"G-GRAH!" I casually flicked my wrist, sending a body hurtling over my shoulder, and landing on the ground with a bang.
"H-He's just one-" The next Saiyan's words were cut off as my fist met his face, and his neck snapped back as consciousness left him in one blow - though I held back enough that he, hopefully, wasn't dead.
Just one? I assumed he was about to clichely say I was only one man, but I would've hoped the Saiyans were smarter than that. I was certainly only one person, but I was Frieza - their ruler, overlord, tyrant, boss, owner, space daddy- and a million other names that I could spew out. I was someone far above them, and I would hope that they realized that in this moment.
"Would you like to join them, Vegeta?" I called over my shoulder casually, tilting my head to the side as King Vegeta launched at me from behind. I'd already knocked him to the ground the second the fight started, but it seemed that he was more than a bit determined to take me down. While he wasn't much of a threat, I'd certainly give him credit for being resilient.
"N-No, I'm alright, Lord Frieza," Vegeta, the Prince-one, bit back, his voice a bit shaky as he still seemed uncertain. He watched as I slammed my elbow back, making contact with his father's gut as the Saiyan King slumped over my limb. Then, my tail lashed out, and King Vegeta was sent flying to the side, where he slammed into another group of Saiyans.
"By the way, what should I call you, former-King Vegeta?" I called over to the man far too casually for the situation, flicking my wrist and sending a female Saiyan launching away from me as I did, "I don't like you having the title of 'king' anymore, but I won't call you Vegeta either, because that's your son's name. Your son, who has long since surpassed you in strength, and deserves it more."
King Vegeta had always been… King Vegeta. In my mind, at least, as 'King' was pretty much a part of his identity. He shared the name with Vegeta, his son, so the only differentiator between them was the 'Prince' and 'King' title. But, I wasn't going to refer to him as 'King Vegeta' - because, to me, he didn't need to be a King, but instead a loyal soldier. I'd treat the Saiyans much better than Frieza had in the past, but that didn't mean I would treat them as equals or anything. They were my soldiers - my subordinates, my workers, and my underlings. King Vegeta needed to understand that there was no 'Saiyan Kingdom' anymore.
There was me, and then there were my subordinates. They were no different from the Frieza Force, nor any of the average soldiers in my empire. Whether they were a bloodthirsty Saiyan, a chef solely working to cook me meals, or one of the weak but intelligent aliens who managed the logistics of my empire, it didn't matter. The totem pole was simple - there was me, and then, there was everyone else.
But, while Vegeta was squarely in the 'everyone else' category, I still liked him more than his father, so he'd get to keep the 'Vegeta' name. Plus, my past knowledge of this world demanded it, as Vegeta had always been Vegeta to me, since his father was barely given any screen time - especially compared to his son, who was Goku's rival, and thus constantly around in Z.
"S-Surpassed me in strength?" King Vegeta gritted out, glancing over at his son, who was still standing on the ramp of my ship a bit awkwardly, "V-Vegeta! If you're truly that powerful, then come help us!"
"I said he was stronger than you, not dumber," I just smirked as Vegeta didn't move, merely glancing away as he wouldn't meet his father's gaze, "You don't seem to realize just how outmatched you are, do you?"
I guess I couldn't blame his overconfidence in challenging me - King Vegeta was certainly at least decent in terms of power level. I didn't have a scouter on hand, but his power level seemed to be many times stronger than I would've expected. After increasing his power level multiple times over through decades of training, his pride and confidence should've been through the ceiling - but it was sorely misplaced. Even if I hadn't trained, his power level, combined with the forces of all the other Saiyans here, wouldn't have even been enough to give original-Frieza a good fight.
That was original-Frieza, who was much weaker than I was now. For me, they were just moving punching bags.
"FRIEZA!" I blinked as a yell came out behind me, and it was significantly louder than any of the other loudmouthed Saiyans trying to kill me. The voice rang out far across not only the battlefield, but even the surrounding area, as I was sure half the planet heard the shout. At least, it felt that way, as I had to resist wincing from the loud noise. It was a friendly reminder that, no matter how powerful I was, my eyes and ears could still damn well hurt from bright lights or loud noises.
But, as I heard the voice, my lips twitched up into a small grin. I didn't need to turn around to know who the voice belonged to, because there was only one Saiyan who could scream loud enough to blow your ear off, and his voice sounded a bit familiar. But Goku was still on Earth, so that meant this had to be-
"Bardock," I hummed, casually turning around as a fist came hurtling at my face. I tilted my head out of the way, letting the fist brush past me, as the man behind me was indeed who I thought he would be.
He looked pretty similar to Goku with his spikey black hair, but his scarred face and overall older visage set him apart from his son. He was wearing the typical Saiyan armor that all of the Saiyans here had on, but while most of the Saiyans were glaring at me constantly - though some couldn't muster up the courage to, which I was greatly enjoying - Bardock's eyes were filled with a whole new level of rage.
