[Zyleth's POV]
I awoke once more, seeing that I was still floating around in the healing liquid of the Medical Machine. I don't know how long I've been here, or how long it's been since I've last woken up, but I was a lot more aware and alert than when I last woke.
"Hey, I think monkey boy is awake." I heard a muffled voice speak out, the tone of it gruff and deep.
"Let us see." Another voice said, this one softer than the last, and it sounded as though it spoke with an... accent?
Why do these voices sound familiar?
I heard the sounds of multiple sets of footsteps approaching the machine, seeing three figures walking into the view of the glass.
"Are you done in there?!" A blue-skin alien with blonde hair and a French accent asked, knocking on the glass to the tank.
Ah, now I remember why those voices sounded vaguely familiar. It was Cooler's Armored Squadron. Salza and... and the other two....
I forgot their names...
The only thing that I do remember about them is that they were killed by Piccolo in the Cooler movie.
"Hello?!" Salza yelled out again.
Despite his voice being raised, it was not hostile. It was more as though he was trying to get me to hear him over through the sound muffling waters of the machine.
"Can he not hear you?" The big green one asked Salza.
"It's probably because of the tank." The amphibious looking one told him.
"Well, he's finally awake and his readings seem stable..." Salza muttered as he looked of to the side, probably looking at my bodily readings on the machine, "Let's get him out."
He walked out of view and I heard the sounds of buttons beeping.
The water on the tank suddenly started to drain and I slowly sink to the bottom of the tank, falling on my hands and knees. The glass dome that was surrounding me retracts and the Armored Squadron all walk up to me.
"Hey, monkey boy, time to get up." The green one said as he reached out to grab me.
I immediately wrap my tail around his wrist and apply pressure, causing him to grunt in pain before quickly falling to his knees.
I feel the other two point their hands at me and I quickly send two beams next to their heads, causing blood to flow from a small wounds on their cheeks.
"What am I doing here? Where is here?" I asked him.
"L-Lord Cooler's ship!" The green one exclaimed.
Okay, so I'm not wanted dead, that's both good and bad for a multitude of reasons.
Good because my power feels almost thirty times greater than it did before I confronted Frieza. Right now, with this level of power, I can take on the Armored Squadron with my hands tied.
The bad part of this was Cooler.
I can sense him. Matter of fact, I'm having a very hard time sensing anything that wasn't him. Unlike Frieza, who had restricted his power to those multitude of forms he had, Cooler did no such thing. His power was displayed for all to see, and it was overwhelming.
It was so overwhelming that I could barely feel the power radiating from the three people that were currently standing right in front of me.
Fuck a Frost Demon, Cooler felt as though he was the damn Devil.
I have very a limited amount of options here. I don't think that they want me dead. Or at least not yet. Which means Cooler more than likely wants me for some reason, as these three wouldn't put me in a Medical Machine without his say-so.
I don't know what, but it's either good or very, very bad. Cooler could very well have kept me to be some sort of personal torture pet. But I don't think think that's the case.
Before I died, Cooler was my favorite character out of everyone in Dragon Ball. Out of everyone in the original Dragon Ball, Z, GT, Super, and all the games and side anime, Cooler just took the spot as my favorite character no matter how many characters they added.
And because he was my favorite character, I'd like to think I knew him at least a little bit.
There's a reason he kept me alive.
What for, I had no idea, but I was curious.
Probably not a good enough reason on its own to interact with Cooler of all people, but I want to know why he bothered saving me considering that he was the one who almost killed me in the first place.
At least I think that was him...
Honestly, everything is still a bit of a blurry mess...
[Seems you've awoken, Saiyan.]
The loudspeaker sounds off and I immediately recognize the sound of Cooler's voice.
[I understand the guarded response and the confusion you're currently experiencing, but I'd prefer if you didn't break Dore's arm.]
"Why am I here? Why am I still breathing?" I asked, keeping my tail wrapped around Dore's wrist.
[You're here because I want to speak with you. It's the same answer as to why you're still breathing, although that could still very well change. Let go of him.]
