Retreat

Piccolo flared his ki around him, instantly freeing himself from the horde of crazed humans that attacked him unprovoked. Sneering at them, he jumped into the air and sped off in the direction of Kami's Lookout, stopping periodically to fight alien invaders - and vampiric earthlings. He doubted the humans' behavior was caused by anything Frieza had done. After fighting off a few more humans, he was still undecided on what to do; he could continue fighting Frieza's men, or he could seek a solution to the problem of all the earthlings going mad. He was still trying to figure out what to do when he sensed that Gohan was in trouble. Fortunately, he wasn't far from the Lookout, so it didn't take him long to reach it. What he wasn't expecting was the high energies within the palace that obviously didn't belong to Kami or any of the other earthling warriors. Frieza's men? There was no way to be sure.

Not wasting any time, Piccolo ran over to the main entrance of the guardian's palace – which was looking the worse for wear – and listened to the talking inside. There were four distinct voices, one he was familiar with enough to recognize: Garlic, Jr. His brows knit as he listened in.

"Should we kill him now, Lord Garlic?"

"No. He's going to tell me where his father is before we kill him. They can die together."

"What about the other one?"

"Throw him in with the other prisoners."

"Why are we taking prisoners anyway? I thought we were going to use the black water mist to take over the world. They aren't even infected by it."

"Because, you idiot, we can use these fools as bait. When Goku finds out his precious friends and family are being held hostage, he'll come to save them, and then we'll kill him!"

"How will he know we have them?"

Piccolo stopped listening for a moment, his thoughts racing. Leave it to that little slug to try getting revenge at a time like this. Any other time they could easily defeat him, throw him back into the void he somehow escaped from, but now? Now everyone was busy fighting Frieza and his men. They didn't have much manpower to spare. He sighed, leaning heavily on the wall of the palace. Black water mist. He knew a little bit about it, but not much. That had to be what was making all the humans in the world go mad. Well, there had to be some way to reverse its effects.

Garlic Jr. turned toward the entryway and frowned. "Spice, I believe we have a guest waiting outside. Why don't you show him in?"

Wincing in pain, the blue-skinned commander of the Spice Boys stood up and walked over to the entrance of the palace. Already he could feel the power of the Makyo Star healing his arm, but it was still useless in a fight, so he hoped whoever was outside wouldn't struggle much. Outside, he stopped when he saw Piccolo lowering himself into his defensive stance. "Piccolo, what a surprise. What are you doing here?"

Piccolo sneered. "I could ask you the same question."

"Now, now, there's no need to be rude," Spice said calmly, circling around the Namekian. "Weren't you down below when the black water mist came? You should have been infected by it."

"Guess it only works on humans," Piccolo retorted. "I want to see Garlic."

Spice sighed dramatically before turning to go back inside, leading the way to see his master. "Very well, then. Come this way."

Piccolo took a few steps inside the palace before pausing, looking around at the surroundings. There was an obscenely large throne in place of Kami's old throne. Garlic Jr. was sitting on it, looking even more ridiculous than usual as his small stature was engulfed by the throne. In his lap he was holding a glass jar, and inside the jar was a miniaturized Kami. Piccolo's brows knit as he turned his gaze away from Garlic, spotting Nappa and Gohan sprawled out on the floor by the far wall. Both of them looked beat up, but their injuries were mostly superficial. With their physiology, it wouldn't take long for them to recover and become even stronger than before. But until that happened, he needed to make sure Garlic didn't kill them. He finished his survey of the room, noting that Garlic had a second jar containing Mr. Popo. All the others who had been left on the Lookout must have been taken somewhere else and held captive – or killed.

"Well, Piccolo, how nice of you to join us," Garlic Jr. said when he saw the Namekian follow Spice inside. "I have a little proposition for you. Join us and live as a ruler over this world. The black water mist has made all the humans our obedient servants, and in 24 hours the effects of the mist will be irreversible. What do you say?"

Piccolo turned back to the small creature, lip curled contemptuously. "The effects aren't permanent until then? I gather there's a way to cure them, then. Why would I align myself with you when there's a chance you'll fail?"

Garlic Jr. scoffed, waving his hand in dismissal. "Don't be ridiculous, Piccolo. The only way to stop my plan is to administer the sacred water to every being affected by the mist before the 24 hours is up. And I can assure you," he said coldly, giving his audience a pointed glare, "that isn't going to happen."