I hadn't been sure if I would see him here or not, as you had to be a pretty damn bad guy to end up in hell. It was a spot reserved for the lowest of the low - the absolute worst the universe had to offer. When you thought of someone being sent to hell, it was usually the likes of Frieza or Cell. People who had taken countless lives and had no remorse for it.
By comparison, as far as Saiyans went, Bardock was practically a saint, especially for what he did on Cereal. But, in the end, I guess he was still a Saiyan. He had still massacred entire planets, as I was sure that the future-seeing aliens that his squad sent to extinction were far from the first planet he'd destroyed. When he had met his end, he had been a battle-hardened warrior and a man who had completed countless missions under Frieza's orders. Even if he was a 'good' Saiyan, he was still more than evil enough to be sent to hell - because being a 'good' Saiyan really wasn't that hard. For a race of mass murdering warriors who valued pride a bit too much, the bar for being considered even 'not bad' was pretty low.
"You seem angry," I smirked, and Bardock's eyes just flashed with more anger as his other fist shot forward with a wild punch, aiming for my head. This time, my hand snapped up, easily catching his hand, and then yanking him forward by it. He stumbled forward, being pulled off his feet by my strength, and my knee shot upward.
"GUH!" Bardock gasped, hunching over my knee as pain flooded into his eyes. He didn't have much time to process that pain, because my elbow slammed down into the middle of his neck a second later, and the light faded from his eyes as he completely slumped over into unconsciousness.
I pulled my knee back, letting him fall to the ground as I lightly pushed my foot forward, and positioned the tip of it under his chest. As I did, I casually raised my hand and launched a Ki blast to my side, which in turn took out a Saiyan charging at me wildly. I might've had the power advantage, but the warriors were relentless, even as they were getting their asses kicked in an embarrassing fashion.
"Catch," I kicked upwards, launching Bardock's body towards Vegeta, who grunted as he scrambled to catch the unconscious man, "Don't let him get hit by a stray blast or anything."
Bardock being here overall didn't mean much, but I could still use him. He was both the father of Goku, even if Goku didn't know it, as well as someone with a lot of potential. I assumed he had a good amount of potential, at least, considering he was Goku's father - if he shared the same genetics as that monster, then he had to have some of that same talent, right? Maybe not enough to become a Super Saiyan, and even ascend to Super Saiyan 2 without my assistance, but at least enough to be useful!
Bardock being here was actually a bit of a pleasant surprise, as I had heavily considered wishing him back at some point - both him and Raditz. I believed that Goku would hold a pretty huge grudge against me, considering the whole 'killing his friends and son right in front of him' thing, and bringing back his relatives to him could help smooth that over a bit in the future. But, now that Goku just kind of… liked me? That might've been a bit of an exaggeration, but he enjoyed fighting with me, and through what he had learned about me from King Kai, he seemed to largely believe that I was at least an 'alright' guy. Certainly, he didn't hold a huge grudge against me, so I didn't need Bardock or Raditz to smooth over that non-existent grudge.
However, while I wouldn't need to use Bardock to smooth over my relationship with Goku anymore, he could still have some uses in that regard. After reuniting the two, he could act as my mouthpiece if I ever needed to convince Goku to do something for me, and, on a darker note, he was always some leverage I could have over the Super Saiyan's head if our intentions didn't align. I had a lot of that already, considering I could just threaten his friends and loved ones, but having more ammunition was never a bad thing.
"Gah… reduced to doing something like this…" Vegeta muttered as he dropped Bardock's body rather unceremoniously on the floor, but he didn't move from his spot, nor try to intervene in the fight.
I hadn't been sure how Vegeta would react to me beating down the Saiyans, especially his father, but I was glad it was this way. The numerous failed challenges and his knowledge of just how powerful I truly was seemed to have really struck a chord with him. I couldn't be certain that he still didn't hold a grudge, nor that he wouldn't aim for my neck in the future, but this was at least a small comfort. Right now, he understood the gap in strength between us, and even as he watched me toss around his newly revived subjects like rag dolls, he didn't try to help them.
"V-Vegeta, Y-You… bah, he can't defeat all of us! Keep going!" King Vegeta didn't back down at the sight, instead launching forward again with his fist cocked back. My tail casually swished, sending two charging Saiyans behind me flying into the air, as I caught King Vegeta's punch with my palm.
"I won't refer to you as any sort of 'king,' but…" My hand squeezed around his fist, and the former-King in front of me let out a grunt of pain as he stumbled to his knees from the force, "You can at least be a dog. Your people were once my hunting dogs, and they will be again, so that's a fair moniker, is it not?"
Right now, I definitely felt more like original-Frieza than I ever had before, but I also thought this was necessary. The Saiyans certainly hated me right now - as evidenced by the fact they were literally trying to kill me - and they had a good reason for their feelings. But, justified feelings or not, they needed to obey me as soldiers should, and they needed to realize that there would be no rebellions on my watch. I wasn't the type who could emotionally reason with them enough to convince them to forgive me, so instead, I would take the much more blunt approach of making them obey.
