The morning air rippled with faint bursts of golden light. Energy waves shimmered across the grassy clearing each time Razor's hand met his daughter's in a clash. The soft thud of bare feet against earth echoed like rhythmic thunder — quick, sharp, controlled.
Rizze lunged forward again, her small frame blazing with Super Saiyan energy, but Razor deflected every punch with effortless precision. His expression remained calm, almost amused, as her strikes grew more frantic.
"Keep your guard up," he reminded her, deflecting a playful kick.
"I am!" Rizze pouted, launching a burst of golden ki from her palm. Razor effortlessly sidestepped it, but his smile widened slightly — she was getting stronger.
"Your stance is good," he said, side-stepping her punch, "but you're letting your energy flare too wildly. Keep it controlled."
"I'm trying!" Rizze huffed, sweat glistening on her forehead.
Razor chuckled, straightening his posture. His tail rustled in the wind, the waist cloth tied firm around his waist. The faint scars across his body caught the light like faded memories.
From the porch, 18 leaned against the railing, a mug of coffee in hand, watching them with quiet fondness. This had become a routine — Razor training, Rizze copying him, and 18 observing with a small smile that always betrayed her amusement.
Then, just as Rizze prepared another move, the sky suddenly turned pitch black.
The golden glow around her flickered as both stopped mid-motion. Razor straightened, his eyes narrowing. The stillness in the air was unnatural. Clouds gathered where moments ago, the sun had shone.
He turned toward the horizon. "This energy… it's not weather."
Rizze tilted her head. "Oh, that's Shenron, Dad!"
Razor blinked, unfamiliar with the name. "Shen…ron?"
"Yeah! When someone collects all seven Dragon Balls, they can summon him. He grants wishes! The sky gets dark when he appears!" she explained proudly, as if teaching him an Earth custom.
Razor remembered 18 had once told him about that dragon. His expression hardened slightly. He closed his eyes and spread his senses wide, feeling the ki of the entire planet. Countless tiny sparks of life pulsed across the land — and then, in a single location, he felt it: the presence which he assumed was the dragon.
But something didn't add up. The ones who had summoned it — their ki was weak, almost laughably so.
"Hmph," Razor muttered. "Not even worth investigating."
Rizze blinked up at him. "You're not gonna check it out?"
He shook his head. "I can sense Gohan and Piccolo standing still. If it were dangerous, they'd already be moving."
He crouched slightly, signaling her to resume their sparring stance. "Now — again."
"Okay!" Rizze said eagerly, reigniting her golden aura.
And so, beneath a darkened sky, while somewhere far away the Dragon of Earth granted another reckless wish, Razor continued training with his daughter — unaware that this simple decision to ignore that far-off event would soon lead to another event.
Far away, in a barren field surrounded by trembling trees, Sorbet and Tagoma stood before the enormous glowing form of Shenron. Pilaf's gang — Shu, Mai, and Pilaf himself — huddled behind them, terrified but unable to escape.
The booming voice of the Eternal Dragon echoed through the heavens. "STATE YOUR WISH."
Sorbet stepped forward. "Please Revive Lord Frieza!"
A moment later, a blinding light engulfed the sky. Chunks of flesh and bone appeared in midair — a horrifying sight that made Pilaf and the others shriek. Sorbet, however, grinned in triumph.
"Finally… Lord Frieza will live again!"
Hours later, inside a dark spacecraft orbiting a remote world, Frieza's body floated in a rejuvenation chamber, the scattered remnants of his old form slowly regenerating. Sorbet and Tagoma stood watch as the medical team worked furiously.
The atmosphere was tense. Even in fragments, Frieza's presence exuded malice.
And then, his eyes opened.
"...So. I have returned." His voice was cold, calm, yet simmering with hatred.
Sorbet bowed low. "Yes, Lord Frieza! We used Earth's Dragon Balls to restore you! It is an honor—"
"Spare me your flattery," Frieza interrupted, stepping from the chamber. His form gleamed as his body regenerated completely. "How long has it been?"
"Years, my lord," Tagoma replied nervously. "Your empire has weakened, but we've kept it alive."
Frieza looked away, a cruel smile curling at his lips. "And what of my enemies? The Saiyans… Son Goku…"
Sorbet hesitated. "He… he lives. He along with Vegeta defeated Majin Buu."
"So… Goku and Vegeta defeated Majin Buu," Freeza said slowly, his tail swaying with restrained anger. "The creature my father warned me never to provoke."
Sorbet nodded nervously. "Yes, Lord Freeza. The Saiyans have grown far beyond what the empire imagined."
A shadow crossed Freeza's face. For the first time in his life, genuine unease flickered beneath his grin. "Then rushing in would be… unwise."
Tagoma blinked. "My lord?"
Freeza turned his gaze toward the stars. "In my arrogance, I once believed myself the pinnacle of power. But if those monkeys have surpassed even Majin Buu, then my old strength is meaningless."
Sorbet hesitated, then stepped forward. "There is something that may help, Lord Freeza. On a world near the Seventh Spiral, our scouts discovered a structure—an ancient chamber. Time flows differently inside: one month outside equals an entire year within. We could travel there."
For a long moment, the galactic tyrant said nothing. The wind from his aura stilled. Then, slowly, a sharp smile curved across his face.
"A room that bends time itself…" he whispered. "How poetic. I once mocked the Saiyans for their crude training, and yet now I will surpass them through the same training myself."
He looked to the horizon, eyes burning with ambition. "Prepare it. I will remain inside until this new body remembers the true taste of fear—and learns to make others choke on it."
Sorbet saluted. "At once, Lord Freeza!"
Freeza's tail lashed once, cutting through the air like a whip. "When I emerge," he murmured, voice low and cold, "there will be no Saiyans, no mortals above me."
Meanwhile, back on Earth, the skies cleared once again. Rizze stood beside her father, staring up as the sunlight broke through.
"See? Told you it was just Shenron," she said with a cheeky grin.
Razor grunted, his gaze still distant.
He placed a hand on Rizze's head. "Enough training for today. Go inside before your mother gets angry."
Rizze giggled and dashed toward the house.
Razor looked to the sky one last time and resumed his training.