#I think it's pretty much sealed that Kuriza is some degree of messed up no matter his timeline placement

[fandom-trash-xl]

Angst One-Shot: Red Like Roses

I decided while I was working on a few other things that I might as well post one of the little one-shots I had written in my lore notes. While I simply love the strangely wholesome vibe of post-ToP Kuriza, I decided to experiment with the angst possibilities of Kuriza earlier in the timeline.

A few TWs, since this does delve into angst: TW// Blood, emetophobia, character death

Timeline Placement(s): Age 762 , Age 764 (The Namek Arc and Trunks Arcs respectively)

AGE 762

After hearing word of the wish-granting Dragon Balls on the planet Namek, adding that planet to his personal collection became Frieza’s top priority. Not only was the location rather backwater and easily free for development, but the magic seemingly present in its core was a major selling point- able to fulfill his wildest fantasies, even as far as evading death itself.

While he was eager to get started on this project right away, a few loose ends needed to be tied. This conquest would surely take a great portion of his time until the Namekians’ magic relics were in his hands and their land was surrendered to his domain, which meant another matter would need to be temporarily redelegated to another’s care- this matter wasn’t an item but, rather, a someone.

The emperor’s son of eight years, Kuriza, was- Frieza unable to find a way to put it more delicately- a fortunate accident. He was the result of an incident he’d rather erase from his mind- a rather stressful evening during which he had quite too much to drink, wine-wise, and, in his drunk mind, the courtesan he initially wanted little to do with (a gift from his father that he never wanted) was suddenly more appetizing than ever… and months later came the resultant bastard. However, he kept the boy long after he dismissed the mother, being his worthy heir, inheriting his mutant genetics and up and coming power level.

As Frieza was making said preparations, Kuriza himself entered the main hall, where his father was pacing, seemingly talking to himself. A glance at the side of his face determined it wasn’t insanity but, instead, communications via scouter.

“Yes, Papa, I know it’s a lot of time to put aside for one planet but I believe this will be a prosperous asset to acquire, even if I do have to step in myself. The payoff outweighs the losses here.” There was a pause, likely time for the reply, as Frieza nodded. “Of course. Also, would Berryblue happen to still be in your jurisdiction on your ship? She is? Yes, for Kuriza, obviously. You’ll send an escort for him now? Much obliged, Papa.”

Just as Frieza clicked off the scouter call, a call of ‘Papa!’, now in reference to him rather than his own father, caught his attention, tracing the source back to the small statured child entering. The burgundy gem on his head pointed up like a chestnut and a navy cape, the bulk of it fluffed up around his shoulders, covered a ruby-colored chestplate of armor.

“Ah, Kuriza. Impeccable timing.”

“I just got done showing Mister Zarbon my Death Beam! I’ve gotten so much better at aiming. Would you like to see, Papa?” The boy already had his finger pre-pointed, eager to show off his trick.

“As much as I’d love to, I’m afraid it is not quite the right time. Besides, there aren’t really any suitable targets for you to hit, now are there?”

“I guess not…” Kuriza sighed a bit disappointed, but quickly perked back up. “By the way, Papa, who were you calling on your scouter? Was it your Papa?”

“Yes, it was. With this next planet I’m buying, I have to step in myself for a few days or so, so I’m trading you over to another ship so someone else can watch you. You remember Miss Berryblue right? She took care of you when you were smaller?”

“Yes~! Mama Berryblue!” While he now knew that the nursemaid was not his actual mother, as much as she played that figure, the title still somewhat stuck.

“Yes, yes, of course. In due time, some of your grandfather’s men will come to escort you to his ship. Miss Berryblue will watch over you and, if he gets the free time, you can show Grandpapa Cold how you’re progressing on your Death Beam. Does that sound good? Can you promise to be a good boy for your Grandpapa while I'm gone?”

“I promise, Papa!”

“And when I come back, I’ll be sure to have a cracked wine glass for you to use for target practice. I can’t wait to see your progress~”

“Really?!” Kuriza’s tail batted giddily.

