Disclaimer: I do not own dragonballz but all original characters are mine

AN: Approx. eighteen years later after A World of Saiyans.

A Warrior's Path

Chapter One

A new secretary entered the famed Capsule Corporation building that not only produced the most sophisticated technology known to man but was also rumored to house the cutest guys on earth.

"You must be Terry."

Terry glanced up to see her new supervisor watching her with a raised brow. The woman was an imposing red head with sharp green eyes and a crisp pantsuit.

Flushing red, she quickly bowed, "Yes, I am Terry Britham."

"Right, this way please," the tall red head confidently managed the maze-like hallways.

"You will take all of Tom's calls and make or break his meetings on his command. You will file his papers and keep them carefully organized. If for any reason you are found incompetent in your duties then you will be fired, is that clear."

The red head paused, in front of a door.

"Crystal," Terry smiled weakly.

"Good, this will be your work . . . space . . ."

Terry watched her supervisor trail off as her hard green eyes softened and a slight blush grace her cheekbones.

Curious to see what could cause such a reaction in her supervisor, Terry turned and her heart jumped into her throat.

Walking down the hallway, in a heated argument were two of the most gorgeous men she had ever seen.

One was slightly taller than the other and sported a head of lavender hair. He wore a tailored suit, which showed of his distinctly manly physique and taste. This was a man of restrained passion.

The second male was darker though no less in shape. With a head of black spikes, cropped close gave him more of a wild edge. His clothes were a bit more casual than his companion but seemed to suit him as he gave off an almost animal like energy.

Though, both had striking blue eyes.

"Zarah, it's impossible," the man with light purple hair said forcefully as if he were trying to drive in a point.

"You've said that to me before, Trunks, and we succeeded," Zarah, the black-haired man, snapped back.

Terry couldn't take her eyes off of them even though they had passed by her. She only regained control of her eyes when they turned a corner, still knee-deep in their disagreement.

"Forget it new girl," her supervisor sighed with regret, "They're the Briefs boys and they don't exactly date. President Trunks Briefs and Zarah Briefs . . . such a waste."

"Why don't they date?" Terry became visibly upset at this information.

"Beats me but they both have my number," a rueful smile crossed the red head's lips.

Terry frowned as she realized a very important fact, "You said that Trunks was the president of the company . . . What exactly does Zarah do?"

An amused smile, "Everything. He does his own experiments, research, management, and he even answers his own phone. Anything you can think of he can do, the Briefs are lucky he's related to them because if he wasn't then he'd be a hell of a competitor."

**

Zarah wasn't happy.

Trunks had vetoed his plan to build a new microchip that had unlimited storage capacity.

Impossible he says, Zarah growled to himself, It can't be done he says. I'll show him it can be done!

Zarah glared out of his office window and wondered for the thousandth time if he had made the right choice to work for his cousin. His parents had objected strongly to such an action, though for very different reasons.

His mother, Ava the Princess of all saiyans twin to his Uncle Vegeta, had been outraged that he should choose to work for a living like a human rather than just carving out his space in the world like a true saiyan. His dad, 17, was just confused to why he would put himself in such a stressful situation when he could be having fun.

Zarah rubbed his forehead, Fun? What was that again?

The half-saiyan chuckled to himself, and if that wasn't enough his mother had decided he was in need of a mate.

As if I have time for a woman, Zarah sighed as he let his tail uncoil from his waist and flicked it absently.

"Well, back to work," Zarah narrowed his eyes at his schematics, "Now, how to word this so Trunks will agree to at least a prototype."

Excitement entered his blue eyes as a different angle occurred to him. He sat down quickly and scribbled out the idea before he lost it to the wind.

With a toothy grin, Zarah lifted the proposal triumphantly and answered himself as he had a thousand times before.

Yes, he had made the right decision.

Just the satisfaction from thwarting his cousin Trunks was worth all the stress and the rush from one of his ideas going global . . . Well, that took up the rest, the slack, and practically stored itself if he should feel down for any reason.

Zarah ran out of his office and into the stairwell where he just jumped into the middle of the room and allowed himself to fall for thirty floors.

"Bra!" Zarah threw open the door to her private lab in the basement.

A blue head of hair lifted and glanced over her shoulder at him.

"He agreed?" Bra's voice revealed her surprise that Trunks would actually say yes to one of their ideas.

"No," Zarah scowled before his expression lightened, "but I came up with a proposal he can't refuse."

Bra lifted a blue brow, "What? Are you going to show my mom? Trunks still hasn't forgiven you for the last time you did that."

