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Chapter 25
Family Matters

It was a quiet ride to their destination; it took a month, but the Saiyans finally arrived on Freeza Planet 937. It was formally an ocean world, a rare planet type. The people of this planet lived in deep sea underwater stations which initially made it difficult to invade. While Freeza's tech would allow for deep sea exploration, fighting them in their natural environment was too costly even for Freeza's steep standards. Giant sea creatures along with the inhabitants' specialized underwater weaponry proved too difficult for regular forces. In the end the Ginyu Force was called to conquer the planet.

They used small scouting parties to locate cities so the Ginyu Force could launch long range Ki waves to decimate their cities. The local fauna which proved to be part of the problem in the initial invasion quickly disposed of the survivors of these attacks, though they also ate all the scouting parties during the frenzy afterwards but after only three days the planet was claimed for Freeza. Kakarot could still feel his lingering wounds, despite a month passing the injuries he requested Raditz give him hadn't fully healed yet. Kakarot let out a pained groan before saying, "These're worth it." He feared that going quietly would have made Raditz suspicious.

Kakarot knew that Raditz seemingly beating him without taking damage would be equally suspicious, but he hoped the excuse of not wanting to hurt his brother who he was supposedly trying to convince to join him would be good enough. Luckily it worked and, in the end, Kakarot was dragged out of his pod by Vegeta and handed over to a squad of Freeza Soldiers who were ordered to throw him in a cell. However, not even a quarter of a minute after handing him over, they had already stopped their march to his cell. This caught Vegeta's attention as he watched what was about to unfold.

Vegeta heard Kakarot let out a pained groan after which one of the soldiers said, "That was for the massacre at 895."

Apparently Kakarot's escape from Freeza planet 895 had garnered him some negative attention. Kakarot doubted they were really there, but he can imagine Freeza making changes to security on other worlds to avoid a repeat of that incident. They made it clear why they were mad as a second punch was delivered to his already bruised ribs. "Do you have any idea how big a pain it is to memorize new security regulations?"

A third soldier delivered a fist to his gut while saying, "You must be a moron, Freeza treats your kind like you're something special and then you get the idea to defy him, talk about ungrateful."

A fourth soldier added, "I don't see what makes your kind all that special, you mess up and we have to pick up after you."

Vegeta glanced at Raditz and Nappa who watched from afar. Nappa looked stoic but Raditz was clearly restraining a scowl, his fists clenched tightly. One last soldier spat out an insult, "Ungrateful monkey. Maybe we should execute you right now. That way Freeza doesn't have to dirty his hands on an ingrate."

One of the soldiers was raising an arm cannon when suddenly Vegeta barked out an order, "Are you going to get him to his cell or not?"

The soldiers shoot a frightened glance at Vegeta who says, "Freeza wants him alive, if you get ahead of yourselves, I promise you that Kakarot won't be the first one getting executed when Freeza arrives."

The fear painted on the soldiers' faces was enough to bring a smile to Vegeta's face as they marched Kakarot to his cell before saying, "R-r-right, apologies V-Vegeta."

Raditz and Nappa gave Vegeta a mildly surprised look which was enough to wipe the smirk that was on Vegeta's face. Vegeta simply said in response, "Wipe those looks off your faces, I don't want Freeza blaming me if Kakarot isn't present for his execution."

Nappa nodded as Raditz adopted a grim expression in response to the reminder of Kakarot's fate. Vegeta then said, "We're free for the rest of our time here. Freeza should arrive in about a week, so we're stuck here until then."

After Vegeta's interjection the squad speedily took Kakarot to a round white cell with a shielded window showing the outside. He was on the third floor, Kakarot now felt the cold restraints that now clamped down on his wrists, covering his hands. They were made of remarkable material, though Kakarot was confident he could break out of them if he was at full power. That was exactly what he was not planning to do. He sat down next to the window and rested his eyes. He fully intended to stay where he was even if he arrived in mint condition. Still Kakarot scowled, saying to himself, "If it wasn't for my brother, I woulda busted that smug bastard's nose."

