Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z, any of its characters, or any of its
settings. They belong to Toei Animation and Bird Studios, as well as
FUNimation, regrettably. The only things here that belong to me are the
story itself and the characters Fuscia and Violet.
Magneto's Revenge; Evenin' all, and welcome to my first submission to fanfiction.net. This also happens to be my first Dragonball fic that isn't a crossover. Please review so I can tell whether you like it or not. How many reviews I get will determine how often I update here.
Zarbon; Yeah right. You know they won't review so you know you won't have to update, lazy bi-
Psychocid; Shhhh!! :: covers Zarbon's filthy mouth:: Okay, here goes. Enjoy -^.^-
(Okay, this is the revised version of this chapter. Nothing has changed except I went through and separated the paragraphs. I realized that they were all jumbled together toward the end after looking through it, finally, a day after I posted it. Hope this helps.) (In the original-my personal file- Zarbon's thoughts were also in italics, but apparently fanfiction.net doesn't support italics... I'll think of something.)
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The soldier ran down the corridors as fast as he could. He would surely be punished for being late. After all, Lord Freezer did not take kindly to any act of insubordination. The soldier running through the Saiya-jin palace cringed at the thought of being demoted. Although it was unlikely that would happen, Freezer had been known to do stranger things. Like attending this ceremony, he thought.
Zarbon could have cared less about the young princeling being born. In fact, he had hoped that the Saiya-jin queen would have a miscarriage so he wouldn't have to mind the brat every time he stepped five feet away from mummy and daddy dearest. Of course, that was exactly what he was going to be ordered to do. That was another thing Zarbon thought odd about Lord Freezer. When the child was old enough to walk-which happened quickly when concerning a Saiya-jin child-Zarbon would be held accountable for the child's safety. Freezer had a strong premonition that this child would grow to be something great, and Lord Freezer's premonitions were never wrong.
Along side babysitting, Zarbon would have to train the little ape until he was at least 15. Zarbon groaned at the thought.
He turned a corner and headed toward King Vegeta's courtyard, the place of the celebration. Zarbon, Lord Freezer, and Dodoria would be high in a balcony, above the Saiya-jin horde gathered to see their new prince. Of course, there would be thousands of the apes. Zarbon despised them, but Freezer seemed to favor them, so he played along.
He made it! Zarbon had finally arrived just outside the balcony. He stopped for a moment to allow himself to breathe. He saw Lord Freezer and Dodoria sitting, watching the spectacle. He knew that Freezer was aware of his presence there by the door. He also knew that Freezer was very cross. With him.
"You are late, Zarbon." Freezer snarled through his teeth at him, not for the first, or final, time.
Zarbon gulped and walked to his seat beside Freezer. Dodoria snickered.
That fat pig, thought Zarbon, I should've taken care of him a long time ago. Freezer hates him more than he hates me!
"Forgive me, Excellency." He said aloud, bowing his head.
Freezer hadn't taken his eyes off of the king and his newborn son, but Zarbon knew he was also watching him. He gulped again and looked out over the edge of the balcony. He saw all of the Saiya-jin gathered there and sneered in disgust. He wondered how they packed so many into the courtyard without crushing the king's gardens.
Freezer interrupted his thoughts.
"Forgiven," he said, "but if it happens again, I'll be forced to take action. It's a shame though, good lapdogs are hard to come by..." Freezer trailed off and then chuckled. Zarbon held back a low growl. Freezer was laughing at him and he knew it.
"You don't look too happy, Zarbon." Dodoria chortled.
"Shut your mouth, Dodoria!" Zarbon snapped back.
"Both of you be quiet! You'll not embarrass me!" Freezer barked.
"Sire..." the two bowed their heads apologetically.
"You're in enough trouble as it is, Zarbon. Besides, Dodoria is right. This is the great warrior that will be yours to train. Think of it as an honor to train the one who will one day become the second most powerful in the universe in no time at all." Freezer smirked slightly, eyes still on the baby Saiya-jin and his father. Zarbon and Dodoria both stuttered, eyes wide.
"Oh, that's right!" Freezer toyed, "he will one day be much stronger than the both of you."
