When Gine was five years old, someone had challenged the king. She didn't remember his name now, something like Auber or Onyo, but he'd been huge, dome-headed and hairy, and rumored to have a power level close to that of the king. Vegeta the Third had ascended the throne only a few years before, and this was his first challenger, so everyone had shown up to watch.
At five years old and perpetually hungry, Gine hadn't cared much about the fighting so much as the crowd: a bunch of feasting Saiyans might drop quite a few crumbs that an enterprising urchin could pick up, and the crowd had been so dense that day that by the time the king entered the ring Gine had been almost full.
Perhaps the lessening of her hunger was why she remembered him so clearly: tall, straight-backed, and noble, he'd strode onto the raised platform without paying his opponent the slightest bit of attention. An attendant had taken his cape and armor, and Gine had noticed them exchange a few words that had the attendant grinning. Then the king had turned around and, without wasting any time posturing or making speeches, speared his hand straight through the challenger's chest.
There was a split second of utter silence, then the deafening roar of the crowd masking the sounds of King Vegeta pulling the man's heart out of his chest, strings of gore and arteries offering little resistance. Once it was free, he held it above his head and the crowd somehow managed to roar even louder. The heart was still pulsing, dripping blood onto the king's face and down his arm. One droplet landed on the corner of his mouth and he licked it away.
Oddly, Gine couldn't remember how she'd felt at the time, whether she'd been horrified, excited, or just disappointed the crowd broke up so soon. All she could remember was that she'd spent the next two hours dodging the other street urchins as she picked up what food remained, and that there was so much of it there had been enough and to spare for all of them.
Every time she recalled it afterward, though, the memory unsettled her, a sensation that only got worse as she got older. At five years old she hadn't understood what was so upsetting—violence like that was, if not routine, then nothing uncommon. When she was older, however, she realized that as the King, Vegeta represented everything a Saiyan was supposed to be: bloodthirsty, merciless, powerful.
In other words, everything she wasn't. As she got older and the gap between where she was and where she was supposed to be only got wider and more obvious, it no longer mattered who ridiculed her. It was always the King's face she saw sneering, his voice she heard taunting her.
And in her nightmares, his hand pulling her heart out of her chest in retribution for having dared be born a Saiyan.
Vegeta glanced away from Gine, his mocking smile growing marginally larger before he did, and addressed Kami.
"Bit far from home, aren't you Namekian?"
Gine was relieved to have the Prince's gaze directed elsewhere, but now that she had space to really look at him she found herself somewhat underwhelmed. He was clean shaven, unlike his father, but the differences didn't end there. He was shorter, and his bearing was arrogant rather than noble. Mocking rather than self-assured. He seemed… small, in a way that had nothing to do with his height. A schoolyard bully rather than a tyrant. His aura was massive, of course, but in every other way he was not the nightmare she'd been expecting.
Kami addressed him mildly.
"Earth is my home. And I must kindly ask you to leave it. You are not welcome here."
Vegeta's eyebrows lifted a fraction.
"Oho. Did you hear that, Nappa? We're not welcome. We've been kindly asked to leave. What do you say to that?"
Nappa grinned. "I heard Namekians don't have bones. I wanna rip his arms off to see."
Vegeta turned back to Kami, spreading his hands.
"How's that answer, slug?"
But Kami did no more than nod.
"Illuminating. Now, to be perfectly clear, what exactly are your intentions in coming here?"
"You want me to be clear? Very well." Vegeta spoke slowly, enunciating his words. "We are here to kill every thinking being on this planet and then sell it for profit." He glanced at Gine and Gohan. "We are also here for Kakarot, his dam and his whelp. Speaking of which, where is he? Too cowardly to show up?"
Gohan clenched his fists.
"My daddy's not a coward! He's coming, and when he gets here he's going to beat you up!"
Turning to Gohan in mock surprise, Vegeta addressed him in a sickening version of baby speak.
"It does talk! And who's your mommy, little boy? Did Kakarot climb back up the family tree to have you or did he rut with the local wildlife instead?"
Gine felt her tail bristle around her waist almost before the words had penetrated. She heard the others murmur invectives, but she couldn't hear them over the sound of her heart in her ears. Chi Chi clapped her hands over Gohan's ears and shouted at Vegeta.
"You shut your dirty mouth or I'll shut it for you!"
Vegeta grinned slowly, an open-mouthed, delighted, wicked thing that made nearly everyone in the assembled group take a small step backward.
"And here I thought this planet might be boring. Nappa, how many Saibamen do you have left?"
"Ha! I like the way you think, Vegeta. Let me see." Nappa held out a small bottle, giving it a shake. "Looks like we've got six."
"That's perfect. One for each of the riff raff. You, woman." He lifted his chin at Gine. "Get over here and watch the show. Bring the boy with you."
Gine snarled in lieu of an answer.
Vegeta didn't seem surprised.
"Suit yourself. Go ahead, Nappa."
Gine watched helplessly as he planted the six seeds, watering them in turn. She could kick the bottle out of his hands and destroy the seeds before they had a chance to grow, but that was assuming Nappa didn't swat her out of the sky before she reached him. Besides, they needed to buy time for Kakarot to arrive. He'd be on his way back now, but there was no telling how long it would take him to get here. The longer Vegeta spent toying with them, the better.
"What are—?" Krillin started, but then the Saibamen began to sprout. Six small mounds swelled the earth and then collapsed as six wrinkled green heads emerged from the ground with a squelching sound that made Yamcha wince.
"Ewww!" Chi Chi shuddered and wiped her hands on her dress.
"Kill all of them except that one and that one," Vegeta instructed the Saibamen, pointing at Gine and Gohan. "You're not to touch them, understand?"
The Saibamen gibbered in response, and then leapt.
It was over in seconds, though it felt a lot longer, especially when everyone was moving at super speed. Gine gripped both Gohan's shoulders as the others fought. Tien took out his opponent in two blows. Chiaotzu froze his in place, which let Chi Chi slice through it as well as hers with her ki blade. Krillin vaporized his with a massive ki attack, and Kami dispatched his opponent with such clean efficiency that the Saibaman in question probably hadn't even noticed it was dead. Only Yamcha had any trouble.
"Yamcha, duck!" Gine shouted as the last Saibaman, perhaps sensing it was doomed anyway, leapt at him, preparing for a kamikaze attack. Yamcha dutifully ducked, and the Saibaman sailed over him, exploding in midair.
"Whoa," Yamcha breathed, standing up and following the explosion trail with wide eyes. He turned to Gine and gave her a shaky thumbs up. "Thanks, ma'am!"
"Tch!" Vegeta spat. "Useless."
"What the…?" Nappa gaped, blinking rapidly as he looked from Earthling to Earthling, before finally turning to Vegeta in shock. "I thought this planet was supposed to be full of weaklings!"
Vegeta was frowning thoughtfully at Gine, and did not answer his subordinate for a moment.
"Probably old information," he said, finally looking away from her. "Looks like you'll get a chance to stretch your legs after all."
Surprise quickly gave way to delight, and Nappa stepped forward, punching his open hand several times.
"All right! Which one of you wants to die first?"