He could take the body shots and the complaints but that word, "Monkey" was a sore spot for him. Vegeta and Nappa have learned to ignore it and Raditz doesn't have the spine to confront anyone who isn't weaker than him. Reducing his race to a gaggle of monkeys is something Kakarot rarely would let slide. Kakarot also disliked their assumptions on the Saiyans' treatment by Freeza. Freeza viewed them as pets more than soldiers, any perceived good treatment was actually just Freeza throwing them a treat. This was especially infuriating given the bad hand Freeza handed him and his brother. Despite being loyal Freeza still planned to have them both killed, succeeding with Raditz. It was confusing as to why he did this but it's not like Kakarot was in a position to find out.

Luckily for those men he was injured and heavily restraining himself. Kakarot promised himself if he got the chance then he would pay that specific soldier back but right now all he wanted to do is rest. He had grown to dislike his pod after arriving on Earth, open spaces seemed to suit him better for sleep. Kakarot recalled Chichi calling him someone who seemed to prefer the outdoors.

Kakarot didn't give much thought to indoors or outdoors, but it wasn't hard to argue he enjoyed natural air over air conditioning and the feel of sweat dripping down his face during a fight. He finally cracked a smile as he thought of his week on Earth. This is when he heard someone knocking on his cell. It wasn't the front door of the cell but rather behind him. Kakarot looked through the window and saw it was nighttime and that Raditz was floating outside his cell. Kakarot groaned, realizing immediately what Raditz was about to say. Kakarot immediately said, "I'm staying."

Raditz let out a restrained groan and said, "Come on Kakarot, you can't seriously expect me to buy that you're okay with being killed by that bastard, after what he did."

Raditz was careful to keep his voice low so no one could hear him outside of Kakarot's cell. Kakarot said in response, "It isn't about Freeza, it's about you."

Raditz gave him a look of irritation in response to that, Kakarot elaborated, "I'm injured, restrained with state-of-the-art handcuffs, and surrounded by a thick cell made to keep people like me in. Honestly, you're lucky the shield blocking the window allows me to even talk to you. You're the first person they would blame for me suddenly escaping."

Raditz looked furious but stayed quiet, knowing full well that he wouldn't be able to talk in a whisper. Kakarot then said while sitting down again, "Besides I'd rather die fightin' rather than runnin' away. That's how a real Saiyan would go out anyway."

Raditz gritted his teeth and said in a low, barely restrained voice, "Why do you have to be so damn stubborn, fine rot in there for all I care."

Raditz flew off, fed up with his brother's refusal to accept his help. Kakarot let out a sigh before frowning and forming a melancholy expression. Kakarot then said, "Hope he gives up, I don't want em' to get himself killed for my sake, not again."

Kakarot checked outside to see if Raditz really left; however, right outside of Kakarot's field of vision stood Vegeta who watched the whole exchange. Right now, he was simply keeping an eye on Raditz, but certain words caught his interest. "After what he did? Freeza has wronged us in many ways, but this one seems personal. Did something happen that they are refraining from telling me?"

Vegeta let out a frustrated growl as he struggled to hazard a guess as to what they could be keeping from him. He eventually gave up and flew back to their temporary quarters. Despite the two-week timeline passing by, Freeza had yet to arrive.

Freeza received an unexpected call from his father who was calling for a family meeting. Freeza knew right away this wouldn't be a one-on-one meeting. When his father called for a "family meeting" it always involved Cooler, Freeza's older brother. They had a rivalry of sorts, while they were equal in power Freeza was put in charge of Cold's Kingdom, renaming it the Freeza Empire. Freeza made the big decisions with his father acting as an adviser. Cooler was allowed to take command of a sub-faction within Freeza's Empire called the Cooler Battalion. Because King Cold forbade them from killing each other, they instead make do with political warfare.

