Chapter Nine
" Honor is simply the morality of superior men."
H.L Mencken
The day had arrived quicker than he had expected. He wasn't worried, no, everything was a part of his design. His father would only experience the things he wanted him to. Nothing would go wrong, he wouldn't allow it.
He slid off of his bed, not particularly caring if he moved too much or made a lot of noise, he had learned that his pet could sleep through just about anything. He glanced at her sleeping form and smirked to himself.
He had managed to avoid any uneccessary contact like what had occurred the first night he had allowed her to sleep with him. The second night he had been pleasently surprised to find that they were not entangled when the morning had come. She was on her side, and he, his. It had been like that every night since.
Frieza pulled on his armor slowly as his mind wandered. He glanced at the Zandonian, anticipating that odd feeling again. She made him feel things he had never felt before and it was beginning to annoy him. He tried to ignore it for the most part, as he had no time for such things, but it was hard sometimes.
Like now, he wanted to reach over and run a hand through her blue locks, but he knew not what purpose it would serve; it was just an odd impulse. An odd impulse that he would ignore. He would not fall prey to such petty desires, especially ones that were not rooted in any logic.
He did, however, need to wake her up so she could get ready for her first 'mission'.
Frieza walked to the other side of the bed and gripped the covers, pulling them off with no remorse. Adalina whined in her sleep a bit but did not stir; he was use to it by now. He gripped her shoulder and shook her,roughly.
She opened her eyes to a familiar sight; Frieza's disgruntled face as he shook her awake. She had become accustomed to this little routine in the few days that had passed, and it no longer surprised her.
"Good morning." she blinked a few times, dislodging the sleepiness from her sight.
Frieza stepped back and crossed his arms over his chest,
"Good morning." he replied back in an annoyed voice, as per usual, "You will be leaving with the monkeys in two hours, I expect you to be ready by then. Since there is a chance that this mission could go wrong, I will allow you to wear your armor, it is in the first storage room in this hallway." he was as authoritative as ever.
Do this, do that, or else.
Adalina sighed and sat up, stretching her aching muscles; training had been particularly brutal yesterday. Frieza had made her hold herself up by her arms for as long as he could, which turned out to be a long time. He hadn't even been close to being tired when she had released the pull-up bar in exasperation.
That was only a small part of her training though. They had sparred a bit, and she had worked on keeping her power regulated some more. She was making good progress, or so she thought. Frieza seemed a bit impatient, but that was his problem.
"Mmmkay." she was still half asleep it seemed.
Frieza frowned at her non-chalance,
"Do you need lessons on manners as well. What a vulgar sounding phrase." he spat as he turned his nose up at her.
"I've watched you jam a hand through someone's chest, and you're talking to me about manners?" she knew she shouldn't have said it as soon as the words left her mouth, but she found it difficult to prevent the sentence from tumbling off the tip of her tongue.
His subtle frown quickly morphed into a scowl. How dare she talk to him like that? She had spoken out of line many times, but this, this was different. She was contradicting him, calling him a hypocrite.
She saw the glint in his eye and quickly formulated a plan to undo what she had just done,
"Wait, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. I was only making a joke." she had her hands up in an ' I surrender' position as she spoke calmly.
Frieza turned around, his back facing her and his hands clasped just above his tail,
"You're not very funny. I would refrain from making any 'jokes' from this point on." he sounded mad, yes, but not absolutely livid.
He left without another word, leaving her alone to get ready.
She sighed; what would it take to get through to him? He was a ruthless, inter-galactic tyrant who committed mass genocide to turn a profit. She had seen the potential for compassion, and other emotions, but he always kept them smothered. She was sure that his father had beat such things out of him when he was younger and that thought sickened her.
He was still young, as she had found out that he was close to her age, barely an adult. This meant that he still had time to change, and she was going to make sure it happened by any means neccessary. He had the potential to become a genuinely great leader, what with his strength and confidence, he merely lacked empathy, or rather, he didn't recognize it.
Her father once said that 'a good king does not think himself above his subjects'. The King of Zandonia was very humble and cunning, something she aspired to be and something she wished for Frieza, though with his attitude that may never happen.
But that didn't mean he couldn't become a little less ruthless.
Maybe he needed to be shown that someone truly cared for him? She wasn't sure how she would manage that, but she knew she had to try at some point.
Adalina stepped into the shower in an attempt to clear her mind, allowing the warm patter of the water to beat a calming rhythm into her head. She smiled slightly, she would be getting out of the ship without Frieza for the first time since she had been 'recruited'.
She wondered what her first mission entailed, if he was sending the Saiyans it usually meant that brute force was required. Ah, but she didn't mind, she got to spend the whole day with Vegeta; her little man.