Glancing over at Gohan and Nappa, Piccolo nodded slowly. "I'm sure your plan is brilliant, Garlic, but there's a problem you hadn't anticipated."

"Oh? And what would that be?"

"Earth's being invaded by an alien army as we speak, and they're killing every human on the planet. They weren't affected by the mist and they're going to conquer this planet. And I can assure you, they're much stronger than you and your men. You'll never rule this planet even if you kill Kami." Piccolo smirked, seeing he struck a nerve. From the corner of his eye he could see the two saiyan warriors rousing from unconsciousness and urged them mentally to stay quiet so they wouldn't gain the attention of the others in the room.

Though he was taken aback at first, Garlic Jr. shrugged disinterestedly after hearing Piccolo's disturbing revelation. "They're stronger, you say? Even if that's true, you've forgotten something: I'm immortal. I can't be killed no matter how strong they are. Don't be a fool. Join me and live as a god among these people."

Piccolo snorted, shaking his head. "Maybe later." While Garlic Jr. struggled to squelch his indignation, Piccolo lowered himself to his fighting stance, ready to take on the remaining lackeys to buy time for the others to recover fully and get back in the fight.

…

Vegeta coughed violently after taking a hard punch to the gut. He hadn't seen it coming, hadn't been able to block or dodge. Frieza's most recent transformation was incredible; while his body had shrunk back to its original size, his skin was almost all pure white aside from patches of purple that formed a sort of organic armor. Not only was he many times stronger in this form, but he was also faster, so much faster Vegeta had no chance of keeping up with him even at his maximum power. The worst part was knowing Frieza was toying with him as he fought, cutting down his pride with taunts as well as kicks and punches. He was defenseless and losing energy fast.

While he felt Raditz retreat several minutes ago with the earthling warriors in tow, he could still sense Kakarrot close by, no doubt waiting for his chance to step in and try his hand against Frieza. He scoffed at the idea; if he was being so terribly beaten, the third-class saiyan would have even less of a chance of winning. But let the fool hang around, putting himself in danger. That was his prerogative, and though Vegeta would prefer him going somewhere else to actually make himself useful, he wasn't going to tell him to leave. Not when there was still the slim chance of him swallowing his pride and asking for help.

"What's the matter, Vegeta?" Frieza jeered, slapping the saiyan prince to the ground with a quick flick of his tail. "Are you getting tired already?"

Vegeta rose shakily to his hands and knees, ignoring the stinging sensation where the lizard's tail whipped him. He had been beaten worse than this many times in his life. So far – he hadn't decided if it was good or bad – he wasn't even on the verge of blacking out from the pain and blood loss. No, he still had some fight left in him that Frieza was trying hard to bring out. With a soft hiss of pain, Vegeta forced himself to his feet and threw himself at the tyrant wildly, hoping that in his blind rage he might be able to land a single blow. He had long since thrown strategy to the wayside. It wasn't helping anyway.

As soon as he was back on his feet, Frieza phased in next to him and backhanded him halfway across the desolated city. The prince landed not far from where Goku was standing, watching. With blurred vision, Vegeta rolled onto his back with a groan of pain and found himself at the feet of the other saiyan. He looked up, noting how the normally cheerful façade was replaced with a rare scowl, his hands balled into fists at his sides, his whole body trembling with rage and bloodlust. In that brief moment, Vegeta knew that Kakarrot was a true saiyan, no matter how human he had allowed himself to become. It was almost a relief, but at the same time it shamed him to know he was being beaten and humiliated in front of one of his people.

"Kakarrot," he ground out through tightly clenched teeth, "don't you dare interfere. This is my battle, and unless I'm dead, I will finish it."

Goku looked down at him, and for a second Vegeta thought he could see pity and defiance flashing in his onyx eyes, but then it was gone. Perhaps he had simply imagined it. Either way, he dragged himself to his feet, ignoring the outstretched hand the tailless saiyan offered to help him up. Wiping his bloody lip on the back of his hand, Vegeta looked over to where the space tyrant was still standing, perfectly calm, not at all winded, hardly a scratch on his sleek white body. Hopelessness washed over him before he was able to calm himself.

"This bastard's mine," he muttered, mostly to himself. "It is my destiny to kill him."

