Music

 

* Copyright 1999 by Gale; based on an idea by. The characters from the series Dragon Ball Z which appear here are property of and copyrighted 1988-96 by Akira Toriyama and Toei Animation and were used without permission. The characters Boreas, Gale, and Mistral all belong to me. I was given the right to distribute this work provided this notice is included, the credit is given where due, I don't alter the characters in any way and distribution is not done for money.*

 

FORWARD

 

-- In which the writer would like to explain her motives for creating this piece to her audience --

 

I analyze a lot of things, especially the villains in books and movies. Bad guys make for interesting subjects in stories, and there is much to be done for them in the world today because the original creators often neglect to explain too much about them. After all, the tale is about the protagonist, not the antagonist. I plan to change that. This is a tale in which I shall take a villain and go back and explain his life before the creator brought him in as a total psycho who was brought into existence to be hated instead of pitied. (The writer would like to take this moment to laugh maniacally.) Forgive me, but I have reason to explain everything. To do this, I had to go back and create this character's past, his race's culture and physiology, and several other things. You can read through this, the only thing that came from Toriyama's mind in here were the names. The rest is my genius.

 

Music - Chapter #1: The Lullaby

******************************

 

Red eyes searched, moving side to side, making sure the coast was clear. Freeza took a quick breath, then slid down from his chair as quietly as he could, keeping an ear open for anyone who might be coming. He checked to his right; no, she hadn't noticed, yet. Slowly, he edged toward the door, not even wanting to breathe for fear it might give him away.

 

"Freeza?"

 

He flinched, then stopped dead in his tracks. "Y-yes, mama?"

 

"I want to speak to you, Ahral," came that voice, sweet and with the sternness that must have come with the job of being a parent. She didn't even have to look up at him, never did. "Please sit down," she added.

 

With a defeated sigh, Freeza trudged over to the chair nearest hers. Then he waited.

 

"Your father and I told you about your being intended. You are aware that she is coming tomorrow." They both knew who SHE was.

 

"Yes, mama."

 

"I want you to be on your best behavior, young man."

 

He nodded. "I will try."

 

Boreas smiled and held her arms out. "Come here."

 

Freeza obeyed, and moved over to her, where she promptly brought him up into her arms and set him in her lap.

 

For a long time, they sat that way, the two of them holding one another. Purring soothingly, Boreas rocked her small child back and forth in her hold, and she hummed softly to him.

 

Freeza rested his head on her shoulder, and he shut his eyes. He loved it when his mother sang; she was the only one in their family who knew how to. No, he did not plan on learning, himself. He always thought she would be there to do it, and that was all he needed.

 

Boreas' humming soon dulled down, and they were both left sitting there enjoying the silence that followed. "Your brother is coming in tomorrow as well," she whispered conversationally.

 

Freeza made a disgusted face. "Mama..." he gritted.

 

"Young man, that is no way for you to talk," reprimanded his mother. "He's coming here to see you, after all."

 

He did not look at her. "Oh, sure. Coola does absolutely nothing but tell me how much of a loser I am. Please tell me how this is for my benefit?"

 

Boreas glared. "Freeza, your brother does NOT do that. Yes, he gives you a hard time, but you usually give it right back..."

 

He winced at that.

 

"Now, I don't want you two getting into anything, do you understand?"

 

"That won't happen, mama, I promise," he assured her.

 

At this, she smiled, bent down, and kissed his forehead. She was the only one who ever did that.

 

"That's my boy," she said.

 

* * * *

 

Freeza watched while Boreas worked. She could do the most amazing things. Something that was so wonderful about her was that she studied in an art that manipulated ki, coming mostly from summoned spirits, plants, and other things like that. At least, this was the way he could see it. His mother was a queen, yes, but she was a sorceress as well. Very few people like her existed in the Universe. So many people could bring their ki to amazing heights by just fighting, so the art was almost completely forgotten. He was told that the power mustered through her acts, which she called "magic," was much stronger than the kind that could be willed up in battle.

 

(*Author's Note #1: Ki is another term for "life energy," or "lifeforce," a word used by several ethnic groups in the Asian Countries.*)

 

Right now, she sat on her knees in the center of a chamber which had been built specially for what she was doing now. White candles, (a very primitive form of gaining light, he believed, [why bother using them when you can just say, "lights" and they will come on by themselves?]) were settled around her, where she sat within the center of a symbol she called a pentagram drawn with ashes on the floor. She made movements with her hands over a very large beaker filled with several herbs and other items she had collected, (he guessed that they were brought to her, the vegetation on their planet did not have such a variety,) eyes narrowed in mad concentration.

 

Freeza heard her mumbling lightly under her breath in another language, at least he thought it was in another language; she was speaking too softly and too fast for him to tell.

