Dragon Ball Z: Dynasty

By Feraligreater328

Chapter 35: Dignity and Pride

Within Frieza's ship...

Knelt on the ground, with their eyes squeezed shut, Gine, Bulma, and Chi-Chi all watched the fight with Frieza through King Kai's telepathic communication. Things were grave to say the least. Piccolo had been grievously injured, Raditz had been slightly crippled, Gohan and Krillin were too weak, Vegeta was outwardly terrified of the challenge he was left alone to face, and Bardock...

Wet streaks were still visible on Gine's cheeks as she trembled. In spite of the two of them using her to see the fight, it was not that much of a stretch to say that Bulma and Chi-Chi were the only ones holding Gine steady. Things were looking dire as the three women worriedly watched on.

But hope was not yet lost. Within the healing chamber, Goku once again stirred.

Meanwhile, within a certain subconscious...

"I do not care what you think you are."

"I do not care for your power."

"I am not a tool to be used by a brat."

"I will watch you die..."

"...unless you simply hand over control~"

On the battlefield...

Piccolo's eyes snapped open and he sat up with a start. The Namekian was heaving breaths in and out as he buried his face into his hand. He was quickly broken from this by the familiar voice of a friend. "Mr. Piccolo!"

Piccolo turned his attention toward the voice and sighed in relief as Gohan came running up to him. Piccolo nodded. "Gohan..."

Gohan placed his hand onto Piccolo's shoulder. "A-are you okay? Is your stomach...?"

Piccolo looked down at the massive, fist-shaped hole in his torso. He and Gohan shared a quick look and then Piccolo sighed. The Namekian took a deep, deep breath, summoning a small ball of energy into his mouth. And then, he swallowed it. The apple-sized ball of energy went down Piccolo's throat and into his stomach, causing an explosion of Namekian flesh to erupt and fill the hole. Piccolo groaned and stood. "What happened while I was out?"

Gohan opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off by an explosion. Piccolo growled. "I take it nothing good..."

The boy and his mentor both stood and walked to the top of a nearby ridge. They joined Krillin, Raditz, and the unconscious form of Nail and stared out into the distance. And it was quite the sight to see. Vegeta was clearly fleeing for his life, turning only to blast as Frieza, but maintaining his distance. Frieza's body language clearly portrayed how meaningless this all was to him. It was little more than a game to the Emperor.

Piccolo sneered. "And Bardock...?"

Noticeably, no response. Piccolo growled to himself. "God damn it..."

Over with Frieza and Vegeta...

Vegeta could feel his heartbeat in his throat as he fled at top speed. Every time he dared to sneak a look behind, it seemed as if his brutal pursuer only got closer. Vegeta screamed in fury and overhand tossed two ki blasts, one after the other.

Frieza stopped each with his finger and then flicked them aside with a smirk.

Vegeta gripped his fists tight. "Damn it. Damn it, NO! I...I'm...I'M A SUPER SAIYAN!"

Vegeta squeezed his eyes shut, his head lowering as he whispered to himself. Doubt was slowly penetrating Vegeta's otherwise unshakeable confidence. "I... I am a Super Saiyan. I am. A-Aren't I...?"

"Does it seem like you are?"

Vegeta's eyes snapped open and he shuddered with freezing terror at the sight of Frieza, right there in his face. The Emperor and the Prince were flying parallel, Frieza with an utterly amused grin on his face. "If you must ask the question, Vegeta, do you not know the answer already?"

Vegeta's face twisted and he screamed at the top of his lungs. He pulled his fist back and tossed a punch, landing it square in Frieza's face. Frieza chuckled, uninjured as Vegeta dug his fist further into the Emperor's cheek. Frieza responded with a punch of his own, sending Vegeta rocketing into the sky.

Frieza stopped flying and descended to the ground below, watching as Vegeta continued to struggle to stop.

