The Essence of True Power...
By Jeisre Ice

(Note: This story takes on from "Why Even the Terror of the Galaxy has to Wear a Scarf", so make sure you read the Foreword there, cos otherwise the story may not make sense to you)

Part 1: The Power of the Body.

Deirdre put down her drink and looked around the room. The “guys” were doing the same as herself: relaxing. It was a day off, an unexpected day off, due to the sudden visit of Frieza’s father, King Cold. Usually during his visits all that the commanding officers (Ginyu Force, Zarbon and Deirdre) did was greet the guest, escort him to Frieza’s headquarters and, afterwards, bit farewells. Missions of any sort were completely out of the question on such occasions, Frieza had other problems on his hands then to even think of any planet raids. King Cold visited rarely, once in half a year, but every visit was nothing else but letting the “steam” out on his younger son. It didn’t matter whether Frieza has or hasn’t done something to upset his father, every time he got the punishment. Only after about an hour of thoroughly flogging his son King Cold felt better and could leave with a light heart. It almost seemed as if he was collecting all the negative emotions for that half year to let them out all at once on his favorite “scapegoat”. Ever since Icia died Frieza has become the scapegoat of the family, and both King Cold and Koola never missed the opportunity to torture the youngest (and weakest) member of the family. That’s why Frieza preferred to live away from "home", and, basically, on the other side of the galaxy. That limited his contact with his relatives to the absolute minimum. But even despite the distance King Cold refused to give up his habit of “spending some quality time with the boy”. Indeed, a very “father-son” type relationship!

Deirdre leaned back on the couch, completely ignoring the fact of two hands slipping over her shoulders from two sides. Jeice on the right, Zarbon on the left. No matter where she sat, these two never failed to take their positions on either side of her, like two lions waiting for their prey in an ambush. By this time Deirdre learned to live with the fact that these two will never abandon their attempts to try to win her over.

Deirdre sighed. It’s been about two hours now. Cold has never stayed for so long. Although Frieza does deserve a good thrashing once in a while, his father gives him a bit too much. After Cold’s visits Frieza usually spent a few hours in the rejuvenation tank, healing. And although the wounds on his body healed, the wounds in his soul grew bigger and filled his heart with even more hatred and cruelty, which he later poured out on his subordinates. Everything that Deirdre achieved in six months of intensive "soul-therapy" went down the drain each time “His Excellency” paid a visit.

Another fifteen minutes passed. Deirdre was starting worry. King Cold should have left by now, but apparently he was still with Frieza. The tip of Deirdre’s white boot was nervously tapping on the floor. Jeice was the first to notice that.

“Is there something bothering you?” he asked, lightly tapping her on the shoulder, “Like something on the other side of you?!”

From the whole Ginyu Force Jeice was the only one who had some manners. He was always polite enough to hint rather than say it straight as in: “Should I throw this bloody bastard out???”. Yet it was clear as daylight that he was referring to Zarbon, who annoyed him by sitting on the other side of his heartthrob. Zarbon shot his gaze at Jeice, giving him THE KILLER EYE, but this “rooster fight” didn’t proceed any further. Deirdre got up on her feet and headed towards the door.

“Where’re you going?” Jeice called to her, getting up as well.

“I want to check on Frieza.”

This answer made everyone shudder.

“But… King Cold is still there!!!” Zarbon gasped in reverential horror.

“I know, and that’s why I’m worried,” Deirdre said calmly as if she was talking about the weather.

“What are you nuts?!?!” Burter choked and spat out a lump of chocolate-nut ice-cream (his favorite), “You interrupt their family reunion and Cold’ll have your rear roasted over the open fire!”

“He’s right, Deirdre,” Jeice came behind Deirdre’s back, “Cold hates you, firstly, cos you’re a Saiyan, and, secondly, cos of this Icia story… Just give him a reason to get rid of you and he won’t miss it for anything!”

“I know,” Deirdre said, calm, yet somewhat sad, “But I have a bad feeling… Something is wrong, and I have to see what.”

She moved towards the door, when Zarbon blocked her way.

“Deirdre, this is an absolute insanity! By going there you’re signing your death will! Please, reconsider!” Zarbon attempted to talk some sense into her.

Deirdre didn’t argue on, she just looked Zarbon in the eyes. Her gaze was determined, and it clearly explained Zarbon that if he doesn’t move out of the way Deirdre won’t hesitate to blow him out of the way. Defeated, Zarbon lowered his eyes and stepped aside.

Deirdre proceeded out in the corridor.

NO, PLEASE!!! both Jeice and Zarbon thought with terror.

Deirdre’s telepathic ability couldn’t help noticing this screaming thought. And in her mind she had to admit that it was quite flattering that these two were so worried about her. She half-turned to them,

“I won’t go inside. I’ll just have a quick check by the door and come back. Actually, you can come with me, if you want to.”

Zarbon didn’t ask for a second invitation and took his position next to Deirdre. Jeice headed towards them as well, when the usually rude voice of Captain Ginyu stopped him,

“Hey, Jeice!!! Where the heck do you think you’re going?!” Ginyu distracted from the chocolate bar (the tenth in an hour) and glared at his subordinate, “Did I give you my permission to leave?!”

Jeice froze at his words. Not that he was surprised at Ginyu’s snarl, but rather at the timing. It was clear that Captain Ginyu was in a BAD mood. Even despite the fact that he has just eaten two containers of double-double chocolate ice-cream and ten chocolate bars. Ginyu had a sweet tooth, but never a sweet attitude. The reason why he stopped Jeice was simple: Ginyu never like Deirdre himself. He didn’t hate her, but she was posing a threat to him in terms of her power level, which was about the same as Ginyu’s. Secondly, that threat was also her power over Frieza. And, thirdly, the way his team felt about the “Saiyan brat” was literally freaking Captain Ginyu out: in his worst nightmares he had seen the Ginyu Force becoming the Deirdre Force. So if any opportunity arose to make Deirdre a disservice Ginyu gladly took advantage of the occasion. So this time Ginyu decided to be nasty as well.

“No, sir…” Jeice mumbled. He couldn’t disobey his commander, yet he could seek help. Immediately a pleading gaze was shot at Deirdre. The Saiyan prepared herself for a verbal duel, but suddenly, for god knows what reason, Zarbon cut in,

“You know, Captain Ginyu, it is clearly stated in the Army Code that the commanding officer has no authority over the soldier during the “off duty” hours!”

Deirdre and Jeice dropped their jaws at this sudden rescue, while Captain Ginyu got up and threateningly approached Zarbon,

“Oh, yeah?!?!” he growled, “Where does it say that, wise guy?! I don’t remember seeing it in the Code Book!!!”

Zarbon gracefully reached into the folds of his cape and took out a small blue book, the Army Code. He quickly flipped through the pages and shoved it under Ginyu’s nose.

“Page 156, Article 12, Subsection 6, Paragraph 4! Read it and weep!” Zarbon announced triumphantly.

The next few moments the only sound that broke the silence was Captain Ginyu’s angry sniffing. When it came to the bureaucracy Zarbon was impossible to beat!

“I’ll get you for this you blue-skinned bitch!!!!!” Ginyu quietly grumbled as he turned around and proceeded back to his seat to finish his chocolate.

Zarbon gave another triumphant grin, put away the book and headed out of the lunch room. When passing next to Jeice he gave him an encouraging nod. Jeice questionably looked at Deirdre, she nodded her head towards the corridor. They both silently exited after Zarbon. Deirdre didn’t ask any questions and proceeded straight down to Frieza’s room. Jeice and Zarbon walked behind her. Jeice decided to thank his “savior”,

“Thanks for that, mate. You have a real talent in that paperwork stuff!”

“No sweat,” Zarbon spoke at half-volume, “Actually, can I ask a favor in return?”

“Sure, mate,” Jeice eagerly nodded.

Zarbon flashed his eyelashes and gave Jeice a lustful grin,

“Well, how about you pop in to my room at about eleven tonight, I’ll demonstrate some of my other much more tangible talents!”

Immediately Jeice’s fist slammed into Zarbon’s nose. Zarbon bit his lip to avoid screaming in pain. A pale-blue handkerchief appeared in his hand and he pressed it to his nostrils to stop the bleeding.

“On the other hand,” Zarbon moaned through the handkerchief, “I’ll be satisfied if you just don’t hit me anymore!”

“Deal!” Jeice gave him a venomous snarl.

They approached Frieza’s room. The corridor was empty.

“It’s a good thing Cold never leaves guards,” Jeice commented, addressing Deirdre, meanwhile completely ignoring Zarbon.

