Chapter 12

"Thank you so much for ruining my dream of immortal life in eternal youth," Freeza said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He flashed a fake smile but his ki was still roaring with fury.

Krillin felt his heart beating so fast his ears were ringing. Narrowly avoiding death only to end up in even bigger danger was taking its toll on him.

Freeza lazily pushed himself off his perch and hopped down to their level. His inhuman face still wore a smile but time and again his eyes narrowed in anger. "I don't receive any life signs from the Ginyu Force. I suppose you killed them, didn't you? Ah, it makes this whole affair even more annoying. I hope you're aware that I'm going to kill all of you in return."

None of them spoke a word but Freeza didn't seem to be expecting a reply anyway. He turned to Vegeta and smiled at him. "My sympathies for missing out on immortality, Vegeta. Getting so close only to have it snatched away again. Although I must admit I feel much more sorry for myself."

He chuckled, a sound that made Krillin's skin crawl, and continued. "You really pulled a number on me. Nobody has ever succeeded in fooling my plans like this."

Then Freeza's thin, dark lips twisted into a snarl and he lost all pretense at politeness. "You'll pay for this, you miserable worms!", he hissed, getting louder with every word. "I'll torture you to death and not a single one will escape my wrath! Prepare to die!"

That was their cue.

Krillin dashed aside, expecting the others to do the same, yet when no ki blasts or explosions followed him he stopped to look back.

None of them had gone very far but Vegeta hadn't moved at all. He was no longer cowering or shaking but Krillin wasn't sure if he was merely putting on a brave facade or if he truly had talked himself into believing he could take on Freeza. The latter was so improbable Krillin didn't put much stock in it but when he heard the cocky tone with which the Saiyan addressed Freeza he wasn't so sure anymore. "So, you're showing your true face at last? Well, then go ahead. But don't expect you can defeat me now so easily."

Freeza scoffed. "You're obviously bluffing, Vegeta. But in case you really forgot how terrifying I am, let me refresh your memory."

He let out a scream that Krillin felt permeate his entire being. Energy gathered around Freeza as if sucked towards a black hole, then the ground started shaking. The planet moaned as mountains were torn up and the green, nearby sea churned from the winds whipping over its surface.

Krillin took cover with Gohan and Dende behind some boulders although he knew that this bit of rock was no real protection against the might of Freeza.

Vegeta, though, still remained in the eye of the storm, his fists clenched and his face a grim challenge against the onslaught.

Then Freeza attacked. A barrage of ki bolts raced towards Vegeta, shattering rock and burning the purple grass to cinders.

Krillin thought he saw Vegeta jump out of the way but with dust from pulverized rocks filling the air there was no way to make out what was happening. At least, he still felt the Saiyan's ki strong and sturdy, so he had to be alive somewhere.

"Gohan, there's no way Vegeta can survive this for long. We need to distract Freeza to buy him some time," Krillin shouted over the din, trying to be both audible for Gohan but not so loud as to give himself away.

He was aware how little Vegeta had appreciated their help against Recoome and judging by his expression the boy remembered it, too. Yet letting Vegeta die now seemed even more foolish to him.

Gohan nodded and immediately sped off back into the fray. Krillin followed suit, jumping right into Freeza's path. Before they had the chance to panic, the alien snarled and hurled more ki blasts.

Getting into it, they flitted aside, evading the blasts, as more rocks and debris showered down on them.

Then one stray blast obliterated Dende's cover and it all fell apart. Scared and blinded by clouds of dust the kid ran right into Freeza's line of fire. Gohan and Krillin hurried to get him but just as they reached him, Krillin could see the bright light of an energy bolt racing towards them and knew they'd ran out of luck.

Suddenly Vegeta was there right in front of them, punching the blast and sending it flying wide into a mountain.

Krillin's eyes widened. Did he just come to their aid as they were busy coming to his?

Then Vegeta had the gall to snort at this display of power. "Is that all you got, Freeza? Some big flashy show and a bit of wind?"

"So you still think you could defeat me? Aren't you done bluffing yet?"

Vegeta grinned. "Yes, the three of us could do it. You might be strong, but you know what, Freeza? These Earthlings got so much stronger since they got here and their power is still rising. Especially the kid," he said with a nod towards Gohan, "has incredible potential, more than he might realize himself."

It was weird hearing Vegeta say anything nice about them but it also felt good. Did he mean it? Did he really think they were strong enough for this?

But Vegeta wasn't done talking. "As for me, I'm about to become the one you feared the most. The legendary Super Saiyan."

Freeza scowled. Growling he went in for a punch but Vegeta caught his arm. And held it.

Enraged, Freeza powered up again, tried landing a punch with his other arm, but no matter what he did Vegeta kept up with him, gathering and focusing ki himself until his energy output overwhelmed the scouter Freeza was still wearing.

With a grunt of exasperation, Freeza jumped backward and Vegeta let go of him, smiling triumphantly.

Krillin was close to cheering. Vegeta had been right. The boogieman they had been so afraid of was not so strong after all and if they worked together they'd be able to take him on.

