“So, why that one?” Rosemary pointed at the blue haired girl on the screen with a frown. “She’s played out. Yeah, she’s obviously scared, but she can’t even defend herself. What could she possibly do for the fan base?”
“Some people are into the defenseless victim thing, you know?” Kai responded. “Vicariously experiencing absolute power over a totally helpless victim.”
“...That’s twisted,”
“So executing someone who can fight is any different? Besides, I’m not too hung up on killing her, so long as her ratings don’t tank,” the wealthy businessman replied with a smirk.
“Then what do you want with her?”
Kai leaned back in his chair, and placed one hand on the other. “I want her to break.”
- - - -
The unlikely saiyan princess slogged along behind the others, news of Tempo’s death ringing in her head, her shoes making horrible squishing noises as she went. With every step, water sloshed out of her ruined sneakers. Her clothes were so heavy, she had trouble keeping up with the group, but the girl wasn’t about to take off her sweater - she lacked an undershirt.
Rose wasn’t much more excited about the situation. She, too, clomped along, making wet, squishy noises as she went. But at least she hadn’t panicked and embarrassed herself over a tiny little crustacean, which now resided, remarkably calmly, on Ashe’s shoulder.
“Hey, uh,” the ‘stronger’ pink haired girl tossed her head over her shoulder to address Sage. “I figured I could make it back there. This island’s really screwing with my flying. It’s like you get pushed around all of a sudden.”
“It’s fine...” the hybrid scanned the ground for a moment before mustering the courage to look up at Rose. “You... were just trying to help me.”
“So, what’s the deal?” inquired the more powerful bubblegum twin. Sage tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. Rose stifled a sigh of exasperation. “You look so upset all the time. You worry a lot.”
“I...” the little heiress looked away for a moment, before returning her gaze. Rose’s expression was expectant, awaiting an answer. An answer Sage had never given to anyone - ever - except her sister. “It’s... nothing.”
“What?” came the retort. The descendent of Super Buu crossed her arms and pouted. “I’m not stupid.”
“I- I didn’t mean-”
“Just tell me!” Rose insisted. She wasn’t really terribly interested to begin with, but now that Sage was obviously withholding information, she wasn’t about to let the blue haired girl get away without talking.
What is your problem!? the girl mentally screamed, only to realize that she had telepathically demanded that of everyone around her. Sage’s eyes went wide. “Sorry! I didn’t- it’s just- it’s... hard to...”
Thoughts of the horrific events of her thirteenth birthday raced through her head, causing her to turn away from the others. Why!? she mentally projected, this time uncaring of who heard what. You should have just left me alone!!
- - - -
She was in her room. The party was still winding down, but Sage was bored. Sitting in her chair with her feet on her desk, she idly waved her hand about, causing thin trails of frost to appear on the walls, as if she was drawing with them. She traced an ‘s,’ followed by a more different ‘s.’ She closed it up real good at the top for his head, and then, using consummate ‘v’s, she added teeth, ‘spine-idies,’ and angry eyebrows. Unsatisfied, she added smoke and fire, and some wings, deciding it was a wing-a-ling dragon, and a single beefy arm for good measure. It looked really good, coming out of the back of his neck, there.
A knock sounded at the door. “Sage? Zena? It’s Aurry,” came the familiar voice. The blue haired teen went to the door, pulling it open for the man. He was not a terribly large man, but he was a saiyan pure-blood and possessed the ability to become a super saiyan. His real name was ‘Aurelius’ but he found it too formal for his position; he was the bodyguard for the children of the King.
“Hi!” the girl exclaimed with a broad smile. She’d taken an immediate liking to Aurry when he’d started his job four years ago. He was fun, and wasn’t as strict as their previous bodyguard had been.
“...Where’s Zena?” he demanded, narrowing his eyes.
“I dunno, I guess she’s still with the other kids,” Sage shrugged.
“Why aren’t you there? It’s your birthday,” Aurry retorted.
She shrugged again. “I’m bored. It’s been like four hours since it started. Do you like my Trogdor?” she pointed at the wall with a smirk.
“There isn’t any time...” the bodyguard murmured, having intended for Sage not to hear it. She looked up at him, quizzically. Her curious expression changed to a look of concern when his visage darkened. His eyes suddenly burned with malice, and he-
- - - -
“Dammit!!” Sage hissed, fighting away her thoughts. Her tears stung fiercely against her flesh. Why the hell did she have to go and drag up- she suddenly realized Ashe was gently shaking her. Her anger faded away as she looked at all the faces looking at her. Ashe, Rose, and Oliver. Guilt set in as she conceded that these people were just trying to help. Even Oliver, though he refused to show it. Kazuya, she just scoffed.
