[This story came about while I was in the middle of writing my other story "Cell by Cell" but don't worry, you don't need to read that story to read this one! If you want to check the other story out, that would be awesome, but keep in mind that there will be spoilers! This story is to follow the plot designated in that story as this is just a view point of that situation through Future Trunks' eyes instead of Vegeta's! This is a mystery novel and the other story is not as heavy on the mystery as this story will be.]
~~~ Ch 1 - Freeza's Defeat ~~~
11/28-29/2022 ~ DBZ Ep 119: The Mysterious Youth ~ DBZ Ep 120: Another Super Saiyan? ~ DBZ Ep 121: Welcome Back Goku
The moment I stepped out of the time machine, the first thing I felt was overwhelming excitement. I could sense all of the ki energies of people all over the place. Not only that, but everything around me was so strange. Buildings were pristine and there were no sightings of blast scars on the landscape. Then again, if there were I'd be worried the machine didn't work at all.
It was only perhaps an hour before I could sense a super strong energy coming from space. Mom had warned me the time she had set was just before the arrival of the menace Freeza. She'd told me stories about him. She had said it was best that I take care of this threat to avoid casualties and introduce myself. If I defeated the space tyrant, they would have no choice but to trust me.
Mom said Freeza should be easy enough for me to handle as a super saiyan. She'd said that no one but Goku with the power of super saiyan could take on this villain; but, even as someone without any ki abilities, Mom knew the androids shadowed Freeza immensely. I was trained by Gohan, the son of Goku, so she had faith that this alien would be no problem for me.
I wasn't so sure until I sensed the power for myself. Yes, there were two huge power levels coming in hot, but nothing I couldn't handle in my super saiyan state. Mom was right. That in itself gave me hope that perhaps this was actually going to work.
So I made my way to the alien's ki and landing location, carefully biding my time. I'd waited for what felt like forever by the time Freeza's ship finally docked and the seals opened. The aliens that exited the ship were ugly. Like, really ugly! The small ones wore contraptions on their faces and arms, but the two in front were obviously the tyrants I was to destroy. Mom had said the smaller of the two was Freeza so at least I could tell them apart.
The aliens seemed to have some sort of conversation before turning to order the men to, I don't know, attack Earth or something evil. Yeah, now's as good a time as any for a dramatic entrance. Just like those movies Mom would watch with me when I was little.
Oh yeah, three slices and a quarter of the men fell to their knees. The alien tyrants were wide eyed alright as their men's bodies fell in pieces from the sky. I sheathed my sword slowly as a cool breeze rolled through the valley.
"Ah, so you must be Freeza," I stated coolly. "I've been waiting a long time to meet you face to face."
Freeza seemed to have metal parts sticking out of places in his body. Great… A cyborg… Mom had conveniently left out that detail. It made me wonder what other details Mom had coincidentally censored as well.
The taller one, I believe Mom said it was Freeza's dad, had a very uncaring tone, "Well, well. We have a guest."
"Now, I'm going to destroy you," I continued. Cyborg or not, he would be killed all the same.
"Ooo, we'd better run. Isn't that right, Father?" Freeza taunted and chuckled after he whipped off a look of surprise on his face. Either surprised by my blatant disregard for him, or by the seriousness I had said it. Such talk didn't affect me anymore, though. "You don't know what you're up against, boy."
"I know exactly what I'm up against, Freeza. And let me tell you, I'm not worried," I drawled. "Make no mistake. I'm going to finish you once and for all."
The alien responded with a chuckle, seeming to be amused, "Well, you certainly are an arrogant little thing. And maybe in whatever little hole you just crawled out of, you're pretty tough. But you're no match for me, really. Fighting a pitiful young punk like you isn't even worth my time."
It was clear to me that this alien didn't understand, so I confidently retorted, "Maybe I haven't made myself clear yet. You're finished, Freeza!"
That seemed to have struck a nerve as the cyborg alien growled in frustration, "Enough idle talk. Foot soldier! Vaporize this little rodent!"
"With pleasure!" the green scaled soldier responded, preparing the device on his arm. It was obviously a weapon of some kind. The other soldiers were ordered to spread out as well, forming a semi-circle around me in a pitiful attempt to stop me. Needless to say, I wasn't worried.
"I think that it's only fair that I should warn you guys. You don't stand a chance against me."
"Kid, you don't scare us," one soldier stated before the green alien interrupted, "Hey, stand back. I need some room to work here. Huh, his power's only level 5. Well kiddo, I hope you've said your goodbyes. Cause it's about time for you to go."
