A/N: This chapter is in tribute to the great Christopher Ayres, who sadly passed away during our hiatus.

Chapter Hundred forty-nine

An Emperor Reborn! A Golden Triumph!

Freeza could no longer remember a time when he wasn't furious. He'd always assumed that, if he ever died, there would be nothing after it. Simple oblivion, as he'd always been raised. Arcosians had no religion, no concept of an afterlife. There was nothing after this life and there was no higher thing to believe in. After all, how could there be anything higher when Arcosians already existed?

So, when he did, unfortunately, die, Freeza was very surprised to discover a consciousness after death. He was even more surprised to discover some huge red thing sitting behind a cheap wooden desk and telling him that he was, supposedly, the most evil mortal being that had ever existed and that likely would ever exist. That seemed a bit presumptuous, honestly. The big red idiot took no small measure of delight in sending Freeza to something called "Hell" and when Freeza tried to vaporize him, he was shocked to discover that his powers no longer worked. Then he fell for what seemed to take forever. He fell for so long that he wondered if the simple monotony of falling was this supposed "Hell."

The reality turned out to be something far worse.

Every day. Every. Single. Day. He would wake up to discover that he was still trapped in an absurd cotton candy cocoon, hanging from a massive, eternally-blossoming cherry tree in an endless field of daffodils and sunflowers. Elves, fairies, and angels danced around him day after day, filling the sky with bright and cheery rainbow lights as they tried to teach him about friendship, kindness, sharing, and a thousand other worthless things. He was utterly alone in this torture because, apparently, he was the only "evil" mortal in the entire universe who resisted the "soul purification process." Everyone else was all too happy to be "expunged of their sins" so they could be reincarnated as a "good person."

It was absurd. Who the hell were these little freaks or that Enma bastard or Son Goku or anyone to pass judgment on him?! Why would he ever want to be reincarnated? He was singular, he was one of one in all creation! He was Freeza the Almighty! He had brought order and structure to a chaotic universe, culling the weak and imposing his will. They'd needed him!

So, every day he spat and raged and cursed at these damn little creatures. One of them once got close enough that he could bite their head right off but the thing just turned into a puff of sugary dust and reformed unharmed! It was madness! Day after day it continued, year after year; Freeza had no idea if he'd been dead for two years or two hundred.

Then, one day, something finally changed. He took a breath! He felt his hearts beating! Freeza ripped out of his cocoon in triumph as he felt his strength return. The angels and fairies screamed in terror and ran for their miserable lives as Freeza raised his hand high overhead to conjure a Death Ball to blow this whole place straight to whatever was beyond hell–

Then he was a half-burned corpse floating in space. He could feel the heat of a star at his back and his cybernetics were burning where they touched his skin. He strained to see out of his one good eye and… yes, he was looking down at Earth! Had he… been sent back in time, to the moment of his death? Was there a chance to fix things? To get revenge?

Before Freeza could process this, however, he was suddenly on Earth, the heat of the sun replaced by the bitter chill of some frozen wasteland at his back. Two members of what he assumed to be the PTO that he'd never seen before were gawking down at him like a pair of mongrel idiots. He tried to speak but his throat was too badly damaged so he summoned up all his power to scream into their heads.

'Get… me… onto… the ship!' he demanded. 'Imbeciles!' The slack-jawed morons loaded him onto their ship and into a healing pod before taking off.

To his confusion, they did not take him to Freeza Planet One. Instead, they took him to some backwater planet that Freeza had forgotten his family even owned. He was then stripped of his ruined cybernetics and loaded into a newer, more advanced type of healing pod that began to restore his body. The process took nearly a month altogether.

While he recovered, his chief scientist Kikkono and his beloved (if Freeza had been a creature capable of love) advisor, attendant, and surrogate mother Berryblue caught him up on the many things that Freeza had missed in the apparent decade that he'd been dead. Not only that, they illuminated him to the many, many things that had been hidden from him by his family.

When his throat and lungs worked again, Freeza screamed for four hours straight.

