***
Author's Note: To Logan, whoever and wherever you are. Doumo.

Note on the time line: This whole story takes place early into DBZ. In fact, maybe only a year after Radittzu came to collect Gokuu. The difference here is that the Saiya-jinn empire still existed, so instead of purging Earth, they took control of it and took Gokuu and Gohan away by force to be punished for their betrayal of their King.

[uragiri] treachery/betrayal/perfidy
[buruburu] shivering with cold or fear/shaking/trembling

***

The day that Rurutip and I moved with the Squad to the Southern continent was the best and worst day I had had since the night he had stolen me from home.

It was the best because I could finally go outside into fresh air whenever I wanted, as Rurutip now had permanent chambers with a fixed garden courtyard and beautiful grand trees. Believe it or not, the Saiya-jinn really respected trees because of the plant's ability to withstand and deal with almost any crisis, and it's strength and longevity.

The sky on Vejiita-sei was a hue closer to pink than blue, but it was nonetheless lovely.

However, it was also the worst day because for the first time, I saw the way other slaves of the Saiya-jinn were treated.

Most were given admirable conditions to live in -warm beds, good food, a chance to have and raise families- but it hurt to know that those people, like myself, would never ever be free again.

And those born in this place would never know what freedom was.

So, even though the Saiya-jinn were very advanced, civilized, intelligent (some of them) and surprisingly democratic, it still seemed like someone had jabbed a knife through my heart whenever I saw a little child's play interrupted by a leering soldier or a restricted area.

Then there were the other sorts of slaves. The 'gladiator' types. The labourers.

You don't really think that the Saiya-jinn cook their own food or make their own clothing... or dig their own graves? They are warriors. They don't mine. They don't sew. They don't look after their own brats.

All they do is fight.

The women don't even like to get pregnant. It hampers their ability to do battle. So the slaves are the ones to raise the children in nurseries. And do everything else, too. Without slaves, the whole empire seemed to me as if it would crumble.

Rurutip's Squad became the one in charge of the general trading post of the Southern continent, and so spent much of their time fighting ambassadors and journeying off to far planets and systems to 'negotiate' with or destroy allies.

Every Saiyan's dream, to be able to fight or kill for gain.

Rurutip himself was a little less pleased with his new post. Although he was proud to be called Commander rather than Captain, he missed the freedom of space and the privacy and power that a single ship with a small loyal squad granted.

But all the power that a post like his new one was consolation enough. Besides that, because of my talent, he often spent time with the more elite of his race (Rurutip was only a second class, after all) and was making connections at every event I entertained at. He was using me, more or less, to climb the social ladder of Vejiita-sei.

If things kept going in the direction he wanted, he'd soon be sparring with the big boys, and from that could only come an increase in skills and strength. If he was good enough, and determined enough, he could get good enough to be re-labelled a first class, and from there an elite.

To be an Elite Saiya-jinn is any Saiyan's dream. That means he or she can become one of the King's Royal Guard, and would therefore be given a chance to give his life in the act of protecting the King. The single most brave and honourable thing a Saiya-jinn could do.

Personally, I didn't like the idea that Rurutip might become part of the Royal Guard. That meant he'd move into the palace -and me with him- and there would be a very big chance of me running into the Prince again.

And believe me, he is not the sort of guy you want to hang around, if you catch my drift. Every time he walked into the same room I did, my short hairs would stand on edge.

I was actually very lucky. The Prince didn't find me attractive, and thought my talent worthless, so he showed no interest in me whatsoever. The King thought of me as a prize bird in a cage, to be dressed up and paraded before his guests to show off how splendid and powerful his race and planet was.

Each could have taken me from Rurutip, had they felt so inclined. But the Prince was bored around me and the King valued my voice too much to try to damage my performing ability or co-operation by dragging me to his bed.

The King and the Prince were the only ones who had the authority to remove me from Rurutip's care, and both had every reason not to want to.

Which meant that I could stay with the only Saiya-jinn on the planet I really and truly trusted. Except for maybe Falfa, an older Saiyan who was really very kind despite his tough outwards appearance, and Celik, a brash young thing, barely out of his teens who teased me all the time, trying to get a piece.

