Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ A Light in the Darkness ❯ The Return of the Tyrant ( Chapter 91 )

A Light in the Darkness - Part 91: The Return of the Tyrant
by Mia Skywalker & Wataruo

 

PAIRING: None
RATING: PG-13
WARNINGS: none
C&C: Please! ^_^
DISCLAIMER: Neither of us owns any of the DBZ characters or anything about DBZ, but we both wish we owned the Saiyans. All of them. At least all of the ones with hair. And yes, we're including Yamcha, Ranma, and Ryouga in that, now you know. Dragonball Z and the associated characters are owned by Toei, Viz, Akira Toriyama, and FUNimation. Ranma 1/2 and the characters of Ranma Saotome and Ryouga Hibiki are owned by Viz, Rumiko Takahashi, and some Japanese studio I don't know the name of. We do own what we've written here, and our specific storyline, just not Dragonball or Ranma 1/2 themselves. We make no money off of any of these guys, nor off this fic. We just have fun writing it. Oh, I guess we do own Hakusai and Serori. But I doubt anyone cares. ^_~
SUMMARY: Frieza arrives on Chikyuu and the battle begins.
NOTES: The rest of this story is completely unbeta'd, as I can't seem to find a beta who will be as brutal or thorough as I like, and will get me chapters back in what I feel is a timely manner. I have, however, had training as an editor, and I've edited the remainder of this pretty thoroughly. I would simply like people to be aware that no one else has gone through it to catch any errors or inconsistencies, so it may be more flawed than I realize.

 

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King Cold leaned his head on his massive hand and eyed his son curiously. He knew Frieza was agitated by the way his new tail kept twitching.

 

“How much longer, Papa?” His son's impatient voice captured his attention.

 

“Fifteen minutes.” His deep voice resonated throughout the ship. “Patience, Frieza. You will get your revenge soon.”

 

Frieza clenched his fist so hard that his knuckles turned white and blood dripped to the floor. “It cannot be soon enough. First I will kill that idiotic monkey, and then I will destroy the planet he loves so much.” His eyes narrowed as he turned his head to look at his father.

 

King Cold returned his look, smiling just as wickedly as his son. Cold had not known what to believe when he had found part of his son's torso floating in the debris of what was left of Namek. At first he had thought Frieza was suffering from delirium, brought on by his first defeat and from losing most of his natural body in the fight with the human-raised Saiyan. But now, seeing the determined set of his son's back as Frieza watched the blue orb on the monitor come closer, he found himself wanting to see the man who had become the Legendary Super Saiyan.

 

Once Frieza's body had been repaired and replaced with an almost completely cyborg body, the first thing he had said to his father was that he wanted to go to Earth. Frieza grinned as the ship broke through the small blue planet's atmosphere. Soon, you piece of garbage Saiyan, I will take care of you and this miserable planet you call home.

 

The large spaceship set itself down in a place the Z warriors knew very well. It may have been fate that King Cold and his son Frieza disembarked in the same place Goku had defeated Vegeta a year before, and the same place that they trained almost every day. Cold dwarfed his son when it came to size; the larger being stood behind his son and blinked when his scouter registered several large ki energies coming in their direction. Cold looked down at his son as Frieza gave a short bitter laugh.

 

“Apparently, Papa, we have annoyed the locals. They are all warrior class, but nowhere near my strength.”

 

Cold inclined his head. “Shall we let the troops deal with them?”

 

“Yes, Papa. I think our men are getting restless.” This remark earned appreciative chuckles from the soldiers standing watch.

 

The Z warriors arrived a few minutes later, Vegeta a few seconds ahead of the others. He noted with some satisfaction the look of shock that crossed Frieza's features when he saw the small Saiyan Prince.

 

As Vegeta dropped down in front of Frieza, he gave the alien a cocky grin, pleased that he had managed to disconcert his enemy.

 

“Well, if it isn't the Prince and King of the Lizards,” he remarked snidely. “How nice of you to drop by for a visit.”

 

“And it is so nice to see the Prince of all the monkeys,” Frieza replied, his voice a match for the Saiyan Prince. He sounded almost bored, with no sign of the apprehension he had felt at Vegeta's appearance. “I see you and your rabble have come to defeat me.” Frieza shook his head in mock sadness. “A shame, really. None of you can possibly beat me. Well, I suppose as tedious as it is I will have to kill you twice.”

