Chapter 2: Famicide
Since I neglected to mention it in my excitement in releasing the first chapter, here's the obligatory disclaimer: I don't own DBZ or its associated franchises. I only tenuously own my own O.C.s created for this fandom, & my speculative theories on Arcosians & other things DBZ never delved into. If you would like to use either, feel free, as long as you give me credit & a link back! I'd love to see my ideas become accepted fanon.
Special thanks go out to my team: American Vigor, Saucemonkey, and, in Davidstarlingm's stead, his long-time partner-in-writing, npberryhill, who helped out IMMENSELY on this chapter.
"Leave here." The voice carried clearly to Frieza's ears, though it was barely above a whisper. "You've done enough damage, Frieza. Even so, it's nothing that I can't forgive…now, if you get out of here immediately, I won't fight you. You can go on with your life. But if you stay here, and keep hurting my friends, I will stop you."
Frieza's eyes were wide with shock at the Super Saiyan's arrival, seemingly out of thin air, but he quickly caught himself, narrowing his gaze and putting on a more confident expression. "Leave? Oh but I've only just arrived, and I have been waiting so eagerly for you, Saiyan." He looked around at the humans, in their various states of injury. "Pity about your 'friends', but that's what happens when you are late. After all, you can hardly blame me. I got a little impatient, decided to have some fun, that's all. If only you had arrived sooner…" He let the words hang in the hot desert breeze, testing to see what Son Goku's reaction would be.
"I mean it, Frieza. Leave. This really is your last chance. After this, I won't show you even a hint of mercy." He spoke with that same even, quiet tone. No hint of anger, or even annoyance, remained. Frieza's temper flared, his lips drawing back over his teeth before he managed to calm himself. "Mercy? Oho, that's right, you thought it merciful to spare my life…fool. Besides being your biggest mistake, it was the greatest insult you could have given me! Not only did you, a lowly monkey, gloat over my defeat, you didn't even have the stomach to finish the job." He narrowed his eyes, spitting the last few words out with a growl.
A slight reaction appeared, a downturned mouth where before the Saiyan's face was expressionless. "I spared your life because I'm not like you, Frieza. I don't kill those who are helpless." Goku clenched his fists slightly. 'I don't want this to go any further…how can I convince him to just leave?' He couldn't allow this fight to escalate…not like on Namek, where the entire planet paid the price of he and Frieza fighting to their fullest. Never again would he make that mistake; he wouldn't let his Saiyan drive to fight obscure his sense of responsibility.
Meanwhile, Frieza was still puzzling over Goku's calm demeanor. 'I'm almost certain that the Super Saiyan would want to kill me, rushing immediately into battle…but that's not what this one is doing…he's asking me to leave, as though he expects me to just quietly go on my way…' he thought. Then, a thought struck him. What if this was his mind, merely playing tricks on him again? All of his hallucinations and flashbacks had seemed so real, until they weren't… Damnit, he couldn't be sure, unless… 'Unless I see for myself whether this apparition is solid or smoke' he thought as he moved into a slightly crouched stance.
Without warning, Frieza darted forward, cocking a punch. To Goku though, the move was telegraphed, and he might as well have been moving in slow motion. He dodged to the side as Frieza lunged past him, then spun around. "What are you doing, Frieza? Do you really want to fight like this, at this level? You don't stand a chance!"
He'd missed his target. Frieza wheeled, seeking out that loathsome Saiyan. He stood, casually, as though dodging the Arcosian wasn't even worth acknowledging in his posture. A low growl bubbled out of Frieza's throat at this flippancy, this mockery! He lashed out again, throwing a hard right hook with his undamaged arm. Only this time, the Saiyan didn't dodge. 'He's real, now I'm sure of it..!' Frieza thought as he felt the impact against his knuckles, the proof that he was justified in coming here, to this god-forsaken rock, in order to restore his honor. He grinned. 'Why is he smiling all of a sudden?' Goku thought, 'before, he looked scared of me, like I'd planned. What's going on?' He had no time to consider Frieza's change in mood, as the smaller fighter continued his assault, all hesitancy now cast aside.
Watching this exchange, Kold couldn't help but smirk, if ever so slightly. 'So, Frieza, you were telling me the truth…well, at least the part about a Saiyan beating you… We'll just have to see what makes this one so 'super'. He doesn't look much different from all the other monkeys from here.' All of the time and expense poured into his son's recovery, in body if not in mind, would be worth it to see this play out, to finally be rid of the one potential for disaster his kind faced. Even if the boy failed, Kold was certain that this so-called 'Super Saiyan' was no match for him. He crossed his arms, his tail curling slightly upwards at the tip, betraying his pleasure at this turn of events. At this rate, everything would still go according to plan.
With ferocity in every strike, the Arcosian worked his way across the dusty ground, slowly driving the Saiyan back, bit by bit, despite the taller fighter meeting and catching each punch and kick. This served to enrage Frieza further. "Come on, fight me, you stinking ape!" he yelled, bringing his metal tail forward, intending to lash it across the Saiyan's still-blank face. Goku caught the appendage calmly, slightly struggling in his base state to hold it out in front of his chest like a wriggling snake. Frieza gritted his teeth as he struggled to pull free. "Damn you! You think you can mock me, do you?! I'm going to make you suffer, you filthy wretch, and when I'm done, I'll finish off your little friends, and then I'll blow up this pla—"
In one motion, as he pulled Frieza closer by his tail, Goku's countenance suddenly darkened. Thin ripples sliced through the air as the Saiyan's fist swung at Frieza. Just once. Hard. Across the face. The tyrant reeled momentarily, almost losing balance even as Goku relinquished the grip on his stabilizing tail. He turned back to his opponent, unconsciously holding his aching jaw, his eyes curiously blank of any emotion.
"What is wrong with you, Frieza?" Goku sternly asked. "Why did you come here? I know that you don't really want to face me again, and I know that your body's wrecked... So why? Haven't you had enough pain?" At this, Frieza thought, 'He knows my body is wrecked, huh?' Something about the way he said that unnerved Frieza greatly, as though the dark-haired man was aware of every weakness, every episode he'd had, every night spent screaming… 'Stop it' he mentally commanded himself, 'there's no way in hell he'd know about any of that, I'm just reading too much into a dumb ape's careless words!' The thought kept gnawing him, though. Even as he pushed it to the back of his mind, he tried to ignore the nagging idea that the Saiyan knew…
A dark laugh escaped the alien's glossy black lips. "Oh, Saiyan…you have no concept of pain. Just as your addled, worthless mind can't possibly comprehend my reason for being here…" He grinned crazily, eyes still looking dead and frighteningly cold. Goku almost took a half-step back, instinctually, to escape the burgeoning madness in that smile, before taking a deep breath to calm himself again.
