"Transform, Freeza! Cut the crap and show us your true form, right now!"
Those had been his words.
In the height of foolishness and arrogance, the Saiyan Prince, Vegeta, had goaded his nemesis into transforming further. And now, he was paying the price. Suspended, hoisted by his neck with the space tyrant's tail firmly wrapped around it, Vegeta could do nothing more than lie limp, all his will to fight vanished. Why? How could Freeza outclass him — him, the Prince of all Saiyans. How could it elude him so?
The legendary power of the Super Saiyan?
"I did warn you, Vegeta," Freeza replied dryly, taking his own precious time to savour this moment. Vegeta, for all his usefulness as a soldier, had been a thorn in his side for many years. So rebellious, never one to listen to orders; just like every Saiyan. "It's time for you to go the way of the rest of those filthy monkeys. You had your chance, Vegeta; remember, you brought this upon yourself."
With a sickening crunch, Freeza slammed his knee hard into Vegeta's back, causing the Saiyan prince to gush blood from the mouth, internal injury running rampant. With a smile on his face, Freeza flexed his muscular tail, casing Vegeta aside. The Saiyan skid across the cool grass of Planet Namek, before his body came to rest, dangling haphazardly over a lake. "That Namekian brat is dead. Your comrades stay back out of fear of my power. There's no help coming. How does it feel, Vegeta? To know true terror before you die."
Vegeta had no response; coughing up blood again, words failed him. For the first time in his life, he had no rebuttal against Freeza. He knew that Freeza was right.
"Where did all that bravado go, Vegeta?" Freeza asked, walking slowly over towards the wounded Saiyan, stretching his arms out to either side in a carefree shrug. "What happened to your ego? What was it you called yourself again? A Super Saiyan?" Bending towards Vegeta, he grabbed the Saiyan by the elastic breastplate of his armor, pulling him upwards.
Gohan made a move, as if fighting the impulse to prove Freeza wrong, and go help Vegeta.
This didn't go unnoticed by Freeza. Turning his head, he stared at the ragtag group of Krillin, Gohan, and Piccolo, and a smile crossed his face. "If any of you want to help him, feel free to jump in at any time. This has lost its fun, after all. But make no mistake. Vegeta has lost the will to fight. Once I've finished with him...I'll play with you three next."
"What's going on!?" Goku was floating within the rejuvenation chamber of Freeza's own spaceship, the liquid within the chamber mending the wounds he'd suffered from the fight with Captain Ginyu. "Vegeta's ki was huge only a few minutes ago...now it's shrinking fast! Damn it!" The Saiyan was lamenting his inability to see what was going on; the only thing that kept him from leaping directly out of the pod immediately was that Gohan, Krillin, and Piccolo remained safe.
BII! BII! BII! BII! BII!
Just as Goku was lamenting his own powerlessness, the machine began to trill loudly, the sound echoing throughout the entire ship. Hearing it through the liquid, Goku's eyes snapped open as he ripped the respirator out of his mouth. Destroying the machine with a quick burst of ki, Goku leapt out of the ship itself, ripping a large hole in the roof as he stood on the ceiling.
"This is...amazing..." Goku was stunned. After the healing he had received from the machine, his power had increased exponentially. So much so, that it felt as if his veryki was gushing out of his body like flowing water. "I feel so much power, it's almost serene. I'm actually starting to scare myself..." He leaned his head back, taking in the new power welling up inside his body. Was this part of being a Saiyan?
"I just wish I could actually stop to enjoy the moment..." Lamenting this fact, he could feel Vegeta's ki steadily shrinking. He had to move. "Hang on, everyone! I'm on my way!"
"What a shame," Freeza muttered, taking Vegeta's limp body and throwing him brutally into the nearest mountainside. "It seems all of the fight really has gone out of you, hasn't it? And for all that talk." Freeza stepped across the dirt, kneeling down and raising his hand over Vegeta's throat. It was time to finally rid the universe of this pestilence.
Before Freeza could levy the final blow, however, a flurry of movement could be detected close by; he stopped, his eyes wide as he looked over to see a figure clad in orange landing neatly near Vegeta's group of 'friends'.
"Dad...!"
"Goku!"
Everyone turned their heads to look at the new arrival, and even Freeza couldn't suppress his curiosity.
"Their expressions have changed." The tyrant noted, scowling slightly. "They must think this man is their saviour."
"So that gigantic power was you, Piccolo?" Goku queried, walking slowly across the field, sparing Piccolo a smile as he passed. "That means everyone wished you back with the Dragon Balls." He couldn't feel Tenshinhan, Yamcha, or Chaozu, which meant they were either still dead or wished back on Planet Earth. He figured it was more than likely the latter.
"Goku! I-Is that really you!?" Krillin gaped. The sheer waves of ki he could feel ebbing off of Goku were tremendous; they felt cool, and calming, like the gentle sloshing of water. "T-This is insane...it's hard to believe there was ever a time where he and I didn't have a gap in power. No...it's beyond a gap. It's a canyon at this point."
