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Goku reaches to pull the last senzu bean out of the little bag tied to his waist, but stops.
…
Technically, Vegeta saved Gohan and Krillin’s lives. If the man wasn’t here, Goku isn’t sure his son and friend would have survived long enough for him to save them. He owes him that, even if it wasn’t really a true choice on Vegeta’s part.
But at the same time…
Vegeta murdered that village of Namekians for their dragonball. Krillin’s senses made it clear that Vegeta could have stolen the ball without having to fight at all.
The man hadn’t changed one bit.
…This was his fault.
Goku knew that his friend had been right about how Vegeta wasn’t like Piccolo. After all, he doubts Vegeta would have bothered with the World Tournament. Doubts he would have bothered with things like honor and rules and no killing.
Doubts he would have gone without killing a single innocent person for nearly three years.
Still, he’d asked Krillin to trust him. Asked him to let Vegeta go. Said that it woulda been a waste, and promised that next time he’d beat Vegeta himself.
When he’d heard that Vegeta had made it to Namek though? He’d immediately regretted that decision.
Goku’s fine with risking his own life. The lives of his son and friends though? The lives of innocent people who have nothing to do with any of this?
That’s where he draws the line.
…He’d been the one to cross it himself though, hadn’t he?
He should have listened to Krillin, plain and simple. If he had, maybe those Namekians would have found a way to hide from Frieza’s guys. Maybe Krillin and Bulma wouldn’t have barely survived just because Vegeta was ‘in a good mood’.
Maybe maybe maybe.
…
When he read Krillin’s mind, Vegeta mentioned that Frieza’s guys healed him up after almost killing him. They probably have some really complicated medical stuff that can heal people fast.
When he’s done with these Ginyu guys, he’ll help Vegeta get whatever medicine he needs. Then, they can have their rematch. But for now…
“Krillin. Hold this.” He tosses the bag to the monk.
Krillin’s reliable after all. He’ll keep the remaining bean safe.
Goku walks towards the guy with the orange hair, confident in his upcoming victory.
Things go right, then wrong.
The orange-haired guy and the snake guy go down quickly, the red guy runs, and then he comes back with their…leader? Captain? Captain.
Goku tells Krillin and Gohan to take Vegeta with them as they leave. The prince is too injured to be on a battlefield, and too weak to be any threat period.
After that, Goku tries to take Ginyu down without burning any unnecessary energy with the Kaioken. But then the red guy almost gets him, Ginyu grapples him then lets him go, and (after trying to get them to leave by showing off how much stronger he is) he gets his body stolen.
Flying with a hole in his chest is difficult, but not exactly anything new. Still, it takes time to reach Krillin and Gohan.
As Goku thought, the guy who took his body can’t use it correctly at all. No Kamehameha, no Kaioken, no nothing. Krillin is doing pretty well against his stolen body, his power and control leagues above what it was when he left Earth.
He’s also… pretty sure that Krillin is gradually getting stronger as he fights? Huh. Neat.
Ginyu is only going to keep the power advantage for a bit. But then even that is gonna be lost to Krillin.
Some distance away, Gohan is fighting the red guy with the white hair and actually doing really well. If his senses are right, the main reason Gohan hasn’t won yet is because he doesn’t quite understand how much power he has now. In terms of pure strength, his son has his opponent beat. Plus, just like Krillin, his power is steadily growing as well. As for Vegeta…
His ki is inside the ship, weak but stable.
Eventually Gohan knocks out the red guy, his opponent falling into the ocean. Quickly, he moves towards Goku so he can support him.
Krillin is pretty solidly kicking Ginyu’s butt, and the man with the stolen body is struggling to land any sort of decisive blow. He isn’t too damaged yet, but Goku can see how panicked the guy in his body is.
But then Ginyu notices that his teammate is down, and gets desperate.
Goku watches as Ginyu snaps his gaze to Gohan, opens his mouth, and tries to switch.
“CHANGE!”
Goku pushes himself as hard as he can towards his son, and just barely manages to get in the path of the incoming yellow beam.
Everyone freezes for a bit as the light of the strange technique blinds them, and then Goku is back in his own body.
He needs to move. Now.
“Kaioken times 10!”
It’s a brief burst of the highest Kaioken he can go, but it’s enough for him to hit Ginyu with a solid crunch before he can recover and swap with Gohan.
He hears the horned man hit the ground below, unmoving. His ki drops, flickers , then vanishes .
Goku’s vision comes back to him, and he looks at the unmoving body below.
…
For a couple moments, the Earth-raised Saiyan stares at Ginyu’s corpse. Silently, he wishes it hadn’t come to this.
He’d offered him a chance to take his friends and leave . Instead, Ginyu had stolen his body and tried to use it to murder his son and best friend. Then, when that didn’t work, Ginyu had tried to steal his son’s body instead.
…
Goku doesn’t regret what he did. But he regrets that he had to do it.
Gohan and Krillin tell him that the dragonballs didn’t respond to them. Apparently, they might have a specific password. Thankfully, Krillin has an idea.
“Nail is stalling Frieza right now, we can all sense that.” Krillin says. “What I’m going to do is get to Guru, get the password, and get back here as quickly as possible. While I do that, you two should stay here.”
Krillin chuckles, but it seems sad. “You’re both way stronger than me. If Vegeta manages to fully heal, you two will be much better at making sure he doesn’t swipe the dragonballs.”
He and Gohan nod at Krillin’s plan.
“That’s a good plan Krillin.” He pats his friend’s shoulder. “Stay safe, ok?”
Krillin gives a thumbs up, and takes off.
…
That energy near the Frieza guy, Nail , his energy is noticeably dropping every couple of moments.
