Chapter 12: Evolution
The white tail of the familiar tyrant lazily swiped and folded in the air behind him, hovering over his crossed arms occasionally behind his back. Frieza's expression was completely blank, staring out into the dark abyss of space. Having maintained his final form, his eyes casually glanced from side to side, eyeing the stars at random and barely turning his head at the loud clang of the metal door behind him.
Two figures slowly entered the room, shadowed in darkness for a few seconds. The small alien suddenly stumbled forward, having been pushed forward by a white gloved hand. The alien timidly glanced back at his attacker, before turning back towards Frieza and speaking timidly in the small control room.
"L-Lord Frieza...sir. The intruder here...he...I...we couldn't stop him. He said he'd spare me if I brought him...to...well..you."
The small alien soldier kept his head bowed, shaking heavily. His trembling stopped at the trite, yet emotionless words from the tyrant that rung out in the small room.
"Very well, leave us Apu. Report to your commanding officer for punishment."
The alien soldier rapidly nodded his head, quickly scurrying out of the room moments later. Vegetto chuckled lightly in response, fully stepping into the light illuminating the control room of Frieza's ship, raising an eyebrow.
"Really? The Frieza I know would've killed that grunt on the spot."
Frieza let out a small confident chuckle in response, turning his head slightly.
"Perhaps. But you may want to consider that the soldier will experience something much worse than a quick death for his cowardice."
Vegetto narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Such as?"
Frieza chuckled once again, turning to fully face towards the fusion.
"Calm yourself, he'll experience something a Saiyan like yourself would find quite enjoyable: rigorous, merciless training."
The tyrant lifted his right hand, pointing his finger towards the ceiling in an "as a matter of fact" mannerism.
"You see, after our battle on Namek all those years ago, I decided that the main reason why I always found myself in the situations of defeat against you Saiyans was simply because my followers were so pathetically weak, they never posed any challenge to you or your kind. I realized that even in someone as naturally gifted as myself, potential that isn't harnessed is, in fact, wasted."
Vegetto crossed his arms, watching Frieza drop his behind his back.
"I discovered that my past method of recruitment was a folly at the stage of my Empire now: I no longer had the resources of my father's organization to rely on an unending supply of soldiers. If I was to recreate my Empire here, I would have to not only build soldiers from the ground up, but develop a training program to turn them into worthy soldiers for the Frieza Force."
The fusion broke out into a small smirk, his eyebrow still raised.
"I assumed it was a success?"
Frieza nodded once.
"Indeed. The universe itself was but a small obstacle, having developed a new army of soldiers that rivaled the force of a million of my old troops. Yet I still continued to learn new things, having discovered a new found pain from simply killing one of my most prized fighters..."
The tyrant broke out into a small frown.
"Normally, I wouldn't have had a second thought about his death. But after having spent so many hours into the development of the soldiers, having seen this particular one grow from a petulant and weak child into one of the strongest beings in the universe..."
Frieza paused for a moment, glancing down.
"The level of efficiency became clearer than it ever had before. One single failure, over a matter I could've easily handled myself, led me to kill my strongest commander."
Vegetto nodded his head once.
"The cause of that practice became clear too, didn't it."
Frieza broke out into a small scowl.
"As much as it still burns to say it...yes. I saw the very error that led to my near defeat on Earth...against you as well. But I still didn't focus on it, not until my Empire had grown in size to the point of expansion into territories unknown."
Vegetto remained silent, watching as Frieza let out a heavy sigh.
"The commander's mission soon led into a bigger conflict, one that pitted the forces of my Empire against another. I had dealt with uprising, rebellions, and groups fighting against my rule in the past...but never a full scale force that rivaled my own Empire. Even larger...my men were outnumbered four to one on the world of Arcosia."
Frieza glanced back over his left shoulder slightly towards the small oval window.
"My soldiers managed to decimate the attackers, much like how the Earthlings were able to eradicate a thousand men completely outnumbered. It filled me with a sense of empowerment, having spent barely any effort into developing their fighting strength and reaping the rewards of their dedication. Yet...the planet held a secret I couldn't have predicted..."
He turned his narrowed gaze back to Vegetto, his frown returning.
"I found that I wasn't the last of my kind. An entire empire...of beings like me. Being decimated by mere common soldiers."
Vegetto's smirk rose slightly in response.
"Makes you wonder how valuable heritage truly is, doesn't it?"
Frieza scoffed in response.
"Don't be absurd. Despite most of them being completely worthless, one of them proved to be worthy of our race. He not only destroyed my invading force...but...also managed to overwhelm me."
Vegetto blinked in response, Frieza uncomfortably shifting in the fusion's surprised stare.
"Yes...I said it. He bested me...what of it?"
Vegetto kept his state, uncrossing his arms slowly.
"Nothing. I just...never really expected you to admit defeat so...easily."
Frieza snarled slightly, glancing back down towards the floor.
"Well, it happened. Despite everything I threw at him, everything I tried, he defeated me using a transformation I had never seen before. I rushed in, confident I could best him now that the Saiyans were gone from this universe...but it cost me. Again...for the fourth time."
The tyrant cringed tightly, squeezing his hands into fists.
"No matter how far I had come, no matter what I achieved, there is always someone in this existence that wounds me deeply. And this time...rather than the burning hatred I developed for you Saiyans...it was one of my own people. I felt...distraught...having lost everything again. I barely escaped the planet with my life...and soon after...my Empire was decimated."
Frieza soon unclenched his fists.
"I retreated to another backwater world, feeling sorry for myself yet again. First it was Namek, then Earth. Then after being revived, I did it again by returning to try and kill Goku again, and now, Arcosia. My recklessness, led me to put myself in a situation that I was supposed to win. Only for history to distort and cripple me into nothing again."
