Chapter Forty-Four: Releasing the Demons
"It's all these little things trapped inside of me
Releasing me from all my sin
It's taken me all of my anger
And taken me all of my hate
To learn how my life came together
Releasing the demons again!"
Releasing the Demons - Godsmack

DBZ

The explosion shook the People's Palace, the windows of the balcony doors shattering in an explosive rain of glass, as the Council of Earthlings were thrown from their chairs to the floor rather violently. Leta staggered backwards a little, while Jeice and his squad seemed unfazed.
"What in Kami's name was that?" demanded the King of Earth as he used his desk to pull himself to his feet, straightening his askew glasses while looking around in concern.
Jeice rushed towards the balcony, knocking the doors from their hinges in his haste. "Whoa!" he cried, skidding to an abrupt stop. "Someone destroyed Frieza's ship!" He glanced back at Leta and she hurried after him to see for herself, his squad filing out ahead of her.
"It was Zether," said a voice from above them as Leta stepped out on to the balcony. She looked up to see her mother, Seluri, descending towards them and dressed for battle in guardless white and gold armor over blue full-body underarmor. She landed in front of them and turned to regard the destruction. "I have never met a more brazen man." She paused and glanced at Leta. "Outside of Turpin, that is."
Leta met her mother's gaze with a frown. It was all happening too fast. "What are you doing here? Why was I not alerted?" She had of course known they were coming, but they had arrived much sooner than she'd expected.

"A good question indeed," remarked King Koku in disapproval as he joined them on the balcony.

"That is why I am here." Seluri arched an eyebrow at the curious-looking King of Earth. "I was not aware the battle would be commencing so soon, but I was sent ahead to begin the evacuation of everyone within the immediate area."

"A little more warning would have been nice," Leta remarked dryly.

An explosion of power washed over them, Jeice's Scouter lighting up and immediately exploding; Leta jerked her attention to the sky to where she could just make out three figures hovering over the devastated ship. She could see that two appeared to be struggling with one another, the distance doing no justice to the desperation she could feel in the powerful spikes.

"What the hell was that about?" the oblivious Jeice demanded as he rubbed his singed ear.

"Frieza and Zether are figh-" Zether's power vanished and Leta's heart gave a painful jolt as her breath left her. "No…" she whispered breathlessly.

Seluri's fists clenched at her sides and she looked down sharply; Leta was only vaguely aware of the fact that she was not wearing a Scouter. "Damn it!" she exclaimed, her magenta eyes narrowing in her trepidation. "I thought he could last longer than that!"

Two successive sonic booms shook the palace and Leta looked around in a daze. She found the King of Earth looking at her curiously, and she frowned as she gave her head a light shake. It was all happening far too fast…but she had to maintain her composure. Too many people were relying on her. She couldn't let them down now.

"Your Highness," she said, her voice steely with resolve, "we need to begin an evacuation now. The fight is only going to get worse from here on out."

"What is going on, Princess Leta? I believe you all owe me an explanation here," he demanded as he held up a stalling hand.

"Absolutely," Leta said absently as she looked out toward the battlefield. She could barely feel Falmer's power anymore. Frieza was about to kill him, too. "I will tell you all you need to know…But," she looked at him sharply. "First things first: we HAVE to evacuate."

"Leta," Seluri said, drawing her daughter's attention. "I have done what I was sent to do. Now I must go and join Falmer."

Leta blinked stupidly. "But…you'll die." Funny that of all the thoughts that came to her mind when Seluri told her she was leaving, the thought of her dying was the one that was most important. Why did it matter to her?

Her mother gave her a small smile. "I know." She turned and leapt into the air, blasting off to join in the fight.

Leta stared after her, the resentment she'd held on to fading in the gathering moments until finally all she felt towards her mother was respect…and a swell of admiration swept through her. Despite herself she smiled and shook her head. She had clearly underestimated Seluri.

"Damn you, Seluri. You better survive this." She glanced around until she saw her sister. "Surah, please contact Sushinae and the others and have them assist with the evacuation."

Surah nodded and looked past her sister to the battlefield, barely holding back her tears. "Sushinae is likely to know already."