I mean, hey, I'm just a little Ningen nothing. Anyone could have snuffed me out like a light at the mere thought of it.

So, I learned to live with the Saiya-jinn customs on Vejiita-sei, and to act meekly whenever any Saiya-jinn gave me an order. On the ship, it had been only Rurutip I had to answer to, and the Squad was nothing to worry about. Here, there were hundreds of warriors more powerful than Rurutip, thus I had hundreds of warriors I had to obey.

Luckily, they were all smart enough not to try to mess with the King's new favourite toy.

***

It was nearly two weeks I was on Vejiita-sei before I realized something was not quite right with the Empire.

The King was taking orders from Frieza. And he hated it. In fact, they all hated it, but they knew -just as I did - that they simply were not strong enough to overthrow his control.

Like Earth was controlled, but left to do it's own thing by the Saiya-jinn, so too was Vejiita-sei ruled by Frieza.

And like the humans resented being ants in a glass ant farm, so too did the Saiya-jinn.

The only difference between us and them... was the fact that they had the power to do something about it.

And do something about it, I was sure they were going to... and soon.

***

One day, I was curious. I sat at a small table in Rurutip's new chambers (set up almost exactly like his old ones, save for the fact that his windows actually opened now), and began counting off on my fingers.

It had been well into October when Rurutip and I first met. October... 15th, I thought. So, two weeks later was when we left earth. October 29th. One week to reach Vejiita-sei the first time. November 5th. Two to reach Yadrat-sei. November 20th. Another two to get back to Vejiita-sei, during which I had been left in the re-gen tank. December 4th. And I had been on Vejiita-sei with Rurutip over two weeks now. Two weeks and two days.

That made it December 20th.

Christmas was only 5 days away.

I sighed and wondered what my family was doing for Christmas. Then I pondered what - if anything- I should get Rurutip.

***

Later that day, I was allowed to peruse the Royal Library. King Vejiita wanted me to sing a song for the upcoming festival that had something to do with the legends of the Saiya-jinn, and when I had confessed that I didn't know any, he had had a warrior point out the Library to me.

So great, all of a sudden, I'm a composer?

I'd never written a song in my life!

But, I thought, perhaps if I find a legend and use a tune I already knew, I could fake it. So, sorting through piles and piles of books that didn't seem to be in any sort of alphabetical or numerical order whatsoever, I spent the afternoon choosing books by roughly translating the titles on the spines and then taking the book itself to computer to scan and read the English that came up on a screen.

It was lucky that this particular computer had been uploaded with all of the Chikyuu-jinn languages, or I'd be lost.

I found a lot of crap in those piles, ancestor glorifying and what not. Death counts and battle recounting. I really didn't find anything worth singing about until I found a small, thin, white book in a far corner. It looked as if the spine had barely been cracked, and the Saiyago that littered the cover was guided in what appeared to be a mix of white and yellow gold.

"Wow..." I whistled and took out my small hand-held computer. It held a dictionary that I had been carrying around for the past week in one of the folds of my strange powder blue dress.

One word on the spine I already recognized: "Saiya-jinn." No big deal there, but it was the other ones that I couldn't understand, and so I typed them into the hand-held machine.

"Denkiteki Kairiki Saiya-jinn" is how it read roughly. This is what it translated to:

"The Legend of the SuperSaiyan."

My eyes widened. "SuperSaiyan?" I flipped through the thin text wondering at the elaborite illustrations. Was that a giant gold king-kong?

Hurridly, I rushed over to the translating computer and fed the first page under the scanner. This is what came up:

SuperSaiyan, Golden Oozaru,
The Moon's Mate and the King.

Once every thousand years
he will take our fate, and sing
of our People's Power!