Without a word Goku stepped back, silently obeying the prince he didn't serve. He watched as the flame-haired saiyan straightened his posture, taking on the regal poise he exhibited despite the pain shooting through his body and the lack of energy pumping through his muscles. In that moment, he gained a new respect for Vegeta as he watched him slowly levitate off the ground and move back toward his undefeatable enemy. Any other time he may have condemned the prince for his arrogance and pride, but after witnessing Frieza's cruelty and sadism, he could understand Vegeta's need for vengeance, for closure. He could never understand the history between them, but he could tell Vegeta needed this victory. That alone was the reason he held his tongue, swallowing back his protests and pleas for Vegeta to let him step in and fight. He was there as backup, as the silent witness to what would surely be the greatest battle of the universe.

It was difficult to continue watching when he saw Vegeta easily batted aside when he charged toward the small tyrant. He winced when he heard more cracking bones and Vegeta's roars of agony as Frieza ground him into the dirt. Never before had he ever heard Vegeta utter a single cry of pain no matter what kind of suffering he endured; because of this, he knew what Vegeta was experiencing now far outweighed anything else he had ever lived through. Goku had to force himself not to look away as Frieza wrapped his tail around Vegeta's neck and suspended him from the ground, beating him like a living punching bag with such speed he couldn't even see his fists moving.

Vegeta coughed up gobs of blood, retching as he nearly choked on blood, phlegm, and whatever other fluids seeped down his trachea and into his lungs. By now he was sure every one of his ribs was fractured and he had to have several displaced vertebrae. He knew if he lived through the fight he would be pissing blood for weeks as he felt more unbearably strong punches hitting his kidneys. Maybe it would be a blessing to die after this beating. Surely he would be forever crippled if he lived.

'No, damnit, I can't think like that!' he shouted at himself. 'I am not going to lose and I can't die. I have to live to be with my woman. Damnit, I have to protect my pack!' With a roar of unadulterated fury, Vegeta's energy exploded around his body, freeing him from the grasp of the lizard for a short reprieve from his suffering. Breathing heavily, he landed in a heap on the ground, not having the energy and coordination to land on his feet or keep himself from eating dirt. He pushed himself onto his back and raised himself up on his elbows, looking around for the white lizard through the cloud of dust surrounding him.

When he was sure he was in the clear – for now, at least – he struggled to his feet and crouched down, ready to pounce as soon as he knew where Frieza was. He must have had a concussion, he figured, as it was difficult to concentrate and keep his senses attuned to his environment. His mind felt hazy, making it more challenging to pinpoint Frieza's ki and attack. He shook his head to clear it, but only ended up making it worse until he had to swallow bile rising in his throat as a wave of nausea overtook him.

Then he felt the air shift behind him and tensed every muscle in his body in preparation to receive another staggering blow, but none came. Confused, he turned his head until he saw Frieza's face mere inches from his own. He swallowed, but his mouth was dry and his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth.

"Don't be a coward, Vegeta," Frieza whispered, his grating voice sending chills down Vegeta's spine. "You knew as well as I that one day I would kill you. You're weak, just like your father and your entire race."

Vegeta's breath hitched when he felt Frieza's hand on his shoulder, digging his nails deep into his flesh until rivulets of hot blood poured down his arm, dripping from his elbow to the ground. He ground his teeth together as he held back another cry of pain, willing himself to stay strong even as he faced his inevitable defeat. Yes, he was weak. How many times in his life had he proven that? He was weak enough to form attachments to the Briefs as a boy, weak enough to allow himself to become a monster, weak enough to lose his mind in the isolation chamber, weak enough to choose to stay on Earth rather than leave to save his pack. His weakness would be his undoing, and it was because of his weakness that his pack was going to die. It was his weakness that led Frieza right to them.

'No,' he vowed to himself, trying to cast aside his despair, 'I can't die like this! I will not die like a yellow dog under the porch! No!'

Frieza laughed victoriously when the great saiyan prince crumpled to his knees, tremors creeping through his body as he fought to ignore his pain and maintain his foolish pride. He wouldn't last much longer in battle; he was too weary and mentally he was unstable. All the taunting, the jokes, they were in fact his greatest weapon against the little monkey. He always strutted about with a bloated ego, but he was easier to tear apart than anyone else he knew. Frieza knew Vegeta through and through, and he knew that Vegeta's greatest strength, his pride, was also his greatest weakness, his Achilles heel.