“Of course, my little chestnut.” Frieza’s tail draped along his son’s shoulders as he knelt down to the boy’s height, planting a small parental peck on the surface of his biogem. “Now, don’t you worry about a thing. Papa will be back~”

It had been about a week since Frieza had left to conquer Namek, leaving his son under King Cold’s watchful eye. Kuriza had gotten rather anxious waiting for his father’s return, but he decided not to let it bother him too much. He had been taught plenty of times that, sometimes, work took longer than expected. The assurance that Papa would be back was what kept him going.

Cold had no formal accommodations for his grandson’s visitation, so the young boy’s bed was temporarily a plush footstool that happened to meet his length and a spare velveteen blanket, sat at the foot of the much grander bed of his grandfather. Of course, when, busy with work, Cold came back to his chambers late, which was often, Kuriza had free reign over the larger mattress- plenty of room for him, as the bedding was built for an eight-foot titan of a man.

Today, in particular, Kuriza had slept in rather late, but Cold had not been back once to move him, as he was still cocooning himself in oversized royal linens. Sluggishly opening his eyes, he fully lurched awake after hearing an uproar of commotion from outside the door. He quickly reclaimed his armor and cape and dressed himself before cautiously slipping out to investigate the ruckus.

The sudden panic was even louder outside, countless crew members in a frenzy over something- he could make out a few words, though most jumbled together. There was mention of something they had recovered from the nearby expanse of space…? Soon, the answer came whisking past him, Kuriza flinching back to the wall to let the clamor pass. A few medics were flocked around the gurney they were frantically wheeling through the hall. The boy couldn’t make out much of the scene, the object on top of the cart covered by a white sheet, slowly tainted by gushes of crimson blood. One part had been carelessly left uncovered- a white arm with a cracked violet gem at the wrist, slightly painted with bloody residue, dangling from the gurney’s side. As if there were any doubt that there was a person under that sheet, there was an almost muffled moan of pain coming from it. There were a few stray mentions of his father’s name, but nothing seemed to click, any connecting sentence frantically talked over.

What was going on?

His first instinct was to go to Berryblue- she likely knew what was happening and was readily available to him. He found her not far down the hallway, having to every so often go flat against the wall to dodge rushing soldiers. The caretaker seemed just as equally flustered, almost scared, seemingly more so when the child drew her attention. “Mama Berryblue?”

“Oh! Lord Kuriza! I didn’t see you there. Is something the matter?”

“I was just wondering what was going on. I just woke up to everyone panicking. What’s happening?! What’s wrong?!” There was a touch of worry in his tone, the aura of concern and frenzy in the air contagious.

“Oh…” Berryblue hesitated, avoiding eye contact. “Well, I’m not quite sure myself. Perhaps in time we’ll get a better grasp of the situation.” In hindsight, she was lying, but Kuriza couldn’t tell.

“Alright… Thank you.” Kuriza sighed but the concern didn’t vanish. He strode off, Berryblue sighing as well, in her case, in relief that she got out of answering such a question. Little did she know, he wasn’t leaving the hall satisfied with the answer, but rather to seek a second opinion.

King Cold, already an irate and stern emperor, had gone the furthest into madness out of all of his men combined. He was practically gritting his teeth as he paced along the observation deck looking over a white-lit operation room, every so often pausing to stubbornly bark at the medics down below from beyond the glass. “If there’s a single scalpel out of place, it’ll be someone’s skull beneath my foot!!”

His angered lecturing was soon cut off by a tugging sensation on the length of his tail, causing him to bare his teeth in further frustration. “What is so important that you have the audacity to-?! When he turned to glare at the source, he found no minion, but rather the worried beady eyes of his grandson, desperate for his attention. His expression softened ever so slightly. “Ah, Kuriza, my boy. Why are you not with your supervisor? Grandpapa’s a bit busy, so I can’t exactly play with you right now-”

Kuriza cut him off. “Grandpapa? I don’t know what’s going on and I’m starting to get a bit scared! Can you tell me what’s happening?”

“Very well then. If you want to know…”

“Berryblue!”

