"You are, aren't you?"
Freeza marvels at the golden glow of ethereal fire around Goku. The cyan colored eyes and blond hair are surreal compared to their usual black appearance. He seems a different person entirely.
The question echoes around Goku as he feels the awakened power infusing itself in every cell of his body. The gentle warmth brims with berserk fury. A fury still targeting Freeza.
Freeza's panting for air gives way to laughter. He positions himself onto one knee and stands up.
"I can't believe it. The legend was real after all. And poor Vegeta isn't here to see it despite prattling on for so long about it. What delicious irony. You truly are a Super Saiyan."
Goku narrows his eyes at Freeza. He senses for his enemy's yuki to determine if this is false bravado. However, all he can sense is his own extraordinary aura running wild around him. All ki beyond it blurs in the maelstrom of power and rage. But it matters not. The strength he feels seems far greater than his last measure of Freeza's.
He remembers the few times Freeza's yuki dipped when faced with unexpected surges from Vegeta, Gohan, and himself. He takes pleasure in imagining how terrified Freeza must be now against a Saiyan force greater than his own. He smiles.
"Call me whatever you want, Freeza, but nothing will spare you from defeat."
Freeza cowers beneath the words while still wearing his smile. Something cold trickles down the side of his face, cold enough to make him shiver. He wraps his thumb and index finger around his chin and puts on an inquisitive expression. His finger brushes past a cool bead of sweat as it slides into place.
"Yes, let me get a good look at you," he says. "I do love the lustrous gold. It really strikes my fancy."
His calm words belie his internal conflict.
Sweat! How can I be sweating? I didn't even think it was possible! And yet there he stands. So calm. In the presence of the fearsome Lord Freeza nonetheless. He should be trembling with terror. What should I do? Think.
Freeza clears his throat. "Well the legend certainly is a rare treat indeed. But the novelty is wearing off. You're still no match for the mighty Lord Freeza."
Freeza places his palms together before his chest. A deathly red aura with a black fringe billows from his body like smoke.
Krillin remains stunned as the two titanic powers assault his ki sense. He feels Freeza's yuki wriggle beneath the brave veneer. A spike in energy reeks of desperation as he senses Freeza prepare an attack.
Freeza pulls his palms apart. A pink spark glows between them. It grows with spiking thorns. Freeza makes an authoritative claim.
"One attack. That's all it will take to snuff you out. You're nothing but a candle while I am a mighty hurricane."
Goku smiles. "If you say so. Give it everything you've got. Then we'll see who's really stronger."
Freeza chuckles. "I'll give you Saiyans credit. You're always excited about a challenge even when facing your own demise."
Goku's ki swells with confidence that he can handle anything Freeza throws at him. He just wishes he could sense Freeza's fear and the blow to his morale after he does.
Goku!
Master Roshi's voice shouts in his mind. He senses King Kai's telepathy as well as the presence of Piccolo, Yamcha, and Chiaotzu. Goku ignores it.
Goku, listen to me. Stop Freeza now. Don't give him the chance to hurt anyone else.
Goku snaps back.
He's no match for me. My ki far surpasses his!
Master Roshi responds with unexpected anger.
Don't be a fool! You're letting this power control you. Attack now—
Goku blocks out the message. His arrogant resolve stands firm that Freeza is no match for him now. The two piercing injuries of his torso scream the contrary but go unheard.
Freeza's heels leave the ground. His long toes follow as they peel from the earth. He drifts upward and away from Goku. He lifts the energy above his head. It flashes orange and bursts into a huge sphere of writhing electricity. Spikes dance on its surface, sparking in and out.
Goku prepares himself for the attack. The certainty of how easily he will dismiss it fills him with euphoria. His anticipation of Freeza's disheartening realization of inevitable loss gives him something to look forward to.
"Here you go Saiyan scum!"
Freeza's arms curl behind his head. The giant death ball follows the path of his hands, doubling in size.
Krillin senses a change in Freeza's ki. The yuki bolsters as the doubt evaporates. He hears Freeza yell.
"I'll erase this whole planet!"
Instead of releasing the attack upon Goku, Freeza throws his palms down to his hips. The giant death ball launches straight at the ocean.
Goku gasps and leaps forward.
Will I make it?
He streaks across the water's surface. The annihilating attack breaches the sea. He stretches his body to full length hoping to reach it faster. He dives below the surface.
Freeza laughs as the ocean waters part to form a crater for the mass of death.
Goku breaks out of the parting water to enter the open air beside the bomb. He curls a right leg behind his back, bending at the waist. He unleashes the pent up spring. His foot and shin smack the surface of the sphere.
Pain smashes the bones of his foot and leg. The quads and hamstrings of his thigh burn as they work overtime to move the mass. The death ball crashes against the crust of the planet. Goku realizes he may not have enough time to stop the destruction of Namek.
