Pache idly peered down at her white gloved hands. She took no interest in the vast, colorful planet she and the rest of her new comrades of Frieza's men laid waste to, nor the people that scattered the expanse of the bright orange, craterous lands; the only thing she was concerned of in the current moment was breaking in this new, bizarre clothing.

"You aren't shirkin' are you?" The pink one spoke up, his name, as she had heard from the combination of addressing and scolding by various others, was called Dodoria.

Without a care, her lips poked out into a '3' shape, a pout that he wore childishly, "My pile's over there, I'm waiting for you to finish!" She retorted back. Since her 'rescue' as she liked to refer to it as, her personality had come to settle - from cold and biting to anyone but Frieza, to more akin to a playful kid. One could only assume the sheer happiness that came from being able to move and speak when and as she so pleased caused this more spirited shift.

Let Dodoria tell it, there was nothing to be satisfied about. "There is no mine and yours!" He scolded in retort, growing irritable from this newfound demeanor. 'If you ask me, she was better off sniveling, that little brat.'

"Hm?" Pache mused to herself, animatedly tapping her gloved finger repeatedly against her chin, "Really, no kidding? Then what was that I heard you talking about... 'We'll see if she can even get a hundred...'" She mimicked by memory, "...are you saying you didn't actually just want me to take a hundred?"

Dodoria grit his teeth, a sigh of exasperation clearing his lips. The population was rather small, so it wasn't a difficulty, but even so it served to well piss him off that he was the only one she gave that kind of lip to. He had half a mind to really show this kid what for, but acting so abruptly without orders on Frieza's behalf would surely land him in a predicament. Then again...

"Girl," Zarbon spoke up, touching down from who knew just where at the moment. Clearly, as he spoke, it was made apparent he hadn't made an effort to remember her name, but he continued anyhow, "You and I will be going back."

"HUH?" Dodoria shifted his head, whirring around, eyes widening in disdain, "You've gotta be kidding me." She hadn't even done anything!

"As a newly appointed soldier, there are..." Zarbon masked a sneer amidst his angled gaze, a quiet chuckle of amusement escaping his lips, "...things that Lord Frieza finds it imperative for her to see and understand." He shifted his head, golden eyes catching Dodoria from the corners, "You do remember, don't you?"

"Remember?" Pache perked up, angling her head so that her yellow eyes amidst the black of her sclera could catch a glimpse of either of them, "Remember what?" She watched carefully, awaiting a change in their expressions or otherwise indication of something she should be concerned about. She was able to go around and do and speak as she pleased, so long as she kept to the work she was given by Frieza, which she could accept, but it did not yet mean that she trusted him.

"Lord Frieza has something he would like us to see." Zarbon simply, yet still cryptically clarified. He looked to her quickly, then back to Dodoria just as swiftly, as if disregarding her just after, "You can handle this and the next on your own, can't you?"

The bright pink skinned male rose his hand up to his scouter, looking over the signatures registering on the device to get an idea of the workload ahead of him. It wasn't as if he couldn't handle it, it was more so about the principal of being left with the labor while they went back to the luxury of the ship. Though, if all else failed, he could take out some of that frustration on the inhabitants he had yet to be rid of.

"Yeah." He merely replied, if not a bit dismissively, folding his arms gruffly, "I got it covered." His lips twisted into a pout obscured by a scowl, 'At least tell Lord Frieza I'm handling all this on my own, won't ya?'

Pache stood up from her place, putting away her childish game of playing with Dodoria to look between the two present once more. She felt the slightest twinge of uneasiness with just how secretive the two seemed to be, but more so how out-of-the-know she found herself. The two were higher-ups compared to her...

'Y'know, now that I think about it...' She mused, 'Why send me with these guys?' If she just got recruited in, why did he lump her up with two of his apparent favorites?

"Girl," Zarbon addressed once more, snapping his fingers in front of her daydream-locked eyes.

"Hah?" She withdrew her face from his fingers, knitting her brows together, "I'm listening..." She clarified immediately, folding her arms.

"Right." He turned on his heel so swiftly and fluidly that it sent his green braid flipping loosely behind him, catching Pache's disdainful eye as it did. Even though she watched him and his every move, she turned her head back to take one last look at Dodoria, who was proceeding in the other direction.

She would keep her guard up.

That being said, she followed Zarbon, seeming to scan him closely from that vantage. Even if she couldn't see his face, she could watch for any sudden tension in the body, any abrupt movements, or any likewise indication that following him would be unwise. Even if everything seemed normal in that regard thus far, it was easy to grow unsettled when recalling the wide margin between their abilities. Even if she knew something were coming, there would be no guarantee that she could make anything of it.