Cooler would compete with Freeza on border expansion and achieving greater accomplishments. Cooler's ultimate goal was to prove to his father he would make a better leader than Freeza. Freeza's spaceship arrived at a large Space Station, known as the Cold Desendency made to be King Cold's home. He brought along two members of the Elite Ginyu Force. If he knew his brother, then he knew that Zarbon and Dodoria would be insufficient. This was more a show of power rather than protection after all Freeza and Cooler were the strongest members of the Freeza Empire, outside of their Father. No one was alive who was strong enough to serve as proper bodyguards. No, this was their way of flexing their power.

In the meantime, Freeza had Zarbon and Dodoria keeping an eye on the Saiyans. Freeza entered a room with a lone table and three large chairs. Two individuals walked by his side, on his left was a red skinned humanoid alien with long snow-white hair. He wore a green advanced model of Scouter, (all of the Ginyu Force wore this model of Scouter) white and orange combat armor with the Ginyu Force Insignia on it. Under it was a skintight black long-sleeved undershirt, he wore black armored trunks and white gloves and boots. This was Jeice, the second in command of the Ginyu Force. However, to Freeza's right stood the Captain of the Ginyu Force who is the reason the squad is called the Ginyu Force in the first place.

The confident Captain Ginyu, wore a green Scouter of the same model as Jeice. He wore a black and light brown variant of the Ginyu Force Armor, insignia included on the left breast plate just like Jeice. He wore black armored trunks, black/white and light brown boots, no undersuit and lastly black sturdy cuffs. He was a tall humanoid who hovered over Jeice by a few inches with purple skin and a large veiny head. On the sides of his head, pointing to his upper right and upper left are two black, straight horns. The trio sat at the table with Jeice and Ginyu standing at attention next to him, giving him a few inches of space. Their arms were placed behind their back as they waited. Jeice had a sturdy expression but the sweat on his face showed clear signs of stress.

Jeice thought to himself, "The last meeting was a year ago, Freeza and Cooler actually took a swing at each other when the King wasn't around. We lost one of our old members to the vacuum of space. They blew a hole clear through the station, I'm lucky I was on a pair assignment with Burter at the time. I hope to god the King arrives first; I don't want to share the same fate as poor Kechub."

Ginyu on the other hand was confident and calm, he wore a smile as he stared at the door clear across the room. His smile vanished when the doors opened, and he adopted a more serious frown. And like that Jeice's worries skyrocketed as Cooler and two other men walked through the door. To Cooler's left was Dore, a large green humanoid with long black hair that ran down his back. He wore an armored helmet that only covered the top of his head which had a specialized Scouter installed into the helmet. He also wore a pale-yellow battle jacket which only had a single orange shoulder pad over his left shoulder. The jacket didn't cover all of his midriff, but he did wear purple armored trunks. Lastly, he wore white gloves and white boots. On the belly section of his armor was Cooler's Armored Squadron's insignia.

To Cooler's other side was Salza who was the unofficial Captain of the squad if Cooler wasn't in the room. He had light blue skin, blonde hair that circled to his right in a posh manner. He wore a green Scouter and had the same body armor as Dore except his was lime green and had a single light brown shoulder pad. Lastly, he wore white gloves and white boots. Where Dore was bulky, Salza was lean, and they both held a confident smile with Salza's leaning to being more overconfident than anything else.

Jeice held back a groan as he saw that Cooler brought Salza with him. He and Salza had a bit of a rivalry but that's because they grew up together and never got along. Salza joined Cooler's elite squadron because Jeice made it into Freeza's Ginyu Force. Ginyu didn't seem to care about the Squadron much, he was an eccentric type which made it hard creating an adversarial relationship with the other elite force. After all Salza was only Captain when Cooler wasn't around because his Armored Squad was less of a specialized squad to be sent around the galaxy and more an enforcement squad meant to accompany Cooler at all times. Salza never really cared about leadership anyway, he just cared about pleasing Cooler and outdoing Jeice, on that front he felt very satisfied with his position as acting Captain, even if he rarely got to fulfill that role.