He slaps both hands against the ki sphere and pushes with his chest to apply a sideways force to counteract the downward one. The ball budges.
His thigh experiences sweet relief as the attack kicks free of his foot. His effort carries the fatal technique sideways. But he cannot stop it from crashing down.
The death ball shrinks on the horizon like a final sunset. It flashes blood red and explodes.
Thunder and black smoke deafen and blind the land. Goku is enveloped by nothingness.
###
King Kai and his pupils gasp as the life force of Namek shakes violently and disappears from their minds.
"No! Goku," says King Kai.
Their hands slide off of King Kai's shoulders and back.
"Damn it!" says Yamcha. "We were so close."
He looks at Piccolo who no longer has a halo above his head.
"With that Namekian kid's quick thinking to wish us back to life, we had a real fighting chance with an extra set of Dragon Balls."
"It's not fair," says Chiaotzu. "Mr. Popo just had to find one more Dragon Ball for us to wish them all back to Earth."
"What do we do now King Kai?" says Rohsi.
King Kai does not answer. His face remains scrunched in focus. His antennae twitch.
"Wait a minute you guys," he says. "Namek is still there."
"Really!" they say and clap their palms back onto their master.
A blurry and damaged image of the planet comes into view in their minds. Chunks of rock orbit at the edge of its atmosphere. Below them, a gaping chasm exposes the planet's core.
"Yes, but the planet won't last much longer."
###
Goku stares at the carnage done to the crust of the planet. The gentle upward curve of the horizon has been destroyed and replaced by a sharp decline. Earthquakes shake the land around it as storms rage above. Lightning strikes down while magma bursts up.
He glares at his adversary.
"Are you mad Freeza! You'd kill yourself if it meant taking me with you?"
"Of course not you idiot. I'm immortal. I would have survived. Regardless, my victory is assured. That blast has destabilized the whole planet. It won't be long until this whole place explodes. Taking you and everyone else with it."
"So it's true. You're afraid of Saiyans, and now you've been surpassed by one. You couldn't win a fair fight and resorted to help from the Dragon Balls and violent tricks. You're a weak coward."
"Fool. Superiority isn't measured in strength alone. Without cunning to capitalize on it, power means nothing.
"Besides, I don't need air the same way you pitiful creatures do. I can survive the vacuum of space. This strategy would have always worked for a supreme being like myself. So the great Lord Freeza shall live on forever while the mighty super monkey is going to die on this worthless pile of ash."
"No Freeza!"
Goku's voice hits Freeza like a Kiai. Freeza shivers.
"You're evil ends here. I don't know how, but I'll find a way. That's a promise."
Freeza scrunches his face. He smirks.
"Well you better figure it out soon because you don't have very much time left."
King Kai's voice reaches the ears of Goku's mind.
Goku, hold him off a little longer and Mr. Popo will have everyone wished back to Earth except Freeza.
So Kami and Piccolo are alive huh, Goku thinks back. But Freeza will just follow us there. If we could wish away his immortality, then I can make sure he doesn't leave this planet.
Porunga does have one wish remaining. But it cannot affect anyone stronger than the creator of its Dragon Balls.
I see. Then use Shenron's wish to get everyone but me and Freeza to Earth. Then I'll weaken Freeza until Porunga's last wish can affect him.
That's a bold plan Goku, but you'll probably die. And what if you can't defeat him?
Then hopefully Namek's explosion will.
And you are certain this is how you want things?
I am.
So be it. Good luck, Goku.
The presence disappears leaving Goku alone with Freeza. His enemy is different than before. The limbs and torso broaden with mass. The fluffy, purple aura emanating from Freeza's body condenses into a thick miasma.
Goku charges and throws a punch. Freeza flips over him and whacks his back with a whip of the tail.
Goku swoops down and out as he turns himself around.
Freeza laughs.
"While you were struggling to deflect my blast," he says, "I was consolidating my energy."
His muscles inflate with ki until his slender form is swallowed by a hulking stoutness. The inflated body looks ridiculous and disproportionate to Freeza's height.
"I don't usually use this much of my stamina all at once, but for once I can finally go all out."
I see, Goku thinks. His final form released all his passive ki. But he was only using a small portion of it to toy with us before. Every one of his attacks will be much stronger from here on out.
Goku makes a concerned smile. And even worse, I can barely control all of my own ki. It's slipping away fast.
"What do you think, monkey?"
"I'm glad I get to fight your best. That way when you lose, there will be no excuse for who was stronger."
Freeza frowns, then smirks. He rushes Goku. His aura flares and leaves a burning trail in the air. He catches Goku off guard with his new speed. A kick of the leg smacks his foe beneath the chin. Blood jumps from the crushed mouth. Freeza smiles as Goku bends backward from the force.
Goku channels his momentum into a flip and kicks Freeza in the jaw as his feet pass by. The hit knocks his opponent back. He recenters himself as Freeza does the same.