"All of you...you did well to hold off this monster for as long as you did," Goku muttered, bending down to ruffle his son's hair, while his eyes were on Freeza. "But all of you, get back. Leave this to me now."
At these words, Freeza's attention was fully distracted from Vegeta. A dying monkey was still a dying monkey; the arrogance that came out of this new arrival's mouth — to leave fighting the mighty Lord Freeza to him — was enough to make Freeza pay attention to Goku now.
With his eyes on the Frost Demon, Goku took steady steps forward towards Freeza, his onyx-eyes locked firmly on the tyrant. Every cell in his body seemed to be aching at this point, aching to attack. He knew what Freeza was responsible for. The death of every Namekian living on this planet, and if Kaiō's words were true, the death of thousands of other innocent races. He looked at the crumpled form next to Freeza, a defeated mess of a man.
Vegeta.
"So you must be Freeza," Goku said through clenched teeth. "You're a lot less impressive than I figured you'd be." Stepping closer, he was barely two feet from the tyrant now, and both of them were standing over the body of Vegeta. "Vegeta owes me a fight, you know. If you want your go at him, you're going to have to get in line."
"This man..." Freeza's narrow eyes widened, looking at Goku with surprise. "I can almost swear I've seen him before...somewhere..."
"...K...Kakarot...!" Vegeta, who had been fading into unconsciousness, snapped back into reality when Goku spoke. Violently coughing up blood, the Saiyan prince tried thickly to speak through his wounds.
"Did you say Kakarot?" Freeza glanced at the torn body of Vegeta, the name registering in the back of his head. "Impossible...that's a Saiyan name..." Taking another close look at Goku's face, Freeza remembered he'd seen it from somewhere before. "I knew it. He looks just like that Saiyan — that lone, rebellious fool — who tried to overthrow me right before I destroyed Planet Vegeta."
"This power..." Vegeta thought to himself, feeling the huge upsurge of ki from Goku's body, even now, while he was on the verge of unconsciousness. "Can this really be Kakarot? He's...he's completely shattered the ceiling of strength from before...it can't be...could it!? Could Kakarot be...the Super Saiyan!?"
Glancing over at Piccolo and then at Goku, Freeza let out a sigh. Between the Namekian and the Saiyan, perhaps he was beginning to lose his touch at genocide. "Be that as it may, I cannot allow a single Saiyan to live. What say you prevent any unnecessary suffering and kneel before me now?"
"That's always possible," Goku replied, his voice dripping with a bitter sarcasm.
This struck a chord with Freeza, launched himself at Goku without warning, raising his leg to slam into the Saiyan.
In equal suddenness, Goku's figure ducked to the ground, and propelled himself at Freeza by lifting off with a single hand, slamming his boot heel into the tyrant's face, sending him hurtling backwards. Freeza spiraled through the air before stopping merely two feet away, landing neatly on his feet. Rubbing his cheek, his face broke out into an eerie smile. Raising a finger at Goku, it began to sparkle with violet energy.
"...GOKU, DODGE!" Krillin shouted as he, Piccolo, and Gohan automatically ducked for cover.
"You insolent little pest!" Freeza released a flurry of thin beams of energy at Goku from his fingertip. Without missing a beat, the Saiyan raised his palm, and moving it a blinding speed that the others behind him couldn't perceive, deflected every single blast, sending Freeza's signature technique flying off randomly.
"...He...deflected them...?" The tyrant voiced his shock externally, his finger going limp from surprise. To add to his agitation, Vegeta had chosen that chance to speak, chuckling a raspy laugh.
"Y-You've done it now, Freeza..." The Saiyan prince wheezed. "I warn you...don't underestimate him...Kakarot...is the thing you fear more than anything else...the thing you've been running from all of your life...a Super Saiyan...!"
Freeza's eyes widened farther than ever before; it was clear the prospect of this hit him, and it hit hard. A Super Saiyan? Here? Now? He was able to laugh it off when Vegeta suggested he could be one, but this new Saiyan showed far more promise. And he had somehow survived the Emperor's purge of Planet Vegeta. Every heroic legend on every planet was like this...the lone survivor against the odds.
"A Super Saiyan...?" Goku repeated, looking at Vegeta, his expression quite clear he didn't understand what that meant.
"The Legendary Warrior..." Vegeta continued to prattle on. "...the strongest...in all of the universe..."
Freeza had enough. Raising his finger again, he pointed it directly at the wounded Saiyan prince, and without a word, released another energy blast.
Everything slowed. Goku was the only one who had seen the energy beam expelled from Freeza's fingers, and the only person who could do a thing to stop it. He didn't even know what made him move, he simply felt his body lift from its standing spot, before he skidded directly in front of Vegeta, kicking the Saiyan prince to the side. This was his mistake. In his blind rush to ensure Vegeta not be killed, he'd lost precious reaction time.
And then he felt a sharp pain in his chest.
"..C-Crap..." Goku coughed up blood as the realization struck him. His heart had been pierced.
"Dad!"
"Goku!"
