Summary:AU where Freeza escaped Trunks when he went to Earth. In the chaos following the androids and Cell, the tyrant seemed to disappear and became a mere thought in the back of everyone's minds. Now, after ten years of silence, he has returned with a new "friend". And a proposition for Goku.
Chapter 1: Becoming a Fool
Goku closed his eyes and inhaled the crisp night air, sighing deeply as the chill stung his throat and lungs in a strangely pleasant way. He rolled his shoulders as he sought out the familiar ki of his family below him. Standing on the top of their dome-shaped house, he felt Chichi's energy. It felt stubborn and proud, just like she was.
Then he felt his youngest son's ki spike... perhaps he was dreaming. Goten had had a nightmare earlier- he woke up shrieking and was sobbing too hard to form a single word. Goku would have to press him for more details in the morning- and insisted on sleeping with Gohan for the rest of the night. His energy was innocent, almost like his older brother's when he was younger. But the hardships and battles that Gohan had faced in his early years had matured him, making him lose the child-like sparkle in his eyes far too soon for Goku's taste.
Opening his eyes again, he directed his gaze to the waning moon. Goku had lost count of how many times he reflected back on his choice to return to life after Cell's little self-destruct tactic and he never regretted his choice. Sure, the threat of danger would be greater. But that threat would always be there regardless, looming over their heads and breathing down their necks. Here, he could at least protect his family and friends. Maybe watching his sons grow up together made it even more rewarding.
Peace flowed through him as he observed the moonlit field before him, the breeze causing the long grass to ripple in waves, the moonlight so bright that the few trees scattered here and there casted shadows as if it were daytime. There was something so relaxing about the stillness-
He stiffened when he felt it.
When he felt him.
His earlier relieve gone in the shade of danger, he automatically shifted into a fighting stance.
Why now? They hadn't seen hide nor hair of him for years.
Of course, Goku always got the impression that Freeza wasn't the type to let sleeping dogs lie- the passage of time, or lack thereof, be damned. Goku spared the time to scoff at his own surprise at the situation. Freeza was alive. Of course he would want to settle the score at some point. And in his defense, Goku had been pretty sure that he'd nipped the situation at the bud in the last seconds of Planet Namek's destruction. Vegeta argued that the enemy should be killed the second the opportunity arises, lest they use the show of mercy as an opening. He didn't flat out say that he was talking about Goku's confrontation with Freeza, but he got the jist of it. Goku couldn't bring himself to say that the only reason Vegeta was still alive was-
Freeza's energy spiked sharply, snapping him out of his thoughts. Right, Freeza was back on Earth again. He really needed to stop letting his mind wander like that. Goku rose into the air and faced the direction Freeza was in. With one last look at the house and his family inside, he sped off.
When Freeza first came to Earth with King Cold, Trunks- who hadn't even been born yet- confronted him almost immediately. After throwing several dozen soldiers his way, Freeza realised that he didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of getting out of this one alive. And then he managed to swallow his pride and made the smartest decision he could.
He decided to live to fight another day.
Good for him, bad for every other living creature in existence.
Vegeta's first plan was that they go after him, and by "they" he really meant himself. Bulma, Yamcha, Chiaotzu, and Krillin agreed. Piccolo and Tien remained silent, sharing a long and intense stare with each other, what it meant was and still remains unknown to everyone but them.
But then Goku touched down, then Trunks told him about the androids, then they panicked and argued over what to do, then they did this and that and. . .
They got a little sidetracked, it seemed. Maybe they should've taken a moment to track down Freeza as soon as possible. Oh well, hindsight and all that.
Just a little further. . . Goku didn't plan to go Super just yet; Freeza felt exponentially stronger and while time was of the essence, it wouldn't matter how fast he got there if he wasn't at full strength to face the tyrant. Damn, this would be a lot easier if Vegeta was here.
But ever since Trunks found out about the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, he'd been begging and pleading his father to train there together. Of course today had to be the day Vegeta finally caved in. They wouldn't be able to sense Freeza, and it would take to long to go there and explain the situation to Vegeta and drag him along. The others were god knows where, but Goku could count on them to join the fight as soon as they sensed Freeza.
Something didn't sit right in Goku's gut. Freeza was on Earth by now, that was easy enough to grasp. But what he couldn't wrap his head around was why he came alone. And how the hell did he enter the atmosphere without any of them knowing?
Goku faltered a little at the thought, but pushed on with more urgency than before. If Freeza found out how to conceal his energy like us, then he must know how to sense it without one of those. . .those, uh. . . Vegeta called them scooters? Doesn't matter, that little parasite will exploit it in ever way he can. But if he knows how to conceal it, then why not use the element of surprise? Especially since he's alone. . . Oh hey, I'm here.
Below him was a forest- or what was left of it. Trees were bent and broken in the wake of a large trench that had been dug by Freeza's ship. All evidence pointed to the fact that Freeza had crashed rather than landed like one would assume. Goku pondered the slightly singed (and still smoking) flora around him as he touched down and made his way to hs destination on foot. He gently touched the splinters of a particularly large tree stump and let his mind wander once more. If Freeza crashed, he was most likely injured as a result.
Maybe he was planning to ambush Goku, but lost control of his pod and was left wounded and out cold thus he wouldn't be able to hide his energy. But then why did Freeza's energy spike before returning to normal? Looking back on it, Goku likened the sensation to an animal charging, darting forward just enough to scare its opponent back slightly before returning to the safety of whatever corner it had been backed in to.
So many questions and not a single clue to go on, Goku thought with a sigh. He stiffened as he felt the ki spike once again. His alarm turned to confusion when this time, a sharp jolt of energy answered it. It was so small and felt so muffled and muted, Goku almost missed it entirely. He sensed restrained strength underneath it, but he mostly felt rage. And hurt. So much hurt. . .