"So, all the power that I thought I had… all the worlds that I thought were mine… it was all a lie," Freeza seethed. "Because father and brother both thought I was too stupid to be trusted with our true empire. Not only that," he continued, "But Cooler is alive and he stole my empire from me!" Not only had Cooler stolen the empire but was clearly losing more and more of it. Berryblue and Kikkono had been plotting against Cooler and had begun an insurrection from within to take the empire away from Cooler.

"Reviving you was actually my idea," Berryblue offered helpfully. "I knew that without your great power, we would never be able to topple Cooler. We needed you, oh mighty one, to reclaim your throne and put the Empire back where it belonged."

Freeza put a hand thoughtfully to his chin at that knowledge, bubbles drifting out of his nose and floating up to the ceiling of the healing chamber. "So, it seems I owe my life to you, then, Berryblue," he remarked. Berryblue offered a slight curtsy while Freeza reflected. "I have never been indebted to anyone for anything. I'd like to not make a habit of it. When this business is finished, I shall see you both suitably rewarded. But first things first," he said with a grin, "I have to keep my priorities, after all. Once my body is finished healing, we shall go straight to Earth! I never even got to see Son Goku last time! I will have my revenge on her and destroy her worthless planet and then I shall destroy Cooler as I should have done long ago!" Berryblue and Kikkono exchanged nervous looks. "What? What is it?"

"M-my lord," Kikkono stammered out nervously, fearing Freeza's reprisal, "that… that might not be the wisest course of action. You may have missed a great deal more than we had first let on…"

The revelations came fast and furious for Freeza then, with much of the information supplied by their spies within the Galactic Federation. Not only had Goku apparently had a second child but Vegeta's had a child as well and they could all go Super Saiyan, even Vegeta's brother. Freeza wasn't even aware Vegeta had a brother. Not only that but they could all reach forms beyond Super Saiyan. Yes, Super Saiyan was old hat, apparently! Goku, Vegeta, and Goku's no-longer-a-brat had also fought and defeated Majin Boo, the only being that King Cold had ever told his son to fear.

"To be honest, I had always assumed that Majin Boo was just something made up for a scary bedtime story," Freeza admitted. "I never thought he was a creature that really existed." Yet somehow, more upsetting than all of this was the news about his brother. Cooler had been training, acquired some new armored form, and then continued to train. He was… stronger than him. They were all stronger than him now.

Catching Freeza up on current events took long enough for the healing pod to finish its work and the machine beeped as the liquid began to drain from it. Freeza stood unsteadily on new legs and felt the open air touch his new skin as the pod opened with a shiver. He took shaky steps forward as he looked at the world with a pair of perfectly matching organic eyes, feeling his newly organic tail swish this way and that. He clenched his new hands into fists and took slow, awkward steps toward the nearest chair before he sat down heavily.

He was meant to be the most supreme being in the entire universe. No one was supposed to be stronger than him; he was supposed to be a god! But he'd been completely outclassed and surpassed, surrounded on all sides by enemies. Who could he turn to for help? Everyone in his army was relying on him for strength, after all, they were counting on him to be able to reclaim the empire. But how could he possibly do that now?!

Freeza looked down at his hands and frowned deeply. This body… He was restored, he was whole, it was all he had ever wanted after the slapdash job his father's scientists had done to keep him alive. He was perfect… but what did it matter?

"My lord?" Berryblue asked. She had never seen Freeza so… despondent. It was completely unlike him. Had he given up the fight already? What was she going to do if he had? Well, she could probably blame the whole thing on Kikkono.

After another long silence, Freeza finally spoke. "Goku," he said softly, "Vegeta… Cooler. All of them worked hard, progressed, pushed themselves past their limits. It was an idea that never even crossed my mind," he mused. "I had always assumed that such piddly notions were meant for lesser beings. Pitiful, insufficient ways for those scrabbling in the dirt to reach my power, to try and claim even a shred of my greatness. Yet now, I am the weak one. I'm the one down in the dirt, looking up at them." The idea was so patently absurd, so infuriating in its indignity, that it stirred something inside Freeza. He clenched his hands into fists and rose to his feet.