Goku wants to help him, even in spite of the promise he made to King Kai of not fighting Frieza. Sensing someone die and doing nothing feels wrong, but he can’t leave. If he leaves Gohan behind and Vegeta manages to fully recover, then there’s no telling what might happen to his son. Vegeta was stronger than Gohan before Gohan got his big power boost, and when he recovers that lead will probably be regained.
His son already ended up in danger because of him, he ain’t gonna repeat the same mistake twice.
…
Goku knows they can bring Nail back if Frieza does kill him, but that doesn’t change the fact that he feels like he’s letting someone die.
Krillin really can’t believe his own luck, because on his way to Guru’s he manages to run into Dende. Turns out, the kid knows what needs to be said to bring out the Namekian dragon.
They need to work fast though. According to Dende, the Grand Elder doesn’t have much time left.
He makes a mad dash with the young boy back towards Goku and Gohan, pushing himself as hard as he can. Nail’s fading fast, and Krillin needs to make the warrior’s sacrifice count.
The monk touches down in front of Goku, Gohan, and the dragon balls. Gohan looks especially overjoyed to see Dende safe and sound, and Krillin can’t particularly blame him. The fact that Frieza didn’t find and kill the young boy was a nothing short of a miracle.
The children hug as he and Goku smile at the sight. The young Namekian looks somewhat skeptically at Goku, but Gohan quickly explains that he’s his dad. Dende’s body language does a full 180 as he fully relaxes, then offers to heal Goku and restore his stamina.
Goku’s quick to accept the offer, even throwing a joke Krillin's way about how he really did a number on him. They all watch in amazement as the bruises and scrapes vanish from Goku’s body, and the Saiyan happily thanks Dende for his help.
The temporary joy quickly vanishes though, because Frieza’s ki skyrockets. The pure evil suddenly saturating the entire planet is enough to instantly spur Krillin into action.
“Dende! I’m really sorry but you need to summon the dragon now !”
Dende quickly nods, fear painted across his face as he brings out the Namekian dragon. Even though he doesn’t understand the language, Krillin can tell that the boy is rushing through the incantation as fast as he possibly can.
The orbs glow, the sky turns as black as a starless void, and in a flash of lightning the Namekian dragon appears. It’s a little bit ridiculous, but Krillin’s first thought is that it could 100% take Shenron in a fight.
The wish dragon grabs his attention though when it mentions that it can grant three wishes, which is probably the best news the monk has heard all week.
Quickly, he asks Dende to revive everyone who was killed by the Saiyans when they came to Earth. However, they run into a pretty large problem.
“I cannot revive more than one person at the time.”
Krillin fully breaks out into a panic sweat while his heart feels like it drops down a particularly large pit. Frieza’s going to be here any second, they can’t revive everyone, and while he’d really like to believe that Goku can take on Frieza he’s got no idea if that’s actually true.
Briefly, he wonders whether it’d be best to simply wish everyone except Vegeta and Frieza to Earth. Thankfully before he gets the time to suggest that idea, a deep voice cuts through his mind.
“Use the dragonballs to revive me!” Everyone looks to the sky, Piccolo’s voice shouting clearly into their minds. “Doing so will revive Kami, and therefore bring back the Earth’s dragon balls. With them, you can revive those here in Otherworld!”
Krillin gives Dende the ok to go ahead, and the dragon confirms that the deed is done. However, what Piccolo asks for next is frankly insane.
“Second, bring me to Planet Namek! I want to fight on my home planet, and kill the bastard who slaughtered my people! I’ve become much stronger, and I know that with Goku I can beat him!”
What?! “P-Piccolo, are you sure?! If Frieza ends up being able to kill you then we’ll lose the Earth’s dragon balls again! I-”
The former demon cuts him off. “Make the wish, NOW! ”
“Dammit, fine! Dende, wish for Piccolo to be brought to Namek!”
Dende speaks again in Namekian, and the wish dragon’s eyes glow red as the wish is granted. But Piccolo doesn’t appear.
“Wha-where’s Piccolo?!” Wait, wait. No.
“You wanted him here? I thought you just wanted him on Namek?”
Crap crap crap. Do they use the third wish to bring Piccolo right to them? How long will it take if they don’t? What do they-
“Krillin.”
He looks at Goku, mind still spinning through what the heck they should try to do. His first friend looks back, and holds out his hand. “Give me the senzu bean. Then wish everyone on Namek except me, Piccolo, Vegeta, and Frieza to Earth.”
“Goku, that's crazy! This Frieza guy is stronger than anything we’ve ever imagined. I don’t care about Vegeta, but if we’re leaving then you and Piccolo need to come with us!”
Gohan watches his father shake his head as Krillin argues with him.
“Training in one hundred times gravity made me strong. Strong enough to be able to use a times ten Kaioken with no risk. Though, if I’m being honest, I only used it once against Ginyu. Besides that, I haven’t really tested it out. But if what I’m sensing is right?” His father smiles, confident and reassuring. “Me and Piccolo can beat this guy.”
That stops Krillin short, and Gohan finds he can’t even speak. The young half-Saiyan can’t identify the depths of Frieza’s power, but he wouldn’t be surprised if the same would be true for his dad going all out. His father had already shown just how strong he’d gotten by beating the Ginyu Force without even using the Kaioken. Ten times that wasn’t something he could comprehend.
His father continues talking.
“Krillin…I know that asking you to trust me didn’t work out last time. If I’d let you finish off Vegeta…” The smile disappears, and for the first time in his life Gohan sees his dad express regret. “Well, I really am sorry I didn’t. But I promise, me and Piccolo will handle Frieza.”
Krillin hesitates, just a moment, but then he quickly hands over the senzu bean. “Dang it, fine! But please, don’t die on us again Goku!”
His father laughs, then turns to him. The sounds of Krillin relaying the wish to Dende feels like they fade.