In the center of the two was Cooler, Freeza's older brother. Freeza kept a stern poker face as his brother approached him. His brother's appearance was significantly sleeker than his. He was taller too; he didn't even wear a set of the Freeza Empire Battle Armor. Instead, his chest was covered in a white body casing that was made out of the same white material found on Freeza's head. It made up a self-made chest armor that covered his shoulders. He was a Purple and white alien with a soft round head with a purple pearl looking substance covering the middle of his head which stretched to the top. He had white wrist cuffs and ankle cuffs made of the same material as stated earlier. The sides of his eyes were covered by a red layer, his eyes themselves were a piercing crimson color.

The two brothers glared at each other with Cooler having a sinister smirk on his face. He sat down and spoke with a deep yet controlled voice, "You're still in that pitiful state? I would have thought you would greet father in your natural form."

Freeza let out a brief yet controlled laugh before saying, "The last time I greeted you in my natural state we blew half the station away with a single jab. I imagine Father would like to avoid that outcome again."

Cooler shrugged while tilting his head to one side and saying, "You wouldn't have to if you had just learned how to restrain yourself the normal way."

Freeza just said back, "Enough about my lack of self-control, if Father couldn't teach it to me then no one can."

Freeza then said while smirking sinisterly, "Besides this current method works wonders at invoking fear in those foolish enough to oppose me. If only it had the same effect on you."

Cooler frowned and said, "As if I would ever fear my little brother."

Freeza bit back while maintaining his cool, "I may be younger than you, but it is still I who rules this Empire."

Cooler scowled while saying, "Your emperor because Father has a soft spot for you, not because of some unique trait that makes you superior to me, pure nepotism."

Freeza's smile didn't fade, however, "All that matters is that Father still thinks I'm worthy of running this empire, which of course means you have still fallen short of his expectations yet again."

Cooler let out an irritated grunt before smiling and saying, "How worthy can you be when you can't even control a single monkey?"

It was Freeza's turn to let out an irritated grunt. The air was thick, and the two party's bodyguards felt it. It was Juice's worst nightmare, Freeza and Cooler was a volatile combination especially considering recent events. If Cold didn't arrive soon then Jeice feared he would soon find himself sucked into the vacuum of space, a casualty of a sibling's squabble. They could all feel the tension in the air, in fact they could see it. If it wasn't for their Scouters they wouldn't know if what they were seeing was just their disdain for each other taking physical form or if it was simply their battle power running wild. Of course it was the latter, their Scouters were bearing with the constant rising and lowering of Freeza and Cooler's Power Levels. If it wasn't for the fact these Scouters were the most advanced version at the Freeza Empires disposal they all would have blown up by now. As a matter of fact, …

Dore's Scouter suddenly exploded causing him to flinch as a small explosion reduced the Scouter to several burnt pieces on the floor. He immediately discarded the scorched helmet he was wearing on account of it being a part of the Scouter. The four bodyguards began to back away when suddenly the door Cooler came out of opened again and there stood King Cold. The second he arrived, Freeza and Cooler cut their squabble short, allowing their battle power to lower back to a more stable level. King Cold immediately scolded them, "Stop bickering, I don't want a repeat of what you two did a year ago."

King Cold was much larger than his two sons, towering over them with a massive body. He resembled Freeza but much larger and much bulkier. He had a light purple and pink color scheme like Freeza with a teal marble top similar to cooler's head. His horns pointed upwards as opposed to being as straight as Freeza's pair. He wore dark blue and maroon colored battle armor with dark blue armored trunks. With white and pink pieces of self-constructed armor, the same kind as Freeza and Coolers. Lastly, he wore a dark blue cape with the inside being a dark shade of red. He was undoubtedly the strongest man in the room, having perfect control of his sons. Other than them, he is undoubtedly the strongest man in the Freeza Empire though he's technically in retirement, only engaging threats when they present themselves to him or if he feels like stretching his legs.

King Cold then said with a deep but elegant voice, "Honestly, if you put this much energy into restraining your men then this Saiyan wouldn't have caused so much trouble."