Lost in her cautious studying, she was almost completely unaware of the blue man's golden-eyed stare shifting sideways back at her. "You seem tense."

The mock-care stocked into that sentiment caused the bit of fur towards the tip of Pache's tail to bristle. It was such a 'kind' tone that she could only imagine the kick he got out of saying it specifically to poke fun at her nervousness. 'What an ass!' She quipped internally, biting her lip which upturned into a pout. "It's called thinking..."

"Oh, you do that." After that minor bite, he seemed to take to silence once more as they approached the pods they arrived in, which were well-within walking distance. It was a relief to be left with the silence once more, but the comment gave her just enough of a reason to feel self-conscious and overly-aware of her behavior. He knew full what he was doing, she had no doubt about that, but she would have much preferred that he behaved blatantly or rudely than that off-putting 'kindness'.

"Safe trip," The green haired male spoke up once more, causing a sour expression to form on her face. 'There he goes again!' She bitterly internalized, slipping into the pod without another word in his direction.

Once settled in, she tapped in the coordinate, huffing to herself while leaning into the material of the interior. It was comfortable enough to go without complaint for trips for up to several months; she experienced that when she was first taken back to Frieza. This planet, however, was relatively close by, and so long as Frieza hadn't gone too far away from his previous location, they were even just within a few days away.

"Hmph..." She huffed, feeling the tension beginning to flow from her back as she leaned her head back. As her eyes began to close, the frustration eased into her mind, past the newfound calm. The dark claw-like nails of her fingers dug in harshly to the side of the pod.

"A deal." She recalled those words escaping Frieza's mouth on their first meeting, a clarification soon following to draw out the specifics, "You can have your precious freedom, and in exchange, you will work for me."

In the moment, it didn't sound like freedom, but at the same time, it didn't sound like death. Considering the position she was in could have led to her shoved out into space vacuum, obliterated on the spot, or thrown into some type of prison, the alternative of admittedly limited freedom and room & board coming with her new 'job' didn't sound bad.

'I would be lying if I said I didn't think of escaping.' But what good would it do? She wasn't sure how strong Frieza was, but she couldn't even beat Zarbon, who was a subordinate, so what chance did she have..? If they hadn't come along, she would have been stuck in that hovel being treated like an animal... given scraps and dribbles of water, just enough to sustain her without letting her get too strong, all because her previous jailers couldn't figure out how to kill her.

'I may not get lucky twice.' Her hand raised, index lightly brushing against her lips thoughtfully as her eyes opened to stare up at the ceiling of the pod, 'There's no guarantee Frieza will get nearly as much long-term interest out of me. If that's the case, I'm out.' She had a feeling 'out' didn't just mean she would be asked to leave.

If that were the case... she would just have to be one of his best soldiers.

Current Location: Frieza #128

Come the end of the voyage, Pache could hear the automated voice recite her destination, causing her eyes to slowly open. Sleeping and thinking had taken up majority of the journey, and despite counting each hour closer they became, the tension had managed to ward off until she heard that.

She bit her lip, chewing it roughly as the pod release a opening hiss and its door came open.

The planet they arrived back at was the same as the one previously, indicating that the threat Frieza faced there was clearly more than his henchmen had initially anticipated. The place was completely battle scarred, and amidst the piles of inhabitants stacked around, she could see the armor of saiyans that distinctly marked members of Frieza's army.

"Oh dear."

Hearing Zarbon speak up, Pache continued to look ahead, only catching a glimpse from the corner of her eye, rather than turning to face him.

"What a mess." He folded his arms, looking around the place, though in truth, he seemed not the slightest bit perturbed. It sounded instead as if he were giving some sort of leisurely appraisal to the aftermath of the carnage, "With all these casualties, I'm sure we will need to grow our numbers." He mused aloud, though with a clear glance in Pache's direction, he spoke his next words seemingly to her, "Let us hope this hasn't put him in a foul mood."

"Mm." Pache could feel her body stiffen slightly, but as the sounds of Zarbon's footsteps grew further away, she forced herself to release a breath to relieve that tension. 'Yeah, let's hope.'

Her eyes got to work as they entered the larger ship, observing everyone and everything. The number of henchmen were still plentiful, but just as Zarbon had mentioned and she had noticed, they were much fewer than normal. Not only that, but the mood of the room seemed to be filled with a somber, more uneasy tone.

When the two of them entered, all eyes shifted to them, wary responses and cautious back-straightening, most-likely in response to seeing Zarbon.

