Disclaimer: Guess what? They don't belong to me.

Author's note: I am aware that this is another Vejiita-suffering-at-the-hands-of-Freeza fic, but I am merely a slave to my imagination, so if you don't like it: don't read it.

Memories of Ice.

Vejiita stood gazing out over the snow-topped peaks. The cloudless sky was a pale, pale blue and the snow on the mountain tops was pure white: unreachable and untouched. The perfection of the landscape was not lost on the hardened warrior, although his dark expression did not alter as he surveyed his breathtaking surroundings. The icy beauty had stirred old memories, reminding him of another time and another place, where his breath had frozen almost before it had passed through his lips, and where the slightest sound had echoed forever in the frigid air...........

He knelt, head bowed in grudging submission, imagining his blood slowly freezing in his veins. If he strained his eyes upwards, he could just make out two pale, three-toed feet, resting lightly on the dais in front of him. He had knelt in this place often: he knew of the biting cold, yet his body refused to acclimatize, and so he remained: shivering at the feet of his oppressor. As the length of the silence had grown, Vejiita had become more sure of his imminent punishment, although what his latest crime was, he could only guess.

"Were the Morla-jin not to your liking, monkey Prince?"

Asked a calm, quiet voice which reverberated of the tall, icy walls: finally breaking the silence.

"No, Lord Freeza, they were weak, they would not have served your Empire well."

"Forgive me, little Prince, but I was not aware that you had brains enough to make such decisions."

Vejiita had learnt long ago that it was best to try to control his temper for as long as possible, so he kept his angry retort to himself. Unfortunately, his silence only served to further anger Freeza, and he moved so fast that Vejiita had been unable to see the powerful blow that was directed at him. He had spun in a full circle on the slippery floor, his head cracking the ice as he fell. His last thought before he had lost consciousness had been a vague wondering whether his blood would seep onto the floor, or whether it truly was frozen in his veins........

"Hey Vejiita, are you ready to start?"

A familiar, friendly voice enquired, startling him out of his reverie.

He turned scowling, answering Goku's question with a slight nod, before dropping into a fighting stance. He was a warrior, the leader of some of the greatest fighters ever to walk through time, he should not dwell on the past. All that mattered was the here and now: the next strike, the next attack.

Vejiita roared a battle-cry in the language of his lost race and leapt into battle, bathed in the golden glow of the legends, all memories of ice melting away....

********************************************************************************

You opinions are much appreciated, so please rate and review.