Chapter 12:

Frieza

Having left Goku and his son behind, Sagie carefully made her way through the ring looking for people of her own to join. She was exhausted. Her body was aching in ways she couldn't even verbally describe. Even a weakling with the right amount of effort could have taken her out right about now. Of course, she wouldn't let something that pathetic happen to her, but she knew if she wasn't careful it could become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Soon enough, much to her relief, she saw the outline of her firstborn son. He was straightening as he wiped a bit of dirt from his white tank top that was now speckled with blood (hopefully from someone other than himself). Beside him, Piccolo was looking out across the tournament floor, keeping his eye out for a new victim. His green face scrunched up when he happened to notice Sagie walking suspiciously slowly towards them.

"Yo," She held up a hand, waving absently.

Kakarot turned at the sound of his biological mother's voice and froze briefly, "Ma? He mumbled as his eyes washed over her pathetic physical state before quickly snapping back to himself, "What the hell happened to you?" He growled out as he hastily made his way towards her.

Laughing, if only to herself, Sagie answered hoarsely albeit sarcastically, "Love."

For his part, Kakarot didn't bother to question her weird response. Crossing the short distance that remained between them, he sighed and shook his head. His mother was in horrible shape. Numerous cuts lined her body, bruises were forming, and her energy had dipped so low that he could only catch the slightest twinge of it.

"Don't give me that look," Sagie's voice was harsh, but her eyes, as Kakarot was used to, were soft.

"I felt you fighting with that man from universe 7," He spoke calmly as he motioned towards Piccolo.

The Namekian nodded in response. Stepping up beside Sagie, he raised up his palms to her shoulder and side, sending healing energy into her battered body the way Dende had taught him, "You've done a number on yourself this time, Sagie-san."

The Saiyan female shrugged non-chalantly and closed her eyes against the warmth of healing energy, "It was a good fight."

Growling, Kakarot narrowed his eyes at his mother, "Why were you with the male Saiyan?"

Sagie opened one eye to look at her son. He appeared paranoid although she couldn't fathom the reason. Sighing heavily, she cleared her throat before speaking once more, "His name's Son Goku."

"I know," Kakarot grunted and looked away from her to keep an eye on possible ambushes. "I fought him. He's—strong."

"That's putting it mildly," Sagie agreed and experimentally tested her left shoulder. It had been tightening more than other parts of her body. The residual pain of an old injury that often flared up during a good fight.

"We should keep a precise eye on him," Piccolo muttered as he focused a little more energy than he should spare into healing Sagie. She was their best chance of winning. This he realized. And, therefore, he wasn't hesitant in offering her more healing than he would another one of their warriors. "If we're to win this tournament, we will have to defeat him at some point."

"You don't think another universe could fill in for us on that?" Sagie quipped before laughing and punching Piccolo into the arm like a frat brother. "Come on! We'll beat him no problem, worry wort."

Lowering his hands, Piccolo sent her a blank frown as Kakarot growled loudly.

"Ma," He shook his head and rolled his eyes all at once, "Your suicidal fighting strategy is going to get us all killed."

"You've been saying that for years," Sagie teased while she stood. Carefully, she stretched her back by twisting her upper body side to side. Piccolo's healing had been excellent as usual. "And we haven't died yet."

"At least not permanently," Piccolo smirked at the small Saiyan woman he called friend.

She returned the shrewd look and popped her neck before shaking her head back and forth quickly, "Thanks for the heal," She turned, fully prepared to simply leave, but was stopped by her son's hand on her shoulder.

"Ma, this is serious," He chastised her, "Please, take it that way."

The smile that had been on her face faltered before turning into a tense frown. Pulling her shoulder away from Kakarot's grip, she turned around to look at the boy, prepared to return the favor but stopped from the sight of Kakarot's face. The young Saiyan was frowning, lines forming around his mouth that didn't belong to somebody that young. He was clearly worried and with good reason, Sagie knew. He had a wife and a newborn at home and a mother he wanted to protect far more than his real one.

Reaching out a hand, Sagie touched just the tips of her fingers to Kakarot's cheek, running one of them down a worry line that ran from his nose around his mouth to his chin, "Kakarot," She mumbled the name as she paused the trail of her fingers and fully cupped his cheek with affection, "Have I ever failed you, truly?"

Kakarot opened his mouth as his he was about to protest, but stopped when his mother spoke again.

"Not as a mother," Her fingers curled against his cheek, trying to remember how it had felt long ago when he was but a child, "But as a fighter—a protector?"

The man looked down as if ashamed of himself for a second, then looked back up, "Ma—you've nearly gotten us killed many ti—." The words dropped off as her hand slid down his face, lingering against his chin before dropping to her side completely.

She turned away from him, hiding the hurt that his momentary denial made run through her, "If you think for a second that I would fail you," She gulped and didn't look at him even when she sensed him reaching for her in apology, "Then I really have failed you in every way possible, haven't I?"

With those words, she leapt away before her son could grab her and make her face a reality she had spent a lifetime escaping.

-break-

Frieza made his way through the ring slowly. His eyes darted this way and that growing paranoid. It was a strange sensation for the universal dictator. There were very few occasions in the entirety of his life that made him feel paranoid the way he did right now. The last of which had been only a few months before—maybe a year—when he had attempted to defeat Son Goku and Vegeta once more. When he had seen Goku rushing him in those final seconds, he had felt paranoid.

