The Vicious Gods Wrath
Chapter 7: Eye Spy
"W-what was that just now?!"
Demands Sorbet as a red beam of energy hits the Galactic Patrol vessel, causing a brilliant display of fire to erupt just outside the main viewport at the front of the command station. Their enemy, along with a sizeable portion of the asteroid belt vanishes in the flames, leaving little more than shards of broken rock, metal, and glass in floating in explosions aftermath.
"Enemy vessel is eliminated, sir," One of the soldiers manning the command desks monitors informs him. "However, it appears it was both sending and receiving some sort of communications signal, from where and to where I can't say."
"Damn it!" Sorbet brings his fist down to the chairs arm handle. "Our position is most certainly compromised! Prepare to leave the system immediately-"
"Delay that order."
A new voice commands out of nowhere, commanding yet unrecognizable to everyone on deck with the exception of Sorbet. Like a trained dog hearing his master's call, Sorbet's head snaps towards the entrance and there he finds his salvation stand, his master, Lord Freeza, restored to full health and hopefully, to full power.
"Lord Freeza!" Sorbet exclaims, momentarily diverting all eyes on the deck from the white lizard man to himself then back to the man they know recognize as Lord Freeza and a deadly, nervous silence thickens the air inside the room.
"What's wrong? You're all staring at me as if you've seen a ghost!" Freeza chuckles briefly, eyeing the petrified men in the room. "If you're all quite finished gawking at me, I'd like to know who is in charge of this vessel."
Everyone's eyes turn to Sorbet once more. Snapping his senses back into place, he promptly leaves his chair and hastily bows before his master. "I-I am your grace!"
"And you are?"
"Sorbet, my lord! I was part of your support staff for the Third Stellar Region!"
"Yes... I seem to recall seeing you someplace before..." Freeza's wary tone sends a chill down Sorbet's spine, the fact he can't even raise his head to look at him makes it all the worse. "What has happened to the remainder of the bureaucracy? Surely you cannot be the only one left."
"I'm afraid it so, my lord," He gulps then continues. "A great many took advantage of your... absence and tried to take over the empire. Needless to say... Years of infighting and treachery have robbed us of many talented individuals, my lord."
"Then perhaps I should not be surprised to find an agent from the Galatic Patrol of all things trying to assassinate me."
Before he can ask what his master means by that, Freeza's long tail whips up into the air and sends something tall and slim flying overhead, with a frightened yelp, Sorbet only narrowly leaps out of its way lest he is crushed underneath. When he finally gets a clear view of the body, Sorbet finds himself at a loss for words.
"That one," Freeza narrows his eyes at the corpse. "He was in league with the Patrolman responsible for assaulting this vessel, while you were focused on the battle outside, he tried to use a virus of some sort to kill me while I recovered. If I was a lesser being he would have succeeded."
"B-but..." Sorbet stammers. "He was my best soldier! My most trusted lieutenant!"
"The finest backstabbers are always the best of friends in their treachery," A communications device is presented to him by Freeza and from it, the recording of the final call is released for everyone present to hear.
"Sorry about that, I had to deal with a tiny problem courtesy of you employers." Says a voice none of them recognize, undoubtedly belonging to the Patrolman.
"At least we don't have to worry about the large one anymore." Says Tagoma proudly. "The bastard is dead once more."
A brief pause follows until the Patrolman responds. "What? Are you sure? Are you absolutely, positively-"
"Yes!" Tagoma voice cuts him off. "Don't worry! I'm checking his vitals as we speak and he is most assuredly dead, there's no heart or brain activity to speak of."
"I think I've more than made my point," Sorbet's attention snaps away from Tagoma's body only when he feels something small bonk him in the forehead, the device containing the entire conversation.
"Seeing as this one has no more used for his quarters," Freeza gives Tagoma's corpse one last, scornful glance. "I shall take them for my own."
