THE PRINCE OF ASH AND SNOW

PART TWO

by The Not-So-Super Saiyan

based off the web comic by Stupidoomdoodles

and inspired by the works of LadyVegeets

CHAPTER FIFTEEN: THE ASH IN THE SNOW

Content Warning: some language, graphic depiction of violence

Bulma tore apart her bag frantically. It was in here somewhere. She just had to find it. The dragon ball, the GPS, the radar. Gone. The map was all she had left. Vegeta had taken the dragon ball with him and the radar. Now Krillin and Gohan were gone as well. She couldn't decide whether she was furious or on the edge of a full-blown panic. She quickly settled on both.

She looked over at Goku. Even injured as he was, he was more of a help in a fight than she ever could be. She was a capable woman and a brilliant scientist. But right now she felt useless and helpless, like a small child lost and alone. She ran her hands through her hair, tucking her head between her knees and moaning quietly.

Clicking her tongue nervously she muttered to herself. "What to do? What to do?"

Finally, she made her decision. Sitting here and feeling sorry for herself would help no one. She shot upwards, smoothing her dress and her vest and marched over to Goku's bed.

The lab was in ruins. Shattered bulbs swung precariously from wires, an entire wall had been reduced to rubble, leaving an exposed hallway behind it, and broken equipment and overturned chairs were scattered through the room.

"You two. Stand there and don't touch anything." Vegeta whispered harshly. The pair obliged, pressing themselves into a far corner and watching.

Vegeta saw everything, sensed it. Every nerve in his body rang with presence, reverberating with the strings that eerily waltzed through the air, prickling at the cold, and recoiling at the dry scent of ancient dust. For Vegeta, this is what it meant to be alive.

He swept the room, his eyes digging into every crevice, turning over every broken beaker, looking for a sign of the inevitable trap. He spotted something under the table. A notebook and bundle of papers wrapped in a cord. His feet moved gracefully and silently over the floor, barely leaving footprints behind him.

He scoffed. All of this was so very Frieza. The lights in the lab had been shot out. Whether it was due to some accident long ago or Frieza himself, he did not know. Didn't much matter now. He wouldn't have been surprised if Frieza had done it. He always had been one for theatrics.

He wanted Vegeta to know he was here, even more than that he knew Vegeta was coming for him. The song was nothing more than a message. It was all an elaborate stage setting for his reception.

He kicked the notebook to Krillin, so subtly that Krillin only noticed when it hit his foot.

Vegeta had no idea what it contained. Frieza was already here and something was very wrong. He wasn't an idiot and he wouldn't have left something so important to someone who was. So why hadn't he taken the notebook for himself? He leaned down to take a look at bundle of papers on the ground. That's when he noticed it. A small charge of C4 stuck to the underside of the table, the tiniest of red lights blinking.

Shit.

Shit, shit, shit.

Vegeta's voice was so low it was barely more than a growl.

"Get this to Bulma."

Krillin nodded meekly. All of this was too much for him. The tension in the air was palpable and the anxiety was going to give him an aneurysm. He grabbed Gohan by the wrist and ran for the exit.

"Wake up….I said wake up you big oaf."

Goku opened his eyes to see Bulma's face.

"Oh hey Bulma." he smiled, his tone far too cheery for her taste.

"Don't look so happy." She let her hands fall to her side in exasperation. "They're gone. All of them."

He sat up carefully, one hand resting on his bandaged ribs, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "I know Bulma. I sent Gohan and Krillin after Vegeta."

"What?" she erupted in anger. "Are you freaking joking Goku? You better be lying to me." She gestured wildly with her hands.

Of course he wasn't. He did not understand. Why would he be joking about that.

"No, of course not Bulma." he stated matter-of-factly.

"God DAMN IT Goku. What were you thinking?"

He was not sure what the right answer was.

A velvet voice slithered through the darkness. Krillin and Gohan stopped dead in their tracks, Gohan's fluttering heart dropped so fast he thought he was going to be sick.

"Welcome back, little prince."

Krillin was absolutely paralyzed with fear. He thought he was going to vomit, if he didn't lose consciousness first. Gohan clung desperately to him, peering out from his side.

Vegeta crossed his arms casually over his chest.

