Reformed Saiyans

Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Nightmare That Grows Yet Again

With the dust settling on the battlefield, Frieza had become terrifyingly more powerful, horrifyingly more looking, and dangerous. His new form with his long oval shaped head, shocked and made the others fighters gape in fear. Frieza formed a smirk on his face that turned into a wide grin immediately after.

"What do you think of my new form, Namek?" Frieza said, chuckling after. Piccolo remained silent, with an angry face expression to hide the fear. "No one has ever seen me in this form, the strength I behold is more than three times stronger than my previous form, strength that is...unfathomable."

Piccolo planted his feet in the ground firmly and took a stance. "If you're so much stronger now, then let's test that strength of yours!" He shouted, swallowing the lump in his throat. Piccolo leaped and darted forward, hurling his fist towards Frieza, however, Frieza's incredible speed allowed him to slam his fist into Piccolo's right cheek long before Piccolo could reach even twenty feet within Frieza.

"W-What the hell is going on out there?! Frieza's power grew again!? It makes Piccolo's power look like an ant!" Goku growled in thought. "Darn it! How much longer will it take for this thing to heal me up! I have to get out of here!"

The machine continued to softly beep as Goku's body was rejuvenating, he wanted to leave, but it wasn't even a possibility right now. He needed more time, otherwise he'd only be a liability.

Piccolo flew dozens of yards across the mass of land before crashing harshly into the ground, causing the ground to break, and rubble to rise over Piccolo as the ground collapsed beneath him. Frieza walked over to Piccolo, as the Namekian pulled himself up from the ground.

"Terrified yet Namek? Cause if not, I'll be sure to put fear in your eyes before you reach your demise!" Frieza yelled.

Piccolo stood back up, cracked his neck, and spat on the ground. "Now why would I be scared of you?"

Piccolo charged his energy and hurled his fist towards Frieza's head, but Frieza caught Piccolo's fist, and hurled a fist of his own back at Piccolo. Piccolo had narrowly blocked the fist with his arm, and the force of the attack had pushed him back several feet. By the time Piccolo had moved his arm away from his face, Frieza had appeared right in front of him, lifting his fist against Piccolo's jaw.

Piccolo flew up over hundreds feet in the air, and Frieza chased after him, swinging his lower leg against Piccolo's gut. The oxygen in Piccolo's gut had been forced out, but the powerful impact had also caused him to cough a few drops of blood out before he plummeted instantly into the ground.

"Dende! Where are you going!" Krillin shouted. The bald monk had flown quickly to Dende, who stopped immediately at the sound of Krillin's voice and turned around. "C'mon Dende! We need you to heal Vegeta."

"N-No, I-I can't heal him! I just can't!" Dende replied.

Krillin sighed. "Look, I know Vegeta isn't exactly a good guy or anything but its all we've got!" He said. "If he dies now, we're all doomed. Frieza will kill us all, and then destroy this planet, there won't be any Planet Namek. It will cease to exist, unless you heal Vegeta. It's our only chance of staying alive!"

Dende bit his lip and remained silent.

"Please Dende, I'm begging you. You have to heal Vegeta." Krillin said.

Dende bit his lips, gazing towards Vegeta, then to back to Krillin, then to the battlefield, the power Frieza beheld, it made Dende sink in his own pool of dread, he could feel Piccolo fighting him, but barely. He closed his eyes tightly, swallowing hard.

"Alright…I-..I'll do it." He sighed.

"Thanks! We owe you one." Krillin replied with a smile. He grabbed Dende's hand and powered up. "Hang on! We're gonna have to get there fast!" Krillin's aura flared instantly turning a bright red, as blasted off, disappearing from the scene. "A little risky to use the Kaioken but the faster I get there, the better."

Within a mere moment, Krillin had reached Yamcha, Vegeta, and Gohan, who weren't far from the ship.

"Hurry! Place Vegeta down." Krillin said. Yamcha nodded, lowering to the ground with the others following along and placing Vegeta down.

Dende swallowed hard, walked up to Vegeta, and hovered his hands as healed the Prince, who's life was fading by the very second. Yellow energy rays generated from Dende's hands, each one growing somewhat bigger as it reached Vegeta's body, restoring his injuries.