Of course she would have to put up with Nappa and Raditz, but that was nothing she couldn't do. Raditz was merely going through his rebellious teenage years, but Nappa, he was a different story. The hulking brute hated Adalina talking with Vegeta; she was apparently softening him up.
She was positive that he felt threatened by her as well.
Adalina finished rinsing herself off and stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel tightly about her before exiting the bathroom. She walked to her shared closet and began rummaging through its contents, looking for something suitable to wear under her armor.
She fished through garments of all shapes and sizes, as Frieza had allowed her to purchase an outift or two when they stopped at planets or trading stations so she could slowly build up her wardrobe. She landed on one of her first outfits, a white form-fitting tank top and a pair of tights.
She grabbed her undergarments from a separate drawer, as Frieza had gotten upset when he had found them in his closet, so he had given her her own personal space. His face had been extremely red.
She smiled at that, repressing the urge to laugh as she began getting dressed.
The young Zandonian tied her hair into a ponytail, snapped her scouter on, and exited the room once she was ready to grab her armor. It had been so long it seemed since she had adorned her protective wear and she was excited to put it on once more.
She entered the storage room that Frieza had indicated and looked around. Her armor was situated neatly on one of the metal tables. It had been cleaned and well-taken care of, much to her relief. She carefully began placing the armor on her body, just as her master had shown her years ago.
Once she was adorned in her vibrant white armor she exited the storage room and began making her way towards the throne room. She still had some time before she was suppose to be there, but she was sure Frieza wouldn't mind her being a little early.
She couldn't help but wonder if Frieza would be okay with his father visiting. Oddly enough she found herself worrying for his safety. She knew her being there wouldn't make the slightest difference if his father decided to smack him around, as she was powerless compared to him, but she still felt as if she could do something.
Adalina sighed to herself as she continued walking, keeping her eyes on the ground as her thoughts wandered. She felt sorry for Frieza, though she would never tell him that. No one deserved to be treated so horrible and have all 'unnecessary' emotions beaten out of them. Her master had been rough with her, yes, but he had also lectured her on things like mercy and honor.
She was abruptly stopped in her musings when she ran into a wall..or what she thought was a wall. She took a step back and found that she had to look up to see what had halted her movements.
A familiar face glared down at her, though this was the first time she had seen him in person. Frieza had wanted to keep her from meeting him at all costs but it would seem fate was not on their side.
"I'm sorry, sir, I wasn't paying any attention to my surroundings." she quickly apologized as politely as she could. This man had no qualms over killing her where she stood.
King Cold's expression instantly changed to one she couldn't quite place, it almost seemed...gleeful,
"You wouldn't happen to be from Zandonia, would you?"
Every fiber of her being was screaming at her not to answer, but what choice did she have, he was way stronger than her,
"That's correct, sir." she answered sheepishly.
The hulking Arcosian reached a hand out and touched her wavy hair, letting a strand of it slide between his fingers,
"I can't believe Frieza was hiding such a catch from me, what a terrible son he is." he retracted his hand, "You would make an excellent pet on my ship, I'd probably treat you better than that ungrateful son of mine does."
Adalina took a step back,
"To be fair, sir, I'm actually a soldier and on my way to a mission currently." she tried to step around him but was immediately cut off.
" A soldier you say? He shouldn't be sending such a delicate flower out to fight, what impudence. He certainly does not deserve you."
The young Zandonian was growing increasingly uncomfortable and she decided that it would be best if she contacted Frieza,
"I'm a lot stronger than I look." she replied as she reached a hand up to her scouter, making it look as if she were brushing a stray hair back into place. She lightly ran her finger over the button that sent visual feed directly to Frieza's HUD, holding the button for mere seconds.
King Cold smirked at her and leaned down,
"Is that so? I'd love to see you in action." something about the way he said it made her think that he was not talking about fighting.
His tail snaked around her waist and she found herself unable to get free. This was not good, not good at all.
"Father, you're here early." that was Frieza, certainly, but his voice sounded different.
He almost sounded nervous.
"Yes, son, and I've found quite the treat."
The young tyrant stopped beside Adalina, his hands clasped behind his back. How could he have been so careless? He should have told her to stay out of the hallways until his father had arrived. Though it was still her fault, for wandering around aimlessly.
"Unfortunately she has a mission that she needs to attend to right now." Adalina could tell that he was trying as hard as he possibly could to defuse the situation.
King Cold's tail released her and she instantly took three steps back,
"Very well, I'm only doing this because I have a very urgent matter to discuss with you my boy." he turned to Adalina, "I'm sure we'll meet again soon."
Frieza turned and looked at Adalina,
"The simians are in the launch station, I trust you know where that's at."
She nodded and turned around, heading in the opposite direction.
Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest after her encounter. King Cold was absolutely terrifying, and she feared the worst for Frieza. She was helpless though; there wasn't a damn thing she could do.
