Chapter 1: The World is Shades of Gray
Chapter Text
An alarm rattled through my head more than it usually did in the morning. Blearily I reached out, trying to find my glasses in the odd darkness; distantly I thought my room would normally be brighter. My hand hit a wall, and I blinked harder, pressing my hands flush against the wall. Rolling over— turning around —I reached out once more, only to get the same result. A wall.
Panic brewed in my chest, desperately I pushed at the walls that seemed to press in on me. It was too dark and the space all too small. Balling my hand into a fist I punched through the wall with surprising ease. Fueled by a desperation to get out of the suffocating environment, I kept hitting at the walls. Until nothing kept me from getting out, clumsily I fell out tumbling onto the floor with a dull thunk.
I whipped my head around taking in my surroundings; the room was weird, made mostly of metal and there were various tubes all around—not the room I fell asleep in. Now that I could see, I saw where the annoying noise was coming from. Glancing up at the flashing red light on the wall, I assumed it was some kind of fire alarm. Hurrying to the door, as I approached it slid open; on unsure feet, I ran.
The hallway was just as strange, if not stranger than the room I had just been in. As I ran down the hall I came face to face with a bunch of aliens in oddly familiar clothing. A small squeak escaped my throat and I bolted down another corridor, leaving the group floundering. My heart raced as the group gave chase, “What did I do to deserve this?”
Kidnapped by aliens and stranded on some kind of planet or spaceship—it was impossible to tell. I needed to find somewhere to hide, so I could figure out what was going on. Running further down the hall I ran through one of the doors that lined the hallways, hoping I picked one that I could hide in. I froze, eyes locking on the lone figure in the room.
Staring at the figure in the glass, I recognized him; although I had never seen him like this—so small. I quickly moved to the side not wanting to get caught by someone far stronger than me. Frieza was not behind the glass tube, I blinked moving back in front of the glass. Frieza’s impossibly small form followed my movements; I scrunched up my face, and Fireza did too.
It hit me all at once, I had been reincarnated as Frieza, arguably the most evil person in Dragon Ball. I cursed myself, “Why couldn’t I get someone easy like Gohan or something?”
Irritation festered in my chest, there had to be something more I could do besides swearing about the situation in my head, “What would be the best thing to do in this situation? In most stories I read the main characters would try to help and fix parts of the future. What can I do—”
I had failed to register the aliens that had come barging into the room before it was too late. Whirling around I was quickly caught and dragged back down the hall. My mind racing, struggling to wrap around the situation.
“That’s odd…”
King Cold gritted his teeth, “What is it? Speak!”
“Lord Frieza doesn’t seem to have any of the instincts of a normal Arcosian,” The doctor muttered, staring at the monitoring device in his hands, “Normally straight out of the shell they will eat it so it can provide nutrients. Lord Frieza was more occupied with leaving the room…”
“I told you he should not have been left alone for his hatching,” Nova scolded, crossing her arms, “What if you just damaged—”
Cold shot her a scathing look, making her snap her mouth shut with a small click. He refocused his attention on the doctor before him, “Go fetch the boy will you, I have to speak to Queen Cold for a moment.”
The doctor quickly bowed, running out of the throne room with his tail tucked between his legs. The back of Cold’s hand cracked against the side of Nova’s face; her head snapping to the side. She stayed still in her seat, allowing Cold to tower over her.
“Do not question me,” He snarled, “Especially in front of lower lifeforms.”
Nova was silent, keeping her head down, eyes trained on the shaking hands in her lap. She let out a sharp squeak when Cold grabbed a hold of her face, forcing Nova to look him in the eyes.
“Respond to me when I am speaking to you.”
“Yes Co—Your Majesty,” Nova whimpered, pain shooting through her jaw.
“Good,” Cold let go of her face and returned to his throne.
The doctor ran into the room, Nova’s eyes snapping to him and the lack of her son.
“What is the meaning of this?”
The doctor trembled, “It’s awful the little Lord…”
Nova ran out of the room before the doctor could finish, it could not have happened; her son could not have— died —there was no way. The halls seemed to be far longer than they usually were, and her chest hurt, she was unused to such strenuous activity. She ran straight to the room where her son was, she needed to at least see him. Maybe he was still—Nova froze.
Frieza stood in the center of a massacre, staring at the blood staining his hands. Nova felt like throwing up, but the boy seemed scared of his actions, so maybe it was not as bad as she thought.
“Frieza?” Her voice, cracked as she called out; the child flinched, eyes whipping to look at her.
“Has he been measured yet?” Cold’s voice snapped, breaking the silence; Nova jolted, not realizing they had come into the room.
The doctor stood up straighter, “Not yet sir, the troops had just caught him when they were… killed.”
Cold scoffed, “Very well, do it later—leave us.”
After a deep bow, the doctor scurried off, Nova held back a scoff, she had already irritated Cold enough for today. Any more and he might finally dispose of her, Nova refocused on the small form at the end of the room. Frieza had not moved from the pile of bodies
“Approach boy,” Cold snapped, pointing a finger in front of him.
Frieza moved faster than a normal newly hatched Arcosian, though more clumsily; nearly tripping over his feet— or the blood —in his haste. He stood before his father with wide eyes, though his gaze kept jumping over to Nova. It warmed her heart, maybe he could still recognize her as his mother without the normal imprinting process. She hated that Cold demanded their son be born alone in a room, Nova could barely see the child while inside his egg.
Cold spoke again, “Now Frieza my son, how are you feeling?”
Frieza blinked at his father, “ʷʰᵃᵗ?”
Nova’s head snapped to Cold, something was wrong with their son. She knew she should have at least pushed more to see him while he was inside of the egg. Cold let out a low growl, his eyes falling on Nova’s smaller form.
“Guess we will have to try again.”
A chill ran up Nova’s body, and she leaped forward grabbing onto her child desperately, “Please, I beg you; let me keep this one.”
Cold raised a brow, “Why would I do that?”
“I won't argue anymore with you about the conceptions of any future children,” Nova held her son to her bosom.
“Like you have a choice either way.”
Nova swallowed the lump in her throat, “You can do whatever you want to me, I don’t care. Just don’t take this one from me—please… Your Highness…”
Cold let out a short huff, “Whatever, take this failure away.”
Nova scooped up the child in her arms and fled the room, she could only pray that Cold did not change his mind.
Those aliens, those people, they probably had families—friends; I killed them. I stared at the blood coating my hands, I did not mean to hurt them. All I did was try to get away from their hands and now they were dead.
“Frieza,” My head snapped up, locking eyes with a young… Frost Demon(?)... Ice-jin(?)... what were they called?
My eyes flicked to King Cold standing behind her, I could not understand what he was saying. The scientist responded to him, their words went right over my head. My heart beat rapidly as Cold said something while staring at me, pointing his finger to the floor before him. I hurried forward standing in front of Cold, panic shooting through my body.
“ₙₒ𝓌 Fᵣᵢₑ𝓏ₐ ₘᵧ ₛₒₙ, ₕₒ𝓌 ₐᵣₑ ᵧₒᵤ 𝒻ₑₑₗᵢₙ𝓰?”
I stared at him for a long moment, “What?”
There was a distinct pressure drop that happened when I spoke, the tension was palpable; I bit the insides of my mouth out of habit. I could not see anything wrong with what I said, they were speaking in a language I could not understand. When the Queen(?) threw herself at me, I could not help but flinch; she quickly wrapped herself around me. Shielding me from Cold—“ Did I do something wrong?”
The Queen started speaking, quickly to King Cold, the desperation was clear in her voice. The insides of my cheeks hurt, they were raw and burned when I swiped my tongue across them. Keeping my mouth shut was simple, standing still while anxiety tore me to shreds on the inside was torturous. The pair kept going back and forth, Cold was not happy about… something.
It startled me when the Queen picked me up, I allowed her to carry me away, not liking the way Cold kept glaring holes into me. I tried my best to stay as still as I could not wanting to hurt her or get too much blood on her clothes. She carried me out of the room, her chest heaving; out of the corner of my eye, I could see the tears streaming down her face; the droplets hit the top of my head.
“𝒸ₒₗ𝒹 ₛₕₒᵤₗ𝒹 ₕₐᵥₑ ₙₑᵥₑᵣ ₛₑₚₐᵣₐₜₑ𝒹 ᵧₒᵤ 𝒻ᵣₒₘ ₘₑ,” She muttered, I blinked, whatever she had said flew right over my head.
The Queen kept walking, taking me into a room I assumed was hers. The room itself seemed far too small and meager for a Queen, there were not many things inside the room, only a bed and a dresser. She quickly ran into the en suite, leaving me alone on the bed; I glanced at the door she shut behind her. Now I was alone with my thoughts.
“Clearly this person was supposed to be Frieza’s mother; there were so many theories for Frieza’s birth. Whether he was born asexually from Cold or actually had a mother and everything in between. Though now, I thought about it, it made more sense for Frieza to have a mother… or at least Cooler… because he was not a copy of Cold… as far as I know.”
My attention was drawn from my musings when the Queen came back, the area around her eyes was puffy. I tried not to stare at her; she came forward and sat at the edge of the bed. There was a wet towel in her hands, I held out my stained palms; the Queen wiped off the blood. I locked my arms in place, not letting myself move in case I hurt her.
I took that small moment to get a good look at her, she was young, with a youthful chub to her cheeks. Her face was white while the rest of her body was a light purple. Startling red eyes and black lips; a circular red gemstone in the middle of her forehead.
After she finished cleaning me off, she threw the rag away; the queen laid down next to me, patting the bed next to her. I glanced down at my hands for a moment before carefully moving forward and lying next to her. A sharp breath of air escaped me as she looped an arm around me, it was nice.
I curled up closer to the Queen, allowing her to hold onto me— it was wrong —my mum was not thin and did not have lilac-colored skin. My mum was tall and warm whenever she embraced me; this mother was small, too small, Cold towered over her. She looked like a mere child in comparison, My stomach turned at the thought. “When did Frieza’s race come of age?”
My heart ached, I would protect her; she did not deserve this fate— neither of us did .
Notes:
Hope you like this, there is going to be a lot of build-up before we get to canon stuff. A bunch of things are going to be different just because I am at the wheel of the evil space tyrant.
All of the chapters are going to be more than 1k words at least.
I have a bunch planned out already and will keep writing more :)
Chapter 2: Pressure
Summary:
“ᵧₒᵤ ₙₑᵥₑᵣ ᵦᵣₒᵤ𝓰ₕₜ ₕᵢₘ ₜₒ ᵦₑ ₜₑₛₜₑ𝒹,” His sharp tone washed over the room, Mother was trembling.