Just as I thought, the weapon fired a small blast. It seemed to utilize ki, but it was nothing compared to the blasts from the androids. I deflected each one without effort. Honestly, I probably could have taken the blasts head on and came out unscathed with maybe my shirt torn a bit. Naw, the explosions on the cliffside were way cooler to have in the background.
The soldier was understandably ruffled as he stuttered, "B-but… 5…" and I simply pulled my bangs away from my face. There had to be points for looking like a badass, right? Oh yeah. One uppercut to the soldier's jaw had him fly into one of the standing pods of the ship and got Freeza's attention once more.
"Well, seems the little dog has some bite to go with his bark after all," the tyrant chortled.
"Why?! You…! Attack!" one of the other men called out, signaling the rest of the underlings to charge. I readied my sword and with eight more swings, I finished off the last of the soldiers. With ki, I gave the attack a little flare as the men remained standing for an extra second before my sword clasped back in its sheath. Definitely going to get cool points. Especially as the only guy left standing had his armor shred to pieces…
I was going to leave the man standing, but Freeza had other ideas. The alien stabbed the humanoid straight through the chest! His own soldier! I knew this guy was a monster, but seeing that act was enough to make me fully comprehend just what this alien was. He was no better than the androids who destroyed their maker for their own enjoyment.
"I must admit, I'm impressed," the tyrant called to me.
"What a pleasant surprise," Freeza's father agreed.
Freeza further added, "You're right Father. This may prove to be a bit more amusing than I thought."
Unmoved by their interest, I stated once more, "And now, you two are going down."
The alien father found what I said entertaining, "One thing is certain. If nothing else, I'd say this little creature is quite the comedian."
"He is at that," Freeza agreed. "I'll tell you what, kid. Let me give you a piece of advice. He who acquires his skills quickly is he who is the first to perish."
"Thanks for the tip," I responded, knowing this to be utterly wrong. Just because I am young, that definitely did not define my weakness. He was trying to make assumptions on me, and that would be his own downfall.
"Why you…!" the tyrant began, raising a fist to further display his irritation. Good, I was getting under his skin.
I cut him off, knowing it would rile this alien up in hopes of making the fight worthwhile, "Listen up! Now I've got one for you, Freeza. Know your enemy. You've already made some pretty big assumptions about me, and that's a mistake that's going to cost you dearly."
He was pissed now, "You insolent brat! You should really learn to control your tongue."
Freeza's father appeared bored, however, "Just destroy him already. We haven't got all day."
"Really, Father. Have some patience. I'm just trying to have a little fun if you don't mind."
"He's right, though. You really don't have all day. More like 5 minutes," I antagonized. Gohan had told me that was how Freeza threatened Goku first. And Mom said if there was any way to upset Freeza it would be by mentioning something about his defeat to Goku… Just a little more, and he'd snap and make the first move. Then I'd know exactly what I'm up against. This alien didn't seem to know how to control his ki, but if I am wrong and took him at face value then that could cost the planet.
"Oh, that's too bad. And here I made dinner plans," the alien responded, not seeming to have understood. Needless to say, I was a bit disappointed. Perhaps I said it wrong? No matter, I can be more upfront, then.
"So I've heard! Well, sorry Freeza, but I'm canceling your date with Goku."
Freeza's eyes went wide at the mention of the name, but it was his father who asked, "What's a Goku?"
The tyrant grit his teeth, "Father, I know you're bored but please try to keep up." The tall alien had nothing more to say as Freeza returned his gaze back to me. His hands found his… strangely feminine… hips and responded, "So I take it you know that worthless saiyan."
I had no reason to lie, so I answered, "By reputation, but we'll meet soon."
"Oh? Don't be so certain."
"But I couldn't be more certain, Freeza! Any time now, Goku will be coming home. And only one of us is going to be here waiting for him. Get it?"
A cruel smile grew on the alien's face, "Definitely. As it so happens, I was just about to suggest that very thing myself. It's so nice that you and I can finally agree on something, don't you think?"
Something about the way the alien said that made my blood boil over in anticipation. I was looking forward to this fight, "For once, you're right."
Freeza shrugged, "Well, then I guess all that's left is for me to decide just how I'm going to annihilate you…"
"Enough kidding around!" I called. "It's time you understood who I really am. So, I'll tell you what. I'm going to let the two of you in on a little secret… You're about to find out what it's like to fight a real super saiyan… And I'm not talking about Goku."
