Hills of Namek
December 21, A762
"Now that you have me all loosened up, I'm going to have to insist that you move on, Namekian. Move on TO THE NEXT DIMENSION!" Freeza held up his hand to destroy Nail.
Suddenly, a pink-yellow alien with what seemed to be a black scouter that covered both eyes landed from above between Freeza and the Namekian.
"I think the boy's had enough," the alien said.
"Oh, wonderful. What are you supposed to be?" Freeza said.
"I am known as Roshi, the Turtle Hermit, and you, sir, have caused enough trouble," Roshi said. He pointed his staff to Freeza, "You won't hurt this world any longer."
"One dead alien is just as good as the next to me," Freeza said, "So why don't you show me what you think you're capable of, and then I'll kill both of you?"
Roshi took a deep breath, and Bulked. Freeza rolled his eyes, not impressed with the display, until Roshi landed a punch on the tyrant.
Freeza let out a cough as the blow actually sent him back a couple of inches. He seethed at Roshi, and clenched his fists.
"And for that your death will be slow," Freeza hissed. The two warriors clashed, exchanging blows. While Roshi had the experience and foresight to block Freeza, the alien's power was such that even blocking Freeza's attacks placed a toll on Roshi. Fortunately, the reverse was equally true.
Freeza pushed himself off Roshi, and aimed a finger to strike him with a Death Beam, but Roshi knew that trick well enough, and rushed forward, smacking Freeza's hand with his fist and forcing the attack to fire off to the side, destroying a nearby island.
Freeza followed up by punching Roshi in the face, breaking his glasses. Roshi clutched at his face, grunting at the pain and frustration.
"Aww, did I break your favorite scouter? Poor thing," Freeza taunted.
"Those were brand new," Roshi said, grabbing a rock and smashing it on Freeza's head. The blow caused Freeza to bounce off the ground, and Roshi kicked Freeza away. Freeza reached out and used his hands to slow and stop his momentum, and he let out a frustrated hiss and glare at Roshi.
"Where did you get this power? Nothing in this universe can hope to match me! I am Lord Freeza, ruler of the Galaxy!" Freeza declared.
"You're just another punk who needs to be put into his place," Roshi pointed at him, "Fortunately for you, that's just my speciality."
"Oh, the alien thinks he's going to knock me down a peg? I am Lord Freeza and-"
"Yeah, yeah, trust me, I've heard it, boy," Roshi jumped at Freeza, forcing him to put up his arms and block the double-kick. Freeza grabbed Roshi by the leg and tried to slam him down, but Roshi's other leg kicked out, striking Freeza on the chest. Freeza's tail whipped out, however, wrapping around Roshi and slamming him around, until Roshi's punches from his free arm became too painful for Freeza to hold onto him, and he released Roshi.
"Hey, Freeza? See the sky?" Roshi called out. Freeza looked around.
"What? What's going on? Is it finally night?"
"Nope. That means someone has summoned the Dragon. They're stealing your wish. You've failed. And if Namek's Dragon Balls are anything like Earth's, it won't be a year until they can be used again. If you destroy either Earth or Namek, you'll lose your wish. Even if you beat me here, you've lost, Freeza," Roshi said.
"No! I won't have this! That wish is MINE! This PLANET is mine! THIS UNIVERSE IS MINE!" Freeza started to summon a massive death ball of Ki, which got bigger and bigger.
"Hoo boy, this is gonna be a doozy," Roshi muttered to himself, and he got into position, "Kame! Hame! HAH!"
Freeza threw the death ball at Roshi, which collided with the Kamehameha. The sheer power of the ball was massive, but Roshi concentrated his power and his energy, and his form actually bulked down to a more standard muscular form. Without the extra energy used to sustain the extra muscle mass, Roshi was able to concentrate his power on his attack, and was able to force Freeza's ball of energy up and out of Namek's atmosphere.
Roshi stood there, panting, "Whew. Wasn't sure if I could pull that off."
"You! Insolent! Worm!" Freeza growled. His form was starting to get bigger; his armor started to crack and flake. Roshi could sense Freeza's power getting higher and higher.
XXX
Piccolo had arrived, just in time to watch Roshi's struggle with Freeza's death ball. He'd sensed and seen Roshi's new power since Guru had unlocked his potential, and was in awe; Piccolo wondered if he really had what it took to fight Freeza. Had he come to Namek for nothing?
"I can sense your fear," a voice wheezed. Piccolo turned, and saw the Namekian who had been fighting Freeza.
"I was watching your battle from the Other World. You were very brave, Nail," Piccolo said.