 King Cold’s thundering call could be heard loud and clear, quickly summoning the nursemaid into the room. She was already in a cold sweat from the situation unfolding around; Now her angered king wanted her presence.

“Yes, my king? Of what service can I be…?” She trailed off as, raising from her bow, she took in the state of the scene. Cold was kneeled to a lower, yet still rather high up, level and, lying on his side on the ground in front of his grandfather was Kuriza, trembling significantly and whimpering.

“I broke the kid. Fix him.”

As Berryblue nodded, silently contemplating how the king had managed two children previously, she approached Kuriza’s side, taking his hand to help him upright. “Shh~shh~ It’s alright, my little lord, it’s alright~ Come here…” She purred in maternal softness.

Kuriza clung to her in an instant, the nursemaid trying her best to wrap him in an embrace- a feat made difficult as he had grown taller than her since the last time she needed to do this. The lizard was full of whimpers and squeak-like whining, but no tears, although his eyes were wide open in paralyzing fear. “Mum…” He mumbled miserably and hardly intelligibly. “I wan’ my Papa…”

After shushing the poor child, Berryblue shot a glare at Cold. “My king… What did you tell him?”

The king scoffed. “I’ll have you know I told him the truth and nothing but it.”

“My king, forgive me if this sounds like insubordination, but I think it would have been best if you hadn’t.”

“It’s what he asked for. What else was I supposed to tell him?”

“You’re supposed to treat this delicately, this is his father we’re dealing with. Go easy on him, he’s only eight, he’s sensitive.”

“Sensitive? Hmph. He’s a full eight years old, Frieza was hardly this cowardly at this age.”

“Even so, he-” As Berryblue attempted to make her defense, she noticed that Kuriza had already ducked out of her arms, lying back on the floor in a ball and whimpering even louder. “He’s just going to keep doing this until he tires himself out- then he’ll start again until you give him what he wants.”

“Then, tell him he’ll get what he wants when he gets it. No sooner. Whining won’t speed up the procedure- and if he still insists on it, I don’t want him in my space.”

Berryblue defensively moved over towards Kuriza, who refused to be pulled back to his feet by her offered hand. “What are you suggesting, my king? Upon Lord Frieza’s repair, he’d surely be upset with you if you caused any ill to his son.”

“If he’s just going to keep moping over every little thing that distresses him, then this is no environment for him to be in. Just take him off-ship or something.” Cold rose back to his full extension, turning away as he waved off the pesky caretaker. “Outpost 495 is nearby, off you go.” He returned to glaring through the glass observation window, judging each surgeon’s every move as they worked meticulously and tirelessly on Frieza’s marred form. 

“But… King Cold…” She hesitated.

“You will be paged back as soon as his father is fixed and no sooner.” As Cold grumbled this line, another soldier entered the observation deck, a certain yellow antennaed scientist, who the emperor’s glare instantly turned on. “You. Kikono. You’re idle and expendable.”

Kikono instantly froze. “M-me? Forgive me, King Cold! We believe we have the necessary amount of staff available on the surgery, I wasn’t-” He shuddered, expecting to be struck down.

However, Cold continued. “Escort Berryblue and Lord Kuriza to Outpost 495, if you would. You will not return until you are alerted to do so.”

The scientist swallowed nervously, but accepted nevertheless- following orders was what kept him alive. “Of course, my king.” He bowed and trailed out of the room, slow enough for Berryblue to get the memo and proceed along with him. When they were sure Cold could only see their backs, they exchanged worried glances. Kuriza was still refusing to take her hand but, as much as she didn't want to force him, she had to grab his hand, attempting to ball into himself, and drag him along, the lizard refusing to use his legs either. 

"Come along now, Lord Kuriza." Berryblue softly assured him, not swaying him in any way to get up. He only resignedly gave in to her cautious pull, mumbling tiredly, "But… Papa… Papa's not there, Papa's here…"

"Shh~Shh… It's alright. You just need to take your mind off him for a bit while the doctors work, but don't worry. Soon, your Papa will be as good as new~"

Despite her valid argument, Kuriza was still senselessly whining. "But… But… Papa!!" He wailed, on the verge of bursting into tears, the voice quickly silenced as they left the room.