Leta grimaced and looked down. "Yes," she spoke in a whisper. That should have occurred to her already. "Console her, please. Today is just begi-" An incredible new power washed over them, stunning her into silence with its sheer intensity; the palace shuddered, windows (what few remained,) exploding and raining a shower of glass towards them. Jeice was on his toes, immediately vaporizing the shards before they could reach the Earthlings among them. Leta turned in place and looked towards the battlefield, her senses tingling as she took in the power blanketing the battlefield.

"Falmer…?" she whispered in disbelief.

DBZ

Frieza narrowed his eyes in contempt at the pathetic creature doubled over before him. "You insignificant bugs insult me with your pitiful attack, and you have not the decency to put forth even a modicum of effort? Fah!" he exclaimed as he raised his arm up, his index finger pointing at the oblivious Gylderian. Purple ki gathered at his fingertip and he smirked.

"So you accept your death? Is that why you ignore me?" Frieza watched Falmer in silence for a few seconds before scowling. "More insolence, is it? That is fine. I have just the remedy for that."

He fired his attack and an explosion rocked the area, dust and smoke billowing in suffocating plumes towards the rapidly-darkening sky and casting stark shadows across the flame-soaked battleground.

Frieza scoffed and lowered his arm, his gaze settling into a disdainful pout. "Disgraceful. That such creatures were able to cripple my ship so is an embarrassment." He shifted his attention to the ruins of the ship and gave it a grimacing sneer. "The human girl survived, as well as the device and the Dragonball. I suppose I should count my blessings in that regard. Even so…" His tone lowered and his gaze hardened. "That does not excuse the insolence of that damned Gylderian wretch."

A ki blast exploded against his chest, knocking the air from his lungs and throwing him backwards a few steps before he could catch his balance. He blinked and raked his eyes across the devastated landscape, searching about the vicinity for the source of that attack. It had been so abrupt he had not seen where it had come from.

"Count that," a cool voice drawled from behind the wall of dust and smoke, right where the Gylderian had been. Frieza narrowed his eyes as he tried to peer through the blanketing curtain. It couldn't be the Gylderian, could it? The voice seemed to have spoken from that point, but that was impossible. His attack had been more than powerful enough to obliterate the insect entirely. Not to mention the attack he'd just been hit with had been far too powerful to have come from a mere Gylderian.

No, this had to be a new enemy. "Show yourself," Frieza ordered crisply, his tone sharp. He he'd about had his fill of insolence for the day. "Show me who dares attack Lord Frieza in so callous a manner!"

The voice chuckled. "It's your funeral, Lizard."

"Hm." Frieza couldn't keep from smirking. Just who did this being think he was? "Doubtful."

"We will see." An explosive force swept the dust and smoke away to reveal a strange figure marching forward, completely bathed in a shroud of golden fire. Glimmering golden fur covered his cheeks, his neck, and his bare arms; thick blood-red locks framed the sharp, animalistic features of this primal beast; its amber eyes gleaming predatory light as they fell on the Ice-jin tyrant. The creature paused and raised an arm, his fingers splayed apart towards Frieza. He offered a smile and closed his hand, cracking his knuckles in an obvious attempt at being menacing.

Frieza's eyes widened as his gaze was drawn to the creature's attire; he clearly recognized the armor as the Gylderian's. He looked at the fur-covered creature in utter disbelief as it lowered its glowing arm. He had never even heard of anything like this before. The only Gylderians he'd ever seen transform were that brat Zether on Jynn-jin 13 and the one whose neck he had just broken. Come to think of it that one had looked disturbingly familiar…But no, it could not have been him. Frieza was certain he had completely obliterated Zether's body back on that insignificant mudball of a planet.

Either way that was neither here nor there, not with this insulting animal standing blatantly before him after taking one of his attacks full on. The nerve of the creature to still be ALIVE!

"Impossible!" he snapped, his eyes narrowing at the offensive creature. "What is this?" he demanded heatedly. "Tell me!"

The furred creature shrugged with a chuckle. Cannot say, really. Though it is graciously welcomed." He gave Frieza a measuring look, his amber eyes glinting eerily in the light of his golden flame-aura. "That said, for your sake I hope you have been holding back. 'Cause if not, then I am about to kick your ass across this planet's surface." He smirked and shifted one leg back into a stance, his arms half-raising at his sides.

Frieza brought his tail crashing into the ground behind him, the earth splitting and cratering beneath its pressure. The insolence just seemed to mount today. It was clear he was going to be teaching several lessons before the day was through. He shook his head slowly and dismissively.