The hole in his stomach faded, all bones were restored and strengthened, no scratches or bruises appeared to be found. Although Vegeta's armor was a bit ruined, and his jumpsuit slightly tattered, the Prince was in good condition, yet for some reason Vegeta didn't awake.

"I-I don't get it why isn't he waking up?" Yamcha said.

Dende shrugged. "I-I'm not sure. His heart isn't beating either!" Dende said with shock.

"W-What!?" Krillin gasped. "Are we too late?!"

"There's gotta be something we can do!" Gohan added.

"Wait! Maybe one of you can jumpstart him with your energies." Dende said. The others gave him a confused look. "Try giving Vegeta your energy but do it super quickly so that it shocks his body awake!"

Krillin and Yamcha nodded. The two fighters concentrated their energy, forming a couple of spheres, and pressed it on Vegeta's body, the energies absorbed, and Vegeta woke up, gasping for air. Vegeta coughed several times before panting heavily.

"I-I'm alive?" Vegeta said. Once the Prince had quickly processed exactly what was going on, his shocked facial expression turned into intense anger. "You stupid brat!" He yelled. Vegeta stood up and growled viciously at Dende, shoving him aside. "Next time I won't be so kind! I nearly died!"

Immediately without further delay, Vegeta flared his aura and powered up as he flew off to the battlefield with his newfound powers.

Krillin gave a hand to Dende to help the younger Namekian up. "Sorry Dende." He said. "I know it wasn't easy."

"It's fine." Dende replied. "As long as it can stop Frieza, then it'd be worth it." He wiped the dirt off his clothes and followed his friends as they hurried back to the battlefield.

Vegeta charged into battle, ramming his foot against Frieza's head, the sudden appearance shocked Frieza, giving the Tyrant but a small window of time to react, the best Frieza could manage was a simple block not expecting Vegeta's new speed or power.

Vegeta had at least pushed Frieza about twenty feet, and in that twenty feet, Frieza had spun a little, quickly rebalancing himself afterwards. He gave an angry and shocked facial expression, furrowing his brows at the Prince of Saiyans.

"What the?!" Frieza shouted. He moved his arm out of the way, to see the attacker. "Vegeta?!" Frieza growled and then gave a short head shake. "So you really want to die? I had no idea you were this idiotic!"

"Say what you will Frieza but it doesn't matter, for once again I have grown from the brink of death! And have come back much stronger!" Vegeta yelled. "I'll be the one to slay you!"

Frieza let out a short chuckle in amusement. "You?" Frieza said, pointing at Vegeta. "Kill me?" He pointed to himself instantly after. "And what gave you such a ridiculous notion? I'll admit you've grown strong, and that you might even be able to kill me in my base form, but in this form? You're no match for me. Even at ten times your current strength!"

"No match? How about I show you just how strong I've become!" Vegeta yelled. He bent his elbows and unleashed his power, his aura flared and skyrocketed along with his power. The Prince of All rushed at Frieza and hurled his fist against the Tyrant's right cheek, then a knee in Frieza's gut. As a quick finish to a swift combo, Vegeta took his two hands together and whacked against the back of Frieza's head.

Frieza plummeted towards the ground, yet he managed to stop himself from crashing by pushing his hands as he hit against the ground, jumping up then flipping back to rebalance himself on the ground.

By then Vegeta had already lowered himself to the ground and pointed to himself with an arrogant smirk.

"Can't you see Frieza? I'm becoming what you feared most!" He shouted. "The Legendary Super Saiyan!"

Frieza's mouth slightly opened and his eyes widened for a second as he heard this, nearly believing Vegeta before reassuring his own doubts.

"Hah! You wish you were the Super Saiyan!" Frieza yelled in disbelief. "You're not a Super Saiyan! You're not even a Prince anymore! That lousy attack you call fighting was nothing compared to what I have in store for you."

At around the same time, the other fighters, Piccolo, Yamcha, Krillin, and Gohan were both shocked and confused at this statement.

"Super Saiyan?" Krillin said. He turned to Gohan who immediately shrugged his shoulders. "The hell is Vegeta talking about?"