Presently, he wasn't entirely sure what the root cause of the feeling was, but he knew it had something to do with the woman from universe 6. For the past ten or fifteen minutes of tournament time, he had been hanging back, watching her every move closely. The sight of her made his skin prickle. If he would have possessed arm hair, it probably would have stood on end.

Looking at her was like looking into a memory that haunted him more than any other he had in his head. Looking at her was like looking at Son Goku and that really pissed him off.

"Bitch," He mumbled under his breath and crossed his arms over his chest in irritation. A nearby competitor caught his attention and without lifting more than a finger, he sent a bright red ki blast towards the fighter.

A scream echoed through the ring, but Frieza didn't stop to torture the fool. He wasn't ready to draw attention to himself just yet. Instead, he approached slowly, face scrunched up in thought, and pulled back one of his three-toed feet, aiming it at the terrified face of his victim. The hit was solid and the man went flying over the side of the ring.

Still feeling irritated, Frieza allowed his tail to thrash behind him several times. Normally, the elimination of someone would have appeased the evil streak inside of him enough that he could smile. As it were, he felt no mirth from the terrified cry. Instead, he felt only more irritation.

"Fucking cunt," He growled low in his throat only to freeze just as his name suggested.

"Is that anyway to talk to the person who's about to kick your ass?"

Frieza couldn't stop the sadistic smirk that formed on his face. His crossed arms tightened, a chuckle bubbled up in his throat, and his feet twisted around just slightly. Standing sideways, hip presenting towards his new opponent, Frieza hummed to himself with deliberate slowness.

"It has been quite a while," He allowed his voice to drip with formality, "Sagie-dono."

Standing across from him, her hands fisted at her sides, Sagie returned his formality with a twisted grin, "Too long, I dare say, Frieza-sama."

The wind of the void caught her shoulder-length black hair, making it flutter a bit in the wind as the sarcasm dripped off the word -sama. She lifted her chin a little bit higher, narrowed eyes shining for a second as the odd multicolored light of the void reflected in them.

"I can't even begin to express," She continued on. Her eyes grew more deadly, a hatred forming in them that made Frieza's body spasm happily, "How happy I am to have found you, Frieza."

"Oh?" Frieza turned fully towards her. His stomach twisted awkwardly, but he didn't let the knowledge show on his face. He would never let her have the satisfaction of knowing that he felt anything other than indifference. "Very few people are happy when they run into me. You must be a unique breed, Sagie-dono."

"Unique?" Sagie tasted the word in her mouth, hating its flavor. "Is that what we're calling it now?" She snorted rudely. "The Frieza in my universe called my breed something completely different."

Frieza lifted up the spot on his head where an eyebrow should have been. It was a delicate movement from his white and purple form. The arms that were still crossed over his chest tensed, and the feeling he had experienced the first time he had fought against this woman amplified. Irritated, Frieza felt his whole body grow taunt. He hated this, hated the feeling that was starting to run up and down his spine.

"The Frieza in my universe," Sagie continued. Her eyes darkened, turning to a shade of black that lacked all semblance of color. "Called my breed—filthy sluts!" The sound ripped from her throat. The word echoed throughout the void. Sagie's power flared. Piccolo's healing had done the right trick.

Instantly, her hair spiked up, going right passed Super Saiyan and Ascended Saiyan to stand boldly at Blue. For the briefest of seconds, Frieza actually looked surprised, but it only lasted for a second. He didn't have longer than that. After all, Sagie had started charging him before the tips of her hair had fully changed color.

-break-

On the other side of the void, unaware of Sagie's current assault on his one time enemy, Goku knelt down catching his breath. His whole body was aching all over, but that wasn't what was really bothering him to the point that he needed a momentary break from fighting. His mind was, unnaturally, focused on his own inner thoughts. Usually during a battle, his mind went virtually blank. Whis had even said this was one of his strong-suits. He had the uncanny ability to just trust himself, in a basic fight at least, and allow his body to move with a will of its own. Right now, however, he found that he couldn't shut off his brain. He was confused, more so than usual, and the feeling was eating at him.

Over and over again, his brain replayed the events inside the heart attack—whatever it was called. He could see Sagie as she stood in the center of it. He could hear her screaming towards their assailants. He could feel the shift in her power and what it meant. And it was that shift that made his whole body feel strange right now.

When her power had shifted, he had instinctively known what to do. He knew to take from it, to combine with it. And, strangely but normally, in that moment, his mind had shut off accepting what she had to offer.

They had—for lack of a better term—almost become one for that brief moment in time. They had moved in unison. They had seemed to think in unison. Two bodies moving simultaneously in a way he had never experienced before in his life.

It terrified him.

Absolutely terrified him.

Gulping down air, Goku brought himself to his feet and glanced towards his eldest son. Gohan had been patiently guarding him as he caught his breath. Really, they didn't have any time to spare, but he couldn't help that he was exhausted and they weren't allowed to use outside healing assistance in the tournament.

"If we had been better planners," Goku joked towards his son's back, "We would have brought Dende along—put him on the team to heal us."

Gohan shook his head but didn't turn around to look at his father, "Dende would have been a liability." He told his father gently, "It would have been dangerous trying to protect him the entire time."

Chuckling to himself, Goku nodded his head in agreement, knowing that his son would sense the motion without him needing to speak, "I'm fine now, son. Go join Piccolo."

Gohan finally turned around. Looking at his father with wide eyes, he took a second to weigh his options in his own head, "I don't think that's wise, Otou-san." He muttered while deliberately motioning to Goku's burns, bruises, and cuts, "You've taken a bit of a beating."

