A/N:    Wow, finally another chapter out. I'm deeply sorry, but I have my reasons. Studying for a rather important test takes up most of my weekends, during the week, after work, I have other appointments and I also go to the gym twice a week and therefore don't have time to write… But I want to thank all of you who are still staying true to this fanfic! You guys are the best!

Chapter 32: The Traitor

Frieza was standing in the throne room of his large palace, hands folded behind his back and staring out into the night. Only a couple of candles were lit in the room, otherwise it was completely dark. The moon shone through the window, but this also did not provide much light. The view through the window was directed at his large courtyard, where, at the same moments, several gallows were being erected in addition to those that were already standing. He loved public executions, even more than the villagers, who only watched them because of the excitement. However, never had he had an execution this large. Frieza still was not clear about the exact number of victims, but he guessed the additional gallows should be sufficient for his needs.

He unfolded his hands and picked up the map from the table next to him. A malicious grin appeared on his face, when he saw the dots moving towards his palace. Radditz and his men should arrive any minute with their hostages and the spheres, whereas he estimated the arrival of Zarbon and Dodoria with their sphere around noon, in due time to watch their enemies hang. Everything was going according to his plan. In only a couple of hours he would be the most powerful and feared being in the world.

Frieza put the map back and instead lifted the goblet of red wine to his lips. "Speaking of the devil…," he mumbled, when he saw torches in the close distance. Radditz was returning. The guards on the watchtowers were announcing the arrival and slaves opened the large wooden gates. Lord Frieza placed the goblet back on the table and left the throne room.

He welcomed them in the courtyard, watching as Radditz and his men dismounted their horses and handed them to the responsible grooms. Just as Frieza had suspected and hoped, they were not alone. The hostages, whose hands were bound behind their backs, were pulled from the mounts they had shared with the pirates and shoved forward. Frieza raised an eyebrow. This was truly the most interesting crew he had ever seen. A couple of Humans, of which one was a lot smaller than the others, two females and one a kid, a small clown-like looking guy, a Namek-kid and a Namek-warrior. And on top of that, their captain was a Saiyajin. Unfortunately for them, the Saiyajin was right now down in his dungeons, hopefully enjoying his company.

"Sire," Radditz bowed, "I'm glad to inform you that our small mission was successful. We captured everyone of my brother's crew and retrieved the two spheres for you."

Frieza looked at the pouch Radditz was holding in his hands and smirked. "Good. Let's go inside to take care of that matter and of the hostages."

Without even needing to say more, he turned around and walked back into the palace. Radditz looked at his comrades and raised his arm and, before following his lord, said, "You heard him. Bring the hostages inside."

The other pirates grabbed their respective captives and pulled or pushed them through the open doors and long hallways until they stood in the throne room. The crew knew better than to resist and fight. At the beginning, directly after their capture, they had fought, but then, upon Radditz threatening to kill them, starting with the weakest, Krillin had ordered them to remain calm and not to do anything stupid. At least they were now at the place where they had been heading since the Kintoun had been destroyed in the storm. The only question now left unanswered was how they could get Frieza's spheres and escape from his palace.

Krillin did not know the answer to that and, according to the looks on their faces, the others did not know either, but were trying to think of a way, though their spirits were low. He noticed them watching now almost defeated as Radditz handed the spheres over to Frieza, who put them to the other four on a red velvet pillow that was resting on a pillar. A sudden chill ran down his spine, when Frieza turned to them with a malicious grin on his face.

"Who of you is Son Goku?" he asked. Of course, he already knew the answer to that. None of them was Son Goku, for the famous sailor was right at the moment wasting away in his dungeons. But Frieza did not want them to know that small fact. At least not yet.

Krillin took a deep breath and stepped forward. "Our captain, Son Goku, found his death at the hands of the storm. I am his first mate and therefore in charge. I demand that you let us go, for we pose no threat to you or your people."

"You are brave, little man," Frieza spoke, though his voice held no admiration at all, only mocking. "But I'm disinclined to acquiesce to your request."

"You have to let us go!"