"You da-" The creature was in front of him and his head was snapping back violently from an insanely fast blow, his body rocketing backwards through the air against his will. He had been caught completely off guard!

He flared his ki and came to an instant stop, the violent eruption of his power cratering and exploding the ground beneath him; reddish-brown waves crashed to the Earth in a resonating rumble. He looked around, snarling as he spotted the creature dashing in from his left. "This insolence will not-"

The Gylderian vanished and Frieza found himself rocketing forward from a powerful blow to his back, a second blow to his neck slamming him into the ground with explosive force, debris erupting and cascading into the air. A third strike was aimed for his exposed gut, but Frieza caught the knee inches from connecting. The creature looked down at him sharply, the fire of his aura crackling in the silence between them as rubble and earth rained down around them.

Frieza's eyes narrowed murderously, his fingertips digging into the offensive creature's flesh which elicited a surprised grimace. "5%, Gylderian. Less, even," he seethed in a low voice, his gaze unblinking and unwavering as he glared pure murder at the creature. If looks could kill, as they say.

Falmer arched an eyebrow. "And what is that supposed to mean to me?"

"I have used less than 5% of my power thus far." Frieza's other fist crashed into Falmer's stomach, the Gylderian's breath leaving him in a rush as his armor shattered, front and back. "That was 15%," Frieza hissed dangerously as the Gylderian's eyes rolled into the back of his head and his aura vanished with a crack; he kicked the suddenly-limp form and the creature crashed into the ground several yards away, sliding for a dozen more before stopping half-buried in the debris of its own trench.

The tyrant gathered himself to his taloned feet and coolly brushed away the dust and dirt marring his otherwise pristine form. He had to keep his temper in check lest he blow the Earth away. No matter what was yet to come, he held the upper hand. He could not, and would not let a few insects deprive him of his Dragonballs, especially not when he so grossly overpowered any and all opposition.

He lowered his hands to his side and looked to the motionless Gylderian. "You cannot begin to fathom just how powerful I am, you insolent wretch. It is infuriatingly mind-boggling why you creatures continuously defy me! You stubbornly throw yourselves into battle and prove ineffectual against the likes of me." He paused and regarded the still form of the Gylderian curiously before scoffing. "Dead already? I should have known as much."

A blow to the side of his head snapped it around with sonic boom force, driving him face-first into the ground with explosive results a short distance away. He lay in his crater, momentarily stunned by the continued disrespect. His eyes narrowed and he pushed himself up slowly, his temper rising once more. He had been caught off guard again! How could he hope to keep calm with all these irritations?

He blurred out of sight and flashed into the sky, his head jerking back and forth as he looked around for the culprit. "Who DARES?!" he roared into the air, his aura alighting with his anger. He spotted movement out of the corner of his eye and he looked towards the Gylderian sharply to see a familiar Saiyan female kneeling at his side.

"You!" he hissed in disbelief down to her. She looked up at him and he frowned at the more distinguished features regarding him in surprise. "No. You are not Seripa, either." His aura faded away into nothingness as he descended to the ground.

The Saiyan narrowed her magenta eyes and gave a shaky smirk. "No, my name is Seluri. I am her mother."

"I see. So the tenacity is hereditary." Despite the irritations he could not help but to smile. To break the spirit of the tenacious was always a treat; to watch the fire of their spirit fade from their eyes and become so hopelessly forlorn…it was almost orgasmic.

"You have no idea what you are up against, Frieza. The blood of Turpin runs through my daughter's veins!" she cried suddenly as she stood to face him, her fists raised defensively. "And she is an even greater warrior than he could have ever dreamed of being!"

Frieza rolled his eyes with a chuckle. "You Saiyans sure have a flair for the dramatic. Does it make you feel important to boast so?"

Seluri glanced at the golden-furred form at her feet before replying. "I suppose you can say that." She took a breath, seemingly to steady herself, and looked back up at him. "We feel strongly about the things that are most important, and I suppose we want to make sure whoever happens to be listening understands just how important these things are to us."

"Such self-important nonsense," Frieza said with a dark chuckle. "What meaning does any of that drivel have to me?"

Seluri narrowed her eyes. "It will take on a whole new meaning before today is through, Ice-jin. So you tell me."