"O-of course Lord Freeza," Says one of the pilots when Sorbet doesn't answer. "Is there- anything else we can do for you?"
"You are to tell no one of my revival," Freeza commands in an even tone which leaves no room for argument. "You may inform the rest of the crew seeing as I'm making this my permanent home of residence but no one outside this vessel can know about it until I say otherwise. And for anyone soul stupid or traitorous enough to think they can break this order, even accidentally, know that I will hold everyone here responsible. I will hunt down your respective species and cull them until you are the only one's left of them. You will die knowing you've brought ruin to your people, have I made myself clear?"
Minus the still shocked Sorbet, the other present soldiers take a step back with their jaws hanging open, all of them trembling in terror of their master's order. Unanimously they all nod in understanding and proclaim, "Your wish is our command Lord Freeza! We won't fail you!"
"Your wish is our command Lord Freeza! We won't fail you!"
Freeza's pleased smirk does little to put them at ease, quite the opposite. "Good to hear," Sorbet's eyes meet with his once more. "I don't usually give second chances but seeing as I've some business to attend to in my quarters, you may live for the time being.
"T-thank... My lord.." Sorbet bows once more. "Is there anything I can do for you, sire?"
"I desire access to the ships entire memory banks and with all of the information you have on the planet Earth, have you any spy bots monitoring it?"
"That is how we discovered it my lord," Sorbet gives him the half-truth, opting to remove Tagoma out of the story.
"Good, you will give me full control over them and keep transmitting footage perpetually, is that clear?
"Perfectly, my lord," Without another word, Freeza leaves the room and Sorbet doesn't bother to rise from his bow until the swooshing of his master's feet against the metal can no longer be heard. Behind him, the soldiers on deck let out sigh reliefs and Sorbet can't fault them for that, this is not what he had in mind when he thought Lord Freeza had come back to them. Not in the least.
One of the soldier's glances over to Tagoma's corpse, gulping before reluctantly asking. "What should we- what should we do about the traitor?"
Sorbet's gaze returns to the corpse in question. For years, Tagoma served him well and executed his orders without hesitation or regret. Where other soldiers fled battles or surrender, he helped hold the line for over a dozen PTO posts and aided in the organizations troubled survival. When told to raise a world to dust, he did so, when told to restore order by any means necessary, he did so with ruthless efficiency and above all else, great competence.
Now, all of it was nothing but a lie to slowly and surely earn his trust and to eventually bring ruin to the organization from within. As he recounts the day he opted to keep Tagoma more on the ship than in field work and how, ever since then, their brief spurts of progress came to a slow but certain halt and promptly regressed.
"Sir?" The soldier asks again, snapping Sorbet from his trance. "What do you want us to do with the body?"
Without a word, Sorbet turns his head in the direction of the corpse, looking at its horrified expression for a good long while before spitting on it in disgust from atop his chair.
"Throw him into the incinerator with the rest of the trash, the rest of you either get Lord Freeza the footage from the drones or inform the others of his secrecy order."
Without another word or glance at Tagoma, Sorbet leaves the room, for he knows that he may soon join the traitor in death if he fails to improve his stance with Lord Freeza.
14 Days Later
"I suppose congratulations are in order Kakarot," Vegeta tells Goku as the two spar with one another, their hair transformed in the distinct glow of the Super Saiyan form though one crackling with lightning. The two battle in one of the many, desolate wastelands seemingly spread far and wide across the surface of the planet Earth. Goku quickly darts his head left and right, avoiding Vegeta's flurry of punches.
"Congratulations?" He repeats "Oh! You mean for Gohan's engagement!"
Vegeta's stops his assault before continuing it with far more force and speed behind each strike. "Yes, Kakarot! For your son's engagement! Truly, why do I even bother sparring with you?"
Leaping into the air to avoid a kick, Goku forms one of his infuriating, confident smirks. "Well, we are the only guys who train this hard now. Piccolo's cooled off, the boys are growing out of it,..."