The last part of his words shifted to a tone that left no room for negotiation. I contemplate that for a moment before letting out a deep breath and releasing my hold on Dore's wrist.
Dore immediately snatched his hand back and stood up, glaring at me as he rubbed his hurt wrist.
[Good. Now, before we begin, introductions. The three currently stand before you are called Salza, Dore, and Neiz. They are my Armored Squadron.]
They all nodded in order of their names. Except for Dore, as he was still pissed off about me grabbing his wrist.
I look at them, keeping my face as empty of emotion as I could before promptly replying, "Zyleth."
[We know. Salza, get our guest some proper attire and lead him to the control room so that we can have a proper discussion.]
"Yes, Lord Cooler." Salza nods.
Cooler didn't say anything after that and the loudspeaker shut off. I tilt my head and think about what he had just said for a moment.
They know?
Salza walked over to the corner of the room and picked up some clothes from a small table. It was some basic clothing. A tight long sleeve muscle shirt with tight fitting purple pants and boots.
"Here, put these on." Salza said as he handed me the clothes.
I look at them with a raised eyebrow before grabbing them and pulling them on. While they weren't as comfortable as my usual outfit, they came pretty damn close.
Now that I got a better look at the outfit, it looked exactly like the outfit Broly wore in his downtime with the Frieza Force before he arrived on Earth.
"How are they?" Salza asked.
"Good." I answered simply.
He nodded without another word before walking towards the door. He stopped at the doorway and looked back at me, motioning his head towards the hallway.
"Follow me." He said.
His demeanor was odd to me. I don't remember him being this docile. Then again, I don't remember much of anything from the movie besides Cooler himself.
I followed the blonde alien out into the hallway, supposedly towards the ship's control room. It was strange. The last time I was on a ship this size it was filled to the brim with Saiyans.
But here, there was hardly anyone.
It was... eerily silent...
Finally arriving at the door to the control room, Salza looked towards me with a smirk.
"Good luck." He said, the tone he used made it hard to decipher whether or not he was genuine or being sarcastic.
The door opened and I stepped inside. Once the door had closed behind, the room had fell into complete darkness. To say that it was dark would be an understatement. I could barely see what was in front of me.
The only hint of light was a monitor that displayed an unfamiliar planet on its screen.
"Look familiar?" Cooler's voice called out from above.
I look behind me, seeing the outline of a large figure floating down towards me. He was sitting in that chair that Frieza seems to enjoy.
Do all Frost Demons have that damned chair, or is it just the members of his family?
"Not really." I responded.
"It should. After all, you were the one to claim it." He said.
I turn back towards the screen and try to remember the planet, but I was drawing nothing but blanks.
"I have no recollection." I told him.
"Hmm." He hummed, looking at me with an emotionless expression, "Then let me give you a refresher course."
The screen zoomed in and I saw a recording of me and the rest of Team Black in our Great Ape forms, destroying five separate cities at the same time.
"Remember now?" He asked.
I shook my head, "After a while, they all just start to blend together."
"Doesn't matter anyway. What matters is this. A few weeks ago, I was passing by this seemingly uninteresting little star system when my ship detected a very high power level coming from this planet."
The monitor got rid of the images of the others and focused on me, numbers starting to appear in the upper right hand corner. The number rose higher and higher before eventually stopping at 790,000.
"Imagine my surprise when I saw that it wasn't an inhabitant exhibiting that level of strength, but a Saiyan under Frieza's command."
He climbed out of the chair and stood over me, staring right into my eyes with a sinister smirk.
"I was... curious. So I did some digging. Your achievements are very satisfactory." He said.
The monitor then shows an image of my battle with Antauri. More specifically, it was an image of the very last moment of the battle before it ended, right before I punched a hole through his chest.
"Usually I would write it off as nothing but the weak fighting the weak, but what interested me was your age." He said, keeping his gaze on me, "Such extraordinary growth from one of your age, and from a Saiyan as well."
This was getting very weird, and his stare was honestly starting to creep me out a little.
"What do you want from me?" I finally ask.