Goku shrugged and laughed, "I've had way worse beat down's than this!" He waved a hand at his son, "Remember when we fought Vegeta the first time? I broke every bone in my body."

"That's good to know."

The hairs on the back of both father and son's necks stood on end. Whipping their heads around, they both fell into a fighting stance as the Vegeta from the other universe looked at them critically. They knew nothing of this man other than the fact that Sagie appeared to hate him. They didn't know how strong he was or what his personality was really like. For all they knew, he could have been their Vegeta's opposite, but for good reason, that wasn't a risk in thought they were willing to take.

"You," The other Vegeta looked right at Goku without giving Gohan more than a second glance, "Who are you?"

Goku blinked a few times and pointed at himself with a curved, questioning finger, "Me?"

Vegeta's face tightened with dry, annoyance, "Yes you! Who else, moron?"

Maybe this Vegeta wasn't that different from their own, Goku thought vaguely and rubbed the back of his head with a laugh, "Sorry," He waved a hand in front of his face. Playing dumb was one of his specialties. "I'm Son Goku."

The other Vegeta only looked more irritated, "I know that." He growled and rubbed his forehead absently, "Where are you from, idiot?" The last word was mumbled, but Goku could hear it easily. He was a Saiyan, after all.

"Same place as you, I bet," Goku straightened completely, dropping out of his fighting stance. Beside him, Gohan didn't budge. "I was born on Vegeta-sei."

"And the kid," Vegeta continued, gabbing his thumb towards Gohan, "He's yours?"

"Yeah," Goku acknowledged. This time his eyes narrowed a bit. A feeling was forming in his stomach that had been plaguing him since the start of the tournament. That sense of knowing something without having to know. "What of it?"

Vegeta's eyes narrowed dangerously. He didn't appear to like this particular piece of information even though it was merely a confirmation of a guess he had already made, "The mother," The words were spoken between clenched teeth, "Who's the mother?"

"Of Gohan?" Goku asked for clarification just to stall for time. He could tell exactly where this was going. He had known Vegeta long enough to know when the man was about to finally explode.

"Who else?"

"I don't know," Goku's voice actually sounded patronizing, "I do have more than one son. Could have been asking about him. Of course, they have the same mother."

If Gohan hadn't been so focused on preparing for the oncoming fight, he would have laughed. He knew, like everyone else, that his father was a bit slow and childish, but for some reason, in a fight, his true intelligence came out. It was like his brain turned on when he was fighting.

Unlike Gohan, however, the Vegeta of universe 6 did not seem to appreciate the condescending sound of Goku's voice. Dragging one foot behind his body, he turned his hip towards the two men before him. It was the first step in forming a fighting stance, "Tell me—who is the mother of that boy?"

Goku licked his lips and mimicked Vegeta's move. Pulling his own foot behind himself, he took it a step further by putting his hands up in front of his face. He knew where this was going to go. It was only a matter of seconds, "Chichi."

Much to Goku's shock, Vegeta didn't respond the way Goku thought he should have. The man's whole face fell for a second as if horrifically surprised. His eyes narrowed and he looked towards the ground. For a long second, he stared at the cracked tournament stage, analyzing something far away from it. Then, in a voice that sounded distant, almost contemplative, he repeated the name.

"Chichi?" He looked on the verge of laughter, "Figures."

And then the moment was over. Raising his head back up, looking at Goku with fire in his eyes, Vegeta didn't ask a singe question more. Screaming, his hair transformed within seconds, becoming bright gold. Dark eyes changed to teal, and he shot forward headed straight for Goku.

In the seconds before he reached the other man, however, Gohan sprang in front of his father. In a swift motion, the young man who had managed to conserve most of his energy throughout the tournament, caught Vegeta's punch with one hand.

"Your fight," Gohan told the older Saiyan while looking at him with tense, focused eyes the color of coal. "Is with me!"

-break-

Sagie's fist connected hard with Frieza's cheek, sending the reptilian sailing backwards inches above the tournament floor. Shoving off the ground with feet that tingled with power, Sagie rushed towards him, twisting her body so that her punch would make maximum impact when it landed. Hovering inches above Frieza's body, she screamed when she slammed it into his unsuspecting face.

Instantly, Frieza's forward momentum dissipated and he hit the ground, forming a crater nearly four times the size of his body. Sagie didn't let up. She sent a flurry of punches down onto him, hitting every single part of his exposed skin that she could get her hands on. Frieza's body spasmed in response as blood and spit gathered in his mouth, chocking him. Pulling a punch back to her head, Sagie yelled as she planted it right in Frieza's exposed stomach.

Frieza's mouth opened, a rain of blood and spit hit Sagie right in the face, coating her cheeks in slick, slimmy red. Not even bothering to wipe it away, she planted her feet on the ground, bent her knees, and shoot up above Frieza's head.

"Final," She screamed as she brought her hands together, palm to palm in front of her, "Flash!"

Frieza didn't even have time to open an eye before the attack hit him dead on. The ring crumbled underneath his body, nearly giving way completely to the space below it. Then, gritting his teeth, he reached up to grab Sagie's energy beam. Holding it with trembling fingers, he screamed as he shoved it off of himself, throwing it backwards with sheer force of will.

"I won't let," He yelled up at her, "A monkey," He bared his teeth as he gathered energy. "Beat me!" Energy burst from his palm, connecting with Sagie's with explosive force.

