It took a lot of self-control for Cooler to keep his breathing steady as he stood outside those double door. Those double doors that blocked off the waiting room for the infirmary. Those double doors that housed the best medical staff in the universe behind it. Those double doors that blocked Cooler away from his brother, his brother who was receiving the best treatment that medicine could provide. His brother who he'd tried to kill, but still managed to live.
And also behind those double doors was his father, who was probably standing over Frieza for every second of the procedure. His father who was probably already thinking up one hundred different ways to kill the person that had put his beloved son in such a state.
And just like that, Cooler's heart rate went back up for the umpteenth time since he'd seen Frieza.
"How do you think the surgery is going?" Onen asked, who was standing right at Cooler's side in the waiting room.
"I'm sure everything is going perfectly," Cooler replied with a thick undertone of disdain in his voice because he knew full well how capable their staff was.
All of a sudden, a rush of footsteps sounded down a nearby hallway. Onen and Cooler turned in the direction just as the two figures ran around the corner. "Father, I –!" Frost had announced as she appeared, only to stop short when she saw Cooler and Onen instead of the king. "Oh, it's you two," she said and then turned to look at the closed double doors.
"Nice to see you as well, Frost and Sheer," Cooler replied with a touch of sarcasm. "Have to admit that I'm kind of surprised that you both hadn't arrived here sooner. Frieza's been in operation for well over an hour."
"We received the news late," Sheer spoke and then cast his glance away from Cooler, who looked unbelieving of the lie.
"We came as soon as we could," Frost assured, briefly looking at Sheer, and then looking towards Cooler unflinchingly. Quick to change the subject, she said, "Did you get a chance to see him? How bad did Frieza look?"
The flash of Frieza's ragged body flashed back through Cooler's mind and then, came the image of Frieza laughing uncontrollably after he would explain what really happened on Namek. Cooler had to blink that thought away, though. Quickly. "Horrible," was Cooler's simple reply before he looked away from his siblings and back at the daunting door that seemed to taunt him with each passing second.
Another few minutes of relative silence passed, Cooler almost beginning to calm down. He'd almost believed that maybe Frieza wouldn't make it. He'd almost smiled at the thought. And then, the door opened and King Cold stepped out.
"Father!" Frost cheered and ran right over to the man, who happily wrapped his daughter up in a hug. That was kind of affection he reserved only for Frost. "Father, how is he? How is our brother?!" she demanded frantically.
Cold looked away briefly and said, "He's stable." The monarch breathed in a deep breath and sighed. "But the damage sustained to his body is ghastly. Even by Frieza's standards, it's a miracle that he's still alive." Then, a flash of anger rippled across the man's face and he looked up to lock eyes directly with Cooler. "The doctors believe that if Frieza had been recovered sooner, he wouldn't be treading the thin line between life or death right now!"
The tension in the room grew taut for a brief moment as Cooler and Cold looked at one another. Cooler desperately wanted to look away from his father's chilling, and yet burning, glare, but he found himself positively paralyzed in that moment.
"It will all be fine in no time, Father!" Frost announced, effectively breaking the tension and drawing Cold's gaze back to her. The girl smiled assuredly and said, "I believe in Frieza's strength. If there's anyone who can make it back from this, it is Frieza!"
King Cold actually cracked a smile at the genuine words and lovingly squeezed the shoulder of his daughter. "Indeed, he will," Cold replied. "But in the meantime, I need you to stand here in my place. Just in the off chance that the doctors have anything to relay to the family." And just as Frost was about to ask where the king was heading, he opened his mouth to say, "I'll be back shortly. I simply want to have a word with Cooler…in privacy."
"Oh," was all that Frost could respond with as she watched Cold turn away and then focus back in on Cooler, who seemed to grow stiff as a board all of a sudden.
King Cold stepped off then, walking right past Cooler as he said, "Follow. Now." The demand working to loosen up Cooler's body and make him follow directly behind his father.
Father and son trekked through the corridors of their compound, the halls relatively silent and uninhabited. There was a silence between the two that was so thick that it practically slapped Cooler across the face every few seconds, just as a reminder of the brooding anger that he could feel within his father. No soldier that they passed even dared to do more than say hello to the royal duo and continue on. The walk might not have been more than three minutes, but Cooler felt as though it was endless. However, when Cold took a turn into his throne room, Cooler briefly hoped that the walk could've continued a bit longer.
"Close the door," Cold demanded. After going so long without hearing his father, Cooler almost missed the command, but quickly did so. Once they were confined in the room, Cooler's back against the door with his Father standing a few meters away.
"He's still alive," was all that Cold hissed as his dangerously unnerving eyes found Cooler's once more. The young tyrant was ready to plead his case, but was cut off as Cold spoke again. "He was alive all along. You should've known that."
