The Invasion of Namek would be regarded by historians as the first, and perhaps most important great defeat of. In forty years of being the self-proclaimed "Emperor of the Universe", Freeza had traversed the Northern Quadrant for its strongest warriors. Seeking those with innately strong power like himself, he found beings like Zarbon and Dodoria. Though recruitment often involved getting his hands dirty, Freeza got lazy. He believed that with their power, he'd never need to help or interfere in their fights.
It is this overconfidence in his army's abilities that prevented him from trying to help them. It is their overconfidence in their master's that kept them complacent. Of course, Freeza never cared what might happen to his army after death, even before he denied its inevitability. But his father was becoming old, and seeing his son's maiming realized his "perfect prince" lacked one vital aspect: responsibility.
King Cold's Spaceship, 14 February 763
(Freeza's POV)
For over thirty years, I've been Emperor. Trillions of stars shine for me, hundreds of species fear my wrath as much as they would God's. When doomed rebels feel screeching "you monster" and "I'll see you in Hell" or even the insipid "good will always triumph over evil!" in my ear is enough, they tend to demotivate me. They ask me: "Are you really happy? Don't you feel just a little empty as Emperor? Isn't there a time where even you think of giving up all this, just for once?"
I know what they're trying to do; it's a vain hope I might reconsider my life. But they're right about one thing; there has been one moment my absolute power has gotten tiresome; paperwork. Every time I have to organize trade routes or crunch numbers for how much whatever planet I blew up cost, I feel like I'm watching paint dry…no, that's unfair, paint drying actually results in something nice to look at.
Goku! Even now he vexes me! I could've become immortal! I SHOULD BE ETERNAL! If I was immortal, I wouldn't have to deal with this "tell their loved ones" nonsense! I wouldn't have to deal with any of this bureaucrat shit! My every whim would simply be accepted by this universe through virtue of it being impossible to stop me! At the very least, I'd have all eternity after being finished with this nonsense.
King Cold(video phone): "Freeza, have you begun calling your fallen men's families?"
"I am not doing something this demeaning! I don't give a shit about what they're up to, why should I do this?!"
King Cold: "I'm not doing this just to annoy you. You need to take better care of your men if you want your empire to stand."
"Is this a mid-life crisis?! Who cares about those peons! They were motivated by fear and fear alone, they don't deserve to exist as anything but disposable!"
King Cold: "Our enemies can't think that. If they know the terrors of the cosmos are cowards, you'll be less respected. More incidents like "Vegeta" will happen. I've read your reports, I know what happened. You know what? I think I might make Coola my heir now. You're wasting your potential."
"I'll….I'll behave. But you do realize a lot of these men don't have families anymore."
King Cold: "Enough do, however. Enough do to make this a punishment."
Freeza Planet 1(Formerly Citria), 14 February 763
(Empolos' POV)
Miles-"Happy anniversary Grandpa! I made this for you!"
Today is my fiftieth anniversary of being king. My grandkids have made me a quilt, detailing it with the history of my reign; my ascension, my dealings with Freeza, my minion expeditions. All the meanwhile, they remain cheerful and blissfully unaware of all that's wrong with the world.
Smolen: "Grandpa, why aren't you smiling? Did you not want this quilt? We know you like them, we thought really hard about it!"
Empolos-"It's fine."
Miles-"Is it because daddy is gone? He'll be back soon, won't he?"
Empolos-"I don't know."
I don't even bother lying to them anymore. Look at them; so innocent, they think my kingship means anything. They're the only ones who hang on to that illusion; they don't see me for the slave I am. The slave we all are. Zarbon is probably busy being tortured for delivering piss-poor wine, or Freeza is planning to blow up one of our moons because my latest statue of him has uneven horns.
I was such a young man, only forty. I was promised master of my own domain. But he had to come, and…how many cities burned with his mere grunts? How many of my people died then? 600 million? 900 million? 1.3 billion? It doesn't matter; I only stopped him from stripping the planet of its resources by offering up my son. For centuries I've been led to belief that strength doesn't matter, but even the stupidest of his minions could level a continent. Politics don't work against walking WMDs.
Freeza(phone): "King Empolo, I have important news for you."
Freeza?! Oh gods, no! Not again! I bet he killed Zarbon, and he wants one of his kids!
Freeza(phone): "I have urgent news about your son."
"Y-yes Emperor Freeza?"
Freeza(phone): "Your son, Prince Zarbon of Freeza Planet One, has died. He perished on the Invasion of Namek, against a traitor in our midst: Saiyan Prince Vegeta."
I knew it. Gods damn it, I knew it. Vegeta always considered Zarbon a vapid coward, and Zarbon always knew Vegeta as a brutish psychopath who wanted to be the next Freeza. It's a miracle that Freeza didn't let them throttle each other out of sheer apathy.
"Was he punished? Please tell me Vegeta suffered."
Freeza(phone): "Only I may speak ill of him. You cannot; were it not for his stubbornness, he would have made you and Zarbon irrelevant. But yes, he has sadly passed away. And I know, deep down, that's what you want."
"…sir, I don't understand."
