Upon reflection, I've realized that adopting the same convention for both telepathy and internal thoughts is not a wise decision. I have decided to underline telepathic conversations, since we don't use underlines much. I intend to edit previous chapters with this convention, then delete this note.

"—ause it's Ve...where the hell did Frieza go?" Vegeta, the Prince of all Saiyans, was no longer on Namek, which was a good thing (especially since it was currently on fire). Unfortunately, this meant that he couldn't kill Frieza, but this was more than balanced out by the fact that Frieza was no longer able to attack him.

Vegeta looked around. Something about the planet seemed familiar. It had green plants, with most of the ones in the immediate biomes being what passed for trees on this boring planet. There were also green, bipedal animals, which—Oh, those are those Namekians. What the hell are they doing here? ...Probably whatever the hell I'm doing here.

The Namekians were moving closer to a deep voice, which Vegeta recognized as that of the giant fat one that had given power boosts to the Earthling runts. He was sitting in the middle of a clearing in the forest, surrounded by a small mob of normal, pathetic Namekians.

"...that neither you nor your children are likely to forget. The Super Saiyan remained on Namek, as he desired. All for the best, most likely, as in his current form, he could wreak destruction on this planet which would dwarf that caused on Namek by Frieza's soldiers. You see..."

Vegeta sighed, staring at the gathered green goobers. I cant' believe it. I was close enough to Frieza I could have spit on him...I should have spit on him, come to think of it. That big dragon, Prunga or whatever, was there...if this isn't the result of some wish, then I'm as weak as Raditz. But who could possibly have benefited from being taken away from the dying planet where two beings nearly as powerful as me were battling?

Well, I suppose nearly everyone. But who that was nearby?

"...to explode any minute now."

Whatever the fat one was saying agitated the rest of the Namekians. He put his hand on the head of a nearby Namekian child.

"Sadly, there is nothing I, or any of us, can do to save our planet. We should rejoice in that our race was saved from destruction..." The fat one turned his head towards where Vegeta was standing, near the edge the clearing. "All but the inhabitants of one village..." His head turned forward once more. "...but more than we could have hoped."

The child stammered. "But—but—our home!"

A Namekian Vegeta recognized as the one who was on Earth for some reason, who somehow powered up enough to fight Frieza in his third form, spoke up. "Goku wanted to stay and fight? What was he thinking?"

"Was he?" asked the native Earthling woman who had been on Namek for some reason.

The Namekian continued. "Even if he does defeat Frieza, there's no way he'd survive the planet exploding!" He sighed in irritation. "The only thing that makes sense is if he was trying to stay to make sure Frieza was defeated."

"Of course he did," said the voice of the half-breed, who was hidden from Vegeta's view by the Namekians. "My dad is honorable."

The Earth-woman sighed. "Or just stupid."

The Earthlings, native and otherwise, stood in mourning for a moment. The Namekians honored their loss with a moment of silence. Prince Vegeta did as well, but for only a moment.

"I understand Kakarot's choice," he said.

Everyone in the crowd turned to Vegeta in surprise. Were they all so enthralled by the overgrown melon that they didn't notice me? "However much he tries to resist it, Kakarot is a Saiyan. No Saiyan can turn down a good fight. If the legends of the Super Saiyan are true, and if Kakarot is their realization, his battle-lust is stronger than ever before. Nothing short of death will stop their fight...nothing. And if they both die—say, from an exploding planet—I'll undeniably be the strongest in the universe."

Goku smashed Frieza into the ground. "I'm done fighting you."

Frieza looked up in surprise. "...What?"

"You're no fun to fight any more." Whatever happened while Goku was out, it hurt Frieza a lot. Parts of his skin-armor were shattered, revealing pale flesh beneath and forcing him to move more carefully. Moreover, Fireza had expended a lot of energy, not only on trying to blow up Namek and power up, but also on the more or less constant battle he had endured since Goku was still in the healing tank. Frieza was slow, weak, and fragile compared to how he was earlier. "I'm done here."

"You..." Frieza chuckled. "You're just afraid, aren't you? Well, your fear may be the smartest thought you've had today, but it won't be enough for me to spa—"

Goku stepped on Frieza's head. "No. I'm done. I'm going to find a way off this planet, and you probably are, too." Goku rook his foot off of Frieza. "And once you're out there, if you know what's good for you, you'll hide away somewhere far away and won't cause trouble...because you know I'll find you, and kill you."

"You arrogant beast...you think you can kill the great and mighty Lord Frieza, ruler of the galaxy, once he hasn't been weakened by—" A bolt of energy from Goku's new aura struck the ground next to Frieza, creating a crater the size of a half-watermelon.