"So? Explain it to me, then. Teach me, if I'm so stupid," he ventured, keeping his tone as well as his body tense and careful. "Why would you go out of your way to come to my planet, hurt my friends, and pick a losing fight with a Super Saiyan?"
Ignoring the jab of Goku deeming it a 'losing fight', Frieza chuckled, head slightly down, eyes closed in mirthless laughter. "It would be a waste of breath to try explaining my reasons to you. As futile as trying to explain a symphony to one who is deaf. You, with your limited mind, can only grasp so much, even with the unprecedented foolish interest to question my motives. I guess the old saying 'curious like a monkey' has some truth to it after all. Here I thought you were all savage brutes, but you fancy yourself smart enough to challenge me, a being as high above you as a dragon is above an ant." Goku furrowed his brows in response.
"So, you're not even going to try justifying yourself to me…I see… You're just making excuses, because you're not used to people questioning you at all," the Earth-raised Saiyan sighed with slight contempt.
"You fool, before you destroyed everything, I was a GOD!" Frieza roared with sudden fury. "Whole civilizations bowed before me, planets crumbled in my wake, and at a word, I could decide the lives or deaths of billions!" he raged, tail lashing angrily in a surge of emotion that managed to carry to the mechanical appendage.
"All that power…" Goku said, softly, "…and you used it not to help people, but to inflict torment and suffering? Don't you have any regrets? Any remorse over all the countless people you've hurt and killed?"
Frieza cocked his head to one side, mockingly. "No, I don't make a habit of losing sleep over the insignificant lives of a few playthings and pawns", he said as he put one finger to his cheek, in a thoughtful gesture, "though it does piss me off when they misbehave and start thinking their lives are their own. They belong to me."
Goku's fists were shaking now, an insurmountable wave of rage building behind his forehead, where he could feel the veins pulsing, standing out in his temples. "You…you monster…you have no conscience, no soul…those people you kill for fun don't belong to you, they're living, breathing things, just like you…don't you see that?!" Frieza's placid expression soured considerably as he frowned, lowering his chin to glare at the Saiyan.
"They aren't like me. Not at all. Not in the slightest. They wouldn't even know how to run their own lives if I didn't do it for them. They ought to be grateful that I see fit to make them useful in some capacity" he chuckled.
That was the last straw. At the mention of Frieza's twisted, warped views on freedom, Son Goku finally let his anger take him. In a blaze of golden light, his hair shifted, from black, to saffron, to a blinding, almost white blond. His eyes, once calm and gentle black, were now piercing turquoise. The Super Saiyan glared at Frieza.
"I don't understand you, Frieza—how you think, how you can act like this! I just don't get it! But I do understand one thing about you, and it's that you're a bully. As long as you're stronger than someone, you can dominate them. You can't intimidate me though, Frieza. You never could, because I don't fight for myself, but for my friends, my family, and my planet. And now, with my new power, not only have you failed to intimidate me, but you've got no chance of beating me either. You're scared. You're terrified of being bullied back. You, who only fight for yourself."
During the Super Saiyan's admonishment, Frieza had been slowly backing away from the torch-like aura that sprung up around the Saiyan, wreathing him in golden flame. His jaw was slack, and his eyes, wide with fright, had fixated on the Saiyan's own, as if unable to tear his gaze away. 'That's it, Frieza. Be afraid. If this doesn't make you want to quit, well then…I guess I have no choice….' Goku thought to himself, drinking in the small Arcosian's reaction to his transformed state.
"Th...those eyes..!" Frieza gasped. He could feel the cold terror racing up his spine, turning what resolve he'd had to nothing. Tearing his gaze away from those ghastly eyes, he looked towards where his father stood. The larger Arcosian hadn't visibly reacted to the Super Saiyan transformation yet. 'He's never seen it, never experienced it...not as I have.' Frieza thought. Still, he'd be damned before he would buckle under the pressure and crawl back to the King for help. 'Not yet, at least...' he thought, 'not unless I truly can't win this myself.'
Kold had been mildly surprised by the sudden wind coming off the Saiyan, followed immediately by a curious change in appearance. Though, he had been far more bothered by his son's reaction: uncontrolled fright, after which Frieza had looked at him with an expression that was halfway between pleading and vindication. 'I suppose that this is the famous 'Super Saiyan' my son has been raving about.' he thought, 'which explains that look on his face, after I'd doubted him for so long.' He wasn't impressed. Though he could barely feel the ki of the spiky-haired warrior from here, meaning that it had to be somewhat higher than his own at this point, the giant Arcosian remained unconcerned. He could see what had Frieza so worried, though. At that level, Frieza wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight, especially in his condition. Oh well. This would at least prove interesting.
"Alright, Frieza," Goku began, noticing the Arcosian's hesitancy. "You wanted this fight, you came here and started it...but believe it or not, I'm gonna offer you one last chance to back out. I don't want to have to destroy you, not if I don't have to. In fact, all I want is to go home and see my family again." Goku intoned calmly, almost pleadingly.
Frieza smirked at the tone creeping into the taller fighter's voice. "Oh, but I came all this way to fight you, monkey, and I'm not leaving until you, your little friends, and this planet are reduced to dust!" He raised his hand in front of him, and slowly clenched it into a fist. "Just imagine, after I kill you, there will be no-one left on this pathetic planet to save your human allies or that joke of a half-breed brat." Goku listened silently, his expression slowly darkening. Frieza's laughter only grew. "I'll give the kid credit, he's certainly durable... Come to think of it, without you hanging over my head, I could really take my time and torture him—you know, get my hands dirty. After you're dead, though, I suppose I'll have all the time in the world. Won't that be fun?" he sneered at the Super Saiyan.
Goku snarled, "I won't let you, Frieza! Your days of killing and torturing others are OVER!"
Goaded, he flung himself at Frieza, not caring about restraint or mercy any more. This monster had to pay! He whipped his leg forward, catching the cyborg just above where his metal waist connected to his torso. The result was gratifying, and instant: the Arcosian immediately doubled over, hacking and wheezing for breath. Goku continued his assault, delivering an uppercut that returned the smaller fighter to an upright position, before he released a kiai to knock him backwards into the wall of a cliff. Breathing hard, more from anger than exertion, Son Goku watched the tyrant dislodge himself from the wall and return to a fighting stance.
