From Enemy To Student

- a Dragon Ball Z fanfiction -

Chapter 20 – More revelations for Goku

Disclaimer: I do not own, in any way, any official property related Dragon Ball, such as the anime, its characters, related movies, and so on. However, I hope to supplement that glorious work of art with my fanfictions, such as this one.

I would also like to point out that this fanfiction was originally written by Gonstika, from whom I adopted it, and many of the concepts and plot-points featured in its chapters are originated by Gonstika as well.

With that said, I hope you enjoy the story.

On Planet Namek, before Goku left Frieza's ship…

As blow after blow kept coming down on his exposed back, new waves of pain rushed through Vegeta's body, causing him significant physical pain, which he seemed to have been experiencing far too frequently since he'd landed on Planet Earth. Although he had been faring relatively well against the most basic state of Frieza's final form, he'd been unable to have any semblance of control of the fight ever since the tyrant had decided to kick things up a notch. No matter how focused he was on the fight, or how much power there was behind Vegeta's attacks, Frieza dodged or countered everything as though it was a mere annoyance, before alternating between landing bone-crunching hits on Vegeta and smacking him around like a bothersome insect.

Until a while ago, that was, as Frieza had recently decided to deliver his beatings in another manner, and had started squeezing Vegeta's neck inside his tail as he pelted his back with punches after punches, while the Saiyan tried as well as he could to pry the thick tail off his throat, looking sorrier than he ever had after the beating he'd taken from the tyrant. Bruises and cuts covered him all over, his armor had fallen off a long ago, and most of his bodysuit also had vanished, exposing the right side of his upper body and his left leg. Vegeta desperately tried to summon every possible bit of resistance he could muster, but now that he was as injured and exhausted as he had been when crawling toward his Space Pod to escape Earth, he could only keep his hands wedged between Frieza's tail and his neck, which merely served to keep its grip loose enough for him to still be able to breathe – for the time being. His last remnants of energy were quickly being drained from him, and once he was completely spent, Frieza would be free to choke him to death, or kill him in whatever other nasty manner he had planned, without Vegeta being able to do anything to stop it.

Still, even through his extreme despair at his predicament and the considerable amount of pain he was experiencing from the constant punches, both those feelings were superseded by the anger and frustration he felt at how things were going all wrong.

He should be a Super Saiyan! He should be taking the most powerful of Frieza's hits without even sensing them, and have enough power to flatten the tyrant with a mere flick of his finger if he chose to, which wasn't even near the most amazing feats that the Super Saiyan was capable of according to legend! As much as legends could exaggerate, if Vegeta had truly become a Super Saiyan, he should be annihilating Frieza effortlessly anyway! However, in spite of the remarkable increase in power he'd gotten thanks to healing from that mortal injury and of the multiple attempts at ascending into a Super Saiyan that he'd made during this battle, using the most varied means he could think of, there had been no moment when he had as much as sensed the power of the Super Saiyan state, and now with his energy reserves so depleted, he doubted that moment would ever come for him. But what did that mean exactly? Was the Super Saiyan really just a legend after all? Or was Vegeta, in spite of his dramatic increases in power, still too weak to be anywhere near the level required to become a Super Saiyan?

Ordinarily, such thoughts would have caused a substantial amount of rage to flow through him followed by the release the most intense explosion of energy he could unleash, but now, with his energy supply being so depleted and Frieza's current power level dwarfing his own even when he was at full strength, the Saiyan Prince could only feel despair like he had never known before weighing down on him, so intensely that he could not even hold back his tears, which constantly dripped down his face as if squeezed out by the tyrant's punches.

But even Frieza seemed to have his limit for how long he could torture someone in the same manner, because eventually, after Vegeta's back had been reduced to little more than a stain of a blue comparable to that of his bodysuit, Frieza finally halted that constant flurry of punches. However, before Vegeta could even take a breath, the tyrant roughly pulled him back with his tail, and then turned the rest of his body around, before releasing Vegeta's neck and delivering an uppercut to the Saiyan's chin, which sent the Saiyan flying upwards for hundreds of meters. Then, Frieza disappeared from where he was, and reappeared in Vegeta's path, smacking him with his coiled tail, which sent Vegeta crashing down toward the Namekian soil. Instants before the Saiyan impacted into the planet, Frieza appeared in his path once again, his left elbow poised forward to strike the Saiyan's back. Fear bursting through him, Vegeta desperately tried to summon the concentration that would be required to dodge at least this hit, but any efforts from him were fruitless, and his back slammed straightly onto the tyrant's elbow. Vegeta tried to gasp in pain upon being hit, but his throat was so scratchy that no sound left it, and right when the air left his mouth, Frieza clasped his hands together, and clobbered Vegeta down toward the ground, making him fall flat on his back and stir up a considerable cloud of dust.

In the subsequent moments, Vegeta simply stayed there, lying flat on his back, while trying to both get his breath back and to cough out all the dust that had entered his system.

"This is starting to bore me, Vegeta," Frieza remarked in an annoyed tone after Vegeta's coughing had subsided. "You're not even yelling in protest of the pain anymore. I had expected that you would be able to withstand much more than this, but it seems that your weakness has curtailed my fun."

Vegeta's facial expression shifted in a manner that suggested a sneer, but then a cough left his mouth, followed by another mouthful of dust. However, no words came from him, as his throat was too scratchy for him to speak and thus prevented him from answering even if he wanted to.

"But you know, I'm starting to feel sorry for you," the tyrant carried on. "Let me abbreviate your pain."

Before Vegeta could even fully register those words, Frieza latched his right hand onto the left side of Vegeta's bodysuit and lifted his torso slightly off the ground, before bringing his left hand backwards, all of its fingers poised forward as if he intended to run the Saiyan through with his bare hand. And if that was what he wanted, he would have little trouble doing it at his current power level.

The thought of ending up run-through yet again caused a shiver of fear to rush through Vegeta. He'd experienced the feeling once, and he didn't look forward to feeling it a second time, mainly if it ended killing him. He inwardly cringed at the fact he was displaying such a feeling, but he simply wasn't in a state fit to mask it.