"Frieza." he growled.

Frieza pulled the gun daintily from his coat and set it upon a metal stool, his red eyes trained on Vegeta, watching him with bated amusement. Slowly, almost hesitantly, Vegeta pulled the gun from the back of his jeans, his thumb around the grip and his fingers lifted tentatively in the air. He cast it aside. With an echoing clatter it skid across the dusty floor.

Krillin had heard tales of Frieza, he had seen him briefly on the video feed all those months ago. But nothing compared to his presence. He was small, and slight in form only barely taller than Krillin. Paler than Death Himself, his hair slicked to his scalp was the color of dead, yellowing fingernails. His lips and nails dark, almost grey. But most of all his eyes, they traced around the room smoothly, drinking in everything. As red as pooling blood. He...he looked dead. And not freshly dead. Like he had been dead for a good, long while. He wore a suit that was probably more expensive than a year of Krillin's salary.

"Wha-what are you doing?" Krillin whined desperately.

"Stay out of this." Vegeta snapped.

Frieza began to circle the room slowly, the heels of his leather shoes clicking sharply as he went. He pulled one of his hands from behind his back, waving it dismissively.

"I am curious, Vegeta." he purred with amusement. "What are you doing?"

"Enough of your prattle. Did you really come here to talk Frieza?"

Frieza's smug look of amusement turned to one of feigned surprise as he pressed his sprawled fingers to his chest theatrically.

"Why Vegeta, do you really think I came all this way just to kill you? Tsk, tsk, you overestimate your importance, my child."

"Shut up. I know why you're here." Vegeta snapped as he pulled the Dragon Ball from his pocket and tossed it at Frieza. "Take it."

Frieza's face flashed for a fraction of a second in genuine surprise but quickly masked it with a look of amusement. He caught it easily then slowly released it, letting it drop to the floor and roll away.

"I appreciate the sentiment, Vegeta but I won't be needing it. You see, I already have what I came for...besides…" he looked deep into Vegeta with a raw hunger that turned Vegeta's stomach, "tis far too little, too late."

Goku stepped out into the road, a spring in his step. He patted his side carefully, the swelling had gone down significantly.

Good ole, reliable Vegeta. He thought to himself with a beaming smile.

Bulma rushed out into the street after him, her face marred with fear, she looked at the daunting mountainside that wrapped around the village like a mother's arms. Shielding it from the worst of the weather.

"Goku...do you think we'll make it?"

"Well." He bounced lightly on his feet, shaking the sleep from his bones. "Only one way to find out."

Krillin blinked. He blinked and he missed it. One moment Vegeta was standing at least ten feet away from Frieza, crouched in a tight stance, his hands, open claws at his side. The next he was sharing the same space with the tyrant. Frieza himself almost seemed surprised. Every hit, every expertly timed blow was met by a quick flick of the wrist, a tilt of the head, or a graceful step backwards. Vegeta had him on the run but he was far from winning.

Calm. Detached. Focused.

Keep it together.

No matter how hard he tried, his composure was cracking. The more agitated Vegeta became, the easier it was to avoid his advances.

It rose like bile in his throat; every open wound, every scar, every sleepless night, every empty face that haunted his dreams coursed through his blood like hungry flames devouring kindling. They pushed his exhausted body past his limits.

"I...I can't believe it. Vegeta's got Frieza backed into a corner." Krillin laughed nervously running his hands over his head. "He...he might actually win. We...haha…we might actually survive this."

Frieza was sharp, as sharp as he had ever been. Talented. A prodigy amongst his bloodline. But it came with a price. He had outgrown the sandbox that was humanity. The excitement of a fresh kill no longer held the same pleasure that it once had. For Frieza the hunt was everything. Like a cat batting a mouse back and forth between its paws before devouring it. His dark lips pressed into a smug smirk, his hand clasped his other wrist daintily behind his back as he danced through the heavy, frozen dust. They circled round and round, until finally Vegeta landed a hit, square in the center of Frieza's chest pushing him back into the wall. His head dropped.

For a moment, just a moment, all was still then Frieza lifted his eyes to meet Vegeta's. His hand shot out to grasp at Vegeta's wrist, twisting it upwards and pulling Vegeta into him, he drove his knee into his gut, lifting his feet off the ground.