"Were you? I'm glad one of our people was able to see my sacrifice," Nail said.
"I fear I may have come here for nothing. I wanted to avenge our people, but seeing Roshi, with all his new power, struggling to fight this monster, I may have been too rash and proud in asking Moori to bring me here," Piccolo admitted.
"Maybe...If you were whole, you'd be more than enough for Freeza," Nail said.
"What? With Kami? There's no way! I've lived my whole life without him, I don't need him now!" Piccolo snarled.
"You're right, you are proud...But there may be another way for you to surpass Freeza. Rejoining with your other half might not be possible right now, but there is something you and I can do, before I die: You can join with me, instead," Nail said.
"Sorry, but I'll take my chances on my own," Piccolo turned away, "I like staying myself."
"Well, that's just it: You'll remain yourself. Parts of me will be woven into you, but you'll still be Piccolo, the warrior. You'll have my knowledge and my experience, but almost entirely, you won't change, except for my power. I'm going to die. But if you do this with me, we'll both stand a chance of destroying Freeza once and for all," Nail said. Piccolo hesitated, and turned to him.
"All right, how do we do this? If I don't like it, I'm shoving you out," Piccolo said.
"Just lay your hand upon my chest, and I'll do the rest," Nail said. Piccolo obeyed, and there was a flash of shimmering blue and white light. When it passed, Piccolo stood, alone.
"This...This strength! This UNIMAGINABLE strength! If i had known fusing with another being brought about this kind of power, I'd have sought it out YEARS ago! I AM INVINCIBLE! And I'll show Freeza what it means to face the ultimate Namekian warrior!" Piccolo declared, and he flew into the fight, where Roshi was now fighting Freeza, who now stood at well over ten feet tall and was six feet wide.
Not only did Freeza now have size and strength on Roshi, it was clear that Freeza had power over Roshi. The old Turtle Hermit kept finding new reserves of power, but he knew he was starting to tap into the last of them.
Roshi cursed himself and Freeza pressed down on him; the two were trying to push the other back. Roshi had overlooked his own lesson: There was always someone stronger. He thought he'd be teaching Freeza, only for it to be turned on him.
"What the matter? No more defiance in you, old man? Have you reached the end of your limits? Well, MY power has only BEGUN!" Freeza declared, and he swatted Roshi with his tail. When Roshi was in the air, Freeza punched down, only to strike ground.
"Piccolo?" Roshi gasped; the Namekian was holding the old master by the collar.
"Yes and no. Are you all right?" Piccolo asked.
"Yeah. Grateful to see you, that's for sure. I didn't realize Freeza had this in him," Roshi admitted, "I thought I was going to be able to stop him, but...I got arrogant and sure of myself, like a rookie…"
"It's okay, Roshi. I've got this now," Piccolo said, turning to Freeza.
"Are you sure? I don't think Freeza was bluffing when he said he was only beginning to show off his power. I know you've got a huge boost, but...It may not be enough," Roshi said.
"It'll have to be," Piccolo said.
"Another Namekian, come to save your Earthling friend? Well, when I'm done with you, I'll be rid of your last bastions of hope, and the Universe will be mine!" Freeza declared, swinging a slap at Piccolo, who caught the swipe.
"Try me," Piccolo chuckled, and he punched Freeza in the chest, still holding onto the arm, and kept striking, again and again, until Freeza started to wave his arm about in an attempt to shake Piccolo off. Piccolo let go, only to start laying into Freeza with both fists.
"How? NOTHING on this world, or any OTHER world, could HOPE to match my power, especially in my second form! No Namekian has stood against my power, not even that fool who-" Freeza looked around, "Where is the fool?"
"Right here," Piccolo said, kicking Freeza across the face.
XXX
Guru's hutt
"Do you feel that?" Molsc asked.
"I do," Kotai said, "Nail and the Namekian from Earth are so far ahead of Freeza together!"
Whist shook his head, "No. Can't you sense it? There's...So much more within Freeza, hidden, and waiting. Freeza may be losing right now, but when he chooses to change again...Nail and his partner don't stand a chance!"
"Then...What chance do we have?" Kotai said, "We all chose to stay when the Dragon gave us the chance. If Nail fused with the stranger can't defeat Freeza, we don't stand a chance!"
"Maybe we do," Molsc said.
"What do you mean?" Whist asked.
"If the stranger and Piccolo got that strong together, imagine how much power they would get with more Namekians! We're the only ones left on this world!" Molsc said.
"Are you suggesting we fuse with Nail?" Kotai said.