Frieza landed onto the ground right in front of Piccolo, Raditz, Krillin, and Gohan. The four of them cringed in fear and prepared to defend themselves, but Frieza didn't seem to notice or care. He simply stared up into the sky at his current prey.

Up in the sky...

It took all that Vegeta had to stop himself. But he eventually did. He was miles in the air by the time he did. The Namekian landscape was so small. Not a soul was able to be seen below. He could only tell where Frieza was by the feeling of his vile energy.

Vegeta reached his hand up to his face and rubbed his gloved knuckle under his nose. The white fabric of the glove came back died a sickening red. Frieza had smashed Vegeta's nose wide open, with nothing more than a glancing blow.

Vegeta began to tremble, floating there. His eyes were shadowed over, his teeth were gritted, and his fists were clenched tight. "No..."

Vegeta began to shake. "NO!"

Vegeta raised his hands into the air and summoned all of his energy into one, massive pink and purple blast. This attack was truly massive. It was his ultimate attack, his final strike, the single most powerful move he had invented in his entire life. Vegeta roared, his invocation ringing out all across the Namekian horizon. "I AM A SUPER SAIYAN!"

And then, Vegeta launched his mightiest attack down towards Frieza's energy. "GALICK METEORA!"

On the ground...

Piccolo and the others all stepped back in horror as Vegeta's absolutely massive attack descended towards them. Krillin could barely manage to stammer out a single sentence. "He...he's going to...destroy the whole planet!"

Frieza was droll in his response. "Quite doubtful. But this island might be well done for. I would suggest you maggots leave, unless you desire that desperately to die."

Quickly getting the point, the four warriors began to retreat. Frieza sighed and wrapped his tail around Nail, tossing him towards Krillin. "Don't forget this one."

Krillin caught Nail and quickly turned, joining his allies in fleeing as fast as they could. Frieza chuckled as the blast got close. It really was quite large. Large enough that, if it were to hit the surface of the planet, it would most likely leave the space where Planet Namek stood totally empty. Frieza smirked and shook his head. "How precocious, he's copying me~"

And then, Frieza raised a single hand into the air.

Up in the air...

Vegeta smiled wide as he saw his attack collide. The shockwave alone sprawled across the surrounding landscape and flattened every last Ajisa tree. Vegeta laughed out loud. "Yes! YES! That's it! I knew it!"

Vegeta threw his hands into the air in celebration. "I knew it! I knew that it was true! I... I HAVE ACHIEVED THE LEGEND! I HAVE AVENGED THE SAIYAN RACE! I, PRINCE VEGETA IV HAVE ACHIEVED THE LEGEND! I! AM! A SUPER SAIYAN!"

Vegeta glared down at his mighty attack, waiting for it to explode and take Frieza with it. But the Prince was met by a sight that he did not expect. His attack was slowly coming back towards him. As it approached, Vegeta's confidence chipped away more and more and more. The attack soon floated up past him and Vegeta's stomach pitted. Soon, with his own blast high above him, Vegeta came face-to-face with his tormentor once again. Frieza floated there, his smirk unbroken and his body unscathed. "I suppose this was your final attack, Vegeta?"

Vegeta was speechless. Frieza chuckled. "Your silence betrays you."

With a flick of his wrist, Frieza tossed Vegeta's attack into the cold vacuum of space. The Galick Meteora rocketed into the deep, dark vacuum, and soon vanished into nothing. Frieza half-heartedly cocked his head. "If it makes you feel any better, I am sure that that will hit a populated planet eventually~"

Frieza began to fly forward. "So, I will ask you this...are you done with your meaningless resistance?"

Yet more silence from the Prince.

Frieza smiled a wicked smile. "Excellent."

And then, with a lightning-quick, mid-air flip, Frieza smashed Vegeta over the head with his tail and sent the Prince shooting down to the ground below.

Back on the ground...