Out of the corner of his eye, Zarbon caught a glimpse of King Vegeta looking up at them, frowning. He would. Zarbon thought. His son was going to be in the hands of Freezer and himself and there was nothing he could do about it. It dawned on Zarbon that a thin, sadistic grin had formed on his lips while he had been thinking. It was the king's own fault for giving his son such power as to catch the eye of Freezer. Zarbon heard the tyrant chuckle.
"Zarbon, what are you thinking?"
"Just about my time with the little tyke. I think it would be most amusing, Sire." He lied. He realized just a bit too late that lying to Freezer was a serious mistake, and that Freezer probably realized he had just been lied to, but the ruler of the known universe merely stared on and smirked.
Zarbon pretended to watch the ceremony while his own thoughts ran away with him again. What if Freezer had been serious about the prince being stronger than him? Zarbon! Supreme Commander of the Supreme Ruler Freezer's entire military force and His Excellency's personal adviser! Outclassed by a tree monkey! Zarbon chuckled despite himself. Freezer must have been joking.
Yes, joking... He saw Dodoria staring at him out of the corner of his eye. The feeling he got wasn't a pleasant one. Zarbon shot him a look and nearly burst out with maniacal cackling when the pea brain jumped suddenly and faced the Saiya-jin king again.
Zarbon felt like screaming. He suddenly envisioned himself leaping from the balcony, killing every Saiya-jin in sight. He snapped to rather loudly with a shudder. None of the Saiya-jin minded him, if they could hear his sudden start at all, but the other men in the balcony were all staring. He paused for a moment, his eyes shifting from one comrade to another, almost blushing. He cleared his throat.
"I request permission to leave the ceremony, Sire." He turned to Freezer hopefully.
"Permission denied!" the answer he received came out as more of a hiss than anything. Freezer looked at him. "It's bad enough you were late, Zarbon. I suggest you get used to the idea of being around the Saiya-jin for as long as you can before this child learns to walk and it's time for you to train him!"
Zarbon digested this for a moment and then began to fidget.
"Sire, are you sure this is wise? With the king's son in my hands eighty percent of his waking hours, wouldn't the king-"
"Be able to order you around, Zarbon? To a certain extent, yes."
Zarbon jumped out of his seat instantly. "Sire! Am I being punished for something!?" he squeaked audibly.
"Not at all, Zarbon. Think of it as your highest honor as of yet. Why do you think you were the first one that came to mind when I learned of the child?" Freezer smiled wickedly; "You're far more capable of this than Dodoria." he finished. The wide, disgusting grin suddenly vanished from the fat one's face. He decided to retort anyway.
"Yeah, Zarbon! You're too much of a kiss-up to be punished anyway." He smirked, assuring himself he was still one-up on Zarbon.
"Yes, and you do absolutely nothing but botch up the very few assignments you're given, you lazy maggot." Zarbon said calmly, cooling down finally.
Dodoria snarled. Lately especially, the squabbles between the two had become more common, but Freezer was usually around to shut them up. Like right now.
"Didn't I tell you both to be quiet?" he hissed.
"Yes. Sorry, Master Freezer..." Zarbon bowed low and Dodoria followed suit. They both sat back down in their respective seats. Zarbon began to fidget again until he saw Freezer stand. He looked up and saw that everyone was standing and leapt to his feet. It was the end of the ceremony, finally. Thank the Seven! He thought, remembering the seven major deities of his planet. Of course, he had been forced to abandon worship of them as soon as he had joined Freezer's ranks, just as every soldier was.
Zarbon never saw too many of his own kind while on duty, he realized suddenly out of the blue. They were mostly second-class soldiers, so he chose not to mingle too much with them.
Perhaps I should say thank the- Wait a minute! What species is Master Freezer!? (The trillion-dollar question!) He face-faulted slightly.
He caught Dodoria staring at him again.
"What are you looking at?" Zarbon snarled. He pushed a stray hair back into place gracefully.
The group followed Freezer out of the balcony and down a flight of stairs to meet with the king. Yes, the brat as well...
If he calls me 'uncle' or anything endearing to that effect, he dies, Zarbon thought decisively. He decided on his new 'thanks' phrase at that moment. Thank My Gorgeousness the brat can't speak yet, he thought, and then after a beat, perhaps I shouldn't use that one out loud... he blushed slightly.