The traitorous Saiyan Prince falls silent, begrudgingly accepting the validity of his statement.
"Just," Vegeta sighs, "Shut up and fight."
Unbeknownst to the two sparring Super Saiyans along with their families and allies across the Earth, dozens of spy bots have actively been spying on them for days now. Generating hours upon hours of footage containing troves of valuable information, all of which is directly transmitted and made readily available to Freeza.
With the exception of the faint, blue light emanating from the monitor, most of the room lies shrouded in darkness and silence. Even the air is stale from no one entering or exiting the room ever since Freeza issued his commands to the crew. Though this bothers him little, in fact, the seclusion helps him greatly, for he wishes to focus all his attention on the footage.
For days now he has sat in the former quarters of the dead, double agent Tagoma, not eating, sleeping, drinking or even breathing as he examines every frame of footage under intense scrutiny. He mentally catalogs every spoken word, every punch, and kick, every transformation either achieved or mentioned, every technique shown or implied.
Much to his chagrin, Goku, and the others have advanced far beyond what he ever thought possible. Not only have he, Vegeta, and all their children achieved Super Saiyan, but some of them have even discovered higher levels of it, with powers near incalculable by the spy drones. Not only them, but even the Namekian and even the lowly humans have achieved powers surpassing his own in the case of the Namek or rivaling it in his in the case of the latter.
A familiar and rash urge to fly towards Earth and make them pay for each and every advancement came rushing back to Freeza. The same urge he felt when his father found him floating amongst the rubble of old Namek and brought him back through cybernetic technologies. So eager was he for revenge, he simply secured his own doom when the other Super Saiyan, curiously much younger look now but with a name to put on his face, Trunks, the son of Vegeta.
That rashness cost him everything, his life, 12 years of time spent in the torments of Hell and the decline of his Empire into this miserable rabble. Barely a shadow of its former self that not even the diminutive leadership of the Galatic King and his Patrol were worried to send spies into it, something they never would have dared to do if he was around.
Despite his desire for vengeance, Freeza forced the anger down and continued scrutinizing the footage. The urge came back more and more, sometimes stronger than the first time, but now? It is still present but no longer dictating his actions.
For every scrap of information he finds infuriating, he also finds something incredibly useful. Vegeta's gravity machine which allows him to train in gravity levels far beyond any natural particularly intrigues him, along with the apparent mastery of the Saiyan's super form by staying in it for extended periods of time, forcing the body to grow accustomed to this elevated state.
Other facts he finds potentially useful are their so-called Senzu Beans, small fruits seemingly capable of not only reinvigorating a fighter completely but also healing all their injuries. The apparent presence of advanced, strength enhancing cyber augmentation as present in the wife of Krillin, a human Freeza could've sworn he killed on Namek, who went to the wife of Vegeta, Bulma, for maintenance and on her computer, he caught glimpses of these schematics capable of turning an ordinary Earthling into a being capable of rivaling a Super Saiyan in strength!
Clearly far more advanced than anything they ever had and most certainly better than the patchwork which held him together after Namek. In spite of this, however, Freeza feels uneasy about subjecting himself to any more cybernetics, especially if these one's on Earth are as... Detailed as they appear from the few glances he saw of them.
Finally, there is the children's fusion dance, a technique with the choreography that could only please the likes of Ginyu, but one also capable of drastically increasing the power of those who do it for a short time.
You have been a busy one Goku, I'll give you that, Freeza must begrudgingly compliment his greatest adversary as he spies on the bout between him and the traitorous, Prince Vegeta. The sudden urge to rush to their planet and snap their necks momentarily rises only for Freeza to grit it back down, with far less effort needed now than the first time.