Mercifully breaking the tension, the dog who had befriended the ex-detective began to bark and growl as though it had gone mad. “Shut up,” Oliver breathed, taking another drag on his nearly-finished cigarette. The mutt continued to bellow, much to the cop’s severe annoyance. “Shut up, dog!” he growled, swiping at the animal. The animal ceased barking, but it began whining instead. “Son of a-” Oliver stopped himself. This dog was just exceptionally stupid.
Kazuya, however, hadn’t dismissed the dog’s barking so quickly. She’d learned all kinds of tricks before the advent of the technologies so many in her trade hopelessly depended on these days. Dogs, she knew, were invaluable scouts, guards, and trackers. Their senses - especially smell - were far superior to any human’s. She sneered at Oliver’s oversight. Maybe the dog had seen something. Maybe it smelled something coming. She wasn’t about to discard that possibility, and her vigilance increased significantly.
“I’m sorry,” Sage addressed Rose and Ashe together. “It’s just... something... happened,” she closed her eyes, fighting back a wave of tears as she took in a deep breath. “It happened... a long time ago. It’s... too hard to talk about.”
There was silence among the three girls for a moment. Even Rose was unsure of how to respond. “Well... we’d better keep going. This Kai guy obviously isn’t going to let us stop playing his game,” she angrily declared.
“Kai...” the coral eyed girl whispered. “Tempo was... he was... good. He can’t...” she struggled to put words together, but found only unintelligible sounds as she floundered suddenly.
“Yeah, Sage,” Ashe nodded. “We know.”
“We’ll get him back,” Rose added. “And I’ll be the one who gets him!” she puffed up, determination in her eyes. Sage wasn’t so sure, but she nodded along, offering a grateful smile. Finally, the trio scampered after Oliver and Kazuya, who had put a fair bit of distance behind them during the conversation.
You saved my life, Tempo, Sage considered as she hurried after the others. ...I won’t forget.
“Some people are into the defenseless victim thing, you know?” Kai responded. “Vicariously experiencing absolute power over a totally helpless victim.”
“...That’s twisted,”
“So executing someone who can fight is any different? Besides, I’m not too hung up on killing her, so long as her ratings don’t tank,” the wealthy businessman replied with a smirk.
“Then what do you want with her?”
Kai leaned back in his chair, and placed one hand on the other. “I want her to break.”
- - - -
The unlikely saiyan princess slogged along behind the others, news of Tempo’s death ringing in her head, her shoes making horrible squishing noises as she went. With every step, water sloshed out of her ruined sneakers. Her clothes were so heavy, she had trouble keeping up with the group, but the girl wasn’t about to take off her sweater - she lacked an undershirt.
Rose wasn’t much more excited about the situation. She, too, clomped along, making wet, squishy noises as she went. But at least she hadn’t panicked and embarrassed herself over a tiny little crustacean, which now resided, remarkably calmly, on Ashe’s shoulder.
“Hey, uh,” the ‘stronger’ pink haired girl tossed her head over her shoulder to address Sage. “I figured I could make it back there. This island’s really screwing with my flying. It’s like you get pushed around all of a sudden.”
“It’s fine...” the hybrid scanned the ground for a moment before mustering the courage to look up at Rose. “You... were just trying to help me.”
“So, what’s the deal?” inquired the more powerful bubblegum twin. Sage tilted her head and narrowed her eyes. Rose stifled a sigh of exasperation. “You look so upset all the time. You worry a lot.”
“I...” the little heiress looked away for a moment, before returning her gaze. Rose’s expression was expectant, awaiting an answer. An answer Sage had never given to anyone - ever - except her sister. “It’s... nothing.”
“What?” came the retort. The descendent of Super Buu crossed her arms and pouted. “I’m not stupid.”
“I- I didn’t mean-”
“Just tell me!” Rose insisted. She wasn’t really terribly interested to begin with, but now that Sage was obviously withholding information, she wasn’t about to let the blue haired girl get away without talking.
What is your problem!? the girl mentally screamed, only to realize that she had telepathically demanded that of everyone around her. Sage’s eyes went wide. “Sorry! I didn’t- it’s just- it’s... hard to...”