"What?!" Freeza gasped at first, but then he devolved into manic laughter as he didn't believe me. "You crack me up, kid. Hahaha! I've never met anyone who laid it on quite as thick as you! Ahahaha!"
But actions spoke louder than words. At the horrible sound of the tyrants' cackling, my ki exploded. As the pressure built, the two stopped and stared at my display. I'll put on a show. Slowly transforming super to flash sparks in the air. Perhaps then, Freeza would understand just how much trouble he was in?
"No! It can't be! It… It's impossible!" Freeza responded in fear. He even took steps back as the yellow glow that marked the transformation flowed over my skin. The alien whispered to himself, seemingly in denial.
"Is it something I said?" I questioned, smirking at how Freeza seemed to attempt to get ahold of himself. Yes, he definitely was triggered by Goku's power which was similar enough to my own. Something deep inside me reveled at the look of terror on the cyborg's face. I couldn't wait for that very same expression to be worn by the androids I knew back home…
"N-no! Saiyaaaan!" Freeza fell for the bait and shot a ki blast my way. I took on the blast, letting the explosion follow and encompass me.
Before the smoke cleared, I could hear the still bored voice of the tall one state, "My, I would say that was all rather anticlimactic. Wouldn't you? I mean, the little runt certainly didn't last very long, now did he?"
It was followed by Freeza's cocky ego, "Well, what did you expect? He was only a… ah…"
The fire grew high behind me and I took a step forward to get out of the dust. Thankfully I didn't scratch up my jacket. Mom would have killed me if I'd ripped it because I was showing off. But now that the dust cleared I could see Freeza was flustered by my miraculous survival. He didn't put much into the blast, but it would have probably injured the others who were making their way to the battle on foot. From this distance I couldn't tell who was who, but I knew I had some time left before they'd get close enough to watch.
"I really hope that's not the best you can do," I taunted. I needed to know what this monster was capable of before I struck him down for good. "Because if it is, you'd better give up now. You can't win, Freeza."
"We'll just see about that, boy!" the alien retorted, powered up another blast, and fired, "Take this!"
"Freeza!" the other alien chastised. "You'll destroy us all!"
This blast wasn't anything more than I could handle, either. And Freeza's ki didn't spike as he powered and sent off the blast. It meant he was already at his limit. Naturally, I took the blast head on using both hands to stop the energy in its tracks and disperse it into fragments around the landscape. The look that remained on the tyrant's face was priceless.
I couldn't help a smirk as I stated, "It looks to me like you're running out of tricks, Freeza."
"This saiyan is really something else," Freeza's father seemed to have finally found entertainment.
"Okay, that's two. I'll give you one more chance to hit me with everything you've got. And then it's strike three, Freeza. Game over. You're out."
"Hmph. It's time we put an end to this," Freeza agreed.
The cyborg rose to the sky and began to concentrate all his energy into a large, orange glowing ball of ki. The villain cackled as the energy grew more and more, giving off a humming sound. You could actually see the ki boiling over in its concentrated form as if it were a mini sun. This attack was meant to blow up the planet… But it was nothing I couldn't handle.
In fact, Freeza's father called, "Hurry up! Are you going to end this or not?!" as the smaller lizard cyborg creature took his time to gather enough energy. This was indeed Freeza's attempt to kill me properly. Mom was right, he stood no chance against me as a super saiyan.
"Just watch me! This one's for you, Father!" Freeza returned as he launched the orb down towards Earth.
I only needed one hand to stop it. Of course, I got a little carried away as the blast created a bit of a crater, but it was nothing in the grand scheme of things. I walked up the edge, keeping the energy above me as I walked it along. The longer I held the energy, the more the ki lost its potency. It was a technique Gohan had shown me years ago in order to properly block an attack by depleting the blast's energy the longer it was fired against me. It only worked on certain blasts, but this was one of those attacks.
There was a spike of ki in the distance and I recognized it to be Mom's group of friends and Gohan among them. They were probably afraid for the planet's safety. After all, this ball of energy was supposed to core the Earth and explode the molten center. Plus, I'm not Goku. Time to prove myself, then.
"Why you little…?!" Freeza yelled out, clenching his fists to his sides.
This lizard was toast, and I called back, "Excuse me. Is this yours?"
A small blue blast, with hardly any energy put into it, came towards me before curving up into the energy I was still holding. The ball of ki became unstable and imploded swiftly causing a huge explosion. Thankfully I had already dispersed most of the energy or else the blast could have cracked the Earth's surface.