…

Raditz stopped in the forest near Korin's Tower and set the three unconscious warriors on the ground. He figured there was no one else near enough to hurt them before they woke up, and they were far enough from all the battles that they wouldn't interfere and accidentally aid the enemy. Besides, he was tired of awkwardly carrying three grown men across the globe.

He sat down, leaning against a tree trunk, and tried to feel out the battle between Vegeta and Frieza. He frowned when all he could feel was Frieza's tremendous power easily eclipsing the prince. He could also sense Goku near the battle, but he was staying out of it. His ki was flickering with suppressed rage and excitement, but it was still kept down. He definitely wasn't preparing for battle, at least not any time soon. Apparently, then, Vegeta was still hanging on, but he probably didn't have any hope of winning. Raditz sighed, instead focusing his senses on the Lookout high above where he was sitting. He expected only to find the power levels of Nappa and Gohan, but instead he felt Piccolo and four other massive, unfamiliar energies. Immediately he jumped to his feet, hands clenching into fists at his sides.

"Nappa!" he screamed through their mental link, "What the hell is going on up there? Whose ki do I feel? Where's Bulma?"

He waited impatiently for a minute, but no answer came. Nappa was either so distracted that he couldn't spare the mental energy it would take to reply, or he was unconscious. Judging by the level of power Raditz felt at the Lookout, he guessed it was the latter. Straining his senses, he searched for Bulma's ki until finally he found it in a different location at the Lookout. It was below her normal level, even when she was repressing it, so she, too, must have been unconscious. Growling, Raditz glared down at the three earthlings once more before darting straight up into the sky to find out what was going on. Who was there who could easily take out both Nappa and Gohan and be giving Piccolo such a hard time?

Not wanting to distract Vegeta from his fight, he sent a telepathic message to his brother instead. "Kakarrot, there's trouble at the Lookout. I might need backup, get here as soon as possible."

"What? I can't leave Vegeta here alone, Raditz!"

There was a practically audible growl that passed across the brothers' mental link. "Then bring him along! Frieza isn't going anywhere, but I think Bulma and the others are in danger. Nappa and Gohan are both out cold and Piccolo's fighting against four others with huge power levels."

"He won't like having his fight interrupted…"

"You think I don't know that?"

Sighing, Goku cut off the mental link with his brother and waited for a short lull in the fight for him to relay the message to Vegeta. The last thing he wanted was for his intrusion into the prince's mind to cause him to get into a bind he couldn't break free from. When Frieza batted Vegeta across the city, Goku decided that was as good a time as any to speak up.

"Vegeta! Raditz says they're having trouble at the Lookout. He wants us to go there now."

If he thought the growl from Raditz was loud, the one he received from Vegeta was practically enough to liquefy his brains. "Can you not see I'm busy, Kakarrot? Deal with it yourself! I don't need your help here!"

"But Vegeta, what if Bulma's in danger? Don't you want to help her?"

There was an audible roar of frustration from the other side of the city. "I can't call a time-out in this fight! Go!"

"What if something happens to you while I'm gone? I won't be able to help you. Come on, Vegeta, you need to come with me. Look, I have a plan. I can temporarily blind Frieza and we can get away, okay?"

"No, Kakar—"

"Close your eyes!" Cutting off the mental link before Vegeta could protest more, Goku phased over to stand in front of the fallen prince, acting as a barrier between him and Frieza. With eyes clamped shut, he moved his hands up to the sides of his face, fingers extended, and yelled, "Solar flare!"

In the blinding flash of light that followed, Goku turned around, grabbed Vegeta's arm, and hauled him off the ground as he blasted into the sky. He pushed himself to go as fast as he possibly could to put as much distance between himself and Frieza before the lizard's vision recovered from the solar flare. Goku heard Vegeta screaming at him as they flew, but he wasn't paying attention to what the prince was saying. At any rate, it probably wasn't anything he wanted to hear.

With the increasing distance between the saiyans and Frieza, Goku was better able to feel out what was going on at the Lookout. Raditz was there now, fighting someone with a high power level; not as high as Raditz, but enough to give him trouble, and he seemed to have incredible endurance. Frowning, Goku hurried on to the Lookout with Vegeta in tow, still having a royal tantrum about being taken away from his fight with Frieza.