He froze when a small, pale figure rose from the smoking crater before him. Placing his hands on his narrow hips, Freeza made a show of looking around, humming in mock appreciation at the scenery around him. He seemed to be paying Goku no mind, but he was sure that Freeza was very aware of his every move.
A loud cracking sound caused both of their heads to snap towards the source in surprise. The partially fallen tree Goku was observing earlier finally gave way from the topheavy weight of its branches. Goku quickly faced Freeza again, thankful that he didn't take advantage of Goku turning his back on him. The air was filled with the popping and squeaking of wood at the tree landed with a dull thud. Freeza winced at the sound and then chuckled.
This is getting ridiculous.
"Freeza!" Goku spat with all the anger he could muster.
The alien in question snapped his attention to him, eyes widening as if he just noticed the saiyan there. Freeza's "smile" looked more like a nasty sneer, thin purple lips curling back over small square teeth.
"Son Goku!" he exclaimed and he gestured around him, "Long time, no see, eh? So sorry I had to leave the party before you could join last time. You forgive me, right? Right? That's what you and all your little Earth friends are good at, isn't it?"
They stood in silence for a while, Freeza looking uncharacteristically jovial and Goku's face twisted in rage.
The silence dragged on until Freeza dropped his arms and sighed, rolling his eyes. Goku tensed and shifted into a fighting stance. He flared his energy up in warning. He still didn't know for certain whether or not Freeza had learned how to sense energy- or if he even could- but the sharp spikes of lightening seemed to get his message across. The tyrant only smirked.
Freeza continued. "So," he drawled as he casually stepped forward, "I know what-"
"Stay back!" Goku hissed. Freeza put his hands up in defeat. "You don't say anything. You hear me? You don't get to say anything after what you've done. This is my home, these are my people, and you are not welcome here! Got it?"
The reptilian just smirked, his eyes dancing with amusement. "That's nothing I haven't heard a thousand times before, monkey."
Goku growled.
"Look, look," Freeza lowered himself to the ground in a submissive gesture, "I know what you're going to say. 'What do you want, Freeza?' 'Why did you come back now, Freeza?' 'Give me one reason not to kill you Freeza.' Well, I can explain all of those things and more, if you give me a chance. And before you say anything else, just keep in mind that my victory will benefit us both."
Victory? Goku gritted his teeth. Of all the reasons he thought Freeza's return could've meant, a war was not one of them., He decided to play along.
"Yeah? And just what do you mean by that?"
Freeza wasn't fooled by Goku's 'interest', but he continued nonetheless, "Oh, I'm so glad you asked. You see, even I have learned to swallow my pride and ask for help. Something you Saiyans never really got the hang of." It seemed he still couldn't resist taking a jab at the warrior race every chance he got. "Times are changing on my homeworld, and not for the better. For me, that is."
Ah, so that was it. "A power struggle with you and Cold?" Goku snorted. "Give me one reason why I should even care. Serves you right to have everything stripped away from you." He deserved far worse, but it gave the saiyan a twisted sense of satisfaction to see him squirm.
Freeza bared his teeth and let out a snake-like hiss before continuing. "As I was saying, my dearest father has decided to keep the throne from me, my own birthright, to forward his own agenda. The bastard has deemed me 'unworthy' of the title of king, as if all I've accomplished and conquered wasn't enough for him. That ungrateful little-" He stopped himself and took a deep, calming breath, "But I digress. I've seen what he plans to do. He'll run my kingdom into the ground to do it. And then, he'll do the same to rest of this universe."
"And just how is that any different from what you've spent your life doing?" Goku challenged.
"Oh, my dear Goku. You misunderstand. I never planned to destroy all life, just rule it." He chuckled. "There's a big difference."
"Then I'll defeat your father." Goku puffed his chest out and crossed his arms. "As long as I'm here, nothing's gonna harm this planet. You and Cold ain't any different from any other big bad guy I've faced. I'll always defeat them."
The tyrant frowned. "Like you 'defeated' Vegeta? Or you 'defeated' me? Face it Goku, you always fail when you're needed the most, and all your little friends must pick up the pieces."
The faint energy from the crater spiked again, stronger this time. Goku glanced over Freeza's shoulder, but he just dismissed whoever it was with a wave.
"Don't mind it, it's just waking up."
"It?" Goku questioned with an accompanied spike of unease.
"Not important. What is important is that I can't overthrow my father without you." A roar echoed from the crater but Freeza ignored it. "I'll make it easy for you: you aid me, and I'll leave Earth and this whole solar system in peace. How's that?"
Goku bolted forward and stopped just inches from where the tyrant stood. He towered over him and growled, "Your word ain't worth the dirt I walk on. Why shouldn't I just kill you now?"
Freeza sneered. "Because I'm the only one who knows how to defeat my dear father. I know where he'll be, how he thinks, his weaknesses, everything. This isn't a fight you can win with sheer strength alone. We can't do this without each other."
Another roar, louder this time.
"And," Freeza held out his hand in offering, "he's coming here first."
Goku's eyes narrowed into furious slits.
Feigning an innocent and hopeful look, Freeza smiled sweetly, "Deal?"
Goku stared at the outstretched hand. He grasped the tyrant's forearm in a less-than-friendly manner. "Deal..."
A crash and the sound of metal twisting came from the crater.
Freeza smiled fondly, "About time it woke up."
So whaddya think? I kinda rushed the end. comment, favorite, follow, whatever. Please I need validation. also if you want to go ahead and see what the "thing" is, check out the link below
post/177275040488/behold-metalbender-for-any-of-you-that-gives-a