"I won't stand for it!" he cried with a renewed intensity. "I won't have them thinking that they're better than me! Not those monkeys, not my brother!" He gave Berryblue and Kikkono an intense look that excited and terrified them in equal measure. "I must place the universe back in its proper order! If they can ascend then so can I!"

"L-Lord Freeza," Kikkono stammered. "Y-you don't really mean…"

"Yes," Freeza asserted. "I need to tr…." he stopped, the word seemingly caught in his throat. "I'm going to truuuhhh…" again, the word got stuck in Freeza's teeth before it could leave his mouth. "I have to TRAAAAA!" he tried to scream and force it out, his aura flaring up around him. Then he sighed and slumped his shoulders. "I'm going to train," he finally managed to say blithely, knocking Berryblue and Kikkono to the ground.

OoOoOoO

Before Freeza could increase his power, he had to master the power that he already had. He needed to abandon the restraints of using his other transformations to dampen his power. He was not some child that needed guardrails on his entire existence.

Freeza stood in the middle of his training center, feet together and arms outstretched, beckoning his "volunteer" training partners. "Go right ahead and hit me as hard as you want, gentlemen," he invited them. "I won't strike back and it is literally impossible for any of you to harm me." At his instruction, Berryblue had assembled the strongest warriors that were part of the insurrection. There was Tagoma, the tall, lanky, purple fellow that had wished him back to life; and Shisami, a massive, red, horned beast of a man. There was also Rigll, a purple-skinned frog-faced creature with large wide ears who was, apparently, allowed to wear a cape; and Garana, a massive ape-like creature who had dyed the top stripe of his fur yellow like a mohawk. Letting that beast put his hands on him was an indignity Freeza forced himself to suffer. Lastly, there was Abo, a short, round, little blue alien with a single spike on top of his head. They were all dressed in the newest black-and-green battle suits of the Arcosian Empire which was still taking Freeza some time to get used to. What was wrong with the PTO uniforms?

After their initial reluctance was met with a threat of painful death, the five aliens were able to summon up the courage to attack Freeza in earnest. Though he was loath to admit it, Cooler clearly had a good eye for talent. Any one of these soldiers could have rivaled Captain Ginyu in power! In fact, apparently, Abo had a younger brother of equal power and the two could fuse into something truly formidable. But Kado had been killed by Vegeta's brother Tarble. How tragic.

By allowing lesser beings to attack him with all their might, it allowed Freeza to recognize how much power they used and how much he could respond with without killing them and destroying everything around him. By reacting purely defensively, he learned… ugh… restraint.

After over a month of letting these morons pound on him day after day, Freeza believed he finally had enough control over his strength to allow himself a riposte. Naturally, he chose to punch Garana right in his big, stupid monkey face. They were both shocked that Garana was still alive after that.

These sparring sessions continued for another month with Freeza now allowing himself to fight back and impressed with himself that he had yet to seriously injure anyone. Nothing so serious that a trip to a healing pod couldn't fix, at any rate. He continued this form of training to increase his control, not just of the power he had in this state, but to be able to have control of his full power without needing to use that wasteful, bulky form. Goku had taught Freeza a very important lesson that day and he wasn't likely to forget it anytime soon. He was also surprised to discover that, as they continued to fight him, his warriors were actually growing stronger. Maybe there was something to this training nonsense after all!

His soldiers' improvements furthered Freeza's resolve to increase his own strength. However, no amount of sparring could give Freeza the improvement he needed in time. To do that, he would have to rely on himself.

So, he had Kikkono hack Cooler's personal computer to give him the list of all the planets Cooler had been to for his training to unlock his own increased strength. The conditions were brutal, harsh, and unforgiving. Sweltering heats, bone-chilling colds, massive storms and crushing gravity; they were the perfect catalyst for Freeza's transformation and victory. Deciding to push himself to his limits, Freeza gave himself a workout regimen as merciless as the environments he found himself in.