As if he'd read Vegeta's thoughts, Frieza smiled wider in an apparent attempt to intensify that feeling, and then looked to the left, as if he had seen something worthy of his attention there.

"If you want to save him, you're welcome to try," Frieza said. "But don't expect to be successful."

Somehow managing to feel enough curiosity to wonder just who Frieza was talking to, Vegeta looked to the right, and saw Krillin, Gohan, and Piccolo standing about twenty-five meters away. Apparently, he had ended up crashing fairly close to them – certainly because Frieza wanted to give them a horror show before choosing one of the group to be his next victim.

Frieza shifted his look back to Vegeta, and once again, the Saiyan shuddered, unable to stop himself from closing his eyes in fear at the prospect of impending death.

Seeming to think that he had scared Vegeta enough, Frieza let out an ear-piercing screech, and then thrust his hand forward like a deadly spear. However, moments before the tips of Frieza's nails touched Vegeta's torso, the Saiyan prince's saving grace arrived.

Cutting through the air at speeds that Vegeta couldn't even conceive, a blur of movement touched down only dozens of meters away, the gust of wind it left upon landing being intense enough to startle Frieza and make him halt his finishing blow.

That was the last thing Vegeta felt, before, a mere split-second after the air rushed over him, the combination of exhaustion, pain, and a close encounter with death caused him to lose consciousness, his head falling limply backwards.

Having a sharp hearing as a result of his Namekian heritage, Piccolo was the first to hear the approaching blur, but even he did not have time to turn around before it landed, less than 10 meters away from them, releasing a strong wind upon touchdown. However, he had enough time to see that the blur was largely a rather unique shade of orange, and the identification of that trait enabled the Namekian to easily guess what it was, even without sensing its energy signature for confirmation.

It was Goku, countless times stronger than he had been before judging from his energy-signature, and looking nothing short of serious and focused for the battle that would soon start. By Piccolo's side, Gohan and Krillin immediately smiled with glee upon seeing him, and even the Namekian couldn't stop himself from letting out a sigh of relief at his ex-rival's entrance. Maybe with his help, they would be able to take down Frieza.

Seemingly not taking notice of the reactions that met his arrival, Goku stood up and surveyed the scene with his gaze, while at the same time standing as still as solid rock. He gave Piccolo an almost imperceptible nod of greeting upon seeing him, and relief was visible in his eyes when they skimmed over Gohan and Krillin, but even that was nearly unnoticeable. The most visible of his actions was when he finally spotted Frieza, and his eyes widened significantly in what appeared to be astonishment, as if he was surprised either at someone as strong as Frieza being so puny, or at Vegeta being in such a condition. But if it was either of those things, Piccolo didn't think it made much sense for Goku to feel that way, because he wasn't naïve enough to judge opponents by their looks, and he should have had a very good idea of what Vegeta was going through by sensing his energy signature.

In spite of his own puzzlement at Goku's reaction, Piccolo didn't dwell on the topic further. As long as Goku's amazement didn't impair his fighting skills in any way, he could live with it.

After several seconds, Goku's eyes returned to their normal size, and he started walking toward him.

"It seems I again cut it closer than I had imagined," he remarked, apparently speaking to himself and not to any of them. "If I'd made it here a split-second later, Vegeta would be dead by now."

His stern look switching for a more humorous smirk, he finally focused his eyes on their group, and said, "However, it seems that for once I managed to get to the battlefield without you being all beat up."

Giving Goku a slight smirk of his own, Piccolo replied, "Well, I'm pretty sure you can guess by now who helped us in that department."

Goku didn't reply, but his knowing look conveyed well enough that he knew what Piccolo meant. But on the other hand, the Namekian became doubtful thanks to his own words.

"By the way, while we are on that matter, where is he?" he asked, hoping that Goku knew whom he was referring to.

From the answer he gave, Piccolo could tell he didn't, but still, the Saiyan's reply was elucidative enough for him.

"Both of them are healthy, and both of them are coming back here," Goku replied. "They will only take longer than I did, because they aren't as fast."

Piccolo nodded. He wasn't all that worried about the red-skinned guy, but, mostly thanks to the part of him that came from Nail, he was relieved to know that Dende was alright.

Just in case, he quickly focused his energy senses on the direction Goku had come from, and sure enough, both Dende and Jeice were flying toward them – or, more accurately, Jeice was again carrying Dende while he flew. Apparently Dende had for some reason accepted being carried a second time.

While Piccolo made his assessment, both Gohan and Krillin took the chance to run toward Goku, obviously very eager to speak with him.

"Hey, dad! Welcome back!" Gohan shouted, while still smiling pleasantly.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Krillin asked, not missing a heartbeat, while sounding and looking considerably more anxious than Gohan.

Focusing on Gohan for a moment, Goku gave him a warm smile, and then shifted his gaze so that he looked at both of them.

"I'm better than I have ever been before," he replied. "And I'm proud of all of you for lasting this long."

Upon saying that, he ruffled Gohan's neatly cut hair, causing him to giggle with obvious joy.

Then, as if a button had been flipped, Goku's warm smile was again replaced by the same stern look he'd first had on his face upon arriving to the battlefield.

"But you can take a backseat now," Goku said, his tone perfectly matching the seriousness of his expression. "I'll take care of this."

In spite of his extremely developed hearing, Piccolo couldn't help but be amazed, and actually wondered whether his ears had somehow fooled him.

"What are you saying?" Krillin shouted, the anxiety of his expression shifting to pure shock.

Not hearing Goku replying to that statement, Piccolo turned away from the direction where he sensed Dende and Jeice to focus back on his former rival – and in doing so, he caught the bone-chilling look that Frieza was giving Goku.

Somehow managing not to let himself be deterred by that, Piccolo stepped toward Goku, and said, "Are you kidding? Surely you don't intend to fight him alone! You won't stand a chance!"

"Don't worry," Goku replied in an almost dismissive tone, before turning toward Frieza and starting to walk toward the tyrant, every bit of his stance betraying both a sense of calm confidence and a contained anger that Piccolo wasn't entirely sure about why it existed in the first place.