Vegeta smashed into the ground with a massive, exploding thud. Once the dust had cleared, the Prince was left sitting in a gigantic crater. The sheer force of Frieza's strike had caused him to fold like a piece of cardstock. Running up from nearby, Piccolo, Raditz, Gohan, and Krillin all stared down into the hole, seeing Vegeta lying there motionless.

Gohan was shaking. "Sh-should we..."

Descending from the sky himself, Frieza glared at the four warriors. The all froze up upon seeing the Emperor. Frieza smiled. "No please. Be my guest~! Anyone who wishes to jump in and take Vegeta's place is more than welcome to..."

Frieza landed in the crater, pressing his foot down onto Vegeta's back. "Any takers?"

Frieza closed his eyes. "No?"

And then, the Emperor chuckled. "Oh Vegeta, did you not bother to make a single friend during this entire attempted coup?"

Frieza shook his head. "How foolish."

A massive kick rammed into Vegeta's side and sent him flying out of the crater. Vegeta gargled in pain as blood erupted from his throat. Frieza gave chase. "Did you genuinely have the gall to assume that you would be able to match me singlehandedly?!"

Frieza raced ahead of Vegeta and kicked him again. "Is your Saiyan arrogance really that deeply set?!"

Frieza raced below Vegeta and kicked him a third time. "I know I have instilled fear of my wrath into you! How dare you presume to ever be my equal you wretched, monkey filth!"

Finally, Frieza raced above Vegeta again and stomped into the Prince's back. Vegeta slammed into the ground hard, bouncing up before landing again. Vegeta's face splashed into the Namekian sea and he attempted to pull it out, but Frieza's cruel foot stomped down hard. Vegeta struggled, but he could not pull his face from the water. He couldn't breathe, but he couldn't make Frieza let him up.

As Frieza stood there, drowning Vegeta, the other four watched on in horror. None of them knew what they could possibly do. As it stood, Vegeta was the strongest person that was on their side. And yet, Frieza had reduced him to this. As the four of them stood there, listening to Vegeta gargle and scream for air underneath the water, they all realized just how hopeless their current situation was.

After a few, uninterrupted minutes of drowning, Frieza showed pity and pulled Vegeta from the water with his tail. Vegeta coughed and gasped and gagged up entire gallons of water, in spite of Frieza's tail being so tightly wrapped around his neck. The Prince hung there for a minute, limp and lifeless. But then, he pulled his shaking hands up and began to yank at the noose that was currently crushing his windpipe.

Frieza snorted and shook his head. "Oh dear. You still have...such a fighting spirit."

The smile on Frieza's face was sweet and malicious. "Please, Vegeta, allow me to tell you a story to remedy that..."

One of Vegeta's eyes weakly cracked open and Frieza sighed. "You have always wondered what happened to your Father, yes? Even if you did not care for the man personally...surely you must have wondered, at least once, how he died..."

24 years ago...

King Vegeta lied there on the floor. Battered and beaten and broken to the point of being totally crippled, the Saiyan King could not even raise his noble head from the floor. In the background, screams of terror and pleas for mercy sounded out as Dodoria and Zarbon murdered the entirety of the royal guard. Not a single one of them, man nor woman, was spared.

Frieza, in all of his young, pink glory, stood from his hover chair and leapt to the ground. He walked up to his broken and battered toy and stomped his foot onto the back of the King's head. "Tell me, dear King Vegeta, why would you attack my ship like this? Hmm?"

King Vegeta could barely speak, his voice being rendered unintelligible. Frieza grunted and rolled his eyes, lifting the King by the hair with his foot. "Speak, Monkey!"

King Vegeta gurgled. "Our...our spies heard your plans. To...to kill the entire Saiyan race. To...execute all of us over...little more...than...than a legend..."

Frieza nodded. "Indeed. That is my plan, yes. And, furthermore, it is my right. Father gave you lot to me as a plaything. He gave you to me over Cooler because he knew I would make the correct choice with you. That I would end you the moment you became a threat to our rule!"

