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2.
Brothers
Not even an hour has passed when there are no more dummies left.
That's the moment I stop. My muscles tense so deeply that I'm afraid they might tear with one more contraction.
I take a breath, leaning on my tail to relax my legs. The anger has faded but its traces are still there, along with the hatred that is now part of my being.
There is something that binds me to my father more than I dare to admit. A sort of awe, of silent gratitude, of respect even just for being able to get to where he is now, a goal that is also mine.
To be King. To rule. I can't imagine another future for a powerful being like me; I was born for this purpose, to have servants who must obey me. The thought that it would all be extremely simpler if I just wiped my father off the face of the planet and took his place makes me even more nervous. Why can't I find… the courage? Is it really about courage?
Maybe you're not really ready to rule, are you?
The anger flows again, overbearing. This voice is not mine: this is the voice of my father, king of the planet Number One that will be mine, one day.
Mine ... or Cooler's?
I still need to let off steam but now I have nothing more to destroy here. I'm about to turn around when a voice stops me where I am.
«Is it time to train already?»
His tone is full of mockery, as always. I breathe in hard to try not to lose my temper, not in front of him.
«I wanted to put my powers into practice a little. When you will be gone, I'll no longer have anyone to humiliate.»
I hear him laughing. He knows it's true, he knows that his strength is absolutely not comparable to mine, but now he has something else that makes him stronger than me. Something that I don't have and that I want more than anything else. And he knows it.
«I bet you really mind.»
What does he refer to? To the fact that I can no longer fight him or to the fact that he's leaving? I expect a provocation from one moment to the next: I know he will not miss this opportunity.
I turn and see him, leaning with one shoulder against the door jamb. Arms crossed, mocking smile.
«Did you come here to train or for me, Cooler?» I ask. «I have no time to lose. If you want to fight, I'm ready.»
«To fight…»
As he comes towards me, I can feel his aura: it's powerful, fit for a king, but nowhere near like mine. I reinvigorate my power to remind him, in case he forgot it.
«A king doesn't need to fight: he has others who do it in his place. But you can't know it.»
«Are you here to provoke me? You may also have my own blood but nothing prevents me from dripping it off you drop by drop.»
He doesn't seem touched by my words. For a moment I'm afraid he doesn't really believe I'd hurt him and the thought makes me nervous. If I only could, I would tear him apart with my own hands, and I don't know what I'd give for him to know and tremble with terror.
It comes within an inch of my face and looks down, staring me straight in the eyes.
«After all, I'm sorry, Frieza. Perhaps it would have been better if I had given up the fun of witnessing your fury and kept the news to myself. I see you more upset than I had anticipated… and our father was not happy as well.»
«Do you really think it would have taken me long to realize you were no longer at court?» I hold his gaze defiantly. «If you think me so naive you're wrong, Cooler.»
«You were naive enough to believe you were going to be Lord before me. A second mistake was expectable.»
«I'm done with you!»
I no longer intend to listen to his provocations; the anger they cause me is too uncontrollable to bear. I can't even look at him anymore. I'm ashamed of myself: the Great Frieza who cannot pull himself together!
I walk away, heading towards the exit, but as I'm about to set foot outside the training room, he stops me again.
«I didn't come here to tease you, even though the prospect was too tempting to resist. I came because I know what our father thinks of you. I'm sure he told you everything he said to me.»
I turn around quickly.
«What did he tell you?»
Only now, when I turn around from the front door, I do realize the extent of the massacre I have committed: the torn pieces of the training dummies are scattered everywhere behind Cooler.
He crosses his arms again.
«When he called me to assign me my first planet, I asked him about yours. He told me that he wouldn't give you one until you learned to control your fury, because you are too impulsive and each planet is a precious source of wealth and subjects that can't be wasted.»
«Can you explain why he told you all of this and not me?» I growl.
«You can check why by yourself. Look what you've done!» he spreads his arms, showing me the macabre spectacle that surrounds him. «Any of these dummies could have been an inhabitant of planet Frieza Number One. And the cause of these deaths could have been the "Great" they omitted to pronounce before your name.»
Like father, like son. You speak exactly like him.
I don't deny, it wouldn't make any sense.
«Well? Does he want me to learn self-control?»
«So he wants. But I'm here to help you, little brother.»
This makes me laugh.
«Are you? And why would you?»
He shrugs.
«Brotherly love, perhaps? I don't know. Maybe it's just because I feel sorry for you.»
You'll see how much painful will be when I tear that smile away from your face, big brother.
«So what?»
I watch him take a deep breath. Then, getting serious, he starts talking.
«You know that I have worked a lot on my strengthening. You also know that I have managed to evolve by processing my transformations. In each transformation my power increases. That's the point.»
I have no idea where all of this is headed. I too have worked on my evolution, developing my body until it reaches such a high power that I have never even been able to test it... if I transformed reaching one hundred percent of my power I would go beyond the limits of the known. An attractive prospect, I admit, but how could that help me control my powers?
«Shape up or ship out, right? So shape up. Transform yourself, Frieza, but the other way around. Make yourself weaker, so as to keep your power hidden: only in this way you can avoid using it.»
This sentence leaves me thrilled. This does actually make sense. I had never thought of a transformation that could make me weaker… but that's not a bad idea, at all. Evidently, in his idiocy, Cooler still retains some sense.
I smile.
«Well, not bad. I didn't think you would ever be able to be useful to me, but I admit you gave me an excellent idea.»
And you will regret that… because when I have an army immensely larger than yours, your planets too will become mine.
«Just stop whining, now.»
I turn and go out, returning to the aisle. I meet ZeroOne again; as soon as he sees me, he petrifies like a statue. I know he expects to be reduced to ashes at any moment, but today I feel happy, so I go ahead without even looking at him. My father will take care of him.
All this is incredible: I didn't think I would ever rejoice because of my brother, but after all, life is full of surprises.
One day. It will only take me one day to process my transformation.