THe Jadzia Files

by ZechansAngel

Vegeta makes a grave mistake when making a wish form the eternal dragon. This is the story of the girl that is the resolt and how she grows to love the man who wished her into existence.

The Jadzia Files:
Prologue:




"I command you Dragon, come forth!" Prince Vegeta of the Saiyajin's silver-black hair whipped in the high winds as lightning flashed and the sky turned back. All seven Dragon Balls were glowing before him, pulsing to a silent beat. They brightened, and then lightning flashed, not from the sky, but up from the clustered balls. It shot up and up, never dissipating, twisting and turning around unseen obstacles. Vegeta watched it in internal awe, craning his neck back, and eventually taking a step or two back to keep his eyes on it. From that branch of lightning others sprang, all in quick succession, some thicker, some thinner. This all happened in the blink of an eye. It suddenly and abruptly exploded in a flash of yellow light, and Vegeta was forced to shield his eyes. When he could see again, a huge un-measurable dragon was in the lightning's place.
"You have awakened me from my slumber. I am the Eternal Dragon, I will grant a single wish a single time. What is your command?" The Dragon's voice boomed out of the sky.
"I wish...for a daughter of Kackarotto. A Saiyajin warrior, and skilled with a sword. Black hair, deep blue eyes. Intelligent. Agile. Fast." Vegeta paused and the Dragon spoke.
"Your wish has been granted." Vegeta blanched.
"No! Wait! I wasn't finished!" Too late he realized his mistake. A five-year-old child appeared clothed a flowing white kamono. The Japanese symbol of child was embroidered in black edged red on her back and her black hair was cut around her chin.
"And now I bid you farewell." The Dragon vanished in another blast of light and the Dragon Balls shot away in separate directions, one almost hitting Gohan in the face. He swerved at the last moment, then landed next to the older warrior.
"What happened?" He asked. Vegeta scowled and turned his back on the girl who was looking around her with interest. He waved at her uncomitedly while he answered the young man's question.
"She happened. The Dragon only granted half my wish." He turned red slightly as Gohan walked over to the child.
"She's cute!" He exclaimed when she grinned up at him.
"I'm Izirah." She grabbed his leg and hugged it, making him laugh. "And you're my brother!" At this Gohan stooped and looked her in the face. She had steady calculating eyes, and he saw intelligence and awareness in their clear depths.
"What did you say?" He asked. She met him head on, bowing, fearless.
"Your father is Kackarotto, my father is Kackarotto. That makes you my brother, Son Gohan. He wished it." She said, pointing to Vegeta, who was making a show of ignoring them both. Suddenly, she pulled a dirk from her left sleeve and challenged Gohan with it, completely fearless. "I came to fight."
"Whoa, keep it cool, little girl. There's no fighting here anymore. What's your Ki level?"
"Ki?" She lowered the blade. "Uh, I don't think I have one. Big Grumpy over there didn't wish fast enough." At this Vegeta whirled around and instantly aimed a blast at the girl's head. She avoided it with a backward twist-flip, graceful as a cat.
"Vegeta!" Gohan groaned. The girl landed and scowled at the warrior.
"Fine. If you don't want me around, I'll go find someone who does. See you never!" She said angrily. "Dimension Shift!"
Gohan looked at were the girl had been standing with a horrified look on his face. He turned on Vegeta. "What have you done this time? I think she just killed herself!!"
"I didn't do anything! Besides, what difference does it make if she goes and kills herself? She was just a kid."
And a Saiyajin.




Part one; Izirah Begins on Vegeta.


Izirah grimaced as she lifted her hand from the body of the man she had just killed. God, just five and a half years old and I'm already killing. What a cruel planet. She looked around for a clean surface to clean the blade on, and didn't find one. What a mess.
"Surveying your handiwork, Izirah?" Damron asked, coming up behind her. "That was a glorious fight, especially for one so young. How did you get to be so powerful without using your Ki? I noticed you didn't once use it during the battle."
The girl hung her head in shame. "Dam, I think it's time you know something about me." She whispered. "I have no Ki. I was born without it." She looked at the dead Carlians at her feet. "I am no better than they, but I carried a blade, so they lost."
"What're ya talking about, Ze? You got Ki. It's low; to be sure, my Scouter can't even pick it up. But it's there. It gotta be."
"No! You stupid ass! You aren't listening. I. Have. No. Ki." The girl was looking up at the grown warrior with such fierceness and intensity in her gaze that he stepped back.
"Okay, okay, I believe you, I believe you!" He nervously ran a hand through his long red hair and blew out a breath.
They made an odd pair, those two. A tall rangy male with red straight hair and yellow eyes, a short slim girl with black scruffy hair and deep blue eyes. They both wore armor, but she had a dark green sash with a dirk thrust through it at the lowest point, and he had a staff on his back. He had a yellow-screened Scouter over one eye, and he never took it off. She had a golden chain braided through her hair that flashed dully in the meager light.
"Maybe it's time we went to see those doctors." Damron breathed, almost to himself. Izirah grunted and climbed up on a rock that was as big as she was. She had been on the planet a matter of days when she had gotten into her first life-threatening situation. That had been six months ago, and now she was battle worn and had a completely different view on life.
"What, the ones who offered seventy thousand credits for a young child that had no power level? So that I could spend the rest of my life as a test rat for them? I don't think so." She was turned away from him, so she didn't see him taking out his staff.
"Then I'm sorry I have to do this." He said in an even softer voice. She didn't hear him. He brought his weapon up in one swift movement, and brought it down hard on her head. She crumpled without a sound. "I am sorry, young one. It's for my safety, and your well being." He paused, then passed his hand over her face. "You won't remember me, or anything you told me, beside your name."
He picked her up and headed across the countryside. She was limp in his arms, and her dirk fell from her fingers. He picked it up and slid it into its place, then continued on.
I'm sorry.




Part two; Izirah Changes


Izirah was relaxing in her beast-form when the new kid was showed through the door. Looks scared. Poor thing, she thought lazily, pawing herself another bite of meat from the rat she had killed earlier. She herself didn't remember how she got here, who her parents were, or how old she was. She guessed she was somewhere around six. She had been there half a year. When she looked back at the boy a few moments later, a small knot had formed around him. She swiveled her ears to catch the conversation.
"They do bad stuff to us here." One kid, Neel, was saying. Izirah yawned widely, catching everyone's attention. She was the leader.
"Yeah." She whispered in her growling voice. She jumped down from her bunk and looked the kid over. Not a boy, like she had thought, but a though-looking girl. She started forward and the others parted like an ocean. "Just look what they've done to me. I'm Izirah." She closed her eyes, and reverted to her Saiyajin form. The girl gulped.
"Gar."
"That your name, kid? Or a challenge."
"Name." Her eyes and hair were gray, probably were her name came from. Izirah put her lean arm around the other girl's shoulders.
"Hey, Gar, it's not that bad. They just did everything to me 'cause I got no Ki and I've been here the longest. You got Ki?" It was the basic question among the group. Most did, but so low that it didn't make a difference in the fights.
"Yeah." The girl brought up her palm and concentrated on it, feathery-purple light appeared after a second. The others gasped and Izirah smacked her palm to the side, scowling. She turned around.
"That's it guys, we're through. They're starting to bring in normal kids." The others shrank back and shuddered. Around the room mutters arose against the scientists. Suddenly Izirah's ears pricked and she melted back into her meta-cat beast form. "Scatter, someone's coming!"
The kids ran, silent and swift, diving into beds, picking up their card games, pulling out various weapons. Izirah herself jumped back into her bunk laid down and took a mouthful of rat flesh. The lock clicked, the door opened, Izirah swallowed. It was Dr. Kelaghn, her own personal Satan. She bared her teeth in a threat grimace.
"Izirah, Setk." He moved out of the doorway. "In your first forms, please." Izirah growled, then transformed back to her Saiyajin self.
"If ya say so, doc. Wadaya gunna do to us dis time, put wings in our backs?" Setk asked, rising from where he had been carving something in one of the metal bunks that were supposed to be un-carveable. The doctor smiled a tight smile.
"Precisely."




Part three; Izirah Escapes


Izirah shivered in the dank night air and wrapped her Ki shield tighter around her. The super-heated shield warmed her arms briefly, and also worked to block the rising breeze.
Her movement attracted the attention of one of the security guards who was looking for her, and she froze too late. As the guard got closer, her anger flared up and she hissed her fury, her face lighting with the brilliance of her newfound Ki. A blue-orange shield rose between her and the rest of the world, throwing her gaunt face into relief.
"Okay, come on kiddo, I know you're scared..." He spoke in what he would call a calming voice, but to Izirah's ears it was painful. She hissed again.
"Get away!"
The experiments had turned nasty after they had grafted the wings into her back; they had purposely infected the others with fatal sicknesses, then stuck needles in them to try to make it better. They had killed Gar, Setk and the others; Izirah was the only one left.
"If you even touch me, I swear by Vegeta's Tail, I'll fucking kill you!" Izirah snarled at the man so fiercely that he stepped back, and she slipped past him instantly.
In the last few months after her Ki had mysteriously surfaced, Izirah had learned to use it well, and she did so now, making seem like nothing more than a breeze.
That's the last time I let them corner me. I'll never stop running! She ran blindly, even after the shouts of the guards were far behind her. She ran so fast that no one could see her, and she could see no one. She ran on, until she crashed into the one person that she would never have thought to meet or look for. Her grandfather. The impact knocked her cold, and she crumpled at his feet. As the tall warrior turned to see who had crashed into him, her hair popped free of it's tie, and because of this, he recognized her instantly. He took her in his arms tentatively, but when he saw the bloody gash on her forehead, he swiftly moved to his dwelling.
Her shallow quick breathing alarmed him and he dressed the wound with experienced hands. She stirred under his gentle hands and he drew away. Suddenly, the wound vanished, and the girl stilled. He removed the now useless dressing, and sat down in a chair across from her.
The sun set and night came. Izirah slept through the night and he watched her. When the sun rose again, the big warrior woke, and started to prepare for the day. He was bending over his guest when she awoke.
"Who are you? Where am I? What are you doing?" The flurry of questions escaping the girl's mouth momentarily stopped the big warrior, then he smiled and stepped back.
"Take a look for yourself, garsay." Izirah did so, then, recognizing herself in the man's features, recognized her grandfather. She relaxed slightly, then stiffened again.
"Okay, so now I think I know what you where doing, and I know generally where I am, but the first question still goes." She sat up and crossed her legs, her eyes fearless. This impressed the big warrior even more than the unconscious healing, and he nodded.
"My name is Bardock." He said simply and Izirah shook her head, as if to clear a memory.
"Izirah. For the strangest reason, that name sounds familiar to me. I-I think it may have been my...grandfather's name." She shook her head harder. "But...I have no family. I wasn't even born on this planet. The docs said...okay, now I'm confused."
"I have two sons. Kackarotto is the name of one, Raditz the other. Both are boys." He raised an eyebrow. "Could it be that your Ki allows you to time travel?"
"Maybe. I didn't have any Ki until a few months ago." She shrugged at him. He reached out to smooth a piece of hair that was sticking straight up, she lifted her arm to block him. He raised the other eyebrow and she grinned sheepishly. "I've had some interesting times, padakomé." She said, switching to their native language for the last word as he had earlier. 'Padakomé' meant 'forgotten-' or 'lost father', and 'garsay' meant 'young warrior'.
"That would be apparent." He got up and prepared to leave, putting on his one-size-fit-all Saiyajin uniform and a headband.
"Where are you going?" She followed his every move with her bright brown eyes, tracking him like a hunter would. This little act impressed him. He motioned to how she had positioned herself on the bed.
"You a fighter?"
"Beyond belief. Why?"
"I'm going to the practice yards, my shift's in an hour." He looked at her consiteringly, then tossed an armor piece at her. "Wanna come?" She scrambled out of bed and grabbed the armor, surprised by how light it was. He laughed as she tried to put it on, and walked over to help her. They got a good laugh out of it, the first real laugh Izirah had ever had in her entire life.