"Please, daddy, be careful," Gohan whispered as his father passed by him and Krillin.

"That's right!" the bald fighter added. "Watch out for that tail most of all!"

Goku didn't answer any of those. He simply continued his slow, secure walk toward Frieza, doing so in such a manner that Piccolo immediately understood that there would be no point in trying to talk him out of it. Besides, he just looked so confident that the Namekian couldn't help but to think maybe he could win.

'He may look sure of himself, but it seems he doesn't know what sort of monster he's about to face,' Piccolo thought, feeling a few beads of sweat starting to form on his forehead. No matter how many challenging opponents Goku had faced before – among which was Piccolo himself – Frieza's strength was far beyond belief.

'But who knows, maybe he won't get in over his head,' the Namekian added, reflecting on how Goku's strength seemed to have been increasing in a very similar manner ever since the fight against Raditz.

Hopefully, he had somehow managed to pull off another drastic increase out of his bag and would be able to stand against Frieza thanks to it.

Because otherwise, they would all be done for.

Clenching his fists in a manner that conveyed contained anger to anyone who would be watching, Goku carried on with his controlled walk toward Frieza, who dropped Vegeta when he saw him approaching, and fully turned toward him, his stance looking so similar to something he'd seen in Jeice's memories that Goku had to intensify his efforts at concealing his considerable amazement. He succeeded, but at the same time he couldn't help to find it a bit of a redundant effort, as he'd probably let some visible signs leak through earlier on.

But he hadn't been able to help it. When he had first spotted Frieza, he'd been utterly taken aback by the similarity this form of Frieza had to the monster that he had seen in Jeice's memories. While Goku hadn't been able to recognize most details, the basic shape was, to say the least, very similar. In fact, it was similar enough for Goku to wonder whether the monster in Jeice's memories had been Frieza assuming this form that Jeice had never seen in his later years.

That could be true, but Goku wasn't entirely sure, mainly because the monster had said that it had intended to trade Jeice for other sorts of possessions. While the trade could have failed, it was also possible the monster hadn't been Frieza, although it had most certainly been someone of the same species.

Whatever the answer, Goku had an idea on how to find it out.

"So you're Frieza, huh?" he asked, stopping about 10 meters away from the tyrant. "You're a lot smaller than I imagined."

Smiling indulgently at the not-so-implied insult, Frieza replied, "I may be small, but I had no problem demolishing the pride of this monkey here."

That checked it. Frieza was not the monster from Jeice's memories. His voice hadn't sounded similar to that monster's in any way. Instead, it had sounded exactly like the one Frieza had possessed in his weakest form. So, the monster had to be someone else. But who?

Still curious enough to want to figure it out, Goku decided to keep making small talk, while taking it toward a path that would give him the answer.

"I can see that," he replied. "And for that matter, I can also see that you and your race seem to have a problem with your personality, considering the kind of evil you spread across the Universe."

Frieza's eyes opened wider upon hearing Goku saying 'and your race', as if he was for some reason surprised at the fact he knew there were others like him. And although he quickly pulled himself together, that small slip-up was enough for Goku to know he'd struck a nerve one way or another.

"I don't know what you mean by my race, but whatever it is, you're wrong if you assume there are others like me," Frieza said in one of the smuggest tones Goku had ever heard. "I am one of a kind, and I can't be compared to anyone else."

If he'd have to judge Frieza only by the response he'd given to this statement, Goku would have believed he was telling the truth, but right now he simply judged him to be a literally flawless actor, who for some reason seemed not to want anyone to know about his race.

"Well, if that's really true, I have to say it's a relief," Goku replied in a biting tone. "The Universe is much better off without any other being taking after you in any way, no matter how remotely."

He could hear slight gasps of amazement from his friends when he said that, and the fluctuations in their energy signature told him the very same thing. Indeed, they were bound to be surprised at Goku not only acting as smug, but also at taking the time to insult and mock an opponent, which was something he didn't usually do, no matter how subtly. But this time, he chose that option to see if Frieza would incidentally reveal any information that could hint at who was the monster in Jeice's memories. If that monster was still around, it also had to be dealt with in some way.

Like Goku had expected, Frieza's expression immediately shifted when he heard such criticisms to his race, his look going from calm and mild to so enraged that it seemed he was about to throw himself at Goku.

But moments before he did so, both of them were distracted by a low sound that was a mix of a moan and a groan. Looking in that direction, both of them saw Vegeta's body twitching, signaling his return to consciousness. Moments afterwards, the Saiyan turned his head to the right in what seemed a supremely demanding task, his eyes focusing on Goku.

"It-t-t-t's you, K-k-k-kakarot," he moaned. "Y-y-you're here."

Frieza raised an eyebrow at those words.

"Kakarot?" he said as if the name rang a bell in his head. "That name…" he turned to Goku. "Are you a Saiyan?"

Goku didn't reply, finding that the question was ambiguous enough to have two different answers. He'd been a Saiyan in the sense that he was born on Planet Vegeta, but he was an Earthling in soul, and for him, that was what was truly important. And if his answer was different from Frieza's guess, they could end up debating the matter for too long, which was something Goku wasn't interested in. The only thing he'd remotely want to debate about was anything that would help him to find out the answers to the questions he'd had ever since reading Jeice's mind.

Frieza didn't seem to require an answer, though, as his eyes soon widened, this time in recognition.

"That's it!" he said. "You look just like that Saiyan who faced me right when I was about to destroy Planet Vegeta! You might even be his son!"

Goku took notice of Frieza's mention of someone who might have been his father, but he didn't comment on it. Considering the Saiyan standard of personality and the fact the only relative of his he'd ever known had been a bastard, his father shouldn't be the most ideal of people to be around, and Goku had most certainly ended up better off by never knowing him, as depressing as it could be to think like that.

"I didn't come here to talk," he said. "I came here to teach you a lesson, so I suggest you get ready for it," he added in an even more aggressive tone, finding that the way things were going, Frieza wouldn't end up answering any of his questions, and so there was no point in delaying the inevitable.

