them fast and hard like a rampaging Great Ape.

But other than that, their bonds stayed true.

A/N: Okay, so I get the feeling that the vast majority of you may think that I rushed it... I'm sorry about that. Truthfully, this chapter spun so out of hand that I ended up putting an origins flashback for the the South-Dwellers at the end. Again, if the pacing is crappy, my bad. Also, I have one little question to ask- Can anyone send in suggestions for the ship's name? I don't quite feel like referring to it as "The Flagship" for the duration of the story.

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Chapter 3: When Things Go From 'Well-Tuned' To 'Off-Kilter'

~Deathblow88