Frieza had to chuckle again. For all their annoyances these Saiyans could be quite entertaining. "It is almost a shame that I must eradicate your kind from the universe. You do prove yourselves to be rather humorous to me, Monkey." He raised a hand and beckoned to her. "Come and let me break that tenacious spirit. I need something to improve my mood, after all."

"Sure. But let me tell you a story, first." Seluri smirked. "Unless you have something better to do, of course."

Frieza laughed outright at that. He recognized a ploy when he saw one, but it was no matter to him. Nothing this Saiyan could do could possibly prove to be a challenge to him. He considered her for a moment, trying to read her actions but her intentions eluded him. He could not imagine what she had in mind, not while she remained defensive. She was prepared for him to attack at any moment, so perhaps she was merely bluffing. Maybe even trying to buy time.

But for what? He frowned and looked down to the furry Gylderian. He had not moved a muscle during this entire exchange so he was clearly not in league with this lone Saiyan. He lifted his gaze to the sky and scanned for any approaching bodies, but saw nothing.

"Hm." He looked back to the Saiyan female and smirked. Perhaps she was biding time, but as a means to prolong her life. It was nothing less than what he'd expect from a mere primate. "Alright, fine. You have my interest. Regal me with your tale, Monkey."

Seluri chuckled. "I will do my utmost to enthrall you, Ice-jin."

"Do tell."

The Saiyan paused and glanced down to the Gylderian once more, but he remained still. He did not even seem to be breathing. Her gaze seemed to harden as she looked at Frieza again. "I suppose I should start off by saying that I am the last of my kind."

Frieza chuckled with genuine mirth. "All Saiyans are the last of their kind these days."

She gave him a grim smile. "Indeed. We have you to thank for that."

"You're too much," he purred. "But do go on."

"What you say is true. But I am the last Cleric of the Old World."

The Ice-jin's mirth evaporated and he gazed keenly upon the Saiyan with renewed vigor. "A Cleric, you say? My father has told me stories of your kind, but I took them to be just stories."

"Sorry to disappoint." She grinned and nodded her head slowly. "Unfortunately I never achieved Master. The war with your kind prevented me from completing my Trials. I was ranked Cleric on the field of battle, the day the war reached the surface of my home world." She grimaced and glanced down sharply. "The day I killed for the first time. I learned the nature of our enemy that day when I saw the insatiable bloodlust of your brethren for myself. My whole world was torn asunder, my friends and teachers falling before me." She paused and looked up at him again, her gaze dark as her magenta orbs regarded him. "Turpin and Ka'bijj saved me, though. At the time they were the youngest Master Clerics. Of course we had no way of knowing that by the end of the day they would be the last of their breed in the entire universe.

"Of course you know our defenses fell and our planet was overrun. Your armies slaughtered billions of Saiyans, destroying our network of planets within hours of one another. In a single night the Saiyan Empire fell to ruin. Though you lot saved Saintya for last, Cold himself destroying the planet from orbit. That was the last thing I saw before my pod leapt into hyper-space behind Ka'bijj and Turpin. Several others followed us…but we never met up with them again. Naturally we assumed the worst. The three of us were on our own, the last of our kind, so we lay low. We waited out the storm as your forces swept across the universe, destroying everyone that ever had anything to do with the Saiyans."

She paused again, her gaze distant and unfocused as she seemed to look past Frieza. He arched an eyebrow as he observed her, the crackling of the flames around them filling the gap of silence.

"So many races driven to extinction…" she said softly, her voice barely above a whisper. She scoffed and shook her head. "And for what? Power? Control? Selfish ends to cowardly means." She looked up at him, her eyes set in a stern glare. "We were angry, Frieza. So we trained day in and day out, all the while searching the cosmos for any of our kind that might have survived the genocide. An endeavor that ultimately proved fruitless as the years passed by. Too soon we heard tell of you and your brother and how your father's Clan had usurped the power from the Ice-jin Council, effectively taking hold over this corner of the universe. Through all of this we remained hidden, watching from the shadows as the universe descended further into chaos.