Most of the stanzas -as I soon learned, the whole book seemed to be predictions and short poems- spoke of how powerful this Golden Oozaru, this SuperSaiyajinn. I sorta got bored with the stereotypical Saiya-jinn pride and boasting, until I got to the last stanza:

Kakarotto, rough to start,
Grows to Gokou, Pure of Heart.
Hate, Rage, enmity;
SuperSaiyan in a fight to be free...
Friends are lost, Planets fall;
And He emerges; Strongest of us All.

***

I spent days trying to work the legends and the final prediction into lyrics. The first day was spent just trying to decided which melody to pirate.

After hours of deliberation, and balancing a pencil between my upper lip and nose, I decided upon the melody to 'Loch Lommond'. It was beautiful, simple, melodic, and just about right for the prediction. The syllables almost fit, and I only had to add a few extra beats and notes.

The final song turned out like rather well.

I gave the lyrics to Rurutip as a gift.

"Merry Christmas." I smiled, handing them to him, rolled up and tied with a ribbon I found.

"Nani?" he stared at me, eyes wide. "What?"

"Merry Christmas." I blushed and looked at my feet. "It's a holiday on Earth, celebrated on this day each year."

He stared at me with wide eyes, then laughed out loud, head thrown back. "What sort of shit has Falfa been feeding you?"

I glared at him and stomped a foot. "I'm being perfectly serious!" I looked at the scroll in my hand. "If you don't want it, fine! I... I... I'll burn it!"

He snatched my wrist and pried the papers from my grip. "No need." he snarled. "Stop bitching, I'm taking it, okay?" He unrolled it, bored and annoyed, then paused as he scanned the words, eyes bugging out. "You translated this into Saiyago?"

"Yes." I said softly.

"Why?" he asked, eyes narrow and suspicious.

"Because it's Christmas." I said. I moved to leave the room and he stoped me by wrapping his tail around my waist.

"Explain." He said, waving the paper in front of me. "Why this gift? Where did you find this legend?"

"The Library." I said. "It is a popular legend, isn't it?"

He nodded abruptly, but pulled me closer. "Explain this, though. What the Hell is this stupid holiday of yours?"

I began to grow upset with him. What, didn't like my gift, did he? Thought it was stupid and useless? Forget it, then! "Let me go!" I snarled, trying to pull his tail away.

"Stay still!" he growled back. "Explain!"

"It's a celebration of life!" I snapped back. Rurutip paused and stared at me. "It's the birth date of the man whom our chief religions revolve around."

"So why give gifts?" He asked, calmer than before, but still annoyed that I had not answered right away.

"Because we can't give them to him." I said, not believing he didn't understand. "We give them to our loved ones, to show them that we care."

He dropped me to the floor, and I couldn't get my balance so I ended up on my rear.

"You... gave this to me...? For your stupid holiday?"

I said nothing.

"You mean to tell me that... you feel something for me?" Rurutip looked down at me with wide eyes.

I looked down. "You're all I have right now. It only seemed appropriate."

"Fuck!" he snarled, turned on his heels and stormed out of the room. "Imagine, getting attached to a pet!"

I stared at the papers he left crumpled on the floor. "Stories of your messiah for the birth of mine." I said softly to myself, then hid my face in my hands and wept.

I was alone and unloved after all.

***

"Where is your usual spirit, Ningen?" The King demanded of me upon my entrance the next evening. "You are usually so eager to perform."

I looked at him and forced a smile.

What had I to be eager about anymore? The man I thought at least LIKED me still saw me as nothing more than a pet. A stupid, worthless, parrot to sing and spread my legs on demand.

But, as I've said before, I'm a performer. I pretended.

I wasn't really paying attention to those around me as I sang. I knew the King was at the head of the crowd, and that the Prince was to his left. I wasn't sure who was too his right, the shadows in this particular arena were deep, and I couldn't make out the face.

There were other Saiya-jinn there too, but I only knew Falfa and Celik.

No one else really mattered. At least not at the time.

But by the end of the evening, I learned some new names and faces, and I'm certain I'll never forget them.

***

I had come into the room mid-way into the festivities, as per usual. King Vejiita liked to make his guests wait for everything, and for my evening performance it was no different.