Notes:
Ya'll are gonna get this chapter a few days earlier than the other platforms---don't tell them. Also added a cover for the book in the first chapter, go check it out if you want <3
Also have some art in this chapter, hope you can see it.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
I was inside the Queen’s room for the past few… days…? It was hard to tell how long I had been inside of the room, the Queen spent a lot of time with me. I had also come to some weird realizations, first of all being a male was weird—especially an alien one—I did not want to think about it. Thinking about it only brought up issues I did not want to deal with. The new appendage was also something to get used to, it mostly moved of its own volition. Which the Queen often found humorous because my tail would sway—wag—when she held me.
Strangely she had left the room for a while this morning(?) before coming back with a tablet. The queen sat down on the bed; I peered at the device in her hands, and carefully she showed it to me. The tablet had weird letters, which I assumed was her written language. The Queen pointed at a few, but I could not follow along with them too well; not understanding how they worked. She made a face before pulling up an image on the tablet of various colors all labeled in her language.
“ᵣₑ𝒹,” The Queen spoke slowly, enunciating the syllables, pointing at the color red.
“...ᵣₑ𝒹…” My voice was hesitant as I tried the new word out on my tongue.
A smile broke across her face, she pointed to herself, “ₘₒₜₕₑᵣ.”
“ₘₒₜₕₑᵣ?”
The joy that radiated from her was blinding, she quickly pulled me into a tight hug, peppering kisses on my forehead. She ran through all of the colors which I parroted back to her with ease, before she tested me by pointing to them at random and having me say them back to her. I had mixed up pink and purple, along with blue and black; other than that I had done well with learning my colors.
The happy atmosphere vanished with a knock on the door, the Queen froze, and I watched her carefully; holding the tablet closer to my body. She rose to her feet, touching the pad beside the door, and making it slide open. My eyes locked with Cold’s, now I knew why Mother was so scared; his eyes fell on Mother’s small form.
“ᵧₒᵤ ₙₑᵥₑᵣ ᵦᵣₒᵤ𝓰ₕₜ ₕᵢₘ ₜₒ ᵦₑ ₜₑₛₜₑ𝒹,” His sharp tone washed over the room, Mother was trembling.
“ᵢ ₜₕₒᵤ𝓰ₕₜ ᵢₜ 𝒹ᵢ𝒹ₙ'ₜ ₘₐₜₜₑᵣ ₐₙᵧₘₒᵣₑ…”
Cold snarled, “𝓰ₒ ₕₐᵥₑ ₜₕₑ ᵦᵣₐₜ'ₛ ₚₒ𝓌ₑᵣ ₗₑᵥₑₗ ₜₑₛₜₑ𝒹, ᵦₑ𝒻ₒᵣₑ ᵢ ᵣₑₚₗₐ𝒸ₑ ᵧₒᵤ.”
The Queen jolted, quickly picking me up and hurrying out of the room; Cold followed close behind. Fear built up in my chest, as she took me deeper into the maze of corridors. She stopped in front of a large door, and when it opened it revealed several aliens in lab coats, loitering around. The scientists quickly stood at attention at the sight of their King and Queen.
Cold said something and several of the scientists left the room; I was set down and gestured into a machine. It looked weird, nothing like anything I could recall while watching Dragon Ball— “Though I did only watch Super the entire way through…”
I glanced back at the Queen as I stood inside the machine, I bit the inside of my cheek. The scientist lady tapped away on the panel, and the machine powered up. My heart raced, “What is going on?"
“ₘᵧ ₖᵢₙ𝓰 ₕᵢₛ ₚₒ𝓌ₑᵣ ₗₑᵥₑₗ ᵢₛ ₒᵥₑᵣ ₃ ₘᵢₗₗᵢₒₙ,” The scientist spoke, trembling, my eyes glanced over her.
Cold grumbled, “ᵧₒᵤ 𝓌ᵢₗₗ ₜₑₐ𝒸ₕ ₜₕᵢₛ ᵦᵣₐₜ ₜₒ ₛₚₑₐₖ, ₛₒ ₕₑ 𝓌ᵢₗₗ ᵦₑ ₒ𝒻 ₛₒₘₑ ᵤₛₑ ₒᵣ ᵢ 𝓌ᵢₗₗ ₛₗₐᵤ𝓰ₕₜₑᵣ ᵦₒₜₕ ₒ𝒻 ᵧₒᵤ.”
The Queen kept her head low, “ₒ𝒻 𝒸ₒᵤᵣₛₑ ᵧₒᵤᵣ ₕᵢ𝓰ₕₙₑₛₛ.”
After a moment of silence, she gestured for me to come over to her; peering at Cold I hurried into her arms.
“ᵧₒᵤ ᵦₑₜₜₑᵣ ₕᵤᵣᵣᵧ ᵦₑ𝒻ₒᵣₑ ₕₑ ₑₙ𝒹ₛ ᵤₚ ₖᵢₗₗᵢₙ𝓰 ᵧₒᵤ ₜₒₒ,” Cold said, turning on his heel and marching out of the room.
The Queen stared at him for a long moment before grabbing my hand and dragging me back to her room. From the weird tension between everyone, it seemed my power level was just discovered. Though whatever Frieza’s mother was upset with, was made worse.
Once we were back in her room she quickly threw us back into studying; not that I was complaining, the sooner I learned the language the better. The Queen did not seem to be having a good time whatever it was she was stressing herself out. I wanted to comfort her, but if I touched her… she would die like those soldiers. Blood—bile rose in my throat, I forced myself to swallow and silence my mind.
The Queen held me close that night, she trembled all the while, and she was crying. I said nothing, squeezing my eyes closed and gently pressing my nose against the crook of her neck. The thrum of her heart pounded loudly against my skin, I stayed awake till her heart slowed to a rhythmic beat.
Roughly three days later the Queen was gone from the room again when I woke up. She came back later than she normally did and with something in her hands. The Queen gave me a gift that I was not expecting; a small plain hard-cover book. She handed it over, I turned the book in my hands before opening it up. It was a journal, an empty journal; which she must have been giving me to practice writing. She also supplied me with a few strange tools—some sort of alien pen I would have to figure out.
I flashed her my most appreciative smile and an unreadable expression crossed her face. The Queen patted my head, “ᵢ'ₘ 𝓰ₒᵢₙ𝓰 ₜₒ ᵦₑ 𝓰ₒₙₑ 𝒻ₒᵣ ₐ 𝓌ₕᵢₗₑ, ₛₜₐᵧ ₕₑᵣₑ.”
She planted a kiss on my gem after she left the room again, I stared at the closed door for a long moment. Glancing down at the journal I opened it up to the second half of the book, the Queen would be less likely to open that part. It would be difficult for me to try to explain what language I was writing in without having to reveal more sensitive things.
I wrote down everything I could remember about canon events inside of the book. Using English so that no one else could read what I wrote down—not that there was anything else I could reliably write in. Struggling through my thoughts, I had a hard time remembering what was canon. Silently cursing myself for not watching all of Z, I had only really seen most of the Cell arc. If only I had watched the show instead of consuming copious amounts of fanfiction. Letting out a sharp breath I continued writing, getting frustrated was not helping my situation.
Drawing of Nova^^
Notes:
Character ages (People who have been introduced so far)
Me/Frieza = A few days old
Cold = 108
Nova = 71
(Their age gap is like a 18/19 y/o marrying a 30 y/o)Arcosians age ranges
1-25 child
25-75 adolescent
75-150 adulthood
150-200 elderNote for the story that might not be entirely obvious, but IRL I have a bad habit of suppressing/blocking out things that make me upset. So if in the story I don't really respond or acknowledge something right after it happened, don't worry all that trauma will just pile on :)
Chapter 3: The Rose is Pretty
Summary:
I saw him move before Cold struck her, my body moved reacting to the attack, catching him by the wrist.
Notes:
WARNINGS: Abuse/physical assault, implied dub-con at end
(skip if needed this one is worse than the one in the first chapter---chapter summary at end)Moving forward I am going to try to update every Wednesday and Sunday (Might be a little earlier or later, it depends---I already have up to chapter 13 written and I'll try to keep a backlog). So the next update will be Sunday.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Half a year passed in the blink of an eye, it was then that I finally got my answer as to where I was…kind of. The Queen had decided that since I was doing so well in my lessons I could go outside. I was only doing so well because the sentence structure of their language was almost identical to Japanese—a language I had already been studying. The idea of finally being able to go outside had positively sent me over the moon with excitement, I was finally able to see the world Frieza was born on.
The Queen said that planet was called Arcose, or at least that’s what I think she was trying to tell me. The sprawling city before me was a clear enough sign, the only question now was whether or not this was the Ice-jin's home planet or one that Cold had conquered. A sick feeling filled my gut, murder made my stomach churn all on its own; throw in the genocide of a whole species? If I was not already paper white, I would turn that color.
Trying not to dwell on a potential genocide, I focused on the various flowers in the garden. Some looked similar to flowers from back home, one little group of flowers made my heart clench. They looked like bigger blue lilies of the valley—Kid—my little sister’s favorite flower. Grief washed over me, I would never be able to show her movies from my childhood or give her art tips ever again. The Queen stood next to me silently as she watched me crouch in front of the flower. Gently I moved to brush a fingertip against the pale petals, I flinched back as they disintegrated beneath my shaking hands. The Queen moved to comfort me—
“𝓌ₕₐₜ ₐᵣₑ ᵧₒᵤ 𝒹ₒᵢₙ𝓰 ₒᵤₜ ₕₑᵣₑ?” An all too familiar voice snarled, and adrenaline shot through my system. It was King Cold.
The Queen quickly got to her feet, holding her hands in front of her, desperation in her voice, “𝓌ₑ 𝓌ₑᵣₑ ⱼᵤₛₜ ₑₙⱼₒᵧᵢₙ𝓰 ₛₒₘₑ ₛᵤₙ.”
I saw him move before Cold struck her, my body moved reacting to the attack, catching him by the wrist. His eyes locked onto my far smaller form, he used the arm I was still holding onto, and he threw me off him. I hit the ground with a dull thump, falling into a heap on the grass. A slap resounded through the garden, I scrambled to my feet; Cold stared at me while he beat her.
My stomach twisted, he was daring me to do something; the Queen was curled in on herself. I could not move, she most likely would not have been beaten so hard if I had done nothing. Of course, I stepped in and made it worse. What happened to my promise of helping her?
Gritting my teeth I stood still, forcing myself to stare at the pain I had caused her. Cold smirked, caressing her cheek lovingly as if he had not been beating her senseless barely a moment prior. He turned on his heel, moving to leave the garden, “Cₗₑₐₙ ᵧₒᵤᵣₛₑₗ𝒻 ᵤₚ ₐₙ𝒹 𝒹ₒₙ'ₜ ₗₑₐᵥₑ ₜₕₑ ₚₐₗₐ𝒸ₑ 𝓌ᵢₜₕₒᵤₜ ₘᵧ ₛₐᵧ₋ₛₒ.”