"Father, please let me explain. I –,"
"Silence." That one word was more than enough to make Cooler's mouth snap shut, almost of its own volition. "You escaped the debris of a destroyed planet with minor flesh wounds and bruising, while your brother floated in the midst of space, barely holding onto his life. You didn't even bother to see if he'd survived. You just left to ensure your safety."
King Cold paused to eye Cooler over, make note of how small his son looked in that moment. "You're just selfish, Cooler!" he barked out in anger and outrage. "You left your brother to die and didn't think twice about it!"
"I didn't know he was there!" Cooler fired back in attempt to indeed save himself.
"I said, BE QUIET!" Cold demanded once more with enough fury to make Cooler shrink back. "I blame you just as much as I do those damned Saiyans and Namekians that attacked him! Had you been properly prepared for your mission, this would've never happened to Frieza! Maybe if you wore the damned scouter that I've asked you countless times to put on, you would've been able to find your brother, but no! Your little mind trick is supposed to work just as well as the scouters, isn't it? Did it work this time, Cooler?! DID IT!"
Cooler looked away then. Even though his true actions were not being brought into question, the act of being chastised by his father was forming a pit in his stomach that could never be filled in. "It's my fault. I admit that," Cooler spoke aloud, now unable to look at his father. Now figuring that admittance would be his best bet for forgiveness. "I should have known better and done more."
King Cold straightened, biting back any other sour words that may've been ready to come from his mouth. "I'm glad that you can admit that, Cooler," he said calmly, his tone finally making Cooler turn to look at him.
But then, with a blink of the eye, Cold was directly in front of Cooler and his hand shot up to snatch the young Arcosian by his throat and lift him into the air. Cooler gasped out of shock and then pain at the crippling grip. Completely ignoring his superpowered body, Cooler reached out in desperation to attempt to pry Cold's arm away, but was to no avail.
"I'm glad that you can admit your failures," Cold went on to say, his eyes still aflame with anger at his son. "But your road to redemption has not yet been paved, boy."
Cooler grunted in the agony of his father grip, and continued to desperately free himself. "I…I'm s-sorry!" he mumbled out frantically.
Cold casually lifted his other hand to grab at Cooler's and snatch the arm up in a tight grip. "No, Cooler. You're not sorry, not yet anyway," the monarch said and then let his gaze drift over to Cooler's trapped arm, where he was comfortably restraining it by the younger's wrist. "You haven't even begun to feel your brother's pain, but once you have, you'll understand just how sorry you really are."
As Cold spoke, the grip around Cooler's wrist tightened. Once he caught on to what his father meant, he yelled out as best he could to plead, to beg, to beseech forgiveness, but it was too late for that. A spine-tingling pop sounded out in the throne room before Cooler wailed out like a beaten animal, a howl that made anyone in the surrounding area of the compound stop to ponder where it had come from. And then, came another yell, another scream of agony that accompanied every snapping of bone. Cooler's howls of anguish filled the entire floor as his father systematically snapped the bones in his body.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"I heard you were in bad shape, Cooler, but I wasn't exactly expecting this," Nosa mused as he casually leaned against the wall of Cooler's bedroom, his eyes lazily looked across at the bed where Cooler was practically mummified in bandages.
Though just moving his eyes looked painful for the tyrant, he managed to look over and glower with as much fury as he could muster at Nosa, who simply shrugged under the harsh glare.
"Why are you even here anyway?" Cooler growled out as best he could and tried to ignore how pitiful he probably looked in that moment.
Nosa, once again, shrugged and looked away out at the balcony. "Entertainment, I suppose," he mocked and hardly two seconds after he'd voiced the words, Nosa was forced to leap across the room as the wall he'd been standing against suddenly combusted. With a sly smile, he looked back over to where Cooler was lying, the tyrant's red eyes still glowing from when he'd fired the deadly eyebeams. "Can't take a joke, I see," Nosa mused with a smile that only grew as Cooler glared.
"Not exactly in the mood," Cooler snapped as his eyes returned to their normal hue.
"Please stop antagonizing him, Nosa!" Onen demanded as he stepped into the room. He paused just briefly to look at the smoldering, gaping hole and sighed. "I knew it was a bad idea to bring you up here," he hissed and walked over to Cooler with a tray of food in his hands. He sat the tray down by Cooler's bedside and then looked up to admonish the Yadrat more. "But you weren't exactly getting along with the rest of the soldiers either, and with King Cold in the mood that he's in, he wouldn't think twice about killing you if you started causing trouble. Maybe you should consider being a bit nicer around here. There are people that can kill you quite easily."
Nosa scoffed and turned his back on the Saiyan to begin walking out to the balcony. "I'll let you know when I start to give a damn about what anyone around here thinks," the man announced with a wave of his hand before closing the door to the balcony shut behind him.
