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9.

Echoes from the past


«Frieza...»

He lies on the ground, on the ice that is slowly melting, in agony. The dark blood that runs down his chest splits and creeps between the fingers of the hand that he's using to plug the wound. In vain.

«Frieza... »

It only took me one blow to pierce him from side to side. I saw it penetrate his chest. I felt it go through the heart and blow up its walls.

«Why did you do this to me, Frieza?»

Why did I do this to him?

I look up. Visions seem to project on the walls of the cave that has become our hiding place. The ice sheets stop reflecting my image and become a canvas on which new figures move. The wind begins to hiss words that bounce on the walls. I can feel them.

«Is it really worth it?»

I see myself hiding back to back against a wall of ice behind which two bodies are moving. My lungs are empty, my feet and tail don't touch the ground so as not to make any noise.

I listen again to those controlled whispers, filled of fear of being heard and urgency. They were convinced that I wasn't there since they had sent me to collect food, but their signals did not go unnoticed. They wanted to be alone, they wanted to get me away... and unfortunately for them, they have been careless to hide themselves. And I do am here, indeed.

«...is it really worth it? If we give him up, we may be able to return to the Five Clans. We could say that he had escaped and that we worked in secret to capture him: this way the Arcosians would welcome us back among the rulers. As if nothing had happened.»

A louder voice, trembling with rage.

«Do you have any idea what you're talking about? If we hand him over, they are going to kill him! His immense power would be wasted and we would lose all our chances of conquering the Universe. And he's my son. When I created him, I knew the risks I was going to take. I could never do such a thing now.»

The first one who spoke bangs his tail on the ground in a fit of rage. The cave trembles, some stalactites detach from the vault and break on the permafrost.

«And what about us? Don't you think of me and Cooler? Would you care if either of us were to be caught, or are we not powerful enough to deserve your apprehension?»

King Cold stiffens, folds his arms, his eyes darting away. He can't blame him, but he has no other choice.

«This situation isn't what you two deserve, but Frieza doesn't deserve what you're asking for either.»

«Father, I beg your pardon, but does this seem acceptable to you? Because of Frieza, we are forced to flee to prevent them from killing us! And we have also lost our nobility... we were kings, and he made us slaves!»

Another punch on the wall, which splits perfectly in half behind me. Perhaps the words are only pronounced, but in the narrowness of the cave they seem to be shouted.

«Enough! Stop thinking about your throne more than your brother, damn you! He's not to blame for who he is!»

«But he is. If I knew I was such a problem for my family, I would deliver myself to the Clans. He may not be guilty of being a mutant, but he's guilty of being a coward."

A coward.

That word begins to bounce all around me, in a booming echo that becomes fainter and fainter.

A coward.

It's the last thing I hear before everything fades away again; the vision has vanished as if it had never happened.

Coward.

Suddenly, I'm back in the cave with my prey. I come to my senses, but now the confusion in my head has become unmanageable. The anger returns, exploding around me and melting the ice under my feet. This feeling is not new to me, it is an old friend: it's born much earlier, the first time those words were embedded in my brain like a parasite that slowly began to devour it. I begged it to stop, I begged it to leave, but the hatred and obsession that possess me are stronger than anything and the power boiling in my veins doesn't allow me to stay in control.

At my feet, the water mixes with the blood. The white body slowly relaxes, the lips close, the hand slips away from the wound that sprays the last streams. The bioplaques on his body, now that they are no longer supplied with blood, fade and become transparent again. His cheeks are streaked with tears.

I can still hear the echo of his words, but I don't know if they're outside or inside my head.

Why did you do this to me, Frieza?

Suddenly, I feel a presence. I hear footsteps behind me, but when I turn around there is no one. However, I start panicking.

«He wanted to betray me! I had to!» I scream. «He wanted to hand me over to the Clans to return to power, sacrificing his brother's life and maybe yours too! You knew you couldn't trust him, Father. We all knew... We all knew that!»

That's what I would have told my father if he had been there. That's what I actually told him afterwards. It's the reason why I just pierced Froze's heart with a blade of energy. The only way to forgiveness.

But why do I even care about forgiveness?


I suddenly open my eyes and have no air in my lungs.

Damn it.

I fell asleep. I did it again, even though I knew what it would mean. I analyze my body: my heart beats so fast that it seems to explode, my breath breaks and I can't manage the rhythm. I break out in a cold sweat.

What a shame...

