Sage stood on the edge of the deck, peering between the rails at the landscape beneath her. It was dazzling. She could see buildings and lakes and farms, all tiny little dots and squares far, far away. There were no people; they were too small. Same with hover cars. A few planes and ships could be seen, little specks flitting about beneath her.
There were, of course, planes and ships above them, too, but there was only sky above them. Much less interesting than what seemed to be the whole world stretched out beneath them.
The little hybrid had to admit that she was wrong. When her father told her that he was taking her and her sister on a ride on a zeppelin, she was more than a little nonplussed. Who wants to fly around in a glorified hot air balloon?
But the girl was elated. Still, on the other hand, she seemed somewhat disappointed. Her sister was afraid of being up so high. Or at least, that’s what Sage had decided. Zena wouldn’t go to the rails to look at the world beneath them. She was missing out. Instead, she just sat in the middle of the deck, reading. Bo-ring.
“Da-ad,” Sage called, looking up at the blond haired man, who seemed busy with something on his PDA. Her parents were always so busy. Her father shot her a sidelong glance, but his eyes stayed on the machine. Sage understood, though. Her parents were important people; they couldn’t help but be busy. Even so, it was disappointing to accept that she could only ever have half their attention. “How come the ground looks so... empty?”
Kirano sighed, and slipped his piece of shiny, black technology into his pocket. “Well,” he began, crossing to the handrails erected around the edge of the ship. He hefted up his daughter just high enough so she could see over the metal safety device. “Vegeta-Sei is... well, it’s not like Earth.”
“Where you and mom were from, right?” Sage interjected.
“...Yeah,” the blue eyed man confirmed. “The people here are... well, they’re violent. Destructive. Most settlements that get built - if they get built - are eventually destroyed from war or infighting-” he paused. His daughter was six, she didn’t know what he was talking about. “It’s not really their fault; it’s in their nature. Saiyans are just...” he sighed. “...I don’t know. I guess you could say they’re just angry people.”
“How come? Isn’t that bad for them? They’ll get hurt if they fight all the time, won’t they?”
“Well, yeah. But saiyans are a tough people. It takes a lot more to hurt them than it does most other people. But, you shouldn’t let that make you think they’re bad people, Sage. You’re part saiyan yourself. Saiyans are just... they’re very proud. They went through a lot to get where they are now,” Kirano smiled. “They’re good people, Sage. Strong, noble. They might fight a lot, but they stand up for what they believe in. You’ll have to do that, too, when you get old enough.”
“What should I stand up for?”
He laughed, and put her down. “Well, you’ll-”
- - - - -
She awoke with a start. Sage felt someone forcefully prodding at her back. But I just got to sleep, she silently whined. Still, the girl forced herself to stir, and rolled over onto her other side to see-
To see-
What?
Fuzzy became clear, and suddenly she found herself sure that Belle was there, in her bed, without any clothes on. He just stared back at her, before mumbling some kind of wheezing, unintelligible stammer, before he finally started shrieking at her.
Sage recoiled, and bashed her head against the wall behind her, as Belle twisted around on the bed, tangling his legs in the sheets as he tried to escape, only to topple forward, smashing chin-first onto the concrete floor.
The hybrid had curled into a ball, trembling in the corner of the room, on her bed. What... what was he doing?! She stared at his motionless form, and found herself relieved to see he was at least wearing pants.
Had he come to kill her? She had tried - very hard - to kill him, before. She had, Sage confessed to herself, totally lost her mind. The crystal haired girl wouldn’t have held it against him if he had decided to try to kill her in her sleep. She was a threat to him, and he to her. But still, Sage didn’t want to have to kill Belle, unless she really had to. The fact that she had terrorized him because she had allowed herself to indulge so voraciously her want for revenge bothered her more, in some ways, then murdering her two other opponents did. At least they fought and died without fear.
Of course, there was the other possibility. Belle might have been trying to...
Sage clutched at her head, fighting against the gathering snowstorm that already began to sprinkle flakes about the inside of the bunker. The thought that Belle might have tried to... to rape her struck out in her mind, as much as she knew it couldn’t be possible.
Why else would he have been in her bed, though? What other reason could there have been? If he wanted her dead, he wouldn’t have woken her. That meant that Sage had stumbled upon the only other possible explanation. Maybe that explained why he was so jittery all the time; he had singled her out at the start of the contest. He had groped her, and played it off as a bizarre accident. Sage had even believed it, then.