"Khh...well...now you're in the mood to fight. Guess all it took was pushing the right buttons, huh?" Frieza said, spitting some blood into the sand below.
At this, Goku's expression became furious, his teeth bared slightly in a snarl. "No more chances, Frieza. You're going to pay."
He attacked again, sending a spinning kick at the Arcosian. Frieza blocked this time, his one intact arm weathering the impact, even as his metal feet slid back, scraping ruts in the ground. He released a kiai, disengaging from Goku's attack, and followed through with a ki blast aimed at his opponent's head. Goku dodged lazily, then proceeded to duck and weave around another flurry of punches and kicks from his enemy.
"Damn!" Frieza cried, "Why can't I just HIT you?!" 'This seems familiar' a small voice in his head seemed to say, 'just like on Namek. Next, he'll let you hit him...and it won't do a damn thing.' True to his déjà vu, the Saiyan ceased his dizzying movements, and Frieza's fist found its target, on his chest. It was like hitting a solid wall, something impenetrable, impossible to destroy. He grimaced, re-chambering his punch, and hitting again.
Thwack! The resonating sound of flesh against flesh rang through the air, and then again, and again, as Frieza continued his futile attack on his now unmoving opponent. Hitting him in the chest, face, even trying to attack what would be a weak point on any other creature, the knees, yielded no result, other than the aching in his own knuckles. Finally, he sprang back, panting, shoulders heaving with exertion and anger.
"What...the hell...are you..?" he asked, gasping for air. "Why aren't...you hurt? I am supposed to be stronger than I ever was, so WHY can't I beat you?!" Goku waited for the tyrant to finish, before speaking.
"It's simple, Frieza. I told you before. I fight for what I believe in, for my allies, my family, for what's right. This isn't about me. With my friends counting on me, I will always find the strength to stand against the likes of evil." Those blue-green eyes stared straight at the Arcosian's, boring through the scarlet irises, deep into his very soul. Frieza hated those probing eyes.
"Grrrr... Fighting...for others? Nonsense, that's not what makes you strong. Having other people, weaker than you, leeching off of your strength...that isn't power! It's a liability!" Frieza screamed in disbelief. His mind reeling, he knew he had to find a way to make some headway in this fight. He searched the battlefield for clues, eyes finally coming to rest on the bright blue fighting uniform of the half-breed. "You think that fighting for others makes you stronger? Let's put that..." he said as he gathered ki into a pinprick of red at his fingertip, "...to the TEST!" he yelled as he prepared to fire at the prone form of the half-Saiyan child.
He had gathered ki while his right arm was at his side, to avoid telegraphing his intent. In the instant that he raised his arm to fire, he felt a sudden disorientation. 'What...the hell..?' he thought, as he found himself looking at the ground, close to his left cheek, and the sky, at a vertical angle, stretching to the right of his field of vision. In between these, the discrepancy was suddenly made clear when he saw a familiar pair of dark blue boots.
Then, the pain hit. It was like a lightning strike, absent one moment and suddenly there the next; a burning sensation that traveled from his right temple inwards, stabbing at his brain like a sharp knife and briefly robbing him of his vision in his right eye. "Aaagh-! Gah..." his throat supplied sounds of pain that he could not control. He lay there, stunned, as his mind tried to replay what happened. 'I gathered ki', he thought. 'Then, I aimed at the kid. Brought my hand up, and...then I was on the ground? Huh?' He scrunched his face up, both from the pain and from trying to concentrate on the seconds he had missed. It had been only one second, he realized.
His eyes widened with shock. 'No way...that's...no, that can't be possible, he can't be that fast!' The implications of what had just transpired sent another shiver of fear through his body. 'He saw it. He perceived my attack before I even had a chance to release it. What's more, he covered the distance between us in the blink of an eye...no, not even that long, in a mere instant! He was sure now. This had to be another insane hallucination, one that reacted so swiftly because it was just his own mind, preying on itself in a perverse form of psychological autocannibalism. Never mind that he'd felt the apparition before. It could just be the extent of his condition, right? Psychosomatic pain, something he'd overheard the doctors saying before. Just like the twisting, wrenching pain he felt in an arm he longer had attached to his body, a tail that no longer was rooted to his spine. I'm probably swiping at shadows, he thought with a sudden horror. 'Father is just humoring me, and none of this is real, and I can't even tell anymore, and he's just...just going to...' He couldn't finish the thought.
"Get up." A voice jerked him out of his mental reflection. It was the Saiyan, the deceptively real fantasy, the very avatar of all of his fear and insecurity. "I said, get up, Frieza. I'm angry, but I still have my principles. I don't want to kick you while you're down."
Frieza looked up at him in mute horror, mouth open, pupils mere pinpricks. Goku briefly wondered if he'd hit him too hard with that last one. Still, he was after Gohan. He set his jaw resolutely, his mouth becoming a hard line carved into his features.
"I said, get UP!" he barked. The white-and-metal alien jumped, flinching away from the flaring aura that accompanied the Super Saiyan's outburst.
Scrambling to his feet, Frieza backed away from his tormentor. His eyes, unfocused, darted around the landscape, as if looking for something, anything, that would help him win. Suddenly, it seemed that the Saiyan was right in his face, despite the distance he'd tried to put between them. A gasp caught in Frieza's throat.
"What was that, huh?" Goku said, accusingly. "It sounded like the mighty Frieza was actually afraid. What'd I tell you? You're just a bully, and as soon as someone starts beating on you, you lose your nerve." Frieza gaped at him, then closed his mouth and looked angered as Goku continued. "You're a coward. I've finally proven that to myself, just now. You'll take any road to victory, even if it means firing on a defenseless child." Frieza trembled, rage starting to overcome his fear. "I won't hold back the next time you pull a stunt like that, Frieza. Do you understand? You're almost out of chances with me, and if you attack my friends again..." he suddenly grabbed Frieza's metal arm, wrenching the Arcosian closer to him, "...I will end you, got it?"