"No. I know I can." The Saiyan smiled. "Unless, perhaps, you train. Maybe then you'll be a threat to me. Maybe, when you start killing people again, you'll be stronger—an even better opponent." He held out his hand, transferring some of his ki to Frieza. "There. Now you should be able to find some way to safety. I mean, I'll be taking a spaceship, but didn't you say you could breathe in space?"

Frieza growled, but he was stronger. If he tries, he should be able to get to safety.

Is...is that bastard showing me mercy? Me, the most powerful being in the universe? The merciless lord of the entire North Galaxy, heir to the most powerful being before him? How? How is this possible?

This is a nightmare. Surely, that's the only sane explanation. Surely I'll wake up soon. Maybe I'll wake up faster if I pinch myself...Ow! No, that didn't help. So...this cruel dream is reality.

...

Shit.

I could do what he said. I've never trained a lick, and Father says he and Cooler were as weak as Ginyu's last body before they "learned how to fight," even in their true forms. If I found some secluded world and got some hick-warriors to teach me, I'm sure I could increase my power greatly. With enough work, I might even be able to create some kind of enhanced form—something like Cooler's, except with fewer gaudy spikes.

No. I'm sure they'd like that, this Sungokoo and Cooler both. It's playing right into the filthy monkey's hands—why else would he tell me to train? Ah, I bet it's planning to take over my father's empire—my empire—and then have the most powerful warriors on my planets kill me when I least expect it. Or maybe it'll get Cooler to do kill me, like he's always—that's it! It was Cooler! I should have known. The Saiyan's from some backwater planet, how could it possibly have a spaceship capable of going from there to Namek? I bet Cooler's planned this ever since I blew up Planet Vegeta.

Cooler probably let the stupid monkey escape the—no, he probably directed the whole thing, from the Saiyan being sent away at just the right instant to it ending up on a planet where Cooler could keep an eye on it, bring the greatest teachers from around the galaxy—like that Namekian! I bet that's why Raditz was sent there, to teach the "legendary Super Saiyan" the ways of Saiyan warriors! Raditz isn't dead at all, is he? He's probably just waiting for the halfbreed brat to come back so he can train him! Even Vegeta could be in on it, if Cooler or Raditz told him about how I blew up his planet and killed his pathetic father!

I should have known it was a conspiracy the moment I heard the Ginyus were dead. Hell, I should have suspected it from when Dodoria and Zarbon were killed by Vegeta! It was Cooler all along. Well, when I get off this planet, I'm telling Dad about everything and we'll get that piece of scum wiped from the galaxy! But first...his stupid monkey catspaw needs to be dealt with.

Lord Frieza, whose brilliance and tenacity are exceeded only by his cunning and strength, generated a thin energy disc, red as the sky and as the fires which cast an eerie glow over the dying planet. "Hey, Saiyan!"

It turned around. "What is it? I'm kinda in a hurry."

"Oh, it's no problem. It's just one thing...I don't need the power you gave me. So here—have it back!" Lord Frieza hurled the disk at the Saiyan. It dodged, but with a swipe of Frieza's mighty hand, the disk wheeled around to hit it from behind. But somehow, the Saiyan knew the disk was coming, and dodged so quickly it looked like he disappeared.

"What's wrong with you?" the Saiyan shouted from distressingly close to Frieza's left ear. "I was trying to help you!"

The great Frieza turned to it. "How dare you criticize my actions?! I am the great Lord Frieza, and you're just a puppet of—"

"Watch out!"

The invincible Frieza brandished his finger at the primitive scum. "Don't you tell me what to do, you filthy mon—"

Frieza lost feeling in his legs, tail and left hand. When he looked down, he saw why—they were gone, the stumps red and wet.

"You...bastard..." Frieza fell down, and felt himself embraced by the warmth of the lava on the burning planet.

Why couldn't Frieza back down? Goku wondered. Does he hate me? Is he so used to winning that he just can't stand losing, that he's willing to take a million-to-one shot at victory even if it means he'll almost certainly die? Or maybe he wants to die...did he say something about that earlier?

It doesn't matter. I need to find a way off of this planet! Where's Frieza's spaceship? It's busted, but maybe I can make something work...

Goku!

King Kai? Is that you?

Why does everyone ask that? Look, you don't have much time. I'm not sure how long until Namek explodes—

Goku dodged a plume of fire leaping out of the surface. Frieza said it would take five minutes, but it feels like that was hours ago.

I don't know what to tell you, but...get to safety, any way you can.

Goku nodded. He saw a large saucer-like object, which looked like a spaceship that had been beaten up. It might still be worth looking into...I mean, the inside of my spaceship looked at least that bad after I finished training, but it worked fine! At least, I hope it did...

Upon entering, Goku saw that the inside looked even worse than he had expected. Well, it's still not too bad...I just need to find the controls, have it fly me to Earth, and then find some place without holes to spend time.

Goku's new aura smashed a hole in a nearby wall. It might not be that easy...I need to bring the Super Saiyan power under control somehow...