c2: The Universe Emperor is Coming
In the vastness of space, a massive imperial spacecraft streaked through the darkness, its engines burning bright as it locked onto its next destination Planet Earth.
Inside the luxurious command chamber, two figures sat at the center of power: King Cold, towering with a calm and confident air, and beside him, his son Frieza, rebuilt into a cybernetic body after his humiliating defeat on Namek.
Frieza's mechanical eye gleamed with killing intent as he gazed coldly at the blue planet displayed on the monitor. His voice trembled with rage.
"Father, that's the planet. Earth… where that damned Super Saiyan left me in such a state. Thanks to you finding me drifting near Namek's ruins, I survived. But now… I'll repay Son Goku for what he did to me!"
The memory seared into his mind: Goku's final Kamehameha overwhelming him, his body sliced apart by his own Destructo Disk, Namek exploding beneath him. If not for King Cold's ship recovering what remained of him, he would have perished in the void. The humiliation of living in this semi-mechanical state only deepened his hatred.
King Cold swirled the wine in his glass leisurely, his massive hand dwarfing the goblet. "So… these Saiyan monkeys managed to push you this far, Frieza? Interesting. On such a small backwater planet, to encounter warriors capable of wounding my son…" He chuckled darkly.
"Father, you'll understand soon enough how detestable they are!" Frieza snarled, his metallic tail lashing against the floor with a clang. "That Son Goku… I'll tear him apart limb from limb, drain every drop of his blood, and scatter his ashes into the void!"
Cold smirked, his golden eyes narrowing as the ship closed in on Earth. "Hmph. From the look of it, this tiny planet could be reduced to rubble with one casual gesture. But if you want revenge, then fine play with them first. Show me how much stronger you've become after your… repairs."
Frieza clenched his fist, the whirring of servos echoing in the silent chamber. His killing intent spilled out, filling the ship with oppressive energy. "Super Saiyan… I'll show the universe who the true emperor is!"
—
Meanwhile, on Earth, the warriors had already taken notice. As the massive ki signatures approached, one pure malice and the other eerily calm yet overwhelming, the Z Fighters stirred.
Piccolo's eyes narrowed, his sharp senses immediately locking onto the approaching auras. "This evil… it's Frieza. He's alive. And someone else just as strong is with him."
Vegeta, who had been training relentlessly since Namek, clenched his fists. "Tch! I knew that bastard wouldn't die so easily. But for him to dare come back to Earth…!?"
Krillin, still shaken from the trauma of Namek, paled. "N-no way! I felt his ki vanish… he was supposed to be dead!"
Without hesitation, the warriors leapt into the sky, flying toward the location where the spacecraft would land.
—
At that same moment, not far from the landing site, Lin Hao also froze mid-air. His heart raced as a suffocating, evil aura swept across the land.
"This ki… it's so heavy, so hateful. And there's another one, just as terrifying…" Lin Hao muttered, sweat forming on his forehead. His body shivered instinctively, though his power was immense. "Could this be… Frieza? The same tyrant who destroyed Planet Vegeta and nearly killed Goku on Namek?"
He clenched his fists tighter, his Saiyan blood roaring. "If that's true… then the universe emperor himself is about to set foot on Earth."
By the way, the ones who landed on Earth now should be Frieza and his father. In other words, the current plot has Frieza and his old man invading Earth, only to be dealt with swiftly by a visitor from the future Trunks.
Lin Hao slowly recalled the storyline and finally understood which moment he had fallen into in the Dragon Ball timeline.
He dropped from the sky, reduced his ki emission to a near whisper, and leaned against a rocky outcrop to watch the imperial craft bearing down on the planet.
When the great ship pierced the atmosphere, it descended steadily toward the chosen landing field. Below, small bursts of heat and wind marked its approach.
At roughly the same time, Son Gohan and several of the other Z Warriors had already converged near the predicted touchdown point.
Besides Gohan there were Krillin and Tien Shinhan; Yamcha and Chiaotzu hovered nearby. Vegeta was present as well, his stare as cold and impatient as always.
"There are two auras coming from that ship one is Frieza's, and the other feels like someone equally deadly. Can we really stand against them?" Gohan asked, clenching his fists, his voice grave.
"I can't believe such a monster was roaming Namek!" Yamcha muttered. The two overwhelming signatures recalled that carnage. He trembled at the memory of the atrocities committed there.
None of them could imagine how Goku and Piccolo had contended with such foes. In the end, Goku had driven back and defeated Frieza though the cost had been enormous.
"These presences choke the air. Facing such oppressive power, all desire to fight drains from me." Tien Shinhan's face had gone pale; his knuckles were white where they gripped his staff. He felt a hopelessness that chilled his bones.
The nearer the craft drew, the more the evil aura pressed on their hearts like a physical weight. Tien thought to himself, Can we and the others really stop them now?
Noticing Tien and Yamcha's shaken expressions, Piccolo growled, "So what shall we just stand here and die? Everyone here knows what's at stake."
Vegeta folded his arms, a derisive snort escaping. "Hmph. Want the truth? Earth's end may very well be imminent," he said with grim conviction.
Despite understanding their disadvantage, Gohan and the others followed quietly toward where the ship would land. They did not surge upward in dramatic display; instead they kept their ki suppressed and advanced on foot and by low flight to avoid detection.
Frieza's vessel had sensors able to scan for power levels and energy signatures. If the Z Warriors exposed themselves prematurely, the tyrant's men could pinpoint their locations. Caution was therefore their only hope.
So the group crouched low, moving up toward the mountain ridge that overlooked the landing site, staying silent as shadows.
...
"Below are Frieza and his father, King Cold. This should be... entertaining," Lin Hao whispered from his perch atop a crag, peering down at the pair.
"Earth such a verdant little world," Frieza said as he took in the planet's blue oceans and green landmasses, voice oily with contempt.
"That Super Saiyan won't arrive for another few hours. Shall we wait for him?" King Cold asked, folding his massive arms.
"We must wait, Father! I want him to suffer. I will enjoy watching this planet's defenders grovel before we crush them!" Frieza replied, eyes burning with malice.
A twisted chuckle escaped Frieza's throat as he paced like a caged predator, the thought of slaughter delighting him. "It will be like swatting insects. But first we eliminate the Super Saiyan my lineage demands nothing less."
King Cold curled his lip into a cold smile. "Between you and I, this planet will learn its place. If your power has grown since Namek, display it."
"My strength has increased greatly. Father, you may not need to interfere." Frieza's grin widened in pride, as if confident of absolute dominance.
"All right then destroy them," King Cold intoned.
"For the empire!" Frieza's lieutenants cried, rocketing into the sky as they launched their assault, their ki flares streaking outward toward the surface.
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