The Queen was barely able to nod her head in understanding. As soon as Cold was gone I rushed to her side, careful not to touch her. She sent me a pained smile that was anything but reassuring, my hands quivered. I had never had to deal with anything like this before, I had heard about it, I never saw it. My parents loved each other, they had their squabbles but they never hurt each other. It was terrifying that the woman who I had come to care for was being abused and there was nothing I could do that would not make it worse.
“Sorry,” I choked out, it felt fake even though I knew it was not; my chest struggled to intake oxygen as I knelt beside the Queen.
She raised one of her trembling hands and patted my head, “ᵢₜ'ₛ ₙₒₜ ᵧₒᵤᵣ 𝒻ₐᵤₗₜ, ᵢ ₛₕₒᵤₗ𝒹 ₕₐᵥₑ ₐₛₖₑ𝒹 ₕᵢₘ ᵦₑ𝒻ₒᵣₑ ₜₐₖᵢₙ𝓰 ᵧₒᵤ ₒᵤₜₛᵢ𝒹ₑ.”
We sat together quietly for several long moments more, once they passed the Queen staggered to her feet. There were already bruises starting to form on her pale skin, I bit the inside of my cheeks so hard I started bleeding. At this rate, I would have worse scars than in my old mouth.
I made sure to keep my distance as I followed the Queen through the halls and back to her room. Once we got to her room she picked me up and placed me on the bed, tucking me in. I stared up at her silently, images of her being beaten flashing across my eyelids as I looked at her.
“ᵢ'ₘ 𝓰ₒᵢₙ𝓰 ₜₒ ₜₑₗₗ ᵧₒᵤ ₐ ₛₜₒᵣᵧ 𝒻ᵣₒₘ ₘᵧ 𝒸ₕᵢₗ𝒹ₕₒₒ𝒹, ₘₒₜₕₑᵣ ₜₒₗ𝒹 ₘₑ ᵢₜ 𝓌ₕₑₙₑᵥₑᵣ ₛₕₑ 𝓌ₐₛ ᵢₙ ₐ 𝒻ₐᵢᵣ ₘₒₒ𝒹. ₜₕₑ Gₒ𝒹 ₒ𝒻 Dₑₛₜᵣᵤ𝒸ₜᵢₒₙ 𝓌ₑₙₜ 𝒹ₒ𝓌ₙ ₜₒ Bₐₙₙₐ, ₕₑ 𝓌ₐₛ ₗₒₒₖᵢₙ𝓰 𝒻ₒᵣ ₐ ₛₒᵤₗ ₜₒ ₛₜₑₐₗ. ₕₑ 𝓌ₐₛ ᵢₙ ₐ ᵦᵢₙ𝒹 ᵦₑ𝒸ₐᵤₛₑ ₕₑ 𝓌ₐₛ 𝓌ₐᵧ ᵦₑₕᵢₙ𝒹 ₐₙ𝒹 ₕₑ 𝓌ₐₛ 𝓌ᵢₗₗᵢₙ𝓰 ₜₒ ₘₐₖₑ ₐ 𝒹ₑₐₗ. Wₕₑₙ ₕₑ 𝒸ₐₘₑ ₐ𝒸ᵣₒₛₛ ₜₕᵢₛ ᵧₒᵤₙ𝓰 ₘₐₙ ₛₐ𝓌ᵢₙ𝓰 ₒₙ ₐ 𝒻ᵢ𝒹𝒹ₗₑ ₐₙ𝒹 ₚₗₐᵧᵢₙ𝓰 ᵢₜ ₕₒₜ ₜₕₑ Gₒ𝒹 ⱼᵤₘₚₑ𝒹 ᵤₚ ₒₙ ₐ ₕᵢ𝒸ₖₒᵣᵧ ₛₜᵤₘₚ ₐₙ𝒹 ₛₐᵢ𝒹 'Bₒᵧ, ₗₑₜ ₘₑ ₜₑₗₗ ᵧₒᵤ 𝓌ₕₐₜ'
“'ᵢ 𝓰ᵤₑₛₛ ᵧₒᵤ 𝒹ᵢ𝒹ₙ'ₜ ₖₙₒ𝓌 ᵢₜ, ᵦᵤₜ ᵢ ₐₘ ₐ 𝒻ᵢ𝒹𝒹ₗₑ ₚₗₐᵧₑᵣ ₜₒₒ ₐₙ𝒹 ᵢ𝒻 ᵧₒᵤ'𝒹 𝒸ₐᵣₑ ₜₒ ₜₐₖₑ ₐ 𝒹ₐᵣₑ, ᵢ'ₗₗ ₘₐₖₑ ₐ ᵦₑₜ 𝓌ᵢₜₕ ᵧₒᵤ. ₙₒ𝓌 ᵧₒᵤ ₚₗₐᵧ ₐ ₚᵣₑₜₜᵧ 𝓰ₒₒ𝒹 𝒻ᵢ𝒹𝒹ₗₑ, ᵦₒᵧ, ᵦᵤₜ 𝓰ᵢᵥₑ ₜₕₑ Gₒ𝒹 ₕᵢₛ 𝒹ᵤₑ ᵢ'ₗₗ ᵦₑₜ ₐ 𝒻ᵢ𝒹𝒹ₗₑ ₒ' 𝓰ₒₗ𝒹 ₐ𝓰ₐᵢₙₛₜ ᵧₒᵤᵣ ₛₒᵤₗ '𝒸ₐᵤₛₑ ᵢ ₜₕᵢₙₖ ᵢ'ₘ ᵦₑₜₜₑᵣ ₜₕₐₙ ᵧₒᵤ.' ₜₕₑ ᵦₒᵧ ₛₐᵢ𝒹, 'ₘᵧ ₙₐₘₑ'ₛ ⱼₒₙ, ₐₙ𝒹 ᵢₜ ₘᵢ𝓰ₕₜ ᵦₑ ₐ ₛᵢₙ, ᵦᵤₜ ᵢ'ₗₗ ₜₐₖₑ ᵧₒᵤᵣ ᵦₑₜ ₐₙ𝒹 ᵧₒᵤ'ᵣₑ 𝓰ₒₙₙₐ ᵣₑ𝓰ᵣₑₜ '𝒸ₐᵤₛₑ ᵢ'ₘ ₜₕₑ ᵦₑₛₜ ₜₕₑᵣₑ'ₛ ₑᵥₑᵣ ᵦₑₑₙ'
“ₜₕₑ Gₒ𝒹 ₒₚₑₙₑ𝒹 ᵤₚ ₕᵢₛ 𝒸ₐₛₑ ₐₙ𝒹 ₕₑ ₛₐᵢ𝒹, 'ᵢ'ₗₗ ₛₜₐᵣₜ ₜₕᵢₛ ₛₕₒ𝓌' ₐₙ𝒹 𝒻ᵢᵣₑ 𝒻ₗₑ𝓌 𝒻ᵣₒₘ ₕᵢₛ 𝒻ᵢₙ𝓰ₑᵣₜᵢₚₛ ₐₛ ₕₑ ᵣₒₛᵢₙₑ𝒹 ᵤₚ ₕᵢₛ ᵦₒ𝓌 ₐₙ𝒹 ₕₑ ₚᵤₗₗₑ𝒹 ₜₕₑ ᵦₒ𝓌 ₐ𝒸ᵣₒₛₛ ₜₕₑ ₛₜᵣᵢₙ𝓰ₛ ₐₙ𝒹 ᵢₜ ₘₐ𝒹ₑ ₐₙ ₑᵥᵢₗ ₕᵢₛₛ ₐₙ𝒹 ₜₕₑₙ ₐ ᵦₐₙ𝒹 ₒ𝒻 𝒹ₑₘₒₙₛ ⱼₒᵢₙₑ𝒹 ᵢₙ, ₒₜₕₑᵣ ₛₒᵤₗₛ ₕₑ ₕₐ𝒹 ₛₙₐₜ𝒸ₕₑ𝒹 ᵤₚ 𝒻ₒᵣ ₕᵢₛ 𝒸ₒₗₗₑ𝒸ₜᵢₒₙ.
“Wₕₑₙ ₜₕₑ Gₒ𝒹 𝒻ᵢₙᵢₛₕₑ𝒹, ⱼₒₙ ₛₐᵢ𝒹 'Wₑₗₗ, ᵧₒᵤ'ᵣₑ ₚᵣₑₜₜᵧ 𝓰ₒₒ𝒹 ₒₗ' ₛₒₙ Bᵤₜ ₛᵢₜ 𝒹ₒ𝓌ₙ ᵢₙ ₜₕₐₜ 𝒸ₕₐᵢᵣ ᵣᵢ𝓰ₕₜ ₜₕₑᵣₑ ₐₙ𝒹 ₗₑₜ ₘₑ ₛₕₒ𝓌 ᵧₒᵤ ₕₒ𝓌 ᵢₜ'ₛ 𝒹ₒₙₑ.' ₜₕₑ ᵧₒᵤₙ𝓰 ₘₐₙ ₚₗₐᵧₑ𝒹 ₕᵢₛ ₛₒᵤₗ ₒᵤₜ ₒₙₜₒ ₜₕₑ 𝒻ᵢ𝒹𝒹ₗₑ 𝓌ᵢₜₕₒᵤₜ ₜₕₑ ᵤₛₑ ₒ𝒻 𝒹ₑᵥᵢₗₛ ₒᵣ 𝒹ₐᵣₖ ₘₐ𝓰ᵢ𝒸. ₜₕₑ Gₒ𝒹 ᵦₒ𝓌ₑ𝒹 ₕᵢₛ ₕₑₐ𝒹 ᵦₑ𝒸ₐᵤₛₑ ₕₑ ₖₙₑ𝓌 ₜₕₐₜ ₕₑ'𝒹 ᵦₑₑₙ ᵦₑₐₜ ₐₙ𝒹 ₕₑ ₗₐᵢ𝒹 ₜₕₐₜ 𝓰ₒₗ𝒹ₑₙ 𝒻ᵢ𝒹𝒹ₗₑ ₒₙ ₜₕₑ 𝓰ᵣₒᵤₙ𝒹 ₐₜ ⱼₒₙ'ₛ 𝒻ₑₑₜ. ⱼₒₙ ₛₐᵢ𝒹, 'Gₒ𝒹, ⱼᵤₛₜ 𝒸ₒₘₑ ₒₙ ᵦₐ𝒸ₖ ᵢ𝒻 ᵧₒᵤ ₑᵥₑᵣ 𝓌ₐₙₙₐ ₜᵣᵧ ₐ𝓰ₐᵢₙ ᵢ 𝒹ₒₙₑ ₜₒₗ𝒹 ᵧₒᵤ ₒₙ𝒸ₑ, ᵢ'ₘ ₜₕₑ ᵦₑₛₜ ₜₕₑᵣₑ'ₛ ₑᵥₑᵣ ᵦₑₑₙ.'”