Gohan feels a strange sensation as light starts to build around him. “I’m real sorry son. It looks like that fishing trip I promised you is going to have to wait another week.”
That his dad remembers that promise despite everything going on means more than Gohan can describe. There’s so much he wants to say, but the words are getting all jumbled in his throat. After what feels like a week-long nightmare he’s finally going home, but once again he’s leaving his dad behind.
Unbidden, images of the week he’s spent on Namek strike him like a bolt of lightning.
( Dende’s village. Bodies. Graves dug with his own hands. )
The light builds, the otherworldly something starts to suffuse his being, and almost on autopilot words begin to spill out of his mouth. Unconsciously, his fists clench.
“Make sure you stop Frieza dad! And…I love you!”
His dad smiles. Hugs him.
“I love you too son. Tell your mom I’ll be back soon.”
And then, between one moment and the next, he’s gone.
Piccolo’s moving as fast as he can towards everyone’s location, but it’s more than evident that Frieza is going to reach them all before him.
In alternate circumstances, perhaps he would be more worried. However, he is well aware that Son Goku will be able to at least stall the bastard until he arrives. Together, they will-
His head snaps towards the ground below. There’s a ki beneath him, one which is quickly fading.
Landing, he finds himself staring at the bloody laid out form of a Namekian. He looks more like a corpse than a person, and Piccolo is slightly impressed that the warrior he’s looking at is continuing to breathe.
Exhausted eyes find his own, and then the person in front of him speaks.
“Your power…you must be the Namekian the Earthlings wished to revive. It seems I was right to stay behind.” There’s a ragged cough, a light spasm in muscled arms drenched in what Piccolo recognizes as regenerative fluid. The same which covers his own limbs when he needs to regrow them. “I sense that…there isn’t much time. Fuse with me.”
Piccolo finds himself mentally crushing the idea before it even has time to take root. “I’m not interested in losing my individuality. Not for any amount of power.”
“I promise…you will remain yourself. Just…” More coughs. Wheezing. The warrior’s words come slower and slower. Softer and softer. “Take my power, and end the monster who slaughtered..our…people.”
The person in front of him is fading, and faced with their begging Piccolo makes his decision.
“Fine. But if you try anything I will remove you, then leave you to die . Got it?”
“Under…stood.”
He places his hand on the warrior’s chest, and then two become one.
The second his son vanishes, Son Goku starts warming himself up.
He takes turns pulling his arms across his body to stretch them out, then moves to some quick stretches for his legs as well. The Saiyan starts bouncing in place, rolling his neck as he does so.
Once he’s done he breathes in…and out . Then, he waits.
Frieza was already pretty close, so it doesn’t take him too long to arrive.
When he lands, he seems to do a double take before slightly leaning forward in interest. “Oh~? Well now, if I’m not mistaken you’re a Saiyan aren’t you? I could have sworn that I had what was left of your kind under my thumb. Now…”
Frieza smiles, close-lipped. The monster’s power rises, slowly.
“Just where were you hiding?”
The amount of menace in that last question is staggering. Goku’s only heard this guy speak for two seconds, but just being around him makes him feel like an attempt could be made on his life at any moment.
Idly, he wonders how King Piccolo would’ve compared to the amount of evil (not power) that he can sense.
Keeping a finger on the mental slider for the Kaioken, Goku responds. “I’m Son Goku, a Saiyan from Earth! And I’m here to defeat you!”
Frieza just chuckles into his fast. “Ohohoho. Now isn’t that last part familiar. If I’m correct, then your father was one of the only Saiyans to ever say something similar to my face. You, however, will be the last.”
Suddenly, he has to push himself to times four in order to block an overhead blow with his left arm. Frieza raises an eyebrow ridge-thing, then increases his power even further oh crap!
“Times Seven!”
Goku grabs Frieza’s wrist with his right, twists out from under the strike, and slams the point of his elbow into the tyrant’s face. His opponent’s scouter crunches beneath his elbow as he goes flying, bodily crashing through the rocky walls of the clearing.
The Saiyan from Earth breathes slowly, the red hue around him lightening as he relaxes the Kaioken to a less strenuous times four. Frieza had almost got him with that opening move, so he figures it would probably be smarter to keep himself at a level where he didn’t have to rely completely on instinct.
As he finishes that thought, there’s a scream from within the wall before the entirety of it explodes. A singular moment after that happens, a form clad in bright purple ki erupts out of the wall and back at him. The red around him darkens once again as he puts himself at times six and catches Frieza’s horns as he tries to gore him like a bull.
He can feel dirt pushing up behind his boots as Frieza’s honestly insane power drives him back. Even using a times six, he’s only a smidge stronger. However, even that minor advantage is enough for what he needs.
The Earthling’s muscles strain as they slowly lift the tyrant’s head up by their horns, not wishing to push into a higher level Kaioken in order to conserve energy. Once Frieza’s head is at about chest level he brings it down, while also bringing his knee up.
He does this once.
Crunch!
Twice.
Crunch!
Three times!
Crunch!
Purple blood stains the orange of his left pant leg as he breaks Frieza’s nose and then some. He lifts his opponent's head again and almost goes for a fourth strike, but Frieza destroys the ground beneath his feet with a panicked wave of his hand.
His footing blowing up under him definitely throws him off balance, and the main reason Frieza doesn’t get him then and there is because he killed the guy’s momentum. A little use of flight gets him back on solid ground thankfully, but the small amount of time is enough for Frieza to create a pretty big distance between them.
Then, completely unexpected to Goku, his foe starts to…well.. .
“You... you... ” Frieza’s voice shudders. Not from fear, but from a pure unbridled fury. “You filthy monkey ! That hurt! That actually hurt!”
He just stares and crosses his arms, confused while Frieza throws his tantrum.“…Yeah? That kinda tends to happen in fights y’know?”