I started with an up beat song, then steadied my nerves, and said, "Sire. In honour of this event, I have prepared a song about Vejiita-sei's most popular legend. The Legend of the SuperSaiya-jinn."

The SuperSaiyan-jinn,
The great Golden Oozaru,
The Moon's Mate
and the King's flower.
Once every thousand years
he will take our fate, and sing
of our People's Power!

Born a warrior, strong, true.
Rage and love upon a beaten breast.
The strongest.
Beyond, above, the very best.
The freer of captives.

He has been, will be again.
He comes and goes with the cycles of the centuries,
with the moon.
He will crush the strongest of his enemies,
To Free his people soon.

Kakarotto, rough to start,
Grows to Gokou, Pure of Heart.

Hate, Rage, Enemity;
SuperSaiyan in a fight to be free...

Children are lost, Planets fall;
And He emerges; Strongest of us All.

When I finished, there was wild whooping applause from every Saiya-jinn present, save for the Prince, who looked only a little less bored than usual, and the King, whose eyes had suddenly gone very wide.

He turned to the shadowed man beside him, and I saw his mouth moving as if to explain something, but couldn't hear his words. I did notice, however, that he had gone extremely pale.

What had happened while I sang that could have caused him such panic?

It was then that I realized I recognized a few of the other faces around the room. Specifically... Zarbon.

That meant Frieza was here somewhere, and I began to tremble, eyes sweeping, jabbing from face to face. He'd kill me if he knew I was still alive!

And he sure as Hell knew now!

There was a lot happening around me when I stepped off to the side, to stand beside Rurutip, in fear of my life. I was so afraid, actually, that I didn't realized the hubbub that had begun to spread from Saiyan to Saiyan.

I didn't notice one Saiya-jinn slip out the back, a scowl on his twice scarred face, sweat beading along his hair-line. I didn't notice the Prince's fists clench. I didn't hear the growls that came from the shadowed man and the King until the former finally stood and snarled:

"You KEPT THIS FROM ME?"

The whole room stopped, and looked at the man who screamed.

Frieza.

I made a squeaking sound, terrified. I knew he was mad at the King for keeping me alive. I was going to die, and probably suffer too.

But then I realized, I listened... Frieza wasn't speaking of me. He was referring to my song.

"Explain the meaning of this, Vejiita!" Frieza snarled and both Vejiitas tensed, looking for all the world as if they wanted to kill Frieza. But they couldn't. Even together, they couldn't have been strong enough. "SuperSaiya-jinn! What is that?"

The King babbled for a few moments, then the Prince stepped around his to shake a fist at Frieza.

"I am!" he spat, and Frieza's eyes narrowed dangerously. "I am the strongest Saiya-jinn, and I WILL be the SuperSaiyan!"

Frieza's own fist began to glow. I don't think the Prince saw it. My breath caught in my throat.

"I will be the strongest warrior in the universe!" the Prince continued his tirade. "And then, Frieza," he spat out the other man's name as if he hated the taste of it, "I will destroy you and free my people!"

Frieza glared for a moment, shaking with rage, then began to laugh. "Little Prince!" he smiled cruelly. "It's a stupid legend! No monkey is stronger than I! Let me show you!"

He raised his glowing hand and I screamed, "Watch out!" but the stubborn royal ass ignored me and looked right into the blast.

I couldn't tell from where I was if Vejiita-ouji was dead or not when his body finally hit the ground. But it sure as hell looked like it.

In a sickening way, I was glad the bastard was dead.

"No..." I whispered under my breath, clinging to the rim of Rurutip's armour, terrified. Then Frieza turned to me.

He looked directly at me, smirking evilly. "And you. I thought I ordered you dead, bitch. And now, you dare to incite a rebellion against me?"

A lump formed in my throat, and I couldn't say a thing as he stalked across the great marble floor, stepped over the Prince's black, smoking body, and stopped directly in front of me.

"Move." he snarled at Rurutip. Rurutip looked to the King, who nodded, and then pried my fingers out of his armour and stepped away. The veins were popping out on his forehead.