It was nice listening to her speak softly to me, before long I had passed out curled up in the bed.
After Nova was sure that Frieza was fast asleep, her chest aching from the tale she reminisced on for her child. She did not like thinking of home, even the soft moments that were few and far between. She quickly hurried and cleaned herself of the dirt that stained her clothes, disinfecting the little cuts on her elbows too.
Once she was all clean, and her bruises properly hidden, Nova left the safety of her room. Taking one last glance at her child’s snoozing form before turning on her heel. Nova swept through the halls with a purpose, people only tilting their heads in respect. She was not running nor was her heart making her ribs ache from all its beating—both were lies.
Nova took a breath before rapping her knuckles on the door to the one place she hated most. Her tongue felt like lead in her mouth as she watched the door slide open, Cold encompassed the whole doorway. He quirked a brow, Nova’s hands clenched and she walked into the room, into the welcoming arms of Cold. Allowing him to lull her into bed, he was in a good mood, best to keep him in it. She hoped Frieza did not wake up before she fled back to her room.
Notes:
Summary for whoever needs it <3
Nova takes MC out to the gardens because they are doing well with learning the language. Cold finds both of them out there and hits Nova, MC tries to stop him but it just makes the situation worse for Nova. Cold leaves and MC tries to comfort Nova. Nova takes MC inside and puts them to bed. Afterward, she goes to "meet" with Cold.
Did you catch the reference I made with Nova's bedtime story?
Chapter 4: The Thorns Cut Me
Summary:
He grumbled under his breath, “Stay out of my way brat.”
Chapter Text
It had taken a lot more dedication than I first thought to figure out the alien language, but now I could at least speak in broken sentences. Learning to speak was rough considering that no one but the Queen cared enough to speak slowly so I could properly follow along. It only irritated me slightly—okay more than that—but there was not much I could do to stop it. I was thankful that the Queen had taken the time to walk me through learning the language. If I had to guess, Cold would have never done anything like that; at most, he would have given me a tutor or disposed of me.
With a small huff, I continued walking down the winding halls. I was still figuring out my way around the expansive palace. The Queen had only let me out of her sight after I was at least partially conversational. I was still building a mental map of the palace, so I was able to get back to the Queen’s room semi-reliably. The were several servants wandering down the halls, each bowing low whenever I walked past. It was so weird, the urge to bow back was overwhelming, thought would definitely be a social faux pas, so I stifled through the awkwardness.
Turning around a corner—I fell backward hitting the ground, I blinked, staring up at who I ran into. It was Cooler, I had honestly thought that he did not exist since I had never seen him. Going a whole year without seeing hide nor hair of the fellow was a feat in of itself. His eyes met mine, a sneer crossing his face; “Oh right, Frieza and he don't get along…for whatever reason…”
“What are you doing here?” Cooler snapped.
I made a face at his tone, “Walking.”
It was embarrassing having to talk so slowly, my brain struggling to form anything but broken words. On paper, I was doing well—speaking to anyone but the Queen was a whole separate ordeal.
“Where is Father I would like to have a word with him,” Cooler snapped, I could only understand segments of what he was saying.
I shrugged, I had not seen Cold for several weeks at this point and did not have the energy to figure out how to tell Cooler that.
He grumbled under his breath, “Stay out of my way brat.”
I watched him stalk off, he was certainly feeling pissy for whatever reason. Cooler needing to speak with Cold was enough to pique my curiosity, but not enough for me to risk my neck eavesdropping on a conversation I would hardly be able to understand. Turning on my heel I continued walking, aiming to head back to the Queen’s room.
Cooler stormed past the little brat, he had not even known how to speak when he was born. It was unnerving how the brat seemed to know exactly who Cooler was already without having to be told. The brat both knew too little and far too much for his own good. It was a shock that Cold had not already disposed of the brat, especially when it was found out that he could not speak at birth.
It was infuriating, Cooler hated that brat’s mother too. The little thing was nowhere near old enough for Cold, it was disgusting, to say the least. But Cooler held his tongue around his father, saying anything would lessen his favor. There was no way the brat would inherit the throne—Cooler would not allow him the chance to. Whatever it takes.
Cooler swept through the halls of the palace was a purpose, he needed to find Cold and inform him of some new developments. It made sense that Cooler would have to scrounge up his own forces and build up his empire from the ground up. Doing so proved that he was more suited for the position of being Cold’s successor—even if he was illegitimate. Cooler was surely stronger than that little runt too, he was so small he would be easy to pulverize. He would not even have to do it personally, he could have one of his soldiers do it if he wanted.
Standing in front of the door to Cold’s office, Cooler rapped on the door with his knuckles. After getting permission to enter he stalked into the room, seating himself in the chair across from Cold. The opulent desk was covered in various papers, as Cold found that classified information was better where hackers could not snoop.
“What did you need?” Cold asked, tone stiff as he shuffled through the files.
Cooler opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Cold who continued speaking without warning.
“I hear you met Frieza.”
Cooler blinked, floundering for a moment before composing himself, “Nothing escapes you does it?”
Cold smirked, “Of course not—now what do you think of the runt?”
“He did not seem like anything useful, rather plain or strange if you ask me.”
“Want to know what his power level was after his hatching?” Cold probed.
Cooler frowned for a moment before schooling his expression, forcing his tone to be nonchalant, “Sure, I suppose.”
“3 million, a mere week after his hatching.”
Cooler paused, not even his was that high when he was born, only after training for a while did he achieve and surpass that kind of power. He clenched his fists in his lap, it appeared the brat could pose an issue if he honed that power. Knowing how stuck-up brats usually were though, if Cooler stroked his ego a little the brat would be too proud to train. Squandering all of that potential, and sabotaging his chances of taking over the empire.
With practiced ease, Cooler redirected the conversation back to the task at hand, a plan brewing in the back of his mind.
Nova’s breath was short, she was running out of time now, and it happened again. Her hands fell to her stomach where another child was growing inside of her, tears burbled in her eyes. Cold had done it again, Nova did not want any of this. If she had her way she would have never had children, as much as she loved Frieza she could not help but see Cold in his eyes. How long would her child stay her child?
She needed to get out, she needed to get her children away from that—that monster. Taking in a deep breath, she slid open the door to the bathroom. Noticing that Frieza was already back and curled up and fast asleep in her bed. Steeling her resolve, Nova knew what she had to do. For herself and her children.
Notes:
Finally, we get to see Cooler, I wonder what Cold and him were talking about :)
Cooler is 32
It is hinted at but if you missed it, Cooler is illegitimate and not Nova's son. He was born out of wedlock, we'll get to see more of that later on when interacting with him more.
Chapter 5: I Just Wanna Be Free
Summary:
The ship did not appear to be that large, though it was certainly a rust bucket. That ruled out anything to do with Cold, because he had no need for such a shitty ship.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Today was my birthday—or Frieza’s birthday at least. Cold was offworld along with Cooler, so it was just me and Nova on Arcose. Birthday traditions were going to be an interesting thing to learn about, I was used to blowing out candles and having my favorite food for dinner.
The Queen clasped my hand and smiled brightly at me. “ₕₐₚₚᵧ one year, my child.”
She was acting a bit odd, she was overly paranoid about little things, her gaze shifting around. It made me worry more, so I stuck to her side like glue, eyes watching for unseen danger. Cold must have done something or maybe it was someone else. The Queen was rather meak so it was not too far of a stretch if whoever it was had no regard for their life.
With Cold offworld, me and the Queen had full reign of the palace for a change. She took me down a familiar hallway, she was taking me to the garden again. I had not been allowed outside since the first time the Queen tried taking me out. The air was colder than I remembered it, the breeze
As we stepped into the garden, the sight of vibrant alien flora greeted us. The garden was different than it had been before, the large Lily of the Valley plants no longer there. The Queen knelt beside a patch of particularly striking blooms, her fingers brushing over the petals.
“These flowers,” she began softly, “They ₒₙₗᵧ ᵦₗₒₒₘ ₒₙ𝒸ₑ a year, and ₒₙₗᵧ 𝒻ₒᵣ ₐ ₛᵢₙ𝓰ₗₑ 𝒹ₐᵧ. Today is ₛₚₑ𝒸ᵢₐₗ.”
I looked at the flowers, their intricate patterns and glowing hues mesmerizing. “They’re beautiful,” I said, struggling to find the right words in the alien language.
The Queen smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Make the most of today, child. Who knows what will happen ᵢₙ ₜₕₑ 𝒻ᵤₜᵤᵣₑ.”
Her words sent a chill down my spine, more so than the cold air. There was something unspoken, a sense of urgency and fear. I wanted to ask her more, to understand what was troubling her so deeply, but the words failed me. Instead, I stayed close, hoping my presence was enough to offer some comfort.
We spent the day in the garden, the Queen telling me stories of Acrose and its history, her voice a soothing lull in the otherwise tense atmosphere. I listened intently, absorbing every detail, every nuance of the language she used. Despite the underlying fear, it was one of the best days I had since coming to this world.
As the sun began to set, casting long shadows across the garden, the Queen’s demeanor grew even more anxious. She kept glancing towards the palace, her grip on my hand tightening.
“Frieza,” she said suddenly, she had my attention in an instant—she hardly ever used my name—her voice trembling, “Promise me you will be strong. ₙₒ ₘₐₜₜₑᵣ 𝓌ₕₐₜ ₕₐₚₚₑₙₛ, you must be strong.”
I nodded, the gravity of her words sinking in, unease seeping into my mind. “I will, Mother. I promise.”
She pulled me into a tight embrace, her hold desperate and fierce. “I love you, my child. ₙₑᵥₑᵣ 𝒻ₒᵣ𝓰ₑₜ that.”
“I love you too,” I whispered, my voice choked with emotion.
As night fell, we returned to the palace. The Queen’s shoulders seemed tighter than before, eyes shifting to the corners of the halls. I followed her to her room, as I did every night, her hand resting firmly on my shoulder. Laying in bed together, I fell asleep with a hesitant smile on my face, missing my family.
I woke with a startle, not knowing how long it had been only that I was no longer in Mother’s room, I scrambled to my feet. Frantically glancing around, my chest heaving, Mother was nowhere to be seen. Running from the room, I struggled to breathe properly, as I chewed on the inside of my cheek. I needed to find Mother, something was wrong.