Realizing what would happen if she stuck around, Sagie snarled, cut off her energy, and got the hell out of the way of the oncoming attack. Below her, Frieza launched himself out of the crater, but didn't come for her surprisingly.

Huffing, he glared up at Sagie with one eye closed, "I must admit," A purple tongue snaked out from between his lips, licking them, "I never suspected that a little girly monkey would be this strong."

"Never fought a female Saiyan, huh?" Sagie asked coyly, her blue hair dancing around the crown of her head. "Too bad—we tend to be way worse than the men."

"And why would that be?" Frieza quirked an eyebrow twistedly.

"Well," Sagie powered up again, blue energy swirling around her body, "We're a bit more sadistic and a hell of a lot less forgiving!" Flipping her feet over her head to angle her body downwards, Sagie screamed as she flew right towards Frieza. Much to her own shock, however, he merely smirked.

Widening his stance, he brought all his power to the surface. Flames surrounded his body, licking at his white skin.

Stalling her motion, Sagie jumped down to the ground barely letting her feet touch it before she jumped completely backwards in shock. The heat coming off of Frieza's body had completely changed. It had grown exponentially in only a fraction of a second. Gritting her teeth, she inhaled sharply, unsure of what such a change meant.

Only partially aware of Sagie's reaction, Frieza widened his arms, allowing the energy from the well in his stomach to rush out into his spread limbs. It tingled in his arms as the gold washed over his body, making his muscles pulse before they grew in size and strength. The color blinded the ring and Sagie as well who covered her face in response.

"Damn," She cursed as the energy flew towards her, hitting her hard enough to make her eyes sting, "That's one fucked-up power-up." She growled and looked up over her bent arm, watching Frieza's body as it glowed a color she had never seen. "How—how did he get this much stronger?" Her eyes widened, not out of fear but out of perfect astonishment, "To think—he's this much stronger than the Frieza of my universe." Her stomach flipflopped in a delicious way that she hadn't felt in a number of years, not since she had faced Buu—no—not since Beerus.

Standing to her full height, not allowing the energy to push at her face any longer, Sagie smirked. It was a deadly, dark sight.

-break-

Krillin whistled as he looked down at Sagie and Frieza feeling positively confident, "When Frieza's all powered up like that—no one can beat him!"

"I'm sure glad he wasn't that strong on Namek," Tien grunted out, secretly feeling a bit of pity for the female Saiyan.

"If he was that strong on Namek," The other bald man laughed openly, "I wouldn't have made it out alive."

"But—you didn't make it out alive," Tien raised up one eyebrow playfully.

Turning beet red, Krillin glared at his friend, "Why'd you have to bring that up!?"

The two broke into laughter neither one aware of the boy who had been sitting quietly at their side.

Bardock was looking at the fight as well. His dark eyes, which were the mirror image of his mother's, traced her motions as she charged Frieza once more. Their power felt about equal in their current transformed state, meaning neither one had the advantage truly. The winner would be decided on skill and skill alone, which both fighters most likely possessed. A knowing feeling grew in his gut, and he shifted in his seat uncomfortably.

Throughout his life, he had seen his mother fight. She had fought Vegeta when he was two, fought Frieza in his universe when he was about to turn three, fought the androids and Cell when he was six, and Buu when he was thirteen. During all those fights, she had always managed to overcome, to win—except Cell that is, his brother had overcome there. Still, as he watched her, he couldn't help but wonder how she always did it. How did she rise to every single fight the way she did, overcoming any obstacle that was in her path?

Looking at her now as she ducked and dodged Frieza's hits, screaming during her own heavy assaults, the question felt heavier than even normal as did a far bigger one that he really didn't like to think about.

Having been patiently watching Bardock, reading his thoughts, Vados pursed her lips minutely. Throughout the Tournaments duration, she had found herself questioning whether or not Whis and herself had been misguided in their assumptions about Sagie and Goku. And, from what she could tell, there was a chance that they were. Something, something she couldn't explain, was off in her universe, and unless she figured out what it was, she would be in horrible trouble. This she knew with absolute certainty.

Beside her, Whis glanced at his sister. He too had the same feeling as her. Uncertainty wafted throughout his body, making him nervous. Just seconds earlier, it had dissipated when he had seen Sagie and Goku briefly work together. There had been hope in their movements, but that had been dashed just now as the two split apart once more. Now on separate sides of the ring from one another, the doubts rose up within him again.

Glancing towards Sagie's youngest son, Whis shifted slightly in his seat and tightened his grip on his staff. There was only one way to truly confirm their suspicions, and that was to sit quietly and watch. However, the longer they sat and waited, the more impatient he found himself becoming. It was an emotion he didn't like feeling.

"Bardock-san?"

The young Saiyan looked at Whis over his shoulder, not catching the surprise on Vados face, "Yes?"

Smiling cryptically, Whis looked at the boy, eyes half lidded, "Can I ask you a question?"

Bardock blinked a few times, appearing quite a lot like Goku in that moment, "Sure."

"Do you believe," Whis worded the question with such intentional carefulness that Vados frowned. "That Sagie-san is a good mother?"

Bardock snorted catching the three members of the z-fighters and the kais off guard, "No," The answer was truthful. "She's not a good mother," He turned back towards the fight, watching his mother with eyes that were still filled with affection, "But she's a great—no—she's the best fighter I've ever known."

Whis, mysteriously, did not take comfort in that answer.