All of the anger he'd managed to muster evaporated as, when confronted with those eyes—so close!—Frieza squirmed under that gaze, trying to break free, to get away from this Saiyan, whose hot breath was close enough to feel on his skin. It was maddening, terrifying, to be this close to what he knew, in his heart, was death itself. His eyes were hard and unforgiving, almost electric in their intensity, and staring, always staring, right into his soul.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of being forced to look at those terrifying eyes, Frieza felt the grip on his ruined left arm lessen, allowing him to pull free. He stumbled back, numb with fear, until he felt his back against the same rock face he had careened into earlier. Cursing to himself, Frieza circled so that the cliff wasn't at his back, all the while, keeping an eye on the Saiyan, afraid to even blink in case the golden warrior reappeared in his face again. He had a brief vision of Goku, his shimmering aura blocking out everything else in the world, smiling that same feral grin he'd worn on Namek, clothes torn to rags, planet falling to pieces around him, and yet, still pursuing Frieza, as only a Saiyan could, with the beast-like determination of a predator. He shook his head furiously, trying to dispel the flashback. This wasn't Namek, this was Earth. This time would be different.
"Daydreaming, Frieza? In the middle of a fight, that could cost you." Goku taunted him from across the crater floor. The Arcosian snapped his head up, eyes focusing again, suddenly aware of how vulnerable he'd been. His fate could have been decided by a single blow from the Super Saiyan, he realized, while he was sitting here in shock. He growled, raising his arm in a defensive posture and focusing on the enemy before him. "Enough of your mind games, Saiyan, let's settle this!" he yelled, rushing towards the spiky-haired man with a burst of ki to increase his speed.
Goku noted the look of blank, introspective horror on the small alien's face, before choosing to get his attention. Now, as Frieza again attacked him, he powered up, just enough to keep ahead of the rapidly weakening tyrant. 'He's slowing down...not just his speed, but it's like his head isn't even in this fight. He's making too many mistakes.' Another badly-telegraphed punch. Then a kick, swinging forward with plenty of strength, but no restraint. Goku deflected the metal limb, watching as Frieza cursed and tried to regain his balance. 'Was he this sloppy on Namek? Was I just too tired and afraid to see all the holes in his defense?' Goku thought. Really, this wasn't a fight, so much as a one-sided struggle, and he was undeniably stronger.
With a yell, Frieza again tried to attack, this time with a multitude of small, yet powerful ki blasts. Barely raising his power, Goku blocked every one of them with one hand, feeling the detonations on his palm as mere impacts. 'He's getting tired' the Super Saiyan thought, 'and when he gets too tired to fight, I just know he's going to try something desperate like before...' Until then, he resolved to keep whittling down the stubborn tyrant's strength.
"Ugh...Krillin? Hey, are you awake?" Gohan intoned with a note of pain in his voice. Beside him, the bald fighter stirred slightly. Gohan heard a wet cough from his friend, then a groan as he rolled over and sat up.
"Man, either I'm slacking in my training, or these enemies just keep getting stronger..." Krillin sighed. After the last attack from Frieza, they were all bruised, beaten, and no longer willing to stand up and take any more punishment. He looked around, assessing the whereabouts of his friends. Tenshinhan looked as though he was conscious again, though in a great amount of pain. Piccolo too, had regained consciousness, and was standing, silently tracking Goku and Frieza's battle with his senses. Vegeta looked as though he'd gone through a meat grinder, but knowing him, he'd be okay. Gohan, beside him, looked a bit beaten up, but not nearly as badly as he'd feared. All in all, the kid was a real trooper. The others weren't in sight, but he could feel their steady presences, off somewhere behind an outcropping of stone.
"Krillin, how long do you think my Dad will fight Frieza? What about that big guy over by the ship? He's been standing there this whole time, and he hasn't even moved. If it weren't for his power, I'd have forgotten he was here too." Gohan asked. He craned his neck, while lying on his belly, to glance at the enormous Arcosian, still standing in the shade of the ship like some monstrous statue. The only thing they'd seen him do so far was deflect one of Vegeta's ki blasts away from the ship, and he had returned to stony silence immediately after that. Still, for just a moment, the half-Saiyan thought he could feel the alien's power spike beyond what was necessary for the effort needed to deflect the blast. 'Momentarily, he'd felt even stronger than Frieza, maybe even stronger than Dad,' he thought.
"I don't know, Gohan," the monk said, "but whatever happens, I'm positive that your Dad will come through and beat those guys." In his own mind, though, Krillin had pondered the same thought as the half-Saiyan boy. 'For just a moment, that huge guy's power was really scary...Come on Goku...I hope you know where your priorities are...' thought the small fighter as he watched Goku still leading Frieza in an exhausting dance of blocked and dodged attacks, the metal tyrant screeching in increasing frustration at his inability to hit his target.
It seemed as though all the little insects were beginning to stir, King Kold noted. From the traitorous Vegeta, to the various humans who had come to the battle, they all seemed to be picking themselves up to watch the fight that still raged. 'Well..."raged" may not be the appropriate description, though Frieza certainly seems to be getting frustrated...' he thought. His ruby eyes followed the two fighters' movements easily: Frieza's wild swings, marked by tense moments of clear exhaustion as he stopped to pant and release a string of curses at his enemy, and the Saiyan, moving as though he was a being of living, flowing energy, effortlessly circumventing all of Frieza's attacks with an almost lazy air. The King wrinkled his nose in disgust. To think, that his son was being shown up by one of these primates—and ironically, between this one and Vegeta, they were the last two that he knew of. Leave it to Frieza to miss killing only the most dangerous members of the species... Lost in thought for a moment, he almost missed the instant that Frieza fell.
The golden-haired monkey had seen Frieza's backfist, and before it had a chance to strike him in the temple, he was gone, with a slight hiss of air, two fingers to his forehead, and then, he was behind Frieza, kicking him forward when he was already unbalanced. With a cry, Frieza fell flat on his face, accompanied by the metal sound of his cybernetic body striking the dirt. He had been completely surprised, and had not even braced for the fall. Kold's eyes widened almost imperceptibly with concern, seeing the Saiyan now standing over his son. His tail nervously curled around the hem of his cape. Deep in his throat, a low, rumbling growl issued forth as he bared his teeth.
The tall turbaned Namekian's eyes turned silently back over to Kold, an air of caution in his gaze. Beside him, Vegeta did likewise, each of them stern-faced. The King's power fluctuation had not gone unnoticed.
"Um, Mr. Piccolo, what do you think that big guy over there is waiting for?" the youngest Saiyan asked. "I thought...for a second... I felt something from him."
