Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ.
Author's Notes: Hello? Is anyone out there? Please review. I hope you like this chapter. It explains a whole bunch.
Chapter 2: A Story
"In a time before I heard of earth, before Planet Vegeta was destroyed, I was considered the strongest, the Prince of all Saiyans. My power and my destiny were never questioned. I was destined to be the first in thousands of years to ascend to the level of Super Saiyan. I know this transformation seems almost commonplace now, but then, it was the sole hope of the Saiyan race. Even as a baby my power and potential were gauged as superior. I was the pride of my family, but three years after this pride came shame.
In those days, a Saiyan's highest transformation was Oozaru. Yet, there were some Saiyans born deformed, without tails. This was a sign of weakness. Most of the deformed were killed at birth. However, sometimes a child could not simply be disposed of. Such was the case of my sister.
Yes, my sister. She was a member of the royal family. She could not be disposed of like a peasant child. I was three at the time, yet I still remember her as a baby - a whiny, puny little thing. But, even though every teaching told me to hate her, I could not. As she grew, she constantly pestered me to train her, and I could not refuse. I trained her, and she grew stronger. No matter how strange she looked, she was definitely a Saiyan, with a thirst for battle and challenge.
I still remember the day she became a princess. The title was not given to her. King Vegeta would not allow it. She was not considered a warrior either. But I prepared her to fight for both titles. And she earned them in a fight before the king, at the age of six.
Not long afterwards I was enlisted in Frieza's elite fighting force. My sister was furious, and I was told later that she killed one of Frieza's soldiers in her rage.
I didn't see her again until the day I found out about Planet Vegeta's destruction. Frieza had called me into his throne room to inform me personally. I believe he had a sadistic thrill from telling me, and watching me struggle to keep my horror and grief at bay. As I stood there, with the other warriors making wagers about if I would break down into tears, two warriors dragged my struggling sister in the room. She saw me, and quickly broke free of her captors. Frieza was intrigued by her spirit, and let her enlist in the elite fighting force and stay with me.
We did everything together, being the only royal Saiyans in existence. We trained, we fought, we killed. I remember our arguments as we grew older. We would argue at the tops of our lungs - and end up pounding on each other. Every fight ended in a draw. We'd refuse to speak for several hours, but would call a truce until next time. Besides my advantage in Oozaru form, we were a perfect match in strength and skill.
Those arguments helped us vent frustration. As we grew older, we realized we were slaves to Frieza. He was using us, and we were letting him. We hated it, but we had different ways of rebelling.
My sister's only yearning was for freedom. She did not understand that I was submitting to Frieza's rule as a means to an end. I was using my missions to train. I was simply waiting for the right time - the right opportunity - to overthrow Frieza."
Vegeta spoke with a quiet intensity. What began as a reluctant monologue was now an unstoppable outpouring of a long-hidden past.
"Instead of following my example, my sister spent her time in research - and writing. Of course she kept up with me in training, but she also researched how Frieza had amassed such a huge empire - and why all the warriors who worked for him didn't simply gang up against him. She wrote all her findings in a text, and was preparing to use her research to rally all warriors against Frieza.
Frieza found out.
One day, Frieza called every warrior not on a mission into his throne room. He described a plot against him, in the form of a certain manuscript. He called me forward, saying it was my turn to execute a traitor. Then he called the author forward. Without a moment's pause my sister stepped forward."
Vegeta's voice was gruff - gruffer than usual. His hands were clenched into fists, and a slow tear was escaping one eye. Trunks looked away in embarrassment, but Vegeta was lost, unaware of anything but the visions from his past.
"My sister openly denounced Frieza, calling him a coward, saying that new ideas were a threat to his power. She called all warriors to rise up against him. They didn't, not surprisingly. Then she called me to join her. I didn't know what to do. If I joined with her we would both be killed, and lose the chance to overthrow Frieza. I couldn't let that happen. The only alternative was to kill her. So I did. But not without betrayal. I tried to take her down in a fair fight, but, as usual, we were a perfect match. I had to turn Oozaru, something I'd vowed never to do to her.
Before I truly killed her, I changed back. There she lay broken at my feet, cursing me and cursing Frieza. She told me that she would find a way to surpass death so she could take revenge on her two killers: Frieza - and me."
Vegeta's throat constricted as he bit back an involuntary sob. He couldn't remember the last time he had let himself get so overcome with emotion. Trunks occasionally wiped a fugitive tear from his own face, waiting for his father to regain composure. If Vegeta saw his son crying, he might close up again - become distant.
"I didn't watch her die. I couldn't stand it. I left the room, ignoring the laughter at the pathetic scene. I can't remember much after that. I found later that her body had been disintegrated. I threw away all her things except for her diary. I've kept it, but I haven't read it."
Vegeta, no longer crying, rose from the cool grass. His emotions were spent, leaving him exhausted and yearning for sleep. Trunks rose as well and asked, "Dad? What was her name?"
Vegeta looked down and gave a ghost of a smile. "Her name was Jita."