As they flew past Korin's Tower, Goku considered leaving Vegeta there to recover a little before bringing him into another battle, but he dismissed that thought as soon as it entered his mind. If it wasn't bad enough to force Vegeta to retreat, it would be even worse to make him retreat and then not allow him to fight to protect his pack. The Prince of all Saiyans was badly beaten, so how he would be any use in a fight against powerful opponents was a good question. Still, he had some energy reserves left, and though he couldn't move quickly anymore and he could hardly coordinate his muscles enough to throw a decent punch, he could still be useful, somehow. But seeing Korin's Tower reminded him that Raditz had three senzu beans, which would be a great help in getting Vegeta back on his feet. With a sigh, Goku flew still higher until he reached the Lookout. As soon as he did, Piccolo's body went flying off the edge and started plummeting to the ground far below. Dropping Vegeta's body unceremoniously on the platform, Goku dove after the Namekian and caught him, then carried him back up.

Goku landed on the edge of the Lookout near where he left Vegeta and laid Piccolo down next to him. He stood up and appraised the fighters he saw around the destroyed palace. There was a blue-skinned man with white hair and two tall muscle-bound thugs, one with lavender skin and the other with tan skin and long, reddish hair. They were disgustingly ugly, but Goku had seen worse that day.

"Who are you?" he demanded. "Frieza's men?"

The blue-skinned man's eyes scanned over Goku before he replied, "We don't know who this Frieza is. We serve Lord Garlic. And who are you?"

"My name is Goku. What have you done with my son?"

"Spice!"

The blue-skinned man turned toward the entrance to the main palace when he heard his name called by his master. He knelt down when the small, cloaked figure appeared in the doorway. "Yes, master Garlic?"

Garlic walked over to where his servant was kneeling, the whole time keeping his eyes on Goku to watch for any sudden moves. "I was wondering when you would show up, Goku. I've been waiting for you."

While Garlic Jr. continued explicating his desire for revenge, his brilliant plan to rule the world, and how he was going to make him and his son pay for defeating him before, Goku's gaze again shifted around the Lookout. 'Where's Raditz?' he wondered. Honing his senses to locate his brother, he found him inside the palace. He was still strong, so he hadn't been beaten like the others. And speaking of the others, he was with Gohan and Nappa, who now felt strong enough that they must be awake, though still recovering from their previous fight with these goons.

Interrupting Garlic's spiel, Goku asked, "And what did you do to my brother? Where is he? Where are all my friends?"

Garlic's eyebrows rose as he was momentarily at a loss for words. "Brother? You have a brother?"

"Yeah, tall guy, has a tail, long hair…"

Spice laughed when he heard the description. "Oh, him? He was even easier to defeat than your little runt and the bald man."

Goku had to hide the smirk that tugged at the corner of his lips. Raditz hadn't been defeated, he just allowed them to think they defeated him so they would take him to the others. Apparently they couldn't sense ki or they would have known that. Putting on a false frown he growled, "You won't get away with this!"

The self-proclaimed Guardian of Earth was unimpressed as he stepped forward, shedding his cloak. "And who is this?" he asked, looking down at Vegeta. "Another friend? He doesn't look like he'll be much use to you in a fight against an immortal like me."

The tailless saiyan glanced down at the prince, then back up at Garlic, who was still moving closer. "You'd be surprised. Now tell me where the others are."

It didn't surprise Goku when Garlic refused to tell him what he wanted to know, so with his mental link with Raditz he told him, "You need to find the others. He probably has them locked in one of the rooms in there. Find them and get them out. I'll hold these guys off."

"Okay. Gohan and Nappa are both going to be fine. I'm splitting one of the senzu beans between them. These guys aren't that strong, but it's like you can't keep them down. Be careful."

"I will."

Goku sank into his fighting stance, raising his power to match the others. "Alright, if that's the way you want to play it, fine."

"Step back, boys," Garlic Jr. said, "The coup de grace is mine."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? You're going to need all the help you can get." Before giving his opponent a chance to reconsider, Goku lunged at him and caught him with a hard right hook that sent him flying across the platform. He phased over to where he landed and aimed a kick at his ribs, but Garlic dodged and jumped back to his feet, ready to start anew.

'Well,' Goku thought, 'Maybe he'll be more of a challenge than I thought.' Smirking, he tried attacking again, but instead of landing any blows, he received a kick to the gut that left him winded.