-break-

Frieza's maniacal laughter hit Sagie's ears making them ring with the sound. Skidding to a halt, pebbles underneath her feet grinding into her heels, she reached up and wiped off some dirt from her chin. The damn beast had hit her hard with a wild and lucky uppercut. It had sent her head over heels, reeling, until she gained her footing once more. Now, wiping the spot of contact, she wiggled a tooth in her mouth that felt a bit loose. Another good hit or two and it would be dislodged, she was certain.

Unconcerned, she straightened her back and spit some blood from the nearly busted tooth onto the ground. It splattered a nearby rock and, much to her delight, the sight made Frieza grimace across from her.

"Disgusting filth," The alien growled out as he wiped imaginary dirt off his tan forearms.

"I'd rather be disgusting filth to you than desirable," Sagie clicked her tongue happy to see a vein appear on her opponent's forehead.

Not even bothering to shift into a fighting position, Frieza launched himself towards her enraged, "You will regret that comment!"

"I highly doubt that!" Sagie yelled in response as she lurched forward as well. The blue energy that swirled around her body amplified, surges of power coming off of her in waves as she concentrated energy into both of her fist, coating them in it. "Energie," She shouted in Saiyan as she pulled her hand to her waist, prepping it for the hit, "Faust!" She threw the punch directly at the charging Frieza.

At the last possible second, Frieza's brain acknowledged what those blue coated fists meant, and he flung himself to the side. Sagie's fist connected with the ground where Frieza had been only seconds before. The energy in it flew away from her flesh, making the tournament stage explode as if it had been hit by a bomb. Debris flew all around her, some of it hitting her exposed body, and she swung around to face him once more. Her hands continued to glow, the energy in her fists twinging with red.

"Nice dodge," She complimented sarcastically, all the while smiling. "Let's see how long you can keep that up, shall we?" She didn't bother to wait for an answer to the rhetorical question before she brought her hands up by her face and screamed.

Running forward, she swung a left hook towards Frieza's golden head. The man just managed to sidestep it before she swung again with the opposite one. The glowing fist connected with Frieza's cheek, exploding against his skin as she turned the pre-collected energy into a near simultaneous ki blast.

Knocked clean off his feet, Frieza swallowed down a cry of pain while he flew through the air. His skin burned where the contact had been made. A hit like that in the right place would cause irreversible damage, he was sure. Swinging around so he landed on his feet, Frieza changed directions, running parallel to Sagie who was coming towards him, hands ready. She shifted as well, following his directional change with ease.

"You think," She called to him, building energy while she ran, "That running is the way to dodge this?" Stopping on a dime, she dropped her hands to her sides and laughed, "Fat chance, asshole!" Punching forward, aiming directly at Frieza, Sagie released twin energy blasts from her still closed fists.

Frieza's eyes widened, unprepared for the change in tactic, and he jumped. The twin energy blasts went underneath him easily—too easily. Just as he felt that realization deep down in his six toes, his eyes budged out from a punch right to his middle. Sagie—when he had been distracted—had jumped to, predicting his dodge.

Spitting in the Saiyan female's face, Frieza flew backwards and away from her. He slammed into an outcropping, his back practically breaking from the contact. Struggling to breathe and furious, he pushed himself forward, eyes focused on Sagie. She had landed a few dozen feet away from him and was smirking dangerously.

"Did I forget to mention," She told him as she drug one foot behind her into her fighting stance. "How much I fucking hate you?"

-break-

Gohan landed easily on his feet, not even sliding backwards from the force of universe 6's Vegeta's hit. The man didn't seem quite as strong as the Vegeta that he knew and had fought on numerous occasions. To be blunt, this Vegeta seemed weak by comparison even if he was transformed into a Super Saiyan.

Tensing slightly, nevertheless, when the older Saiyan started his next charge, Gohan stayed firm in his fighting stance. Using the hand in front of his face (opened with two fingers bent low and two fingers bent high) to keep an eye on the distance left between him and Vegeta, Gohan formed a small ki blast in his other hand that rested on his hip. Licking his lips, he waited until he was sure Vegeta was no more than ten meters away before launching himself into the air and firing it right at the unassuming fighter.

Vegeta growled in response, backflipping a handful of times to get out of the way of the hit. Springing upwards on the last flip, he joined Gohan in the air. Punches and kicks and blocks swirled all around both fighters as they landed on the ground still hitting one another in a flurry of attacks.

Using the momentum of a well-placed hit to Vegeta's stomach, Gohan propelled himself backwards and threw his hands above his head. Quickly, he touched the palm of one to the back of the other just above the crown of his hair and yelled, "Masenko," The scream left his lips, "Ha!"

Vegeta only barely managed to duck out of the way of the hit, rolling off his shoulder before barreling back to his feet. Immediately, he took off running parallel to Gohan's body, repositioning himself so that he was aligned just so with the younger man. Gohan's eyes tracked him easily, noting the lack of speed from the other fighter and something a little bit more.

Jumping backwards and out of the way of a series of ki-blasts Vegeta attempted to deliver, Gohan stared at his gold hair completely baffled. It wasn't like Vegeta, in his universe at least, to stay in such a low form of Super Saiyan. The man kind of prided himself on his ability to transform to higher levels, especially Blue, and the very notion that he wasn't spoke volumes.

Is he underestimating me? Or—can he not go any higher than Super Saiyan? Gohan thought just to himself as he slapped a small energy blast away from himself.