With the smoke, I cleared the area and took a more aggressive position on a rock formation above the valley. The aliens engaged in some form of teasing as I performed my Burning Attack technique and called, "Hey Freeza!" which got the alien's attention just in time as my blast hit the dirt where his feet used to be.
Just as I'd planned it.
"When I get my hands on… Hua?!" the cyborg turned to notice me far too late. My sword cut straight through his flesh and metal pieces like butter. The alien's father gasped out for his son, but I held no mercy. Ten more slices, and the tyrant was in pieces. Followed by an energy blast to finish off my Shining Sword Attack. My sword clacked as it was placed back in its sheath, and I noted the large giant of a horned lizard gasp and growl heavily at what I'd just done.
That's when I felt a surge in energy, but not from the alien before me. It must have been from the others. They took flight to watch the end. I figured they were most likely able to spot my defeating Freeza but I didn't think they'd move closer than they were with the other alien still standing. No matter, I'll dispose of this one quickly enough. There just won't be any fireworks this time. They were too close to the battlefield now.
I dropped back to the surface on top of a remaining hoodoo, ready for part two. This alien seemed weaker, but Mom warned this species had transformations. As long as I don't allow this guy to transform, I'll have zero problems.
"Super saiyan?" the large alien questioned, now sporting a devilish smirk. "I'm impressed. To encounter a fighter of your caliber is a rare occurrence indeed. But it does present quite an opportunity. You see, I can appreciate a great talent such as yours. My eyes are not blinded by pride like my son's were. Join me and take Freeza's place at my side as the supreme ruler of the universe!"
My gaze hardened on the alien before me. He'd barely shown distraught over his son's death and then further offered me a spot as an ally? What kind of sick, twisted beings were these creatures?! Mom said they were wicked, but not insane! What kind of devastation would they have done had Goku not arrived just in time?! Would it have been worse than what the androids had caused?! Could that even be possible?! And across the universe no less!
No matter. This ends here and now, with me.
"Not a chance," came my reply.
"Now don't be too hasty. Imagine. This and every other world would be but the merest of bobbles in your collection. Playthings for your amusement. Subject to your every whim," the alien continued to offer, but I only gave him silence. There would be no chance that anyone in their right mind would accept something as disgusting and self centered as that. "No? Alright, but grant me this. Allow me to examine your sword. A weapon of such obvious quality practically begs to be admired. Hmhmhm. You have nothing to fear from me."
That's when I realized he was stalling. He wanted the sword because he believed that was the only reason I defeated Freeza and wanted to try it against me. Find a weak point to strike. It made me feel overwhelmingly confident. I had him on the ropes without even lifting a finger to fight him. I wanted to see his face when he realized just how wrong he was.
I carefully unsheathed the blade, "So, you wanna see my sword, hua? Here, catch."
The hilt fell right into his overly large palm when it was passed through the air. True to his word, he raised the weapon higher to get a good look at the mastery and chuckled, "Yes. Yes, indeed. Remarkable craftsmanship. And I have a hunch that you would not have defeated my son were it not for this sword. What do you say?"
"Believe what you want to," was all I had to respond. As the alien inspected the sword, I knew instantly that he didn't have any practice with weapons of the sort. Not to mention that it was far too small for such a large being.
"Ah! Alright, then! I will! I say that without your sword, you're nothing! That's what I believe!" he demanded, taking a baseball stance. As he swung the sword up and around, it was ill-practiced and cut the air wrong. Easily, I caught the blade in my hand with ki protecting my skin from the sharp edge. His muscles bulged with effort as he attempted to push forwards, but adding a little extra power to my transformation kept the sword from budging an inch.
His face contorted with fear and strain from the effort he was giving. I took a step forward, forcing him to take a step back. I taunted, "Ha! So much for your theory! You should know that a weapon doesn't make the man."
I raised a hand, targeting where I figured his primary organs would be. The alien yelled out, "Wait you dirty little saiyan…!" but before he could finish, my energy blasted straight through his center. He was slammed harshly against a cliffside and slid down with a trail of blood left behind. Too many times have I seen the androids do such devastation, but this was a monster who deserved every second he'd spend in hell.
"W-wait! You can't… Nooo! Please!" the alien begged. "I'm defenseless. Please? I'm not bad. My son was evil, but not I. I-I wanted nothing but peace! I meant you no harm! I swear it! I-I-I-It's the truth…"
But I knew better than to fall for such a trick, and my energy destroyed the man on the spot. I followed with a shot to the spaceship that remained below. No more space tyrants. No more space empires. And hopefully soon, no more dangers to the Earth.