The blow expelled the air in Vegeta's lungs as his body tried desperately to reconcile the system shock. Frieza sidestepped him nonchalantly. Unable to catch himself he collided facefirst with the hard ground.

"Is that really the best you can do?" Frieza chided, disappointedly.

The winds howled and the snow sliced through skin as they marched higher into the mountains. Goku glanced back at Bulma, just as he had been doing for the past hour. She felt a pang of guilt, she was slowing him down.

"Go." she shouted into the wind.

He turned to face her, arms pulling his sweatshirt tight around his chest. "Huh?"

"I'll be fine. I'm right behind you. Just go. They need you."

"I'm not gonna leave you Bulma. Besides we'll be there soon. You're doing grea-"

"Goku please," she begged. "They...they need you. Just go."

He nodded thoughtfully and hopped lightly forward, quickly disappearing from her sights.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. I expected more from you, Vegeta."

With one hand behind his back again, Frieza stepped across Vegeta. Lifting him by his hair, he pulled the young man off the ground with ease. Frieza held him for a moment, savoring it. Then with a force that shook the glass and metal on the far table, he slammed Vegeta into the wall. Pulling him back, Frieza smashed him against the wall again and again.

Vegeta's arms flailing wildly behind him as he scrambled to get a grip of Frieza's hand. He clawed at the iron grip. He lifted his leg forward and kicked back as hard as he could as his body collided with the cold steel wall.

Frieza grunted in disgust. Dropping the bloodied boy and smoothing his coat jacket.

Vegeta stumbled to his feet, spitting a mouthful of blood on Frieza's shoes.

Frieza stood motionless, staring at the blood that slicked down the side of his polished leather shoes. A growl resonated at the back of his throat.

"You impudent ape." he hissed.

He drove his palm against the center of his chest. Vegeta felt a jolt as the shock ran through his body, which crashed again into the wall behind him. Frieza grabbed Vegeta's shirt and tossed him resting a foot casually at the center of his back.

Vegeta tore at the floor in an attempt to pull himself from underneath Frieza's foot that as it ground down into his spine. His fingernails cracking as they scrapped against the porous concrete.

His attempts were utterly futile. It was just like his entire life had been. Under Frieza's foot, desperately trying to claw his way out. Nothing had changed. The irony of the whole situation was not lost on him.

Frieza hooked his foot around Vegeta's leg. Vegeta ripped his leg away with a violent jerk, Frieza pulled his arms from behind him and with a flick of his wrists he grasped Vegeta's foot and yanked him backwards violently, the side of his face shredding mercilessly on the concrete. He looked up to lock eyes with Gohan. Something about his terrified look felt too familiar. Was it pity? Shame? He wasn't sure. He wanted to look away but he couldn't. When he saw that face, still round with baby fat, eyes brimming with tears...he saw himself.

"Get out of here." Vegeta barked.

Gohan clenched his teeth, he stared into Vegeta's fierce, proud eyes. He took every blow in silence, the pain electrocuting his body. Gohan wanted to stop it, needed to stop it but he couldn't. Unable to escape the sound of Frieza's laughter and the wet, crack of splintering bone he let the tears fall freely, sobbing as he turned into Krillin's chest his small fingers twisting the soft fabric of Krillin's shirt.

"I said get out." Vegeta screamed at Gohan and Krillin. Krillin shook from his stupor and grabbed Gohan by the wrist, bolting out the door and into the storm. Gohan's eyes never left Vegeta's.

"Oh Vegeta," Frieza's words dripped with mewling desire. Punctuated only by the thick, wet crunch and he stomped down on the back of Vegeta's chest. "...it's so exciting...to see you crawling on your belly like this...it….it brings back memories...doesn't it?"

Yes, it did.

Vegeta swallowed them like rising bile as the rage that burned inside of him licked his ribs and danced up his spine. He took each blow that shook his body and electrocuted his bones in eerie silence, his fingers clawing at the concrete. The only sound escaping him was the faintest of moans as the air was forced from his lungs. Again and again.