She sighed and composed herself before opening the door to the launch station. She was greeted by Vegeta,
"You look like you've been through hell." he commented roughly.
"I ran into King Cold." she shrugged before continuing,"Anyway, have you been briefed on the mission?"
Nappa was the one who answered,
"We're retrieving some orb, it's a simple job, and we don't need your help."
Adalina crossed her arms over her chest and squared her shoulders as she stared up at the brute,
"Might I remind you which one of us is stronger? Besides, I'm only going because Lord Frieza does not wish for me to be on the ship while his father is visiting."
Nappa glared at the young woman but said nothing further when he received a glare from Vegeta. Raditz had yet to say anything, a wise choice for the coward indeed.
"Have you ever used one of these?" the Prince asked as he motioned to one of the flight pods, only big enough for one. Adalina shook her head, "It's fairly easy, just type in the coordinates or tell it where you want to go, and it will take you. We are going to a deserted planet called Xamos."
Adalina nodded and as the Saiyans climbed into their respective pods, she followed suit. The young woman quickly fiddled with the controls and pulled up a directory, selecting the planet they were traveling to; she was wary of anything voice controlled.
The ships took off at the same time, exiting the air-lock and hurtling into space.
She set up a private line with Vegeta on her scouter,
"How long will it take us?"
"The planet's close, so I would say ten minutes."
"Do you think we'll encounter any trouble?" she didn't want to fight, but if it came down to it she was more than prepared.
"Like I said, the planet's abandoned, I doubt we'll run into any trouble."
The two chatted about random topics for the remainder of the time, arriving at the planet in twelve minutes. Vegeta had been two minutes off, but it was a decent estimate to say the least.
The pods crashed through the atmosphere and into the ground at high velocity, leaving the ground marred with craters.
Adalina got the creeps just looking at the planet when she opened her hatch. The land was dark and grey, where trees once stood were now lifeless skeletons reaching into the dreary purple-grey sky. She couldn't help but wonder what had happened to the planet's inhabitants as she spotted abandoned buildings on the horizon.
The young Zandonian carefully stepped out onto the ground, cautious of anything that might get her. Sure, it was an abandoned planet, and it certainly felt like it, but it was also mildly terrifying.
"They say that the inhabitants vanished into thin air hundreds of years ago." Vegeta said suddenly, causing Adalina to give a small start.
Raditz laughed at the young woman's expense, a harrowing chuckle that annoyed her to no end,
"You have no room Raditz! You're afriad of frogs!" she said as she stomped her foot comically.
Nappa glared at the two and crossed his arms over his chest,
"Stop being children, we have work to do." his deep baritone demanded attention and yet Adalina found it easy to ignore him and take command herself.
Vegeta had sent her a map of the planet and where their 'treasure' was located at during their travel, so she clicked her scouter and pulled up the coordinates. A small yellow arrow pointed her in the direction of the mysterious orb and she prepared for take off.
"The scouter says it's this way." was all she offered in explanation before she took to the skies. The three Saiyans followed suit, albeit some of them begrudgingly.
Vegeta flew right next to Adalina, the Zandonian had decided to go at a slower pace for the Saiyans and it was getting to his pride,
"You can speed up you know, I can keep up." he smirked at her, "Leave them behind, they have scouters, they'll find their way."
Adalina weighed her options, on one hand Vegeta might enjoy the challenge, but on the other, if she went way faster than him, he might have a fit.
It could be a nice lesson for him though.
With a smirk plastered on her face, the Zandonian sped up to unbelievable speeds, quickly losing the Saiyans.
Vegeta strained to catch up with her as she took off, using every ounce of energy he could produce to propel himself at the enormous speed Adalina was traveling. He wouldn't lose to her, he couldn't.
Adalina was surprised to see the pint-sized Saiyan flying directly beside her with a determined look on his face. She was only flying at half her top-speed, but all things considered, that was quite fast.
She decided to let him have his small victory instead of trying to teach him a lesson. Encouragement at a young age meant that one day he would eventually be able to fly at top speeds with her, and maybe even keep up with Frieza.
She wasn't ignorant to the boys mistreatment at the hands of the tyrant. It almost seemed as if Frieza were trying to limit his potential, though she wasn't sure why. She slowed down a bit, allowing Vegeta to have the lead. He was a prideful little boy, and sometimes it was irritating, but Adalina could see it for what it really was.
It was a shield, a shield to protect himself from anything that might come his way. He tried to be the best at everything and was as stubborn as a mule, partly because of his heritage, but also because he was forced to grow up so early.
Her scanner beeped at her, alerting her that she was approaching their destination and snapping her from her thoughts. Vegeta had already landed and was sending her a smirk as she slowed down.
Adalina descended and stood in front of the boy, offering him a smile,
"Nice one, I'm proud of you." she said as she patted his shoulder.