At the edge of the Lookout, Piccolo shook his head to clear it and rose to his feet, watching the battle playing out between Goku and Garlic. While they were busy, it would be easier to take on the lackeys. He looked over when he heard Vegeta coughing as he sat up, holding his ribs with one arm and supporting himself with the other. It didn't look like his battle with Frieza had been going too well.

"Vegeta, can you get up?" he asked gruffly.

Vegeta glared at him a moment, then spat out a mouthful of blood. "Of course I can get up, you fool. Who the hell are these freaks?"

While Piccolo gave a brief rundown on all the warriors around the Lookout, Vegeta started testing him limits, figuring out how far he could push his ki without it overwhelming his broken body. Every surge of power that coursed through him brought a small sense of relief as it helped his body heal, but it would be a long time before he would be recovered enough to be able to fight well.

Despite the warning growl, Piccolo helped Vegeta to his feet. "Gohan, Raditz, and Nappa are all inside. Raditz is fine, so I think he's searching for Bulma and the others. We need to get inside and free Kami so he can get the sacred water to the Earth to reverse the effects of the black water mist."

"The what?" Vegeta groaned, resting his hands on his knees.

"The stuff that made all the earthlings start acting like animals. If they don't get the sacred water by the time 24 hours have passed, they'll be stuck like that forever." By now, their hushed conversation and movement had gained the attention of Spice and Mustard. "Great, looks like we're going to have a little trouble getting inside."

Vegeta straightened, rolling his shoulders back. "Why should we care about the humans?" he growled. "There's more important things to take care of right now. Remember Frieza?"

Piccolo took his fighting stance as Spice and Mustard approached them. "There'll be no point in saving this planet if all the people kill each other. Are you still able to fight?"

The flame-haired saiyan snorted. "I am the Prince of all Saiyans! Of course I can fight."

"Good, because it looks like you're going to have to." Piccolo hardly finished saying the last word before Spice phased out and reappeared in front of him, swinging his fist. The Namekian barely caught it before it landed on his jaw. Then the two of them disappeared, continuing their battle in the air above the Lookout.

"Great," Vegeta muttered, looking up at his opponent. "Why do I get ugly?"

…

"My eyes! What have they done to my eyes?" Frieza howled with frustration and pain as he cracked his eyes open. Colorful spots danced across his field of vision as everything blurred and turned white, then black. He clawed at his eyes, willing them to stop hurting, to be able to focus on his surroundings. Finally, after a few minutes of near-blindness, he was able to open his eyes and look around at the decimated city without much pain.

He was not at all surprised when he didn't see either of the saiyans around, but it still made his frustration grow exponentially. His fists clenched so tightly his black nails drew blood from the palms of his hands. "Where did they go? Foolish monkeys! They cannot escape me!"

The idea of blowing up the entire planet with them still on it crossed his mind, but he shook it off. No, after this last humiliation he was going to watch them die slowly by his hand, writhing in agony on the floor as he tortured them. He could almost hear their horrified screams as he exacted his revenge on them for their insolence. But first he had to find them, and they could be anywhere on the planet by now. Forcing himself to calm down enough to think rationally, Frieza started back toward his ship, which was amazingly still intact despite the battle waged around it. At the hatch, he found his hovering throne and inside his scouter was still on the seat. Smirking to himself, he picked up the scouter and put it on, pushing the button to activate it.

Hundreds of numbers scrawled across the screen, some large, some small, none of them would belong to the saiyan prince. Still, Frieza waited patiently for the scouter to locate all the significant ki on the planet. Eventually it would find Vegeta, even if he did already have one foot in the grave. "You can't hide for long, my little pet."

…

Vegeta's body skidded across the cracked tile floor after receiving another crushing blow from the monstrous creature he was pitted against. Going against his better judgment, he powered up higher until he felt like his energy was going to consume his body. 'This is ridiculous! I should be having no trouble at all beating his scum into the ground!'

Before he could get up, Mustard flew over and landed on his chest, holding him down with his foot. Beads of sweat formed on Vegeta's brow as he forced himself to hold in the roar of pain as his already cracked ribs were crushed under Mustard's weight. He gurgled as blood flowed into his lungs, pieces of shattered bone piercing his vital organs. There was no way he could take much more of this without dying.