 

Vegeta's eyes narrowed and gave Frieza a feral smile. “I am considerably stronger than the last time.” And he was no longer afraid of Frieza, Vegeta realized with some relief. He had too much to lose if he died today.

 

Goku touched down next to Vegeta and stared at Frieza in puzzlement, his eyebrows pulling together in confusion. “Aren't you supposed to be dead? You blew up with Namek, didn't you?”

 

Vegeta noticed the look of panic that crossed the alien warrior's features. Frieza was scared of Goku, Vegeta noted. The side of his mouth twisted up into a smirk. Frieza had far more to fear from Vegeta than he had from Kakarotto.

 

“Hardly, you silly monkey,” Frieza replied, once he had regained his composure. Somehow he kept his voice from showing any of the fear he felt at seeing Goku. “I told you before that I can survive in the emptiness of space.”

 

Yamcha was watching Vegeta and Frieza carefully. When they had first arrived he had thought King Cold was Frieza. He had never met the being who was supposed to be the most feared tyrant in the universe, and it surprised him how small Frieza was. For some reason he had been expecting Frieza to be bigger - gigantic, even; something closer to the size of the other being with him. He was having difficulty being afraid of Frieza, he looked so innocuous. Yamcha suspected that maybe that was part of the reason Frieza managed to get away with everything he did.

 

Then Yamcha looked into the other being's eyes and saw the innate cruelty, the coldness Frieza had towards all other life. Abruptly he knew that Frieza was completely evil.

 

He automatically shifted slightly behind and to the side of Vegeta, flanking him defensively. His younger brothers stepped up behind him, flanking either side of him in return, and Trunks flanked Vegeta's other side. He vaguely noticed the arrival of Hakusai with Bulma, as well as Piccolo, Krillin, and Tenshinhan. He hoped those three would stay out of it; if Piccolo got killed, there wouldn't be any dragonballs to bring any of the rest of them back. And the other two... he wasn't sure either Krillin or Tenshinhan had the power to survive an all-out battle with Frieza. But they were good to have in a fight and Yamcha was glad they were there.

 

Somehow, though, instinctively Yamcha knew this was Vegeta's fight. Something in Vegeta's stance told Yamcha that Vegeta needed to defeat Frieza; that the small Saiyan needed to be the one to kill the Ice-jin. It wasn't until the two had bantered for several minutes, mocking and insulting each other, that the reason dawned on him. Yamcha remembered what Bulma had told them about Frieza killing Vegeta's father, and then about Vegeta needing to defeat Frieza in order to become King. Then he knew why, and he knew that if he could manage it, Yamcha would help Vegeta do what he needed to do.

 

It was not long before the insults turned to actual blows. The men surrounding King Cold and Frieza leapt into action when Vegeta took a step forward. This was an unfortunate mistake on their part; Vegeta merely raise a hand, powered up, and blasted the men, killing them all in one single blast.

 

“I will not be so easy to kill.” Frieza's voice went cold, his eyes narrowed as he gazed at Vegeta. The onlookers noted that the Saiyan Prince didn't look even the slightest bit worried by the pronouncement.

 

“Vegeta,” Goku spoke up. “Don't you think we should ask him what he wants first? Give him the chance to leave peacefully.”

 

Vegeta rolled his eyes in exasperation. “You are a complete idiot, you know that? What do you think? He is here to bake cookies?” Vegeta was vaguely aware of his sister's chuckle at the remark but kept his attention on Frieza as he spoke to Goku. “He wants you dead, moron,” he said under his breath. “I can't say I blame him.”

 

“Vegeta,” Goku complained, sounding suspiciously hurt by the remark. “That wasn't nice.”

 

“Who says I am nice, Kakarotto?” Vegeta snorted as he kept his gaze on the alien in front of him. “That is your forte, not mine.”

 

“Oh, isn't that sweet?” Frieza spoke up, a smirk making its way across his features. “Looks like you bonded with the only other monkey left from your miserable race.”

 

“I wouldn't be too sure of that,” Hakusai commented dryly from her position next to Bulma. Both women were concentrating on the fight that was to come, but were a little ways off to the side. “I really want to know why so many short men have such a nasty attitude. Maybe Bulma should do research on it.” She yelled to her brother. “Hurry up and kick his ass, Vegeta. I didn't get breakfast, and I want to go home and eat lunch.”

 

Vegeta muttered under his breath before focusing on Frieza who began to laugh hysterically. “I see you have found a female Saiyan, how sweet. Now you can start a harem like your father. I suppose I should have made sure I killed all you monkeys when I destroyed your planet.”

