A Dish served Cold
Frieza sat comfily on his chair, glass of wine in hand. The icy tyrant raised the glass to his dark lips and took a sip. Perfect. It tasted even better today. It was not long before he had drank the whole glass.
Suddenly, Frieza's features twisted into agony. He could feel his insides burn.
"No! " he shrieked. "How could it be?! " His tail lashed angrily. The chair he sat on began to crack before bursting into a million pieces as Frieza stood up, his fury palpable through his pain.
The icy tyrant got on his knees, panting. "Fools! " he exclaimed. "Why isn't anybody still here? "
Immediately, the emergency alarm rang off, as a team of medics made their way to Frieza, their faces blue from fear.
"Here, we are, sire, " the leading doctor said as his team immediately began to tend to the arcosian emperor.
Outside, Vegeta's eyes widened. Frieza was weakened. He could sense it!
However, there was a catch. Even though Frieza's power-level had dropped drastically, it was still way beyond his own. 'Argh! I overestimated the Syanide! ' he thought furiously. Even if he blasted Frieza with full force, he doubted he could finish him off.
No matter. He would use some help for this, even if it meant swallowing his pride. Hah! Pride! He was having none of that no more. Strength and cunning were the only things which mattered in this world.
Now who on this planet was strong enough to help him deliver the killer blow.
'Hmm,' Vegeta thought to himself. 'There's the fighter taking on Dodoria and, there's that one fighter facing Zarbon. " Vegeta's lips curled into a smirk. This was an easy choice, it seemed. Oh, how he had waited for this day, the day he would finally tear apart Zarbon's arrogance once and for all, along with his body...
Vegeta was laughing inside his mind as he ran off, keeping his power-level low just in case.
...
Frieza was furious. "Barkista! " he shouted.
The waiter who had served food to Frieza immediately came running in.
Frieza bared his teeth as he removed his scouter. "Grr.. "
"AARGHH! " A scream was let out by the waiter as he was obliterated by Frieza's eye lasers.
"Camori! " Frieza yelled.
The soldier called Camori immediately came running in. "Yes, milord? "
"Investigate," Frieza growled. "And I want an answer within an hour. " Frieza's tail struck the floor threateningly, causing it to crack.
The investigation officer Camori gulped. "As you wish, highness, " he said, before hurriedly backing away.
...
Meanwhile, outside, Vegeta kept running for a few minutes before finally jumping into the air and blasting off at full speed.
"Get ready, Zarbon, " Vegeta said with a sneer. "Cuz I am about to rock your world. Hahaha! "
...
Frieza pressed a button on his scouter. Yes. He could see it. A strong powerlevel was moving away from his ship. "Darn that monkey! " Frieza growled. It had to be Vegeta, he was sure of it. He pressed another button as several other readings flashed across the lens. "Darn. Both Zarbon and Dodoria are locked in battle. What does this mean? "
Frieza turned his head to the gaurd at the door, his face still contorted from the pain coursing through him. "Schull! Go and find out how much time till the Ginyu force gets here! "
The gaurd immediately ran, legs sprinting for dear life as he came back with the information as fast as he could. "They should be here any minute, Lord Frieza. "
Frieza smirked slightly through his pain. "Excellent."
Back at Guru's place...
Nail landed a solid left upper-cut to Zarbon's chin before hitting him with a side kick to the arm.
Zarbon's eyes bulged as he could literally hear his bone snap.
Nail followed it with a punch to Zarbon's gut.
"Agh! " Zarbon exclaimed, clutching his abdomen. Before he could bend over from the pain, Nail had landed a kick to his chest, sending him spiralling through the air.
Nail's brows furrowed as he extended two fingers forward, bracing his wrist with the other hand. "Goodbye," he said quietly before yelling, "NAIL GUN! "
"NOOO! " Zarbon screamed as he saw the cluster of energy bullets approach him.
TUTUTUTUUUU!
"Huh? " Nail looked surprised as an invisible shield of energy blocked his attack.