Frieza's cold smile returned when he heard the issued challenge.

"We'll see about that," he said. "Ready?"

Not waiting for Goku to reply, he disappeared from where he stood, and reappeared by him instantly afterwards.

"Let's go!" he shouted, bringing his tail down on the Saiyan like a whip thicker than Goku's arm.

Moments before it struck, Goku disappeared from where he stood and reappeared by Frieza's right, bringing a foot forward to slam it on the tyrant's chin. As a result, he went flying away, leaving a trail made by a cloud of dirt as he skimmed along the ground. After some dozens of meters, he managed to flip into an upright position and landed on one knee and one hand. He remained in that position for a few moments, before finally standing up, rubbing the purple bruise adorning his right cheek with a mild look of pain on his face.

"Did you see that?" Goku heard Krillin asking. "Goku really got better since we last saw him fight."

He was vaguely aware of Gohan saying something in reply to Krillin's comment, but he couldn't make out the word, as he was too far away to listen properly and too focused on paying attention to Frieza, who had reassumed his wicked smirk, moments before pointing his right index finger at him.

"Watch out, Goku!" Krillin shouted at him. "Dodge that thing!"

No sound was heard from anyone or anything in response to his warning.

"Everyone, hit the dirt!" he added. A moment afterwards, Goku heard a twin sound that told him both Krillin and Gohan had done just that.

"You're too proud, Saiyan," Frieza said, punctuating his sentence by firing a beam of energy that turned the whole area into many shades of pink.

Goku remained where he stood, and as soon as the beam came within proper distance, he batted it aside with his right hand. The attack flew a considerable distance away before exploding, causing the area to return to its normal colors right afterwards, and Frieza's eyes to widen in amazement.

But in a matter of moments, the tyrant overcame such an emotion, and his whole hand was enveloped by a sphere of energy, before a multitude of energy beams that looked exactly like the one from before were fired from it, all of them heading toward his foe's chest.

His look not losing any of its cold calm, Goku started deflecting all the attacks away with his right hand only, making every effort he could to ensure they would be turned away from his friends, and trying not to convey any sign of distress to the tyrant firing the beams at him.

At that very moment, several kilometers away, Jeice skidded to a halt in midair, startled by the instant change of color in the scenery and by the Death Beams that could be seen falling around the place as if they'd come out of nowhere. His sudden stop caused Dende – who had accepted a second ride from Jeice after the soldier had caught up with him – to groan in obvious discomfort, but Jeice was so puzzled by what he was seeing that he barely paid any attention to it, and any grip he managed to keep on the little Namekian was due to either instinct or simply being so amazed that he forgot to let go.

"What the…" he said to himself, the puzzlement in both his expression and voice showing his lack of belief in what he saw. "But just what's goin' on?" he blurted out, as if the sheer volume of his question would be enough to make him get an answer.

But of course, it didn't. The only response to his exclamation was a nearly inaudible scared sound from Dende, whose previous discomfort had been forgotten in the midst of the fear he felt at seeing this barrage of attacks further devastating his planet and hearing the continuous explosions they caused.

Jeice was not so caught up in his puzzlement or so distracted by watching and hearing the stray Death Beams exploding in front of them for not to notice what the child was feeling, but being aware of the kid's fear didn't do any good, because he simply didn't know how to react. He was used to fear, of course: he had caused others to experience it more times than he cared to count, and had even felt it himself on some occasions, most of which had actually taken place earlier today. But in the first case, he had grown used to that, and if he didn't want to deal with it, he could always blast whoever was scared into oblivion. In the second, it was just a matter of somehow getting rid of whatever was scaring him – usually in a manner that also involved destruction – and then denying he'd ever felt such a thing by covering it up with bravado and boasting, like all of Frieza's soldiers did.

None of that was an option in this case, though. He knew that in theory, the ideal would be comforting the kid, as that was what he'd seen parents doing to children who were afraid of him, but in practical terms, he didn't know how to do that. He briefly thought of trying to tell Dende not to be so scared, but he guessed that downplaying the kid's fear would do more harm than good at worst, and help nothing at best. Even though the World Trade Organization actively discouraged displaying any sort of emotional vulnerability, he was knowledgeable enough on the matter to know that such emotions couldn't be controlled.

In the end, it seemed better just to wait for all these attacks to end and then drop off the kid at the safest distance before closing in and try to get an idea of what was going on. Hopefully, the kid would have been able to somewhat pull himself together in the meantime and heal whomever had gotten injured upon being caught up in that storm of Death Beams.

Right as the thought came to him, one of the attacks, which seemed even more powerful than the others, flew toward him as if it had learned of his decision and wanted to make sure he wouldn't get too relaxed. The beam ate up the ground between them so quickly that Jeice barely could dodge sharply upwards, literally coming within millimeters of being either pulverized or run-through.

His heart beating mile-a-second, he looked toward the spot where he guessed the Death Beam would land, barely turning his head on time to see an entire archipelago located about two kilometers away being leveled, sending an explosion of stones, water, and destroyed vegetation up into the air.

"Whew!" he said, holding Dende to him with his left hand only in order to rub his other forearm across his forehead, wiping off imaginary sweat while he let out his sigh of relief. "That was a close one. I'll hafta pay more attention from now on."

Following his own advice, Jeice turned back around toward the spot from where the Death Beams kept radiating, trying to watch out for any that would come toward him, although right now none of those that came in his direction had enough power behind them to make it halfway to him before falling and exploding.

Seeing those attacks reminded Jeice of the puzzlement he felt just a moment ago, and stirred up his doubts about what could be taking place there. Either a very violent fight was taking place there, or Frieza was somehow trying to vent any feeling of anger by firing as many Death Beams as he could in every direction. Both of those were scenarios that Jeice didn't enjoy, as up until now, no one had ever been able to defeat Frieza whenever he decided to stop playing with kid's gloves, and if the tyrant was doing that to vent, whomever he was mad at had most certainly been turned into a sieve by now.

