"I want to go back to my room!" Frost griped, folding her arms and slouching in her chair so that she could no longer look over the balcony.
"Stop it, Frost! You're going to get in trouble!" Sheer stated, turning in his chair to try and assuage his big sister.
A chorus of trumpets sounded below followed by the rhythmic thump of drums. The sounds only served to annoy young Frost even more.
Slouching as much as she could, Frost pouted. "I don't want to watch. I want to go back to my room! I want to go now!"
Sheer opened his mouth to convince her further, but with one glance behind him, he quickly turned forward once more to watch the proceedings below. Frost noted the change and looked up just in time for the scarlet eyes of Queen Chilla to appear over the top of her chair. The young Arcosian's amber eyes locked with the queen's for a brief second before Chilla finally offered a pleasant smile.
"I heard someone's unhappy over here," she offered and moved around to Frost's side.
The young girl reclaimed her proper seat in the chair, briefly looking over the railing to the march of soldiers below. She dismissed the view quickly, though and cast a contemptuous glance to the pair of soldiers behind her and Sheer who'd been guarding them – and apparently snitching.
With a pat on the shoulder, Chilla reclaimed Frost's attention. "What's wrong, dear?" she asked.
"I want to go back to my room," Frost pouted. When Chilla's expression didn't change in the slightest, Frost weakly added, "I'm tired."
"Hmm…" Chilla responded. The queen paused to look over her shoulder to another, grander balcony where King Cold sat. His attention was far removed from her, Frost, and Sheer. She then turned back to Frost and patted the girl's leg gently to force her up. In a smooth motion, Chilla claimed the seat and pulled Frost into her lap. She made note of Frost's attempts to look away from the parade of PTO soldiers.
"These parades do get wearily boring, don't they?" Chilla asked to no one in particular.
Frost ignored the comment, but Sheer was quick to nod his head. "It kind of stopped being fun after the eighth planet was claimed. Father, sure likes them, though."
"Well, this is a special occasion. This was Frieza and Cooler's first mission together on their own, and they were quite successful." Chilla offered a proud smile as she made note of her sons on their own floats. Of course they couldn't ride together.
"Can I go now?" Frost interjected.
Chilla looked to the young girl and after a pause, she allowed Frost to stand. Before dismissing the young iceling, Chilla took Frost by the hand and leaned in close. "We're Arcosians first and foremost, Frost. No matter what may come in your life, remember that. Leaders will come and go in the Planet Trade Organization, but the people of Arcos will always need their royalty."
With that, Chilla kissed the young girl's hand and sent her on her way.
Frost walked on, but paused just as she was walking past the guards. She looked back at Chilla, who was watching the scene below and had begun a conversation with Sheer. Frost appeared to reconsider joining them, but the thought passed and she walked on with a guard right behind her.
Frost was brought back to the present when a drunk Daiz tripped over his own two feet and crashed on top of Lakesei, leaving Rasin to cackle uncontrollably. She watched the scene passively and even cracked a smile as she watched an irritated Lakesei try to shove the drunk off of him.
"They are usually much more controlled," Cacao's monotone voice suddenly decreed. Claiming Frost's attention, the cyborg moved to the princess's side. "I think boredom is getting the best of them."
Frost allowed a pause to process Cacao's words, before she responded with, "Things are going to get very interesting soon."
On cue, Amond appeared at the entry of the cavity. He shot a disapproving glare over to Daiz and the twins before he looked to Frost and Cacao. "It's time," he said, simply, before flying back up the tree.
Frost and Cacao wasted no time flying out of the area, leaving Daiz and the twins to collect themselves. The two darted out over the planet, and Frost took a brief moment to look down at the drained and desolate planet below. It was overgrown with roots from the tree, deep cavities and ravines had formed, and it positively looked on the verge of implosion.
No matter how many times she'd seen a planet in this state, she could never quite get over the sight.
Still, she pressed on and caught up with Cacao just as the cyborg was nearing the top of the tree. Just before reaching the branches above, a large opening that cut clear through the tree awaited. The two touched down and immediately walked further in to be greeted by Turles and Amond. Frost looked up from where they all stood to an array of low hanging fruits that looked ripe for the picking.
"Took long enough," she gibed at Turles, who offered a snarky grin in response.
Not long afterward, Rasin, Lakesei, and a much more sober-looking Daiz appeared. With everyone gathered, Amond looked up to the fruit and with one flash of his eyes, all of the fruits were released. In perfect synchrony, they dropped down and landed in the hands of the Crusher Corps and Frost.
While the soldiers wasted no time devouring the fruit, Frost paused to look it over and marvel at its weight. It was unfathomable that this fruit, the size of her palm could grant her such an increase in power.
