Chapter two: Unsteady ground



It took me a while, but I finally began to get accustomed to Vegeta's mannerisms. I could tell when he was mad, when he was joking, when to laugh and when not too. After the first week, he began to take me outside of the tent, showing me around the camp, saying that it wasn't good for me to be cooped up like this. Or well, actually he had put himself as it not being good for, but I understood what he was saying when he took me with him. He sparred with me occasionally, helped me to grow a little stronger. Than took the pride to show me how powerful he was by using his powers to wipe out another town.

We grew closer and closer, until eventually, we started to act like brother and sister. Most were unnerved at the way Vegeta was acting, but everyone stayed silent about it. When it was in the late hours of the night, and everyone was asleep, we'd talk. Or in the day, he'd take me to places where the others didn't know about and we'd spar until the two of us were exhausted. It was fun. I'd never had anyone to play with, and this was certainly exciting enough. I knew that if I played my cards right, Vegeta and I would be friends for life!

After nearly the third week of my captivity, Vegeta came to me and explained that in the morning, I would be going to see Freeza. Suddenly fear boiled up in my stomach, I shook my head frantically. "No! You can't! I don't want to go! Can't I just stay here?" But Vegeta was already shaking his head.

"No, as far as I can tell, you are as Ice Jin as they come. You deserve a chance to be with your kind. But don't worry, I intend on visiting you as often as I can. He doesn't have to power to stop me from that. Besides, I found you, and captured you. He owes me for that, and always will. You'll be fine." He reassured me in his agitated voice as we went back to the tent for supper.

It took me a long time before I spoke again, but when I did, Vegeta knew exactly what I meant. "You promise?" I asked as I looked up from my tray.

Vegeta looked directly in my eyes and nodded. "Yes. As often as I can." He repeated, than suddenly poked his fork at me. "You'd better eat up. You'll need your strength for tomorrow." I smiled and started to eat again, the rest of our meal was in silence. He never said it, but I think that he was actually sad to have me go also. We'd become so close that I felt like I was losing my family again. But with his promise, I held up. If he could be strong, than so could I!

Morning came too quickly. Vegeta awoke me early, I don't think he meant too, but he did. I opened my eyes to see the dark lightening up just slightly, and to see him staring at me. "It's dawn already?" I asked, he nodded. No words. I swallowed past the lump that started in my throat. Already, a gap was forming between us.

"Better get ready, we're leaving before breakfast." His voice was hollow, no warmth, and none of the kindness he'd shown me in the past. He shoved a large bowl of warm water towards me and left the tent.

I pursed my lips and quickly splashed myself off silently, getting rid of any dust or dirt that had accumulated overnight on the old cot. When I was finished, I simply pushed the bowl outside, and Vegeta came back in. He began to gather things and spoke roughly and sharply to another Saiyan that he barked into the tent. The Saiyan took what he pointed at and left. "We're leaving now?" I asked, he nodded, than snapped at me.

"Of course! I'm not just cleaning you know!" I flinched at his words, but saw that his eyes instantly reflected regret. I knew he was sorry for yelling at me, but he never said anything else. I knew he had his reputation to think of, so I let it be.

Nearly three minutes after that, he pushed me into a small shuttle and told me to stay where he put me. I stayed, but felt my heart lurch as we took off and headed towards the huge Flagship that was just outside of the planet's orbit. My fingers dug so deeply into the arm rests that I literally scarred the metal and the covering permanently. My heart was beating so wildly that I couldn't stand it.

Here, after over a quarter of a century searching, I was about to come face to face with another of my kind. My tail twitched in time with my rapid heartbeat. I could feel my wings itchy to fly away. I had to concentrate to keep them from becoming metal. Outside the ship, the hull groaned as it docked with the Flagship, there were bumps and jerks as it fumbled through the gateway. I held back my tears and put my shield of anger forward, I would not let this, this. . .Freeza see me weak!

Within moments, I was ushered from the little ship. I looked back once, to see Vegeta leaning against the door of the ship, he wasn't coming also. At that moment, I knew I was once more on my own. I swallowed back the lump in my throat and held my head up a little high. If I had to meet Freeza today, I would do so with the most dignity and strength that I contained.