Man, this is almost as bad as Vegeta’s reaction to getting hit by him.
…He’s going to have to make sure Frieza doesn’t blow up the planet, isn’t he?
“I will make you experience a terror beyond death!”
In front of him, Frieza’s body begins to pulse and bulge. For a second he almost thinks this is some strange attack, and gets a guard up accordingly. But, no, that’s not it! This isn't an attack, it’s-!
CRRRCK! KRRRAK!
There’s a sound of shattering armor, and suddenly Frieza is over two times taller than he used to be with muscles to match.
“A transformation. ” He breathes out, assessing the tyrant’s new strength and form.
All of his injuries are gone. The longer tail will be trouble, so will the bigger horns too. He’s also lost the reach advantage as well, so that ain’t good. When taking in the increased strength…well, this is definitely gonna be a tough one.
“It has been some time since I took this form.” Frieza says with a deepened voice, having regained his composure. “For you to push me like this…I must congratulate you.” A smile as fake as the tyrant is sadistic plasters itself across the alien’s face. “But this is the end for you. Last time I bothered to check, this form clocked in at a little over one million.”
Huh. Ginyu said he was…180,000 or something when he used the times two Kaioken? So…
Frieza watches as Son Goku begins to count on his fingers while doing mental math. The alien emperor stares, baffled that this is actually happening.
“Ah! So you’re…a hundred thousand bigger than me when I go all out. I think? Man, I really need to thank Master Roshi for those math lessons when I get back! I did not think that stuff was gonna be this involved in fighting.”
Frieza chuckles. Doing so in the manner of someone beholding a particularly entertaining idiot, all while knowing for a fact that they are smarter than them.
“Ohoho~ You admit your weakness so easily, but still have that ridiculous smile on your face? How un-Saiyan of you.”
The Saiyan shrugs at him before getting into a fighting stance.
“Honestly, the only part of me that really feels Saiyan is how much I like a good fight. Everything else about me is all Earth!”
Frieza raises an eyebrow in interest. “You really are a Saiyan that has gone native. How fascinating~ . As far as I know, that’s quite the rare phenomenon. Or, it used to be.”
The emperor of the northern galaxy flexes his right hand once. Then twice. Testing the small amount of his strength he’s unleashed.
“No matter though. I’ve already destroyed the Saiyan homeworld, I might as well destroy yours as well!”
He raises his hand, and the island they’re on explodes.
Piccolo’s moving with all the speed afforded to him thanks to his fusion with Nail. Frieza’s ki has grown drastically, to the point where it stands above Son Goku’s own skyrocketing power.
To make matters worse, Goku seems to be retreating further and further away with Frieza in hot pursuit.
Curious. He knows Goku can sense him coming to fight with him, so why is he creating more distance? To protect Gohan and Krillin perhaps?
Moving the fight away from where others can get caught up in it is certainly something Goku would do. It even explains why he can’t sense either of them. The power detecting device Frieza was wearing would mean that they need to suppress their power in order to not be discovered and killed.
But, no, something tells him that might not be right. Nail’s memories suspect something else at play. Nothing malicious, but instead something connected to Porunga.
A wish to take everyone except the remaining fighters off the planet perhaps? But then who or what would Goku be leading Frieza away from?
Damn it, there’s too many unanswered questions. He’ll just have to read his rival’s mind when he catches up to them.
He stares at his opponent, smiling through the pain in his jaw and chest.
Despite Frieza being stronger, Goku likes to think he’s managing pretty well.
Sure, he could push himself beyond a times ten. With a…times twelve maybe? He would probably have the edge over Frieza in power, speed, and toughness. But then it becomes a sort of race to the bottom. One which he’s already “winning”.
It’d be his stamina vs. this guy’s endurance, with him running out faster and faster the higher he pushes. And that ain’t even thinking about what happens if he messes up a higher level Kaioken that he isn’t supposed to use. It’s tempting to use it though, and he’s confident he could power through it. But…
Nah, he ain’t gonna take that gamble. Not unless he’s gotta.
Course, ‘cause of that he’s taken some pretty good hits.
Oh, Frieza didn’t try stabbing him with his horns again, but he definitely surprised him when he uppercut him with his tail. Plus, there’s a couple of small islands in the middle of sinking ‘cause Frieza tossed or punched him through ‘em.
Thankfully, he’s been giving almost as good as he got.
A quickly fired Kamehameha let him hit Frieza hard enough to skip him across a couple islands and the ocean itself. The burns were pretty visible on the murderer’s face, standing out starkly against his almost chalky white skin. Lower down, the guy’s got several nasty looking bruises around that gem thing that’s part of his chest. It wasn’t a weak spot like he’d hoped, but he still managed to wind Frieza enough with those blows to hit him with a spinning heel to the temple.
Overall, they’ve done some pretty good damage to each other. Frieza more to him than the other way around.
“It was a good try, monkey, but at the end of the day you simply aren’t a match for Lord Frieza.” Oh, Frieza’s doing that thing people do where they put some kinda description in front of their own name. Like Vegeta with his whole ‘The Mighty Vegeta!’ thing. “Your strength eclipses every other Saiyan in history, but it is simply. Not. Enough. ”
Frieza points a finger at him, a little bright purple ball at the tip of it. He almost corrects him, but chooses to say something else instead.
Son Goku chuckles, his smile turning decidedly cheeky. “Good thing I’m not just relying on my own strength then.”
And then in a burst of dark purple outlined in silver, Piccolo is kicking Frieza in the head.
“Man Piccolo, did King Kai up his training regimen for you guys? You’re a lot stronger than I was!”
Excited even in the midst of battle. Typical.
“That is part of it. But I found a dying Namekian while on my way to you. He-“
“Nail. Right?”