“He doesn’t need to,” Deirdre replied without turning, “Only a complete idiot would try to attack a massive power like Cold.”

“Yeah, massive as in beefcake!!!” Zarbon attempted to joke. The attempt failed miserably, Deirdre didn’t laugh, while Jeice decided to twist the joke to his own advantage,

“Well, look who’s talking, Mr. Beefy Ass!!!”

Zarbon growled and accepted the challenge,

“Since you insist on the subject, how about looking at your own ass, Mr. Legs Like Pillars!!!”

Both men were about to commence into an insulting spree, but Deirdre’s voice instantly put an end to the approaching fight,

“Shut up, you two!!! Do you want Frieza or King Cold to hear you?! If they find out we’re spying on them, we’ll be hitting the road to the next dimension sooner then you can say -Crap!- So put a sock in it!!!”

The threat had a definite effect, neither Jeice nor Zarbon were eager to “die young”. But the situation demanded a resolution: so the two warriors did the only thing suitable for the moment- stuck their tongues at each other. Then, completely ignoring the very fact of each other’s existence, they came behind Deirdre, who was busy doing something with the transmitter on the wall by the door to Frieza’s room. Jeice on the right, Zarbon on the left (their standard position near Deirdre) curiously peeped over her shoulder. Deirdre’s attention was concentrated on the control panel, her fingers were running over the buttons, inserting some kind of codes.

Although everyone in Frieza’s army had some knowledge in computers, most of this knowledge came down to just knowing how to operate a space ship or a space pod. A step higher than the ordinary crowd was a handful of “operators”, who knew how to find the required information in the main computer’s data base. Level three was the ability to operate medical equipment such as the rejuvenation tank or performing an identity check using someone’s blood sample. The most advanced personnel (level four) were able to monitor the operation of the ship’s equipment and, in case of malfunction or damage, fix the problem. Zarbon was at level three, Jeice at level four. The only reason why Zarbon haven’t advanced past the third level was because he was the right hand minion and he had to spend pretty much most of his time by Frieza’s side. Meanwhile Jeice had a far less tight schedule: usually when not on the missions the Ginyu Force just hanged around in the lunch room watching “soaps”, fighting over chocolate or sleeping. Having a much more inquisitive mind than those of his teammates, Jeice moved a step away from the traditional Ginyu Force pastimes: he took an interest in mechanics and computers. In about a year of having this “hobby”, Jeice advanced rapidly in his knowledge of the scientific technologies of the era. Yet there was a level that even he couldn’t tap into, the level of absolute perfection: the knowledge of all the access and secret codes, the ability to operate all and everything. This level was reached by only two beings in the entire army: Frieza himself, who had to know it for the obvious reason of being in control, and Deirdre, who learned everything just out of mere curiosity as well as… for a few personal reasons. Perhaps, in some areas she may have even surpassed Frieza, yet she never boasted her talents, and although she could dig up bucketfuls of dirt on anyone in the army, she never took advantage of her access. Deirdre only used her abilities in certain circumstances. Now was one of such rare occasions.

“Deirdre,” Zarbon broke the silence, “What exactly are you doing with the transmitter?”

“I’m re-configuring the operating system so it will convert the transmitter to the camera mode,” Deirdre replied, but didn’t turn or stopped her work, “In other words, in a few moments this baby is going to show us what’s happening inside Frieza’s room.”

“Wha’??? You mean to tell me that a standard transmitter can work as a spying camera???” Jeice’s face first expressed utter surprise, then it lightened with sincere interest, “WOW!!! You rock, Deirdre! Can you teach me how to do that?”

“Yeah, me too!!!” Zarbon didn’t want to be left out.

“Why not,” Deirdre shrugged, she was still concentrating on the display rather than on the conversation, “I’ll find some time to give you guys a joined lesson.”

“I’d prefer some single help,” Jeice leaned forward, gently tapping his fingers on Deirdre’s shoulder.

“Truly, your use of language is barbaric!” Zarbon took another opportunity to humiliate Jeice in front of Deirdre, “The correct way to say is “individual help”, you illiterate ignoramus!!!”

“Individual my ass, you green-haired paper-worm!!!!!!” Jeice snarled back.

Zarbon gave one of his lustful grins,

“Oh, I don’t mind if I DO!!!!!” and he playfully slapped Jeice on the rear.

THAT was the worst thing he could have done. It was probably much safer swimming in the pool full of tiger-sharks or pocking an enraged grizzly-bear with a stick. But touching Jeice on the behind!!!!!!

Jeice emitted a roar of a wild animal and leaped at Zarbon with only one desire burning in his bloodthirsty gaze – to kill, destroy and annihilate. Deirdre’s hand caught him in the mid-flight. A loud slap astounded Jeice, yet cooled his fighting spirit. In a moment Zarbon was awarded with another slap. The two men fearfully stepped away from Deirdre. They were both holding their burning cheeks.

“What are you idiots trying to achieve?!” Deirdre quietly growled at them, holding both of her fists up and threateningly advancing forward, “You wanna get us all killed?! JUST SHUT UP!!! And if I hear one more sound from either of you, I swear, I’ll… I’ll…” she paused for a moment thinking of a something that should scare the hell out of the two men, and then spoke, stressing every word of her threat, “I’ll start having my dinner in Frieza’s room!!!”

Zarbon and Jeice barely resisted the first urge to fall down on their knees and yell on top of their lungs: “NOOOOOOO!!!!!!”. Dinning in Frieza’s room equals dinning with Frieza, dinning with Frieza equals no one else in the room but Frieza and Deirdre, and Deirdre and Frieza alone in the room equals “OH MY GOD, ANYTHING BUT THAT!!!”. At least that was the kind of thoughts Jeice and Zarbon had on the subject. They would rather prefer to be boiled alive than ever allow this catastrophe to happen. And for that sake they were even willing to put aside their rivalry. Well, just for now, that is…

Satisfied with the result of her little speech, Deirdre turned back to the transmitter to finish the re-programming. Jeice and Zarbon quietly moved back to their places behind her back. For the next few moments dead silence hanged in the air.

“And, you know what, guys,” Deirdre suddenly said, nevertheless keeping her eyes on the monitor, “If you think that after I teach you to re-configure the transmitters you’ll be able to do that with the transmitter by MY door… just forget about it!!! I’ve secured it from such attempts!”

“OH, MAN!!!” Jeice and Zarbon pouted in unison. Of course, they were thinking about THAT! Well, maybe Zarbon was thinking of something else as well. Jeice wasn’t telepathic, but he knew exactly WHAT other transmitter Zarbon had his sites set on.

“Deirdre, would you mind as well teaching me how to put the security on the transmitter? Just in case…” he asked hastily, gingerly watching Zarbon with the corner of his eye.

Deirdre didn’t answer, but in her mind she giggled. Who needs a circus when these two are around! They could make millions if they took on professional clowning, they were natural! However, something kept distracting Deirdre from this usually enjoyable “show”. She had a weird feeling, her intuition was detecting something, something that was not good…

The monitor of the transmitter beeped and a loading bar appeared on the screen, concluding the re-configuration. The modifications Deirdre made to the operating system were loading and preparing for launch. They silently watched the red line slowly creeping up and filling the status bar. Forty-five percent, forty-seven, fifty, fifty-two…

“Hey, Deirdre, I assume we’ll be able to hear them as well?” Jeice suddenly asked, and, upon receiving a confirming nod, proceeded with his thought, “Well, will they be able to hear us too?!”

“No, they won’t,” Deirdre confidently shook her head, “The program is fool-proof, the camera will function one-way only.”

“Whew!” Zarbon breathed in relief, “I wouldn’t want to interrupt THEIR family reunion!”

Deirdre impatiently tapped her fingers on the control panel.

“Only a complete idiot would… Now, hush! It’s finished loading.”

The monitor blinked and instantly revealed the inside of Frieza’s room. And the site made all three of them gasp in horror. Their eyes became instantly transfixed on the screen.

Crouching in the corner, breathing heavily, battered, black-eyed and bleeding, Frieza attempted to shield himself with his hand. King Cold, fists clutched and teeth clenched, threateningly moved towards his son, obviously intending to continue the battering. It was a rear occasion that King Cold lost his temper. Usually even in the most intense situations he remained perfectly calm. Whatever Cold was furious about, it must have been EXTREMELY bad to piss the King off.

“YOU DARE TO TALK BACK TO ME?!?! YOU FREAKING DARE TO TALK BACK TO ME!!!!!!” the titan growled.

Immediately his tail crashed on Frieza. The Terror of the Galaxy emitted a scream of pain and pressed to the wall as if hoping that it will protect him.

