Yamcha went sprawling to the ground. He looked up in time to see Vegeta's scouter hit him in the face.
"Put that on." Vegeta instructed. "It will show you how much stronger I am."
Yamcha warily did just that. He put it on his head and gasped at what he saw. "Hey guys... I'm not sure what these numbers mean, but his number is higher than all of us put together."
"Take that thing off and help us fight him." Tien ordered. "He's just trying to scare you."
"Am I? You are aware that I'm toying with you right?"
-----------------------
Frieza stood still as he watched the numbers on his scouter. Vegeta was obviously fighting the stragglers, but was not finishing them.
'He must be trying to stay away from the fight.'
The self appointed Ruler of the Universe turned his attention to the Saiyan walking out of the ship. Raditz was wearing his armor, which wouldn't help, and looked like he actually believed he could win. Frieza smiled.
"Shall we begin?" He asked the Saiyan.
"If you're ready, so am I"
"Then let us get started."
Raditz powered up to his max strength. He could feel much more energy than he was used to. And his scouter indicated that Frieza was only at 75,000. At least he was pretending to play by the rules.
Frieza waited patiently for Raditz to attack. He was not disappointed. Raditz let loose a loud scream and brought both hands forward. He unleashed an enormous beam that heated the air around it. Frieza took the attack head on. Raditz continued his assault for three minutes. When the smoke cleared, Frieza was smiling. His body looked as if it hadn't been touched.
"How is that possible?"
"Don't give up Raditz. Try again."
Frieza's mocking laughter enraged Raditz. The Saiyan warrior launched himself at his opponent, leaving an indented trail behind. He kicked Frieza in the side of the head. Frieza flew sideways and righted himself.
"It looks like you've started." He mocked as he flew at Raditz.
Raditz dodged the punch and threw one of his own. Frieza blocked and kicked. Raditz flew back a few feet and retaliated with a set of kicks. Frieza took all three. The evil tyrant grabbed Raditz's foot with his tail and threw him at the ground. He followed up with a two punch combo and a kick to the ribs. Raditz doubled over as the foot dug into him. Frieza's tail wrapped around his neck and he froze.
Images of wire coiled around his neck played before his eyes. He felt them cut into his jugular, felt the blood drain from his body. And then it was over. He was back outside in the dirt. Only now he was being choked to death. He gathered energy into his hands and grabbed the tail around his neck. He fired the energy through the tail at full force. Frieza recoiled in shock as his tail released. He hadn't expected the surge of energy to feel the way it did. He expected a tingle maybe, but he didn't expect pain. He wanted more.
Raditz rose to his feet and smiled. "Weren't expecting that one, were you Frieza?"
"I admit it was surprising. Can you do it again?"
Raditz charged energy into his hands and brought one to each side, about chest level. He let out a cry of rage and pointed them foreward. An orange beam flew at Frieza and pushed him back. Frieza, hands outstretched, struggled to push the beam back. He surged power to the surface and began pushing his own beam back. Raditz's scouter beeped as Frieza pushed his power to the surface. He frowned as he realized that this was the end of the fight. Frieza was at full power now.
Desperate to do as much damage as possible, Raditz pushed every ounce of energy he had into the beam. Frieza kept the beam at bay for a few seconds, then in a burst of power he pushed it back. The two attacks washed over Raditz. Frieza walked calmly over to his victim.
"I believe you are outmatched." He laughed as Raditz struggled to rise.
"And you broke the agreement. Although I can't say I'm surprised."
"I'm hurt... I broke nothing, except maybe your pride."
"A Saiyan's pride can not be broken. And you promised not to use more than 75 of your power."
"And I haven't."
Raditz's head shot up. He stared into Frieza's eyes. He may have been evil, but he was sincere. A thought that scared Raditz more than anything else in the universe.
"I am using much less than 75. If I were to exceed 50 your scouter would explode."
Raditz suddenly wished he knew how high the power readings went. The fight truly was over. But there was nothing that Frieza could do to make him reveal the location of the Dragonball.
"Don't look so down, you still have a chance." Frieza laughed as he pushed his foot down on the Saiyan's back.
Raditz sucumbed under the pressure. He was beaten he knew, but Frieza would not kill him yet. He would suffer until Frieza realized he wouldn't give up the location of the Dragonball... and then he would suffer for being stubborn.