 

Frieza stepped away from his father and stopped an arm's length away from Vegeta. “That was a mistake I will not repeat.”

 

“Of course you won't repeat it.” Vegeta smirked at him. “You won't survive this.”

 

“We shall see. I'll finish you first, and then I will destroy that Earth Saiyan.” Frieza crouched low and waited for Vegeta to make the first move.

 

It didn't appear that either warrior wanted to make the first move as they stood there and glared at each other. Then, without any warning, Vegeta and Frieza sprang at each other. The last time the two warriors had faced off, Frieza's speed had been almost too much for Vegeta to keep up with; it now appeared they were evenly matched. Vegeta matched Frieza punch for punch, kick for kick, annoying the Lizard Prince immensely.

 

“I see you have gotten better.”

 

“Try dying sometime,” Vegeta commented right before his fist connected with Frieza's jaw, driving him back to collide with a nearby mountain. “It gives you a new perspective.”

 

Vegeta watched as Frieza stood back up and brushed himself off, his tail flicking in annoyance. He knew he was at least a match for Frieza now, especially since the alien's new cyborg body did not allow him to transform and power up. He watched Frieza approach him again. He knew there was a way to beat that kusotarre. It was frustrating, and he could feel his temper rise as Frieza traded a few more insults with him.

 

Bulma covered her face in her hands as they fought, almost afraid to look, but kept peeking between her fingers. Every time Frieza hit Vegeta she winced, feeling his pain as he felt it. You can beat him, Vegeta! she thought to herself. You can't let that overgrown iguana beat you!

 

Trunks had watched his father fight Frieza somewhat fearfully. He wasn't afraid of the purple lizard himself, but he was worried that Frieza would be too much for Vegeta. Frieza had killed his father before, after all, and Trunks didn't want to see that repeated. Not after saving Vegeta from dying at Bojack's hands just the other day. He didn't think he could live with the grief that would cause his mother.

 

But it looked like his father had indeed gotten stronger, even as Vegeta claimed. Still, the fight was a close one - too close, as far as Trunks was concerned. He wasn't willing to risk having his father get killed by Frieza again, and he started to charge forward.

 

“You're not going to do it again, Frieza. You'll find I'm more like my father. I'm not as nice as Goku.”

 

With a hiss of steel he pulled his sword from its sheath on his back and faced Frieza, causing the fight to pause momentarily. With his lavender hair he didn't look the least bit Saiyan, and he knew the purple lizard wouldn't take him seriously.

 

Frieza eyed the youth, unconcerned about the implied threat in his words. He chuckled. “And you think you can stop me? A weak human?”

 

Trunks smiled at Frieza's words. Anyone who knew of his relationship to Vegeta would have been immediately struck by the similarities in their expressions. He looked mocking, cruel; very much like his father at that moment.

 

“Human? What makes you think that?” And with those words he powered up abruptly, his hair spiking upward from the power that lashed around him, as his hair turned gold and his eyes green from the sheer enormity of the power in him.

 

Frieza's expression went from one of mockery to full-blown terror. NO! his mind screamed. Those eyes! Those were the same eyes as.... His head whipped over to Goku who smiled calmly.

 

“Trunks is Vegeta's son.”

 

“He is half Saiyan,” Vegeta agreed, his eyes glinting in the sunlight, pleased that his son had demoralized the pompous jackass. “And you should not underestimate him.” The pride in his voice got the others' attention, but there was something in Vegeta's manner that spoke volumes; this was his fight and he would not be deterred. “Trunks, he is mine. Stay out of this.”

 

“Father, I'm not going to let you get killed,” Trunks stated, sounding determined. “My mother needs you too much.” And I need you, Father, he thought to himself, but he couldn't say the words out loud. He didn't want to go without a father again. Vegeta had promised it would be different this time, that his unborn son would grow up with a father, and Trunks wanted to believe that would be true.

 

“No, brat,” Vegeta contradicted, moving in between Trunks and Frieza. “He is mine. But if you really want to kill something, why don't you kill lizard-boy's daddy?”

 

Frieza snorted. “You think that half-monkey brat of yours can beat my father?” He laughed derisively. “That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard.”

 

Trunks' smirk deepened so slightly it could hardly be noticed. “I think you should check your scouters,” he said quietly. “You might worry a little if you bothered.”

