ESCAROT

I stood in silence as golden waves of energy washed around me.

Frieza was dead.

Not even a trace of him remained in the crater where he'd been lying a moment ago. I'd killed the ‘Emperor of the Universe’ with a point-blank ki blast, and the most surreal part about it was how anticlimactic it had felt.

I had expected more opposition from him, but… no. The moment I reached this height, he became inconsequential.

“I can’t believe he'd begged.” 

That was the part I kept coming back to in my head, because it was incredibly bizarre and disgusting. Not the fight, not the transformation, not the moment I'd felt the power surge through me; but Frieza on his back in the dirt, missing an arm, crying, begging a Saiyan for his life. 

The anger that had sparked the transformation hadn't faded.

I'd expected the rage to drain out of me the second Frieza was gone, like water through a plug hole, he was the object of my immediate hate. Instead it was still there, simmering beneath the surface, feeding the golden aura that rolled off my body in slow, heavy waves. It wasn't directed at anything anymore — Frieza was dust — but the rage was there. Like a fire that had burned through all its fuel but somehow was still raging on.

The power flowing through me was almost overwhelming. Every cell in my body was vibrating with power at a rate I'd never experienced before, and the ki moving through my veins felt thicker somehow. Denser. Like the difference between water and syrup, or water and cement. I could feel the air around me reacting to my presence — dust particles orbiting my body, small rocks lifting off the ground, the temperature shifting by a few degrees wherever the golden light touched.

Beneath the anger, beneath the power, beneath the residual adrenaline that was making my hands shake slightly — I was happy.

I had finally shattered the chains of fate.

That sounded dramatic, I know. 

But it was true. In every version of this story I'd ever known, Frieza destroyed the Saiyans. It was a fixed point. An inevitability. The kind of thing that happened because it was supposed to happen to move the story forward, because the universe said so, because that's just how the story went.

Except it didn't go that way. Not this time. I'd looked at destiny square in the face and punched it in the mouth.

It was exhilarating.

It was also terrifying.

Because now there was no script. Every timeline, every iteration, every version of events I'd carried in my head from my old life — they were all useless now. The moment I'd killed Frieza, I'd torn up the page and left nothing but blank space. Whatever came next wasn't written by some cosmic author or dictated by fate or guaranteed by canon. It was just me. 

My choices. My consequences.

My people were alive because of what I'd done. The Saiyans had a future because I'd fought to give them one. That was a victory, no question about it. But it was also a responsibility. If things went wrong from here — if King Cold came and I wasn't ready, if Cooler turned on me, if something else crawled out of the darkness that I hadn't accounted for — there was no fallback plan. No "well, in the original timeline this happened." I was writing the story now, and I had to get it right.

No matter.

When the threads of fate decided to test me again, I'd be ready. I'd gotten this far by adapting, and that wasn't going to change. Whatever came next, I'd figure it out the same way I'd figured out everything else — one problem at a time, one punch at a time, one stubborn refusal to die at a time.

The golden light around me pulsed, and I took a slow breath. The anger was settling. Not gone, but settling, like sediment at the bottom of a glass, I could think clearly again. Feel something other than the urge to destroy.

And that's when I noticed them.

Multiple signatures. Approaching the planet from the upper atmosphere. Fast. Grouped together in a tight formation, like a squad. I counted five distinct power levels — none of them impressive, and seemingly… no attempt to hide their approach.

"Reinforcements?" I muttered, looking up at the sky.

Curious. 

Frieza hadn't called for backup — Which meant someone else had sent them… and by someone else, I meant Zarbon, I'd gambled on the fact that whoever I spared would call for backup, and it looked like I'd been right.

I cracked my neck and rolled my shoulders.

The Ginyu Force…

Huh, they arrived a little late to the party. 

I’ll let Bardock deal with them, I can’t fix every problem that comes our way or else the saiyans will become complacent dogs.

GINYU

Planet Vegeta… The planet looked exactly as miserable as I'd expected — red sky, brown dirt, the smell of worms and weaklings.

"Keep your scouters active," I said. "Zarbon's message was light on details." I would have words with Mr. Pretty Face later, if he wants to summon us the least he could do is give us more details.

"Yes, Captain," Jeice said.

The landing area was a mess. Craters, scorch marks, blood. Lord Frieza had clearly been having fun before we arrived. Good. That meant the Saiyan who'd caused all this trouble was probably already dead, and our job was simple — wipe out whatever was left.

"Captain," Burter said. "Five signatures ahead. Saiyans."

"Power levels?"

Burter frowned. Checked his scouter again. Then again. Then again for good measure.

"Well?" I asked, as I watched him about to check once more.

"Well… Thirty-nine thousand. Forty thousand. Forty thousand five hundred. Forty-five thousand. And..." He paused. "Seventy thousand."

I stopped walking.

He said what now?

"Say that again."

"Seventy thousand, Captain. On the strongest one."

How in the HELL did the saiyans get that strong? I mean, still not a threat for me, but the highest power could wipe my entire squad! No saiyan should be able to touch anyone in my squad, let alone outclass them!

"Must be a malfunction," Jeice said, tapping his scouter. "I'm getting the same readings though. These can't be right. Saiyans don't have power levels like this."

"Apparently some do," Burter said.