The cries of shock resounded around him as time returned to normal in Goku's perception. He could feel the blood leaking out of his body, and his heart struggling to pump with the gaping hole inside it. Using what remained of his strength, he looked to the side to see Vegeta, crumpled, and unconscious, but alive, with a burning hole in the ground where he would have been — where the beam connected. Slumping to the ground, Goku clutched at his heart, as if this foolish motion would stop his inevitable death.
"It would apear my finger slipped," Freeza chuckled dryly. "And to believe I was almost shocked. A Super Saiyan, Vegeta said. And yet, 'Super' or not, a monkey with a hole in the heart is a dead monkey nonetheless."
Piccolo, Gohan, and Krillin rushed over towards the bleeding form of Goku, completely ignoring Freeza. The tyrant, in turn, paid them no mind. In fact, watching their fear and panic as their last vestige of hope drained out before their eyes was something he would savor until the final second.
"Goku! I-Isn't there something we can do!? Don't you have a senzu bean!?" Krillin's voice came out hoard, a panic overtaking him like he'd never quite felt before.
"N-No...!" Goku replied, hacking up blood droplets that decorated the blue-green grass. "I used them all...to save you guys..."
"Daddy!" The young Saiyan boy was clinging to his father with tears in his eyes. "You can't be dying! Not again! You just came back!"
"G-Gohan..." Blood dripping down his throat, Goku placed his hand on Gohan's head again, smiling. This was his sign of affection for the boy, and Gohan understood it, even if he couldn't fight back his tears. "You need...to run...all of you..."
"And go where?" Piccolo replied angrily. "Why, Goku? Why did you need to go out of your way to save him?" The Namekian jerked his head angrily at the unconscious form of Vegeta. "He was dead on his feet, and you were our last hope. We're finished because of your foolish sentimentality! Not only Krillin and myself — you've doomed your own son now, Goku!"
"I don't...I don't know..." was Goku's haggard reply. "My body just moved...on it's own. I didn't...have any control of it..." He coould feel his energy beginning to leave him; having regained so much while he was healed, his death was just that much slower. But he couldn't die yet. Piccolo was right. He'd doomed them all with his foolishness. And he couldn't die without one final move to help the situation.
"K-Krillin...bring me...Vegeta..." Goku ordered. If Krillin was confused by the request, he didn't show it in the slightest, and dragged the unconscious body of Vegeta towards Goku.
"Here he is," Krillin said lamely. "Why did you want me to bring him? Shouldn't you spend these last few seconds with Gohan?"
Goku didn't reply. He had to focus. Raising his hand, he gripped Vegeta's shoulder. With only concentration on his mind, Goku reached into his body, searching for the well ofki that he held deep within his body. A bright white aura flared up around him, warmth that he could barely feel as the life faded from his body, and with great effort, transferred every last bit of his energy to Vegeta. With a smile, Goku felt his life fade with the energy, and he moved no more.
There was a few seconds of silence.
"It looks like that's it, then," Freeza finally made himself known again, his dark lips curled into a hellish smile. "It appears the Super Saiyan really was nothing more than a myth. For all of Vegeta's talk, there was nothing to back it up. Now...I believe I made a promise to play with you three once the trash was taken care of?"
The trio tensed; whatever Goku had been planning with Vegeta hadn't seemed to work. And with both of them out of commission, Gohan, Krillin, and Piccolo were left alone to face Freeza on the desolated Planet Namek.
There was a sharp intake of breath at their feet; all four of the survivors looked down at the stirring form of Vegeta. Repeated gasps were followed by the twitching of fingers as Vegeta game to realize that his body, previously close to death, was revitalized. This feeling; it wasn't a healing proper. It felt like a transfer of energy, but that was more than enough to give him the strength to get to his feet again.
"Impossible!" Freeza thought, surprise overtaking him once again. "This is madness! They pop up like ants!"
"I'm...alive...!" Vegeta felt over his body, to make sure it wasn't a dream. The very least thing he remembered was Freeza firing a Death Beam at him...and then Kakarot moved to deflect the blast...Kakarot... "Where's Kakarot!?" Vegeta looked around wildly. "Attempt to save me, will you!?" Irritation was rising in him that blocked the fear he'd felt from Freeza earlier. Remarkable how Vegeta could change at the drop of a hat with a little bit of power.
"If you're looking for Goku," Piccolo pointed down at the ground, where Goku's lifeless body lay peacefully. "He's the reason you're even still alive. Freeza tried to kill you, and, for reasons I can't even explain, Goku went out of his way to save your life. In doing so, he took Freeza's attack full on...and was mortally wounded. And yet before he died, he gave you the last of his energy."
"Kakarot...did...what...?" Vegeta was unable to find the words to represent his shock and indignation. Kakarot, that low-class, common warrior, was lying here, dead at his feet, because sacrificed his life to save him, Vegeta, in whose veins ran the noble blood of the Saiyan royal family. When the thought finally hit the Saiyan prince, when it finally settled in his mind, he could feel his very pride shatter.
