Goku scans the sea he flies over as he senses for Bulma. He finds her life force and dives below the surface.
Bulma recoils from the sudden entrance. When the bubbles clear to reveal Goku, her heart stabilizes. He points up, and she follows. Their heads bob as they tread water.
"I'm so glad you're safe Bulma. And you got the Dragon Ball. That's amazing."
She smiles. "It's a start. Six more to go."
"Yeah, Krillin's and the others are securing them from Freeza's ship."
"They're what! What about Freeza?"
"He went after Vegeta and Raditz. Probably thought they had the last one."
Bulma looks back to where she left them. "Are they fighting right now?"
"Yes."
"Can they win?"
"No. Freeza's too strong."
"It's strange. I shouldn't have any sympathy for them after what they've done, but I do."
"I feel the same way."
Bulma shakes her head. "So what's the plan?"
"I'll bring you and the Dragon Ball to the others and we'll use our first wish to get everyone back home."
"First wish? There's more than one?"
"Yes. And once everyone is safe, we'll get our friends back and figure out how to deal with Freeza."
"Just take the Dragon Ball then," says Bulma pushing it to Goku. "If we're just going to wish ourselves away from here, then you need to get the Dragon Ball back as fast as possible. I'll only slow you down."
"Are you sure? We don't want you left alone again."
"I'm sure. I'll stay hidden and safe. Now go."
Goku nods. They hug quick. He lifts off and races back towards Freeza's ship."
Bulma watches him go before glancing once more in the direction of Vegeta's battle.
###
Despite the burning pain of impalement in his thigh, Vegeta rises to his feet. Adrenaline numbs the agony as the predictions of this being his final battle become reality. A rhythmic thumping in his ears deafens distracting noises. His vision focuses on the single threat as the edges blur out the rest. Blood swells to invigorate him.
White plasma trickles upward from his body. It roils and expands until it becomes a billowing mass flowing in the breeze. He targets Freeza with one palm. Raditz hobbles away, favoring his own wounded leg.
"Oh," says Freeza.
Vegeta fires a massive blast.
Freeza smiles as it approaches. He leaps over it with crossed arms. His smile slips away as he finds Vegeta waiting for him. He tries to remain out of Vegeta's reach as he did before, but this time his opponent moves faster.
Vegeta sticks close to Freeza with precise attacks wasting no extra motion. He forces Freeza to dance back and forth to get around the flurry of strikes. Freeza uncrosses his arms as he ducks and sways.
Vegeta grunts with every attempt to land a hit. Each one is louder than the last. His hand grazes Freeza's cheek as it passes by.
Freeza backhands Vegeta's face and returns to the ground at a safe distance. Something trickles down his cheek. He thumbs it. Inspection reveals a smeared drop of blood. He glares at Vegeta who heaves for air through a smile.
"How dare you soil my face with your filthy monkey paws," says Freeza.
"Come on, Freeza," says Vegeta. "This is a fight. Did you really expect not to get dirty?"
Freeza steps toward Vegeta who raises his palm. A blinding white blast obscures him. Freeza leaps over the energy wave. He catches the forearm of Vegeta attempting another sneak attack. He twists it aside, knees Vegeta in the stomach, and uppercuts his chin.
Freeza's tail strikes like a snake and coils around Vegeta's neck. Vegeta gags as the noose tightens. He claws at the tail, but cannot pull it loose.
Freeza slams a fist into Vegeta's soft stomach. He savors the weakening grip of Vegeta's hands pulling on his tail. As they begin to strengthen again, he drives another punch deep into the armor which bends beneath the blow.
Again, Vegeta's grip weakens. This time the hands are slower to start fighting the strangulation. Freeza smiles. He jabs Vegeta for a third time.
Vegeta coughs up blood. His hands flop to his side. The coil tightens around his neck. He does not resist as it squeezes his spine.
Freeza's smile widens. He clenches his fists and crashes his knuckles against Vegeta over and over.
Raditz watches the brutal assault. He knows he is too weak to inconvenience Freeza. Despair and self-loathing set in.
Even our most elite fighter couldn't topple Freeza, he thinks. I'm just low class scum. There's nothing I can do.
He stares at the stump of his left arm. The permanent reminder of his limitations feeds his despair.