The ship did not appear to be that large, though it was certainly a rust bucket. That ruled out anything to do with Cold, because he had no need for such a shitty ship. As I rounded a corner I locked eyes with my apparent kidnapper—a Saiyan. She was tall and wearing strange clothes—not a Cold Force uniform, her eyes narrowed when she caught sight of me. Clenching my fists, something must have happened to Mother.
“Where Mother?” I seethed if this Saiyan did anything to her—
“Frieza!” My head swiveled around the sight of Mother’s face relaxed my rage. I hurried over to her side, keeping the Saiyan in my peripherals. Mother knelt to embrace me, her gaze was on the Saiyan though.
“Sorry about that Tagaba,” She sighed, “I couldn’t say anything till we were ₒ𝒻𝒻𝓌ₒᵣₗ𝒹.”
I flicked between her and the Saiyan, so they knew each other, my suspicions eased, “What going on Mother?”
Her vibrant red eyes fell on me, one of her hands falling to her stomach, “I’m ₚᵣₑ𝓰ₙₐₙₜ—I didn’t want Cold to ₕₐᵣₘ ₜₕₑₘ ₗᵢₖₑ he did to you. I’m having a baby.”
I blinked, “A baby?”
Mother nodded her head, “You’re going to ᵦₑ ₐ ᵦᵢ𝓰 brother.”
Brother—that word felt wrong—I smiled pretending nothing was wrong. She would not understand, heck I hardly understood it most days. Somedays I would be over the moon just thinking about being a brother to someone, other days it would make me want to gouge out my eardrums.
I was a big sister once, with three little siblings. I was fiercely protective of my siblings. When the two boys were just toddlers, I shielded the younger with my body when the older tried to jump on him. Mom scolded me—thinking I was hurting him—I said nothing. I sat up all night and waited when they had to go to the hospital, twisted balls, and split scalp.
I all but raised the youngest—Kid—I changed her diaper when she was a babe. I held her till she fell asleep in my arms. Mum was tired and I was helping out—as much as a nine—ten—eleven—fourteen—seventeen—eighteen—nineteen —year-old could. I threatened to beat the snot out of the little neighbor boy who picked on her. She was attached to my hip for the first chunk of her life—she was as old as I was when I met her—when I d̴̨̨̛̛̤͎̦͎̩̝̮͙̞͉̾͛͗̾̀̑̑́̄̕̕i̵̡̬̻̘̜̘̩͉͈̮͕͖̥̓̄̊͠ͅe̴͈̱̹̺͓̩̱̾̊̓̀̉̍̾̚̚d̸͎̯̖̤̰̱̪͚̦̮̳̙̝̼͋̓̉̓̿̉̈́̃͆͂̕͜͝͝?̵͍̞̠̟̻̄ͅ
Notes:
I am going to point this out because idk if anyone noticed, but Nova has officially upgraded to Mother <3
I love her so much even though she is an Oc and she makes me so sad---ya'll get some backstory for her eventually.
Chapter 6: Chasing the Light of Day
Summary:
Nova felt a flicker of hope. "Thank you, Tabaga. Truly."
The Saiyan glanced at her, a brief softening in her hard expression.
Chapter Text
Nova ran, her life—the life of her unborn child—and her son’s life were on the line. She had been barely able to bribe the Saiyan into helping her. The Saiyan, Tabaga, was helping to get them off the planet. All it took was some of Nova’s family jewelry and she had secured passage.
Frieza slept in her arms as she boarded the shuttle. Tabaga powered up the ship, and they were off. Nova’s breath was frozen in her throat, she could barely believe it. She was free. No more Cold. No more—
She could not help but feel bad for abandoning Cooler; he was not her son, but he was still under her tentative care. Though he was far too much under Cold’s influence to trust. Frieza seemed to have brightened up once he was outside of the palace and in the tentative safety of space. He had passed out after their safety had been reassured, now curled up in Nova’s arm.
Tabaga gave them their space, sticking to the controls and hardly sleeping more than a few winks. Nova could tell that she was stressed, running away from everything she knew was a huge leap. The Saiyan had already been on the run, exiled from her people—Tabaga would not tell her everything. It made Nova uneasy, but there was nothing to do to solve it without potentially getting her and Frieza dumped on a desolate planet.
The shuttle hummed as it moved through space. Nova glanced at Tabaga, who was focused on the controls, her brow furrowed in concentration. Nova’s trust was hesitant, but hopefully it was not misplaced, both of them needed an out.
"Tabaga," Nova began hesitantly, "Thank you for helping us. I know it wasn't an easy decision."
Tabaga grunted, not taking her eyes off the controls and scanner. "Don’t mention it. Just focus on keeping the kid quiet."
Nova nodded, holding Frieza closer. "I understand."
The journey was tense, each moment filled with the fear of being discovered. Nova's mind raced with thoughts of what lay ahead. Where would they go? How would they survive? But for now, they were free from Cold’s grasp, and that was enough.
After a few more hours Tabaga finally spoke into the silence. "We’ll be reaching someplace safe within the cycle. It's a remote planet, not much there, but it's off the grid and semi-safe. We can lay low for a while before moving on."
Nova felt a flicker of hope. "Thank you, Tabaga. Truly."
The Saiyan glanced at her, a brief softening in her hard expression. Tabaga did not say anything else, turning back to the controls in front of her. The rest of the time before reaching their destination was spent in a peaceful silence.
The ship shuttered as it descended through the atmosphere, Frieza blinked awake Panic flashed across his crimson eyes before he locked eyes with Nova, he quickly calmed down afterward.
“We are landing now,” Nova softly explained, brushing a hand over the gemstone on Frieza’s head.
Frieza was silent as the ship landed with one last thunk, the landing equipment groaning under the weight of the ship. Tabaga went through the shutdown procedures, her focus unwavering despite the tension.
“We made it,” Tabaga announced, her voice gruff.
Nova stood, still holding Frieza, and peered out the small window. They had landed in a rocky clearing, though she could see vegetation further out in the distance. Tabaga finished her procedures and opened the hatch, and a rush of cool air filled the cabin. Nova stepped out carefully, her feet touching the alien soil. Frieza peeked over her shoulder, wide-eyed and curious.
Tabaga joined them, her expression hard but not unkind. “We need to find shelter and supplies. There should be an abandoned outpost nearby. It should have what we need.”
“Alright, lead the way,” Nova murmured, still taking in the strange planet, it was not often that she left Arcose.
They began their trek across the rocky terrain, the cool air invigorating yet carrying a hint of unfamiliarity. The planet’s twin suns were setting, casting a golden hue over the landscape. Frieza clung to Nova, his curiosity piqued despite the anxiety of their escape.
The outpost came into view, a collection of weathered buildings and structures that had clearly seen better days. Despite its dilapidated state, it offered a glimmer of hope. Tabaga led them to an intact building, pushing open the creaking door to reveal a dusty but habitable space.
“This will do for now,” Tabaga said, her tone practical. “We’ll need to secure the perimeter and gather supplies, but it’s a start.”
Nova set Frieza down gently, brushing a stray lock of hair from his face. “We’ll make it work,” she assured him.
Mother finally let me go, she hed been holding onto me for most of the day. She needed it so I stayed silent and allowed her to smother me in her worries. It did not seem like she even realized that she was doing it, her grip tight and protective. I could feel her fear, her desperation to keep me safe. It was—comforting.
The room was sparse, but it felt like a sanctuary compared to the cold opulence of the palace. I glanced back at Mother, who was still watching me with anxious eyes, her hands resting protectively on her stomach. I wanted to reassure her, to tell her that everything would be alright, but my words felt inadequate.
Instead, I focused on exploring our new surroundings. The building was old, with rusting floors and dusty surfaces, but it was a place we could call our own, at least for now. Standing on my tip-toes to peek through the broken window I took in Tabaga who was outside, checking the perimeter and ensuring our safety. There was some kind of half-broken fence surrounding the place that she was taking a closer look at. She moved with a purposeful grace, her eyes scanning the area for any potential threats.
Tabaga caught my eye and gave a small nod before continuing her inspection. I turned back to the room, examining the few pieces of furniture and the scattered debris. It wasn't much, but it was something at least.
Tabaga entered with a huff claiming that the premises was safe for the time being, all but forcing Mother to get sleep. Mother relented with a sigh, taking the makeshift cot that Tabaga had fashioned for her. Before long she was passed out and I turned my attention to the Saiyan, she quirked a brow at me.
“Thanks.”
She blinked dumbly at me, before schooling her expression, “Whatever kid.”
The outpost fell into an easy silence, however, the tenitavely happy life we created together was never going to last. It ended abruptly with a rumbling in the sky.
Chapter 7: Chapter Seven: Now You Steal Away
Summary:
"Frieza, hold on tight," Mother whispered, her voice trembling.
Notes:
WARNINGS: Character Death
Chapter Text
I had been counting the days since we landed on this planet, it had almost been a month and Tabaga was planning on heading out to our next destination. She discussed the planet briefly it was inhabited and not underneath Cold’s thumb so it was the perfect place to head next.
"We need to leave soon," Tabaga said one evening, her voice low but urgent. "The longer we stay here, the 𝓰ᵣₑₐₜₑᵣ ₜₕₑ ᵣᵢₛₖ ₒ𝒻 ᵦₑᵢₙ𝓰 𝒻ₒᵤₙ𝒹."
Mother nodded, her face etched with worry.
“We can leave soonest at first ₗᵢ𝓰ₕₜ.”
“Okay, that’s fine,” Mother said, running a hand back and forth across the top of my head.
Tabaga packed up anything of importance before taking a quick nap, it would be outside light soon after all. Unease bubbled up in my chest, something tickled at the edges of my conscious that felt important. The feeling came to a head when we left the outpost, suns just cresting the horizon in the distance. My eyes shot up to the sky, I heard it long before we saw anything, the achingly familiar UFO shape of Cold’s ship. Dread filled my lungs, a sharp chill creeping up my limbs. Nova stilled behind me, my fists clenched at my sides, this was not good.
Tabaga moved to stand in front of us, snarling over her shoulder she bit out, “Get away, run! Get to the ship and leave!”
Mother scooped me up into her arms, turning around and running out in the direction that our shuttle was at. With wide eyes I stared at Tabaga’s backside, her shoulders shook as she squared up against the landing ship. I knew deep inside what was going to happen to her—I hated the mere thought of it.
The terrain was rough, jagged rocks and dense underbrush making our escape difficult. Mother stumbled but never faltered, her grip on me firm and determined. I could hear the roar of engines growing louder behind us, the ground vibrating with the impending threat.
"Frieza, hold on tight," Mother whispered, her voice trembling.