We stopped in front of a set of massive doors, I looked at them in sudden terror, but still held my ground. As the doors opened and I was pushed in, I felt my lungs tighten. I looked behind me, but my escort was already backing away quickly from the door. The voice seemed almost phantom as it echoed through the large room. "Leave us."

After everyone started to leave, I felt myself nearing panic. I shook my head and planted my feet firm and stiffened my backbone. No, I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of fear from me. I was still looking at the closed doors when I heard his voice again, this time closer. "So, you're the one that Vegeta caught." I spun around and saw the closest thing to myself as ever. Now I could see why they all thought I was an Ice Jin. He was looking me up and down, and from his expression, he was just as surprised to see me as I was him. "Where did you come from?" My mouth opened, but nothing came out, so I did the next best thing.

:Earth. Far away from here.: My mental voice was just as good, it was also easier to hide shock and emotion than verbal.

Freeza nodded at me and walked closer, his tail curled in a sign that I knew to be agitation. I was now on that thin ice I had tried so hard to skate clear of. "Well, now your in my space. Where are you parents? You can't possibly be out here on your own." I could not respond to it, I only looked down. After what Dr. Carlin told me about being an orphan, and my parents probably being dead, I found it difficult to think of them. "I see. . ." He spoke softly, his tail swinging low. "You came here on your own than?" I could only nod, all of my confidence was failing, my strong will was dissolving beneath his gaze and his voice was making my dignity dissipate. "Alright than, what's your name?" Again, I could not answer.

:I don't have one. . .they didn't think it was right to name me, they didn't intend to keep me alive for that long. . .: I said before I could think better of it. That caught his attention. I could see it in his expression as well as his body language.

"They? Someone had you and didn't intend to keep you alive? Explain!" I did my best to explain without giving away any precious details, and as I did I realized just how well built he was compared to me! He was physically strong. His muscles were toned and flexed as he moved, his tail was more coordinated than my own. After I finished, his composure had been regained. "Well, you'll not have to worry about that now. . ." He trailed off as he walked closer to me and began to walk behind me. I remembered what Vegeta told me, and stayed still, trying to seem as non-threatening as possible. I could tell when he was behind me that he was looking at more than my wings, the feeling of his eyes on me sent a shiver down my spine. I jumped involuntarily as his tail brushed mine, I could tell it was not an accidental thing. His fingers brushed my wings, I forced them to lay down and not to become metal. "Impressive, I've never seen wings like this before. Than again, the only females I have seen had their wings removed at birth. This is quite remarkable." No one had ever touched my wings before, not even when I was little, the sensation was new and had odd results. I moved away from his hand.

He laughed a little. "Why, do you find that remarkable?" I asked him, after finally regaining the control over my shock.

He laughed a little, and ignored my question. "Well, you do talk. I was worried that no verbal voice was your only flaw, I'm glad that I was mistaken." His complete ignorance of my question was starting to annoy me considerably.

I gritted by teeth and bit down my anger as I tried again. "Why did you find my wings remarkable?" I repeated.

Freeza's hand slipped down from my wings and to my lower back where they ended. "Because, not only are they the first I'm seen, but their not weak." As if to explain, he ran his hand over my muscles in my back and shoulders. "My father once explained to me all about wings, the main problem was that they were so fragile for so long that they often caused more trouble than they were worth. But yours, the muscles are incredibly strong. He also told me that they had to be a certain strength before they'd be able to move more than just being folded. . ." As if to answer the question he was already about to ask, I lifted them up and turned to face him, the feathers shifted silently, the air through the ship suddenly felt warm and comforting as I unfurled my plumage.

"I can fly." I answered flatly. Standing face to face, I was nearly a foot shorter than he, and could also tell just how much strong he was than I. I swallowed and held my head up a little more, there was no way I was going to let him rule me. Not after all those years being trapped with those humans.

"Really? Well, that proves that you have built your wing muscles up to be quite strong." His smile as he looked at me caused me to get a cold chill down my spine again. It was really unnerving the way he looked at me, almost as if he was judging whether I was a true threat or not. He walked around me his hand touching my shoulder than going down to my back where my wings connected. He traced the muscles in silence, his fingers finding all of the tender points and brushing them with enough pressure to cause me to shiver. He laughed and leaned closer, I could feel his breath against my neck. "Well, I'll have to test that strength sometime, won't I?" He asked, I slowly lowered my wings to relax them again. Thankfully, he backed away from me. I used that to escape back a few more feet.