As the group followed Freezer to the king, a few side conversations began popping up. Zarbon heard Dodoria whispering back and forth with Fuscia about who knew what.
Fuscia was an odd one. She had pulled Zarbon aside and asked about Dodoria being 'available' one day. Zarbon nearly fainted in disgust. He had to admit that Dodoria hadn't been quite so round in those days, but he was still Dodoria.
He asked why, or rather he squeaked an almost inaudible why, and his voiced cracked at least twice. Fuscia thought it was cute. She took his expression the wrong way at that moment. Zarbon tried to explain that physical attraction wasn't possible among his kind. Fuscia thought he was playing hard-to-get. Zarbon ran away. He had done his best to avoid her ever since.
Fuscia was extremely flirtatious and even more naïve. She flirted the most with Zarbon himself, Dodoria, and the Lord Freezer. Zarbon figured she wanted to marry into power. She always was a loafer. She took credit for the work of others on the field and even bought old veterans' medals to use herself. She also had a habit of excessively lying and making her deeds seem grand. Zarbon knew this to be fact after listening to a tale she had whipped up for Freezer at a banquet. She had done this even though Zarbon had been fighting next to her during the event in question, and had then been sitting next to Freezer himself at dinner. He didn't know how anyone could believe her lies, even someone as stupid as Dodoria, and yet, he did. Freezer, of course, could tell she was bluffing, but played along as if he did. The lord had spoken to Zarbon of his hatred for the woman, and Zarbon had agreed without hesitation.
Yes, it was indeed very like Fuscia to try and inhale glory without lifting a finger. Even so, while it was obvious that she was flirting with Dodoria, he decided to let it be and not tell her what a bungler Dodoria was. It would serve her justice to be married to the medicine ball and find out she got nothing. Then Freezer would demand an heir to Dodoria's position for his own amusement. Zarbon nearly laughed aloud at the thought. The image of Fuscia's disgust at having to bear Dodoria's child was amusing enough, but thinking of how ugly the brat would be nearly pushed Zarbon off the deep end. He kept his composure and wiped a tear from his eye, chuckling. He began to feel his age when he realized how much his imagination had run off with him these past few days. It didn't matter to him. He shrugged it off knowing that it would be several millennia before he died of old age. In fact, like the Saiya-jin and whatever Freezer was, compared to the elders of his race, he was merely an adolescent. All three races were practically immortal. Dodoria's could be as well, if they didn't all die of fatal heart attacks before their time. Zarbon frowned again when his thoughts suddenly turned back toward the Saiya-jin prince. He grimaced and then noticed Kewie walking next to him.
"Everything all right, sir?" he asked.
"Yes." Zarbon answered simply. Kewie stayed in stride with him and decided to start up a conversation.
"What do you think he'll look like?" he began.
Not only was the prince one of the many things Zarbon didn't want to talk about at the moment, or preferably ever, but Kewie was another one of his companions Zarbon hated with every fiber of his being. Now in an even more sour mood, Zarbon grunted in response. Honestly, he didn't know.
"I wish you luck, sir!" Kewie pressed on. Zarbon glowered down at Kewie's small form. He was little more than half Zarbon's height. Kewie shrank back and walked somewhere between Zarbon and Dodoria.
Freezer halted and stepped out of his hover-throne before he went to greet the Saiya-jin king. While he waited to be summoned before the throng of apes, Zarbon began to fidget with his fingernails.
Absolutely beautiful, he thought, smiling as he admired his flawless hands. Zarbon had always known himself to be a pretty boy. He took pride in being as glamorous as possible. He flicked an earring with one finger, moving his hand to stroke his long, soft hair.
Even if he was incapable of loving a woman (or anyone else for that matter), he looked in the mirror every day and laughed because he was the most gorgeous being in the universe.
Suddenly Freezer called to him. He regretted having to cease admiring himself, but decided it was better than being scolded again.