I clung to her, burying my face in her shoulder to block out the sight of Cold’s ship. The sound of the ensuing battle echoed in the distance, a sobering reminder of what Tabaga was facing alone. I wanted to fight, to help her, but—my hands trembled and my anxiety kicked into overdrive. I remembered the blood staining my hands when I accidentally slaughtered those soldiers.
Mother's breathing was labored, each step a struggle against the uneven ground. "Just a bit further," she murmured, more to herself than to me. Her resolve was unwavering, but I could feel her exhaustion.
The ship was within sight now, Mother picked up her pace, feet pounding against the rocks. Before we could reach the ship it was gone, a thin beam of red energy hit the ship, engulfing it in a ball of fire. Mother fell to her knees, staring wide-eyed at the smoldering wreckage that was our only hope. My gaze shot over her shoulder at the sound of a familiar set of footsteps. Scrambling out of her arms, I stood between Cold and Mother, what must have been Tabaga’s blood and brains coating his clenched fist. Swallowing down bile, I watched as he stalked closer, fire alight in his eyes. Mother was trembling behind me, I did not dare draw my gaze away from Cold as I stood my ground. Tabaga would not die in vain, Cold quirked a brow at my false bravado.
“Standing up to me, boy?” He sneered, a cocky smirk on his lilac face. “You are 𝒹ₑ𝒸ₐ𝒹ₑₛ ₜₒₒ ᵧₒᵤₙ𝓰 to stand up against me.”
I clenched my fists, my small frame shaking, my voice was hoarse as I spoke, “Go away, no go back.”
Cold chuckled, the sound low and menacing. “You think you can ₒᵣ𝒹ₑᵣ me around?”
Before I could respond, Mother broke her silence, placing a trembling hand on my shoulder.
“We give up,” Mother resigned, hanging her head lowly, free fist clenching at her dirty dress as she groveled. “We’ll go back.”
“That’s good and all, but—”
In the blink of an eye Cold was gone from where he had been standing, I whirled around at the whimper that escaped Mother. Cold had her by the nape, her feet dangling uselessly in the air, she did not even bother kicking or fighting back. Her one bright eyes had dulled, they no longer had the youthful sheen to them.
“—You still need to be taught a lesson.”
Cold’s cold laughter echoed through the clearing as he tightened his grip on her neck. I felt a surge of helpless rage, my small fists clenched at my sides. “Let Mother go!” I screamed, my voice cracking.
Cold sneered, not even sparing me a glance. “Quiet, boy. You have no power here.”
But something within me snapped. A rush of energy surged through my body, an intense heat that threatened to consume me. I had felt glimpses of this power before, but never had I dared to unleash it—to channel it against someone. My vision blurred with red as I focused all my simmering anger and fear on Cold.
With a roar that seemed to shake the very ground, I charged at Cold, my small frame propelled by a force I could barely control. He turned his head slightly, a look of mild surprise on his face. Before he could react, I slammed my fist into his stomach with all the strength I could muster, leaving him coughing. Cold staggered back, releasing Mother. She fell to the ground, gasping for breath, but I didn’t stop. I kept pushing, my energy growing with each passing second. Cold’s sneer turned into a scowl as he glared down at me.
“You ᵢₙₛₒₗₑₙₜ brat!” he bellowed, swiping at me with a powerful backhand. The blow sent me sprawling, pain exploding through my body, but I forced myself to get back up. I wouldn’t let him win. Not this time.
Mother’s voice broke through the haze of my anger. “Frieza, stop! Please, you’ll only make it worse!”
I glanced back at her, seeing the fear and desperation in her eyes. She was right. I couldn’t beat Cold, not like this. But I couldn’t just stand by and let him hurt her.
Cold’s laughter cut through my thoughts. “A ᵦᵣₐᵥₑ 𝒹ᵢₛₚₗₐᵧ, ᵦᵤₜ 𝒻ᵤₜᵢₗₑ. You’re not strong enough to 𝒸ₕₐₗₗₑₙ𝓰ₑ me.”
With a final, defiant glare, I backed down, standing protectively in front of Mother. Cold watched me with a mixture of amusement and contempt.
“This isn’t over,” I vowed, my voice steady despite the fear and pain coursing through me.
Cold smirked, victory sweet on his lips. “No, it’s not. But for now, you’ll both come back with me.”
Chapter 8: I’ll Pull You Closer into Me
Summary:
Cold’s hand fell to her stomach, caressing the small bump, he let out a soft hum.
Notes:
WARNINGS: Implied/referenced abuse, IF PREGNANCY STUFF SCARES YOU DON'T READ THE FIRST HALF OF THIS CHAPTER---skip to the text break where it switches to MC's pov
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Cold had not gone easy on her once they were in the privacy of his room, Nova had to be hospitalized because he did not hold himself back. Her body was covered in a smattering of bruises and one of her ankles had been broken. She had to be taken to the hospital, where she now lay, helpless, her breath ragged and painful. Her ankle was broken, the bones jutting out at an unnatural angle.
The sterile environment of the hospital offered no comfort. The cold, white walls and the incessant beeping of the medical machines were a stark contrast to the warmth and safety she longed for. Her mind was a whirl of fear and anxiety, her thoughts constantly drifting to Frieza. She hoped he was safe, that he wasn't facing Cold's wrath alone.
The door to the medical wing slid open, and the familiar, dreaded sound of Cold's footsteps filled the room. Fear gripped Nova, and she tried to summon the energy to sit up, to protect herself. But her body refused to respond. She could only watch as Cold strode into the room, his presence dominating the space.
He approached her bed, his eyes cold and calculating. "You really thought you could escape me, didn't you?" he sneered, his voice low and menacing.
Nova's heart pounded in her chest. She wanted to scream at him, to tell him how much she hated him, but all she could manage was a weak glare. The pain was overwhelming, and it took all her strength just to keep her eyes open.
Cold reached out and gripped her chin, forcing her to look at him. "You're mine, Nova. You and that brat of yours. Don’t ever forget that."
Tears welled up in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her break.
Cold released her chin and straightened up, a cruel smile playing at the corners of his lips. "I’ve arranged for you to be kept here until you recover. Don’t get any ideas about running away again."
Before he left Cold’s hand fell to her stomach, caressing the small bump, he let out a soft hum. With that, he turned and left, the door hissing shut behind him. Now that she was finally alone, Nova allowed her tears to fall, curling into herself wishing for everything to be over.
Desperately she clutched her round stomach, if she pressed firmly she could feel the indent of the developing egg. Rolling onto her side she pulled open one of the drawers beside her cot, there had to be something. There. It was a long thin thermometer, using the device she pressed it into herself, breaching the delicate film protecting the egg.
With a grunt Nova forced herself to stand, pain shot up her injured ankle as she stumbled into the en suite bathroom. She hit the ground before she could make it to the tub, body slamming against the chilly tile. Nova wept, the blood trickling down her thighs and pooled on the ground below her. There on the floor of the medical ward bathroom, her body expelled the squishy egg of her child. Nova’s cries grew louder as she cradled her baby—the baby that she just murdered.
I had gotten my own room now that Mother was bed-bound in the medical ward, it made me recall when Mum had been in the hospital. I remember laying on the couch wide awake worried that she would stop breathing in the middle of the night—I was nine. Pushing away the memories I hurried to the throne room, King Cold had requested my presence. Apprehension burned in my throat as I approached the room, doubts clawing at my nape.
Carefully pushing the door open, locking eyes with Cold who was sitting at the end of the room atop an elaborate throne. The weight of his power was overbearing, he was not holding back his ki as he stared down at me.
“We have something ᵢₘₚₒᵣₜₐₙₜ ₜₒ 𝒹ᵢₛ𝒸ᵤₛₛ, my son. If you are going to throw yourself around like that with your power, you are going to have to reign it in,” Cold said, a dark look in his eyes.
Furrowing my brows I glared at him, locking my jaw in place. Cold stood up, stalking down from the raised dias till he was standing in front of me. I squared my shoulders looking up at him defiantly, willing myself to not break eye contact.
“Start by taking all of that energy you have flowing out of you and pull it into your body,” Cold all but demanded.
With a glare I complied and dug inside of myself, searching for this energy or ki. After several moments of nothing I could tell that Cold was starting to get impatient, which made me panic. I found it, this was the same thing I felt when protecting Nova, the heat thrumming through my veins. Grasping the tail end of my power, I pulled on it balling it up inside of myself. It felt like I was smashing my soul into a little box. My bones creaked, pain seared through the sides of my head; skin rippled and hardened. My breath came out in short bursts, sweat gathering on my brow. I was taller than I had been a moment ago.
“Good,” Cold praised, I had almost forgotten he was there. “Now keep going.”
My breath caught, and his eyes lingered on my form. I refocused myself and continued smashing down my soul; completing the task several times before Cold deemed my prowess to be at manageable levels. I was soaked to the bone with sweat and completely out of breath.
Cold quickly dismissed me, letting me leave since I had completed his task. I was going to go see Mother but first I wanted to see myself in my new form. Stopping by my room first so that I could rid myself of the layer of grime on my body.
I found myself in front of the mirror again; staring at— his —my body. This form was different than Frieza’s normally was, my horns were much shorter and I was colored slightly differently. Small dull horns jutted out of my cranium and I lacked the pink stripes of the original, instead, those areas were fully lilac. I looked more like Mother than Cold, a twisted glee burrowed in my chest.
Running out of my room I hurried over to the medical ward, ignoring the curious looks of on-lookers. I was more focused on getting to Mother, the door slid open and her head raised from the pillow. My hands were trembling, I knew they were, and she knew they were; Mother gave me a small encouraging smile. That was all I needed to surge forward, pressing my smaller form against hers, the embrace was warm. It had been so long since I had been able to touch someone without worrying about harming them.
Notes:
If you skipped the first part of this chapter:
Nova got beaten up by Cold to the point where she had to be hospitalized because of it. She decides that she does not want to bring the child growing inside of her into this world so she performs an abortion on herself.
Chapter 9: And I’m Pushing You Away
Summary:
“We received word back from the young King, he will be here in a week to appraise you,” Her mother said, waving an elegant letter in front of Nova’s face.
Notes:
This is a double update, make sure you read chapter 8 :D
Nova's backstory is heavily inspired by Lady Tygry's Frieza origin story fancomic.
Chapter Text
Cold was acting strangely, unlike before he was actually trying to spend time with me, much to my chagrin. He had me up bright and early, all but dragging me out of my room and taking me out of the castle. It was a challenge to keep up with his long strides, my feet squeaking in the grass as I stumbled along. We were alone, Cold having dismissed the yellow alien that followed him around, I was not sure of his name.