Next to him, Gohan's face lit up as well and he could feel the kid regain hope.

"Alright, maybe you're not wholly bluffing, Vegeta," Freeza conceded.

They had him and he knew it. Or did he? Krillin frowned. For someone faced with such strong opposition, Freeza seemed not nearly worried enough. He looked annoyed, to be sure, but there was absolutely no fear on those alien features. Maybe he was the one who was really bluffing-

"You can quit your games and transform already," Vegeta interrupted his thoughts.

Freeza smiled. "Oh, you know about that?"

"Zarbon couldn't keep his mouth shut. So you can do us all a favor and get on with it."

What was this all about? Krillin looked from Freeza to Vegeta and back in confusion.

Gohan seemed just as lost as him. "Transform?" he asked haltingly.

He had expected Vegeta to roll his eyes but the Saiyan seemed not to mind the question. "All over the galaxy, there are several species that can transform their bodies to become stronger or faster or both."

Freeza's smile widened. "Quite right. Although, I need to point out that it's a bit different for me. I took on this form to be better able to control my power. When I'm in my final form my strength becomes so great it's really hard not to destroy everything around me."

Gohan and Krillin gasped, yet Vegeta scowled at them. "That's just a bluff. The gain won't be that great."

"You seem so sure of that." Freeza chuckled, apparently on top of his game again. "Don't forget, Vegeta, when I killed your father, the king, and destroyed planet Vegeta I did it all in this form. Do you really dare to go against me when I am so much stronger?"

Wait, what? Krillin's mind was reeling from all the things he heard today. Vegeta's father was a king? And more importantly... "Freeza destroyed the Saiyan's homeworld?" he mumbled. "But weren't they his subjects or-"

"Would you shut up already?" Vegeta snapped although Krillin was hopeful this was more directed at Freeza than at him. "I surpassed the king back when I was still a child. Transformation or not, I can deal with you."

"As you wish."

He let out a scream and hunched over, his fists clenched and his face locked in a contorted scowl. Energy gathered around him and with another shout, Freeza's armor shattered.

Vegeta scoffed. "Is that all? A silly way to take off your armor?"

Freeza took a deep breath as if to steady himself, then smiled almost indulgently. "Oh, Vegeta, you really disappoint me. I expected so much more of you and you could have come far if only you had stayed subservient to me. But now you'll have to suffer."

With that, he started again.

Krillin stumbled backward and judging by Vegeta's sharp intake of breath he too hadn't expected the massive energy output they all felt. The wind picked up once more, stronger than ever before, and mountains trembled and shattered around them.

It was hard to keep their footing in the chaos of erupting rocks and frenzied winds that spread dust clouds all around so Krillin and Gohan took to the sies. Dende tried to imitate them but struggled not to be blown away so Krillin grabbed the kid and held onto him, as he watched with growing horror Freeza transform below them.

Purple lightning raced over his body as Freeza's torso started to inflate and the muscles on his arms and legs bulged with power. His limbs grew longer and amidst all his screaming his head transformed, matching the size of his body that now dwarfed the form he had before. His horns grew and curved upward like two black spears.

And worst of all was that he hadn't been bluffing after all. His energy output was beyond anything Krillin had ever felt and it still kept rising.

With a final shout more of the ground turned to dust, reshaping the shoreline so that the green waters of Namek came ever closer. A sharp rock grazed Krillin's cheek and he wiped at the spot to see his fingers stained red.

"What a shame that you were so wrong about my power, huh, Vegeta?" Freeza boomed from below, his once hoarse voice turned into a deep, menacing tone. "Let's see where I'll start my killing. Maybe with this one."

With that he leaped into the air and Krillin barely had time to fully register what was happening. Maybe he could have gotten away if it weren't for Dende in his arms but the thought of deserting the boy didn't even cross his mind.

Acting half on instinct he shoved Dende out of harm's way. A split second later one of Freeza's horns pierced his torso and with a sickening crunch exited his back.

Krillin gasped, his adrenalin rushing to his brain before the wave of pain really hit. His whole body felt like on fire. Vaguely, he could hear Dende and Gohan scream his name but it all started to blur fast.

Desperately, he tried to move backward but Freeza kept butting his head into his stomach to keep him firmly impaled. He couldn't grab the horn to push himself off as it was too slick with his own blood and when he feebly kicked at Freeza's head, the alien only laughed.

As the world turned dark around him, Freeza hurled him off with a shake of his head and he tumbled down and down until he hit water.

Then he knew no more.

AN: I'm really sorry this is taking me so long to update but my life is so busy right now.

Also, in case you're wondering why Vegeta being a prince is a surprise to Krillin: I'm (mostly) going by the manga where that didn't come up before. I guess this whole Vegeta stating that he's a prince from the beginning was mainly a thing in the US dub but I didn't grow up with that one (yeah, I'm not a native speaker) and only saw bits and pieces of it later.

Thank you so much for reading and an especially big thanks to everyone who reviews. I really appreciate it.