And glad I did too. He smiled, I could barely see it from the position he was in, but what I did see told me that it was an evil smile. I gave a nearly silent gasp, and took a step back, but before I could retreat too far, I found myself suddenly on the ground, my face stinging fiercely. I got to my feet a little too slow.

As I got back up, I was struck for the second time in face, this time, I was able to see what hit me before I hit the ground. His tail, it swung at me with a deadly accuracy that proved how right I was at how much better he was at using it. This time though, I didn't try to get up right away, I rolled quickly out of reach of his tail, than quickly got to my feet. I faced him, one eye was already beginning to swell shut and my jaw hurt something fierce. "That was low. Very low." I growled at him as I crouched close to the ground, my wings flaring around me as I prepared for another attack.

He stood tall and arrogant, a look of satisfaction on his face. His tail swung low and curved each swing to the side. "Hmm. Well, looks like you can't fight after all." His remark caused my tightly held back anger to boil. My eyes narrowed as I stood up a little more and braced myself.

"Oh, well, if you want to fight." I said, a small smile creeping across my face, I brought my wings closer to me, bringing them close enough to nearly fold around me. Freeza looked a little upset that I seemed to be challenging him but did not make a move of his own.

"You think you can fight me?" It was more a statement than question, but I took it as both. He took what I thought was his own stance and waited for my move.

I widened my smile. I absolutely love fighting people who are completely arrogant of their own abilities. I allowed my wings to finally become metal and gathered my power through them. "I don't think, I know I can fight you." I stated, as my power level rose, I felt the pulse of electricity flow through my wings, soon, the charge began to show visibly.

At the sight of that, his eyes widened in surprise. "What?!" He yelled, and quickly began gathering power of his own. I could feel his level rising and rose my own to surpass it. I almost smiled as I realized he could not feel my powers. He held his hands together and focused the energy there, just as I did with my wings, slowly it began to build there. I could tell that the way it was turning out, either one would win right away, or the ship would become trashed! I wanted to point this out to Freeza, but I didn't want to sound so sure of myself. I really didn't want to test his limits on my first day of meeting him. That wouldn't be wise.

As soon as I thought I had enough power in my wings to cause only temporary unconsciousness, I unfurled my wings a little and let it dance between them. Freeza looked a little impressed, but he looked more pissed than pleased at my display. Suddenly the old words of Dr. Carlin echoed through my head. "The best way to make friends is to let them win if contested, never let them know what you can truly do until you know you can trust them. The best way to make an enemy is too beat him at his own game the first time out and show him what you can do." Her words caused my heart to nearly skip a beat. I knew it had been nearly four decades since she taught me everything, but I knew in that instant, I'd made an awful mistake.

"Back down now, and we'll call it a draw." Freeza told me as he narrowed his eyes and held the energy at ready. His handling it with his hands, showed me of years of practice and expertise.

I thought about his proposal, and tried to remember if Vegeta ever told me he was not good on his word. Nothing came to mind. But he was a tyrant. Could I trust him? I really had no choice. If I continued to fight him, I would make the only one of my kind I could find my enemy and prove myself an outcast. How long could I run from someone with his kind of power and resources? I only slipped his attention all this time because he was not looking for me and I had not really stayed around people. But would I stay as lucky if I were to run now? Probably not. Thinking this, I nodded and lowered my wings, letting the power I had gathered dissipate back into the air in which I called it. "Fine. Perhaps another day we can. . .play." I chose my words carefully, trying hard not to anger him.

He nodded, than smiled again. "Yes, another day we can play. But for now, perhaps you should sleep." As he said that, he released the energy he had created and hurled it toward me on a course I could not dodge. His laugh was the last thing I heard before it hit me and darkness shrouded my conscious mind. . .