I had never been this far out of the palace save for when Nova whisked me off the planet. While part of me wished to have been able to explore the city that the palace was built on the outskirts of. The rest of me was content with the foreign forest growing around me—us—it would have been far better if Cold was not around.
He came to a stop at the edge of a cliff, I took in the breathtaking alien sight, it was like nothing I had ever seen before. The towering blue trees stretched out for miles, trailing off into the horizon. Out in the distance, I could barely make out a snowcapped mountain range. My attention was drawn away from the scenery as Cold spoke up, breaking the silence.
“Now I will teach you the most important thing,” Cold proclaimed; I only had a moment's notice before I was flung off the cliff.
I clamped down on the scream that rattled through my lungs, every fiber of my being lashing out in a panic. My stomach was in my throat as I tried focusing on my energy, it pulsed out instinctually and my descent slowed. I was not necessarily afraid of heights before, more so of falling if anything. Now that my life was teetering in my hands I faltered. Resolve shaking as I hover in the air; ki flowing through my trembling limbs.
“That’s my boy,” Cold’s voice made me jolt as he spoke, he raised slowly into the air, moving to hover next to me in the air. “Now keep up.”
Cold shot off in the direction of the palace, after a moment to figure out how to move I followed after him, the unfamiliar sensation of flight making my stomach churn. He was faster than I was, more surer of himself and his capabilities. I struggled to keep pace, my body still adjusting to the demands of flight. The landscape below blurred, the wind rushing past my ears. I was terrified, terrified of falling, terrified of my ki suddenly giving out and me become a bloody stain on the ground.
Before long Cold sharply changed course, aiming for the courtyard of the palace. Taking a moment to wrangle my ki I followed closely behind him, my feet burned when I hit the ground. I had surely taken some skin off of them with that abysmal landing—at least I did not land on my face though.
During the walk back inside the palace a group of people training caught my attention, throwing caution to the wind I decided to try something. “What are they doing?”
“Training, son,” Cold gave me an odd look, which made sense I barely spoke to him much less asked him any questions.
“Can I do that too?” I looked up at him with the most innocent look I could muster up.
“Why whatever for?”
Sticking my bottom lip out I muttered, “It looks fun.”
Cold let out a sharp laugh, “You have no need for training, you are already almost as strong as I am.”
I stared up at him, “But—”
“Drop it, Frieza,” Cold’s voice was sharp, I held back a flinch at the tone, “Go back to your room.”
Without saying anything I scampered off, heart pounding wildly in my chest, that was close. I had prodded the subject too much and now he was going to be suspicious of me. I was lucky enough that he showed me how to control my forms, asking about training was stupid. Now Cold probably thought I was trying to get stronger than him or something—I would like to but he does not need to know that.
If I could train in some way I could be leagues stronger than everyone—save Beerus and all those other gods and angels. I would not have any experience in a fight but at least I could start figuring out my powers internally.
Meditation was something I was never particularly good at. Despite listening to meditation music every night to sleep; I had never truly tried. Now I had to find something I knew was there, but had no one to help me. The only people were on Earth—and still learning themselves. “Was Roshi even alive at this point?”
I could always go to Earth, but that would put the planet on Cold and Cooler’s radar. I could not even attempt to look up the planet on the database because everything could be logged. If I accessed the console, it might be flagged, and Cold could see what I was up to. So meditation it was.
It was similar to the way Cold had me reach inside and smash down my soul, this time however I was instead feeling it out. Some kind of map, I wrote down notes during my breaks in the journal that Mother gave me forever ago. I blinked—Mother—how long had it been since I saw her? She usually sent someone to come find me and escort me to her. Now that she was bedbound I had been seeing her less and less, especially with Cold who had been eating up most of my time.
Gnawing on the inside of my mouth I resolved to go see her in the morning, then we could catch up and I could see how she was doing.
Nova hated what she was doing, she hated keeping her distance from her child—especially after the loss of her unborn one. It was for the better though, if she kept her distance then Frieza would be safe from Cold’s wrath. Maybe Cold would forget she existed and allow her to fade into obscurity. Gently she allowed her eyes to flutter closed, memories from a time long passed filtered through her mind.
Nova remembered digging in the soil of her home, planting all sorts of flowers in all her favorite shades of pink and purple. She was kneeling in the garden when her world was turned on end, the maid had dragged her out of the garden harshly. Nova was covered in dirt, unbefitting of an Arcosian noble—she did not care, the dirt sung between her fingers as she sowed life into fresh soil. She was thrust before her mother, dress stained with grime and chin pressed against her collarbone.
“We received word back from the young King, he will be here in a week to appraise you,” Her mother said, waving an elegant letter in front of Nova’s face. She snapped her fingers and the maid stood in attention. “Bring me the books to teach Nova about…female charm. She will have to be prepared for the coming week if not for the King but for other suitors. Just being seen by the King is enough for more suitors to go pecking at the scraps.”
The maid went scurrying off to retrieve the book that her mother had requested. It was an old tome, thick and dusty, her mother made her read the whole thing in a week. Nova’s brain had turned to mush but it was all for her future—or so her mother said, solidifying the family legacy.
Nova remembered meeting King Cold for the first time, he was terrifying, tall, and imposing. He did not look like any Arcosian that Nova had ever seen, with curved sharp horns that jutted out of his cranium. Her father spoke going on and on with the formalities, hoping to impress the young King.
“She is almost of age, a suitable wife or concubine,” Her father said, in a strange tone.
Nova knew the first title but not the second, it was not in the book that her mother had given her. She blinked dumbly as she was thrust in front of the scary Arcosian, all of her instincts screamed to hide, but she stood frozen in place.
Cold hooked a finger under her chin and spoke to her for the first time, “You may look at me.”
Nova fought to keep her eyes up as he drew back. “My King—”
“You may address me by my given name.”
“King—King Cold?”
“‘Cold’ is acceptable,” He reiterated, watching her like a predator does to prey.
Her father piped up, “My King, my offspring has been bred to offer respect, please do not elevate her from her station.”
“Hold your tongue. I possess the power to elevate or depress an individual’s station,” Cold bit back, he quickly smoothed out his tone, “I have taken interest in your daughter, allow us to have some time alone.”
Nova flinched as a large hand encapsulated her shoulder, her eyes raised to meet those of her King.
Nova remembered sitting in the garden with Cold, she remembered his sickly sweet words and reassuring hand. It was nice in comparison to the open-palmed slaps from her father and older brothers. How wrong she had been, being beaten senseless was better than what she became trapped inside the gilded cage of queenhood. A brood bitch in a silken dress and adorn in fine jewels.
Chapter 10: Cross My Heart and Hope to Die
Notes:
Warnings: Brief thoughts of suicide, character death
Chapter Text
I heard the news drifting through the halls, no one had come to warn me that she might have not been looking good. Mother was gone now, she had died alone and I was not there to comfort her, or hold her hand while she passed on. I was hunched over in Mother’s closet, tears streaming down my face. It finally dawned on me that she was gone, burying my face in one of her dresses, I drowned out my hiccuping cries. This would be my first funeral, I had my parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents. Loss was a foreign concept to me, I never truly lost anyone; that is until Mother.
What was I supposed to do with myself now that she was dead, she had been with me throughout this whole life. Was I supposed to just move on and continue living like nothing had happened? Was there even a point to continuing, maybe things would be better if I just killed myself. If I did that then things pain surging through my chest would leave me alone. The thought lingered, dark and tempting. I wanted an escape from the unbearable ache, the hollow emptiness that threatened to consume me. The memory of her smiling face flashed across my eyelids, she would not want me to do that. Mother had done so much for me, all of her sacrifices would be in vain if I killed myself. If I even had the balls to off myself.
Slowly I pushed open the closet door, if I kept crying in the closet then I would miss the funeral. The thought of being late made my stomach churn, scrambling out of the closet I took one of her dresses with me. I just needed to get through the funeral then I would be able to hideaway to my heart's content.
Pulling open one of her makeup drawers, I found what I was looking for. The tube of black lipstick rested oddly in my hands, moving to Mother’s mirror I carefully applied the glossy lipstick. My lips were thinner than I was used to, and my cupid’s bow was more pronounced. Looking in the mirror, the makeup pulled my face together, it felt right. I just had to get through the precession then I could hole myself up in her room for as long as I wanted.
Dragging myself out of the bathroom I moved to go to the funeral. My heart heavy with grief, I wished I could have worn one of Mother’s gowns in tribute. Shaking off the thoughts I forced myself forward. It was only me and Cold at the funeral, it made me wonder where Mother’s parents were. “Were they still alive? And if so why weren’t they here?”
I glanced at Cold through my peripherals, wondering if he had something to do with it. I would not put it past him to murder her, especially since he was dedicating a chunk of his time to me. Keeping my lips firmly pressed shut, I watched as her casket was sealed shut, Mother’s face looked peaceful, surrounded by flowers. It broke my heart.
The precession was short, before long it was over and Mother was at rest. Cold did not say anything when he left, I barely acknowledged him as I stood alone. My vision swam as I stood, my body rigid and my ears ringing, I felt like throwing up. I needed to get away from here, at least for the time being, no one stopped me as I drifted up into the sky. Aimlessly floating through the air I headed for the horizon line where there were mountains. Maybe out there I could think.
The sun was high in the sky by the time I made it out there, the snow was not very cold. Or at least not the kind of cold I remembered. I loved snow, winter was my favorite season for a reason. Playing in the snow was one of my favorite memories of my Dad when I was little. Bundling up and climbing piles of snow he would shovel off of the sidewalk. My Dad used to snowboard, I remember being so happy to learn how. I leaped at the chance to sign up through my school even though none of my friends had signed up.
My tears flowed freely as I crouched down in the powdery snow, my breath curling out of my mouth in a loose puff. My fingers curled around a clump of the powder, and with a growl I fell into my meditation pose, crossing my legs and sitting in the cool snow. Sitting for a long moment; I had not seen any scouters and no one could sense auras, I should be able to let lose out here. Slowly I allowed myself to gather together the power inside of me, focusing it into the palm of my hand. It felt like forever before a small purple orb of light grew from my palm. In my excitement, my concentration broke and the energy popped, dissipating into the air.
This time I tried allowing the energy churning inside of me out. Every inch—no—every cell multiplying and dying inside of my writhing body, was charged like a live wire, pulsing with a foreign yet familiar energy. When I breathed the energy swirling around me, breathed too. In and out. Filling and evacuating my lungs all at one. My skin tingled as power raced under my skin and through my veins, it was invigorating.