Though, as he snaps back to his feet, he finally feels the stiffness of his own body, and not only from sitting her for a fortnight. Though he's never controlled his power very well, Freeza can instinctively tell that his time in Hell has lessened his strength. He walks out of the room, cracking his knuckles and neck to loosen them on the way to the command deck, several soldiers nervously greet him but he pays them no attention, there's only one on this ship who may be useful to him still.
Upon reaching the bridge, Freeza spots him standing at the main viewport, gazing out into the stars. Sorbet glances around and calmly bows before him. "My Lord"
"I assume you're the one who told them not to disturb me?"
Sorbet nods. "Given the circumstances behind your return, I thought it best to give you some time to process everything alone and in peace."
"A wise decision," Replies Freeza, still unsure what to do with the blue alien before him. Despite his incompetence with the one called Tagoma, given the other information available, he's also been the only one actively trying to keep the organization from crumbling into nothingness. Usually, he'd execute ones responsible for bringing in traitors or spies, whether knowingly or unknowingly, but for his plan to work, he needs someone capable of leading the restoration efforts publically while Freeza deals with more personnel affairs behind the scenes.
"You may rise," He commands and Sorbet does so. "Walk with me." Freeza turns back towards the door with his hands behind his back. "I assume you're aware of the powerful fighters on Earth?"
Sorbet nods. "Then I won't waste time dodging the truth, they were responsible for my untimely demise a decade ago, though admittedly it was my own foolishness that greatly contributed to that as well. Regardless, now that I have returned, I cannot take full control of the Organization openly while my enemies still live."
"Then I won't waste time dodging the truth, they were responsible for my untimely demise a decade ago, though admittedly it was my own foolishness that greatly contributed to that as well. Regardless, now that I have returned, I cannot take full control of the Organization openly while my enemies still live."
"Forgive me for saying this, my lord, but their powers are quite high, much higher than any listed from you."
"They've grown significantly stronger in my absence, even Majin Buu who I thought was nothing more but a childish myth has not only been defeated by them but is also their ally." The desire to rush in almost overcomes his common sense, Freeza snaps it back.
"To defeat them, I must, for the first time in a long time, train myself to surpass them. Once they're defeated and I reign supreme as the most powerful being in the universe, the Empire will flourish once more."
Though he is loathe to stoop to such a level, to put who knows how much effort to return to his true place as the most powerful in the universe against ants who've usurped the position way from him. Loathsome creatures who've dared to defy the natural order of things.
And yet, there is another side to this coin, for if Freeza's machinations come to fruition, the same techniques, and tools which have allowed the loathsome Goku, Vegeta, and the rest of their bizarre Earth rabble to overcome him will come back to bite them. For they've made no effort to safeguard their world from espionage or to even protect the precious Dragon Ball's.
In the end, it will be their arrogance which will cause their undoing, not Freeza's, not this time.
Suddenly, Freeza doesn't find the idea of training quite so appalling.
Sorbet rubs his chin, pondering Freeza's necessity to train. "Ordinary practice will do no good, it will take training to the most extreme level to truly help you make any significant gains my lord. However, I don't know of any such exercise, if I did, I'd have made it a permanent part of our army long ago."
"Don't waste too much time thinking about it," Freeza smirks. "For I already have the perfect method, all I need know is a competent group of scientists and money to make it happen."
"Our forces are stretched thin," Sorbet tells him frankly "I will find the best scientists and engineers we have to offer sire."
"I'm glad to hear it Sorbet," Replies Freeza, pleased with his answer. "Who knows, you just might prove yourself useful to me after all."
Freeza actually hasn't gained any power increase after his resurrection, in fact, since his body went through hell and back to get better, I would wager to say that he's actually a bit weaker now than he originally was. Not by a huge margin mind you but still, no practice and heavy reconstructive surgery and a genocidal poison does a number on it, even to a freak of nature like Freeza.
Since college is starting soon, with this upcoming week being particularly brutal for me, don't expect any more chapter for a while guys. I'll try to post some but I make no promises, real life stuff has to come first y'know.