Another sigh rolled from Onen's mouth. "He's trouble, Lord Cooler. Maybe sparing his life wasn't a very good choice," he said and then reached down to the tray to give Cooler a drink of water.
Cooler happily drank from the cup and rested his rest back onto the pillow. "He's useful for the moment. I'll determine whether he's worth putting up with after he's taught me that technique," he said and then glared down at the bandages and casts practically covering his body. "Although, it'll be at least a week before I'm back on my feet and probably another after that before I'm in prime fighting condition." He practically sneered with the thought. "All because of that damned brother of mine. Even when he's comatose, he manages to scar my life."
"Speaking of which," Onen now pulled up a chair to Cooler's bedside and leaned comfortably into it as he continued speaking. "How should we handle this, Lord Cooler? While you've been out, Frieza's surgery has gone perfectly. I've heard word that the scientists are beginning work on mechanical parts to replace his limbs and that will still be able to maintain Frieza's power level. They say that the parts may even make Frieza stronger. And the second that he wakes from his slumber, he's sure to tell King Cold everything that transpired on Namek."
"I know, and with the state that I'm in, there's no way that I can intervene right now. Everything always manages to work itself out for that twerp!"
"I could always –," Onen began, but was silenced almost immediately by Cooler.
"You'll do nothing!" Cooler demanded before Onen could even voice his plan. "The chances of you getting caught while trying to tamper with Frieza are a great deal higher than if I were to do it. If that were to happen, father wouldn't even bother with killing you. He'd simply beat you to within an inch of your life every day until he either got bored with it or you went beyond the point of torture."
"Hmph," was Onen's meager reply and a brief silence settled over the duo before he spoke once more. "You were right about Frost," he said, capturing Cooler's attention once more. "She asked about Frieza like you said she would. I told her that he was dead, like you had commanded me to do. And yesterday, before her and Sheer came to the waiting room, apparently they'd gone to see the Cosmic Guard. She's out to get you, like you said that she'd be."
Cooler huffed a brief laugh and smiled slyly as he said, "Of course I was right about her. Frost likes to come off as though she cares so deeply for everyone and everything; as if she's just daddy's little princess, but really she's the biggest snake in this entire empire. Secretly, she wants the infamy that both Frieza and I carry, but father doesn't want to let her or Sheer out into battle. Not because they're weak – although I do like to throw that in their faces quite often – but because he doesn't want to give them the impression that they will ever rule the PTO. Frieza and I are the true blue bloods. Frost and Sheer are simply half-breeds." He then looked back over to Onen. "You made sure to wipe the recordings of Salza, Neiz, and Dore clean from the guard's file, right?" he asked and inwardly glowed with pride when Onen nodded in the affirmative. "Good job."
"So, what do we do now?" Onen asked.
Cooler sighed and then turned his gaze up to the ceiling. "Not much that we can do," he said mournfully. "All we can do is wait it out until I've completely recovered from my wounds. At that point, with any luck, I'll be able to get to Frieza before he awakens and finish the job. Maybe spike his IV or choke him to death. I'll think of something. As for Frost, without any evidence from the Cosmic Guard, she won't have a leg to stand on if she tried to confront father with any thoughts of my treachery. She'll need hardcore proof to convince him of that." He paused again and looked out at where Nosa was standing, the Yadrat's back turned as he leaned on the railing of the balcony and looked absolutely bored. "For now, we'll go about our lives as if nothing's wrong. You be sure that Nosa doesn't incite any trouble from father and in no more than a week, I'll be back on my feet and operation: Kill Frieza will go back into effect."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Indeed, in one week's time Cooler was back on his feet and his plans to get rid of Frieza were back in effect, but Cooler quickly found his hopes of getting to his brother utterly dashed. No matter when he tried, Cooler could never find a moment alone with his brother. Either Frost, Sheer, or Cold were always in with the comatose tyrant at all times.
Then, two weeks had passed with Cooler constantly trying to sneak his way in to Frieza's recovery room. And when he'd grown too irritated with his attempts, he'd go take out his frustrations by sparring with Nosa, who – surprisingly – always managed to push Cooler's fourth form. Soon enough, Cooler had practically given up on his attempts to kill Frieza, seeing as how he'd never get a window of opportunity, and instead decided to prepare for the worst.
Two months had passed, with Cooler training like a mad man for what was sure to be the greatest battle of his life. Not only did Cooler have to be concerned with his future battle against Goku, but now he feared every day for the time that Cold would find out about his deceit and come for his life. Cooler had even decided to put Onen back on a training regimen with Nosa to bring the Saiyan's power level up to a point that he'd at least be able to combat Sheer or Frost if necessary. Cooler knew the day that Frieza awoke wouldn't be long, especially with the set of prosthetics ready for surgical addition.