Falling back in the snow and allowing my gathered energy to dissipate, I stared up at the sky. There was barely a cloud in the sky, as the sun continued to sink further toward the horizon line. Letting out another sharp breath of chilly air I came to a decision, I was going to burn down Cold’s empire, no matter how long it might take. Playing the role of the perfect little obedient son would be simple, I could do it. I wouldn’t burn myself out like last time—
Cold was never content with whatever Cooler did, conquering Brench was a major feat. Weasling into the government and toppling the monarchy was worthy of at least some praise. Cooler even surrendered a handful of decently strong soldiers to Cold. Nothing was ever enough.
Instead of being proud of Cooler, Cold decided to turn irate because his whore of a wife ran off with a monkey as soon as Cold left the planet. Cooler only wanted to display his might to his father, was that so much to ask for?
With a growl Cooler continued stalking through the halls, now that the wife was good and gone, that brat Frieza should fall into obscurity once Cold remarried. The elites would pitch a fit if Cold tried to remain single after the obligatory mourning period. Which was all the better for Cooler, the brat was nothing of any worth so Cooler would end up on top.
It was only a matter of time.
Chapter 11: I’ll Defy Ya
Summary:
“Fine,” I said through gritted teeth. “I’ll take her. But I still want access to the library.”
Chapter Text
In the wake of Mother’s death, I found solace in an old friend, literature. After being sent into Frieza’s body I had never been too fond of reading, it was a hassle trying to remember all the words. Especially with the higher level books which is what the meager library consisted of. I stole several off the shelves, ran off to Mother’s room, and stuffed my nose in them; struggling through chapter after chapter of various texts. Most of the books were philosophy which made my head throb, the pain was welcome though. Anything was better than thinking about my dead Mother.
Cold of course decided that he should mettle in my affairs because moping in the library to cope with my grief was not a good enough option. Marching into the throne room with an irritated look on my face I moved to confront Cold—who had removed my access to the library.
“Let me back into the library,” I seethed, glaring down at him and not acknowledging anyone else in the room.
Cold clicked his tongue, “Mind your ₘₐₙₙₑᵣₛ, boy you will get it back as soon as I am done speaking with you.”
Now I finally noticed that we were not entirely alone, there was another person here, Cold quickly gathered that I noticed her.
“My son, this girl is for you, she is a Brenchian,” Cold stated, “Do with her what you will.”
I blinked, glancing between him and the pink-skinned girl standing at attention, she had long white hair that was kept in a neat braid. She looked like Jeice, maybe he was a Brenchian too, though I do not remember seeing this girl in the anime. With how Frieza acted it was safe to assume that she was either killed by him or completely forgotten about.
The girl remained silent, her gaze fixed ahead. I could see the tension in her stance, the fear she was trying so hard to conceal. Cold’s cruel smile made my stomach churn, and I struggled to keep my composure. This must have been some sort of twisted test, to gain the upperhand over me. To make me more like him .
“Why?” I asked coldly, not breaking my gaze from Cold. “Why give her to me?”
Cold’s smile widened. “Consider it a gift, a distraction from your grief. She can be your servant, your plaything, whatever you desire. You need to start learning how to wield power, boy.”
My fists clenched at my sides. I didn’t want a “gift” from him, especially not one that involved another life. But defying him outright wasn’t an option—not yet.
“Fine,” I said through gritted teeth. “I’ll take her. But I still want access to the library.”
Cold waved a hand dismissively. “Very well. You can have your precious books. But remember, Frieza, you cannot be passive in my affairs for much longer.”
I nodded, barely containing my anger. Turning to the girl, I gestured for her to follow me. She obeyed without a word, her eyes alight with curiosity and a hint of fear.
“What is your name?” I asked once we were out of the throne room, she flinched under my gaze.
“Berrie, sir,” She forced out, her lithe body trembling.
The honorifics made me cringe internally, I usually forgot about my status and physical sex. When it was pointed out by Cold I ignored it, because his opinion did not matter to me. Brushing off the discomfort I continued, “So Berrie, why did Cold send you here?”
She froze, “I don’t understand, My Lord.”
“Cold didn’t send you here for no reason,” I said, eyes narrowed distrustfully.
Berrie was frozen for a long moment before she fell to her knees, “Forgive me, my King made me volunteer to give my people leverage.”
I rolled my eyes, “That would only work if Cold gave two shits about my well-being.”
Her cheeks went a vibrant purple, “Are you not angry with me—sir?”
“You were just trying to survive,” I reasoned, patting her shoulder, “I have a request though.”
Berrie blinked up at me with suspicious eyes, “What do you want?”
“I will tell you about it later, just know that once this starts there will be no way out,” I mentioned vaguely, it would be helpful to have someone on my side rather than Cold’s, now I just needed to figure out what that meant. “I will give you the chance now to stay as a pawn for your King, if that is what you choose I will have no qualms with it.”
“I—give me time to think, My Lord,” She muttered.
“Of course.”
We fell into an awkward silence as I continued walking towards the library. The tension hung heavy between us, each step echoing our unspoken thoughts. Aligning myself with her could be a significant step in undermining Cold’s control, a step hopefully in the right direction. The library door creaked open, revealing the dimly lit shelves lined with ancient tomes. I stepped inside, Berrie hesitating at the threshold before following me.
The room was cool and quiet, the smell of old paper and ink a comforting balm to my frayed nerves. I made my way to a familiar corner, where a collection of philosophy texts lay, their spines worn from age and countless other hands. These ancient books were from an age before the modernization of the planet. It was nice, having things that reminded me of home, of my life before this whole reincarnation thing.
Berrie watched me curiously as I picked up a book and settled into one of the cushioned chairs. She wandered over to a nearby shelf, running her fingers over the spines of the books. The silence between us was not uncomfortable, but rather a shared moment of contemplation.
"Do you come here often?" she asked softly, breaking the silence.
"Yes," I replied, my voice barely above a whisper.
Silence fell once more between us, Berrie standing beside one of the bookshelves and me nestled in a chair. It was strange, yet not unwelcome. Maybe having someone was not a bad thing.
Chapter 12: I Never Had a Chance
Summary:
“What do you want—Father?”
Chapter Text
In the following days, Berrie would often join me in the library, watching me in silence, after a few times of her doing so I decided to speak up, “What are you doing?”
“Erm, you haven’t given me any orders so I’m staying by your side.”
“Do you want to read something?” I asked, peering up at her over the lip of my book—a rather boring one about politics.
She waved her hands around, “No, I could never—”
Once again, silence engulfed us, and it was becoming somewhat uncomfortable as we stared at each other. Trying to dispel the silence, I cleared my throat in an attempt to restart our conversation. A memory surfaced, and I felt like I was back in middle school blurting out the first thing that came to mind.
“Have you ever killed someone?”
Berrie blinked, staring at me for a long moment before saying anything, “What?”
“Have you killed someone before?” I reiterated, observing her facial expressions and body language.
"...Yes," she replied hesitantly, her fair brows furrowing ever so slightly, while her lips twitched and her eyes narrowed."
I nodded slowly, absorbing her response. “How did it feel?”
Berrie's eyes flickered with a mixture of emotions—surprise, confusion, perhaps a touch of sadness. “It... It wasn't something I enjoyed, if that's what you're asking.”
I tilted my head, curious about her reaction. “Do you regret it?”
Her gaze turned distant, as if she were seeing something far away. “Regret? I suppose... in some cases. But most of the time, it's been about survival. Orders. Duty.”
I leaned back in my chair, contemplating her words. “Do you think it changes you? Killing, I mean.”
Berrie sighed softly, her shoulders slumping. “It does. Each time, a piece of you gets chipped away. You try to hold onto who you are, but it’s hard. You lose bits of yourself along the way.”
The weight of her words settled between us, a heavy reminder of the world we lived in. I closed my book, setting it aside. “I understand.”
She looked at me, curiosity in her eyes. “Have you...?”
“Yes,” I said quietly, the memory of bodies strewn across the room, blood stained the floor. My hands—my arms—I was covered head-to-toe in bright crimson.
Berrie’s expression softened. “It’s not easy, is it? Living with it.”
“No,” I agreed.
She shifted slightly, her eyes searching mine. She seemed to have found something there in my blue—no—my red eyes that made her shoulders relax. The conversation petered off, the heavy silence returning but now carrying a different weight. I returned to my book, though my mind was only half on the words. Berrie remained nearby, her presence a quiet comfort. It reminded me of falling asleep in Mother’s arms—it reminded me of watching movies with my family.
Cooler lay sprawled across his bed, some whore curled against his side fast asleep. He stared up at the ceiling, the smallest bit of light streaming in from the cracks in the curtains. The room was dim and quiet, the faint hum of the ship's engines a constant reminder of their isolation in the cold vastness of space. Cooler had all but fled Arcose as soon as he reasonably could.
His thoughts were a tangled mess, the memories of recent events weighing heavily on him. Father’s unimpressed gaze, memories of his Mother’s tight smile and warm arms, and of Frieza’s oddities—all of it churned in his mind. He felt a pang of something he couldn't quite identify. Was it guilt? Regret? Or merely the crushing weight of responsibility?
The woman beside him shifted, her breathing deep and even. Cooler glanced at her, a fleeting moment of envy passing through him. How easy it must be to sleep, to forget, even if just for a little while. But sleep eluded him, as did peace.
With a sigh, he carefully disentangled himself from her grasp and sat up, running a hand over his face. The cool air of the room brushed against his skin, a stark contrast to the warmth of the bed. He stood and walked to the window, pushing the curtains aside to reveal the vast expanse of stars outside.
Cooler watched the stars for a moment, his mind still restless. The must be something more that he could do to stand out to Cold, to further ostracize Frieza. Cooler knew he had to keep moving forward, to continue playing the role expected of him. If he did that then there would be no faults that Cold would be able to find. All he needed was a solid plan to come out on top, a way to prove his worth and ensure that he was seen as the superior choice.
With one final glance at the stars, Cooler turned away from the window. There was much to be done, and he was ready to take the next step in his calculated ascent.
I was back in my room again, book half forgotten on my pillow as I stared up at the ceiling. Cold of course could not keep his nose out of my affairs as of late—especially since he believed that I should be doing something more, now that I had a grasp of my abilities. Boundaries did not exist around him, he could do whatever he wanted and no one had the balls to tell him otherwise. I was starting to get snippy with him because privacy was foreign to him too apparently.
I was on guard when Cold entered the room, watching him warily, “What do you want—Father?”
“I can’t come see my son on his hatching day?” Cold inquired, my eyes narrowed, much to his apparent amusement. I blinked, my birthday had completely slipped my mind—I was eight now.
He snapped his fingers, someone jumped from behind him; with a click, there was a little dart in my thigh. As my vision swam I stared up at Cold, an eerie grin spread across his face. Darkness crept up starting in my peripherals, distantly I realized I had been tranquilized. I felt my back hit the bed, but nothing after that.
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