When I awoke next, it was hard to open my eyes. My body felt heavy and slow. My breathing was hampered, almost controlled. I opened my eyes and nearly panicked when I found myself in a. . .'tank'. I began to move, but saw Freeza standing just outside. His words I could not hear, but mentally, they echoed in my mind. :Relax. You're fine. This is to help you recover. You have been unconscious for three days. I decided you were punished enough, and I had thought about what I could do with you. I have made up my mind, so I have brought you back.: His words sounded almost warm this time. Nothing like the first time we meet. They were cold and filled with callousness. There was no shiver when he spoke to me.

My brow furrowed and I calmed a little bit down. :Brought me. . .back?: I asked, looking at his eyes as he walked closer to the tank.

He smiled. :Believe me, I'll explain fully later. Right now, the best thing for you to do is rest. You have a while yet.: He placed a hand on the tank, on impulse, I did the same with mine. Through the thick glass, I could feel his hand. He jerked his hand away as if burned, turned and swiftly walked away. As he walked away, I could almost swear that he was scowling.

I looked down at my hand in confusion. I could feel his hand still, warm and soft, as if we had touched, yet, the glass from the tank had obviously been in the way of full contact. I closed my eyes and did as Freeza had told me to do. I allowed myself to rest and fall back into a dreamless sleep I'd awaken out of.

Only I wasn't so lucky as for it to be dreamless this time. I moved restlessly and slept fitfully until I finally managed to wake myself up. Once more, Freeza was standing before me. I blinked past my disorientation, he smiled at me and pushed a button on the control panel in front of the tank. The liquid rushed out and the small cords which were monitoring me pulled away, as the liquid drained, I slowly floated down to the floor. The air was bitterly cold against me, the needles in my arms suddenly felt heavy and grew nearly painful. My wings were heavy and throughly soaked through with liquid I had been in. My eyes burned as the cold air rushed to meet them. I blinked and shivered as I tried to find Freeza again, but wasn't able.

From beside me, I felt a hand grab my arm and gently coax the needle out of the first one. I leaned back a little and tried to see how it was, but the hand released me and grabbed the other arm. I tried to turn my head fast enough to catch a view, but failed. My mouth worked, but nothing came out. "Shush. Don't try to rush it! Relax." A familiar voice comforted me as a towel briskly rubbed away most of the cold fluid sticking to me.

I turned sluggishly and smiled. :Vegeta!: I cried mentally, he smiled and wrapped a blanket around me quickly, my legs wobbled uneasily under me as he helped me stand.

"Yeah, I told you I'd visit. I'm here to get new orders, so I'm just passing through. I'm glad to see that he's decided your worthy of his time. Had me worried for a time. Couldn't find you." He said, lower his voice even more. I smiled and leaned over to him for more support. He'd seemed to have gotten stronger since I last saw him.

:Why, why did he attack me? I didn't do anything to him.: I asked, looking up at him for an answer.

Vegeta took a deep breath and did his best to explain. "Well, the only way I can put it is that you somehow proved that you were a threat. It was probably your wings or your power level, maybe just the fact that there was another out there like him, and as young as he. But he did decide to pardon you for whatever you did. Be grateful for that, you were in miserable shape. Lucky that he wanted you to live, other wise, you'd not be here with me today." His words struck something deep inside of me. The blast that had hit me was powerful, but was it strong enough to do that much damage? If so, what did I do that made his so angry, angry enough to kill?

I shook my head. We were nearing a pair of doors, like all in this ship, they were huge and intimidating. :Where are we going?: A pair of Saiyan guards opened the doors quickly for Vegeta and we stepped inside.

He remained quiet until he doors were shut. "These are your rooms." He explained to me as helped me to sit on a large chair. "Lord Freeza thought that he would be hospitable, and set aside these rooms for you. He doesn't normally do this sort of thing, feel special." Vegeta cautioned me as he sat down in a chair next to mine.

:How long are you here?: I asked him, he shrugged, looking me over carefully.

"Until Lord Freeza decides to give me another mission, or tells me to get off his ship." The indifference made me laugh a little. He shrugged again and leaned back. "Probably a day or so, if he's going to give me a mission, but four if he's going to kick me off his ship." He explained when I remained silent.

I nodded, and yawned. Vegeta smiled and shook his head, laughing a little to himself. :What's so funny? Every time I yawn someone laughs and shakes their head!: I demanded, getting irritated by the lack of response.