 

“The brat,” Vegeta looked over his shoulder, arching a brow at him, “is a Super Saiyan. And that was your undoing on Namek, was it not?”

 

Frieza's jaw tightened. That was a bit of logic he couldn't argue with.

 

Vegeta smirked, pleased with himself. “I am sure he is more than a match for your father.”

 

The other Zed warriors had been watching the exchange of words as intensely as they would have an exchange of blows. It was at Vegeta's last words that Yamcha glanced at Vegeta... and then his eyes widened as he noticed Vegeta's tail. He had offered to remove it from Vegeta earlier, but they had never gotten around to it. Yamcha had the funny feeling Vegeta wouldn't want the tail today, that if he could go Super Saiyan himself it would be the greatest weapon they could use against Frieza.

 

“Vegeta!” he called out. “Your tail!”

 

Vegeta wondered why Yamcha was yelling about his tail when it hit him like a ton of bricks. He still had his tail; he couldn't become a Super Saiyan. This wasn't good. He wondered if he could beat Frieza without going Super Saiyan. But the decision was taken away from him as Frieza sprang at him, taking him by surprise with a series of kicks to the abdomen. One particular kick hit so hard that it winded the Saiyan Prince and sent him flying into an outcropping of rocks.

 

Frieza laughed again. “You see how foolish it is to oppose me. You had such potential, Vegeta, working for me, and now look at you. Living here with these worthless humans!”

 

Vegeta stood up, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and smirked back at Frieza. “You are the one that is mistaken. I have learned many useful techniques from these humans.” He approached Frieza slowly, then stopped suddenly, eyes narrowing as he felt Frieza pulling in his power. Oh no you don't.

 

“I am done warming up,” Vegeta announced, holding up his right arm, folding his thumb in and gathering in his ki. “BIG BANG ATTACK!” he shouted as the blue ki beam struck the unsuspecting warrior in the center of his chest. The impact sent up clouds of smoke and various bits of debris.

 

Vegeta watched as the haze cleared, and was surprised to note that the only thing in front of him was a gaping hole where Frieza had been standing. That was way too easy, he thought suspiciously, moments before he felt a presence behind him. Frieza's long metallic tail wrapped around Vegeta's throat as he laughed mockingly.

 

“That's what you get, little monkey. You always were a cocky bastard,” Frieza gloated as he lifted Vegeta off the ground. “I see you have your tail back. I know how highly you little apes think of these things. Perhaps I should relieve you of it.” With a quick flip of his wrist and a yelp of pain from Vegeta, his tail was separated from his body. “I think I will take you apart piece by piece,” Frieza said mockingly. “While your friends....”

 

Frieza never got a chance to finish his sentence as Vegeta brought his elbow back into Frieza's abdomen, striking him repeatedly in the same place until his hold loosened. As Vegeta dropped he kicked out with his leg, connecting with the back of his opponent's knees, toppling the overgrown lizard backward as Vegeta jumped away to regain his breath.

 

Bulma felt the sharp pain Vegeta experienced as his tail was forcibly torn from him, and she dropped to her knees at the agony that lanced through her body. It was only after she managed to get the pain shooting through her under control that she could finally open her eyes again, her breathing ragged. She looked up again then, and saw that Vegeta had pulled free of Frieza's grip even though she hadn't seen how he had managed it.

 

Trunks was about to tear into Frieza but suddenly Yamcha was there, holding him back.

 

Goku looked at Yamcha in surprise. “Yamcha! Do you want to see Vegeta get killed? We should help him!”

 

Yamcha shook his head. “No. This is a fight he has to do on his own. You have to trust me, guys! Vegeta has to defeat Frieza on his own!”

 

He didn't want to explain why; he didn't know if Frieza knew about Saiyan traditions and he wasn't going to tell him. He knew what needed to happen, and he wasn't going to do anything to interfere with it.

 

Trunks and Goku stared at Yamcha, and then slowly Trunks nodded. He didn't know what Yamcha was talking about, but he had seen the look on his father's face and knew Yamcha was telling the truth; there was some reason Vegeta hated Frieza so completely, something they weren't being told. He didn't know what it was, but he knew that if he interfered now his father might hate him forever. He wouldn't allow Vegeta to die, but if he had to interfere he would wait until there was no further choice.

 

Goku simply looked at both of them in confusion. “All right, Yamcha,” he said, sounding dubious. “If you say so.” They could tell he wasn't happy about being kept out of a fight like this, but he trusted his friend and would hold back for the time being.