Shaking the thought from his head, Gohan inhaled sharply, fully prepared to take advantage of such a possibility. Before he could unleash the necessary energy to power up, however, a streak of something to his right made him swing his entire body around. With only milliseconds to spare, he formed an x with his forearms, catching a wild and furiously over-powered punch with them. Gritting his teeth from the minute bit a pain it caused, he felt his body slide backwards a good ten feet as he stared into his own, albeit much harder, eyes.

"Kakarot," He muttered.

The man's eyebrows narrowed in response, and he jumped upwards and backwards, landing on the ground a short distance away. Immediately, he sank into a fighting stance, hands up in front of his face in twin knives that reminded Gohan of his mother's fighting style (he had only seen it a half dozen times but he remembered it well).

"Oi!" Vegeta screamed towards Kakarot, a clear glare evident on his face, "What are you doing, boy?"

"What's it look like?" Kakarot growled over his shoulder, clear animosity present in his voice, "Finishing what you can't."

"I damn well can finish it!" Vegeta snarled in return, leaping towards the boy. He landed between Gohan and Kakarot eyes flaring with anger as he stared the boy down, "This is my fight, Kakarot."

Kakarot didn't take his eyes off Gohan. It was almost like he wasn't willing to give Vegeta the time of day, "Get out of my way, old man."

If Gohan had been looking at Vegeta's face, he would have been able to see the vein that formed on his forehead clearly. "You will show me the respect I deserve as—!"

Vegeta never finished the sentence.

In one rapid strike, Kakarot drove a solid punch right into Vegeta's face, sending the older Saiyan right towards Gohan. Instinctively, Gohan jumped up out of the man's way, watching with wide and disbelieving eyes as the Vegeta of universe 6 collided with a nearby rock. It shattered from the force of his body hitting it, smothering the man in rubble.

Baffled, Gohan looked back towards the other version of himself in an attempt to solve the unanswered question in his own mind. He was only provided with half of one.

There, in Kakarot's clearly pissed off face, Gohan saw hatred the likes of which he had only seen on enemies faces as they took their dying breathes. He had seen it on Cell's face when he killed him and on Frieza and King Cold's faces when future Trunks had sliced them up. That look of absolute and utter loathing for the person standing in front of you. Why Kakarot had that look on his face, he couldn't fathom. But he did know that the detestation in Kakarot's eyes spoke of something far worse than he could even imagine.

Pushing himself up from the rubble, Vegeta looked towards Kakarot. Blood was dripping from a cut on his forehead, sliding into his eyes, but he didn't seem all that bothered by it. Blinking slowly, he managed to stand as he shoved the rocks away from himself. The blood went passed his eye, sliding down his nose, and dripping like sweat.

"Kakarot," He whispered the name and the sound of his voice was awkward, a combination of pain and frustration. "This isn't the time or the place for this."

Clearly confused, Gohan finally turned towards his father. Goku was watching the scene from some distance away, his own face just as baffled as Gohan's. Father and son made eye contact between Kakarot and Vegeta, and in a moment of clear genetics, both shrugged towards the other and sweat-dropped.

"If you really think that," Kakarot spoke from a dark place. "Then get the fuck out of here and let me take care of them. You're too weak to even make a dent. You can't even ascend."

Vegeta flinched, and bared his teeth at the younger man, "If you know what's good for you, you'll shut up right now, boy!"

Kakarot's body went rigid and the unnerving steal-like hatred in his eyes changed into titanium, "Is that a threat?" He didn't give Vegeta time to clarify, "Because if it is, I'm taking you down!"

"Is that a challenge?" Vegeta countered, and that was all the words Kakarot needed.

Throwing all his weight into his feet, Kakarot shot off, aiming himself right for the Vegeta of his own universe.

-break-

Whis stared down at the Vegeta from his sister's universe, confused. This was the second time universe 6 had broken out in a fight between universe members. Of course, his own universe had one such fight break-out between Frieza and Goku, but that fight had more explanation. Goku had been defending a version of his own child. This fight—the one between Kakarot and Vegeta—didn't make any sense. It was like a grudge match (for that matter the fight between Vegeta and Sagie had felt the same), but this still felt like some unknown grudge from long ago boiling over into a fight.

Beside him, holding her own staff as she bit her lower lip, Vados felt regret flooding through her. She had known in the back of her head that making Vegeta a member of universe 6's team could end badly, but she hadn't understood the true extent of the divide between Vegeta and the other Saiyan members until now. And, she knew, this rift could ruin everything.

Not aware of the two angels' inner turmoil, Krillin shook his head at Vegeta and Kakarot, "What is wrong with those guys? Aren't they on the same team?"

"I know Vegeta isn't the easiest person in the world to get along with," Master Roshi mumbled beside his student, peering down at the fight over his sunglasses, "But fighting with your own teammate in a tournament like this? Gohan should know better."

"This isn't the Gohan from our universe though. This is Kakarot," Tien reminded, arms crossed over his chest. "We don't know anything about him. He—well—he could be very different."

Sitting, silently listening to the words of the people he both knew and didn't know all at once, Bardock frowned darkly. Childhood memories that were so fuzzy he might as well not have any memory of the events were wafting through his mind. He had known Vegeta since he was two, and those early memories of the man were sickening to say the least. For his brother, they had to be even worse. Those memories had to be downright painful for Gohan, especially since Gohan had known Vegeta before he came to Earth. He had known him on Vegeta-sei before everything had happened.