"Partially, anyhow," she said with a glance to the creature at her feet. "The Gylderians opposed your Empire's advance, stymying its expansion. In the chaos the Flazerian Empire rose and took hold over the neutral sectors, a maneuver neither the Ice-jins nor the Gylderians could counter. The Ice-jins held the raw power in this engagement, but your numbers had suffered greatly in the War with the Saiyans, your might spread thin in order to maintain your tenuous control. The Flazerians and Gylderians had sheer numbers on their respective sides, but only just. They quickly came to an agreement and reached a truce; so long as the Ice-jin Empire was a threat to them both, they would not interfere with one another.

"And so equilibrium was achieved for a time. And in this ensuing calm we came upon a planet known as Vegeta and found one of our fellows had begun to rebuild a new Saiyan society. We were hopeful until we learned of the agreement between the buffoon and yourself." She scowled and shook her head. "Vegeta proved to be nothing but a spoiled brat, concerned with nothing but his own agendas. Our hope crushed we left that planet to continue our search, all the while still training. We knew a time would come when the power of the Clerics would be needed, so we began a plan to rebuild our ranks. A plan that ultimately failed in the long-run."

Frieza rolled his eyes, his impatience beginning to grow. "Do you even have a point, Monkey? Or are you delighting in wasting my time?"

Seluri grinned and shook her head. "Not much. But I do have a point and I am getting to it."

"Then get on with it. Your time is running out."

"That is fine." She shifted her stance, sliding her front foot back so that it was parallel to her other. She tucked her arms to her sides, and clenched her fists. "You see, we knew that in the end it would be up to us. So we trained, pushing our bodies to new heights in order to achieve Super Saiyan. Unfortunately without proper guidance, the transformation continued to elude us. We realized that we would have to think outside the box in order to contend with the likes of your kind, so we began to develop powerful new techniques all our own."

White energy crackled around her arms and legs like electricity, drawing an arched brow from Frieza. Surely she didn't mean to fight him?

She ground her teeth together as veins bulged at her temples. Her body trembled as the energy flashed brighter and with more frequency. "I developed my technique around learning to absorb Brootz Waves from the surrounding area, even without a full moon overhead." She drew her lips into a thin smile. "I never perfected the technique to allow for me to become an Oozaru at will, which was my ultimate goal. Fortunately my time was not wasted as I was able to utilize what was available in order to enhance my body."

The white energy snapped and crackled all around her taut frame and for the first time Frieza began to notice that her muscles were bulging and expanding, stretching the limits of her underarmor and flesh. The white energy was flashing rapidly at this point, arcing from her toes to her hair. Her body enlarged before his eyes, doubling and tripling in size as she apparently gathered the raw energy directly into her muscles. He watched on curiously as a shimmering milky aura exploded to life around her, giving her tense body an eerie phosphorescent sheen, her hair rising skyward with the sudden rush of power. The bizarre aura pulsed and oscillated around her, exploding the air with electric noise as her muscles rippled in time. She wrenched her head back to unleash a savage din of thunderous fury, explosive pulses emanating outwards from her power-engorged body. The ground trembled beneath their feet as the pulses rapidly became more frequent, until all at once her power was rushing out in consistent, almost rhythmic, gusts, the raging fires around them instantly being swept from existence, dust surging out from beneath her in a rush of billowing plumes.

Frieza blinked at the scene before him as the ground cratered beneath her feet, the Gylderian sliding down the sudden incline towards her. She had undoubtedly raised her power drastically. It was still nothing compared to his, but her pressure was apparent against him. These Saiyans never ceased to amaze, no matter how much he was loathed to admit it.

Her roar died out and she jerked her attention back to him as her aura leveled out to a steady angry burn, flares of pearly energy withering loose and wafting away into nothing. She shifted her stance and slid back into her defensive posture from before, her short hair tussled in the emanation of power.

Frieza offered her a snide jeer. "My my, Saiyan. I must confess that I am altogether impressed with this hollow show of yours. It almost made your meaningless little story worth my time. In the end it was wasted and you almost gave rise to my hopes of a somewhat decent challenge. Unfortunately all you seem to have done is increased your overall size and bluffed a somewhat-suitable lightshow."

The ground exploded as Seluri launched herself forward in a head-on attack, her fist flashing towards his wide-open face. Frieza sneered before phasing to the left and she shot by him with a curse, her feet hitting the ground as she slid around to face him. Her aura gave a radiant burst and she was on top of him in an instant, both fists flying in a volley of frenzied punches that he all-too easily avoided, dancing just out of her reach with a perverse smile on his villainous face. She was relentless, though; he had to give her that. She drove her attack onward, her speed and pace never changing and her depraved gaze never leaving his.