Meanwhile, down on the surgical floor, while a higher staff count worked to sew shut the most threatening gashes, a few intermittent practitioners took care of the more simpler tasks. With his head half blown off, Frieza only had one eye, which had now been cleaned of debris- ashy rock from Namek crumbling around him and encrusted patches of dried blood. Weakly, the eye blinked, vaguely hearing a scared little voice- though who could tell? The vitals monitor overlapped it and, even so, his one remaining ear was full of blood. Seeing the eye move nearly startled the surgeon working on it, deeming it time to put more anaesthesia in the IV. 

AGE 764

Cold Outpost 495 was known for just about nothing it would seem- after all, it was less of a colony and more of an interim space for wandering trade and travelers refueling, grandpapa King Cold making profit off of the tariffs and other miscellaneous fees. A few pods of the initial inhabitants still resided on the terracotta-like planetoid but, otherwise, the outpost had little to offer that was the least bit noteworthy in ten-year-old Kuriza’s mind, let alone entertaining. That thought had become abundantly clear to him in the near year and a half he had spent here with Berryblue and Kikono. 

Most of his day was the same monotony- training his attacks, studying whatever literature he could acquire from the tradesmen, and waiting on word back from the Force that he could come home. By moonup, it’d usually be the same… nothing to report. He learned to shrug it off- he could handle another day without his Papa. Or another week. Or another month, and another month, and another month… 

However, his two caretakers were starting to get somewhat antsy. Berryblue still clocked in her daily logs as per her duty. With there being nothing to report in her medical genre, save treating the occasional bump or scrape, she mainly kept an eye on the status of business and proceedings on the outpost. After this latest uneventful check-in, Kikono chimed in with his ever common anxious ramblings. 

“You know, Berryblue, it has been quite some time and still nothing from either of our superiors. I’m starting to fear the worst.”

“Starting?” Berryblue sighed, half-incredulously. “You’ve been nothing but worrisome this whole time.”

“I’m just saying what you’re not willing to say. My conjecture is that the procedure failed and King Cold doesn’t want to break it to Young Lord Kuri-”

“Kikono.” The maidservant cut him off sternly.

“I know you don’t want to come to that conclusion, but-”

“No, Kikono, really.” She darted her eyes in an indirect gesture towards Kuriza himself, who had emerged from the humble little cabana they had set up a temporary base in; Kikono quickly shut up. At ten, he stood a bit taller- still small but still taller than his short-statured staff- and his overlarge cape was starting to suit the size of his shoulders better. 

“Oh, hello, you two.” He greeted them through a tiny yawn, his voice understandably tired as night encroached. “Any updates yet?”

Berryblue and Kikono tipped slightly in brief greeting bows, the former speaking up. “Nothing yet, my young lord. Remember what we agreed on- if we get anything, we’ll let you know right away.”

“I know.” Kuriza’s tone towards no news became less dejected over time, at this point seeming unfazed. “Sometimes, things take longer than expected. That’s what Papa tells me, just like how he promised he’d be back. Good night, you two~” With a fatigued little parting smile, he turned in the opposite direction back towards the cabana, not noticing his caretakers letting out synced sighs of relief behind his back. 

Once Kuriza was out of sight, Kikono piped back up again. “...I think we should at least check again for incoming transmissions once more.” He fidgeted with his scouter as he set it back on his face. “Just to be safe.” For once, Berryblue agreed with his overanxious precautions, nodding as Kikono switched on the radio. 

“Hmm, no reports directly from command, but there is something forwarded from the third division- third stellar region.” The scientist barely needed to give Berryblue a split-second curious glance before she suggested that they intercept the signal. They were lucky- and at the same time horrified- that they checked this one. 