"I want you to join my Armored Squadron." He replied.
His answer threw me in so much of a loop that it caused me to physically jerk back.
"I beg your pardon?"
He smirks and continues on, "You see, I eventually plan on getting rid of my little shit brother. Goes without saying that my father will also be on the proverbial chopping block. And I need strong soldiers to keep away the riff-raff whilst I dispose of the said trash."
"I... I don't understand..." I muttered, my eyebrows furling as I tried to make sense of his explanation. "If your plan was to get rid of him, why did you stop me from saving you the trouble?"
His eyes suddenly glare at me, my body shaking as I felt the influx of power leaking out of him.
"If you think that I'm going to let you dishonor my family name by letting you kill my brother, you have another thing coming, Saiyan." He seethed.
My breath caught in my throat and I suddenly froze, unable to even speak.
It wasn't like this with Frieza. The power he had in his first form was immense, but it didn't make me feel like this. My body was shaking, breaking out in cold sweats.
Is this what would have happened if Frieza had achieved his final form? Would I have been so outclassed that I wouldn't have even been able to move?
Cooler seems to realize the affect he's having on me and slowly reels himself in. It takes a moment, but eventually I was finally able to speak again.
"W-What will you do with me afterwards?" I asked.
"Hmm?" He looked at me curiously, "Well, that depends. What are your goals?"
"My goals?" I asked.
"What are you striving to do with all this strength that you've been so desperately trying to obtain? Do you wish to become Emperor of the Universe?" He asked.
I shook my head outright, "No, that just sounds like too much work."
"Then what? What are your goals, Saiyan?"
My goals, huh...?
I don't even know what my goals are myself. Everything that I've been striving for, all it's been for was just to survive. This universe was one death march after the other with all the villains that keep showing up.
Frieza, the Androids, Cell, Buu, Zamasu, The Tournament of Power, Moro, Gas...
The entire roster just kept growing, and those were just the villains that I knew about. Dragon Ball Super was still ongoing at the time of my death. Anything after the mangas's reveal of "Black Frieza" was unknown to me, so I've just been obsessed with getting so powerful that I could deal with whatever monstrosity came next.
But I never really thought of what would happen after...
"I'm... I'm not sure..." I answered honestly.
"You're not sure? Then why do you chase after more and more strength?" Cooler asked, a confused expression on his face.
Managed to stump him, huh? He's probably wondering why I'm so power hungry if I don't have an actual reason. Not like I can actually tell him.
"I just... want to be stronger. I want to be at the top so that I know nothing can touch me." I told him.
"So you wish to be strong so that you can ensure your safety..." Cooler muttered.
He looked at me for a moment before snapping his fingers, illuminating a small area with a piece of armor laying on a small ornate table.
"Join my Armored Squadron, and I guarantee that no one in this universe will be able to touch you." He said, motioning towards the chest piece.
I glance at him for a moment before walking towards the piece of armor. It was a normal Saiyan chest piece, but it was colored black and green, with the green part holding the symbol of Cooler's Armored Squadron.
"And what happens after we kill Frieza?" I asked.
"After I kill Frieza." He corrected before moving on and answering my question, "But after that, you can do whatever you want. Continue serving under me, go back home to start a family, explore the vast universe and continue to gather strength. As long as you don't get in my way, I don't care what you do."
I know that this was probably making a pact with the Devil himself, but I honestly don't see any downsides to the offer.
At least not at this point in time.
If Cooler is legitimately planning to kill Frieza then it saves me the trouble of doing it myself.
Cooler, while still being a damned monster, is a much, much better monster than Frieza. He deliberately chooses worlds with strong levels to conquer, and while that may not help me raise my battle power, it would help me gain what I lack so desperately.
Experience.
Plus, if I bit off something more than I could chew, Cooler would be there to put a stop to it. There's a reason why Cooler's men are so loyal to him. It's because he will personally come out to lend them his support whenever they need it.
There's also the fact that Cooler doesn't discriminate.