"You disappoint me, Monkey," he taunted, continuing to deftly evade her every attack. "The Gylderian fared far better than this."

Her bloodshot eyes widened and her luminous aura flashed; her speed increased a bit, one of her punches narrowly missing his cheek. He leered at the clear desperation on her face, reveling in the fear apparent in her wide-eyed glare.

She phased upwards, launching immediately into an aerial kick. "Pathe-" A gleam of light caught his attention and he snapped his gaze around to his left to see a rather generous orb of golden ki bearing down on him. The Saiyan's flying roundhouse impacted the back of his head, staggering him forward a bit since he had completely forgotten about her in that brief moment. It was not a particular powerful strike; but it was just enough to allow the other attack to connect with him. It exploded with such violence that he was sent flying backwards, the ground disintegrating into oblivion beneath him. He slammed into his ship, ripping through a portion of untouched hull like paper, and tore like lightning through room after room after room before exploding from the other side.

He flared his ki and brought himself to a stop before flipping around to survey the two combatants now hovering in the sky across from him; one bathed in gold and the other in white. It had been such an obvious ploy and he had allowed himself to walk right into it. Veins bulged at his temples as his heart thundered furiously against his ribcage. These insects had pushed his limits! He would make them pay for this insolence.

"Did not like that, huh?" the golden Gylderian crowed insubordinately. "Well tough titty, because that was only approximately half of my full power. Next one is gonna be all-out, though. Think you can handle it?" he queried arrogantly.

"You fools continue on as if you stand any sort of a chance. Do you not realize that I could obliterate you along with this entire planet in but an instant if I so chose? You live only so long as I allow." He hovered towards them, his fists clenched tight at his sides. His tail swayed with his irritation. "It is clear that I have been far too lenient."

Falmer chuckled. "Aw, come on now. We are just having a bit of fun before we die. Is that not right, Seluri?" he asked with a glance given to the Saiyan at his side.

She cringed and met his gaze sourly. "Speak for yourself, Gylderian." She gave his new form an analytical look. "You look far more primal and yet Frieza insists on calling me the monkey!"

The Gylderian flashed her a toothy grin. "Curious indeed."

Frieza scowled in annoyance. Their infuriating actions were clearly deliberate. "This will not stand, Monkeys," he spat at them.

Falmer looked towards him with an arched brow. "Ooh, we're getting under his skin. Zether would be jealous." His grin faded and his amber-eyed gaze narrowed minutely. "You'll pay for that, by the way." He shifted his gaze to just behind Frieza and the tyrant could not keep from looking for himself.

His gaze fell on the crumpled body of the other Gylderian and his brow furrowed. It couldn't have been…He looked sharply at the Gylderian. "Are you suggesting that that insect over there was Zether Zetra?"

Falmer met his gaze unflinchingly and snarled. "Yes. That was Zether. My brother."

Frieza narrowed his eyes in contempt. "That is impossible. I destroyed Zether on Jynn-jin 13 myself."

The Gylderian's eyes appeared to gleam as he smirked. "Yeah, well…you clearly failed the first time, because that was definitely his neck you just snapped."

Frieza was reticent a moment as he regarded the golden oddity. He did not see how Zether possibly could have survived. In fact there was no way. It was impossible for he'd seen Zether's body disintegrate before his very eyes. Unless the Gylderian had generated some sort of illusion to trick his eyes, then there was no way he had survived to this day.

He glanced around at the lifeless body again. Then again…The Saiyans Bardock and Seripa had survived the encounter, as well. Perhaps it was possible that the Gylderian had somehow escaped with his life that after all; even so, if it were possible it didn't matter anyway. Zether was still dead one way or another.

He shifted his murderous gaze around to view the Gylderian and the female Saiyan. They would soon be joining Zether in the Afterlife if he had anything to say about it. But he would amuse himself first and toy with them for a little while longer. He held the upper hand, after all. So long as he kept that in mind then he could have some fun without letting their antics get under his skin.

He took a slow deep breath and immediately exhaled, taking a moment to calm his nerves. It would not do to allow these insects the satisfaction of breaking his composure. He was still Lord Frieza, after all. He was the soon-to-be Ruler of the entire universe, just as soon as he had all the Dragonballs in his possession and he made his wish.