Absently, she glanced up at Turles, who was too busy studying her to bite into his own fruit. She watched the Saiyan lift a questioning brow before he finally brought his fruit to mouth and bit in. By the time Frost had begun to do the same, the Crusher Corps had finished their fruits and were practically bouncing off the walls with overflowing energy. Even Amond and Cacao, the more stoic of the group, were jittery with the sudden flow of power in their veins.
Without a second thought, the Crusher Corps suddenly bolted out the Tree of Might, kicking up a wild rush of wind as they did so. Frost followed the soldiers to the edge of the opening and paused to watch as the soldiers soared out over the distance to burn off some steam.
Frost finally took a bite of her fruit just as the Crusher Corps disappeared over the horizon, and her eyes briefly jolted open at the sudden rush she could feel. She continued biting away at the fruit while Turles strolled up to her side.
"You seem like you have something on your mind," he said, just in time for Frost to finish her fruit.
The two stood there, with the massive influx of energy rolling through them, but they held more control over their impulses.
Frost paused to enjoy the rush the fruit gave her before replying. "I've just been thinking about our plans." She lifted her right hand, holding it before her as she gathered a golden pearl of energy. The small dot suddenly expanded into the size of a baseball, and was concentrated further until it started to spark with surges of pink electricity. And then, she broke off her display by closing her hand into a tight fist. "We started planning for this moment so long ago. It feels surreal to finally be putting it into action."
"Don't tell me you're getting cold feet," Turles stated, partly jokingly.
Frost shot him a tempered glare before looking back out onto the horizon. "No," she replied, simply. "If anything, I'm excited." She even broke with a conniving grin. "Frieza and Cooler have been top dog for long enough. It's time for the princess to become queen."
"Queen Frost? I like the sound of that," Turles crooned as he lazily lifted into the air and levitated out from the tree. He offered a smile when he heard Frost scoff. Turning to face the princess, he said, "So, what now?"
Frost lifted into the air next. "Now, I go make preparations back on Arcos," she said. "That will take a bit more time, unfortunately. So, in the meantime, you and the crew should find another planet to release the tree on." She floated up to Turles and playfully poked him in the chest. "You could use another power boost."
Turles slapped her hand away, making Frost laugh in the process as she floated on by him.
Frost turned back to the Saiyan and took a moment to marvel at the Tree of Might. Without it, she would've never gotten to the power level that she's currently at. "Another month," she said absently. "One month, and we put an end to this."
"Sounds like a plan," Turles replied with a devilish grin.
Frost turned her back on the Saiyan then, and offered a wave before a pink aura wrapped around her and she darted out of sight.
Nosa stood in an empty corridor and lazily leaned against the wall as he gazed out of the massive window next to him. His gaze was drawn to the starry sky above while his mind wandered to the cruiser that he'd allowed out of his grasp earlier.
It had been five days since its departure. Each passing day made Nosa questioned his decision even more.
Has the cult mentality of the PTO rubbed off on me?
An even more troublesome question: If it did, was he okay with that?
He sighed and pushed himself off of the wall. Where the fuck is Cooler at?
Nosa paused all of a sudden as an overwhelming energy practically smothered him. He was growing far too comfortable on Arcos that he could allow himself to be so easily sneaked up on.
King Cold's hand smashed the side of Nosa's face, driving the Yadratian's head into the wall. The force was enough make the surface crack under pressure. While the monarch kept Nosa pinned, he walked around so that he and Nosa were face to face.
"You're quite the elusive one. I can see why Cooler finds use in you." Cold stared down at Nosa with unflinching eyes, completely unmoved by the way his hand contorted the soldier's face.
Nosa groaned under the pressure. The pain was hardly an issue at the moment, but it was the thought of what could come further that worried him. Cold was a mixed bag – murderous one moment and chillingly dismissive the next. The apple didn't fall far from the tree in Cooler.
"Have you been in contact with my son?"
"Cooler or Frieza?" Nosa joked, despite his better judgment.
Cold's eyes grew deadlier. More pressure was applied to Nosa's face, making the crevices in the wall spread as the Yadratian was pushed further. "Mind your tongue with me."
Nosa hissed against the sharp pain. "Noted," he wheezed. "No, I haven't heard from Cooler."
Cold looked unimpressed.
"It's the truth!"
Cold released his hand and allowed Nosa to slump to the floor. "Well, you're going to change that." Nosa looked up to the king in confusion. Cold's icy glare was penetrating. "You will get in contact with my son or I will kill you in the most agonizing way I can think of. Do I make myself clear?"
"How am I going to do that when your own command center can't?"
Cold turned his back. "I trust you'll figure something out. It's in your best interest to, after all."
Without another word, King Cold walked away, leaving Nosa on the floor holding his throbbing head.
The Yadratian sighed. "Crap!" He used his mind to search over the planet and once he locked on to the familiar ki signal, he disappeared.