Part four: Izirah Fights


"Hey, it's Izirah! How ya doin, kid?" The gruff friendly voice of Jarem brought a grin to Izirah's serious face.
"Not too bad. I'm still aching from our last match. You ready?"
"To fight you again? Never. You forget it's just for fun sometimes. But curb the energy sweetie, there's a Tournament today." Jarem grinned at her disappointed expression.
"Well, I guess I could stay and watch you guys beat each other..."
"Not this time kid. Me and the guys agreed that sense you've been coming everyday for the last two years...that you could join in this time." He was rewarded with her fierce smile. "You'll be fighting first."
"Hey, that's not fair," a solder called Shem yelled from across the arena. "We'll all be fighting first!" This was greeted with catcalls, protests, and agreements. The nose was so loud it caused Izirah's ears to ring. The voice of Nappa carried over the shouts, causing her to duck behind Jem. The burly general didn't like her, and she found it best to avoid him when all possible.
"Hey you men-" A few protests rose from the crowd, the women of the group. Nappa gave them a general dirty look, then continued. "Settle down. Find your assigned first partners, and get fighting as soon as the ref says so!" He left through a tunnel at the far side of the arena. As soon as he was gone Izirah tugged on Jem's uniform.
"Who am I fighting?"
"Shal. He's not to happy about it, so whip his ass, kay?" She grinned her affirmative, and then they separated and headed their separate directions. Looking at Shal from across their ring she cracked her knuckles. This was going to be fun.

The ref called 'go' to all the pairs and the arena filled with the yells of men and women powering up to fight. Over the yells the ringing of a match won startled everyone. They all stopped and looked around at the ring with a single warrior, not powered up, who was standing in it. It was Izirah.
She had taken the opportunity of the split-second distraction during everyone's power-up and attacked.
In the silence that followed the ref trotted over to Izirah's ring and declared the match won. Izirah grinned sheepishly when the others started to cheer her. The fighting resumed and a cloaked burly figure entered the arena and spoke softly to the ref, who was carefully watching all the matches. The ref tensed, as if to bow, then nodded and the warrior joined the fights, keeping one eye at all times on the fierce little female warrior who had already won her first fight.

Izirah had won five matches by the time noon break was called, and was in second place, down only to the masked solder who had won seven. She won eight more before the day ended, keeping her in that position. As she walked home, battle warn and weary, she knew that she would be fighting only in one match the next day, against the Masked One. No one knew who he was, just that he was good. Very good. While she had been taking a break she had wandered over to see him in action, and had found that he was almost for fast for her tired eyes to follow. She could see none of his moves and soon gave up, going over to the ref to signal that she was returning to her homestead. He nodded and saluted her, and confused, she bowed in reply.
When she reached her grandfather's house, he hadn't yet returned, and she found a note on the table saying that he wouldn't be back for a few days. She wondered at his absence, then shrugged, writing a note of her own recalling the days events and left it beside his.
She had started to wander up the stairs when the flash of light from a blade caught her eye from out side. She had intended on ignoring it, but her curiosity took hold of her and she found herself padding wearily back down the steps and returning outside. In the dying sunlight she found the tip of what looked like a small child's dagger protruding from underneath a stained and tattered emerald green cloth. She picked it up and brought it inside the house, wondering if someone had dropped it and coming up with other ways it could have gotten there.
Izirah found herself looking at what she guessed was a dirk. It twanged a long-forgotten memory that she didn't know she had of a tall spiky-haired man looking at her in surprise as she challenged him with it.
On the hilt it had a carving of a snake-like wing-less dragon whose scales were set in with tiny chips of malachite. It's under belly was set with yellow jasper chips and all the chips had been shaped to look like scales. The eyes were two points of red amber that seemed to shift when she looked at it from across the blade. The blade was made of no metal that she had encountered, it was dark gray, almost black, with a ghostly sheen flickering along the edges making you feel as if, if you looked hard enough you could see right through it. Izirah didn't try. She tested the dull-looking sides with a finger, and was surprised when she cut herself. It was too long to be a dagger and two short to be even a short sword so she guessed that she had been correct in assuming that it was a dirk.
She picked it up and immediately the hilt-which was also metal, but of a different kind and smooth as a pond's surface-seemed to melt to fit her hand exactly. Izirah started in surprise, then carefully put the weapon on the frayed green rag and wrapped it up, placing it inside the pouch she usually kept her water skin in, noticing how the blade shrunk to it's original size as it left her hand.
As the last rays of light faded from the sky, Izirah made her way to the closet that had served as her room for the last two years and lay down. This was something to ponder in the morning.

She rose early the next morning, full of nervous energy in apprehension of what the day held for her. As she dressed, she thought about the weapon she had found the night before, and how familiar it was. Shrugging, she attached her pouch to her belt and walked out of the house, not knowing that she would never return to it, or see her grandfather, again.
She arrived at the practice yards half an hour before the match was scheduled and began to stretch. Fifteen minutes later the first of the warriors from the day before, Nappa, Jem, and Shem included, entered the arena. Nappa scowled in her direction and Izirah refrained from sticking her tongue out at him; she returned his look instead, adding a little aloofness. She grinned at his reaction, then, suddenly, the masked solder appeared. Izirah's mouth went dry.
She had only chances to get glimpses of him the day before; he seemed well enough then. But now that she had gotten a good look at him, she swallowed. He was huge.
Damn, I'm going to have my work cut out for me. She thought nervously. Then, she squared her shoulders. She could win, if she tried hard enough and her concentration was good. I don't even need to power up and show him what a weakling I am when it comes to Ki if I do this right.
"Ready?" The ref called in her direction. She looked around, took off her belt-purse and nodded. She locked her gaze on her opponent, noting the smoothness with which he moved.
"Ready?" The ref called in his direction and he bowed his head regally. They turned to each other, the tall brawny masked man to the small slim young girl, bowed, and fell into individual fighting stances. The ref nodded.
The fight began.

It lasted all the remaining morning and most of the afternoon, neither warrior gaining an edge, neither giving ground, or the advantage. They were a flurry of motion, two bodies moving against and through one another like an intricate and wicked dance. Twice both the masked man and Izirah were knocked to the ground by the other, and twice they both refused to take the advantage.
Suddenly, the two stepped apart for the first time in four hours, chests heaving, clothes soaked through from sweat.
Izirah's eyes were blurred from sweat dripping into them and from exhaustion. She had never fought so hard in her life. Her hand brushed the dagger in her bag, and she paused, looking at it, before taking a drink. Then, she hid the dagger and put the skin away, baring against another short break. Despite her nervous exhaustion, or maybe because of it, she felt elated. This must be like what it was to be among the Saiyajin elite! The best of the best, the Royal Guard! Suddenly she remembered what the reward was for winning the tournament. It was a place on the Guard, a summons to be on the Mesha Kaparé, or King's Personal. She felt her strength returning. She would fight to the end to get that spot, if not in this form then in the form that used to only be available to her on the Full Moon, her meta-cat. Moreover, she would enjoy it!
They came together again, this time Izirah having a slight advantage, having gotten her second wind. The masked warrior faltered and she attacked in full, taking advantage of her cat-like grace and speed. She managed to tear the mask before he counter attacked and then it was all over for her. She faltered badly, allowing a right upper cut to catch her in the chin knocking her head back and slamming her into the ground. She was instantly up, but once again she was distracted by a face that she recognized but could not place.
The fight was lost, but Izirah refused to lay down. With her concentration shattered, the eight-year-old didn't stand a chance. In the next five minutes she got knocked to the ground three times, getting up more slowly each time.
Soon it was clear that she was fighting on courage and nerves alone, making obvious mistakes and wild desperate attacks. It was evident that the masked warrior had won, but the girl wouldn't give in. She wouldn't lay down.
Suddenly, the masked warrior dodged one last time, knocked Izirah into the ground and then, as she was struggling to get up, kneeled to her, signaling his yield. Izirah's battered brain was confused and she stood there looking blankly at him.
He reached up and fingered the tear in his mask and she could see his smirk. He reached up further and as he took off his mask, he spoke for the first time, in a voice that all recognized. "I yield to this Jaidzaya Izirah." He said. All the warriors in the stadium, except for Izirah, who was by this time entirely confused, bowed to Vegeta, King of the Saiyajin, who was bowing his submission to an eight year old girl.