Freeza restrains himself from talking back which provokes a grin from Cooler. However, Cold erased that grin by saying, "Don't get overconfident, Cooler, the reason I selected Freeza is because he's efficient. The growth of our territory as it is today is because of Freeza's leadership. The sooner you realize that and the sooner I will trust you with more responsibility."

Cooler scowled but didn't say anything, with Cold's arrival everyone's nerves relaxed. He was quite possibly the only person who could rain these two powerhouses in. Jeice finally let out a relaxed sigh, knowing that things shouldn't get out of hand with King Cold here. Cold sat down and let out a deep sigh. "With that out of the way, I wanted an expansion report from the both of you."

Freeza and Cooler immediately report on the number of planets conquered from the start of this year to today as well as the number of space stations constructed in key parts of their newly attained territory.

Freeza reported conquering 57 planets and constructing 20 space stations. Cooler reported having acquired 60 planets and setting up 23 space stations. Cooler was satisfied with outdoing Freeza but frowns when Cold says, "Impressive Freeza, especially considering recent events."

Cooler hid his frustration at being overshadowed by Freeza despite outdoing him. "Even when I'm a step ahead, he still favors Freeza. What will it take to convince Father I am worthy?"

Cooler shook his head, deciding he will have to double his efforts in the upcoming years. With that business finishing up the bodyguards were dismissed allowing them to converse with one another. Away from the table, Salza cockily says, "How'd you like that Jessa, Cooler pulled ahead, have your band of misfits been slacking off?"

Jeice let out a frustrated groan, "It's "Jeice" not that kiddy name you stuck me with when we were brats. Besides, what are you bragging about? That's all of Lord Cooler's work, besides your team is too busy playing butler to do any real conquest."

Ginyu jumped into the conversation with a wide smile, his fists placed on his hips, "I'll have you know Freeza's kept us busy, less than half of those worlds Freeza mentioned were personally taken care of by the Ginyu Force."

Dore jumped in, "Hey, just because we prioritize our lord doesn't mean we're slackers. I'll have you know we've taken care of ten planets in the past week."

They began to quietly bicker but back with the meeting Cooler cleared his head and said, "If I may say one thing before we finish this meeting."

Freeza and King Cold shifted their gaze on Cooler who finally said, "You should finish off the Saiyans."

Freeza paused for a moment before saying, "They're not your concern."

Cooler raised a hand to politely interject, "I'm speaking as your older brother, when I say this, it is in your best interest to take care of the remaining Saiyans before they become a bigger nuisance."

Freeza immediately said back, "It was only one Saiyan and he's being made an example of."

Cooler argued back, "This time it was one Saiyan, what if next time it's the whole squad? They might not be able to harm you no matter their number, but we can't allow them to humiliate our family any further. What if next time they destroy one of your more profitable worlds?"

Freeza paused as he thought about it and said, "I…appreciate your concern brother. However, I have everything under control. There will not be a second incident like the one on 895. I will be attending his execution personally."

Freeza then stood up and said, "Apologies Father but I need to go, I'm needed for the execution I just mentioned."

King Cold paused for a moment before saying, "Alright son, the meeting was over regardless. Have a safe trip."

Freeza said back, "And you as well father."

Freeza then looked at Cooler and spoke in a tone signaling this was him saying goodbye, "Brother."

Before he left the table, Cooler returned the farewell by repeating the word, "Brother."

The two Ginyu's followed him leaving Cold and Cooler alone outside of Cooler's bodyguards. Cold and Cooler shared a quiet moment before Cooler got up saying, "I should go too father, I have worlds to conquer."

Before he left the room however Cold said, "I know you feel overlooked. You believe I'm overlooking Freeza's inability to control this… rebellious simian who's caused a great deal of embarrassment to our family."

Cooler stopped upon hearing this and spoke without looking directly at his father, "No single individual has caused this much destruction to one of our bases since the clan wars and it was one of Freeza's "pets"."