"You stupid, low class, worthless clown!" Vegeta raged, yelling in the direction of Goku's fallen corpse, shocking everyone in the vicinity, even Freeza, who had never quite seen Vegeta break down in this manner before. "I...I was so close...I could feel it...and you were there. You surpassed me and then threw it away for me!" Vegeta couldn't see it, but his hair, ebony-black, was flickering, and beginning to glow bright. "Not only is my pride tarnished by your rescue, but you deny me the honor of reclaiming what dignity I had by defeating you with my own hands!"
The Saiyan prince then rounded on Freeza, his eyes alight with a bright fury, as, for the second time in his life, tears poured from Vegeta's face that began to rise with a vibrant ki. Small pebbles began to float around Vegeta, and the sky began to darken under the influence of his rising ki. "You've taken everything from me since I was a child. My dignity, my will and my soul! But now...now you take this, of all things from me?! You had no right...no right to take this from me! You have broken my body, crushed my spirit and brought me to my knees. But stealing the honour of killing Kakarot...!" The ground began to crack and shudder under Vegeta's increased volume of ki; his very body trembled, even as he verbally expressed the rage he felt. "No...I cannot allow this to stand!" And then the Saiyan's rage snapped completely; in a flurry of power, a vibrant, golden light surrounded Vegeta, spiraling upwards into the air as a giant funnel of ki. His black tresses were lit ablaze as they changed from black to whie-gold, his eyes from onyx to emerald, and the Saiyan prince cast a cold glare at the tyrannical emperor.
Short, quick gasps escaped Freeza's throat. " No! This doesn't make any sense! Saiyans turn into giant apes, not...not this! What are you?!"
Ignoring Freeza's terrified query, Vegeta's emerald eyes fixated on Gohan, Piccolo, and Krillin. "You three. Take Kakarrot's body and get out of here. Now! I can't have the lot of you getting in my way."
"Are you insane?!" Krillin protested. "We may not be on the best of terms, but right now, I wouldn't let my worst enemy fight Freeza alone! You could barely take him just a few minu-!" Krillin was hushed, however, by Piccolo's hand clasping over the dwarf's mouth.
"As much as it pains me to say this, I think we'll need to take Vegeta's suggestion and go," Piccolo replied warily. His black eyes analyzed Vegeta hastily, and something about him seemed...different. Beyond just the drastic makeover, Piccolo knew that Vegeta's patience wasn't to be trifled with right now. He wasn't pleased with Vegeta obtaining such a massive increase in power, but for now, he was the one hope they had left.
"You should listen to your Namekian friend," Vegeta sneered, turning away from the trio to focus on Freeza.
Piccolo bent down, hoisting Goku's lifeless body over his shoulder. "You two. Come on. Now!" Igniting in a white flame of ki, Piccolo took off into the air.
Without any further protest, Gohan and Krillin followed, tearing through the air after Piccolo.
"Good. It's about time the audience members left the stadium," Vegeta cracked his knuckles, taking a step forward towards Freeza. Immersed in his golden light, he was wearing a very self-satisfying smirk on his face as he advanced slowly onto Freeza. "What's the matter, Freeza? Nothing clever to say anymore?"
Growling, Freeza took a step back from the steadily advancing Saiyan prince. He clenched his hand at his side, forming a large violet energy sphere. "Hah!" With a battle cry, Freeza shot the sphere towards Vegeta, who lazily raised a hand and batted the ball of heated plasma away without missing a step. Desperation, fueled by a desire to keep this strange, frightening apparition as far away from him as possible, caused Freeza to release multiple energy spheres from both of his hands at Vegeta. The resulting explosions hid the Saiyan's form in a mass of cloud and smoke.
Waiting for the smoke to clear, Freeza hoped in the back of his head that Vegeta had been blown into a thousand pieces. His hopes were dashed, however, when the Saiyan prince stepped slowly through the smoke, unwounded and assuredly alive. The tyrant inched back, fear overcoming him as he stared into Vegeta's emerald eyes; the stony stare, filled with hatred. It was these eyes, more than anything, that ignited the fear within Freeza, and he hated it.
Vegeta vanished without a trace, rematerializing in front of Freeza, poised to strike. He slammed his fist hard into Freeza's stomach; writing in pain, the space tyrant sprayed purple ichor from his mouth.
Steeling his face in fury, Freeza thrust his fists towards Vegeta. Such an action, however, proved pointless, as Vegeta duck and wove around Freeza's attempts at striking him, and reciprocated with a sharp left hook to Freeza's face.
With irritation growing, Freeza struck back, but it was to no avail. Vegeta sidestepped Freeza's next attempt at landing a blow, thrusting his right knee into the alien's stomach, and then spinning around to land a sharp roundhouse kick to the side of Freeza's head, the force of the blow sending him skidding backwards along the Namekian soil.
For the first time in his life, Freeza was at a loss for words. In only a few short moments, the tables had entirely turned, and he was being overwhelmed. And to make matters worse, it was a common Saiyan — a low-bred, filthy monkey — that was proving himself to be be his better! Unable to form a coherent sentence, the space emperor let out a violent cry of rage and leapt at Vegeta, raising his right leg up in a furious snap kick towards Vegeta. However, the moment his kick would have connected, Vegeta simply vanished again.