Whatever the case, he had to wait until the storm of Death Beams faded before going closer and seeing what was going on, like he had told himself so shortly before, as if he did anything else, he would only get himself killed.

Eventually, the pink light that had changed the color of the whole area faded, and no more beams came from that dreaded location.

By that time, Jeice had worked up so much anticipation that upon seeing he had free way to close in, he flew down to the closest island and set Dende down before the child even had time to fully realize what had happened.

"Stay here," he said, before quickly shooting off toward what he assumed was the battlefield, trying to ignore the shadow of dread caused by the thoughts of the sort of monster he would see upon arriving, and of how mangled would be the dead bodies of all those that had been in the vicinity.

At any other time, he might have decided to sneak in instead of flying so openly through the sky, but in his opinion, those Death Beams had certainly destroyed any potential hideout that could be close to the battlefield, and by now, Frieza should be so powerful that if he as much as caught a glimpse of Jeice, he'd be able to move over to him before Jeice had tried to hide again. Besides, he was too nervous to be capable of hiding decently.

When he got somewhat close, he saw that Piccolo, Gohan, and Krillin – the only ones visible anywhere near a column of dust located right on top of the center of that storm of beams – seemed to be alright, but although he was at least somewhat relieved by that knowledge, he couldn't help but to find it a bit weird, as he didn't think any of them would have been fast enough to dodge even one of those beams – much less an entire barrage of them – at such close range. Somehow, Frieza must have fired the Death Beams while deliberately avoiding hitting them.

Knowing there was only one way to know if his guess was right, he landed close to them, the question already building up in his vocal chords even before he landed.

As if their movement had been cued, all three of them turned toward him upon hearing his touchdown, although they had probably noticed his approach long before thanks to their energy sensing skills.

Seeing that Piccolo was starting to open his mouth, Jeice wasted no time in speaking, determined to get his doubts clarified.

"What's up?" he asked. "What did I miss?"

By the time he asked his first question, Piccolo looked as though he was about to start speaking himself, but held himself back. However, a few moments after Jeice had voiced his second doubt, the Namekian asked something himself, "Where is he?"

"I asked first!" Jeice instantly snapped, his curiosity intense enough to push that question further.

Piccolo's eyes narrowed upon hearing the complaint.

"Now's not the time to be childish," he berated in a gruff tone. "Where is he?"

Jeice could feel another protest making its way up his throat upon the Namekian's refusal to answer him, but right as it was about to leave his mouth, he grit his teeth and then mentally gulped to force his complain down. He was smart enough to know that if he and Piccolo started arguing, neither would get anywhere, and could even end up fighting, which was the last thing they should do at a time like this.

"'e's rather far away from 'ere," Jeice replied. "And before ya ask, 'e's fine, other than bein' a lil' bit frightened."

Piccolo didn't say anything, but his posture and expression relaxed just about enough to be visible after Jeice said those words, showing how the Namekian was relieved at knowing that Dende was alright for the most part.

With that matter out of the way, Jeice prepared to repeat his questions, but before he even started to make a sound, his eyes fell on the column of dust not too far away, which had dissipated enough for him to see the outline of Goku's figure, and realize that the Saiyan was not only unscathed, but somehow had – or at least appeared to have – deflected all the Death Beams that Jeice had seen flying about using his right hand only.

Jeice let out a gasp of amazement. Even if Goku hadn't truly deflected all those Death Beams with one hand, he had still become extraordinarily strong, considering how even Jeice himself wouldn't have been able to stand even against Frieza's third form, and Goku had managed to divert so many attacks from him in his fourth form without even using his strength-multiplying technique. As long as Frieza hadn't been lying about not having any further transformations beyond this one, they should have their victory assured after all.

But then again, he'd thought that many times before, and it had never proved true.

More of the column of dust kept settling down, now enabling everyone there to see Goku without any problem, and causing Jeice to hold his breath in dreadful anticipation. He knew he was about to finally see what Frieza had labeled as his 'true form', and if the tyrant's previous metamorphoses were anything to go by, then it had to be something monstrous, possibly worlds worse than the conception Jeice had made when Frieza had begun transforming for the third time.

His heart thudded in his ears, as if it was urging the dust to dispel faster, and slowly, Jeice could see another outline. But it didn't look anything like the giant monster with massive horns and long claws he'd been picturing. Instead, it looked small and lithe, no longer with menacingly sharp spikes protruding from his body. It looked like…

It.

The outline Jeice saw instantly reminded him the accursed creature responsible for the death of his parents and everyone else on his planet. That could only mean something: Frieza had been the one responsible for the demise of his race, and had deliberately prepared him to be just one more addition to his so-called army.

Memories of the fear he'd felt upon staring into Salza's cruel gaze and at seeing the monster destroying an entire city returned to him with the force of a meteorite impact, but this time, that fear was accompanied by utter fury that exploded through his being and was only comparable to what he'd felt when Ginyu had slaughtered Burter and Recoome. And behind that fury, came one resolution that seemed to burn into his mind with a laser beam: difference in strength be damned, Frieza would pay.

Unleashing an inarticulate cry of fury and an explosion of energy that prompted Piccolo to shield his eyes and Gohan and Krillin to throw themselves onto the ground for a second time, Jeice rushed forward at the remnants of the column of dust, murder written in every line of his expression.

Even before he got through the cloud of dust, though, a pair of powerful arms clamped themselves around him, pressing his arms to his body and instantly stopping his course. His heart jumping in scare at finding himself trapped, Jeice started flailing his legs as hard as he could and released another explosion of energy in an attempt to get himself free. However, he only managed to destroy the last remnants of the cloud of dust, getting a full vision of Frieza's final form – a short, pale-grey being with an almost frail appearance, looking at Jeice in that bone-chilling way he had once feared so much, but which now only intensified the rage that flooded him.

"Don't do that!" Goku shouted in his ear, not sounding distressed at all in spite of Jeice's frantic struggling. "He'll kill you if you get anywhere near him!"