Cooler spoke with disdain in his voice but Cold immediately said, "It's because he was one of Freeza's men that he was able to pull off this stunt. Any soldier of his level could have pulled the same stunt off if they had the element of surprise. Besides, the world is a desolate wasteland. It's hardly a loss, the base itself was cheap."

Cooler turned to his father and said with irritation in his voice while clenching his fists, "It's not about the costs or the lack thereof. It's about the insult to our family! A lone monkey under Freeza's command defied us and avoided capture for a month, which in and of itself is disgraceful, how can you let him off with a "good job"?!"

Cooler's power spiked which destroyed Salza's Scouter and shook the room. King Cold stood up and gave him a cold glare which caused Cooler to freeze out of fear which immediately stopped his burst of power. He then looked toward the floor with a shameful look. King Cold let out a reluctant sigh as he pressed his hands on the table, he then said, "I understand your grievances. I understand that you abhor slights against our family, that is one of your more admirable traits."

Cooler looked at King Cold as he walked towards him and put a supporting hand on his shoulder, "However, we can't act rashly, we are not barbarians. We act with intelligence and discretion, that's how this organization has flourished despite the likes of Lord Beerus and Majin Buu."

Cold then said while gripping both of his shoulders, "If you give in to your emotions over such a trivial matter then how can I trust you to lead this empire in the future?"

Cooler gave him a surprised look and said, "In the future?"

King Cold took a step back and said with a smile, "Of course, I'm confident that both of my sons can lead this empire into greater heights. Freeza is capable of keeping a cool head and he has near perfect control of his troops. You're only lacking self-control my boy. I'm just waiting until you grow more. Eventually you will be leading this Empire, with or without Freeza."

Cooler had an astonished look before grinning and saying, "I'll make you proud father."

Cooler looked at his men and called them over, "It's time to go."

After Cooler left with his men King Cold watched through a window and watched as his sons left the space station. He let out a sigh of relief, "That should keep them from biting at each other. The last thing I need is those two getting ahead of themselves and destroying another one of my space stations."

Cold then grinned and said, "Still It's nice to see they haven't grown soft, my Clan needs to be ruthless to prosper, I won't see my Clan grow as complacent as those of the older Clans."

Soon Freeza and Cooler's spacecrafts disappeared from view leaving King Cold to watch them from afar. Freeza's spaceship finally arrived at Freeza Planet 937. He was pleased to find there were no incidents after Kakarot was apprehended. He immediately called for the Saiyans excluding Kakarot to meet him for a report on their mission. Vegeta received the order from his personal computer in his quarters. He grimaced at the order, the last time they went through a personal report with Freeza things didn't end well. In fact, the whole reason they have to do this report is because of the result of that previous report.

Upon meeting with the rest of his Squad Vegeta examined their expressions. Nappa was stoic but Vegeta could tell it was a brave front. However, upon seeing Raditz's dark expression he immediately said, "Only speak when spoken to, don't make any unnecessary comments."

Raditz and Nappa nodded with Raditz's expression softening a bit. They then marched into a medium sized throne room; it was a little smaller than the one they were in when they gave their Prune Report. Freeza sat atop a throne which was at the top of a set of elevated steps. Freeza looked down on the Saiyans with Zarbon and Dodoria standing to his left and right. Flanking the sides of the room were a dozen soldiers who stood at attention.

They wore black and light brown battle armor with a black undersuit. Some wore helmets which covered their faces while others didn't, but they all had a Freeza Empire emblem on the right breastplate of their armor. They all wore light brown bracers and brown boots. Lastly those who didn't wear helmets had red Scouters on their right eyes. They kept their eye on the Saiyans and the Saiyans paid then passing glances before kneeling before Freeza. Vegeta recognized these men as Freeza's Royal Guard, a selection of stronger than average soldiers personally selected by Freeza.