Son Goku has lost his smile. His rival’s expression somber while guilt tinges his voice. The sudden mood change is fast enough to give him whiplash, but he recovers quickly.
Hm. So Krillin and Gohan had told him. Or perhaps Dende? No matter.
He grunts, cracking his neck to one side then the other as he talks. “Yes. He offered to fuse. Sensing the strength of the monster down there, I accepted.”
Goku nods his head towards the currently rising form of Frieza.
“Yeah, turns out he could transform. And I get the feeling he might be holding back even more.”
And that? That’s trouble.
His antennae twitch, then he continues their conversation with telepathy.
*Then let’s not give him any further time for another transformation. We’re taking out this piece of cosmic trash here and now.*
Frieza finally floats up level with them, and he starts removing his weighted cape and turban as the bastard talks.
“And here I thought I’d killed every adult Namekian besides the giant fool atop that spire. Looks like I’ll be exterminating two races today. What a treat. ”
Expression unchanging, Piccolo lets go of his weighted gear, allowing it to fall to the emerald oceans below.
“You’re going to pay in blood for what you’ve done.”
Frieza scoffs and smirks, then they all charge.
The situation is immediately in the favor of Earth’s strongest warriors.
In the three years between the first battle between Son Goku and Piccolo, and then the arrival of Raditz, the at the time enemies had tirelessly utilized Image Training to simulate fights against the other time and time again. To be able to properly estimate their opponent, as well as understand them enough to the point where they could mentally play out a battle between them, was a feat of unparalleled skill.
Even 300 years ago, in the era before the original Demon King’s rampage, it was something the likes of which could only have been dreamed of. Even by the most skilled of the martial arts community.
In an astonishingly small time frame, they managed to reconstruct the other’s fighting style, and then break. Them. Down. It was something that could only be accomplished through their own respect of the others abilities, despite the animosity on Piccolo’s side.
A side effect of this though, and one neither of them could have foreseen, was that if they were to ever fight alongside one another their teamwork would be almost flawless.
The Saiyan from Earth still has enough left in the tank to sustain a times ten Kaioken, and the former demon is an equal match for Frieza’s second form thanks to his fusion with the strongest native Namekian.
So it only made sense that the emperor of the northern galaxy, being given no time to transform into his 3rd or final form, could not defend himself against them.
Piccolo takes the lead, uninjured and completely fresh as he is. He engages Frieza head-on, his strength just that smidgen higher than Goku’s necessary to take the genocidal madman off guard.
The Namekian slams an elbow into Frieza’s face, bringing up his other hand to catch the alien’s retaliatory right cross. While that happens, Goku flanks them both to pepper Frieza with a series of powerful ki blasts. The tyrant tries to use his unoccupied hand to try to headshot the Saiyan with a needle-thin laser, but Piccolo ruins his aim by kicking his hand skyward.
Well beyond frustrated, Frieza wraps his tail around Piccolo’s leg to toss him away. He manages to do so, even shoving a blast into the Namekian’s chest! But…
“MASENKO. HA!”
It comes at the cost of Piccolo trading hits with him, a quickly charged two-handed blast striking the tyrant’s chest gem.
Having already been hit there so many times, the pain he feels is stunning.
Because of that, Son Goku has enough time to slam his hands atop Frieza’s head with a powerful hammer blow.
The youngest of the Cold family plummets, right on a collision course with Piccolo. Still in the midst of falling himself, the Namekian throws his hands forward. His arms stretch forward to palm strike Frieza from far away, but the tyrant reorients himself in time to dodge the attack by an inch. Piccolo begins to reel his arms in, seemingly trying his best to recover his limbs fast enough for any incoming attack of Frieza’s.
Ki begins to build in his mouth, but when he sees Frieza’s eyes glow a bright purple he halts the process to transfer ki into his eyes.
Two thin beams fire from two pairs of eyes, dark purple with silver accents clashing against violet. Frieza closes in, and energy gathers in flexed pale palms as the length of their lethal staring contest shrinks rapidly.
Despite the incoming threat, Piccolo smiles. It’s a frightening thing made out of fangs and satisfied malice, especially with the golden ki shining through the minuscule gaps between his teeth.
And he is right to smile, after all…
CRUNCH!
Frieza fell for his bait.
Goku dive-kicks Frieza in the spine, the extra speed from Piccolo reeling him in like a fish making his attack devastating . Honestly, he’s kinda surprised nothing gives way or breaks.
Much as he doesn’t like the guy, he’s gotta admit Frieza is made of some stern stuff. But that just means he’s gotta move on to step two.
While Frieza is making a sort of near-silent gasp, the Saiyan bends forward to grab ahold of the emperor’s horns. Shifting his footing so his boots are still planted in Frieza’s back, he wrenches the tyrant’s head backwards to expose his neck.
Then, Piccolo fires the mouth beam he’d been charging.
They almost get Frieza right then and there, but the guy manages to sort of flail so he “only” loses most of his shoulder instead of his throat. As Frieza continues to fall with him on top, he hears Piccolo “tsk” and curse under his breath as they spiral away from him.
That’s fine, they’ve got a part three.
Even though he’s losing track of which way is up with all the spinning, he starts moving ki to his feet.
“KA.”
Slowly, it builds up into a move that he’s only used in a real fight once .
“ME.”
Frieza tries to thrash out of his grip, but that hit to the spine has weakened him a lot.
“HA.”
An almost blinding blue light flashes into existence beneath him and on top of Frieza’s back.
“ME.”
He grits his teeth as he focuses on two techniques at once, letting go of Frieza’s horns at the last moment.
“HAAAA!”
His technique launches out of his feet, and a brilliant blue beam shoves Frieza into a nearby mountain…
BOOM!
…which then explodes.
He drops the Kaioken, slumping as he lets out a shaky breath.