"I have no idea." Piccolo replied. "But...Vegeta isn't strong enough to fight Frieza. Frieza's holding back, alot."

Krillin's eyes widened. "Alot? You can't be serious? I mean at the very least if you and Vegeta team up you should be able to stand a chance right?!"

Piccolo shook his head, "No. I felt a glimpse of Frieza's true power when he attacked me…" He growled angrily. "Frieza's holding at least 50% of his power back, if not more."

The three next to Piccolo dropped their jaws in shock, with their eyes widened intensely.

"What?! You're kidding! That's not possible!" Yamcha gasped. "He can't seriously be that strong! And still have another transformation!"

"I agree! You must be sensing it wrong! You have to be!" Krillin added.

Piccolo looked at the two with an angry glare. "Do I look like I'm joking here?!"

Krillin sighed. "No." He replied. With a sudden realization, a sense of dread sunk into the pit of Krillin's stomach. "Then that means….We're doomed. There's no way out of this! Not even Goku can beat this...THIS MONSTER!"

"Damn it! We should've never attempted fighting Frieza!" Yamcha growled. "If we had cut our losses! We wouldn't be in this mess!"

"But there's gotta be a way outta this! We can't just give up!" Gohan added.

"Nobody said anything about giving up." Piccolo pointed out. He looked over to the battlefield as Frieza was clearly playing with Vegeta as the two fought supposedly evenly matched. "But...We're not going to win this."

"Then what're we going to do now?" Krillin asked.

Piccolo remained silent as he observed the battlefield to come up with any new ideas.

"Fight." Yamcha answered. "That's all we can do. We should be helping Vegeta but knowing him he won't let us, so I guess our best option is to wait for now and bide our time, we can come up with ideas to stall. When the time is right, we'll jump in, do anything we can."

Krillin and Gohan nodded. "Right!" They said simultaneously.

After a few seconds Krillin turned to Dende. "Dende, you should go, it's not safe here. If you can find a Woman named Bulma, take her, and take our ship, and get out of here." He said. "If you stay here you'll just get killed in the crossfire."

"B-But I c-can't leave you guys." Dende said. "I...I can't leave my home planet either!"

"No Krillin's right. Dende you need to leave." Piccolo said...Or It was not Piccolo but the voice of Nail that spoke. Dende turned his gaze to Piccolo with shock.

"N-Nail?" Dende asked.

"Yes..It's me, Nail, but...I don't have much time left, I'll be gone soon and I want to make sure at least one of us survive." Nail answered. "Please.. For me, for the Grand Elder, for the entire Namekian Race, survive. Don't let Frieza kill you."

Although a few tears had escaped Dende, the young Namekian was able to resist from breaking down, as he nodded to Nail.

"O-Okay. I will." He frowned, biting his lip. "Please Nail, don't die."

"I won't." Nail replied.

Dende flared his aura, preparing to fly away, but then stopped when Gohan had spoken up.

"Wait! Our Ship's broken!" Gohan said. "We forgot! The ship is broken, it was destroyed on our way here. There's no way Dende and Bulma can leave now!"

Krillin slapped the side of his head. "Darn it! I forgot!" He slapped his forehead, then turned to Dende. "Sorry Dende...I guess there's…nothing we can do."

"Wait, what about Frieza's ship?" Yamcha said. The others turned to his attention quickly. "There is Frieza and his lackey's ship. If Dende can get to Bulma, then maybe...just maybe Bulma can steer the ship off. I guess she couldn't take Frieza's ship because Goku and Raditz are in there but...at least the other ship."

"That's a great idea!" Krillin replied cheerfully. "Then I guess that takes care of our problem." He turned back to Dende. "Dende, find Bulma. Once you find her, take the smaller ship next to Frieza's, and see if you guys can escape, got it?"

Dende nodded in response, flared his aura again, and flew away.

After several moments of clashing fists and kicks, as well as other types of attacks, the two fighters had lowered themselves to the ground for a moment to speak.

"Not bad Vegeta, you've definitely improved." Frieza smirked. "But..You are still no match for me."