We flew through the ridge and found them. Five Saiyans, standing in a loose group, arms crossed, looking at us like we'd just walked onto their lawn. Not a hint of fear. The one in front — the strongest one — had a scar across his face and wild black hair that stuck up in every direction.

He looked at me. 

I looked at him.

Then he spat on the ground.

"So you're the Ginyu Force," he said. Not a question. A statement. Like he'd already heard of us and wasn't impressed.

"That's right," I said. "And you are?"

"Bardock, and this is my team."

Bardock… huh, I think I read that name on a report, the low class warrior reaching the elite of the saiyans, or something like that… I paid the report no mind, seeing their so-called elite was reaching the ten thousand units in power.

"Well, it has been a pleasure Saiyan, but Lord Frieza has business on this planet. You're in the way."

Bardock's mouth twitched. Almost a smile. "In the way of what?"

"His clean-up."

"Clean-up." He repeated the word slowly. Then he looked at his team and something passed between them. The broad one — Tora, my scouter read him at forty-five thousand — let out a low laugh. The lean one, Fasha, rolled her eyes like she'd heard a bad joke. The heavy ones, Shugesh and Borgos, just grinned.

"What's so funny?" Jeice said.

"Nothing," Bardock said. "Just wondering if you clowns flew all this way to clean up a mess that's already been taken care of."

My scouter beeped. Then Burter's. Then Jeice's.

"Captain," Burter said, his voice suddenly tight. "I'm picking up something else. Massive signature. The Scouter stopped the scan to not explode, which means the power goes well over 200,000 units."

There was only one being in this universe strong enough to set off the preemptive warning in the scanning system, and that was Lord Frieza himself!

This meant that Lord Frieza was still fighting. Or finishing up. Either way, it confirmed what I'd assumed — he was handling the traitor, and we were here to deal with the leftovers.

"That's Lord Frieza," Jeice said, relaxing. "He's still going. Probably finishing off whoever was stupid enough to challenge him."

Bardock's grin got wider.

"Something to share?" I asked.

"Nope, I’m not telling~"

"You seem very amused for a monkey standing in front of the Ginyu Force."

"And you seem very confident for a group of dancers standing on a planet that doesn't belong to your emperor anymore."

Jeice bristled. "Watch your mouth, Saiyan."

"Or what?"

I studied the readings on my scouter again. Thirty-nine to seventy thousand. These weren't normal Saiyans. Normal Saiyans were in the low thousands, maybe five thousand on a good day.

This was quite the unique dilemma I was dealign with… Saiyans were foot soldiers. Expendable. Useful for clearing out weak planets and nothing else. The idea that a group of them could produce power levels like this was absurd.

But the scouters didn't lie.

"Interesting numbers you're packing," I said, keeping my voice even. "For Saiyans."

"Interesting?" Bardock raised an eyebrow. "Is that what you call it?"

"I call it surprising. Last I checked, your species topped out around ten thousand. Maybe fifteen for the exceptional ones. Forty-five thousand is..." I paused, choosing my words. "Unexpected."

"Times change," Bardock said with a shrug.

"Apparently."

Jeice leaned in close to me. "Captain, don’t humor these animals. It's obvious this is a scouter malfunction."

"Three scouters saying the same thing isn't a malfunction, Jeice."

"There's no way—"

"No way what?" Fasha called out. "No way a monkey could be as strong as you? This is the start of a new era, and like our lady Okara would say, deal with it, fucker."

Jeice's face reddened. "You insolent woman!"

"Come at me!"

Burter stepped forward, eyes narrow. "Bah, don’t worry Jeice. Sure, they are strong. But strong doesn't mean anything if you don't have the skill to back it up."

"You want to test that theory?" Tora said, cracking his knuckles.

"Tora," Bardock said. Not a reprimand. More like a leash being held loosely.

"Now hold on," I said, raising a hand. I needed to think.

“What?” Bardock replied.

"Here's what's going to happen," I said. "Since you're all so eager to run your mouths, let's settle this the proper way. One on one. My men against yours. Five fights. Winner decides what happens next."

Bardock looked at me, almost pleased with this development. "You want to dance with us?"

"Sure, why not, we could use the warm-up."

Bardock looked at his team. Tora shrugged. Fasha smirked. Shugesh and Borgos grinned.

"We'll take the fights," Bardock said.

So my suspicious were right…. It’s like he'd been waiting for me to offer.

"Good. Jeice, you're up first. Pick your opponent."

Jeice looked at the four Saiyans behind Bardock. His eyes landed on Fasha. "The girl. She looks like she needs to be put in her place."

Fasha rolled her eyes. "Please, I had shits more challenging that you.”

“I will make you beg, you insolent wrench!”

Bardock put a hand on her shoulder. "Fasha. Jeice. Settle it in the ring."

I looked at Bardock. "And when my team wins all five, you're going to tell me exactly what happened here. Understood?"

Bardock rolled his shoulders. "Sure, and when my team wins… well, you’re going to be dead, so its a moot point."

"I suppose it is."

He sure was a cocky one.

POWER LEVEL SECTION

Captain Ginyu: 120,000

Recoome: 45,000

Burter: 42,000

Jeice: 43,000

Guldo: 3,000

____

Bardock: 70,000 (supressed)

Tora: 45,000

Borgos: 40,500

Shugesh: 40,000

Fasha: 39,000