RUN!!!
The girl carefully slipped out of her bed, and stood over Belle’s unconscious body. He was still halfway in bed, his legs wrapped up in Sage’s sheets, his torso contorted uncomfortably, to connect to the rest of Belle, who rested his face and chest on the floor. Blood had spattered the grey concrete.
The idea was for Sage to run away without waking him up, but something kept her. To her quiet horror, she realized that, for once, her excitable terror had given way to reason, but it had done so out of malice.
She could run away from her would-be rapist, sure. Or she could kill him while he was vulnerable. Sage looked down at the redhead, still not offering any signs of consciousness. She would never get an opportunity like this again.
She watched him for a minute or so, sprawled out and helpless as he was. Finally, an unbridled sensation of fury, like the one she had felt when she thought she was fighting Sol, erupted from beneath her trepidation, and her paralyzing tomb of fear shattered around her.
In her good hand, a sinister-looking frozen spike materialized. She moved closer to Belle, got down on her knees, and carefully aimed her weapon. She would strike down, through his spine and into his heart, like a stake to a vampire. Sage would give Belle no chance to retaliate. He wouldn’t have given her the same chance, either.
Taking a deep breath, Sage raised up her hand, and made to plunge her spike into Belle’s flesh, but she froze. She stared, first at Belle, and then she shifted her focus to her hand - the one holding the spike.
She couldn’t look away, and for a long moment, she just sat there on her knees, until, finally, she cast the spike aside. Sage hugged herself to keep her hands from shaking, but it didn’t help. The girl bit her lip as her face contorted with guilt.
What was she becoming? Had she really just tried to kill a person because of something she thought he was going to do? Sage rubbed her eyes, and sighed. Just what the hell was she becoming?
She shook her head. She would find out what, exactly, Belle had been doing in her bed. She couldn’t just execute him. But first, he needed help.
Sage did her best to compose herself, and then pulled Belle’s legs off the bed, so he was at least lying in a somewhat comfortable position, before she held her hands over him. Her energy began to transfer to him, as her healing powers spilled forth from her palms.
There were, of course, planes and ships above them, too, but there was only sky above them. Much less interesting than what seemed to be the whole world stretched out beneath them.
The little hybrid had to admit that she was wrong. When her father told her that he was taking her and her sister on a ride on a zeppelin, she was more than a little nonplussed. Who wants to fly around in a glorified hot air balloon?
But the girl was elated. Still, on the other hand, she seemed somewhat disappointed. Her sister was afraid of being up so high. Or at least, that’s what Sage had decided. Zena wouldn’t go to the rails to look at the world beneath them. She was missing out. Instead, she just sat in the middle of the deck, reading. Bo-ring.
“Da-ad,” Sage called, looking up at the blond haired man, who seemed busy with something on his PDA. Her parents were always so busy. Her father shot her a sidelong glance, but his eyes stayed on the machine. Sage understood, though. Her parents were important people; they couldn’t help but be busy. Even so, it was disappointing to accept that she could only ever have half their attention. “How come the ground looks so... empty?”
Kirano sighed, and slipped his piece of shiny, black technology into his pocket. “Well,” he began, crossing to the handrails erected around the edge of the ship. He hefted up his daughter just high enough so she could see over the metal safety device. “Vegeta-Sei is... well, it’s not like Earth.”
“Where you and mom were from, right?” Sage interjected.
“...Yeah,” the blue eyed man confirmed. “The people here are... well, they’re violent. Destructive. Most settlements that get built - if they get built - are eventually destroyed from war or infighting-” he paused. His daughter was six, she didn’t know what he was talking about. “It’s not really their fault; it’s in their nature. Saiyans are just...” he sighed. “...I don’t know. I guess you could say they’re just angry people.”
“How come? Isn’t that bad for them? They’ll get hurt if they fight all the time, won’t they?”
“Well, yeah. But saiyans are a tough people. It takes a lot more to hurt them than it does most other people. But, you shouldn’t let that make you think they’re bad people, Sage. You’re part saiyan yourself. Saiyans are just... they’re very proud. They went through a lot to get where they are now,” Kirano smiled. “They’re good people, Sage. Strong, noble. They might fight a lot, but they stand up for what they believe in. You’ll have to do that, too, when you get old enough.”