He allowed himself a small smile and he folded his arms across his chest. "You seem rather confident in your abilities, so I will humor you for a bit longer. Attack with everything you have, the both of you, and I will not use my arms."

"Oh?" The Gylderian arched a brow and tilted his head back to give Frieza an appraising look. "You honor us, Ol' Mighty Ice-jin."

"You have a smart mouth, Gylderian," Frieza said coldly, his smile still in place.

"Yeah, well my brother rubbed off on me more than I thought. He was the King of Snide." His animalistic eyes narrowed slowly and he let forth a feral snarl. "But I suppose we can cut the shit now. I am pissed; you are pissed. We have established that. So let's get to kicking each other's asses."

"I quite-" The Gylderian blurred forward in a blink, his fist like lightning as it shot for Frieza's face. The tyrant smoothly hovered back out of the way and wrapped his tail snugly around the offending fist, bringing Falmer to a jarring halt. "agree." He finished as the Gylderian looked at him sharply in surprise.

Frieza ducked, Seluri's vicious roundhouse sailing a hairsbreadth over his head.

"Damn it!" she seethed as her aura shone, a burst of her ki killing her momentum.

Frieza smirked and jerked his tail around to throw the Gylderian into the Saiyan, sending them both crashing violently into the ground, chunks of Earth flying out in every direction.

The Gylderian was the first to recover, flying up as a streak of golden light before the rubble had even landed to drive both fists forward with tremendous force. Frieza's knee flashed up and the punches connected with sonic-boom force, the emanations blowing the Gylderian's crimson locks straight back to the roots, and ruffling his fur for several long seconds.

The Ice-jin tyrant offered another smirk as the Gylderian grimaced at him. "That almost tickled."

An orb of pearl-white ki exploded against his abdomen with a blazing flash, his eyes snapping closed in stinging agony as fire swept across his stomach. He shot backwards, distancing himself from his attackers and shaking his head while burying both hands into his seared eyes as his stomach sizzled. That had actually stung! It had not been an especially powerful attack, but it had been extraordinarily hot! Not to mention blinding.

"Arrrgh!" he declared angrily as he cracked open his eyes experimentally, the sensitive organs still slightly overloaded as he saw only white blobs. "You will pay for that, Insects!"

A white blob detached itself from a larger one and rushed towards him. He scowled and threw his hand out, flaring his ki to send the blob careening down to the ground. "Be gone!" He blinked his eyes a few times as his vision finally began to clear, the battlefield resolving from the distorted shapes he was perceiving. He looked down to see the female Saiyan picking herself up from where he'd sent her crashing, her magenta-eyed gaze locked on him as she panted heavily.

He felt a brush of movement to his left and he jerked his tail forward to slam across the Gylderian's body and send him exploding into the ground below. Frieza allowed himself a small measure of satisfaction, grinning in pleasure as the Gylderian cratered the ground, debris shaking loose from his nearby ship and falling to the ground uselessly.

"I must admit that I am rather surprised that you two have lasted this long. You are cunning, I will give you that. But it will not save you from the coming inevitability. You both will die in but a few moments." He dropped down to the ground and looked across the devastated battlefield at the prone golden beast.

The Gylderian groaned as he gathered himself to his feet, doing his best to repress his winces. He looked up at Frieza and smirked. "Gotta play all our cards here, Frieza. We cannot all be freaks of nature."

Frieza would have been irritated by the insult were it not for the irony of the statement coming from the furred Gylderian. He arched an eyebrow and matched the creature's smirk. "You are one to talk, Monkey. Your appearance is almost enough to make me regret all the times I have insulted Saiyans. You have become a literal mangy animal."

Falmer grinned and his feiry aura exploded to life in a brilliant flash of gold, his muscles constricting audibly. "You are taking me too lightly, Ice-jin."

Frieza had to chuckle at that statement. "Is that so?"

"Yeah. I still have not gone full power against you." He shifted his stance and narrowed his eyes, his smirk never fading.

Frieza lifted a hand to his mouth and chuckled again. "Pitiful little beast. Your power pales in comparison to mine."

