— (Zarbon) —
Save for the low hum of the ship's systems, the room was dead silent. Zarbon bowed on one knee, fist to the floor. A single drop of sweat traced a path along his face as he stared straight downward.
"It seems, Zarbon, that your little hypothesis was incorrect."
His body tensed, but he didn't dare reply.
Lord Frieza was like a storm. Right before the outburst of rage, there would be a facade of a calm, mockingly friendly demeanor.
"It was a pretty arrogant assumption on your part, wasn't it? You are rather confident in that way, aren't you?"
Lord Frieza chuckled. Any lesser soldier might've foolishly tried to laugh along, to share in on the 'joke'.
But it was not funny to Lord Frieza, and thus it shouldn't be funny to him either.
If Zarbon so much as huffed in amusement, he'd be turned into a smattering of blood and gore faster than he could blink.
Upon hearing the message from Elec, it had been him who suggested that the Heeters were simply trying to stir up trouble. He'd firmly asserted that it was impossible for Creed, at his currently recorded power level, to have done any significant damage to their group.
He'd been the one to say they were just being purposefully dramatic.
It was an open secret that the Heeters were scheming against Frieza. It was a reasonable assumption that this was just another one of their long-winded schemes.
Alas, it was not.
"You saw fit to issue a bounty." Frieza's hover-chair glided forward silently. "That, in itself, was not where you failed. The problem, Zarbon, was that you deemed it unnecessary to upgrade his threat level despite the multiple retrieval teams being dismantled."
'I did raise it!' He wanted to scream.
Creed's threat level was being constantly reduced back to an 'inconsequential' threat, since there were only two records of the slave's power level being recorded. Outside of scouter malfunctions, of course.
So, it didn't surprise him that some buffoon within his squadron kept changing the database as one of those records literally recorded Creed's power level at 1.
Thus, technically, the responsibility was on him.
'After this is over… we will have words.'
Frieza's voice hardened. "And now, Bonyu is dead. One of my strongest assets, sent to her death because your intelligence was a work of fiction. The logs from this… debacle on Planet 79 show this Creed is not working alone. He has allies whose raw power, it seems, far surpass your own. Were you purposefully trying to damage the Empire?"
And that was another thing.
In all the time he'd served since the beginning of Frieza's reign, he'd never seen a random person grow so fast, so consistently. Those who did always burned out just as quickly and–
Pew!
A searing pain erupted in Zarbon's shoulder as a thin crimson beam lanced clean through it. He gritted his teeth, swallowing a scream.
"Answer me when I'm asking a question!" Frieza hissed.
"Y-yes, My Lord, I–"
Pew!
Another beam pierced his other shoulder. A violent shudder wracked his frame, but he choked back any sound.
"Did I ask you to speak?!"
'Yes. Yes, you did.'
But Zarbon knew this song and dance. He took a sharp, silent breath, steadying himself against the pain, and shook his head.
Contrary to what one might think, he was grateful. For a failure of this magnitude, costing them the Heeters, Bonyu, and countless soldiers, anyone else would already be a cloud of atoms.
It was only his long, faithful service that was keeping his head attached to his body.
This level of punishment was, ultimately, a privilege.
Frieza, eventually, let out a long slow breath as his palpable malice receded a fraction.
"If you wish to speak, then answer this," Frieza said, his voice returning to its calmer cultured cadence. "You spoke with Creed directly. During your little chat, did he say anything of substance? Any indication of his goals, beyond mere insolence? Perhaps we can replace one soldier with another."
Zarbon's mind, fogged with pain, scrambled for a moment.
Their conversation had been a frustrating exercise in dealing with an impudent child, most of it forgotten.
But he did remember one thing.
"I… I doubt he can be recruited, My Lord," Zarbon stuttered. "He said directly that he would personally dismantle the Cold Empire with his bare hands."
For a moment, there was only the hum of the ship. Then, Lord Frieza threw his head back and–
"Ohohohoho!"
The laugh echoed throughout the room.
"Is that so? What a wonderfully audacious ambition! To think a slave I owned for such little time now fancies himself a threat to myself. How delightful."
His laughter ceased as abruptly as it began, replaced by a single finger rhythmically tapping the arm of his throne.
All at once, his demeanor shifted.
Lord Frieza did not ever hold back his emotions. He let them out freely; His rage, his derision, his sadism. And once he had fully satisfied himself, there was only the man Zarbon admired left.
An emperor of cold calculation.
"Pull back the bounty," Frieza commanded at once.
Zarbon blinked, the order so unexpected it momentarily overshadowed the pain in his shoulders.
"M-my Lord?"
"Instate a new priority directive across all military channels. A 'Flee-on-Sight' order. Attach Creed's face to it using the visual capture from Bonyu's scouter feed."
Zarbon was… astounded.
In all his years of service, Frieza had never issued such a command. Yes, there were certain people that even he didn't meddle with, but this?
This was unprecedented.
Zarbon couldn't help for a moment to wonder if his judgement was beyond flawed. Was this Creed truly such a large threat? Was there something his lord saw in him that Zarbon did not?
Was Lord Frieza… afraid?
To voice this astonishment, however, would be to invite another beam, likely through a more vital area.
"At once, Lord Frieza." He bowed his head as deeply as his wounds would allow.
He began to push himself up, intending to retreat and issue the orders, when the Emperor's voice froze him in place.
"Look at me, Zarbon."