“Father!!! Please STOP!!!”

“Stop?!?! STOP?!?! First you insult me and now you want me to STOP?!?! Not likely!!! You’ve gone too far this time, Frieza! And you're going to be punished for your misbehavior!”

Another crashing blow followed. Frieza’s body winced in agony. But his gaze suddenly became bold and challenging. Despite the blows which his father continued to shower him with, Frieza got up on his feet. Suddenly with the last bit of strength he had left, he seized Cold’s hands at the wrists and flung him to the opposite wall. Astounded, rather than hurt, King Cold remained there, staring at his son with a mixture of non-belief and rage in his gaze. Frieza boldly stared back at him. He had to lean on the wall for support, his left arm was dislocated and hanged down like a broken branch on a tree, he had about a dozen of severely bleeding cuts and the only part of his body that wasn’t battered were his tip toes. Frieza licked his crushed lips and spat out the blood,

“My misbehavior?!” his voice was hoarse from pain, “My fault?!?! Every time you come here, I see nothing but punishment! It doesn’t matter what I do, you still find something to blame me for and let your steam out on me! That’s the only reason you come here for! To beat, to insult, to torture me… like I’m the last soldier in the army… A scapegoat!!! You treat me like an absolute scum, me, your son! Or perhaps I am already crossed out from your offspring list? Koola, only Koola, and no one but Koola, is it, "Papa"?! Well, hell I care! You never was much of a Father to me anyway! NEVER! Now get out of my ship, and forget my name! You don’t have a son named Frieza!!!”

Cold froze for a moment, startled by this brave speech, yet the next instant it hit him. Growling like a enraged bull (which to some extent he was), King Cold emitted a string of exquisite curses, which would be considered vulgar even in the Soldier Barracks where swearing was an everyday language. Adding more and more colors in his tirade, King Cold gave a whole new meaning to the definition of “offensive language”. Of course, Frieza was the main subject of the tirade.

Meanwhile the witnesses of this scene were having their own thoughts. Jeice was the first to express his out loud,

“WOW!!! Just listen to him! Even Captain never swears like THAT!”

“Oh, yes, he does!” Zarbon said and even giggled somewhat, “One time he slipped on the bar of soap while taking a shower. You should have heard it! Now THAT was SWEARING!!!”

“Uh-huh,” Jeice made a sly grimace, “And may I ask what were you doing there that you heard it? Taking a shower together with him?!”

Zarbon blushed, embarrassed,

“NO!!! I was… passing by… in the corridor… I just heard it accidentally…”

“SURE, you did!!!” the sly grin didn’t leave Jeice’s face.

“OH, GOD!!! OH, GOD!!!” Deirdre’s gasp returned Jeice’s and Zarbon’s attention back to the screen. King Cold has emptied his vocabulary of curses and decided to support his words by actions. His eyes were glowing with fury, and his hands strained, hurling up an energy ball.

“OH, GOD!!! This is not good, this is definitely not good!!!” Deirdre gasped again, “He’s gathering the Thrasher Orb!!!”

“That attack is three million power level points worth,” Jeice nodded, “If any of us was in there, I’d be worried, but Frieza’s in his fourth form, so he’s at about twelve million. He can take it easily…”

“Not now he can’t!” Zarbon cut in, realizing what Deirdre was panicking about, “He’s already beaten up badly! The more severe state you’re in, the more your power level drops, remember?! And judging by Frieza’s looks, I’d say he’s barely at a 100,000 now!”

Jeice gasped,

“Wait, does that mean… he’ll be… Holy Mother of Galaxy!!!”

Their eyes were transfixed on the screen. King Cold’s attack grew larger, he was about to launch it.

“Dear God!!!” Jeice griped his head, “Deirdre, we gotta do something… Deirdre? Deirdre?! DEIRDRE!!!!!!!!”

Both Jeice and Zarbon shot their gazes at the spot where Deirdre was standing a moment ago. She was not there anymore, now she was on the screen, which meant she was…

“NOOOOOOOO!!!” the two men howled in unison and rushed to the door. The same instant King Cold released his attack. What only took a moment of real time seemed like a slow motion film to everyone in the room. With a hard kick Deirdre knocked King Cold off his feet. Then faster than a lightning she flashed to the opposite side of the room just in time to stand between Frieza and the approaching Thrasher Orb. As insane as it seemed she was willing to take on a 3,000,000 worth attack with her 115,000. The Orb was on the collision course and Deirdre’s end was inevitable. Suddenly she thrust forward and hit the energy ball with her left hand. The explosion of light blinded everyone. Yet even though they could not see, it was clear what was going on: Deirdre was absorbing Cold’s attack. Insane, impossible, incredible, but it was happening. And Jeice could swear that just before he was blinded he saw that Deirdre’s hair turned heavenly white…

When their eyes regained sight, it was all over. The Thrasher Orb was gone as if it had never been launched. Deirdre was still standing where she’d countered the Orb. She was breathing heavily, she looked tired, but she wasn’t hurt. Her hair was its normal black color.

I must be imagining things! Jeice thought, still paralysed with horror and astonishment.

The next moment Deirdre turned and headed to Frieza, who has collapsed on the floor. It was now that the ability to speak returned to King Cold,

“Correct me if I’m wrong, Frieza,” the titan slowly rose on his feet and glared down at Deirdre, yet his voice remained absolutely calm, “But didn’t I just witness the impossible? Hasn’t your “harmless Saiyan” with her “puny power level” of 115,000 just deflected one of my most powerful attacks worth 3,000,000 power points???”

Although the question was intended for Frieza, due to the fact that he was currently unconscious Deirdre answered for him,

“Yes, I have, and just in time, it seems!” she was kneeling by Frieza, holding his head on her lap, “Do you realize that that blow would have killed him?! And it is YOUR SON we’re talking about!”

“My son?” Cold gave her a predatory grin, which made Jeice and Zarbon shudder, “Yet he himself has just expressed a wish to put this state in transition... But this has no relevance to the matter at hand. Now answer me, Saiyan, what is your REAL power level? And how did you gain such power?”

Instead of replying Deirdre gave him an ice-cold glare.

“Well, are you deaf?” Cold was obviously loosing patience, “Speak up!”

Deirdre lifted her burning gaze, and stared King Cold right in the eyes. Cold felt a shiver running down his spine.

“Despicable scum!” Deirdre’s voice echoed in silence of the room, “Your own son is dying by your hand, and all you worry about is that there could be a more powerful being than you! You are beyond disgusting!”

King Cold dropped his jaw. NO ONE dared to speak to him like that! That was more than an insult, that was a challenge. And Cold blasted his servants to the next dimension for far lesser faults.

Jeice and Zarbon, who were still at the door, gasped, horrified. If the Thrasher Orb didn’t kill Deirdre, Cold was about to do it with his bare hands.

“Why you… insolent monkey!!!” Cold spoke, still unable to believe the insult that came out of this woman’s lips, “You dare defy me?! You dare to talk to ME in that manner?! I am King Cold, the Ruler of the Cold Empire! And you are a mere Saiyan slave…”

Suddenly he stopped, having met Deirdre’s gaze again. If looks could kill, Cold would have been vaporized on the spot.

“I am no slave!” Deirdre spoke, accenting every word, sparks shooting from her eyes, “NO ONE is my master! I am what I choose to be, and I am answerable to no one of what I posses, or what I please to do, King Cold! And right now I’m trying to save your son’s life!”

Deirdre turned her attention back to Frieza. He was in a much worse condition than Deirdre had thought. He needed immediate medical attention. But it would be a futile mission to try to get him to the recovery room fast enough, especially because a certain someone big was blocking the way.

“Ha, stupid girl!” King Cold sniffed in contempt, “You’re much more of an ignorant fool than any of the Saiyans I knew. Do you not know that it is virtually impossible to kill a member of the Cold family? Discharge our limbs, cut us in half, we shall still live and heal…”

Deirdre sharply turned her head towards him,

“But you won’t live or heal if a direct hit to the chest has torn off the main artery from the heart, stopping the blood flow!!!”

King Cold started. Did he really go so far this time?! Could he have hit Frieza too hard in his blind rage? And how in the Universe did this worthless Saiyan accessed Frieza’s condition so quickly and without any medical equipment, as if she was… telepathic… The thought made Cold shudder. She deflected his attack, she wasn’t afraid to talk back at him and now she was… reading Frieza’s mind?! Scanning his body?! Feeling his condition?!

How could this have happened?! the thoughts surged through Cold’s mind, How could have a puny Saiyan achieve such… such… power? Wait! Of course, why didn’t I think of that before! It’s all her doing! Even from the Underworld she continues her revenge… through her ward! She gave her this power… to defeat me… It is… ICIA!!!