Paying no attention to those words, Jeice let out another inarticulate cry and then pointed his palms at Frieza, unleashing the most powerful energy wave he could possibly gather in an instant. Undaunted, the tyrant simply waited for the attack to cross the ground that separated them, and then batted it back with a lazy flick of his tail so quickly that Jeice had no time to register his blast flying back toward him. Thinking fast, Goku spun to the right at a 90º angle and then kicked at the blast with his left leg, effortlessly sending it away toward space.

"Didn't you hear what I said?" Goku shouted again into Jeice's ear, speaking more forcefully than anyone else had ever heard him doing. "He's too strong for you to take him on!"

"'e killed mah family!" Jeice roared, still frantically trying to get himself free. "And I'm gonna kill 'im!"

Frieza's eyes widened slightly at hearing Jeice's first sentence. Clearly, it was a surprise to hear his former soldier saying such a thing seemingly out of the blue. But Jeice knew it wouldn't measure up to the surprise it would be for Frieza to find himself being beaten senseless by him.

For a moment, he almost managed to slip free, as Goku had apparently been surprised by his shout as well, but the Saiyan re-tightened his grip around him at the very last moment before Jeice broke free.

"It wasn't him!" Goku replied in a shout louder than ever before, traces of strain detectable in his voice for the very first time since he'd grabbed Jeice, "I heard his voice already, and I can tell it wasn't anything like that creature's. Frieza didn't kill your parents or your compatriots."

"Not that that makes him any less of a bastard," the Saiyan added as an afterthought, his voice thick with disgust at having been speaking in defense of such a tyrant, even if it had been to prevent someone from meeting his death.

Jeice kept struggling for a few moments longer, his mind seeming to take longer than usual to process information, but gradually, he stopped flailing his legs and trying to push Goku's arms off him, as the fury swelling inside him slowly decreased to a more manageable level. Sensing it was safe, Goku finally opened his arms, and Jeice fell down to the floor, as he'd stopped focusing on floating the moment he'd started struggling.

But as much as Jeice could be calmer now, he hadn't been completely placated by any means, and the look of anger he kept directing at Frieza fully conveyed that.

"If it wasn't 'im, it 'ad to be 'is brother or somethin'," Jeice growled. "The two of them look far too much alike!"

For a second time, Frieza's eyes bugged out, this time upon hearing Jeice's theory about his eventual relative, and more so than they had before. However, his puzzled look quickly shifted back to his normal cold expression, in perfect unison with his tail swaying back to a more normal position.

"Well Jeice, if it puts you at ease in any way, I wasn't the one who killed your certainly-worthless family," the tyrant said. "I simply bought you from the one who did it. And just so you know, although you were young, you cost me fifty standard soldiers, under the premise from the one who sold you that you'd be a worthy investment."

Finally hearing Frieza's voice, Jeice realized that Goku had been speaking the truth. Frieza's voice didn't sound like the monster's at all, so the two of them couldn't possibly have been the same. But that realization only made Jeice hold his breath in anticipation and look at Frieza as if trying to will the next words out of his mouth, certain that he would hear the name of the one who had destroyed his birth planet and sold him like a regular object anytime soon.

"It seems I was fooled, as not only you did betray me, but you were also meant not to have long-lasting damage caused by the killing you witnessed," Frieza carried on, as if he was expressing a random thought. "Or at least, I was assured you were far too young to remember. It seems I'll have to demand for compensation once I'm done with my business here."

"Who did it?" Jeice shouted, sick of waiting for any sort of incidental revelations, and his remaining fury urging him to know who had been the responsible for everything his life had been so that he could set his sights on a concrete goal.

Frieza didn't sound intimidated at all by his demand, but his cold, calm smile twisted into a displeased frown, as if he'd been pestered about the matter for a long time now.

"You don't need to worry so much about that," Frieza said, his usually cool voice now sounding slightly impatient, as if he was trying to dismiss the matter. "After all, your family should be most willing to answer any questions you may have once you meet them in the afterlife. And rest assured, I have no problem sending you there."

If Frieza had been the monster after all, any calm Jeice might have been feeling would have immediately been destroyed and he would have resumed his furious charge at the tyrant. But if Frieza had been the monster, Jeice wouldn't have calmed down in the first place. And now, although he was still furious and determined to find who had been the monster after all, some unease was starting to creep through him, as he'd gotten to see first-hand how low his chances would be against Frieza after the tyrant had deflected his attack in a virtually effortless manner.

"Sadly, though, I'll have to dispose of the Saiyan first," Frieza explained. "You see, he just rubbed me in too wrong a way for me to let him live any longer, in spite of the short time in which we've met. But don't worry, after I'm done with the monkey, I promise you'll be next."

Jeice didn't know what answer to give to those words, so he kept quiet, and flew in a half-circle through the air, landing about ten meters behind Goku. As much as Frieza had said that he wanted to deal with the Saiyan first, the tyrant had never been of the reliable sort after all.

Goku hadn't said anything in response to Frieza's words either, but, to Jeice's surprise, another person did.

"If I were you, I wouldn't be so sure about your victory, Frieza…" someone said in a low, stuttering voice, as if the one speaking had his throat or lungs too damaged to do so properly.

Recognizing the voice as belonging to Vegeta, Jeice raised an eyebrow in surprise and turned his head on the direction of the sound. Not too far off to Goku's left, the Saiyan Prince laid on his back, looking sorrier than Jeice had ever seen him, and the ground underneath him coated red by his own blood.

In spite of everything he'd already seen, Jeice couldn't repress a slight wince at seeing Vegeta's condition; not even when Recoome beat him down had the Saiyan ended up as damaged. If Frieza truly had taken the time to beat him so bad, he was even more of a bastard than Jeice had thought, as not even Recoome would take the time to beat someone so bad before killing them. In fact, it was a wonder Vegeta could speak at all, as a look at him would make anyone assume his lungs had been too damaged to be functional. Apparently, the Saiyan was even tougher than anyone would ever have dared to assume.

"Believe me, Freiza, you'd better fight seriously if you want to have any chance of winning…" Vegeta carried on. "Because he is what you fear the most! He is… the Super Saiyan!"