"Where!? Where did you go!?" Freeza shouted, all composure utterly lost. His question was answered, however, when the tap of a foot landing on the ground made it quite clear where Vegeta had landed. Utterly stunned, Freeza turned to see Vegeta standing next to him, still draped in golden light, wearing a smirk the tyrant found insufferable. "No! This is pure madness! I cannot have been outsped by a lowly simian freak!"
"Is something the matter, Freeza?" Vegeta asked, without turning to face him. Chuckling, he continued, "I have to admit, I'm quite surprised myself. When I use a little bit of my full speed, you can't keep up?" Freeza's face contorted in rage, but it didn't deter Vegeta. In fact, it gave him a feeling of dark satisfaction. "Is that fear I see in your eyes, Freeza?" Vegeta raised a hand towards Freeza, a cold smirk on his face as a wave of pressure overwhelmed the Frost Demon, sending him hurtling back from a powerful kiai.
Pushed out over the emerald oceans of Namek, Freeza fought off the pressure of invisible ki, but his reactions were far too slow. Vegeta, shooting forward like a sparkling golden meteor, and a gloved fist connected with his face. Vegeta quickly responded with a sharp front kick to abdomen, winding the tyrant and causing him to clutch at his stomach in pain. With a crushing double-axe handle connecting towards the tyrant's purple cranium, he was sent spiraling downward, crashing through the waters and deep into the depths.
Vegeta descended slowly, floating carelessly above the water. Silently, he waited for the tyrant to emerge, and his patience was rewarded within a few moments. The ocean seemed to explode, the sea erupted upwards, the water immersing Vegeta entirely. Freeza rose up into the air to match Vegeta's level as the water sloshed violently back into the ocean, drenching the two combatants once more.
Freeza's face was wrenched in an expression of pure fury, his fists clenched at his sides. Shaking in rage, he spat at Vegeta, "This is madness! What are you!? Just what in the hell are you!?"
Vegeta took a moment to bask in the fear; for his entire live, he'd spent it living in fear of Freeza, walking on tenterhooks for the sake of keeping himself alive. He'd lived his entire life doing the dirty work of the Galactic Freeza Army, but now was his chance to finally return the favor to Freeza over a hundredfold. Glaring, stone-cold, at Freeza, Vegeta didn't give him the courtesy of an answer.
"ANSWER ME, DAMMIT!"
Vegeta smiled darkly, his aura flaring with like a violent golden blaze. "You don't know, Freeza? I am the Legend you feared. The anger of a million souls you sent to Hell. And the embodiment of my pride, crying out for the blood of those who tarnished it!" The Saiyan ground his teeth hard, before thrusting his arms down at either size, his aura exploding. With the sheer force of his power, his aura forced the ocean apart once more, splitting the sea as it rose on either side of him. "I AM THE LEGENDARY SUPER SAIYAN!"
Stunned, Freeza was rendered temporarily silent once more, but unlike before, he was quickly regaining his composure. Smirking in return, he tried to steady his own breath. "So there was some truth to that ridiculous old 'Super Saiyan' legend...I never believed it and yet here one is. And to think you, Vegeta, would be the one to finally realize your delusions."
Remaining silent, Vegeta allowed Freeza to vent.
"D-Damn him! Damn him to Hell!" Freeza shouted his rage towards the heavens, roaring in fury. "This is impossible! No...this is a NIGHTMARE! I — the mighty Lord Freeza — to be suffering this level of sheer humiliation! This is impossible! It must be a dream! That's it! I'll wake up, and I'll be invincible! I will be FREEZA!"
"It's over, Freeza!" Vegeta shouted, channeling all of his frustration and anger at the tyrant into his words. "I'm going to send you right to Hell!" Without warning, the Saiyan struck Freeza with snap kick directly to the chin, having closed the distance between them in the mere seconds it took Freeza to blink and notice Vegeta had vanished. Stunned from the blow, his head ringing, Freeza was unable to see the down-angled elbow strike that slammed into the base of his neck, sending him spiraling for a second time towards the depths.
But Freeza wasn't going to give up so easily — no, it was his tenacious attitude that had secured his status as the Emperor of the Universe just as much as his sheer power. Forcing himself to a stop, the tyrant pulled his hand back, extending the forefinger and coating it in violent ki. He thrust it forward, releasing a thin beam of ki in a straight line towards Vegeta.
Effortlessly, Vegeta dodged the beam, moving to the side faster than Freeza could track; the blast of thin, superheated plasma shot directly past him harmlessly.
"He...he dodged it!?" Freeza hissed in ever rising fury. "No one ever dodges that!" He extended his index finger for a second time, releasing a volley of thin beams of ki.
