Zira's P.O.V.

I panted as the light of my attack finally began to fade away, and instead a large cloud of smoke covered the area. I sighed, lowering my arms, almost letting them go limp. A heavy weight of guilt hung in my chest. I hate this....I hate that I had to hurt Frieza, and I hate that even needed to tap into this unruly power I possess. But, it had to be done. At least it's over now....

"Zira!" I looked below me, seeing the other Z fighters looking up at me. Most of them just stared at me in shock, including Whis and Beerus, but Goku was beaming like a child. "Wow! That was so awesome! Nice job!" he stated. I slowly lowered down so that I was standing among them. I knew I had technically saved everyone, but despite that, I couldn't look any of them in the eye.

"....don't say that. What I did is nothing to be proud of....I only did what I had to." I stated firmly. 

"What are you talking about?! You took down that bastard like it was nothing! He got what was coming to him!" Bulma stated. "Yeah, I mean I doubt any of us could've killed him, aside from Goku or Vegeta." Krillin stated. I lifted my head to look at the small human, and shook my head.

"You misunderstand....I didn't kill him."

That caused confusion to spread among the group, except for Vegeta, who only bore a slightly annoyed expression. I finally looked in front of me, seeing the smoke finally start to fade away. In the center of the area, in a deep, deep crater....Frieza remained, still breathing. He was on his hands and knees, struggling to keep himself from collapsing, and his gaze was fixed to the Earth beneath him. He had long lost his Golden Form, and remained in his fourth form, covered in cuts and bruises across his skin. His left arm in particular bore a sort of burn, most likely from one of my previous beam attack. The group gasped in surprise.

"No way....he survived that attack?!" Piccolo said. I nodded. "It still did what he asked; I didn't hold back. But that doesn't mean I intended to kill him." I stated. 

"Well, he's definitely too weak to fight back anyone now; he's vulnerable. So...." Gohan turned to me slowly, giving me a serious expression, "what're you going to do?" he asked. I looked in front of me, staring at the tyrant. Gohan's question lingered in my mind for a moment, and I contemplated if what I had planned was the right thing to do....I grasped onto my necklace tightly, inhaling and exhaling. No, this is what I want to do. This is what I need to do. Otherwise....I'll never forgive myself.

I quietly floated away from the others, and into the large crater, heading towards the weakened Frieza. The tyrant didn't acknowledge my presence right away as I stopped right in front of him, my shadow overlapping his. I could hear his wheezing breathing, as if he struggled to take even one breath. Eventually, he slowly lifted his head to look up at me. Despite how exhausted he looked, and the way his body started to tremble, his eyes held incredibly intense anger towards me. 

"Y....you....you filthy monkey....there's no way....this is how it ends...." A harsh cough interrupted his speech, coughing up a small puddle of blood. My heart twisted slightly at the sight.

"This can't be....I had a chance....and you took it all away. This just can't be....this was not....THIS WAS NOT THE WAY THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO END!!" he suddenly shrieked. He raised a fist and punched into the ground, creating his own small crater as he punched multiple times. I said nothing at his outburst, allowing him to let out his anger. Once he ran out of strength he stopped, breathing hard as his tail flickered wildly behind him. I finally took this chance to say my piece.

"....I'm sorry. But it's over, Frieza." I replied. 

Gentleness seemed to lace my tone, but that only seem to agitate the tyrant even more. I watched as he stared intensely at the earth below him, suddenly seeming to be deep in thought. But I quickly intervened. "That won't work. Perhaps you could've destroyed the Earth with your strength earlier, but you barely have any as it is. If you attempted to destory Earth now, all you'd do is destroy this little island, and you'd drown in the ocean below us, not having any strength to swim to the surface." I stated. Frieza's eyes widened, taken aback by my statement. Then he closed his eyes, a weak chuckle escaping his throat.

"My plan was that obvious, was it...?" he murmured. He again looked up at me, his entire figure finally relaxing. The anger that overtook him had completely dissapated, and all that was left was....disappointment. Defeat. He had truly accepted his defeat.

"I suppose....that truly is the end of it then, isn't it? Fine then....you won, Zira the filthy Saiyan. Finish what you started." he said. With his piece said he closed his eyes and lowered his head slightly, awaiting his death. I just stared at him for a moment, watching for any sign of deception or trickery. But there was none. He really had given up. 

The sound of a beam charging up caught my attention, and I snapped my eyes up. At the top of the crater were Tagoma and Sorbet. Sorbet pointed what looked like a ring at me, and it seemed to be charging an attack of some sort. He immediately flinched upon seeing me however. I watched him for a moment, watching as he gave me an angry expression....but his eyes widened when I smiled softly at him. He seemed confused, taken aback. Tagoma blinked, and raised a shaking hand onto his commander's shoulder, as if telling him not to attack. Sorbet glanced at Tagoma, then back to his master, and finally back to me. I gave him a small reassuring nod, and while he hesitated, he finally lowered his weapon. 

Once that was done, I looked down at the tyrant, who still silently awaited for my next move. I let out a sigh, and all at once my energy dispersed, causing me to return to my base form. Frieza's eyes widened, seemingly able to sense the sudden drop in my energy, and looked up again in confusion. I offered him the same soft smile, and knelt down to his level.

"I told you I would defeat you, Frieza....I never said I would kill you."