Goku standing against Dodoria flashes across his mind.
No! That's no excuse. Kakarot was born from the same rank as me, and even he dared to face Vegeta, Dodoria, and Ginyu. Why am I the one who lags behind? Why am I the one who's a coward?
Vegeta's cries of pain spurt with every hit. An anger grows in Raditz's belly. He grits his teeth against the tender injury in his thigh and steps towards Freeza.
Vegeta knew he couldn't win, but he still showed no fear jumping straight into battle. He is a true Saiyan warrior! And so am I! I will die fighting to the last breath!
He releases all of his energy. His power surges. His massive mane of hair rises on the current of his aura. The spouting energy takes on the orange color of a morning sun.
"Raijingu Sande!"
He blazes at Freeza. He kicks the thick trunk of his good leg at his enemy.
Freeza detects the attack and slides backward as Raditz's leg cuts the air between them.
Raditz leers at Freeza as he spins and stomps his other leg at his foe's chest.
Freeza releases his tail from around Vegeta's neck to drift further back and avoid the attack.
Raditz catches Vegeta's chest with his arm and sets him down.
Vegeta coughs and gasps as he drops to his hands and knees.
The two Saiyans lock eyes.
"You should have run away," says Vegeta.
"I can't let you die before you give Freeza your Gyarikku Ho!"
"It's not going to work."
Vegeta drops his head, but Raditz grabs his collar and pulls his face back up to stare into his eyes.
"We are all that remains of our people," Raditz says. "And we will battle with the ferocity of our ancestors. A ferocity that burns brightest in your royal blood.
"So before we flicker out, let your Saiyan Soul rage bright and hot for everyone that Freeza killed. Make him know fear before we go. Convince him that he was right to kill us so it haunts him for the rest of his life."
Raditz throws Vegeta's collar aside. He faces Freeza and points.
"Prepare yourself Freeza. For my full, Saiyan, wrath!"
His dark orange aura flares bigger with each word.
"You certainly talk as big as the other Saiyans did," says Freeza, "but you'll join their silence just the same. I'll only need one hand to put you down. My left hand."
Freeza wiggles his fingers playfully. Raditz roars and charges forth. He leads with a punch. He follows with a kick from each leg and ends the combination with another punch.
Freeza deflects each strike with just his palm.
Raditz strafes left and right at high speed while feigning attacks to conceal his next move. His dark orange aura billows behind his movements.
He sweeps a leg low, but Freeza hops over it. Raditz spins while rising to lash out his elbow. Freeza's cold touch stops it. Raditz shivers as the fingers slither over his skin. He breaks into another combination, but the result is the same.
Vegeta watches the ferocious yet futile display. Memories of his father kneeling before Freeza awaken. Whispers from Zarbon mocking Nappa revive. These thoughts carry anger with them. Violet lightning crackles around him as his aura ignites. He rises into the sky. His hands make a familiar gesture alongside his shoulder.
Raditz gasps for air as he presses his assault. No matter where he strikes, the cold palm of Freeza appears to block. He focuses the last of his might into his fist and punches.
Freeza catches the hit. He smiles as his grip tightens. Popping noises sound, and Raditz winces. Freeza throws the forearm aside and slaps Raditz in the chest, knocking him off balance.
Freeza points a single, deadly finger.
"Fair well, Saiyan garbage."
Orange bubbles foam from Raditz's severed stump. They froth into the shape of an arm. Raditz sets his feet and takes a swing around Freeza's occupied left hand.
Freeza's eyes widen in surprise. The right hand he promised not to use instinctively blocks. He stops the ethereal forearm with his own. The heat of the solid ki astounds him.
Raditz grins as his right arm rises beside his new spirit one. Both palms flare open.
"Daburu Sande!"
A white hot beam with pinkish tint flashes from both hands. They expand and consume Freeza in their light.
The energy tears up the land and drives across the sea. Dust fills the air as the waters displace around the blast.
Raditz's ki runs dry. His attack recedes, and his orange aura along with the arm disperse. The smoke of the burned land blows away in the wind. Before it can clear, Raditz sees the shadowy form of Freeza in the dust cloud.