Falmer's aura flashed and he lunged forward, the ground splintering beneath him. Frieza's tail shot forward and wrapped around the Gylderian's neck in an blurred motion; he jerked his tail down sharply and slammed the Gylderian face-first into the ground, cracks spiraling out from the point of impact.

"I could do this all day, you know. No matter what you do, it will never be enough."

Three successive pearl-white ki blasts splashed like fire across his chest; he clamped his eyes shut against their brilliance as they exploded and seared his flesh again. Just what kind of attack WAS that?

A powerful blow to his stomach drove him backward several feet. His eyes shot open as he swept his arm around in a wide arc, his ki flaring out in a wave to crash over the Saiyan and Gylderian and send them rolling backwards across the ground. He flashed forward and kicked the Gylderian viciously into the ground before phasing below the Saiyan and backhanding her across the battlefield. She crashed back-first into the ground, her power-engorged body shredding the Earth as a deep trench and her underarmor shredding all along her arms and legs.

Frieza landed lightly and chuckled, clapping his hands together a couple of times. "I applaud you on forcing me to use 20% of my power. It is far more than I expected from the likes of you." He looked down at the Gylderian lying prone beneath him as he groaned. He started to push himself up again so Frieza drove his foot viciously into his exposed side, sending him crashing violently through the ground.

"I believe I have made myself clear." He looked out towards the Saiyan as she climbed laboriously to her feet, her chest heaving rapidly with the exertion and her eyes wide with the shock of the pain involved. "My, you are as tenacious as Seripa." He grinned and stalked menacingly towards her. "But tenacity alone will not save you."

Seluri grimaced, blood trickling down the sides of her face as she gasped for breath. "Well…" she panted heavily. "What about this?!" she cried. Her aura flared to its phosphorescent brilliance and she thrust her hands forward to fire off a crackling flash of white energy.

Frieza fired a blast from his fingertip that completely obliterated it; he lunged forward and struck her down to the ground again. Craggy upheavals rose around them from the explosive force of her impact, her pained cry echoing eerily across the battlefield.

"I enjoyed tormenting you, Saiyan, but I must now be done with you. I have Dragonballs to find, as well as procuring a new spaceship to think about thanks to that pesky Gylderian." He paused and considered her as she trembled beneath him, a pained expression twisting her bloody features. Her muscles shrank in size until she was feeble and thin, a single eye cracking open to glare up at him in an attempt at defiance. He chuckled. "Your power fails you, does it? What a shame." He extended his hand towards her, his palm glowing purple as he gathered his ki.

"Hey cock-sucker!" a breathless voice jeered. "I am not done with you just yet!"

Frieza frowned and let the ki fade as he angled his head around to see the Gylderian standing and challenging him. He sneered and turned to fully face him. "Your pathetic insults mean nothing to me, Monkey. They are but empty cries of desperation from an out-classed-"

"You do a lot of talking, Jackass," Falmer interrupted with a smirk. "I have done lost count of how many times you have said you would kill me. And yet here I stan-" Frieza phased in front of him and drove his knee into his stomach, chunks of armor flying as the Gylderian rocketed backwards from the strike; his tail flashed forward and caught the Gylderian, forcing him to a jarring halt; he jerked the beast's face into his other knee with an explosion of blood and shattered teeth. The Gylderian went limp in his grasp and he carelessly threw him aside.

"I am quite through with talking, Gylderian." He glanced between the downed Saiyan and the unconscious golden Gylderian, a small smirk appearing as his eyes gleamed with a predatory light. "Now I kill." He gathered his ki.

DBZ

(Howdy folks. Been a while, eh? Too long, and I apologize. So many things have happened since the last update, especially with the official canon being added to with so much new juicy material to further inspire Witness. Lol I've had some new ideas that may or may not be utilized in the future. They're fun ideas but with so little still known about what the new transformations are capable of, it wouldn't be true to the story in my mind. We'll see what happens, though.

So my sister and I decided to start a YouTube channel. It's nothing special; we're just going to post random videos and the occasional blog. There's nothing substantial there just yet, though. But keep a look-out if you enjoy randomness. Also...Well I've decided to do chapter breakdowns of Witness detailing my thought process and inspirations. Just something that I figured may be fun to do and fun to watch, and may help to motivate me to do more writing. lol Who knows? Y'all can check that out at our channel Jaybird Street.

Anyway next chapter will be up as soon as I finish it up. Thanks as always for reading!)