Zarbon walked up to the platform and winced at the hordes of Saiya-jin, but managed a meek wave. Kami, I hate those things...he thought. After staring at the king for a moment, he could have sworn he heard a guttural snarl come from the monkey aimed at him. He bowed quickly and looked at Freezer for guidance as to what to do next. Freezer was holding the baby prince in his arms while he spoke to the people of Vegeta-sei, the monkeys' home planet. Without warning, Zarbon was handed the infant. His skin crawled momentarily, but he took him. He suddenly felt calmed. He smiled for a moment at the child because he felt what Freezer had told him. He was going to be something great someday. Zarbon suddenly remembered he was holding a Saiya-jin.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty, I'll see to it that he becomes as great as his potential will allow." Zarbon wasn't smiling anymore, but he understood now why Freezer had entrusted this task to him. Zarbon knew that Freezer would do it himself if he had the time. Zarbon didn't necessarily have the time either, but Freezer would make certain he had an empty schedule when his time to accept his charge had come.
The king slowly nodded in response to Zarbon's statement, and Zarbon handed his son back to him.
Zarbon felt alone on the platform. He looked down at his feet. His yellow boots looked dirty. He scowled as Freezer finished his speech. Zarbon hoped that he wouldn't have to say anything more than he already had. With his head still down, Zarbon looked up and scanned the audience. A few were nobles, most were soldiers, all were Saiya-jin. Freezer and his troupe were the only foreigners in the building at the moment. He looked over at the others. Fuscia was hanging all over a grinning Dodoria. Zarbon blinked, then looked at Kewie, who waved at Zarbon, smiling.
"..." For some reason, Kewie seemed to think that they were friends. Zarbon nodded slightly in acknowledgement.
The others were all glaring at Fuscia and Dodoria, disgusted. Zarbon chuckled. He sniffed and looked back over at Freezer.
Goodness, he's long-winded. Zarbon blinked again, glaring.
Freezer was now talking about what he had planned for the prince when he was old enough for combat. There were spontaneous cheers from all around the audience. They seemed to like the fact that they wouldn't be seeing him half of his childhood. The king seemed to have forgotten to mention that to them.
Zarbon heard his name mentioned. Freezer was introducing him for a speech.
Holy crap! Zarbon searched quickly for something to say.
Zarbon grinned helplessly when Freezer stopped speaking, waiting for Zarbon to pick up where he had left off. He saw Dodoria roll his eyes at the apex of his vision. He paused and walked up to where Freezer was standing, bowed to noone in particular, stalling. He then proceeded to repeat what he had assumed Freezer had just said, albeit with different words, and ended off with a belabored "...and I will...embrace him as my own...dear...nephew..." Grimacing and despising himself, Zarbon stopped. Freezer picked up, giving Zarbon a quick glower, and continued to glorify Zarbon's future efforts. Zarbon sighed and returned to his original position behind his lord. In a year or so, the training would begin, and here he was, wasting his precious last few moments of free life.
Freezer finally finished talking and grabbing Zarbon's arm, dragging him along with him away from the masses. The king followed, holding his son. He stopped next to Freezer, bowed humbly, then continued on down the corridor. Zarbon watched him go, slightly amused by the ever present scowl on his face.
Freezer climbed back into his hover-throne. Zarbon stepped up beside him and looked back toward Dodoria, who snapped to and let go of Fuscia. Zarbon snickered at the thought of the two being wed again.
"What, pray tell, is so funny, Zarbon?" Freezer questioned him.
"Nothing sire," he lied again, "I sneezed."
"Must be the pollen." Freezer mused sarcastically.
"Yes...large, fat, pink balls of pollen." Zarbon muttered. Freezer understood, and he chuckled. The other soldiers looked quizzically at the two.
Dodoria decided it was time to have his usual conversation with Freezer. He walked to the side opposite Zarbon and cleared his throat.
"How long will it take for the brat to start walking?" he asked huskily.
"Dodoria, I won't have you speaking in that tone of my future greatest warrior." Freezer snarled.
"But he's just a-"Dodoria began to protest, but Freezer cut him off.
"Enough!" he spat. Zarbon chuckled.
"Dodoria, if my pupil hears these words you speak, you will be the first he tests his training on when he has substantial power."
"Zarbon speaks the truth, Dodoria, so hold you tongue." Freezer smirked down at the fat man. Dodoria nodded stiffly, then fell behind with the other soldiers.
"I hate him."