"You are right to trust your senses, Gohan," he replied softly. "And unless Goku is prepared to fight them both at the same time, I feel we may have to step in and help. This guy may be even stronger than Frieza."
"Tch!" the Saiyan prince scoffed, having overheard them. "As if you weaklings would make any sort of difference. Go ahead and throw your own lives away if you want, I don't care. But I do care if the lot of you do something stupid and provoke him! So until I tell you otherwise, you stay put and keep your mouths shut!" Vegeta grunted, his voice barely above a whisper, yet no less angry than if he were yelling. "Besides, what happened to all of your incessantly annoying faith in Kakarott? Let him fight...after all, he is your precious 'Super Saiyan'," the hardened prince added with a tone of obvious bitterness.
Piccolo met and returned Vegeta's smug gaze with every bit of the same intensity, but replied to Gohan without moving. "He's right...for the moment. If your Dad needs our help, he'll ask for it. Just be ready, Gohan."
"I will!"
"Ready to give up, Frieza?" Goku spoke, watching the small alien quickly get to his feet after he had been knocked flat. "We don't have to keep doing this. You can still leave with your life, you know. I'm still willing to forgive and let you go."
Unsurprisingly, the Arcosian lashed out yet again, striking a fraction slower than before. "Damn you!" he screamed, "I refuse to lose to a monkey!" Again, just as it seemed his fist would connect, the Saiyan danced away from his attacks. Frieza tried to sweep his opponent's feet out from under him, then, failing that, went to wrap his tail around the ankle of the fleeing Goku, only to go through thin air as he infuriatingly disappeared again. "Curse him..!' Frieza thought angrily, 'I don't know how, but every time I almost have him, he slips away! It's not just speed, it's something more!'
Goku lightly struck the small Arcosian with a knifehand to his back, having transmitted behind him. Just as before, the alien stumbled forward, before falling outright. 'This is getting old...' Goku thought. "So, are you finally going to admit that you've lost, and leave? I just want you to get out of he—"
He was cut off by a strike from something hard against his back that knocked all the wind out of him. He turned, arms up to block. 'I was wondering when this guy would join in...guess he was waiting for Frieza to finish me off, but he got impatient.' the Saiyan from Earth thought as he beheld King Kold, now standing between he and Frieza.
"Papa..." Frieza said, still sprawled on the ground. "I...I'm still trying to beat hi—"
"Get up. Now." Kold said sharply, not even bothering to turn to address his downed son. "It's painfully clear to me now that you are incapable of dispatching this Saiyan, so rather than wasting one more moment on this mudball of a planet..." He lashed his tail behind him in anger, his feet gripping the ground and forming cracks. "...I elected to step in."
Goku watched this initial exchange with mild curiosity. 'Wow, looks like Frieza's father isn't the type to mess around...I'd better keep my guard up...' he thought. 'The power coming off this guy is massive...but then, so's he! Something tells me that he's not even half-powered up yet. Man, I wish I could fight him all-out...but I can't. Not here. Not with Gohan, Krillin, and everyone so close. Not to mention Piccolo and the Dragonballs...'
A burst of power caught Goku, wrenching him from his reverie. Kold charged, head lowered and eyes flashing with malice. The Super Saiyan caught the first enormous fist aimed at his torso, but the second slammed into his face. As he flew backwards, he could only brace as he saw a shadow above him, and then the massive, sinewy tail smacked him into the ground, creating a cracked crater around his frame. "Gahk-!" He coughed up blood, eyes wide. 'He's so fast!'
Frieza watched, dumbstruck, as his father put down in seconds an enemy he had been struggling with for the past hour. "You know son, I really am tired of this dirty little planet," Kold said conversationally. "I was initially curious about your so-called 'Super Saiyan'...but now that I've seen him with my own eyes, I'm not impressed with either of you." The younger Arcosian set his jaw in anger, eyes narrowing, but he remained silent. "Don't think that I'm finishing the job on your behalf. To tell the truth, I'm just bored with this situation, and you're so hopelessly incompetent, I was forced to step in to clean up your mess." He stomped on the golden Saiyan's chest to emphasize, eliciting a strangled cry. "Let this be a lesson to you, Frieza, that when I suggest that you ought to just blow up a planet from space to deal with an enemy, you listen to me." Another stomp to punctuate that last word, the Saiyan's ribs cracking audibly. "Hmph. So much for that ridiculous legend that you were so worried about." He raised one foot again, aiming for his prone opponent's head.
SSHFFT! The King's foot came down on bare ground. Momentarily puzzled, he searched until he spotted the Saiyan, clutching his ribs some twenty feet away. "Well well, looks like you finally decided to use that trick of yours against me," he said.
Goku cocked his eyebrow in question. Frieza angrily looked between the two of them, as though they were keeping a secret from him. "What 'trick', monkey? What are you talking about, father?"
"Frieza, your considerable ignorance is showing," Kold chided. "The Super Saiyan has been evading you so easily, not because he's that much faster than you, but because of some odd disappearing act." Frieza gaped at him. Suddenly, it all made sense. 'Then...it's no illusion I'm fighting, it really is the real Super Saiyan..." Upon concluding this, he was struck by the fear that he'd banished when he had convinced himself earlier that it was all a hallucination. 'However,' he thought, 'Papa's fighting him with me now. Together, we can't possibly lose...right?' The fear's grip on him did not loosen though, even as he smirked over at his father. "Well, now that you've pointed it out, father, it adds up to what I had deduced from our fight. So, since we've seen through all his tricks, shall we finish the job?"
Kold gave a half-smile in response, before turning back to face the Saiyan. "Yes, son, let's. Afterwards, you can blow up this planet and the rest of these miserable insects." Something in his tone of voice, as though he was just talking about the weather, or some other trivial topic, chilled Goku's heart to the core. 'He's not like Frieza...not at all...' the pure-hearted Saiyan thought with trepidation, 'I can't afford to let this drag out...no telling what this guy'll do if I can't end this decisively. Then there's Frieza, too...' Frieza he could deal with, but this guy was bad news. Meanwhile, Goku noticed that the two aliens were talking again. Almost arguing, from the sound of it.
"I don't understand why, exactly, you had to set foot on the planet itself, Frieza. This would have been much easier if we hadn't bothered to land." Kold was saying, tail tapping the ground angrily behind him.
"But father, I already explained this to you...I had to come here, for my own reasons." Frieza looked agitated. To Goku, he looked like he was almost pouting...he didn't dare, but he could almost laugh at the display of childishness.