Author's Notes: Hello? Is anyone out there? Please review. I hope you like this chapter. It explains a whole bunch.
Chapter 2: A Story
"In a time before I heard of earth, before Planet Vegeta was destroyed, I was considered the strongest, the Prince of all Saiyans. My power and my destiny were never questioned. I was destined to be the first in thousands of years to ascend to the level of Super Saiyan. I know this transformation seems almost commonplace now, but then, it was the sole hope of the Saiyan race. Even as a baby my power and potential were gauged as superior. I was the pride of my family, but three years after this pride came shame.
In those days, a Saiyan's highest transformation was Oozaru. Yet, there were some Saiyans born deformed, without tails. This was a sign of weakness. Most of the deformed were killed at birth. However, sometimes a child could not simply be disposed of. Such was the case of my sister.
Yes, my sister. She was a member of the royal family. She could not be disposed of like a peasant child. I was three at the time, yet I still remember her as a baby - a whiny, puny little thing. But, even though every teaching told me to hate her, I could not. As she grew, she constantly pestered me to train her, and I could not refuse. I trained her, and she grew stronger. No matter how strange she looked, she was definitely a Saiyan, with a thirst for battle and challenge.
I still remember the day she became a princess. The title was not given to her. King Vegeta would not allow it. She was not considered a warrior either. But I prepared her to fight for both titles. And she earned them in a fight before the king, at the age of six.
Not long afterwards I was enlisted in Frieza's elite fighting force. My sister was furious, and I was told later that she killed one of Frieza's soldiers in her rage.
I didn't see her again until the day I found out about Planet Vegeta's destruction. Frieza had called me into his throne room to inform me personally. I believe he had a sadistic thrill from telling me, and watching me struggle to keep my horror and grief at bay. As I stood there, with the other warriors making wagers about if I would break down into tears, two warriors dragged my struggling sister in the room. She saw me, and quickly broke free of her captors. Frieza was intrigued by her spirit, and let her enlist in the elite fighting force and stay with me.
We did everything together, being the only royal Saiyans in existence. We trained, we fought, we killed. I remember our arguments as we grew older. We would argue at the tops of our lungs - and end up pounding on each other. Every fight ended in a draw. We'd refuse to speak for several hours, but would call a truce until next time. Besides my advantage in Oozaru form, we were a perfect match in strength and skill.
Those arguments helped us vent frustration. As we grew older, we realized we were slaves to Frieza. He was using us, and we were letting him. We hated it, but we had different ways of rebelling.
My sister's only yearning was for freedom. She did not understand that I was submitting to Frieza's rule as a means to an end. I was using my missions to train. I was simply waiting for the right time - the right opportunity - to overthrow Frieza."
Vegeta spoke with a quiet intensity. What began as a reluctant monologue was now an unstoppable outpouring of a long-hidden past.
"Instead of following my example, my sister spent her time in research - and writing. Of course she kept up with me in training, but she also researched how Frieza had amassed such a huge empire - and why all the warriors who worked for him didn't simply gang up against him. She wrote all her findings in a text, and was preparing to use her research to rally all warriors against Frieza.
Frieza found out.
One day, Frieza called every warrior not on a mission into his throne room. He described a plot against him, in the form of a certain manuscript. He called me forward, saying it was my turn to execute a traitor. Then he called the author forward. Without a moment's pause my sister stepped forward."
Vegeta's voice was gruff - gruffer than usual. His hands were clenched into fists, and a slow tear was escaping one eye. Trunks looked away in embarrassment, but Vegeta was lost, unaware of anything but the visions from his past.
"My sister openly denounced Frieza, calling him a coward, saying that new ideas were a threat to his power. She called all warriors to rise up against him. They didn't, not surprisingly. Then she called me to join her. I didn't know what to do. If I joined with her we would both be killed, and lose the chance to overthrow Frieza. I couldn't let that happen. The only alternative was to kill her. So I did. But not without betrayal. I tried to take her down in a fair fight, but, as usual, we were a perfect match. I had to turn Oozaru, something I'd vowed never to do to her.
Before I truly killed her, I changed back. There she lay broken at my feet, cursing me and cursing Frieza. She told me that she would find a way to surpass death so she could take revenge on her two killers: Frieza - and me."
Vegeta's throat constricted as he bit back an involuntary sob. He couldn't remember the last time he had let himself get so overcome with emotion. Trunks occasionally wiped a fugitive tear from his own face, waiting for his father to regain composure. If Vegeta saw his son crying, he might close up again - become distant.
"I didn't watch her die. I couldn't stand it. I left the room, ignoring the laughter at the pathetic scene. I can't remember much after that. I found later that her body had been disintegrated. I threw away all her things except for her diary. I've kept it, but I haven't read it."
Vegeta, no longer crying, rose from the cool grass. His emotions were spent, leaving him exhausted and yearning for sleep. Trunks rose as well and asked, "Dad? What was her name?"
Vegeta looked down and gave a ghost of a smile. "Her name was Jita."