Zarah rolled his eyes.

"I only did it once and he benefited for it in the end so I don't see what his problem is."

Bra laughed, "Except for the fact that you went behind his back, forced his hand by making him answer to his mommy, and made us all wealthier in the process."

"Right, there shouldn't be a problem," Zarah shrugged.

"Ah huh," Bra smiled, "Let me see your proposal."

Zarah handed her the paper.

"This is brilliant Zarah," Bra sped-read the paper, "but why would Trunks agree to it now."

"Because you will propose it to him," Zarah watched her head snap up.

"What? No way, I invent things. I do not deal with the business end, you know that."

Bra frowned, I will not budge. No matter what he says?

"Come on, Bra, he will at least listen to you. He's mad at me right now," Zarah pleaded, imploring her with his blue eyes.

Bra closed hers, "Why can't you guys get along?"

"Why can't you get along with Sasoli?" Zarah quipped, referring to his twin sister.

Bra glared at him, "Don't go there."

"Then will you do it?" Zarah stuck his hands in his pocket, in a gesture he had picked up from his dad.

"Fine," Bra nodded and clapped her hands, "But only if you go out with my friend."

Zarah's face dropped, "What?!"

"You heard me."

"Fine, deal." Zarah stuck out his hand.

"Deal." Bra shook his hand.

**

Trunks grumbled to himself as his secretary rambled about security measure this and marketing that.

It just wasn't fair.

How come he got stuck with all the paper work while Bra and Zarah got the freedom to do whatever the hell they wanted?

As if it wasn't bad enough he and Zarah didn't get along on a regular basis, but then his cousin had to push the envelope at work. On a usual day Trunks would have to do maybe an hour of paper work, if he was lucky. However, when Zarah was zipping from station to station he could single-handedly add four more hours to Trunks' workload, again if he was lucky.

"Shelly," Trunks interrupted his secretary.

"Yes, Mr. President?" She waited, pen poised ready to grant his every request, literally.

"Send a memo to Zarah telling him to get a secretary ASAP or else I will fire him, I don't care what my mom says," Trunks frowned, letting Shelly know he was completely serious this time.

He had joked before about firing his cousin but all in play, especially when Zarah responded saying he would overthrow the President first. This was no friendly banter between family, not this time.

"Right away, sir," Shelly nodded, and went to her smaller office.

"Good," Trunks sighed as he started his paper work, "I need someone else to regulate his movements. I am not his damn babysitter."

With a lighter mood, Trunks actually smiled as he signed paper, a secretary would cut his work in half.

**

Zarah chewed his lip as he thought about the deal he had made with Bra. Why would she ask such a bizarre thing of him? She knew he did not do well with one-on-one encounters.

Whether it was because of his antisocial parents or just him, he had no idea. Even when he was young he tended to stay away from the majority like his parents and Uncle Vegeta. So when his twin sister, Sasoli, took of to go play with Goten and Trunks; he could be found with his cousin Bra.

True, he would spar with Trunks and Goten but that was really about the extent of their peaceful contact.

Zarah laughed as he entered his office that is if you considered sparring a peaceful thing.

With a smile still on his face, he leaned down to pick up his jacket when a piece of paper on his desk caught his eye.

He frowned, he always kept his office neat as a pin and twice as organized. This piece of paper meant two things. One, somebody had been in his office, and two, without this evidence he would never have known.

He wasn't sure what disturbed him more. He filled his lungs and smelled the intruder's scent faintly, he should have detected it immediately.

This was another reason why his mother didn't like his job. He could hear her now, a warrior is never caught off guard when away from home base. Then his dad would jump in with, yeah because then they would never live it down. Then, they would argue over the finer points of nothing.

He picked up the paper and read it. With a growl, he crumpled the memo with barely restrained fury.

"Over a fucking secretary!" Zarah snarled, and threw the paper into the trash.

Honestly, Trunks was just too much. His cousin knew that he had tried having a secretary before and had almost killed her on accident. Stupid girl! What had she been thinking about when she had surprised him by draping herself on his shoulders?

Zarah frowned puzzled, he had nearly snapped her neck when he realized she wasn't an enemy who was trying to kill him. Then came the lawsuits and the endless bickering with Trunks.

Oh no, Zarah didn't like secretaries at all. Even before the incident, as he liked to call it, she had constantly tailed him asking what was he doing, where was he going, and, the question the pissed him off to no end, why didn't he date. It was no wonder he had almost killed her, even if it was on accident.