Part five: Izirah Named


Before she knew what was happening, someone had pushed her bag into her hands and had pushed her into a hover car across from the king. She sat and looked around, gathering in her surroundings. At last, her eyes fell upon the king, and she had to wait a few minutes before working up enough courage to speak.
"Majesty-" She said, and stopped as his brown eyes locked with hers. I know why this man is king.
"Yes, Jaidzaya?"
"What's-I mean, why...forgive me, Highness, but I am confused." She bowed her head, her cheeks flaming. Somehow she felt the coolness of the dirk's metal in her fingers and that gave her the strength to go on.
"That is understandable. Did you know the purpose of the tournament?" Izirah nodded and he smiled. "Good. Well...because it's you, the rules have been changed."
"Oh." She scowled and looked out the window, crossing her arms over her chest. She knew were this was going. She was going to be given an award, then dropped at her grandfather's doorstep. To her surprise, the king laughed, startling her. He had a deep booming laugh that sounded as if it hadn't been used in a while.
"What?" She asked, confused again.
"It's a rare thing to find a Saiyajin on this planet that will sulk in the King's company. Or one that will talk like that to my face."
"Yeah, well. I wasn't born on this planet." She looked boldly into his face. He laughed again, then bowed to her again, an odd confection in a sitting man.
"You surprise me again, young Jaidzaya. I assure you, it won't happen a third time." He settled back as the car turned a corner.
"I wouldn't count on that, my King." She blinked. "Why do you keep calling me Jaidzaya? Doesn't that mean 'great dragon'?"
"Yes, it does. I think 'Great Dragon Child' is a better name for you than just 'Child'." He grinned and it was Izirah's turn to bow.
"I am honored. It's not every day that one gets a new name appointed by the King. But I'm not great. I may be in time, but not now."
"Then we'll shorten it to plain Jadzia." He was pleased by her honesty, she could tell.
"Jadzia. I like it." She leaned forward sharply, a thought coming to her suddenly. "Not to change the subject but-are you aware that there are Tuffle scientists testing genetic mutations on Saiyajin children?"
"What?!" He was clearly startled and Izirah's confidence evaporated momentarily. Then she forged ahead, forcing herself not to think of consequences. "How do you know?"
"I was one of them." Jadzia looked around carefully, sparing a disdainful glance at the driver, then looked back at the king. "Can he hear us?"
Vegeta shook his head. "No."
"Good." Jadzia closed her eyes, seemingly relaxing out of her form. She literally melted into her meta-cat form, keeping her eyes closed, but mentally keeping a tab on his every movement. In this form she could feel his surprise like a mist in the air. There was a touch of fear, but not much, and more calm with an underlying feel of hope then she would've guessed.
She opened her now silver cat eyes and looked up at him. The feelings she had felt in the air were reflected on his face. She looked at the reflective surface of one of the windows. Her coat was reddish black with golden tear-streaks on each side of her muzzle. She was about three feet long with another foot of tail and stood two feet high. Jadzia flexed her claws and they came out as four-inch scythes, wickedly sharp.
"Don't be alarmed. Unlike most Saiyajins I have full control over my beast side. Well? Convinced?" She asked quietly, ashamed at having to show him this side of her.
"What else did they do?" His voice was shocked, appalled, but not disbelieving. She grimaced, then closed her mouth with a slight snap, sensing that he did not like the view of her deadly teeth. She hopped up on the seat across from him and lay down so that the driver couldn't see her.
"I was the oldest, I had been there the longest. They did the most to me. They also grafted wings into my back; they fell off after two weeks." She lowered her head to her paws ashamedly. Cool fingers slid under her chin and she tensed, but let them lift her head and met the king's gaze unflinchingly.
"Can you change your appearance in this form? Can you revert just as quickly, and without loosing consciousness?"
"Is this an interrogation? Yes, yes, and I think so. Why? What is it exactly you have in mind for me? Secret service?"
He laughed again. Jadzia was getting used to the sound, so she curled up her whiskers in a cattish smile. "Exactly." Her smile disappeared.
"What?!" He nodded.
"Jadzia, the whole reason we held the tournament was to find a protector for the Prince." Jadzia was so shocked that she lost control of her form and with a slight slurping sound she was back in her original form.
"What?" She asked weakly. "The Prince?"
"Yes. Sense the Queen...wait. It is not safe to discus this here." Vegeta glanced around, his eyes lingering on the driver. Jadzia glanced back, out the windows, forward past the king, then threw tiny balls of Ki into the corners of the cab.
"A handy trick I learned after the scientists freed my Ki and I wanted to plan an escape. If anybody is listening, all they'll hear is uninteresting blather. And-" Jadzia added as the king opened his mouth, "if they try to read lips they won't be able to see. It will look blurry, like something's in the way. Good?"
"Yes. Even better. You couldn't have picked a better way to justify my selection for the Prince's personal Guardian." The king settled back in his seat as Jadzia's mouth closed with a snap. "As I was saying before, sense the Queen died, I feel like it's not safe for the Prince anymore, Frieza has tightened his grip on us considerably, again."
"Frieza? Who...wait. Frieza. One of the if not thee most powerful fighter in the multi, er, I mean universe. Right." She looked up at the roof of the cabin, her expression darkening. "The one who's responsible for this mess."
Vegeta nodded. "So you accept, then? To being one of the most important Saiyajins on the planet? To being the third-most powerful-"
"Yes, yes, and what? I'd be even more powerful than Nappa? I accept!"




Part six: introducing Jadzia Izirah


Jadzia bowed before King Vegeta and Prince Vegeta, who looked to be about four years old. God, he's barely four years younger than me! How am I going to pull this one off? She listened to the official request of her services as prince guardian and tried to ignore the sullen look on the prince's face. She gave her replies without hesitation and bowed again when she was dismissed. To her surprise Jarem was the one who led her to her quarters.
"You knew I would win." She accused when they entered her new home. Jem shrugged, grinning. He looked around and didn't answer. "Well? I don't know how but I guess I could pull rank to make you answer."
"Not one hour in the job and you're already abusing the privileges. I told the King you'd do a good job." He sat down in one of the two chairs in the room as Jadzia sputtered in protest. "This place is even nicer than my room. But anyway, yes, I guessed you would. Your Ki might not be that great," Jadzia blushed shamefully, "no, let me finish, but you've got a natural feel for the fighting arts that most Saiyajins, as feisty as we are, just don't have."
Jadzia burst out laughing. "Feisty? Feisty? I know a lot of people who would resent that remark, Jem. By the way, how did you get pulled into this mess?"
"I'm the King's adviser. I told him about you a year and a half ago when you survived the one on all fight. Remember that?"
"I got the crap beat out of me!"
"Yeah, when it came to using Ki. But before that you had everyone on the run."
"That's true, but still, look at me! I'm small, I'm young, and what's more, I'm female!" Jadzia found the bed and flopped down on it without looking. "Owe, damnit!!"
"What?"
"I landed on my dagger. Holy crap, Jem you have to see this!" Jadzia held the glowing blade at arms length, trying to drop it. Jem ran into the room, and burst out laughing at the startled look on her face. The laugh died from his lips as she writhed, clawing at her hand, biting at it, flinging herself around the room with wild cries. She landed against the wall, her eyes wide, her short hair a mess, her hand stretched out before her. "It won't let go." She whimpered, looking for the first time like a small child to Jem's eyes.
"Ask it to."
"What?" Jadzia's eyes filled with tears and for a second Jarem was afraid she was going to cry. But she startled him by laughing and shaking her head. "You know, that's the one thing I didn't think of. Ask it! Talk to a fuckin dagger. Dagger, let go!" Jadzia jumped as the weapon dropped from her hand and landed on the floor with a soft thump, the blade returning to its normal colors. Or lack of colors. She thought, looking at it critically.
"You know it's not a dagger, right?"
"Yeah. So, what are you doing, anyway, playing babysitter for the babysitter?"
"Well, I was helping a friend settle in, but it seems that she doesn't want any help. Oops, I just got a summons from the King. It seems Frieza has arrived." He bowed, and left the room, leaving her looking curiously after him. She grabbed the dirk and ran after him.
"Wait! I should come, too. I mean, I am the Prince's Guardian." She grinned into his startled face and attached the weapon to her belt. "But not like this." She closed her eyes and stopped, and when he looked back a great black-red cat was in her place. "Like this. Lets go, I doubt that Frieza will recognize me as intelligent now."
"Your call. Hurry!" The two ran down the corridor, Jadzia ignoring and Jarem well aware of the stairs that followed the pair. They arrived barely five minutes before Frieza, explaining the situation to Vegeta, who nodded shortly.
"Jadzia, get over there, beside the prince." Was all the king said. Jadzia bobbed her cat head and galloped over to the young boy, who was looking at her curiously. "Now, get him out of here!"
Jadzia panicked. She didn't know any other way out of the room than by the main doors. She looked to Jem and he moved his head slightly to the right, signaling there was a secret door that way. Jadzia searched the shadows, found it, and sighed in relief. She turned and met eyes with the prince, signaling that he was to follow her. He looked back at his father, who was talking to some unfortinunete solder, back at her, and grabbed her tail. She stiffened, then led him quickly into the other room, closing it to the sound of a startled exclamation. Out of sight of the others, she patted the prince's trembling hand with her paw, trying to get him to let go of her tail.
"Come on, my Prince, let go of the nice kitty's tail. Please?" Prince Vegeta was so startled to hear her talk that he let go immediately and fell backward with a cry. Jadzia rushed to quiet him, rubbing her head against his arms, butting him in the chest with her muzzle, even licking his hand with her rough tong once. But through all that he still looked as if he was about to cry. Jadzia sat down a few feet from him, hanging her head and drooping her whiskers as she looked at him. "Now what am I supposed to do with you, little man? Oh, no, don't!" she drooped her head even lower as he started to cry softly. She melted back into her Saiyajin form, siting cross-legged with her chin resting in her left hand.
"What's the matter, kitten?" The voice sounded so real that Jadzia scanned the small room to make sure she and the prince were the only occupants. Kitten was the name her grandfather Bardock had given her when he had discovered that particular talent. "Let's hear that voice." Jadzia had sung for him often, he said that she had a voice that could calm a crying child.
That could calm a crying child...
Yes! Thank you, grandfather! Jadzia searched for the right words and after a moment they came to her, softly. "Come stop your crying, it'll be alright." Startled, the young prince looked at her. She eased forward and brushed the tears from his face. He sniffed, then blinked at her. "Just take my hand, hold it tight." He took her offered hand, then pulled himself into her arms, looking up at her with a young child's trust. She felt drawn to this young life, and continued her song. "I will protect you from all around you, I will be here, don't you cry."

Later that afternoon, Jadzia was relaxing in her quarters, thinking about her new life with a smile. She picked up a pen and a pad and recorded her song from earlier singing it as she wrote, adding some lyrics to sing to the prince later. She had a feeling that she was going to need a way to win the princes trust back time and time again.
"Come stop your crying, it will be alright. Just take my hand and hold it tight. I will protect you from all around you. I will be here, don't you cry.
"For one so small you seem so strong. My arms will hold you keep you safe and warm. This bond between us can't be broken. I will be here, don't you cry.
"'Cause you will be in my heart. Yes, you'll be in my heart. From this day on now and forever more. You'll be in my heart, no matter they say. You'll be here in my heart always. Always."



Part seven: Jadzia's argument.


