It Is All Fun and Games
You don't dare admit it, not even to yourself. It is a dangerous game you are playing and no one knows it better than you; still, when all is said and done, you simply can't quit. It became too late to quit the second Beerus, the God of Destruction, randomly appeared before your father demanding food and wine as if he was entitled to them. You later find out that he was indeed entitled to them – he was entitled to anything that struck his fancy, as the tantrum resulting from being denied would be deadly for anyone but him. You were a curious child, way too confident in your strength and cunny to be healthily afraid, so, while your smarter brother kept his distance, you walked up to the strangers to demand answers. Beerus smiled at you, commented that you were a brave little fellow and that, with your level of combat power, you would probably grow strong enough to be interesting in the future. Lately that night, your father gives you the first beating of your life and makes you swear to never, ever, ever antagonise the God of Destruction again.
The years go by, your body grows stronger and your heart colder, till you are sure that if you were ever to tear it out and place it on snow, your heart would melt with the shock of touching something so warm. You have your own empire and your name strikes terror everywhere it's heard. You have your little hobbies obviously – you always knew you were a collector at heart and soon your army boasts such an array of fallen royalty you could paint all your walls blue with their blood. Then you meet the Saiyans. You were actually meant to meet the leaders of the Tuffles, a technologically advanced race that wanted to buy your protection, but politics is a fickle thing and you end up buying a whole new army of mercenaries. They are effective, but you dislike them and the one you dislike the most is their King. He wants to be you, but could only dream of having your power and natural charm. You get close to do away with him several times for his insolence and finally resolve to do so when, distracted by you can't start to guess what stupid thing, he makes you wait half an hour instead of greeting you immediately. You march into the room where the scouter detected his power level, hit him before he can open his big mouth and are about to finish him off when a shriek distracts you. You turn your head and finally notice the little crib and the small infant glaring at you. He stands a little shakily, probably still unconfident in the act and curiously enough, once he notices your attention on him, he falls silent. It occurs to you that he was trying to distract you from his father – look at me, I am your opponent now! his serious face seems to say. It tears a chuckle out of you and you go stand by the crib, taking in the flame-shaped dark reddish hair, the black eyes and deep frown that immediately identify him as a Royal. A small tail slashes the air behind him in an aggressive manner, the dark fur contrasting with the blood red baby suit he is wearing.
"I am afraid you have entered the wrong fight, my dear", you tell him with a smile on your face. He blinks at you, as if surprised you can speak. In order to surprise him further, you smirk and suddenly expand your aura; hearing the King's scouter explode behind you makes you tingle with smug satisfaction. The boy is staring up at you with his small mouth open to form a cute "o"; he shuts it almost immediately, though, fixes those dark eyes of his on you in concentration and… You let out an astonished laugh as he attempts to release his aura like you did a few seconds ago. Compared to yours it's pathetic, which is probably why the child throws a frustrated little kick to his crib's bars, but for you it's the cutest thing you've ever seen. The King lives to see another day.
Vegeta grows up to be an impossible child. Too strong for most of the people on his planet and not strong enough for those who count on your ship, he is constantly at war with everyone, himself included. You demand and obtain for him to accompany you on missions and you gleefully feel him analyse every little thing you do. You are unsurprised when he starts to shoot a deadly beam of light from his index or when you catch him eye your throne with a calculating look. You tut at the choice of Radditz and Nappa, though, whispering in his little ear that Radditz's hair looks way too coarse to be tied in a braid. He does not take kindly to that and gives you the cold shoulder for a few days, ducking out of the way whenever you attempt to caress his hair. It is then that you decide to add Cui to your collection, a young Prince about Vegeta's age and with a similar power level, and treat him like your new favourite pet for a few days. Your precious Saiyan gets the message loud and clear – you are replaceable, don't test me. His betrayed expression would be heart-breaking if it was not so incredibly satisfying. The hate between the two Princes blooms beautifully, ensuring fun for years to come. You cannot leave things as they are, though, without risking destroying the torturously thin line you have stranded your lovely child onto. You don't want Vegeta to consider you lost to him, that would end the game, so you purchase a refined engraved gold crown and grace his head with it while the two of you are taking a walk around the ship. The gift unbalances him, obviously, and he stammers a thank you, eyeing the crown as if it was a poisonous snake. You smile affectionately at him, glad that he no longer knows where he stands with you and happy in the knowledge that your game is way too confusing for the poor child. Your grin disappears at his next words.
"Lord Freeza… It's been six months. May I be allowed to go home…?"