"I know you do, Zarbon, but be patient. His time will come." The two continued to mutter back and forth until they reached the space ship, and went their separate ways.
Magneto's Revenge; Evenin' all, and welcome to my first submission to fanfiction.net. This also happens to be my first Dragonball fic that isn't a crossover. Please review so I can tell whether you like it or not. How many reviews I get will determine how often I update here.
Zarbon; Yeah right. You know they won't review so you know you won't have to update, lazy bi-
Psychocid; Shhhh!! :: covers Zarbon's filthy mouth:: Okay, here goes. Enjoy -^.^-
(Okay, this is the revised version of this chapter. Nothing has changed except I went through and separated the paragraphs. I realized that they were all jumbled together toward the end after looking through it, finally, a day after I posted it. Hope this helps.) (In the original-my personal file- Zarbon's thoughts were also in italics, but apparently fanfiction.net doesn't support italics... I'll think of something.)
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The soldier ran down the corridors as fast as he could. He would surely be punished for being late. After all, Lord Freezer did not take kindly to any act of insubordination. The soldier running through the Saiya-jin palace cringed at the thought of being demoted. Although it was unlikely that would happen, Freezer had been known to do stranger things. Like attending this ceremony, he thought.
Zarbon could have cared less about the young princeling being born. In fact, he had hoped that the Saiya-jin queen would have a miscarriage so he wouldn't have to mind the brat every time he stepped five feet away from mummy and daddy dearest. Of course, that was exactly what he was going to be ordered to do. That was another thing Zarbon thought odd about Lord Freezer. When the child was old enough to walk-which happened quickly when concerning a Saiya-jin child-Zarbon would be held accountable for the child's safety. Freezer had a strong premonition that this child would grow to be something great, and Lord Freezer's premonitions were never wrong.
Along side babysitting, Zarbon would have to train the little ape until he was at least 15. Zarbon groaned at the thought.
He turned a corner and headed toward King Vegeta's courtyard, the place of the celebration. Zarbon, Lord Freezer, and Dodoria would be high in a balcony, above the Saiya-jin horde gathered to see their new prince. Of course, there would be thousands of the apes. Zarbon despised them, but Freezer seemed to favor them, so he played along.
He made it! Zarbon had finally arrived just outside the balcony. He stopped for a moment to allow himself to breathe. He saw Lord Freezer and Dodoria sitting, watching the spectacle. He knew that Freezer was aware of his presence there by the door. He also knew that Freezer was very cross. With him.
"You are late, Zarbon." Freezer snarled through his teeth at him, not for the first, or final, time.
Zarbon gulped and walked to his seat beside Freezer. Dodoria snickered.
That fat pig, thought Zarbon, I should've taken care of him a long time ago. Freezer hates him more than he hates me!
"Forgive me, Excellency." He said aloud, bowing his head.
Freezer hadn't taken his eyes off of the king and his newborn son, but Zarbon knew he was also watching him. He gulped again and looked out over the edge of the balcony. He saw all of the Saiya-jin gathered there and sneered in disgust. He wondered how they packed so many into the courtyard without crushing the king's gardens.
Freezer interrupted his thoughts.
"Forgiven," he said, "but if it happens again, I'll be forced to take action. It's a shame though, good lapdogs are hard to come by..." Freezer trailed off and then chuckled. Zarbon held back a low growl. Freezer was laughing at him and he knew it.
"You don't look too happy, Zarbon." Dodoria chortled.
"Shut your mouth, Dodoria!" Zarbon snapped back.
"Both of you be quiet! You'll not embarrass me!" Freezer barked.
"Sire..." the two bowed their heads apologetically.
"You're in enough trouble as it is, Zarbon. Besides, Dodoria is right. This is the great warrior that will be yours to train. Think of it as an honor to train the one who will one day become the second most powerful in the universe in no time at all." Freezer smirked slightly, eyes still on the baby Saiya-jin and his father. Zarbon and Dodoria both stuttered, eyes wide.
"Oh, that's right!" Freezer toyed, "he will one day be much stronger than the both of you."