"My King, he will kill you!"
"That is a risk, yes, but I must free my people. Jadzia, I know you are worried for my safety-"
"That is a given! I am worried for the whole planet of Vegeta! If you get killed, what will stop him from destroying the planet?! He can, I have seen it." Jadzia resumed pacing around the room. Vegeta leapt across the room, grabbed her and forced her into her Saiya-jin form, then slammed her against the wall.
"What do you mean?" His eyes were dark coals of fury that burned into hers. Her eyes momentarily flashed silver, then she got herself under control, tolerating his touch. "I know Frieza is powerful, but, Jadzia, to destroy a whole planet..."
"It is unconceivable, I know. But, I have seen it! He destroyed the planet Talcar, right in front of mine and the Prince's eyes. Even more, he did it easily." She paused, and changed tactics. "My King, think of Prince Vegeta. If you get killed, I will be the only one left to guard the future of the Saiya-jin race." Jadzia looked him in the eye and lowered her voice. "You trust me with your son's life, now trust me with yours. Bide your time, wait. Five, ten, fifteen years-"
"Ahh! By that time Frieza will have grown bored and will have disposed of us anyway!" Vegeta walked from the room but Jadzia followed him relentlessly.
"-And the Prince will be ready to stand at my side and fight Frieza! Remember that it's been three millennia sense the last Super Saiya-jin emerged. I have a feeling that the Prince will be the one!"
"Jadzia, I find your lack of confidence in me disturbing." He turned on her suddenly and she was forced to step back. The others in the corridor kept walking, they were used to such arguments between the King and his most-valued warrior. To intervene, or even stop and stair was to ask for death from either party.
"It's not the best-lack of confidence! As if! I just wish you could open your eyes to the warning signs! He asked for the Prince, he asked for me, he asked for Nappa, he even asked for Raditz. All of your most valued assets. The strongest of your army. Your best scout. Your son. His guardian. God! Open your eyes!"
"Jadzia Izirah!" Vegeta raised his hand against her and she immediately danced back, resting on the balls of her feet, keeping her hands by her sides, but ready for an attack.
"Majesty, calm down. I am-I am sorry." She stumbled upon a phrase seldom used. "I just thought that maybe you would like to hear the truth. For once." She added under her breath, lowering her eyes. "I am sorry." She said again, the bowed and returned down the corridor. Vegeta watched her go, surprised. She had never given up so easily before, stubborn as she was, he had not thought she could give up without a fight.
Or just more of a fight than that. I guess she really feels this is dangerous. "Jadzia, wait." The girl kept walking, caught up in her own thoughts. Suddenly she started to run, brushing by the other people in the corridor like she was trying to escape from a memory that was haunting her. She turned the corner and Vegeta lost sight of her, but he knew she were she was heading. He turned around and strode out in the other direction; he was already late for a meeting with Frieza, he would have to deal with her warnings later. Plus, he has not asked for her, or Nappa, or Raditz. He started as Jadzia's voice echoed in his mind.
Yet. Open your eyes, please!

Jadzia ran blindly down the corridor, heading for her quarters. She knew she had run into a lot of solders, but she didn't care. She was tired of keeping up appearances; she was fourteen years old for crying out loud! She should be able to run away, occasionally! Jadzia knew she was mature for a fourteen-year-old, but still-! She opened her door and slammed it behind her, locking it.
"Computer, sound-proof this room. Authorization Jad-ze-Kackarotto 75."
"Yes ma'am." Her own cheerful voice coming from the walls startled a short barking laugh out of her. "Witch way, out to in or in to out?"
"In to out. I want to know if any one important comes knocking." She was instantly serious again. She picked up one of the music disks she had picked up at the last planet she was at (she had already forgotten the name of the barren rock), and threw it at the player. It sailed over and settled perfectly into the slot and started playing softly. She exhaled slowly, flicked her hand and the volume rose a few notches, she flicked it again and it fell one. "Perfect." She sighed.
Walking through the small apartment, she sat down on the bed, pulled her knees up and hugged them for a few moments, feeling incredibly lonely. Then she shook her head, and went to take a shower. There, feeling the not-water beads pelting her body like so many tears, she began to cry. She again curled up in a little ball at the bottom of the shower and cried herself out, for the first time in her life acting as young as she was.
"Here now kiddo, what's wrong?" The voice startled her out of her tears. She looked around and saw no one, and groaned.
"Great. Now I am fucking hallucinating. Just wonderful." She shrugged, turned off the shower and crawled into bed. When she closed her eyes, she saw a kindly face surrounded by spiky back hair and set with black eyes that, like her own, had seen much hardship.
"Come on sis, why ya crying?"
"What? Sis? Do I know you?" Jadzia's dream self asked suspiciously. The man nodded, laughter lighting his eyes.
"My name is Gohan. I'm your, ehrm, little brother."
"What?" She asked again. "I am confused." He laughed.
"You have a right to be, kid. First, what do you remember about earth?" His laughing subsided, but his eyes were still amused.
"Earth? Nothing. What're you...oh." Jadzia took a step back as a wave of dizziness hit her. "Earth's the planet that they sent Kackarotto to years and years ago." She held her head as a headache suddenly hit her.
"Alright. Kackarotto. Lets start with him. He's my father." Gohan frowned and sat down beside were she was standing, his body materializing out of the mist. Jadzia gasped. The half-Saiya-jin glanced away from her into the mists, frowned, then looked back. "Now you continue."
"He's your father," Jadzia said, still holding her head. "He's...my...father. He's...my father. He's my father!" Gohan laughed.
"That's right. What's wrong now?" He asked because Jadzia had tears in her eyes.
"So all the things I've been dreaming, King Vegeta's death, the destruction of planet Vegeta-sei, it's all true? It's all premonition?" When he nodded she went white. "God."
"Don't worry about it."
"If it happened, then there's nothing I can do about it, anyway. Oh well." She sniffed hard, then grinned. "What else?"
"Uh, that's it. That's all I know. You have to tell me the rest. How old are you?"
"Fourteen. Why?"
"Just wondering. What else?" He echoed what she had said earlier and she grinned sarcastically at him.
"If what you said is true, then I must be a time traveler. Because Frieza asked for Prince Vegeta yesterday. So let me get this straight. My da's name is Kackarotto, and you're my little brother. I am fourteen years old and a time traveler. I was...born is not the right word. I was wished for by...Prince Vegeta. God! I remember!"
Jadzia sat straight up in shock. Gohan (if he had ever been there in the first place) was gone, as was the cloud-shrouded room they had been sitting in. She reached up and fluffed her still damp hair, then reached for her dirk. No way was the king going to be killed on her watch!


Part eight: Jadzia's Orders.


Jadzia sat in her cat form next to King Vegeta and tried not to yawn. As tired as she was, she knew the 12-year-old Prince was having a harder time of it. She raised her head and butted his limp hand again. He looked at her out of the corner of his eyes and sat up straight, again.
Look, Prince, I know this is boring, but it is important. At lest try to look interested. For your father's sake. She thought.
Yes. The word echoed in her mind, surprising her. She stifled the urge to growl in delight just as Frieza entered the throne room. She tracked him with hate-filled eyes and snarled under her breath.
How come we have to be exactly on time, if not early, and he can be as late as he wishes? Ohh I wish I could sink my claws into his ugly little face... This time the king picked up on Jadzia's complaints. He scowled down at her and she subsided.
"I have come for your side of the bargain." Frieza said, and immediately Jadzia's hackles stood on end. She glanced up at the king, and saw the pained expression on his face as he nodded. He turned to his son.
"Go with him." Was all the king said, Jadzia didn't know who he was talking to. "Both of you." He added. Jadzia immediately stood, her teeth bared in a grimace. She saw the startled look on Frieza's face.
"I don't want your pet cat, King Vegeta, I only want the boy." His girlish features settled into an amused frown.
"Izirah." In saying her name, the king gave her permission to speak for herself. She rose up on her hind legs, making the transformation for the first time in public. Even so, she only transformed half way, making sure Frieza didn't recognize her as Saiya-jin. Everyone, save the prince and the King, gasped.
"I go with the boy." She snarled. "Gotta problem with it?" Her eyes glittered dangerously, challenging Frieza to object. She wasn't surprised at the King's move, he had warned her about it before hand. In fact, he had told her how to speak, keeping her sentences short and the appearance that she was like Nappa, all brawn and no brain. She doubted if Frieza even suspected she was Saiya-jin.
Good thing. If he knew, you would probably be executed. The Prince's voice once again rang in her head, and she fought the urge to grin. She fell to her knees again, making the transition much faster this time, giving the appearance that it was easier that way. Back in her bestial form she growled again and stepped to the princes' side.
"Very well." Frieza turned and walked away. Jadzia waited for the prince to go, then followed him, only looking back once. The king had fury burning in his eyes. She looked ahead again quickly and lengthened her stride slightly.
I will guard him with my life, Vegeta. I will not die until he does. Good bye my King, Jadzia hesitated, then added the last quietly. Die well. Then she cut her mind link to him permanently. The prince waited until they had been shown to the sparsely furnished room to turn to Jadzia with a confused look on his face.
"Why did you only revert half way? Why didn't you show Frieza who you truly are?"
"For exactly that reason, my Lord Prince. You think I want Frieza knowing I am a Saiya-jin? If he ever found out," Jadzia sighed. "He would probably kill us all." She reached out and pushed him toward the only bed in the small room. "Time for sleep, babe."
"It is not right for someone to call the Prince of the Saiya-jin 'babe'." He grumbled, taking off his armor and cape. Jadzia grinned and tapped him lightly in between his shoulder blades with her dew claw.
"Yeah, well, I won't in public, and I will not tell if you do not."
"Yours is a happy nature, Ze-chan." He said, laying down. She grinned. "Too happy for my tastes."
"Hey, I should be the one telling you to shut up, not the other way around. Go to sleep, Princeling." She curled up on the other side of the room, and relaxed into her Saiya-jin from. Creating a pillow of her Ki to curl around, she watched until she was sure the prince was asleep, then fell asleep herself.
Vegeta waited for a few more minuets before sitting up silently and putting his uniform back on. Jadzia murmured in her sleep, something about a dragon, and he tensed, then she settled again and he breathed out softly. He reached out as if to touch her, then drew back suddenly and returned to his seat on the bed. He looked grumpily over at her, sleeping so peacefully when they were in a strange place. He scowled again and looked around. There was some kind of animal that closely resembled a rat climbing on one of the walls, and Vegeta reached out and blasted it in a spit of anger. Were was his father? He was supposed to be here with them!
Suddenly the prince was knocked to the floor as the ship was rocked by an outside force. Instantly Jadzia was by his side, standing over him and growling.
"What is going on?" He asked irritably. Jadzia scowled down at him and he shrank back.
"Someone is attacking the ship." She snapped. Suddenly, she raised her head and gazed at the wall so intently it looked like she was trying to see through. A moment later she staggered back and went white, putting her hand out behind her for balance. Tears sprang to her eyes, then she shook her head, closing them tight.
"Jadzia-"
"It is nothing! Go back to sleep!" She snapped hoarsely, her voice cracking on the last word. "It's nothing." She whispered again. Vegeta backed onto the cot, keeping his eyes on the taller Saiya-jin. He sat down, spread out, and closed his eyes. Jadzia looked at him closely, then cast a sleep-cloak over him, willing him to sleep the night out. When the boy began snoring softly, she went to a corner and curled up, completely miserable.
The king was dead.
Do not cry, she told herself fiercely, get even. Frieza will pay for this, even if it does take twenty years, he will pay!