And now, Trunks wanted him to have another one. His cousin was doing this on purpose, to torture him.

For the hell of it, Zarah ran up the stairs to the roof about forty floors or so. Zarah wasted no time as he blasted off the building, he headed to the forest near the lake he knew as home, or more accurately his sanctuarary.

**

"Remember Pan, having saiyan blood isn't enough. One must live the life of a warrior to be truly happy," Bardock instructed his great grandchild.

He still could not get over how different it was to be on earth and almost found it hard to relax. On planet Vegeta, a warrior's free time was a precious thing and was to be enjoyed to its fullest extent whether it was five days or five minutes. But here . . .

It was the opposite, or at the least that was how it seemed to Bardock. Peace was disgustingly plentiful and true battle hard to find. Though sparring with his grandsons and son took off a lot of the edge but . . . it just wasn't the same.

And the more the peace dragged on the more Bardock became tense. It was one of the reasons he headed to Capsule Corp. where his prince let him use the gravity room. It was in this place that, with the right setting, life and death became a factor, the craving was fulfilled.

Only Prince Vegeta understood.

"But Grandpa Bardock!" Pan whined, "How does acting like a warrior stop everyone from treating me like a little kid?"

Bardock lowered his brow at his youngest relation.

"Because a warrior is anything but childlike."

Pan frowned, "So how do you become a warrior?"

Bardock laughed.

"One cannot just become a warrior, one must be a warrior."

"That doesn't help me," Pan crossed her arms impatiently.

Bardock's lips lifted slightly at the corners.

"It is not my job to help you Pan. You wish to be a warrior then you must find your own path."

Bardock smirked at her before turning to look at his modest house. It was a small two-bedroom house with all the utilities, more and less than he had at home. He was happy there near his son.

"Kakarot, Gohan, and Goten are all warriors, unconventional true but all the same. Prince Vegeta and Princess Ava' families are more traditional while I am a warrior of old."

"Princess Ava? Who is that?" Pan asked.

Bardock blinked at her then shook his head, bemused. A saiyan not knowing the royal family . . . I never thought I'd see the day.

"Never mind," Bardock sighed, as he realized the sun was retreating to the moon.

"Return to your sires, girl, our time has expired."

Bardock turned his back on her and started the short trek to his house.

"Girl?! I'm eighteen years old!" Pan declared hotly at his retreating back.

"Then you are old enough to find your own path."

The words floated to her on the wind as the door shut behind her Great Grandfather Bardock.

Pan stalked home through the forest on the mountain. With one thought on her mind.

I am going to show everyone that I am not a baby and deserve to be taken seriously! Pan promised herself as she saw her home in the distance parked directly next to her Grandma Chichi's house.

I am not a little girl any more, I'm a woman, Pan nodded to herself as she entered the house.

"Pan?" Her dad glanced up at her from his book, "Where have you been?"

"At Grandpa Bardock's," Pan shrugged as she kept walking to her room.

She paused as she heard her Uncle Goten talking on the phone.

"Oh yeah! She said that!" Goten gasped into the receiver.

Her Uncle would do this sometimes so Grandma Chichi wouldn't ease drop on his conversations. He had a deal with her dad, Uncle Goten would pay the phone bill and her dad would let him make all the calls he wanted.

"What?! But you have to go!" Goten paused, "I am just going to have to kidnap you for the day. . . Capsule Corp. will be ok."

Pan crossed her arms, so he's talking to his friend Trunks.

"All right, I'll see you tomorrow," Goten smiled and hung up the phone.

"Hey Uncle G," Pan grinned as he jumped.

"Oh, hey Pan, I didn't see you there."

"So you're going to Capsule Corp?" Pan asked, she had always wanted to go see the famous building.

"Um, yeah," Goten winced, "Don't tell my mom, ok, she keeps trying to make me get a job there."

Pan smiled with her hands on her hips, "Sure Uncle Goten . . ."

Goten released a sigh of relief, "Thanks Pan I really--"

" . . . On one condition." She finished.

"Oh come on Pan," Goten pleaded.

Pan crossed her arms.

"Fine, what's your condition?"

"You take me with you to get Trunks," Pan said triumphantly.

"Oh, that's it. Sure ok, no problem but you can't go with us afterwards ok?"

Pan nodded.

"All right, I'll pick you up tomorrow morning at 8:30." Goten grinned and waved good-bye.

Waving back, Pan continued her journey to her room and plopped on her bed.

You must find your own path, Bardock's words echoed in her head.