Suddenly, a boot collided with Nail's cheek sending him flying. The Namekian barely corrected himself mid-air. A trickle of blood could be seen from the corner of his mouth.
"Nobody steals my kill, Namek," Vegeta scoffed, only his dark silhouette visible against the shining sun. However, a smirk soon made its way to his features. "Though I must say I am impressed. So there was one legendary Namekian warrior on the planet, after all..."
Nail spat to the side before smirking. "You want to kill him instead of me? Fine, as long as you get him out of my hair. "
Vegeta's smirk grew wider. "Ah, a wise one as well," he said before adding, "Only wise men comprehend the power of Vegeta, the prince of all Saiyans. "
Vegeta slowly floated towards Zarbon, who was lying on the ground on an island some distance away.
Zarbon slowly clobbered to his feet. "Vegeta," he said, panting. "I didn't think you would be back so soon after the treatment I dealt you last time. "
Vegeta's smirk was permanent as he made deliberate slow steps towards Zarbon.
Zarbon grinned. "Guess some people aren't satisfied with getting the sh*t beat of them once! "
Vegeta's smirk gave way to a cold glare. "Who's beating who here, Zarbon? You can't possibly think of beating me with a broken arm, can you? "
Zarbon growled fiercely.
"I have to say I am kind of disappointed," Vegeta said. "I wanted to destroy you at your best, but sadly you messed yourselves up. "
"Like how you destroyed me the last time, huh? "
Vegeta stared at Zarbon for a few seconds before grinning widely. He put his arms behind his back. "To make it fair. I will fight you with my hands behind my back." Vegeta raised a brow, his grin getting wider. "How does that sound to you? "
Zarbon growled in fury, crushing the rock he held in his hand to pieces. With an angry yell, Zarbon charged at Vegeta.
"Raah!" Zarbon started to rain down blows at Vegeta with all three of his functioning limbs, only for them to be swiftly dodged.
"Oh come on, Zarbon," Vegeta said, easily avoiding the blows with slight tilts of his body.
Zarbon gnashed his teeth together, before hopping back and raising his palm. "Eat this! " A green beam of energy shot towards Vegeta.
KADOOM!
The explosion shook the area, and smoke billowed in all directions. But before Zarbon could catch his breath, Vegeta emerged from the smoke, completely unharmed.
"Rah!" With a ferocious shout, Vegeta drove his fist into Zarbon's gut.
Blood spurted from Zarbon's mouth as he crumpled.
Nail who had been watching the battle from a distance could feel sweat begin to gather on his forehead. "This Saiyan's power, it's unreal. It's unlike anything I've ever felt before. Could he be..? "
"Tell me, Zarbon, " Vegeta said. "How does it feel? To be humiliated like this? "
Zarbon couldn't form any words, his form trembling.
"You remember, don't you, Zarbon?" Vegeta's voice turned icy.
"W-what?" Zarbon wheezed, barely able to breathe.
Vegeta's face was cold and serious. "What happened to my father? Who killed him? "
Zarbon opened his mouth to speak but words failed him.
Vegeta scoffed, withdrawing his fist and allowing Zarbon to slump to his knees, gasping for air.
"Now answer me! " Vegeta yelled.
"H-he was killed," Zarbon said through ragged breaths. "B-by Frieza himself. Me and Dodoria...weren't any.. match for him.. "
Vegeta smirked proudly. "Figures. I always knew you couldn't be the one to have defeated him. He was beyond you clowns. "
Zarbon was still panting. "Now that you have your answer, can I go, Vegeta? "
Vegeta's eyes went wide open as he stared at Zarbon. Slowly his expression gave way to fury. He closed his eyes and clenched his fists so tight that his palms drew blood. "Y-you think I can let you go after whatever you did to me? How dare you? "
Zarbon slowly stood up. "P-please Vegeta. I beg of you."
A vein bulged on Vegeta's forehead, his rage boiling. "No-one, no-one destroys a Saiyan's legacy, his only SON, and gets ANY MERCYYYYYY!"