Freeza(phone): "You wanted Zarbon to be free. I know what you think of me; you think I'm a demon, and your "poor wittle Prince" is was better off dead. You're half-right, but I assure you Zarbon loved the glory I bestowed on him. He gave me his rights, and I gave him a thousand worlds to play with."
"Did he at least die painlessly?"
Freeza(phone): "How should I know? Probably not, considering how Vegeta felt about him."
"What happens to me? What happens to this world?"
Freeza(phone): "Do you honestly think I'd wipe out the first world of my empire? I like it too much to do so. The people, on the other hand? Just keep doing as I say and they'll be fine. Your son hasn't been a bargaining chip for over thirty years. Farewell."
Thirty years?! I..I could have…no. I couldn't. I can't do anything to help anyone, especially not my family. So long as Freeza lives, we're never going to be safe. I still don't know why he lets my subjects keep calling me king; a king is supposed to keep their people safe.
Smolen: "Grandpa, are you alright?"
"If Freeza ever comes here, run. Run far away. Run to the other side of the cosmos. I beg of you."
They won't be safe. Nothing will ever be safe. But better they have false hope than none. Better them not become like their grandfather. I'm sorry Zarbon…I'm sorry the gods allowed Freeza to exist.
R.I.P Prince Zarbon of Citria
October 12 709 to December 20 762
Mourned by one world, scorned by trillions of others
King Cold's Spaceship, 14 February 763
(King Cold's POV)
Am I a bad father? I've been sure I wasn't. There are seven quadrillion star systems who quake in fear of my sons. Without lifting a finger, their reputation alone can give us a billion slaves. Especially Freeza; the Kais fear his army, let alone him. I thought I did my job. But my son is missing half his own body, the best of his men, all out of some pipe dream of eternal life. The irony of it all; he has everything he wants, but wastes it all in.
Am I a cruel father, or a kind father? I've hurt him, yes, but it wasn't malicious. We don't need to get stronger, but we do need some skill. Sometimes his reaction speed isn't enough, sometimes he strains to keep his less repressed forms stable. And sometimes I just need to punish him for embarrassing himself. I can't be a cruel father. Still, I wonder if I should have been cruel; at least to some extent. My kindness has created a spoilt brat who'll never live up to the god-like power within him.
Freeza: "I've contacted Zarbon's family. How many more of these do I have to slog through?"
"Quit your whining; most of our soldiers are survivors. About 3% of your army has surviving relatives, and only 10% of those bother contacting them. You have about to go."
Freeza: "Father, I think you miscounted; Appule, Cui, Blueberry and most importantly Captain Ginyu are the only Freeza Soldiers still in contact with their family."
"What about Banan, Sui and Orlen?"
Freeza: "I lost contact with Banan and Sui around a lake. They might still be alive, but they aren't welcome for going AWOL. Orlen was sent off-world after he summoned the Ginyu Force."
"Speaking of which; the Ginyu Force cost a lot for us to hire them. It should take us around two months to give our condolences to their families, in person."
Freeza: "Captain Ginyu is the only one of them I care about."
"If you had put that consideration
Freeza: "I get it. May I retire to my room?"
"You may."
Am I a fair father? No. He may not want to show it, but inside Freeza wants to whine and whine like a ten-year old. I wish he realized what I'm trying to do; I'm trying to make up for lost times and make him a better ruler. He's almost 76, but he still needs my guidance. I'm middle-aged at this point; I shouldn't need to treat him like a little kid.
I'll let him have one more indulgence, one more carefree conquest when he crushes that Super Saiyan. After that? No more softness. Freeza will learn to fear and respect me. He'll learn he cannot succeed on intimidation alone. I swear by God Himself, when I'm buried in the Catacombs of Persephones, Freeza will be a king respected by even Lord Beerus himself! His will be a legacy exceeding the legend of Freeza the Great! All will fear my son, and all will acknowledge his newfound wisdom! So swears Cold, King of Demetrix!
Will King Cold succeed? Will Freeza listen and become more pragmatic in the future? Hahahaha…poor King Cold, he doesn't realize this isn't an AU. Expect next chapter to deal with tertiary Freeza Force characters, who are going to get a chance to shine in this fanfiction.
Demetrix, as you can guess, is Freeza's home planet, and Persephones is its moon. No, it's not Arcose, though some of Freeza's kind live there. You'll find out why it's called that in a future chapter.
Aging: Freeza's people live a long time, but not as long as Namekians. They become adults at 40(and teenagers at 30), but it's not until 300 they become middle aged. At 400 they're old, and they typically live 450 years. As of now, Freeza is 75, Coola is 182, and King Cold is 323.
A lot of people suggest Freeza has some sort of tragic past that made him so evil. From what I've seen, I believe the opposite is the case; he's a total spoiled brat. Only now is King Cold realizing that. You could compare their relationship to Roose and Ramsay Bolton, or Twin Lannister and Joffrey Baratheon. Only Freeza isn't a total idiot or a (literal) bastard, he just lets his cruelty get in the way of pragmatism.
In supplementary material, Zarbon has been mentioned as a prince, which is why his father is a king. His family are anagrams of certain things. Try and figure it out!