 

Krillin simply looked at both Goku and Yamcha with an absolutely stunned expression. “Wha...? You're not going to do anything, Goku? Whatever you say....” He shook his head, completely confused by the entire thing. If Goku and Yamcha said they should let Vegeta fight on his own, who was he to argue?

 

Piccolo and Tenshinhan looked suspicious, but they were willing to stand back and allow Vegeta to be slaughtered. Neither of them was willing to risk themselves to save someone they viewed as an enemy, anyway. If Vegeta got killed they wouldn't mourn... and then hopefully Frieza would be weakened so the rest of them could take him out more easily.

 

The four youngest demi-Saiyans looked at each other in confusion. Ranma and Ryouga didn't know any of them well enough to understand some of the nuances of politics that were going on between the various warriors. They had assumed Vegeta was a friend of the others yet why were they holding back and not helping him out? That wasn't how they had been trained in the past. One always helped one's friends, and even allies one wasn't friends with if necessary.

 

Serori was confused because this was her brother out there; why wasn't Yamcha going to help him out? She had arrived later than the others; the wonders of television and the new Playtendo Gohan had introduced her to had seduced her, and were keeping her enthralled far past her bedtime, so she was sleeping later than she was used to. She was glad that her sister hadn't enrolled her in a school on Chikyuu yet, because even with her Saiyan stamina she would never have been able to keep up with no sleep at all. She wasn't aware that Chikyuu children didn't generally go to school in the summer, not that she even knew what season it was on the world to which she had been so abruptly transplanted.

 

Gohan was even more confused than the others. Vegeta was his friend, or at least Gohan felt that they were becoming friends. They certainly had a teacher/student relationship, which was good enough for Gohan. He had thought Yamcha and Goku were even beginning to view Vegeta as a friend; why weren't they helping him? But all his training, all the manners that his mother had drilled into him, taught him to obey his elders. If Yamcha and Vegeta and even his father told him not to fight, then he wouldn't... even though it went against every instinct he had screaming at him to run in and fight against Frieza.

 

So the other Zed warriors watched and waited to see what would happen, to see whether Vegeta would win or lose.

 

 

To be continued.....

 

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And in the next exciting episode of DragonBall Z: A Light in the Darkness... The battle with Frieza continues.

 

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Reviewer Responses:

 

I completely spaced on replying to your reviews last time. Sorry about that! I did reply originally, but while I was working on it, chapter 90 got glitched and I almost completely lost the entire chapter (no backup); it took some time to recover it again. In the process, I lost the changes I had made, including some last minute edits, and my responses. I re-did the edits, but forgot the responses. Sorry! These two responses are from last time:

 

o0kittyblue0o: Went to your Deviant Art site. I had never considered Hiei and Kagome as a pair. O_o Actually I kind of like Hiei and Botan together... Think of them as the YYH version of Vegeta and Bulma. ^_~ (Short, spiky haired guy and blue-haired girl. Although I suppose all similarities otherwise pretty much end there.) I have some ideas having to do with YYH stories, etc. And although I love Kagome, I just can't see her with Hiei. The two continuities... really don't have anything to do with each other. O_o Your artwork is very good. I should have you do some for me. ^_^;

 

Dutchfangirl: You know, you two are almost my only reviewers. ^_^ Yeah, well, Saiyan hearing is REALLY good. Only Piccolo's is better, but as Piccolo is an asexual plant, he wouldn't exactly be a voyeur. I figure that with a bunch of Saiyans around, your love life isn't exactly private, but Saiyans themselves probably don't care. Neither Goku nor Vegeta had much in the way of a nudity taboo, after all. Well, maybe Vegeta will get killed fighting Frieza again. 9o9 (whistles innocently) What? You think I shouldn't kill him off? Well, damn...

 

Ok, now reviews from the last chapter...

 

gothfairy: Not sure what site you saw it on. There are only two sites I'm aware that it's posted on - my own site, and Lady Lark's. It shouldn't be posted elsewhere, except for a couple of sites that were translating it to other languages, and they were only going to be posting the translated versions. I'm glad you like the story. I'm posting on a schedule now - Tuesdays and Saturdays. That way you'll know what days you need to check for a new chapter. ^_^ Media Miner is the ONLY site where it is being updated; at some point I will update my own site, but I haven't done that in years, and I don't even know if I have the password for that anymore. :-(