"One day, Frieza, you will see that your own personal honor means absolutely nothing in the scheme of things, that our collective honor takes precedence, and that you are very fortunate indeed that I was kind enough to humor you on this little excursion." Kold sighed in a lecturing tone. The whole thing was almost funny, Goku thought, if a little surreal. Still, if they weren't taking this seriously enough to focus fully on him, that could be a bad sign. He'd noticed Frieza had regained his confidence.
"Um, not to interrupt, but aren't you fighting me? Shouldn't you stop bickering and pay attention to your opponent? I mean...I'd like to get this over with, not to mention grab some dinner." Goku nervously ran his hand through his now-blond hair as he addressed the two. He couldn't help but force a semi-polite smile. They both turned, their full attention on him again, two sets of red eyes burning holes in him as they glared. 'Wow, they're really alike' Goku thought risibly.
"Frieza." Kold held the Super Saiyan's gaze, staring him down. "Let's teach this scum what it means to cross our clan. No more games." Frieza, at his side, slid into a fighting stance, grinning. "Right. For this insult, he'll pay."
'Here we go,' Goku thought, 'I guess that made them angry. Now instead of them fighting each other, I'll have to take them both at the same time!' Even so, the pure-hearted Saiyan wasn't quite ready to throw in the towel and ask for assistance. Part of him was even undeniably excited about this. He didn't have long to reflect on their new cohesive behavior, though, as Kold abruptly disappeared, Frieza not far behind.
"HAAA!" Frieza appeared in front of Goku, hand wreathed in crackling red energy. Too slow. The golden warrior leapt upwards, away from his attack, preparing to come down on his back, when...
Bkkshh! He'd been jolted sideways, sent slamming into the cliff to his left, as Kold's massive form reappeared and backhanded him with bone-crunching force. 'Damn! He's faster than he looks! I guess he didn't just get the jump on me before!' Goku's mind raced, trying to locate the huge energy coming from Kold, but at this range, it was overwhelming, like his aura was all around. 'Gotta get some distance..!' he thought as he ignited his aura, flying upwards into the cloudless sky. 'There!' he thought, finally discerning the titan's power. He fired a ki blast just as the hulking Arcosian shifted into view below and to his right.
The blast struck one of the pauldrons of his armor, and Kold was jerked to the left as it tore through the material, shattering one tip entirely. He paused to survey the damage, then tensed as he saw the Super Saiyan coming in for an attack. He dodged a punch to the face, and, while Goku's arm was still extended, grabbed hold at the wrist and bicep.
"Caught you. I'd like to see you try that trick of yours now!" he roared, angling his head downwards in preparation to drive his horns into the Saiyan's chest. 'Oh no!' Goku thought in momentary panic. Unlike Frieza, who he'd only fought in his fourth form, this opponent had sharp horns...and he knew how to use them! Gritting his teeth, Goku brought his free hand to his forehead, transmitting himself, still in Kold's grip, towards a thick wall of rock. Using all his strength, he leveraged the Arcosian sideways to smash against the layered stone, barely avoiding being gored. His gamble had worked though, as Kold lost his grip in the resulting landslide.
"Gah..! Stupid ape..." Kold growled, shaking his head to rid it of dust. "Frieza! Don't just stand there, attack! This is your fight, is it not?!" At this, Frieza snapped to attention, shouting, "Yes, father!", as he readied another ki attack. "Take this!" he cried, unleashing a large, dense ball of dark red ki at the Super Saiyan. Now that Kold had assessed the Saiyan's repertoire of tricks, he felt confident that they could claim victory, as long as Frieza provided a distraction.
Below, Goku deflected Frieza's blast, struggling only slightly. His hand came away burnt, but he ignored the sting - Kold was already on top of him, lashing with his tail, unleashing a barrage of punches and kicks, and when he thought he had an opening, swinging his horns to try to catch Goku with them. So far, Goku was keeping up, but he found himself tiring, feeling as exhausted as when he'd fought Frieza at 50%, before he'd gotten his second wind as a Super Saiyan.
An astute strategist, Kold too noticed Son Goku's condition. 'Just as planned, the wretched ape can only go so far in this form...he's obviously not used to it yet, giving me the advantage!' The wicked king smirked, feeling that he was already the victor. 'Still', he thought, 'it wouldn't hurt to make this worm suffer for all of the embarrassment he caused. Yes, I'll have to show him what true terror is, before he dies!' A plan already forming in his head, he used the momentum of Goku's fist to block and flip around, so that he floated some distance away. "Frieza! Hold him off. I want to teach this Saiyan scum some respect."
Frieza looked at his father, mouth quirked in a question, before widening his eyes slightly. He turned to Goku. "Ohoho, you're in for it now, monkey. Papa's going to make you beg for death!" His eyes lit up with a childish vindictiveness, as Goku felt Kold's power start to rise, then skyrocket.
Frieza was attacking—that, Goku was well aware of. However, his complete attention was on the bigger Arcosian's bulging form, his armor starting to crack and strain over the titan's rapidly-expanding frame. As he blocked another hit from the cyborg Arcosian, he felt that horrible, dark power shoot up and up. 'Uh oh!' Goku panicked. 'If that guy keeps powering up...it could be disastrous!' In his distraction, he'd given Frieza the opening to sock him hard across the jaw, and with his defenses down, the hit drew blood. "Arrrrgh, I don't have TIME for this!" he yelled in frustration, catching Frieza by the tail and, as on Namek, swinging him around before tossing him into the distance. He didn't care about the cybernetic tyrant right now. He had to stop the bigger threat.
"I sure hope Goku knows what he's doing," Krillin said hesitantly, his eyes wide as he tried to brace himself. "I mean, fighting two of those monsters at once...that's crazy, right?"
"It's not only that," Piccolo interjected. "The taller one... There's no denying that he bears a striking resemblance to Frieza's second transformation."
"Hey, yeah you're right," Gohan added, looking up at his mentor expectantly. "Only he's way stronger than Frieza was back then."
"Exactly," the Namek said, clenching his fists. "So what if..."
Even as the others realized what might be transpiring, a unanimous gulp came from the Z fighters. The prince himself even gasped, widening his eyes, as he pondered the situation. Having seen all of Frieza's forms, one could only assume his father might be capable of the same.