"I don't know your Gohan," Bardock spoke up catching everyone, even Vados and Whis, off guard. "But—Gohan, my Gohan—hates Vegeta more than anyone."

The small section of people went quiet at Bardock's words, allowing the young Saiyan to continue.

"I don't blame him either," He mumbled while studying his older brother carefully. He could feel fury flowing off of him. "When we were small," His breath hitched in his throat for a second, "Vegeta tried to kill us. Okaa-san—um—Chichi stepped in the way to save us both—took a full forced hit that should have killed her. I still don't know how she survived."

No one said anything as they tried to process what the boy was saying.

"And—," He gulped trying to clear his throat of a strange lump that was forming there, "The things he did to Sagie—to Ma—," Lifting up his head, he searched for Sagie on the tournament floor once more. She was fighting against Frieza in his new Golden Form, holding her own. "We can't even begin to deal with what he did to her. How he treated her. They were friends as children, you know—they—." His voice cut off unable to admit to more. "And he—he betrayed her—beat her and enslaved her." Fingers, angry and tense, clutched at his pants, "That bastard did everything in his power to destroy her physically, mentally," He scowled darkly. The fabric of his pants ripped, "We hate him more than anything!"

Everything went a bit quiet as each one of the already eliminated z-fighters became entrapped in their own thoughts. Behind them all, Vados and Whis listened intently, piecing the information together in a far different way than the mortals below them. Finally, after the silence had permeated the air for a few seconds too long, a deliberate throat clear brought everybody out of their thoughts.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Master Roshi muttered once he was sure he had everybody's attention. "But—," He chuckled slightly, "Our Vegeta isn't much better."

It was Bardock's turn to be caught off guard.

"When he first came to Earth, he killed a handful of our friends including Piccolo and Tien." He jutted his thumb towards Tien who awkwardly flushed. "He broke every bone in Goku's body the first time they fought. Nearly killed Krillin and our Gohan, too."

Chuckling as he looked back at the battle from so long ago, Krillin rubbed the back of his head. "I thought I was dead for sure at the time! Good thing Goku showed up when he did or me and the kid would have died right then and there."

"I hate to admit it," Tien coughed slightly, appearing a tad contrite, "But I really hated Vegeta for a long time. Kind of still do if I'm being honest."

Shocked by these words, Bardock turned to face Master Roshi completely.

"We all did." Master Roshi smiled faintly before his face reverted to a frown, "He was a nasty one for at least the first five years we knew him. Screamed at everyone almost all the time, threatened to kill Goku every time the two met. Beat up Gohan a few times too just for fun. What a handful that guy was!"

Bardock felt his mouth slip opened just a bit, "Then why the hell are you friends with him?" His eyes darted from one person to another, trying frantically to put it all together. "How could you forgive the bastard?!"

It was Krillin who answered, "Goku."

Bardock blinked and turned back to the fight, studying the man who was watching Kakarot fight Vegeta. Goku was standing unassumingly off to the side. His arms were crossed over his chest and he was leaning to the left, putting most of his weight onto that one leg. He was exhausted, that much was clear, but he was still following the fight with adept eyes. It would only be a matter of time before he had enough energy regathered to enter a fight of his own. At his side, his own son was currently saying something that was much too far away from Bardock to hear. Whatever it was, it made Goku laugh, his whole face brightening.

"What's," Bardock wondered out loud, "So special about him?"

"Goku—has this amazing ability to see the good in everyone," Krillin supplied with affection teeming in his voice, "No matter what you do to him—how harsh you are or mean or even evil—Goku can look at you and see the part of you that's struggling or confused and just smile like it's the most normal thing in the world."

"You know—at first I thought that was just naivety? He was a—um—innocent kid," Tien looked down at Goku, grinning slightly. "But as I got to know him, I realized that being naïve was really only half of it." Tien knew better than anyone there that Goku was capable of seeing the good in even the cruelest of individuals. The man had always been able to do it. To look at someone who was fighting with their own demons and reach out his hand to bat them away. "Goku may act all goofy but deep down he's really serious and compassionate. He can't stand seeing someone in pain, never has been able to—and that quality kind of draws you in."

"Yeah," Krillin shook his head slightly, "It draws you in and then, before you know it, you're his friend. You aren't even aware it happened. I don't know when, but that happened to Vegeta too."

Bardock stared at Goku, one ear turned towards the people from universe 7, and the other focused on the strange man who was apparently his father in another universe. The other Gohan beside him was looking at him with some concern, whispering who knew what, but Goku simply waved it off and gently nudged the boy's shoulder. The other Gohan didn't look particularly convinced but obeyed the order, jumping away, leaving his father to watch Kakarot and Vegeta fight.

And, against his will, Bardock felt jealousy fill up his heart.

Sixteen years ago, Universe 6, Planet Namek

Frieza's blast hit Sagie right on her back as she flew through the air from his latest kick. Screaming, the Saiyan woman tried to right herself, but she was far too impaired from the fight to find her way back upright. Slamming into the ground full speed, Sagie skidded on her left shoulder. The skin ripped opened on an ill placed rock and she gritted her teeth. After what felt like an eternity, her body came to a stop in a heap of gravel and short Namekian grass.

Sagie felt the blood dripping down her face although she wasn't sure what had caused the cut. Using all the strength left in her body, Sagie planted the palm of one hand on the ground and then the other. Huffing, she pushed herself up back to her feet. It took a second for her to regain her balance. Stumbling backwards, she gasped as pain shot through her ribs. Leaning backwards onto her heels, she held her side and stared at the demon in front of her. He had been toying with her for the past fifteen minutes. She the mouse; he the cat. But it was all she could do. She wasn't strong enough to be more than a mouse.

