Summary: This is the story of the last 27 years of Planet Vegeta's existence. The tsufuru invade the saiyan's home world, prompting them to unify under Vegeta, the young son of a saiyan tribal leader. After years of war and struggling to fight against the tsufuru technology, the saiyans turn the tide and overthrow their would-be conquerors. But their new found freedom may be short lived when Frieza takes a sudden interest in the saiyan race.

Author's Notes:
(1) This story lies somewhere between being an Alternate Universe and the Canon Universe. This is closely based on source/canon material. The events of this story have been fitted into the canon time line as best as possible. The major difference between what is considered canon and this fan fiction is that in this story, the tsufuru have invaded the saiyans' home world, Planet Plant, instead of the opposite where the saiyans had been the foreigners.
(2) This story is not to be confused as being a direct prequel to Silver Linings of a Distant Sky. In many ways, many of the events of Under the Burning Sun have occurred in the same alternate universe as portrayed in Silver Linings, but the big difference is that there will be no saiyan-born Bulma in Burning Sun. The date/location/nature of Bulma's birth is where the time line diverged between canon events and the alternate events of Silver Linings.
(3) Some background information for saiyan culture can be found on my author's page. It is not necessary to read this information to understand this story, but it is recommended. It is there for reference if more insight is desired.

Disclaimer: Copyrighted material contained within this fan fiction is the property of its respected owners. No profit is to be made from this fan fiction. This fan fiction is for entertainment purposes only.


Under the Burning Sun:
The Beginning of the End

~ Prologue ~

God bless us everyone
We're a broken people living under loaded gun
And it can't be outfought
It can't be outdone
It can't be outmatched
It can't be outrun
from The Catalyst, by Linkin Park

Age 737, Summer Season

Their world was under attack. Frieza's forces had come in the middle of the night, their pods raining down upon the planet's surface like a meteor storm. The saiyan capital city of Verdur had taken much damage already. More than half of the city was in ruin. The first structure that had been destroyed was the spaceport, ensuring that the saiyans would be trapped on their world. The skyscrapers came next. They had been easy targets. Now, many of them lay crumpled on the ground, collapsed under their weight after suffering severe structural damage. Buildings burned throughout the city's residential districts, smoking the citizens out of their homes. Beyond Verdur City, the countryside was awash in an angry orange glow as wild fires greedily consumed crops.

Smoke filled the sky, blotting out the stars and the distant horizon. The smoke reflected the light from the angry red inferno raging below it. Orange embers floated skywards, swirling aloft upon the air currents, a peaceful contradiction to the chaos that ensued all around them. But these embers were just as sinister as the fires that they had been born from; they started new fires upon anything unfortunate enough to catch them. The smoke and ash carried the acrid scent of scorched buildings and the sickening smell of seared flesh... the flesh of the deceased, of those who had been crushed beneath the rubble.

Battles waged in the skies above. Men and women, military and civilian, the young and the old; all who were able answered the call to battle. Most had responded so quickly that they hadn't had the opportunity to change out of sleeping attire. Some had disregarded their modesty altogether and fought in the same manner as they had slept: in the nude. Ki beams lit up the night sky as they blasted through the air or exploded upon their targets. The sounds of battle rang through the heavens. Explosions echoed and shock waves rippled. Fighters called out commands, shouted attacks, grunted in pain. Fallen bodies, both saiyan and alien, crashed into the ground with sickening thuds.

Those who were too young, too old, or too injured to fight sought safety, finding cover among the shrapnel and debris. Often times, they had to pick their way past the corpses of their fellow saiyans; their coworkers, their neighbors, their families. When they could, they gave assistance to those who were unable to help themselves. Their skin and hair were covered in soot. Horrific injuries marred their faces and bodies. Children bore gruesome burns. The elderly bled from terrible wounds. Many of them would not likely survive their injuries.

From the royal estate overlooking the capital, Princess Aleguu of House Vegetus watched in silent horror. Ordered to remain at the estate, she could do nothing but stare helplessly as her subjects were butchered. Her left hand rested gently over her mouth as she desperately tried to comprehend what she was witnessing. Her heart thumped in her chest. Adrenaline coursed through her veins. Her stomach churned with nausea. She felt weak, as if her knees would give out at any moment. But she remained just strong enough to stay on her feet.