Yet that was just the beginning of King Cold’s nightmare. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound that the energy makes when released from one’s hands. Cold jerked his head at the sound and stared at the Saiyan woman. Deirdre was holding her hands at her chest, purple energy streams were flowing from all over her body to her hands, forming into a glowing ball. When the ball was about the size of small melon, Deirdre made a sharp pushing motion and immersed the glowing sphere into Frieza’s chest. The purple energy streamed in every direction, covering Frieza’s body. His wounds healed instantly. The glow disappeared. Frieza moved and opened his eyes.

“Deirdre…” he wheezed, “How did you…”

Cold’s voice cut him short,

“My question exactly!” the titan emperor threateningly advanced forward, “Looks like you’ve nursed a snake under your wing, son. Your “puny Saiyan girl” turns out to be not so puny after all! First, she deflects my Thrasher Orb, then she scans you like an x-ray machine, and now she’s healed you faster and better than any rejuvenation tank in existence! Now what do you have to say about this?!”

Frieza rose up on his elbows,

“I say,” he gave his Father a venomous glare, “It’s none of your fucking business!!! You’re no one to me! Now get the hell out of my ship!!!”

King Cold’s jaw dropped for the n'th time in an hour. Then his rage erupted as he yelled and released his aura. Deirdre and Frieza prepared for another violent assault. But nothing happened. King Cold stopped his power-up and gave his son and the Saiyan woman a long look. Then with a smirk on his face, he turned, dramatically flashing his cape, and headed to the door. Jeice and Zarbon jerked from the way of the titan. Cold didn’t even look at them. However, he paused in the doorway and spoke, firmly and coldly, without even turning his head,

“Frieza, I am locking your ship on the controlling link to mine. With your ship on the tow, I’m setting course straight to Planet Cold, where you will be grounded, until my further decision. As regards your Saiyan friend… she will be publicly executed for your and anyone else’s edification.”

Cold exited, leaving everyone in the state of the most horrid shock. It was virtually impossible to describe the feelings each of the four persons in the room was having. Whatever thoughts surged through their minds, they left them in complete trance. Deirdre was the first to speak, her face was pale as chalk and her voice was trembling, yet she kept her tone calm as usual,

“Zarbon, go to the recovery room and bring me some antiseptic ointment, I’ve burned my hands deflecting the attack. Jeice, check the control room and find out the state of the ship’s controls. Report to me in fifteen minutes.”

Jeice and Zarbon started, and turned their horrified gazes to Deirdre. Their chins trembled.

“D-d-deirdre…” Jeice forced out of himself. It was clear that they both were about to burst into tears.

Deirdre hardened her gaze,

“Lieutenant, that was an order!” her voice was absolutely dispassionate, “And that applies to you as well, soldier!”

Barely getting a hold of themselves, as if they were sleepwalking, the two men headed out to fulfill the order.

Deirdre got up as well, but didn’t not move from the spot. Meanwhile Frieza recovered enough to speak and act nastily as he usually did,

“Nice going!!!” he hissed sarcastically, “I had everything under control until you barged in and decided to act like a hero! Now why the hell did you have to go and do that for?! Well, look what you’ve done, I’m gonna be grounded for eternity and you’re gonna loose that stupid Saiyan head of yours! If you hadn’t run in I could have resolved the situation, it could have been different!!!”

Deirdre suppressed a convulsive gasp,

“The only difference would be that he would have finished you off. Then he would have gotten rid of me one way or another. But this way… one of us lives…”

Deirdre’s voice broke, she leaned to the window glass, hiding her face beneath her hand. Frieza started. He clearly saw her reflection in the glass; a single tear slithered down her cheek. That was enough for Frieza to loose his cool and splash out his true feelings. He seized her by the shoulders and sharply turned her around.

“NO! It’s not going to be this way!!!” Frieza yelled in her face, “He won’t kill you, he won’t dare to kill you, I won’t let him kill you!!! No one kills you but me!!! That privilege is mine, MINE! If you die, you die by my hand and my hand only! OH, GOD!!!”

Frieza’s voice drowned in a strange gurgling sound, which somewhat reminded sobbing. Deirdre was going through a terrible phase herself, like anyone sentenced to death. And like any condemned she had a wish to cheat death, a will to plot her escape. Such desperate determination makes people cold-blooded, and that’s just what happened to Deirdre.

“Frieza,” Deirdre’s voice was firm, “I suggest we access the situation in sangfroid. I don’t know about you, but I’m willing to try to escape your father’s clutches. At any cost. It won’t get any worse than this for me.”

Frieza seemed to be hesitating. But only for a moment, he quickly regained his composure,

“Proposal accepted. Because if I estimate correctly, Koola is currently on Planet Cold, and I’d rather be executed than give that creep a pleasure of seeing me punish… errr… in this state!”

Deirdre nodded.

“So, any suggestions on how we’re going to execute our escape?” Frieza inquired.

“I sent Jeice to inspect the state of the ship’s controls, which will give us an idea of whether we can break the controlling link between our ship and that of King Cold. If that attempt fails, Plan B shifts our attention to the space pods, which we can use to escape the ship to some planet we agree on. And…” Deirdre suddenly paused.

“And what?”

“And… I haven’t thought of a Plan C yet.”

Frieza nervously walked back and forth,

“We won’t need a Plan C. Fortunately, my father has a far more limited knowledge in ship's control technology than myself, I think we should be…”

His words were interrupted by the sound of the opening door. Jeice entered and saluted both Frieza and Deirdre.

“King Cold has left on board his own ship,” he began his report, “Having set the controlling link between the ships. That is all I can report, because Cold’s soldiers have sealed off the control room. Cold have sent about a hundred of his men aboard our ship and currently they are positioning themselves in the corridors around the ship…”

Jeice was about to say something else, when the door opened again and the rest of the Ginyu Force entered one by one, cursing as they went in. The man that entered after them was no other than Sauza, King Cold’s right hand minion. Sauza was of the same race as Zarbon, yet his hair was short and golden-yellow, he still wore the earrings (an inherent racial trait, or preference), but he didn’t have a circlet around his forehead. And another major difference was that Sauza’s power level was a whooping 900,000.

Sauza bowed and spoke,

“Lord Frieza, I am ordered by His Excellency King Cold to keep you and your elite fighters in this room until we arrive on Planet Cold.”

“Oh, yeah?!?!” Frieza roared, enraged at such an insult, “And how are you planning to do that, you royal lick-pooch?!?!”

Sauza calmly looked at Frieza’s open palm directed in his face. Under the normal circumstances he would have died from the sheer terror, but now was different.

“In case of you failing to obey King Cold’s orders, His Excellency permitted me to use this,” and Sauza demonstrated a small metal tube, that looked somewhat like a laser gun.

“Shit!!!” Frieza swore, having recognized the device, “The Cold Immobilizer! Fuck him!!! FUCK HIM!!!”

Frieza commenced into a severe swearing spree. Sauza remained standing, patiently waiting for him to finish. So did the Ginyu Force, who (except for Jeice) had no idea at all of what was going on. Deirdre’s hand tapped Frieza on the shoulder, interrupting his “emotional pour-out”,

“Frieza, what’s going on? What is that thing?” she asked, speaking at half-volume.

Frieza swallowed the end of his vulgar tirade and replied, also keeping his voice down so only Deirdre could her him,

“That is the Cold Immobilizer, a special something that the top scientists of my “dear” father came up with. It operates as a standard beam gun, but generates an ultra-radiation wave that can immobilize any member of the Cold family in one second flat! You see, my “loving parent” has this idee fixe that one of his sons will eventually become stronger than him and then overthrow him. So he came up with the Cold Immobilizer to keep us at hand!”

“Well, his premonition almost came true today,” Deirdre sounded rather ironic, “The rebellion did take place… it failed, but it doesn’t hurt to try… Or, wait, I guess this time it does hurt!”

Frieza stared at her,

“You know, your stubborn arrogance has always surprised me. In a few hours you’re going to be blown to smithereens, and you still have enough guts to be acrimonious!”

Deirdre changed in the face, but she just shrugged indifferently,

“I guess, it’s just a talent of mine… And it was very nice of you to remind of what pleasant fate your father has installed for me!!!”

A light cough from Sauza interrupted their conversation,

“I can see that you know the designation of the weapon that I’m holding, Lord Frieza” he spoke absolutely impassively, “Good, that saves me the explanation. I’ll get straight to business: you and your men are forbidden to leave this room until our arrival to Planet Cold. In case of any attempt to escape you will be paralyzed and your men will be shot on the spot. By the order of King Cold.”