King Vegeta grunted in pain. "But...we have served you loyally...why-"

Frieza chuckled. "You wanted your eldest son to be the end of me, yes? That is why you bred him. To raise him as a weapon to kill me, yes?"

King Vegeta fell silent. Frieza smiled. "Dear King...your silence betrays you."

Frieza chuckled. "The eldest Prince has chosen to ignore my recall signal. But, worry not, I will go and deal with him after all of this."

King Vegeta's eyes flared and he summoned a blast into his hand. "YOU WILL NOT TOUCH MY SON!"

The blast never met its mark, however. Frieza simply batted it away, sending it flying across the room and into an unfortunate, nameless soldier's face. The corpse fell to the ground and Dodoria sighed. "Lemo! Clean that shit up!"

An orange Frieza Forcer stepped forward and grabbed the body, dragging it away with a warble of fear in his voice. "Y-yessir!"

Frieza, properly angered, pressed his foot onto the King's face and sent him flying back into the view screen. The King slammed hard and slid down, leaving a trail of crimson as he did. Frieza calmed down a little and stepped forward. "You do have other family, you know. I am also about to slaughter your wife and younger son. No love for them?"

King Vegeta coughed up blood, slumping over. "W-worthless..."

The back of the King's skull was cracked, but he still managed to sputter out a response. "B-both of them...both are...worthless. Cassava is...weak. And Tarble is...weak. Vegeta...my legacy...is all that matters..."

Frieza smiled. "Oh really?"

The young tyrant wrapped his tail around King Vegeta's neck and turned the broken King over, pressing his face against the glass. The brat leaned forward and whispered into King Vegeta's ear. "I will assuage your fears then, dear King. You see, I have decided that the young Prince Vegeta will, in fact, not die. Instead...he will be mine!"

King Vegeta flinched. Frieza sneered into the dying King's ear. "He will be mine. My property. I will dominate his life. He, unlike you, will know that he is property to be destroyed at my whim!"

King Vegeta gasped. "N-no..."

Frieza smirked and pressed his finger to the King's back, right behind his heart. "On the bright side, you will never have to see it. Now, enjoy your ride to Hell, King Vegeta."

And then, with a Death Beam, the King of the Saiyans was gone. Frieza smirked, enjoying his work. But then, he noticed explosions and dead soldiers flying around outside. Frieza sneered. "What in the blazes could that be?!"

Frieza turned and climbed into his hover chair, riding it out of the room. "I swear, my headache will not end until every Saiyan is dead."

Back in the present...

As Frieza finished his story, Vegeta's arms fell limp. Frieza stopped waxing lyrical long enough to look into the captive Prince's eyes. The Emperor smiled at what he saw. In Vegeta's eyes, there was no longer any sort of emotion. No anger, no fire, no sadness, no fear. Just...nothing. Spiritually, Frieza had seemingly broken Vegeta. And this pleased Frieza to no end.

Frieza chuckled. "It would appear that that final twist of the knife has shattered your spirit, eh?"

Frieza turned Vegeta around, leaving the Prince's exposed back facing towards him. "Now for your body..."

Frieza reared back and let loose a serious punch. Something in Vegeta's back crackled and the Prince screamed in utter agony. Frieza smiled and did it again. And then he broke into a frenzy. Punches and punches and kicks and punches and kicks continued to rattle against Vegeta's back. The Prince screamed in pain, unable to resist or get away as Frieza had his fun.

Once that became boring, Frieza lifted Vegeta high into the air and began to slam him into the ground over and over. The bedrock of the Namekian landscape chipped and shattered with each thunderous blow. Blood splattered every so often, splashing out from Vegeta's steadily more and more damaged form. A jet of blood landed on Frieza's cheek and the Emperor chuckled, licking it away and savoring the taste of the pain.

Standing off to the side as Vegeta had the life beaten out of him, Piccolo, Raditz, Gohan, and Krillin stared on in disgust. Any immediate hatred for Vegeta faded as the four of them were forced to watch the proud, Saiyan Prince be ravaged by the vicious monster in front of them.