And that fucking pissed her off.

Spitting to her side, Sagie straightened and brought the back of her hand up to wipe at her bleeding lower lip. Faintly, she double checked Chichi and the boys' position. They were on the other side of the planet, collecting the last of the Namekian Dragon Balls. All she had to do was hold out until they got the last of them. Then, Chichi would summon the dragon and make the necessary wishes to restore everything to order.

Wish 1: Restore the Earth and its inhabitants.

Wish 2: Bring the Nameks Frieza killed back to life.

Wish 3: Transport everyone except Frieza to Earth.

And that was a great plan. Everyone would be saved though it would all be temporary which made the plan utterly pointless. A fact she had explained to Chichi hours before in front of the Elder Nemekian. The other woman hadn't had a solution at that time and had outright refused to listen to Sagie's own.

"Well—well Sagie-san," The already completely transformed Frieza's white tail flicked from left to right, hitting the ground and crushing it. "I've given you your chance for revenge, and you have greatly disappointed me."

Sagie clutched a fist at her side and muttered, "It's not for a lack of trying."

The ribs along her left side ached; they had definitely cracked in at least four or five places from that last hit.

Frieza turned away from her, facing to the left. His tail continued to flick, "You can't beat me. You must realize that, yes?"

Sagie's fingers trembled ever so slightly. It wasn't a sensation she was used to.

"There's absolutely nothing you can do, little Saiyan girl." Frieza's tail flopped to one side.

The whiteness of it was odd to Sagie. Before this fight, she hadn't known that Frieza could transform or that she had only ever known him in his base form. To look at him now, shinny, white and purple with power coming off of him in insane waves, she felt dizzy. Deep down, she knew that there was very little chance that she could even put a dent in him. Still, the Saiyan inside of her wasn't something that she could argue with. It growled and roared and clawed at her psyche telling her that she had more power if only she could push to find it.

Rolling her shoulders back as far as they could go, Sagie spread her feet a little bit more apart. Her clothes were torn. The battle armor she had stolen from one of Frieza's ships was cracked across the breast plate, revealing the blue, skin tight spandex that covered her left breast. The shorts were disintegrated, leaving her in nothing but the matching underwear and white boots. She must have looked an absolute mess in her ripped clothes with her lips swollen from a hit to the face and her head bleeding, coating her eye.

"You're right," She spoke clearly as she stared Frieza down, using a look she reserved only for people she knew she was going to rip to shreds. "I'm far weaker than you."

Frieza lifted up one eyebrow and tilted his head to one side in fake curiosity, but he didn't interrupt her as she continued on.

"You probably could kill me without even trying," Sagie inhaled deeply. In the back of her mind, images of her people, her children, and even Vegeta and Chichi played over and over again in a loop. "But that doesn't mean you'll beat me."

A laugh ripped from Frieza's throat and his face morphed into the most sickening twisted smile that Sagie had ever seen, "Please—please," He reached up and it looked almost as if the demon had wiped a tear from his amused eye, "Do tell me—how can you possibly win?"

Growling low in her throat, Sagie sank down into a fighting stance. She held up two fingers of her front hand and formed her other hand into a fist which she placed against her back hip, "You just don't get it, do you Frieza?" She spoke through gritted teeth as she brought as much energy to the surface as she could.

Crossing his arms over his chest, unable to sense her power and unconcerned nonetheless, Frieza waited for her next words.

"Saiyan's," Sagie let the energy that was tingling in her back spread. She could feel something in it, something deep and mysterious and powerful, but not yet ready to overtake her. "Don't lose!"

Throwing herself forward, ignoring the air that grabbed at her hair throwing it nearly into her face, she formed a blast in the palm of her hand and sent it flying at the man before her. Frieza laughed, jumped backwards and up into the air. A point of red light formed on the tip of one of his fingers and he flicked it out into the world, directly towards her. Sagie spun her entire body in a complete circle, allowing the energy beam to pass underneath her harmlessly. Then, in one fluid motion, she threw her feet over her head, using the momentum of the action to plant her feet on the ground as hard as she could. Bending at the knees, she shot upwards towards a still perfectly calm Frieza.

Within seconds, she reached him, throwing a multitude of punches that the man blocked and dodged, over and over again. Furious, Sagie continued throwing hits even as her back continued to tingle. The sensation was starting to feel familiar to her. Vaguely, she realized that she had felt the same thing when she fought Vegeta after he had attacked her child. But, she had no idea what it was, and she sure as hell didn't have time to think about it either.

Quite suddenly, above them, the sky flickered becoming darker and darker. Sagie paused as did Frieza. The coloration was indescribable.

Frieza's head snapped upwards as the darkness overtook the sky, "What?"

Sagie's heart pounded in her chest. Even though she had no idea what the Dragon looked like, she knew in that moment that this was it. Chichi had done what she said she would. She had summoned the Dragon.

"No!" Frieza's calm expression changed to something so demonic that Sagie thought the look would turn her to ash. Slamming his fist into her face, Frieza didn't wait to see the damage the hit inflicted.

Barely having time to right herself, Sagie snapped her head in Frieza's direction, mouth dropping opened. In this form, Frieza was impossibly fast—far faster than her—and diffidently fast enough to reach Chichi and her children before they made their final wish.

Please Review