Having finished the necessary formalities, in this case outlining Cold’s orders, Sauza stepped out and the door shut behind him. It was clear that not only the door will be locked, but the guards will be placed outside.

“Mark my words, Sauza, you’ll regret this day!” Frieza yelled after him, “If there’s something I hate it’s cowardly flamboyant royal kiss ups!!!”

But then he paused, thinking to himself,

Wait, what am I saying?! Zarbon is exactly like that, and he’s my right-hand henchman…

Speak of the Devil and he appears… Suddenly the door opened again and Zarbon was pushed inside the room. He ignored the presence of all the others and turned back to the door, fists clenched, gaze expressing pure rage. He shouted, obviously addressing Sauza,

“It’s YOU, who’s the disgrace of the race!!! You have absolutely no taste in clothes!!! That haircut makes you look like a geek! Your earrings suck! And you don’t even have a circlet!!! You’re worse than a disgrace, you’re the FREAK of the race!!! If you were at my level I’d wipe the floor with that ugly ass of your second form!!!”

Satisfied with the fullness of his insult, Zarbon concluded it with furious sniff, which usually a bull makes right before charging the toreador. Yet Zarbon was smart enough not to proceed any further, enraging Sauza, especially now that he had the permission to “shoot Frieza’s men on the spot”, was not wise. Zarbon turned. The gazes of the Ginyu Force vividly expressed their thoughts on the subject of geeky hair-cuts, taste in clothes, jewelry and “ugly second forms”. Their silent comment was unanimous:

WELL LOOK WHO’S TALKING!!!

Under the normal circumstances they would have proceeded with mocking Zarbon out loud, but now there were some pressing matters at hand.

“So can anyone finally tell me WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?!” Captain Ginyu asked in his usual commanding manner.

Deirdre gave a sad grin,

“Jeice, would you be so kind to explain the situation to your team, you’ll do it better than anyone else,” she touched Jeice on the shoulder, “And I might as well start saying my good-byes.”

Jeice’s eyes started to fill with tears, but Deirdre gave him a hard look and that made him pull himself together. He began the explanation, very roughly, skipping the details. Enraged to the extreme, Frieza was meanwhile pacing the room back and forth, constantly crashing his tail into the metal floor. Figuring that it was useless to talk to him now, Deirdre sat down in the corner by the window, leaning on the wall. Only now she felt the burning pain in the palms of her hands. She took the gloves off and pressed her burned palms to the metal floor to cool the pain. The burns were serious, but healable. The pain in her hands soothed slowly, but nothing could soothe the pain of the single thought, banging in her head,

You’re going to die! You’re going to die! the dooming thought put her in a deep trance. She blankly stared into the distance.

A soft rustling sound as well as a light touch on her shoulder, brought Deirdre back to reality. She turned her head. Zarbon was sitting next to her. He had the same desperate look in his eyes as she did. Deirdre expected a shower of “sentimental condolences”, but Zarbon didn’t say a thing. Deirdre caught one of his thoughts, he didn’t want to talk about it because he knew that it would only make it worse. Sometimes Zarbon surprised Deirdre: it was rear that he didn’t act “tough”, but when he didn’t Deirdre discovered a true Zarbon, a kind and compassionate soul under the proud pretty-boy exterior. But so seldom did he let his true self out of the deepest corners of his soul. Deirdre felt that she was descending into another trance.

“Deirdre,” Zarbon spoke softly, “Your hands… I brought you some ointment…” he held out a tube of antiseptic ointment, which he got from the recovery room just before Cold’s men found him.

Deirdre gave him an empty look, her thoughts were taking her far away from this room. But automatically, like a robot, she reached for the tube. Zarbon gently took her hand in his,

“No, let me do it. You won’t be able to apply the ointment evenly because you won’t feel it through the burns.”

Another empty look in reply, but she didn’t resist when he reached for her other hand. Carefully and affectionately Zarbon began to apply the ointment to her wounds. The pain calmed. Feeling the gentle strokes of his fingers on her hands, she thought that maybe she had been too invidious towards him. As if deciding to say “I’m sorry” for all resentment in the past, Deirdre silently rested her head on Zarbon’s shoulder. He didn’t say anything either, but just proceeded with massaging the ointment in.

Meanwhile Jeice finished explaining the situation to his teammates. While Burter, Recoome and Guldo constantly expressed their astonishment and horror with either “OH!!!” or “AHH!!!”, Captain Ginyu seemed to remain absolutely indifferent to Deirdre’s peril. Yet in his mind he was actually… rejoicing!

Oh, yeah, this just doesn’t get any better than this! the Captain thought, barely able to suppress a desire to grin, King Cold gets rid of the girl, gives Frieza a thrashing that he deserves, and then we’re free to go back to the good life we used to have before this bitch came on board! Dang, she almost lured my team away! And Frieza, that idiot, doesn’t he see how she toys with him?! Well, at last someone will put her out of her misery. Man, this is so great, I feel like doing the Dance of Joy!

Recoome’s sobbing interrupted Ginyu’s joyful thoughts,

“But… if Deirdre dies, who’s going to bake us chocolate cakes?” the giant simpleton made a sulking grimace.

“Her healthy diet helped me loose three pounds,” Guldo gurgled, sniffing sadly. He was so proud with his weight loss, even though with his complexion loosing three pounds was as beneficial as getting a three dollars discount on buying a car.

“I can’t really say that we got along well, but she was always… nice to me,” Burter regretfully rose his eyebrows (well, he would if he had any).

They all sighed simultaneously.

“Humph!!!” Ginyu sniffed, disgusted. The only reason he refrained from “wilting” his team was that Frieza was present in the room, and Captain Ginyu knew that his master won’t tolerate his attitude now… especially now. So Ginyu wisely kept his mouth shut.

Recoome, Guldo and Burter continued to “share” their good memories of Deirdre. Jeice separated from the group and approached the Captain.

“Ahem,” he “coughed” to get Ginyu’s attention, “Excuse me, sir…”

“Yeah, wha’d’you want?” Captain Ginyu gave Jeice a usual snarl.

“Um, sir,” Jeice began, hesitating, “Can I ask you for something…”

“If you want a promotion, you better shut up right now, before I screw your neck, Jeice!”

Jeice paused, but a moment later continued,

“Um, it’s not that, Cap’n… I just wanted to ask you… um… well, when Deirdre is… executed… can you… kill me, please?”

That was the last straw, Captain Ginyu couldn't hold back any longer. That woman had turned his team into the patients of the nut-house.

“WHAT?!?!” enraged Ginyu yelled in Jeice’s face, “Are you out of your mind?!?! If I ever hear THAT again I’m going to cut your salary, throw off the Force and… and… I’M GOING TO KILL YOU!!!”

Jeice calmly looked at his enraged superior.

“Thank you, sir,” he said, nodding gratefully and headed away.

Ginyu stared, realizing what he’d just said.

“OOOOOOHHH!!!!” he wheezed through clenched teeth. If steam could come out of the ears of the Captain of the Ginyu Force it most definitely would now. Ginyu felt himself like a complete idiot.

Jeice headed to the corner where Deirdre and Zarbon were sitting. One would expect him to boil with jealousy once he saw them so close together, and usually he would. But now too many troubles very burdening his soul, there was no place for jealousy in the tragedy he was going through. In fact, they all were in the same "boat". Jeice silently sat down on the other side of Deirdre and leaned to her. Neither Deirdre nor Zarbon said anything. They sat quietly, three as one. This physical feeling of each others' presence provided some kind of emotional comfort to them.

Ginyu was so disgusted by all this “mushy stuff” that he dared to point “this disgrace” to Frieza. The Captain approached his master, who was still pacing the room back and forth.

“Lord Frieza,” Ginyu used Frieza’s formal title, “We are by no doubts witnessing a breach of the Army Code here! Just look at this amorality!!!”

Frieza sharply turned,

“SHUT UP, Ginyu!!!” he yelled furiously, making Captain Ginyu hastily back away to the opposite side of the room, “This is neither a time nor place for that idiocy of yours! Can’t you see I’m thinking?! Just shut up and stand somewhere!”

Ginyu gulped and pressed his back to the wall as if attempting get through it. But Frieza didn’t proceed with the assault. He got thoughtful again, but only for a moment, he then turned to Deirdre.

“Well,” he inquired, “Any bright ideas?”

His voice brought Deirdre back to reality. The desire to escape death triumphed over despair. Deirdre shook her head to clear the mind.