Part nine: Jadzia's accident


Jadzia laughed as the twelve-year-old boy prince Vegeta lunged at her. She blocked his punch easily, then back-flipped away from him.
"Come on, come on! You can attack better then that! I feel like I am fighting a low-class soldier." She cried, knocking him across the room with her knee. Vegeta hit the wall with a yelp and landed on his hands and knees. "Get up!"
"Idzia, we've been sparring all day. I need a rest!" The young Saiya-jin wined. Jadzia stood over him scowling.
"You spoiled little weakling!" She cried delightedly, the rush of the fight controlling her. "You will never get stronger if you do not-Ahhrg!" She blinked in surprise as he reached up and took hold of her tail. His grip was far from enough to stop her though, and she swiftly tore it from his grasp. "If you are going to fight dirty, you have to have a better grip than that. Like this!" She grabbed his shoulder and spun him around, causing his tail to come free from his waist. Taking a tight hold on it, she caused him to cry out.
"Let go!" Tears formed in his eyes. Jadzia noticed this, and released him. Taking him by the shoulder again she turned him around again, more gently.
"Listen to me, Princeling. If you are going to win against someone stronger than you, you have got to go for their weak spots. I did not find fault in the tail-grabbing. But, if you are going to survive and grow stronger, you have to assess your opponent closely before fighting. Avoid battles with warriors that are more than five times your Ki level, they'll kill you easily."
"Oh? So why do you insist on fighting me, Idzia?" Zarbon asked from the door of the room. Jadzia quickly stood and scowled.
"Because you have not even twice my power level. Because I can and have defeated you before. Because-"
"Shut up!" The handsome warrior snarled. Jadzia subsided, not because she was intimidated, only because she had run out of reasons.
"Prince." It was an order; Vegeta scrambled to the side of the indoor arena. Zarbon smirked.
"So the boy takes orders from you as well as from Lord Frieza." He settled back into a fighting stance, Jadzia followed suit. "I wonder how far that goes?"
"I could beat you with my tail cut off!" Jadzia snapped, ignoring his last comment. Zarbon disappeared and Jadzia instinctively struck out behind her, catching him in the stomach. He grunted, and blasted her in the small of the back. Jadzia's eyes opened wide with pain, then she twisted around and slashed at his pretty face with the tips of her finger nails.
"Ahh!" Zarbon yelled, clutching at his face. He blasted at her one-handed, still holding his face with the other. Blue blood leaked out from between his fingers and Jadzia aimed a slash kick at his blind side. Just when she was grinning savagely in triumph, he disappeared. She closed her mouth grimly, and back flipped, using her Ki as a base. She landed and stood still, searching the room for him.
"Nooooow!" He shouted, landing another hit to her back. Jadzia was thrown forward, her right arm crumpling beneath her. She hit the wall with a cry, much like Vegeta had a few minuets before. It was Zarbon's turn to grin savagely as he stood before Jadzia's crumpled body. She stood slowly, her right arm hanging uselessly, the bone of her upper arm crushed. She looked down at it and then glared up at him.
"You ass!" She screamed. "You stupid fucking, ass!" She threw herself at him, a punching and kicking storm. She lasted three minuets. Zarbon emerged victorious, standing over Jadzia's heaving body victoriously. She looked up at him, hate burning in her pain-clouded eyes.
"Here now, what's this?" Frieza's voice made them all stop. "Zarbon, what is the meaning of this?" Zarbon smoothed his hair and turned to bow to the powerful creature.
"Lord Frieza." Was all he said. Jadzia struggled to her knees, then to her feet, glaring at Frieza with hard eyes. Her right arm hung by her side as she bowed slightly, her freed tail waiving for balance. "We, uh..."
"I was schooling Prince Vegeta in the art of hand-to-hand when Zarbon came in and..." Jadzia paused, searching for the right words. "Offered to help demonstrate a point. Obviously we got a bit...carried away."
Frieza frowned and raised an eyebrow. "I see. Get yourself down to sickbay, Idzia, that arm..." Frieza left his sentence hanging as Jadzia bowed again.
"Yes," Jadzia forced the next word out harshly "Lord Frieza." The powerful creature looked over her shoulder at Vegeta who was staring at Jadzia's back with deep worry in his dark eyes. Glancing at Frieza, he straightened and bowed. Jadzia gritted her teeth. There was a time there was a time when the Prince of the Saiya-jin would bow to no one but his father!
Glancing behind her again Jadzia spotted a growing pool of silver-red blood forming under her right arm. When she saw it she swallowed a mouthful of bile and a wave of dizziness washed over her. She pitched forward and would have fallen had not Zarbon grabbed her left arm. She slid her eyes to Frieza's, but his attention was still fixed on Vegeta. The roaring in her ears drowned his words out, so she tried to concentrate on his lips. The effort brought on a fresh wave of dizziness, so she abandoned the idea, still not sure who he was talking to. Jadzia straightened and tried to pull away from the blue-skinned warrior.
"Don't be a fool!" He hissed.
"Something wrong, Zarbon?" Frieza's voice, completely devoid of concern, was the last thing Jadzia herd before her eyes rolled back and darkness surrounded her.

When she awoke, she was lying on a stiff metal table. Knowing instantly were she was, she felt around under her left hand to find the raised insignia of the same scientists that had wrought all the changes in her when she was a child. Finding it, she closed her eyes, telling her heart to stop racing. Attempting to get up was a mistake, she soon discovered, when her right shoulder screamed out painful protests. Jadzia craned her head up and around to see what the problem was, and a horrifying sight met her warriors eyes. Her right arm from a little below the shoulder joint was gone. This was too much for her tired mind to comprehend, and darkness enveloped her again.

"Idzia. Idzia! Can you hear me?" Jadzia's dreams of people she didn't know were shattered by Zarbon's accented voice. In her dream a spiky-hared man had called her 'daughter' and a young boy with shining black eyes had called her 'sis'. She swam in the waters of half-consciousness, perfectly willing to ignore him and concentrate on what her dream meant. "How come she's not awake?!"
He was answered by a scarily familiar voice, and if she could, Jadzia would have shuddered. "She lost a lot of blood, and she awoke during the operation. We have no idea when she is going to recover, if ever. What we did is entirely experimental, remember."
Jadzia could say the last two sentences along with Dr. Kelaghn; she had heard his nasal voice saying them so often in her life.
"I know the perfect way to see if she's awake or not!" Nappa's brutish voice joined Zarbon's from across the room.
"Nappa! Keep your hands off her!" Vegeta snapped. Jadzia could hear Zarbon's chuckle; he was standing to her right.
"But Vegeta, I was only gunna slap her!" The big warrior whined.
"You probably would've snapped her neck." Zarbon said, amusement in his voice.
Jadzia heard little more of the conversation; she suddenly felt light-headed and like the room was spinning around her. She felt like she was falling into the black pit of unconsciousness again, and she struggled against it.
"She's coming around. Idzia!" There was actually a dose of worry in Zarbon's voice; she was sleepily amused to hear. She drove her dream-wings downward thrusting herself toward the sound of his voice.
Zarbon was handsome, in a blue-green sort of way. Plus, he did have that luscious accent. But.... Something about him calling the name Frieza had given her was pushing her away from the sweetness of reality and throwing her back into oblivion. Somehow Vegeta's whispered voice came loud and clear to her ears.
"That is not her name."
"What?!" Zarbon's yelp and Nappa's hiss clashed against Jadzia's ears, making her want to cover them. The last time she had tried to move her right arm was still fresh in her mind, however, so she didn't try. Instead she toned out everything but Vegeta's voice.
Speak again, my Prince. You can tell him. But please hurry, I am loosing consciousness! Jadzia sent to the boy through her telepathy. She felt him nod, then turn to the doctor.
"Leave. Now." He ordered. The infantryman bowed, and, to everyone's surprise, shimmered out of existence; a hologram. The prince turned to Zarbon.
"Do not breathe a word of this to anyone. She will kill you if you do, and the person you told. I have seen it happen." Again, through some trick of her mind, Jadzia actually felt Zarbon step back at the ferocity and intentness in the boy's young voice.
"All right. Not a word." His startled voice was faint and far above her.
Hurry! Her mind screamed out in panic.
"Jadzia." Vegeta's hand, resting on her right bicep, sent tingles of awareness though her body. The next words were for her alone and spoken that quietly. "Jadzia Izirah, Dragon Child, awaken."
Jadzia struggled to open her eyes, but they seemed glued shut. What's going on? She thought franticly. Why can't I wake up? She started to twitch, then thrash about as she tried to get purchase in the real world. Something is wrong. Suddenly cold, strong hands held her by the side of the head, startling her into calm.
"Jadzia, calm down." Something about Zarbon saying her true name suddenly cleared the black fog that was surrounding her and holding her back from reality. She opened her eyes and Zarbon's and Vegeta's worried faces swam into focus.
"My Prince-" she croaked, straining to get up. Vegeta put a calming hand on her shoulder. Her right shoulder. She looked over and saw a metal framework that looked vaguely like an arm sprouting from it. She groaned.
"What did he do to me this time?"
"What do you mean?" Vegeta asked, stepping to her side and shoving Zarbon out of the way. The tall blue warrior sent a dirty look into the boy's back and Jadzia returned it to him.
"That doc who just left was the same one who...uh..." Jadzia levered herself all the way into a sitting position and took a moment to get herself oriented. Then she looked at Zarbon and Nappa and her mind raced. A way to get rid of them...she looked to the prince for help. He nodded again and turned to Nappa.
"Wait outside." He ordered. When the burly general started to protest, Jadzia leveled her eyes at him, threatening him.
"Oh alright." As he walked out Jadzia turned to Zarbon and narrowed her eyes. He had saved her life, kind of, but he still was one of Frieza's main lackeys...she shook her head, confused by the conflict of opinions in her. Then, just as she was going to ask him to leave, the door slid open, revealing Didoria. Jadzia had never been so happy to see the fat pink warrior in her life.
I probably will not be so again, too. But right now I could...uh...be nice to him, or something. She thought, grinning inwardly.
"Zarbon, Lord Frieza wishes to see you." He rasped.
"Now?" He asked, irritably, turning from Jadzia. Didoria nodded and Zarbon grunted. He turned back to the two Saiyajins. "I'll be back."
"I am sure you will be." Jadzia said as she scowled at his back. When the door closed, Vegeta turned to her.
"I am glad you are okay." He said. Jadzia grinned at him, swinging her legs over the side of the table and realizing that she didn't have her armor on at the same time.
"Thanks. How long was I out and where is my uniform?" She asked. Vegeta hesitated, and she gave him a look.
"About thirteen hours and I do not really know. The doctor took it somewhere." He kept looking at her arm and Jadzia followed his gaze.
"Weird, huh? I have never seen the like. But anyway, as I was saying, that was the same doc that gave me my wings and messed with my DNA so that I turn into a feline instead of a oozaru." She scowled. "Call him back in, I want to know what he did to me."