"If we have to. But even just the three of us, maybe it would be enough! Otherwise, we're just standing in an empty home, waiting for either this monster to kill us all, or for someone else to save us!"
"Then who gets to be the dominant personality?" Whist asked. Molsc held out his hand.
"We'll find out. I won't ask either of you to make that choice. We all choose to fuse, and whatever happens, happens. But we defend Namek, together," Molsc said. Whist hesitated, and put his hand on Molsc's.
"For Namek," Kotai said, placing his hand on their.
"FOR NAMEK!" they said together, blue and white light overtaking the hut.
XXX
"Piccolo! He's transforming again! You have to stop him before he finishes!" Roshi shouted. Freeza was starting to glow blue in parts, and his overall mass was shrinking. Despite the smaller size, Piccolo could sense that Freeza's power, and his speed, was starting to increase. Piccolo pushed himself to fight faster and harder. He started to pelt Freeza with Ki blasts, which seemed to put Freeza in a great deal of pain with each strike.
Piccolo rushed forward and elbowed Freeza in the face, whose head seemed to be elongating. He came up, trying to strike Freeza in the ribs, but Freeza rolled around Piccolo and struck him in the back. Piccolo flipped about and continued peppering Freeza with Ki, but each strike seemed to do less damage than the last.
"You fools may have forced me into my third form, but this is the end of the line! You don't stand a chance against me, Namekian!" Freeza said. As his form finished changing, Freeza gathered energy from the changing process, and fired it at Piccolo as an attack. Piccolo caught it with Ki gathered in his hands, and fired it back as a Masenko, but Freeza simply split the attack down the middle, and struck Piccolo. He began to pelt Piccolo with Ki blasts too fast for him or Roshi to follow.
Freeza stopped his barrage, and allowed Piccolo to fall to the ground. Roshi ran to him, and inspected his injuries.
"Piccolo, will you survive?" Roshi asked.
"Not if...I deal with that again," Piccolo said. He looked up, past Freeza, who was approaching and cackling.
"Someone else is coming...It's another Namekian," Piccolo said.
"Yes, I sense it, too. Who else is left on this world but Goku and his family?" Roshi wondered.
A giant Namekian with a well-defined square jaw, wearing a yellow shirt, purple pants, and an orange Namekian-style scarf ran to the battlefield, leaving holes in the ground with each step. He stopped just behind Freeza.
"Oh, what is it this time?" Freeza snarled, "Another Namekian?"
"Pff. No. We are beyond a normal Namekian!" the Namekian declared.
"Wait, I know you! You're the three Namekians who were at Guru's!" Roshi said.
"Yes, we were. We weren't sure who was going to be the dominant personality, but it seems we're a mix of all three of us. We guess we'll need a name for ourselves," the Namekian said.
"I wouldn't get too attached, because you're dead!" Freeza declared, firing at the new Namekian, who dodged each and every one. The blasts grew more frequent and more intense as Freeza got frustrated.
"WHY? WHERE? THIS! IS! IMPOSSIBLE! AAAAAAAHHHH!" Freeza kept firing more and more, with the Namekian dodging.
"My! Name! IS! SLUG!" the Namekian roared as he charged and fired a Ki blast back at Freeza, which engulfed the tyrant in light. As Freeza was launched into the air, Freeza kept firing back at Slug, but Slug kept throwing the Ki back at his enemy, forcing Freeza to dodge his own attacks. Their battle continued like this, as Slug kept chasing Freeza around the battlefield, trying to strike Freeza, who kept his focus on not being struck by the massive Namekian.
"Roshi! Piccolo!" Goku called out to them. Roshi looked up, and saw Goku and his family flying towards them with Tien. Their ship landed in a field off in the distance, and Chi Chi flew to them as soon as it was finished.
"Goku! You're here! I'm sorry, boy, I thought I could defeat Freeza. Piccolo gave it his all, too, but he was just too much," Roshi said.
"It's okay, Master Roshi. I brought Senzu Beans. Take one, and we'll take out Freeza together. As a family, as it should be," Goku said. He handed them to Roshi and Piccolo, who munched down. Gine flew overhead, and joined them.
"I've got Shive and Vegeta handled. We've got about ten minutes before Turles decides to blow up the planet with us on it.
"Think you could manage the Kamehameha?" Goku asked. Chi Chi, Tien, and Raditz all nodded.
"I've got my own techniques," Piccolo snorted.
"Roshi taught it to me. I've been holding out on you, Kakarot!" Brussa said. While Piccolo charged the Special Beam Cannon, the Saiyans and Master Roshi went into position.
"You're going to run out of energy before I do, Freeza! It's only a matter of time!" Slug declared.