"You bastard-" Dog-Vegeta didn't even get to finish his insult as I casually lashed out with my free hand, smacking him across the face and sending him reeling to the side. He would've been sent flying from the blow, and his body jerked into the air from the force, but my grip on his fist kept him in place - even as his arm strained painfully.
"Wrong. You were supposed to say, 'Yes, Lord Frieza,'" I hummed, smirking down at the man as his free hand reached up, gripping at his cheek in pain. As he did, I raised my free hand again and lazily pointed my palm to the side. A second later, a flurry of Ki blasts shot forward, and another dozen Saiyans were sent hurtling backward as they tried to charge at me.
"I-If you think we'll ever follow you again, then you're a fucking mor-" Wow, I didn't expect royalty to use such vulgar words, but I guess he was Saiyan royalty at the end of the day. I shouldn't have expected much class from a race of warriors.
However, he didn't get to finish that insult, as my hand whipped down again, smacking his face from the other side and sending him reeling again. Once again, my grip on his fist was the only thing that kept him from being launched into the air entirely.
"If you think you won't be pledging your loyalty to me again, then you're a 'fucking moron,'" I shot back, twisting his insult back onto him as my smirk didn't drop, "I didn't bring your race back to life so you could hurl insults and useless attacks at me. I know you Saiyans don't do it often, but use your head for once."
I released my grip around his hand, straightening my back as I stood up tall. I stared down at Dog-Vegeta as he clutched at his face, my shadow looming over him, as my power started to rise.
"You will never kill me," I told him bluntly as the air became heavy, shoving down on his shoulders as the former king's eyes went wide, "You only have two options. You will either obey me, or…"
The ground under me crumpled as my power shot higher, my body taking on a golden sheen as an aura of Ki enveloped my frame. Vegeta's father's eyes went even wider, his mouth opening, then closing, then opening again like a goldfish as the pressure in the air continued to become heavier. Slowly, his shoulders started to hunch, his head being dragged downward, as Saiyans all around me fell to their knees.
As I watched the Saiyans around me be literally forced to kneel by the weight of my power, I almost wondered how it felt. I could certainly feel the power radiating off of others as their Ki rose, and I had witnessed first-hand a massive spike in Ki when Goku transformed into a Super Saiyan on Earth, but with how powerful I was, that pressure felt like almost nothing. It felt like a barely noticeable weight - as if I had just put on a shirt, and only a few seconds after feeling the initial weight, I would forget that it was even there.
By comparison, I could tell that my presence felt a lot heavier on the Saiyan's shoulders than a simple shirt. Gasps rang out around me, and some of the weaker ones were forced to go lower than kneeling - literally being shoved into the surface of Planet Frieza, the ground lightly cratering under their weight. Foreheads pressed into the ground as they bowed, not by their own will, but by my will being forced upon them as my Ki filled the air.
"You will die." I finished, staring down at the back of Dog-Vegeta's head, as he struggled and failed to drag his gaze upward. I could see him trying with all his might - his fists clenched, his neck strained, as he tried desperately to drag his eyes upward and meet mine defiantly. But, he simply couldn't.
"Which one will it be, former king?" I asked bluntly, raising my finger as the tip of it glowed with Ki, "You speak for your people, don't you? Then tell me - should I consider the Saiyans as my loyal dogs, or as corpses that'll litter this planet?"
It was all on the former monarch's shoulders - what he said would decide whether or not the Saiyans could live under my looming tyranny, or if their blood would flow through the rivers of Planet Frieza today. Though, in the end, his response didn't really matter - the Saiyans were useful enough to me that I'd just kill the man if he wouldn't bend the knee. Having a king that the rest of the Saiyans were loyal to obeying me would be helpful, but in the end, I could always just rule them through fear.
"You…" Dog-Vegeta gritted out, his voice rough and pained as his body was shaking under the pressure of my Ki threatened to crush him into the floor, "I… we…"
I wasn't sure what was going through the pained man's mind right now, but I just continued to tower over him, my finger glowing brighter as I was ready to shoot a Ki bullet through his head if he said something I didn't want to hear. But, luckily for him, the former king had some survival instincts, and the reality of his situation seemed to have sunk in.
"W-We… will… s-serve you again… Lord Frieza…" Dog-Vegeta grounded out, and my lips curved into a grin. To the side, I could see Vegeta staring at the scene with a mixed look on his face, but he didn't say anything. He just stood there, his shoulders hunched as he wasn't exempt from my power in the air, as his father agreed to my will.
My empire had long since gained order, civility, and technological prowess. It had a powerful leader, leagues of workers, and some of the greatest minds in the universe. I had countless planets under my control, and a system that allowed me to control legions of underlings. But, now, it had gained something just as great as any of those things.
My empire had found its attack dogs.
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AN: Thanks for reading! The next chapter will be out in a few days! I had to take a bit of break with this story, but updates will be regular again!
And, there are 20 more chapters posted on Patreon.com/Koyon for anyone interested in reading them early! Up to chapter 54 is posted on there!