You do not respect treaties. They have no meaning to you. Your treaty with the Saiyans states that every six months the Prince will be allowed to go back home. You hate it, hate that a stupid piece of paper would dare to tell you that you have to let go of your child every few months. What do those Saiyans want with him anyway? Do they think they still have some claim over him? You try to explain to Vegeta that he is yours now, but he looks strangely at you and you decide it's a conversation best left for another day. You take back the crown in spite and send him on his way.
Two weeks later, with your Prince still missing, you furiously storm into your room, ready to trash it, when you are stopped by two figures suddenly materialising in it. Lord Beerus demands food and wine as if he was entitled to them and then orders you to destroy Planet Vegeta and all the useless Saiyans who inhabit it, except the darling young Prince, who looks like he might be fun to be around. You feel like screaming. You feel like clawing the God's eyes out, possessive jealousy killing you from within. He shall never have him, even if it means you have to kill Vegeta to ensure that. Then, you realise what you have been ask to do and you smile with perfect glee. And, Beerus is not asking to have Vegeta, not yet at least. If he ever does, your precious boy will have to die, but in the meantime…
It's a dangerous game, but you love playing it.
After all is said and done, a sombre Vegeta comes back from his mission after having discovered he has just become one of the last members of an endangered species. You welcome him home with a great ceremony and, with all your Elites present, burn the hated treaty right under the Saiyans' eyes. Nappa and Radditz are furious, while their Prince stands still and silent, quietly watching the burnt ashes. Your generals laugh and you feel fury mounting. You put on your sweetest smile, though, and order your servant to bring in the gift. The Elites suddenly fall silent as you take out of the ornate chest you've been brought a luxurious red cape and wrap it around the trembling Saiyan Prince. It is too big for him now, but you are sure that in a few years it will fit him perfectly. He finally raises his head and risks a look at you and you smile at him with all the affection your cold, cold heart can muster. "For when you are older", you tell him and charmingly kiss his gloved hand.
Vegeta grows into a man and you remark mockingly that the cape is still a bit big on him. He is petite and light, with a built that ironically echoes yours. You don't miss the chance to point it out to Nappa and Radditz and thoroughly enjoy the way their faces contort with fury. You cannot see Vegeta's face as you say it, as he is standing behind you, but you feel his shoulders tense under your hands. You hum and turn away from the two idiots, all the while massaging his shoulders to ease away the tension. "It was a compliment, my dear", you tell him as you guide him back on his knees, "I am so glad you took after me and not your oaf of a father." Vegeta ignores the comment and tonelessly gives a report on his mission. You comment he could have done better. He pauses, stares right into your eyes and tells you that the only way anyone could have done better would have been by being you. You feel your veins burning with liquid fire and realise that this is why you love him so. This is why you will end up killing him. You call them incompetent monkeys and send them away in disgrace; later that night, you send the brand new armour you purchased just for him to his room with your compliments. He will have to come thank you later and he will hate doing it, especially after he notices the armour is the same Royal Purple as yours.
"Don't you ever feel like we are being played?", Cui asked out of the blue. Freeza sent them on a dangerous mission together, probably as some kind of punishment for something they did. Or for something they did not do. It was hard to tell with him. They had somewhat managed not to kill each other and complete the purge within the deadline and were now resting side to side under the blood red sky. In a minute they would get into their pods again, but for the moment they were both enjoying the fresh air.
Vegeta did not answer, eyes closed as if he had not heard. Cui slid a little closer, knowing it would irritate him. Most of what he did was to irritate the Saiyan. "I know it's difficult for you, but think about it", he spoke slowly, as if talking to a child, "Why send us on a mission together? Did he want us to prove something? Or to kill each other?" Vegeta frowned but kept ignoring him. Cui fell silent for a while. "He probably wanted me to die", he finally muttered only half-jokingly. "Bet he would have fun punishing you." Vegeta opened his eyes but refused to look at him, staring at the sky instead. It irked Cui immensely and he spitefully searched for a way to hurt him. "Out of curiosity, from man to monkey… has he had his way with you yet?", he asked with a wide grin, nudging Vegeta with his elbow as if they were friends discussing conquests. The Saiyan's hands closed into fists and Cui felt a tiny hint of happiness at seeing his poison causing a reaction. Vegeta finally turned to look at him. "Why?", he deadpanned, "Would you like to be in my place?"
Cui did not have a retort for that, so he simply huffed and turned away; the other did the same, eyes falling shut again. Another, longer silence followed. "You never answered", Cui eventually sing-sung, but even he would have admitted that it was only half-hearted. He did not want to hear the answer just as much as Vegeta did not want to say it.
Thank you for reading.