"It's a cybernetic limb, capable of doing whatever you want it to do, including conduct Ki." The hologram of Dr. Kelaghn said, pointing to different points on Jadzia's new arm. She bristled and shoved down an impulse to rip it away from him. Metal or not it was still attached to her body, and that made it part of her. To her surprise, in response to her anger four inch metal claws slid out of the fingers of her right hand. Two of them, on her ring and pinky finger, went through the holo-doctor's arm and she flinched. He looked at it, grimaced, and moved his arm. "You're lucky I'm insubstantial, young lady."
"I would say I am sorry, but I am not, so that defeats the whole purpose, huh?" She made a wry face at the hologram. He frowned down at the claws and she followed his gaze. "What is the purpose of those?" She asked. "And what about my transforming? I cannot do that with this, can I?"
"One question at a time. Actually, both question tie into the same answer, so I'll answer the second on first." He paused and Jadzia had to restrain herself from growling in annoyance. Whoever had come up with this little peace of technology had programmed the scientist perfectly, right down to his annoying quirks.
"Get on with it, doctor." Vegeta advised threateningly. The hologram cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably, then continued his narrative.
"Ehrm, yes. Well. You can transform with that arm, as much as you want. The answer to your first question is that they are replacements for your old claws, that got removed with your arm." His frown deepened. "Although I don't see how they are out now, it must be a programming glitch. I'll have too-" Jadzia whipped her arm from his grasp.
"Do not touch it." She snarled. He drew back, startled. Jadzia narrowed her eyes, then abruptly smiled. "Leave. Now." He disappeared in a shimmering wave of light. Jadzia's smile turned to a smirk and Vegeta looked at her.
"How are you going to hide this from Frieza?" He asked, glancing at the shiny silver of her new arm. Her mouth tightened.
"Good thing I know a bit about cybernetics, huh?" She asked grimly. He nodded, eyes wide. "I guess I will just have to...create some synthetic skin or something. I do not know." She shrugged. Just as he was about to respond, she jerked her head up. "Or..." Jadzia looked down at her arm sharply. Just as she was about to say something, Nappa threw the door open, making them both jump.
"Vegeta," he gasped. "Frieza's coming!" He slammed the door shut again. Jadzia growled and glared at the door.
"When this is all over, remind me to thrash him soundly. Let's see, I think I can..." Jadzia touched the skin on her shoulder, then touched each of the fingers on her right hand. The silver appearance of her arm wavered, fluctuated, then turned to match the rest of her skin, making it seem that both arms were totally natural. She sighed, then winked at Vegeta. "Cannot have Frieza knowing about my newest secret weapon, can we?" She asked, flexing her hand so that her claws retracted. Vegeta smiled.


Part ten: Jadzia's anger.


"ARRG! I hate this!" Jadzia threw the data player against the wall, barely missing hitting Vegeta in the face. The thirteen-year-old prince ducked then scowled at her.
"Watch it!" He growled.
Jadzia blinked at him, "Sorry," then walked over to recover the dented player. As she reached down to grab it, she analyzed the boy from under her eyelashes. He was limping slightly as he moved over to the arz-shower refresher unit they both shared, and he had a long gash on his left arm. The shoulder guard over that arm was shattered, revealing a harsh energy burn from someone's Ki. She straightened with a growl, still aching from her own strenuous on-world fight the day before. When he had disappeared into the refresher Jadzia gave into a spurt of temper and instead of throwing the recorder at the wall again, she punched it. Hard. Vegeta poked his head out around the corner.
"Jadzia, stop it. You know everyone gets angry at you for doing that." He scolded her in a somewhat dull tone. Jadzia grimaced.
"What everyone? We are the only ones in this fucking section anymore. The only one I could possibly annoy would be Raditz, and it is not like that should bother me. You know that he has reserved the whole fucking floor for us Saiya-jin. The whole four of us." She punched the wall again, this time hard enough to make a dent.
"Please don't." He said in a bored tone as he re-entered the shower. Jadzia grunted as she sat down on the bed grumpily.
"Sorry. You know I cannot stand him. He is such a-"
"Don't." He called again, interrupting her. "Your language is unacceptable. Nappa has been making snide remarks about how easy I let you off when he and Raditz have to pay for every infraction. I am starting to think he is right."
"Nappa? Right about something? Yeah, that will be the day. Okay, okay, I will tone down my vocabulary and try and tolerate Frieza's bitch-er, dishonorable behavior. That better?" She asked as he chuckled.
"Much. I know there is not any so-corders in here, but you have been spouting off in public and I think it has captured Zarbon's attention."
"Everything I do captures Zarbon's attention." She muttered to herself. Looking at him more closely, she saw the change in him. "You are sounding mighty mature for someone whose two years younger than this fifteen-year-old. What did uh, that...jerk put into your food this morning?"
"Nothing. I just found out what happened to our planet." Jadzia jerked her head around and dropped the player in her haste to stand face to face with the young prince. "Needless to say," he added, "the facts of it made my childish behavior somewhat inane."
"What? You did? From who? What was their story?"
"That it-and my father-were destroyed by Frieza. And if that is true then we have to watch our steps twice as closely and handle our assignments twice as well." His young face was marred by such a cruel scowl that it made Jadzia want to take him in her arms and deny it all. She turned away from him and crossed her aching arms.
"Who told you that?" She said in a skeptical voice. The prince came out of the 'fresher unit and looked at her critically, then walked back in.
"You did." Jadzia stopped, growled, and then once again followed him.
"When?" She reached out and grabbed him by the front of his shirt. "When did I tell you that?" Her eyes flashed silver and stayed that way for several seconds before she re-gained control of her anger. "I am warning you Prince Vegeta..."
"It is true then. Who else knows?" He met her gaze with infuriatingly calm, young, eyes. Jadzia shivered and put him down. She crossed the room, torn. To deny it was to eventually break trust in him by making him look like a fool when he too denied it to someone who knew the truth. But to tell him now...
"No one that I know of." She said softly. He nodded curtly and Jadzia wheeled around with a pained expression on her face, but he held up a gloved hand.
"Don't. How long have you known?" He asked.
"Sense the beginning." She said ruefully. He nodded again.
"When was the beginning?"
"Remember when Frieza first, uh, took you from your father? When I demanded I go too?" The bitter expression on his face said yes to her, so she hesitantly continued. "Just after that."
"Oh." Vegeta's face tightened and Jadzia involuntarily moved closer, then stopped. "I remember how you reacted. Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because you were to young to understand that you had to keep quiet about it. And besides, Raditz and Nappa were-are-too stupid to figure it out on their own. Don't look at me that way, it is true."
"Doubtless. But you have to stop mocking them. If we start fighting amongst ourselves..."
"We won't have the trust needed to betray him." Jadzia walked out of the small room and picked up the recorder-unit from where she had dropped it. "Oh, complete change of subject; if you were wondering about what I was so angry about before, Frieza just assigned me to the planet So-Car. It is grade one."
"I take it I am coming along."
"Wrong. I am supposed to tackle this one alone. That is why I was throwing things." Jadzia glared down at the little device.
"Oh." Was all Vegeta said. Jadzia growled softly under her breath.
"He won't even let me take Raditz. The jerk." Vegeta poked his head out of the shower, dripping water onto the slick floor. Jadzia made a note of this so she wouldn't slip later.
"Watch it! You never know when he or Zarbon might come to the door, ordering you to leave. When do you leave, anyway?"
"In the morning."

What an ugly little piece of shit. Jadzia thought sometime later, grimacing. Bet the life forms are ugly, too. Better make this quick, or Frieza will have my head.
"Okay, boss, what do we do?" Grat, one of the two soldiers that Jadzia had been permitted to take asked her nervously. None of the weaker minions of Frieza ever wanted to be under Jadzia, her explosive temper was almost legendary.
"Take the northern-eastern part of the planet, and Ep, take the southern-western part. I will take the equator portion." She told them. The three were surveying the planet from their pods, high above even the atmosphere. The two blanched.
"But that means you will be tackling the more populated part of the planet alone!" Ep squeaked. Jadzia grinned an evil smile.
"Precisely."