"Being a Lord comes with certain….hmm….privileges, little prince. Herreklassen. Royals. Gods amongst the putrid commonfolk. The last royal family, it carries a weight, Vegeta. A responsibility and reverence to the power I inherently hold and a right. A right to reap this world of all it has to offer me. I shall partake of the precious fruit of life and become what I was destined to be. Ascended. Immortal."

"God...d-don't you ever….shut up?"

Vegeta couldn't decide what was worse, Frieza's soliloquy or the broken ribs. No, it was the monologue. Vegeta had had broken ribs before and they would heal, but Frieza's words were forever haunting him.

Frieza grasped his throat, digging into his skin and lifting him into the air with surprising ease, his legs dangling like a hung man.

Vegeta struggled to breathe. Blood erupted from his mouth, generously splattering Frieza's face. Frieza blinked, his eyelashes fluttering delicately as he pulled Vegeta's limp body into his. With a swift sweep of his tongue he licked the hot blood that coated Vegeta's lips and dribbled down his chin. He scraped and clawed at Frieza's hands, eliciting only laughter from his master. Frieza giggled, his fist squeezing tighter around Vegeta's throat as the blood began to drip faster. A pathetic squeak and a painful crunch escaped his mouth.

"I made you Vegeta." Frieza was working himself up into hysterical fits of laughter. "Everything that you are. I sculpted you, shaped you. And you, my precious pet, have been nothing short of petty and ungrateful."

Pivoting gracefully Frieza slammed him down onto the metal work table. With a casual, dainty push he sent Vegeta skidding across the cluttered surface, his body colliding where the table met the wall. It echoed with a loud crash as beakers broke and piles of paper and other miscellaneous supplies tumbled to the dusty floor. Contents of a glass long forgotten, coated Vegeta's exposed arms and dripped from the edges of the table.

"You're pathetic." Frieza spat. His lips curled away from his teeth in a brief fit of genuine disgust.

Vegeta lay motionless, crumpled on the desk against the wall. Frieza watched him intently, gasping with mild surprise and excitement as Vegeta began to convulse.

Vegeta clawed at his own arms. He had never felt anything so painful in his entire life. It felt like some invisible force was ripping through him, tearing through his very nerve endings, travelling up his entire body. Frieza cocked his head to the side in passive wonder as he relished in the echoes of Vegeta's blood curdling screams.

He looked down at his hands, sure that the liquid had eaten away at his flesh. Instead the pale orange substance evaporated off his skin like pure alcohol, leaving the faintest whitening of pigment. The pain seeped deep into his bones, sparking up his arms and ripping down his spine. Like the finest shards of glass that twisted and turned under his skin. He dug into his arms but felt no relief.

Frieza laughed uproariously, slamming his hand in the center of Vegeta's chest and holding Vegeta's writhing body down in the caustic fluid, his back arched, his leg squirming and kicking. Worn sneakers squealed against the polished metal.

Frieza wasn't quite sure what had happened but it was simply too much fun to stop it now. The struggle, the screams, the hot scent of blood...it excited him, tickling his senses.

After all he had done to Vegeta he had never heard the boy scream quite like that. It was simply tantalizing.

"Get behind me." Krillin muttered as he saw a figure approaching in the snow. He pulled his gun from it's holster. It was jammed.

Of course it was jammed.

He hoped that bluffing his way through would be enough to protect him. He wasn't nearly as scrappy as he used to be but these people...they were entirely out of his league.

Gohan trembled as he tried to blink the snow away and make out the figure that was coming towards them. Who ever it was they sure were bookin' it. Fast.

"B-Baba?"

"Huh?"

Gohan bolted from behind Krillin and ran to his father. Goku dropped to his knees, hugging his son tight.

"Oh Go...I'm so glad you're okay. Bulma isn't far behind me." He pulled his son in front of him, looking at Krillin. His heart dropped into his stomach. "Wait. Where is Vegeta?"

"Goku...he's still up there." Krillin swallowed hard. "Frieza is with him."

Vegeta tried to pull himself upright but rolled off the table with a heavy thud. Frieza crossed his arms casually in front of him. Wedging his foot under Vegeta he kicked sending Vegeta crashing into the pile of rubble on the far wall, his limp form crumpled in the debris like a rag doll, cast aside by a careless child. Frieza adjusted his cufflinks, humming along with the discordant strings as he strolled over to Vegeta's body.