“What should I stand up for?”
He laughed, and put her down. “Well, you’ll-”
- - - - -
She awoke with a start. Sage felt someone forcefully prodding at her back. But I just got to sleep, she silently whined. Still, the girl forced herself to stir, and rolled over onto her other side to see-
To see-
What?
Fuzzy became clear, and suddenly she found herself sure that Belle was there, in her bed, without any clothes on. He just stared back at her, before mumbling some kind of wheezing, unintelligible stammer, before he finally started shrieking at her.
Sage recoiled, and bashed her head against the wall behind her, as Belle twisted around on the bed, tangling his legs in the sheets as he tried to escape, only to topple forward, smashing chin-first onto the concrete floor.
The hybrid had curled into a ball, trembling in the corner of the room, on her bed. What... what was he doing?! She stared at his motionless form, and found herself relieved to see he was at least wearing pants.
Had he come to kill her? She had tried - very hard - to kill him, before. She had, Sage confessed to herself, totally lost her mind. The crystal haired girl wouldn’t have held it against him if he had decided to try to kill her in her sleep. She was a threat to him, and he to her. But still, Sage didn’t want to have to kill Belle, unless she really had to. The fact that she had terrorized him because she had allowed herself to indulge so voraciously her want for revenge bothered her more, in some ways, then murdering her two other opponents did. At least they fought and died without fear.
Of course, there was the other possibility. Belle might have been trying to...
Sage clutched at her head, fighting against the gathering snowstorm that already began to sprinkle flakes about the inside of the bunker. The thought that Belle might have tried to... to rape her struck out in her mind, as much as she knew it couldn’t be possible.
Why else would he have been in her bed, though? What other reason could there have been? If he wanted her dead, he wouldn’t have woken her. That meant that Sage had stumbled upon the only other possible explanation. Maybe that explained why he was so jittery all the time; he had singled her out at the start of the contest. He had groped her, and played it off as a bizarre accident. Sage had even believed it, then.
RUN!!!
The girl carefully slipped out of her bed, and stood over Belle’s unconscious body. He was still halfway in bed, his legs wrapped up in Sage’s sheets, his torso contorted uncomfortably, to connect to the rest of Belle, who rested his face and chest on the floor. Blood had spattered the grey concrete.
The idea was for Sage to run away without waking him up, but something kept her. To her quiet horror, she realized that, for once, her excitable terror had given way to reason, but it had done so out of malice.
She could run away from her would-be rapist, sure. Or she could kill him while he was vulnerable. Sage looked down at the redhead, still not offering any signs of consciousness. She would never get an opportunity like this again.
She watched him for a minute or so, sprawled out and helpless as he was. Finally, an unbridled sensation of fury, like the one she had felt when she thought she was fighting Sol, erupted from beneath her trepidation, and her paralyzing tomb of fear shattered around her.
In her good hand, a sinister-looking frozen spike materialized. She moved closer to Belle, got down on her knees, and carefully aimed her weapon. She would strike down, through his spine and into his heart, like a stake to a vampire. Sage would give Belle no chance to retaliate. He wouldn’t have given her the same chance, either.
Taking a deep breath, Sage raised up her hand, and made to plunge her spike into Belle’s flesh, but she froze. She stared, first at Belle, and then she shifted her focus to her hand - the one holding the spike.
She couldn’t look away, and for a long moment, she just sat there on her knees, until, finally, she cast the spike aside. Sage hugged herself to keep her hands from shaking, but it didn’t help. The girl bit her lip as her face contorted with guilt.
What was she becoming? Had she really just tried to kill a person because of something she thought he was going to do? Sage rubbed her eyes, and sighed. Just what the hell was she becoming?
She shook her head. She would find out what, exactly, Belle had been doing in her bed. She couldn’t just execute him. But first, he needed help.
Sage did her best to compose herself, and then pulled Belle’s legs off the bed, so he was at least lying in a somewhat comfortable position, before she held her hands over him. Her energy began to transfer to him, as her healing powers spilled forth from her palms.
![[Image: Sage.jpg]](http://rebecca.florizone.com/sig/miscsig/Sage.jpg)