Well, at least not when it comes to one's race. He discriminates based on whether or not you're strong, and since Cooler knows my full capabilities, I'll likely have a lot more freedom to actually go all out on my training since I won't have to worry about hiding my full power anymore.
And if I'm really lucky, he could decide to join in at least once. That is, if he still trains at all. He doesn't seem like the type to hold back, so just one spar with him and the Zenkai I would get would throw me over the damn roof.
For a short period, this may honestly be a win-win scenario. I obviously can't trust him, but I may be able to use him.
At least, if only just for a little while.
"What about my family and my team?" I asked as I looked at the piece of armor in my hands, "What'll happen to them if I leave?"
"Nothing. They'll just have to carry on without your presence for a while." Cooler replied.
"And Frieza?" I asked.
"What about him?" He asked, narrowing his gaze.
"I know for a fact that he isn't going to take the humiliation I gave him lying down." I told him.
"Probably not, but it's not as if he's in any position to retaliate after what happened." Cooler shrugged.
"What do you mean?" I asked, my eyebrow raising with curiosity.
"Ah, you don't remember that either."
---
[General POV - Planet Vegeta - 18 Hours Ago.]
"Seems your arrogance has finally caught up with you Frieza." Cooler said as he descended to the ground, his Armored Squadron following closely behind.
Frieza was still in shock as he looked on at his brother. What was Cooler doing here? This wasn't anywhere near his quadrant of the space.
"What are you doing here, brother?" Frieza said as he sneered at Cooler.
The relationship between the two brothers was tumultuous at best. They couldn't stand each other and they both knew it. No matter how many pleasantries they displayed towards one another, they knew that one day that it would end with one of their heads placed on the other's mantle.
"So hostile." Cooler stated with a mocking gaze, looking at where Frieza's right arm used to be, "Though I suppose I would be too if I suffered such a severe humiliation. Then again, I would have never been in such a position to begin with."
Frieza gritted his teeth in anger before taking a deep breath and smiling an obviously fake smile, "Oh, I'm sure."
Cooler smirked and walked towards the fallen Saiyan child that laid unconscious on the ground, wrapping his tail around his waist and picking him up.
"This is the Saiyan that humiliated you? Just him? A child?" He asked as he held Zyleth up and "inspected" the unconscious child.
Cooler already knew the answer, he just wanted to rub it in.
To have Frieza say it.
"A few more seconds and I would have repaid him in kind." Frieza replied.
"A few more seconds and this child would have reduced you to nothing but a smoldering pile of ash." Cooler retorts with a cool and emotionless face, "Perhaps I should have let him. After all, a monkey would make for a far better companion than a wretch who believes far too much of his own press."
The words uttered enraged Frieza to no end, so much so that his energy started to leak out of his body.
"Don't be so hasty now, little brother..." Cooler said, staring Frieza down with indifference, "We both know how that will end."
In this moment, Frieza didn't know who he hated more. The monkey who had humiliated him or his brother that insisted on pouring salt onto the wound. Either way, he would kill the both of them. Only difference was that one of them would have to wait their turn.
Frieza calmed himself down once more and turned his gaze towards the child held in Cooler's grip, "If you would be so kind as to release the child in your grasp so that I may erase his existence from the face of the universe entirely, brother."
Cooler looked at Frieza and smirked at him before turning his gaze towards the child.
"I don't think I will." Cooler told him, turning his gaze back toward his younger brother, "I think one with power such as this would make a great addition to my forces, wouldn't you agree?"
Upon finishing his statement, Cooler began to slowly fly back towards his ship. Hearing his brother's words, Frieza was about to blow a gasket. Cooler was denying him his right to kill the one who had humiliated him so.
"You... You dare..." Frieza said through gritted teeth.
Slowly, Frieza calmed himself once more before he could do something impulsive. It didn't matter. If he couldn't kill the child, he could at least break him. The death of one's family and race should do well in that regard, should it not?
"Oh, and before you get any ideas like destroying the planet out of anger..." Cooler stopped and turned towards his brother, looking down on him with a cruel smirk, "Planet Vegeta is now under the control of the Cooler Force."
[Word Count: 3,505.]