 

That was when he saw the light rising up from the beaker, coming in a swirl of glowing red smoke. It moved around Boreas as if it had a life of its own, like it was a spirit brought back to the land of the living. (He was at such a young age that he was still not practical enough to think that tales of spirits and such could ever be anything but real.)

 

Her eyes shut and she breathed in the smoke, and she did not stop inhaling until all of the smoke had entered her body. When she exhaled, the fumes came out white and formed a large circle in front of her. Her arms rose up above her head and she called out one final word.

 

Freeza stared wide eyed at what was happening. There was a picture forming in the circle:

 

Inside, he saw images of many of his people, all gathered together. Peculiar, he thought mildly. He could not imagine there being so many of them there, since the numbers of their people were so few as it was. All of them were children, only about five to ten years of age, like him. Many of them clung together fearfully, staring in horror all about them. There was smoke everywhere, not red like the kind the spell made earlier, but black, coming from fire, which rose up around the children like demons. He heard some crying for their parents. They all moved closer together to evade the flames, which seemed to be creeping in from all sides...

 

Boreas started and lowered her hands. The image vanished, and everything was normal again. She rounded on her son with a look of utter dread written across her face. "Ahral, what are you doing in here?" she demanded while getting to her feet.

 

He backed up at the sound of the anger in her voice. "I-I am sorry..." he stammered, still retreating as she came toward him.

 

His mother's expression softened. "I have told you not to come in here when I am working, Freeza," she said reasonably. They both stopped walking at the same time. "Now, if you were a parent, and your child disobeyed you, what would you do?"

 

Freeza didn't want to answer. He stared down at the floor, hands behind his back. His eyes came up when he felt his mother's hand on his shoulder.

 

"We'll talk about this later, OK?"

 

He nodded.

 

"And I would just as soon not tell your father." She led him into the hall. "Come now, our guests should be arriving soon."

 

* * * *

 

Freeza was sorely disappointed. He stood, trying not to look completely repulsed, while staring at his future bride, Gale. To be totally honest, he had expected her to look a lot like his mother, (reason being she was the only female of his kind that he had ever seen.) This girl was...different. He frowned.

Gale was a little shorter than he, having coal black eyes and even blacker lips. Her red hair was braided into dread locks, each one tied off with bands of silver. Her scull structure was shaped differently from what he was used to seeing. Her forehead was flat, not ridged like his was, and it jutted into two points at the peak, where two tiny horns peaked out. The rest was her hair, which covered her ears and ran thickly down just past her knees. There was no carapace which was a usual trademark for their people. So strange looking.

 

(*Author's Note #1: For Freeza's people, called the Kith, the scull structure is what makes up most of their heads, it is all bone and it surrounds and protects the ears and their carapaces, which is a colored section of their head which takes up the entire upper area of the scull. It sends out ultra sonics used when they speak their own tongue.*)

 

Boreas nudged him forward. He resisted, of course. "Mama..."

 

"Freeza," she quipped.

 

That agitated tone was enough to get him going. Head cast down at the floor, he trotted out to meet Gale. He looked back at his mother, who stood alongside his father and older brother. Her arms were impatiently folded, and Coola was sneering at him, the supportive big brother as usual. Feeling mightily annoyed, and wondering why Coola never had to go through with this when he was his age, he began his flat-sounding greeting. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Milady," he muttered.

 

The response he received was a short curtsy.

 

That was when he started backing up. This is gross, he thought.

 

"Freeza..." whispered Boreas, and when he turned to face her, she motioned with her index finger for him to turn around and go back.

 

Freeza rolled his eyes and returned to Gale. He lifted her hand, then stopped. She was sending out this dangerous look, as if she were going to bite his nose off. Don't you dare, those eyes seemed to say. He hesitated for a moment, then finally bent down and planted his lips on her hand. When he came back up, he whiped his mouth disgustedly while she cleaned the back of her contaminated hand with her cape.

 

Then activity started on Gale's side of the lines. Her father, Mistral, whispered something to her under his breath.

 

"Papa..." she whined in a low voice.

 

He gave her that look which Freeza got from HIS father sometimes, and he shuddered at the sight of it.

 

Gale curtsied again. "Thank you," she mumbled.

 

He looked puzzled at this. Evidently, she was just about as thrilled as he was to be there. The look on her face gave him the impression that she was planning to make the next six months the longest and most excruciating time of his life. It wasn't HIS fault, but then again, he guessed sooner or later he would be looking for someone to blame, too. He glanced back at his mother and gave her a I hope you are satisfied look. She only smiled.

 

* * * *

 

Freeza and Gale were taken into a sitting room and left alone, as far as they could tell anyway. The boy scowled; he'd tried to just walk out, but someone had locked the doors. Knowing his parents, they were responsible and probably watching without their knowing.