Piccolo appears in the air next to him and- oh , he’s already got his right hand charging up that technique he killed him with on Earth.
*His ki dropped a lot Piccolo. I can’t sense him anymore.*
*Neither can I. But I want to be prepared in case-..!*
Piccolo’s thoughts cut off, and he doesn’t blame him. Frieza’s ki is skyrocketing again, even quicker than when he transformed the first time!
*Stop him! Buy me just a little more time!* Piccolo orders.
“You’ve got it! Body, don’t fail me now!” Goku commands and pleads . “KAIOKEN TIMES FIFTEEN!”
The amount of time he can handle this is probably about the same as he could handle a times three on Earth. No time for any moves with buildup, he just has to go.
Cross the distance, blow through the rubble, use hands to tear through the almost physical presence of Frieza’s ki, knee strike the chest-gem.
It doesn’t stun him. Some of the wounds they dealt have healed. Not good.
High-kick the incoming hammer arm with other leg. Frieza’s off balance. Twist, get behind him, dig hands into the still exposed muscle of his shoulder.
The build-up of ki has vanished, Frieza’s lost concentration. Keep it that way.
He can’t focus on the screaming, Frieza’s or his body’s. He needs to just go go go.
Force blasts into meat of the shoulder, tighten grip, roundhouse the back of head. He loses his grip as his momentum tears muscle from bone.
Frieza’s off-balance again, and Goku knows he’s got maybe two heartbeats worth of time left.
Ignore the gore. What else what else what-
!
Get in front of Frieza, tell Piccolo to turn away, splay fingers open with palms facing towards himself, close eyes and-
“SOLAR FLARE TIMES FIFTEEN!”
28 days.
For 28 days, Piccolo trained in ten times Earth’s gravity under King Kai. It was nowhere near enough time for him to learn either of the deity’s techniques, but it was enough to gain some of the advanced ki control Son Goku currently possessed. Enough to make the former-demon’s deadliest technique viable.
If Piccolo was the same as he was when he and Son Goku battled Raditz, everything the earth-raised Saiyan had just done would have been for naught. Five minutes of charging was simply too long for any sort of technique to be truly feasible in battle.
But with King Kai’s teachings? With the ability to rapidly raise, lower, and direct his ki?
Well, that changed things.
The light Son Goku generated is fading, the clearly defined shadows of massive land formations turning back to normal. The Earthling throws himself away, his Kaioken cutting abruptly mid-air as he loses the ability to sustain it any longer.
While he skips across the ocean like a stone, and then ragdolls into another island, Piccolo turns back to their opponent. The strongest Namekian knows this is the best chance he’s going to get.
He dashes toward the still screaming form of Frieza, the genocidal emperor almost clawing at his own eyes in an attempt to escape the pain whilst his power begins to rise again.
Purple and yellow ki crackles atop the incoming warrior’s pressed together pointer and middle fingers. Both of them are held together in front of his forehead.
He plants his feet on the island, kicking up grass and dirt as he skids forward.
He comes to a stop in front of Frieza, and he aims for the throat!
He fires, close enough that he cannot miss.
“SPECIAL BEAM CANNON!”
The spiraling corkscrew punches through Frieza’s building ki like a javelin through wet tissue. The emperor’s screaming abruptly cuts off, replaced by the sound of Piccolo’s strongest technique drilling through pale flesh and bone. By the sound of his throat becoming more missing flesh than not .
The tyrant is thrown off his feet…
THUD!
…and his corpse hits the ground.
He stares at what little is left of Frieza’s throat, the strips of flesh still attaching the corpse’s head the same width as his fingers.
Hmph. Seems he can add regicide to his list of accomplishments.
He stretches his arm, grasps the jaw in his hand, and…
RIP!
… tears off the head as he reels his limb back in. He looks the decapitated head in the eyes, and disintegrates it. Then, he does the same to the body without even sparing it a glance.
…Something within him has lessened. Hm, it seems the minuscule part of him composed of Nail is finding rest. Good. Now he just needs to check on Goku and make sure that fool didn’t split his skull open on some random rock. His ki isn’t fading, but it is low.
The distance is something he covers in mere moments, and when he gets there he sees his rival sat up next to the entrance of a cave.
Goku smiles, looking too exhausted to wave. “Hey Piccolo. Did ya get him?”
What exactly does he take him for? “Of course. And I destroyed the body as well.”
“Yeah, probably for the best.” Goku comments, hands shaking as they open the bag tied to his waist. The man pulls out a senzu, pops it into his mouth, and all of his wounds vanish .
He materializes weighted clothes onto himself as Goku kicks back up onto his feet. Then, he asks a question that’s been sitting in the back of his mind since most of the people on Namek were wished away by Porunga.
“What are you planning on doing with Vegeta?”
Goku floats off the ground, facing the direction of the aforementioned Saiyan’s ki. He follows suit, arms crossed.
“I was planning on havin’ a rematch with him.”
That was more than obvious, yes. But that’s not what he meant. “Are you killing him or not?”
He doesn’t bother saying he will if Son doesn’t. They both know his own intentions towards the Saiyan.
It’s telling though, that as they begin to fly towards Vegeta, Son doesn’t answer.
…
“ Well? ” He pointedly asks.
His rival doesn’t turn towards him, eyes still set straight forward. “I think…that depends on what he chooses.”
A better answer than he’d thought he’d get, but not the one he wanted.
The rest of their flight passes by in silence, neither of them saying a word.
When they get to the ship, they’re apparently just in time to see Vegeta rocket out of its blasted out windshield. Goku lights up in the red aura of the Kaioken, then intercepts the prince’s flight path.
He simply finds a pillar of rock decently close to the upcoming fight and lands on it. He’ll be able to hear and see everything from where he is.