As Vegeta screamed and broke, Krillin and Raditz both individually came to the conclusion that they couldn't stand by any longer. Ready to go take their share of the pain to try and save Vegeta, the two of them began to charge. But Piccolo stopped them both.

Krillin sounded desperate as he tried to go around. "Piccolo! I... I get that you don't like him! I don't like him! But..."

Raditz was speaking through clenched teeth. "This is wrong. We have to stop this!"

Gohan looked up at his mentor. "Mr. Piccolo..."

Raditz and Krillin looked as well, seeing that Piccolo was just as furious as they were. It was clear that the Namekian was digging down deep, trying to pull more power from somewhere. But, to no avail. Piccolo snarled as he watched Frieza's brutal display go on. "He would kill any of us instantly if we tried to interfere..."

On Frieza's ship...

Gine, Bulma, and Chi-Chi all watched on in horror as King Kai's telepathy showed them the true terror Frieza was capable of. Bulma was speechless. Chi-Chi's face was a sickly shade of green. And Gine just looked empty. Surrounding them, not seeing what was happening but feeling it, the remaining Namekians seemed to have lost all hope. Most of them were knelt on the ground as they felt the strongest being next to Frieza on the entire planet have his life slowly ripped from him.

King Kai sounded resigned as he mentally spoke to the ladies. "The true terror of Frieza comes forth. Perhaps...perhaps I was wrong to build hope that someone like Frieza could be toppled so easily. I am so sorry to have allowed you all to jump into this mess..."

Meanwhile, the ladies and the Namekians were not the only people observing this senseless cruelty. Within the healing chamber, Goku's fist clenched in anger.

Back on the battlefield...

Frieza sighed in sheer bliss as he held Vegeta's battered body up high with his tail. Both Vegeta's broken form and Frieza's sadistic fists were dripping with the Prince's blood. Barely a groan emerged from Vegeta as Frieza regarded the Prince. "And so here we are, all of these years later! It is just as I told King Vegeta, his prized son now knows domination and fear!"

Frieza tossed Vegeta's body to the side and turned to the others. "Do you fools see now?! Do you see why you do not defy me?! My wrath is swift and all-encompassing! And you will all soon know the same pain that Vegeta-"

Frieza was cut off by the sounds of dragging and pained grunting. The Emperor turned a cold glare to the ground and saw his thought-to-be-broken prey attempting to escape. Frieza could not see Vegeta's face, but he did not need to. Clearly, the Prince still had much to be taught.

Vegeta had barely made it a few feet before Frieza's massive foot stomped down onto his leg. Vegeta didn't turn to face Frieza, he simply tried to yank his leg from the Emperor's grip, but to no avail. Frieza shook his head. "Perhaps this will teach you."

Frieza raised his tail into the air and whipped it down onto Vegeta's back. He did this several times, sending blood and chunks of armor flying as he did. Once the Emperor tired of this, he nudged Vegeta with his foot, flipping the Prince onto his back.

Vegeta groaned and Frieza responded with a massive stomp. The air left Vegeta's lungs and he wheezed in pain. Frieza sneered. "I hope that you have learned from this, Vegeta. I truly do."

Frieza pointed his finger at Vegeta and the Prince flinched, tears building and then streaming down his cheeks. As Vegeta began to silently sob, Frieza felt just a small something in his chest. Was this pity? Compassion, perhaps? Frieza thought about it and then decided...no. This feeling was...amusement~!

Frieza chuckled and retracted his finger. "Vegeta. You know me as a businessman. So, therefore, I shall make a deal with you. If you, right now, beg me for your life...then I shall spare you and keep you as a subordinate. You can become my new Zarbon~"

Vegeta's eyes cracked open. He stared up at Frieza and Frieza smiled. "All you have to say, Vegeta, are the words 'spare me'. Can you do that?"