“Well,” she replied, remaining seated, “Since the door is blocked the original Plans A and B fail. And since the door is the only way out of here, we’re pretty much done for!”

Frieza made a grimace of contempt,

“Huh! Just as I thought! Your inability to devise plans that are of a more complicated nature only proves my superiority over the lower life forms, such as yourself!”

“Then I suppose you have a plan, Oh Great One?” Deirdre rolled her eyes.

“Of course, I do. While you were sitting there, sulking like a baby, I came up with a brilliant strategy. We may not be able to get out through the door, but nothing prevents us to get out through the window! I blast a hole through the glass, we get out, walk on the outside of the ship to the control room, blast the window to get in, and then we just break the controlling link as in the original plan! Then we fill the corridors of the ship with gas and thus putting all those morons who guard us out of commission!”

Frieza gave a self-proud smile, his tail wagged somewhat.

“Brilliant!” Deirdre smirked with bitter irony, “However, there’s one fatal flaw in that plan…”

“What?!” Frieza snapped intolerantly.

“You’re forgetting that you’re the only one who can breathe in space!!! If we get out there we’ll suffocate in one minute flat!”

Frieza startled, cursing himself for that obvious mistake, but a moment later he came up with a correction,

“Alright!” he said, “Then you stay here, while I do it myself. I’m perfectly capable of executing this plan without your meddling assistance.”

Deirdre gave him the same ironical smirk,

“Allow me to point out three more flaws of your plan, Einstein! Firstly, if you blast a hole in the window all the air will be sucked out from this room and we’ll still suffocate. Secondly, King Cold would have to be blind not see a huge ki-blast demolishing the main window of your ship and then you crawling on the side of the ship! And, thirdly, Sauza would have to be deaf not to hear the sound of the window being blast! So, any other bright ideas?”

Frieza growled furiously, and crushed his tail into the floor. Everyone gulped, as they saw the size of the dent in the metal. Frieza, still growling under his breath, resumed pacing the room. Eager to come up with a plan, everybody started thinking, except for Captain Ginyu that is (of course).

About ten minutes passed in absolute silence. For those who are damned time goes by torturously slowly. It seemed that no less than ten hours had passed.

Jeice gave in to the panic first,

“AAAARRRRGGGHHHH!!!” he howled, “This is unbearable! It’s not the death that’s agonizing, it’s the wait! I can’t believe that we’re just going to sit here! There’s just got to be a way out!!! THERE’S JUST GOT TO BE!!!”

Just to somehow cool his powerless anger, Jeice slammed his fist into the wall behind himself. The blow was incredibly mighty, the metal vibrated under his fist. The shattering wave traveled away and met the ventilation hatch. The screws jingled and fell out, releasing the barred plate sealing the hatch. It crashed on the floor, drawing everyone’s attention to itself. A moment they all stared at it. Suddenly Deirdre wound up on her feet and slapped herself on the forehead,

“That’s it! That’s it!!!” she yelled joyfully, “Jeice, you’re a genius!!! I LOVE YOU!!!”

Immediately she leaned down and gave astounded Jeice a long kiss on the lips. Everyone stared at her in astonishment, Zarbon in shock. Frieza was the first to recover,

“Ummm… So you want to start saying your good-byes now? A rather… err… too passionate of a way to bid farewell… Don’t you think you’re overdoing it a bit?”

Deirdre turned away from Jeice, who’s face expressed utter most idiotic happiness. Deirdre’s eyes sparked.

“I don’t think I’ll be saying any good-byes at all, Frieza,” she spoke slyly, “I just found the way out of here.”

Frieza as well as the rest of the men blankly stared at her.

“The ventilation pipes go around the whole ship, don’t they?”

“Yes…” Frieza confirmed, starting to grasp her idea.

“Well, we get inside the pipe, make our way to the control room and then proceed with the original plan of breaking the controlling link!”

This simple but effective plan draw a cheer out of Burter, Recoome and Guldo. Jeice was still “intoxicated” by the kiss so he didn’t react in any way. Zarbon, rather mad at Deirdre for the obvious reason, was nevertheless glad that she thought of a way to escape. Frieza just blankly stared at her, mentally kicking himself for not being able to come up with this simple, yet effective plan. Captain Ginyu, on the other hand, was tremendously disappointed, if not to say enraged, that the “Saiyan rat” was going to slip away through the hole… Literally! He pondered if there was a way to stop her. He could raise the alarm and alert the guards, then the girl will be doomed for sure. But this plan had one major drawback: Frieza will kill him for doing that. And although Ginyu’s wish to dispose of Deirdre was strong, his will to live was stronger. So Captain kept silent, praying for something to foil the “witch’s” plan.

Meanwhile Frieza has done some pondering of his own, enough to become his usual nasty self.

“Well?!” he gave Deirdre a rather cold glare, “What are you waiting for? Get your lazy butt up in that vent and do it! You’re perfectly able to deal with the main computer by yourself… Well, you can take Zarbon with you as a back up…”

Zarbon eagerly nodded his head, welcoming the thought of being squeezed in the vent pipe with Deirdre.

Deirdre considered otherwise.

“Frieza, I think it’s best for us to stick together… in case we run into guards. Right now it will be more beneficial to act as a unit, rather than individually. It’s a big mess, and we’re all in it together…”

Reasoning with Frieza?! Yeah, right! Even if he had to agree with her, he would never confess it.

“You’re trying my patience, Saiyan! If you need more men power than you’re welcomed to take them all… But you don’t seriously expect ME to go into some old filthy ventilation pipe!!!”

Deirdre rolled her eyes. There was no time for arguing. Fortunately, Deirdre always had a back up plan… one especially for Frieza. She grinned,

“Well, I see you do love your family after all! So eager you are to get to Planet Cold and spend some quality time with your loving father and BROTHER!!!”

That hit Frieza like a ton of bricks. Five seconds later The Terror of the Galaxy cautiously popped his head inside the vent to inspect the size and the condition of the pipe.

“I can’t believe I’m doing this!!!” he grumbled to himself, “I, The Terror of the Galaxy, one of the most powerful beings alive, reduced to… crawling through a vent pipe like a rat though a maze!!! Kamis curse me forever! I’ve never been so humiliated in my life!!!”

But when he turned back to Deirdre, he only dropped one dry phrase,

“It’s good enough, I can fit in there.”

Deirdre nodded,

“Good, I can as well. But I’ll have to take off my armor, the shoulder plates are too wide. I guess, everyone else will have to do the same.”

Frieza was the only one not wearing the standard uniform piece, that was an inseparable part of any soldier, or rather, of any warrior. No one really welcomed the idea of getting rid of a “part of themselves”. Ginyu and Zarbon were especially unhappy about the prospect, the reason was simple: they didn’t have anything under their armor except for their own bare skin. Zarbon didn’t dare to argue, although he went slightly red thinking that his outfit would now only consist of his overarms, overlegs and trunks… Highly revealing, to say the least! Ginyu’s condition was even worse, all he was going to have left were boots, “cuffs” and trunks… And this was the final straw! The Captain dared to refuse,

“Sir,” he addressed Frieza, “This is going too far! First, she wants us to crawl down a dirty old pipe, and now she orders us to strip collectively!!! This is an outrage! SHE’S actually GIVING ORDERS, sir!!! Even to you! It’s her fault all this is happening, we have nothing to do with it! So why should we risk our lives to save her?! If we just let King Cold execute her, he’ll cool off and let the rest of us go… We’re talking either her or all of us…”

He didn’t finish. Frieza menacingly approached him and levitated in front of him, keeping his eyes on the same level with Ginyu’s. Then Frieza spoke, very quiet, so only Ginyu could hear him,

“I want you to get one thing straight, Captain: if that Saiyan dies, she dies by my hand and my hand only! And until I tell you otherwise, you will do as she says as if it was I saying it! If she tells you to blast yourself, you will do just that, or answer to me. Any questions, Ginyu?”

Captain Ginyu was so astounded he barely managed to shake his head in reply. Sweat was streaming down his back.

“Good,” Frieza smirked, satisfied, and suddenly yelled right in Ginyu’s face, “THEN SHUT UP AND TAKE IT OFF!!!”

Ginyu gulped. The next moment his armor hit the floor. Spooked by this little incident everyone else hurried to follow Ginyu’s lead. Zarbon thought of an effective substitute for a shirt: he dispatched his cape from his armor and swathed it around his torso. It did look rather comical, sort of a parody on an Ancient Greek tunic, but it served its primary purpose: covered the upper body.