Frieza turned his head to look at the black-haired woman, who had so impolitely spoken without being spoken to. She was still young and nice to look at. In addition to that, she was not looking at him in fear as most of the other women did, but held her head high. He gave the pirate who was holding her a small wave with his hand, instructing him to bring her forward. "What is your name, my lady?"

"Son ChiChi. I'm Gyuu Mao's daughter and wife to Son Goku." Her voice did not waver one bit as she said that. She also knew that maybe she had said too much, but she did not want to give this beast the pleasure to know that she was terrified.

"Miss Son… You do know it's rude to interrupt two men when they're talking, don't you? But I will let it pass this time, when you do me a favor." Frieza watched in contentment as the woman's eyes went slightly wider and he chuckled lightly. "You're a pretty thing, as well as your blond friend. You would make nice additions to my…"

ChiChi spat in his face, hindering Frieza to end his sentence. The next second, she felt a sharp pain in her cheek, as the pirate who was holding her slapped her so hard that she was thrown to the floor. Suddenly everything happened too fast. She heard Gohan crying out for her and then the pirate was lying on the floor as well, only a few feet from where he had been standing only seconds before. She looked up to see her son standing between her and Frieza. ChiChi really wished he had not intervened and shown the strength that she had already noticed when he had still been a toddler, for now the look of understanding crossed Frieza's face as he put one and one together.

"I see," he mumbled. This boy was the first half-breed that he had ever seen. Saiyajins had been known to be too proud to mate and breed with other races. He was also strong for his age, stronger than a normal Saiyajin-child would have been.

Frieza suddenly recognized the possibilities this child could bring and he started to form a plan in his mind. Maybe he could reeducate him, let his men teach him in the art of piracy. This child was still young enough to be successfully corrupted, unlike the young Prince Vegeta, who had been about five years older as Frieza had taken him under his wing. At this age, it would be a lot easier than it had been with the prince, who had already had enough time in the first ten years of his life to develop a strong personality that could not be fully tamed.

However, if, in the end, this child turned out to be loyal to him and worthy, he could even name him as his heir. Frieza was no illusionist. He knew that even if he had the spheres, he would die someday of old age or illness. The child could come to greatness, if he had the right people to teach him so. But this meant that the first thing to do was to detach him from everything he was holding dear – his family and friends. "What is your name, boy?"

Gohan looked up at him stubbornly, as he answered. "My name is Son Gohan. I'm Son Goku's son."

"Gohan. Named for your great-grandfather, I suppose? I met him once, briefly, many years ago, before I rose to power on this island. He had still been a young man then, a good fighter, though he could have never beaten me. I offered him a high position in my ranks, offered him power, but he declined. See where it got him…" In the meantime, the pirate Gohan had knocked off his feet had gotten up again and had jerked ChiChi back to her feet. "Remove the boy's bonds."

Gohan could feel the stares of the others in his back, as he rubbed his reddened wrists and watched as Frieza walked up to the Dragonballs, picking one of them up and looking at it closely. His mind was running wild, trying to analyze the happenings. It was completely silent in the whole room, since no one dared to say something.

"What do you think of power, Gohan?" Frieza finally broke the deafening silence. "Without power I wouldn't be where I am today. All people in high positions have power. I could make you one of them, Gohan. I could give you power. I could teach you in the arts of fighting and sailing. You could become the best, better and more famous than your deceased father and great-grandfather. I can make you a legend, even in your lifetime. Your great-grandfather refused my generous proposal and he died. I, however, am still alive. What do you think now, young Gohan? Do you want this power?"

Frieza put the sphere back to the others and walked over to where Gohan was standing, still in front of his mother, but his posture was no longer a defending one. He stood more relaxed, with his arms crossed over his chest. "I can't promise you that your life will be easy, especially your youth. You will be studying hard and training harder. Sometimes you won't be able to move because of your sore muscles, but in the end it will pay off, believe me." Frieza extended his hand to the boy. "Do you agree to those conditions and let me show you what true power is?"