They aren't that different from the regular forces aside from being a little stronger and personally attending to Freeza's needs. Vegeta kneeled at the center while Nappa and Raditz were a step behind him and to his left and right. They looked up at Freeza, meeting his cold gaze which for a moment shifted a little. His eyes widened for a brief moment before returning to his usual stern expression. Vegeta found it to be an odd reaction, but it was Zarbon's own reaction that caught his attention. Zarbon's eyes widened even more than Freeza's and he stuck to that expression for a second longer than Freeza. Raditz thinks to himself, "No doubt they are surprised to see me, I did come back from the dead after all. How will they rationalize my being alive?"

Raditz let out a silent gulp before thinking to himself, "We never discussed what I should do if they decide to try and get rid of me again."

A cold sweat ran down Raditz's face as Freeza said in a calm manner, "I see Raditz has returned."

Vegeta speaks in a slightly confused tone, "Y-yes Lord Freeza, he was responsible for detaining the prisoner."

Freeza let out a pleased laugh and said, "Oh, did he now?"

Raditz locked eyes with Freeza when the tyrant replied, "It's good to know where your loyalties lie."

Raditz simply replies with, "Yes Lord Freeza, my place is here."

Freeza said back, "Good."

Vegeta found the interaction odd, Freeza doesn't often compliment them on much of anything. Vegeta didn't figure Freeza cared much about someone as weak as Raditz's show of loyalty, but he figured maybe Kakarot's betrayal had opened his eyes.

Vegeta pushed the thought to the back of his mind as Freeza adopted a more serious expression and gave the squad an order, "Give me your full report."

Vegeta briefed Freeza on their mission including Raditz's part in detaining Kakarot though they weren't there to witness the altercation. At the end of it Freeza asked, "Raditz, what was the traitors' reasoning for betraying me?"

Raditz paused for a couple seconds before forcing himself to say, "My brother grew soft after the conquest of Prune. I don't know what about it changed him, but he attempted to convince me to leave your empire and join him elsewhere."

Freeza gave him an uncertain look and after he put his closed fist under his chin in an inquisitive pose he asked, "Pardon the insult but how did someone as weak as you manage to beat your brother. From what I gathered from your Power Level after your recovery I believe Kakarot was the superior warrior."

Raditz replied, "Like I said, he grew soft. When I beat him, he refused to fight back."

Freeza let out an amused chuckle and said with an obviously belittling tone, "You must be embarrassed to have such a delusional brother. You have my sympathies."

Raditz knew the intent and struggled to keep himself from speaking out as Dodoria and Zarbons snickering filled the room. Raditz however, instead let out a sigh and said, "Yes, my brother's actions puzzle me greatly."

Freeza grinned at the long haired Saiyan but then got back to business. "Anyhow, I will determine the traitors' sentencing after a time of deliberation. Until then please enjoy your accommodations for a while longer. After his sentencing you all will be cleared to take on more missions."

The Saiyans barked out in unison, "Yes, Lord Freeza!"

They exited the throne room and headed toward their quarters. However, back with Freeza his mood took a dramatic turn. Freeza plainly said. "Zarbon, please repeat your mission report on your special mission to Earth?"

Zarbon let out an audible gulp as he reviewed his report which he had memorized, "I traveled to earth to warn the Earth government of Raditz's arrival and give them important information that they would need to defeat him. Instead, I found a group of stronger than average earthlings who led me to believe the Earth's military forces were ill equipped to handle Raditz. I chose to give them the information and assisted them with the battle with Raditz. I assisted them from the shadows to avoid him from revealing any information about me which would make the mission unnecessarily difficult. After the fight was over, I checked his vitals, he didn't have a pulse, I-I was certain he was dead, I was sure of it!"

Near the end of his explanation his voice cracked which showed his desperation. Freeza raised his voice slightly, saying with clear irritation in his voice, "Evidently you were sloppy, he's clearly alive, you moron!"

Zarbon immediately gave Freeza a half bow and apologized. Freeza let out an exasperated sigh and said, "For all we know he could be aware I wanted him dead."