"Without me you are nothing ...I resurrected you from the ashes." Frieza's composer was cracking to tiny shards, like the shell of an egg, hatred dripping from his hissing voice. "and to the ashes you shall return."

Vegeta lay face down in the rubble, trying desperately to push himself up again. Frieza grabbed Vegeta by the hair once more, lifting him towards his body and drawing him in close. He rubbed his face into Vegeta's throat and inhaling deeply. For a moment that's where they stayed. Frieza sighed and with all his force he slammed Vegeta down into the broken concrete and debris...over and over again.

"Wha-what do you mean?" Bulma numbly held the bundle of papers in her hands. They felt impossibly heavy.

"I mean just what I said, Bulma." Krillin held up one hand to shield his face from the snow, the other wrapped his jacket tighter around. "Vegeta is at the lab fi...fighting Frieza." His words wavered towards the end, bracing for impact.

But she didn't hit him, she didn't scream.

She opened her mouth to say something but only managed a quivering whimper.

"Bulma we need to get inside somewhere. The storm is picking up. It looks like there are structures not far from here." She was looking up the mountain, clutching the bundle to her chest. "They'll be fine. Goku will be there soon, if he isn't there already."

After a moment Bulma shook her head.

"No."

And with that she marched up the mountain into the dark storm.

With an exasperated moan, Krillin scrambled after her.

Frieza had already turned, casually striding towards the exit. Vegeta had lasted much longer than he had anticipated. He spoke to himself in a loud, theatrical voice.

"It's a shame we won't be able to do this again sometime Vegeta, but you see. I couldn't risk your little friends finding what Kami left behind." He paused in feign thoughtfulness. "T'won't be long now until this place is nothing more than ashes. That brings back memories, doesn't it my little prince?" he mewled to himself. He was nearly at the door when he heard movement behind him. He struggled to hide his surprise.

Vegeta dragged himself excruciatingly to his feet, his knees nearly buckling. His chest seizing violently, his lungs thick. They ached for the frozen air.

Oh?

He willed his body to respond. Willed himself to breathe. But he couldn't. He was in shock. He stumbled forward, eyes wide and mouth agape. He stared down at the crooked rebar protruding from just below his chest. It shot upwards under his ribs and into his lung. His throat convulsed as it pleaded for air but none came, only feeble moans escaped him.

Frieza turned around slowly, relishing in the sight. "Oh dear."

Everything in him begged for him to move, to scream, to do anything but he couldn't. Completely paralyzed he felt an onset of raw, poisonous panic. Frieza's howling laughter reverberate in his bones.

He managed to lift his shaking hands, wrapping them around the steel bar. Before he could register what was happening Frieza curled his hands over Vegeta's, touching his forehead tenderly to the young man's. He smiled sweetly and with a violent twist he thrust the bar deeper into Vegeta's chest. Vegeta screamed but only a pathetic rasp escaped his dry throat as his spine curled forward threatening to fold him in half.

"What a shame." Frieza lamented as he ripped the bar from Vegeta's chest, tossing it aside with an echoing clang. Vegeta dropped to his knees, wavering. Hot blood pumped from his chest.

Goku stood in the howling storm, lifting his face into the wind and feeling the soft snow melt against his flush face. He was close. Almost there. He pulled the map taught in his hands, doing his best to decipher Bulma's chicken-scratch notes.

Krillin and Gohan should reach Bulma any minute. He pushed them from his mind, couldn't think about that now.

"Hang in there. I'm coming." He hopped from foot to foot, shaking out his arms and broke into a sprint.

Vegeta went limp as he began to lose consciousness, only the occasional twitch disturbed his body.

Frieza giggled with delight as Vegeta trembled, wheezing dryly. He gasped desperately for air with no relief. He circled the boy like a hungry animal. "It seems all the fight really has gone out of you. Tsk, tsk, tsk. My wild dog, my ravenous wolf...It disgusts me to think that you come from a family that was considered nearly as royal as mine...domesticated and housebroken by a common bitch. " The last word little more than a poisonous hiss. He sighed dramatically. "It's sooner than I might've liked but...tsk...I think it's time to end this, don't you?" Vegeta could feel his lungs growing thicker and stiff as he grasped his shirt, twisting it in a knot in front of him. His eyes wandered around the ceiling helplessly. He felt like he was drowning.