Zarbon slowly lifted his gaze to meet his emperor's.
"It's obvious that you have some inane question swirling in that head of yours," Frieza drawled, his tail giving an idle flick. "Ask it."
He hesitated.
Then he chose his words carefully.
"My Lord, it is just that… this order… I have never seen this happen before. If that's the case for myself, then surely those of the lower ranks would misinterpret it. I was simply wondering your intentions with this, as it could be perceived as a sign of…"
He trailed off, unwilling to voice the word 'fear'.
CRACK!
Frieza's tail snapped against the floor like a whip, leaving a deep dent in the metal. Zarbon flinched, his shoulders flaring up in fresh agony.
The Emperor leaned forward, his eyes boring into Zarbon's.
"Use your worthless brain," His voice dropped to a quiet monotone. "This 'Creed' is clearly travelling with a purpose, one that seemingly has little to do with my territory. Chasing him across the galaxy is not only a waste of resources and soldiers, but also my time. If we are to take him at his word, then it is obvious that he will one day be arrogant enough to challenge me directly. And with minimal further investment, this insect will be dealt with."
Zarbon felt a sudden understanding wash over him.
It wasn't fear; it was the ultimate expression of Frieza's confidence. He was treating Creed like a minor scheduling conflict, one he would deal with personally at his own convenience.
"A-ah... I see," Zarbon stuttered, bowing again. "My apologies, Lord Frieza. My wording was reckless."
"However," Frieza said, the word cutting through Zarbon's relief. "Someone does need to keep an eye on him. If he realizes how outmatched he is, he may cause unexpected problems. And since this entire fiasco is a mess of your own making…"
A cruel, thin smile played on his Emperor's lips.
"Consider this assignment your full punishment; Personally tail and track his movements. Report on his activities and his growth."
Lord Frieza's smile vanished.
"And Zarbon, if you lose track of him… Do not bother coming back."
The unspoken threat was loud, the air suddenly colder than the vacuum of space.
His new mission was to personally tail the slave who had effortlessly slaughtered Bonyu and her entire force, along with multiple other teams. In truth? It was a death sentence of a mission.
His only hope was to be far enough away to not be noticed, yet close enough to gather intelligence.
He bowed deeply, his voice a strained whisper.
"I understand, my Lord. I will not fail you again."
— (Knox) —
The world shook.
It was as if the planet was going through a magnitude 20 earthquake. Lightning sparked between the clouds as countless clumps of dirt and rock floated up to the sky.
A massive tower of black-red ki erupted from the center of this calamity, the eye of the storm holding a single person.
"For one full millenia I laid dormant! And now that I have been freed, it is time to wreck havoc on the Earth!"
This person spoke, his powerful voice echoing throughout the worl–
"...Knox, what the fuck are you doing?"
"Huh?"
The world froze.
Rocks floated in place. The earthquake stopped abruptly. The clouds stopped gathering, the lightning sparking between them suddenly silent.
The Ki vanished and revealed… It was just Knox.
And the person who had interrupted it all was a very exasperated Marzette.
"I'm uh… practicing?"
"For what, exactly?"
"Wasn't it obvious? I was practicing for when you betray me and lock me in the time chamber for a thousand years. After I'm freed, this was going to be my opening line, ya' know?"
"...What is- Why would I-"
Marzette sighed. Then, before she inevitably gave up trying to understand, she paused.
"No, wait, even if I betrayed you and locked you in whatever that is… why is your first action upon being freed to 'wreck havoc upon the Earth'?"
Knox stared.
Knox blinked.
Knox shrugged.
"...You're bored, aren't you?"
Then he groaned.
"Unbelievably bored! Like, holy shit, I knew it would take a while, but I didn't think it would take this long to grow a single tree."
"It's still a tree. Realistically, this would normally take far longer."
"I know. I know. Still bored, though."
"Perhaps we can do something, I don't know, less destructive?"
Knox tilted his head. "Like what?"
Marzette hummed in thought.
"You know how I used to have students back on Planet Chiiton?" Knox nodded. "There was a game we used to play to train one's senses. It was harmless, and also let us grow closer together as a group."
He raised an eyebrow, giving her the 'go on' gesture.
"The rules are that I tell you two things that are true, and one that is a lie. You must determine which is the–"
"Oh! Two truths and a lie!" Knox interrupted, his face brightening. "I know that one! But, uh, how is that useful for training the senses?"
Marzette gave a slow nod.
"Because there is another rule. You may use any method at all to discern the truth. The only stipulation is that harming the other person is forbidden. We will take turns, with the rules applying to both of us."
Knox scrunched up his nose in thought. He still didn't see how this would train the senses, but whatever.
It was better than nothing.
"Sure. I'll start," He looked up in thought for a moment. "Okay. One: Cats are my favorite animal. Two: I think rabbits are really cute. And three–"
Marzette's antennae twitched.
"Lie. You don't find rabbits cute at all."
Knox squawked at the interruption. "Wha-?! Oi! You didn't even let me say the third one, how could you tell that was a lie?!"
She tapped her forehead three times. "Intelligence."
For a moment, Knox just stared. Then a genuine grin, not one of his manic ones, broke across his face.
"Fine, you got me. And for the record, I find rabbits creepy as fuck. Something about their expressionless void-like eyes gives me the chills. Now hit me."
As Marzette calmly began her first trio of statements, the colossal Tree of Might continued its silent, voracious growth in the background, its branches stretching ever higher.