I'm so sorry for the long wait between chapters; I got a summer job that's a bit time-consuming. Also sorry for the short chapter, next one will be longer.
X3Runner: If there's one thing Biamuh is, it's loyal to his Princess. Even if he doesn't agree with something she's said or done, his loyalty is to her and her alone, so he'd keep his mouth shut even if he disagreed with her. It's something Ivory likes the most about him: Biamuh keeps his mouth shut and follows orders without question or hesitation. As for Kuriza, he and Ivory have had some…problems in the past before he died. Ivory doesn't remember them; she was very young after all. But Kuriza does. He remembers everything, and even though he's dead, there are still some memories he doesn't particularly enjoy. And who knows why Gohan turned back to look at her? Could he have sensed her true intentions? Did his Saiyan side cause him to react? It could be anything ;)
John2851: I respect your opinion, but I don't agree with it nor will I apologize for my decisions. It's upsetting that you aren't enjoying the new version as much as the old version, but I explained my reasons for doing a re-make and I ask that if you don't like this one, just don't bother with it anymore. I'm not going to hate you for having an opinion but I disagree with you.
With that out of the way, let's take a glimpse into how Vegeta is doing. Vegeta must have sensed something wrong when Ivory landed, right? After all, he had the biggest grudge against Frieza after everything was said and done. Does he sense that someone close to Frieza is on Earth? Let's see, shall we?
Disclaimer: I claim no ownership of Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, or Dragon Ball Super; All characters from the series belong to Akira Toriyama. I do claim ownership to characters such as Ivory, Biamuh, Kirsi, and other characters who do not canonically appear in any work by Akira Toriyama
The worst years of his life had been when he served under Frieza.
He never understood why his whole planet had worked for the tyrant, why they had "swore their loyalty" to a man that killed for fun, abused them, and constantly mocked them. The man who barely acknowledged their hard work and assigned them to the worst tasks possible. Their pay, when they received it, was far less than that of a low-ranking soldier in the army and they received none of the benefits that other soldiers received. Their accomplishments were brushed off in favor of other soldiers who had accomplished much less. And on the off-chance a mission went wrong, Frieza was quick to point the blame to Saiyans and their incompetence, even if the blame shouldn't have been placed on them.
Frieza had abused them and mistreated them for years, just because he could. And when he feared that the Saiyans would finally take him down, finally pay him back for all the suffering he had put them through, Frieza had destroyed the entire planet, killed every single Saiyan on the planet.
And then, he had the nerve to lie to Vegeta about it.
For years, Vegeta had wondered why Frieza hadn't been able to stop the tragedy. A meteor shouldn't have been a problem for someone like Frieza to stop and yet he couldn't. Frieza kept saying there was nothing he could do, that it had been out of his hands, but Vegeta never trusted that. Vegeta knew that something was amiss but he was always dismissed whenever he brought up the issue or told the same story. But with as powerful as Frieza was, there was no reason he should've just let it happen. Someone as strong as Frieza should've been able to stop it. That was why Vegeta couldn't fully believe that Frieza could do nothing about it and had carried those doubts for years.
When he found out the truth, he couldn't even feel validated about it.
He had so badly wanted revenge on Frieza for what he did but was too arrogant to comprehend just how powerful Frieza was. He thought he could avenge his family and his planet, and finally free himself from the chains Frieza had so cruelly wrapped around him. For his father, his people, and his planet, he would finally bring Frieza to his knees.
He couldn't even do that.
He had to put his faith in Kakarot in finish off Frieza once and for all and even that hadn't done much for him other than make him aware of his own weakness. He hadn't been able to avenge his people or his planet against the one man that had ruined it all for him, had taken away everything he cared about. He was the Prince and he had been next to useless when it came to taking down the man responsible for his pain.
That should've been the end of it but his nightmare hadn't ended there.
Frieza made his return in a new body, and at the very feel of that aura that haunted him for so long, Vegeta still felt stirrings of fear in his stomach at his torturer still being alive. Angry as he was, there really wasn't much they could do besides pray that their sneak attack would succeed or that Kakarot made it back in time to help them. Loathe as he was to admit it, Kakarot was their only hope of beating Frieza since no one else was strong enough. He had to once again rely on someone else to kill Frieza and only when Frieza's power completely disappeared did Vegeta finally feel the chains drop from his shoulders.
That part of his life was over and he had no reason to worry anymore.
The power he had now would ensure that he could handle Frieza if he ever found his way back to Earth. Vegeta could easily take care of him if that happened. And there was no need to worry about Frieza in the first place because no one would dare bring him back to life. Frieza was dead and gone, and Vegeta was free from his chains.
So why, why was he having nightmares about the tyrant once again?
Vegeta was no stranger to nightmares; he'd been vulnerable before, he'd been scared before, and those worries manifested in his sleep as night terrors of villains of old. Villains he had no reason to be afraid of anymore but couldn't banish from his mind. He had reached levels he didn't think possible and all those villains weren't a threat anymore. But worries didn't just go away like that; they stayed with you and came out during your most vulnerable moments.