"You've gotta be kidding me, Piccolo!" Krillin finally stuttered, his mind hesitating to remember Frieza's hideous third transformation. "But if he transforms..."
"Then it's possible he could become even stronger than a..." Vegeta paused, not even daring to finish his sentence. A Super Saiyan was supposed to be the most fearsome being in the universe, a warrior unparalleled in every aspect of his strength! Surely it wasn't possible, even if this was King Kold.
"Dad..." Gohan uttered softly, concerned undertones filling his voice. "Please win..."
"RAAAAGH!" Goku roared as he kicked at Kold's hunched form with both feet, putting all of his momentum into it. He impacted the Arcosian's chest, prompting a startled "Ooomph-!" as his boots buried themselves in the King's solar plexus. Kold flew back, crashing into a cliff, the rocks falling in a jumble around his splayed out form. 'Whew...that was a close one...' Goku thought, letting his breath out in a deep sigh; the giant's ki had already decreased to the level it was at before, if not lessened. His relief, however, was short lived. With a sudden tremble which vibrated through the air, he felt the Arcosian's power surge again, as the fallen boulders rumbled and shook.
Hello my loyal readers! Thank you for reading Savior of Demons Chapter 2: Famicide! I'm going to keep working hard to bring you the next chapter, but in the meantime, a TVTropes page for SoD is on my wish list, hint hint. ~_^ If you make a page, I'll add enough tropes to rival the other page I've worked on for Honor Trip.
I received a virtual torrent of reviews & comments for Chapter 1: Revenants. I'll try to keep a dedicated Q&A here at the end of the chapters, so that I can respond to everyone's feedback.
Q: Greatly enjoyed this chapter (with some minor quibbles that I'll get to). I thought the interplay between Frieza and Kold was excellent. The way you present Frieza's psychology is amazing, really getting to the heart of that fear lying inside of him at everything. His slow descent towards greater madness and rage, after arriving on Earth and then in the struggle with the Z-Fighters was perfectly handled - I could really feel what was happening with him! The minor quibbles though - one on character and the other on structure. Character wise, I was a little surprised by Krillin thinking that Piccolo would only be self-interested, like Vegeta. I know they weren't best friends, but after the Namek saga I felt that he would have a been less suspicious of Piccolo's motives. Not a big deal, but it did throw me for a sec. The structural quibble is that you could really benefit by breaking character dialogue into separate lines, rather than having the dialogue all in one paragraph.
A: I'm glad that you liked how I presented Frieza. I've spent such a long time psychoanalyzing him, I feel like writing him is second nature to me, however creepy that might sound. As for your first quibble, I like to think that although Piccolo proved himself on Namek, the other heroes would still hold him at arm's length, because remember, he KILLED some of them in an earlier incarnation. Krillin especially, whose P.O.V. I presented, would be especially cautious. A big theme in SoD will be about how difficult it really is to welcome former enemies with open arms. Addressing the second quibble, I'm new at the whole fanfiction business, & formatting has always been frustrating for me, so I'm hoping I'll get better at it as I go along. Some of the paragraphs, though, are meant to have 2-3 people talking at once, to depict how fast-paced the scene is. Besides that, if I space out every line of speech, I'll end up with a chapter 30 pages long! I don't want to cause carpal tunnel in my readers, haha!
Q: Whoa, this is an awesome start to the story. The way you portray Frieza is second to none. You get into his head in a way I have seen no other fan-fiction do. The interactions between Frieza and his father were top notch as well. It is quite funny how Kold is bored of the whole thing and that Frieza is conflicted as to why he has come. He jumps between revenge and fear so much it seems that he just wants closure! The malfunctions he is suffering and the hallucinations of Goku help add to the dynamic. Kold seems unsure whether or not Frieza has become "damaged goods" at this point. It is all very intricate and shows the complicated family relationships quite well. I actually felt sad for Frieza as he rushed off to slaughter the earthlings, which as far as I'm concerned is a good thing. Villains (especially ones soon to be redeemed) are at their best when you understand their motivations and history. As far as the fighting goes I thought it was very well written. The defects Frieza was suffering from and the almost successful efforts of the Z fighters made the scene very exciting. Both me and Frieza would have expected a curb-stomp.
A: I love writing Frieza, I really do. Something about his twisted, self-contradictory nature is really fun to write, & as you said, I can get in his head like no other. If you're already feeling sad for Frieza, I have bad news: I'm gonna twist the knife a lot more in coming chapters. Ò◡Ó~⍣
Q: Have I mentioned that I love your writing? Even though there weren't any serious twists, your great writing kept me interested the whole time. The characterizations and dialogue for Frieza are most notable, though all of your character interactions are really great - and none of them felt like dialogue just for the sake of dialogue. I hope you are proud that you've once again presented us with such a high quality literary contribution.
A: Fffff...well, that's some serious ego-stroking. Good lord, you're gonna give me a complex with praise so high. X﹏xo
Q: I can't wait to see exactly what the difference between timeline 1 & this story will be, does Goku spare him again or does he surrender or otherwise stop fighting (paralysed in fear perhaps?) or maybe daddy doesn't mess around, transforms & slaughters all the Z fighters saving Frieza & leaving him ashamed? I hope now Honor Trip is un-cancelled you'll continue the Kaji/Arcos story as well at some point.
A: All good guesses, but you'll have to wait & see where the timeline splits. As for Kaji & his team, I look forward to fleshing them out more...but that won't be for a while in the story.
Q: lol, nice reference to Honor Trip and possibly Bringer of Death. Seems like a similar concept to The Fall of Lord Frieza. I'm not calling it a rip off though, as two stories with the same premise can be unique and good in their own ways. I'm anticipating that a traveler from the future will prevent Frieza from being killed in the hope that Frieza can turn the tide against the androids. Goku should be open to letting Frieza live, so long as they can convince Frieza not to antagonize him by trying to destroy the earth
A: Great catch on the Honor Trip & BoD references! There's one more Easter Egg in there referencing my other partner's fic - can you find it? ~_^ As for similarities between Mr. Arkham's fic & my own...in the next chapter, there will be no doubt that this story will take a different route. Your theory on where this story will go is...intriguing, but far off the mark. Good guess, though.
Q: Haha, I see what you did there, " 'If only I had been chosen by fate to become the legend, instead of that soft-hearted excuse for low-class trash..!' "Damn!" Nice tribute to Bringer of Death. Anyways, I loved the start of this story. Your grammar is very good. I didn't see any mistakes at all.
