Separated From One Another

Chapter Twelve: Familiar Unfamiliar

It was strange when King Cold requested both Frieza's and your presence in the control room, even Frieza seemed weirded out by the order. There was nothing either of you could do but heed his summons, you glanced worriedly at Frieza out of the corner of your eye. He kept his eyes forward; you noted a shift in his demeanor, he was acting strange.

"Ah—there's my son," Cold exclaimed as the door opened.

You glanced around in confusion; you had heard of the tyrant but people were afraid to even speak his name. A chill seeped into your chest as you followed the King's gaze. Frieza. He was talking to Frieza. Your whole world turned on end at the revelation. The person you and your friends would curse while drunk was the same person you had been spending time with. That you had been enjoying the company of.

Your ears felt as though they were full of water, you watched their mouths move as they spoke, but no words pierced the veil. Any form of connection you had with him snapped in the blink of an eye; was this the real him? He must have been putting on a mask while interacting with you, there was no other explanation. Your heart sank at the thought. When Frieza left the room you followed after him, staying in step behind him; you were surprised when he took you to the hanger.

Your voice was shaky as you spoke, "What are we doing?"

"Were you even listening when King Cold explained the plan?" Frieza asked, his tone harsher than he had ever been turned towards you. He sighed, not waiting for you to respond, "Empty your lungs as much as you can, I do not know how your species reacts to the vacuum of space."

You did as you were told, and Frieza swept you off your feet, beginning his descent to the planet. Both of you kept your power levels relatively low while entering the planet's atmosphere. You allowed air to fill your lungs once you got close enough to the ground; the rocky landscape stretched out as far as the eye could see. You stumbled when Frieza set you down on solid ground, your center of gravity still getting used to the new environment. With a click the suppression cuff on your wrist fell uselessly to the ground, and your ki warmed back up inside of your body.

Everything was still for a beat before Frieza rose his power level drastically; you took a few steps back, giving him more space. You noticed several decently sized ki's heading in your direction, after the sudden surge. His rise of power had garnered the attention he wanted, you waited in trepidation as the ki's neared. It was strange when the power levels dropped to near zero and began approaching at a much slower pace.

"I think they are trying to hide themselves," You mentioned.

Freiza glanced over at you, his brows pinched as he felt out with his ki for their auras. When he grumbled a little it was clear he could not feel them, you had not trained on further distances. You glanced nervously at Frieza who stood still, his arms crossed as he watched the hills carefully.

Your eyes shot skyward at a presence you had not noticed before, the stranger landed a few feet away from Frieza. At that moment you wished you had spent more time showing Frieza how to read others' ki.

"Who are you to challenge me so brazenly?" Frieza asked.

The other person glared at Frieza, he only took his eyes off of him to glance at you for a moment before brushing off your presence. He squared up before responding to Frieza's comment, "I am here to kill you. Do not hold back, I will not be as merciful as Goku was."

Frieza startled at the use of that name, something in the back of your mind tickled at the name, "Oh I see you and him are in league with one another."

"I will let you in on a little secret—Goku is not the only super Saiyan."

Frieza laughed at the boy's words, not taking them seriously; you were not sure what to make of them. The stranger braced himself as his power level skyrocketed, your eyes widened as his ki kept growing. It kept going until his hair turned blond, which is when the boy's power level plateaued.

At your side Frieza tensed up, he muttered under his breath, "He has the same eyes..." In a panic he shot off a large ball of ki, blowing up the super Saiyan; just as he started to ease up the stranger walked out of the flames, unscathed. Frieza was shaking again, his fist clenching and unclenching; you wanted to place a comforting hand on his shoulder but thought otherwise.

"I thought I told you to go all out," The stranger scoffed.

With a growl, Frieza lept up into the air, a ball of energy growing at his fingertip; you watched as it kept growing stronger and stronger. At this rate the whole planet would be reduced to nothingness, Frieza threw the ball at his adversary. He dropped down and picked you up, "Looks like we will have to go back to the ship."

Frieza stopped his ascent when the ball of energy stopped moving, he fell to the ground and set you back down. The super Saiyan was holding the energy in one hand, high over his head. Holding out his hand, Frieza shot the energy destablizing the ball causing it to explode in the stranger's hand. Frieza smirked at the empty crater, before turning his head to where the stranger had ended up with a glower.

"Hey, Frieza!" The boy called out before shooting off a beam of ki at the other.

Frieza jumped away from the blast, "That was nowhere close to hitting—" His words were cut off at the sight of the super Saiyan, swinging his sword down at him.

Electric pain shot throughout your body as you moved without trying to, your body grabbed a hold of the sword. The sharp blade sliced open the palm of your hand, you tried to stop yourself to no avail. You kicked the blond-haired boy in the chest, sending him flying in the other direction.