“This is Commander Sorbet reporting from division three, reporting to all major Frieza and Cold Force frequencies.” Odd enough, one would usually be beheaded for daring to make a report in such a state of enmasse. “We have received reports of major signal disconnects, particularly in reference to our lordships’ recent conquests to the uncharted Earth. There has been no report back and homing signals have been lost, so we have reason to assume that-” 

Both caretakers fearfully paled at not just the news, but upon seeing the figure reemerging outside, witnessing the dreaded bit of the message from the scouter set on speaker. Halfway dressed down for bed and having likely come to investigate the sudden radioed chatter stood, eyes and mouth agape in a stunned silence… Kuriza.

The message ran on as the three parties simply stared back at each other with their own variants of fear. “...We can presume that young Lord Kuriza will take the reins in the succession of the-” Kikono quickly reached up to silence the scouter as Berryblue slowly approached her ward with maternal concern. 

“Lord Kuriza… Are you going to be-?

“Yes, I’ll be alright, Berryblue.” Kuriza’s answer sounded strangely firm compared to his typical softness. “Things happen. I understand that. I’ll be heading to bed now…” His remarks were punctuated with the tiniest of sneezes. Berryblue was expecting tears or any sort of visibly strong reaction, but he remained calmly composed, turning back into the cabana. Such was the burden of being raised as an emperor- being taught that crying was a form of weakness.

Mass hysteria was abuzz in the avenues of the outpost planet after hearing the news about the emperors’ fall that night. Even though Kuriza still remained in the succession, many were still quick to pop open their corks and celebrate. It was a wonder that the young prince managed to sleep soundly through all of the ruckus. Berryblue and Kikono slept in shifts as usual- the former’s time awake was mainly spent checking on the likely distressed boy… who was still sleeping peacefully.

However, Kikono, awake around sunrise, roused the nursemaid up from her final sleep shift a bit earlier the next morning. His gaze seemed urgent, though that could mean anything with a fretful Kikono. Berryblue glared up at him through narrowed slats, a bit tired and impatient for the scientist’s panic rambling. Luckily, a stuttering Kikono was still able to be quick and to the point. “Sorry to… erm… wake you, ma’am, but his young lord is requesting your presence in his room. He’s still in bed, so-”

Berryblue sighed as she fully awakened and got to her feet. “I understand, Kikono. He needs me right now. I’m the only family he has left after all.”

“But wasn’t that just an arrangement-”

The nurse was already vanishing down the hall. “Once a ‘Mama’, always a ‘Mama’~”

Kuriza was lying on his side, legs curled into his chest, sure enough still nestled into his bed as Kikono reported. His eyes were lowered and his expression read the same state of misery as his soft groaning and trembling. Berryblue quickly ambled over to him as he, seeming drained, reached out his arm towards her. “Mum…” His voice was a fatigued little moan. “-’m sick…”

“Lord Kuriza, it’s okay~ You can just say you’re upset if that’s really how you feel.” As he tried and failed in his fatigue to dissuade the accusation, Berryblue attempted to hush him, gently stroking the surface of his head biogem before pausing startled- it was very cold to the touch, almost a biting cold. She felt his arm to confirm and received the same chilling answer. “Oh… my. Indeed you are feeling a bit under the weather. Your body temperature has dropped down rather icy.” However, she still needed to verify her likely theory. “Does your throat hurt? Your tum-” She corrected herself. “I mean, your stomach?” 

Weakly, Kuriza nodded and Berryblue let out a low sigh, right on the money. “Dammit, just as I thought. Snow flu’s back in season. If we were back at the ship, we could’ve gotten you your yearly shot and avoided this mess.” She took the miscellaneous heap of blankets at the foot of the bed and helped to cocoon them around the trembling lizard. “I’m going to head into town to visit those local apothecaries and see if they can brew you up some medicine again this year. Kikono will get you any extra blankets if you ask.” Her worry making her ramble almost as fast as Kikono, she left the room hesitantly, making her departure out of ample concern.

The apothecaries, strangely gossiping to each other before Berryblue entered, were only too happy to oblige to the request for medicine. “Anything for our young lordship~” They had smiled, in hindsight, rather suspiciously as they passed the nurse a small little jar containing a fluid dose of neon pink medication.

Kuriza took to it with some complaining as he was sat up to drink it down. Within two swallows, he looked disgusted, trying to refuse any more. “Tastes bad-” He managed to whimper through his tired aching throat. 