 

Gale made herself at home right away. She sat down on a small stool with scarlet shaded cushions, brushed her tail to one side for comfort, and rested her hands in her lap. Her head was held high like a mighty queen, and her eyes never fell over her nervous host, which probably irked him more than anything else she could do.

 

Freeza hated her already, mostly because of the rule, which was, if your parents wanted you to do it, then it was God-awful. It was something he had learned over time. As he paced back and forth on the floor, he kept repeating over and over in his head that he hated this, there was no way he was going to get married to Gale, he wished he was dead...

 

"You might as well sit down, we're going to be in here for a while." The indifferent voice of Gale cut through the air like a knife. When Freeza glanced at her, he noticed she had not bothered to look at him when she said that. She was too busy surveying the room itself, and right now her back was to him.

 

"I don't want to sit down," he said tightly.

 

"Fine." Gale turned sideways, pulled a small bauble off of the silver chain that hung around her neck, and set it down on the floor in front of her.

 

"What are you doing?"

 

No answer.

 

"Girl, I said What are you doing?" he repeated.

 

"Ignoring you." She paused as if reminded of something. "And call me girl again and you will learn what it is like to be one first hand."

 

The bauble shook and bounced for a moment, then exploded outwards. What it had turned into was something like a table, with keys and buttons on it like a computer.

 

When she saw Freeza staring over her shoulder at it, she tilted her head curiously. "What? You've never seen a kenban before?" she asked, incredulously.

 

He shook his head.

 

Gale's reply was a short "harumph," before she turned her attention on the magnificent contraption in front of her. She placed her fingers on the keys and when she pushed down an amazing thing happened. The machine made noise. As her hands moved, Freeza found that these finely tuned "noises" turned into a melody, the way that his mother's voice could.

 

Eyes wide with wonder, Freeza ventured closer and watched Gale play. Her fingers were moving so fast he could barely see them at all. When he was right behind her, she stopped.

 

"What is your problem?" she demanded.

 

"I have never seen anything like that before."

 

Gale glanced back at him. "I assume your clan does not care to practice the arts of music and dance," she said softly.

 

He looked confused. "My mother does, but no one else."

 

She nodded. "I see." With a sigh, she stood up. "Here, have a seat." When he was comfortably settled onto the stool, she took his hands and placed the tips of his fingers on the keys. "Try."

 

Freeza pressed down and flinched. Instead of the beautiful music Gale had made, he was given a sharp and extremely unpleasing squeak.

 

"You'll get the hang of it," Gale assured him.

 

He nodded, then at the realization of what he was doing, he hardened. "No, I don't want to get the hang of it. This is stupid." So saying, he got up from his seat and went back to pacing.

 

Gale snorted distastefully. "Stinkhead," she muttered.

 

At this, he stopped short. "What did you say?" he said dangerously.

 

"You heard me."

 

"All right, that's it..." Freeza rounded to make a scathing remark, and he immediately found himself face down on the floor. Gale pounced on him and they fell into a wild tumble of arms and legs, and she was landing the most punches.

 

Sometime amidst the fray, the doors to the room opened and their fathers came in. Kold, Freeza's sire, was the first to notice what was going on. He glared and bellowed his son's name.

 

The fighting stopped instantly. The two children were frozen in a position where Gale had her betrothed pinned down on his stomach, and she had her fist closed around one of his horns. Both of them turned two shades paler, (if that was possible,) at the sight of their parents, and they stumbled to their feet to stand at attention.

 

Gale's father made a motion with his hand for her to come to his side, and with a swallow, she obeyed. He grabbed her shoulder firmly and led her out.

 

Kold waited until he was sure they were out of earshot before he spoke to his son. "Young man, what was all of that about?" he asked calmly, which of coarse meant he was madder than he would have been if he were shouting.

 

Freeza pointed an accusing finger in the direction Gale had gone. "She started it!"

 

At that very moment, his mother came through the door, and he put his finger down. She joined her husband at his side. "What is it?" she questioned, "What's happened?"

 

"I came in and the children were fighting," Kold replied.

 

"Freeza!" Boreas scolded, making her son's cheeks flush. "What have I told you?"

 

Freeza felt sick. He glanced up at her. "I'm not 'sposed to hit girls," he drawled, rolling his eyes all the way through the statement.

 

(*Author's Note #2: Females in Freeza's race are well respected, if a man attacks them they have the right to kill them.*)

 

Kold looked disbelieving, "That's the most ridiculous..."

 

"Hold your tongue, husband. This is your influence."

 

"Boreas, why do you teach this rubbish to our sons?" he demanded, refusing to be quieted.

 

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Because you are too short tempered to be the disciplinarian of the family," she shot at him.

 

"Now see here..."