He did one hundred pushups, one hundred situps, and one hundred squats every single day as well as a ten kilometer run. He ate only the bare minimum of sustenance three times a day and did forsook any environmental technologies that might shield him from the elements. There were days where Freeza was spitting blood, where he wanted to take the day off, or just give up entirely but he refused to give in. He had been given this second chance at life to take revenge on his enemies and restore the universe to its proper balance and the only way to do that was to be the strongest once more! He did squats when he couldn't feel his legs, he did situps when his stomach muscles were burning, and he did pushups even when his shoulders started to click. Steadily, Freeza could feel himself growing stronger and stronger but it wasn't enough.

While he trained, Berryblue returned to Cooler's side so that she could keep Freeza abreast of the situation on the homefront. Or, more accurately, at Salza's side because Cooler was still off doing his ridiculous training while the empire was at war! It made Freeza want to scream. His birthright was being stolen out from under him! It filled him with an indignant rage that made him want to turn right around and pummel Cooler unmercifully. But, from everything Berryblue had told him about his brother's transformations, it would be a fruitless endeavor. Even now, after more than a year of training, Freeza would be hopelessly outmatched and Cooler would destroy him. He wondered if this was how Cooler had felt for the last decade and more, if that was what drove him to train. He did seem to have the same strange power as Goku and her cohorts, as if she had a scouter inside her head. What if Cooler had been able to sense these beings of ever-growing power and was forced to train? Allowing himself to suffer continued temporary setbacks because achieving greater power would lead to ultimate victory?

When he realized that he was starting to consider Cooler's feelings, Freeza did his best to bury and suppress the notion. What was happening to him?!

It was maddening, being so helpless. Him, the mighty Freeza! But he channeled that anger and frustration to redouble his efforts. He had to get stronger! He would crush Cooler, the monkeys, the Federation, those fools the Heeters, everyone who stood in his way or tried to lay claim to what was rightfully his!

Nearly three years after Freeza had been brought back to life, he was still no closer to achieving his goal. He continued to grow stronger, yes, but he needed more than strength, he needed something to push him over the edge, something to make him feel reborn! Like his brother, like the monkeys! Why couldn't he transform like any of them? That was when Berryblue brought him news of the ultimate indignity, acquired from their spies within the highest levels of the Galactic Federation.

A little over a month ago, Vegeta had done battle with a being known as Beerus, the "God of Destruction." He had fought this supposed deity to a standstill. Vegeta– Vegeta of all people– had apparently achieved godlike power.

So, there were Gods after all. Another thing his father had kept from him and entrusted Cooler with instead because they viewed him as too stupid to be trusted. Not only that but the fact that Vegeta, of all beings in the universe, could have such power. That a being that should still be his slave could dare to surpass Freeza in such a way, to throw his deepest desire in his face so cheaply!

After an endless parade of indignities spanning from the first day he'd arrived on Namek to that exact moment, Freeza had finally. Had. Enough. All his anger and frustration and hatred finally boiled over. Enraged beyond words, he threw back his head and screamed.

It was like a dam bursting inside the black pit of Freeza's soul. Power like he'd never imagined came rushing out of Freeza as he continued to scream, hunching forward with his fists clenched. Even though he had never learned to sense energy, he could feel that something was happening. As Freeza saw his hands turning purple, he understood something else. He could feel, in his gut, that this was something new. He was not like the monkeys, trapped by the rules of primitive biology. This transformation was his to control, to wield as he saw fit. He had heard the whispers that the lesser races of the universe had come to see the golden light of the Super Saiyan as a symbol of hope. Freeza decided that he would take it from them.

A golden light flared around Freeza's body as he stood up straight again, arms angled out at his sides and placed his feet together. Rather than scream like some sort of primitive monster, the sound he let out was focused and controlled, almost as if he were… singing. Freeza slowly raised his hands overhead as power coursed through him, eyes turned heavenward as he watched his body transform. His white skin turned gold and, though he could not see it, his face and feet turned purple to match his hands while his gems became a darker shade of purple, almost blue and black like the void of space. He could feel the sheer magnitude of his aura lifting him off the ground and carrying him toward the stars. He no longer even had to try to ignore a fundamental force of the universe.