Yet the breathtaking moment was about to come: Deirdre was taking off her armor. Now her figure was open for astounded gazes, the tight suit she wore underneath her armor left very few of her shapely curves accessible only by imagination. It was Deirdre’s favorite black suit with a deep, revealing neckline. A simultaneous breath-like “WOW!” commented Deirdre’s look without the armor. She frowned, making an annoyed grimace,

“Ahem! If you gonna waste your time staring at me, very soon you may have nothing left to stared at!”

The hint was taken instantly. Everyone stepped closer to the vent. Yet it was now that another “obstacle” became evident: at least three of them were too big to fit in the small opening of the vent. Deirdre gave Burter and Recoome an apologetic gaze,

“Recoome, Burter… I afraid you two are too… wide for this vent.”

The two shrugged and stepped aside. Meanwhile Deirdre’s gaze shifted to Guldo,

“And… umm… you…” she hesitated.

“Don’t even say it!” the four-eyed alien made an angry grimace, he hated when his weight was being discussed.

“Then, there’s no choice for you but to stay behind. Don’t worry, we’ll get you out of here as soon as we can,” Deirdre encouraged three gloomy outcasts.

Meanwhile Captain Ginyu attempted another “rebellion”,

“I won’t fit either!” he snapped, “My shoulders are too wide.”

He was about to join his three subordinates, when his eyes met Frieza’s. The tyrant gave the Captain a murderous look,

“Oh, yes, you’ll fit!” he hissed, “You’re coming with us, even if I’ll have to break you in half to fit in there!”

Ginyu swallowed nervously, vividly imagining Frieza “breaking him in half”. Another second and Frieza was most likely to fulfill his threat, but Deirdre hurried to cool the conflict,

“You’ll be fine, Ginyu. You’re about the same built as Zarbon, and he can get in without any problems. Just make sure you keep your head low, or you can get your horns caught in something.”

Ginyu grumbled something under his breath, but didn’t dare to argue anymore.

“Let’s head out!” Frieza commanded, “Deirdre, you lead; I assume you know the layout of the ship well enough. I’ll go second. Zarbon, you follow me, then Ginyu, and then you… what’s your name… Jis.”

“Uh… It’s Jeice, sir,” the orange-faced mercenary corrected Frieza.

“Whatever!” Frieza obviously didn’t give a damn about the right pronunciation of names, “Let’s go!”

They started down the long and musty vent pipe. Of course, they all had to crawl, and this had a few difficulties, especially for those in the back. Zarbon had to be extremely cautious not to step on Frieza’s tail, such an insult would be surely rewarded by a quick painful death. Almost every step Zarbon had to stop to let Frieza distance from him. These sudden stops were usually followed by Ginyu’s head bumping into Zarbon’s rear, and the Captain emitted a string of exclusive curses on Zarbon’s account, which were however quiet enough for Frieza not to hear them. The last in line, Jeice wasn’t too happy about his position either: he found out one very annoying fact – Ginyu’s feet stinked, and in the closed space of the vent pipe the stench was becoming unbearable. After taking each step, Jeice prayed for this unpleasant journey to come to an end.

Deirdre cautiously made her way through the maze numerous pipes leading in every direction. Soon she stopped by the vent hatch similar to the one they got through into the pipe in Frieza’s room. Deirdre looked through the bars, then turned and placed a finger to her lips. Then she gestured Frieza to come to the hatch. He did and they both looked out. Apparently, they were in the corridor right by the control room. The doors to the control room were locked and two guards from King Cold’s Army were standing close to the vent. Deirdre and Frieza listened.

“I don’t get it, Elk,” one of the guards addressed the other, “Why do we have to stand here? The door is locked, Sauza has the key, there’s no one inside this darn room… So what’s the point?”

“Beats me,” the second guard replied, “This whole taking over Frieza’s ship doesn’t make any sense: I told you, that sooner or later that horned gigantic bag of shit will loose his marbles! Taking his own son a prisoner… I tell you, the old bastard has gone coo-coo!”

The guards yawned and stretched. Although they were tremendously bored with their duty, they didn't dare to leave their post. And if they were to remain on guard, any attempt to pass them would be as good as walking out in plain view. The pipe had too many vent hatches in this part, so even if the guards won't see "the prisoners", they will surely hear them.

Deirdre felt a tap on the shoulder, the next moment Frieza whispered in her ear,

"So what do we do now?"

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking!" she whispered back.

Suddenly an idea popped into her head, it was a long shot, but… desperate times call for desperate measures. Deirdre concentrated hard, straining her mind to the maximum. She never used her telepathy for this and she wasn't sure if she could do it either.

COME ON!!! COME ON!!! a few pearls of sweat appeared on her forehead, as she attempted to enter the guards' minds.

"Well?!" Frieza inquired, growing impatient.

"Just shut up for a second!" Deirdre filtered the words through clenched teeth.

Frieza was going to say something in return for the insult, but suddenly one of the guards spoke,

"You know, they have such deliquesces at the food storage here. I heard that the soldiers of Frieza's Army eat better than King Cold himself! Can you imaging what kind of grub the commanding officers get?!"

"It's weird, but I was thinking about the same thing," the second guard nodded, "And just thinking of it makes me drool! Listen, how about we sneak down and grab ourselves some chow?"

"You must be reading my mind, man! The hell with this control room, no one's going to check on us until we arrive to planet Cold, and that's gonna take another three hours!"

"Yep, let's go!"

The two guards slowly started down the corridor, but after a few steps started running as if the thought of food was chasing them away from their post. Soon the sound of their footsteps disappeared.

"Phew!" Frieza sighed in relief, "I guess that's called a lucky coincidence."

Deirdre leaned on the wall and draw a deep breath. She held her forehead, her little mind game gave her a pounding headache. But it worked, nevertheless. A persisting push on her hand brought Deirdre back to reality. Frieza was obviously annoyed,

"What are you, deaf?!" he snarled, "Move it, there's no time for a break!"

Deirdre silently turned and started further down the pipe. They moved another couple of meters, when suddenly Zarbon emitted a blood-freezing yelp. All heads instantly turned to him, expecting him to be seized by a guard or somthing. Zarbon's eyes were filled with utter horror, as he stared at the index finger of his right hand.

"AAAGGHH!!!" he gasped, "I BROKE A NAIL!!!"

Immediately spooked expressions became angry expressions. Frieza sharply turned and plunged at Zarbon,

"You IDIOT!!! What are you trying to do, give us out?!!! Someone could have heard you!!!"

"YEAH!!!" Captain Ginyu growled from behind Zarbon, "Come on, Frieza, blast this fucking mistake of nature to bloody bits!!!"

"Frieza! Ginyu! Stop it!!!" Deirdre pulled Frieza away from Zarbon, "If the guards didn't hear him, they'll surely hear you!!! You can sort things out with him once we finish this, but not now and not here."

Frieza considered the logic of her words and let go off Zarbon. Captain Ginyu had to do so as well under Deirdre's heavy gaze.

"Now let's get this over with first!" Deirdre said and proceeded down the vent again.

In a few minutes the vent hatch plate in the control room hit the floor. Deirdre cautiously popped her head out and scanned the room. The next moment she was down on the floor. While the rest were getting out, Deirdre proceeded straight to the control panel and began to check the controls' status.

"What's our situation?" she heard Frieza's voice at her ear.

"Grim, lightly put," she responded without turning around, "The secondary controls are disabled, which means that the engine status, steering and shields can't be altered. I won't be able to change course coordinates either. The space pods are locked too, so Plan B goes out the window. The only thing I can do is attempt to break the controlling link on the primary level, which means going to the core program and resetting all the options."

Only Frieza understood what Deirdre meant by that.

"Can you do that?" he asked.

Deirdre shrugged,

"Not sure. I've never done this before… It's too dangerous of a mission, if I make a mistake in setting options it could cause a meltdown and…"

Frieza nodded.

"I'll give you a hand… Though… I've never done this myself either…"

Deirdre looked at him.

We have nothing to loose! his eyes said.

Deirdre nodded and turned to the control panel, Frieza moved on the other side of her. They both started to insert codes and commands, fully concentrating on their task.

Captain Ginyu, Jeice and Zarbon moved aside, since they were of no help in this mission, especially Ginyu whose knowledge in technology came down to pressing a start button in the space pod. Of course, he had no idea what was going on.

"Jeice," he addressed his subordinate.

"Yes, sir?"

"You know some stuff about computers, right?"

"Yes, Cap'n."

"Then tell me in plain English what exactly are they doing?"

Jeice sighed. It wasn't easy explaining anything to the hard-headed Captain.

"Well…" Jeice scratched the back of his head, "They're… sorta deleting the old program, that controls the ship, and inserting a new one…"

"Meaning???" Ginyu demanded a simpler explanation.