"You don't realize what you're doing, do you?" I shook my head, folding my arms in a pout. He laughed again. "Every time you yawn there's a little squeak at the end or a little sound that's like a young kitten. It's cute." He said, instantly I felt my skin grow hot. Which made him laugh harder. I hugged my blanket closer to me and tried to hide my sudden embarrassment.

"How endearing." A voice came from behind us. I gave a little yelp of surprise as a hand touched my blanketed shoulder gently.

Vegeta smiled and stood up at leisure. "My Lord." He said respectfully and than sat back down.

Freeza ignored him. "How do you feel?" He asked me, I blushed even more, and tried to act indifferent. No one had ever asked me how I felt before.

:Fine, thank you. . .: I struggled to say after an extremely long pause. Freeza laughed and looked over at Vegeta.

"You may leave now. I will speak with you of farther orders soon. Leave us." Freeza spoke, but the words were lower, nearly threatening.

Vegeta stood and gave a sarcastic bow. "As you wish, my Lord." Than winked at me.

:You knew he was there the whole time, didn't you?!: I demanded, and Vegeta gave me a response just as he left the room.

"Of course, I was facing the door remember? I watched him come in." Vegeta turned to see my face, than laughed and shut the door.

Freeza didn't look pleased with Vegeta's response, he scowled and clenched his fists. "One of these days. . ."

I blinked, feeling a little strange about his reaction. :Are you alright? I wasn't offended by that, if you were curious.: I told him, Freeza turned to me quickly, his eyes gleamed with anger. For an instant, I was afraid he'd hit me again, so I quickly cowered away from him.

"Why can't you speak?" He asked, his anger suddenly pointed at me instead of Vegeta. I flinched as I tried to respond fast enough.

:I. . .I don't know. . .: But before I could get more out, he raised his hand to me, I cowered down in fear.

Something in my actions must have struck a nerve or I might have showed the right amount of submission, because he slowly lowered his hand to touch my face and his anger smoothed away. "Alright, when you try to speak, what happens?" He asked me.

I carefully looked up at him and leaned against his hand a little. It felt so good to be comforted and touched that I didn't want him to stop. I opened my mouth again, to try, but once more, nothing came out. It was like trying to talk under water, only with no air to begin with. I looked up at him again and shrugged. :Nothing will come out. Tried, it's like. . .I've no voice at all.: Freeza took a deep breath, I could tell he was trying to stay patient with me.

He sighed and shook his head. "Since you've never been in the tank before, it's probably a side effect and will pass with time and some rest. If that fails, than we'll take other steps to discover the cause." He looked over at the bed and nodded. He reached over, and handed me a small glass, filled with a pale red liquid. "Drink this, you'll get dehydrated quickly if you don't drink often after being in there as long as you were." I eyed it suspiciously, but took it anyway. As I drank it and made a face, he spoke softly. "I suppose you should get started on that rest you need. I will return later to see how you're doing." I nodded and handed him the empty glass, than watched him go. He didn't look back, the Saiyans at the outside of the door closed it as he left. I sighed and shook my head.

So much for thinking that my kind really cared for one another. I thought sadly as I crawled into the bed and snuggled beneath the thick covers. Despite what the other Saiyans thought about me being an Ice Jin, I certainly didn't like being in cold conditions! Perhaps it was my pampered lifestyle as I was growing up in that lab, or maybe it was a preference of my kind, I still don't really know. All I do know was that it was cold, and I needed to get warmth from somewhere. But before I could give it much thought, the world spun beneath me and I felt myself fall into a deep dreamless sleep.

* * * * * * * *

Freeza walked down the hall, everyone he crossed paths with stayed clear from him, they knew from the way he walked he was very upset. His stride was long, his tail swayed in time with his stride, crooked in the stance of ready to be used as a lethal weapon in less than a second. His face was set in a determined generally anger set. All together, he looked fearsome. Had he cared at that moment, he would have been pleased by it.

His destination was the little room where Vegeta awaited him. The Saiyan was suppose to have news of his father's whereabouts. He was not pleased to find that his father had left him behind when leaving for their home world. Normally, Freeza joined him, so that he might visit his mother's grave. But this sudden abandonment caused him to think twice about his father's true intentions. For a Ice Jin that had fathered a child to deny his son to visit his mother's grave while still in the mourning was a high offense. One that, if there were still a council as there once had been, would have been punishable by death if the child was truly insulted by it. And that Freeza truly was!