He had almost resigned himself to his fate when the weight on his chest suddenly disappeared. He opened his eyes and looked over when he heard a crash to his left. There he saw a tangle of limbs as Spice and Mustard tried to get up. Turning his head to look the other way, he saw Piccolo running toward him. He rolled onto his side, letting some of the blood flow freely from his mouth and nose.

"Get up, Vegeta!" Piccolo barked.

If it hadn't hurt so much, Vegeta would have growled at the Namekian for ordering him around like a child. As it was, all he could do was give a withering glare as he pushed himself to his feet, hardly able to remain standing with all the energy he'd lost. He was definitely running on his last reserves now. He winced in pain with each hurried step he took toward the central palace, counting on Piccolo to hold off the opposing fighters while he made another ungraceful, humiliating retreat.

Vegeta was almost to the door when another of the large fighters, the one with lavender skin who was wearing a brown hat, dropped down in front of him, barring his path. "And just where do you think you're going, little man?"

"Get the fuck out of my way," Vegeta hissed menacingly, his lips curling in a feral snarl. He refused to let anyone else push him around, no matter how badly he had been weakened in his fights. Inside the palace somewhere was his woman and his pack, and he was going to help them escape their prison and hopefully send them off planet. Nothing was going to stand in his way, not even some enormous, bulky creature like the one in front of him now.

As Vegeta advanced another step, Vinegar took a hesitant step back. While he was surely stronger and able to beat this little man into a pulp, something stayed his hand. Maybe it was the pure malice and hatred burning in the flame-haired man's eyes or the chilling tone his voice took before descending into a growl. But it was only one step, and that wasn't enough to let Vegeta into the main palace where the others were, and it was the only step he was willing to give up.

Vinegar swung his fist forward, intending to hit Vegeta in the chest, but with an unexpected show of speed and strength, the saiyan blocked the blow with both of his hands, holding onto the large fist and refusing to let go. Taking a deep breath despite the immense pain and blood in his lungs, Vegeta pulled Vinegar forward, throwing him off balance, and jumped over him, kicking his head hard on the way over. He landed behind Vinegar with a slight stagger before flooring him with a strong back kick. Once that threat was out of the way, Vegeta started running forward, not really knowing where he was going, just knowing that he needed to get inside.

He only managed to take a few steps in before something heavy landed on his back, pushing him down to the floor. He groaned as he hit the floor, unable to free himself from the weight on his back. "Damnit!" he yelled. "Get off me!"

"Whoops! Sorry, Vegeta," Goku said as he rolled off the prince, quickly getting back up on his feet. "Man, that little guy sure packs a punch. Well, I guess he's not so little anymore."

"Kakarrot, shut up and get away from me," Vegeta grumbled. He dragged himself forward with his arms, wincing with each movement. Goku heard his wheezing and saw the slick trail of blood he was leaving in his wake, but he didn't comment on it before running back out of the palace to reengage in battle against Garlic Jr.

No one else must have followed him in, as he was finally given the peace he wanted so he could catch his breath and regain a little strength. There was no relief from the sharp pain exploding through his chest. In truth he was surprised he wasn't already dead. But, surprising as that was, it didn't mean he had much longer to live. Not unless he could somehow find a way to heal instantly. He raised himself up on his elbows to look around the dark room. Over at the far side he could see Nappa and Gohan pulling themselves up to their feet, apparently too busy talking to have noticed his grand entrance.

Clearing his thoughts as best he could, Vegeta reached out with his mind to his bodyguard, no longer feeling up to the challenge of speaking. "Nappa! Where's my woman?"

Nappa looked over at his prince then, shocked when he saw the poor physical state he was in. "Vegeta, what the hell happened to you?" He hurried over to Vegeta and knelt down next to him. "Shit, how are you even alive?"

"Good question, save it for later. Tell me she's alive or I swear I will kill you."

Nappa glanced over his shoulder at the door Raditz went through earlier. "She's fine, but she was knocked out. Raditz is looking for her now. Where's Frieza, did you beat him?"

"No, you idiot. The freak's immortal! There's no way to kill him."

"Shit."

Vegeta coughed up more blood, watching detachedly as it spattered on the floor. The bright red fluid was filled with darker clots and some miniscule fragments of white bone. He panted for air after the coughing fit was over. He could practically feel his life slipping away. "Does anyone have one of those fucking beans?"

"Hey, kid!" Nappa yelled, turning back to Gohan. "You've got those beans, don't you?"