 

Boreas rounded on him. "We will not get into this discussion again, Kold," she stated and she reached out her hand to her little boy. "Come, you're going to apologize to her right now."

 

"She started it!" he complained.

 

She did not answer to that, just led him out of the room, leaving her husband staring after them with a disgusted look on his face.

 

* * * *

 

Freeza kept a good two paces behind his mother while they moved through the halls. He hated it when she made him do things like these. Apologizing seemed to be one of the few things in life that he found pointless. And he never even raised his hand to the little snipe in the first place! She had been the one doing all of the hitting!

 

Boreas stopped in front of the door to the guests' chambers. She looked as if she were going to use the chaimu to let Gale and her father know they were there, but she hesitated.

 

Freeza noticed this and wondered why. Then he heard it. The shouting. And screaming. He tilted his head with curiosity, this sound wasn't entirely new to him, but he was not ready to hear it now, not here. He knew what was happening, though, and he was aware of enough of their culture and beliefs to know it should not have been happening. He grabbed Boreas' hand. "Mama..." he hedged.

 

She looked down at him. He wasn't returning her gaze, just staring at the door. Then she knew there was something -- off -- in his eyes. He looked totally careless about the whole situation, but the sound of his voice had belied his

 

She glanced at him. "I want you to to go back to your room," she said. "An apology can wait."

 

Freeza finally snapped out of the trance he was in and nodded. He turned and headed back the way they had come, slowly this time, stopping when the racket from within the guest room grew a measure louder.

 

When he was gone, Boreas simply stood in place, listening, analyzing everything. She flinched when she heard Gale cry from inside. It felt all too familiar. The noise of someone being hurt, one of her own kind...

 

Unbidden memories of her own childhood -- spent in captivity -- came back to her mind. So many people had died, been enslaved. How was it that she was free now, and yet she felt she was powerless to stop things such as this...?

 

"Boreas?"

 

The sudden noise jerked her brain back into reality. She turned to gaze up at her husband.

Kold looked concerned and he glanced at the door. "There's nothing we can do about it. It is not our business."

 

"I know," she replied softly. She sighed and rested herself in his arms as he embraced her. "Just promise me this will never happen to our children."

 

He nodded. "Yes."

 

Boreas understood Kold. Although they had been brought together under strange circumstances, and had spent most of their time bickering like scorpions, they loved each other. For the two of them, however, it was more of an obligation that they did so. It was their duty to honor their vows to love and protect one another and their kin. They were both traditionalists in that sense, though.

 

"Come, it is late," Kold whispered.

 

"I know." Boreas gazed back at the door. "I just can't see how Mistral can do things like this, even after all that has happened to our people."

 

Sadly, their minds filled with unspoken and unanswered questions, Boreas and Kold made their ways back to their own chambers, hoping that perhaps they might find something there to help settle themselves.

 

* * * *

 

Gale was hesitant to move as her father lifted her out of the regen tank. His large hands took places on either side of her waist and she placed her own tiny palms on his wrists to steady herself while he picked her up. It always amazed her at how gentle he was after he had just beaten her. She looked around as she came up into his arms and saw that he had made the doctors keep themselves turned from her, allowing her privacy.

 

While cradling her easily in one arm, Mistral removed his cape and wrapped it around her as a cover. Having the warmth and dryness against her made her feel more secure and she latched onto him timidly like all small children do, and her lean tail circled most of the way around his waist.

 

He shifted his hold on her into both arms and reflected on how tiny she was for the millionth time. She was young yet. There would be plenty of time for growing. He smiled wanly as she nuzzled against him and shut her eyes.

 

"Papa, I am hungry," she whispered when they were out of the medical ward.

 

"I am too, baby," he replied. "We'll get something to eat once you've rested."

 

Gale nodded and looked up at him. "I'm sorry I was bad, papa."

 

Mistral didn't bother to look down at her. "I know, baby." She was always sorry.

 

"It still hurts a little."

 

"It is pain for you to grow on, baby. Remember that."

 

"Yes, papa."

 

* * * *

 

Freeza glared and made another jump with his arm stretched upwards. He came down with nothing in his hand and he pouted up at Coola who held his medallion just out of reach. It was a gift from mama, and he wanted it back. He made another half-hearted attempt to get at it again and failed, which sent his older brother into a fit of laughter.

 

"Mama!" he whined, rounding to face where Boreas and Kold were sitting together at the other end of the room.

 

Boreas glanced up and shoved her husband's hand off of her leg. "Coola, stop tormenting your brother," she scolded. "By the First Four, you're nearly fifty years old! Act like it for a change!"

 

Coola shrugged and let go of the medallion, and had Freeza not been quick enough to catch it, the precious bauble would have shattered into a thousand pieces on the floor.