"My own path," she whispered to her ceiling, "but how do I know when I've found it?"

**

Zarah landed in front of the cave he lived in with his family, or more accurately with his parents. Sasoli was off on a self-purge, as his mother liked to call it. Personally, he thought she just inherited the wandering gene from his parents that he, himself had missed.

"Zarah?" His dad came out from behind a closet.

"Dad? What are you--"

"Shhh!" 17 interrupted, glancing around quickly, "Your mom is on a warpath."

"What did you do now?" Zarah sighed as 17 tried to look affronted and failed.

"Oh, nothing. I just mention that--"

"He thought I had gained weight," Ava's voice came from behind Zarah, "What a loyal son, finding the father for the mother to kill."

She had a pleased expression on her face and a deadly threat in her eyes.

Zarah took his cue and bowed out gracefully but he didn't retreat too far. He was deeply curious as to why his father would say such a thing, his mother was always in perfect shape.

17 grinned at his wife sheepishly and untangled himself from the closet.

"Now Ava--"

"Don't you dare 'now Ava' me, Android!" Ava growled at him, backing him up against the wall.

"But I didn't mean it," 17 pleaded, though Zarah could see the amusement in his father's eyes.

Zarah smiled, his parents had an odd relationship that was only topped by his Uncle Vegeta's. His father either had a death wish when it came to his mom or he really just got a kick from making her angry. His mom didn't help, she took the bait every time.

"Then why did you say it!" Ava was know nose to nose to her husband.

"I was just curious--"

"Curious!" She exploded.

Zarah watched his father get the look in his eye, he knew that look well. It was the look that said 'ok, enough is enough, I'm not playing anymore.'

"Ava, if you want to know why I said it then please find your mute button."

Ava crossed her arms while maintaining her deadly glare.

"I was just curious what would happen if I mentioned something that is considered human taboo. Most women would have reacted the same way you have which leads me to believe that despite your lofty saiyan claims that you are just as concerned with your appearance as any other human female."

17 recounted with thoughts coldly, while backing up his wife to the opposite wall.

Until, at least, she planted her feet in the middle of the room, and refused to budge any farther.

"So you're saying that my interest is only about physical appearance?" Came the disgusted response from his mom.

"Well, why else the misdirected anger," 17 raised a brow.

"Misdirected," Ava snorted, "Your implications of weight gain imply I have gotten lazy and have lost my edge as a warrior. Why wouldn't I be angry?"

Amusement entered 17's eyes again, "You took offense for an entirely different reason. This makes me wonder if I should ask you how old you are."

Zarah's eyes widened slightly in alarm as he watched his mother smile.

"You should know the answer to that, Android, Vegeta is my twin," Ava turned away from her mate to face her son.

"Zarah, when are you going to quit this . . . job?" She lifted a brow at him.

Zarah didn't say anything, it was a trap. One she always laid when he came home to see if or when he would fall for it because the day he did would signal the death of his saiyan pride. Then honor bound she would have to kill him, of course, this was a great exaggeration of tradition. The most she would ever do is beat the hell out of him until he agreed to become a warrior again.

"Hey, that was a cop out!" 17 exclaimed, surprised she would pull such a stunt, "You didn't answer me."

"You didn't ask me," his mother ignored him, "Zarah, you will spar with me."

Zarah nodded his acceptance.

She smiled with genuine pleasure as she walked out of the cave they called home.

Zarah took off his jacket while aiming a narrow look at his dad.

"Why do you have to get her so worked up?"

17 smiled, "You wouldn't like the answer. Besides, you'll understand once you get married."

"Dad!" Zarah glanced at the opening of the cave, "I hope she didn't hear you. The last thing I need is another lecture about finding a mate . . . wife."

"What's wrong, Zarah?" 17 frowned at his son, "You seem more tense than usual."

"Trunks is making me get a new secretary," Zarah grimaced.

"Oh, I see," 17 shook his head, "Well, the easiest thing to do is get one and scare her away."

Zarah paused as he changed his clothes.

"Why?"

"Because," a sly glint entered 17's eyes, "Then she'll refuse to work for you and tell all her secretary friends about you. It can't be helped if they refuse to work with you."

"I'll consider it. Oh and Dad?" Zarah glanced over his shoulder as he started to leave the cave.

"Yes?"

"I really don't advise you to ask mom how old she is," Zarah ducked out of the cave but he still could hear his father's laughter.

End of Chapter One

AN: Alright guys and gals! Let me know what you think!