I close my eyes and meditate, immersing myself in my unconscious until I touch the power that I have relegated within me, to draw as much energy as possible from it. I let my mind wander, getting as far away from that damn nightmare as possible.

I have to think about something, anything else.

I think I miss my body. This new mutation is incredible, just as it is incredible how powerful I remain despite all the aura I have momentarily given up on, but I am nostalgic for my original form. Yet I am aware that unleashing my dormant power could cause serious damage to the spaceship; I find myself hoping that the next planet we visit will not be completely useless and compliant, and will force me to use all my strength to be tamed.

Netiko. That's what the next one on the list is called. Granium revealed to me that it is very rich in technology and that we can find something interesting, being it devices or skilled engineers. Then I will probably destroy it with my hands, to avoid getting completely rusty.

I open my eyes and my gaze falls on the glass wall in front of my seat. The galaxies move quickly, the planets are very far from our route. Every now and then an asteroid grazes the glass but it's all perfectly calculated and nothing will end up crashing into my ship.

In the distance I can still see Madoria. Ultimately, I am proud of my troops and how they managed the situation: three days were enough to take the entire planet, destroying everything that was useless and adding another thousand excellent warriors to my ranks. First of all Dodoria himself, who was particularly skilled: he fully deserved the nomination as Commander of the fifth legion and began his training to learn how to tame energy with excellent results, even if he wasn't as bad as I thought.

I stand up, stretching my legs and tail. They set up a room just for me but I didn't want to abandon my throne, also because I intended to think about what to do and certainly not to fall asleep. Unfortunately, I have had so little time to rest since I left planet Cold Number One that now the tiredness is starting to play tricks on me.

I must reserve some time to meditate, so that such a disaster does not happen again. When I'm awake I have everything under control, but I can't manage my dreams.

Enough, idiot.

I approach the map still spread on the floor like a huge carpet. I observe it, aiming for the planets I have in mind to attack: Netiko, Nemanan, Ortika, finally Val, the head planet of the triplets in the orbit of the Black Star, and this is worth three planets. They are all interesting and still unconquered, marked on the map as my father's failures, so I will certainly find excellent warriors there if they were able to beat him. Furthermore, according to Granium, they are very populous. At the end of this little journey I should have at least filled the ship, and with ten thousand men I will finally be able to aim for something more substantial, preferably belonging to the Cold System.

Granium enters the throne room after a few minutes, interrupting my contemplation. I told him to bring me Dodoria but he must have waited for him to finish training with the élite. If I wasn't certain that I would have fallen asleep anyway, I would instantly disintegrate him for forcing me to dream.

«Lord Frieza, here is Dodoria» he says, as if I couldn't see.

The Madorian is visibly exhausted and shiny with sweat, but despite his tiredness he maintains a look of dignified arrogance that pleases me.

They both bow before me.

«Good. You can go, Granium. Order to bring us some nectar, then you will be free until further notice.»

He leaves the room and I am left alone with Dodoria, exactly as I wanted. I point at the seat next to the throne, the one of my first advisor; I don't care about hierarchies since I'm above each of them equally.

He must be wondering why I summoned him.

«Worry not, we're here to become friends» I reassure him. Who knows if he would prefer any other question rather than the one I'm about to ask him, but I told myself that I would solve this curiosity and I have every intention of doing so. «I admit that I have big plans for you, Dodoria. On Madoria you have proven to me that you are a warrior of inestimable value, and warriors of this type are unique. For this reason I will take you into great consideration.»

«Thank you, Lord Frieza.»

«When we destroyed that village together I noticed that there is bad blood between you and your kind. You will have to lead them into battle and train them as your men, so I hope this will not cause problems.»

He hesitates. I know I'm hitting a sore spot and I like to twist the blade in the open wound trying to get him to react. I could ask him directly what the problem is, but everything on this spaceship is becoming too boring and analyzing my men seems like an acceptable hobby.

«What should I do if they refuse to obey me?» he asks, avoiding my eyes.

«Refuse? I don't believe they will, not after what we showed them on their planet. I was referring to you, Dodoria. Are you sure you can handle the situation as best as possible?»

He snaps, as if his pride is hurt. Obviously he can't stand having his abilities questioned.

«Of course, Lord Frieza. My legion will become the most powerful of your army, you must not doubt about this.»

«I take it as a promise» I smile, and he pales as he realizes the commitment he has made. His pink skin turns waxy, but perhaps it's just the starlight that penetrates through the glass and brightens the darkness of the room. I decide to stop playing games.