The first thing Goku notices is that the way Vegeta holds himself is… defensive. Maybe even scared. Though, honestly, he ain’t really sure about that last one.
(It sucks that he’s only good enough with mind reading to do it through touch. Being able to do it from a distance like Master Roshi would be a lot more useful.
Ah, but that’s something to think about later.)
He crosses his arms, an innocent and unbothered smile on his face.
“Ready for our rematch?”
The prince clenches his fists. Narrows his eyes.
“Don’t take me lightly Kakarot. You and the Namekian may have killed Frieza, but I will be a different story.”
He really hopes Vegeta is right, but probably in a different way than the prince does.
A smooth purple outline forms around his opponent’s body. One which suddenly turns jagged as his ki begins to rise. Clouds gather overhead, the sky turning dark gray as the world feels like it begins to tremble.
It’s pretty familiar to what happened when he showed off his power on Earth. But as Vegeta throws his arms outwards, as the clouds disperse when the Saiyan finishes getting to full power…
All Goku can think is that it does not compare to Frieza.
And that? That’s…it’s just… strange .
Vegeta seems pretty certain he can win this, but that just doesn’t seem right. He ain’t got the strength, speed, or endurance advantage here, and he probably ain’t got any new techniques. If he did, he would’ve used them against the orange haired guy.
That isn’t to say he isn’t strong though. Goku’s more than well aware that without the Kaioken this would be solidly in Vegeta’s favor.
It’s just that it isn’t the case here.
“Well then-” The Earthling says, uncrossing his arms as he gets into a fighting stance. “-let’s get to it!”
Red ki bursts around him, a times five putting him more or less on Vegeta’s level. He charges, and Vegeta meets him head on.
Piccolo observes from atop the spire, unblinking.
Dark red and purple clash against each other, a thunderous BOOM! echoing across the landscape. Vegeta’s the first to truly start any sort of assault, relentlessly bearing down on his opponent with a series of quick punches aimed at his face.
Goku dodges and blocks all but one to the gut. However, he’s quick enough to catch that blow with one arm. It gives him enough time to kick Vegeta under the chin while the prince opens his palm and fires a bolt of ki into Goku’s side. They both separate as their attacks blow them away from each other, then Goku dives right back in.
Vegeta elects to stay back and rapid-fire ki enough ki to nearly blot out the space between them. Goku’s ki spikes a minor amount, nowhere near his full power but enough to twist between the blasts and parry what he can’t evade. The Earthling’s ki tints his movements into a bloody orange as he closes in on Vegeta, but he lowers his power back to around the prince’s as they engage in melee.
Red and purple slam into each other once again, both figures disappearing and reappearing in the sky. Explosive sound snaps around them wherever they clash, the noise popping like fireworks dozens of magnitudes greater than anything the people of Earth have ever produced.
Privately, Piccolo finds himself relieved that he’s only sensitive to high frequencies. Otherwise, this battle would be agonizing for him to spectate.
As it is though, it’s merely informative. The handful of minutes it’s taking is something which can let him observe his rival's and Vegeta's skill, and the way in which they differ.
Vegeta's fighting style reminds him more of his father’s memories, skill gained not from training but from experience. Constant one-sided battles–likely ones where he held back against his opponents out of amusement–refined into something more.
Goku’s is different. His rival has undergone trials by fire time and time again, always learning something no matter if the battle ended in victory or defeat. In addition to the thorough tutelage from several experienced masters of martial arts, one of whom was a god, it’s something impressive to behold.
It’s also why the man is winning, even though he’s currently just that smidgen weaker than Vegeta.
The two of them are farther now, light trails forming a helix in the sky as every intersection causes a BOOM! that feels like it rattles the world. As the fight continues, it begins to resemble Goku’s match against Tenshinhan during the 23rd world tournament. The strongest turtle school student is genuinely enjoying testing himself against an opponent he once struggled against. He’s even going so far as to compliment Vegeta, much to the bastard’s ire.
And much like the aforementioned match, the outcome is crystal clear.
Vegeta’s out of options. Though if Piccolo’s being honest, the Saiyan never had much to begin with. His entire repertoire starts and ends with his physical abilities, the only hint of an actual technique being a poor imitation of Krillin’s Destructo Disk.
The edge is still sharp, true. However, the fact that it only lightly cuts Goku’s palm when he catches it is proof that Vegeta isn’t as good at it as the monk.
And as he watches Goku crush the technique in his grasp, as a sound like several panes of glass crunching against each other echo through the air, Piccolo sees the exact moment his rival realizes that Vegeta has nothing left to give.
The shards scatter in the wind as Goku relaxes.
He was having a lot of fun with this fight, but he should probably end it here. He’s pretty sure Vegeta can’t do anything else, and dragging it out for his own fun at this point would be really disrespectful.
He breathes in. And out.
“Times 10.”
There’s no screaming, no buildup, nothing. One moment he’s almost equal with Vegeta, then in the next he outclasses him utterly.
Goku holds his power like that. Giving Vegeta time to understand the position he’s in.
And as he drops back down to times five, Vegeta takes a “step” back in the air.
“H- How?! ”
Goku shrugs, his head tilting to the side when he does so. “Intense training and awesome teachers. Though you should really see Piccolo.” He says, pointing in the general direction of his friend’s ki. “He’s even stronger than what I just did.” And he can’t wait to spar with him too once this is all over, though he doesn’t say that.
Vegeta’s fists clench as he moves to keep them both within his line of sight. There’s sweat beading on his forehead, as well as disgust and…recognition? “So you’re just trying to rub it in my face before one of you kills me?”
Ah. That’s why.
Goku shakes his head. “No Vegeta, I’m not like you.”