Jab, thrust, butterfly sweep right, then left, parry, block, blast his sorry carcass with Ki, move on to the next one! Jadzia grinned. This was fun! Finally, a race with a flare for the fencing arts. Jadzia killed another one with a swift blast to the face, then turned as two attacked her at once from behind. Up down, left, right, punch, kick, jab, thrust, dodge, and next!
"What?" She asked, panting slightly. "No more?" She looked around at the weaklings that gaped at her. "Do not tell me that is all you got! I have not even come close to breaking a sweat!"
"Awe, you just wait 'till Karin gets here!" One of the littler ones shouted in her direction.
"Oh, and where is this Karin? Resting? Taking a day off? Come on, this planet is not that big. If he was coming, he would have been here by now." She taunted, leaning towards him like a scolding mother. "Better run back home, kid. I think your mom is calling you."
"Relax, I'm here." A female voice said from behind Jadzia. She spun around and leveled her dirk at the newcomer.
"Karin?" She asked skeptically. The older female nodded. She fell back into a fighting stance. "Took you long enough. Where have you been, getting your nails done?"
The other just sneered and leaped forward, obviously hoping to catch Jadzia off guard. Jadzia smirked, and leapt forward as well, batting the other's blade aside and drawing a gash on her right arm. They landed, Jadzia smoothly and Karin off-balance, opposite of where they were.
"I'll get you for that, bitch!" Karin screamed, holding her arm. Jadzia's smirk remained.
"Oh you will, will you?" She beckoned with her blade. "Come get me, if you dare."
The two women circled each other, blades raised. Karin fainted forward, trying to draw her out but Jadzia mearly blocked and stepped back. Her Saiya-jin face was clear of emotion, save for the anger building in her dark eyes. Karin, thinking her overconfident, attacked in force, and the sounds of clashing and grunts of extortion filled the air. Jadzia blocked, parried and dodged, searching for a flaw. The extra weight of her metal arm was throwing her slightly off, and she knew that could lead to be fatal.
Attacking with a series of kicks and mind-blasts, Jadzia knocked the other warrior away, realizing she was desperate for the fight to end, to get back to Vegeta. Shaking her head slightly, she almost missed the little tick in Karin's right knee, giving away a weakness.
After a few short seconds, the two went at each other again, this time with even more fury than before. Jadzia finally attacked, following a set plan that had quickly formed in her mind. Parry, thrust, and butterfly sweep, thrust, block, dodge, and wait. Only slightly panting, she waited for the mistake she knew would come. Sooner or later this Karin would have to make a false step. Jadzia became a whirling blur as she put her entire being into the fight, tapping her opponent with her hands and feet to knock her off balance. Blades clashed in the sun, dust rose from the ground; the two were a blur of color moving at incredible speeds. Block, attack, thrust, parry, thrust, butterfly sweep, thrust, block, dodge, wait, repeat. Almost invisible, the two went at each other with incredible durability, until, suddenly, Jadzia felt something pierce her left shoulder. She retaliated by hitting her adversary in the face with the bottom of her hilt, and the two stumbled apart, gasping for breath, Jadzia holding her arm.
Jadzia licked the wound on her shoulder and it disappeared. She grinned savagely, shifting her blade to her right hand.
"Was that supposed to do something?" She hissed. "Like hurt, maybe?" Jadzia was panting hard, but not gasping heavily like her adversary was doing. Karin looked at her with awe and a bit of respect buried deep in her dark eyes. They came together and fought on.
Dodging into the air, Jadzia avoided the warrior's fierce attack, then swooped down, attacking with hands, feet, and blade. Karin spun out of the way and slashed at her right shoulder this time. Their was a hollow clang as her blade cracked against Jadzia's metal arm. With a start of surprise Jadzia let her guard down for a micro second while the thought; it didn't hurt, echoed through her mind. In that micro second Karin slashed again at Jadzia's right arm, this time at her wrist. The blade sunk into fragile motors and Jadzia automatically tossed her blade to her left hand and retaliated, knocking Karin in the jaw again. The two entered the battle with a vengeance, Jadzia performing twice as savagely as the first, kicking, punching and slashing with sword and claws.
The battle, (you could hardly call it that, Jadzia thought,) was starting to be one sided with the Saiya-jin scoring all the hits, but Karin scored one to the head that sent the youngster spinning. Jadzia landed on her hands and knees in the dust, the sounds of cheering in her ears. She looked up into the female warrior's cocky face as she turned to joke with the smaller people of her planet.
I will teach you to keep your mind on the battle, if you survive. Jadzia growled in her mind. Karin, seeing the look on her face, brought her attention back to the moment. Something flashed over her face, too fast for anyone but a Saiya-jin to see. Was that...yes! Fear. She is afraid. This fight is over. Rising, Jadzia smirked. Suddenly, she didn't want to return to Frieza's ship with it's plastered walls and recycled air. She belonged right here, in a fight! She wiped the dust from her forehead. It wouldn't do for it to get in her eyes. Jadzia moved in and attacked again.
Suddenly, the dust cleared, all sounds stopped. Jadzia's blade settled in the dirt were Karin's sword had flung it. Jadzia's eyes flicked to it, then back to Karin. She smirked, crossing her arms in front of her, bowed, then fell back into a martial arts fighting stance and beckoned. Her message was clear, she would still fight, with or without her knife.
The fight had been going on for about half an hour, but it had seemed much longer to both fighters and watchers. Jadzia had put on a great show, dodging Karin's sword and still managing to beat her up pretty bad, she had multiple nicks and cuts from Jadzia's claws all over her body. Suddenly Jadzia's blade once again glowed in her hands. The dust rose around the two warriors, then settled as the movement finally stilled. Jadzia had won, driving her blade through Karin's stomach. She gasped, falling off Jadzia's blade and onto the ground, her green blood making a pool under her. Jadzia smirked.
"This planet is history." She snarled, bringing the index and middle fingers up on her left hand, killing all around her. When the dust cleared she was standing in a city-sized crater with a sour look on her face. That was an entertaining afternoon. She thought dryly, sheathing her blade. As she walked away, a weak voice stopped her.
"Why are you doing this?"
Jadzia looked back with a cold expression on her face. To her surprise it was Karin, who had managed to drag herself into the little pocket of untouched earth before Jadzia had set off her attack. Jadzia shrugged a look of cold indifference on her face.
"It is my job. In a few days, if you are not dead by then, Frieza's clean-up crew will arrive. Do not worry, they are very through." Jadzia turned and started to walk away, then stopped, her hand on her dagger. "Despite what you may think, Karin, I am not an evil person. I do have some mercy in me." She turned around and walked back to kneel by the fallen warrior.
"Somehow I doubt that." The So-Carlilan croaked, blood trickling from the side of her mouth. Jadzia ignored her and continued speaking.
"You see, my planet also was destroyed by Frieza. I know how painful it is to see your home destroyed by someone you hate. So," Jadzia pulled out her dirk as she was talking, "I'll give you a choice. Die now, at my hands, or live to see your precious planet taken over by the most powerful and evil creature in the universe. Frieza."
"I don't understand." Karin whispered. Jadzia grunted and leaned closer. "Why would you do that?"
"Because I make a point to give the offer to anyone who injures me. You scraped my arm, remember? It takes a different kind of warrior to be able to do that." Jadzia grew exasperated by the confused look on the other's face. "Let me boil it down for you." She snarled. "Live in hell for the rest of your life doing whatever Frieza pleases you to do, and I mean whatever. You ever been sent to a warrior barracks filled with men who haven't had female company in months? Believe me, you would rather die now." She picked up the other's blade as well.
"Kill me!" The older female shrieked, understanding in her tired eyes. Jadzia did just that, thrusting the other's blade through the other's heart.
"Grade one, huh?" She whispered to herself, looking around. "I guess a lot can happen in five years."


Part eleven: Jadzia's malcontent.


Vegeta watched as Jadzia once again paced restlessly around the room, the claws on her right hand flashing as they extended then retracted again and again. He was sitting on the bed trying to work on his psychic abilities, but every time he got into the right frame of mind Jadzia would do something unexpected and throw him out of it. He glared at her from half-closed eyes.
"Will you stop it?!" He demanded. "If you're so bored then go do something."
"I can't. I've been confined to quarters for fighting with the Ginu. Again." Jadzia hissed back. They both started when a voice came from the door way, Jadzia whirled around her dirk half from it's shieth before she saw who it was.
"Jadzia, that's the third time this month. Highness, I think you ought to do something about that." Raditz sauntered in, ignoring the heated glare Jadzia gave him as she re-sheathed her weapon.
"Fuck you, Raditz." She snarled and left the room. I don't see why he has to come barging in here, these are my rooms, not some central hang out. Ooh I could just... "Jadz-I mean Idzia here." She stopped after her ear-peace had buzzed.
"Report to Frieza's throne room at once." The tiny impersonal voice replied. Jadzia refrained from growling, barely.
"Of course." She breezed past a surprised Vegeta and Raditz, after pulling on her lest-dirty uniform, murmuring an excuse and made her way down the halls toward Frieza's main audience room. Why would he want to see me? In his eyes I'm not even a warrior, I'm...I don't know, something else. Jeez I gotta get in a better mood than this to deal with His Bitchiness. Shit. She stopped, closed her eyes and leaned up against what she thought was the nearest wall. To her surprise it moved causing her to spring away, turning and settling into a fighting stance.
"I'm surprised at you, Idzia. I thought I meant more to you than that." Zarbon teased. Jadzia stiffened and straightened.
"Blow it out your ass, Zarbon, I am late." I think.
"For what, a conference with Prince Vegeta?" He asked, moving out of her way to walk beside her. She glared good naturedly at him and lengthened her stride.
"No, an audience with Frieza. Speaking of which, why aren't you with him?" She looked side long at the big warrior. He grunted.
"I'm supposed to be on a planet patrol, looking for a planet called Yadrat or something." He scowled arrogantly. "Common scout work."
Jadzia laughed. "Awe, is the Big Bad Zarbon to good for such little things as finding a suitable planet, reporting in, then slamming the weak-ass culture that lives there?" She asked mockingly. "Get your rear-end moving, Pretty Boy. I would not want to be you if Frieza finds out you have been hanging around here when he has given you an explicit order. Oh no, Frieza!" Jadzia turned and ran down the corridor, waiving over her shoulder at him. "See you whenever!"

"Idzia, I want you to go to planet Saboba and dispose of the up rising there." Frieza said to the kneeling girl. Jadzia nodded, head bowed.
"Of course lord Frieza. Prince Vegeta and I will leave immediately."
"No, I want you to take this one alone. Vegeta is to stay here." Frieza sipped from the cup he held in his hand. Jadzia looked up, startled.
"But Prince Vegeta is my student and under my protection-" Frieza silenced her with a look.
"Need I remind you what happens to those who don't obey me?" His crazy eyes glittered dangerously as he smiled.
Jadzia felt herself shiver. No one as angry as Frieza smiled, unless they were insane. Growling under her breath she steeled herself, willing herself to quit shaking. "Yes lord Frieza. Of course." She dropped her head again. Frieza looked down at the girl and smiled.
"You may stand, Idzia." He took a Scouter with an orange screen from Didoria's hand as the girl rose. "Take this." She stretched out her hand and took the device from the powerful creature.
"A Scouter?" Jadzia gasped. "Thank you."
"Tell me girl, how is your arm?" Jadzia reddened slightly. She realized that she had taken the Scouter with her left hand, keeping her right straight by her side.
"Fully repair-" Jadzia gulped. "Healed, Sire." She lifted her right hand and rotated it swiftly as proof. With a swift move Frieza lashed out and grabbed the wrist, breaking it. Jadzia bit her lip until it bled to keep from crying out. Silvery-red blood flowed from the cut that Karin had inflicted, now re-opened. Releasing her arm, he watched as Jadzia looked at her wrist, then as she slowly wiped the blood from her lip, buying time to control her temper.
"Never question me again." Frieza said. He turned and sat in his throne, once again calmly sipping his wine and watching her with cool eyes. "You may go."
"Yes, lord Frieza." She growled, her voice barely recognizable. Jadzia steeled herself to bow to him, both hands still by her sides, and walk out, the rage building in her so great that she made a dent in the wall of her quarters when she punched it, with her left hand. Re-wrapping her wrist in the brace that she had just removed that morning was a painful process, but she knew she couldn't go to the medical bay. If she did, Frieza would surely hear about it and reprimand her for weakness. Thank the gods that Vegeta isn't here. Finished, she sat down on her bunk, growling in pain and against the tears that were threatening to escape from her eyes.
"Never again." She whispered. "No more."