Gohan looked at the hand, at Frieza's face, back at the hand and, with a smirk on his face that would make Vegeta proud, shook it. "I agree." Gohan did not need to turn around to see the shocked faces of his father's crew, for he had heard their gasps of surprise and his mother's sob behind him. But he did not look at them and held the eye contact with Frieza, who seemed to be most satisfied.

"Well then, Nappa, bring the hostages to their cells, but not the ones in the dungeons."

"Yes, Sire," Nappa bowed. He led his fellow pirates out of the throne room, leaving Frieza with Radditz and the boy. This time, however, their captives fought instead of letting themselves lead away obediently. They called for Gohan and ChiChi was crying openly. Her sobs echoed in the room and she needed support from the pirate leading her to walk.

The one, who put up the hardest fight, however, was Piccolo. He managed to shake off his capture a couple of times and in the end, two others had to help dragging him out of the room. "Gohan! Don't do this! You can't trust him! Gohan!" His yells could still be heard in the halls, when they had long left the room.

When the doors were closed behind them, Frieza turned to Radditz. "You are to escort young Gohan to his new chambers. I think the guest suite should be sufficient for now." He turned from the pirate to the boy. "I hope you do understand that for now I will still need to lock you inside of the rooms. But they should be spacious enough for you to move around freely."

"Of course," Gohan answered calmly, having expected nothing else.

"Well then, you are dismissed. And be ready tomorrow for the big day."

"Yes, my Lord," Radditz bowed. Gohan mimicked him and followed Radditz out of the room.

They walked through a couple of hallways, their footsteps being the only sounds at this time of the night at this part of the castle, until they stopped in front of a dark wooden door. Radditz turned the key that was already in the lock and opened the door to reveal an extremely large room held in the colors deep red and gold. The red completely contrasted the blue of the marble outside in the hallway, as well as the plenty rugs on the dark parquet contrasted to the marble itself. A fire was burning in the fireplace, keeping the cold night air outside. All in all the room was warm and inviting, something no one would have expected of a room in this palace. Gohan only knew those kinds of rooms from home.

"This is the sitting room. The door over there leads to the bedroom and from the bedroom another door leads to the adjoining bathroom," Radditz told him. "You will be woken early tomorrow to get ready for the big day. I'm sure the Lord will provide you with anything you need until then. Be proud boy, you've been given an one-time chance to achieve things you've never dreamed of." Though why was still a mystery to Radditz. Of course, he knew that the boy was unlikely strong, having already been on the receiving end of one of his attacks, but what did Frieza plan? He shrugged inwardly. Only time would tell. Radditz turned around and left the room.

Gohan heard the clicking of the lock, but did not turn around. Frieza had warned him that he would be locked in this room, but he could not care less about it. For now, he only needed a good night's sleep to regain his strength and refill his reserves and he could do that even with being locked in.

Wandering through the sitting room to his bedroom, he only absently noticed the noble furniture or the shelves filled with books. The bedroom was decorated similar as the sitting room, in the same colors and expensive furniture. In the middle of the room with its back to a wall stood a four-poster bad. Tired and exhausted as he was, he sat down on the bed and removed his clothes. When he was only left in his underwear, the boy climbed into the bed and pulled the silken sheet up to his chin. He winced slightly, as he laid down, the pain in his back, where the horse had hit him, coming back. The whole time, after waking up and finding himself on the horse of a pirate, up until now, he had managed to suppress it, but now, that he was starting to relax and his body told him that it could not take any more stress, he felt it again. Though that did not keep sleep wanting to claim him immediately. One train of thoughts, however, did not let him go at once.

Gohan had had to refrain from asking what Frieza had meant with tomorrow being the big day.  He knew that he would find out eventually, when he was intended to, but he was curious nonetheless, because whatever this big day was, it sounded important. Gohan remembered seeing the last sphere on the enchanted map moving towards the palace, so it could be that the big day was meant to be the reunion of all seven spheres. But when he finally fell asleep and upon hearing the dull sounds of a hammer meeting wood outside, he also vaguely remembered the gallows that were being built in the courtyard…

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