With an ear-piercing yell Vegeta threw a humongous blast at Zarbon head-on. A blinding flash of light enveloped the area.
Nail, standing at a distance, shielded his eyes from the intense light.
"NOOO! VEGETA! " Zarbon's yell rang out in the air. Zarbon's face twisted terribly before his body exploded, his remains being quickly engulfed by the energy and reduced to ashes. Even the ashes were reduced to nothing but atoms.
"Hah.. Hah.. Hah... "
Soon the light faded and smoke cleared to reveal a panting Vegeta with one arm extended. "So long, freak."
Frieza's ship...
Camori, the investigation officer, rushed into Frieza's chamber, coming to a halt a dozen feet behind the tyrant. Standing at rigid attention, he spoke, "Sire, we've identified the conspirator."
Frieza remained silent, his gaze fixed out of the spaceship window.
"It's Crab, sire," Camori continued.
"Hmm?" Frieza's voice was cold. "And how do you know it's him?"
"He's been missing since the incident, sire," Camori replied. "His scouter is switched off as well."
Elsewhere on Namek...
Bardock's roar filled the sky, his aura flaring like a wild inferno. Power surged through him, unchecked and primal, shaking the very air around him.
Dodoria stood grinning, confident that Bardock's rise in power was nothing more than a bluff. But as his scouter's readings spiked higher and higher, that grin dissolved into pure disbelief. His face drained of color, the cocky swagger vanished.
"No way!" Dodoria stammered, his voice cracking as his scouter blinked wildly.
Bardock's roar crescendoed into a final burst, then abruptly stopped. His energy, once a storm, now seemed compressed, lethal. His eyes locked onto Dodoria with a look that carried years of pain and rage.
Dodoria trembled, cold sweat pouring down his face. "M-mommy..." he whimpered, his bravado utterly shattered.
Below, Krillin cheered, oblivious to the history that weighed on Bardock. "Yeah! Give it to him, Goku!"
Bardock stood still, his chest rising and falling with controlled breaths, every muscle tense. Then, in a blink, he vanished.
Panic gripped Dodoria. "Where did he go?!"
Before he could react, Bardock reappeared right in his face, his cold, furious eyes mere inches away.
Dodoria immediately floated backwards, still trembling. He flared his aura around him and dashed to the side.
However Dodoria suddenly felt as if he had collided with steel. He floated backwards again, trembling.
"Argh! " Dodoria's eyes bulged in pain as Bardock's fist drove into his gut.
Bardock's growl was low, his voice filled with the memory of those he'd lost to Frieza's cruelty. With a force born of vengeance, his fist broke through Dodoria's armor, sinking into flesh.
Blood sprayed from Dodoria's mouth as he hovered, stunned and powerless.
Bardock withdrew his fist, but his eyes never left Dodoria's. "This is for my people... my son… everything you took from me."
Dodoria's body quivered, his mind reeling, unable to respond as Bardock extended his hand, palm outstretched. There was no mercy in Bardock's gaze, only the resolution of a warrior who had waited too long for this moment.
Dodoria's eyes widened further even as the rest of his body stood frozen in shock.
Bardock frowned as he charged his hand with energy. A searing beam of energy shot out from Bardock's hand. It engulfed Dodoria's head, obliterating it completely.
As Bardock's attack shot off into the horizon, Dodoria's headleas body dropped to the ground.
Krillin who was cheering from below suddenly let out a 'yikes' as he witnessed Dodoria's head get blown off. He quickly scrambled to the side to avoid Dodoria dropping on top of him.
He looked at Bardock in a mixture of fear and awe. 'Wow. Goku's never acted like that before. I wonder what got to him..'
Yamcha, who was now able to stand, gritted his teeth through the pain. "K-Krillin..." he rasped, his voice hoarse. "I-I don't think... that's Goku."
Krillin looked puzzled. "What do you mean?! "
To be continued...