"The aesthetics of wanton gunfire are for petty street thugs." he mused, turning his gun in the light. "Wouldn't you agree, Vegeta?" Frieza stepped over Vegeta's shivering form to the toppled stool. Pulling a silk pocket cloth from his jacket he lifted his gun from the wreckage. "Though it saddens me, a rabid dog must be put down." He taunted as he screwed an attachment leisurely onto the end the gun.

He lifted Vegeta by the shirt, his head lolling to the side, blood dripping from his mouth and nose. Frieza pressed the gun to his chest.

The door flew open, flurries dancing into the room, the howling wind echoing through the room.

Vegeta tried to sit up. He opened his mouth to speak but could only manage a violent, hacking cough. Thick and heavy.

Drowning.

"Kch….sch...k…." He stared through Goku to the wall behind him. Hoarse, raspy breaths barely reached his lungs causing his chest to spasm and his shoulders to heave. "Kcha...Kakar-rot." Goku gazed at Vegeta in horror. Something dark curled inside of him at the base of his spine. He blinked rapidly to stop the sting of fresh tears from clouding his eyes.

I'm drowning.

"L-listen-" tears trickled down Vegeta's face, curling around his cheeks and melting into his hair. He fell into violent fits of coughing, blood soaked Goku's shoe and pant leg. Vegeta clawed at his throat, at his shirt, but nothing brought relief.

I'm on dry ground and I'm drowning.

"No, no, no. Shhh." He knelt beside Vegeta.

What? Wh-what was he supposed to do? Should he apply pressure? Lift his head? For the first time in a long time Goku felt entirely, irrevocably helpless. Vegeta's glassy eyes searched frantically. Rapid shallow breaths punctuated the silence as he twisted his shirt into bloody knots.

"Try not to speak, okay? Just hang on. We're going to get you outta here, okay? I promise."

Fingers feebly grasped at the top of Goku's Vans catching on the edge of the worn and dry rubber. Vegeta tried to sit up but he collapsed with a heavy thud on the cold ground, his voice hoarse and low, his eyes desperate as he clawed at his shirt. "F-Fr….Friez-"

Thit.

His body jerked with the impact., head dropping to the side.

plip.

plip.

plip.

In the silence of the destroyed lab, the drops of blood reverberated poignantly in Goku's ears. Dead eyes bore through him. As long as he lived he would never forget the agony in those eyes...the face twisted in pain, mouth open, silently pleading.

For a moment, just a moment, the only sound that could be heard was the plip, plip, plip as Vegeta's tears and blood dripped onto the cold concrete.

There were no final words, no teary goodbyes, no sworn vengeance. He was just...gone.

"Why did you do that? He couldn't even defend himself. You could've just left him." Goku screamed, his voice breaking.

"I have no tolerance for betrayal. Even worse, it would seem Vegeta was intent on boring me to death," he mused, "But miraculously, somehow, I have survived. The sound of his pleas for mercy no longer excite me. Maybe you will provide a higher quality of entertainment." Frieza laughed.

Goku pulled Vegeta's hand from his foot and carefully folded it across his chest. Standing to face Frieza he sloppily he wiped the tears from his face with his arm, sniffling.

"You talk too much." Goku replied curtly.

"Then by all means, just try to shut me up."

Goku didn't wait for a second invitation.

Once more Frieza was slightly impressed - for the second time in one day. Perhaps Vegeta's barely sentient race wasn't entirely without merit. His thoughts flashed to the words of his father, warning him of the past ethnic tensions between his family and Vegeta's, of the threat his people posed to him. This man… Vegeta had called him 'Kakarrot', he must have been a countryman of Vegeta, one of the last.

Goku fought furiously. All of the passion that Vegeta had given him bolstered his resolve, his strength, and his effort. Frieza was barely trying - Goku would teach him not to be so cocky.