 

Freeza placed the medallion around his neck and stuck his tongue out at his brother, then turned and hurried over to be with his parents.

 

When he would have gone to his mother, Kold lifted the small boy up into his lap using his tail. He thought to himself about how big his son was getting. Since Boreas was not able to bear anymore children, this was his last one, his youngest. He placed a hand beneath Freeza's chin, (only a few fingers covered the underside entirely,) and he stared at the boy's face.

 

Freeza might have inherited a similar headset to his father but in almost every way he was Boreas' son. From the red eyes to the amazingly well formed tail, there was no mistaking that he was her offspring. His mouth, like hers, curled in a natural but girlish pout. Kold shrugged mentally; he would grow out of that. He was not even ten years old yet and still only a toddler for one of their kind.

 

The small child shifted in his father's grip and reached out to his mother. Understanding, Kold released him and allowed his son to climb into Boreas' arms. Freeza was in many ways a very strong child but still very fragile in others. He was totally dependent upon his mother and that would have to stop sooner or later. Kold knew why though, he knew it every time he looked into his son's eyes. Freeza did not trust him, he never did. It had always frightened the boy to be left alone with his own father.

 

Boreas kissed Freeza on the forehead and put him down. She was so beautiful. Kold could barely believe that she would be reaching age one thousand before too long. She was still as beautiful as she had been when they first met --

 

He shook his head to clear it, not wanting to think that far back.

 

(*Author's Note #3: An average Kith lives through fifteen thousand Earth years. Coola is forty-seven years of age, not even considered an adolescent, and Freeza is seven, a toddler.*)

 

* * * *

 

Gale was relieved to know that this first visit was so short. She and her father were leaving the next day. Until then -- she detested this -- she had to spend her time with Freeza, and she was truly tempted to beat the bejeezums out of him like she did last time they were together...No chance at that, she thought. The entire family was around this time. Not wanting to be near her "fiancee" at the moment, she hung in one corner of the room and out of reach of anyone else.

 

"Hello, Milady..."

 

Startled, she rounded and stared up at Coola. "What do you want?" she demanded.

 

He knelt down next to her. "You don't like Freeza very much do you?"

 

"No."

 

"Then listen closely..."

 

* * * *

 

Freeza looked up as Coola rushed past him, and he felt something hot touch his tail. Jumping, he turned and examined the tip to see if it was okay. His brother had told him that when any of their kind got sick, the tails were usually effected first, either by discoloration or even swelling. "Sometimes, if you are sick enough, and the color changes entirely, your tail will fall off," he had whispered to him. Nervously, he examined it now and his eyes widened in horror.

 

The tip of his tail had turned from purple to a deep green.

 

Fearfully he bit his lip and blinked, hoping that he was seeing things, but he wasn't. Tears started to dot the corners of his eyes and his jaw began to tremble. Finally, he gave in to temptation.

 

"MAMA!!!"

 

* * * *

 

Boreas' head shot up in surprise and she was just in time to have her youngest son smack into her arms, wailing like an injured animal. She lifted him up and looked into his face, which was now flush and wet with tears because he was crying so hard. Looking concerned, she brushed the droplets out of his eyes affectionately. "What's wrong, Ahral?" she crooned softly.

 

Freeza sniffled and held up his tail; he tried choking back the sobs that were coming. She knew that crying in front of everyone just made him want to cry harder out of shame.

 

She examined the tip and rubbed it softly with her finger. She looked at her hand and saw that it had gone green where she had touched it. Glaring, she turned to search for Coola, but he was nowhere to be found, neither was Gale. Immediately she knew they must have been to blame. Back to the matter at hand, she tried her best to console her son. "It is all right, Freeza, it's not real. It's just paint."

 

The boy's eyes grew large when he realized he had just been made out to be a fool. That was when Boreas saw it, he was going to start bawling again, so she held onto him and stood.

 

"Come, let's get you cleaned up."

 

* * * *

 

"Not bad, kid," Coola said conversationally while Gale followed him down the hall. "We pulled that one off nicely."

 

Gale smiled and brought her hands together in front of her. "A three way prank war, how fun," she reflected eagerly.

 

At this, Coola stopped short and looked at her. "What do you mean, three way?"

 

"Well the way I see it, sooner or later you and I will be playing practical jokes on one another as well..."

 

He was about to return a withering remark when a low voice came careening down the hall. "Aren't you getting a little old for this, son?"

 

The two of them turned as one to stare at Kold, who was now leaning nonchalantly against a corner, arms folded. He looked at Gale first. "I want you to go back and apologize to Freeza. If you do, I will consider not telling your father about this."

 

She nodded and hastily rushed past him.

 

Then his eyes locked on his eldest son. "You have a lot of explaining to do."

 

"I don't see why you are bothering to go over this with me."

