Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Ball Z or Super or the characters

Okay, so…back when Frieza was first introduced as being a member of the Universe 7 Team, I came up with this what-if scenario. Actually, I came up with the idea on July 22, 2017 (yup, I kept track XD). I should have written it then when we had no idea what the heck was going on. I mean, we still don't, but I really don't think this is the path the show will take. It was after Frieza contained the god of destruction energy and how he was thinking he could use this ability, defeat Goku, maybe overshadow Beerus, and after his eyes kept wandering to the Zenos. I figured, though his hubris, his destruction might be a scenario (like Frost). I still like it even though it's completely not what's going to happen. I honestly planned on posting it only if my idea started to come to fruition, but I really did like it. So here it is! I hope you like it too. ^_^

Darkness surrounded Vegeta as he stood in Capsule Corp.'s backyard. Night had fallen mere hours ago, and ironically everyone had been preparing for the tournament from which they had recently returned. The Tournament of Power had only lasted forty-eight minutes, but it may as well have been a lifetime. So many universes had been threatened, destroyed in an instant.

They were lucky Universe 7 hadn't been a casualty.

Once they returned home, Bulma prepared a big celebration in the middle of the night. Everyone was currently asleep or returned to their homes, planets, or realms. It depended on their moods, honestly. Vegeta didn't care about any of it, not right now.

Not when everything he had once endured was rendered meaningless.

Vegeta despised Frieza in a way no other being could another. That bastard had destroyed his world, his home. His father had been destroyed, his race reduced to but a few full-blooded Saiyans, including his brother, Tarble, and many mixed breed children. If that wasn't enough, Frieza had come back to life, threatening his new home and the life he had made for himself. Vegeta had almost ended him, too.

Curse Kakarot and a cowardly explosion for taking that away from him.

He could have simply resigned his fate to never be able to avenge his people on his terms. For years, he had accepted it. Then, when he was faced with another opportunity, the anger towards the inability to achieve victory over the tyrant was insurmountable. He returned to training long hours. Bulma had taken notice. No, he wasn't having nightmares like back when they had first delved into uncharted waters of a relationship, but Frieza's reappearance was affecting him deeply.

Vegeta wanted to blast Kakarot where he stood when he suggested enlisting Frieza's help for the ToP.

Fighting on opposing sides was one thing. He humiliated Frieza before nearly avenging his race. Working together with the monster that annihilated his home…Vegeta could hardly contain his ire. Everyone on the team was wary except the naïve fool who invited him. At least Vegeta wasn't alone in that.

They shouldn't have trusted Frieza. Even Vegeta could see from the very beginning that he was up to no good. For the longest time, Frieza remained hidden in the shadows and only assisted when it benefited him. There was always something deeper planned in that vile mind of his. Still, no one could have guessed that he would have vied to be ruler of the universe over the Zenos. Even if that fit his personality, Frieza had taken it a step too far.

"Squish!"

And Frieza was wiped from existence. It was as if he never existed.

Except for the fact that he did. Vegeta could never erase everything he did in the bastard's name, couldn't take back his world. The Saiyans were eliminated like they were nothing because of Frieza's fear. The fact that he no longer existed in any world, realm, or universe was unsettling. It was as if everything that happened in his life, every bad memory or feeling of grief, was for nothing. His tormentor no longer had a physical existence. He only existed in his mind. He was still haunted by the past. His struggles were meaningless.

He felt empty.

Vegeta's energy spiked, his fists clenching hard as he tried to contain desolation of his soul. He hadn't felt like this in decades. He couldn't actuallybe grieving for that lizard, the one responsible for all of his pain.

"Papa?" And like that, he was jolted out of his thoughts and anger, the soft voice of his son reaching him. He turned to face the boy who was holding his daughter so close to him. Vegeta's expression softened in a way that was designated only for his wife and children. He noticed that Trunks looked concerned. "What's wrong?"

A quiet chuckle escaped the prince. Honestly, just a moment ago he wanted to scream out all of his frustration and pain, succumb to the depression that trickled into his mind out of nowhere. The second his children showed up, it all went away, as if it never happened. "Nothing," he said to the boy. "Nothing at all."

Trunks didn't look convinced, but he knew better than to question his father. Instead, he spoke the reason he had come outside in the first place. "Mom wanted to know if you were coming inside. It's bedtime."

"Is it?" Vegeta questioned, his voice now relaxed. "Don't worry. I'm coming."

A giggle escaped Baby Bulla as if she understood what he had just said, and Trunks smiled in his unbridled joy. "Okay, cool. See you in a bit."

Trunks raced back inside, cautious of his sister. Those two held a certain brightness and life about them as did their mother. A forlorn sigh escaped the Saiyan. Despite the interruption, he still felt quite empty.

He supposed it didn't matter in the long-run. He was there, alive, and Frieza was erased. He was no longer a space pirate, but a protector, a husband and father. It was okay that he felt empty now. His family would be the ones to fill him again.