Vegeta was trembling. The four off to the side watched and fell resigned. They knew that Vegeta was going to say it. He had to. In their entire time knowing him, each of the four of them knew Vegeta as someone who would do anything to survive. And, once he begged for forgiveness, they knew that Frieza would turn his attention to them. The others were frozen, but Piccolo took a stance. He was ready to fight for their lives, if he had to.

Vegeta gasped out. "S...s..."

Frieza smiled wickedly. "Yes Vegeta. Two words. Just two words and I will forgive all that you have done. Say it! Beg me for it! Say 'spare me'!"

Vegeta gripped his fists, pulling up two handfuls of dirt in his grip. "S...s..."

Vegeta's glare turned into one of pure hatred towards his tormentor. "S-Super Saiyans don't beg!"

All at once, Piccolo and his group, Gine and her group, and Frieza himself all flinched back in shock. As Vegeta laid there on the ground, bleeding but defiant, no one could quite believe what they had just heard.

All of the joviality left Frieza's face and pure hate and malice took its place. The Emperor took his finger and pointed it right at Vegeta's heart, reading to execute the insolent Saiyan right then and there. Piccolo started to take off, rushing as fast as he could to intercept. Vegeta simply cringed, turning his head away and bracing for the inevitable.

Frieza screamed as he fired his attack. "Insolent ape!"

The beam fired. Vegeta waited for it to hit. But...it never did. The Prince opened his eyes and was shocked to see the burnt hole in the ground next to him. Frieza had missed. But how?!

Vegeta turned his gaze back towards Frieza and was shocked by what he saw. Frieza looked shocked as well. Shocked and utterly furious. Holding Frieza's wrist, having shoved it off target from Vegeta's heart, was a thought-to-be-dead figure. Dripping with seawater and blood, looking ragged and nearly dead, was Bardock. The older Saiyan had a shit-eating grin on his face. "Damn it Vegeta. How dare you...make me start to like you?! Saying some badass shit like that..."

Bardock glanced down at the Prince. "I can't let your sour ass die now! Goddamit..."

Frieza roared in rage and frustration, bumping his power of to Five Percent! And then he slammed his fist into Bardock's chest and took the older Saiyan off of his feet. "CONTEMPTUOUS, REBELLIOUS, STINKING MONKEY FILTH!"

This was worse. Much worse. Frieza's power had grown even more and now all sense of playfulness had left him. Each hit devastated Bardock, taking him off of his feet and ragdolling him to the ground against his will. Frieza was out for blood this time.

The four off to the side could only watch on in terror as Frieza beat the life out of Bardock.

On Frieza's ship...

Gine, Bulma, and Chi-Chi were trembling. This was it. Nothing could stand up to Frieza now. No one on the battlefield even came close to the power that the Emperor was putting out. Even all together, the lot of them could not stand up to Frieza at this point.

Gine was trembling. She couldn't do this. Stand up with a jolt and pulling her shoulders away from Bulma and Chi-Chi, Gine began to make her way towards the door. She didn't care about anything else at this point. She wasn't just going to sit there and let her husband die. At least...he wouldn't die alone!

Gine made it to the entrance with Bulma and Chi-Chi hanging off of her. But, before she made it out, a surging energy began to glow behind her. Gine, Bulma, and Chi-Chi turned in shock to watch as the door to the healing chamber exploded off. A familiar figure and massive power emerged from the chamber, reached down, and grab the newly repaired orange outfit off to the side.

Back on the battlefield...

Bardock landed on the ground with a sickening crunch. The boost of adrenaline that had propelled him forward before was gone. Bardock couldn't move a muscle as he laid there, staring up at his approaching demise. Frieza's pseudo-politeness was gone. It was replaced with frothing rage. The Emperor was striding up to Bardock on a mission, stepping past Vegeta as he prepared to eviscerate the older Saiyan.