Effortlessly, Vegeta dodged every single blast of ki — with the exception of one. Raising a hand, Vegeta caught it, relishing the stunned and defeated expression on Vegeta's face as the man compressed the energy in his palm before throwing it back at Freeza in the form of a purple sphere. The sphere traveled at blinding speeds, tearing through the air before impacting with Freeza's stomach like a bullet. Being made of his own ki, it didn't kill him, but it racked his abdomen with pain; the internal damage was tremendous.
"How does it feel, Freeza!?" Vegeta called out, closing the distance between them within seconds, unleashing a relentless punishment in the form of physical blows to the stomach and jaw, before finishing his crushing combo with a devastating kick, the side of his foot connecting with Freeza's head from an arc, sending the tyrant hurtling across the sea, creating an arc of water on both sides as he flew.
"GUUUUUUUUURAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGH!" From Freeza's throat escaped a furious shout of uncontrolled rage. Immersing himself in a bright purple aura, the Frost Demon broke his flight, and shot upwards into the Namekian sky above Vegeta, his face contorted in wrath. "You Saiyans have always been a haughty, arrogant bunch! If you think the realization of your simple little legend will bring me, Lord Freeza, to my knees then you are sadly mistaken!" Thrusting his hand forward, it crackled with virulent sparks of lavender coloured ki. "YOU HONESTLY THOUGHT YOU WERE A MATCH FOR ME!? I'LL DESTROY YOU, VEGETA, ALONG WITH THIS ENTIRE PATHETIC PLANET!"
"Tch...!" Vegeta knew what this meant; coming from Freeza, an explosion on a planetary scale was imminent. His worst fears were confirmed only a moment later; a sphere of white covered in vibrant pink highlights was formed, at first the size of one of Namek's Dragon Balls, but then it enlarged itself until it was larger than either Freeza or Vegeta.
"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" With a cry, Freeza let the sphere loose, sending it hurtling down towards Vegeta. Breathing heavily, he watched the oceans begin to roar as the sphere descended. He could survive in the vacuum of space; even if Vegeta managed to survive the explosion of the planet, the oxygen deprivation in the vacuum of space would be his end. This filled him with satisfaction, allowing him to relish in his victory over the so-called 'Super Saiyan'.
Vegeta, however, floated calm, rooted to the spot, even as the oceans churned below him as if fearful from the destructive force of the incoming sphere. He could sense it; an impact from this blast onto the core would detonate it instantly. There would be no pause, no wait, and no time for regrets. But something snapped in him; rather than devolve into the kind of hopelessness from earlier, Vegeta was aching to prove his superiority. With a grin on his face that could only come with a man assured of his own power, Vegeta sped up towards the sphere of energy, slamming his knee into the sphere dead center.
Violent sparks of energy crackled at the point of contact, and Vegeta stopped the descent of the sphere, and a spectacular light show of gold and violet snapped and sputtered in the sky like lightning.
"N-No...!" Freeza's satisfied feeling was immediately broken at the sight of Vegeta's display of power. But this was nothing compared to what came next.
With a mighty shout, Vegeta pushed the sphere away from his body and upwards into the air — directly at Freeza himself.
Within seconds, violet light filled Freeza's vision, the sphere he himself had created heading directly towards him. Shouting wildly, the space tyrant thrust his hand towards the energy sphere, but it was to no avail. His own ki combined with Vegeta's raw strength gave the sphere more than enough force to begin pushing him back. "T-This...is...nothing...!" Freeza cried out in denial as the sphere began to overwhelm him. Within moments, the force of his own attack had lifted him high into the air, and soon, out of the planet's atmosphere.
Then, an explosion roared above the planet as a violent lavender-hued flash of light filled the green sky with its light, nearly blinded Vegeta as he kept his eyes locked on where Freeza had been thrust. And yet he remained rooted. "It's impossible for an attack of that level to have killed that bastard." the Saiyan prince thought to himself, watching the explosion fade and peter out. "I knew he was hiding something; at the very instant of the explosion, he spiked his power. Scuttling around, just like a rat..."
It took several minutes for Freeza to return to the planet, immersed in a vibrant aura as he descended. Gritting his teeth, he shouted in rage. "No! I will not be made a fool of in this manner! I absolutely refuse to be defeated by lowbrow Saiyan filth!"
"How does despair taste, Freeza?" Vegeta asked, a smirk on his face. "The feeling of utter hopelessness you've inflicted on so many others! Ingrain it into your skull!" Flickering forward, the golden-wreathed Saiyan landed a right hook with crushing power into Freeza's jaw, before landing a damaging blow to the Frost Demon's chest that caused him to wheeze in pain.
"Impossible...even with 50% of my own power in usage, I can't get the better of a simple Saiyan!?" Freeza thought wildly, only to have his own thoughts interrupted when Vegeta struck him in the face with the heel of his own palm, sending him hurtling backwards. Forcing himself to a halt, Freeza let out a mad shout of rage.
"This is enough! If you wish to play these games, Vegeta, I will show you 100% percent of my full power!" He shouted, his expression wild. "You think you know despair? I will teach it to you with my own two hands!"
"That sounds like a bluff to me, Freeza," Vegeta replied smugly, "but I will call your bluff. I'll give you a minute; go on, show me the best the 'Emperor of the Universe' can do."