A sharp pain radiates from his abdomen. The faint traces of a purple death beam piercing his body lingers. The light fades. Along with it, he loses the ability to feel any part of his body below the injury.
Raditz's legs buckle. He collapses on his back. His hand clutches the wound. Warm blood flows over his fingers as everything above the wound grows cold.
Freeza's unscathed face emerges from the smoke with an unpleasant frown. He stares at Raditz as he lies dying. He steps on Raditz's hand and presses it down into the injury. Raditz cries out as blood squishes between Freeza's elongated toes.
"A slow, painful death is too good for you."
Freeza looks up to where Vegeta charges his attack. He steps over Raditz, placing his full weight on the grievous injury. His feet slither through the grass as he approaches Vegeta.
The sight of Freeza torturing Raditz angers Vegeta.
How dare he belittle my people, he thinks. But he will learn respect. I will use my final breath to make sure of that.
His hands grow hot as the power swirling around them intensifies. His aura sharpens to spikes that stab the air.
I do this for you father. And for you Nappa. And for the rest of our people. Even you, Raditz.
Vegeta slams his hands before him, taking aim at Freeza.
"Gyarikku Ho!"
Vegeta's aura inflates to form a perfect sphere around him. A giant boil warps the front of it. The swelling energy explodes forth as a beam larger than the aura it originated from. The attack crashes upon the land.
Freeza holds out his left hand. The mighty beam jolts his forearm as his wrist snaps back. He contorts his face in concentration to stabilize his defense.
The ground around him crumbles upward and dissolves into the plasma above. A gust of wind blows a cloud of debris along the ground as a crater forms beneath Freeza.
"Oh my," he says. "So this is the peak of the Saiyans. I'm not impressed."
"Hey Freeza, you forgot one thing."
The sound of Raditz's voice surprises him. He looks back over his shoulder. The dying man takes slow, laborious breaths. In his hand, he holds a white sphere of energy.
"Saiyans gain their true power by the light of the full moon."
Raditz lobs the orb upward. His arm wilts back to the earth.
The eerie white wisp takes flight. It ascends to a place where the suns of Namek travel across the sky. A pulse of moonlight falls on the battlefield as it explodes.
Freeza watches the display. The beam he holds bears down on him. He flips his full attention to it as it grows heavier.
Vegeta's eyes soak in the false moonlight generated by Raditz's technique. The stimulation awakens the primal rage within him. Signals tell his body to change and grow to achieve the form of the Ozaru. His muscles twitch, and his bones restructure.
Vegeta resists the transformation and wrestles for control of it. The surge of energy fueling the metamorphosis lashes back against his will. He grapples with the power and channels it to his hands rather than let it fill his body.
The violet aura around him roars as it takes the shape of an Ozaru head. The beastly apparition opens its mouth around the beam he fires. A burst of energy from the maw enlarges the Gyarikku Ho.
"Yes, I can feel it!" says Vegeta. "I'll achieve the legend. I'll become a Super Saiyan just like my father and my people wanted. And I'll destroy you, Freeza!"
The extra girth rushes down on Freeza. His elbow buckles, and he puts up a second hand to hold back the tide. He settles into the crater opening wider around him. His toes grasp at the earth to anchor him. They dig tiny furrows as the force pushes him back.
His palms and fingers burn as the plasma cooks the skin. Reverberations shake his forearms and shoulder sockets.
Scars rip across the island as it breaks apart from the epicenter of the attack.
###
Goku stops his flight as a ki signal knocks him on the head. He looks to the horizon where Vegeta and Raditz battle Freeza. He hangs in the air, stunned. The eerie glow of the false moon casts a pale glow above the menacing attack lighting the horizon.
A flashback to Vegeta transforming to the giant Ozaru against him on Earth fills him mind. The hopeless terror of facing the beast comes back with it.
"What incredible power. His ki has gone up tenfold just like in our battle. But he seems to have even better control of it than before. If he ever mastered that form, there's no telling what he would be capable of."
Goku senses Freeza's energy struggle beneath the immensity of the power. It squirms and writhes.
"What's going on?"
Goku concentrates harder on Freeza's ki. At first he cannot believe what he is feeling from the terrible aura. As he focuses deeper, he confirms his suspicion.
"It's fear! Freeza's yuki is actually fading a little. I didn't think someone that strong could be afraid of anything."