Freeza's song turned into a laugh of diabolical delight as he closed his eyes and his power reached its zenith. He could feel something. It was like a tremor in the fabric of reality. He could feel the universe weeping. Whether it was in horror or joy, it didn't matter to Freeza. He could tell that all of creation was recognizing that a great cosmic malady had been undone. The universe had been righted and Freeza was divine once more. With a slow, relaxed breath, he returned to his normal state and descended to enter his personal craft. Providentially, he was being hailed by Berryblue as he entered the vessel.

"What is it, Berryblue?" Freeza asked as he activated the comm unit with his telekinesis. A small, holographic version of the gray-haired little blue alien appeared before him and greeted him with a curtsy.

"Ah, so happy to hear from you, my Lord," she said sardonically. "We've been trying to hail you for about an hour now." Alright, perhaps it was not so providential. "Kikkono feared the worst but I kept the faith that you would answer."

"D-don't say that!" Kikkono stammered, heard but not seen as Berryblue used one arm to keep him out of sight of the comm unit's camera. "Sh-she's lying, Lord Freeza! I never doubted you!"

"Enough!" Freeza snapped before the pair could begin squabbling. "What was so urgent?"

"It's about your brother, my lord," Berryblue explained helpfully. "It appears he's finally been captured." Freeza was stunned by this news for a moment before his expression turned into a massive, wicked smile. "They're bringing him to the Galactic Federation homeworld where he will face what is no doubt going to be a show trial before his summary execution."

"Perfect," Freeza purred as he settled into his seat. He flicked a finger and the craft's engines powered up. Though he could no doubt fly to Earth in a fraction of the time with his new power, he wanted to try and conserve at least some of his energy.

"My lord?" Berryblue asked curiously. "Shall we make for the Federation homeworld? If nothing else, Cooler's death must be by your hands alone, surely."

"Nonsense," Freeza said with a dismissive wave. "I may despise my brother and he may be many things but a coward is not one of them. He is a true Arcosian and would rather die than give lesser races the pleasure of acting as though they can pass judgment upon us. If he was in a situation where the only options were surrender or death then he would take them all with him. This 'capture' is a farce," he assured her. "Call back all forces loyal to me, even those that are still in the field serving Cooler. We shall make course for Earth immediately. Once I have tested my newfound power by slaughtering the monkeys, I shall find Cooler, wherever he is, and destroy him. So as I say, so shall it be done." With another wave, he turned off the comm unit.

As Freeza's ship rocketed into the sky and out into starry space, he poured himself a glass of wine and watched the stars stretch out as he jumped to hyperspace. He would take great pleasure in finally killing Son Goku and her family, yes, but he would save an extra portion of his venom for Vegeta and this so-called "Beerus." He would show these fools what it truly meant to be in the presence of a vengeful God.

"Let the universe howl in despair," he declared, "for I have returned."

A/N: Just to clear up any confusion, we have scaled back Freeza's progress. We did think back when the RoF movie came out that going from Namek Saga to Dragon Ball Super in four months was kind of absurd. Doing it in three years is still a pretty big jump, so it'd not like we completely nerfed Freeza's potential, we just made it a little less ridiculous.

We'd also like to say how much we appreciate the incredible amount of positive feedback to the last chapter! Glad that struck a chord with so many of you. But, to clear something up, Gohan doesn't transform. As Pracya mentioned a few chapters back, Gohan can continue to get stronger with training and doing the God Ritual means he will continue to get stronger over time, particularly in the face of new challenges. But as of this moment, there are no plans for Beast Gohan to be a thing. But, depending on reader feedback, and the simple passage of time, plans can always change. After all, Suno was never supposed to be this important, but we liked writing her so much and you liked reading her so much, now look where we are!