Jadzia scowled as she walked down the corridor, returning from Soboba. Look straight ahead Ze-chan. Do not talk to anyone, especially about your wrist. She thought fiercely to herself. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye she noticed Raditz come from an adjoining corridor and start walking toward her. She spared him a lingering glance and he nodded in return. Feeling his eyes on her back she knew that the tall Saiya-jin worrior was now following her. Jadzia stopped and turned, looking up into his face. He was gigantic, even for a Saiya-jin. Or maybe he just looks that way compared to me and Prince Vegeta. She realized. Nappa is tall, too.
"Felt that, did you?" Raditz asked arrogantly. Jadzia nodded slightly. "Were are you going?"
"What is it to you?"
"Did he summon you?" The tone of Raditz's voice made her stiffen.
"No, he did not. He is my student in the fighting arts, Raditz. I am not taking kindly to you suggesting otherwise." Jadzia turned on her heel and resumed walking.
"Why should the Prince of all Saiya-jin be taught by a lowly solder?" Raditz wondered just loud enough for Jadzia to hear. Jadzia kept walking.
"Maybe because that 'lowly solder' was the best hand-to-hand combat assailant on the late planet Vegeta. And this lowly soldier is of higher rank than you." She snapped back, stepping into a lift. The doors closed before Raditz could reply, but she saw the surprised and angry look on his face.
She smiled with contempt.
Raditz was a fool, and someday he would know that. She had dreamt it. Almost all her dreams had so far come true. He would be destroyed by someone with not even half his power level. She smiled again. Idiot.
Stepping off the lift, she again strode down the corridor. She stopped before the hall way that led to all the Saiya-jin corridors, and glanced at the camera that recorded all of the goings and comings. She sneered at it, then stepped boldly into the shaded corridor. Stopping at Vegeta's door, she knocked swiftly. When there was no answer, she knocked again, barely controlling her anger.
"Yes, what is it?" the young Saiya-jin Prince demanded from inside.
"It is me, Highness, open this door. Now!" She snarled. Soft, barely audible footsteps crossed the room and the latch clicked as Vegeta opened the door quickly let her in. She stormed in, murder on her features.
"What's wrong Jadzia?" he asked. She scowled and held up a finger as he closed the door.
"One, you need to restrain Raditz. Just now he went as far to suggest that I am more than just your Guardian. Catch my drift?" Vegeta nodded, his expression darkening.
"That's not the first time." He scowled as well. Jadzia grunted and then winced as the throbbing in her wrist rose. Looking down she was dismayed to see little rivulets of silver-red blood running down her arm from beneath her brace-bandage. Vegeta noticed this too. "How did that happen?"
"Frieza." She snapped. "He ordered me on a trip to Soboba and forbid me to take you along. When I pointed out that you needed more schooling in the fighting arts he did this." She held up her wrist.
Vegeta looked darkly at the floor. "So that's where you were. Frieza just showed up and told me to come with him on a planet-side attack."
"One day he is going to get what is coming to him." Jadzia growled, reaching into a pocket of her uniform with her left hand.
"Yeah," Vegeta's expression didn't change. "And I am going to be the one who does it to him." Jadzia cuffed him lightly, grimacing.
"We are going to do it to him, Princeling, together." Then she smirked against her pain. "Good thing I swiped one of these from the medical bay the last time I was there." Opening her left hand she exposed a small wand.
"Good thing." Vegeta smiled evilly, a frightening expression on one so young. "How did you know what it was?"
"Last time I was getting this examined, Zarbon came in with some nasty wounds. They used one of these on him, and the wounds vanished. That is when he was out for a week. He was nursing his bruises with time Frieza let him take off." Jadzia passed the device over her wrist and the blood dried almost instantly. She put the wand into Vegeta's outstretched hand and took off the brace, exposing a nasty-looking scar. She blinked, shook her head, and looked again. The scar was still there. She looked at Vegeta's startled face and knew it reflected her own.
"But I thought it was just an ilesian, uh, a hologram." If she hadn't been so intent on her arm, Jadzia would have laughed at the suddenly child-like prince.
"Illusion. That is because it is. Hmmm...I guess it is time to tweak it again." Her anger at Frieza forgotten for another time, Jadzia wandered through the short corridor to her adjoining rooms. Once there she, as it appeared to Vegeta, walked through the wall to get to her secret workroom. Picking up some tools, she lowered the hologram and started working on her arm. Before too long she put the tools down, shook her head, and raised the hologram again. "It is busted." She said.
"What do you mean?" Vegeta asked, edging through the holo-wall. Jadzia sighed and reached for her discarded gloves.
"It means that I either satisfy Frieza by letting him see the wrap-around scar every time I have to report to him, or, I wear these and hide it like nothing ever happened." She pulled on the gloves with a swiftness born out of long practice. "Whatdaya think?" She asked, flexing her hands. He motioned for her to stand and grimaced.
"Uh..." He said, not wanting to insult her. She looked down and grimaced too.
"That bad, huh? Well, how is this?" She dipped her hands in some black pigment that happened to be on a handy shelf, waited a few seconds for it to dry, ripped off the fingers to the gloves, and flexed her hands again. Vegeta grinned and gave her a thumbs up.
"Good."

Two weeks later

Jadzia sighed as she looked out the front of her pod to the stars beyond. Soon, she thought, soon I'll be free of Frieza forever. Somehow, that thought did not make her as glad as it should have, it made her more depressed. The depression, as it always did, turned to restless anger before long and she hit the side of the confining pod. She jumped as her Scouter beeped.
"Jadzia..." Vegeta said warningly. "We have to report in to Frieza in fifteen minutes. Keep it cool over there."
"Why?" She growled. "He never looks at me any more, and besides, Nappa almost always does something stupid and gets all the attention drawn to him anyway." She crossed her arms over her chest and slouched in her seat.
"Jadzia Izirah, calm down!" He snapped. Jadzia sat up and sighed again.
"A Royal Command is a Royal Command, I guess. If you say calm down, I will try my best. But," she added sulkily, "don't expect me to do any major butt-kissing. I am leaving that up to the stupider members of our team."
Vegeta laughed. "Alright. Just do not spout off in front of anyone and I will settle for it. Deal?"
"Deal." Jadzia grinned for what seemed like the first time in weeks. "You drive a hard bargain, Princeling."
"I learned from the best." He replied. Jadzia laughed, maneuvering her pod into formation beside and a little behind his.
"Point taken." She switched to a secured channel, one Raditz or Nappa couldn't listen to, even if they suddenly decided to turn on their Scouters. "Besides, soon I will not have to deal with him at all."
"Your decision is made, then?" Vegeta asked quietly, also switching to the secured channel. Jadzia nodded, even though she knew he couldn't see her.
"Yes, it is." She said gently. "Highness, you know-"
"Why?" He demanded, suddenly child-like. Jadzia sighed. "Why can't you just deal with him and hide your true feelings?"
"Because I can not. Sooner or later I am going to get so angry that I am going to say or do something that will give us away and probably me killed. I will not run that risk, my Lord Prince." She stopped, then continued in a brighter tone. "I won't be leaving immediately, after a couple of assignments maybe, I think the best way to do it might be to fake a death on a grade five assignment or something. Cheer up, you will have to put up with me for a while yet!"
"That is a relief." Vegeta said quietly. Jadzia laughed as the four pods streaked closer to the fortace of Frieza.

Three months later

"Izirah, how long would it take you to conquer a planet such as Par?" Frieza suddenly turned on the female warrior.
"Two days." She answered automatically. Frieza smiled.
"Good."
"Two days?" the unfortunate soldier gasped, looking up at the short figure standing next to and slightly behind Frieza. "But-" he was cut off as Frieza nodded to Zarbon and he stepped forward.
"Yes, Lord Frieza?" He asked. Jadzia waited, knowing what was coming next. She mentally said it along with the evil overlord.
"Take this...man away." Zarbon grinned and Jadzia suppressed a shudder. She hated this part, yet she couldn't help watching. Zarbon took the frightened guard by the arm and lead him into the next room.
"Idzia." Frieza snapped, and she jerked to attention, moving around to kneel in front of the oppressor.
"Yes, my Lord?" She said shortly. Frieza frowned.
"What's wrong, Idzia? Still angry at me for taking Vegeta out of your training?" He watched her closely. She knew if she answered, she would court disaster, so she chose the safest answer she could think of.
"There is no way I can answer that honestly and keep my life, Majesty." She said quietly, yet in a voice that carried clearly to his ears. He chuckled. Jadzia refrained from growling, barely.
"Nicely phrased." He said. "Rise, girl."
Jadzia kept her face hard and expressionless, a mask. She knew what was coming next and she grinned tightly to herself. He was in for a surprise this time.
"Let me see you wrist."
Wordlessly, she offered her hand. He reached out to touch it almost tentatively as if expecting a sudden attack or reaction of pain. Still she held herself ready.
"Take off the bandage."
She removed the light wrapping keeping her wrist hidden. There was nothing but bare skin between Frieza's hand and her wrist. Time seemed to slow as suddenly he jerked forward like he did the first time, to break her wrist again, for her anger toward him. She stayed stock still, a small smirk finally breaking her face. As soon as he touched her, he got thrown back into his chair, stunned, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. Time snapped back into place as Zarbon and Didoria started forward.
Jadzia sat up straight gasping for air before she realized where she was. Relaxing back against the seat of her pod again she clenched her right hand in anger.
"Jadzia, are you awake?" Vegeta's voice asked softly from the speaker in her Scouter. Jadzia keyed it to respond.
"Yeah. What's up?" She growled.
"We are approaching the point of dispatch. My sencers can not pick you up any more. They reported that your pod blew up on the surface." She could hear the frown in his voice. "Are you sure this is necessary?" He asked in a completely different tone of voice.
"Yes, Princeling, it is." She whispered back gently. "I wish there was some other way to do this, but there is not. Frieza knows, and he is not pleased. Better to have me leave now then get myself killed later." She reached out and took a risk, transmitting a visual to his pod of her face. "Remember, Prince, you have the lineage to be the next Super Saiya-jin! Battle continuously and do not let Nappa or Raditz push you around. Hide your anger, and serve Frieza as you have me!" Her pod peeled away, heading towards the far-distant star called Sol and it's nine planet system. The visual flickered and faded, leaving them both alone. Just before they got out of range, Jadzia transmitted one more thing. "Take care of yourself, boy. We will see each other again, someday."