“Unfortunately, there’s no such thing as a good tasting medicine, dear.” Berryblue sighed, encouraging the young lizard to, as much as he hated it, finish the dosage. She let Kuriza lie back down with his expanding collection of blankets.

She told Kikono to keep an eye on the little prince as she left the room, telling him she was going out for a supply run- for food easy to eat and digest for the flu-plagued Kuriza. However, no sooner than she had stepped outside of the cabana, she was called back inside frantically by the yellow scientist after hearing, distantly, a sickened hiccup followed by retching. 

Berryblue scrambled back to the boy’s room to find him sprawled on his stomach, partially hatching from his blanket cocoon. He faced the floor, where a growing puddle of eye-catching magenta was accumulating, some of the fluid dripping from his lip. He had swallowed the medicine fully, so it wasn’t purposefully spit up due to hate of the medication- his body just seemed to reject it in vomit, the pink mixing with a few touches of cranberry red. As the lizard peered up miserably, his eyes appeared bloodshot.

In a cold sweat, she rushed to his side, quick to comfort him as he let out a strained whimper. “Lord Kuriza, are you alright?!” He nodded slightly, but he didn’t seem sure of his answer, Berryblue gently petting his head gem, which still felt icy cold, in order to soothe him.

It would seem that medicine wasn’t going to be an option here if he would simply spew up his dosage with a touch of blood- every so often he’d spit up some more of the fluid, so Berryblue’s only option right now was to keep him strong as the flu passed its course- warm blankets and proteins that were easy on the stomach. 

However, time passing only seemed to drain him further.

“You’re not the only one who needed me… I thought you understood that.”

Kuriza had finally managed to fall back asleep, albeit in stab-like pain, when this dream surfaced, still trembling under the cold of the snow flu- though it felt like something else was dragging him down as well.

He found himself in a field of pale lavender petals, the sky a mottled dark purple, almost like a storm, and the ceiling wobbled like the surface of water. More vivid fuchsia petals fluttered through the soft breeze, their color seeming to match the blossoming leaves of the grand gray-barked tree that stood nearby. 

By its stump and slowly shedding the remaining webbings of an insect’s chrysalis stood the likely source of the voice that began the vision- a hornless reptilian like him, haloed and white-skinned in the few places that weren’t made of hodgepodge scrap metal; a decent chunk of his skull was patched in navy and his lower half and tail were made of silvery iron. He didn’t face him right away, but soon turned his head with a ruby red side glare, revealing a violet jewel on his intact shoulder and chest. The appearance was unrecognizable, but the voice was a dead ringer for…

Kuriza’s mouth seemed to speak on its own. “Papa?”

The roboticized Frieza sighed. “I-I’m sorry I didn’t come back for you, my little chestnut.” It was rare for his father to stammer like this. “I just couldn’t. I needed to clean up the scraps of that mess on Namek.”

“But you could’ve at least said you were okay! Then I could have helped you-”

“No. You couldn’t.” Frieza growled between his teeth. “Considering I didn’t even hold a torch to that fiend, you… I wouldn’t be able to save…” He didn’t dare finish the thought, clenching his eyes shut as he held a tense fist. “Never mind… Forget it… I’ve been talking for too long already. The faes need to string me back up now.” He sighed, looking down pensively as all tension left his body. 

“Wait!” Kuriza’s voice leaped out of his throat. “Papa, I’m not done! Don’t leave me again!” He rushed ahead to close the gap between him and his father, attempting to plant a hug around his legs. However, as the embrace met Frieza’s thighs, the older Arcosian’s body swiftly dissolved into a fleeting flurry of petals. Kuriza fell forward as the floral floor below turned to goldenrod. He managed to push himself up before letting out a sputtering cough, crimson blood dripping from all across his face, not just from his mouth, tainting the daffodil bed. He lost his balance again, face sinking into the bloody flowers that suffocated the breath out of him.

“Berryblue’s log, reporting. I believe I may have blood on my hands. 