 

"I am bothering you with it because if I don't, your mother will bother me with it," Kold shot back. He pushed away from the wall and came to stand his full height in front of Coola, who was a little more than half his size. "What you did back there was beyond childish. You may not like your brother that much, but you cannot and will not reduce yourself to the manner of a tot just to enunciate your feelings toward him, and you cannot encourage such behavior on the one who is to be his future bride!"

 

Coola nodded, rolled his eyes and turned from his father. "All right, I won't mess with them anymore. Now if you will excuse me, I have some business to attend."

 

"Business?"

 

"Yes," Coola replied, glancing back. "I'm leaving in a few days after all. I must prepare."

 

* * * *

 

The chaimu sounded, and Boreas turned from her bathing son to the door. "Enter," she called.

 

The sliding door came open and to her surprise, Gale waited. The small child timidly placed her hands behind her back and entered quietly, almost afraid to make any noise.

 

Freeza let out a sickened groan as he glowered at the little girl. "What do you want?" he demanded.

 

"Ahral..." Boreas said under her breath.

 

"I came to apologize," Gale put in before Boreas was able to finish reprimanding the boy. Her cheeks turned a light crimson, an odd contrast to her usually ashen skin. "I hadn't really meant to cause as much trouble as I did, and I'm sorry."

 

Freeza huffed.

 

"Well, that's very grown up of you to do something like that," Boreas told her, trying to ignore Freeza's not-so-polite response. "I'll leave you two alone..." So saying, she stood and exited the chamber without another word.

 

Gale smiled at Freeza, who was soaking in the bathtub and pelted with bubbles. He was scrubbing his tail end raw, trying to get the green paint off of it, (where Coola got it, she had no idea,) and trying to hold his hard gaze on her at the same time.

 

"Coola put you up to it, didn't he?" the boy asked.

 

She nodded. "He said it was just a practical joke, no harm in it."

 

Freeza thought on it for a moment. If he had been in his brother's shoes, he would have found it particularly amusing himself, and if someone hadn't thought of it before him he would have done it.

 

They then were ensnared in an uneasy silence for a moment, neither of them knowing what to say or do.

They had spent their entire time knowing one another as enemies, and being at odds as they were made things even more confusing for the two of them.

 

Seeing as how silence was an awful thing to Gale, she cracked first. She immediately poked her gaze about looking for a subject to speak on. "Doesn't that hurt?" she asked, pointing to indicate his tail end which was clean but he was still scrubbing it.

 

Freeza finally realized what he was doing and dropped the now green washcloth he was using. His face flushed and he scoot further back into the fort of bubbles, almost as if he were protecting himself. A tiny smile overtook his mouth and suddenly Gale felt a few drops of warm water hit her face.

 

Giggling, she dashed forward and splashed him back. He let out a small squeal and flinched away. At this point, the water fight had officially begun. The bathroom was filled with the sound of splashing water and the laughter of two children.

 

* * * *

 

"Why, Queen Boreas, what a pleasant surprise," Mistral said sweetly. He turned to her and brought his hands together in front of him, a smile tugged at the corners of his lips to reveal pearl-white teeth. "To what do I owe the honor of your visit?"

 

"Your daughter," Boreas replied shortly, and she folded her armor-covered arms over her chest. Her

look could have melted bricks.

 

Mistral visibly winced.

 

"You've been breaking council law," she went on as she strode forward, sable hair waving lightly behind her. Her expression turned more sincere, more understanding. "We know one another, Mistral, there is no need to lie about it. You weren't like this before Nix died, and I know it must be hard for you to carry on raising a child by yourself, but your temper is getting out of control."

 

(*Author's Note #4: In Kith History, it is known that most of their kind were captured and killed off, similarly to how the Jewish Europeans of World War II in the concentration camps were, and the female Kith that survived formed one collective group, called the Council of the Henka, which governs all Kith in the Universe at this point. Boreas is the head of this organization because she is the strongest of the females as well as the one who freed their kind from captivity. One of their most important laws, of course, is that all females and all children be cared for.*)

 

Mistral's smile melted into a perturbed frown. "My thanks for your concern, Milady," he relented with a particularly venomous glare, yellow eyes narrow and dangerous, "but my daughter and I are fine. How I raise her is my concern alone. Keep to your own sons."

 

This was a return that Boreas was not going to accept. "That is where you are wrong, sir. As sovereign of the Council of the Henka, it is my duty to see that our laws are upheld." She turned from him to exit, affording him one final glance. "If you raise your hand to that child again, I will break it off," she whispered before she vanished into the halls.

 

Mistral stared after her, a mask of hate contorting his features. His fists balled at his sides as he seethed. Finally, after a few moments of mentally spouting obscenities, he calmed a great deal, and that smile, the one like the cat that ate the canary, returned to his face. "It seems we're in need of a new Council Sovereign..."