He stopped in front of a set of smaller doors and walked in as the Saiyans quickly opened the door. Vegeta was standing looking out the huge space bay window, he turned around casually, but straightened instantly as he realized what mood Freeza had slipped into since they'd parted. "Lord Freeza, I assume she sleeps well?" Vegeta asked, Freeza responded, to Vegeta's amazement.

"Yes, she sleeps well, she was asleep before her head hit the pillow." Vegeta's eyebrows raised.

"Do you actually care for her? I thought you told me that you'd never care about anyone?" Vegeta said carefully, judging the other by his expression.

Freeza gave Vegeta an odd look and smiled a little to himself. "If you thought I wouldn't care for her, why did you bring her to my attention? You could have set her free again."

Vegeta looked at the other thoughtfully. "Well, she told me how long she'd been looking for one of her kind, and you and your father are the only ones I know of that are not on your 'home world', which she'd never find, and if I set her free, I'd be causing her to always wonder what it would be like to be around her own kind. Plus, I knew that you were lonely, you wouldn't kill another of your kind, especially not a female your own age, give or take some years. Not only that, are you not still in mourning? I doubt you'd break the rule about that as well, seeing as how you uphold all of the Ice Jin rules. Am I right, or am I wrong? That you do care for her?" Freeza smiled a little more and shook his head, most of his agitation disappearing as he leaned against the desk and looked out the large window.

"Perceptive as always, Prince Vegeta. What would I do without you?" Freeza laughed a little, his tail flicking slightly, Vegeta watched him closely, making sure there were no sudden changes in his mood. "You're right. I do care for her. Whether it's because I'm lonely or I simply understand what being abandoned feels like, we'll see, in the meantime, what did you find out about my father?" It was Vegeta's turn to smile.

Vegeta related the news and continued to carefully monitor the unpredictable tyrant. When he finished, he waited for the other to make a response.

The Ice Jin thought for a moment, than smiled. . .

* * * * * * *

Freeza walked down the hallway back to the rooms where his little visitor slept. He still maintained the smile he'd gained on giving Vegeta his new mission. It hurt him badly to have given such a mission to a Saiyan, he'd have rather done it himself, or not at all, but the deed was already done. Vegeta was long gone. The smile slipped away, regret was already seeping into his heart, and doubt was edging into his mind. He took a deep breath and waved to the Saiyans away as they hurried to open the doors for him. The last thing Freeza wanted was to disturb his little guest's slumber. She needed all the rest she could get. The smile returned as he pushed the door open just enough to let himself in and than shut it softly behind him. His tail twitched with sudden excitement.

Never before have I ever seen one so young! I've been around my father and the older ones all my life, but never have I ever seen one my own age! There's no way I'm going to let her get away. He thought as he walked carefully over to her. Her wings were limp and relaxed beneath her, he sat down carefully next to her and reached out a hand to touch her, but hesitated. Why can't I do it?! She belongs to me! Why am I so careful not to hurt her!!? He gritted his teeth and shut his eyes for a moment, regaining his composure. After a few deep breaths, he opened them again and set his hand gently on her wing closest to him.

She trembled beneath his touch, he stopped instantly and watched her. After a moment, he realized that she was in no real pain, so he went back to his caress, again, she had the same reaction. He smiled. He looked down at her with a hungry smile. "I have patience. Eventually, you will be mine." He whispered to her, her brow furrowed, but she did not wake. He smiled, more at ease now. "Well, it's good that my little present worked so well. You should sleep for another good three hours, so I'll not waste it." He said a little louder, knowing that she was deep within the drug induced sleep that she wouldn't hear an explosion even if were next to her!

He watched in amusement as her tail twitched beside her, uncovered earlier when he was gone, probably due to either being warm or a dream, he wasn't sure nor cared to know. His hand reached over and touched it idly, she trembled again, he smiled and took a shaky breath. "I've waited my whole life to have another. . ." He said out loud, his breath fast and his voice shaky as he moved from her tail to the blankets covering the rest of her.