«Tell me about you. Why this hatred towards your planet of origin?»

The door opens and Anoria peeks in, walking while he holds in perfect balance two glasses half full of the red nectar of his village. He hands them to us, keeping his head bowed; I grab mine, then to Dodoria does the same.

I sip the drink waiting for his response, finding it slightly more bitter than the first time. Perfect.

«On Madoria they didn't like me» he begins. He empties the cup with a single gulp, swallowing the contents without even tasting it. «What do you want to know? My story?»

«I would like to, yes.»

«Well. Then I'll tell you.»

He makes himself comfortable, turning his head towards the window and observing the space. I do the same as he begins to speak.

«I grew up alone. My parents died many years ago, when I was very little. For many months I thought that they had been killed by a group of bandits, because when I returned to the house after going hunting I simply found them dead, and the house was a mess and our things were gone.

They were hunters and worked at the market, where they sold the meat and berries they could find in the woods around their home. They also taught me to hunt and gather: thanks to them I learned which animals were worth catching and which were not, and which fruits were edible or poisonous. But they weren't much loved. They were always accused to steal from our neighbors, and I don't even know if it was true: what I am sure of is that our neighbors were very afraid of our competition at the market. That's why I started to suspect them as murderers of my family, and to confirm it one day, I entered their house and there I found some of my spear tips. I'm sure they were mine because I had smoothed them with my own hands. I looked for something else, but there was nothing: they must have burned, hidden or sold everything else.

From that moment on I was certain of how things went and I couldn't do anything but get rid of them. One night I set their house on fire while they were sleeping, and the bastards died like mice. However, someone must have seen me or for some reason must have accused me, because the rumor spread that it was I who killed them. They had no proof and no doubt; so they no longer wanted me at the market and everyone became so hostile to me that they forced me to leave. This is why I moved away from my village and started looking for another one, but wherever I showed up they chased me away. In the end I had to build my house on the edge of the village where you found me and I grew up like that, isolated from everyone and developing a damned hatred for those damned people. All you had to do was knock on my door and make me the offer, I would have accepted without even killing eight of yours. That's it, this is the story of Dodoria. Do you understand now?»

I listened carefully, sipping the nectar. Despite its prose, each scene was painted before my eyes with vivid crudeness. After all, his story and mine have several points in common... it's not too difficult for me to understand what he must have felt. Perhaps it is one of the reasons for my unmotivated attraction towards this being.

«Definitely» I say. «You will understand my lack of confidence. An inhabitant of a planet who agrees to exterminate his fellows so coldly arouses at least some suspicion. But now I do understand.»

He nods silently. Who knows what images are crossing his mind, what sensations are haunting his heart. I would ask him out of pure curiosity, even if deep down I don't care, but he decides to surprise me. He turns towards me and, with his usual haughty smile, asks me the question.

«And what about you?»

I am amazed by his courage and by the question itself. Who knows how many of my subordinates would have had the guts to ask me something like that... maybe none. Maybe I would have destroyed anyone else who did it. But we are talking about Dodoria: for some reason that is unknown to me, I respect this Madorian who almost dares to challenge me with his attitude. Maybe after thousands of men who don't even dare to look me in the eyes, it can be stimulating to have such a servant, as long as he stays within the limits of what is allowed to him.

I don't want to talk to him about myself, but I decide to please him.

«My story is not much different from yours. My planet was called Arcos and was inhabited by a race known in the Universe as Frost Demons, from what I was able to learn later.»

«You're talking using the past» he points out. I smile.

«Oh, you noticed. Yes, the Arcosians are now extinct. A real shame, considering that they were a better race than many others I have met in my countless travels.»

He doesn't go any further with his questions. He may have understood that he has touched the limit and leaves the choice to me to continue or not, which I have no intention of doing at all. The chills that the dream gave me are fading and I have no intention of bringing them back.

I enjoy the last sip of nectar.

«Thank you for satisfying my curiosity. We still have a few hours before we land on Netiko. Do you think you can finish your training in time?»

«Of course. I've rested enough» he states, standing up. «I'm going back to practice, with your permission.»

«Go ahead.»

He heads out of the room and I get up, going to observe the space. I notice that we are approaching an enormous gray mass dotted with incredibly bright lights. I hope that on that high-tech planet I can find a communicator or something: I regret destroying mine. After all, listening to my father and his threats would liven up my boring days.


Next chapter:

Boom

1.01