Vegeta doesn’t look like he believes him. Not entirely. “Then what’s the point of talking with me! If you intend to kill me, don’t think I'll just let you toy with me!” He yells, throwing one of his hands to the side.
All right then. Here goes. “I don’t want to kill you.”
That actually gets an amused scoff out of the Saiyan prince, though he doesn’t become any less wary. “Ha! Letting your soft heart mislead you again Kakarot?” (Thinking to himself, Goku realizes that he kinda gets this a lot from people. It’s weird though, letting things go tends to work out pretty well for him. It’s how he made most of his friends!
That, and it might be the only reason he’s still alive.)
“Mm, not really.” He says, answering Vegeta’s question.
His opponent’s eyes widen minutely as he holds his hand out at him. Vegeta almost looks like he’s about to bolt, but then he realizes what Goku’s going for.
“I want you to promise that if I let you go, you won’t hurt anyone else.”
Vegeta stares at him in silence. It’s not the most surprised he’s ever seen him, but it definitely ranks in the top 3.
That vanishes quickly though, gone like an afterimage. Something a lot more calculating takes its place instead.
Goku lets Vegeta take his time. Lets him stare at the handshake he’s offered him. After all, It’s just like he said to Piccolo.
It all comes down to what Vegeta chooses.
The offer is as genuine as it is ridiculous. Kakarot is really going to let him go, just like that, as long as he promises.
It’s stupid to the point of hilarity. Vegeta’s quite certain that he’s never met anyone as naive as this disgrace who went native.
But more than that though, it’s infuriating.
It’s not just because of the offer. Not because of the fact that, this time, Kakarot isn’t anywhere as beaten as he is.
No. It’s the way Kakarot wants him to agree to it.
A handshake. A handshake. As if this low-class nobody is a peer, an equal, to him!
To his Prince .
But it's more than that, isn't it? Because he's not an equal, is he?…He’s…he’s…
He’s stronger.
Damn it all, Kakarot is stronger!
He beat the Ginyu Force, he beat Frieza.
He beat him.
…
Above all else, Vegeta knows he can’t refuse. Even if he managed to get the third-class off guard by pretending to take the offer, even if he managed to kill him, chances are that he wouldn’t be able to get to cover and suppress his ki fast enough to avoid the Namekian.
However, there’s more than one option available to him.
“Fine. Fine. I’ll accept your deal Kakarot. ” Vegeta “concedes”, spitting the low-classe’s birth name like a slur.
He gets in front of the third-class, glaring directly at his eyes as he raises his right hand.
(Their hands clasp.)
He’s not satisfied with how this week on Namek has ended, but that’s fine.
(They shake once.)
He’ll undergo training surpassing whatever brought Kakarot to the heights that let him kill Frieza.
(Twice.)
With the power he now possesses, it will be child’s play to acquire the resources he needs in Frieza’s former empire. Either from his slaves or the PTO. Well, as long as he stays clear of King Cold that is. After all…
(Three times.)
Kakarot has no way to make sure he keeps his word, that naive-
Danger.
What’s-?! Kakarot. His expression, it’s changed .
Is he... disappointed?!
The third-class says nothing as he lets go of his hand, his own falling limply to his side. His eyes are still fixed on Kakarot’s though, a fury building within him at that damnable look.
His rage almost pushes him to say something, but he forgets exactly what as his skull is rocked by a kick to the bottom of his chin.
Goku watches Vegeta sail upwards, his leg coming back to resting position as the prince flips end over end while his body limply ascends higher and higher.
…He ain’t a hero, he knows that. Knows that a life of saving and justice and everything just ain’t for him.
But that doesn’t mean he’s ok with letting innocent people get hurt. With letting them get killed.
And that’s what’s going to happen if he lets Vegeta go. At least, that’s what Vegeta’d been planning.
…Damn it. Why couldn’t he just make the promise?! He didn’t, couldn’t, understand.
…At the very least, he can make this as painless as possible.
He cups his hands to his side, a pyre of red ki erupting from him as he prepares a times ten Kamehameha. Above him, Vegeta throws all of his limbs outwards. The scream that comes with it probably just as much for stopping his momentum as it is to help him focus.
Vegeta’s body starts to spark purple and- oh, he recognizes that. The Galick Gun, right?
If not his character, then Goku can at least respect the fact that his opponent has chosen to go down fighting. Except…Vegeta is smart enough to know he can’t win a clash between their two techniques. It wouldn’t be like him to simply settle for a loss, but he probably also knows he ain’t making it out of this battle.
There’s a reason he kicked Vegeta so high up, and it means he needs to move quickly .
With a sudden burst of speed, Goku becomes nothing more than a smear of red containing a tiny dot of blue. Mere moments after he does so, Vegeta angles himself straight down.
“GALICK GUN! FIRE!”
A virtual pillar of vibrant purple ki, the size of which mirrors the rock towers which naturally dot Namek, is set on a collision course for the planet’s surface. Goku just knows that if it hits, everyone on the planet dies.
But with the distance he put between Vegeta and Namek? Plus the speed given to him by the Kaioken?
He gets beneath it just in time.
“KAMEHAMEHA TIMES 10!”
The concentrated power of Master Roshi’s masterpiece, combined with King Kai’s signature technique, is just too much for Vegeta’s blast to handle.
There is no clash.
There is no struggle.
His Kamehameha outsizes and overpowers Vegeta’s Galick Gun, a gigantic turquoise wave of energy swallowing everything in its wake. He feels it wash over Vegeta’s ki, like a tidal wave against a single jagged rock.
And then, the prince of the Saiyans is gone.
…
Goku sighs, his hands slowly dropping to his sides as he lets the Kaioken go. For a while he doesn’t say anything, simply staring at the spot where the prince once was.
And then, he speaks.
“Goodbye. Vegeta.”
He turns, flying towards Piccolo.
It’s time to go home.