One. Two. Three solid blows to the tyrant's face. Jumping, he whipped around and landed a kick down, hard, on Frieza's shoulder. It felt like iron. Literally any other man alive would have crumpled under the force of that kick, but Frieza stood and didn't even buckle. He grabbed Goku's leg, just above the ankle. His small hand didn't even reach all the way around. Goku began to wince as Frieza tightened his grip.

Ah-ah-ah, Goku's breath was punctuated by sharp convulsions that rippled through his body as Frieza gripped every tighter. He couldn't move - his whole body seemed to seize up. Frieza grabbed his leg with both hands now, and flung Goku as if he were a rag doll.

Goku stood up from the mess of broken tables and chairs that he had landed in. Something was not right about this guy - nobody was that strong. Nobody. This guy was a freak.

Frieza was getting impatient. He wasted no time in harrying his prey, refusing to give Goku any reprieve. It was all Goku could do to keep his feet as Frieza's fists pounded into him like cannons.

Goku tried to counter-strike, but Frieza caught his arm and threw him once more. Another pile of shattered beakers and strange equipment shattered along with the shelf that he landed in.

Frieza's smirk had left his face. He was running out of things to destroy with the bodies of these foolish monkeys, and his fun had run out even sooner. He would have to get creative.

"Let's play a game, shall we?" his grin had returned. He walked slowly over to the lifeless form of Vegeta. "You have approximately three minutes left until the charges scattered throughout the laboratory finish detonating. I'll let you try to attack me however you would like while I break each of the remaining two hundred and six bones in Vegeta's body and I won't leave until I am finished." He held Vegeta's hand daintily. "If you can stay my hand long enough…" crack. "Then, I could be unfortunate enough to be caught in the explosion. I don't anticipate this taking very long." He laughed a dark and twisting laughter. "Vegeta doesn't seem to be in any position to fight back. Once I've shattered...them all," Crunch. He began to break each of the knuckles. "I'll do the same to you - and don't worry…" Crunch. Snap. Crack. "...I'll start with the least vital ones. If you're still alive after they're all broken…" Thwack. With a thick, wet crunch he smashed the bones in Vegeta's legs. "...then you may just escape…."

Goku couldn't take it. He charged forward, slamming his knee into Frieza's back. Frieza backhanded him, barely acknowledging the blow and sending Goku flying once more.

Goku rolled onto all fours, trying to breathe the flash of white out of his vision, as his knee collided with something. A gun. Vegeta's gun. He looked back at Vegeta's crumpled body, Frieza was continuing to desecrate his victim. Even death wouldn't save Vegeta from Frieza's wrath. Recalling Vegeta's cold words, his merciless execution of three men just the day before. Vegeta hadn't played by his own rules and now he was dead.

Seemingly finished, Frieza stepped towards Goku nonchalantly. Goku needed to make a decision and fast.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Goku roared, throwing himself at Frieza, blinded by rage. Frieza smiled, raising his hand to catch Goku's fist. He twisted down, locking Goku's wrist and elbow, the joints nearly snapping with the force of it.

"Let's start with your feet, shall we?" Frieza lifted a cold shoe.

Bang.

His foot dropped harmlessly and bounced off of Goku's shoe.

Frieza's expression changed from one like a connoisseur sampling wine to one of pure bewilderment. It was not an expression Frieza was used to, and it exaggerated his ugliness. He looked down at his chest, where blood was rapidly soaking through the silk of his suit-coat.

"Stop." Krillin muttered into the blistering flurries.

"What?"

"I said stop. Hold on a minute." Krillin shouted into the wind.

"But we're almost there." Bulma turned around, stamping her feet in the thick, fresh powder and flicking the collar of her vest up around her frozen neck.

Krillin ignored her and pulled the vibrating phone from his pocket.

"I don't recognize this number." He yelled. The ringing stopped as it reached voicemail and immediately began again.

"Let me see that, you moron." Bulma hissed, she tucked her hand into her armpit and snatched the phone with her other hand. Her heart dropped.

"It's Vegeta." she whispered. "It's...Vegeta."

She slid the green arrow over and answered, stumbling over her own words.

"Hello?"

The silence hung heavy for a moment before she heard a voice. One she didn't expect. It was Goku.

"Bulma? It's...it's me Goku. Is Krillin there?"