"IS IT? BECAUSE I AM NOT DONE!" Freeza declared, and he started to glow again. Slug slammed his fist onto Freeza's chest, which Freeza, now starting to change form again, grabbed, and started to bring his elbow down upon. While the first strike did little, as Freeza's form continued to shift, each blow became harder and more intense. With his other arm, Slug continued to punch at Freeza, but each blow did less than the last, until the strikes themselves started to leave burn marks on Slug's skin.
Then, Freeza and Slug exploded in a flash of white light. A moment later, Slug landed on the ground, groaning.
"Now that I've dealt with the Namekians, it's time to finish off the Saiyan Race," Freeza, now in his fourth and final form, stepped out of the crater. He aimed his hand at the Saiyans, and began to charge Ki.
"KA!" Goku began.
"ME!" they all chanted, "HA! ME! HAH!"
The Kamehamehas joined together, and clashed with Freeza's beam. Slug, from the sides, watched the beam struggle and laughed at the sheer amount of power being pushed around. It was beyond anything the Namekian could have imagined. Despite seven people contributing to the Kamehameha, it was everything they could do to match Freeza's power.
"Kai!" Goku shouted.
"Oh!" Raditz added.
"Ken!"
"TIMES TEN!"
"Makankosappo!" Piccolo shouted.
With the surge of power, Freeza was enveloped by the blue light, and the Special Beam Cannon struck him at the same time. When the light was gone, all that was left was a streak of destroyed landscape well over the horizon.
"You...You did it! Hah! You destroyed Freeza! We've won!" Slug cheered, standing, "I almost can't believe it!"
"I think so," Raditz said, "I can't sense him anymore."
"I won't be convinced until I see a body," Gine said.
"Even if he did survive, he's probably not in fighting shape after an attack like that," Brussa said, "I say we look until we find bits and pieces."
"That's smart," Roshi nodded.
"Do you really think he could have survived that?" Gohan asked, following his family in a flight pattern. They were joined by Roshi, Slug, and Piccolo as they followed the streak of devastation. They stopped along the way, suddenly feeling yet another spike of power.
"Don't tell me he has another form?" Slug groaned.
"Gine! It didn't work! Freeza is still alive, and his power level is still increasing!" those with communicators, which was everyone but Roshi and the Namekians, heard.
"We're still alive, we can still beat him!" Gine insisted.
"I am not taking that chance!" Turles interrupted, "Charge and target the cannon!"
"Chi Chi, take the ship and leave with Gohan and Brussa!" Gine ordered.
"No, I'm staying!" Brussa insisted.
"Brussa, I need you to protect the Earth with the others. If we don't make it, you are going to be one of its only means of defense. You need to protect Gohan and Chi Chi. I'm relying on you," Gine cupped her daughter's face in her hands.
"But...I want to be here with you! And my brothers! We need to do this together!" Brussa said.
"There are some things more important than pride, Brussa. And I'm protecting my pride. Go, protect our new home. We'll be with you as soon as we can," Gine said. Brussa looked to Gohan, and nodded.
"Go with them, Piccolo. I know you did your best," Goku said, "But the Earth needs you, in case we can't do this."
Slug flew to them, "Wait! Piccolo! Fuse with me! Together, we'll far surpass Freeza! We can destroy him with a fraction of our combined power! We'll be unstoppable!"
"No. Your personality would overshadow mine," Piccolo said, "I'm going to remain myself."
"The Saiyans can't do this without our combined power, Piccolo, don't be a fool!" Slug insisted.
"No! I will not allow fusion to become a cheap tactic to make weak Namekians stronger! I'll surpass Freeza on my own!" Piccolo said. Slug grabbed him by the collar.
"Don't be a fool, Piccolo!"
"We don't have time for this!" Raditz grabbed Slug's arm, "Piccolo needs to go to Earth, or they don't have Dragon Balls! You can stay with us and fight Freeza, but we need Piccolo intact!"
Slug grinded his teeth, but let Piccolo go, "Fine. Protect Earth, and our people. But we'll see who surpasses who soon, Piccolo."
Piccolo let out an affirmative grunt, and led those leaving back to the ship.
"Wait! Krillin!" Tien said, "He's still out there somewhere!"
"Go find him, and get onto the Dreadnought! We only have seven minutes before the ship fires!" Gine ordered.
"Enough chatter! We've got to destroy Freeza now!" Roshi called out.
A pink disk flew past him, leaving those still around the battlefield stunned. Roshi looked to Goku.
"I'm proud of you, Boy. Always have been."
Then Roshi fell to the ground in two pieces.