Thoughts of the horrific events of her thirteenth birthday raced through her head, causing her to turn away from the others. Why!? she mentally projected, this time uncaring of who heard what. You should have just left me alone!!
- - - -
She was in her room. The party was still winding down, but Sage was bored. Sitting in her chair with her feet on her desk, she idly waved her hand about, causing thin trails of frost to appear on the walls, as if she was drawing with them. She traced an ‘s,’ followed by a more different ‘s.’ She closed it up real good at the top for his head, and then, using consummate ‘v’s, she added teeth, ‘spine-idies,’ and angry eyebrows. Unsatisfied, she added smoke and fire, and some wings, deciding it was a wing-a-ling dragon, and a single beefy arm for good measure. It looked really good, coming out of the back of his neck, there.
A knock sounded at the door. “Sage? Zena? It’s Aurry,” came the familiar voice. The blue haired teen went to the door, pulling it open for the man. He was not a terribly large man, but he was a saiyan pure-blood and possessed the ability to become a super saiyan. His real name was ‘Aurelius’ but he found it too formal for his position; he was the bodyguard for the children of the King.
“Hi!” the girl exclaimed with a broad smile. She’d taken an immediate liking to Aurry when he’d started his job four years ago. He was fun, and wasn’t as strict as their previous bodyguard had been.
“...Where’s Zena?” he demanded, narrowing his eyes.
“I dunno, I guess she’s still with the other kids,” Sage shrugged.
“Why aren’t you there? It’s your birthday,” Aurry retorted.
She shrugged again. “I’m bored. It’s been like four hours since it started. Do you like my Trogdor?” she pointed at the wall with a smirk.
“There isn’t any time...” the bodyguard murmured, having intended for Sage not to hear it. She looked up at him, quizzically. Her curious expression changed to a look of concern when his visage darkened. His eyes suddenly burned with malice, and he-
- - - -
“Dammit!!” Sage hissed, fighting away her thoughts. Her tears stung fiercely against her flesh. Why the hell did she have to go and drag up- she suddenly realized Ashe was gently shaking her. Her anger faded away as she looked at all the faces looking at her. Ashe, Rose, and Oliver. Guilt set in as she conceded that these people were just trying to help. Even Oliver, though he refused to show it. Kazuya, she just scoffed.
Mercifully breaking the tension, the dog who had befriended the ex-detective began to bark and growl as though it had gone mad. “Shut up,” Oliver breathed, taking another drag on his nearly-finished cigarette. The mutt continued to bellow, much to the cop’s severe annoyance. “Shut up, dog!” he growled, swiping at the animal. The animal ceased barking, but it began whining instead. “Son of a-” Oliver stopped himself. This dog was just exceptionally stupid.
Kazuya, however, hadn’t dismissed the dog’s barking so quickly. She’d learned all kinds of tricks before the advent of the technologies so many in her trade hopelessly depended on these days. Dogs, she knew, were invaluable scouts, guards, and trackers. Their senses - especially smell - were far superior to any human’s. She sneered at Oliver’s oversight. Maybe the dog had seen something. Maybe it smelled something coming. She wasn’t about to discard that possibility, and her vigilance increased significantly.
“I’m sorry,” Sage addressed Rose and Ashe together. “It’s just... something... happened,” she closed her eyes, fighting back a wave of tears as she took in a deep breath. “It happened... a long time ago. It’s... too hard to talk about.”
There was silence among the three girls for a moment. Even Rose was unsure of how to respond. “Well... we’d better keep going. This Kai guy obviously isn’t going to let us stop playing his game,” she angrily declared.
“Kai...” the coral eyed girl whispered. “Tempo was... he was... good. He can’t...” she struggled to put words together, but found only unintelligible sounds as she floundered suddenly.
“Yeah, Sage,” Ashe nodded. “We know.”
“We’ll get him back,” Rose added. “And I’ll be the one who gets him!” she puffed up, determination in her eyes. Sage wasn’t so sure, but she nodded along, offering a grateful smile. Finally, the trio scampered after Oliver and Kazuya, who had put a fair bit of distance behind them during the conversation.
You saved my life, Tempo, Sage considered as she hurried after the others. ...I won’t forget.
![[Image: Sage.jpg]](http://rebecca.florizone.com/sig/miscsig/Sage.jpg)