Out of the corner of his eye, Zarbon caught a glimpse of King Vegeta looking up at them, frowning. He would. Zarbon thought. His son was going to be in the hands of Freezer and himself and there was nothing he could do about it. It dawned on Zarbon that a thin, sadistic grin had formed on his lips while he had been thinking. It was the king's own fault for giving his son such power as to catch the eye of Freezer. Zarbon heard the tyrant chuckle.
"Zarbon, what are you thinking?"
"Just about my time with the little tyke. I think it would be most amusing, Sire." He lied. He realized just a bit too late that lying to Freezer was a serious mistake, and that Freezer probably realized he had just been lied to, but the ruler of the known universe merely stared on and smirked.
Zarbon pretended to watch the ceremony while his own thoughts ran away with him again. What if Freezer had been serious about the prince being stronger than him? Zarbon! Supreme Commander of the Supreme Ruler Freezer's entire military force and His Excellency's personal adviser! Outclassed by a tree monkey! Zarbon chuckled despite himself. Freezer must have been joking.
Yes, joking... He saw Dodoria staring at him out of the corner of his eye. The feeling he got wasn't a pleasant one. Zarbon shot him a look and nearly burst out with maniacal cackling when the pea brain jumped suddenly and faced the Saiya-jin king again.
Zarbon felt like screaming. He suddenly envisioned himself leaping from the balcony, killing every Saiya-jin in sight. He snapped to rather loudly with a shudder. None of the Saiya-jin minded him, if they could hear his sudden start at all, but the other men in the balcony were all staring. He paused for a moment, his eyes shifting from one comrade to another, almost blushing. He cleared his throat.
"I request permission to leave the ceremony, Sire." He turned to Freezer hopefully.
"Permission denied!" the answer he received came out as more of a hiss than anything. Freezer looked at him. "It's bad enough you were late, Zarbon. I suggest you get used to the idea of being around the Saiya-jin for as long as you can before this child learns to walk and it's time for you to train him!"
Zarbon digested this for a moment and then began to fidget.
"Sire, are you sure this is wise? With the king's son in my hands eighty percent of his waking hours, wouldn't the king-"
"Be able to order you around, Zarbon? To a certain extent, yes."
Zarbon jumped out of his seat instantly. "Sire! Am I being punished for something!?" he squeaked audibly.
"Not at all, Zarbon. Think of it as your highest honor as of yet. Why do you think you were the first one that came to mind when I learned of the child?" Freezer smiled wickedly; "You're far more capable of this than Dodoria." he finished. The wide, disgusting grin suddenly vanished from the fat one's face. He decided to retort anyway.
"Yeah, Zarbon! You're too much of a kiss-up to be punished anyway." He smirked, assuring himself he was still one-up on Zarbon.
"Yes, and you do absolutely nothing but botch up the very few assignments you're given, you lazy maggot." Zarbon said calmly, cooling down finally.
Dodoria snarled. Lately especially, the squabbles between the two had become more common, but Freezer was usually around to shut them up. Like right now.
"Didn't I tell you both to be quiet?" he hissed.
"Yes. Sorry, Master Freezer..." Zarbon bowed low and Dodoria followed suit. They both sat back down in their respective seats. Zarbon began to fidget again until he saw Freezer stand. He looked up and saw that everyone was standing and leapt to his feet. It was the end of the ceremony, finally. Thank the Seven! He thought, remembering the seven major deities of his planet. Of course, he had been forced to abandon worship of them as soon as he had joined Freezer's ranks, just as every soldier was.
Zarbon never saw too many of his own kind while on duty, he realized suddenly out of the blue. They were mostly second-class soldiers, so he chose not to mingle too much with them.
Perhaps I should say thank the- Wait a minute! What species is Master Freezer!? (The trillion-dollar question!) He face-faulted slightly.
He caught Dodoria staring at him again.
"What are you looking at?" Zarbon snarled. He pushed a stray hair back into place gracefully.
The group followed Freezer out of the balcony and down a flight of stairs to meet with the king. Yes, the brat as well...
If he calls me 'uncle' or anything endearing to that effect, he dies, Zarbon thought decisively. He decided on his new 'thanks' phrase at that moment. Thank My Gorgeousness the brat can't speak yet, he thought, and then after a beat, perhaps I shouldn't use that one out loud... he blushed slightly.