As Lord Kuriza declined more and more, I had my suspicions. I had the equipment to test it, but I worried his blood would be too thin to take a vial- I regret that I could only test him once it was too late. We believe the ‘medication’ that the villagers gave us was the vessel for the poison we found traces of. Only Lord Kuriza stood between them and freedom from the empire’s bootheel, so they likely surmised. If Lord Frieza were still alive, he would have made quick work of this planet, damn if Kikono and I were still on it.

I didn’t know this and I instead let him suffer instead of investigating my theory once he began to vomit blood. I believe I am partially to blame for his murder.”

Kikono approached Berryblue as she proceeded with her log and became concerned at this remark. “Don’t say that, you did the best you could-”

The maidservant ignored him with a firm huff, pensively shutting her eyes. “End. Log.”

The first thing that burst from Kuriza’s mouth upon being informed by the ogres at King Yemma’s check-in desk that he was dead was a demand that he be taken to see his father. 

The confused deities of the Otherworld whispered amongst each other, unsure how to proceed. Such was an odd request of a spirit. Even before he could be sorted properly, he already wanted to descend into the depths in search of Frieza’s isolated circle of Hell. 

Kuriza not being an overly malicious spirit, not worthy of a designated punishment yet not the purest heart, the ogres decided with hesitancy to acquiesce, provided he was supervised. The boy would take any opportunity he could get to look his Papa in the eyes again. 

The lizard went fearfully pale when they escorted him below the lake to Frieza’s sector- sure enough there was a grand blossom tree in the center of a golden field like in his last dream. A chrysalis made of spider web held its prey, strung from the highest branch.

“We’ll bring him down for you in a moment. Just be patient.”

“Be careful.” Kuriza hushedly warned them. “My father doesn’t take kindly to being shoved around.”

“Don’t worry. He can’t exactly kill us here. We made precautions for that~” The ogre watched with the young spirit as the cocoon was lowered to the ground by the inhabitant faes. They cautiously unwrapped the bundle as the world around them turned to violet. Sure enough, Kuriza’s mechanized Papa was the fly caught in the spider web- just as he had looked then. Within seconds of being freed, Frieza shoved the supervisors aside as he accustomed himself to free use of his joints again. As the ogre drew close, Kuriza leerily hiding behind his back, the dead emperor’s glare deepened. 

“What do you want from me this time that you so foolishly freed me of my restraints?”

“Relax, Frieza, sir. You just have a visitor, that’s all.”

“Hmph… Who would ever dream of visiting a person like me in this side of Hades-” 

He trailed off with wide eyes as the ogre stood aside to display a haloed Kuriza who looked up bashfully. “It… It’s really you… Papa?”

Frieza was still stunned in silence, his mind trying to process all of this at once, but he promptly stopped its efforts, clenching his eyes shut with a firm and demanding bark. “String me back up. Please.”

“Huh?!” Kuriza now faced his own confusion, appearing a bit teary eyed. He could finally see his Papa again and he didn’t even want to see him.

“You heard me, ogre. String me back up in my tree. Right now, the fairy serenades seem preferable to this heinous torture- your creativity in cruelty knows no bounds it seems.”

“I’m… torture?” Kuriza very meekly and hardly audibly whimpered.

“It’s just your son, he came to visit you. What makes you think this is part of the torture?”

Frieza sighed as he turned away. “Because I know that there’s no way my son is actually dead.” He spoke no more as he stretched out his arms, as his pretty-winged tormentors swept him back up in the silk, only leaving his head free.

“Wait! No! Papa!” Kuriza seemed to scream as loud as his little lungs would let him before it felt ragged on his throat. He tried to run to intercept the cocoon, but it just barely escaped his grasp, being hung back up as the world returned to blue skies and yellow flowers. Like the dream, he fell face first into the expanse of petals, except this time, instead of blood dripping from his face, it was tears.

He had to be dragged by his tail back to the surface, but he still opted to hover nearby. Out of all of the space of the Otherworld, he chose a shore of Hell to linger by, since it was the one place where he could see his father suspended from his tree through the surface of the ethereal lakewater.