This time, Frieza's look of amazement lasted more than a few moments, and it was more intense than any he'd shown after hearing either of Jeice's remarks that implied him. But if Frieza was amazed, Jeice just about managed to stop himself from slapping his forehead in hopelessness.

Was Vegeta eternally doomed to being unable to learn basic facts? The Super Saiyan was a mere legend, and preaching about it would not be enough to make it true!

"He's the Super Saiyan… the warrior of legend…" Vegeta carried on, clearly determined to make the biggest possible impact on Frieza with his speech now that he was too damaged to do so with his fists, and his gaze seeming to grow infested with madness as he spoke further. "…the most powerful being in the Universe… you're done for!"

The last sentence was spoken in such a manner that it seemed more than ever he'd tried to drive a sword into Frieza, and by now, his look seemed so deranged that there appeared to be no sanity left in him. That very same madness shifting toward his smile, Vegeta started laughing so loudly that his lungs suddenly appeared to be in perfect condition, clearly intending his mad laughter to have an effect superior even to that of his words.

What came next was so quick that Jeice could barely register what happened. He saw a flash of grey as Frieza raised his arm, and next thing he knew, the whole area had become pink for an instant, and Vegeta had a Death Beam running through his heart, effectively cutting off his laughter, and causing everyone present to look at him as a collective gasp of amazement left their mouths.

The attack's explosion caused Vegeta to flop off the ground in something akin to a death-throw, before he fell down with a dull thud, gasping in pain as landing on his pierced back elicited him to cough a mouthful of blood.

"Vegeta, you should know by now that I don't tolerate idiocies," Frieza replied as he started to lower his right hand, before changing his mind halfway through the gesture and raising it again, pointing his index finger at Vegeta for a second time.

This time, however, no Death Beam came from it. Instead, Frieza fired a tiny, almost invisible sphere of energy, which left a trail of dirt parted in both directions as it flew toward the Saiyan before finally hitting him. Rather than exploding, though, the attack seemed to sink into Vegeta's body, causing him to flop off the ground for a second time – not as significantly as before, but still very visibly.

"And for the rest of you, if any of you makes any attempt at taking him away to heal him in whatever magical manner you've been using, I'm going to blow him up!" Frieza said. "And believe me, now that I fired that dot at him, I can do it with a single gesture. Ask Jeice if you don't believe me."

Jeice grit his teeth when he heard that. Indeed, he knew that any attempt at saving Vegeta would be useless now, no matter how much they wanted to. From the moment Frieza fired that sphere into any opponent's body, the poor devil was doomed, as the attack could not be removed, and the only possible fate was to end up exploding, like it was suggested by the name Frieza had given to the attack: "I Won't Let You Escape With Your Life!". And clearly, Goku had learned from it when he'd watched Jeice's memories, because if he hadn't, he would have most certainly rushed at Frieza in an attempt to do anything he could to stop the inevitable.

"It's about time I started actually killing someone around here," Frieza added, sneering in obvious distress at the reminder of how so many of his supposed killings had been unsuccessful.

At that comment, Goku looked at Frieza again, now looking like he was quivering with fury.

"Vegeta was so injured that he couldn't even move!" Goku shouted at him. "Who do you think you are to have the right of doing what you did?"

Looking considerably calmer at the fact that for once someone he was going to kill didn't have a chance of being healed, Frieza replied in his usual relaxed voice, "I think that if I didn't do what I did, one of you would take him away and heal him with whatever method you've been using to keep coming back to life when you should have been dead. And like I told you, I want to make sure all you vermin will be killed. Besides, Vegeta was getting too annoying with that Super Saiyan talk, and I can't stand annoying people."

"Kakarot, you can't keep preaching that mercy nonsense," Vegeta gasped out. "As long as you do it, that means you're still holding back, and therefore you're not a Super Saiyan, damn it!"

At any other time, Jeice would have felt exasperated by Vegeta's continuous insistence regarding the Super Saiyan, but now, hearing the despair in the Saiyan's voice as he spoke, he couldn't help but to feel sorry for him. It was clear that even in the brink of death, he was trying to hold onto what he believed to be their last hope of victory over Frieza.

"The only way you can beat him is if you harden your heart, you fool," Vegeta kept on scolding him, somehow managing to sound forceful in spite of his now weaker-than-ever voice. "You have to put aside your mercy. Then you might actually stand a chance at becoming a Super Saiyan!"

At that moment, Jeice braced himself, invaded by the sudden feeling that Vegeta might blow up anytime soon. After all, Frieza had said he was tired of hearing about the Super Saiyan, and although Vegeta was doomed anyway by this point, the tyrant could still choose to end things more quickly and blow him up at any time of his choosing.

As of now, Frieza didn't seem tempted to doing it, but he could change his mind anytime if this conversation carried on.

"I can't be wicked, Vegeta," Goku insisted. "I could never act as cold-blooded as you do, even if I thought it would make me stronger. Whatever this Super Saiyan thing is you're talking about, I think I'll get by just fine."

Momentarily forgetting his fear of having Vegeta potentially exploding almost on top of them, Jeice shifted his gaze toward Goku, again feeling taken aback, albeit for a different reason. Apparently, as different from regular Saiyans as Goku could be, he was still more like them than it seemed. At least, he had sounded as stubborn as Vegeta when he'd said that.

"The S-s-s-super Saiyan is…" Vegeta started, but his speech was cut-off as he coughed out yet more blood, causing Frieza to let out a chuckle of pleasure.

"Stop talking," Goku said in the most forceful tone he could. "You're only going to hasten your death if you do it!"

Vegeta opened his mouth to say something, but the only thing that came was another cough, causing more blood than ever to come out of his mouth.

"Please, Kakarot, you have to listen to me…" Vegeta insisted, not caring about his compatriot's warning.

Although Goku didn't repeat his words, Vegeta stopped there, as if saying that short sentence had drained him of most of his energy. For a moment, Jeice wondered if he was just going to keel over there, but the Saiyan kept breathing, although his chest seemed to go up and down at an ever slower rate.