"Umm… Well, it's like… operating a microwave: when you press "clear" the previous time set gets deleted and you insert a different time for the next operation…"

"Ohhhh!!!" Captain Ginyu made an understanding grimace, nodding his head, but in about half a minute his brows rose questionably and he asked, "What's a microwave?"

Jeice slapped himself on the forehead.

"Why do I bother?!?!" he growled under his breath.

Ginyu was going to demand clarifications, but his attention was drawn to Deirdre and Frieza, who engaged into the critical stage of the programming process.

"Main engine operational data…" Deirdre announced, holding her hand at one of the numerous buttons on the control panel, "Cleared…" she pressed the button and immediately moved her hand to another set of buttons, "And…" her fingers ran over the panel, inserting a new code, "…Set!"

"Fuel purveyance to the engines and automatic distribution…" Frieza echoed, repeating the same steps that Deirdre made, "Cleared… and… set!"

"Primary shields…"

The dialog continued in a similar manner. The reprogramming process was taking quite a long time. Ginyu already started to yawn, when Frieza suddenly rose his voice,

"Operational control link set to Mother Ship main frame… Deirdre, what's the code?! I don't know this one!"

"573XP90ZF3479!" she bolted at him.

"It's requesting to press the "Primary Session Complete" Button… Which one is that?"

Deirdre stared at Frieza with her eyes wide open,

"A Primary… WHAT??? There's no such button!!! At least I never saw one like that!"

"What do you mean there's no such button?!?!" Frieza shrieked back at her, "THERE'S GOT TO BE!!! This thing is going to report the changes to the present control center in one minute if we don't press that freaking button! And the present control center IS MY FATHER'S SHIP!!!"

Frieza gripped his head in panic.

"OH SHIT!!!" Deirdre swore, hastily running her gaze over the control panel.

"FUCK!!!" Frieza joined her in both expressing his opinion about the predicament and searching for the accursed button.

Realizing that something was going wrong Ginyu, Zarbon and Jeice rushed to the control panel.

"Deirdre! What's wrong???" Jeice grabbed Deirdre by the shoulder.

Deirdre sharply turned her head and gave him an insane look.

"The "Primary Session Complete" Button… I have no idea what it is or where to look for it!"

"I'll help you look," Jeice moved to the far right corner of the control panel and began searching as well. A moment later Zarbon joined him on the left side of the panel. A deadly silence hang in the room.

Captain Ginyu stared, trying to understand what was the panic about. Finally he decided to land a hand and proceeded to the separate part of the control panel, which was responsible for local steering. There he blankly gazed at the rows of buttons and levers, then something draw his attention…

"Twenty seconds till data transferal!!!" Frieza choked, his fingers convulsively clawed the edge of the panel.

"WHERE IS THAT FREAKING BUTTON?!?!" Deirdre gave in to the panic as well.

"Hey!" Captain Ginyu's voice sounded, "How's about this one? It's big, red and it's the only button under a glass dome… It must be the one you're looking for."

Instantly all four heads turned towards Ginyu. All four gazes were filled with utter most horror.

"GINYU!!! NOOOOOO!!!" four voices yelled in unison.

But it was too late: Captain's fist slammed through the glass and hit the button. Immediately the humming noise filled the room, the walls and the floor began to vibrate, and the alarm sounded.

"Warning! Warning!" the metal voice of the computer announced, accompanied by the flickering red light, "Final session engaged! Core meltdown initiated! Self-destruct in 3 minutes… Starting countdown… Have a nice day!"

Ginyu gave a puzzled stare. Immediately Frieza plunged at him,

"MORON!!! IMBECILE!!! What do you think you're doing, you poor excuse for a life form?!?!"

"Umm… Same thing everyone else does in the situation like this!" Ginyu made a stupid grimace.

"WHAT?!?!" Frieza spat in his face.

"If you don't know how to turn off something, always push the big red button, because it's ALWAYS the right one!"

"YOU IDIOT!!! Do you realize what you have done?!"

Captain Ginyu continued to stare blankly, that made Frieza literally explode with rage,

"THAT WAS A SELF-DESTRUCT BUTTON!!!"

Ginyu's face changed, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

"Ooops…" was the only thing he could to say.

"YOU… YOU!!!" Frieza growled, pale from rage. Another second and the Terror of the Galaxy would have blown the Captain to smithereens, but the next moment Frieza felt a pull on his arm. It was Deirdre.

Why am I not surprised?! Frieza rolled his eyes, turning away from Captain Ginyu.

The Saiyan was pale just like Frieza, but she managed to retain her composure.

"Frieza, there's no time for this," her voice was trembling, "I've checked the settings, there's nothing we can do to avert self-destruction. The ship is going to blow in a few minutes…"

"Is there any way we can get off the ship before it happens?!"

"If we move fast enough, yes. The melt-down canceled the controlling link, and I was able to unlock the space pods. They're our only way off the ship!"

"Then come on!!!" Frieza turned to the door and blasted it open with a huge ki bolt. They all ran down the smoke-filled corridor towards the space pod module. They weren't even thinking about being cautious about running into King Cold's men. Now it came down to the survival of the fittest. If any of the unfortunate Cold minions happened to run in their way, they were immediately vaporized by Frieza.

They've reached the space pod module with one minute remaining till the main engines were set to blow. The launch pad was empty, while the number of the space pods receded to a mere ten.

"Looks like you Daddy's men as well as your own soldiers value their lives," Deirdre commented on the reason of disappearance of the space pods.

"Who doesn't?!" Jeice replied instead of Frieza.

They proceeded straight to the space pods.

"Set your course to the nearest planet," Frieza gave the last orders before getting inside his space pod, "There's no time to set the proper coordinates, so just let the computer pick at random. We'll meet up after we land."

He got four silent nods in reply. They all proceeded inside their space pods.

"Wait!!!" Deirdre's voice suddenly cut the silence, "What about Burter, Recoome and Guldo?! We can't just leave them here to die!!!"

Deirdre jumped out of her pod and started running towards the door, obviously having decided to help her comrades. Before anyone could assess the situation, Frieza dematerialized and appeared in front of Deirdre, right in time to catch her.

"There's no time to worry about them now!" he shouted, struggling to restrain her.

"No, I can't leave them…"

"The ship's gonna blow any second! You won't save them and just get killed yourself, you stupid woman!!! Just look!!!"

The room was filling with smoke. Ominous humming was coming from behind the walls. The floor under their feet was filling with cracks, like a planet's crust during an earthquake. But despite this Deirdre continued to struggle

"I would have done the same for you, Frieza!".

"I'm sorry, but you leave me no choice…" Frieza sharply hit her on the neck. Deirdre moaned and passed out. Frieza dematerialized again and appeared next to a space pod, he put unconscious Deirdre inside. Then he pressed something on the control panel. The hatch of the pod closed and it blasted off instantly.

Frieza turned to find his subordinates staring at him, spooked to the extreme.

"What?!" Frieza snapped at them, "Would you rather have her stay on the ship?! Now quit staring and get into your pods!"

Frieza jumped inside and pressed the "Coordinates Setup" button. The hatch closed slowly. Through the small dome window he saw Captain Ginyu's and Jeice's pods blasting off. Those two never asked for a second invitation when it came down to saving their lives. Frieza smirked. His space pod hummed, preparing to launch. Then suddenly he heard a pleading cry from the outside.

"Master Frieza! HELP ME!!!" the voice undoubtedly Zarbon's.

Frieza jumped up to the window. Zarbon was sprawled on the floor, his left foot caught in one of the numerous cracks in the floor. The unfortunate soldier tried pull himself free. But his attempts failed miserably.

"MASTER FRIEZA, PLEASE!!!!!" Zarbon shot a look of pure hopelessness and shock at his master.

Frieza slammed his fist at the "Launch Cancel" button, but it was too late. The space pod shook and blasted off. The last thing Frieza saw was Zarbon's eyes, filled with sheer horror.

"NO!!!!" the Terror of the Galaxy moaned and sunk into the seat.

Four space pods flew into nowhere. The passengers of the pods couldn't look back, but in a few seconds of their grim journey they heard a distant sound of a massive explosion. Then their pods began to shake, lightly at first and then more violently with each coming moment. The explosion wave had caught up with them. It violently hit the space pods throwing them off course.

End of Part 1.

Disclaimer: all the characters are copyright of Akira Toriyama and Toei Animation, and are used without permission, but with great affection. Deirdre and Icia are copyright of Jeisre Ice. This story is copyright of  Jeisre Ice. Permission given by the author to copy this story for personal use only, provided no changes are made to the story or this notice.