Zarbon hesitantly suggested killing Raditz, but Freeza immediately rejected the idea, "Don't be ridiculous the reason we sent him to another world was to disguise his death. The Saiyans are proficient workers, I already planned to execute one of them, if another of their flock perishes in this base they will no doubt suspect me. We had an excuse to send him away but a second solo mission would be suspicious."

Freeza glared at Zarbon and said, "No Zarbon, you will have Raditz give you a field report. You will discern whether or not he is aware of your attempt on his life and report back to me immediately, is that understood?!"

Zarbon barked out, "Y-yes Lord Freeza, right away!"

Zarbon immediately departed the throne room and made his way to the Saiyans assigned housing. Back with the Saiyans, they were on their way to their assigned quarters. Vegeta said out loud, "Did you two notice Zarbon's reaction to seeing us?"

Nappa answered, "Yeah, he looked like he saw a ghost."

Vegeta then said, "If I were to hazard a guess he may have been surprised to see you, Raditz."

Raditz gave him a puzzled look which is when Vegeta asked, "Was the world you were sent to perilous?"

Raditz quickly cleared his throat and answered, "No, in fact it was quite weak. Most had a power level of five, utterly pathetic."

Vegeta was even more confused now, he thought to himself, "That's strange, perhaps I should have reviewed his mission more closely before he left. Why would Freeza assign him such a weak world when he was supposed to be doing it to make up for his failing at Prune?"

This is when his and the rest of his squad's Scouters went indicating a power level was approaching them from behind. They saw Zarbon flying toward them and right before he landed next to them Vegeta grumbled, "What do they want now?"

Zarbon landed and approached Raditz immediately giving him an order, "Lord Freeza wants a field report on your canceled mission to Earth. Come with me."

Raditz began to sweat, worrying that Zarbon was indeed after his life again but unexpectedly Vegeta stepped in and asked, "Why didn't he ask before dismissing us?"

Zarbon immediately spoke with authority, echoing in his voice, "That's none of your concern, these are my orders from Freeza."

Vegeta felt immense irritation upon hearing Zarbon's refusal to answer but he restrained himself. He simply took a step back allowing Zarbon to do his job. Zarbon let out a single grunt before telling Raditz to follow him. They flew off while Vegeta watched as they disappeared from view.

Vegeta let out an irritated, "I don't like this."

Author's Notes: I have finally finished the roadmap so now we can expect more chapters in the near future. Please give me feedback on the regular stuff but also the new writing style I'm trying. I was given advice about making the dialogue easier to read by ending paragraphs on them and I want to know how everyone is feeling about them. Anyway, I hope I did a good job with the Cold Family since Cooler isn't canon and because we only got one interaction between Freeza and Cold after their defeat by Trunks. Anyway, onto the new power levels. Also, I hope everyone appreciates the pun with the new Ginyu Force member that I said got killed during a meeting with Freeza and Cooler. I feel the Pun is obvious, so I won't say what it is here.

Power Levels:

Freeza First Form: 530,000

Cooler: 120,000,000

King Cold: 170,000,000

Salza: 50,000

Dore: 45:000

Captain Ginyu: 120,000

Jeice: 50,000

Standard Freeza Soldier: Range of 1,000–3,000

Freeza Royal Guard Soldier: Range of 2,500–3,000

Vegeta: 10,000 base power level– 18,000 Full Power

Nappa: Base 4,000–7,000

Raditz: 3,200

Kakarot (Wounded/Weakened): 1,000

Power Level Notes: Individuals who are more knowledge with Power Levels might know that ordinarily Cooler and especially his squad are much stronger than what I have listed. That is partly due to trying to sync them up with the rest of Freeza's forces so it's a closer rivalry with Freeza. It isn't much of a rivalry between factions if one is clearly superior to the other despite the weaker one being in charge. The other reason is I want Cooler and Freeza to be on equal footing (until I reveal Cooler's Final form but that's a surprise for Freeza). I also Moreso estimated King Cold's power level since I want him strong enough to keep a handle on his children. Anyway, thank you for reading and I hope you stick around for future chapters.