-----------------------
Gohan was dreaming. It was a dream of his father and his kidnapper fighting together against a single foe. But there was someone else, someone oddly familiar. That person was hurting Goku and helping Raditz at the same time. The little boy turned in the pod and curled up to the large orb next to him.
----------------------
Vegeta looked around at the beaten warriors. They were no match for him, and yet he still hadn't killed them. He knew that Frieza had beaten Raditz, the scouter painfully pointed out every surge of power. He looked right at Goku.
"For some reason I don't feel like killing you. You are lucky. If you leave the planet now, while everyone's distracted by the fight, you will be unnoticed."
"Not... without... my son..." Each breath was painful.
"I told you before that your son is not here. I will make sure that Frieza does not kill him when Raditz reveals the location."
Goku thought for a moment. He knew he couldn't beat this foe, but he couldn't leave without a destination either.
"I won't leave... without my son. I'll die first."
"I understand."
Vegeta extended his hand. Goku smiled as he extended his own. The two hands were an inch apart when Vegeta's turned. It pointed at Goku's head and a blast launched from it. Everyone froze as Goku's lifeless body fell back to the ground. Vegeta turned to Krillin.
"You seem to be the brains of this group. I suggest you leave now... unless you want to end up like Kakarot."
"R-Right."
The four survivors staggered back toward their ship, Goku's body in tow.
-----------------------
"Come now Raditz, don't give up." Frieza mocked.
The Saiyan warrior was at a loss. He couldn't win, but he couldn't die either. He would suffer beating after beating forever. He tried to look up at Frieza but he was too weak. The now night sky was full of stars. Raditz thought of the countless times he had fought on other worlds at night. With the moon he had a distinct advantage over his enemies.
'That's it!' He thought. "If there is a moon, then I can win.'
He desperately searched the night sky for the familiar glow. Frieza smiled and pushed his foot down harder. Raditz grunted in pain but did not stop his search. He was about to give up when he spotted a faint light on the horizon. The moon could not be seen from his location. He would have to fly if he had any hope of survival.
"Frieza, I do not think I can beat you..."
"Oh?" Frieza's foot lessened it's pressure.
"I," Raditz pushed himself to his feet in one quick motion. "know I can!"
The Saiyan launched himself into the air and flew to the light.
"So now I chase the monkey..." Frieza followed lazily.
----------------------
Vegeta stared into the distance. Raditz was on his way, and Frieza followed closely. Raditz seemed to actually believe that Vegeta would help him.
"That moron, I won't die today." His scouter beeped as Raditz's power began rising. "How?" Vegeta turned slowly and gasped. "The moon! He's going to transform. He might actually win."
Vegeta felt his own transformation begin. His face elongated, his muscles bulged. Fur sprouted across his body. A few seconds later he turned. Two giant apes stared at each other. A slow clap echoed from behind Raditz. He turned and Vegeta looked around him.
"I'm impressed." Frieza started. "Impressed that your tiny brain was able to think of transforming."
"Oh really?" Raditz's voice was deeper now. "I wouldn't laugh if I were you."
"And that's why your not me. I know that you are stronger than me now. But I am still holding back."
"What?" Vegeta was surprised by the news.
"I knew about the moon tonight; that's why I chose to fight you now. I do not know how strong you are because I turned off my scouter. And yours have broken during your change." The tyrant raised both arms as if to surrender. "Unfortunately for you, I can transform as well."
Both Oozaru's widened their eyes at that last comment. Frieza began to shift. His body grew larger and his horns bigger. After almost a minute he stood over seven feet tall. He was still an insect compared to his adversary, but he was much stronger.
"My power level in this form would read at 300,000. You can not hope to..." Raditz smashed his fist onto Frieza's head. Frieza was buried chest deep in the ground. "I see you are stronger than I thought."
He shot into the air and began changing again. His face began to stretch. Raditz struck his hand out and grabbed the small changeling in his fist. He squeezed as hard as he could. Frieza's horns multiplied and shrunk. His tail thickened and snapped as his transformation neared it's end. Vegeta stared in awe at the exchange of power between the two.
Frieza stopped changing for about three seconds and then began anew. His face shrunk back to normal proportions and his horns disappeared all together. His armor-like skin became shiny, as if someone had polished it. He was now back to his original size as well. Raditz knew he was done changing and smiled. Frieza smiled back.