He turns and takes flight once more with bolstered speed.
"Good luck Vegeta."
###
Vegeta's lungs yearn for air as he yells alongside his roaring aura. He dares not take a breath knowing even the slightest inhalation would disrupt the expulsion of his attack. He pushes out every last ounce of strength with his scream.
His lungs squeeze shut as his diaphragm crushes them from below. He bellows out a final growl. An involuntary gasp of air strangles his attack. His body feels weak. The Ozaru head loses shape and folds into his fading aura.
The mighty Gyarikku Ho withers to a string. It snaps in several places. Each section fizzles out from both ends. Vegeta's arms and legs drop limp, heavy as lead. He descends and stares into the dust filled pit.
Horns emerge from the cloud as Freeza rises above it. His appearance remains regal as ever as he floats with his hands behind his back. Neither a scratch nor speck of dust mars his physique.
Vegeta's heart sinks with despair at the sight. Freeza levitates toward him in a graceful, bobbing motion.
Behind his back, his fingers twitch. Black scorch marks discolor the white complexion. Tiny lacerations disrupt the even skin.
I've never heard of a Saiyan who can channel such power outside their transformed state, he thinks. It seems their royal bloodline had more potential than I thought. But it ends here.
Freeza meets Vegeta before he reaches the ground. They come face to face. Vegeta breathes heavily as he fights off drooping eyelids. Freeza smiles.
Before Vegeta can discern an attack, the back of a hand slaps him across the face. He twirls and falls head first toward the earth. His body lands in a heap. As he tries to push himself up, Freeza stomps on his spine.
Freeza does so over and over until he hears a few pops and cracks of the vertebrae. He kicks Vegeta in the side to roll him over. He kicks him several more times in his undefended torso.
He bends down and grabs him by the collar. He readies a hand for a fatal blow.
"Tell me Vegeta, how many organs will I have to remove before you give me the location of the Dragon Ball?"
Vegeta wheezes. He tries to speak, but his body lacks the strength for such a small task. It occurs to him that he may have subconsciously poured his entire life force into his Gyarikku Ho.
So this is the extent of my power, he thinks. I'll never avenge you father. I'll never become a Super Saiyan. Maybe it is just a stupid legend.
This is the end of our people. Except for … Kakarot. That freak grows stronger every day. Our legacy rests with him now. Maybe the legend can be achieved by a low class after all.
He chuckles.
"What's so funny?" says Freeza "Do you mind sharing? I could use a good joke after such an infuriating amount of effort spent on this endeavor."
Vegeta finally responds with a whispering voice and a smile on his face. "Look at you Freeza. The most powerful being in the universe, bargaining with a mere Saiyan."
Freeza smashes Vegeta's stomach with his knuckles. Choking sounds gurgle from his victim in a satisfactory chorus.
"You know better than to act cute with me. You've seen the torture we implement and how we keep victims alive until they are begging to die. I'm offering you a chance to avoid all of that. Let's call it a severance package for your years of service."
Vegeta can barely hear Freeza's muffled voice. He feels his heart slowing in his chest. His breathing lurches. He laughs.
"We don't have the Dragon Ball. One of Kakarot's comrades stole it. And the rest of them are probably raiding your ship for the others while you're away."
Fury spikes in Freeza.
"You're lying. Captain Ginyu may have lost, but he should have left them too weak to fight the rest of my army."
"The Nameks have healers. I've even been healed by them. Kakarot and the others are more than capable of handling the weaklings you left behind."
Freeza hisses and switches on his scouter. Sure enough, it reports a few large power levels dispatching the remains of his grunts.
"After I lost the Dragon Ball," says Vegeta, words dry on his lips, "I figured the least I could do was distract you long enough for them to make their move. The Saiyans may die with me, but at least I could stop you from getting your wish."
Freeza shouts in frustration. He lifts his hand to strike with puncturing fingers. Vegeta goes slack in his grip before he can deliver the fatal blow.
Freeza studies him. There is no sign of life except a faint smile on his lips.
Freeza drops the corpse. An aura erupts around him. He blitzes across the sky. A scream seethes behind his clenched jaw and bared teeth. His intent to kill and destroy fixates on the location of his ship.