The storm clouds over the decimated wasteland from Freeza's attack turn red and roil outward. Lava spills up like blood pushing back the ocean which starts to boil as more heat reaches the surface.
Goku slips between and around all of Freeza's strikes with graceful flexibility. He evades them leaving Freeza hitting only the glowing air of his aura.
Freeza diffuses all of Goku's counterattacks with rigid blocks. The blows glance off his meaty physique as though it were a mountain.
Goku and Freeza's brawl reshapes the landscape around them. The force of their battle sends shock waves that ring like thunder and gust like a hurricane. Islands crumble as they knock each other around on them. Oceans part as they move through them.
Krillin and Nail attempt to watch the fight unfolding before them. All they see are brief images like the flashes of lightning left behind after the strike already happened. The battle jumps from a single action to an unrelated one as everything in between is lost.
"I can't follow their movements at all," says Krillin.
"I know. It's astounding. I never would have imagined such power could just be thrown around like this."
"But I can feel Goku struggling to handle all that new strength. His anger and sadness are blocking him from being able to focus and use ki attacks."
"He might be in luck though. Freeza's energy seems incredibly unstable. Maybe he's not used to managing this level of it."
"I hope so, but Goku might not be able to win if he tries to take Freeza on in a pure test of strength."
They stare on at the tail end of the images lagging behind the high speed fight.
Goku takes a skull rattling blow to the side of the face. He sails back. Freeza takes the moment to rest from the exhausting effort to land a significant hit.
Goku straightens himself out. The left side of his head throbs. He can feel it swelling around his eye.
"How's that monkey?"
Goku smiles through the pain. "It's impressive. But I can tell you're slowing down. Filling your body with all that extra ki must be heavy to move around."
Freeza chuckles. "Trying to act like you're in control eh? Well you're not fooling me."
"It's not a bluff. It's obvious now. You've never been pushed to this extreme before. You're not used to wielding your power this way. It's slowing you down and you know it."
"That's some bravado. Acting like you're not struggling, but you are!"
Freeza strikes with a beam from his finger on the last syllable. The death beam races the distance between them and stings Goku's left pectoral before he can react.
The beam does not pierce his heart, however. It splashes across his entire chest inflicting a horrible black burn. When the beam lets up, a shallow hole bleeds a red stream.
"That wasn't very slow, was it monkey?"
Goku grins and thinks to himself.
His attack has lost its edge. It should have cut straight through me. But he can't control it. It lacks precision. Lucky me.
He winces and takes a labored breath.
Still hurts though.
Freeza rushes in as Goku struggles to move with the hampering injury. They clash again. Freeza out positions Goku and gets a hold of his arm. He wrenches it behind Goku's back and grabs the other arm. His knees slam against Goku's ribs as he orients himself above his victim.
Freeza forces Goku downward into the shattering crust of the planet. The walls of the tunnel forming around them transition from solid to liquid rock as Freeza drives them deeper. He expels a blast of ki from his hands. The purple beam propels him out of the tunnel while pushing Goku to greater depths.
He drops back, and a geyser of lava erupts from the hole. Freeza laughs.
"Well so much for the great Super Saiyan. I guess the legend was grossly embellished."
Krillin and Nail gape in despair at the sight. They sense for Goku's energy. Freeza's laughter rings in their ears.
"I can't feel Goku at all," says Nail.
"No Goku. You can't be gone," says Krillin. "You just can't be!"
An enormous quake shakes their footing off balance. They take to the sky.
"Oh man," says Krillin. "This planet really is breaking apart. Wait, I can feel Goku again. It's his power doing this. I can't believe he has even more to unleash."
The quakes radiate from where Goku was driven beneath the earth. Freeza's laughter fades as a muffled, yelling voice drowns him out.
The ground explodes open. Lava mushrooms outward in an even greater display than before.
The magma settles and reveals a golden aura at the center of the newly formed crater. The sound of Goku's screaming rings clear in the air. His arms are outstretched as he releases a huge amount of hidden energy from his transformation.
He rises up to a fearful Freeza. Krillin and Nail cheer from the sidelines.
"Why the sad face, Freeza? I thought you'd be excited to test the full limits of your power."
Goku's eyes shine with excitement as his mouth flashes an eager smile.
Freeza drifts backward. "You … you're not a Saiyan. You're a demon."
King Kai's voice reaches Goku.
It's time Goku. Mr. Popo is about to make the wish. You'll be able to fight without worry about anyone else. Good luck my friend.
Thanks King Kai. Hopefully I won't be seeing you too soon.
"Alright Freeza! Give me everything you got!"
Author's Note 12/02/2023: While Goku and Freeza test one another's full powers, planet Namek collapses around them. With each of their final gambits set in place, who will prevail in this epic battle for the universe?