Aleguu's guardsmen stood dutifully behind her. No doubt, the images of the cowardly attack tugged at their fighting instincts and their need for vengeance. But they remained by her side, sworn to protect her and her precious charges. In her right arm, she held tightly onto her infant daughter Lele. Behind her, at the other side of the room, far from the balcony on which she stood watch, a pair of twin cubs dozed, blissfully unaware of the tragedy taking place beyond the palace walls.

As Aleguu soaked in the awful scene, only one thought kept repeating in her mind. Vegeta should never have agreed to join Frieza's army. Because of her brother's greed for technology and strength, the saiyans had been reduced to warmongers and mercenaries. Under Frieza, they had become butchers, taking pleasure in the misery and destruction of other races. They preyed upon those who were unable to defend themselves against invaders. As planet purgers, the saiyans had become no better than the tsufuru that had nearly wiped them out less than ten cycles ago.

Aleguu lamented that this New Way would have shamed and horrified their ancestors. The saiyans had once cherished the virtues of courage and honor, fighting only for just causes such as land rights, mating privileges, and the survival of their tribes and family packs. They did not wage war for trivial things such as riches or the simple glory of battle. How quickly the Old Way had been forgotten! Aleguu was filled with shame and guilt, blaming herself for being unable to prevent the desecration of their sacred ways. As sister to the king, was it not her duty, her responsibility, to help him remain on a path of virtue?

She had failed in that duty.

After joining the World Trade Organization, their once mighty race became bound to Frieza in servitude. For ten long cycles, they had fought and bled and died for their freedom from the tsufuru and as soon as they had been liberated, they had willingly placed themselves back into bondage. The disheartening fact about that was that the vast majority of the saiyans were ignorant of their enslavement, blinded by their blood-lust and thirst for battle. Therein lie a twisted irony; the saiyans were ignorant of their own oppression while at the same time they were being used to oppress the natives of other worlds. Aleguu helplessly wondered how she could have possibly enlightened her people to their subjugation when she had to compete against a new culture where annihilating weaker races was celebrated.

The saiyans had grown arrogant in their New Way. They had quickly come to see themselves as Frieza's favored warriors. They had adopted an attitude of invincibility as they conquered world after world in his name. They should have known better. They should have known that Frieza would eventually betray them. That he would one day come to their planet and wipe their world clean of their race just as they wiped other planets clean. Aleguu slowly shook her head with dismay. Perhaps this was the punishment wrought by the God d'Jitaba Saiya, unleashed upon them for their greed, their crimes, and their sins.

Aleguu cursed her brother and his stubbornness. King Vegeta should have heeded the Seer's warning. The saiyans might have stood a chance if he had. They could have prepared themselves for Frieza's invasion. They could have sent ships full of evacuees into space while they waited for whatever outcome came to pass; whether Frieza's forces would be defeated or not. Instead, Vegeta had scoffed at Bardock. He had sent him away in ridicule. And now, as a result of Vegeta's pigheadedness, the saiyans would be lucky if they survived the night.

Vegeta hadn't always been so corrupt, Aleguu reminisced sadly. There was once a time when he was a noble warrior, a courageous leader, and a brilliant tactician. Before he was ever named king, the only thing he desired was the liberation of the saiyans from the threat of the tsufuru. Of his many accomplishments, two of the greatest had been the unification of the saiyans under one banner and then the march to victory. Those two achievements were worth celebrating and remembering. They spoke of a destiny guided favorably by the hands of the Goddess d'Mele gu Saiya. But Vegeta had forsaken the blessings of the God and the Goddess when he signed that treaty with the demon prince of Arcose.

What exactly had happened to Vegeta that set him on this path? When and where had everything gone wrong? When had he changed from the savior of the saiyan race into the catalyst for its demise? What had led him to make the fatal decision that had led to tonight's events? Aleguu thought back on their lives together, reflected upon everything that had led up to this moment in time. She supposed that, in the end, there was no single moment that had taken them down this road. Their impending fate was the result of an accumulation of life experiences, of a long series of events that dated back to a time when they were no more than cubs.

Theirs is the story of the beginning of the end...


Story Notes:
Verdur City – from verdura, spanish for vegetable.
Aleguu – from legume.
Lele – also from legume.
d'Jitaba Saiya – loosely derived from vegetable, he is the "War God Saiyan." More info available on my author's page.
d'Mele gu Saiya – also derived from legume, she is the "Mother of Saiyans." More info available on my author's page.

Final Author's Note: From this point onward, King Vegeta will be referred to as simply Vegeta.