He blinked, seemingly further confused by this statement. "....what? Then....what exactly to plan to do with me?" he demanded, his tone harsh but weak. He seemed speechless at my next action however....as I held out a hand towards him. 

"I plan on giving you a second chance."

*    *    *    *

A few hours had passed since the battle, and preparations were being made. Preparations for what, exactly? Well....for Frieza's rehabiliation. It took much convincing for the others, however eventually they agreed to my plan, especially when it had originally been Vegeta's idea. 

Frieza would be allowed to live, but we also couldn't allow him to just leave, on the account that he could just recollect his army and invade Earth all over again. Instead, it was decided he would be a prisoner, basically. Bulma had arranged one of the rooms in the basement of Capsule Corp to be crafted into a makeshift cell, where Frieza would remain. And to make sure he couldn't hurt anyone, Bulma made a specially designed bracelet for Frieza to wear, which prevented Frieza from using the majority of his power and ki. The most he could do now was fly. 

And why was he to be a prisoner like this? Well, I felt convinced that Frieza could be changed, if only someone would show him a different perspective, the same one most of us had. I insisted I be the one to try to lead him onto his path, and everyone more or less agreed to it, since everyone else either still held too much of a grudge towards him or were too afraid of him. However, as to be expected, Frieza wasn't at all happy with these conditions in the slightest.

"This is unbelievable...." he muttered bitterly, pacing his "cell" unhappily. His cell was a fair size, giving him plenty of room to walk around and stretch. He had large mattress and comforter to use for sleep, and he was even provided with a small bathroom to use. However, I felt bad for how dark it was inside, as he didn't have any windows to provide light. The only light he had was the dim light that lit up the hallway. The main door was a large electric force, one that would shock anyone should they touch it. It could still be seen through however. 

"Yeah yeah, well you better be grateful that I gave you what you got. It's more than you deserve." Bulma stated, pouting slightly as she crossed her arms across her chest. 

"Silence, woman!" Frieza hissed, his tail swishing side to side. I had also convinced Goku grab more Senzu beans so we could give one to Frieza and his subordinates. Speaking of which, it was decided Tagoma and Sorbet would remain as prisoners as well, for they could also warn Frieza's troops to come for us. They stayed in a similar cell right next to Frieza, but had remained silent for awhile. 

"Come on, Frieza. I mean it's no 5 star hotel, but I don't think this is too bad." Goku replied, looking at the cell with a satisfied smile. Goku had been my biggest support for this plan. While he didn't qute understand why I thought Frieza could change, but he at least understand why I needed to try. He showed the same mercy to him once, and even held it towards Vegeta once upon a time. 

Frieza didn't seem pleased with his comment, however, and growled in frustration as he turned away. Vegeta just huffed and began to walk away, down the hallway. Bulma perked up and quickly followed him. Goku blinked, looking between me and Frieza. He took this chance to take his leave, smiling and waving at his enemy.

"Okay, I'm gonna go. Bye Frieza! Hope you like your new home!" he replied, walking down the opposite hallway of Vegeta. With that stated, it was just Frieza and I. The tyrant refused to look at me, his back facing me. I could feel the intense rage radiate off him, and despite my best intentions, I still felt guilt. It wasn't ideal to keep him locked up like this, but it was either this or destroy him and send him back to hell. And I can only imagine what that experience was like for him....

"....I understand you hate me right now. Maybe you always will. But you should know....I only have the best intentions towards you, despite what you've done. And I hope, somehow, someday....you'll understand that." I replied. I was given no response, as he firmly stayed in place. I gave a small sigh.

"I....I'll leave you be." I turned and began to walk away, about to head towards Goku's direction. However I only managed to walk a few feet before I heard Frieza'a dark chuckle.

"You are a foolish, foolish Saiyan. Your heart is so sweet it makes me sick to my stomach. I don't know what you expect to gain from keeping me here, but know this, Zira....I will never stop hating you for this. And I swear, you'll pay with your blood." his voice was laced with toxic venom in every word. I remained silent, slowly raising a shaky hand to clench onto my necklace. Then I exhaled softly before continuing down the hallway, not having the courage to look back at Lord Frieza....

Author's P.O.V.

Bulma quickly followed after her husband, trying to keep up with him. Once they were a good distance from Frieza's cell, she placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Vegeta, hold on." the Saiyan prince paused for a moment, waiting for his wife's inevitable question. "Listen, I know you. I know for a fact you're not happy with this plan at all. And yet....you're the one that came up with it in the first place. I wouldn't have been surprised if Goku came up with a plan like this, or even Gohan, but you....you probably hate Frieza more than anyone. So how come you thought of this....?" This whole situation made the woman concerned. It wasn't that she wasn't happy with how Vegeta actually showed mercy for once, as he ususally doesn't hesitate to kill his enemies. Which was why he would show this mercy towards Frieza of all people, and that made her incredibly uneasy.

Vegeta calmly looked over his shoulder, looking Bulma in the eye.

"It was obvious....Zira wasn't going to let Frieza die. Whatever nonsense she sees in him, it wasn't going to change. So, I'll allow her to try this ridiculous rehabilitation. She'll realize on her own, that Frieza can never, ever change from the evil being he is." He clenched his fists tightly in anger as he continued. 

"And when she finally gives up, and sees for herself how futile it is....I'll kill the bastard myself."