As the group followed Freezer to the king, a few side conversations began popping up. Zarbon heard Dodoria whispering back and forth with Fuscia about who knew what.
Fuscia was an odd one. She had pulled Zarbon aside and asked about Dodoria being 'available' one day. Zarbon nearly fainted in disgust. He had to admit that Dodoria hadn't been quite so round in those days, but he was still Dodoria.
He asked why, or rather he squeaked an almost inaudible why, and his voiced cracked at least twice. Fuscia thought it was cute. She took his expression the wrong way at that moment. Zarbon tried to explain that physical attraction wasn't possible among his kind. Fuscia thought he was playing hard-to-get. Zarbon ran away. He had done his best to avoid her ever since.
Fuscia was extremely flirtatious and even more naïve. She flirted the most with Zarbon himself, Dodoria, and the Lord Freezer. Zarbon figured she wanted to marry into power. She always was a loafer. She took credit for the work of others on the field and even bought old veterans' medals to use herself. She also had a habit of excessively lying and making her deeds seem grand. Zarbon knew this to be fact after listening to a tale she had whipped up for Freezer at a banquet. She had done this even though Zarbon had been fighting next to her during the event in question, and had then been sitting next to Freezer himself at dinner. He didn't know how anyone could believe her lies, even someone as stupid as Dodoria, and yet, he did. Freezer, of course, could tell she was bluffing, but played along as if he did. The lord had spoken to Zarbon of his hatred for the woman, and Zarbon had agreed without hesitation.
Yes, it was indeed very like Fuscia to try and inhale glory without lifting a finger. Even so, while it was obvious that she was flirting with Dodoria, he decided to let it be and not tell her what a bungler Dodoria was. It would serve her justice to be married to the medicine ball and find out she got nothing. Then Freezer would demand an heir to Dodoria's position for his own amusement. Zarbon nearly laughed aloud at the thought. The image of Fuscia's disgust at having to bear Dodoria's child was amusing enough, but thinking of how ugly the brat would be nearly pushed Zarbon off the deep end. He kept his composure and wiped a tear from his eye, chuckling. He began to feel his age when he realized how much his imagination had run off with him these past few days. It didn't matter to him. He shrugged it off knowing that it would be several millennia before he died of old age. In fact, like the Saiya-jin and whatever Freezer was, compared to the elders of his race, he was merely an adolescent. All three races were practically immortal. Dodoria's could be as well, if they didn't all die of fatal heart attacks before their time. Zarbon frowned again when his thoughts suddenly turned back toward the Saiya-jin prince. He grimaced and then noticed Kewie walking next to him.
"Everything all right, sir?" he asked.
"Yes." Zarbon answered simply. Kewie stayed in stride with him and decided to start up a conversation.
"What do you think he'll look like?" he began.
Not only was the prince one of the many things Zarbon didn't want to talk about at the moment, or preferably ever, but Kewie was another one of his companions Zarbon hated with every fiber of his being. Now in an even more sour mood, Zarbon grunted in response. Honestly, he didn't know.
"I wish you luck, sir!" Kewie pressed on. Zarbon glowered down at Kewie's small form. He was little more than half Zarbon's height. Kewie shrank back and walked somewhere between Zarbon and Dodoria.
Freezer halted and stepped out of his hover-throne before he went to greet the Saiya-jin king. While he waited to be summoned before the throng of apes, Zarbon began to fidget with his fingernails.
Absolutely beautiful, he thought, smiling as he admired his flawless hands. Zarbon had always known himself to be a pretty boy. He took pride in being as glamorous as possible. He flicked an earring with one finger, moving his hand to stroke his long, soft hair.
Even if he was incapable of loving a woman (or anyone else for that matter), he looked in the mirror every day and laughed because he was the most gorgeous being in the universe.
Suddenly Freezer called to him. He regretted having to cease admiring himself, but decided it was better than being scolded again.