I crumpled to the floor, tears now leaking out of the corners of my eyes.

I was going to die, for real this time. Nothing and no one could stop Frieza. Not Rurutip. Not even the King.

He struck me across the face, hard, his fist crackling with ki and I was thrown to the ground, face bleeding and burnt.

"Little slut!" he snarled. "Die!"

I clenched my eyes closed, fisting my hands on the cold floor, tucking my knees up and hiding under my arms.

No false bravery this time. No screaming names or defying death. This time I was terrified to die.

"You first!" came a call from the far side of the room.

The voice was low, harsh, violent... it sounded like one of God's own angels.

He saved me, this man, for Frieza, with a whistle of anger spun to face him. This was the man who had snuck out earlier without my noticing it. The man with hair that pointed in two opposite directions.

"Who are you to speak to me thus?" Frieza snarled.

"Captain Bardock!" the Saiya-jinn warrior replied over the vast thick silence of the room. "The father of Kakarotto! The man who will destroy you!"

"Kakarotto?" Frieza repeated, voice dropping to a hash whisper of shock. "The SuperSaiyan!"

Bardock smiled, and motioned. A filthy, beaten, tail-less Saiya-jinn wearing what appeared to be the remains of an orange gi was thrown into the empty space before Frieza. He appeared to be clutching something.

Upon further examination, I realized that the 'something' was a small boy, maybe only six years of age, wearing a torn and bloody yellow jacket and green pants.

The older Saiyan was most definitely Bardock's son. The resemblance was unmistakable. Just as the boy he clutched bore a resemblance to him.

I gasped as the man crawled painfully to his feet, hushing the weeping child with a soft "Be strong Gohan."

Frieza took one look at them and burst out laughing. "This is supposed to be Vejiita-sei's most powerful warrior! Don't make me laugh! He's a weak third class nothing!"

Bardock's tail bristled, and I curled into a smaller ball on the cold floor, blood from my face pooling at my feet.

"Fight him, Kakarot!" Bardock snarled.

"No!" Kakarotto shouted in return. "I won't help you! You killed my wife! My friends! You enslave Earth! I hate you! I won't fight for you!"

"Kakarotto!" Bardock snarled. "Do it!"

Frieza's laugh died out and he stared at Kakarotto with a contemplative look on his face. "Kakarotto. Yes, I know your name. Are you not the Saiya-jinn who was sent to Chikyuu-sei to purge it, and bumped his head?"

Kakarotto glared murder at Frieza, and I swallowed heavily. Chikyuu had been meant to be purged?

Frieza pointed at me over his shoulder and I yelped, thinking he meant to shoot me. I heard Rurutip snarl, but not move. To move would be suicide.

"She's a Chikyuu-jinn, you know." Frieza lowered his hands to his waist, an evil smirk playing on his lips. "Does she look like your wife did before she was blown into little bloody pieces? Will you try to save her Kakarot?"

A purple flash of light leapt out at me, so fast that all I could do was scream when I felt it graze my arm.

"No!" Kakarotto howled, holding his son in his grip protectively. "Stop, please, don't hurt her!"

I laughed softly to myself. A Saiya-jinn begging for my life. How ironic.

Frieza looked around the room. "Let's make this a game, shall we? If you can save her before I kill her, she stays alive. How does that sound? I won't kill her, or you, when I kill the rest of these back-stabbing worthless monkeys."

A mummer of hatred flew around the room, and yet no one moved. The King had not moved, his eyes wide and still locked on his own son's smoldering body.

"I don't care about these people!" Kakarotto said in a low angry voice. "Do whatever you want with them. Just leave me and my son and the girl out of it."

Frieza seemed to ponder this. Then he chuckled. "No. You're a SuperSaiyan, or so they say. Can't have you around to pester me." a beam shot out of his hand and pierced Kakarotto's shoulder, who screamed in agony and slammed down to his knees, one arm suddenly useless.

"Get up!" Bardock screamed at his son. "Fight!"

Kakarotto said nothing, and his son shook his arm. "Daddy? Daddy?"

