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"Your majesty..your majesty," shouted a soldier. "The next heir in line for the throne has been born!" "Excellent! And it is?" The soldier said, "Pardon..me..for..a..moment," he paused for a couple of deep breaths and continued, "The queen died, sir. But she left behind a reminder. She's given you a girl, sir, a fine healthy princess." King Vegeta got up out of his seat and hurried over to the hospital wing. "I am sorry," said one of the doctors, "but your wife didn't make it--we couldn't save her. But look at your daughter. She's a beauty." He pointed to the crib next to him. The baby was awake, alert, and unusually quiet. Her eyes were a dazzling emerald green, and her hair a silky black. "Out of the way, out of the way," King Vegeta turned his head and noticed his son had heard the news as well, and was pushing his way there. "So it's true. A princess. Well, about time. And don't you think she'll grow up to be queen?" King Vegeta said, "Son, you're first in line, you're the eldest, you're the example-setter. You will rule the saiyans. Sooner than I think. I only hope.." "Me? King? You've got to be joking. Do you know how much I LOATHE authority figures? And, let me remind you that there may not be any kingdom to rule, if Frieza has his way." At that moment, who should walk up but Frieza himself. "Well, well, well..a little princess. You must have so much planned for her. I can tell that she's got a big part in the future..and what is her name?" King Vegeta crossed his arms and thought for a moment, then suddenly, out of nowhere it appeared. "Echo," he said calmly. **13 years later** By the time she was thirteen, Echo had more power over the weakling guards than Frieza did. Whatever Echo said, they did. In fact, when she had been eight or nine, she had had them paint themselves red and green for Christmas. The year she turned ten, the prank was a giant electronic snowman causing havoc in the kitchens. Eleven..well, you get the idea. The thing was, she was turning into a Fred-and-George (if you don't know, I won't tell you) kind of person. Practical jokes at every turn. Strangely, Frieza encouraged this behavior. When Zarbon asked him about this, he just said, "It keeps the guards on their toes." But this year, Echo wouldn't have a chance to scheme another practical joke. This year, apparently, she'd be entering some kind of universe-wide tournament. This would be a chance for the guards to change the locks on their doors. It would take place on a planet--not actually a planet, but a spaceship large enough to be one--that was called, for some odd reason, The Center Of The Universe (picture the Four Corners, quadrant-wise). This happened to be a very, very hard tournament to get into, mainly because the same guy--Coron--had won for the last hundred years. That being said, they seemingly only took very large people who wouldn't lose quickly--which had almost gotten Echo kicked out, as she was small and a girl to boot. Upon entering the waiting room, Echo noticed that almost everyone gave her a shifty look--the classic "Am-I-going-to-have-to-fight-this-runt?" look. The one who didn't give her that look cracked his knuckles as if to intimidate her. This was, after all, a fight-to-the-death tournament. The fights almost ran by, Echo quickly rose up through the ranks, until it was just she and Coron left. His expression was that of surprise and shock. How, he wondered, could this little girl be that powerful? No matter. She'll be gone soon. As the two of them entered the arena, Echo was suddenly aware that the crowd was throwing things at her. She couldn't stand it, and therefore, an eighth of the audience was removed. The fight began. Coron attacked her wildly, punches here and there--which were easily avoided, being that he was huge, and Echo was maybe four foot ten. He did, however, seem to have his guard up and therefore, Echo couldn't yet figure out his weak point, as she was busy dodging his attacks. Suddenly it came to her. That's it! When he attacks... She went on the offensive and saw that he left no side unguarded, no space unaccounted for. This guy knew what he was doing. Finally, she noticed that he was an exceptionally slow attacker (and most of the fighters that had been there were the same). She turned her back to him, and looked at a bug crawling across the arena's floor for the split second until Coron attacked, in which she managed to land a well-placed blow that made him breathless for maybe a minute. Then Echo fired a Big Bang attack (the saiyan's trademark, next to the tail, I believe) and Coron was off his feet and bleeding all over the place. The crowd began chanting for Echo to kill him. But did she? No. She considered herself above such things--at least, now, when Frieza wouldn't dare say anything, for fear of bad publicity. She merely bowed once to the crowd and walked back into the waiting room. "It seems you're a sentimental saiyan. That's not a good thing to be. Certain..kinds of people will play on that weakness, and you may find yourself in a spot that only brute strength can get you out of." Echo said, "Yes, well, sir, I'll just deal with that when the time comes." "You never know. It might happen today, tomorrow, three or four years from now.." |