Vegetto broke out into a small smirk.
"Pride can do that, Frieza. Your vision became distorted again, without a Saiyan to do it this time."
Frieza let out a deep, exasperated sigh in response.
"...yes. My first thought was to blame my accomplishments. I wanted to know why it hurt to lose so much...why I had to suffer so deeply in defeat. And I realized that my pain was in what I lost: I feared losing my grip on the universe. I feared defeat because my reputation would be in jeopardy. I feared losing because I would lose all that I have dominated..."
Th tyrant glanced back up, his expression falling flat once more.
"I decided that if I was ever truly to be free of this pain, I would have to give up everything I valued most. Which was easier for me to do than I thought because that very same night I made the decision, I turned my gaze back to the stars I used to stare at as a child..."
Frieza turned on his heel, facing towards the oval window.
"I wanted to rule the cosmos with an iron fist, to control the universe itself. But after spending my prime rising and falling, I realize the goal I had held so close to my heart was merely an illusion. Like my venture for domination, the cosmos themselves are merely a dark void of nothingness. Forcing existence on with the handful of gleaming stars as memories..."
Vegetto's eyes widened once again, pausing for a moment.
"Well...that's quite a step up from the Frieza I talked to ten years ago."
Frieza broke out into a small smile, bowing his head slightly.
"I had a feeling it would impress you. I had done away with my past life after that revelation, and gave up my ambitions of ruling everything. So the only thing left to do was decide how I wanted to live my life...what to do with myself. And that's when my memories returned, the gleaming stars that made my existence fruitful..."
He lifted his head slightly.
"The battle on Namek...I began to see it in a new light. The birth of an epic rivalry, good vs evil. The tyrant seeking to reclaim his iron grip on the universe, fighting against a low class, self righteous upstart looking to undermine it all."
Frieza soon scoffed, facing back towards Vegetto.
"I still don't care for that overwhelming sense of self importance that drives that Saiyan into protecting everyone on some moral clarity, but I realized that had I simply lived for the fight as he did, I wouldn't have suffered. In that battle, despite his desire to save everyone from my rule, I truly was the only one with something to lose."
The tyrant crossed his arms behind his back.
"Our rematch was the same outcome, but it was the perfect example for me to reminisce on. I followed his method, and for the first time in my life, I trained. I worked and tortured my body to become stronger, and in the short span of a few months, I become more powerful than anyone could have predicted or imagined. So naturally...I realized now that the one man that made my life a living hell for the past fifteen years had actually been the source of my salvation. I didn't care about winning...I didn't care about my Empire anymore. I didn't even care about getting revenge on that Frost Demon that had bested me..."
Frieza lifted his chin slightly.
"I focused on the thrill of the fight...to be the strongest I could possibly be. For three long years, I committed myself to eradicating every weakness purely for the sake of improvement. And by the end of those years...I emerged with the very same form that he had used to best me."
He kept a small smirk, turning his head back down to lock eyes with Vegetto.
"I won't lie to you: it was exhilarating. To feel that immense power coursing through my veins, and having acquired it free from the petty worries of the state of my Empire and reputation in the universe. I had done everything to prepare for battle...ready to unleash that power on that Frost Demon."
Vegetto nodded once.
"I assume you defeated him?"
Frieza kept a small smirk.
"Yes, albeit, the victory was not my favorite result from the battle. It was the calm before...the excitement. Rather than the thrill of domination, I sought to experience the fight in full. To see if he could rise to my potential...if he could overcome me again."
The tyrant chuckled.
"I'd be lying if I said victory did not satisfy me, but it was the new view on life that made defeat impossible. Finally, no matter what outcome I received from the universe, I could not be defeated. I would have my motivation to fight if I lose, and victory would be it's own reward. No matter what happened on that day...I would be free of the suffering that had plagued me for so long."
Vegetto nodded his head once.
"I can tell, you certainly seem more at peace than you ever have before."
Frieza nodded, before crossing his arms on his chest.
"And that's why we're here, aren't we? You've choose this moment in time...knowing how much I've changed to present your offer again."
Vegetto nodded once more.
"That's right. I offer you the means to experience new adventures, exciting foes to defeat, and personal training with a warrior able to rise with your power. Certainly, that's more enticing than running your own Empire in an empty universe with no challenge, correct?"
Frieza uncrossed his arms, slowly walking towards a small terminal stand on the opposite side of the room. He lightly tapped onto a code of buttons, the intercom buzzing to life before he spoke.
"Commander, send Apu here into the control room for debriefing."
Vegetto raised a right eyebrow in perplexion, remaining silent as the small quirky alien soldier rapidly burst through the door seconds later. The soldiers timidly broke out into a weak salute a few feet away from Frieza.
"Reporting for debriefing, my lord!"
Frieza kept a small smirk, scoffing lightly in response and dismissively waving his right hand at the soldier.
"There's no need for that anymore, Apu. Congratulations: you're now the ruler of the entire universe. Do with it as you see fit."
The small alien soldier's jaw dropped to the floor, watching on as Frieza moved past him and Vegetto, who also blinked wide eyed in shock.
"Come, let us depart for where ever it is you call home."
Vegetto scratched the back of his head, glancing between Frieza and Apu in confusion as they made their way into the hallway.
"You...you really think that soldier can handle leading an empire? I thought you were going to punish him for cowardice."
Frieza kept his gaze forward as he walked.
"I was, but when I figured out what you were hear for, I changed my mind. Besides, I'm going to need some form of entertainment between missions."