But then, shock of all shocks, Vegeta leapt from the ground once more. The Prince was broken, but he would not just lay there and die. Vegeta summoned a massive energy blast and tried to hit Frieza with it, but the Emperor was prepared. Frieza batted the attack away with his tail and then reached back and grabbed a handful of Vegeta's hair. Yanking the Prince as hard as he could, Frieza tossed him towards Bardock and made the two bounce off each other. Frieza pointed at Vegeta's heart and shouted. "DEATH BEAM!"

The beam sailed towards Vegeta's chest, but Bardock kicked him at the last second. Instead, the blast pierced Vegeta's lower left flank. Instantly, Vegeta screamed and blood began to pool beneath his pierced kidney.

And, that was it. The fight was all gone.

Vegeta and Bardock glared at each other. Two former enemies that had someone been through the wringer together in such a short time. There was nothing approaching a friendship there, but the two of them seemed to have a grudging respect for each other. Vegeta, in spite of himself, chuckled. "D-damn...I guess this is it, huh?"

Bardock was heaving for breath, but he managed a smile. "N-not yet. There's still one more...hope."

Vegeta shook his head. "And just how...how do you know that?"

Bardock snorted. "Two reasons. One...f-future vision..."

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "You and that damned clairvoyance. You'd think seeing the future would have helped you avoid all of this..."

Bardock ignored Vegeta's smartass remark. "A-and two...don't you feel that, Vegeta?"

Vegeta flinched as he suddenly felt what Bardock was feeling. Bardock chuckled. "Even if...even if we die...Frieza is coming with us..."

Frieza growled in utter fury and the two Saiyans turned their attention to him. Frieza snarled at the two of them. "Even staring death in the face, you both still hold on to this fruitless, idiotic hope?! DO YOU NOT REALIZE HOW ANNOYING AND RUDE THAT IS?!"

Frieza held up his hand and fired a monstrous energy wave. The death dealing attack shredded across the ground right towards Bardock and Vegeta. Vegeta braced himself, but Bardock merely chuckled. And then, just before the attack hit, a blue energy beam came shooting from the sky and crashed into it, cancelling it out.

And then, once the smoke cleared, he was standing there. His orange gi shone brightly in the Namekian suns. Goku had arrived on the battlefield. And his power was MASSIVE!

Bardock stared up to his younger son. He thought back to that day long ago, the day he had first died. Burning up in that Supernova, Bardock had seen one last vision. A vision of a powerful Saiyan warrior standing up to that sadistic bastard Frieza. And now, even if things weren't exactly as he had foreseen them, that premonition had come true.

Frieza snarled. "INSOLENCE!"

He fired a Death Beam right at this new foe's chest, but the foe did not bother to dodge or block or anything. Frieza's Five Percent Death Beam hit this strange new intruder's chest dead on. And it did nothing.

Frieza flinched as this person stepped towards him. "W-who in the blazes are you?!"

Bardock let loose one last pained belly laugh, and then the battered, older Saiyan finally lost consciousness. Vegeta, meanwhile, stared up in a silent fury. So long ago, when he and Nappa went to Earth to hunt down Kakarot...the last thing he had ever expected it to lead to was this. As much as it pained Vegeta, he mentally had to admit that things had to be left to this low-class wretch. It killed Vegeta on this inside...but Kakarot was their last hope to stop Frieza as things currently stood.

And then, Vegeta passed out as well.

The table was set. All other warriors had either been totally outclassed or beaten into submission. On the sideline, Gohan and Krillin cheered him on as he stepped forward. Piccolo and his older brother watched on in silent awe.

He towered over his opponent as he stepped close. And Frieza, in confusion, regressed back a step. Frieza only became angrier as he did this, realizing that he had just given this new opponent ground. Infuriated, Frieza snarled. "I ask again: WHO THE DEVIL ARE YOU?!"

He stared down at Frieza and gripped his fist. "I am Son Goku. A Saiyan from Earth."

And then, Goku's power surged forth. "And you will not have your way anymore!"

Proofreading: StevenBodner