"Arrogant like a Saiyan, Vegeta..." Freeza began to focus, reaching for that final well of ki deep within his body. "But I'll shut that mouth of yours! Prepare for the Great Silence!" Within moments, the power surge was made known; Vegeta could feel Freeza's ki rising, and it was rising fast. His thin, albeit toned frame, was beginning to change; his muscle mass was increasing, engorging beyond belief.
"That's it, Freeza!" Vegeta thought to himself. "Exhaust every last ounce of your power."
"Vegeta! Can you hear me!?"
For the first time since his transformation, Vegeta was distracted from his mission. "A voice...who are you!?"
"I am the North Kaiō, one of the Lords that governs the galaxy you're in! But this isn't the time for introductions!" North Kaiō's voice sounded, loud and clear, in Vegeta's head. "I've been watching Namek since Goku arrived and I have to say what you're doing is foolishness! Please, you mustn't let Freeza reach his maximum capacity! Kill him now, while he's vulnerable!"
"Are you suggesting that I, Vegeta, cower in the face of this bastard now that I've finally awakened the power that has long since belonged to me!?" Vegeta's immediate response was one of anger and fury. "This is how it has to be. I will not be satisfied with killing Freeza at anything less than his full strength! I want him to suffer, to suffer in Hell for eternity with the thought that he died at the hands of a Saiyan!"
"This isn't about you, Vegeta!" North Kaiō was pleading at this point, begging the furious Saiyan prince to see reason. "The entire universe is worth more than your grudge!"
"BE QUIET!" Vegeta was shouting now, his rage peaking. "How could you, a God who rests on high, know a single thing about what a grudge means to someone who has held onto it for his whole life? My grudge has been the only thing keeping me moving — my hatred for this man who took everything from me! My kingdom, my pride, my honour! I lived my entire life under his thumb, walking on tenterhooks to ensure I survived! Everything for the chance to kill him and regain my own sense of self worth!" His own power began to rise with his anger, the golden aura that had been licking at his body like gentle flames was now raging out of control. "This tale of mockery ends today! I will not let him escape from me alive!"
North Kaiō was unable to form the words for a coherent response. Vegeta had left him dumbfounded, and all he could do back on his own planet was stand in his spot, silently.
"85%..." Freeza strained, his muscles enlarging further. "90%..."
"That's it, Freeza. Show me everything you've got."
"Heh..." The tyrant chuckled, as his power began to reach its peak. With a mighty shout, ki exploded around Freeza's body, a circular aura of purple energy spiraling around his form. With a light pant, Freeza struck a grin. "Here it is, Vegeta. My full power; 100% of my magnificent strength." Without warning, he thrust both hands forward, releasing a powerful kiai from his palms. The invisible force hit Vegeta square, forcing the Saiyan prince back a considerable degree. Taking no time to rest, Vegeta felt a fist connect with his stomach, the first successful blow Freeza had landed since the fight began. Surprised and winded, Vegeta staggered back in the air.
"There! How was that, 'Super Saiyan'?" Freeza inquired, a wide smirk on his face. "Consider that a warm-up for my final blow."
"Oh, is that what it was?" Vegeta replied, recovering from the blow quickly. "That's good, you had me worried; I thought that was the best you had."
"Urk...!" Freeza's face worked as he tried to repress his fury. Within seconds, both combatants moved forward, clashing with perfect precision. Their hands locked into each other, and it became a struggle for superiority. Vegeta and Freeza began to make an attempt to push the other in the opposite direction, and take command of the battle. It was Freeza however, who managed to take the advantage, twisting Vegeta over in the air, flipping him upside down before crashing his knee into the Saiyan's stomach. In response, Vegeta slammed his knee into Freeza's jaw, breaking their stalemate. The two began a furious exchange of physical blows, matching each other punch and kick; for every blow Freeza landed, Vegeta would connect with as well. When a parry was made, the other would be sure to respond in kind.
It appeared almost as if the two were nearly equal.
As Freeza closed in, Vegeta placed both hands in front of him; they connected with Freeza's chest the moment the tyrant got too close. In seconds, he was enveloped in a vibrant blast of golden energy that forced him well in the opposite direction. It was only when he stopped himself from flying backwards did he see Vegeta had caught up to him. Taking the surprise to his own advantage, the Saiyan prince launched a karate chop directly onto Freeza's head, stunning him enough to slam into him with an elbow strike.
In return, Freeza struck Vegeta in the chin with his knee, following up with a right kick to the Saiyan's side. Vegeta spun backwards, landing neatly onto a cliffside. Without batting an eye, he pushed off from it, destroying it with the sheer force of his strength. Propelling himself forward, he extended his left leg for a kick directly to Freeza's face; Freeza, however, tilted his head, allowing the kick to miss. Skidding to a half, Vegeta swung his right leg towards Freeza's neck, connecting with a pressing force that sent the tyrant tumbling across the surface of the planet.