Vegeta felt something swell in his chest at her words. The last person to tell him that they were proud of his efforts was his father, but that had been long ago. He found that he liked making Adalina proud and would be sure to do so more often.
"I told you I could keep up, and I even beat you here!" his tone was mildly condescending, but that was to be expected, it was Vegeta afterall.
Adalina gave him another smile before turning to inspect the location. It was a dark and foreboding cave that seemed to scream danger. Something about the area just seemed wrong.
"This place is really creepy." she commented off-handedly.
Vegeta glared at her,
"Stop being such a weakling. You told me that you were an elite commander on your home planet, are you really going to let something as petty as a dark cave frighten you?"
Adalina tilted her head and placed her hands on her hips,
"I didn't say that I was frightened. I merely said it was creepy, as in disturbing. Something doesn't feel right."
The Prince crossed his arms over his chest, giving her a smug look,
"I have no idea what you're on about."
She wasn't sure if he was bluffing or just that oblivious to his own instincts so she decided to leave it be.
Nappa and Raditz arrived not long after, looking a little more than pissed. Adalina had been expecting them to be angry with her for leaving them in the dust, what she hadn't expected was getting sucker-punched by Raditz of all people.
She didn't budge an inch as his fist collided with her jaw, presumably as hard as he could swing. Nappa and Vegeta were both staring at him with wide eyes.
"You fool! Don't you understand that she's capable of killing you with little effort! Her power level is nearly as high as Lord Frieza's!" Vegeta shouted at his fellow Saiyan.
Raditz retracted his fist and all the color drained from his face,
"I-, just, I couldn't, I mean, I didn't know-"
"It's fine. It isn't like you hurt me or anything. You need to learn to control those Saiyan impulses of yours, if I had been Frieza you wouldn't be standing here right now." Adalina sternly cut off his stammering.
The way her voice had instantly become authoritative had surprised all present. They had heard rumors of her famous tone but had never experienced it.
"Yes ma'am!" Raditz, who was usually rude and uncouth, had managed to dig up his manners as her eyes bore into his.
"Good!" she smiled brightly, "Now, let's go."
Adalina could see decently in the dark, but she was well aware of the Saiyans inability to see in the blackness of the cave as Vegeta bumped into her when they went further in. She furrowed her brows and turned towards them,
"Did Frieza provide you with any lighting devices?"
"No, it was all very rushed." Nappa answered.
She figured there had been a lot left out as the tyrant had been rushing to her 'rescue', so he had more than likely given them a quick synopsis of the mission and had not bothered to inform them of the tools they may need.
The Zandonian sighed and cupped both of her hands in front of her, gathering a reasonably sized ball of energy. Teal light illuminated the cavernous path-way, providing just enough light to make out the shapes in front of them.
"Shouldn't you save your energy?" Vegeta asked as he cocked an eye-brow at her. He still had trouble grasping the idea that she had enough power to spare.
"This is nothing, and besides, we shouldn't run into anyone, it's a deserted planet, remember?"
"Of course I remember, woman, I was the one who said it!" he quipped.
Adalina smirked at his response. She knew exactly how to press his buttons when she wanted to, and it provided some source of entertainment. She couldn't help but find his little explosions of anger adorable.
The boy was capable of destroying planets at such a young age, and could easily defeat an army if he wanted to, but that meant nothing to her. He was a child in her eyes, and she would do her best to give him some form of a child-hood.
The further they pressed on into the cave, the more unsettled she felt, leading her to believe that whatever they were recovering was something brimming with power. Though, the feeling she got was similar to the one she had recieved when she had encountered the assassin. There could be a connection somewhere.
The cave suddenly became very bright as they stepped into a cavern of some sort, and she found that her ball of energy was no longer needed. She dissipated the teal sphere by seperating her hands and bringing them to her sides.
The source of the light was plainly obvious; in the center of the cavern lay a bright white ring of some sort. It reminded her of a halo with its size and ethereal nature. She knew right then and there that something was very wrong. The uncomfortable feeling in the pit of her stomach had gotten worse, but it wasn't because of the ring.
It was because of the figure standing beside it.
A/N: Sorry! I had too ok, I didn't want to end in a cliff-hanger, but it just kind of happened. I'll give you a hint to who it is though! It isn't our shadowy assassin from chapter seven, it's a new character, though they certainly do come from the same place. Get pumped guys, Adalina is about to have her first major fight, and I'm going to try and make it as epic as possible, though fair-warning, I'm terrible at fight scenes. If any of you have any suggestions, comments, questions, etcetera, don't be afraid to leave a review! I try my best to adress any concerns. Any way, thanks for reading! And for those of you wondering, I update every Monday unless stated otherwise.
Next Chapter: Adalina makes an enemy