'Am I allowed to ask what happened or something?' Pache thought to herself. Admittedly, her curiosity was running wild. Of all the stories she had heard about Frieza, and many of the real accounts of his monstrous strength, she had to wonder. What could have been more than he anticipated?

As they ascended the ship to Frieza's personal chamber, the silence between the duo broke only momentarily when Zarbon decided to speak.

"Consider this the only kindness you'll receive from me." He began, shifting his head to her to speak. His voice was naturally regal, but in the current moment carried a certain softness that masked a darker undertone of wariness.

"Zarbon?" Pache questioned subtly, as if questioning the sudden shift he exhibited, but with her acknowledgement he continued.

"Not that you shouldn't be at any other time, but in this moment when you stand before Lord Frieza, you are to be on your best behavior." He shut his eyes to her, turning instead to face the direction their ascension port would arrive in, "You've been warned."

Her brows furrowed, her fingers reaching back to bypass the short, curved horns at either side of her head and course through her thick white hair. As if she weren't tense enough to begin with, she had to deal with this? If Zarbon weren't concerned about the state of things, he wouldn't have bothered to say something like that; she had already gathered that much -or at least she assumed. Huffing quietly to herself, she murmured a begrudgingly spoken yet genuine, "Thanks..." She felt it easier to play around with Dodoria, especially if he plucked with her first, but situations with Zarbon alone, or in confronting Frieza directly left her less jovial. Then again, being able to die at any moment would have that effect on anyone, right?

As the rising floor they stood upon locked into place, Zarbon stepped off, Pache quickly following. The former reached the back right of the tyrant's personal seat, lowering his knee and bowing his head. "My lord," He respectfully addresses.

Pache quickly followed his example, bowing, despite not speaking.

"Zarbon," Frieza began casually. Despite the angle Pache could see him from, and despite the relaxed tone he took, it was clear to see he was leaning his head towards his fingers that massaged his temples, and aggravation lay dormant in his voice, "I'm glad you're here."

The pale blue skinned male slowly turned his gaze up, warily watching. "Of course, my lord."

"Do you have any idea how disappointing it is to see your hard-earned workers fail so miserably little more than an infestation." He heaved an almost exaggerated sigh, turning around to look at the two before him, his dark stare intently boring into then. "I think I need something to ease this stress." He settled his hand back against the arm of the chair, look then transferring to Pache.

"Ah, yes," he murmured aloud to himself, "I assume you've been enjoying this freedom of yours haven't you?"

Something about the way he spoke sent an involuntary shiver up Pache's spine. She could feel her thin, whip-like tail begin to coil against her mildly quivering leg. Her tongue wet her lips, which she forced open, "Y-yes, my lord." Curse her stammering. Her brows knit a level of contempt flashing from the depths of her eyes.

The tyrant loosed a quiet chuckle. Something about that look never ceased to amuse him lately - it was the look he found useful, if not somewhat familiar, but more than that, the mixed emotions and signals he took from interacting with her was so particularly absurd that he couldn't help but find himself entertained. He could only imagine that his two favorite henchmen were probably enjoying toying with her as much as he did.

"Regardless," He leaned back, dismissing his prior questioning for a moment, "We'll be setting course for Planet Vegeta once Dodoria returns." He turned his back to them once more, waving them off, "Go get her socialized."

"Yes, my lord." Amusement crept into Zarbon's expression, leaving Pache both confused and concerned. What socializing exactly meant by his standards, she wasn't sure, but anything Zarbon got a kick out of had to be bad news. Zarbon, contrarily, as he stood, seemed to be properly delighted by the idea.

Socialization of the new personnel was necessary, after all.

A/N: This is still a little strange for me to write right now. I'm a lot better with things that I am very familiar with, but I guess I don't watch Dragon Ball Z nearly as much, so playing with the continuity is a bit odd for me. I do know that "socialization" is a big thing for Frieza's army though, since he likes to use social competition to force them all to work harder basically. Super manipulative guy.

I think I have an idea of where I want to go with the next few chapters now though, and I know how this is going to end for the most part, so that's good. IT'S STILL SO WEIRD ON ME THOUGH!

I'm thinking about dialing back a little and writing something with less plot cohesion necessary and more whimsy, so maybe Yamcha, Tien, or Gohan will be one that I write for from DBZ next (Maybe at the same time as this one).

OH!

Another fun thing.

This planet issue is a completely original plot issue, because it's related to another OC in this challenge (I like tying in all of the OCs into the same canon universe for this). That story will be touched on in more detail when I write for Piccolo.

Hope you guys enjoyed! If you have an opinion on who I should write for next (out of who I named, or anyone else) let me know! Thank you!