Hot on pursuit, Vegeta grabbed Freeza by his tail, swinging him around before he crashed him down onto the dirt once more. The tyrant's body rocked with pain, but he forced himself to his feet, throwing a straight punch at Vegeta. The Super Saiyan Prince ducked, and the fist shot over his head. He then flipped backwards, the tip of his toe connecting with Freeza's chin, forcing him to face upwards. Landing neatly on his feet, Vegeta made the leap towards Freeza again, his knuckles pressing hard into Freeza's cheek, forcing him to crash along the ground again.
Standing up, Freeza was beginning to pant and wheeze. His body was covered in dirt and blood, and it ached with a pain he'd never felt before in any fight. His chest heaving, the tyrant tried to catch his breath, clutching at the stitch in his chest.
"It seems your power is running dry, Freeza," Vegeta remarked, walking slowly towards the tyrant again. Immersed in his golden aura, he was truly a spectacle of terror to Freeza now. In the deepest recesses of his mind, the Emperor was cursing himself, cursing his own powerlessness. "But you see...we Saiyans don't have our limits. Our powers continue to rise the longer we fight; that is the power of a Super Saiyan!"
"My limit!? Don't speak like you're privy to my powers, Saiyan!" Freeza barked back, his throat hoarse.
"And yet I know; I can feel your energy dropping faster than your will to fight," Vegeta walked unfazed by Freeza's mad shouts. "You know it too, don't you? That you're finished." Stopping dead, he cupped the back of his palm into the open palm of his other hand, and began to charge a large amount of ki. The energy erupted around his body before localizing around the hands he raised. In colouration, it was a vibrant purple.
"Impossible! You filthy simian bastard! I am Lord Freeza! None surpass me! No one even comes close!" Freeza raved like a madman, before forming a sphere of ki his palms. "Etch this into your skull: I am Emperor of the Universe! The likes of you are only fit to grovel at my feet! Or better still, to die in disgrace at the hands of your master!" Thrusting his hand forward, Freeza released a huge volume of purple ki in the form of a large beam towards Vegeta; the energy blast ripped up the ground as it traveled, baring down like a bulldozer.
"Here's a farewell present, Freeza! GARLIC CANNON!" Vegeta shouted at the top of his lungs, placing both hands in front of him, the Saiyan released a blast of immensely powerful ki, his own patented Garlic Cannon. The two energy beams began to collide, meshing with one another. Light flashed as sparkles flew; strings of energy shot off and cut into the ground, ripping it up and shredding rock to pieces. "Freeza! Remember this as you rot in Hell! I am the King of all Saiyans!" With one final push, he expelled as much of his energy as he could into the blast, overwhelming Freeza's energy beam entirely before the Frost Demon was enveloped by a final finishing move of unrestrained Super Saiyan energy. Already weakened from the physical fight, he was unable to force the energy wave back.
"I-Impossible...! I...I am...the strongest...in the Univ..." With the full force of Vegeta's energy unleashed, Freeza was quickly disintegrated, eradicated by the Saiyan prince's wrath. As the explosion died down, Vegeta's hands came to rest at his side. The realization finally hit him; he, Vegeta, had come into his own, and finally rid the Universe of the likes of Freeza.
The only question that remained was what he would do next. Looking around the empty planet Namek, Vegeta knew what he needed to do — and for a second couldn't even believe he doubted it. "That bastard Kakarot was able to come back to life before. I would be willing to bet that the Earthlings will find a way to revive him a second time. I think I'll pay a visit to Earth next. And I'll finally settle the score with Kakarot — as a Super Saiyan."
A/N: What's this!? A new story out in a month but it ISN'T the Erased Chronicles? Okay, first, let me apologize. At the time of this upload, I know a lot of you are hankering to see Taopaipai and #18 go at it in the Tenkaichi Budōkai ring and trust me, I am itching to write it! But, if you've been following my profile since I first made this account, then you know I've been itching to write this one-shot even more! Let's be honest. I love Goku. We all love Goku to a degree. But I am quite sick of seeing Goku always getting the limelight. So I want you all to consider this my second Resurrection 'F' tie in story. Where VEGETA, not GOKU, becomes a Super Saiyan and destroys Freeza. I wanted to do this for so long, but at the same time, I am nervous. I really hope I did the characters justice.
There isn't much to explain in this one; I tried to keep the original weight and tone of the original fight from the series, without taking too much from it. A few savvy people will notice I tried my hardest to actually give Vegeta a semi-organized method of fighting. Some of the kicks and strikes he pulls off are actual martial arts techniques. I didn't want him to simply flail wildly.
One final thing since I bet people will question it; as Freeza never managed to connect his sphere to Namek and blow it up, there was no need to rush the use of the Dragon Balls. More than likely, the Earthlings will attempt to fix the damage done to Namek when they arrive back to Earth and use Earth's Dragon Balls, or rather, Kaiō will orchestrate it all especially now that he knows Vegeta is on his way to Earth.
Anyway,I don't have much else to address. I hope you all enjoy the chapter! Also, let's thank my friend Demod20 for proofreading this as he always does!