I sheathed my sword one final time, letting the super saiyan transformation fade as I powered back down from the fight. I searched out with my senses to find the others, only to find them just over the ridge. They seemed understandably shaken up, but otherwise it looked like there wasn't going to be a fuss. Mom was worried they might attack me or something, but it looked like they didn't want to try anything.
The best thing to do was to be friendly. I didn't know them, but that didn't mean they weren't my friends too. So I announced to them, "I'm heading off to a place near here to meet Goku! Would you guys like to come?!" When they didn't respond I pointed in the direction and encouraged, "Come on, it's this way! Goku should be arriving there in a couple of hours!" As they still didn't seem to move, I assured, "Hey! Don't worry! I won't bite! This way!" and took to the sky at a slow pace. They probably just needed the little bit of encouragement to join me.
That seemed to do the trick, as a second later, they were on my tail. I guided them towards the designated location Mom had set on my locator watch. When I checked my positioning, I was more than impressed as the watch updated in real time to my location and destination. It must have connected to Gramp's satellites of the past. That's how it worked in my time, so it was amazing that it recognized the same GPS.
When I found the location, I landed a short distance away from the ping and patiently waited a second for the others to do the same. The group of Earth's warriors landed before me, and I tested my knowledge on who was who based on the stories Mom and Gohan had told me. The big tall one and his friend were Tien and Chiaotzu. I didn't know much about them. The shorter man was Krillin, Goku's best friend. The boy had to be Gohan, although he wore some weird armor I'd never seen before. The green man was Piccolo, the person linked to Earth's Guardian Kami who was the one responsible for the Dragon Balls. To my surprise, my mother was there holding onto who I assume was Yamcha. Which meant the last one was my father…
I pulled out my capsule box, opened it and found the one I was looking for. Mom had packed a mini fridge because she knew I'd be waiting for a while before Goku's ship was to arrive. Plus she said drinks were the best way to get to know them. So I decapsulized the fridge and opened it to reveal to the group still nervous about me.
"How about a cold drink? Goku's not due to arrive for two more hours. It's pretty hot and dry out here," I suggested, grabbing myself an Orange Hetap.
"Well, I don't see why not," the young version of my mother stated.
"Yeah!" Gohan cheered, running up to the fridge to check the options.
Krillin warned, "Wait! Gohan!" but the young version of my mother defended, "Chill out, Krillin! They're just sodas!"
It seemed they trusted me more than the others. Whether that was a coincidence or not, I wasn't sure, but it made me feel not so alone. Even though Gohan was in a funny outfit and Mom's hair looked ridiculous. Yeah, I'm so going to tease her about that when I get home.
"Ooo, wow! What a great selection!" Gohan called, making Young Mother look over his shoulder. Well, it was all their favorites so of course it was a great selection for them both. To be fair, that was the only stuff made in my time anymore, but even still. Gohan always got excited to find soda, so it put a smile on my face to hear him the same way even as a kid.
"Hey, I'm starting to like this guy! He has RootBeer!" Young Mom cheered. She was so predictable, even after so many years in a ravaged world Mom always went for the RootBeer. Next year I'll be allowed to drink some for myself.
"Orange for me!" Gohan insisted, grabbing them both a can. The kid slurped down the drink and sighed, "Ah! Good stuff!"
Young Mom agreed, "Yeah! Super!"
Krillin tentatively asked, "Is there, ah, Grape, guys?" and when Gohan found the flavor Krillin hesitated to take a first sip before realizing it wasn't a trick and declared, "Oh boy!"
They seemed to be warming up to me. And Gohan looked so happy over his soda. I felt bittersweet watching the young version of my master so innocently enjoy a drink. He didn't know the horrors that were to come in just three years. The very reason I was even here in the first place. For a moment, I even envied to know what that naiveté felt like.
[Freeza count: 47 (Includes "Freeza's father" as a mention of Freeza)]
[Trunks saying Freeza in Episodes 119, 120, and 121: 9 times out of 47 sentences until the point of Freeza's destruction... That's 20% of sentences where Trunks said "Freeza"... Could I have cut it down manually? Sure, but what's the fun of that? Then we wouldn't have gotten such a neat fun fact! Also, this story isn't just going to follow canon the whole time, don't worry. Just introducing Trunks' thought process through this event because it's kind of interesting to explain just why he is so freakin' cool in this reveal!]