 

* * * *

 

Sometime after Freeza and Gale had single-handedly transferred all of the water in the bathtub to the bathroom floor, an attendant found the soaking wet children and dragged their laughing frames out of the chamber before they could do anymore damage. After he dried them off and replaced their clothes, he sent each of them to their rooms to wait for their parents to call on them.

 

Freeza was in no way surprised when he entered his room and found his older sibling waiting for him, leaning casually against the wall opposite to the door, smiling contentedly while neglectfully swaying a goblet of wine in his left hand. Those red eyes identical to his taunted him, the thin lips parted and formed, "I see you and the small lady made up."

 

Freeza's face scrunched up. "No thanks to you, big brother," he spat at him.

 

"What makes you think I wasn't planning this from the beginning?" questioned the 'quote,' all-knowing, 'unquote' Coola. "You two make a cute couple, though, I must admit." He tilted his head to one side. "You know it's quite funny, really," he mused, "that my brother would be the one to end up having to marry, to have to always be second to a girl..."

 

Freeza sat down on his bed. "What are you getting at, Coola?"

 

"What I am getting at is that once you marry, you do nothing but serve Gale. You'll always be in second place to her in everything, even strength," Coola sneered.

 

His baby brother looked disbelieving. His little nose twitched at the very idea of being the least important in any affair, especially when it came to physical strength. He wanted to be a brave and wise warrior like his mother. "I won't be weaker than her," he objected.

 

"That's what you think."

 

Freeza stood up. "Fine! I'll show you!" he snapped and without another word he stormed out. He didn't have to be the weakest. All he needed was some practice, some training so he could be better...

 

* * * *

 

Time and anger brought Freeza to an area outside of the citadel where he had spent most of his life in. He had never been around the places nearby. Usually if he went anywhere away from home, he and his family flew from there. He hadn't taken the time to look at what surrounded the palace. Barren, rocky wastelands went on a few miles in all directions, giving way to jagged mountains which threatened to stretch out until forever. Their planet, Korudusei, was not very lush with vegetation, and almost everything looked like this here.

 

He wandered about for a little while, trying to find the perfect place to do some training and exercising.

 

He chose a place where there were a few boulders about to either destroy or jump around on.

After about an hour of working out, Freeza became exhausted and bored. He took several deep breaths and sat down. "This is hard," he panted.

 

"Oh, poor little fledgling..."

 

Freeza's head shot up in surprise. He squinted at the newcomer nearby who was hidden in the safety of the shadows. The voice was male, as was the shape of the figure, who was roughly four times his own size. He scrambled to his feet and moved back a few steps from this advancing stranger. "W- who are y-you?" he stammered.

 

The form eventually made it into the light so the boy could get in his entire profile. This man was not a member of his race, he could tell already. A pair of menacing sea- green eyes framed by a mass of golden hair fixated on him. A flash of a brown, fur covered tail was all he managed to glimpse before he was suddenly knocked onto his back. Freeza let out a cry of alarm and tried to crawl away from his attacker. A strong, cream-colored hand twined its fingers around one of his horns and hauled him painfully to his feet. His own fear-filled eyes met with those green wells again.

 

"I am your death, fledgling," hissed the enemy.

 

Freeza barely had the time to react and he grabbed the man's arm and sank his teeth into it. He heard a hash battle cry before a fist connected with his face. He held his cheek where it hurt and braced himself for more to come...

 

A heavy body smacked into the two of them and he was dropped. He fell back and landed on the ground with a heavy, "thud," and he winced as he scraped his hands and knees on the rocky terrain. Wondering who had come to his rescue, he managed to force back the pain long enough to get a look in.

 

Curled back into an attack crouch and blocking him from the enemy was Boreas, in her full glory, fangs showing, claws unsheathed, a purely animal growl issuing from her throat. "You stay the hell away from my baby," she said in a low voice, teeth clenched dangerously.

 

Freeza managed a small yelp as two arms wrapped around his body and hauled him up. For a moment he struggled then he realized he knew the face.

 

Boreas turned her head toward the two of them. "Coola, get him out of here, now!" she ordered.

 

Her eldest son nodded and shifted his hold on Freeza. They took flight, and the younger Kith stared back as his mother dove into the fray. "Mama!" he cried, stretching a free hand out toward her.

He received no answer of coarse, and the distance between the two grew longer and longer until he could not see her anymore.

 

* * * *

 

The doctor dabbed some alcohol on Freeza's palm and the boy hissed. For the life of him, he barely noticed the pain, he was more worried about his mother, as was Kold, who was pacing about within the medical ward, threatening to burn a hole in the floor where he had been stepping, he'd been doing it for so long. Coola had gone out to find Boreas and hopefully help her if the fight was still going on. Right now all they could do was wait.