Zarbon walked up to the platform and winced at the hordes of Saiya-jin, but managed a meek wave. Kami, I hate those things...he thought. After staring at the king for a moment, he could have sworn he heard a guttural snarl come from the monkey aimed at him. He bowed quickly and looked at Freezer for guidance as to what to do next. Freezer was holding the baby prince in his arms while he spoke to the people of Vegeta-sei, the monkeys' home planet. Without warning, Zarbon was handed the infant. His skin crawled momentarily, but he took him. He suddenly felt calmed. He smiled for a moment at the child because he felt what Freezer had told him. He was going to be something great someday. Zarbon suddenly remembered he was holding a Saiya-jin.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty, I'll see to it that he becomes as great as his potential will allow." Zarbon wasn't smiling anymore, but he understood now why Freezer had entrusted this task to him. Zarbon knew that Freezer would do it himself if he had the time. Zarbon didn't necessarily have the time either, but Freezer would make certain he had an empty schedule when his time to accept his charge had come.
The king slowly nodded in response to Zarbon's statement, and Zarbon handed his son back to him.
Zarbon felt alone on the platform. He looked down at his feet. His yellow boots looked dirty. He scowled as Freezer finished his speech. Zarbon hoped that he wouldn't have to say anything more than he already had. With his head still down, Zarbon looked up and scanned the audience. A few were nobles, most were soldiers, all were Saiya-jin. Freezer and his troupe were the only foreigners in the building at the moment. He looked over at the others. Fuscia was hanging all over a grinning Dodoria. Zarbon blinked, then looked at Kewie, who waved at Zarbon, smiling.
"..." For some reason, Kewie seemed to think that they were friends. Zarbon nodded slightly in acknowledgement.
The others were all glaring at Fuscia and Dodoria, disgusted. Zarbon chuckled. He sniffed and looked back over at Freezer.
Goodness, he's long-winded. Zarbon blinked again, glaring.
Freezer was now talking about what he had planned for the prince when he was old enough for combat. There were spontaneous cheers from all around the audience. They seemed to like the fact that they wouldn't be seeing him half of his childhood. The king seemed to have forgotten to mention that to them.
Zarbon heard his name mentioned. Freezer was introducing him for a speech.
Holy crap! Zarbon searched quickly for something to say.
Zarbon grinned helplessly when Freezer stopped speaking, waiting for Zarbon to pick up where he had left off. He saw Dodoria roll his eyes at the apex of his vision. He paused and walked up to where Freezer was standing, bowed to noone in particular, stalling. He then proceeded to repeat what he had assumed Freezer had just said, albeit with different words, and ended off with a belabored "...and I will...embrace him as my own...dear...nephew..." Grimacing and despising himself, Zarbon stopped. Freezer picked up, giving Zarbon a quick glower, and continued to glorify Zarbon's future efforts. Zarbon sighed and returned to his original position behind his lord. In a year or so, the training would begin, and here he was, wasting his precious last few moments of free life.
Freezer finally finished talking and grabbing Zarbon's arm, dragging him along with him away from the masses. The king followed, holding his son. He stopped next to Freezer, bowed humbly, then continued on down the corridor. Zarbon watched him go, slightly amused by the ever present scowl on his face.
Freezer climbed back into his hover-throne. Zarbon stepped up beside him and looked back toward Dodoria, who snapped to and let go of Fuscia. Zarbon snickered at the thought of the two being wed again.
"What, pray tell, is so funny, Zarbon?" Freezer questioned him.
"Nothing sire," he lied again, "I sneezed."
"Must be the pollen." Freezer mused sarcastically.
"Yes...large, fat, pink balls of pollen." Zarbon muttered. Freezer understood, and he chuckled. The other soldiers looked quizzically at the two.
Dodoria decided it was time to have his usual conversation with Freezer. He walked to the side opposite Zarbon and cleared his throat.
"How long will it take for the brat to start walking?" he asked huskily.
"Dodoria, I won't have you speaking in that tone of my future greatest warrior." Freezer snarled.
"But he's just a-"Dodoria began to protest, but Freezer cut him off.
"Enough!" he spat. Zarbon chuckled.
"Dodoria, if my pupil hears these words you speak, you will be the first he tests his training on when he has substantial power."
"Zarbon speaks the truth, Dodoria, so hold you tongue." Freezer smirked down at the fat man. Dodoria nodded stiffly, then fell behind with the other soldiers.
"I hate him."
"I know you do, Zarbon, but be patient. His time will come." The two continued to mutter back and forth until they reached the space ship, and went their separate ways.