"Huh?" Gohan looked over at the two full-blooded saiyans, taking notice for the first time of Vegeta's critical condition. As he rushed over to Vegeta, he pulled a small brown sack out of his pocket. "Yeah, Raditz gave them to me! I've only got two, and it looks like he'll need both of them."

The saiyan prince accepted the first bean, but he pushed the other one away. "Save it," he said after swallowing the bean. He breathed a deep sigh of relief when a great deal of the pain eased and he felt the internal bleeding stop. It was a strange sensation feeling his body coming together again, but it left him feeling revived, though he still wasn't completely healed.

Once he felt the healing process ending, he stood up and stretched. Then, smirking, he turned back to the door where he heard the sounds of battle raging. Even without powering up he could feel a tremendous leap in his own strength. Maybe not enough to close the gap between himself and Frieza, but it would at least allow him to go for another round against the tyrant. Well, as soon as he took care of the thugs out there who hurt his pack.

"Brat, you're going to fight the purple freak out there. I'm taking big ugly. Nappa, go help Raditz find the others, and take the last bean in case one of them needs it. When you find them, get them out of here. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir." Nappa looked uneasily at his prince who was still showing signs of fatigue, but obediently he turned and ran through one of the other doorways and started searching for the Briefs and Goku's family and friends.

"Mr. Vegeta," Gohan said, "What about Kami and Mr. Popo? We have to free them so they can get the sacred water to the people of Earth."

"Fine, whatever, kid." Vegeta cracked his knuckles and lifted his chin proudly as he marched back outside to resume his fight with Mustard.

Gohan bit his bottom lip as he turned around and started searching the room for the two glass bottles. He had been unconscious when Garlic Jr. left the throne room with his minions, so he hadn't seen where he put the bottles. He hoped he didn't still have them. He scoured the room, and when he came up empty-handed, he started searching the adjoining rooms. Soon he found himself in a large, unlit room filled with ornate urns and cisterns. There, in the center of the room, was a table with a small jug on it, and next to the jug were the two bottles with Kami and Mr. Popo inside.

"That was almost too easy," Gohan thought out loud as he ran over to the table and picked up the bottles. As if to make sure there were no booby traps, he looked around the room again. Not seeing anything out of the ordinary – or at least what he assumed was ordinary – he broke the two bottles, releasing the Earth's guardian and his faithful caretaker. Instantly they grew back to their normal size.

"Thank you, Gohan," Kami said hastily as he picked up the jug from the table. "Are Garlic Jr. and his men still out there?"

Gohan nodded. "Yeah, but Vegeta, Raditz, and my dad are here now."

Kami held up the jug and turned to Mr. Popo. "There has to be a way to get the sacred water to every person on the planet."

"There is a way we can spread the sacred water everywhere quickly, Kami," Mr. Popo told him. "The seven air currents of the world flow just below your Lookout. You can go through there to get to them."

"Are you certain, Mr. Popo?"

"Yes. But I must warn you, this path will be dangerous."

"I understand, and I must go. Come on, Mr. Popo, we have no time to waste."

Kami turned back to Gohan while Mr. Popo got his magic carpet ready for the journey through the depths of the Lookout. "Tell the others they must hurry to defeat Garlic Jr. and his men. I can feel a greater evil approaching."

"Right!" Waving goodbye to them, Gohan ran out of the room of the sacred water and back out to the outside platform of the Lookout where three fierce battles were going. His father was still fighting Garlic Jr., now barely recognizable after bulking his body up to many times its original size. On the far side of the Lookout, he could see Piccolo battling against Spice, and Mustard and Vinegar were both fighting against Vegeta. Garlic and his men seemed to have impossible endurance, able to recover from essentially anything thrown at them. The only way he and Nappa managed to defeat Salt was by completely obliterating his body with a combined attack. Maybe that would be what it would take to defeat the others, too.

Remembering Vegeta's orders before he went to find Kami and Mr. Popo, Gohan headed over to instigate a fight against Vinegar. But as he was running across the platform, he felt a huge power level coming toward the Lookout from below, a power level that easily dwarfed all of those currently at the Lookout. There was only one person it could be: Frieza.

A/N: Yes, now things are really heating up. And it keeps getting better. I'm writing chapter 69 now... it seems weird to finally be so near the end of the story. Only a few more to write and post...

Beta'd by lilpumpkingirl

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