She was utterly and totally confused. She handed the phone back to Krillin without another word. After a moment of "mmhmm's" and "yeah's" he hung up the phone, turning to Bulma he cleared his throat awkwardly and shouted once more into the wind.

"He says it's over. Frieza is dead." Krillin shifted uncomfortably blinking the snow from his eyes.

"What's wrong? Isn't that good news?"

"Yeah. I don't know, he said he needed our help."

Bulma shrugged and they pressed on, their steps a little lighter knowing that they were not running into the arms of Death.

The lab cracked and splintered as the structure collapsed on itself. Flames licked the sky and embers floating through the air. Goku solemnly removed his hoodie and placed it reverently over Vegeta's torso and face. He had laid him down as carefully in the snow as possible. He sat beside him, hand resting on his chest and with a rough sweep of his arm he wiped the freezing tears from his face.

"I...uh...I know it's not much but I hope it'll keep you warm."

Heartbreak greeted Goku in the heavy silence and in the song of howling winds. Flecks of ash and snow danced in the air.

"I'm sorry, Vegeta. Vegeta I'm...I'm so sorry." and for the first time in as long as he could remember Goku sobbed. He pulled his knees into his chest and sucked in the smell of hot splintering timber and he let himself fall into tiny pieces.

"Baba!" Gohan shouted, he sprinted through the snow, tripping through the soft powder and throwing himself into his father's arms. But Goku said nothing. Gohan pulled away.

"What's wrong?" Goku forced a smile and brushed his son's hair from his face. He swallowed hard and cleared his throat quietly.

"Go, where is Bulma?"

"She-she's right behind me...why?" Gohan was suddenly very uneasy. He took a step back from his father but before he could say anything else he heard the others behind him.

Krillin trudged up the hill and ran to Goku.

"He-he-hey! You did it. I can't believe it! I mean, you burned down the lab, hopefully what Bulma is looking for is in those paper's or…" he trailed off before he could dig the hole even deeper. "Buuut that's okay because Frieza is dead and that's what matters." He forced an awkward laugh and wiped his sweaty palms on his pants.

He had known Goku nearly all his life and he had never known anything to shake Goku's youthful optimism. But this time he did not laugh, he did not smile, or rub the back of his head as he was wont to do. Goku simply stood and walked past Krillin without acknowledging him.

Goku walked straight to Bulma, grasping her by the shoulders and pulling her in tight. She tried to pull out of the hug.

"Haha, Goku...what are you doing?" she questioned as she pushed against his chest.

"Bulma. I'm sorry." she weasled her way out of his grip, locking eyes with him.

"...Sorry for what?"

Her body made of iron, she let it fall into the snow. With trembling hands she lifted the sweatshirt from the corpse that lay under the light of the burning structure.

Please, God, no.

It was everything she had feared and worse. The nightmare she had had one hundred times over. But this time it stared back at her with milky eyes, white with death. The stench of blood overpowered the sweet smell of cedar and iodine and curled her stomach as it froze in the snow. Vibrant blacks and blues settled underneath the skin, fingers twisting into his chest.

"Please…" the words barely loud enough for her to hear. "Please wake up."

She brushed the hair from his face, letting her fingers trace the contours of his cheek. "I can't do this without you."

She let her body fold itself up like a paper fan, curling up in the snow beside him through the tears and the broken sobs she sang, paying no mind to the snowflakes that danced through the sky and the soft flecks of ash that speckled them.

"If I lay here….if I just lay here...would you lie with me...and just forget the world…."

Two million thanks to all of my readers and their patience. Of course a huge thank you to my valiant copy-editors dgschneider, CinderMane and Hanko the Doebringer. They always make me look like less of an idiot. And praises ever be to her Holiness Stupidoomdoodles for inspiring this fic!

Also I thought this would go without saying but I don't own DBZ or any of it's characters. If I did I would not be writing fanfiction about it. It would just be fiction at that point and all my shitty ideas would be canon….what a terrifying thought.

As I stated before, this is the last chapter but there is an epilogue on it's way. Please let me know what you think. I've had so much fun writing this and I appreciate all of you who have taken this journey with me!

XOXO, The Not-So-Super Saiyan