 

An hour passed, then another, and Freeza's worry turned to all-out horror, the fear that perhaps his mother and sibling were both gone. Please, he prayed, let them come back safely...

 

Upon the forth hour after Coola had gone, he returned and found his father and brother waiting for him in the ward, with news of Boreas and how she was faring. His face was grave, his head bowed, and he was unable to look either Freeza or Kold in the eye.

 

"What of your mother?" Kold finally asked him.

 

The quiet that followed was terrible. Freeza for a moment wondered if he had lost his hearing altogether.

 

Coola turned to the doctors and ordered stiffly, "Leave us," then he looked Kold in the face.

 

"Well, how is she? Is she all right?"

 

He stared at the ground again. "...There wasn't much left of her when I found her," he breathed.

 

Kold started and Freeza looked up at him. Mama's dead? he mentally questioned himself, unable to believe it.

 

The proud king's face seemed to lose all emotion for a minute.  He stared dumbly into nothing, as though his soul had left his body.  When it returned his expression turned hard. He turned his baleful gaze on Freeza, and the boy shied from him. "Why did you do it?" he demanded as he slapped him hard across the face. "Why did you have to run away?"

 

"Papa, I didn't mean..." he started, but a swift gesture from Kold cut him off, and he retreated backwards.

 

"She ran out there to find you!" he bellowed. "You let her die!"

 

"Papa..."

 

Kold waved a hand at Coola. "Hold him," he barked.

 

Coola hesitated, then did as his father ordered. Instantaneously, Freeza began to kick and scream in his arms. "Coola, let me go!" he screamed. "I didn't do anything wrong!"

 

"Father..." Coola hedged.

 

"I said hold him, Coola," Kold insisted as he strode slowly toward the two of them, one fist ready...

 

* * * *

 

The warmth of his own bed was so welcoming, even over the burning pain in all of the bruises on his body. Freeza lay still while Coola pulled his covers over him. He was able to turn over, despite the pain, so he could look at him.

 

"Freeza..." Coola whispered.

 

Freeza reached up exhaustedly to wipe the tears from his face. "Ma-Mama would n-never have let him do this," he stuttered between his sobs.

 

"I know." Coola reached forward and brushed the small drop of blood from Freeza's mouth. For the first time since he was very young, he was on the verge of tears himself.

 

"It's not fair." When his older brother reached for him, he shied away. "Coola?"

 

"Yes?"

 

Freeza took a deep breath. "Stay...away from me."

 

* * * *

 

A light noise awakened him and Freeza opened his heavy eyes to see a familiar face next to is bed. He managed a smile against his tired and sore body. "Hi Gale."

 

She grinned half-heartedly back at him and settled down on the bed. Her left eye and the flesh surrounding it had turned purple. "Are you okay?" she asked.

 

"I'll live." Freeza reached forward and touched the place around her eye. "Your father hurt you again." It wasn't a question.

 

"Uh huh."

 

"Won't he be mad that you're in here?"

 

Gale shook her head. "He's asleep." She looked uncomfortable for a moment. "Freeza?"

 

"Yes?"

 

"Is it all right if I lie next to you tonight? I don't want to go back to my room."

 

At that, he smiled and nodded, then scoot a little and folded the covers back to admit her. She laid down and he put the blankets over her. They dozed off together, holding one another, their tails intertwined, and they shared a dream of one ethereal voice, that of a female Kith, singing a gentle lullaby to protect them from the harms of a nightmare.

 

AFTERWARD

 

-- In which the writer shall conclude this tale by explaining to you what was already done before she began --

 

As told by Akira Toriyama, Freeza became known as the stone-hearted Emperor of the Galaxy, who killed anyone who got in his way, and he was quite the real-estate salesman, as his job was to find planets that were inhabitable, clear out any life on it, then sell it to the highest bidder. He became business partners with the king of a race called the Saiyajin, very human looking creatures with one extra feature, a long, brown tail. When he believed that they might become a threat he destroyed their planet, killing off all but four. In a much later battle, he clashed with one of these Saiyajin, a humble Earth-dweller named Son Gokou, who managed a transformation in a fit of rage to raise his ki level, and he gained two new traits, green eyes and golden hair. Freeza, for the first time, lost a battle, and nearly died.

 

It was not until he was found by his father, half-dead and suffering from post-traumatic stress, that he became even more powerful and traveled to Earth to find his enemy. Instead, he found yet another Saiyajin, who transformed as the last one did, and this time vanquished both Freeza and his father Kold. When Coola heard of this and saw to retalliate for their deaths, he met the same fate, and so our story of Freeza's childhood ends --

 

-- But what of Gale, you might ask? Well, my friends, that is another story for another day.