A: Very astute of you, catching one of the Easter Eggs in tribute to my awesome team. Can you find the other one? ÒᴗÓ Grammar is one of my biggest beefs with most stories, so I strive to have pristine grammar in my submissions. I'm glad I managed it with the first chapter!
Q:This title seems really interesting to me. "Savior of Demons", what could it mean?
A: What indeed? All shall be revealed, in good time.
Q: I liked seeing this side of Frieza. Most stories don't get inside his head to the extent that you have. Good job.
A: I practically live in his head...or rather, he lives in mine...er, anyway, there's some weird connection there.
Q: You did a really good job of describing Frieza's fear of facing Goku, the Super Saiyan. Goku should be able to take care of Frieza again, unless Kold steps in.
A: As this chapter showed, Kold decided that he's not going to wait for Frieza to win, against his fear & against Goku.
Q: Hey, nice work here! I have to say I was surprised by how long the heroes managed to last against Frieza, but I guess they are pretty smart. Looking forward to seeing what the divergence will be here.A few grammar issues you might want to look at, such as closing speech marks without punctuation, or closing them with punctuation outside the speech marks. Other than that, the only issue is that in one paragraph all the swearing is censored, and it's uncensored for the rest of the chapter (even the word 'damn' is replaced with 'd-' for some reason)...I doubt you did that intentionally, probably you sent somebody a paragraph for editing and whatever you used to send it censored it automatically or something is my guess. Also, the review count is criminally low for an opening as strong as this. Philistines.
A: Yeah, I've seen many fics that explore a different divergence point, but I wanted to explore a later split. I find it hilarious that you think we copy-pasta'd a chunk of the story to somewhere that auto-censored it... xD Most people don't realize I don't curse & I self-censor. Oh dear... So, that mistake will be corrected in the future; Sauce has already put in the appropriate curses for me. Cursing is, in my opinion, a sign of a weak mind that lacks eloquence. People who drop F-bombs every two words do not have my respect, period. So, I'm one of those rare few adults that you can leave your kids around. I won't teach them to curse...though I may corrupt them in other ways, heh.
Q: Keep up the good work! I like where this story is going and I hope Kuriza makes an appearance!
A: Thank you for the encouragement! Unfortunately, Kuriza, as much as I love him to death, won't be making an appearance in this story. He didn't exist in this universe, sadly. In the future, I may write another story with him in it, though. I hope you'll continue to read SoD, despite the lack of cute Arcosian kids (so far).
Q: An amazing start Roketto...I'm curious however...Goku did kill Frieza in the OT. So this time, what'll be the difference?
A: Ahhh, that would be a spoiler if I told you. ~_^ I'll give you a hint though: it has to do with who dies, & when. Now no more guesses if you please! :^V
Q: Wow. Great job, I am definitely looking forward to reading more. Frieza was never one of my favorite characters, but the story is so well written, and the fight scenes so graphic I can't help but want more.
A: I can assure you, things will get more graphic by the chapter. I like portraying how brutal an actual fight like those seen in DBZ would be, since I'm a martial artist with some sense of what it is to be hit hard.
Q: Hmm, so the Arcosians know about advanced ki techniques, even think they're the only ones with such powers, but they can't sense energy? Seems like an odd discrepancy... maybe the fact that they have such a high power level to start with would make it difficult to sense anything less than their own power, making it useless? It's as good a theory as any, I should guess...On another note, the Z Fighters have proven to be more capable than I would have thought, the idea that Frieza's mechanical parts would give him more weak points hadn't even occurred to me. Heheh, can't wait to see what happens next!
A: Why Frieza & others cannot sense energy will be addressed in a later chapter. Weak points are fun to write about. Anything mechanical with moving parts logically should be a hamartia, but in Frieza's case, it's even worse because his biological body is stronger than his metal components.
Q: Awesome first chapter. I really look forward to the next one. While I somewhat wonder how the z fighters sans Goku can put up so much resistance to Frieza, I think it could be plausible. He seems rather traumatized and confused. Also the cyborg parts would probably interfere with his use of ki further. Your characterization of the z fighters and the villains is spot on. I love fics that get that right.
A: Traumatized is putting it lightly. Thank you for the compliment on how I write characters; OOC is something I try very hard to steer away from.
Q: Wow.. As a fellow Freeza fan this, is, EPIC. Keep up the amazing work. Safe to say I'm hooked. Your detail to the fights is impressive.
A: Thanks! I always wanted to write the kind of fanfic that a Frieza fanatic like me could really love. I'm also a big fan of using unconventional/ignored techniques & attacks in fights, rather than just punch-kick-block sequences.
Q: I look forward to seeing where this goes from here. It's interesting that you're placing this in the original timeline as opposed to the alternate timeline created by Trunks and Cell. I can't really see Frieza becoming a true hero, but perhaps an anti-villain? Or is even that too optimistic for him?
A: Yep, the divergence point for this alternate universe is later...it'll be revealed in the next chapter, to be exact. I think that the alternate timeline (the "main" timeline from DBZ) is the template for most stories, so with mine, I wanted to think outside the box & go in a different direction. So, this story could have effectively been Mirai Trunks' universe, if not for the changes at hand. As for Frieza becoming a hero...yeah, don't hold your breath. xD Anti-villain is the best he can strive for.
Q: Fascinating first chapter! I love how you portray Frieza's thoughts and Kold's personality. Your reputation as the foremost expert on everything Arcosian is well deserved!
A: This comment alone makes me beam with pride. Expert? No, I'm just a xenoanthropologist with good analytical skills.
Q: Yay you're finally writing this! I was wondering if you would even bother after Mr. Arkham wrote a Freeza redemption story. This is very well written, you are definitely in the top 3 of most talented writers I've read in DB fanfiction. Having Bulma listed as one of the main characters is very interesting, especially over someone like Gohan (I saw last night that Vegeta and Frieza were also there, but now it's just Goku and Bulma?). I hope she is indeed a main character, since she is underrated and her genius can contribute a lot to the Z fighters.
A: Top 3?! For real? Thank you for such a glowing compliment! I enjoyed reading Mr. Arkham's story at the beginning, but it diverged more & more from what I thought was reasonable to expect from Frieza after a while. Still a good tale though, & I'm still committed to following it to the end. Without too many spoilers, Bulma will be exceedingly important to this story. I've since changed the characters back to just Frieza, because it was glitching, but that may be revised later.