So even though Vegeta knew that he had nothing to worry about, those old fears still surfaced every now and then. But he hadn't dreamed about Frieza in such a long time, it was odd that it was happening again.
Frieza was dead, probably suffering in the deepest pits imaginable, never able to see the light of day again. And even if he did come back to life somehow, Vegeta was so much stronger than Frieza would ever hope to be. There was no threat; Vegeta could probably take Frieza with one hand and not even break a sweat. He could make Frieza beg for mercy, the way countless species had once begged Frieza for the same thing. If anything, Frieza should be having nightmares of him.
Yet Vegeta was waking up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat with the echoes of Frieza's laughter in the back of his mind.
He could hear that condescending laugh as if Frieza was in the bed next to him, could see the sadistic look every time he closed his eyes, and could feel the chill of Frieza's aura like he was in the room. Every time he closed his eyes, he'd see that monster staring back at him. Mocking him, tossing him around like a rag doll, beating him to a pulp forcing him to learn that no matter what he did, he wasn't good enough. He hadn't had those nightmares in such a long time though, his nights being plagued by Cell and others rather than the man he had been freed from.
It just didn't make sense. He knew the abuse from Frieza wouldn't just go away in the blink of an eye but he also slept a lot sounder at night knowing that Frieza was dead. And he'd been sleeping that way for a few years now. Sure, a night terror would pop up every now and then (the sight of Trunks's gaping chest wound after Cell killed him still haunted him to this day) and he'd stay up late training to rid himself of the stress, but Frieza hadn't been the star of any of those terrors for a while now. But they resurfaced for some reason and it didn't look like they were going away.
Maybe it was because of the chill.
The weather had been…different since about a week or two ago. No one knew why it had happened or where the cold front came from, but it had settled in unexpectedly and didn't look like it was going to leave any time soon. Now, the city was noticeably cooler, about 20 degrees colder according to what Bulma had told him. People had adjusted accordingly and Vegeta, used to different temperatures and atmospheres of different planets, wouldn't have given the change any thought. The weather was one of those things that was unpredictable like that.
But in the back of his mind, the unnatural cold reminded him of Frieza.
This feeling, when the area got unpredictably colder, was a sign that Frieza was in the area. Every time he had a meeting with Frieza, the atmosphere was noticeably cooler. Whenever Frieza was in orbit, a shiver went down Vegeta's spine, which was always a tell-tale sign of the tyrant's arrival. Even the cold emptiness of space paled in how cold it could be around Frieza; Vegeta preferred being in space to being around Frieza just because it was warmer in space. This new change of weather could be anything, but his mind wouldn't let him brush it off. Instead, his traitorous thoughts kept pushing the idea that Frieza was back and he was responsible for what was happening. An unexpected cold front and sudden night terrors? It had to be because of Frieza.
Frieza was back and ready to get his revenge.
It was a ridiculous thought and he cursed his thoughts for straying towards something so unlikely, but bad memories and nightmares kept him from thinking about it logically. Despite how unlikely it was that Frieza had returned, he couldn't shake the thought that maybe, just maybe, Frieza was back. And Vegeta's paranoia and fears could be justified.
But despite his thoughts, he knew it couldn't be true; Frieza was dead and his empire had collapsed. None of his soldiers had the gall to track Vegeta down and if they did, they could be taken care of. Frieza's family was gone as well: King Cold was dead and that family had no children to speak of. Even the rumors of Frieza having spawns was likely untrue; Frieza didn't have time for children or even a spouse. The wife he did take was just to get his father off his back and Frieza was too much of a narcissist to care about anyone other than himself. Whatever children he did have probably despised him or didn't even exist.
The thought of Frieza having children gave him pause.
For a brief moment, he could hear the sound of a light, twinkling laugh, almost bell-like. The laugh of a child but with the sinister undertones he knew from Frieza. He couldn't exactly recall where he had heard that laugh, but it was connected to Frieza somehow and the more he thought about it, the clearer he could hear it. Right in his ears, he could hear that laugh, playing over and over like a record. He wanted to say it was Frieza's laugh but it couldn't be; it sounded like a child was laughing at him. Not Trunks or Kakarot's brat, nor did it sound like the laugh of those sinister Cell Jrs he had to fight years ago. He knew that laugh and yet he didn't remember who it belonged to or why it was connected to Frieza.
It was probably nothing, just another ridiculous nightmare. His mind liked bringing up his old trauma and the weather wasn't helping.
Just like with all over things, he'd find a way to overcome it.
Ivory hasn't completely hidden herself from everyone on the planet as she thinks she has. When the weather turns cold and fear strikes your heart, it's a sure sign that Frieza's around. But that can't be right: Frieza's dead. Vegeta knows that something is wrong, but he thinks its Frieza that's returned. And he's dead wrong. Never in a million years would he imagine that Frieza's child is here for revenge.
As for Ivory, we'll see how she fares going to school! That's right, Ivory's going to school! (And yes, she'll probably hate it)
Thank you to everyone who has left reviews, who followed and favorited this story! Your support keeps me going!