"And the girl," Frieza said, pointing to me, "Is defying me. She dies too." One of those beams came right at me, and I moved just enough that only my leg was hit, blood bubbling up everywhere as I shrieked.

"And your son." Frieza smiled smoothly and zipped forward to haul the child up to eye level by his jacket front. "He carried the SuperSaiyan genes. He must die most of all."

"No, Gohan!" Kakarotto screamed.

"Daddy!" was all the poor child had time to say before Frieza moved his hand, neatly snapping the tender little neck.

The child's corpse was tossed to join me, and I was certain I was going to be just as dead as he was and the Prince was within moments. But to see the death of an innocent child is the most horrible thing in the world, and after all the sorrow and guilt and hate I'd endured, I finally went over the edge.

"Monster!" I accused Frieza with a blood spatter finger. "Murderer! Demon! How dare you? An innocent baby! A child! MONSTER!"

My tirade was cut off my a harsh guttural scream and a brilliant flash of golden light.

"GOHAN!"

When the light cleared and the scream died away, Kakarotto was the only one in the room besides Frieza who had not been knocked off of his feet by the huge gust of wind that had accompanied the bitter, grieving, empty scream.

There was nothing left behind Kakarotto's eyes. Nothing. Just rage.

He had become a ruthless, emotionless killing machine. A power with no control, no vision, no direction.

"SuperSaiyan!" was whispered among the fallen ranks of the Saiya-jinn.

"No!" Frieza snapped. "It's only a stupid story!"

"DIE!" responded Kakarotto.

I didn't see all of what happened next. There was a blur and a scream as Kakarotto dove for Frieza, and both seemed to vanish from view. They were moving too fast for me to see.

Then, around me, all hell broke loose. Frieza's men and the Saiyans clashed violently and blood stained the walls and floors from both sides. I merely pressed myself to the wall, holding the corpse of Gohan close by me.

It seemed awful that the boy's earthy remains might be trampled.

One high, shill wail rended the war-torn air and everything stopped.

The crowd moved in just such away that I might be able to see Kakarotto and Frieza again.

I was nearly physically ill when I realized that the slick red thing Kakarotto held in his hand was Frieza's heart.

A great cheer went up from the soldiers of Vejiita-sei.

Rurutip came to kneel by me, barking orders at Falfa regarding a re-gen tank. All I could think was, *I've seen enough. I can't do this anymore. Please, just let me die.*

Kakarotto stood stock still in the middle of a pool of blood, Frieza's collapsed and empty corpse at his feet, only a few feet from the Prince's dead body and Gohan's cooling corpse. And I was gushing blood like Old Faithful.

The SuperSaiyan then dropped the cold heart disdainfully and strode over to kneel in front of me and scoop up the body of his child.

Rurutip glared at him hatefully, protectively. The look on Rurutip's face said it all. 'She's mine, and if you think I'm going to let you take her back to Chikyuu-sei, you're fucked in the head!'

"I'm sorry I couldn't save Earth." was all he whispered to me as Falfa came forward to lift me onto a stretcher.

And as I was hauled away, I saw Kakarotto fall to his knees amid the celebration of his fellow warriors, cradling the corpse of innocent little Gohan.

It was the first and last time I ever saw a Saiya-jinn cry.

***

I don't know what happened to Kakarotto. I hope he got back to Earth. I know the King is busy trying to replace his fallen son by actively seeking out a worthy mate, while at the same time learning to rule both his own Empire and Frieza's old one.

And Rurutip and I?

We're still tucked away somewhere in the middle of nowhere, running a colleting station. I still lay still every night, even though he has to be more gentle than before because of the many injuries I've sustained.

I now have a permanent limp in my left leg.

But one thing has changed. My separation from home and my family, the tragedy that took place that night so long ago, the mindless slaughter of a braggart Prince, the death of an innocent boy... it was all because I sang.

I vowed I would never ever sing again as long as I lived.

And I haven't sung a note since.

***

THE END

"And the Game never ends
when your whole world depends
on the turn of a friendly card."
- Allen Parson's Project.