A/N: This is written in response to the prompt 'alert' for Maddie-san's Blue & Black community on livejournal. I finished it an hour ago and thought I would post it, I hope it's ok because it's 2:51 AM here in 'lil old New Zealand! Also, I'm so glad that Microsoft Word does that autosave thing, because I very nearly lost this when my computer spontaneously restarted…

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball Z.

Rebel

Vegeta waited patiently, watching from beneath the cover of darkness. When the last technician finally left the lab he wasted no time, creeping silently forward and entering the access code into the lock. The door opened with a hiss, and he slipped inside.

He locked the door behind him.

His eyes scanned the room quickly, his tail unraveling from around his waist to twitch nervously behind him. The tail acted as a safety mechanism, its sensitive hairs picking up on the slightest changes in air current. In this dangerous game of defection it was vital that he remained alert.

His eyes locked onto the large computer in the back corner of the room, and he immediately stalked towards his target. Frieza was an even greater fool than he expected; the lizard overlord had already been hit by five separate attacks on his labs, and yet he continued to have them built in exactly the same design. The supercomputer always sat in the back right corner, always surrounded by the pathetic security system that was easy enough to foil.

It took no more than a second to disable the pathetic lasers, and then Vegeta was at the keyboard, using all the skills that he had picked up over the years to hack into the mainframe network on this latest planet that Frieza had acquired for himself. Vegeta snorted as he recalled Raditz' recent joke- "Hey Vegeta, Frieza goes through more planets than I do women"- which was true. When it came to planets, Frieza was never satisfied. Number 79 may have caught the lizard's attention for now, but Vegeta knew for a fact that it would not be long before the emperor moved on once again.

He was about to introduce a nasty virus- one that he had acquired through his web of contacts- into the system, when his ears picked up on something. His eyes widened as he heard footsteps approaching the lab door, and his heart began to race. He quickly abandoned his task, erasing all the evidence that he could, before rolling under a nearby desk, just as he heard the familiar tone of the access code outside.

The door hissed open.

He recognised her smell immediately. In the week that he had spent spying on the lab technicians, this Earthling female had stood out. Despite the fact that her planet had been purged, she still held her head high. He had no doubt that she was bitter and twisted about the fate of her race- they all were- but it was obvious that she still had her pride.

He swallowed, his mouth suddenly feeling very dry. The woman's heels clicked silently along the lab's tiles, and Vegeta could see in his mind the way she moved, even though she was not within his current line of sight. She would be wearing her blue hair tied back in a messy pony, and her voluptuous curves would be hidden by the plain white cape that was standard issue for all of Frieza's scientists.

He knew, however, what lay underneath that white sack of fabric. In a moment of utter insanity he had followed her back to her apartment the night before. She hadn't bothered to cover her single window, and from the darkness he had watched her undress.

He had never seen a female quite like her.

Her form came into view, red heels glimmering in the artificial light. He wondered why she wore such impractical footwear, even though he already knew the answer. It was her rebellion against Frieza, of that he was sure. She should have been in her standard-issue boots; instead she tottered around on those ridiculous things.

His rebellion went a little further. He'd sabotaged countless databases, doing more and more damage to the empire as his skills gradually improved. For now attacking Frieza electronically was all he could do; he was not yet a Super Saiyan, and until he attained that legendary form, fighting Frieza in person was not an option.

The Earth woman's hips were swaying to a beat he could hear quite well, for the headphones in her ears were blaring foreign music loudly. He did not recognize the music, nor the symbols on the device that the noise originated from, which she held in one hand. He guessed that it was Earth technology, and wondered where she had obtained it. Surely she knew that she would be killed if she was found with such contraband?

He scowled, biting down on the insides of his cheeks suddenly. Here he was, hiding under a fucking table, and his thoughts were drifting to her music device! He should have been using the opportunity to kill her swiftly, before making his escape. It was clear that she was not aware of her surroundings, and someone who failed to protect themselves deserved to die.

So why was he still lying there, his face pressed to the dusty floor, watching her round ass move to the music?

Why did he marvel at the colour of her hair? Why did he continue to savour her scent, to long for her taste on his tongue?

Her heels clicked against the floor once more, carrying her closer and closer to him. He lay there frozen, his heart beating wildly as he battled with himself. Never had he questioned a decision to kill, and yet here he torn between two choices. Suddenly the second option, the one to let her live, seemed to outweigh the first.

But how could he see leaving her alive as a choice? He was certain that she hadn't seen him, but if she had…

She had to die.

He formed a ki blast in his hand. It was weak, but strong enough to kill a weakling like her. But at that very moment she crouched down under the desk, her blue eyes meeting his with a look so fierce and defiant that he forgot to breathe for a moment.

"Don't kill me, soldier," she whispered. "I've been watching you for years now. We want the same thing."

The ki ball grew out of pure instinct, as he processed her words. She knew. She knew!

How many others knew?

He growled, moving quickly to pin her to the ground. He lay on top of her, snarling at her, furious at this blue haired bitch who dared to say she had been watching him.

Who else knew?

"I want to help you!" she whispered loudly. "Please! It's only me! I'm the only one who knows!"

The ki ball grew bigger.

"I'll help you become a Super Saiyan!"

He didn't even try to hide the shock on his face. The ki ball disappeared and he half fell forward, barely managing to brace himself before his head hit hers. "What?" he hissed incredulously.

"I'll help…"

"I know what you said!" he hissed. "How is it that you know? How the fuck do you know?"

She bit her bottom lip, and he fought the sudden urge to bite it. He felt as if he was going mad… was this woman a sorceress? She had bewitched him somehow, of that he was certain.

"I knew a Saiyan once," she whispered quietly. "On Earth. He lost his memories somehow, but I found his ship, a long time ago. I read all the files. I watched all the films that had been sent with him. I knew about you Saiyans long before Frieza reached Earth." Her eyes were wet now, shimmering with tears. "I know your people are violent, but I fell in love with your legends anyway. Especially the one about the Super Saiyan."

He stared at her. He tried to form words, but his mouth failed him.

"I'll help you," she whispered. "I know you're the one."

"Why?" he asked. Why help him? Did she not realise that he was a killer? That he could easily tear her to shreds?

"Why not?" she replied. "What do we have to lose?"

Our lives, he thought. But as she pulled his head down, crushing her lips against his own, he thought that perhaps it would be worth it.