"Hmph! Still no match for you? We're evenly matched Frieza!" Vegeta yelled. "What could you possibly be hiding!"

Frieza chuckled wickedly. "Don't be so naive, Vegeta. Do you really believe that this transformation was only a little bit stronger than my previous, especially after the huge jump between my first transformation?" Frieza pointed out. Vegeta raised an eyebrow in suspicion and doubt. "I mean, isn't it obvious?"

"Isn't what obvious? Are you trying to tell me that you're holding back?" Vegeta said. "Hahaha! Yeah right! I won't buy that bluff for two seconds!"

"Hm?" Frieza raised an eyebrow and took a couple steps to the side, keeping his eyes on Vegeta. "So you think I'm bluffing do you? Come on, think about it. You really believe that this is my limit on this form?"

"Of course it is! Why wouldn't it be! What reason would you be holding back!" Vegeta replied, the Prince had begun to doubt, even his face could show it, his gaze had averted as his thoughts formed. "Nonono! That's impossible! But...No! I don't believe it!"

Frieza was right, Vegeta knew it although he'd rather deny it, It makes sense after all. Frieza's first transformation was such a huge gap, why would the next one be smaller instead of bigger?

"This is just the beginning, Vegeta, nothing more than a mere warm-up." Frieza said, a wide grin formed on his face.

"N-No! Even if you were holding back you can't have that much strength!" Vegeta shouted. "You're bluffing!"

"Let's bet on it then. I bet I'm right, and that you're wrong, about to be a dead man too!" Frieza laughed. He bent his elbows, and his knees, flared his aura, releasing his energy. Frieza gritted his teeth as his power rose, Vegeta's jaw gradually dropped with intense shock, as he was proven horribly wrong.

The ground quaked, trembled, and cracked. The winds roared, a small thunderstorm cloud rose above them, as Frieza momentarily increased his power, further, and further!

Dende continued his flight in the exact direction Krillin told him to fly to, but as he continued to fly, doubts and worries flooded his mind.

"Krillin said Bulma should be this way but I don't sense her." Dende said to himself. "He did say she doesn't have a high ki signature though, so maybe I just need to keep going." Dende stopped for a second as he felt the tremendous power unleash and rumble the Planet. Dende wanted to return, but he resisted the urge.

"Please be careful guys." Dende thought as he turned around.

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Frieza continued powering up, and although it was clear he could power to the max in an instant, Frieza had purposely prepared the time to do it slowly, just to put fear into the others' eyes.

"He just keeps getting stronger! And stronger!" Yamcha shouted. "Is there any end to his strength?!"

"Apparently not." Piccolo said, growling and gritting his teeth.

"Darn it! Only if we hadn't engaged with Frieza!" Krillin said, sighing. As the Bald Dwarf took in that there was no way out, and embraced himself to face an inevitable death, an idea formed in his mind. "Wait...I just realized something."

"Dende is looking for Bulma right now, and he's already going to be leaving with Bulma right?" Krillin said. The others looked at him with their attention except Piccolo who had his eyes fixated on the ongoing battle. "What if we had them take Goku and Raditz away with them instead. If they take both Goku and Raditz off the planet, they can hide, train, even the smallest chance, the smallest chance that they can get strong enough, is worth it!"

"Of course! We can have them escape to fight another day! All may not be lost!" Yamcha added.

"Hold on, but what if Dende can't find Bulma in time?" Gohan pointed out. "Dende is only so fast, what if he can't find Bulma in time?"

Both Yamcha and Krillin froze their cheerful expressions for a second. "Then I guess you'll have to go with him, and find Bulma. It'd be safer that way anyways, there's no point in you risking your life for this."

"What? But I can't leave you guys here!" Gohan protested. "I'm here to fight with you guys!"

Krillin placed a hand on Gohan's shoulder. "No Gohan. You need to go, it'd be an unnecessary risk." Krillin replied. Gohan bit his lip and swallowed hard before sighing.

"Fine." Gohan frowned.

"Besides, Chichi would probably kill me if anything happens to you!" Krillin chuckled, getting a glare from Piccolo, and a look from Yamcha. "Yeah sorry right, not the right time."