"If you have anything to reveal you'd better hurry up," Frieza remarked as if he was trying to remind Vegeta of some basic truth. "Because soon you won't have any strength to talk."

Paying no mind to Frieza either, the Saiyan Prince resumed his speech, looking as though he was summoning every bit of strength he had left.

"I need you to know what happened… to Planet Vegeta… where we were born…" Vegeta said, his eyes now starting to shimmer, as though he was about to cry. "It wasn't destroyed by a massive meteor… It was Frieza! He did it! Although we Saiyans served him faithfully, and followed each of his orders, he blew our planet apart, and killed each and every Saiyan there!"

By the end of his tirade, a stream of tears had started to run down from Vegeta's eyes, mixing with the blood underneath him, and causing Jeice to open his mouth in utter awe. In spite of how little he'd always cared about the Saiyan and of the low opinion he had of him, he'd always thought at the very least that Vegeta would never cry. And yet, here he was, shedding tears for what was probably the very first time in his life.

"The two of us were lucky enough to avoid that, but your father wasn't spared, and neither was mine!" Vegeta added, managing to speak louder for just about a moment. "They both died, just like all the others, all because of that tyrant whose biggest fears were the growing strength of our race and the eventual birth of a Super Saiyan!"

"Shut up; those words won't get you on your feet," Frieza said, starting to sound annoyed again.

Instinctively, Jeice glanced toward Frieza upon hearing him talk like that, and tensed himself up for the tyrant clenching his fist and causing Vegeta to explode as a result of his technique. But again, Frieza didn't do anything that might suggest he was going to do that.

"I… didn't know…" it was all Goku could mutter, doing so in such a manner that although his back was turned to Jeice, the red-skinned alien could clearly tell he was shell-shocked.

Now with his tears flowing down with more intensity than ever, Vegeta raised his quivering hand toward Goku, somehow still having enough strength to attempt that gesture even though he should be nearly dead!

"I beg you, Kakarot… beat him…" he muttered. "For the pride of our race… please… he must die by a Saiyan's hands… I'm counting on you… promise me!"

The last syllable he uttered was not only screamed, but infused with utter despair, clearly intended to be spoken while Vegeta could still do so. However, before Goku could reply, the Prince's hand fell down limply, stirring up a small cloud of dust. Vegeta let out a few more groans, but then, even those were silenced, and the even movements of his chest ceased, as his head also feel against the dirt.

It was all over for him.

His heart growing heavier for a reason that not even he managed to explain, Jeice looked down himself, a weary sigh forcing its way out of his lips. Somehow, in spite of how little he'd cared for the Saiyan, now that he was dead he couldn't help but to feel sad over it. He could have been a bastard, but now Jeice knew that most, if not all of those on Frieza's forces couldn't be fully held accountable for what they had become. At least in most cases, they had become byproducts of what the bastard wanted them to be, all to further the expansion of his empire. On that regard, Jeice had at least been lucky enough to have Recoome, Burter, and Guldo as good friends. He dreaded to think what he would have become without them.

A gentle breeze started blowing through the landscape, running over Vegeta's dead body as if it was trying to sooth him and contribute as much as possible in giving him a quiet eternal rest.

"Vegeta…" Goku whispered as his hair was pushed aside by the wind, before letting out a low sigh similar to Jeice's.

"There, he's at peace now," Frieza said. "That's what he got by trying to act all high-and-mighty, and I warned him."

The wind intensified for a moment as if to shout its anger at the tyrant, but a moment afterwards, it settled down, as if apologizing for its outburst. Through it all, Goku just kept staring at Vegeta, as if he was still trying to process the Saiyan's words.

"Well, let's not leave him here to rot; he doesn't add anything to the décor," Frieza added.

Before any of them had time to react, Frieza thrust his right arm upwards as if delivering an uppercut, and Vegeta's body shot up like a rocket. Then, with a smile of satisfaction, the tyrant clenched his fist, causing the Saiyan to explode more than a kilometer above them, his charred remains falling down in a shower of ash.

"That's better," Frieza said, lowering his hand so that now both his arms fell alongside his body.

Feeling paralyzed by what he'd witnessed, Jeice looked on at the cloud of ash that had once been the Saiyan Prince, something that looked like a block of ice gathering in his throat. Like most of Frieza's moves that he knew, he had only seen "I Won't Let You Escape With Your Life!" being performed once, but every second of it had vividly clung to his memory, from the utter terror the move's victim had experienced to the deafening explosion on the sky that signaled the death of someone so powerful that it had taken Frieza himself to kill. He couldn't help but to think that Vegeta had had it better, after all, as he hadn't felt the horror of having an unresponsive body and being helpless to stop himself from being blown up to smithereens. In spite of how he'd died anyway, Jeice was sure his ending had been preferable to the one he would have faced otherwise.

As if coming from very far away, Goku's voice got to him, the anger in it reverberating through the area.

"Vegeta, you may have been a bastard, and believe me, I don't particularly care about you after everything you've done to me and those I care about," Goku said, staring a few wisps of ash that were falling don right in front of him. "But now, at the very least, I respect your Saiyan pride."

Upon those words, his whole body turned toward Frieza at such a speed that it seemed no more than a flash to Jeice's eyes.

"And for all the Saiyans you killed, for all the Namekians you've harmed, for all those you tried to make ruthless soldiers of since childhood, and for all those that must be saved from your evil…" he added, thrusting a fist toward Frieza. "I'm going to finish you!"

A few seconds of silence went by, and the wisps of ash that had been passing in front of Goku finished falling down, mixing with the spot of Vegeta's blood that was still there.

"Well, I'm waiting!" Frieza replied, as he sank into his fighting stance.

Letting out an unimpressed snort, Goku did the same, the deliberateness of his every move conveying his unwavering determination to make the tyrant pay for everything he'd done and to make sure he wouldn't do it to anyone again.

Up next: Goku and Frieza finally begin their battle, clashing with a might that no one there has ever witnessed. Meanwhile, in Hell, something happens that bodes trouble for everyone there. What will happen? Find out next!

Hoping you enjoyed the chapter,

Genescritor