Three months and Frieza's surgery had been a complete success. With the installation of Frieza's new parts, the tyrant had even finally awoken and was greeted with joy all around from Cold, Sheer, and Frost. All of the soldiers called out in joy of their master's return, though everyone knew that their joy was utterly fabricated for the sake of self-preservation. Cold had even decided to throw a grand feast in honor of Frieza's return.
And now, while everyone had accumulated in the grand ballroom to eat and drink their cares away, Cooler stood along the fourth story outer walkway with his body leaned over the railing and his mind lost in thought. It had been approximately four days since Frieza had awoken, and ever since Cooler has been on edge, waiting for his father's ungodly power to erupt and tidal wave right over Cooler. So far, it didn't even seem that Frieza had even mentioned Namek or anything that had happened. He hardly seemed to remember too much.
"He did lose a piece of his brain," Cooler mused to himself as he watched the distant rush of icy winds beyond the dome surrounding the city. "Maybe his memory of the events were lost with that chunk of brain."
*Clank!*
Cooler startled upon the sound and then he heard another, then another, and another until the clanking noises seemed to resemble that of footsteps, and in that moment, Cooler knew exactly who was coming his way.
The older tyrant didn't have long to wait before Frieza rounded the corner of the walkway and stopped on a dime to look at his older brother. To say that Frieza's appearance had changed would be quite the dramatic understatement. The younger tyrant's body was more machine than flesh. Both of his legs, his right arm, a part of his chest and a section of Frieza's skull had now been replaced with mechanical parts, and though Cooler despised his brother greatly, seeing Frieza in his current condition made a pit settle in Cooler's stomach. Quite possibly because he knew that he was the only one to blame for Frieza's current state.
"Hello, brother," Frieza crooned slyly and walked closer to lean on the railing hardly a meter away from Cooler. "Why the long face?" If Frieza hadn't looked so positively conniving in that moment, Cooler would've possibly mistaken the question for genuine concern.
"Nothing that concerns you," Cooler snapped and abruptly turned to walk away, certainly in no mood to play his and Frieza's typical mind games with one another.
"And yet," Frieza called out, his voice somehow making Cooler stop to listen. "…somehow, I get the feeling that it does." Cooler turned back to look at Frieza again, noting just how sly the smile on his brother's face was. "Quite possibly, it could have something to do with Namek."
Cooler's eyes widened out of their own volition, a shock of surprise running through his body as he turned fully to look upon his brother. "…y-you do remember…" Cooler hissed.
"And you always chastise me about not being able to finish the job," Frieza crooned and broke free with a malicious cackle that actually made Cooler's blood run cold. "Of course I remember!" he all of a sudden snarled. "How could I forget that my own brother tried to kill me?! Emphasis on the word, tried."
Frieza's flash of anger worked to run off Cooler's shock in place of his own anger. "Well, then. What are you waiting for? Shouldn't you be telling father?" Cooler fired back, unwilling to even consider asking Frieza not to.
The younger tyrant almost seemed to consider the thought as he lifted himself up to sit on the railing. "I considered doing that," he said, an almost child-like expression on his face. "But then, I remembered something. You were able to transform back on Namek, Cooler. That was a transformation that I've never heard of and certainly never seen before in my life. Somehow, you managed to reach a level of power that no one else has ever touched and I want that power!" Frieza looked back at his brother then, making sure to lock eyes with him. "And you're going to be the one to help me get it!"
"That's a nice thought, Frieza, but I get the feeling that you won't exactly be able to transform while in your…current state. I'm not sure if those spare parts are quite capable of compensating for the next form." A wicked smile equipped Cooler's face then, inwardly loving how Frieza's face twitched upon his mentioning of spare parts.
"Save your jokes for someone that wants to hear them!" Frieza snapped, heatedly. "Quite naturally, I'll need my body back before I'll be able to transform and that's where you come in! Planet Namek is gone, but if I remember correctly, it was mentioned that the Saiyan's home planet had dragonballs as well. Earth, I think it was called." A glorious smile then blossomed across Frieza's face. "You're going to accompany me to Planet Earth, attain the dragonballs, kill the Saiyan and his friends, and then come back to Arcos, where you'll show me how to transform and we'll live happily ever after, with you comfortably weaker than me once again."
Cooler scoffed brazenly. "And why, exactly, would I do any of that?"
"Why?" Frieza parroted before he rocked with another wave of laughter. "Because, if you don't Cooler, I'll have no other choice than to explain every little detail of what you did on Namek to our father, and then I'll get to watch as he so mercilessly beats you down like the low-down, backstabbing filth that you really are!" Frieza's smile turned positively evil as he leapt off of the railing and strutted right up to Cooler's face. "And then, when you're lying there, barely able to breathe without choking on your own blood, I'll stand over you, point down my finger and say, 'you lose again!' before I erase you from existence. With that being said, do we have a deal?"