"Hurry Gohan." Yamcha said. "Go as fast as you can, DON'T STOP."

Gohan nodded in response, and like Dende he flew away.

"Good. While they're busy, we'll keep Frieza distracted, he can't see his ship leave." Krillin said.

"Are you sure about this?" Piccolo asked. "You will die…"

Krillin looked away for a second before looking back, and put on a smile. "Yeah, I'm as sure as I'll ever be."

Piccolo turned back to the battlefield for a moment, watching Vegeta struggle to fight, as Frieza effortlessly evaded, blocked, or reflected every attack Vegeta sent, then he turned back to the two fighters for a moment.

"Then let's go." Piccolo said.

As the three flew into the battlefield, Piccolo ramming his leg into Frieza's skull, Yamcha and Krillin taking Vegeta away from the area for a moment, Piccolo had tried to contact someone through his thoughts.

"Kami...Are you there?" Piccolo asked.

"I am, and I am aware of the situation on Namek as well. What do you need?" Kami answered.

"Stupid Worthless Pest! You pests don't just know how to stop persisting! And Interfering!" Frieza yelled. He fired several death beams at Piccolo, with The Namek narrowly avoiding each blast.

"Get off me!" Vegeta said, as he shoved Yamcha and Krillin aside. "I don't need your help! I'm the Legendary Super Saiyan! And Frieza's going to pay!" The Prince steamed with fury, as he rushed in, slamming his foot at Frieza's side.

Frieza easily evaded the attack, and fired a death beam into Vegeta's right arm. The Prince screamed in agony, and louder when several more beams shot through his limbs.

"I need you to collect the Dragon Balls..As quickly as you can…" Piccolo replied.

"The Dragon Balls? What for?" Kami wondered.

"Just in case Dende and Goku's son don't make it in time. I need a backup plan." Piccolo said. "Make this wish. Send everyone on Planet Namek, except for Frieza, Vegeta, and I to Earth, but wait til the last moment to do the wish. I want to make sure there's nothing more we can do."

"I will hurry as fast as I can, once I receive the Dragon Balls and summon the Dragon, I'll let you know. Just hold out as long as you can." Kami replied.

"I will."

Piccolo fired several energy blasts at Frieza as he tried to throw yet another ruthless punch into Vegeta's gut. Frieza quickly stopped what he was doing, leaped back, and darted instantly forward to Piccolo, slamming his knee into Piccolo's gut.

Piccolo coughed a spec of blood out, with some saliva, as the oxygen in his lungs were forced out. Immediately after Frieza spun and kicked Piccolo's chest, a small crack was heard as the Demon Kings' Son was sent flying.

"Kami? What's the matter?" Mr Popo asked. There was a distressed look on Kami's face, as he stood silent for a moment.

"Nothing..It's just for a while now, I've felt something off, and now, I believe my life is going to be ending soon." Kami answered.

Mr Popo dropped his jaw. "B-But Kami! You can't die! You're the Guardian of the Earth!"

Kami let a short chuckle out. "I don't know about that Popo, I haven't been the best Guardian lately. My visions have become… a little blurry lately, I haven't been able to foresee much, and the best I can predict is my death." He said. "Besides, we cannot worry about that right now, the Universe is at stake."

Kami turned around to face Popo as he continued to speak. "Take the Magic Carpet and find all seven Dragon Balls as fast as you can Popo. Everyone's lives depend on it."

"Yes Kami." Mr. Popo frowned. He raced to the edge of the Lookout, called for his carpet, and hopped on as he left the Lookout, with worries in the attendant's mind.

Once Mr Popo was gone, Kami spoke to himself.

"I must admit, it was a bit strange and shocking to hear Piccolo worried about the rest of the Universe." Kami thought out loud. "But then again, if the Universe is gone so he would be, so perhaps it's a selfish thing, or maybe it's a sign of change due to Nail's influence, and the sealing of the Demon that haunted Piccolo's consciousness."

Kami whipped around and paced forward. "Either way...The end for both him and I is definitely near."

To be continued…

Sorry about the late upload, like I said, inconsistency, and hiatus. I managed to find the time to take care of this one, but like I said, I hope to be able to bring it all before Christmas.